AU where Jason did not die and as a result, almost none of the events that followed in the series occurred.

Bitter. Betty Cooper was bitter, though she would never admit it out loud. Her demanding parents separated, but did not divorce. This meant that Hal Cooper could be the vindictive ass that he was and bar Alice from her place of employment- the newspaper they owned together- as well as not have any legal requirements to give financial support. They disagreed on what to do about their other daughter's teenage pregnancy. Now that might seem bad enough but with that in mind, Alice had no job to pay the bills and was forced to find a new career. On top of that, her new job didn't overcompensate for Hal not being forced to give so much of a dime to help keep a roof over his own daughters' head. So Betty was forced to get a job at Pop's.

In the mornings, she served her father boiling coffee as he seemed pleased at the less than ideal situation they were caught in because of him. He always made sure Betty knew it was Alice's fault for not surrendering in their battle of wills. After school, she served the football crowd and had to deal with the occasional sexual harrassment. She was told it was a "hazard of the job" but boy did she hate it. Something about "six points" in some weird game they had really flared her otherwise well-controlled temper.

The only upside of the job was she had a little money to herself. On her days off she went to a little hole-in-the-wall book store called The Book Nook. She spent almost all her extra cash on books from there. Her cashier smiled up at his regular customer.

Jughead Jones had been working there since his previous place of employment had been demolished by Betty's neighbor, Mr Andrews. This worked out for Jughead because there was an apartment he rented right above the store and he loved books just as much as he loved classic movies.

As kids, Betty used to hangout with Jughead and their mutual friend Archie Andrews but he had become more withdrawn in the past year and she felt this dissonance of him being both a friend and a stranger.

Jughead had a similar setup with Pop's. At work, he was allowed to read the books for free, so his pocket change went to Pop's where their roles were switched. She poured his coffee, as dark and bitter as he was. It became a sort of comfort, being in each other's company so often, even amongst all the chaos. Like a rock in the storm. Even if the most they had said in months went along the lines or "Can I take your order?" "A burger, fries, and coffee- black."

But today was different. Today, roles were reversed yet again. Betty ended up at her favourite store, but cried as she put Desdemona by Toni Morrison back on the shelf. She could not afford it. She came here out of comfort, not to buy the next book on her wishlist.

The boy at the counter looked around and left the till. "Don't worry about it, it's on me," Jughead said as he took the book back off the shelf and passed it back to her.

She looked up at him, eyes glimmering but a small smile coming out. "Thanks Juggie." His heart fluttered at the use of his old nickname. If he was being honest, he wouldn't let anyone else get away with calling him that.

"What's going on, Betty? It's so unlike you to cry in public."

In public. It was the small ways Jughead noticed her humanity, and she appreciated that.

"You may have noticed that I work at Pop's these days. I mean, I serve you burgers practically every day, but you may not be aware of why. Probably assumed it was for book money or to build character." She took a deep breath and carried on. "The truth is, my dad tried to force my sister into having an abortion. My mom, however, wanted Polly to have a say. Well, a say between an abortion or adoption. Neither of them were too keen on her keeping the baby for herself. Apparently my dad tried to do it behind her back and I guess that's a sore spot for her so she threw him out of the house and he locked her out of our now smaller family's access to income. With her making less and no help from dad, I have had to work just to make the mortgage payments, but with Polly's medical bills we have fallen behind... the house is being foreclosed upon and we are going to be homeless. You're the only one outside family who I've talked to about this."

He froze. Homeless. Just a few months ago, that's what he had been and now the tables were turned and it was Betty who was losing everything. Nobody would have guessed this. He came from a vulnerable and broken home on the south side of town and she didn't. He pulled her into a hug and let her sob into his chest like she did when they were kids. He awkwardly patted her back, in a move he hoped would be comforting, and she just held on tighter.

"I don't have the space for everyone, but you're always become so stay upstairs with me if you want. I rent the apartment above the business." Jughead blushed, embarrassed by his proposal that seemed to come out of nowhere. Jughead always had a soft spot for Betty. "I know that's kind of weird since we don't really talk anymore, but I'll always still be your friend, Betty."

She closed her eyes. Betty Cooper was a good girl. She was expected to be perfect, without flaw. The last time she got an A- on a paper, her parents yelled at her and she locked herself in her room for the night. Her hair. Her makeup. Her writing. Never a thing out of place.

But things were wrong and she was wrong and she couldn't keep up the illusion anymore. She couldn't be perfect anymore. "I know, that's why I made sure your usual table was in my section at work. And you know what, sure. Is tomorrow too soon to move in?" Her eyes giggled with excitement and without meaning to, he leaned in and kissed her.

"I would have moved tables if you weren't my server, Bets." Suddenly the bell chimed and another customer came in, interrupting their "moment". It was Jason, coming to tell Betty that Polly would be moving in with them. All that was left was to find a place for Alice to live and the family would survive. It would be fractured, but not broken.

The next day Jughead spent the whole day eating burgers and fries at Pop's. On Betty's break, he bought her a vanilla milkshake. At the end, they left together and he helped pack her room. She had so much more stuff than he did so he packed up his room as well and just moved into the common area, giving her the room with privacy to keep all her things. He didn't mind. He knew if their situations were flipped and Alice or Hal weren't in her way, she'd do the same for him.

Despite their new living situation and the kiss they shared downstairs, Jughead and Betty didn't start dating until many months later, after someone implied that they were. But the change felt natural and not awkward in the face of becoming slightly more than co-ed roommates.

It wasn't a perfect love story by any means, but ultimately, they found a home with each other and build a house around it.