I don't own any of these wonderful characters.
Jughead entered the White Wyrm's back area later that night. It was where the younger members of the Serpents often hung out. Fortunately, he found himself alone.
He felt his blood boiling. He was feeling all sorts of things. He was angry. He felt hurt. After months, he had seen them. He knew that with Riverdale being the size it was he would eventually run into them, but he hadn't been ready. Just seeing them brought up all kinds of emotions.
It had taken everything out of him to not have a meltdown at Pop's. He had gone through the Serpent's initiation the previous night, but the not even the gauntlet compared to how he felt when he locked eyes with her. Her green eyes. Hoping to see her eyes again had given him the strength to drag himself out of the woods. Seeing them now makes a part of him wish he hadn't. Betty hadn't said a word. He was thankful. Her voice might have just tipped him over the edge.
He thought of Archie. Calling out his name. Asking what happened as if he cared. Putting his arm around Betty. He remembered Alice Cooper's words in the hospital. They had probably been on a date.
"Fuck!" He screamed out.
"Woah. You alright there, buddy?" A voice came from behind. He turned to see Toni. He hadn't notice her step into the room.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just hanging out." She took a seat across from him. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Nothing to talk about."
"Oh, come on Jug. I saw the way you looked at that Northside princess. There's history there."
"Exactly. Its history. I'm over it."
"Sure, you are. You're just screaming in frustration cause of something else."
"Toni. Drop it."
"Sorry Jughead. No Serpent stands alone. So, spill."
He sighed. He wasn't going to get out of this as he had hoped. He hadn't really talked to anyone about how he was feeling. Mostly because the two people he would turn to had tossed him aside. He had joined the Serpents, but he kept his walls up. Not letting anyone in. He faced Toni. She sat there patiently waiting. She gave him a kind smile. Fuck it. He might as well.
He told her everything. From the kiss in front of Betty's house to the drive in. He told her about the attack and what Alice had told him in the hospital. She sat there and listened to him. He talked about his mom leaving. She didn't interrupt him or make comments. She just paid attention and absorbed everything he had to say.
"Well, I didn't not expect all that." She said when he finished speaking. He felt good. Venting released some the tension he had. He was glad he was letting it all out. Toni wasn't judging him or expect anything other than what he was. He really appreciated that.
"Listen Jughead" she began. "Life is messed up. We just must accept that and move on. You've gone through some fucked up things in a very short period. Its ok to not be ok. You're angry and you have a right to be. But don't let that anger consume you."
He listened to her words. He was trying to be reasonable, but he was so angry. It was hard to see past everything.
"Let me ask you this Jug, have you talked to either Archie or Betty?"
"No. I don't want to."
"Jughead you said it yourself. They've been your best friends for a really long time. Are you sure you wanna give that up?"
"It wasn't me who gave it up, Toni. They're the ones who tossed me aside. Who decided that I wasn't good enough."
"But it WAS you who chose to accept that without even fighting. You never even tried."
"They had months! They could've reached out, but they didn't care not even when I was lying half dead."
"They reached out tonight" she said calmly. "And you chose to turn away."
"I can't, Toni. I just can't." He felt his eyes start to water. He was hurt. It was painful seeing them.
"I understand, Jug. But you need to be sure before you close that door completely."
Jughead thought about what to do. He was still too angry to talk to them. Perhaps, it was too late. Yes. He knew it was. That door had already been closed. Archie and Betty had slammed it in his face and left him out in the dark and cold. Jughead had always feared his friends and him would drift apart eventually. Alice's words weren't far off the truth. They were from different worlds. Being from the wrong side of the tracks would always be his reality and it caught up to him.
He would make his life in the Southside. He would move on. He would forget them. He would forget her. No matter how much it hurt.
Betty lay awake in bed. The sun would be up soon, and she hadn't been able to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw his face. The way he glared at her. The coldness in his blue eyes. The eyes that she would often fall asleep thinking about now brought her a feeling of unrest. There was hatred and there was nothingness. She kept replaying his words in her head. Jughead Jones was done with her. It was over before it truly began. And she couldn't blame him.
Her eyes stung from crying all night and her head hurt. She felt she deserved it. How badly had she hurt him? There was no way to redeem herself. She couldn't ask him to forgive her. She wished to turn back time. To not leave for Salem. To be able to redo summer and spend every day at his side.
Let him go. She thought to herself. She wasn't good enough. She would only hurt him again. How could she have hoped to deepen their relationship when she couldn't even be a good friend? No. Jughead Jones would certainly fair better off if she wasn't in his life.
She taken everything from him. Even his friendship with Archie had succumbed. That pained her as well. She thought back to how Archie reacted at the diner.
"What the hell was that about?" he asked to no one in particular. His brow furrowed. He was frustrated. "He just blew us off."
"Archieā¦" she was barely able to speak.
"No, Betty" he said harshly. "We've been looking for him for days and then that happens. Screw him."
"Please. Don't get upset too." She pleaded him. In her heart she knew she couldn't fix things with Jughead, but she hoped Archie could. They're friendship was too valuable. She couldn't let that fall apart as well.
"Whatever. It's pretty clear he made new friends." Archie said. "Did you see his jacket Betty?"
She had seen it. She didn't want to believe it at first, but it was clear when he walked away from them. The emblem on his back was clear; Southside Serpents. Jughead joined a gang. She felt a pain in her chest. They abandoned him, and he turned to them for support. It their fault as well. It was clear to her now why he hadn't been at school. He probably transferred to one in the Southside. Just how badly had his life been affected by her leaving him?
Meeting Jughead had been one of the best things to ever happen. Now she wished she never had. Then he could've been spared from all of this. He had been out late at night waiting on her and he got attacked. It had been her mom who kept her from seeing him. This was her fault.
Never again. She wouldn't do anything to hurt him again. She would cut herself from his life. It would save him, even if it killed her.
And so, time passed. Jughead never able to fully move past what happened. Betty determined to let him go. Months passed for both. Lives moving forward in parallel lines. Never intersecting with one another. They would see each other around town, but never spoke. Every day a little easier to not feel. Trying hard to not think about the other but remaining a constant in the back of their mind.
Freshman year of high school came and went. And a rather eventful Summer came to Riverdale. A series of events about to unfold that would lead to an unexpected reunion.
A/N: Super short chapter, I know. This was a bit like an appetizer for whats to come. The next chapter will be posted tomorrow and will be the first step towards the dream that is Bughead. Thank you for sticking with the story so far.
