Chapter Seven

High School: a universal fiend among all teens in Riverdale, regardless of their status in the social hierarchy. An unfortunate side effect of the exposure of mine and Betty's video was the attention we both received at said high school. And with that attention, our positions on the social hierarchy were about to change dramatically.

When we decided to go to school the next day, determined to rise above the nasty looks and the judgemental comments, I'd expected more disgust directed at me. Cheryl and Toni certainly provided glares with enough anger to burn the school down, until Veronica had dutifully explained to them that I wasn't the one who posted the video online and spread it to our classmates like a social-media virus.

It was mostly the girls in the younger grades that gave the dirty looks, but they seemed to be exclusively reserved for Betty. Not that she paid any notice to them, determined not to let this destroy her. Besides, all the vigilante justice Archie had dished out over the past two years had nothing on the fierce defence that Cheryl Blossom gave to Betty when anyone so much as breathed a negative thought in her direction.

But the truly baffling consequence was the notoriety that I was suddenly receiving from the general school populace.

"Hey, Jughead."

Jughead had been walking through the school hallway with Kevin, on their way to chemistry, when he noticed that a lot of the girls were staring at him. He'd assumed it was out of righteous anger, like several of the River Vixens had been doing as he walked into school with Betty that morning. But, when he turned towards the girl who'd called out his name, he realised that she, and the other girls near her, were certainly not glaring at him.

They were grinning.

Some were looking at him wistfully, some were merely smiling at him. But there was no denying that several of the girls were doing nothing but grin.

"You free tonight? I know how much you like blondes…" the girl, who he knew was a junior River Vixen, twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger, and looked at him through her long eyelashes.

Jughead was lost for words, and felt incredibly uncomfortable. He'd never, ever been in this situation before. The only girl who'd ever paid him this kind of attention was Betty, and very briefly Toni, but their interest in him had started out as friendship. He'd never been hit on in the school hallways before, aside from one time in junior year when Betty had winked and kept her eyes on him as she opened the door to the Blue and Gold office. Jughead had been quick to follow her lead and lock the door behind him…

Luckily Kevin didn't share his sense of unease. "Brittney, even I have a better shot with Jughead than you. Go back to crawling inside Cheryl's ass, or I'll tell her you were trying to slide in with her cousin's boyfriend. You'll have no chance of becoming the next HBIC after that."

Brittney rolled her eyes and turned towards her locker, but not before sneaking a wink at Jughead. Kevin and Jughead continued on their way, and Jughead was prepared to let it go when two more girls walked past them; both girls' eyes slid over Jughead's body, and one of them said softly, "Hi Jughead," a sultry smile splayed on her face.

Once those girls had walked away, Jughead stopped Kevin. "Kev, you're my designated gossip collector. Why are these girls suddenly interested in me? Is this because of the video? And while we're at it, since when do Riverdale's finest male athletes want to be "bros" with me?" select members of the Bulldogs had once again taken to tapping him on the back as he walked past or nodding at him when their eyes met.

Kevin sighed. "Well, honestly Jughead, you were already on everyone's radar when you faked your death. People are barely over that, and now you're literally one half of a whole sex tape scandal." Kevin started walking again, nudging Jughead along. "I think you're getting praise from the football team in particular because they'll use any opportunity to boast about a fellow student's sexual prowess. As for the girls…" he paused, looking Jughead in the eye. "Well, have you seen your sex tape, Jug?"

"I don't need to see it Kev, I lived it. And that thing nearly got me thrown in jail."

"Well, let's just say that most of the girls in this school are now very conscious of the fact that you know how to… take care of a girl, let's say." He smirked at his friend. "I won't lie, Josie and I did scrub through that video together, because we were just so shocked and were hoping it was a joke. And from what parts I did see, I can guess that a lot of Riverdale's teen girl population – and some of the boys – are in awe of the mysterious writer slash biker gang member who enthusiastically goes down on his girlfriend for twenty minutes in order to give her multiple orga—"

"Ohkay Kevin, thank you for that." Jughead felt his cheeks growing very hot.

"I hate to say this, Jughead. But it appears that overnight you've turned into a veritable Sex God. A myth, a legend, the kind only whispered about during slumber parties…"

As if on cue, Reggie Mantle joined the pair. "So, Jones, word on the street is you do know what to do with girls after all. I would like to apologise for, and humbly withdraw my previous statements about your inability to get laid."

"Reggie, that's the opposite of helpful." Kevin stated.

"I'm just keeping it real, gentlemen." Reggie gave them both the peace out sign. Jughead decided to ignore him.

Just before they made it to the chemistry lab, a formidable ex-student approached. "Jones." He said, crossing his arms. Jughead was instantly on higher alert.

"What do you doing here, Chuck?" Jughead made no attempt at hiding the venom from his voice. Chuck Clayton had graduated the year before, and his past behaviour and comments about Betty made Jughead think he could only have nefarious intentions.

Chuck crossed his arms. "Not that it's any of your business, but I needed to pick up my transcript. I lost my old copy." He rolled his eyes. "What I should be doing is wringing your neck right now, Juggie, after what your jerk sister did to mine yesterday."

Okay, not exactly what I was expecting, thought Jughead. He cracked his neck. "I don't know what you're talking about, Chuck. But please, give me a reason to throw you on the floor."

"Wow, do you think you can take me cause you're a big scary gang member now, Donny Darko?" Chuck let his arms drop to his sides. "You keep that baby snake of yours under control and we won't have a problem."

Jughead took a step closer to him. "You'd better stay the hell away from her, Clayton, or we will have a problem."

"Jughead…" Kevin's voice sounded more like a warning than his actual name. Reggie wouldn't have minded if the two started throwing punches, but he remained silently supportive instead of egging Jughead on like he secretly wanted to.

Chuck looked like he was going to argue some more, but then let out a breath and crossed his arms. "I didn't come over here to fight you. I actually came to tell you I saw Betty ditching class. She's in the gym feeling sorry for herself. Thought that might interest you."

All the anger rushed out of his body. A sense of bewilderment settled over him instead. "Um… yeah it does." Jughead looked at him in confusion. "Thanks… I better go check on her." He gave Chuck a once over, then nodded to Kevin and Reggie. "Can you tell Mr Kowsky I'll be a few minutes late?"

It didn't take long to find her. She was sitting at the top of the bleachers, right in the corner so she was half hidden by one of the large cement columns. The rest of the gym was abandoned. She looked up at him when he walked in and briefly smiled at him, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"Hey there, you hiding from the hard labours of mathematics?" Jughead asked once hed made the climb to reach her.

Betty laughed, though Jughead detected no hint of amusement from her. "Sort of. I'm avoiding Veronica, actually. She caught me throwing up during lunch – again – and kept asking me all these questions… seems convinced that we should ditch school and go to the pharmacy…" she gave him a pointed look.

Jughead took a seat beside her. "You haven't told her yet?"

Betty shook her head, leaning against him. "I don't think I'm ready for anyone to know. We only have one more week of school after today, and it's going to be full of exams and cramming, prom, graduation, and I really need to stay focused… I just want to graduate high school without everyone knowing I'm with child." Jughead's silence made her look up at his face. She noted the guilty expression planted there and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What is it, Jug?"

He gave her a pleading look, his blue eyes shining with regret. "I may have… accidentally mentioned something to Archie."

Betty stiffened and sat up properly, moving slightly away from him to turn and face him. "You told Archie?!" her voice betrayed a hint of panic.

"I'm so sorry, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you last night… I kind of forgot."

Betty looked incredulous. "You forgot." It was a statement, not a question. Truth be told, after being interrogated by the FBI, most of the previous day's events had gone out the window of his memory.

Jughead took her hands in his, running his thumbs over the soft skin. "He found me sulking at Pop's yesterday just before Charles did. I still had no idea about the video. So, when he started telling me the whole school knew all about 'what I did to Betty' and asked me if I wanted to talk about it… I just assumed he was talking about me getting you pregnant; that someone had overheard us talking and spread it around." Betty groaned again. "I'm really sorry, Betty. It was a rookie mistake."

She put her face in her hands. "Damnit." He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and rubbed her arm.

Guilt began to spread through Jughead's chest. "It's going to be okay, I don't think Archie is going to tell anyone… and I'll talk to him before Literature this afternoon…"

"It's okay, Jug… don't beat yourself up." She put her arms around him, drawing him closer to her.

They remained like that for a few minutes, neither wanting to talk, when he and Betty's phones both dinged at the same time. They shared a worried glance, and both pulled their phones out to see a new group imessage from Charles. Jughead let out a sigh of relief and placed his phone back in his pocket, deciding to read over Betty's shoulder.

Alice just called your school. You both have permission to take the rest of the afternoon off. Some members of the FBI are going to come in at 1:30 for an assembly about the legality of sharing underage nudes and intimate videos. They won't mention either of your names but they are going to talk specifically about existing videos that are circulating. I just did a generic version of that assembly with Agent Johnston at Riverdale Middle School. Jellybean says hi.

Betty finished reading before Jughead. "You wanna go to Pop's?"

Would I ever say no to that?

Jughead just stood, pulling her up with him. Starting the weekend early and avoiding the stares and whispers of their classmates sounded like the best thing ever right now. He sent out a text to Archie, asking him if he could come over that afternoon, and they set off to their lockers to grab the rest of their things. Jughead knew Archie would read between the lines and know he wanted to talk. He didn't need to send him a long winded message packed with emotion.

It was hours later, long after everyone had returned home for the evening and the sunlight was barely visible through the loungeroom window, that Jughead received a text message. He'd been watching Tiger King with Betty and JB, and Betty had just announced she thought the old blonde lady was bat shit crazy. He pulled out his phone to see it was from Archie.

Come walk Vegas with me?

He gave Betty a kiss on the cheek, tugged one of Jellybeans braids (earning him a 'get lost douchebag'), called "I'll be back soon Dad!" up the staircase, and headed out the front door. Archie was already standing at the bottom of the stone stairs that led from the house to the street. Vegas let out a happy bark and wagged his tail as he approached.

"Hi best bud." He pet the top of Vegas' head, earning him a lick. "And Archie." He winked at his pal.

Archie laughed. "I think Vegas likes you more than he likes me."

"That's cause he's the only living creature I would share my burgers with. We have a bond, he and I." Jughead grinned at Archie, already feeling a bit less 'doom and gloom'.

They started walking past the small cemetery near their houses, neither wanting to be the first to bring up the elephant in the maple barn. It wasn't uncomfortable silence, but there was a tenseness in the air between them.

Archie was the one to crack. "What's going on with you and Betty, Jug?"

Jughead sighed. "Honestly… I don't think either of us really know what's going on." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket, a slight chill running over him that had nothing to do with the Spring breeze.

"Are you keeping it?"

Jughead stopped walking. "I… we haven't actually talked about it…" he thought about Betty's reaction, her stress over the past couple of days. The redness of her eyes and her tears as she told him she was pregnant. The way she'd taken off almost immediately, the fact that she didn't want anyone to know… Did she not want to keep the baby? Did he want to keep it? He wasn't going to pretend either of them were ready to be parents. They were barely adults, regardless of their legal age.

But then he thought about last night, the way they'd held onto each other. Her soft voice promising not to hide anything about their baby from him. Our baby, the words returned to the front of his mind.

Jughead knew the answer. He'd known the moment she told him. "Yeah, I think we are." Jughead wasn't sure how he felt about that, not yet. He'd need time to process, just like Betty did.

Archie had stopped walking when Jughead had paused, so he reached out to pat him on the back. "You guys are going to be fine. You've both faced way worse things the last couple of years. A baby should be a walk in the park compared to some of the shit you've both survived."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Arch." Vegas whined, urging them to keep walking. They obeyed.

"What are you guys going to do about college?" An innocent, curious question. One that gave Jughead a jolt of surprise.

"You're really opening a can of worms that me and Betty haven't even pulled off the shelf yet, man." Jughead could feel his heart beating in his ears. He hadn't even thought about college. How the hell were they going to go to college with a newborn? They couldn't… could they? Jughead could feel a headache starting to form. "Betty doesn't want to talk about it until after graduation. Honestly, I was kind of against that but now I understand why. There's so much we need to think about, plan… like college. Can we even still go? Also money. Babies are expensive. And, where are we going to live? The house is crowded enough with the five of us. I mean, I guess we'd be fine having the baby in our room… oh my God Archie I don't know anything about babies. I've held Juniper, like, three times. And Dagwood is not my biggest fan. Last week when we visited them at Cheryl's he screamed and threw a ball at my head when I tried to high five him." Jughead paused to catch his breath, feeling the no-longer-familiar tightness aching in his chest. He wasn't about to let the panic attacks that had stopped years ago start up again now. He needed a clear head, he needed to stay calm and collected… like Betty was trying to do.

"Maybe waiting until after we graduate is a good idea. You and Betty need to finish high school. And it's not like this problem is going to disappear in the next week. You have nine months until you really need to come up with a contingency plan." Archie stopped walking again to face Jughead. "You should both just get through finals next week and enjoy the prom and graduation. Have fun with the next couple of weeks, live a little, and then deal with parenthood."

Jughead grimaced. "I appreciate the optimism, Archie, but I don't think it's going to be that simple. Also, if Betty's right – and she usually is – then we don't have nine months. We have…" he used his fingers to count nine months from March. "Like, seven? Maybe? I'm not really sure how due dates are calculated."

Archie shrugged. "The exact amount of time doesn't matter, my point is the same. There's no point to adding extra stress to the next week, it's going to be crazy enough without adding a baby to the mix."

The sound of tyres against tar came up from the quiet street. They both looked towards a sleek black car with gold embellishments that was slowly cruising down the road in the direction they had just come from.

Jughead nudged Archie. "Is that Veronica?"

The answer was obvious. "It is. Well, it's her chauffer's car, but I'd guess she's in there. I didn't know she was coming over."

"I don't think she's coming to see you…" Jughead recalled what Betty had said earlier about avoiding her best friend. The best friend who suspected the truth. "Did you tell V about Betty?"

"What? No, of course not. Why?"

Jughead frowned. "She knows… well, suspects Betty's pregnant. Betty was avoiding her earlier, which I'm guessing Veronica has realised."

Archie smirked. "My girl sure is persistent."

Chapter 8

The trouble with secrets isn't necessarily having one. It's the internal anguish, the paranoia – the wondering: 'is someone going to find out?'. Keeping secrets causes the most stress to those who are in on them.

And sometimes, hiding secrets is purely impossible – especially when you're trying to hide things from the people you love.

Betty and Jellybean were so absorbed by Joe Exotic's escapades of polygamy and revenge on Netflix, that neither of them noticed Veronica's driver pulling up in front of the house. Nor did they see the raven-haired beauty prancing up the stairs with determined gusto. Three quick raps on the front door alerted them to their visitor, and JB enthusiastically flounced over to the door with a cheerful: "I'll get it!"

Betty had been expecting Jughead to return from his 'talk' with Archie, but he stomach clenched when she saw Veronica standing in the doorway. Great, thought Betty, she's not going to take no for an answer.

Veronica pulled Jellybean into a quick greeting hug. "JB! Your hair is looking particularly fabulous today. Did you do those braids yourself?"

JB gave Veronica her signature cheeky smile. "Betty did them this morning, actually. She was teaching me how to do them Dutch style. I'm pretty good at French braids though if you ever want to try them out."

Veronica, ever the pleasant house guest, smiled back at her friend's sister. "Maybe you should convince that brother of yours to let you do his hair. It's gotten so long I'm surprised it hasn't started growing through his beanie." They both laughed, and made their way back into the loungeroom to find a tense Betty sitting up straighter on the couch.

"Hey, V, what a nice surprise." She gave her friend the fakest smile Veronica had ever seen. "Me and JB were just watching that Tiger King documentary everyone was talking about on Facebook if you want to join us?"

"Actually," Veronica's smile was equally as sickeningly sweet as Betty's was. "Jellybean, would you mind terribly if I borrowed Betty for a moment? I really need some girl talk." Her smile wavered, and Betty's eyes narrowed as she say Veronica's eyes fill with fake tears. "It's Archie, he's acting really weird and I just need a fresh perspective from a neutral source."

If JB noticed anything was amiss between the two, she didn't comment on it. "That's okay Ronnie!