A/N: Sooooo it's been a minute. I'm gonna skip the apologies and let the chapter do that for me.

Light streamed in through Jughead's dark curtains the next morning, waking Betty from an otherwise peaceful nights sleep. She groggily lifted her head, blinking in the sudden sunlight. Turning over to look at Jughead, she saw that he was still peacefully asleep.

Resting her head in the crook of her arm, Betty settled into the mattress, staring at her bedmate unabashedly. While asleep, she could see how young Jughead really was. He was peaceful and quiet in these moments, nothing like the on-edge, cautious version of himself he presented to the world.

Betty inched her hand forward, skimming her knuckle down his cheek. He hummed his approval, sleepily burrowing further into the mattress and moving instinctually toward her. Betty let out a shuddering breath she hadn't realized she was holding, a sinking feeling low in her stomach.

Sitting up abruptly, Betty ran her fingers through her hair. Quietly easing herself off of the bed, she tiptoed out the door, careful not to look back at Jughead.

Slinking down the stairs, Betty's heart was racing. What was she doing? She had just slept over at a boy's house. A boy that wasn't her boyfriend. A boy that she had known for less than a month.

Betty had always been a slow and steady kind of girl – always a marathon, never a sprint. She didn't rush into things headfirst, and she certainly didn't do something without weighing all the possible pros and cons.

But this new relationship with Jughead? This was uncharted territory.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Betty paused to consider her options. She could leave now and make excuses later. It was a quick walk back to her dorm, and she could easily justify her hasty exit with an overdue essay or an article with an impending deadline.

But that option left a sinking feeling in her chest. Jughead had asked her not to leave. She wanted to respect his boundaries and his feelings – it was clearly hard for him to open up to people the way he had to her last night.

Her other option was to stay. Stay and ignore the flashing warning signs in her head that this was too fast, that being with another person wasn't supposed to be this easy. She could ignore everything she thought she knew about relationships, set her shoulders, go back upstairs, and climb back into bed with the cute boy who genuinely liked her.

But why did that scenario leave her with shaky hands and an overwhelming sense of being in over her head?

"Betty?" a confused voice called from the kitchen.

Quickly composing herself as best as she could, she turned. Veronica was standing in the kitchen doorway holding a cup of coffee, looking at her expectantly. Her expression changed to concern when she saw Betty's look of sheer panic.

Setting down her mug calmly on the table, Veronica gathered her coat and purse. Betty could see her kiss Archie goodbye, squeezing his shoulder and whispering something in his ear. The sight made Betty's heart ache.

"Let's go home." Veronica said, gently circling her fingers around Betty's wrist. Betty followed numbly out the door to the cool spring morning, climbing into her roommate's car in a matter of seconds.

"Did he hurt you?" Veronica asked immediately, gripping the wheel and glaring daggers at the shabby front door they had just exited. "I swear to god Betty, I'll rip his –"

"No," Betty sighed, already feeling guilty. "Nothing happened, V."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Betty said firmly. She didn't want there to be any misunderstanding. "He's perfect. I'm just… not."

"Betty…" Veronica looked away from the road, but Betty refused to meet her eyes.

Yes, Jughead was secretive and flawed, coming with a whole slew of family drama and mystery. But Betty couldn't help but feel that her backstory and experiences would make Jughead the open and communicative one in their relationship.

She wasn't good enough for him. It was as simple as that.

"I know it's hard to see right now," Veronica said lowly, pulling into the dorm parking lot. "But you're incredible, Bets. Strong, independent… I understand why you feel this way, but it makes me so sad that feeling inadequate is your first thought." She paused, pulling into a parking spot. "Of course you don't need a boy to be complete. But if you wanted to try again, Jughead is a really good one."

Betty sniffed, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She felt a sudden wave of gratitude for Veronica, and practically lunged at her unsuspecting friend for a bone-crushing hug. Nuzzling her face into the brunette's shoulder, Betty let out a shaky breath.

"Love you, B." Veronica said, squeezing her friend protectively. "If he ever hurts you, I'll kill him."

Betty laughed, pulling away from her best friend and wiping her eyes. "The thing is, I believe you."

Veronica just smiled calmly, flipping her sunglasses down on the bridge of her nose and getting gracefully out of the car.


Groaning, Betty slammed her laptop shut and flopped back onto her pillows. She had been re-working the same story about a recent scandal involving the business school's dean for the past two hours, and nothing about it seemed to be flowing. She had hit a plateau, and it was frustrating beyond belief.

Particularly because she was really only writing to keep her thoughts off of a certain broody, dark-haired boy that had been on the forefront of her mind all day.

"You've been working on that story for two hours now." Veronica said calmly, looking up at her disgruntled roommate amusedly. "Come eat a banana with me and take a second to recharge."

"Why bananas?" Betty asked half-heartedly, pulling herself off of her bed only to drop immediately onto Veronica's.

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. "It's always what my mom made me do. I think it was just an excuse to get me to eat more fruit. But hey, it works for me."

Betty laughed, unpeeling her banana thoughtfully. "The timeline just doesn't make sense. If there was going to be embezzlement, wouldn't it have occurred before –"

"Betty," Veronica interrupted, fixing her roommate with a look. "You can't just ignore what happened last night. You're using this as a distraction."

"It's not a distraction if it's my job."

Veronica just raised an eyebrow. Betty sighed. She knew that Veronica loved her and only wanted what was best, but sometimes she really wished her best friend didn't know her so well.

"You know, life would be so much easier if you just let me bury my feelings and continue to be emotionally unavailable." Betty said accusingly, tossing her peel half-heartedly in the direction of the trashcan. She missed by a mile.

"Yeah, but what fun would that be for me?" Veronica smiled, but quickly turned pensive. "I'm just worried about you, B. I don't want you to miss out on something great because you're scared of getting hurt."

"It's not just that," Betty sighed. She felt weighed down. "I'm not scared of getting hurt. I can handle that."

"Well then what are you so afraid of?"

"I don't know!" The blonde exclaimed, suddenly frustrated. "I wish I knew! All I know is that every time I let someone get close to me, I end up alone again at the end."

"Alone and hurt." Veronica said, her eyebrows furrowed. Betty nodded. "I know this is going to sound corny, but you're not alone. You have me, Polly, school… you're not the same girl you were in High School."

Betty scoffed. "Sometimes it feels like I am."

Veronica smiled sympathetically. "You're not, B. You're so strong. You're doing this all on your own, and you're kicking ass. You've come such a long way."

The two girls lapsed into silence, Betty lost in thought and Veronica not wanting to press her friend any further.

"I guess," Betty said slowly, staring off into space. "I'm mostly afraid that I'm not strong enough to pick myself back up again… if something did happen." She paused, not daring to look at Veronica. "I already had to do it once. I don't know if I could do it again."

Veronica opened her mouth to speak, but Betty cut her off.

"And don't say it's not a possibility I'll get hurt, because it is. It always is. Everyone thought that it was impossible last time, but we saw how that ended, right?" Betty paused, taking a deep breath. It felt cleansing to vent like this. "And I'm just… so tired of being terrified all the time. I don't want to be scared, but I am. I don't know how not to be. Jughead deserves someone who can be normal, and well adjusted, and that will just never be me."

Betty's rant was met with a silent room and a taken aback Veronica. But just as she opened her mouth to respond to her roommate, there was a hesitant knock on the door.

Confused, Betty glanced at Veronica, who appeared just as startled as she did. Thankfully, Veronica got up and answered the door, giving Betty the opportunity to take a few deep breaths. Usually this amount of personal reflection would result in a panic attack. But today she felt lighter because of it.

Veronica flung the door open, already prepared to tell the unwelcome intruder to go away. However, once she saw the distinctive beanie on the other side, her mouth snapped shut.

"Oh, hey Jughead." She said, glancing back at Betty. Betty looked up, aghast. Jughead just looked confused. "I think I need to go… buy more bananas." Veronica said, scrambling for an exit plan. Betty looked on in horror as Jughead stepped into the room and Veronica left, casting one last excited look over her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Jughead asked after a pregnant pause, leaning against her bed and crossing his arms.

"Why is everyone asking me that today?" Betty huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Probably because when I woke up this morning you were gone, and Archie happened to mention an extremely hasty exit by his girlfriend. I can put two and two together."

Betty shrank onto Veronica's mattress, wincing. She really did sound like a fratboy douche, sneaking out before morning came.

"Hey," Jughead said, more gently. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like an asshole. I was worried. I wasn't sure if you were okay, and you left your phone at my house."

Betty nodded, still feeling a little raw. She felt Jughead move closer, and after some hesitancy, a hand cup her cheek.

"But… are you?" He asked, his brow furrowed. "Okay?"

"I think?" Betty said, looking up at him. "I feel fine now. It's just been a lot for me to take in."

Jughead's expression turned to one of understanding. "I know. The fights can be really intense at first. Don't feel like you have to come to the one tomorrow, I'll understand if you want to skip it."

Betty grimaced, trying to hide her expression. She didn't know how to tell him that her trepidation wasn't about the fights at all. She had come to terms with that side of his life. Really, she was anxious about him.

"Betty? What is it?"

She groaned, falling back on to Veronica's bed and pressing her palms to her eyes. Jughead chuckled, but in a forced way that made her feel even worse.

"Scooch over." Without opening her eyes, Betty moved closer to the wall, making enough room for both of them on the bed. Hesitantly, Jughead laid down, careful not to touch her, but close enough that she could feel his body heat.

Betty sighed, moving closer to Jughead after a moment's hesitation. Burrowing her nose in his neck and wrapping her arms around him, she could feel him relax. They stayed like that for a few moments while Betty tried to sort through how she wanted to express her feelings.

"I'm not very good at relationships." She said slowly. Jughead stopped the rhythmic rubbing of her back that she hadn't noticed he started. "I haven't been in one since high school, and it didn't… It didn't end well."

"We can go slow," Jughead said after a pause. "I don't need anything right now. What we have at the moment is good."

"Yeah it is, but I think you deserve better. In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty fucked up."

"Please," Jughead scoffed, trying to lighten the mood. "More fucked up than an absentee mother and a father I have to pay to stay away from me?"

Betty sighed, looking up at Jughead for the first time. "Yeah."

"Oh." Jughead said. He looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "Betty, you're what I want. There's no one better, but even if there were, I wouldn't want them because you're who I want to spend my time with. I haven't opened up to anyone the way I opened up to you in a long time. That was special for me."

"I know, but it's just…" Betty sighed, frustrated. Why was everything so black and white for him? "What if in the end, I'm not what you want?"

"But you are." Jughead said definitively. The pair sank into a deep silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"I think we're good for each other." Jughead said. "And I want to keep trying. We don't have to label it if you're not comfortable. But… I think we could be really good for each other."

Betty paused, considering the options. He had managed to come up with a retort for every one of her concerns. At this point, she knew what she was jumping into.

"Okay." Betty finally replied.

Jughead smiled, pulling her closer and resting his chin on the top of her head. Betty was just about ready to fall asleep when she remembered something.

"Just so you know," She said, her voice muffled. "This is Veronica's bed."

Jughead groaned.


The next night at the Thornhill Estate, Betty couldn't believe that she had ever thought the Rages could be captured in an 1800 word piece for the school newspaper.

There were people everywhere she looked – in the empty in ground pool, on the mansion's deck, littering the woods. It seemed that everyone in town had shown up for this fight. She sipped on her warm beer, taking in the sights safely sandwiched between Josie and Veronica.

"Why are there so many more people here than at the last one?" Betty asked, to no one in particular.

Josie shrugged absentmindedly, scanning the tree line. "Sometimes Jughead and Archie think that a fight is high profile, so they send out more invitations. More people, more bets. More money the house can collect at the end of the night."

Betty nodded. Looking around nervously, she couldn't help but feel a different vibe in the air. While the last fight had definitely been tense and anxiety inducing, this was a whole different level. It seemed like everyone was on edge this time.

"So why is there –"

Betty's question was cut off by Kevin, who appeared ashen faced and worried at Veronica's elbow.

"He's going through with it," he moaned, gripping Veronica's hand. She pat his shoulder sympathetically. "He's an idiot! He'll get eaten alive."

"What?" Betty asked. "Who?"

"His boyfriend, Joaquin." Veronica replied, drawing Kevin into their close-knit circle. "He's up against one of the most aggressive Centerville fighters tonight."

"I tried to warn him," Kevin said, shaking his head. Now he just looked angry. "But all that matters to him is his reputation. No regard to his own personal wellbeing."

All three girls murmured their sympathies, Veronica eventually leading Kevin away to get a drink to calm down. Betty and Josie stood at the edge of the pool alone, watching the rest of the crowd mill around.

"It's not really dangerous though, right?" Betty asked abruptly, looking at Josie. "I mean… no one's ever gotten seriously injured?"

Josie laughed, breaking out of her reverie to give Betty an incredulous look. "What about Jughead makes you think this isn't dangerous?"

Betty smiled wryly, sighing. "You're right," she said. "I guess it was just wishful thinking."

"I'm sorry for being short," Josie sighed, shaking her head and sitting at the edge of the pool. Betty followed suit. "This fight is just really important for us. The Rages haven't been doing as well lately, and we're all stretched a little thin."

Betty nodded her understanding, frowning. If this was a slow night, then what did a profitable one look like?

"Hello ladies," a voice behind them said. Archie dropped down next to Betty, handing each of them another drink. "Any idea where my girlfriend went?"

"She's calming down Kevin." Josie said shortly, glaring at Archie. He got her implication immediately.

"C'mon, Josie." Archie said, rolling his eyes. "Joaquin is an adult. He can make his own decisions."

"Yeah, you try saying no to five G's and tell me how much of that decision felt like your own." Josie muttered, taking a sip of her beer.

Betty shook her head, not in a place to judge.

"Who are the fighters tonight?" She asked Archie, trying to lessen the tension.

"Well, we have Joaquin, obviously," he said, ignoring Josie's eye roll. "He's over there on the porch."

Archie pointed out a slight, but muscular man of average height standing alone on the porch. He looked anxious and on edge. Betty looked at him shrewdly. He could be a decent fighter.

"And then there's Reggie, from Centerville." Archie pointed into the pool, where a tall, jock-type boy was relaxing on the steps, drinking a beer. Betty could see why her friends were concerned.

"Wow." Betty said. She paused and looked at both objectively, flitting between the two men. For some reason, she had a feeling about Joaquin. "I still think Joaquin is going to pull it out."

Josie and Archie both laughed, looking at her in shock.

"Don't get me wrong," she said defensively. "It'll be a tough fight. But look at them. Joaquin looks like he'd do anything to win. Reggie just looks like this is another night on the football field."

"We want him to win too, Bets." Archie said. "It's just a little more complicated than that."

"I just don't think it is. Whoever wants it more will do whatever it takes to get it, and that's that."

Neither Josie nor Archie looked very convinced. Rolling her eyes, Betty dug through her purse.

"Fine, what are the odds on Joaquin?" She asked Archie.

"About three to one."

"Great, I want twenty on him to win."

"Okay, fine Betty." Archie replied. "But Jughead would kill me if he knew I was taking bets from you."

Betty rolled her eyes. "Just take the damn money, Archie."

He laughed and took the outstretched twenty, but before either one could respond, Jughead's voice came booming over everything.

"Welcome to the Riverdale Rages," he shouted, previously unnoticed at the bottom of the pool. Joaquin and Reggie were by his side as the pool emptied of spectators. "As always, just two rules – Don't disrupt the fighters, and place your bets before the fights begin."

"Now, for our fighters." The crowd cheered, louder than anything Betty had previously heard. "From Riverdale College, at 160 pounds, Joaquin DeSantos!"

Joaquin raised his arm, his jaw set and avoiding looking at Kevin, who was standing with Veronica to his left at the very edge of the pool. His expression made Betty's heart ache.

"And from Centerville University at 180 pounds, we have Reggie Mantle!"

Reggie raised both arms, playing to the crowd and cheering along with them. Betty couldn't help but feel a pang of dislike.

Jughead took both Reggie and Joaquin in a huddle, explaining something in a low voice that the spectators couldn't hear. Looking up and scanning the crowd, Jughead locked eyes with Betty. He smiled in a way that was distinctly out of place for what was about to occur, a novelty not lost on the rest of the audience. The murmurs grew louder as Jughead jogged over to the steps of the pool, out of the way from the two boys.

Jughead looked at his watch, extremely focused with his whistle between his lips. It felt as thought the entire audience was holding their breath.

Finally, the whistle rang out.

Both boys immediately jumped at each other, to the immense delight of everyone watching. The jeers got louder as each boy got more aggressive – Betty could tell it was going to be a quick fight.

After a few minutes of dancing around each other, Reggie punched Joaquin on the nose while using his feet to trip him. All at once, Joaquin was on the ground.

Reggie used this time to gloat, turning his back on his opponent and playing to the audience. However, Joaquin stuck his foot out and managed to trip Reggie in the same manner he had just been taken down.

"Uh oh," Archie said, leaning closer. "I don't like the look of this."

Joaquin had managed to get on top of Reggie, where he laid spread eagle on the pool floor. Cocking his fist in what Betty could tell was going to be an excruciating blow, Joaquin knocked out Reggie and scrambled up, nose bleeding, but victorious.

It took a couple seconds for the crowd to catch up with what had occurred. Once it became clear that Reggie was not getting up, the spectators exploded in applause. Jughead calmly walked to the middle of the makeshift ring and held up Joaquin's arm.

Betty's view was obstructed as a mass of people descended the steps of the pool, some checking on Reggie, and others just looking to be where the action was. She was scanning the crowd looking for Jughead when she felt a tap on her arm.

Tearing her eyes away from the pool she looked at Archie, who was holding a wad of money and wearing an abashed expression. Silently handing her sixty dollars, Betty felt more pride for Joaquin than she had ever felt for another person.

"What about your 5%?" She asked, still smiling.

Archie rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "We'll call it an 'I'm sorry for being skeptical of your gut feeling' bonus."

Betty smiled even wider.

"And also," Archie offered as an afterthought, looking around furtively. "We'll call it a one-time thing between you and I. No need for Jughead to know. Deal?"

"Deal." Betty said, furrowing her eyebrows. "But why shouldn't he know?"

Archie fixed her with a serious look. "You've seen his dad. Jughead is sensitive about the fights. I don't think he'd respond very well to his girlfriend betting."

"Oh, we're not – " But Betty was cut off by a heavy arm around her waist, and suddenly Jughead was right beside her.

"Great fight, Jug." Archie said, looking pleased. "Even better than last semester's finale."

"Oh, is this the last one?" Betty said hopefully, looking up at Jughead. He shrugged.

"Unless there's someone we're dying to book. Reggie mentioned an old friend from New York who's making a trip down here in a few weeks, but I don't know anything about him, so I'm a little hesitant."

Archie nodded. "Last I heard, we stood to make 25 tonight."

Jughead let out a long whistle. "That's more than the last two combined."

"Right?" Archie looked elated. Spotting Veronica over their shoulders, he said a hasty goodbye to the couple and ran to join his girlfriend.

"What do you say? Wanna get out of here?" Jughead looked down at Betty, smiling fondly. "I could use a burger and a milkshake right about now."

Betty hummed, smiling up at Jughead. For the first time in weeks, she felt happy to be where she was.

A/N: Hiii everyone! Sorry. It's been too long. Special shoutout to jandjsalmon - without her, I genuinely don't know if you guys would have gotten an update until the end of summer (I have a really crazy job, don't hate me). But you guys are so amazing for sticking around. Also, love to see our little ship growing!

Just a few things - I tried to be as non-descript as possible with the violence, but in a fight club au... there's going to be some violence. sns.

Don't hate Betty too much for being cautious and a little hesitant. it'll make sense soon. Or now, bc I'm sure some of you have figured it out. I never was very good at slow burns, lol.

Would anyone be interested in seeing the story from Jughead's perspective? I'm not promising anything, but it's an idea I've been toying around with. It would be a separate story, but the same events. Let me know!

Okay. This has gone on long enough. Love you guys! thanks so much for being incredible.