Author's Note : Hello! So, this isn't really getting much a response. I hope I'm not doing something wrong. I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing because I am having fun with the story. But I will admit, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. That's all. Here's the chapter.
Chapter Five Song : 'Lolita' by Lana Del Rey
Disclaimer : Don't own the characters. Just really like them.
CHAPTER FIVE :
Monday morning came faster than Betty realized was possible. It seemed like no time and her alarm was going off, her mother was tapping on the door telling her not to be late for school and she was staring at her reflection in the mirror tightening her ponytail and smearing a pink gloss across her lips. Was she wearing too much pink? Would Jughead think so? He seemed more into darker colors.
How narcissistic could one person be? Friday night, while Archie had been dropping her at her door for the night, hitting her with yet another not-unpleasant yet completely unremarkable kiss, Kevin had been at Sweetwater River where he had literally tripped over Jason Blossom's murdered body. It was barely dusk on Saturday morning and it seemed as though half of the town had congregated on the shore of the river to watch Jason's bloated, lifeless body being shipped off to the coroner's office. Betty had been amongst them, standing at Archie's side, her mother and her father standing together just a few feet ahead of them. Her father had even reached over and squeezed her mother's shoulder at one point. That had been interesting to witness considering that her parents had split up their children and fled to different states in order to keep contact between themselves to the barest minimum.
Archie had seemed tense and uncomfortable. An understandable reaction to seeing someone you had known most of your life being pulled from a body of water and zipped into a body bag. But it was the first time Betty had ever seen him like that. He didn't want to talk about it, but he walked around the rest of the day with his shoulders tight and his jaw strained. She knew she should be doing something to offer him some kind of comfort, but she didn't really know exactly what. She hadn't known Jason; didn't know what his relationship with Archie had been? Had they been friends? Acquaintances? Strangers who every once in a while passed each other in the hall? What did you say to comfort someone for a loss that you didn't know the extent of?
She had been pulled away from thinking about comfort when she had thought she'd heard her mother's voice say something about "hoping Jason suffered" and "burning in hell." But that didn't make any sense. Why would he mother wish something so malicious on someone she had barely known? Sure, Betty knew that he'd had a relationship with her sister but...wishing someone to hell in earnest seemed extreme. Did her parents blame Jason for Polly's issues? They hadn't said as much to Betty, but then they hadn't really said anything to Betty about Polly other than to tell her that she was 'somewhere safe getting the help she needed.'
So many things seemed to be happening all at once and so quickly, Betty couldn't seem to get her bearings on the situation.
It didn't help that with one glance around at the gathered spectators at the river's edge, for one fleeting moment, Betty locked blue eyes with green just in time to see him turn away and walk, hands in pockets, up the muddy bank to the street.
Jughead.
He had been there as well. Hanging back on the fringe of the crowd; observing the goings on; those sharp eyes taking in and making note of every detail. Betty didn't know how she knew that that was what he had been doing. She just did. She understood it in a fundamental way that she had never understood anything else.
She knew that was what Jughead was doing, because that was what she had been doing herself. Until she had seen his eyes and all rational thought had escaped like a puff of smoke in the wind. She had wanted to go after him.
She hadn't.
In the present, Betty shook away the thought of green eyes and soft looking black curls and headed downstairs for a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Slanted sunlight flooded the kitchen through the angled blinds as Alan stood at the breakfast bar sipping a cup of coffee. His yellowish eyes skittered over her from head to toe when she entered.
"Excited for your first day of school?" He asked.
Betty shrugged, "I guess. It's just school. I'm sure it won't be too much different."
"Make sure you sign up for extra curriculars." Alice's voice rang from somewhere in the vicinity of the living room.
Betty reached into the fridge for milk, "Well, I met the editor of the school paper at open house. He read a few of my articles for the Gambler and said he had a spot for me, so there's that already."
Like a magic poof, Alice was by her side, "The paper! You've already got a spot on the paper! That's my girl!"
Alice took significant pride in her own journalism career and had been so thrilled when Betty had started to show an interest in the profession. She had always nurtured that interest, proofreading Betty's articles, questioning her sources, suggesting who she might go to for research and quotes. She had made Betty a better writer.
Betty nodded as she poured the milk over her cereal, "And Veronica said that tryouts for the River Vixens are today at lunch."
"What's a River Vixen?" Alan said from behind his mug, his eyes locked on Betty. She didn't like the way he had said the word ' vixen.'
"It's the cheerleading squad," Betty's mother answered for her, "Cheerleading. Hmmm. I guess that..."
"It'll look good on a college application, mom."
"Besides," Alan smiled, "Betty will make a nice cheerleader."
"You're right." Alice conceded, "Okay, hurry it up! Don't be late!"
She had no more than said the words when there was a knock at the front door.
Betty went to answer it to find Archie waiting on the other side. He smiled, "I thought I'd walk you to school."
The first day at Riverdale High was much as Betty had expected it would be. No significant differences from her old school...with the exception of the captain of the cheerleading squad. River Vixen tryouts introduced her to the viper that was Cheryl Blossom who had apparently not been her sister's biggest fan. She was the sister of the recently discovered murdered boy and she went off on a tangent about Polly until Betty wanted to rip her bright red hair out by the roots. She managed to maintain her calm by the grace of something holy, though she could feel the sticky warm liquid on her clenched fists. Then Veronica, like the avenging angel she was, stepped in and made the ginger bitch shut the hell up.
There was a reason Betty had found Veronica so easy to adore.
And so, Betty was officially a cheerleader. Part of her was certain that Cheryl had only agreed to it in order to keep her close...like one should always do with their enemies. It didn't matter though. The outcome was the same regardless and that was the outcome that Betty had wanted. To be a member of the cheerleading squad.
It still hit her hard, the vehemence in Cheryl's disdain for her sister. Her parents had wished bad things on Jason's eternal soul, Cheryl was talking about Polly like she was psychotic daughter of Satan and Betty guilty by association. What the hell had happened between her sister and this poor dead boy that had their nearest and dearest detesting the very air that they breathed? And why wouldn't her family tell her anything about it? It had to be pretty bad.
Betty tried to push the distracting thoughts aside for the remainder of the day. When she got home, she could lock herself in her room and pontificate, pull out the few facts that she knew and examine them from every angle, try to fit them together and form some sort of cohesive picture. For now, she'd focus on school itself. She shared three classes with Archie, two with Veronica and only one with Jughead.
Jughead.
He was in her fourth period chemistry class. She hadn't been fully prepared for the feeling when she had walked in and seen him perched on a stool at a lab table with an open book. The room smelled of propane, chemical cleaners and bleach. Glass beakers and Bunsen burners lined the walls with plastic tubes sticking from clear glass jars positioned at strategic intervals along the wall to wall shelving. Jughead had been staring down at his book, eyes darting back and forth over the text, beanie present as ever atop his head, one lock of thick dark hair hanging in a tantalizing curl across his forehead. Her fingers has itched to brush that curl away. Then, as though fate had it in for her, he had chosen to glance up at her just as Archie had appeared behind her and touched his hand to the middle of her back.
Archie's sudden and unexpected touch had startled her and she had jumped nearly out of her skin. At the same time she'd watched as Jughead's gaze darted away from the two of them. Her stomach had lurched at the thought of partnering with Archie while Jughead sat just feet away, within touching distance. But, it was Veronica to the rescue again! She swooped in, caught Betty by the arm and led her away.
"Sorry, Archikins!" V called over her shoulder, "Dibs!"
Betty's relief was only momentary because Archie immediately swerved to take the seat next to Jughead. To be his partner.
Yup. Fate, that rotten bitch, clearly hated her.
Jughead's first day back at school was spent mainly on autopilot. That wasn't exactly out of the ordinary. He did most things at Riverdale High on autopilot. He'd become a master at going through the motions when within these walls. He cared about The Blue and Gold, his fellow serpents and Archie Andrews. Outside of those things, he put his head down, did his work and waited for graduation. He'd been drawn into a few confrontations over the years, normally over some injustice that he saw and wrote about or in defense of a friend. However, there was one blaring difference this year that he couldn't seem to shake or ignore; her. She strolled into the chem lab looking so preppy and pink and pretty and...off limits. She had seemed too good to be true the other night when she had burst into his world at the Blue and Gold. He should have known. A girl like that, golden and shining like a new penny, his complete damn opposite...she and Archie had probably been drawn to each other like magnets.
It pricked at something in him, stung just a little bit. But he'd survived worse. He'd move on.
Archie landed on the stool to his side and dropped his books on the table. "I feel like it's gonna be a good year, Jug."
"Yeah?"
"Everything feels like it's coming together."
His best friend looked so happy, Jughead felt like an ass that he couldn't be enthused for him. He'd get there. He would. He just needed to get beyond the instant, ridiculous puppy dog crush that had come over him like a famine. Once he got past that, he'd be fine.
What the hell had come over him anyway? He must have eaten a bad cheeseburger. He'd get over it. 'Crushes' weren't Jughead Jones's thing. He'd walk it off and get his attention focused back on the important things in his life, like writing and the serpents. He wouldn't remain stuck on one perky little blonde for very long. That wasn't the way the world worked. Not his world anyway.
Archie felt like he was the king of Riverdale. The 'hot new girl' that everybody was talking about was his girlfriend. He had already overheard Reggie telling some of the football team that she was 'Andrews' girl.'
Andrews' girl. He liked the sound of that. They were Betty and Archie. Archie and Betty. Their names just sounded right together. There was a little extra something in his step; his step which faltered when Geraldine Grundy stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"Mr. Andrews," she said, looking timid in the shy, endearing way that she had about her, "could I speak with you in the music room?"
Archie's entire body tensed in reaction to the invitation. He did a quick sweep in both directions before nodding and following her into the empty classroom. She closed the door behind them and turned the lock.
"I miss you, Archie." She said as she turned and leaned back against the door.
Archie wanted to touch her. He didn't know he could want something so bad. "You said once school started back up, we'd go back to being just teacher and student."
"I...made a mistake." She said, closing the distance between them the slightest bit, reaching her hand out, brushing her fingertips over his abdomen. It felt like fire through the thin cotton of his shirt. "I think if we're careful...if we..."
"Ms. Grundy," He cut her off, keeping it as formal as he could and stepping back away from her touch, "I think you were right. I mean, I have a-"
"A girlfriend? The blonde, right? The new girl?" Geraldine countered, following him step for step, flattening her palm to his stomach this time, "Do you really think she understands you the way that I do?"
Archie felt his eyelids grow heavy as lust seeped into his entire body. She moved even closer and this time he didn't step back. He could feel the warmth from her body, so familiar, so tempting. She tilted her head back to look up at him.
Jughead stalked through the halls, hands in jacket pockets, headphones on, face down but narrowed eyes forward. However, something popped into his peripheral vision as he passed by the music room that made him stop all forward momentum.
Archie?
He backed up without turning and pressed himself against the closed door before peering one eye through the window. What was he doing? Did he think that watching Archie make out with Betty would help him move on faster? Logic told him it would be more like twisting a salt covered knife inside an open wound but, masochist that he clearly was, he couldn't seem to stop himself.
Much as he'd expected, he peered through to window to find Archie and...Ms. Grundy? What the hell was happening? What was Archie doing in there with someone who wasn't Betty? Jug tucked his head and ducked away before somebody noticed him staring into an "empty" classroom. He'd have to get to the bottom of the matter later but for now, he didn't want to bring anyone else's attention to his blood brother canoodling with a teacher.
Ten minutes later, he was in the Blue and Gold getting ready for his staff meeting when Betty stumbled through the doorway...in her cheerleading uniform. A whole new level of hell had apparently just opened up for him.
"Sorry," she said, "I had a fitting-"
"It's fine," Jughead interrupted her, "Let's get started. First off, everybody, this is Betty. Our newest journalist."
Betty looked around the room at the three other people in various states of repose. There was a smiling girl with Shirley Temple curls, a red ribbon and a baby round face, another girl with cafe au latte skin wearing a leather jacket that matched Jughead's and long pink hair and...Kevin! A friendly face! Betty immediately crossed to stand by his side.
Jughead was leaned over the table reading from pages scattered across the battered surface. He had looked at her briefly when she had first entered but not again. Not once. She wanted to see his eyes. She wanted to see them so much it hurt. Physically hurt.
"Betty, you know Kevin. He's our gossip columnist. I don't know how he knows the school's secrets and I don't wanna know but readers eat it up. This is Ethel Muggs. She does our community awareness pieces. Puff and fluff at its finest. No offense Ethel."
"None taken!" The baby faced girl said, staring at Jug with blatant and obvious adoration.
"And Toni Topaz, photographer extraordinaire and sports detail." Jughead finished up.
"Hi," Betty said with a meek, one handed wave.
"All right," Jughead continued as through she hadn't spoken, "Let's keep it short and sweet. Jason Blossom's body was discovered in Sweetwater River after Open House. I will be covering this one, obviously."
"Oh, obviously." Toni said.
Jughead gave her a smirking sideways glance and Toni crossed her eyes at him. Betty didn't like that. So both of the girls on the paper had a thing for Jughead. Well, all three of them if you counted herself. But she didn't. She wouldn't. She couldn't. She shook it off. Focus on the dead body. Grim, but better than the complication of Jughead Jones.
"Speaking of, how ya doing, Kev?" Jughead asked.
"Honestly," Kevin said, "it was more traumatizing explaining to my father what I was doing there with...who I was with. Yet another perk of being the Sherrif's son."
"I'll bet. Moving on. TT, pep rally and opening game," Jughead looked up at Pinky with another perfect half smile and Betty started to really dislike this girl, "Try to take pictures of more than just Cheryl this time."
Toni smiled back, "No promises. The camera loves her."
"Uh-huh," Jughead looked back to his papers, "Kev, do what you do. I bask in your abilities."
"I know." Kevin replied.
"Ethel, I'm gonna let you take the Pickin's Day article this year." The statement earned a chuckle from the others in the room. Some inside joke? Jughead continued, "I don't really feel like getting suspended again. Just say basically the opposite of anything that I would say and you'll be fine."
"Got it," Ethel chuckled.
The word 'suspended' chimed through Betty's mind. He had gotten suspended for a newspaper article? Who gets suspended for a newspaper article?
"And Betty," he finally said and Betty's heart hurt a little. She liked it when he called her 'Coop.' It had only happened the once but it had felt...like theirs. Like in that moment they had become a them. Now it was Betty. Individual. Alone. "You're new so we'll start you off easy. You get to cover the back to school semi-formal Friday night, lucky you."
A puff piece! He was giving her a puff piece! He had seen her articles; she didn't do puff pieces! Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her pencil tight to keep from throwing it at his gorgeous, beanie covered head.
"A da... A dance?" She asked through clenched teeth.
He didn't look up when he said, "It's a big event."
"Don't we go to print on Thursday night?"
"It'll give you a chance to settle in around here."
So not only was it a puff piece, but by the time it printed it would be week old news! Unacceptable.
"I'm sorry," she couldn't let this go, "are you worried about me meeting my deadlines?"
Finally, those green eyes darted up to lock onto hers. She had expected them to be cold and distant, but they weren't. Dear God, they weren't. They were hot and electric. She knew hers were the same. So much so that she could feel the sparks flying between from across the room. The other people in the room followed the exchange like they were at a tennis match, heads bouncing from one to the other in fixed fascination.
"I don't know you, Betty." Jughead said.
"You've seen my work."
"The finished product, yes. I don't know your process."
"My process?" She seethed, "What the hell does that mean?"
"It just means I need to see how you work to determine what kind of articles I can trust you with."
Betty drew in a breath to say something else when she felt the slightest nudge from Kevin and saw him give an oh-so-subtle shake of his head. She choked back her words, forced a smile and gave a single, jerking nod of her head. In her mind, she called pretty, green eyed Jughead Jones all kinds of idiot.
Author's Note : Well, that's it for now! Please, please, please, leave a review. Let me know what you think. I do this kind of thing for me, because the story is in me and needs an outlet, but the feedback is helpful and encouraging in so many ways.