Happy New Year!
Thank you to my reviewers: silentmayhem, Boris Yeltsin, sophiecambellbower, thosechosenpirates, Chloe0x0, Larienlee, and winterbabyalways!
Larienlee: Glad you're enjoying it!
Jughead was acting...weird.
As stated previously, Betty felt she was a near master on the weird quirks of Jughead Jones. She thought that there was no quip he had that was too bizarre or unexpected. She thought, between her friends, Jughead on some strange level was the most predictable person she knew.
She knew that his mind was deep, but on the surface level, it was usually flitting between food or writing. Veronica was the worst, always surprising her. Archie was a bit slow, bless his soul, so anything he did was always mildly a shock to her.
But Jughead?
Well, call her crazy, but she'd begun to put a certain sort of faith in his stalwart and stony repetition. He was a boy that liked steadiness, liked security. To act outside of this confounded her.
Yet she could not deny it...he was acting markedly different.
At first, she just thought maybe she hadn't been around him in the apartment. He seemed busy all the time, to be frank. It was only a few weeks later that Betty realized this was the weirdness. Jug was going out of his way to not be in the apartment.
She feared his family had taken a turn for the worse. Maybe they were fighting again. Maybe his parents were reconciling. Maybe his sister had said something? She worried about Jug constantly, his keys absent from their key wall like a bad omen deep in her stomach. She felt his absence in an unexpected way like something was entirely missing from her life.
And, well, after her revelation with Sweet Pea...that was probably true.
Betty hadn't dated much. There'd been one singular guy all through high school. He'd asked her to a dance, she'd said yes. They matched dresses to ties to flowers and let Alice take a thousand pictures near the Country Club. They'd had a couple of slow dances and by the end of the night, she'd caught him kissing another girl.
So, no knowledge to be gleaned there, except to not go for asshats.
With Sweet Pea, it had been more of a...a...instinctual thing. They'd been introduced by Jughead. They'd both been attracted to each other. They'd acted upon said attraction. He'd left.
Once again, nothing to go off of.
So, yes, this was practically the first guy Betty really and truly liked in that she thought she might have a chance with and she was dying.
She wasn't going to go to Veronica, however. That was simply asking for trouble.
As a result, in these weeks, she just internalized it. She didn't press her feelings down, per se, but she looked for a way to tell him. She wondered if it should be as casual as the coupons. She wondered if it should be a production. She wondered if she should at all because there was a very real risk he just didn't feel the same way back.
Yes, they sort of had sex, but Betty couldn't count the number of guys she'd seen at other college parties that she thought was utterly repugnant personality-wise, but in another life where she didn't have this thing with Jug, she might still bang them. Jug might see her as just a way to scratch an itch. That's how it had begun. There was no expectation that he had to like her back the way she now was sure she liked him.
Thus, her issue.
Jughead not being present in the apartment kept this secret inside of her from bursting free. You couldn't tell someone you liked them if they weren't around to hear it, right?
But this strangeness, from someone who she was pretty sure loved his own bedroom more than anything outside, was only the first realization in a group of three.
Bad things come in three.
She should have fucking known.
XXxxXX
Bad thing and weird thing number two was this...Jughead wasn't using any coupons.
Just as one could not tell someone they had this huge, stupid crush on you if you weren't in the house, they couldn't be using sex coupons either. So, while Betty was jonesing for another one from one Mr. Jones, she could hardly begrudge him.
And, the scarce times he was back in his apartment, he always seemed so busy.
He'd make a point to let Betty know that he had a huge paper due, or that he was really behind on this project, or that JB was FaceTiming him that night. All reasons that, if she read between the lines, were very logical things that would really cut into sexy coupon time.
So, alright, that's fine, she figured.
It wasn't unbelievable, at the time. They were nearing the end of February, which meant that Spring Break was just a sneeze away. Everyone knew that professors just loved to assign big projects to be handed in right before you left. Betty, too, was overwhelmed with the number of readings and projects on the horizon, but at the same time, she wouldn't have said no to a roll in the sheets.
She spent a lot of time thinking of a way to suggest this to Jughead. She, being Betty Cooper, even went the extra mile to print out like five articles about how orgasming had all these benefits for schoolwork, such as better focus, fewer headaches, less stress, and helped sleep. She almost put them in an envelope to slip under his door...and then, alas, she sort of chickened out.
It never went through his head that he currently didn't want to use coupons.
He was a guy! A normal, young-adult male that, as far as she could tell, had a regular sex drive. She wasn't saying that a girl could never be turned on (Exhibit A; Veronica. Exhibit B; Cheryl. Exhibit C: herself), but wasn't it usually that a guy was randy basically every twelve seconds?
Betty wasn't trying to catch him completely off-guard in a moment where he had nothing that he needed to do, but she also sort of was.
It was a rare moment when Jughead was both in the apartment and hadn't yet explained himself away with some hurdle that needed attention that night. It felt a little like before, when they were both just casually existing together, like friends.
"So," Betty said, coughing as she set aside her laptop, "It's uh...been a bit since we…" She had no idea where she was going, other than convincing Jughead to use a coupon, but after the 'so' had left her mouth, she realized that she had no pre-formed sentences prepared.
"Since we?" Jughead echoed back, looking a bit like deer in headlights.
"The coupons," Betty said. She clutched her pencil so tightly she felt her knuckles turn white. She waited, unbreathing, for a causal laugh.
For Jughead to go, 'Oh, yes, god you're right'. For him to have one already in his jean pocket. For him to grab one from behind the toaster like he's been pre-hiding them and just waiting for her to say something.
Instead, he just frowns.
"Uhh, yeah," He says in a languished voice, "You know, I'm just...sorta...tired tonight."
Betty knows when she's being let down with the intention not to hurt feelings. But that's bullshit. Her feelings are sort of hurt.
"Yeah, no!" Betty's smile is overly bright, to counter the swell of disappointment inside of her, "Totally. Get some sleep, bub."
Bub? Since when does she call him bub? God, this is a disaster.
Before February is over, Betty will try once more to encourage Jug to use a coupon, and once again, he'll have a skittish answer. Whether his excuse is a straight-up lie or the truth, she's unsure.
She just knows that one thing is true.
He's not about using coupons right now.
XXxxXX
The worst of the three bad things is the one that guts her.
She's able to rationalize away Jughead not using the coupons. She remembered when there was strife in her family (Polly's unexpected pregnancy), the last thing she wanted to do was explore her body at night. Most times, she felt as depressed as Polly did. She was a very empathetic person. Plus, any time she had started, she just thought that this action was what led to Polly pregnant and yes, that killed her vibe right away.
So, she figured, maybe this family shit (which she did know from Archie was still occurring) was so bad that he was just a little depressed. They weren't at the sort of point where she could make him feel better with a blowjob like a girlfriend might. And, even if they were dating (God, how she dreamed they were), he was within his rights to not want to do anything at all as he got through this.
So, while she sat in her bedroom and licked her proverbial wounds from his rejection, it was easy for Betty to convince herself of this.
Looking back, she wondered how she could have been so stupid?
A little after the beginning of March, Betty was opening the door to her apartment and heard a woman's laughter. She thought maybe it was just the TV until she realized that it was spliced between Jughead's low voice.
It was something responding to his voice.
Her hands shook as finished unlocking the door.
Jughead is sprawled in the living room with another girl. They're not in the middle of sex, but they're sitting cross-legged on the floor, pretty damn close, and laughing with one another.
"Betty!" Jughead coughs, "I thought you had your power-lecture."
"Cancelled, due to the professor being sick…" Betty trailed off, staring right at the girl. She's cute, Betty thinks. A small figure, white-blonde bobbed haircut with a big black headband. Her lipstick is perfect and her smile is contagious. She's familiar, but Betty can't quite place her.
"Oh," Jughead rubs his head, scratching his beanie, "Well, erm, I didn't…"
"It's fine. I wanted to catch up on some Netflix anyway," Betty says stiffly. She needs an excuse to get out of here. Right now.
"I'm Sabrina," Ther girl offers, standing and outstretching her hand. She's wearing a tight skirt and an oversized sweater that still looks super chic. Veronica would love her style and-
"You were our waitress! At that one Italian place, right?"
Veronica had complimented her style. Right before Valentine's Day, when Jughead wasn't acting strange around her, the four had gone out for dinner.
"Good memory," Sabrina grins, "Guilty." She does a little bow.
"We're just, well…" Jughead coughs, looking red in the face.
"Don't need to explain it to me. I'll just be in my room with my headphones on. Erm, have fun?" She says.
Sabrina giggles, "We'll try!"
Inside the safety of the room, Betty closes the door completely before she sinks down onto her carpet.
Jughead is with her, idiot. The reason he's been gone is because he's been seeing her. The reason he hasn't wanted to use the coupons is because he's getting something from her.
They'd talked that if one or the other found someone else, someone to date, that the coupons would stop. Jughead must think her so dense to not pick up on it!
Betty wanted to slam her head against a freaking wall.
Even if she had told him right when Sweet Pea made her aware of her own affections, it would have been a moot point. If Sabrina and Jug had been an item since around the time they went to dinner (and yes, looking back, she had been flirting with him a lot), she would have been about two weeks too late.
She couldn't even blame her own reluctance.
Betty wasn't usually one to binge Netflix shows, but tonight, that's all she wanted to do.
She turned off her phone, crawled into bed, and queued up some action show (there was no room for romance in her heart right now) and did not go out to the living room for the rest of the night.
XXxxXX
After that, leading up to Spring Break, the apartment was nothing short of torture. If Jughead was absent, Betty knew he was with Sabrina. If he was home, he was probably sexting her. And then, there were the times that Sabrina was just...there.
They were becoming more and more common. Sabrina's presence, that is.
It was as though now that Betty was indeed aware, she seemed to be over all the time.
Which, okay, fair. That's what someone did with their boyfriend.
It didn't mean that Betty liked it.
She was not usually a catty person. She tried with all her heart to hate Sabrina. She wanted to. She wanted a reason to just dislike Jughead's girlfriend, but fuck, she was sort of awesome?
She reminded her of a less mean Veronica. She was fashionable, she was funny, and she was sort of quirky in the way Jughead was.
They also just looked so good together.
She had that Poe-esque vibe that Jughead totally dug, and Betty was always sure she was a second away from being cursed by her. Which, of course, Jughead probably ate right now.
Betty couldn't help it. She imagined their sex. It was probably kinky and weird and twisted but so satisfying.
She could be all those things if Jughead let her.
Darn it.
And her and Jughead?
Well, it was sort of like living with an ex. Except for the fact, they had never dated. They'd just seen each other naked.
Did that make it worse?
There was this weird...energy swirling around them. This was really the only way Betty could describe it. It was palpable, like something pulsating and warm. It was electric. If Betty thought she was going to be less attracted to Jug now that he was unavailable, she was so wrong.
She wanted him even more.
There were moments where they met in the kitchen at 3 A.M. (moments when Betty was sure that Sabrena was waiting for him in his bedroom) and she felt a strange pull to him, like a string dragging her closer.
It was electric.
When their hands brushed passing the milk in the morning, Betty was overcome with ideas of shoving him against the wall and kissing him, undoing his pants and...
But she wasn't that sort of person. She was not a homewrecker.
In her fantasies? She was such a dirty, bad person.
Jughead's little sharp intakes of breath, however, were not helping things. Or the way his eyes turned dark. Or how sometimes she felt like he still watched her leave a room, though that was just her imagination, she was sure.
Suffice to say, living with Jughead had turned into wet-dream hell or paradise, depending on which camp you wanted to be in.
Betty was going insane.
XXxxXX
No one in their group elected to go anywhere for Spring Break. Archie had sports practice basically every day, Veronica was in a spat with her parents and therefore could not use the jet (how awful!), and Betty and Jughead simply did not want to go home.
She could tell that Veronica was bored two days into the break.
When Veronica got bored, very good things or bad things tended to happen.
It was one day when the four of them were hanging out (which was okay. It was easier with the four of them, less awkward), that Veronica sighed dramatically and turned to Archie.
"Archiekins, the cold weather has just been so dreadful, hasn't it?"
They were currently going through a polar vortex, which meant that it was bitingly cold.
"Uhm, well, I guess-,"
"And I just can't help but think that I would be enjoying things so much more if I had a hot tub to relax in." Veronica continued. Archie was scrutinizing her now.
"Sure…?"
Like the other two present, he was trying to figure out where she was going with this. When Veronica started talking in theoretical, one could safely assume she already had a plan. She wasn't fishing for ideas, she was trying to lead the rest of the flock to her brilliant decision.
"Well," She patted her hair, "Your training facility has a pool and an attached hot tub, doesn't it?"
Archie blinked twice, "Uhm...it does."
"V, what are you going off about?" Betty snapped. She was in a worse mood than usual. Jughead had woken up looking so adorably groggy today and she wanted to be the one to make him feel like that and overall she was just feeling ugg.
"I'm just saying," Veronica stood, "We're young and stupid. We need to act like it."
Betty already hated where this was going, but was very intrigued.
"I've already looked into it. They keep the pool and hot tub on and heated, even at night. Just to be safe. And the cameras are down right now, thanks to some intel from a friend who had the same idea I did. On separate days. We don't want our times to overlap. Thank god for rich people to fund centers like this, hmm?" Veronica said, "I guess you're right, it's happening, Betty." Veronica said, a twinkle in her eye, "We just need to get the key."
"The key to what?" Jughead finally broke in, shaking his head.
"The key to the pool room!" Veronica said, as though it was totally obvious, "Where we are going to get drunk and have a little midnight spa."
"You're crazy." Jughead declared.
"I'm the one bringing some fun to this break! My other friends will use the key tomorrow night. The night after, it's our turn. So, I'll bring the drinks. You just need to bring yourself."
"I'm in!" Archie said, grinning like a labrador puppy, "This sounds so fun, Ronnie. Jughead?"
There was a quiet moment, where Betty felt Jughead staring at her. With a dry mouth, she felt her heart thudding.
"I'll go if she goes," Jughead said, voice even. It was a dare. He didn't think she'd do it! He thought that he was going to get out of this because she'd be far too scared.
Well...he was rig-
"I'll be there."
What? Where had that come from? How had her mouth taken over without her brain realizing it?
Darn it.
They were all going now.
XXxxXX
Betty arrived at the back entrance of the building on the designated day fifteen to midnight. She and Jughead had walked here from different places. When she'd left to walk over, he hadn't been in.
She only owned about three swimsuits. She felt even three was a lot, but she wished for more as she sat in front of her mirror, trying them on.
One was very outdated and a size too small. Not in the way that made her feel sexy, but in a way that looked like she didn't know how to properly measure herself.
The two left...neither were good. One was extremely covering, and one was a gift from Veronica, meaning it was very not-covering.
In the end, she knew Veronica would pout if she didn't wear the two-piece she'd been gifted about a year ago, and she tried not to think of what Jughead would say when he saw it.
And failed a bit miserably.
Archie and Veronica came in a pair, which meant that Jughead was the last to arrive. Betty had a near panic that he wouldn't show up, but two minutes to midnight, he was jogging up the backside.
Sabrina wasn't with him. Betty was a second away from opening her mouth to ask until she realized, she didn't actually want to know.
She kept her mouth shut.
"Fabs! Let's break some rules," Veronica purred, holding the key up. It caught the light of the street lamps and she very expertly opened the back door.
The warmth inside the pool room felt like a sauna.
It was completely pitch black. Archie went to turn on a light and Veronica made a weird noise.
"We're trying to be unseen, boo. Lights off," She said, a wicked smile at her tone.
"But how do we-,"
"We have phones," Veronica said, fishing out her iPhone, "It's more fun this way, wouldn't you say?"
Veronica confidently leads them over to the hot tub. She put a hand in and hummed in pleasure, "Oh, yes. Scorching. My favorite."
The foursome shed their outer clothes in mid-darkness. With phones safely stowed away, Betty's eyes were beginning to adjust to the lack of light, though not as fast as she'd like. It would be a flash of skin, a hint of a swimsuit, or a glimmer of Veronica's eyes.
"Champagne, yes," Veronica clapped one the four were sitting inside, her voice just above a quiet whisper, "Because it's not a party without the proper favors."
"We could play a game!" Archie said brightly.
"Truth or dare?" Veronica offered. This was met with a resounding 'no'. And some excuses to not drink at all.
The game was vetoed (thank god), but despite Jughead's and Betty's best attempts to avoid it, they both ended up with a glass in their hand.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
For the first hour, or so, it was actually sort of nice. It was far less awkward when it was the four of them together. Naturally, Jughead and Archie ended up taking one side while Veronica and Betty took the other. They talked and laughed and giggled in hushed tones, even though there was no one else here. They drank through most of Veronica's offerings, which were four bottles of champagne.
"Archiekins, I feel like we haven't really talked," Veronica said dramatically, reaching for her on-off-again boyfriend.
"What do you wanna talk about, Ronnie?" Archie asked, pulling her into his lap.
It became abundantly clear that Veronica wasn't really in the mood for 'talking'. But, it seemed Archie knew where this went anyway. Within a few minutes, the pair were making out in front of Jughead and Betty. Jughead coughed awkwardly while Betty tried to avoid everyone's faces.
"Archie, you don't think that maybe we should-"
"Yeah get cleaned off-,"
It was a bad excuse, paper-thin. It would take a fool not to see what they were doing. Far be it from Betty to try to stop their sexual proclivities, especially when they were doing it far away from her. Probably in the showers, she figured.
What she hadn't realized, due to her slightly tipsy brain, was that this left her alone with Jughead.
Jughead wasn't wearing his beanie, though she didn't think it was because of her. It would be pretty silly for him to wear it in the water, wouldn't it? He was sitting, as though deep in thought, staring at Betty.
"I'm going to cool off," He announced suddenly, all but leaping over the side of the hot tub into the pool.
Awesome. He couldn't even stand to be five feet apart in a hot tub with her.
Betty was considering just packing up and going home when Jughead's voice startled her.
"Water's nice over here."
Betty blinked toward the sound of his voice. With the lights still turned off, the water was like an inky abyss, and it was only his pale skin that contrasted it.
"I think I'd drown," Betty said with a forced laugh, "I've had a drink or two."
"No, there's a place here where you can touch the bottom," Jughead said. Betty frowned. Was he trying to convince her in?
"Hmm," Betty said, fingers slapping around for her shirt. Yep, time to go.
Before she did something she really regretted.
"Betts."
"Yeah?"
"Dare or Dare."
Betty squinted, "I don't think that's how the game works."
"Who's here to tell us it doesn't?" Jughead murmured. She couldn't see him now, but could hear his sounds as he swam through the water, "You chicken?"
"No!" If she were soberer, she wouldn't even play into this.
"Then...Dare or Dare?"
"Well, gee, what a big choice. Dare, I guess."
"Get in the pool."
Okay, could be far worse. Betty sighed heavily, dipping her toes in. It wasn't nearly as cold as she expected.
"Now you ask me," Jug said.
"Fine. Dare or dare?" She rolled her eyes, swimming to the side of the pool for support, just in case.
"Dare."
"Big surprise." Betty bit her lip, "Uhm, erm...finish the champagne bottle up there." It was a pretty stupid one, but she wasn't really in a state to be thinking. Plus, then she'd know where Jughead was in a location to herself. Jughead grumbled a bit, pulling himself from the water. She heard drinking and then the bottle being set back down.
"Do you need proof?" His voice was deliciously teasing.
"No! No, you're, uh, good." Betty mumbled, edging along the sides of the pool until she could touch the bottom. Her neck was the only thing above water, but she wasn't at risk for being discovered dead tomorrow after a fatal slip.
"Okay, I dare you to-,"
"You didn't ask!" Betty said. She was sure if she could see Jughead's face, he'd be laughing at her.
"Dare or dare?"
"Dare."
"Skinny dip."
It took two seconds to realize what he was asking. She nearly lost her balance anyway.
"What? No!" She said, horrified. Not that he'd ask that of her, but because she was so tempted to do it.
"Would you do it if I told you it was an official coupon?" Jughead said, his voice much closer than it was a second ago.
"Coupon…?" Betty echoed dumbly until she recalled that was one of the few in the book, "I guess, maybe...if it's an official…" She was trying to remember why she shouldn't. She was coming up with a lot of blanks.
Her slightly drunk brain made a very stupid choice. "Fine."
No one could see anyway, certainly not Jughead. She couldn't even see her own body under the water, so she'd be fine.
She undid both her top and her bottom, setting them behind her.
The next thing she felt was something skim up her leg and she nearly screamed and would have, if not for a hand to cover her mouth.
"Had to make sure you actually did it," Jughead said, now right next to her. He let her go gently, "And, I believe that the coupon wasn't just for one person's benefit. That would be no fun."
"You're...you…" Betty's mouth felt like cotton.
"Mhh-hmm," Jughead said, fingers trailing up her neck.
"Kiss me, Jug," Betty breathed before she could stop. It was a pitiful, needing sound.
"Is that a dare?"
"If you need it to be," Betty murmured. Jughead cupped her face, pulling her in for a deep, needing kiss. It felt so good to be back under him, his tongue exploring her mouth. She gripped his shoulders, moaning as it went from slightly chaste to hot. She could feel his chest expanding with each breath, up against her naked chest.
One of his hands slipped to touch her breast.
She gasped, stiffening. This was enough of a break for Jughead's lips to move down her throat, biting at her shoulder and pulse. His other arm went around her, holding her against the wall of the pool, using the weightlessness of the water to help him.
His hand went lower. Between her legs was wet for him since he'd dared her into the pool. Betty pressed her face into the crook of his neck as he pumped in and out. It was so familiar, so comforting in a sense.
"Oh, gods, Jug…" Betty whimpered, "Mhh…"
She started moving her hips to her needs. Jughead's fingers were touching something deep inside of her she felt had been missing for the better part of a month and she was so close. Jughead's leg slotted between hers and she could feel his hardness inches away from her.
"Fuck, Betty," Jughead bit out, going back in to kiss her. He pressed against her too, with little restraint. She could feel him getting closer, edging, almost pressing up into her so many times. They were wholly aware of this, but also unaware of the entirety of the situation.
"I need...fuck.." Jughead pleaded, opening her legs.
Betty breathed, clutching to him, as she felt his hand start to line them up. She thought about it. About how it would feel to have him inside of her. How she, pressed against the pool wall like this, would be at his mercy. About how their first time would be somewhere interesting, at the very least.
Then, everything came hurdling over her.
"Jug, we...can't!" She hissed, pushing him off. God, he was dating Sabrina! They'd almost had sex.
"What?" Jughead's voice was groggy with alcohol, "Betty, I'm-"
Betty didn't have words. She pulled herself out of the pool, grabbed her clothes and threw them on without bothering to put her suit on underneath.
Then, she ran back to their apartment.
She didn't stop heaving before she was behind her bedroom door.
XXxxXX
The next two weeks that remained of March were unbearably awkward.
If Betty thought that Jug dating Sabrena would be hell, she had no idea what was to come. Their interactions were jilted and cold, that is if they interacted at all. It was now Betty who was making a very big point to almost never be in unless she had to be.
She'd really fucked that up, huh?
Jughead must think the worst of her.
It was a miserable existence. At least, when he was just dating Sabrina, they were still sort of friends. Now, she wasn't even sure they had that.
She should probably start looking for a new apartment.
Her whole mood felt darkened by her experiences. She missed her friend, she felt dumb and angry at herself, and overall a part of her wished she'd never given him those coupons. Or, that she'd explained it away at the beginning of the semester.
Anything but the agony of whatever hell she was in now.
She should have been happy in her purgatory. She shouldn't have let herself drink or let him dare her or any of it.
On the plus side, she was spending a lot of time with Veronica.
Veronica knew everything.
She half expected Veronica to tell Betty she was a completely horrible person, but Veronica just sighed.
"I did bring drinks. It's my fault. I'm sorry, B."
She tried to get Betty to go on dates or to do fun things as the week wore on, but frankly, Betty wasn't much in the mood.
It was early April when Veronica couldn't take it anymore.
"We could go out to dinner, and then go to a Broadway show. I hear that-,"
"You know, I think I'll just stay in. Thanks, though," Betty sniffed.
Veronica stared at her for about three seconds, and Betty thought that she was going to force Betty anyway.
"Fuck it!" Veronica said, standing, "I wasn't going to meddle, I wasn't...I was hoping you two would work this out. Like adults. But apparently-,"
"Veronica, what are you going on about?" Betty asked, turning to her.
"You and Jughead!"
"We'd have to be talking to 'work it out'," Betty said bitterly.
"Yes! That's the issue. God, you two are so dumb. Both of you." Veronica triumphantly held up a small object from her purse she'd just upended onto the duvet, "Aha!"
"A flash drive?"
"If you're gonna spill tea, you gotta have receipts," Veronica said simply, "Now sit and shut up."
Betty was intrigued.
The camera angle was shitty. It was clearly taken by Veronica through a slightly ajar door.
"Date; four days before the start of spring break. I was going to get a midnight snack and I heard our two favorite boys talking. When I realized what it was about…"
"Veronica, this is so-,"
"Oh, hush." Veronica said, "You'll thank me."
It took a second to make out the conversation.
"-You are so blind, Jug. Do you know that Sabrina messaged me?"
Betty gave Veronica a furious look. The last thing she wanted to hear about was Jug and Sabrina's relationship.
"Huh?"
"Yes. To ask if you were blind or something. She's been dropping hints for two months!"
"Hints?"
"That she likes you!" Archie hit Jughead's shoulder, "She's hot, I mean if I were looking for someone. I'm just saying. You two are equally morbid and all. It could be a good thing for you."
Betty frowned. Hadn't he been dating Sabrina for at least a month at that point?
"I don't know...man…" Jughead said softly.
"Ask her out. You deserve it."
"I just...tell her I'm not interested," Jughead said, scratching his head.
"Man, really. Super hot girl. Is into you. What's the issue?"
Jughead's next words were too quiet to make out. Apparently for Archie too.
"What?"
"You know what the issue is!" Jughead hissed, "Betty. But she's not...it's not an option."
"Because of Sweet Pea?"
"Yeah."
"Then stop torturing yourself. Go out with Sabrina."
"I can't. I'm sorry. I guess you wouldn't get it, since as soon as you and V have the slightest hit of trouble you're trying for some other tail, but I just…" Jughead threw up his hands, "I'm just frankly not interested in anyone else."
"Hmm." Archie narrowed his eyes, "Hey, you want to order some wings?"
The video cut off. Betty stared, slacked jawed at Veronica.
"I thought they were dating too, until this," Veronica said, taking out the flash drive, "And I wanted to tell you, but you've yelled at me for stuff like this before. And I thought if I gave it time, one of you would slip up and it would all come out. Apparently, I misjudged how bull-headed both of you can be."
"He's not dating Sabrina?"
"Nope."
"Jughead...likes me?"
"Yep."
"But he thinks I'm with...Sweet Pea?"
"Don't ask me," Veronica held up her hands, "Boys get all sorts of weird ideas."
"I gotta…" Betty blindly grabbed for her things.
"Go! You thick-headed romantic," Veronica giggled, "Please, end this. So we can start doing fun things again. That is... if you can be pulled away from Jug's bed after this."
Betty threw a pillow at her, though she did have a point.
The subway home felt like it was taking forever.
She hurricanes into the apartment, out of breath and heart thumping. Jughead was sitting on the couch.
"I'll move," He said in an icy, hurt tone.
"Jughead Jones," Betty said, grabbing his wrist, "We need to talk."