The next day, comes Monday, and with it school. It's almost over for Sweet Pea and Jughead with graduation less than a month away, but for Betty, she has to endure two more years without her brother's at her side.
"How did you guys even make it this far," Betty teases, interrupting their conversation about cap and gown fittings. "I mean, Jughead I get. He actually does his work, but Pea-"
"You calling me dumb, you little shit," he laughs, giving her a shove in the arm.
"Ass," she scoffs, fighting off a smile as Jughead puts her back upright from where she'd collided with his chest.
"Alright kids, cool it," Jughead cuts in with a shake of his head.
"What am I going to do without you guys," Betty pouts.
"Maybe if you had any friends-"
"I have friends," she grits, punching Sweet Pea in the arm.
"That mob princess in the city don't count," he laughs.
Betty sighs, knowing full well that aside from her brothers, Veronica Lodge had been her only real friend in, well maybe ever. They'd met over the summer a few years back when her family relocated to Riverdale for undisclosed reasons. Veronica would have gone to Riverdale high that year, but by the end of summer they'd said a tearful goodbye and the Lodges returned to their life in New York.
"Whatever," she huffs, storming off ahead of them.
Jughead smacks Sweet Pea upside the head.
"Fuck was that for," he grumbles, rubbing the side of his head.
"You can be a real dick sometimes," Jughead scolds. "She's upset we're leaving and you just cemented that she's doomed to be alone."
"She'll be fine," Pea argues, quickly brushing it off as a non-issue.
The bell rings and Jughead sighs as he heads off to class. He'll have to talk to Betty later.
At the sound of the last bell, Betty gathers her things and heads out to the front steps to wait for Jughead. Sweet Pea left at lunch under Serpent orders and Jughead has a test to retake. She pulls out the book they've been reading in English and gets started on the final chapter.
"Hey bitch!"
Betty looks up from her book in time for a clenched fist to collide with her nose. Her eyes well up with tears upon impact, her vision fuzzy as a both sharp yet dull ache spreads over her face. Her hands come up to clutch her nose, blood pooling in her palms and dripping down over her lips onto the pages of her book.
"That's for fucking my boyfriend you fucking cunt!"
Bettys head spins as she looks at the angry girl before her.
"Jesus christ," Jughead curses as he bursts through the front doors, hurrying to Bettys side. He takes a quick look at her face, blood everywhere. "What the fuck," he grits at the fuming girl before them.
"She fucked my boyfriend," she spits.
"Like hell she did," he bites back, getting up to use his height as an intimidation tactic as he looks down on her with a searing glare.
"Chuck Clayton," she calls to Betty around Jughead. "Ring any bells since you dragged him into the fucking woods last weekend at Sweetwater?"
Betty begins to cry and Jughead is livid.
"Your boyfriend," he air quotes, "drugged her last weekend and tried to fucking rape her. Maybe get your facts straight before you start throwing punches at innocent victims."
The girls eyes go wide as she looks between a completely enraged Jughead and Betty who's now a sobbing bloodied mess. Her eyes well with tears as her hands come up to cover her mouth before she takes off running.
"Fuck Betts," Jughead breathes as he kneels down in front of her. "Come on, let me clean you up and we'll go home."
Betty only nods, tears still rolling down her cheeks as Jughead hoists her up from the stairs. He brings her into the empty girl's bathroom and lifts her up onto the counter easily.
"Tilt your head back," he instructs as he wads up paper towels and runs them under cool water. Betty winces as he wipes away the blood, her whole face tender and sore.
"I'm so sorry Betts," he says softly, his face pained as he continues to pat at the blood on her lips.
"As if being drugged wasn't bad enough," she scoffs through a pained laugh.
Jughead grins only slightly before assessing the damage without all the blood in the way. He gently presses his index fingers along the sides of her nose and a sharp hiss escapes her as she winces.
"I don't think it's broken, but it's gonna be sore for a while," he says. "Probably going to have a couple of nice black eyes too."
"Great," she huffs.
"You're going to look like a raccoon," he teases, earning a smack to the chest as she tries to hide her grin.
Back home, Jughead and Betty are alone for dinner and pop on a movie while they eat leftover Chinese from last night.
"Hey, uh, I wanted to talk to you about this morning," Jughead speaks up, pausing the movie as he sets his empty plate on the coffee table. "I know you have a hard time making friends, especially with me and Pea around, but maybe now's the time to try?"
"I know," Betty nods. "It's not really that that I was upset about. I just- I'm going to miss you guys."
"We're still gonna be here Betts," he assures her. "Pea's not planning on getting out of the Serpents any time soon and I'm only going to RCC next year. It's not like I have the money to live on campus."
Betty only nods, looking pitiful with her bruised eyes and her saddened expression.
"Come here." Jughead hauls her across the couch, tugging her into his lap and hugs her tight.
"Can we go to bed," she mutters against his chest.
"Whatever you want princess."
It's just shy of midnight when Sweet Pea returns home, exhausted from dealing with strung out junkies all night. He goes to the fridge and grabs a beer, claiming the last carton of fried rice for himself and drops down onto the couch. As he eats, he takes a look around at the plates on the coffee table, the empty food containers on the counter and grows concerned. Betty would never leave the house in such disarray. He finishes up his beer and quickly tosses all the food containers out, dropping the dirty dishes into the sink to be washed in the morning.
The bedroom door creaks open and Sweet Pea stands in the doorway for a long while, taking in the sight of his sister wrapped up around his best friend in his bed. He wants to be angry about it, and he might be, but he's not certain. Sure, Betty and Jughead cuddle all the time, on the couch, but this is their bedroom and she's in Jughead's bed.
"Pea," Jughead questions sleepily, his head lifting off the pillow as he squints at the light coming in through the door.
"You guys fucking now," he scoffs as he nears the bed.
"What? No," he replies urgently. "She was upset."
"Bout what- Shit. Somebody punch her," he exclaims upon seeing her black and blue eyes.
Jughead nods. "Apparently our good buddy Chuck told his girlfriend that Betty seduced him."
"He's a fucking dead man," Sweet Pea grits through his teeth.
Jughead nods in agreement. "Is this a problem for you?" He waves his hand between himself and Betty. "Cuz I can put her in her own bed. She was just really upset and I-"
"Nah man, it's cool."
Jughead breathes a sigh of relief once Sweet Pea is down the hall. He waits until he hears the shower running before tugging Betty closer, nuzzling his cheek against her head.
When Sweet Pea returns from his shower, he can't help but laugh, rolling his eyes at Betty who's now laid directly in top of a sleeping Jughead, her head on his chest and his arm wrapped securely around her waist. He always knew this day would come, he'd been waiting for it, but it's still going to take him some time to get over it. He grabs the throw blanket from the end of Betty's bed and spreads it over them, chuckling to himself that at least Jughead had the decency to keep it over the covers before kissing Betty on the head and going to bed himself.
The rest of the week goes just about how Betty would have expected. Alice had fussed over her black eyes and Sweet Pea had covered for her with quick thinking, telling Alice that Betty had been hit with the heavy gym doors in a freak accident where she was going in and someone else was leaving at the same time. At school, she'd earned a few stares, but showing up black and blue was never anything new at Southside High. Jughead has become severely overprotective and he's taken to sleeping at the foot of his bed to keep an eye on her.
"You sure you don't want me to come with you," Jughead asks on their way out of school on Friday afternoon.
"To Pop's," she laughs. "I think I can manage Jug. Besides, I doubt you want to sit through lunch with Veronica."
"Well, no not really," he replies to her pointed expression. "But, Pop's is like Northsider central and if somebody fucks with you again I'm-"
"Jug," she stops him. "I'll be ok, but if you really want to go-"
"I do," he cuts her off.
"Ok, fine," she sighs in feigned displeasure, earning a playful shove to the arm.
A few hours later, Jughead finds himself tucked into a booth at Pop's with Betty at his side and her obnoxious best friend, Veronica Lodge. He tunes them out mostly as they chat about everything from boys to the latest fashion trends, all the while picking at the plate of fries he and Betty had ordered to share. His annoyance with Veronica isn't so much that he dislikes her, she's nice enough and she makes Betty happy. It's the endless flirting. She's been flirting with him for years and he's not at all interested but she just doesn't know when to give up. It's as if she can't believe that he's not drooling over her, but she's just not his type. Especially with her poised overconfidence and her complete misunderstanding of what it means to be flat broke. Jughead has kicked away her attempts at playing footsies with him three times now and he's quickly growing irritated. Not because she keeps trying, but because she thinks that Betty has no idea what she's doing under the table.
"Hey Jug," Betty calls, drawing his attention from the view of the parking lot outside the window. "Will you go get me another milkshake?"
She's offering him a way out and he takes it eagerly, hurrying to the counter to order her vanilla milkshake.
"Hey V," she starts. "Could you maybe let up on him?"
"Let- I'm not certain I know what you mean," Veronica says in confusion.
"You've put your foot in his crotch twice now," she laughs, "and that was after he'd already moved away from your attempts at playing footsie."
Veronica turns almost as red as her maroon dress. "You saw that?"
Betty almost laughs. "I know what he looks like when he's uncomfortable, V."
Veronica opens her mouth to say something, but before she gets a chance, Jughead returns with a milkshake in hand.
"Pop gave you extra whipped cream," he tells her as he slides in beside her, then proceeds to scoop up a glob of whipped cream with his index finger and plops it into his mouth.
"Taking your cut," she giggles.
Jughead only smiles, a bit of whipped cream leaking out of the corner of his mouth and Betty can't help but laugh. He looks to Veronica across the table a bit warily and she proceeds to blush, dropping her attention to the bit of salad left on her plate.
Betty and Veronica chat for another ten minutes, discussing the possibility of Betty visiting her in New York over the summer. After paying their bill, thankfully Veronica's treat, the girls say their goodbyes.
"I hate that I barely ever get to see her," Betty sighs as they head out to the truck.
"She only here the one day," Jughead asks.
Betty nods. "Hiram's buying some housing complex in Greendale. Guess they're headed back home tonight."
"You should go to New York," he suggests as he opens the truck door for her.
"Oh god no," she laughs. "It's a nice thought, but her parents kind of scare me and there's nothing for me in the city."
Jughead only nods and shuts the door behind her. He knows what she means. If Betty were to go to New York with Veronica she'd be thrown into Veronica's world. The overpriced food and designer clothes, the wild night scene and socializing with Veronica's uppity friends. It's no place for Betty, she's a Southside girl through and through.
"Hey uh-" he clears his throat as he shuts the driver's side door. "What'd you say to V? When I left I mean."
Betty shrugs. "I just told her to stop fondling your junk."
"Betty," he scolds.
"What," she laughs. "She stopped didn't she?"
"Yea, but now it's weird," he groans.
"It's not weird," she argues as she grins at his displeased expression.
"She couldn't even look at me."
Betty only laughs, Jughead shaking his head as he starts up the truck.
As Betty walks through the front door of the trailer, Jughead not far behind, she's immediately assaulted by Fangs and Toni examining her face as Fangs turns her head this way and that.
"Looks good princess," he grins as he drops his hands. "Can barely tell you got punched anymore."
Toni nods in agreement. "You want me to find the bitch that took a swing at you?"
"No, its fine," Betty laughs. "I think she felt bad enough when Jug told her what actually happened."
"Told her," Jughead scoffs. "Pretty sure I yelled at her."
"Damn," Fangs laughs. "Did she cry? You're a scary fucker when you're pissed."
"She definitely cried," Betty nods.
"Alright, let's go," Sweet Pea calls as he walks out of the bathroom.
"You guys dealing tonight," Jughead questions as they head for the door.
"Just some weed at this party on the Northside," Sweet Pea shrugs. "You guys want in?"
"Who the hell invited you to a Northside party," Jughead scoffs.
"That would be one of our most loyal customers," he grins.
"Reggie Mantle," Betty and Jughead say in unison, both rolling their eyes.
Reggie Mantle is one of the few Riverdale Bulldogs on good terms with the Southside and the only Northsider on good terms with the Serpents. He not only keeps them in business buying drugs of all kinds for his own pleasure, but sells to Northsiders on the down low, sharing a cut with the Serpents 50/50 for keeping up his supply.
"What do you say Betts? You up for a Northside party," Jughead asks enticingly.
"Fine, but if I get punched again-"
The five of them bust into laughter, shaking their heads on the way out the door.
To say Reggie's house is large is an understatement. Betty can't believe just how huge it is and wonders what they do with all the space. She could easily fit her single wide trailer in his living room, maybe even twice and it's only made more overwhelming by the fact that's its packed nearly wall to wall with less than sober teenagers from all the surrounding areas. When Reggie throws a party, he really goes all out. There's a professional DJ with a complete set up on the second floors balcony, his strobe lights waving and glimmering off the crystal chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling. The private bar set up off the kitchen is complete with a bartender who's obviously ok with serving minors, and they are immediately informed that the six bedrooms upstairs are fair game, equipped with glass bowls filled with condoms of all varieties. Shortly after they arrive, Sweet Pea, Toni, and Fangs get down to business, leaving Betty and Jughead to mingle.
"You want a drink," Jughead yells over the music.
Betty only nods and follows him over to the bar. There are moving bodies everywhere as they weave their way through the room. Betty gets sick of being knocked around and reaches out for Jughead who takes her hand and guides her as he shoves his way through the crowd.
"Two beers," he shouts to the bartender, who gives a nod as he bounces to the beat.
After getting their drinks, they work their way back to the living room, finding a couch with an open seat. Jughead quickly takes it and hauls Betty into his lap, clinking the necks of their bottles together before they each take a swig. They sit there long enough for a few couples to come and go, all of which proceeded to have wild makeout sessions before getting up to most likely find a room.
"Betty," Reggie beams, dropping down into the arm chair across from them with a joint between his lips. "You're looking fine tonight."
"I'm well aware of my resemblance to a raccoon," she huffs.
"Pft, you can hardly even tell," he assures her before taking a hit, continuing to speak as he holds it in. "Tina throws a mean fucking punch." His laugh tapers off to a cough as he holds out the joint to Betty.
"Believe me, I know," she grumbles as she takes the joint between her fingers and holds it out to Jughead.
It's not that she doesn't want to smoke, she does, but she always lets the boys hit it first. It's something of a habit formed from years of being the youngest, and therefore last in line. Jughead takes a long slow hit, the joint still pinched between Betty's fingers, and when he's finished he gives a raise of his brow in question. Betty nods quickly and he cups her face in his hands, bringing his mouth mere millimeters from hers to exhale in time with her inhale.
"Beautiful," Reggie gushes, clapping his hands together as he gets up from his seat.
Betty proceeds to turn red, tilting her head back to exhale towards the sky as she watches him walk away. She and Jughead pass the remainder of the joint back and forth between themselves before Jughead puts it out in the bottom of his empty beer bottle.
"I'm gonna go find a bathroom," Jughead says against her ear.
"I've had to pee for like an hour," she laughs as she gets up from his lap.
Together, they venture through the house, finding the downstairs bathroom to have a line backed up all the way down the hall. They quickly make their way upstairs, assuming a house this large couldn't possibly only have one bathroom. They find the line to the second bathroom before they even reach the top of the stairs.
"Oh wait," Betty exclaims upon realization. "Follow me."
Jughead allows Betty to lead him, dragging him along the upstairs hallway as she pauses at doors to listen. When they reach the door at the farthest end of the hall, Betty does as she had with all the other doors. She listens carefully, but there's nothing but silence behind the door. She gives it a knock then a quick check of the doorknob, finding it locked of course. She plucks a Bobby pin from the loose braid in her hair, allowing it to unravel as she gets to work on the lock.
"Ha," she celebrates, "master bedroom."
"So what," Jughead questions.
"So master bedrooms have private bathrooms," she explains. "And since the door was locked before the party started, no one has even been in here."
Jughead nods in understanding, checking their surroundings before shoving her inside and relocking the door behind him.
"Don't want anyone else finding our secret bathroom," he replies to Betty's look of confusion. "Now go pee. And hurry up, my bladders gonna explode."
After peeing out an entire lakes worth of beer, Betty is nearly plowed over by Jughead on her way out of the bathroom. She snickers to herself as he sighs in relief, and the loud splashing of urine urges her to giggle.
"Quit laughing out there," he hollers playfully. "I told you I had to pee."
Betty shakes her head and drops onto the bed. It's softer than any bed she's ever laid on and she proceeds to get comfortable.
"Scooch over," Jughead says as he shoves her over to sprawl out on the bed.
"You're taking all the room," she huffs, trying her hardest to push him off the bed but he's stronger than he looks.
"Come on, you can do better than that," he taunts from where his face is squished into the mattress.
Betty gives another shove, to which he responds by springing up from the bed to tackle her onto it. Betty squeals as he tickles her sides, flailing her arms and legs as she tries to get away.
"Juggy," she chokes out between laughter. "No more!"
"What was that? You want more?"
"No! Jug-" she lets a pitchy squeal laughing so hard tears roll from the corners of her eyes as he continues his assault. She manages to get her arms underneath him and pokes at his abdomen as best she can.
"Don't," he scolds, his hands flying to her wrists to pin them above her head as he staves off a grin.
"But you tickled me," she argues.
"Fine, truce," he questions.
Betty only nods and Jughead slowly releases her wrists. The moment she's free she attacks his stomach with her bony fingertips and Jughead curls inward, dropping to the bed in a fit of pained laughter.
"Betts, no- please," he chokes out, "I'm begging you."
"Baby," she teases as she puts a halt to her tickling.
"I'm not a baby," he argues through a laugh. "Look what you did to me. You're like a god damn cat."
Betty examines his stomach where he's lifted his shirt, drawing her index finger along the shallow red scratch she finds there. His abdomen flexes with her touch and it stirs up butterflies in her stomach. She continues to run her fingertips along his skin, not entirely aware of what exactly she's doing in her hazy intoxicated state. The bed shifts, and she's mildly aware of Jughead laying back on the bed, his shirt still lifted high on his chest. He lets a shaky sigh as her fingertips graze the trail of hair beneath his navel and Betty watches with intrigue as his jeans begin rise at his zipper.
"Betty," he worries, hardly above a whisper.
Betty snaps out of it, clearing her throat. "Uh, yea. Pea's probably looking for us."
"Right, yea, Pea," he nods. Taking a deep breath to calm himself.
Betty gets up from the bed, clearing her throat awkwardly as Jughead gets up as well. The air between them is thicker than ever before as they leave the master bedroom, locking it and their secret up as they go.
Back downstairs, it takes them much longer to find Sweet Pea than either had anticipated and the weird air between them is growing by the second. Thankfully, they finally find Sweet Pea leaned back against the wall by the front door.
"There you are," he greets upon their arrival. "Where'd you go? I must have done at least three laps around the place."
"Uh-"
"Bathroom," Betty cuts in quickly. "Let myself in to the master upstairs."
"Ah, the good ol' bobby pin trick I assume," he laughs as he kicks off the wall.
"The one and only," she replies, following Pea out the door with Jughead not far behind.
When they finally get into bed, Jughead chooses to sleep at the right end of his bed for the first time since Betty had been punched. His head just won't stop spinning, and it's not from the alcohol or the tail end of his high. He can't stop thinking about Betty's fingertips against his skin, the way she had ignited such an unbearable desire with the most minimal of touches. He'd wanted her hands all over him, touching him in ways she's never touched him before. Sure he's thought about it, but the way it had felt for her to be so close, yet so far from his desire; it gives him chills just thinking about it.
Betty lies awake in bed, much the same as Jughead, her back to him as she stares at the wall. She hadn't meant to do what she had, touch him the way that she did, but something just came over her with his warm skin beneath her fingertips. She's touched him before of course, hundreds of thousands of times when they're cuddling or teasing each other about foolish nonsense. She even sees him naked pretty regularly, but nothing has ever wound her belly as tight as watching his jeans tighten around his growing erection. Though she's seen him naked, she's never seen him like that, not ever, and she can't help but wonder about it.
The next morning, things still feel odd between Jughead and Betty, maybe even more so without the edge of intoxication to soften the edges. They go about their morning trying to be as normal as possible around Sweet Pea so as not to alert him of the rift between them. Neither of them is ready at all for the conversation that will ensue otherwise, but they're having a hard time even looking at one another. Before Sweet Pea can notice anything, Jughead decides to go to his dad's for a few hours, telling them that he's going to get a few more of his things from his room. Betty is grateful for the time apart, a bit of time to gather their thoughts without the other nearby might do them some good. By the end of the day, Jughead has convinced himself that Betty was just high and didn't realize what she was doing. She couldn't possibly want him, they're practically brother and sister. Betty on the other hand, has drawn a different conclusion.
Later that night, after both Alice and Sweet Pea have left to fulfil their respective duties at the Wyrm, Jughead and Betty are left entirely alone for the first time all day. Jughead makes himself scarce, locking himself in the bathroom for a shower and Betty busies herself with tidying up the house. Of course, there's only so much showering and tidying either of them can do before they're forced to get to bed, lying in the same room, but neither acknowledges the other. After nearly an hour of enduring the deafening silence, Betty gets up from her bed and hesitantly crawls in beside Jughead. He doesn't look at her, his body going rigid as she curls into his side. Her hand hovers just above his abdomen, hesitating, before she allows it to rest on his naked chest. Though he's clearly uncomfortable, he makes no attempt to move and Betty keeps her hand still, waiting to see if he'll relax. It takes a few long moments, but slowly, his posture softens and Betty takes it as a go ahead, grazing her fingertips along his skin, downwards to the trail of hair she'd admired yesterday and further still, dipping them beneath his boxers. His breath catches as she bumps his swollen tip, causing her to shy away briefly. After regaining her confidence through his stillness, she dares to do it again and Jughead's large hand quickly wraps around her wrist to gently pull it away. She glances up at him, finding his gaze conflicted as he looks into her eyes. It becomes a sort of staring match, a silent dare for the other to be the first to break it as his stormy sea gazes upon her emerald glow. Neither knows who gives in first, only the softness of pink lips and the slickness of wandering tongues registering in their lust hazed minds. Jughead's hand threads into the golden curls at the back of her head, holding her close for fear of losing this feeling; the feeling of her lips against his, the exact feeling he's been craving for far longer than he'd realized. Betty allows her hands to wander, gripping first at his hair and earning a low moan as she gives it a tug. His hips thrust forward involuntarily, seeking friction as his hardness presses against her thigh. Her hands trail along his abdomen, leaving goosebumps in their wake. He bites back a moan, his hips shifting away slightly as she palms his erection over his boxers. He pulls away, his chest heaving as he looks to her with concern. He swallows hard, his eyes rolling back and fluttering closed as she applies the most delicious pressure to his straining arousal.
"Betts," he worries. "Betty, what are we doing?"
"I- I dont know." She shakes her head, drawing her hand away to roll onto her back. Jughead does the same, the both of them staring at the ceiling as they think over what's just occurred between them. Betty returns to her own bed, offering only a shy glance before returning to her previous position of staring at the wall.
