As always, thank you to everyone who commented, I love reading your opinions and guesses on what happens next. So please, keep them coming :)
The following morning Betty comes to work with more enthusiasm than she's had since she first started the job. She didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night because her mind kept wandering back to what they found at the restaurant as well as what they could've missed. She wishes she had had more time to look around, but despite that she has a good feeling about the mission. It has reminded her why she decided to study journalism in the first place and while her current job hasn't allowed her to do much of what she truly enjoys, she's pretty positive this might be the turning point she's been hoping for.
When Jughead finally arrives to work it's an hour later than he's supposed to be there, but given the fact that he managed to turn off his alarm without even waking up he assumes it's a success he was able to wake up before noon. All the credit for that has to go to his sister, who overnight decided she is going to move out of the apartment she was sharing with her boyfriend and her backstabbing friend and will continue to crash with Jughead at least until her semester ends.
"Do you have any concept of time?" Betty's voice startles him, not noticing she's sitting in his office chair until he gets to his desk.
"Geez, what are you doing here?" he asks in confusion. The decision to go over their newly found evidence seemed to have slipped his mind in the rush of the morning.
"The photos, the evidence, restaurant. Does that ring any bell?" Betty raises her eyebrows, wondering how Jughead isn't buzzing with excitement and instead looks like he just rolled out of bed. Not that it doesn't look good on him. But that's a thought for another day. Or better yet, never.
"Right, right." Jughead rubs his face, trying to chase the sleepiness away, the coffee JB made him to go not quite kicking in yet.
"Okay, let's look at it." She claps her hands in excitement and starts opening the photos with a few clicks of the mouse.
"Will you at least let me in my chair?"
"Nope." She shakes her head and a playful smile forms on her lips.
"So they're buying food that is of low quality if not dangerous to save money, just so they have to pay off the authorities to even keep the restaurant open?" Betty reads of her notepad that is covered in arrows and bubbles she drew in her attempt to connect all the information they've gathered during their sleuthing mission.
As it turned out, the documents Betty took pictures of the previous night contained information of several different deals that the owner of the restaurant made, ranging from wrong to illegal. "Why would they do that? And why would they even keep the documents of that where anyone can find them?"
"Because they're fucking idiots?" Jughead shrugs his shoulders, unable to come up with a better response. "The guy probably didn't account for someone with Nancy Drew skills to break in and look through his stuff that easily." He grins, his mind wandering back to the moment when Betty used her hair accessory to break into a locked office. Something he's still equally baffled and impressed by.
"You certainly didn't." Betty smirks and winks at him, instantly regretting the decision. She didn't want it to seem like she was flirting. Or did she? No, it's still Jughead. I hate him. She mentally scolds herself and tries to remember what they were talking about.
Jughead stares at her silently for a few seconds, trying to decipher her actions. Is she flirting? Does he want her to? "Anyway," he says after a moment and shakes his head, willing the thoughts away. "I guess they've must've had some profit from it at least."
"Money, the almighty motivator." Betty sighs and starts rubbing her temples, hoping to come up with a better reason for making dozens of people sick than earning extra money.
"Isn't it always?" He sinks deeper into his chair and taps his pen against his own notepad as he tries to think of a different theory. Just like Betty he wishes the reasoning behind all of this mess was better than the fact that one greedy, morally inept asshole thought he could get away with using food that wasn't fit for consumption.
"I thought cracking the case would feel more..." Betty trails off, not sure how exactly to express her disappointment.
"Satisfying?" Jughead finishes for her and she nods. "Yeah, me too."
It takes them several days and a few calls to the authorities to pull all the information together. As it not only exposes the restaurant and its manager, but also the people who were supplying the restaurant with ingredients of unsatisfying quality, the articles turns out to be much longer than either of them expected at the beginning. They work side by side for hours, but aside from bickering about who should cover which part of the story they are both surprised by how easy it is for them to cooperate for once. As it turns out, Betty has a great eye for detail, catching all the unnecessary semicolons that Jughead likes to use so much and nudging him in the right direction, while he has a knack for capturing the harsh reality of the story in a way that even their boss shouldn't be able to criticize.
"Why did he call us here if he's making us wait now?" Jughead groans as he and Betty sit outside of Weatherbee's office. While their boss was very supportive of the idea of writing an article about a restaurant that was causing a lot of people to fall sick, Jughead started getting nervous that in the end he wouldn't like the final result and wouldn't allow it to be published. After all, he usually tries to control all the content Jughead puts out, making sure his reviews are as positive as possible to not offend anyone. Jughead hates the censorship, but for now it's the best way to earn living by doing what he enjoys. So when Weatherbee called them to their office to discuss their work just to let them wait outside for half an hour, Jughead can't help feeling more and more nervous. He doesn't want all the hard work to come to nothing, but especially, he doesn't want the truth they discovered to stay hidden.
"It can't be anything good, can it?" Betty asks, trying not to let her anxiety show as she grips the armrests of her chair until her knuckles are white. A couple of years ago the palms of her hands would be covered in blood by now, but she's determined to not fall back down that hole again. No matter how stressful or nerve-wracking her job gets.
Jughead notices the way Betty is clenching her fingers around the armrest in nervousness and almost reaches out to comfort her before deciding against it. "No matter what he says, I won't let him stop us from publishing this story. We worked hard on this and people deserve to know the truth," he says with determination. He has never put this much time and effort into an article. Never been this passionate about his job. He sure as hell won't let anyone stop him now.
Betty gives him a brief nod, silently agreeing to support his decision. She knows this might be the defining moment in her career. The article that helps her to finally move forward what she actually wants to do rather than work on the stuff that nobody cares about. The make it or break it moment.
Betty's thoughts are interrupted when a dark haired woman strolls towards her, calling her name in an annoying sing-song tone. "Hey, Betty, I'm sorry to bother you," she starts, pulling a fake apologetic face. "But I really don't think I'll be able to finish editing that article by deadline. I need to take my cat to the vet today because she's terribly sick. Would you mind finishing it for me?"
"Oh, no, poor cat." Betty clutches her hand to her chest. "Of course, I'll get right…"
"She can't," Jughead interrupts them before Betty has a chance to agree to do their coworker's job for her. "Sorry, Ginger." He shrugs in apology, though the grin on his face says he's not sorry at all. "Do your own work for once."
"But…" Ginger says, taken aback. "I can't… I have to…"
"You'll figure it out." Jughead waves his hand at her, letting her know that their conversation is over.
"What are you doing?" Betty turns to him with an annoyed look on her face. "She needed help."
"No, she didn't." Jughead shakes his head. "She comes to you at least twice a month, saying she can't make the deadline because she knows you'll do it for her. She's using you and you don't even realize it."
"I…" Betty starts, trying to defend herself, but she knows Jughead is right. By now, everyone in the office know that she is the go-to girl if they need any kind of help. And Betty, in her attempt to be always nice and helpful, ends up offering to do it for them.
Her thoughts are interrupted once again when their boss finally opens the door to call them inside. "Miss Cooper, Mr. Jones, come in," he says and Betty and Jughead exchange a nervous look before bolting from their seats and stepping inside the office.
"A series of articles?" Jughead repeats Weatherbee's words to make sure he didn't just dream them. Just a few minutes ago he was worrying that the head of Clickfeed wouldn't be interested in the article that he and Betty worked on for weeks and he was preparing himself for the inevitable disappointment. But instead he is asking them to write more stuff in which they could uncover dirty business going on behind the closed doors of New York restaurants and fast foods.
"Well of course only if you're interested in that. And if this article gets the amount of attention I predict it will," Weatherbee adds after a second. "But I'm very optimistic about it."
"We'll definitely consider it," Betty replies quickly, as if hesitation may change Weatherbee's mind. She has no idea whether Jughead is interested in continuing to work with her or even in pursuing investigative journalism. After all, he has seemed pretty content with writing his food reviews so far. But Betty knows she can't let this opportunity slip through her fingers.
"Great. If you don't have any further questions, that's all from me."
"Oh my god," Jughead whispers once they leave Weatherbee's office, still baffled about what just happened.
"We did it!" Betty squeals excitedly and throws her arms around Jughead. She was trying to suppress her feelings in front of their boss, but once the door of his office closed, her happiness came out. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're definitely not a hug person." Betty blushes, realizing that wrapping her arms around Jughead in her wave of happiness probably wasn't the right thing to do. She pulls away slightly, though her hands still linger on his arms. Where did he get all that muscle from? She wonders, feeling the firm biceps under her fingers that make her forget the reason she hugged him in the first place.
"I uh..." Jughead mutters, his brain unable to string a coherent sentence as his eyes rest on Betty's lips. Full, pink and perfectly kissable. Oh how much he wants to kiss them. She must be wearing some sort of mind numbing perfume because when she stands this close to him he's not able to think straight. Or perhaps it's just the wide smile that is currently spread across her face. He doesn't think he has ever seen her look so happy and even if he only had a tiny role in making her feel this way, a small part of him feels satisfied. Which only confuses him more. "No, it's okay. I don't mind," he finally manages to let out something resembling an answer but she still pulls away, dropping her hands, suddenly unsure what to do with them.
"I'm just… excited. I didn't think... I didn't expect him to like it so much. And a series of articles? I just… This is what I've been waiting for the whole time but I'm also overwhelmed and…" she rambles on nervously and Jughead bites back a laugh. The only words he could use to describe her at that moment is adorable. He never thought it's a quality he would find attractive, especially with regards to Betty, but today is a day of many firsts.
He touches her arm gently and she finally stops talking, her gaze meeting his and he notices her eyes are sparkling even more than usually. "It's gonna be great." Jughead smiles, finally letting it all sink in and for once he actually believes it.
After weeks of spending long hours in the office, trying to piece bits of information together into more or less possible theories Jughead feels like he finally deserves to leave early. So when the clock strikes three, he quickly gathers all his stuff into a messenger bag and quickly checks his desk one more time before heading towards the exit. "Jughead, wait!" He hears the familiar voice the second his hand touches the doorknob.
"What's up? Weatherbee didn't change his mind, did he?" he asks, slightly worried. It would be typical for things to go to shit the moment something goes well for him.
"No, thank god. He still seems just as enthusiastic about it as he was this morning." Betty smiles at him reassuringly. "This has nothing to do with him."
"Okay, I'm listening." He adjusts the strap on his shoulder and cocks his head to the side, watching as Betty nervously pulls on the sleeve of her cardigan.
"I was thinking... Now that the article is finished, we may go for a real dinner. To a proper safe restaurant." Air gets stuck in Jughead's lungs and he can't hide the surprise on his face. Is Betty Cooper asking him on a date? No, that surely couldn't be right. "As a celebration. And maybe, a peace offering," she adds quickly.
Ever since they started working on the article together, Betty has felt that Jughead was warming up to her presence. His insults and their fights growing further and further apart. She may have been imagining it, or maybe for once he was trying to be a professional and put his hate for her aside for the sake of his work. But if there was a chance that they could stop the childish war against them, she wanted to take that chance. Now that she sees the blank stare on his face, she's starting to doubt that decision. He probably can't wait to get away from you. A pang of insecurity squeezes her chest.
"Peace offering?" Jughead raises his eyebrows in surprise, ignoring the pang of disappointment in his chest. Of course she doesn't want to go on a date with you, you idiot. He gives himself a mental slap and tries to focus back on her question. While he definitely felt a shift in his feelings towards during the last few weeks, a part of him expected things to go back to how they were before. Of course now with the possibility of them working together continuing into the future, it only made sense she would try to put a stop to their constant fighting.
"I hate to admit it, but in the end we seemed to work pretty well together," she says, trying to appear nonchalant. If her turns her down, she can't let her disappointment show. "Maybe if we put more effort into that and less into actively hating each other, we could get out of this shit hole one day."
Jughead laughs at her choice of words, but completely understands what she means. Clickfeed is certainly not the place where he imagines himself in five years. And if Betty can help him get out of there, so be it. "I guess I can give it a try." He shrugs his shoulders, a small smile spreading on his lips. "I suppose we may be working together a lot in the near future. Besides, I can never say no to a free dinner."
"I never said it was my treat." Betty crosses her arms and scowls at him playfully, weight suddenly lifted off her chest.
"Too late. I already agreed to it." He gives her a cheeky grin and she rolls her eyes. "And I'm picking the restaurant."
"I'll be expecting the best then," she says with a wink, this time more than deliberate, and Jughead suddenly feels his face growing hot. Betty Cooper is making him feel things he's not sure how to deal with but maybe it's time he does.
So, Betty and Jughead are planning to go on another not date date, what will it entail? Will they finally admit their feelings? Let me know what you think ;)