As the sun begins to flood the room with a blue haze cast through the blanket that's tacked over the window, Betty stirs awake. She rubs her eyes hard, stretching her arms over her head before turning on her side. She had expected Pea's bed to be empty and smiles to herself when she spots Jughead drooling on the pillow. She lays there for a while, watching him as he sleeps. She always finds him incredibly boyish when he's asleep, his features much softer than they are in his waking hours.

After watching him much longer than she had intended, she swings her legs over the side of the bed and gets up to pad silently to her dresser. She pulls out her favorite pair of leggings, some clean underwear, and a pair of tall socks with rubber ducks on them before going to Sweet Pea's dresser to steal one of his sweatshirts. Clothes in hand, she quietly slips out of the room for a shower.

Now showered and dressed, her damp hair hanging over her shoulder, Betty gets to work making a grocery list. They need far more items than they can afford, so it's all about prioritizing. As she contemplates whether they really need dish soap or not, the front door slowly swings open. In a split second, she drops her pen to the counter, ignoring it as it rolls onto the floor to throw her arms around Sweet Pea's neck. He stagers back slightly upon impact and hugs her tight.

"I brought breakfast," he mutters into her hair.

Betty pulls back, eyeing the bag in his hand before releasing him to snag it away. She sets it on the counter, quickly digging out the box doughnuts and stuffing one between her teeth to free up her hands for pouring a glass of the chocolate milk he'd brought as well. Sweet Pea chuckles before stealing her doughnut right out of her mouth, earning a mumbled, "hey!" Betty shakes her head, watching him drop down onto the couch as she chews the remaining bit of doughnut in her mouth. After washing it down with a quick sip of milk, she bolts down the hall, throwing her bedroom door open and jumps on top of Jughead, bouncing the mattress with her knees to wake him up.

"Alright, alright," he grumbles, giving her a shove that lands her on the floor. He's pulled straight down with her, only his feet still raised on the bed as they laugh. "Alright, I'm up," he laughs, shooting Betty a playful glare.

"Pea brought doughnuts," she tells him with excitement.

Jughead's eyebrows shoot upward with intrigue before he's up off the floor and darting out to the kitchen with lightning speed.

"Any bullshit," Jughead mumbles around a mouthful of doughnut as he drops down beside Sweet Pea on the couch.

Betty joins them quickly, stealing one of the three doughnuts stacked in Jughead's hand.

"Nah, pretty standard night," Sweet Pea shrugs. "I'm fucking beat though. Wanna get me some smokes while you're out?"

Betty nods, getting up to write it on her list as Sweet Pea heads to bed.

"Let me get dressed and I'll take you," Jughead tells her before finishing his glass of milk.

"I can drive," she reminds him.

"Not legally," he laughs.

"Fine," she sighs, "but no extras."

Jughead holds up his hands in defense as she points sternly in his direction. "Put a candy bar in the cart one time."

Betty laughs silently, rolling her eyes at him before he disappears to get dressed.

It's nearly noon by the time Betty and Jughead return from the grocery store. She'd managed to get most of what they needed, only having to leave out a package of chicken to afford Sweet Pea's cigarettes. At least she managed to get two pounds of hamburger, she'll just have to stretch it somehow.

With a pound of deli ham she'd gotten on sale, cheese slices she'd had a coupon for and sub rolls that had been marked down from the day before, Betty puts together sandwiches. She leaves out two, one for her and one for Jughead, then wraps up the rest to put in the fridge.

"Thanks," Jughead grins as he takes the offered sub from Betty's hands.

Betty offers a quick smile in reply before settling on the other end of the couch. The two of them watch a crime documentary as they eat. When they're finished, Betty cleans up the kitchen, handing off the trash for Jughead to bring out to the dumpster.

"Good morning sweetie," Alice greets roughly as she shuffles into the kitchen. She kisses Betty on the head on her way to the coffee pot and pours herself a cup.

"You working today," Betty wonders as she hands her the milk from the fridge.

Alice nods. "Liquor delivery at the bar this afternoon and two clients this evening."

Betty only nods before Jughead returns from taking out the trash. Alice greets him with a smile before returning to her room to get ready for work.

"Mom working tonight," Jughead questions, taking in Betty's slightly agitated state.

Betty again only nods.

"She'll get out of it someday," he assures her, ringing his arm around her shoulders.

"Not likely," Betty scoffs, leaning her head against his chest. "All she has to do is look nice and put out. She'd never give up easy money like that."

"I doubt it's easy."

"Oh please. I could do it," she argues.

"No," he clips, staring down at her with that look she knows better than to challenge. "If I ever find out you're selling your body-"

"Relax dad," she huffs.

"Betty I'm serious," he reiterates.

"I haven't even had sex on my own terms yet," she scoffs. "Like I'm gonna let some creepy old dude wine and dine me and offer it up for money."

Jughead leaves it at that, replying only with a curt nod. He knows she'd never give it up to a stranger, hell he's even punched a few guys over the past couple of years for disrespecting her on the matter. He just can't stand the thought of her winding up in the escort business when it's readily available to her through her own mother. He'd gladly kill the motherfucker who tries to use her body.

That evening, Betty, Sweet Pea, and Jughead spend it much the same as they had the previous night.

"I'm bored," Betty complains, throwing her head back against the couch.

Sweet Pea and Jughead exchange a glance, smirking as they set down their controllers.

"Go change," Jughead tells her with a nudge to her elbow.

Betty raises a brow and slowly gets off the couch, glancing back at them over her shoulder as she goes.

"Wear something slutty," Sweet Pea calls after her with laughter.

"Not too slutty," Jughead adds. "Don't want to have to beat the guys off with a stick."

Betty returns from her room fifteen minutes later, a tiny denim skirt barely concealing the curve of her ass and a skin tight tank top revealing a sliver of skin at her hips. She'd shaken out her waves, adding a few curls here and there and done up her eyes with a bit of smoky shadow and mascara.

Sweet Pea whistles as she enters the living room, laughing as Betty rolls her eyes.

"Looks like I'm gonna need that stick," Jughead laughs. "Let's go."

The three of them pile into Jughead's truck, well really FP's truck but he's in no condition to drive it.

"Sweetwater," Betty scoffs. "I'm not dressed for swimming."

"We're not swimming," Jughead laughs.

"There's a party down here tonight," Sweet Pea clarifies. "Toni's little Northside bitch invited me and by extension, the two of you."

"Northsiders," Betty scoffs. "I should have worn leather."

"Don't even joke about that," Sweet Pea scolds sternly.

"It might be good for you," Jughead cuts in. "Find some Northside guy to take you on expensive dates and buy you nice things."

"I don't want some Northside guy," she huffs under her breath, glancing longingly at Jughead beside her.

Jughead clears his throat, averting his gaze before getting out of the truck.

"The fuck was that," Pea questions, quirking a brow at Betty.

"Nothing," she huffs and promptly gets out of the truck after Jughead.

The river is swamped with Northsiders, the majority of them donning their letterman jackets and Betty already wants to go home. As she walks through the crowd, she picks up on a few girls snickering about her skirt and a few mutterings of "slut" from a couple of the guys. Jughead and Sweet Pea are quick to mingle, finding Toni and Fangs near the fire pit. Hating herself for her choice of clothing in the crowd of modestly dressed girls, Betty takes to the shadows, sitting alone on a fallen log just outside of the light given off from the fire. She watches as Jughead and Pea socialize easily. They're so cool and relaxed, not a care in the world for what anyone thinks of them and Betty wishes she could be so confident. It's hard to be confident when people treat her like a social pariah for growing up on the wrong side of the tracks. She doesn't understand how Jug and Pea can just get over that.

"Hey."

Betty startles from her self-loathing, her gaze flying upward to a dark skinned guy in a letterman jacket.

"Oh, shit sorry," he laughs as he takes a seat beside her on the log. "Just thought you might like some company."

Betty eyes him warily, glancing at the red cup in his hand as he urges her to take it. She takes it hesitantly, assessing his intentions before accepting the cup with his kind smile.

"Not much for parties," he asks.

Betty shrugs, wincing as she sips at the cheap vodka in her cup.

"Yea, me neither," he agrees. "Couple of my buddies dragged me along."

"You should probably go back to your friends," she says sharply. "They're staring, and they don't exactly look happy about you talking to me."

"They're just pissed I got to you first," he laughs. "You're quite breathtaking."

"Oh, uhm, thanks," she says shyly, hiding her blush with another sip of her drink.

"You want to go for a walk, get out of here for a minute?"

"Uhm, yea, ok," she nods.

As she stands, her head spins with the sudden movement and she laughs at herself for being such a lightweight. She takes a few staggered steps, unsteady even in her chucks and grips onto the dark skinned guy as he offers her a hand.

"Guess I haven't drank in a while," she laughs nervously.

"Hey no problem," he chuckles easily. "Just means I get to keep you close."

Betty giggles, feeling fuzzy and giddy as he walks her into the woods.

Back at the fire pit, Jughead and Sweet Pea are in a lighthearted argument with Fangs, Toni, and Cheryl over the proper way to shotgun a beer when a scream breaks through the air around them. Everyone around the pit freezes, glancing around for its source before it sounds again, this time more clearly.

"Betty," both Jughead and Sweet Pea exclaim, throwing down their drinks and bolting in the direction of her cries.

"Betty," they call into the forest, yelling at the top of their lungs as they look for her. Fangs and Toni join in quickly, a few of the football players helping as well.

"Over here," someone shouts from a few feet away.

Jughead is the first to get there, absolutely fuming with the sight before him. Two of the bulldogs that had joined in are restraining one of their team mates, a red haired guy crouched over an unconscious Betty as he covers her naked chest with his jacket.

"What the fuck did you do to her," Jughead seethes, shoving the restrained Northsider hard in the chest.

His buddies release his arms, allowing him to fall backward to the ground and he laughs as he hits the dirt. This sets Jughead off and he's only remotely aware of Sweet Pea picking Betty up off the ground as he lunches for the kid on the ground. He grabs him by the throat, pinning him to the ground with a knee on his chest.

"What the fuck did you do?"

"Maybe she shouldn't take drinks from strangers," he chokes out under the crushing weight of Jughead's palm against his throat.

"You roofied her," he says in shock.

The guy continues to laugh and Jughead sees red, his fist colliding with the bridge of his nose before he gets up to spit on his face. Jughead shoves through the now gathered crowd and hurries to Betty where she's cradled, limp in Sweet Peas arms.

"If I find out you touched her, you're a dead man," he grits, staring down the all to smug bulldog on the ground.

Back at Sunnyside, Sweet Pea and Jughead work together to get Betty into bed.

"Man, how did I let this happen," Sweet Pea sighs, kicking himself for not paying more attention.

"It's not your fault," Jughead assures him.

"Isn't it," he grits. "I should have made her change or something."

"There's nothing we can do about it now Pea."

Sweet Pea nods, his eyes glossy with angry tears. He quickly blinks it away. "I'm going to the Wyrm."

Jughead nods. "I'm gonna stay in here with her, make sure she's ok if she wakes up."

Sweet Pea nods, grateful for Jughead's ability to keep a level head when he's about ready to fall apart in comparison. How could he let something like this happen to his baby sister? He's supposed to take care of her, it's the whole reason he joined the serpents, and he couldn't even protect her from some jackass with date rape drugs.

"No," Betty screams, jolting up from a dead sleep.

Jughead startles awake from the edge of the bed, grabbing onto her shoulders as she thrashes wildly.

"No! Please! Don't touch me! Don't-"

"Betty," he shouts over her as he restrains her from hitting him, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Betty calm down. It's me. It's Jughead."

Betty continues to fight him weakly and Jughead hauls her closer, pressing his cheek flush with hers.

"Calm down princess," he mutters softly. "You're ok. I got you."

She slowly calms as he shushes her gently, rocking her in his arms. As she relaxes, he releases her arms, brushing her hair back from her face with careful fingertips.

"Juggy," she chokes out, tears welling in her eyes as she looks up at him. She breaks down, her body wracked with a fuzzy exhaustion as she sobs in his arms.

"You're ok Betts." He shushes her. "You're ok."

He holds her for a long time. How long, he's not certain, it could have been hours.

"How did I get here," she says suddenly, her voice raspy from screaming.

"We carried you. Me and Pea," he tells her as he continues his gentle stroking of her hair. "Did he touch you?"

"I-" She sucks in a shaky breath accompanied by a short sob. "I don't know."

"Are you sore," he wonders with concern.

"What," she questions sharply.

"Like, your parts," he blushes, "are you sore down there?"

"Uh," she shakes her head, "I don't think so."

Jughead nods. "You want to shower?"

"Can it be a bath," she asks tearfully.

"Whatever you want princess," he agrees, dropping a kiss to her head before leading her to the bathroom.

Betty sits on the toilet lid as Jughead draws her a bath, only now aware that her tank top has been torn right down the middle all the way to her belly button.

"How many," she mumbles.

"How many what," Jughead questions, glancing over his shoulder at her as he pours some bubble bath in the water.

"How many people saw my tits," she grits, her arms folding over her chest as hot tears well in her eyes.

"Betts," he coos in sympathy, shuffling on his knees to cup her face in his hands. "No one was looking at you like that except him. One of the bulldogs found you first and covered you with his jacket before anyone else came over. Aside from that it was just me and Pea and you know that's not what either of us were focused on."

Betty nods, holding onto Jughead's wrists as he thumbs away her tears. He presses a kiss to her forehead and rises from his knees to pull her torn tank top over her head. She gets up from the toilet seat, holding Jughead's arm to steady herself as she lifts one foot and then the other, allowing Jughead to discard her bottoms. He holds her steady until she's settled into the tub, bubbles swallowing her frame as she leans back. Jughead takes a seat on the floor, leaned back against the closed bathroom door, his elbows on his knees as he rubs at his temples.

"I'm ok Jug," she assures him.

"I know," he nods, "but I'm not. Pea's not either."

"He at the Wyrm," she wonders, already knowing the answer.

Jughead nods. "Drowning his sorrows."

"I shouldn't have taken that drink, I don't know what I was thinking." She shakes her head. "He seemed nice."

"You know it's not your fault right."

Betty shrugs.

"Betty," he says sternly. "It is not your fault. The guys a creep. I wanted to fucking kill him. If he touched you-"

"Jug," she cuts him off, water and bubbles dripping from her arm as she reaches out to touch his shoulder. "I'm ok, and I need you to be ok too or it's going to break me."

Jughead nods, covering her damp hand with his own. He grips it tight, and presses a kiss to her knuckles.

"Love you Juggy."

"Love you too Betts."

It's a simple declaration, love between siblings of sorts, but neither realizes the weight the other holds in those words.

The next morning, Jughead is the first to wake up. He'd taken the couch, knowing Pea would be stumbling in at some point to collapse into bed. He stretches his back, stiff from the old couch's worn springs and pads into the kitchen to make coffee. He watches it brew, rubbing his hand over his tired features as it drips, little by little into the pot. He fills a mug, grabbing a second as Betty shuffles out of her room.

"Thanks," she smiles lazily, taking her cup from his outstretched hand as he moves towards the couch. Betty settles in beside him, leaning into his side as she sips her coffee.

"Any changes," he asks after flipping on the TV. Betty gives him a funny look and he lets a sigh. "Are you sore?"

"Oh," she blushes. "Uhm, no. I don't think he-"

"Good," he cuts her off, not even wanting to hear her say the words.

The two of them watch TV in silence, sipping at their coffee and fighting their eyelids.

"I want to thank the guy that gave me his jacket," Betty says suddenly.

Jughead eyes her carefully as he sets his mug on the coffee table. "You sure."

"Yea," she nods. "He deserves a thank you just as much as you do."

"You don't have to thank me Betts."

"Well I want to," she tells him firmly. "You didn't have to stay with me, or draw me a bath, or sit with me until I fell asleep."

"Yes I did," he argues gently. "That's what we do. We take care of each other and I needed to make sure you were ok. I wanted to run out and drink it off just as much as Pea did, but I couldn't bear the thought of you waking up alone and scared."

"Thank you," she says anyways earning a firm kiss to the head.

Not long after they finish their coffees, Sweet Pea stumbles into the living room, dropping down on the couch to lay across Betty's lap. He gives a pained groan and Betty laughs, ruffling his wild hair with her fingers.

"You smell like a brewery," Jughead laughs.

"Breakfast," he groans. "Need breakfast."

Betty goes to stand but Jughead urges her back down with a shake of his head. He gets up himself and heads to the kitchen to make Sweet Pea something to sop up the alcohol still sloshing in his stomach.

Sweet Pea rolls onto his back, looking up at Betty with one eye as he squints in the daylight.

"You ok," he asks.

Betty nods.

"Did he touch you?"

Betty shakes her head.

"Good," he grits, covering his eyes with his arm. "Still gonna kill him."

Betty can't help but smile, feeling lucky to have two boys that care so much about her. They'd do anything for her and she, for them.

After Sweet Pea is fed and the three of them are dressed for the day, they pile into FP's truck and head for the Northside. It's not long before they pull up in front of a yellow house on Main Street.

"How do you know this is the right house," Betty questions in confusion.

"I just do" Jughead shrugs.

Betty only nods, taking a deep breath before getting out of the truck after Sweet Pea. She walks slowly up the front steps, letterman jacket in hand and Jughead and Sweet Pea flanking her sides. She looks to them for assurance before knocking on the door. Moments later, it opens, an older man with kind eyes taking in the three teens on the porch.

"Jughead," he says in surprise.

"Hey Fred." He gives a quick wave before stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Archie home?"

"Uh, yea. Yea, he's in his room," he nods. "You in trouble?"

"Actually sir," Betty cuts in.

"Fred. Please," he insists.

"Ok, Fred. I owe your son a thank you," she says shyly.

"That his jacket," Fred wonders.

Betty only nods.

"Go on up," he waves them in.

Jughead takes the lead, Betty behind and Pea in the back as they make their way to Archie's bedroom.

"Hey," Jughead calls as he taps his knuckles against the door frame.

"Jug? Hey man. Thought that was you last night," Archie says with a grin as he gets up to exchange some weird handshake with Jughead. "What's up- Oh."

"I wanted to bring this back to you," Betty tells him shyly as she hands over his jacket. "Thank you."

"Yea, of course," he nods furiously. "How are you? Are you ok?"

"I'm alright," she shrugs.

"Did he-"

"We dont think so," Jughead cuts in.

Archie nods thoughtfully. "Chuck's an asshole. If I'd seen him-"

"Dont worry about it," Betty shakes her head. "No sense in worrying about the would haves now."

Archie nods. "Well, thanks for bringing this back." He holds up his jacket.

Betty offers a shy smile before following Sweet Pea down the stairs.

"Hey," Jughead calls as Archie goes back to what he was doing. "Thank you. Really. If you hadn't found her first- If he'd-"

"I would have helped you kill him myself," Archie cuts in. The two of them share a laugh before Jughead takes his leave.

About a mile down the road, Sweet Pea is the first to break the silence.

"Are we just gonna ignore the fact that you know a Northsider well enough to be on a handshake basis?"

Jughead keeps quiet, focusing on the road ahead.

"Jug," Betty urges.

Jughead sighs. "You guys remember when we were like twelve, CPS stepped in and had me placed in a foster home?"

Betty and Sweet Pea only nod.

"They seem nice," Betty speaks up.

"They are," he nods. "Fred is probably the most understanding parent I've ever met and Archie's a good guy."

"How'd you know it was him," Sweet Pea questions as he rolls down the window to light the cigarette between his lips.

"There's only two bulldogs with red hair and it sure as shit wasn't Jason Blossom," he scoffs.

Sweet Pea huffs a laugh, "Fucker."

"Hey guys," Betty says quietly. "Could we maybe not tell mom what happened?"

"Wasn't planning on it," Sweet Pea agrees. "Not like she could do anything anyways."

When they get back to Sunnyside, Jughead decides he should probably check in on his dad. After grabbing his dirty laundry from the week, he walks across the lot to the place he rarely calls home. He sighs as he steps into the kitchen, going into the bathroom to start the wash before returning to clean up. There's bottles on nearly every available surface, some tipped over leaving sour puddles on the carpet, the table and even the arm chair. In the sink, there's what he assumes to be at least three day old dishes and he gets to work washing them and wiping down the counters, throwing out half eaten meals from the counter where they'd been forgotten. He sops up beer with a ragged kitchen towel, sprinkling baking soda on both the carpet and the arm chair to be vacuumed up later. Then, he heads to his room to collect a few things; a change of pants, two shirts and a couple of pairs of boxers and socks, stuffing them into his school bag. He finishes picking up the house, sweeping and vacuuming, wiping down the bathroom and swaps over his laundry to the dryer.

"Jug," FP beams as he walks through the door. "My boy."

"Just doing laundry," he calls from the couch, where he's settled with his laptop.

"Heard what happened to Betty last night," he slurs mildly. "She alright?"

"She's fine," he nods. "Nothing happened, we got there before it could. Fangs tell you?"

"Sweet Pea," he corrects. "Boy was trashed last night. Had to talk him out of murder."

"Yea, well we'd both like to kill the guy," he shrugs, keeping his focus on the blinking text line on his screen.

"You alright," FP asks tripping on the carpet a bit as he takes a seat on the couch.

"Im fine," he clips. "Im not the one who was almost raped last night."

"No, but I know how much Betty means to you-"

"You don't know shit," he grits, slamming his laptop shut.

"You love her Jug. When are you gonna admit that to yourself?"

"Of course I love her, she's family," he argues.

"She's more than that and you know it," FP says sternly his brow deepening with his unwavering argument.

"She's like my sister," he scoffs, getting up to empty out the dryer.

FP laughs from the couch. "You keep telling yourself that."

After folding his laundry and stuffing it in his school bag with the rest of the clothes he'd packed, Jughead walks back across the lot with nothing more than a quick wave to his father. He knows he was a bit harsh, but who is FP to tell him what love is? He wouldn't know love if it slapped him straight in the face.

"Oh good, you're here," Alice beams as Jughead walks through the door.

"What's all this," he questions in surprise, examining the wide spread of Chinese food on the counter.

"One of my clients today paid very well," she says with excitement. "I wanted to treat you kids for- well just for being my kids. Shit's not always great around here. Hell, it almost never is, but the three of you-" she pauses, getting a little teary eyed as she glances between each of the three teens standing in the kitchen. "You make it all worth it."

"Awe, mom," Betty coos, hurrying to wrap her up in a hug. Jughead and Sweet Pea are quick to join, the four of them embracing a rare family moment and hanging onto it for as long as they can.

"Alright, eat, eat," Alice dismisses, patting at the lingering tears on her lashes.

The three of them eat until they feel like they might explode. Jughead is utterly useless, laid back on the couch, his pants unbuttoned and his stomach bloated. Sweet Pea is in much the same condition, sprawled out on his back on the floor as he groans in discomfort. Betty, though very full herself, can't help but laugh. She'd stopped eating before she got to the point of being ill and now she's the only one capable of getting off the couch. A thunderous burp escapes her as she gets up, sending the three of them into a fit of laughter.

"Oh god it hurts," Sweet Pea whines as he tries desperately to stop laughing.

This only causes more laughter, and Betty is nearly in tears watching Jughead hold his stomach in pain.

After getting dinner picked up, with Alice's help for the first time in a long time, Alice announces she has another surprise.

"A dresser," Sweet Pea questions.

"Yea," Alice grins. "It's brand new."

"Ok, but it's a dresser," he scoffs.

"Don't be such an ass Pea," Betty scolds. "Now Jug can leave his stuff here."

Alice clasps her hands together excitedly, "Exactly."

"Ma, you didn't have to do that," Jughead argues.

"I want you to have a place here," she tells him softly as she cups his face in her hands. "You're a part of this family and you deserve to be treated as such."

Jughead nods, a bit choked up by her tenderness and has to clear his throat. "Thank you."

Alice plants a hard kiss to his forehead in reply before announcing she'll be out for the rest of the night with a business man from Greendale.

After Alice leaves, Betty bounces onto her bed, Sweet Pea dropping to his own and Jughead promptly puts his things away in his very own dresser. It's something so simple, a place to put his clothes, but it means the world to him. He knows he's a part of their family, he always has been, but sometimes it can feel temporary, like he's just passing through when he's living out of a backpack.

"Now you just need to stop sleeping on the couch," Betty teases.

"Hey, I do have a bed, it's just in the wrong house," he chuckles.

Betty and Sweet Pea suddenly exchange a wild look, both jumping up from their beds to glance around the room while Jughead watches in utter confusion.

"Think it would," Betty asks cryptically.

"It'd be tight," Pea worries. "And what about-"

Betty looks to the three dressers along the far wall. "I'll figure it out."

Jughead has absolutely no idea what is happening right now and he's only further confused when the two of them start picking things up off the floor and moving them out to the living room.

"Ok, what is going on," Jughead laughs.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner," Betty calls as she carries her laundry basket out to the living room.

Chuckling to himself, Jughead relocates to the couch, staying out of their way as they disassemble their bedroom. Once everything aside from the beds have been removed, Sweet Pea enters the living room with a look of determination on his face.

"Let's go," he calls back to Jughead as he steps out the front door.

"Go where," Jughead hollers, waiting briefly for a reply before getting up to go after him.

Roughly thirty minutes later, Sweet Pea and Jughead return with Jughead's bed. In their absence, Betty has moved sweet peas bed to the far wall where the dressers had been and her own to the opposite corner on the adjacent wall. She directs the boys to drop Jughead's bed in the center if the room and proceeds to push it against the wall parallel to Sweet Peas bed, the head of Betty's bed now at the foot of his and the door just inches from the foot of hers. They work together to wedge the three mismatched dressers along the wall between Sweet Pea and Jughead's bed, grateful now for their narrow sizes. Betty shoos them out of the room and makes the beds. She places their laundry basket behind the door that doesn't quite open all the way now with Pea's bed in the way and quickly tacks the blanket covering the window up higher on the wall so it doesn't hang on Jughead's bed. When she's satisfied, she calls in the boys.

"Damn, everything fits," Sweet Pea chuckles.

"Barely," Betty laughs.

"Have I ever told you guys that I love you," Jughead beams, ringing his arms around both their necks to plant a sloppy kiss on each of their foreheads.

"Ack, come on man," Sweet Pea grumbles, wiggling his way out of Jughead's hold.

"Awe what," he laughs. "You don't want my love?"

Sweet pea gives him a punch in the arm that only furthers his amusement.

"Fine then, more for Betts." With his declaration he proceeds to pepper Betty's face with wet kisses earning light smacks to his chest as she giggles and tries to get away.

Later that night, Sweet Pea, Betty, and now Jughead lay in their beds with a sense of accomplishment. Jughead has never been happier than he is right now, here in this tiny bedroom with his family of choice. He's the last to fall asleep, too giddy to let this day end. He looks over at Sweet Pea across the room chuckling to himself when he finds him drooling on his arm. He shuffles back in bed to lean against the wall and looks down at Betty at his feet. She's beautiful when she sleeps, her features soft and her pretty pink lips parted just slightly. His fingers itch to brush through the halo of golden waves splayed on her pillow and he finds himself moving to the end of his bed. He lies down there, his chin rested on his forearms, and just looks at her. Her lashes brush her cheeks with the fluttery lightness of a butterflies wings, her shoulders rising and falling in time with her shallow breaths as the softest puffs of air escape through those pink lips he can't pry his eyes away from. His father's words ring in his head:

"You love her."

Of course he loves her. As he told his father, she's family, like a sister to him, and he can't love her the way that he knows he does. They need each other, Pea included, and what would he think? He lets a heavy sigh through his nose, his lips tingling with the need to know what hers would feel like pressed against his, but he knows better. You don't kiss your sister, blood or not, and you most definitely don't kiss Sweet Pea's sister unless you want to end up in the ground.

"Juggy," Betty mumbles, her eyes barely slits as she tries to fight off sleep long enough to look at him.

"Go back to sleep," he whispers, daring to tuck her hair behind her ear.

Betty smiles sleepily and his heart stutters in his chest when she captures his hand to thread her fingers between his. He lifts her hand gently to kiss her knuckles and carefully pulls his hand from hers as he shifts onto his knees to go back up to his own pillow.

"Stay," she pleads softly.

Jughead freezes in place, his eyes flickering to Sweet Pea sleeping mere feet away from them before he lies back down near her. She shifts in her bed and reaches out to rest her hand in the crook of his neck, her fingers scratching lightly at the hair on the back of his head. His breath has become shaky with the new feeling and he closes his eyes, savoring it and committing it to memory. It's not a new thing for her to touch him, they're always touching each other in some way, but this is different. It feels intimate somehow and hope flutters in his belly with the possibility that just maybe she feels the same way. He stays there a long time, fighting his eyelids but not willing to give up this moment with her. It's not until he's startled from his half asleep state by the closing of the front door that he carefully moves back to his pillow at the opposite end of his bed. No sooner than he gets under the covers does Alice poke her head in, smiling at her children's creativity.