Most people that knew Jughead, or even just met him, really, would assume that his favourite colour was black.
He always seemed to be wearing it, like a shadow lingering on the peripheral of town life. Maybe that's why he had so many black pieces of clothing. People saw him wear it, so they bought him more.
'People' being Archie, Veronica and Betty. Truth be told, Jughead didn't have many friends.
Not that he minded.
Betty had always assumed Jughead's favourite colour was black. Even as children, when she, Archie and him played together, or hung out at the Andrews' house, he always had some article of black on him. And that ridiculous grey beanie Jellybean had chosen for him that time they'd all gone to the mall together.
So when they were playing twenty questions, Betty and Jughead, in the car while they waited for… well… something to happen (Jughead called it a 'stakeout'), she was surprised at his answer.
He'd asked her what her favourite colour was. She'd responded that it was yellow, obviously, like sunshine and daffodils.
"And cowardice and sickness and fever," Jughead had reminded her with a sly smile. She'd rolled her eyes and laughed, knowing he only meant it in jest. She liked to see him smile. It was a nice change from his brooding frown he wore around everyone else.
He was really quite handsome when he smiled.
Without thinking, somewhat distracted as she was, Betty reciprocated with the same question to him, regretting it as the words left her mouth, thinking what a waste of a question.
He looked away from the dashboard and up at her, his eyes having drifted there, away from Betty as she laughed at his joke. Not because he didn't want to look at her, god was it the opposite, but because lately, he'd been looking at her too much. He liked it when she laughed, when she got his dry jokes that everyone else seemed to miss. She had a nice laugh. When she laughed her voice lost the hard edge that was brought on by stress and school and family.
She was beautiful when she laughed.
So naturally he had looked away. But he was looking at her now. Looking into her eyes, a light, ocean shade of -
"Green," He replied, smiling slightly, not breaking eye contact.
He felt a happy little lurch in his chest when she let out a single "ha!" of surprise.
She'd not been expecting that. Green? Jughead Jones? She couldn't connect the dots.
"Like the forest?" she asked, not breaking eye contact as she searched him.
He felt naked under her gaze, he felt sure she knew the reason.
"Never pegged you for an outdoorsy type, Juggie,"
He shrugged.
"Not so much a dark green than the green of -"
Your eyes
"The ocean"
Betty raised an eyebrow.
"You hate water,"
Jughead was about to ask how she knew that when Betty continued.
"Remember in the sixth grade, when we all had to swim for gym, and every week you'd find a new excuse as to why you couldn't do it,"
She remembered that?
He smiled at the memory.
"How do you know I wasn't just immensely self conscious about my body, Betty? You know how fragile I am,"
Betty let out a full laugh that lifted Jughead's lungs and ribs, filling him.
"Fragile? I do seem to recall that was the year you and Archie decided you were too cool for t-shirts, and started traipsing around Riverdale with your tops left uncovered." Betty shook her head, still smiling. "You only stopped once Archie got that horrible sunburn."
She turned her body, shifting to face him more in the small car.
"You boys had quite the fan club that summer," she teased.
Jughead rolled his eyes.
"I'm sure it was more for Archie than for me," Still, his stomach did little somersaults at the idea that Betty maybe, possibly, could have noticed him, just even for a moment.
Betty looked into his eyes, sincere.
"Oh, Juggie, I can assure you, you had your fair share of admirers,"
Jughead could have stayed like that, looking into her green eyes in the front of her car, forever.
But then the something they were waiting for happened.
A gunshot was heard.
And they were off.