Chapter 11: hashtag Riverdale's lost girl
Pop's bell rang cheerfully as Betty walked into the diner, leaving the door open for Jellybean to follow after her.
"Wow, nice place."
Jellybean said to Betty as she looked around at the booth's of people, talking, laughing, or sitting in comfortable silence. She often found herself wondering what strangers life stories were, now was one of those moments. It was a really nice place, very '60s with its red booths and round bar stools with silver polished feet. It was all even more beautiful with the setting sun filtering in through the cracks in the red blinds filling the long room with hues of yellow and orange.
"Hey Pop," Betty greeted the man behind the bar as she walked further into the familiar dinner. He looked up from cleaning the bar with a yellow cloth and smiled at her, warm and full of love.
"Well hello Betty," He greeted Betty kindly, "The usual?" He offered and Betty nodded with a wide smile, Jellybean found herself smiling too, his smile contagious.
"And you, young lady?" Pop turned to her but before Jellybean could say a word he continued,
"You must be the young lady no one can stop talking about."
He said, recognizing Jughead's features in her younger face and noticing she fit the description that had been mumbled throughout the diner a hundred times. Jellybean looked up at him in surprise and went to ask him what he was talking about when Pop continued his trail of thought.
"Jughead Jones's sister!"
He exclaimed in a loud excited whisper. A few turned their heads at the mention of the much talked about subject, some were subtle, others not so much and turned completely in their seats. Jellybean turned bright red as people stared and whispers broke out, mostly amongst Riverdale high's students. She quickly took a seat at the bar as to not draw more unwanted attention to herself. Betty took the seat beside her just as a pink milkshake slid her way, topped off with perfectly swirled cream and a red cherry. Betty nodded her thanks to the familiar waiter who's given it to her before taking a long sip, the flavour exploding in her mouth. She didn't have to look up to know that her cousin was approaching them, the familiar klick of her heels evident on Pop's floor. Cheryl took the last remaining empty bar stool next to Jellybean who was still looking down embarrassed.
"Yes Jellybean dearest, everyone knows."
Cheryl said as she glared at a passing waiter, her nails clicking on the bar, her way of ordering her usual. Betty rolled her eyes at her cousin's mocking, smug tone. Jellybean picked it up too and grunted.
"How?"
She asked defeated and Cheryl smiled mischievously,
"Well…" She said before taking a deep breath, "You told me indirectly, I whispered it to Josey, Josey exclaimed it to Valerie, Valerie mentioned it to Reggie, Reggie spat it at Sweet Pea and yeah….that's how. Everyone knows, you're hashtag Riverdale's long-lost girl returned."
Jellybean sighed, feeling like Cheryl was trying to get back at her for something.
"Hey Cheryl," She said carefully, turning to face Cheryl properly. Cheryl seemed a little taken aback by the kind tone, expecting Jellybean to have bitten back.
"I'm sorry about earlier," Jellybean continued, "I should have realised I crossed a line, I'm so sorry for pushing the matter, I should have known better. I know it's not the same, but I would never have opened up about me and my brother relationship with a stranger either."
Jellybean said truthfully, looking right into Cheryl's eyes that suddenly looked so vulnerable and shattered that Jellybean had no idea how she normally hid it. Cheryl breathed deeply and the look suddenly disappeared, being replaced by her usual hard look. She swallowed before answering, her blood red lips set in a straight line.
"You're right," She said after a pause, "It's not the same."
And with those words hanging between them Cheryl got up and left, leaving Jellybean to stare after her as the clicking of her heels became fainter as more distance came between them.
"Don't mind her, my cousin's always on edge and ready to bite." Betty said, "But she's a good person, Toni brings that out in her but around others, she is always on guard, walls up."
"I can see why" Jellybean mumbled and raised her hand to get the attention of the passing waiter. He leaned over the bar, about to take her order when he stopped and looked at her curiously as if trying to place where he knew her from. She almost rolled her eyes at the almost familiar action most of Riverdale's citizen seem to have when looking at her.
"Yes, I'm Jughead's sister," She said before he could ask the expected question that was undoubtedly to come. "And I'd like to get a…."
FP was pissed. He, as usual, had to park his bike around the back of Pop's, get in around the back and change clothes around the back. He grumbled as he grabbed his clothes from off his bike and went inside. From the back.
He didn't mind his job at pop's, didn't even mind the uniform too much and definitely didn't mind Jughead approval or the money he made, however little that may be. But he did mind the looks, the comments exchanged under people's breath or right to his face, the whispers and rumours they discussed about him, false and true ones. That infuriated him. The more he worked here, the more they trusted and warmed up to him, but it still happened.
Jughead rolled his bike into Pop's small parking spot and parked it near the other motorbikes when he noticed a flash of pink. He looked over and recognized it as Betty's biking helmet, he smiled as he studied the white crown he'd painted on it himself, reminding him of when he'd given it to her. He led the memory flood his tired mind as he dismounted his bike.
It was her birthday, the clock having just hit 12 PM when he stepped onto the last step of the ladder, climbing up to her room like he'd done months ago and many times after. He had climbed up the ladder in complete darkness, one hand on the rails and the other clutching her gift under his arm. It was more a joke than it was a serious gift but he really hoped she would like it. He slid open her window as quietly as possible and climbed in through it, landing softly into the cushions that always lay there.
He got to his feet carefully and made his way to her bed. He'd texted her earlier that he'd be there every minute of her birthday. Whether she knew that included 12:01 he didn't know but it did for him. He walked further into the darkness of her room, approaching her sleeping form on the bed and hoped he didn't look too much like a creep for this. He couldn't help grinning in excitement as he finally reached her bed. He sat down on the bed beside her and whispered her name. He could hardly see her in the darkness of the room but could make out the lines of her face and her untied hair fanned out around her sleeping face. He whispered her name again a little louder when she didn't react to his previous call. She stirred in her sleep as he said her name for the third time but didn't wake up. He smiled even wider at her persistence and repeated her name again and again until she woke up groggily. He laughed aloud as she moaned loudly and threw a pillow at him without meeting his gaze or even opening her eyes. He caught it with ease and threw it back at her.
"It's not funny," She said as she turned her face away, laying flat on her stomach and talking into her sheets. The only result being Jughead laughing again.
"'Morning Betts," He said sweetly once he stopped laughing. There was a long silence before Betty huffed and gave into waking up.
"'Morning Juggie." She said and both of them were smiling at each other's given nickname without the other knowing. Betty lay down for a second longer before turning herself around so she was lying on her back and propped herself up on her elbows, wiping her hair away from her face. Jughead waited for her to get comfortable before revealing the nature of his visit,
"Happy birthday Betty," Jughead said and Betty smiled.
"Thank you," She whispered back before leaning over to give him a quick kiss. As she returned to her previous position she felt a cold chill flitter to the room, she looked over at the open window, the source of the coldness and couldn't help smile. Jughead and his dramatic entrances. Noticing that it was still dark outside she turned back to Jughead questioningly.
"What time is it?"
Betty asked and Jughead smirked as he answered smugly,
"12:02."
Betty's mouth fell open at his words, he really was going to be there every second. She rolled her eyes, of course, he was. She couldn't help the grin breaking over her face at the cute gesture.
"Of course it is." She said flatly, voicing her thoughts. She reached over behind her to turn the light on so they could see properly, and as her back was turned Jughead placed the helmet before him.
"Here's your first present," he said as she turned back around to him. Her smile widened as she looked down at the present set before her. She picked it up and inspected it closely, a little surprised and confused. Noticing her expression Jughead suddenly felt very nervous and felt the need to explain,
"Well...I just thought since you ride on with me so much you should probably have a helmet of your own. And there's a spare bike I pulled up and cleaned up a bit just in case, you know….If you want, you could learn to ride it and I...I could like, teach you."
He knew he was rambling on and Betty stopped him with a kiss, smiling against his lips.
"Thank you Jughead, I would like that very much, it's a great present."
Betty said and meant it with every piece of her. Jughead sighed in relief and leaned into her hand as she cupped his face.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Betty asked, as she suddenly sprung out of bed. "Breakfast at Pop's?" She offered as she walked over to her closet.
"It's 12 PM, you've only just gone to bed."
Jughead argued surprised at the sudden turn of events. Betty smiled as she pulled out her birthday sweater.
"Like you said, it's my birthday, let's celebrate it."
She said as she grabbed some more clothes and headed to the bathroom to change.
"Fair enough,"
Jughead called after her as he let himself fall into her bed, lying with his hands behind his head, excited for the day ahead of them.
Jughead shook off the memory that had pulled him out of his panic attack and walked over to Pop's welcoming door. Wondering why she was here.
Betty ordered some fries with her smoothy and as soon as Jellybean placed her order they took a seat in one of the booths looking out over the parking lot at the very end of the diner. The sun was setting quickly, the sky turning twilight as Pop's lights started turning on. The two girls sat opposite each other, getting to know the other. Jellybean really liked Jughead's girlfriend, she was kind but had a heated energy to her, especially when she talked about things she was passionate about like Jughead and journalism. Turns out blue and gold was a school paper.
Betty liked Jughead and it surprised her just how much she and Jughead had in common.
FP was about to walk into the diner to enter his shift, already late when his phone rang. He picked it up quickly, barking his response into the phone in frustration.
"What?"
"Mr Jones, this is Mr Weatherbee speaking, the school's headmaster and I was hoping you would make time to meet me about the small matter of your daughter's return. You are aware of her return aren't you?"
A calm voice came over the phone.
"Yes," FP answered but didn't elaborate.
"When could I meet you concerning your daughter joining our school?" He asked, insistently.
"She's just visiting," FP said in a non answer, partly wishing it weren't true.
"I still think it would be advisable for us to meet." Mr. Weatherbee said, not giving up. FP sighed, not having the time or energy for this.
"Ok fine, I'll drop by tomorrow." FP said and before Mr Weatherbee could argue with him he hung up. He breezed through the kitchen doors and stood behind the counter, white hat and all. He greeted Pop with a polite, respectful nod before taking up orders from whoever sat or stood nearest to him at the bar. Within five minutes he was rushing about from table to table, called over by raised hands and sometimes even by name.
Jughead walked into Pop's and swept his gaze over the almost packed dinner. His eyes swept over their heads, not seeing their faces, he was looking for a familiar blonde ponytail or at least an empty spot. Seeing neither of those he kept walking into the diner when he felt a set of eyes boring into him.
Betty and Jellybean kept talking in hushed voices as more and more people entered the diner, the little silver bell ringing merely in welcome with every new customer. A waiter Betty had seen a hundred times before came with their food. Tim, she thought his name was. He placing the trays of food before the two awaiting girls with a polite,
"There you go, girls. As always, enjoy."
Betty smiled at him in thanks, halting her conversation with Jellybean. Jellybean waited for the waiter to move on to the next table before she continued talking. Betty was listening attentively when her eyes subconsciously drifted over Jellybean's shoulder and took a deep breath at something that had caught her eyes. She panicked because there, just a few booths behind Jellybean stood Jughead Jones. She held her breath as his eyes wandered over the heads in the room. She quickly looked back at Jellybean, breaking her stare and praying he wouldn't come down this way. She wouldn't know what to do if he did. She was pleased to see him back unharmed but she didn't want the two siblings to have to clash this way. Unprepared and in an inescapable situation. Should she tell Jellybean?
"…And I just think that's so amazing, don't you agree?"
Jellybean said excitedly and Betty snapped her attention back to the brunette.
"Yeah absolutely," Betty said with a small and making sure she sounded just as excited and confident as Jellybean did. Because she had no idea what Jellybean was talking about.
FP noticed Jughead enter and look over everyone's heads like he always did. He glared at his son from behind the bar and waited for him to notice, not wanting to make a public scene out of it. Jughead turned his head to his dad in surprise and FP knew he had his attention. Noticing FP's glare Jughead walked over, a sigh on his lips. He plopped down in the free barstool and waited for what FP had to say.
Betty dared to glance up at Jughead again a few minutes later, hoping he wouldn't notice. She quickly let her eyes wandered around the room, looking for him. They finally rested on him and she found him sitting at the bar talking to someone. She couldn't quite see because someone sat beside him, blocking her view. She watched as the teenager who was blocking her view got his milkshake and left his position against the bar. She watched him eagerly, willing him to move faster so she could see who Jughead was talking to. She sipped too hard on her straw causing her to break out laughing as she was revealed to who exactly was at the other end of the bar. FP Jones.
Fuck, she thought, there was no escaping it now.
