Thank you to all of you who followed, favorited and reviewed the first chapter! I really appreciate hearing your thoughts :) This chapter will be from Jughead's perspective, and for those of you who really want to know where and why he disappeared, it will be in the next chapter (I think), but I wanted to get more of Juggie's internal dialogue to set up the story. I hope you like it!

Chapter 2:

Jughead's breath caught in his throat at the sight of those blue eyes, locked onto his. He felt like a deer in headlights, unsure of whether to stay, or make a run for it. He hadn't expected to see her so soon. He hadn't planned on her face being the first thing he saw when he walked through the doors of the school. He also didn't expect to see that beautiful smile on her face. What he did expect from Betty was anger, or maybe even hatred. And who could blame her? The way that he left, right after he'd kissed her; she must hate him. He hated himself for that. In that moment, Jughead had lost his best friend, but she was more than that. More than that to him. And he'd just walked away.

And yet, at this unexpected reunion, the expression that he saw on her face wasn't a look of hate. In fact, she looked almost hopeful. Jughead's heart soared briefly. She hadn't changed, not really. She still wore her blonde hair in a high ponytail, with subtle makeup that brought out her blue eyes, and her sweet cardigans and jeans that gave her that classic, but approachable beauty. She's still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, he thought to himself. That thought was quickly replaced with the realization that he wasn't ready to face her, or the conversation that he owed her; not yet anyway. Too much had happened. He was hit by a sudden sadness that he hadn't anticipated. He had to get out of there. He turned in the opposite direction of Betty, once again walking way from the girl he loved.

Jughead was kissing Betty. He was kissing Betty Cooper. And she was kissing him back. He had been thinking about this moment for a long time, and he couldn't believe that it was actually happening now. A sudden stab of guilt hit him like a punch in the gut. Why did he kiss her now, when he knew that he was leaving the next morning? When he knew that he couldn't explain why or where he was going. This was going to crush her. Hell, it was going to crush him too. But he knew how to handle disappointments—he'd been doing it his whole life. He couldn't handle hurting her. And yet, he knew that he was going to.

He stopped kissing her suddenly, and took a small step back. It was an incredible moment, his lips on hers, breathing in the same air and feeling her body against his. It was by far the best few minutes of his life, but it was ending as quickly as it began. "Wow Juggie," Betty laughed breathlessly. He returned her smile, but didn't say anything. Sensing something was wrong, Betty asked tentatively, "Juggie?"

He needed to get away from there, make it easier somehow. Easier for whom, he wasn't sure. He looked at her beautiful, vulnerable face, memorizing her features and thinking about all of the things he wanted, but couldn't, say to her. He reached out to cradle her cheek in his hand, one last time, and said simply, but with more meaning than she could know at the time, "Goodbye Betty." He turned away from her and quickly walked away, before she could stop him. "Jughead, wait!" she called after him. But he didn't turn around. He couldn't. He continued walking, wiping away at the tear sliding slowly down his cheek.

"Jug?!" a familiar voice pulled him back to the present. He saw his old friend Archie Andrews jogging down the hall towards him, a huge smile on his face. Things had changed for the red headed boy he grew up with. Wearing a letterman's jacket, he had grown several inches and bulked up, no doubt from twice-daily football practices. Reaching him, Archie pulled him into an unexpected hug, exclaiming, "Jughead! Where ya been man?"

Pulling back, Jughead smiled, "Hey Arch, it's been awhile. How've you been?"

"Good, things are good. I'm into music now so that's cool…" he trailed off, awkwardly.

Before Jughead could respond, Archie interjected, "Hey, has Betty seen you yet? She's gonna flip when she sees you!"

Jughead's stomach dropped. "Uh yeah, she saw me, but we haven't talked yet."

Archie nodded at someone down the hall, "Yeah, you know, you just disappeared, we thought you were dead!" he joked. "But seriously man, where have you been?"

Jughead tried to laugh it off, "Well, uh, I was with my mom actually. I wanted to tell you guys, but…uh…the circumstances were not…ideal," he stammered. He wanted to say more, to explain why he'd left the way he did, but he felt like he owed that to Betty first. It's not that he didn't see Archie as his friend, and he wasn't intentionally trying to be evasive; but the situation was complicated, and the school hallway wasn't the place for this conversation.

"Okay, be more vague Jug," Archie said sarcastically.

Jughead smirked. "I'm sorry…look, it's really complicated. I will explain everything, I promise. I just…uh…I gotta get to class. Catch up with you later?" Jughead replied, hurrying down the hall before Archie could respond.

Just walk way Jughead, like you always do, he thought to himself. He had become quite skilled at avoidance. He'd had to, out of survival, but now that he was back home, or whatever home meant to him now, he realized that he wanted to stop avoiding. He wanted to be close to someone again. He wanted to let someone get close to him. But after everything he'd been through, he wondered if he ever would.

The one bright spot in the day was the journalism elective that he was able to finagle his way into. The class was technically full, so he had to practically beg the principal to let him in. Jughead wondered if he'd felt sorry for him, which pissed Jughead off at first; but if that sympathy got him a chance to write for the Blue and Gold newspaper, then so be it. Writing was his comfort, where he felt most himself. Writing was his escape. His way of getting through the next hellish year of high school, while attempting to avoid his…feelings. Walking into the classroom, he let out a frustrated sigh, because as much as he tried to ignore that fact, he couldn't deny that he still had feelings for Betty. He always had. No amount of time or miles between them had changed that fact. He'd been in love with Betty for as long as he could remember. But it didn't matter anymore. It was too complicated now. He had been gone too long. And she had a chance to be somebody. He wasn't going to screw that up for her. Not again.

He sat down at the lone empty chair, a half dozen pairs of eyes on him. "So, what are we waiting for?" he asked one of the girls sitting near him.

"We always meet with the editor on Mondays to get our weekly assignments. She should be here any minute" she replied.

"Who's the edit…" Jughead didn't need to finish that sentence because at that very moment the door of the Blue and Gold opened to reveal the very person they were discussing. Jughead inhaled a sharp breath in recognition, just as the she widened her eyes in surprise at finding him in front of her.

"Oh, there she is. That's Betty Cooper, our editor. She's the best," the girl explained with a smile; but Jughead didn't really hear her. He was too busy trying to get his heartbeat under control, and wiping his suddenly sweaty palms on his black jeans.

After all this time, she still has this effect on me. Get it together Jughead! Looking down at his lap, Jughead shakily exhaled a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and dared to look up at Betty. She had already looked away, moving to the head of the table, opposite of where he was sitting.

Avoiding his eyes, Betty called the meeting to order. "Okay guys, as you've probably noticed, we have a new member joining us. Please welcome Jughead Jones to the Blue and Gold," she stated, with a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.

She briefly caught his eye and Jughead froze. He wondered if everyone in the room could hear his heart beating, or sense the tension between them. It was a safe bet that they did because several people looked from Betty to Jughead, and then back to Betty, trying to figure out what they were seeing.

Betty looked away then, clapping her hands together to close the meeting, "Okay, let's get started." Just like that, the moment was over.

He felt acutely aware of her presence for the remainder of the hour, but they didn't speak to each other. What Jughead wanted to do was go up to her and pull her into a hug, and pretend that everything was fine. It just felt so weird between them, and he wasn't helping the situation, stalking around and trying to avoid eye contact. He didn't know how to be around her anymore.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, he reached into his backpack to put his things away, when his fingers brushed against the cool, hard surface of a small rock. He paused, remembering why it was there…

They were 9 years old, playing by the shore of Sweetwater River. Jughead was teaching Betty how to skip rocks on the surface of the water. Betty let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh, I can't do it Juggie! I give up!" and flopped down on the rocky shore, exasperated.

Jughead came over to her and sat down next to her. He put his arm around her. "Don't give up Betts, you almost had it. Maybe you just need to find the right rock. Wanna keep looking?" he offered, smiling at her hopefully. He stood up and offered her his hand. She took it, allowing him to help her up. They began their search, combing the shore for the perfect stone. Betty took the task very seriously, crouching down low and inspecting practically every rock she saw.

Finally, she shouted, "Juggie, I found it!" and ran over to where he was standing. "Look, isn't it perfect?" she asked excitedly, opening up her hand to show him a shiny gray heart-shaped rock.

He ran his finger along its surface, replying, "Yeah that should work," and moved to stand next to her. "Okay, so you have to pull your arm back and just toss it…"

"What?" she interrupted him. "No! Jug, I can't throw this one. It's too pretty. I want to keep this one for something special!"

Jughead smiled at his friend. Betty looked at him expectedly, as if waiting for him to catch on, cocking her head to the side. "We're done skipping rocks now aren't we," Jughead stated the question, knowing her well enough now that she didn't need to say anything. Betty smiled in response and starting skipping away, Jughead close behind.

The next day, Jughead walked into class and found the rock on his desk. In her 3rd grade handwriting, on one side of the stone, Betty had written "To Jughead" and on the other she'd written "Love Betty."

He had been holding on to that stone for the past eight years. It might seem inconsequential to some; it was a rock after all. But that rock represented Betty and all of the feelings and memories that came with her. Part of him worried that she wouldn't remember, but it was worth the risk. He needed her to know that he never stopped thinking about her. But he wasn't ready to explain everything yet. Truthfully, he was just afraid to. He stood up, the stone in hand, and walked toward where she was working.

Betty was still immersed in her article, and hadn't noticed that Jughead left the room. She also hadn't noticed that on his way out, he'd placed the stone on her desk. Twenty minutes later, she was clicking the save button on her document and turned to grab her backpack, when she noticed the stone. Initially confused, she drew closer to it, and her heart skipped a beat in recognition. She reached out to pick it up, rolling it around in her hand. She ran her finger over the faded writing, a smile slowly spreading across her face.