So, this one is going to be in Jughead's perspective. Set in episode 1x06.

Jughead Jones knew he loved Betty Cooper. He knew he loved her before he kissed her. He knew he loved her before their sophomore year, before their investigation of the death of Jason Blossom. Jughead knew he loved Betty before she held his hand in fourth grade because of the ghoulish bullies that gave him a black eye. He knew he loved her from the moment she said "Hi, I'm Betty Cooper" in the first grade when Archie introduced them.

But it wasn't until the moment Jughead watched the doe-like light that was Betty's eyes shatter as her sister kicked and screamed in the arms of the orderlies at the Sister's of Quiet Mercy did he know he was in love with her. He decided that he would poke out his eyes if he ever had to see that again. He decided that he would rather try his hand at boxing Mohammed Ali than see that again. He decided that he would rather not be part of Betty's life than see that again. And Jughead Jones realized that he was unequivocally, unconditionally in love with Betty Cooper.

Up until then, Betty was his friend. That, yes, he loved. And he knew he loved. He didn't think of her as a sister. Betty was an attractive girl and he had noticed this very early on. But he didn't think of her as someone he could get in a relationship with. The thought just never struck him. Yeah, when he lay in bed late at night, Jughead would sometimes wonder what she was doing. But he had always dismissed his thoughts as just his hormonal fifteen year old self admiring Betty's more feminine features.

It was sometime during gym that his feelings for Betty started to grow into something more than platonic.

Jughead was never one to participate in the rowdy behavior of boys in the locker room. He always just stuck to avoiding eye contact, pulling on his clothes as fast as possible and getting the hell out. It always sort of pissed him off when the guys would make lewd comments about girls. Even if he didn't know them. Maybe it was to do with how he wouldn't want anyone saying stuff like that about Jellybean. Or that one of his best friends was a girl. Of course, Jughead never said anything. Because, he wasn't stupid. He noticed girls. But Jughead wasn't one of those dudes that just noticed their physical features. Sure, those were nice too, but really, he was only looking at girls when their personality was appealing to him.

Which was the reason he used to excuse his behavior. After a brutal fifty minutes of push-ups, sit-ups, and a mile run, Jughead was glad to feel the cold, cascading water against his skin. It wasn't like they had a huge amount of time in the locker room to shower and change. The coach released the class ten minutes before the bell rang. And Jughead's next class was Algebra and even though he had a fairly high grade in the class, he couldn't afford to be late and miss instruction. So he was quick to wash and dry off.

Jughead was just pulling his beanie onto his head when the boy next to him brought up the topic of girls. Which was just great, because Jughead so wanted to hear about the latest conquests of these neanderthals. He had better things to do, like stop by the Blue and Gold office to check if Betty had any luck with finding Polly. So he wasn't really listening until a name came up in the conversation that peaked his interest.

"... heard Polly Cooper was sent away. Must have been quite the bad girl to have her perfect parents face the humiliation of an out-of-control daughter. To bad you never got to tap that." Neanderthal number one said condescendingly. Jughead's eyes narrowed and he tightened his grip on his shoulder strap, hoping the bell would just ring already.

"Doesn't she have a little sister?" Neanderthal number two inquired. "That blonde chick always wearing that high ponytail." Jughead shoulders tensed. Ring stupid bell! He was screaming in his head.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Maybe you can find out if crazy runs in the family." Jughead spun around in his heel and clocked the guy right in the face. A loud crunch indicated that he broke the guy's nose. Which, if he does say so himself, was a pretty satisfying sound. A shocked silence fell over the locker room. The creak of the coach's door opening was the only thing that could be heard. The coach's footsteps grew louder as the boy was being helped up.

"What's going on in here?" The coach demanded, looking between the fuming Jughead to the shocked boy with the bleeding nose. The boy looked at Jughead furiously. Telling the coach that the school's very own Donny Darko had been the one to break his nose would be humiliating because it would definitely get out to the student body. And the football players especially would be on his back.

"Nothing," the boy hissed through gritted teeth, "the locker door hit my nose as I was closing it." The coach stayed silent for a moment, obviously not believing the story but not having any evidence to go off.

"Okay," the coach said hesitantly, "get that checked out by the nurse." He glanced at Jughead one last time before turning and disappearing into his office. The bell rang just as the click of the door closing was heard.

"I'm gonna kill you, Jones," the boy seethed, his hand still pressed under his nose. He glared at Jughead as he and his group of friends urged him out of the locker room. Jughead watched them go intently, waiting until they were out of sight before he made his move to leave.

Jughead was still seething when he left his Algebra class. It was his free period and he was fully intent on meeting Betty at the Blue and Gold office. But facing her was a whole different thing. What those guys had said about her was bad enough. But the fact that they didn't even know her was on a whole other level. Jughead knew there was no such thing as perfect. But Betty sure as hell came as close to it as possible. Well for him. She was a great writer. She was an amazing friend. She was headstrong but not stubborn. She was fierce but not mean. She was always putting others first. And Jughead knew she had demons in her. Nobody could have a sociopathic mother with an agenda of her own and not have demons. And he was actually quite worried about how Betty really hadn't been taking care of herself like she should have. But he would not let any one disrespect anything to do with Betty. Be it her honor, her sister, her father, hell even her mother. It wasn't going to happen if he had anything to do with it.

Jughead pushed the door of the Blue and Gold office with a little too much vigor as he fumed on his thoughts and actions. Betty turned around, startled by the loud bang the door created when it flew open, her cerulean eyes wide with shock. Her pink, glossed lips parted with a sigh of relief when she noted it was just Jughead.

"Hey, Juggie," she said. A wave of calm washed over him. She always had a way of making people relax. It amazed him.

"What's up?"

"Oh, you know," Jughead smirked, "the sky, the sun, the clouds." He felt himself relax into his usual sarcastic ways. Betty rolled her eyes and smiled gently.

"No," she went on to say, "I meant, are you okay? You seem a little agitated." And there she goes again. Just being Betty Cooper. She can see straight through whatever he put up. Jughead doesn't even try to cover up his feelings in front of her anymore. In the end, she always knew.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jughead sighed, pulling his satchel off and hanging it on a chair's back. "Some guys were just being annoying." He wasn't lying. He was just shading part of the truth. Betty looked sympathetically towards him.

"Well," she said, "I'm sorry they're giving you a hard time, Jug. Tell me who they are and maybe I can set them straight." She smiled jokingly. But Jughead knew that she meant it. If someone was really actually bothering him, she would have definitely done something. Probably write about it in the Blue and Gold. Something about how people should respect others.

"No, seriously, I'm fine," Jughead quickly said, "The guys in the locker room are jerks with no brains. Don't waste your time with them."

"Trust me," Betty murmured, "I've dealt with my fair share of jerks with no brains." Jughead knew she was referring to Chuck. She hadn't talked about how she had gotten him suspended or why since that day, but Jughead felt like she was always thinking about it. Like it was in the back of her mind. He didn't know what exactly went down between them, but he knew it wasn't something Betty wanted to relive. So he didn't speak of it.

"Anyway," Betty jumped into another topic, "I was trying to come up with ways to find Polly." Jughead nodded, his mind rerouting itself to the investigation. "And the only thing I can come up with is getting the information directly from my mom or dad." Jughead cringed. Alice Cooper was not one to be messed with. And Jughead did not want to be anywhere near her when she got mad. "Since getting anything out of my dad is futile," Betty sighed, glancing at the murder board where the Coopers was written, "and hell would freeze over before my mother gave up any secrets, we have to get it ourselves."

"And how," Jughead started, "are we going to do that? I mean, you made it abundantly clear that we're not going to find Polly without your mom and dad."

"I'm getting there," Betty smiled, pointing to him as a sign for patience. "My mom keeps this planner in her purse. She has important dates, people... places in it."

"And, maybe where Polly is," Jughead realized, smiling at the new found information.

"The problem is," Betty said, "she always has the planner in her purse -"

" - and she always has the purse on her," Jughead sighed, completing the sentence. Betty nodded, looking dejected but determined.

"But," she went on, "I think I have a way of getting it." She walked around the desk and leaned on it. "So, you've probably gathered by now that we have to distract her to get that planner." Jughead nodded, staying silent. "And that's where you come in." Betty smiled mischievously.

"Oh, no! You are not dragging me into this," Jughead exclaimed, backing away.

"Too late," Betty sang. "I'm inviting you to breakfast tomorrow. At my house, not Pop's. And you are going to ask to go to the restroom. My mom, being my mom, will probably show you because she has the paranoid feeling that you, being from the trailer park, are going to steal something. She will probably wait right out side the door, so you are going to stay in my bathroom until I text you to come out."

"And what," Jughead said, "may I ask, will you be doing in the time I am distracting your mother?"

"Taking pictures of all the pages in her planner," Betty shrugged. Jughead nodded, taking the information in. Betty seemed excited about the plan, like deceiving her mother was ... fun? Like she wanted to do it more often. It was different for Jughead. If Alice ever found out about this, she'd probably emasculate him.

"Okay, my mom is not that scary," Betty crossed her arms over her chest. Did he say that out loud?

"You went on a date when she was fifty miles away at a spa retreat," Jughead retorted, copying her movement and crossing his arms.

"See, that was only because she found Grundy's gun in my drawer! But she didn't kill me when she found it!" Betty exclaimed. "That's progress!" Her tone joking but her face serious.

"Yes, because every mother's dream is to find a gun in their child's drawer that belongs to their best friend's music teacher, who, coincidentally, is having an affair with said best friend." Jughead said cynically, the underlying joke implied though. Betty looked at Jughead with 'what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you' eyes and a small smile on her lips. He smiled back, teeth and all, just because she was the only one who could really make him smile. And he felt like she needed a smile after all her research for her estranged and missing sister.

"You, Jughead Jones, are going to be a comedian one day," Betty sighed, still smiling.

"Why do you say that?" Jughead asked, suddenly interested. He never really liked comedians. Yeah, sardonic humor was his way of life, but comedians never really used sardonic humor. They all just played off of stereotypes and used character acting. And, yeah, comedians became comedians to make others laugh. But Jughead was only interested in making one person laugh: himself. And possibly Betty, but that was still iffy.

"Well, I like to listen to my favorite comedians when I'm not feeling great. And you always bring a smile to my face." Betty shrugged. "Even when I'm not feeling that great." She gestured to their surroundings: the murder board, the splayed papers on the desk, the open laptop running possible places for detainment. And suddenly, Jughead saw a new light to being a comedian. And he found himself wondering that maybe their way of life wasn't that bad.

"So," Betty looked away quickly, "back to the plan." Jughead inhaled and nodded. "You good with it?"

"No," Jughead shook his head, "I am most certainly not good with the plan." Betty smiled again. "But, if it helps Polly," he sighed, caving in, "I'll do it." Betty gasped in happiness and jumped up, her hands clasped together in thanks. It reminded him of the day she had asked him to write for the Blue and Gold. He didn't want to himself that one of the only reasons he said yes to her offer was because he wanted to see her lips split into a smile. It kind of scared the crap out of him.

"Okay, tomorrow," Betty started, "7:30. Sharp." She pointed at him in warning. He smiled and rubbed his thumb under his nose before turning and leaving. As he left the room feeling better than he did when he entered it, Jughead heard Betty sigh in contentment and tiredness. Like she just wanted the whole nightmare to be over. Jughead silently vowed to himself that he would do whatever he could to make sure they got to the bottom of the investigation. For everyone in the town. But mostly for Betty.

So Jughead went through with the plan. The next morning he woke up, tried his best to scrub the musky smell of janitor's closet off him, and pulled on his least moth eaten "S" t-shirt, pairing it with his usual denim jacket and signature crown beanie before shouldering his satchel and sneaking past the snoring night guard whose shift started at one am and ended at seven thirty when the day guard came in. The janitor had been helping him out and disabling the cameras after his shift and turning them on when he came to school at seven. But he was on his own when it came to hiding from the security guards.

The brisk fall air stung Jughead's face as he creaked the back door open slowly. He knew that the lock on it was busted and that the school never bothered to fix it. It was the door he'd been using to sneak back into school at night. But it led out to the students' parking lot where he couldn't stay inconspicuous in the large, wide open space. Anybody walking their dog or taking a jog could see him on school grounds before students were supposed to be on campus. It wasn't his ideal choice but it was better than being caught by the guard. So he curled his fists into his pockets and hunched his shoulders, trying not to stand out against the light sky. He walked quickly to the sidewalk and breathed in relief when he saw that the path was deserted. But after remembering the fifteen minute walk to Betty's house, his wave of relief passed.

It wasn't the walk necessarily that got him down or even the thought of having breakfast with Alice Cooper (well, maybe a little). Really, he was not looking forward to the fifteen minutes of free time he had now. In the past days, he'd been finding it increasingly hard not to think about Betty. Jughead was not one to dwell on girls. Plus he didn't have the time with all the running around town doing the sheriff's job. But he was running around town doing the sheriff's job with a girl. It was only natural that Jughead think about Betty because of her involvement with Jason's murder investigation. He didn't know what these feelings were. They didn't come from his hormonal teenage boy brain because Jughead would know when that happened. And they didn't come from the sappy, brooding, 'I'm-a-tortured-artist' part of his brain. This was different because he felt it. It was no joke when he said that whatever it was resonated deep in his soul. Like it was rooted in him. Like it had been growing for a long time and he only just now started to feel its presence.

Jughead groaned softly at his conflicting thoughts and at the fact that one more turn and he'd be on Betty's block. He needed to stop thinking. Stop overanalyzing. Stop reading between imaginary lines. Stop everything Betty solely because of all the other more pressing matters such as Jason's murder, the fact that he's homeless, his mom and sister taking off, his alcoholic dad, and every other problem that just could not escape him.

Jughead growled low in his throat and pressed his fisted knuckles onto his forehead. He needed a way out of this mess. A way out of this God-forsaken town and all it's madness. A way to release this tension in his shoulders he was to young to have. He needed to be somewhere that didn't make him feel like shit half the time and the other half make him run from his feelings. He needed a way to stop thinking about the too complicated girl with blonde hair and glass eyes. A way to just stop it all.

Jughead looked up. The red door of Betty's house was staring at him about ten feet away. Jughead didn't know if it was beckoning him forward or pushing him back. After a long moment, he decided that it didn't matter because Betty was counting on him. So, steeling himself for Alice Cooper's judgment and disdain, Jughead stepped up the granite steps of the house. He waited for a second in front of the door and took a breath before pressing the doorbell.

The footfalls of a careful person were heard from behind the door and Jughead could imagine it was Betty lightly treading the stairs as quickly as possible. The door opened to him and Betty stood there with a dazzling smile and flushed cheeks. All other problems and crap in his life flew out the window.

"Hey," she said distractedly. "Thanks for coming." She stepped aside for him to enter.

"Why wouldn't I? I said I would," Jughead threw at her. Betty looked over her shoulder.

"Okay, mom's making an extra plate in the kitchen," straight to business as usual. "Come on, I'll show you to the breakfast table." Breakfast table. The trailer had one table. For homework, dinner, lunch, breakfast, and any other work that needed to be done. Jughead nodded at Betty to get his cynical thoughts out of his head. Jughead started towards where he knew the kitchen would be but abruptly stopped when he felt Betty's soft and warm hand touch his denim jacket.

"Hey," she said softly, "Really. Thanks." And Jughead was frozen looking at the soft curves of her face, thinking how he could stand there forever and still not know what this was. What this amazing, terrible, confusing bubble welled up in his chest was every time he thought of her, touched her, saw her, interacted with her, anything remotely her. He wanted to stay rooted to that spot until he figured out.

But he didn't. Because of all the shitty things that just couldn't stop for even a second. And now he had to do this stupid thing that wasn't really even stupid at all because it was helping Jason's murder investigation. And Jughead just couldn't halt that fast paced world of Riverdale to take a breath which he desperately needed. So he dealt with Mrs. Cooper's sly comments and implying tones and got through the awkward meal by glancing at Betty every second.

Finally, after a torturous breakfast, Betty and Jughead walked out of the Cooper's resident and towards the school. On the walk, Betty flipped through the pictures on her phone, reading every page she's taken a picture of carefully.

"Didn't your parents teach you it's dangerous to read and walk at the same time?" Jughead looked over at her with a smirk, trying to ease the tension between her shoulders.

"Didn't your parents teach you not to interrupt a fan girl when she's reading?" Betty raised her eyebrows as she continued zooming the picture on her phone in. "That's even more dangerous." Jughead snorted.

"Oh, definitely," Jughead quipped. "Remember when you had started reading Harry Potter and Archie kept asking you for a bite of the cookie your mom had given you. After two times of clenching your teeth and balling your fists, you just smashed his foot with yours and went back to reading your book." Betty laughed melodiously. She nodded and her lips settled into a smile.

"Archie doesn't even look at me when I'm reading now," she chuckled, clicking her phone off and pushing it into her bag.

"I know," Jughead agreed. They had almost reached the school. For some reason, Jughead wished the distance between them and the school would grow longer. Maybe to talk the Betty just a little more.

"Weren't we reading the Harry Potter books together?" Betty inquired. "We had this bet going on: who can finish the series faster." Jughead smiled at the memory of his cocky six-year-old self smirking at six-year-old Betty. He had said something like 'Coop, you know I'm gonna win. There is no way I'm gonna let a girl beat me at books. I'm not Archie.'

She had won.

"You called me Archie 2 for two weeks after that," Jughead laughed, remembering his cross face and scowl when she had shown up at his trailer with the seventh book she had borrowed from the library.

"Hey," Betty raised her hands in a shrug, "I had to teach you a lesson. You were letting all your reading skills go to your head. I needed to bring you down a peg."

"You do make me humble, Cooper." Jughead looked at Betty and wagered that she was probably the most beautiful person in the world. He had these thoughts many times over. The first time it had crossed his mind was when he was seven years old. All he remembered was that he was sitting in his second grade class and he looked over at Betty helping Archie with a subtraction problem and he could see her frustrated eyes and strained smile. She didn't have the signature Betty Cooper ponytail but she did have the signature Betty Cooper pigtails. Two perfect pigtails tied with white ribbon and curled ends that Jughead wanted to pull on most days.

"Well," Betty sighed, turning to him, "if I didn't, who would?"

"Probably Jellybean if she wasn't gone," Jughead said before his brain could tell him to shut up. Betty already knew about his mom and sister leaving. They had left just before winter break freshman year. That was when Betty, Archie, and Jughead were still Betty, Archie, and Jughead. But over the summer, when things started getting bad with his dad and Archie, the group fell apart. Jughead has tried his best to hide his hurt and pain from Betty and Archie even before their fall out.

Jughead felt Betty's hand brush against his and her pinky wrap around his index finger. A sliver of surprise jolted through him. His head snapped towards Betty's direction to see her eyes trained ahead of her on the school but a small smile graced her lips. Jughead smiled to himself and turned back to look ahead. It didn't bother him that she'd only kept his finger in her grasp for a moment. All he cared about was that Betty knew exactly how to make him feel like he wasn't a scrawny kid with a Serpent leader for a dad.

As much as he would have loved to spend every waking moment contemplating the things Betty Copper could do to him, Jughead knew that reality would knock as soon as they reached the Blue and Gold office. So he reveled in the five minutes of quiet and stillness with her. He was happy just walking next to her in peace.

And then, Jason's murder came hurtling back with the force of a thousand soldiers.

As soon as they reached their office, Betty was in sleuth mode. Jughead appreciated her swiftness for a moment before going to sit on the chair she had just draped her wind-breaker over. He pulled his bag over his shoulder and pulled his laptop out. They had half an hour before the tardy bell rang.

"God! How are you not feeling this heat, Jughead?!" Jughead looked over at Betty who was pulling her arms out of her light blue cardigan and tying it around her waist. The yolk colored tank top clung to her and Jughead quickly turned back to the laptop screen.

For the next half an hour the two poured over Betty's phone and typing in words they thought could be related to an address. Finally, as Betty was once again inspecting her phone, she found something.

"The Sister's of Quiet Mercy," she said inquisitively. "What is that? Like, a church? Or a charity?" Jughead typed in the name. He felt Betty bend down next to him and put a hand on the back of his chair. Her body heat had his mind fuzzy and he had to focus his eyes intently on the screening in front of him to remember what he wanted to tell her.

"No," Jughead shook his lightly, ridding his mind of fogginess, "It's a home for troubled youth. Where disenfranchised teens will learn such virtues and values as discipline and respect. And enjoy lives of quiet reflection and servitude." Jughead read this off the laptop to Betty and relaxed his eyes to watch her face in the reflection of the screen contort in worry.

"Poor Polly," Betty sighed. She looked at him. Her eyes looked more light today. They looked drained of color. Almost bleached. Jughead could never get over how easily her eyes could change. From a dark ocean color to an almost sky blue and then to an emerald green. With every day they seemed to be a new color. Jughead could spend hours looking into a mirror but always have the same hard, light blue tone in his eyes even if his emotions changed. Betty's complexity floored him.

"Listen," Jughead stood up quickly, tuning to grab Betty's shoulder, "let's give it a break. Take a day off from investigating. Besides, it looks like it's a long way from here and we're going to need the day. Tomorrow's Saturday. We'll make a plan to go then. Spend the whole day with Polly. Okay?" Instinctively, Jughead glided his hands over her bare arms in a soothing motion. His brain almost died from the fact that he touching her skin. His fingers shook lightly with awareness. He registered her small nod and was relieved and disappointed when the warning bell rang.

"Juggie," Betty voice stopped him at the door. He turned to look at her. She opened her mouth to say something and hesitated. She just shook her head and nodded at him again, confusing him. "See you at lunch." She said softly. He furrowed his eyebrows and nodded before walking out.

He was plagued with images of her confused and thoughtful face for the whole day. The way her eyebrows crinkled and rose. Her pink lips parted. Her eyes a sudden deep blue of emotion, glossed over with thought. Jughead couldn't place the emotion she was depicting. She seemed surprised with a realization but at peace with it. He couldn't make sense of it. She truly was an enigma.

After a grueling day of school and haunting thoughts of beautiful girls, Jughead flopped down on his cot in the janitor's closet. He sighed deeply and brought his hand up to his eyes. He massaged his temples and pulled his beanie off with his other hand, holding it to his chest limply.

He was asleep before he could think about scrounging together enough money for a bus ticket to the Sister's of Quiet Mercy.

Ding.

A sharp message alert pierced through Jughead's sleep. He groggily opened his eyes to the semi-lit closet and sat up slowly. He checked the time on his phone.

8:27

For a moment, he just blankly stared at the screen without really registering what he was seeing. And then he promptly freaked out.

Jughead has promised Betty he'd pick her up from her house at 8:15. And knowing Betty, she'd be up at 5:30 because of her nerves. She'd get dressed and sit in her bed until 7 just trying to rid herself of the anxiousness and then proceed to check her phone every five seconds to see the time. She would probably be waiting outside her door for half and hour and wait until 8:15 came around. Then she'd expectantly wait for Jughead's beanie clad head to bob up her street. She probably texted him at 8:16. When Jughead checked his phone, he found that there were a slew of messages. 12 to be exact. Each from Betty. Each a minute apart. For every minute that she waited.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck.

Jughead hurriedly rushed about his space, grabbing a towel and a set of clothes before almost sprinting to the boys' locker room for a quick shower. He'd slept in his clothes the night before and he could only imagine the stink it was causing.

After just a two minute shower, Jughead was rapidly changing into his clothes and towel drying his hair. He ran a brush over his teeth while pulling his jeans on and a green flannel over a loose dark Henley. Jughead hurried back to his closet and grabbed his phone, wallet, jacket, and beanie. He almost forgot he was only wearing socks.

It was 8:36 by the time he had his feet in his shoes and was hopping through the hallway while tying his laces. A string of nine texts from Betty were lined up on his phone screen. Jughead quickly shot an apology text to her and tried to discreetly slip out the back entrance.

Jughead jogged through the streets, making it to Betty's house in ten minutes and not the usual fifteen. He found Betty anxiously worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Her eyes wide and glazed over with nervousness. She sighed audibly when she saw Jughead's figure sprinting down her street.

"Juggie!" She breathed out as he stopped to catch his breath in front of her. "Are you okay?" She bent down to touch his shoulder gently. Jughead gulped in air while nodding. He was the one late and she was concerned about him.

"Sorry," he gasped, clutching his side, "about being late. Slept in. I swear I wasn't blowing you off." Betty chuckled lightly. He looked at her with curiosity. She was smiling at him.

"I didn't think you were blowing me off," she shook her head as if that was the most humorous thing in the world, "Honestly, I was just worried that something happened to you. I mean, we are snooping around a murder investigation." Jughead couldn't stop the small upward pull of his lips.

"Aw, Cooper," he straightened, "did you think I had been murdered?" Betty's cheeks flushed pink and she lightly pushed him while he laughed.

"You never know," she smiled self-consciously, "This is Riverdale." Jughead sobered and looked sympathetically at her. He grazed her shoulder with his while they walked.

"Sorry for worrying you," he said genuinely, brushing his pinky against her index in sign of comfort. Like she had done the day before.

"It's okay," she accepted his apology. It was silent for a moment. "Now, let's get to the bus station before the whole day passes."

When they finally made it to their destination it was almost ten. They clambered off the bus in a rush and waited for it to pass before gazing up at the cathedral-like structure in front of them. Jughead was almost speechless from the foreboding aura the building radiated. It looked liked this place sucked the life out of everything around it. He could feel himself growing drab and limp from the thought of going into the place.

"Hey, don't judge a home for troubled youth by it's facade," Jughead offered as he stared in awe. "Right?" He heard Betty's quiet inhale of breath and he looked over at her tear filled eyes and hurt face.

"My parents have been keeping Polly here for months," her voice quavered, "while I was just living my life." Betty shook her head in disbelief. Her blonde ponytail swayed with her motion. "If I had known she was staying at a place like this..." It sounded as if the tears in her eyes were about to fall. She was in the verge of an emotional breakdown.

"Hey," Jughead reached out and touched her arm, fully turning to her, "Hey." He said with more conviction. "Now you're doing something about it." She breathed in heavily and nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. "Come on," he said after a moment of letting her calm herself, "let's go get some answers." She sighed shakily and fixed her ponytail with new determination. He let her cross the street first before following.

Jughead eyed the inside of the home with skepticism. It looked like scene straight out of Bedlam. It was dark, dreary, and downright depressing. He was glad for the consistent brush of Betty's shoulder against his. It kept him tethered to reality.

He stayed silent as Betty produced her ID to the lady with the creepy eyes and announced herself family. The old woman's eyes snapped to Jughead in scrutiny. He felt like he was bacteria under a microscope.

"He'll have to wait," the woman said coldly and turned away from the duo. Betty looked at Jughead with apology while signing in. He smiled reassuringly at her. She touched his arm and smiled before they were led away in different directions. Jughead found himself missing the comforting body warmth she exuded.

The orderly opened a door and ushered him in. Jughead walked in hesitantly and looked around. The room was set up like a classroom. Tables and chairs lined up to face a blackboard. He went to stand by the window and look out to the green field as the door clicked shut behind him. Jughead looked back at the closed door. The orderly was standing right outside, as if to stop him from leaving if he tried. Jughead looked back out the window to rid his mind of those thoughts.

The lush green grass rolled on until it met the horizon. Gardens were growing every few meters. There were teens strolling with others among the nature. It didn't look like a half bad place on the surface. But Jughead knew that everything wasn't as it seemed. He didn't want to imagine what terrible things this place could be doing to the kids inhabiting it. If the orderly stationed at the door was any clue, Jughead had an inkling of how the kids could be treated.

He didn't even want to think about Polly being trapped in this place. He liked Polly. When Archie, Betty and he were younger and wanted to go to the treehouse FP built, Polly would sneak Betty out of their house and help her back in without their mother suspecting anything. Polly had been both Jughead's and Archie's first crush. He remembered Archie and he would pester Betty about where her older sister was. Betty, being Betty, would try to hide the hurt of not being the one they wanted to hang out with and tell them Polly was in her room, talking on the phone with her friends or painting her nails or applying make-up. After that, both Archie and Jughead grew out of their little crush and stopped complaining about Betty's company.

Jughead's eyes drifted over the landscape. He caught sight of Betty's yellow ponytail bobbing as she followed some old lady over the lawn. He couldn't see her face, but he could imagine that she was just as nervous as she looked at her house. Though, she was probably trying to hide it with a straight face because that's just what she did. Sometimes, he worried that all the expectations would turn her into a cold, lifeless, unfeeling person. But her bright smile and emotion full eyes always proved him wrong. He couldn't really comprehend how she managed to do that with everything around her exploding constantly. His family was a dysfunctional mess but Betty's was just as if not more. And somehow, Betty stuck through it and thrived while he just ran away from all his problems. Jughead never met a stronger person.

Jughead had lost focus for a moment and tried to caught sight of Betty again. His back stiffened as he saw her stumbling after the lady that she had been following. Two orderlies were standing close behind her. They weren't touching her, but they seemed to be ready if she made a run for it. He could see her face was imprinted with astonishment and anger and sadness even from this far.

"What the hell?" he whispered to himself. Jughead pulled out his phone and quickly typed a text to Betty asking if she got to see Polly. He looked back up to see her checking her pockets. His eyebrows furrowed when he was an orderly reach out to stop Betty from putting her hands in her pockets. She looked up at the man with confusion and Jughead could see she was trying to explain something to him but he just shook his head. Betty paused for a second, looking as if she was about to reach into her pocket anyway. A strange feeling washed over Jughead. He had a suspicion that something was terribly wrong and if Betty pulled out her phone, something bad was going to happen.

"Come on, Betty," Jughead willed her not to do whatever she was planning to do. He could get the answers he wanted later but at the moment, his only concern was that they both get out of this place as fast as possible without stirring anything up. For another few beats, Betty stared at the orderly defiantly before probably coming to the same conclusion Jughead had. She turned back around.

A breath of relief passed through Jughead's lips. In a few minutes, Betty would be back in the building and they would be out of there. Another nagging thought wouldn't leave Jughead. The orderly outside his door knew he came with Betty. In any facility with troubled kids, the people running it probably needed a way to communicate with each other. So if the orderly outside his door knew that Betty was done with her visit and that Jughead had come with her, why hadn't he let Jughead out of the room?

Jughead quickly crossed the room and tried the door. He had no such luck opening it. The orderly was still in his position outside the door. Jughead knocked on the door to get his attention. Nothing. It was like the guy was a robot. A sinking feeling seeped into Jughead's bones. He slapped his open palm against the door in frustration before continuing to pound the door with his fist. He needed to get Betty and get the hell out.

Jughead only stopped when he saw Betty pass his door. She looked over at him because of the noise his fist was making against the door and stopped dead in her tracks. The orderlies behind her almost ran into her but she didn't budge. Their eyes stayed locked onto each other. Jughead could see the fear set in her wide eyes and knew he had the same expression. What the hell was going on? Why couldn't they leave? Where were they taking Betty?

"Hey!" Jughead yelled as the orderlies pushed Betty forward. She lurched forward and stumbled along, still trying to look back at him. "Where are you taking her!? Hey!" He slammed his fist against the door, trying to make as much noise as possible. "Betty! Hey!" Jughead could see her lips moving. She was shouting his name.

"Just let us go!" Jughead heard her scream. "We won't come back!" When he saw the orderly move to grab Betty, she backed away.

"Hey!" Jughead banged on the door. "Don't touch her!"

"At least just let me stay with him!" Betty pleaded, her voice trembling as she gestured wildly towards Jughead. He could hear one of the orderlies grunt in answer. Both of them moved forward in a menacing manner. His heart froze in his chest.

"Don't you put a fucking hand on her!" Jughead loudly exclaimed, pushing the door with his shoulder. "Let us go!" He knew it was futile to try and open a door locked from the outside while he was behind it, but that didn't stop him from trying. He couldn't let them take Betty away. They needed to stick together. And he was scared as hell that something bad was going to happen to both of them if they were separated.

"Okay!" He heard her yell. He looked through the window of the door. Betty was slowly turning around in surrender to follow the stoic lady again, her shoulders shaking in terror. He caught a glance of her looking back at him one last time before she disappeared.

"Hey!" He yelled coarsely, resuming beating his fist against the door. "If anything happens to her, I'll put you through a wall!" He continued his assault, pretending it was the orderly outside in his door. A string of curse words spewed from his mouth directed at no one and everyone. Jughead didn't want to risk texting Betty again. He saw the way the orderly looked at her outside when she wanted to check her phone. If she was still with them, Jughead didn't think they would react any differently.

Finally, after about half an hour, the door slammed open. The orderly that led into this God-forsaken room was staring blankly at Jughead. Internally, Jughead seethed. He wanted to kill this fucker. This was the dude that heard all the yelling and the screaming and the pounding and didn't do shit about it. But, Jughead decided to go with a pinning glare and push past him roughly. Jughead's eyes snapped up as he heard the clicking of steady heels. Alice Cooper had Betty's hand grasped in her's as they made their way down the hallway past him and the orderly. Betty's shoulder brushed past him and he could see the redness in her nose. A rush of relief relaxed his shoulders slightly.

Quickly, Jughead followed the two out of the door with the orderly right beside him. He tried to put as much distance between them in the narrow hallway. Jughead's eyes stayed on Betty. He wanted to reach out and touch her to make sure she was okay. His mind kept replaying the moment her colorful eyes flashed to him in fear and were gone in the next second. Jughead was surprised to see Betty turn her head to look back at him. Her eyes were desperate and rimmed with red. He looked back with a question in his eyes. What the hell happened?

A small downward curve of her lips indicated she hadn't the slightest clue before she turned back to look forward. It was only for a second. But Jughead felt the tension from his shoulders dissipate. She didn't seem harmed. She was okay. They were okay.

The tension returned a second later when they crossed paths with Polly. He felt his eyes widen in surprise at her round stomach. Polly didn't give him much time to let that set in though because she was angrily marching towards them. Jughead moved closer to Betty when Polly started towards their mother.

"Jason's dead!" Polly exclaimed, raising herself up to as far as she could. "And you didn't tell me! And you kept me in here!" Her hand flew up to gesture around.

"Baby," Alice pleaded, reaching forward and grabbing Polly. "It's for your own good." Two orderlies came up beside Polly and grabbed her arms, pulling her away.

"Ugh!" Polly tried to shove them off and lungs at her mother. "You always say that and it's not true!" The orderlies successfully pulled Polly away and she screamed. "No! Betty!" Jughead moved forward in attempt to help her, but the orderly beside him blocked his path. Alice tried hold Betty back from going to Polly but Betty wrenched herself away and went to wrap her around her sister. Jughead tried to get past the orderly. He moved towards the wall to get around him but the man forced him back.

"No!" Polly yelled as the orderlies finally pulled her away and dragged her down the hall. Jughead watched Betty's eyes water, almost overflow. She whipped her head to the side, like she was about to bury her face in her mother's shoulder but stopped. She looked lost in that moment. So incredibly vulnerable. Her whole composed facade was crumbling and she had no one to turn to. Hell no. Jughead forced his way past the orderly who didn't give up much of a fight. He reached Betty and enveloped her in his arms. No more light brushes of comfort or shy smiles. He didn't care about being embarrassed about her mother standing right there. She needed someone. And if that had to be him, Jughead would gladly step up.

In this moment, Jughead realized how incredibly fucked he was. He realized that for the last couple of weeks, he wasn't feeling platonic feelings for Betty because he was finally reconnecting with her. Jughead realized that he had never just been her friend. Jughead realized that he didn't want anyone else to be the someone that Betty needed.

And he craved more. More of this feeling that he finally figured out. More of this light that she brought into his unbelievably dark life. More of her. Jughead remembered all those times that he couldn't understand why he was so hung up over Betty. Why he couldn't seem to stop thinking about her. How everything she did made his heart quicken just a tad bit. How he couldn't stand her being hurt. This girl with her beautiful, bright mind. This girl with the strongest heart he'd ever had the honor of knowing. This girl that made him want to be strong enough to overcome all of his problems.

And Jughead Jones knew he was in love with Betty Cooper.

Whew. That was long. Didn't know I had that many words in me.

Anyway, I know that you guys saw that it was set in 1x06. So automatically your mind probably goes to their first kiss. I didn't include that because it's been done so many times. I just thought this would change it up. If you were waiting for that, I'm sorry. I hope you still liked the one-shot.

Thanks to you guys who stuck through it. Please review. I would love some feedback.