Leaning against the cold wall, Jughead took a sip of his drink. His eyes narrowed as Trevor placed his hand on her waist, as Betty laughed at something the stupid boy had said.

"Earth to Jughead?" Veronica snapped her fingers at him.

"Leave me alone, Ronnie," he grumbled.

"That's kind of hard to do when you're standing right next to the drinks," she retorted. "Excuse me."

"Sorry," he said half-heartedly, still burning a hole in the side of Trevor's head.

Veronica followed Jughead's line of vision and gave a high-pitched laugh.

"Boys are so unbelievably stupid," she said casually, pouring herself a drink.

"This one in particular," Jughead said grudgingly.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Jughead!"

Jughead flinched as Veronica stomped one murderously high heel against the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You've been eyeing blonde Lois Lane over there since the moment you two got here, and God knows way before that, and you're standing here, complaining that she isn't magically with you, like you're just supposed to have her!"

"Calm down, V," warned Jughead, wary of the looks people were giving them as Veronica was starting quite the commotion.

Lightening her tone, Veronica said simply: "Make your move, Romeo."


As the opening lines of a Top 40s song blared through the speakers, Trevor reluctantly let go of Betty with a half-smile, and Jughead made his way to the only girl he came to this stupid dance for.

For a second he remembered why he even let her drag him to this whole ordeal to begin with.

"Please, Juggie," she says, eyes bright and blue and shining.

He'd be damned if he ever resisted those bright blue eyes.

"Betty, I really don't see why I have to be there. I can sneak into Mr. Weatherbee's office to look at Jason's records, or even talk to Sheriff Keller about the case instead. But I don't see the point of me actually being there. In the gym. Dancing. In a suit. The thought of it is enough to suck the living dead out of me."

"You're being melodramatic," she says, rolling her eyes. "It's just a dance, Jug. And I need someone who would talk to Cheryl about what she knows, maybe sneak a testimony out of her?"

She wiggles her eyebrows at Jughead, a suggestive smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She looks damn cute, and Jughead can't help but melt.

"Fine," he sighs. "But after I talk to the actual embodiment of Cersei Lannister, we're heading straight to Pop's. And no dancing."

Betty giggles at his stubbornness, and for a second, Jughead feels as if everything — Jason Blossom's murder, his search for a home, his loss of a family — has been washed away by the tides of her laughter. She's the only thing keeping him afloat.

"Jughead!" Betty turned to him with a relieved look on her face. "Thank God you're here. That was so mentally exhausting."

Jughead felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Green is not a good colour on you, Jughead. Get a hold of yourself.

"You seemed like you enjoyed yourself," he replied in a sharper tone than he had intended.

Betty cocked an eyebrow at him, and this time she wasn't letting it go. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

She sighed. "Jug, I know I dragged you into this, and seeing as Cheryl is currently preoccupied, I guess we'd have to leave our sleuthing for some other time. Do you want to head over to Pop's?"

Betty looked at him apologetically, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Sounds like a plan, but there's just something I have to do."

He felt his heart beat faster as he met her eyes, lost in the sea of blue. He took a step closer, and the ghost of a smile graced her lips, causing his breath to hitch in his throat.

"Do you... "

I'm giving up, this whole lie, this whole me

"Do I what?" Betty was now smiling at him, her eyes twinkling.

Call it out like a family

Instead I bide my time, get a ride

Until the rubber leaves the road

"Would you—"

"Jug, what is it?"

You said don't lie so I made the truth

Seemed like a lie to even you

Control your fear; it's clear,

That you do not know where you're going to

He took a deep breath, hands quivering as he took her hand in his, pulling her ever closer.

"Dance with me," he said resolutely. He didn't know where he found this sudden determination. Maybe it was the jealousy. Maybe it was the way she looked under the moving lights. Or maybe it was just her, Betty Cooper, the only girl he ever truly saw, for who she is and what she wants to be.

Surprised, Betty leaned into him as she momentarily lost her balance at Jughead's pull, closing the gap between them as he braced her fall.

She laughed nervously. "Jeez, Jughead. You could've just told me earlier that you wanted to dance."

She put her hands on the back of his neck, and his skin burned at her touch. He placed his hands on her waist, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Like I said, you looked like you were having a good time."

"It would've been better if it was with you."

At that Jughead found himself frozen, mouth parted slightly in surprise. Betty gave him a confident, reassuring smile as he pulled him down to her, their lips only a fraction of an inch apart, their foreheads touching.

He couldn't breathe, and he didn't want to, in fear of losing this marvel of a millisecond. He wanted to just stay there, this close to her, to reach in and kiss those lips.

They stayed there for a moment, eyes expressing the emotions that words couldn't quite capture.

You're perfect, he wanted to say.

"Thanks, Betty," he said instead. "For everything."

She stared at him and said nothing. Her eyes traveled from his eyes to the bridge of his nose to his lips, dwelling for more than just a second.

"Jughead…"

She placed her lips on his, and before he realized what was going on, it was over.

"Sorry, I don't know—"

He put her face in his hands, his thumb on her cheek.

"Betty."

He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, then reached in to kiss her again, slowly, sincerely.

They were hidden in the darkness, in the same mass of people that Jughead had loathed but was now grateful for.

He felt her smile against his lips, and he wanted so much to laugh and cry at the same time, because he realized that this was all he had ever wanted, and it was right in front of him, and it was real.

So don't you worry

You'll be my resolution

Characters of no illusion

You'll be my resolution

As the song came to a close, he had to let go of her, but he didn't want to.

"Jughead," she whispered finally, breaking off the kiss but keeping him close so that their lips were still touching.

"Yes?" His heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he felt her intertwine her hands in his.

"I like this," she said. "I like us."

He grinned at her, putting his arm around her without letting go of her hand.

"So do I."