Hi everyone! We're halfway there.

I ventured in some unknown territory with this chapter. I was reading a few articles and interviews a while back exploring Jughead sexuality in the comics and in the show and I know he's been described as aromantic before, but I've come up with the idea that he might be demisexual instead. At least that's the path I chose for this story. It's a topic I find interesting and I wanted to develop this concept a little bit in this fic. It won't affect the story line per se, but it was necessary to Jughead's characterization. It'll all make sense in the end eheh

I apologize in advance if I made any errors.

"Hey Toni, any news from the guys?" Jughead was sitting at a booth at Pop's with a large plate of burger and fries in front of him.

"Fangs told me they're following a good lead. I think we're close to find out where she's meeting with the Mexicans."

"Ok. The more we know, the best we can handle Penny and her pals. Also, as soon as we know her location is I need to tell Betty. The FBI will be here in a couple of days."

Toni nodded. "Speaking of Betty..."

He raised his eyes and looked at her. By the look on her face he knew what she was going to ask.

"What, Toni?"

"I really want to know if you're ok. I mean, after what happened the other night..."

"What happened the other night?" he casually dipped a fry in ketchup and popped it into his mouth.

Toni smiled.

"Nice try, Jones. I saw the way you two looked at each other. And...I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed your little PDA on the dance floor. To tell you the truth I was starting to feel uncomfortable myself. I don't think I ever felt so much UST between two people."
"US...what?"

"That means Unsolved Sexual Tension, Jughead."

"Wow, is this something normal people talk about over burgers?" he was trying to change the subject.

"I know you have an extensive knowledge of both classic and contemporary fiction and read enough books in your life to know what UST means. And there's a shitload of it between you and Betty Cooper, that is fore sure."

"Oh, you mean the same kind of sexual tension I felt between you and Cheryl at dinner at the Ivy Lounge?"

Toni did a double take, tapping her fingers on the table nervously, but when Jughead raised an eyebrow and grinned at her she stopped, squinting her eyes and pointing her index at him.

"Don't change the subject. We're talking about you and Betty, here. So, go on. Tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened. We didn't do anything."

"The hell you didn't. I saw you two dancing...if we can even use that word to describe what you were doing. You were dry-humping each other! And I believe half of the people at the Wyrm saw you two kissing. With tongue."

"You spying on me?" Jughead was amused.

"I know everything that goes down at my club. That's part of the job. But that's not the only reason.

I care about you, and Betty. And she looked devastated when she left. What did you do?"

"Excuse me?" Jughead sounded annoyed. "I didn't do anything. Everything was fine."

He took a deep, calming breath and went on "we were just having this weirdly nice moment, not thinking about all the crap that went down between us. I thought we were good. More than good actually."

So good that at some point, as Betty was rocking her luscious body against his, he'd been this close to excuse himself and run to hide in the bathroom to take matters into his own hands at the thought of turning her around shoving his tongue down her throat in the middle of the dance floor, and grind his body into hers with everyone watching.

"Then she started crying, said she missed me and kissed me" Jughead spread his arms, shaking his head.

"Despite my initial surprise, I let her have her way, because I can't fucking deny her anything, no matter how damn hard I try. I just wanted to be close to her, to hold her because that's what I do when it comes to Betty Cooper, I become unable to think straight. I just feel compelled to give her what she needs, what she desires. I didn't mean to do anything more, but I kissed her back, because I wanted to and I know how much I missed her too. What happened next is a mystery to me. She broke down and left."
"I think I know why she left."
Jughead straightened in his seat, frowning. He thought about Betty's reaction a lot the night of the party, when he was alone in his bed. He didn't sleep much and he kept reliving the events in his mind, just like he had done the night he gave her a ride after her car died down. She'd suddenly tried to get away from him as if she couldn't stand to be near him.
"Jug, she feels guilty for what happened years ago, and the fact that you let her so close the other night, too close maybe, triggered a massive internal conflict." Toni explained. "Can't you see that? She wants to be close to you, but she believes she doesn't deserved it. Plus I'm sure she was afraid of your reaction. Maybe she feared you'd push her away so she did the only thing to avoid that: she ran away."

"She looked so miserable! I'm not a heartless asshole, I never would have pushed her away. I'm upset, yes, but I don't think I have the strength to really say no to her. Ever."

Jughead had a sad look in his eyes. "I miss her. I miss how we were together. How she makes me feel..."

"May I ask you a few personal questions, Jug?"

"Aren't we already past that point? What do you want to know?"

"How many women did you have satisfying sex with?" Toni asked after a few minutes of total silence.
"Wow, fuck! You don't beat about the bush, huh? That's definitely personal enough for me! I can't believe you just asked me that."

"You know I'm a licensed psychologist, right? It's not like I ask this kind of questions because I have a kink."

"Yeah, I know. But still...it's weird to talk to you about my sex life."

"Why? Because we both like women?"

"No! Yes? I don't know! How's Cheryl, by the way? You two seemed quite cozy at dinner that night." Jughead winked at his friend and she shook her head.

"Aww, you're cute when you insist on changing the subject."

Jughead laughed. "Ok, I'll play along. Are we talking their satisfaction or mine?"

"Yours. I'm sure there's not a woman you've slept with who could honestly say she wasn't satisfied."

"Oh, you mean except you, of course?"

"We haven't technically slept together! God! You're like family to me!" Toni stood up quickly from her seat and slapped him hard on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Stop dicking around! If we were in my study and you had to pay me for my time, I can assure you you'd start taking this seriously."

He smiled bashfully and she shook her head.

"By the way, we're talking about both emotional and physical fulfillment. So, cut to the chase, how many?"

Jughead was hesitant at first, and seemed to think it through for a few moments.

"Two." He seemed to consider his own words. "Wow, now that I said that out loud it sounds even more tragic."

Toni nodded, she had a theory and his words were definitely confirming it. She crossed her legs and wrote a few words into her notebook.

"I'm guessing one of the two is Betty. Who's the other one?"

"My ex-girlfriend, Jessica. We lived together in New York for about a year."

"Did you love her?"

"I think I cared about her very much, yes."

"Who ended the relationship? Was it you or her?"
"She did, but I wasn't objecting. Things were great for the first few months, then I started feeling like a bird in a cage. I was wrapping up my second novel and my editor was pressuring me and I was so focused on writing that we ended up being two complete strangers sharing the same living space, and we were fighting all the time Jessica told me she was thinking about moving out and I didn't stop her. I'm not proud, I know I could have tried to fix things, but at that point I think I realized I wasn't in love with her anymore."

"When did you stop having sex with her?" Her tone was purely professional, but still they were in a diner quite full of people discussing his miserable sex life.
"Toni, are you for real?" Jughead laughed gesturing for her to lower her voice a notch.

Toni simply looked at him, waiting.

"Damn! It's not like I was keeping count. I think we stopped about 4 months before our break-up."

"So, around the same time you were growing stressed for the book and your feelings for her had changed?"
"I think so, yes."

Toni folded her hands and rested them on her bent knee, under the table.

Jughead stopped eating.

"You're too quiet, should I be worried? What's the diagnosis, doctor?"

"I think you can be described as demisexual, Jughead."

Jughead had never heard that word before.

"It means that you can experience sexual attraction to someone only after you've established a deep emotional connection. You need to be emotionally involved with someone to have a deeply satisfying sexual encounter."

"And is that a bad thing?"

"No, it's not! There's nothing wrong with it."
"So, how does this exactly applies to me?"

"Have you had any one-night stands?"

"Definitely more than I'd like to admit."

"And did you enjoy them?"

"Well...it's sex, I can't honestly say I haven't enjoyed the act itself." He had the most amused expression on his face.

"Ok, let me re-phrase. How did you feel after?"

Jughead looked thoughtful for a long while and when he spoke again his voice was solemn.
"Like I didn't even want to be there, and the worst thing is we were usually at my place so I had to sneak out of my own apartment, hoping she'd leave at some point. Saying that out loud makes me feel like a real asshole now, but at the time I felt suffocating at the thought of sharing my bed with some stranger. I always try to be a gentlemen, if I'm not interested in someone I do my best to let her down without being a dick, you know. But sometimes I just needed to feel something, so I caved in and ended up in bed with a few blind-date matches my college friends introduced me to from time to time. And I've never seen them again, for obvious reasons. They didn't want to be near me. Which is totally understandable."
"It's not like you do this on purpose, Jug. You just tend to not enjoy sex just for sex."

"Hence the catastrophic one-night stands I've had. It makes sense now."

"Or the infamous PG-13 groping session when we were in highschool" Toni giggled.

"Did you have to bring that up again?! After that night I thought I was the worst kisser on the face of the earth. Go figure I was just a demisexual guy!" he was smiling.

"Oh cut the crap, will you. You know you're a great kisser" she was smiling too "I told you then and I'm telling you now. But you're missing the point. Look, Jug, I think you're a loving and dedicated man, and deserve happiness and peace of mind, just like everybody else" she was serious again "but you need to understand where and with whom you're going to find 'em."

"Are you suggesting I start going to church for guidance?" he was smiling.

"Jones, focus" she moaned. "You need to talk to Betty."

She let her words sink in before she spoke again.

"The reason why you've been hurting all these years is that you still have a deep connection to her. Which is both painful and deeply unsettling for you. When a story ends, there's always an aftermath to go through before a person can move on. But neither of you did because you stopped talking about the real problem, pretending it wasn't there. You took your own separate ways and here you are, seven years later, still suffering and wondering why and how things went the way they did..."

"I know how things went down, Toni. She cheated on me. And the worst part is...I initially thought I had forgiven her, because I knew she still loved me. But then we grew distant and it didn't feel right to be together."

They still lived under the same roof and slept in the same bed, so the physical pull they experienced every time they were in the same room alone was undeniable and of course there had been also sex involved. But a few days after Betty's confession they'd stopped craving each other company like they used to, and all intimate contacts were kept to a minimum. A casual peck on the lips, a gentle stroke on the cheek, until one day they found themselves on the couch, five feet apart, and it felt like an entire world had suddenly grown between them. From that moment on, the rest of their lives began and they both faced their future alone.

"I think that's why you need to give her the chance to apologize and to yourself the power to forgive her so then you both can heal. Because from what I've seen, she's still hurting, too. You need to re-build your relationship with her. Have you ever considered being friends?"
"Friends?!" Jughead let out a sharp, chocked out laugh and shook his head. "Betty and I can never be friends, Toni. From the moment I kissed her in her bedroom for the first time I knew I could never be her friend anymore."
"Even if friendship is the only thing both of you could ever have?"
"Yes."

Toni felt his pain.

"I see what you and Cheryl have and I envy you, Toni. I wish Betty and I could have it too, but I believe there's a very thin line between friendship and love for people like me and her and once you cross it, there's no turning back."

"You still love her, don't you" Toni said and it wasn't a question.

Jughead didn't say anything, he simply stood up, drew some cash from his wallet and put it on the table, smirking.

"Lunch is on me. I need to go back to school. I'll see you tonight."

Toni watched as he put on his jacket and left the diner, walking towards his bike and lighting up a cigarette.

"Got you, Jones..." she whispered to herself, smiling.

Betty was outside the Sheriff's department building where the FBI team had set their base. She was talking to one of the senior agents.

"Penny Peabody and her little gang aren't the target for today's operation" the man was saying.

Betty turned her head. Maybe she didn't hear well.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I thought we were shutting down the whole organization?"

"And we will. But not today. On the basis of information obtained by phone-tapping, we were able to gather that there's a connection with a Mexican cartel and today's meeting will be a sure confirmation. They use the Ghoulies gang to get drugs and weapons in and out of the country. We need to get as much intel as possible so we can't shut them down just yet."

"Excuse me, Sir?" She cleared her throat. Every other agent in the room looked at her like she's just grown two heads. Special Agent Tyler didn't like to be interrupted while discussing an operation. Not by any agent, and most definitely not by a trainee.

Special Agent Tyler aknowledged Betty's unquestionable value so much that he personally recommended her for a task force working on a very important case back in Virginia, but damn the woman was stubborn and had major authority issues.

"What is it, Trainee Cooper?"

Putting emphasys on her status was his way of reminding her she still had a long way to go before she could be a proper FBI agent.

"I'm sorry, to interrupt, but I thought we had enough evidence to put Penny Peabody and the Ghoulies out of the picture. What about drugs trafficking in Riverdale?"

"The Mexican cartel is the priority. And the Bureau wants it to be taken down."

"With all due respect, Sir, they already took over Centerville market and I'm sure she's planning to do the same thing here!"

"Cooper! Are you familiar with the concept of following orders?"

It wasn't the first time she had to be lectured back into her place by one oh her supervisors.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good, because our orders are clear. Penny Peabody and her right hand are not the target."

Betty was about to say something back when her phone started buzzing. She fished it out of her back pocket and she saw it was Jughead. Agent Tyler looked at the display too.

"If that's your your friend, Mr Jones, remember, not a single word. We can't risk for another gang to get in our way."

"I just think they deserve to know what we're planning to do. They helped us to get all the information we are using now. Some of the Serpents risked their own lives in the past to fight against the Ghoulies and..."
"Enough! I'm not sure you understand. If you wish to take part in this operation, I suggest you to stop talking and put on your vest and get in that van, we're leaving in 5 minutes. Otherwise, consider yourself suspended."

He turned his back and Betty answered the call.

"Hey, Jug."

"Betty, hey! I was about to hang up. Everything ok?"
"Yeah, yes. I'm just a little busy right now. Some paperwork I need to file in."

"Of course, I won't keep you for long. I just wanted to know if you had any news?" he asked.

"Actually, we do. But we still need to get some confirmation from the tech team. We are ready but I'm not sure when we're going to plan the raid. In a couple of days maybe." She was practically chewing the inside of her cheek. She was blatantly lying to him and she hated herself for it.

"Just make sure to get that bitch and her pals locked up for good."
"I will try my best, Jug."

"I know you will, Betty. That's the way you are." He was speaking softly and his encouraging words made her feel even worse. "But, be careful, ok? You know how nasty Penny can be."

"Yes, I will. I'll call you as soon as I know more."

"Awesome. Thank you."

When she hung up she felt like shit. She put on her vest and got into the van.

About half an hour later, the blue surveillance van was parked in the dark, on a closed on-ramp leading right at the back entrance of the garage. The position gave them excellent access and visual.

Betty sat in the seat with Agent Tyler and other six agents, waiting for the green light to get into action.

Two separate teams had been on stakeout for 48 hours, monitoring each and every movement of Penny and her gang.

"Heads up" came a voice from the radio. "There's red vintage car approaching the side entrance, along with two SUVs. Tinted windows. We can't see inside, sir."

"Copy that, Fields. Everybody on the ready, as soon as we see any sign of the Mexicans and the weapons we're getting in and stop the exchange. Remember, we need Peabody and Malachai alive. Shoot to wound, only!"

Betty knew who had a passion for those type of old cars, but most of all she knew that he would never let anyone else touch it, except maybe for Penny. But something wasn't adding up. "That's Malachai's car, sir."

There was a moment of silence then Special Agent Tyler spoke again.

"From the information we have, Malachai owns a blue Camaro, we have hours of footage and photos of him driving it."

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but that red vintage used to be his wheels of choice a few years back."

Agent Tyler seemed upset.

"Can anybody from team Alpha please confirm Malachai's position?"

A few moments later statics filled the van and Fields' voice came through. "Yes sir. The subject got into the house an hour ago and he's still inside. The Camaro is parked in the driveway. We're all clear."

Tyler sighed and looked at Betty with a severe expression.

"I hope this addresses your concerns Agent Cooper. The car is outside a house in Centerville. Do we have your permission to proceed now?"

All the other agents were either suppressing a laugh or looking the other way and Betty felt her cheeks warm up in a blush. She nodded, too embarrassed to speak.

"They're getting into the garage, we'll lose visual for a few seconds."

A few minutes passed then they got confirmation from one of the two backup teams that other 3 cars were approaching the garage from the opposite entrance.

"Looks like the Mexicans are here too."

Betty was watching the little monitors in the tactical FBI van. They hacked into the whole garage closed-circuit cameras and redirected the live footage to their systems. They had the video feed but no audio.

The two cars were now parked at each side of the same lot, lights on.

For a few minutes nothing happened, Betty knew they had to wait for visual confirmation of the weapons being on site before getting on with the operation.

One of the SUV doors opened and two men got out. They were both wearing dark sunglasses and a black suit.

When the driver's door of the blue car opened, they saw Penny Peabody climb down and nod at the two Mexicans.

"Evenin' fellas. How was the flight?"
"Too long, Snake Charmer. Where is the treasure you promised my boss?"
Penny tilted her head to her right side where there was a series of iron rolling shutters numbered from 12 to 16. So that was where they kept their stash. They'd been monitoring the building for over a week and in the last two days there had been some movement in and out. Penny was most definitely moving in the merch from her storage facility just out of town, preparing for the exchange.

"I reserved you the lucky 13th, my favorite., though I was expecting Rodrigo to show up in person."

"This is the first time we meet, chica, the boss needs to check a sample of your product before he decides to do business, you know?"

"I understand. He'll be pleased, I can assure you. Beautiful and deadly, made in the USA."

She snapped her finger and another man Betty didn't recognize got out of the car and went to the second door, opening the lock and rolling up the shutter. From where the camera was placed there was no clear view of the inside, but the man fumbled with a manual fork-lift, pulling out a large wooden crate from the storage unit, and moving it until it was in front of the two Mexicans.

Even though they couldn't decipher the whole conversation, it was clear they were negotiating the terms of the exchange.

"Ok, everybody ready to break-in, wait for my signal. As soon as we see the weapons, you have the green light!"

Betty checked the straps of her vest and fixed some backup ammo in the pockets of her thigh harness before she removed her Glock from the holster.

Surely enough, Penny's lapdog pulled a crowbar from the trunk and cracked open the crate, then the taller Mexican man got closer and lifted the lid, letting it fall to the ground.

It was filled to the brim with what looked to be a stash of AR-15.

Agent Tyler took the radio. "We have visual confirmation! I repeat, visual confirmation. Green light!"

Betty pulled the handle of the slider door and jumped outside, followed by the rest of the team.

When all units converged to the exchange point, identifying themselves ad FBI, the Mexicans started shooting, shielding behind the SUVs.

Taking advantage from the way her men were responding to the fire, Penny threw a smoke grenade to cover her escape. Betty tried to follow her, even though the smoke was burning her eyes and all she was able to see when she reached the main entrance to the garage, was Penny getting on a bike behind someone. Someone with dark curly hair and a studded jacket. Malachai fooled everyone to think he was in Centerville, while for all intents and purposes he was Penny's contingency plan.

She thought the surveillance team had a lot of explaining to do, since they let a suspect disappear under their noses.

As it turned out, the raid was a total mess. The only positive note was that over 20 crates full of weapons were confiscated. A couple of agents got shot in the gunfight and there were a handful of casualties among the gang members too, but the worst part was that they had nothing. The FBI caught a couple of Ghoulies as they were trying to escape, but after six extenuating hours of questioning, it turned out none of them knew much. They didn't know where their bosses were hiding out or where the rest of the weapons was staked.

They were just the sacrificial victims Penny and Malachai left behind in the name of the cause, while the two of them managed to ran away.

Not only the FBI didn't have a lead on who was running the Mexican cartel in the state, because the two Mexicans were shot in the gun fight, but the Ghoulies they had in lock-up were practically useless, since Penny and Malachai never discussed the bigger plans with any of them. Penny was at large and Betty was sure she'll relocate somewhere else in no time.

She was angry. At the FBI, at Agent Tyler but mostly at herself for letting this whole situation slip through her fingers. She was the one who insisted to have the feds involved, who convinced Jughead that the authorities could handle Penny and her fucking minions better than the Serpents would. If Penny escaped, it was her fault. She should have known better.

And now she had to tell Jughead, Toni, Sweet Pea and all the others that her brilliant plan had backfired like an atomic bomb and they were all potential targets.

"Damn it!" she stripped of her vest and threw it on the floor.

The following day, Betty was finalizing her report on the operation. She'd been procrastinating all day, avoiding the hardest thing since she got back into town, letting Jughead know about the raid.

When she finally mustered up the courage to dial his number, it was almost midnight.

He answered after the second ring. For a moment there she'd hoped he was already asleep, so that she could delay this dreadful conversation a while longer.

"Betty...It's late, what's going on? Are you ok?"

Just when she thought she couldn't feel any worse, his concerned tone made her stomach tighten.

"I need to tell you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

Jughead listened to her while she explained how everything went down. She heard the metal click of his lighter and she knew he was smoking. He didn't say anything for a while, aside from the occasional 'mmh' or 'go on', though she sensed he was getting more and more upset by the minute.

"I'm really sorry, Jug."

Betty heard him curse under his breath.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?! I put the whole crew on hold because you said you'd keep me posted! I put my guys on the line to help the you and the FBI to get the information you needed! Sweet Pea and Fangs risked their lives!"

"I know! I wish I could do something..."
"I think you did enough, Betty, fuck!" His disappointment was evident.

"Jug..."

"No!" he hissed.

"We're still working on the case, we've got some of Penny's goons in custody, we'll make them talk. We'll find her, I swear. I just need more ti..."

"Fuck, no! Not I'm giving you more time! I'm taking over from now. Tell your commander officer, superior or whatever the fuck he's called, I don't care."

"If you go after the Ghoulies on your own, they'll probably put you and the others in custody for obstruction of justice, at least until they draw out Penny and Malachai."

Jughead snorted. "We'll see about that."

"For God's sake, Jug! I don't want you or any of the others to go to jail or caught in a cross-fire! You can't risk a gang war! Let the authorities handle this!"

"Yeah? And how did it go so far?" He was mad and even though she couldn't see him, she heard very clearly as cutlery and glassware clattering as he slammed his fist on the table.

"Listen, I don't want to fight with you, Betty" his voice was breathy, like he was trying to regain some control "because I could say things I'll regret and I really don't want to hurt you. I know you tried to help, but Penny an Malachai are out there plotting their revenge and we're back to square one. I need to talk to the guys, decide what to do next and get a move."

She was mortified. She didn't know how to fix this. She had just given Jughead another reason not to trust her.

Jughead was silent for a while, she could feel his breathing over the phone.

"I'm going out of town for a couple of days, some field training I just can't avoid, but...Can we, can we talk about this when I get back? In person?"

"I don't know. JB will be in town next week, so I'm not sure if I'll have the time."

He was shutting her out again.

"Jughead, please. Just don't go after her just yet. Let me gather some more intel for you. I'll tell you everything I know, I swear. I'm begging you."

He took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

"I'll see what I can do. But Betty, I'm the one in charge now. Remember that."

Betty felt relieved. He was obviously still upset, but there was still a glimmer of hope.

"I have to go now." And with that he hung up.

Riverdale was in the middle of a thunderstorm and it was starting to get cold. Toni had insisted for Betty to go out with her hunting for a dress for the big weddin before she left for Quantico, so they were inside a very fancy looking boutique, discussing fabrics and old-fashioned customs that needed to be updated.

Since the failure of the FBI operation, she knew her friend was blaming herself and she needed a distraction.

"I know it's tradition that the bridesmaid wears a dress but I find it so outdated!" Toni was inside the fitting room, trying on the fifth dress in a row. "I would feel way more comfortable wearing pants."

"Kevin said we have complete freedom, Toni. Colors, models, whatever."

Betty was sipping a glass of champagne. That's the classy things fancy bridal boutiques do when you are willing to spend a ton of money for a dress you will probably only wear once or twice.

They even offered them a plate of fresh strawberries to go with the sparkling wine.

When Toni came out, she was wearing a magnificent floor-length dusty lilac empire waist gown which complimented her skin beautifully.

"You look fab, Toni!" Betty clapped standing up from the velvet sofa and coming next to her.

"Yeah, this is really nice and I love the fabric too, but...I don't know."

She checked the price tag and sighed. "If I'm about to spend this amount of money on a dress, I would much rather spend it on something I could wear more than once. Don't you think?"

Betty got closer and looked at the tag, whistling. The dress was without a doubt one of the prettiest she'd ever seen and it looked gorgeous on Toni, but her friend was right. She would probably only use it once and then it'll lay forgotten in the closet for years, it was the kind of dress you wouldn't wear on a night out unless, of course, you were dating a royal.

"Agreed. And who said we have to necessarily wear a dress to be bridesmaids? If you feel like wearing a suit, I say you should go for it."

"You'll be ok with that?"

"Totally! Screw tradition! Just wear what makes you feel good. Hell, I'll even try on some too, I saw a nice shop down Main Street. I think they even have a tailoring service, in case you need to make some adjustments."

"Cool! I'm gonna get changed and then we can go check it out if you have time."

Betty nodded and Toni went back behind the curtain of the fitting room.

A few minutes later they were running down Main Street, under a downpour.

"Oh my God, I swear that lady over there was going to burst into flames when we told her we couldn't find anything we liked!" Toni chirped.

"I know! She probably thought we couldn't afford half of the things they had, she kept on suggesting sale items to me! I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman."

It was true. That was the second shop they'd been in since their quest to find the perfect dress to wear at Kevin and Fangs' wedding began and they got a rich-people-only vibe as soon as they set foot inside.

They found out that being bridesmaids or best women, as they liked to be referred to, was not an easy task. There were so many options and so many fabrics and way too many colors to chose from.

Kevin and Fangs were both wearing black, so at some point, Betty proposed to wear complementary colors, so they could be a perfect match to each other. They chose to go for something peach for her and lilac or purple for Toni. Both colors were in their respective comfort zones, so none of them had to feel uneasy.

When they reached the store on Main, they almost immediately noted the difference in the atmosphere. The woman behind the desk was a middle-aged brunette with a gentle face and kind smile. She introduced herself as Sandra and gestured for them to take a seat on a very comfortable milky white couch and sat on a chair opposite to them, asking questions to find out their taste and necessities. Betty and Toni liked her instantly.

She smiled in understanding when they told her they wanted to go a bit against the current and wear suits, and seemed thrilled to show them a few pieces by some indie designer from Chicago.

She showed them four suits each, every last one of them different from the other and unique in its own way.

Toni was sold with the second she tried on. It was a light purple one shoulder jumpsuit and matching blazer with golden details. It needed just a retouch to the hem, since Toni was petite, in order to show off the gold high heeled strappy sandals she chose.

Betty, on the other hand, was enamored with the last one she wore, an intense peach tux consisting of cigarette pants, a white v-neck blouse and a short cut fitted jacket. Since they were wearing heels at the wedding – or at least for the duration of the ceremony and photo-shoot – Sandra handed Betty a pair of 5 inch color-matched open toe pumps. When she looked in the full length mirror, her own jaw dropped and Toni winked.

"Damn girl! You're stunning. Add just a hint of makeup, a nice hairdo and I think every single male guest at the reception will try to hit on you. Maybe even some female. I know I would."

Betty laughed shyly. She knew Toni liked to tease her.

"I'm just focusing on keeping my balance on these things" she laughed looking at the shoes.

"You're so buying them, Betty Cooper! They're gorgeous and you can wear them every single day. With jeans, skirts, whatever."

"Ok."

Toni snapped a selfie of them all dressed up and smiling and sent it to Kevin and Fangs, who replied immediately, showering the two women with compliments.

They were both very satisfied with their purchase and decided to celebrate by having dinner at Chang's, Riverdale's most delicious Chinese restaurant.

They already ate spring rolls and steamed dumplings, and they were half-way through a large portion of Cantonese fried rice when Betty spoke.

"Is Sweet Pea mad at you for the best man thing?"

"No, he's cool with it. I think he's just a bit bummed he doesn't get to organize Fangs' bachelor's party! I bet he's more excited for that than the wedding itself. He's been raving about all the pranks he will be pulling at Kev and Fangs! I swear, the guy acts like he's 15 again!"

Betty laughed. Sweet Pea was the tallest, most hefty Serpent she knew, the one you would side with if you had to go through a riot, so imagining him pulling pranks was quite funny.

"Fangs and Kev talked and they were both thrilled at the idea of two women beside them on their special day, but Mr. Fogarty had originally planned to ask someone else, even before Pea."

"Really? Who?"

Toni shot her a 'can't you guess?' look and Betty cracked a smile. "Jughead."

"Of course." Betty couldn't help the giggle escaping her lips. "That would have been interesting to say the least."

Toni teased her. "What, walking down the isle with Jones?"

Betty squirmed in her seat and the other woman touched her hand.

"Betty, I was joking."

"It's ok. It would have been awkward, though, giving the actual situation."

Toni drank a bit of water and put her sticks on the plate. She was completely full.

"We're...on speaking terms. Which is more than I expected, to be honest."

"Speaking terms? That is not what I saw at the party at the Wyrm." Toni raised a knowing eyebrow and offered a warm smile.

"Yeah, well, after the mess I made with Penny, I'm not sure he wants to talk to me, period."

"He took his anger out on you, didn't he?"

"I involved the FBI and now that bitch is hiding out somewhere, plotting her revenge. He had the right to be mad."

"Do I need to punch him? Just tell me and I will. I swear he's a great guy but sometimes he needs to learn manners, like any other man on this Earth, if you ask me."

Toni's words made her laugh.

"Please don't ruin his face...I kinda like it."

"Kinda huh?" Toni's eyes glimmered. "But really, how are you?"

"I just wish things were less complicated."

"Listen, Jughead is like ad onion" she added, more seriously, making an effective apropos comparison "and you know that."

Betty nodded, putting down her sticks too. "He's got layers."

"Yes and he started shedding one after the other since you two met again. I know it must be difficult to wait for him to finally bare his true self and sometimes you just..."

"...wish I could rip them all off? Yeah." Betty finished her sentence.

"You both have to talk and get it all out, no matter how gut-wrenching or painful it is."

"I just want him to trust me, but I don't know if that's possible anymore."

"Betty, from what Sweet Pea told me, I'm 100% sure that he trusts you. He would have never accepted help from someone he hasn't faith in."

"Yeah, and I made a mess."