I have returned. I'll explain the delay more in the afterword. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I do not own any of theses characters.
The Sunday sun came in through the window waking Betty up. She let out a yawn as she stretched out waking up fully. She looked at her clock and saw it was a quarter past 9. She was satisfied that she had slept in a bit. She had been on edge for weeks and she felt like she was finally relaxing some.
She reached to unplug her phone and saw she had a text notification. She smiled when she saw it was from Jughead. She had been a little disappointed the day before when he hadn't responded but hoped that he was just busy. She opened the text curiously after seeing it had arrived past 3 in the morning.
* sorry, I didn't have my phone on me. I'm gonna be at the B&G around 8 or 9 tomorrow morning if you wanna meet* -Jughead
Betty shot out of bed after reading it. She ran to her restroom to start the shower. Then she took a moment to type out a reply.
*sorry I just woke up. I'll head over if you are still there. * -Betty
*still here. Take your time. * -Jughead
*alright. Do you need anything? * Betty
*coffee please. Had an issue with the coffee maker here* -Jughead
*an issue? * -Betty
*don't worry about it* -Jughead
Betty giggled as she imagined what could've happened. She took the fastest shower possible and was drying her hair when a thought hit her. Once dressed she went back into her closet. She moved clothes around and finally found what she was looking for. It was a small giftbag that had been stored away for over a year.
She pulled out the contents of the bag. Many times, she wondered what she should do with the two items. She entertained the idea of just giving the shirt to Archie for a bit. She just never got around to it. Last summer Archie went and bulked up so that idea went away. The keychain was a different thing entirely. She just couldn't bear the thought of giving it to anyone else. She spent many nights clutching the small piece to her chest while she cried about the state of things.
She decided then, that even if her relationship with Jughead wasn't were she wanted it she would still give the items to him. She just hoped it would make them take another step forward. She placed the bag carefully into her backpack and figured her hair was dry enough. She couldn't wait to get to school. She went down to the kitchen and filled a thermos with coffee before taking off.
When she got to the school she noticed how quiet it was. It was Sunday morning so of course it was empty. The front door was propped open and she waved to Mrs. Davis when she walked in front of the office. She figured she was the reason the school was open. The elderly secretary seemed to always be at the school on weekends working on something for Weatherbee.
When she was outside the door of the Blue and Gold she took a moment to calm herself. She opened the door and the pungent smell of coffee filled her nostrils. She immediately noticed the coffee maker sitting atop of the table missing the pot. Upon closer inspection she saw that the floor directly beneath was shinier than the rest of the room, indicating someone had recently cleaned it. She looked around and saw the trashcan was filled with used paper towels along with shards of glass and a plastic handle. She had a decent idea of what took place.
That's when she saw him sitting on his desk. He had his back turned to her as he worked on his laptop. She could faintly hear music coming from where he was. She frowned a bit, worrying about his hearing. She often told him he shouldn't play it so loud. He was immersed in whatever he was typing and the music. It was no wonder he hadn't noticed she had arrived.
She walked up to him with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. She giggled when the touch made him jump and let off a little yelp. Her smile dropped when she took in the state of his face. He had a black eye and a busted lip. It was also a little swollen.
"Hey, you should've seen the other guy." He laughed at her reaction.
"What happened to you Jug?" She asked ignoring his attempt to lighten her up.
"Nothing Betty. Don't worry"
"How can you say that? You look like hell." She said a little mad at his carelessness.
"Damn" he laughed. "At least sugarcoat it Betts."
"It's not funny Jughead. Why are you all bruised?"
"Honestly Betty, it's not worth talking about." He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.
She felt her body relaxed under his touch. Only for a split second as she noticed his hand was wrapped up in scotch tape.
"Juggie, what the hell?" She asked as she took his hand in hers and examined it. "Are you bleeding?"
"Oh, yea." He said. "A wound from the Great Coffee War this morning."
"Wait what? What exactly was your 'issue' with the maker? I saw its remains in the trash."
"I may have slipped on a coffee filter that was on the floor." He began a little embarrassed. "I tried stopping my fall by grabbing something, but it was the coffee maker, so it just came with me."
"And your hand?"
"I cut it when I was getting up. There was glass everywhere and I just wasn't paying attention."
"Well this cheap tape won't hold. I'll see if Mrs. Davis will open the nurse's room for me." She said as she began making her way out of the room ignoring his protests. She smiled to herself. He was an actual cartoon character.
When she got back she sat next to him and tended to his hand. The cut was on his palm and was decently long but not deep.
"Well it doesn't look like you'll need stitches." She said as she cleaned the area. "But I wouldn't do anything crazy, so it can heal properly."
"Thank you, Dr. Cooper." He said sarcastically. She put pressure on his wound making him wince. "Wow Betts, I didn't take you for a sadist."
She smirked as she began wrapping his hand with a gauze bandage. She saw his knuckles were bruised as well.
"Did you get into a fight Jug? Is that why your face is like that?" She asked softly.
He didn't respond. He just looked down and pulled his hand away slowly.
"I worry about you" she said honestly. She knew that he was part of the Serpents, but it was hard to disassociate this Jughead from the one she grew up with. She pictured that sweet boy being caught up in all the violence and it broke her heart.
"Hey, it's ok." He said bringing her eyes to his. He gave her a big smile. "Look at me. Everything is fine."
She looked at him and it was everything but fine. He looked ridiculous. His face was beaten, his hand cut, he reeked of cheap coffee and his jacket looked funny zipped up all the way. That last fact piqued her interest. She had never seen him with his jacket like that. He always wore it open. It wasn't cold that morning either, so she couldn't figure out why he would have it like that. Then it dawned on her.
"Are you shirtless?" She asked incredulously. She instantly felt her face redden.
"Oh... um" He stood up and began to laugh nervously. "Yes"
"Why?"
"My shirt got drenched in coffee." He nodded to the back of the room. Betty could see a black t-shirt hanging off her murder board. "I'm hoping it will dry."
Betty couldn't help but laugh. These things could only happen to Jughead Jones. She thought. Then an idea came to her. She ran over to her backpack. The timing couldn't be more perfect. She decided to forgo the gift bag and pulled only the shirt out.
"Um. Juggie?" She said shyly. "I brought you this. If you want it, I mean."
"Oh" he said curiously as he approached her. "A sadist and a prophet. You really are the whole package, aren't you Cooper?"
"No, well, I meant to give you this a long time ago." She said as she handed him the shirt. "Call it serendipitous."
"Thank you, Betty." He smiled fondly at her and it made her feel warm. He stood there patiently as if waiting for her to do something. Then she noticed the blush on his face and understood what he was waiting for.
"Jughead we used to go swimming together" she laughed. "Nothing I haven't seen before."
"Come on, Betts" he said averting his eyes. Then she saw a look of sadness on him. "Please."
"Alright" she said wondering what that look meant. "I'm turning around."
She faced the wall as she heard him walk to the other side of the room. Her heart began to race when she heard the unzipping of his jacket. Just behind her Jughead Jones, the man who invaded her thoughts far too often, was standing shirtless. She couldn't help herself. She turned her neck to get a small peek at him. He was facing the wall as well.
She wished the image she saw was a good one that left her daydreaming, but it was the opposite. The first thing she noticed were the bandages that covered the entire upper part of his torso. They went from his shoulders to just above his waistline. On the parts that weren't covered she just found more bruises. She couldn't take it for long and she snapped her head back to the wall.
He wasn't embarrassed of her seeing him shirtless. He was trying to hide the state of his body from her. She could feel the tears start building up. She wanted to just run to him and hold him tight. She knew she couldn't though. He wouldn't talk to her about it either.
"Alright, I'm good." He said. "Thanks again Betty."
She turned around and saw him dressed in the shirt and his jacket again. She managed a small smile. She quickly went over to her backpack and retrieved the thermos.
"Coffee?" She asked trying hard to not think about what she saw.
"Oh. You're an angel." He said thankfully a he took the container from her.
The words were too much for Betty and she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't ignore the fact that he was going through pain again and she couldn't help.
"I'm sorry, Jug." She said gathering her things. "I gotta go."
She was out of door before he could say anything else. So much for a relaxing Sunday morning she thought.
Jughead didn't have to wonder why Betty suddenly left. He was sure that she had stolen a glance at him while he was changing. She must've seen his body and was probably disgusted. He couldn't blame her. He felt the same every time he looked in a mirror. His body was evidence of the reality he lived in. He would never fit in to her world. He was branded by the southside for life.
Jughead had never been one to talk about how he was feeling. In the last year alone, he had closed off his emotions even more. He had gotten colder and bottled everything up. Despite this, being with Betty the last few days made him feel vulnerable. It was as if he couldn't shut her out completely. A part of him wished he could just push her away and be done with it, but a bigger part needed Betty Cooper.
He knew Betty wanted to be with him. That's what hurt the most. He would never be able to give himself to her. He still wasn't fully over the fact that she left him. He also knew that no matter how much they wanted to be together, it just wouldn't work out. They were from two different worlds. He was sure Betty would go on to great things. There would come a time when Riverdale is just a memory for her. Jughead's couldn't follow her down that road. In his mind, all he could ever be for Betty was a distraction.
Jughead decided to go home after realizing Betty wasn't coming back. He hadn't really expected her to. He packed all his stuff and noticed the forgotten thermos filled with coffee. He packed it away with the rest of his stuff.
Once he was home he continued to work on his article for the Blue and Gold. The he reluctantly took his morning pill. He had skipped it the night before and this morning because he was meeting Betty. He went outside to get high after deciding to spend the rest of his Sunday sleeping.
A/N: I apologize for the delay in updates. November thru January are the busiest times at my job. I've been working 16 hour days and I feel like a zombie coasting thru life. I was supposed to post this chapter a few days ago, but I legit fell asleep halfway through the edit. My boss just told me I'll have sundays off so I'll aim for posting on that day. Thank you so much for your patience! I really appreciate you guys.