Two chapters at once! This one is shorter than previous chapters but it just felt too long to include this scene with the previous one. This is the big convo, but I'll be expanding on it as the story continues. I hope it lives up to all of your expectations ;)

Betty felt a strong sense of déjà vu. This walk from Pop's was a lot like the last walk they shared a few years back. The night that everything changed between them. The last time they'd seen each other. Betty wondered if Jughead was aware of this fact, when he said quietly, "It's like déjà vu, huh?"

She smiled, "It does feel a bit familiar." Betty's arm brushed against his and her heart started racing. She couldn't handle the tension anymore. They'd only walked for a few minutes when Betty suddenly stopped. Jughead took a step forward before realizing that Betty had stopped, and he turned back to her, looking at his feet.

Betty waited for him to meet her eyes. Pulling her hand out of her coat pocket, she showed him her open hand. "You kept it."

Jughead looked at the rock in her hand, and then back up to meet her gaze. "Of course I did," Jughead replied quietly. "It was from you."

Betty's cheeks burned, and her heart was beating wildly. From Jughead's rapid breaths, she imagined that his was as well. "Juggie," she started. She took a deep breath. "I feel like, for some reason, I don't have the right to ask this because you haven't brought it up…but I need to know. What happened that day…after we…" she trailed off, scared to say it aloud.

Jughead let out a deep sigh, removing his crown hat and running his hand through his hair. Incidentally, Betty had rarely seen him without his signature hat. "Betts, I…I owe you an explanation. You more than anyone else. First, about this morning—I panicked, I completely freaked out when your face was the first one I saw. You have to believe me, I was so excited to see you...but then, I guess I wasn't ready…" he paused. "It's just that the last time we saw each other, we…"

"You kissed me Jug," Betty interjected. "We kissed. And then you disappeared." Jughead closed his eyes, knowing the pain he caused her. Betty continued, "And then you show up again, out of the blue. And I don't know how to be around you. You were my best friend Juggie, I…" She looked down at her feet, a tear sliding slowly down her cheek. Jughead took a step toward her and reached out his hand to comfort her, but stopped himself. She looked back up to his face, her face completely vulnerable, showing every emotion. "I've missed you Juggie," she said quietly.

Jughead's heart broke in that moment. Jughead smiled sadly, "Betty I've missed you too. I'm so sorry for what I did to you. How I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you." He hesitated for just a moment, then reached for her, not stopping himself this time. He pulled her into a hug, enveloping her in his arms. She was stiff in his arms, unsure of how to respond, but slowly she relaxed into the embrace, bringing her arms to wrap around his back. They could feel each other's hearts racing.

"Jug?" she asked hesitantly, speaking into his neck. She pulled back so that she could look at his face. He held her gaze, knowing what she was about to ask. "Where have you been these last four years? What happened to you?" Betty asked hopefully.

He took a deep breath, and took a step back. "Betty, you have to know that I didn't want to leave Riverdale. I didn't want to leave you. But something happened…I had to get away before things got worse." He paused, gathering his thoughts. This was harder than he thought it was going to be. "You know that my childhood wasn't great right?" She nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Well, I never really told you a lot of details. That was purposeful. Partly because you and Archie were a separate part of my life, the part that made me happy and like I mattered to someone. And partly because I wanted to protect you guys from the crazy crap show that is my home life. Anyway, long story short, my dad got involved in some pretty dark stuff; like illegal activity, and he pissed some pretty bad people off."

Betty eyes were wide, trying to understand everything that he was telling her. Jughead noticed her reaction and he backpedaled, clarifying, "My dad isn't a horrible guy Betty, I swear. He's made a lot of mistakes, and he hasn't always been there for me, but he's still my dad you know?"

Betty nodded, "I get it Jug." She gave his forearm a comforting squeeze. "Go on."

Jughead continued, wringing his hat in his hands. "Anyway, so he got caught up in something really bad, and turned these guys in for…well, somebody died because of these other guys. So my dad turned them in. And they found out."

Jughead heard Betty gasp, and he looked at her remorsefully. She thinks I'm crazy. She's never going to speak to me again. But then Betty smiled at him, encouraging him to continue. "So, that day, the day that we…kissed, um, somebody tipped my dad off that these guys were coming for him. I got a call from him that he'd packed up my stuff and he was sending me to my mom's in Ohio that night. To protect me. And I couldn't tell you...because I needed to protect you."

"I'm back now because the guys after my dad were just convicted and sentenced to life in prison…" he paused, shaking his head and laughing. Betty had put her hand on his forearm again, and he stared at her hand for a moment. Looking back up at her he continued, "It sounds overly dramatic, like a soap opera, even to me. Sometimes I can't even believe it's real. But this is my crazy, screwed up life. And I didn't want to drag you into it…anymore than I already had. You were, are, too good for that."

"Juggie," she started, waiting for him to look at her. "Thank you. Thank you for trying to protect me. But can I tell you something? I don't need to be protected, from anything about you. I want to know you." She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. "All of you Jug. I always have. Okay?"

Jughead closed his eyes, taking in the feel of her hand on his face. "I hadn't planned on kissing you Betts. I knew that I was leaving, that I might never see you again. And we'd been kind of dancing around our feelings for awhile…I just needed you to know how I felt. I needed to know how you felt about me. So I kissed you." He smiled before continuing, "And then you kissed me back Betty. And it was incredible." Betty returned his smile, blushing furiously. Jughead put both of his hands on her shoulders. "Walking away from you that day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

With tears in her eyes, she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him against her body. His hand cradled the back of her head as he inhaled the smell of her shampoo, and he could feel the warmth of her breath on his neck.

"There's one more thing." He pulled back slightly, but kept his hands on her waist. "Something I've tried my whole life to keep under wraps." Betty's eyebrows drew up in concern.

"Betty, my dad is a Southside Serpent," he paused, gauging her reaction. When she didn't respond, he added, "and so am I."

A/N: I'd love to hear what you all think!