Chapter 38 - Game night at JJ's

Jughead head stood in front of the sink in his apartment's bathroom, running the warm water over the two small puppies, ridding them of the waste mottled in their fur.

"What are you going to do with them, mother hen?" Sweet Pea asked from beside him.

"I don't know. I couldn't leave them on the side of the road to die." Jughead retorted. He had no idea what he was going to do with these small helpless creatures, but not helping them out didn't seem like an option. He'd had dogs when he was younger, for a child who didn't have many friends, the four legged kind were his closest. It had always been so hard when they passed away.

Hotdog was his father's dog long before Jughead was born and he grew old and passed away when Jughead was seven. FP had gone out the next day and got a new dog from one of the local shelters. Hotdog the second, shaggy English sheepdog. Even though it couldn't completely ease the hurt little Jughead felt, loosing his best friend he'd grown up with, it helped.

Hogdog the second had passed away when Jughead was seventeen. FP was too absorbed in gang business and his wife and daughter leaving him to think about another dog at the time. Jughead took it just as hard, but he had toughened since he was a child and buryed his hurt at loosing another best friend behind a hardened shell.

Jughead had always loved dogs. There was just something so amazing about them, their loyalty, dedication and love. They were beautiful creatures.

"They are so adorable." Toni cooed from the other side of him. It was a bit cramped in his small bathroom, they had both followed him to his apartment when he rushed into the Whyte Wyrm hugging his backpack to his chest.

"Vanessa should be here soon, told her to just come straight up here." Sweet Pea told him.

"They don't seem too bad, you know, given their circumstance." Toni mentioned. Jughead had explained the sudden appearance of the puppies as they all headed up the stairs to his place. They were both as disgusted as he was, Serpents have soft spots for puppies too.

Jughead switched off the water, placing the to two freshly cleaned puppies on a towel on the vanity beside the sink and patting them gently dry. Funky ear shook his little body, flicking droplets of water in all directions and Jughead smiled. If he had to pick a favourite, it was that little boy.

A knock on the door had Sweet Pea jogging out of the bathroom to answer it, he returned moments later with Vanessa; a wife of one of the older serpents.

She moved the puppies to the dining table and went over several checks with them. She checked over them with a fine scrutiny before testing their temperatures, heartbeats and taking a quick blood sample. Jughead flinched as the pup yelled, being jabbed with the needle.

Vanessa held up the one with the odd ear. "This little guy looks like his ear had a run-in with mum or dad's teeth. Shouldn't affected him, hearing seems fine, just a battle scar. He's a bit malnourished, got a bit of a fever – which is probably just because of the stress on his little system – but otherwise seems fine." She said passing the small pup off to Jughead. He smirked at the little fur ball in his hands. They were quite fluffy now they were clean and dry. He looks much happier, his little tongue whipped out to lick at Jugheads thumb.

A bit malnourished and a fever, Jughead chuckled. "Got a fever, do ya', Hotdog?" He asked with a smile.

"Hey, hotdog!" Toni said with a shot of nostalgic recollection, she picked up on the reference. She'd been around forever, she knew all about his previous furry friends. "That's it, you're never getting that dog away from JJ now. FP Jones the third and Hotdog the third. It was meant to be." Toni chuckled. Jughead looked up at her with a genuine smile, he kind of liked the sound of that.

"This little girl looks like she also got into a scrap, not sure if it would have been a sibling or the parents possibly something else but she seems to be at least partially blind in her injured eye. Same as the boy, malnourished, they don't seem to have eaten in a few days." Vanessa said, handing the other puppy to Toni as she started to pack up the little kit she'd brought with her. "I'd say they were dumped because of their ear and eye. Because their imperfections they would have been hard to sell, so the breeder probably decided it would just be easier to get rid of them." She said sadly.

"That's so fucked up. What a piece of shit." Sweet Pea said with outrage.

"Yeah, people are shit." Toni agreed, snuggling her face into the female puppies fur.

Vanessa advised that they were Rottweilers - possibly cross bred with another breed - and about five to six weeks old. They should still be with their mother at this age but they would be okay to go onto soft solid foods.

"I'll run the blood tests back at the clinic. They'll need to stay away from other dogs until then just in case they have any diseases or anything that could be passed on. Are you going to be keeping them or did you want me to try rehome them?" Vanessa asked.

Jughead hadn't quite thought this far ahead. He hadn't thought much about if he'd keep them. Dogs are a big responsibility, they took time, effort and money. Looking down at the small ball of fur in his hands, he smiled. He could make it work.

"I'll keep them." Jughead confirmed.

"Okay great. Congratulations on your new fur babies, JJ." Vanessa said with a smile as Jughead walked her to the door. "I'll let you know how the tests go and you let me know if there's anything else you need." Vanessa said as she reached the door. Jughead opened it for her and as she went to walk out she ran head on into Betty.

"Oh!" Vanessa said, taking a step back. "Sorry, didn't see you there."

Betty looked at the woman, puzzled. Betty had never seen this woman before. She had bright red hair held back in a braid, tattoo's scattered up her arms and very generously sized breasts. She looked to be in her thirties. Betty looked over to Jughead who wore a smile, she was personally very curious as to why there was a woman leaving his apartment. Dear god, that's not an overnight bag, is it?

"Hey Betts." Jughead greeted, happy at the surprise visit from his lovely girlfriend. Betty was not so happy with the unexpected situation she'd stumbled upon.

"Oh, so your JJ's girl. Nice to meet you, I'm Vanessa." She woman introduced. Betty's puzzled look had slowly become one of angered confusion.

"She's our resident Vet. She was checking up on the puppies." Jughead explained, not liking to look Betty was giving them.

"You don't have puppies." Betty replied curtly. Jughead grinned, stepping around Vanessa so Betty could see the tiny dog in his hands. Toni came up behind him a moment later with the other puppy. Upon seeing Toni was also in the apartment, Betty forgot any previous theories she'd assumed and stepped passed Vanessa and straight to Jughead dropping down to eye level with the puppy.

"Oh my gosh, hello little one. Look at you, you're so cute. Oh my god." Betty cooed, patting it gently between its ears. Jughead chuckled. Betty looked up to him now with a shocked smile on her face.

"You got puppies?!" She asked excitedly as she turned to the puppy Toni held.

"He rescued them, actually." Toni told her. Always the saviour, that boy.

"Now, why does that not surprise me." Betty chuckled, getting distracted by the puppy. "My gosh you are so tiny, just… so little!"

"Well, I'll be heading off." Vanessa jotted in, taking another step out of the door. At that Betty remembered the rude way she had treated the woman moments ago. She shot around to face her.

"Sorry about that Vanessa. I was just a bit confused. It was nice to meet you too." Betty said chirpily with a smile. Vanessa smiled with a nod.

"I'll see you guys later, remember to call if you need anything." She said, turning towards the stairs.

"Thanks again, Vanessa!" Jughead called after her, shutting the door.

Betty looked up at him with a smile. "Hey." She finally greeted. He chuckled, leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

"Hello." He said as the puppy squirmed against his chest, drawing Betty's attention back to it. "Want to hold him?" Jughead offered. Betty looked like an excited four year old as her smile reached from ear to ear and she nodded enthusiastically. He chuckled handing the puppy over to her.

"His name is Hotdog" Jughead told her. She laughed.

"Hotdog?" She questioned.

"The third." Toni added.

"Hotdog... the third?" Betty chuckled in question.

"Yep, third generation just like good ole' Fors-" Toni started to gesture to Jughead but he cut her off.

"Toni." He said sternly, giving her a warning look. Toni quickly caught on, and she was baffled.

"Holy shit, does she not know your real name?!" Toni asked, shocked. That actually hadn't even occurred to Betty in quite some time. He was just 'Jughead' to her. "She's your girlfriend!" Toni added.

"Yeah, I feel like I should be entitled to that information." Betty agreed with a smirk. They had spoken about it before, she knew he didn't like his real name, hadn't wanted to tell her and she didn't push it. That was before they started sleeping together though.

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third!" Sweet Pea called from inside. Toni laughed, Betty was surprised – having not noticed yet that Sweet Pea was even there – and Jughead shot him a deathly glare.

"Forsythe?" Betty asked nudging Jughead with her elbow. Guess that's what 'FP' stands for.

"Maybe." Jughead grumbled, still looking at Sweet Pea like he wanting to inflict pain.

"I like it." She said, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. His skin was hot with his flare of annoyance.

"So," Jughead said, trying to defer the conversation. "Puppies."

"Yes!" Betty squealed, pulling the puppy in her arms closer to her face. "Where did you get them?" she asked.

"They were dumped on the side of the road in a plastic bag." Jughead told her keeping the negative expression he'd held in distaste of his name. They all migrated further into the apartment, over to Sweet Pea.

"What? That is… absolutely disgusting." Betty said doubfounded, she couldn't fathom how someone could do that to these poor innocent pups.

"I love this little girl so much. I don't think you're getting her back." Toni said, cuddling the puppy closer.

"Well, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with one, let alone two. Did you want to keep her?" Jughead offered. Toni looked at him with wide eyes.

"Really?" She asked with excited shock.

"Really." Jughead confirmed with a slow nod of his head.

"Yes! Yes, please. Aw, thanks JJ!" She gushed, nuzzling her puppy.

"Dude, wears my puppy?" Sweet Pea whined.

"Sorry loudmouth, all out of puppies. Hotdog is mine." Jughead said looking at the pup in Bettys arms. She was cradling Hotdog like a baby, on his back in her arms. She was swirling her finger around his chest and belly, his little tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth and it looked like she managed to get the hyper little puppy to sleep.

"I can't believe I have a puppy!" Toni said excitedly, holding her pup up in the air and twirling her around before bringing her back in for a snuggle. "We gotta get these babies some food."

"Why don't you go get some food and whatever else we might need and Betty and I can look after them." Jughead suggested.

"I guess so…" Toni said sadly. Jughead pulled some cash out of his wallet and handed it to Toni and she reluctantly handed her puppy off to Jughead.

"You know what we haven't done in ages?" Sweet Pea piped up. "Game night at JJ's."

Toni laughed, "So eager to give us all your money are you?" she asked.

"Hey, I don't always lose." Sweet Pea countered.

"You're poker face is surprisingly shit." Jughead goaded.

"Fine! Don't have a game night, it was just a suggestion." Sweet Pea threw his hands up, marching towards the door.

"Invite the boys! Tell them to be here in an hour!" Jughead called out as Sweet Pea stomped out the door. His head quickly popped back in at Jugheads words and he wore a mischievous grin.

"Will do, boss." Sweet Pea said, giving a thumbs up gesture as he and Toni left. Toni snatched up Jugheads empty backpack by the door on her way out.

"I'm borrowing this!" She called back as she closed the door. Not a lot of cargo hold on a motorbike.

Jughead chuckled as he looked over to Betty who was utterly entranced by the puppy in her hands. He stepped up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist and trailing kisses from her ear to her shoulder.

"This is a nice surprise." Jughead commented. Betty had never showed up out of the blue before, he liked it.

"I was missing you. It feels weird not spending Saturday night with you." She admitted. Other than the night he was in hospital – because she was forced to leave - they're spent every Saturday night together since they met. They were both so busy with their own things yesterday they hadn't found time to see each other.

"Missed you too." He said reaching forward to kiss her on the cheek. "You didn't look all too happy when you actually got here though." He commented, hiding his smile from his position behind her.

"I was just… I didn't expect to see anyone else… there was some woman in your apartm… It doesn't matter." Betty babbled. Jughead chuckled. He new exactly why she looked so angry.

"Were you Jealous?" He asked.

"No, not jealous. I just thought…" Betty cut herself off. Maybe a little jealous…

"Just thought what?"

"It's just that you and some random woman were in your apartment and she had a bag and I didn't know why and I didn't know Toni and Sw-" She was babbling again. Jughead stepped around to face her, hands settling on her waist.

"Betty, you should never think like that. You shouldn't worry about that at all, you can trust me. You are the only girl I even remotely think about in that regard." Jughead said seriously. Betty looked up at him through her lashes.

"I do trust you. It just… looked bad." Betty said. Jughead could admit, in a role reversal he probably would have reacted even worse than Betty did. There would probably be some 'throw punches at douchebags now, ask questions later'.

"Sorry." He apologised.

"You really have nothing to apologise for. You didn't do anything wrong." Betty said. She knew she had overreacted. However, it wasn't farfetched that women would throw themselves at Jughead; he was a very good looking guy. Though he certainly didn't seem like the type to cheat, mind you, not a lot of unfaithful people 'seem like' unfaithful people to their partners.

"But it did upset you."

"That was just an active imagination, not your fault." Betty assured him, reaching up to press her lips to his. He smiled at her when they broke apart.

"Should we show these pup's the view from the balcony?" He asked and she nodded.

"I still can't believe you have a puppy. He's so cute." She said as they took their seats on the balcony. The sun was setting on the horizon, blanketing the town in a golden glow – the view at sunset was Betty's favourite. Jughead rested Toni's puppy in his lap and lit a cigarette.

"Cuter than me?" He asked with a smirk.

"Never." She said in mock seriousness, looking down at Hotdog as he let out a little yawn. "Aww… maybe." She teased with a chuckle.

"Damn, now I have competition." Jughead joked.

"Maybe you do. This little guy is quickly weaselling his way into my heart." Betty said, scratching Hotdog's belly.

"Better up my game." Jughead said, a drag of cigarette smoke – specifically away from the pups and Betty, as he always did.

"How you going to manage that, Forsythe?" Betty asked, teasingly. Jughead groaned.

"I really hate that name, Betts." He whined.

"Sorry." She chuckled.

"How about a date, Elizabeth?" He asked with a smirk. She looked over at him with contorted features. Only her mother called her Elizabeth, or strangers.

"You're right, it's weird. No more Forsythe's or Elizabeth's." Betty proposed.

"Deal. So, am I allowed to take you out on a date?" Jughead asked again. Betty smiled.

"Well, seeing as though we're already together that only seems reasonable." She agreed. They seemed to do everything a bit backwards. She jumped into his bed before she even liked him and then slept with him before they even discussed if they were together. Now with everything between them he was only just now asking her on a date.

Their relationship may be a bit backwards and unconventional, but she loved it for everything it was.

"Tomorrow. I'm going to pick you up from school and I'm stealing you for the whole night. Tell Alice not to fret, I'll have you home by ten."

"My curfew is six." Jughead looked over at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, that's a little over the top. I feel like that needs discussing." He decided.

Betty chuckled, "I'll talk to mum about the curfew. But yes, that sounds great." Betty agreed. Betty agreed that her curfew was a bit ridiculous, it hadn't been up for discussion for years. It was about time her and Alice talked about it.

Sweet Pea and Toni came back about forty minutes later with arms full of dog supplies. Bulk bought puppy food, two little beds - one green and one purple - that matched the two small collars and leads Toni had also insisted on buying, not to mention a bunch of toys.

Toni and Betty set up the dogs bed, some training pads to try get their indoor accidents under control and 'tested out' their new toys. Betty had chuckled at the squeaky hog dog toy Sweet Pea has insisted on.

While the girls organised the puppies, Sweet Pea set up the poker table and Jughead went down stairs to grab a few six-packs of beer from the store room.

Fangs and Nuke showed up not long after. Apparently Ricky was too hungover and Joaquin was busy, Betty made a mental note at that detail to check if that may have involved Kevin.

Betty knew Alice was out tonight, and likely wouldn't be home until about ten thirty. So, even with her current 6 o'clock curfew, she'd be fine to stay for 'game night at JJ's'.

The six of them sat around Jugheads circular dining table that was topped with a green felt poker board. Jughead was the dealer, Betty sat to his left. Beside her was Toni, then Sweet Pea, Fangs and Nuke sat on the other side of Jughead.

Betty had admitted to Jughead, before they sat down, that she'd never played poker before. It hadn't surprised him in the least. He told her they could be a team for the first several rounds until she gets the hang of it and gave her the winning card sets that came in the poker chip kit.

Before the game everyone paid fifty dollars and was given fifty dollars worth of chips. At the end of the game they'd get a payout. It was like Jugheads own little casino. They never over did it with the money, none of them were exactly rolling in the cash. Sometimes after a big job with a good payout they'd splurge on Poker night.

"Texas hold'em, house rules." Jughead announced. Dealing out the cards. Jughead explained the house rule variations to Betty as he did. The others butt in comments as he spoke too, not the best with their manners.

Betty held the 'winning card sets' card in her hand and scooted closer to Jughead to analyse as bets were made.

She leaned in to whisper in his ear, that was easily drowned out to the others by the stereo playing Rise Against in the back ground.

"You have a full house, right?" Betty whispered.

"Right." He answered aloud, his face showing absolutely zero emotion. Most faces around the table matched his expressionless composure, expect for the very faint frown on Nukes lips and the slightly more obvious grin on Sweet Pea's.

Nuke and Toni folded early in the round. Sweet Pea, Fangs and Jughead increasing their bets until Fangs called.

They all showed their hands, fangs had three of a kind, Sweet Pea had a full house queens over aces, Jughead also had a full house, kings over queens .

"God damnit!" Sweet Pea said angrily, throwing his cards down. "That was a good hand." Sweet Pea was a sore loser. Though he should be used to it by now, he was also terribly unlucky when it came to poker.

"Yeah well, JJ's hand was better." Fangs said diplomatically, as Jughead raked his chips in with a slight smirk.

"He is good with his hands." Betty murmured, smiling as Nuke and Fangs started to laugh. Jughead's lips pulled up in a crooked smirk and he winked at her. Toni was shaking her head with a smile on her face, straightening her chip stacks and Sweet Pea was still sour from his loss, but did crack a grin.

Jughead dealt the next round, which was another house rule, the dealer was supposed to change but apparently everyone else dealt at a snail's pace that irritated Jughead. Jughead whipped the cards around at a wicked pace as if he'd had a lot of practise.

Betty looked at Jugheads hand seeing an array of diamonds, three on the table and two in his hand.

"Oh!" She said excitedly. She got a few curious eyes. Jughead put his cards face down on the table, huffing a chuckle.

"You're poker face is worse than Sweet Pea's. You're gonna lose me my money, Betts." He scolded lightly. Sweet Pea chuckled deviously.

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically, fluttering her lashes. She trailed her hand up his leg, squeezing his upper thigh. "I'll make it up to you later, promise." She said far to innocently for what she was insinuation.

"Please, keep distracting the boy. Could be beneficial." Fangs commented, staring intently at his cards.

"Just don't get too handsy there." Nuke added, nodding at Betty's hand on Jugheads leg – that she quickly retracted.

Sweet Pea laughed. "Where did you even find this girl?"

"In the Ghoulies basement." Jughead answered with a smirk.

"Swear to god, she's more sex crazed than I am." Toni said, sipping at her beer. Toni had an affinity for luring in guys or girls to 'play' with – she wasn't very picky. Betty wasnt too sure what exactly Toni's sex-drive was like but Betty knew she'd been damn near insatiable since she met Jughead. It wasn;t that she was 'sex crazed', per say, more 'Jughead crazed'.

"I'd bet on it." Jughead said still wearing his smirk.

"Oh, would you guys quit it." Betty blushed, fiddling with the card in her hand.

"If I asked you to come to bed with me right now, would you?" Jughead posed. She gave him a stern look, he simply raised his brows. Being his ever alluring and tempting self.

"Yeah, probably." She mumbled and Jughead smirked triumphantly. The rest of the table laughed or snickered at her answer.

"Hey, we aren't done with poker yet." Fangs protested in a chuckle. "Betty's throwing off your game, we might actually stand a chance."

"I can wait." Jughead said with a grin. "You just got to keep that poker face in check." Jughead told Betty.

"Yes, sir." She said in a low voice under her breath looking over at him with a devious grin and he twitched against his zipper… Maybe he wasn't going to be able to wait long.

At eight thirty, Jughead called an early night. They'd been playing for almost two hours and Sweet Pea was already out of chips. Betty had joined in after a while, not playing with chips, she'd only won two hands – though she'd been so excited about it both times - and just gave her winnings to Jughead.

There were a lot of laughs, they all loved to joke, tease and goad each other. Betty had really enjoyed poker night, laughing along with Jughead's friends… their friends.

Jughead loved how easily Betty fit into their little gang and how they all got along so well. Especially Betty and Toni, they loved ganging up on the boys and jointly defending their feminine honour when the boys ganged up on them.

"I told you that you would give us all your money." Toni said to Sweet Pea as she counted her towering stacks of chips. She'd come out on top at the end of the night, only a few dollars in front of Jughead.

"Whatever, Topaz." Sweet Pea said defiantly, polishing off his fourth beer. "I got my monies worth in free beer."

Both of the dogs had passed out a little while ago. It had been a long day for them and they were still weak from the way they'd been treated before Jughead had found them.

Toni packed all of her pup's toys and such into the dog bed and picked it all up at once, with her still sleeping in it, they bigger items were stashed in a bag that hung on her wrist.

"Thanks for another good night, JJ." Fangs said, enveloping Jughead in a 'bro-hug' that started with a hand shake and ended with a pat on the back.

"Have to do it again soon." Nuke agreed.

"Next time, I'll be the one taking all of your money." Betty joked, earning a few laughs.

Betty cooed over Toni's puppy before she left with the boys, Jughead locked the door as he closed it behind them – just in case they decided they forgot something and had to come back. Because the boss had business to attend to.

When Jughead turned around Betty had already pulled her shirt over her head and was unbuckling her jeans. She grinned as their eyes met.

He charged towards her, scooping her up bridal style in his arms that elicited a laughing squeal from her as he crushed his lips to hers and carried her to the bedroom.

He'd waited long enough.

It's okay Betty, we understand, we're all 'Jughead crazed'.

This is my longest chapter... I think I got carried away with puppies.. because well, you know, they're puppies and puppies are the best!

Review question: What should Toni name her puppy? (Any reason why?)

I already have a name in mind, but if you can offer me one I like, I'll make that her name! (Note: Toni's puppy is a girl and has a scar across her eye, partially blind in that eye.)

It's 38 degrees today... I have been melting all day, oh my god. But, I ditched my pool to pump out a chapter for you guys (and get this up on AO3).

Havn't had a Dylan quote in a while, DYLAN QUOTE:

Kayla - 'What have you got against Cole and Jughead?'
Dylan - 'He's my main competition for your heart!'

Ohhhh, Puddin'. I still love Dylan the most... I mean probably ;)

- Kayla