Betty's pov
"I'm gonna be a big sister!" Julie yells excitedly, running around the living room.
"Yeah Jules," Jug laughs. "How far along are you?" he then asks me.
"Early. That's why the line is so faint. But I took, like, a million to make sure, and they're all the same. And I don't have any symptoms yet, but I'm guessing I will soon," I reply.
"When did you find out?" He asks me.
I pause for a second. "I found out the day before school started," I reply slowly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jughead asks me softly, his facial expression a mix between confused and concerned.
"So much was happening. At first, it was because I wanted to do this kind of thing, and so I needed to buy the supplies for it. And then the whole thing with JB, I didn't want you to be stressed about me and her. I knew we all just needed to be focused on her, not on me or the baby," I reply.
"Betts..." Jughead says softly, placing his hand gently on my shoulder and pulling his body closer to me. "It really wouldn't have been bad if you had told me earlier," he says.
"Jughead, I know you. You would've been stressed about how I was, and the baby, and then that on top of JB, it would've been too much. It's better this way," I say.
"I don't know," Jug says, part sarcastically.
"It is, Juggie," I smile.
"Fine. I love you," Jug smiles at me, and kisses me.
"I love you too," I say, grinning at him once we pull away from each other.
"Juju, do you think the baby will be a boy or a girl?" Jug asks our daughter.
"Uh... boy!" Juju shouts.
"What do you think it's gonna be?" I ask Jughead.
"Girl." He smiles. "How about you?"
"Mm..." I say. I honestly hadn't thought much about it. "I'm not sure. I can't decide. I think girl one minute and boy the next," I respond.
Jug laughs softly. "Yeah. But I just have this feeling, you know?" he says.
"Yeah..." I trail off.
"Mama, I'm tired," Juju yawns, laying down on the couch next to us.
"Okay, let's get you to bed," I say, standing up and picking Julie up to carry her to her room.
"Betty, I got her. You're pregnant," Jug says, reaching over and taking her from my arms.
I roll my eyes. "I'm, like, four weeks. I think I can carry our four year old daughter," I laugh, but let Jughead continue carrying her.
After we tuck her in, we get into our bed.
"Jug, can I tell you something?" I ask him.
"Yeah, of course lovey," Jug replies.
"I feel guilty for being pregnant. Cause JB just had that miscarriage, and we already have a kid, and I know she's a teenager but I also know she wanted that baby. And I just feel bad that I'm pregnant and she's not," I say.
"Hey, baby, you have nothing to feel guilty about. It's not your fault that she lost the baby. It's not hers either. It's no one's fault. And... this may be crazy, but... I just thought of it and I'm kinda half asleep, but... what if we let JB name the baby?" Jug says slowly.
"Oh my god, that's actually genius!" I respond.
"Really?" Jug asks.
"Yes, really," I laugh.
"Okay, I guess we'll let her name the baby then," Jug smiles.
"Yeah," I smile back. I'm excited to go into this as an adult with a supportive partner and a job. Everything I wasn't or didn't have when I was pregnant with Julianne.
One week later
Juggie and I are sitting in his classroom, eating lunch and calling our parents.
"Hey mom," I say when she answers while I switch it to speaker.
"Hi Betty," she replies.
"Jughead's here too," I say.
"Oh, hey Jughead," my mom says.
"Hi, Alice," Jug responds.
"We were wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight," I say, smiling slyly at Jughead as I speak.
"My dad and JB might be there too, but we have to ask," Jughead adds on.
"Sure, of course! What time?" my mom agrees.
"Uh, come around five," I reply.
"Okay. Se you guys then!" My mom says.
"Bye mom. Love you," I say.
"Love you too. Bye!" Mom says, and then hangs up.
"Okay, time to call your dad," I say to Jughead.
He dials the number, waiting a second before Fp picks up.
"Hey Jug. Is Betty there too?" Fp says when he answers.
"Yeah, I'm here. Hi Fp," I say.
"Hi, Betty," Fp responds.
"We were wondering if you could come over for dinner tonight?" Jug asks him.
"My mom will be there too," I quickly add on.
"Oh, sure. Should I bring JB?" Fp asks.
"Definitely," I say to him, smiling to Jughead. My voice is close to laughter, and I think Fp can hear it.
"Why?" He asks, and I can hear in his voice his sudden suspicion. I can also tell he's smiling.
"What d'you mean, why?" I say, speaking the first four words so quickly they blend into one.
Fp laughs, and I blush, looking at Jughead. "I mean why were you so excited about JB coming over? Do you have something planned?" Fp asks us.
I look at Jughead, unsure of what to say next.
"Not sure," Jug covers up casually.
"We'll see you at five," I say, and hang up.
"I think he suspects something," Jug says, and I look defeatedly back at him.
"Definitely," I sigh. I feel my eyes get watery and I stare directly into Jughead's eyes.
"Why are you crying?" Jug asks as I feel tears run down my face.
"Hormones," I laugh slightly as the door to the classroom opens and JB steps in.
She pauses when she sees us. "O- oh, is this a bad time?" She asks, backing away.
"No, no, come in," I say, wiping the tears away from my face and standing up.
"Are you sure?" JB asks me, her face unsure of what to do.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure," I say as I make my way towards her with Jughead following closely behind.
"So, what was that about hormones?" JB asks us, and I can feel my face go red.
"Uh, n-nothing, nothing," I repeat, my voice quiet and nervous.
"No really, you can tell me," JB says, smiling, but I can tell it's fake. She reminds me of the popular girl trying to get another girl to admit she's pregnant by faking emotions, only to spread the rumor and ruin her life.
"It's nothing," I smile back, also fakely but hopefully more convincingly. I've had more practice, after all.
"Are you sure? I won't tell anyone," JB says.
"We're sure, JB," Jughead says loudly and harshly, surprising JB. "Now what do you want?" he asks.
"N- nothing. I just wanted to say that I have to leave at six because I have a date," JB whispers.
"Tell him to come over and have dinner with us. Go out tomorrow," Jughead says. He's still mad.
"We have movie tickets already-," JB says, but stops seeing how Jughead and I are both staring at her as if she just accidentally blew up the country. "I'll... make some arrangements," she says quietly, and slips out of the room.
"Juggie..." I say softly.
"I'm sorry. I just- I didn't know how else to get rid of her," he replies, his voice quiet as he stares at the ground.
I can hear the bell ring. "See you in a few hours," I say, as I walk back to my classroom.
4:50 that night
"I'll get it!" I yell to Jughead when I hear someone knock on the door.
"Hi, Betty," my mom says, and we hug.
"Hey mom," I smile. "Come in. JB and Fp are coming over and JB might be bringing her boyfriend but I'm not sure," I fill her in.
"The guy who got her...?" My mom asks.
I nod. "He seems nicer than Archie. I'm not too worried," I say.
We had just gotten to the living room when there's another knock on the door.
"I'll get it again," I say, but my mom and Jughead follow me. Julie's playing in her room.
"Hey guys!" I say to the three people standing in the door. Fp and JB, obviously, and Alex.
"Hi Betty," JB smiles warmly, and then hugs me. I hug back, guilt slowly growing inside of me.
I then hug Fp, and he and JB hug everyone else. Alex is left standing there.
"Alex, right?" I ask, and he nods.
"Hi, Miss Cooper," he says, unsure of what to do.
"I'm gonna be cliché and say you can call me Betty. Also, come in," I smile. Alex smiles back and steps slowly into the house and stands next to JB.
"JB," Fp whispers, and gestures to Alex.
"Oh, right. Betty, I know you met him but this is Alex... my... boyfriend," she whispers the last part.
"Hi, Alex. I'm Alice, Betty's mom," my mom says, smiling and shaking his hand.
"Hi Alice. Nice to meet you," Alex says back, also smiling.
"And I know you from class, but call me Jughead and not Mr. Jones. Only here though," Jughead says. He also shakes Alex's hand.
"Hey Jughead," Alex says.
"Okay, um, dinner will be ready in an hour so until then we'll just hang out in the living room" I say, and lead them there. "Oh, Alex, if you need it, the bathroom is the door at the end of the hall," I tell him, and Alex nods, showing me he understands.
"Should I get Juju?" Jug asks when we're all seated somewhere in the living room.
"Oh, sure. Get her to bring some toys out here too, she'll get bored of us quickly," I laugh, and Jughead runs to go get our daughter.
"Um, I don't mean to be rude but who's Juju?" Alex asks slowly.
"Our daughter," I answer. "Her full name is Julianne, but we call her Juju, Julie, or Jules," I explain.
"Mm," Alex nods. I usually see judgment in people's eyes when I say I have a daughter, but his face is plain, accepting. Understanding. He was going to have a baby as a teenager, I realize suddenly. And I smile softly to him, and he smiles back unsurely but kindly.
Then Julie runs out, holding a coloring book in one hand and a few crayons in the other.
"JB!" She says excitedly, and drops what's in her hands as she runs to hug JB.
"Hi!" JB laughs as Julie hugs her. "Hey Juju," JB smiles, holding Julie's shoulders so she looks her in the eyes. "This is my boyfriend Alex. Can you say hi?" JB asks her, and turns her to face Alex.
"Hi Alex," Juju says, suddenly shy.
I laugh a little, glancing at Jughead, who meets my gaze. I smile happily, and he smiles back. I can tell he's excited. I'm excited. But I still feel that guilt.
"Hi Juju," Alex smiles at her, and she shyly smiles back, her body slightly arched away from him. "How old are you?" He asks in an attempt to get her comfortable talking to him.
"Four," Julie answers, holding up four fingers.
"Really? That's so cool," Alex says, smiling excitedly. I can tell he would've been a good dad.
Jules smiles happily, excited he likes her age. "How old are you?" She asks him, making him laugh.
"I'm about to turn seventeen," Alex answers.
"When's your birthday?" I ask him.
"October fourth" he and JB respond at the same time.
"Oh, that's really soon. What, Tuesday?" I ask.
"Wednesday," JB fills in.
"Oh god, I have my days all off," I laugh.
"Why?" My mom asks me.
I freeze for a second.
"Oh, you know, just everything's been stressful lately, with school starting and JB stuff," Jug quickly fills in.
"Yeah, yeah," I nod in agreement. Also, pregnancy. Not necessarily pregnancy brain, but being pregnant just adds to the stress. But I don't say that. I can't. Not yet.
"Mama, wanna color with me?" Julie asls me.
"Yeah, sure! Do you wanna ask JB and Alex or Nana or Grandpa or Dad?" I ask her.
"Let's all draw!" Juju says excitedly.
JB, Alex, Juggie and I all sit on the ground and form a half circle around the couch, where Fp and my mom are.
Julie gives us different pages from her coloring book to us and we all color, but Jughead has to go finish dinner a little while in.
"So, what's the reason for this dinner?" JB asks me.
Jughead, who's much better than me at comic up with excuses, is gone, so I make something up quickly. "We just thought it would be nice to have a family dinner and have been busy these past few weekends," I lie, smiling sweetly.
JB nods. "That's nice. We should do this more often," my mom says. She's the most oblivious of the group. Fp knew we were excited about inviting JB. JB heard me say hormones and she probably told Alex, since they are dating. But my mom heard nothing. Unless Fp told her, which I doubt.
"Dinner's ready!" Jug yells from the other room. We all stand up, and I carry Julie because I feel like it.
I can see Jughead's eyebrows shoot up quickly when he sees I'm carrying her, but he stays silent, and his eyebrows are back down in a second.
We eat dinner, small, random conversations the whole time. Avoiding the pregnancy is hard but easy at the same time. All the while, I can feel the guilt eating away at me slowly.
Once dinner is finished, everyone but Jughead and I goes outside to play with Juju while we clean up.
"I don't think I can tell them today," I say as we clear the plates feom the table.
"Why not?" Jughead asks me, his face suddenly worried.
"I just... I don't know how to tell JB. Like… it's been a rough few weeks for her. I want to give her more time. I don't want to put this on her just yet," I explain.
"Betty, don't feel guilty please," Jughead says, setting the plates down to put his hand on my shoulder and look me in the eyes.
"I can't help it. I feel bad, that we're having our second baby with no problems and then she... and Alex too, I can tell he's hurting. Not as much as her, but it's definitely there. And the way he acts around Julie, he would be an amazing dad," I reply.
"No Betty, you're not guilting yourself out of this. We don't have to tell JB and Alex tonight, but we should tell our parents or they'll be suspicious on why we invited them," Jug says. At this point we're rinsing the dishes.
"Fine. But how do we get them alone?" I ask, putting the dishes into the dishwasher.
Just as we finish, we hear the door slide open and people walk in. We dry our hands and walk to the living room, greeted by my mom and Fp.
"Where are Jules, JB and Alex?" I ask them.
"They're outside, still playing," my mom says.
"They made an obstacle course," Fp adds.
I glance unsurely at Jughead, silently asking if we should tell them right now. He nods back at me.
"Okay, we have to tell you guys something" I say slowly, and nervously.
They give us mixtures of confusion and concern in their faces, unsure of what we have to say.
"We're having a baby!" Jug smiles excitedly, and our parents look at each other, both shocked.
"I'm pregnant," I whisper, tears of joy spilling from my eyes.
"Oh my god!" My mom says quietly, and runs to hug me.
"Congrats, guys," Fp smiles, hugging Jughead and then me when my mom hugs Jughead.
"Thank you," I smile.
"How far are you?" Mom asks.
"Six weeks tomorrow," I reply. "I've knows for two weeks, though."
"Oh wow, that early?" Fp asks.
I nod in response. "Yeah, the test was so light I almost didn't see it," I reply. There's a moment of silence before I continue. "Could you guys do us a favor?" I ask them.
"Sure, what is it?" My mom replies.
"We were wondering if you could maybe not mention this to JB or Alex yet, because it's so soon," I say softly.
"Of course, we'll wait until you guys are ready," Fp tells us reassuringly.
I smile gratefully. "Thank you guys so much," Jug tells them.
"Oh, it's no problem," Fp smiles.
That night
"Juggie?" I ask him as we lay in bed with the lights off, about to sleep.
"Yeah, Betts?" He responds.
"When should we tell JB and Alex? And how do we tell the students?" I ask him.
"We tell JB and Alex before we tell the class. I don't care when, you can choose," Jug tells me.
"That's hard to decide. Do we wait until I'm showing? Last time, I didn't even show until, like, twenty six weeks. I mean, technically twenty but it was so small it just looked like I ate a big lunch. I know it could be different this time around though, since it's with a different person, so maybe I'll show sooner," I say. Everything gets so complicated once you're pregnant.
"Well you don't have to decide today, you can always decide later," Jug mumbles. I can tell he wants to sleep.
"Yeah, fine," I reply, and shut up.
I lay in the bed for a while, unable to fall asleep. Finally, when I'm sure Jughead is asleep, I slip out of bed and walk quietly to the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water. I also really want Fruity Pebbles, dry, so I pour myself a bowl and silently eat while thinking about everything.
Eventually, all I come to is the conclusion that I will be tired tomorrow. I'm already exhausted, but this will just make it worse. So I go back to bed and eventually fall asleep, barely able to wake up the next day.