Episode 1x08: Post Baby Shower. Jughead waits for Betty.
It's over before it started.
Jughead sat in the lobby of the Pembrooke redialing Archie for what must have been the 100th time in the past hour with no success. He wanted to throw his phone at the wall in frustration. Archie wasn't supposed to find out this way. Archie wasn't supposed to know that Jughead's dad was a Serpent. Jughead had worked very hard to keep his family life separate from his friends. The life he was born into versus the life he was trying to build for himself.
But tonight, for the first time in his life, he was distracted by the merriment of the evening. Surrounded by cakes and balloons, Jughead got lost in a world where he was just the potential boyfriend supporting his potential girlfriend while she took care of her sister. Sure, the situation was not without its own problems, but Jughead was smiling.
The smile quickly faded upon Archie's arrival. The anger and fury in his eyes nearly broke Jughead. He had known Archie was going to the Serpents' bar, the Whyte Wyrm, but he had allowed himself to forget, to enjoy the world around him. If the thought did pop into his head, Jughead hoped that Archie wouldn't run into his dad there. Due to FP's spotty employment, he didn't always have the funds to go to the bar.
Maybe I'll get lucky. Jughead thought, convincing himself to focus on the party.
But when Archie appeared at the shower, the illusion was completely shattered. The disappointment in Archie's eyes was the look he always feared he would see when Archie learned the truth about where Jughead came from. As close as they had always been. Jughead had never quite trusted Archie enough with his father's secret. And now he was paying for it.
And the worst part of it was, Archie had to tell Betty about it. About him. About who he really was.
I could lose them both. Jughead feared. In one fell swoop, everything I have ever tried to hold onto would be gone. Over something I can't even control.
Jughead was quickly falling into despair. What would his life without Archie and Betty be like? He had experienced it to a degree during the summer, but on some level, Jughead knew that he would eventually patch things up with Archie. They had been through everything together and even in their darkest moments, Jughead had hope that they would work through their issues. They had to, their friendship was the most solid thing in his life. That is until this new relationship with Betty.
Jughead put in head in his hands as he thought about Betty.
He never even got to call her his girlfriend. He waited too long and now she could turn her back on him because he couldn't tell her about his dad. He could lose her before they ever really had a chance to be something.
Jughead jumped at the sound of knocking at the door.
"Hey Jughead." a voice yelled.
Jughead looked over to see Kevin holding a green bag.
Of course, Kevin's here. Jughead thought.
He walked over to the door and let Kevin in.
"Thanks, man. I tried texting Veronica, but she hasn't answered." Kevin started, walking into the room, then quickly spinning around, taking in his surrounding. "The baby shower is over, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Jughead replied, his tone a bit more harsh than usual.
Kevin looked over at him skeptically.
"What happened?" Kevin asked excitedly, walking over to the lobby chairs to sit. "Did Cheryl cause a major scene? Oh my God, did Polly go into labor?"
Kevin is way to excited about that. Jughead thought, as he leaned against a fireplace nearby where Kevin had chosen to sit. Although, he wouldn't be Kevin if he didn't care this much.
"No." Jughead responded, annoyed. "Betty's mom and Cheryl's mom fought, but Polly broke it up and that is what ended the shower."
Kevin winced, as though disappointed that he missed such a good time.
"I will never forgive myself for being talked into going to the Whyte Wyrm." Kevin said, practically snapping his fingers in annoyance. "Archie said he wanted muscle and I..."
It was Jughead's turn to wince. Kevin had been with Archie when they went to the Whyte Wyrm, which meant that Kevin knew his dad was a Serpent too.
Kevin looked over at Jughead and then frowned. He had clearly put two and two together.
"So Archie made his way over here, I'm guessing?" Kevin asked, all excitement from his voice had disappeared.
Jughead nodded, grateful that Kevin didn't seem thrilled by this.
"And judging by his not so even temper at the bar, caused a scene?" Kevin concluded.
"Could have been a bigger scene, but yeah. He was furious." Jughead told Kevin.
Kevin nodded, his eyes filling with curiosity.
Kevin doesn't seem too upset. Maybe what they encountered wasn't so bad. I doubt Kevin would be this even tempered if they caught my dad dealing drugs or trying to beat them up or something.
Jughead felt relieved by these thoughts. Along with worrying about Archie and Betty, wondering what he father was doing was preying on his mind. But since Kevin isn't afraid of him or worse disgusted, it can't have been too terrible.
"So what exactly did Archie see?" Jughead couldn't stop himself from asking, his anxious thought getting the better of him.
"Nothing particularly troublesome." Kevin reassured him. "Archie and the rest of us were about to get pulverized by a bunch of Serpents when your dad showed up and told them to back off. They did and then he told us to leave, but asked Archie to stay behind to talk. I don't know what happened after that."
Jughead sighed in relief. His dad wasn't in the best place, but at least he was behaving like a somewhat responsible person.
It is a lot better than I was expecting.
"What I am wondering is..." Kevin started "Why would Archie cause a scene? It's not like he didn't know about your da…."
Kevin didn't even bother to finish his thought. He took one look at Jughead and got instantly quiet. Jughead knew it must be because he looked ashamed.
Kevin turned towards Jughead, leaning closer. "Archie didn't know your dad was a Serpent until tonight?"
Jughead shook his head.
"Other than his fellow Serpents, no one knew." Jughead confided in Kevin.
"Not even Betty?" Kevin asked, earnestly.
Jughead felt the world crash in on him again. He threw himself into a chair and put his head in his hands.
"Do you seriously think Betty will judge you for your family?" Kevin asked, his tone almost reaching Jughead levels of sarcasm.
Jughead looked up, surprised by Kevin's reaction.
How doesn't he understand?
"Kevin, you know this town." Jughead reasoned. "The second a person learns your address, they've decided all they ever need to know about you. That is hard enough to live with, but if they find out a person is involved with the infamous Riverdale gang…"
Kevin nodded.
"You are right, Jughead." Kevin agreed. "People judge. This town is full of people who don't care about anything that isn't demographic info. But you should know by now that Betty isn't like anyone else. She doesn't judge."
Kevin made a valid point. Betty was never the type to just give up on people. She knew there was more to a person than where they came from. It was one of the things that Jughead really liked about her.
"You're right." Jughead conceded, standing up. "I am going to go upstairs and try to talk to her."
"Good." Kevin said, standing up and extending the gift out to him. "You can make sure this gets to Polly on your way up there."
"Thanks, Kev." Jughead told him, taking the green bag.
"Sound dating advice is kinda my thing." Kevin bragged
"Not just for the advice." Jughead stated. He didn't feel the need to go on. Kevin would know how grateful Jughead felt that Kevin of all people didn't judge him for his family.
Kevin nodded. Apparently he understood without Jughead having to clarify.
"I'll see you around, Jughead." Kevin said as he exited the building.
Jughead made his way back upstairs.
Kevin was right, wasn't he? Betty was not the type to judge a person based on where they come from. Betty listened, she cared and she tried to understand all sides of the story in almost all situations.
But at the same time, he was not just a person to her. He was at the very least a friend. A friend who had kept a huge secret from her for many years. He had been by her side as she dealt with the mystery of what happened to her sister. They had grown closer in these past few weeks, Betty had trusted him with so much and told her he felt the same way and he had meant it. But he never once thought when he started falling for Betty that he would ever have to tell her about his life outside of their corner of the world.
Maybe she wouldn't judge him for having a Serpent for a father, but the fact that he hid it from her might mean there is no hope for a relationship between them.
Jughead knocked on the Lodge's front door. Veronica answered, already wearing her pajamas and looking confused.
"I thought you left?" she questioned, as she stepped aside to let him walk in.
"Not yet." he said, extending Kevin's gift to her. "Kevin wanted to give this for Polly."
Veronica smiled as she took the gift, then she looked questioningly at Jughead.
"Betty is trying to help Polly fall asleep. It might be awhile." she informed him.
Veronica didn't seem to be treating him any differently. Then again, he didn't really know her and this might be the first time they have even spoken alone together. Her warning about Betty and Polly didn't seem to be a brush off. Jughead was taking that as a small victory.
"I can wait." Jughead told her.
He looked at her skeptically.
Maybe I'm reading this wrong and she is trying to get me to leave.
"I can wait elsewhere if you like." Jughead offered.
"No, it is alright if you stay." Veronica told him, pointing over to the section of the room with cleared seating. "I am going to bed however. Goodnight and Good Luck."
Veronica smiled at him as she turned around and walked away.
Goodnight. Jughead thought as she entered a room and closed the door behind her.
Jughead found a chair to sit in and he grabbed his phone out of his pocket.
Twenty minutes and about 30 more redials of Archie's phone number later, Jughead was still waiting.
He contemplated leaving, going back to Archie and trying to mend that relationship first. But Jughead couldn't make himself leave. He knew no matter how much he dreaded her rejection, there was no way he could leave here without knowing where they stood. He needed to know if there was a future for them.
What if there isn't? Jughead tortured himself by thinking. How can I go back to being just her friend? Would she even want to be friends? Does lying about Dad sever any hope of any kind of relationship for us.
Jughead bit his lip.
I can't completely lose her. Even if she doesn't want to be my girlfriend, I will do literally anything to keep her in my life. I can't lose Betty. Being just her friend might break me, but at least I could live with it. I can't imagine living without her. Somehow, she has to be in my life somehow.
The door behind him opened and Jughead felt his heart stop.
Betty entered the living room and Jughead felt like he had forgotten how to breathe. He jumped out of his seat and was preparing internally for the worst.
"Polly's finally asleep" Betty told him, her eyes not quite meeting his. "What a mess."
Jughead internally took a deep breath. The time has come to be honest.
He gulped before speaking.
"I should have told you about my dad when I had the chance." he admitted, deciding it was best to just get on with the discussion
"So why didn't you?" Betty immediately responded.
Jughead knew the answer without having to deeply consider it.
"I was ashamed." Jughead confessed, his voice catching at the end. Ashamed of a father who was an alcoholic. Ashamed of a man that put addiction above his family. Ashamed of someone who prized his membership in a gang over everything else in his life.
There it was. Jughead was being completely honest with her and now all that was left was to see how she would react.
But rather than being mad or sad or any of the million scenarios Jughead had dreamed up in his head whilst waiting for her, Betty looked at him the same way she did before she knew the truth.
"Jughead," Betty started, grabbing his hand.
He looked down at their hands. Betty hasn't hesitated at all.
There might still be hope.
"If we're going to be together, I want to know who you are. All of it." Betty informed him, her grip tightening on his hand.
Going to be together. Jughead felt like his legs might give out. After everything, Betty Cooper might still want to be my girlfriend.
"Ok." he told her, his voice breathy with his disbelief.
"Ok." Betty replied, her face breaking out in a smile. "But Juggie, we should talk to your dad. He might know something about Jason."
Of course her next thought is of the murder case. Jughead would normally laugh, but he is too busy trying to keep his heart from beating out of his chest.
"Alright." Jughead agrees, his voice barely making sounds at this point.
They headed towards the door. Jughead could hardly believe his luck. Somehow, they still have a chance.