The next morning, she got ready for school. Although she could not forget what had happened last night, Betty was still Betty. Hair needed to be pulled back, showing the pale pink shirt that screamed innocence. She tied the dark flannel around her waist, over her faded jeans. She sauntered down the stairs, careful not to put a toe out of line, always on the lookout for Alice Cooper.
Betty grabbed her bags, five waffles fresh out of the toaster, and walked out the bright red door. The sun was reflecting sharply off of Archie's hair, and she smiled as she saw her oldest friend and favorite ginger. But then a head poked out from behind him. Dark hair was tucked under his signature beanie, his gorgeous neck disappearing into a signature S shirt. Betty felt heat rise in her face as she looked at the tall, lanky boy she had kissed just last night. She shook her head and walked forward.
As she neared them, Jug looked at his flannel and winked at her. His eyes trailed across every detail of her body, and the blush deepened. She smiled at him and said hello to Archie. He looked at her and then at Jughead. Archie leaned over and whispered something in Jug's ear that made him grin and nod.
On any normal day, Archie would walk in between Betty and Jug, but Betty would rather walk next to Jug. She moved so that she was next to him, leaving Archie to be the far right. Archie looked at both of them again, shoved them playfully, then took off down the street. Betty handed Jug three of the waffles, then started nibbling on hers. Within a minute, all of his were gone. As they walked, he stole little pieces from her remaining waffle, as she halfheartedly pushed him away.
When they reached the school campus, she could practically see Jug draw back into his turtle shell. His shoulders slumped just the tiniest bit, and his strides became a little less bold. She reached out for his hand and let their fingers brush. Betty thought it would help, but he froze completely. He twitched his hand out of hers as if afraid she had the plague. Their eyes met for the slightest moment before his perfect eyes fell to the ground instead. "I can't," he muttered, so softly that she wasn't sure if she had actually heard him. But then his hands drove into his pockets and he strode away. Somehow he disappeared into a group of kids walking by while Betty just stood there, a single tear of confusion dripping down her face. What had changed? One minute they were carelessly flirting, and the next he was treating her like an unwanted annoyance. Her fingers curled into her palms without permission.
A few deep breaths had Betty calmed enough to go inside and get her stuff. It was just a stupid boy after all. No need to bleed out her hands over him. Walking to her locker, Betty let her shoes slap the shiny floors. She was lost in her thoughts, and when she looked up, she found herself in front of Jughead's locker. Giving it a good glare, she threw the flannel into the tiny box. Then she thought better of it and hung it up neatly. On the way to her locker, she was tuning everything out before she felt a hand close around her wrist. She whirled around to come face to face with a raven-haired beauty, her best friend, Veronica. The girl was smiling from ear to ear, exposing her perfect teeth.