Once they arrived at the bookstore, Veronica assigned Betty the task of stocking books with Jughead. She ushered Betty to the stock room, where Jughead was already working away.

She stood in the doorway. "Hey, Jughead."

He looked up, clutching a copy of The Giving Tree. "Hey! What's up?"

She shrugged. "Not much, really. Went out with Veronica last night, regretted it this morning."

Jughead grinned. "She's like a rubberband. I guess I'll show you the ins and outs of stocking books. It's really simple, just load the boxes onto the cart, and go where the label tells you. We just got a shipment of kids books today."

Betty replied, "Hence The Giving Tree", and smiled.

Jughead and Betty pushed the heavy cart through the aisles, maneuvering it to the back of the bookstore, into the kid's section. Betty looked around the space. "It's so cute. I love the little reading nook in the corner."

Jughead replied, "That's Veronica's little touch. She's been trying to increase foot traffic to the store, and it's working pretty well."

Betty crouched down to shelve a copy of Goodnight Moon, and looked up at Jughead. "I still can't believe you work here. I think the last time we talked was the middle of freshman year, in high school."

Jughead looked down at her. "It's wild, really. You're so different now."

He pulled out a copy of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and chuckled. "Remember when you made me read this in sixth grade?"

Betty acted offended. "Hey, that book is one of Judy Blume's finest works. It's iconic. And you did ask for insight into the female psyche."

Jughead threw his head back and laughed. "Hey, I wanted advice on asking a girl to the winter dance."

Betty smirked. "Remember we did that little book club? And nobody joined except you, Ethel and me?"

Jughead picked up If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and passed it to Betty. "I'd actually tried to forget that. Remember you wouldn't let me pick any books?"

Betty shelved the book. "True. But my book choices were always A-1."

Betty walked back up the front desk, and Veronica waved her over.

"Betty, did I just hear Jughead laughing back there?"

Betty nodded quizzically.

"Betty, I don't think you understand. I've worked with Jughead for the past four months, and never even seen him smile. How?"

Betty shrugged. "I don't know. Just middle school stuff, really."

Veronica shook her head and walked off, still perplexed.

Betty looked at her watch, and realized it was 5: closing time, and clock out time. She sidled up to Veronica, who was counting drawers in the back.

"Hey, Ron. Do I need to do anything before I leave?"

Veronica looked around, and shook her head. "You're good. Lock the door on your way. Make sure to take Jughead with you- he gets so wrapped up in his writing, he would literally sit in the break room and write all night."

Betty stuck her head into the break room, where, sure enough, Jughead was sitting in front of his computer.

"Hey, Jughead. It's quittin' time. I'm under strict instructions not to leave the premises without you."

Jughead looked up, and groaned. "I've been sitting here for three hours, and have made zero progress on this story. I have a case of writer's block."

Betty walked around, and pulled a chair up to the small cafe table. "Can I take a look? I do some tutoring for other people in my major."

Jughead gestured to the blank document on the screen. "By all means. There's not much to see. I don't even have an idea for this prompt. I'm supposed to be writing a romance short story."

He leaned back in his chair, and covered his face with his hands.

Betty felt bad for him, and impulsively said, "You know what you need? A distraction. Come to my place tonight, I'm making dinner for Kevin and Archie tonight. It's board game night."

Jughead raised an eyebrow. "Board game night? Doesn't really sound like my scene."

Betty rolled her eyes. "It's fun! You can catch up with Archie, meet Kevin, and eat delicious food. I'm an amazing cook".

Jughead reluctantly acquiesced. "OK, OK. You've got me. I'm in."