Author's Note : Hello all! My schedule has gotten a little bit wonky but here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it and if you do...well, it never hurts to leave a review and let me know what you're thinking!
Chapter Fourteen Song : 'Bad at Love' by Halsey
Disclaimer : Don't own the characters. Just really like them.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN :
The day started all wrong. When Betty's alarm went off the morning following her conversation with her father, she had expected to wake up feeling excited and eager to get to Jughead; to tell him what she'd discovered. Instead, what she felt was anxiety, trepidation and a healthy dose of dread.
She blamed Toni for that.
How would Jughead react when he found out that she'd been snooping into a situation that he had specifically warned her to stay away from? Okay, so technically she'd been snooping into the Jason Blossom murder which was a separate situation that had lead her into the drug connection but based on the way Jughead had reacted the day before, Betty doubted he was gonna let her off on a technicality.
Hell, he might even try to ban her from looking into Jason's murder.
Betty let out an involuntary snort as even the thought of such a decree sent waves of irritation rushing through her body. Just let him try and stop her from that.
But, she was putting the proverbial cart before the horse, so to speak. No matter her fear of his response, she had to share the information she had learned with Jughead. He needed to know. It could help him figure out where the drugs were coming from.
Maybe he would change his mind and let her help.
And maybe the sky would fall.
And maybe Jason Blossom would come back from the dead and just tell everybody who shot him.
Archie showed up right on schedule to escort her to school; only today he had Reggie and Veronica and Reggie's car in tow. He slid into the backseat with her, draped an arms on the seat behind her and began playing with the end of her ponytail. Betty didn't particularly care for that but she couldn't very well smack his hand away and shout 'Don't touch me,' in front of Reggie and Veronica, now could she?
This entire situation was exhausting her on so many different levels. It was like there was a constant battle raging between her brain and her heart. Her brain was telling her that Archie was the perfect high school boyfriend; he was sweet, he was cute, he was the all American boy! And he needed her. He told her so everyday.
But...her heart didn't feel like it was going to leap out of her chest when she looked into his eyes. Her body didn't tremble and hum with excitement when she wrapped her arms around him. She didn't feel remotely challenged on an intellectual, emotional and physical level with Archie. No. She felt all those things and more with Jughead. And that was where her heart was directing her.
But then she'd remember that look on Ms. Grundy's face, that hungry, predatory look, and her resolve to be selfish and go for what her heart wanted would falter. She had to figure out a way to make Archie feel strong enough on his own to resist that, for lack of a kinder word, cougar. Then and only then would she stand even the slightest of chances at moving forward with Jughead.
It all hinged on Archie Andrews.
When Reggie guided his suped-up car into the school's parking lot, Betty found herself scanning the spaces for the motorcycle that had become so familiar to her in so short a time. An involuntary breath of relief escaped her when she spotted it parked amidst a slew of other bikes, probably belonging to Jughead's fellow serpents. As quickly as the relief had come, it passed, replaced with anxiety laced with just the hint of anticipation.
'Stay away from me.'
Even as she stepped out of the car and Archie put a possessive arm across her shoulders, Betty's fingers curled into her palms, her teeth sank into her bottom lip and she stared at the school building with knots of anxiety twisting in her belly like writhing snakes. Jughead was in there...and soon she'd have to tell him what she had learned from her father.
Reggie, Veronica and Archie had been carrying on a conversation for the entire car ride to school that Betty had only picked up bits and pieces of, such was her preoccupation. She caught a sentence now as they started up the concrete steps to the double door entrance.
"You have to." Reggie was demanding.
Archie shrugged, "I just don't know, Reg."
"Your dad is gonna be outta town. You have to throw a party." Reggie continued, "I'm pretty sure it's a law."
"Not entirely accurate," Veronica countered with an adoring look at her boyfriend, "but it certainly would be fun! Don't you think so, B?"
Oops.
Betty jerked her attention to her best friend, did a quick context clue search of the sentences that had been strung together over the length of the drive to school. Mr. Andrews out of town. Reggie wants a party. Archie indecisive. Veronica loves a party.
"I mean," Betty said, "I guess. Parties are usually a good thing, right? Nothing too crazy?"
"Right, right," Reggie rolled his eyes, "It'll be a quiet little prayer circle."
Archie had a quick fantasy of Betty in his house, laughing with his friends followed by the idea of taking her hand and leading her to his bedroom...
"You think it would be a good idea?" He asked her, his mouth suddenly feeling a little drier than it had been five seconds before.
Betty offered Archie a sweet smile. Maybe a night of teenage normalcy was exactly what he needed right now. "I think a night of a little fun would be a great idea!" She beamed.
And maybe, just maybe, a small voice in the back of her mind pontificated, it would be a good night to find a drug dealer.
Jughead ducked into the student lounge and pulled a crumpled dollar bill from his wallet. He preferred coffee, but his options on school grounds were limited and he didn't have time to duck out to Pop's before his next period. He slipped the bill into the vending machine which promptly spat it back out at him. Muttering beneath his breath, he ran the dollar through his fingers and tried again with the same result. It was then that he saw her enter the room from the corner of his eye.
Betty walked into the lounge looking like spring and began winding her way around furniture, making carving a path toward him. She wore a silky yellow top and a light gray cardigan. Without his permission, his mind wandered to that top. If he touched it, would that yellow material be as soft as it looked? Would her hair? Her skin?
Jughead fastened his gaze to the money in his hand and stared at it as though it could offer him refuge, as though it could somehow save him. When Betty reached his side, he doggedly kept his focus on that dollar as it went into the vending machine dispenser and then back out again, over and over.
"Jughead," Betty said, her voice soft, "I need to talk to you."
"I don't think we have anything to talk about, do we?" Jughead returned.
Betty rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, impatient. "More than you know."
As the bill was rejected by the machine for what had to be the twentieth time, Betty rolled her eyes and snatched it from Jughead's fingers. She folded it length-wise, ran it over the corner of the vending machine, flattened it again and inserted it into the dispenser.
Of course the damn thing took it from her on the first try.
Brows pulled down into a scowl and with more force than necessary, Jughead punched the button and sent a Coca-cola crashing from within the bowels of the vending machine. He plucked his caffeine from the tray and finally turned to face Betty. She stood with her arms folded across her chest and both eyebrows raised as though daring him to even try to brush her off.
Good God, really, who in their right mind could resist this woman?
Unable to bite back his smirk, Jughead popped the top of his soda and crossed to a vacant chair, "Alright, Coop, what have you got?"
A more than satisfied grin on her face, Betty joined him, taking a seat on the nearest adjacent sofa. When she turned her body to face him, their knees bumped and then settled less than a breath away from each other. Jughead was painfully aware of the proximity - but all of that melted away when she began to speak.
"I decided to talk to my dad about Jason and Polly last night..."
She went into it all, the entire sordid conversation and didn't hold back on the details. She shared all of it; Jason and Polly's relationship, their fight; Polly's eventual suicide attempt and hospitalization.
Jughead rubbed a hand hard over his mouth, "God, I'm sorry, Betty. That's hardcore."
Betty nodded and then took a deep, steadying breath. "That's not all, Jughead." Her voice had gone quiet, "My dad told me that there were rumors about Jason."
Jughead leaned forward in seat, bracing his forearms on his thighs, "Yeah?"
"Rumors that he was dealing drugs."
"What?" Jughead straightened in his chair and cast a quick glance around the room to make sure that none of the other occupants were paying them any attention, "Are you sure?"
"That's what my dad told me. He said that was what Jason and Polly's big fight was about. He'd been...dealing drugs and Polly didn't like it. Jughead, what if Jason was working for the same person you've been looking for? I mean, it can't be just a coincidence, can it?"
Jughead looked away from her and chewed on the corner of his mouth for a long, silent moment. "Anything's possible, I guess."
"But you don't think so, do you?" Betty persisted, "I can't bring myself to believe that it isn't somehow connected."
"Yeah, maybe." Jughead dismissed with a nonchalant shrug that Betty didn't buy for a second, "Well, thanks for the intel, Betty. Now-"
"No!" Betty blurted and stood to look down at him, "You are not cutting me out of this. Don't even think about it."
Jughead stood as well, "If the two are connected like you say, then it could be really dangerous and I don't want you involved."
"I don't really care!" Betty snarled, "I am involved. This is personal for me. We're talking about my sister."
"You think I don't get that?" Jughead hissed, "I get it, okay. I do. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm not gonna stand by and let you put yourself in danger."
"It's really not your decision."
"Actually, it really is."
All at once, Betty realized how close they were standing. She wasn't sure who had moved first or when it had happened, but she found herself more or less pressed completely against his chest. She could feel the heat radiating from his skin; she could hear the beating of his heart-or maybe that was her own pounding in her ears. Without her permission, her gaze dropped to his mouth. His perfectly shaped, beautiful, temptation of a mouth.
"Hey guys!" A voice called.
Archie.
Jughead sprang back away from her as though she had the plague.
Dammit.
Archie bounded over to his two friends, oblivious, not a care in the world. Betty had never resented a fellow human being in the way that she resented her 'boyfriend' in that moment.
Archie cupped a hand to the back of Betty's neck and as her shoulders tensed, she watched in horrified fixation as the scowl on Jughead's face deepened and he took yet another step back, widening the ever growing distance between them. Betty wanted to call him a coward even though she knew that it wasn't true. If anyone was the coward, it was herself.
How many times had she told herself to tell Archie how she felt, to break this...whatever it was...off and not been able to bring herself to do it?
Archie's fingers gave her neck a gentle squeeze, "Did you tell Jug about the party?"
No. She'd been too busy arguing with him-then too busy wishing that he would kiss her.
"I was just about to," she said.
"What party?" Jughead asked and made a conscious effort to shift his entire focus away from the girl of his dreams to the friend of his childhood.
Archie nodded with the childlike enthusiasm he had always seemed to embody, "Yeah. Dad's out of town this weekend so I decided to throw a party."
Jughead looked skeptical, "You decided?"
Betty rolled her eyes and grinned, "Reggie talked him into it."
Jughead nodded, "Ah. Now that makes more sense."
"What, are you saying I'm no fun?" Archie asked with a goofy smile on his face.
Jughead shook his head before replying, "I would never say that. I would merely infer it."
Archie laughed, but it sounded uncertain to Betty; as though he wasn't really sure if he was supposed to laugh or not. For a quick instant, she wanted to reassure him-then she remembered being close enough to Jughead to breathe his breath and how Archie had ruined it.
Screw him. Let him be uncertain.
"You're gonna come, right Jug?" Archie asked.
Betty found her attention rapt on Jughead. She really wanted to know the answer as well.
Jughead groaned, "Parties. You know that is the opposite of everything I enjoy, right?"
Archie nodded, "I do. But it would just feel wrong if you weren't there."
"It's wrong anyway, dude." Jughead reminded.
"You know what I mean."
"I do." Jughead replied, his shoulders relaxing a little, "Yeah, Arch, I'll come by. I don't promise to have a good time or even stay but I will come by."
Archie slapped him on the shoulder, "That's all I ask."
Jughead's eyes found Betty's. They were bright and wide and he would have sworn that he saw the light of anticipation dancing in them. Was that for him? Because he said he would come to the party?
Who was he kidding? He knew it was. He knew how she felt. He knew that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. It was dangerous and messy and...exciting and satisfying and all kinds of tempting.
The one true thing that he knew for absolutely certain was that he needed to keep his distance from Betty Cooper.
Author's Note : That's it for now. I have a very serious question: is anyone frustrated by the slow burn? Please review and let me know!