Author's Note : And…it continues. What lines is Betty willing to cross for Jughead?

Disclaimer : Don't own em. Like em a lot.

Chapter Nine Song Choice : "I'm On Fire" by Chromatics

Chapter Nine :

It was less than forty-five minutes. Jughead was standing in the holding cell, his arms dangled through the bars and his forehead pressed against them while he waited to be processed when the door to the Sheriff's department burst open. His father barreled in followed closely by the lawyer they kept on retainer, Trula Twyst. Trula had an affection for Jug. He was pretty sure they had screwed when he had been sixteen and she had been twenty-five, but he wasn't entirely sure. He'd been really drunk on the night in question, but she seemed to have had a soft spot for him since. It was particularly pleasing when she backed Sheriff Keller against a wall and went off on him about unlawful search and seizure, profiling and the definition of probable cause.

Jughead didn't try to fight his grin as he watched Keller's facial expression evolve as Trula tore into him. The older man went from smug righteousness to red-faced embarrassment to murderous outrage in the span of about ten seconds. Considering the hassle that the sheriff had caused him in front of Betty, the sight of his frustration made Jughead feel all warm and fuzzy.

With a look a pure harassment, Keller walked over and unlocked the cell that Jughead lounged in. He fixed Jughead with a steely eyed glare and set jaw before he pushed his words between clinched teeth, "You're free to go."

Jughead gave his best shit-eating grin and made sure to bump shoulders with Keller as he sauntered past the officer to exit the cell, "What was that? Fifty-eight minutes? That has to be some kind of record, right?"

"So, I get that you probably have to hold on to the 'contraband,'" he snipped and made quotation marks with his fingers, "but can I have my piece back? You know, since it's registered and I have a permit to legally carry it, not to mention the God-given right as a free citizen of these United States of America."

"You got a smart mouth, Jughead Jones," Keller growled.

"Thanks."

Keller offered Jughead's glock out to him, empty of the magazine, "It's gonna get you into a lot of trouble someday."

"Oh," Jughead snarled back as he took the gun, slipped the mag back into place and tucked it back into the holster at the small of his back, "you mean worse trouble than I get into standing in the parking lot of a diner and having a conversation with a friend?"

"C'mon, boy," his father said through his laughter and shoved Jug toward the door of the station, "let's got outta here before you get yourself arrested again."

"How'd you get here so fast?" Jughead asked FP and Trula once they were through the door and safely out of earshot of the sheriff, "I mean, I hadn't even been given my phone call yet."

"Well," his father grinned as they made it to the parking lot of the station, "this little blonde firecracker burst into the Wrym and pitched a fit. She made a scene until Tallboy dragged my outta the office to deal with her myself."

And of course, there in the dimly lit sheriff station parking lot, wringing her hands nervously as she shuffled back and forth from one foot to the other, stood Betty. His Betty. His sweet, beautiful, wonderful Betty. Jughead actually stopped his forward motion when he spotted her, unnerved by her presence. She still wore her Pop's uniform dress underneath her heavy coat, a chunky strand of blonde hair had come loose from her usually pristine ponytail, and she looked just this side of terrified. Her green eyes were impossibly large as she stared at him and chewed on her bottom lip. FP and Trula stopped walking as well.

"Don't worry, Jones," Trula said, "there's not even going to be a trial. The charge won't stick and the sheriff knows it. He takes this to court, it'll just reveal him for the prejudice bigot that he is and he knows it. FP, this wasn't even an hour of my time. We'll say my retainer covered it and I'll see you next week."

With that, she spun on her designer heel, red hair flying, and strolled over to her neatly parked Lexus. FP watched her slide into her seat and shut the door before he turned back to his only son.

"You know," he said, "Trula's never dropped her fee for any other serpent."

"She likes me," Jughead replied without looking away from where Betty stood staring at him.

"Something blondie there should worry about?"

"Not even a little."

"I had Sweet Pea and Fangs pick up your bike from Pop's," FP explained, then his eyes darted over to where Betty still stood patiently. He couldn't help but note the longing with which she stared at his son. "I, uh, I take it you won't need me to give you a lift home?"

Jughead didn't answer but did flash a smirk and a sideways glance at his father. FP chuckled again, slapped his son on the shoulder and then headed toward his truck with a call over his shoulder, "See you at home, Jug."

Jughead tucked his hands into his pockets and closed the distance to Betty, "You slaying dragons for me now, princess?"

She smiled just a little at that, "Well, I couldn't stand by a do nothing about that injustice, now could I? That…that wasn't fair."

God, she was pretty. He reached up and twirled the loosened strand of her silky hair around his finger and her body swayed toward him, "Can you give me a ride, Cooper?"

Those eyes of hers glistened as she nodded her head and pulled her car keys from her pocket. Without another word, Jug followed her over to her car and they climbed into their respective seats. Betty started up the ignition and Jughead blatantly stared at her profile as she was illuminated by the dim glow of the dashboard lights. He wanted to reach over and touch her, to steal some of the warmth of her and keep it for himself.

So, he did.

He touched the loose strand of hair that had held his fascination since he'd first spied it, then rested his hand on her shoulder.

"So, does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked.

He watched her press her lips into a tight line and could practically see her considering her words before she spoke, "I…I was never mad at you, Juggie."

"Oh?" he said, "Then what were you?"

He watched the thoughtful look take on her face again, "I…I was confused."

That was the best way that Betty could think to describe her feelings since Jughead had kissed her. Confused. Then, when she had watched Keller shove him into the back of the police cruiser, she had been overcome with righteous indignation. So, she had done the only thing she could thing and driven to the Whyte Wyrm. She was certain she had broken every speed limit within the Riverdale city limits, but it hadn't mattered at the time. All that had mattered to her had been that she get help for Jughead.

She glanced at him from the side of her eye where he lounged in the passenger seat of her car.

"Confused?" he repeated, "Do…do you want to go somewhere and talk about it?"

She nodded, "That would be good."

"Okay, take the next left."

They drove for another fifteen minutes, Jughead every once in a while speak up and tell her to turn either right or left. He guided her across the railroad tracks to the southside of town, down a long narrow road that eventually turn from broken pavement to gravel and dirt. She parked the car underneath a large tree and turned off the ignition. Jughead unhooked his seatbelt and adjusted his body to face her better.

"So," he eased into the conversation, "I confuse you?"

"You do," Betty said on a breathy little laugh, "you downright baffle me."

"How? Why?"

Betty pressed her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes tight. She tried to think of how she could explain to him that he stirred in her things that she couldn't define, explain, or rationalize.

"When…" she struggled, cursed herself in her head and forced herself to meet his brilliant green gaze. It took her breath. Even in the dark it seemed the moonlight pierced through the windshield at just the right angle to highlight those impeccable eyes, "when you kissed me, Jughead, it…I felt…"

His arm raised and she soon found his large, warm hand against her cheek, "Betty, I don't ever want you to feel like you can't tell me something."

His thumb caressed the apple of her cheek and Betty leaned into the touch, "I don't. I just don't know how to say it, exactly."

"Anyway you like," he said, "there's no shame between us, Betty."

"You mean that?"

His dark brows drew together and he grinned, "Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I?"

She looked down, "I've never felt the way I felt when you kissed me."

Jughead took a deep breath through his nose and his fingers curved around to the back of her neck, "And how did you feel?"

"Warm all over."

He leaned closed, "In a good way?"

"Yes," Betty breathed and Jughead closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers again.

Betty kissed him back. She could not stop herself if she had wanted to and she did not want to. He dragged his lips down along her jawline and nipped gently at the sensitive skin just below her ear. "Tell me, Betty," he whispered against her ear, "when you felt warm all over, did you mean between your legs?"

"Jug…"

"Tell me!" he demanded, then softened it to the sweetest plea, "Please. Please, Betty, tell me."

"Yes."

"Did you touch yourself, Betty?"

A strangled noise escaped Betty's throat as Jughead settled his hand onto her flat stomach and caused it to flutter. He trailed his kisses and licks down her neck. He had managed to unbuckle her seatbelt and unbutton her coat at some point. She hadn't noticed.

"Did you?" he asked and trailed his fingertips over her clavicle, "Did you touch yourself and think of me?"

"Yes," she breathed and pushed her fingers into his soft, dark hair.

He leaned away and looked at her. He pressed his thumb against her bottom lip, "Did you cum for me?"

Betty felt her brow furrow as the frustration from the previous night rushed back over her. She remembered that feeling of reaching for some elusive thing. She had reached and reached and reached and just hadn't been able to grasp it.

"Oh, baby," Jug whispered as he comprehended the look of almost annoyance, "is my princess frustrated?"

"I…I don't…" Once again, she couldn't seem to find the words that she needed to express herself to him.

Jughead wanted to soothe her, tell her that she didn't need words, he understood. He always understood her.

"You need me to take care of you?" he asked and ran his hand along her golden ponytail.

He moved his hand away from her quivering belly down to her knee. He pushed the skirt of her uniform out of the way and traced his fingers up along the inside of her thigh. He reveled at the impossible softness of that skin. Those strong, tone legs of hers clamped tight on his hand and halted any upward motion. She pushed against his shoulder to lean him away from her.

"Jug… we can't…we shouldn't…" she said, but her eyes were wide and dilated and bright.

"Why?" Jughead asked and pressed another kiss to her jaw.

She leaned into his attentions, "You know why."

"I know," he replied as he rested his forehead against her shoulder, "you have a boyfriend. But I'm gonna be honest with you, Betty, I don't care. I couldn't care less if I tried. Keep him," as he continued his speech, he redoubled his efforts to trail love her with his mouth. He trailed his lips along her neck, her jaw, her cheeks, "I don't care about him, I don't care about titles or labels or any of that shit. What I care about is you. The only label I'm interested in is lover. I want to be your lover, Betty."

"Oh, God, Jug," Betty sighed as she leaned her head back to give him better access to her neck and dug her fingers into his scalp.

"Let me make you feel good, baby," he said and attacked her mouth.

Betty's lips parted for him instantly and he plunged his tongue inside, unable to restrain himself in his need to conquer her in depth. He needed more of her, all of her. She had somehow become as essential to him as the blood flowing through his veins. It was a sensation that he wasn't used to, this requisite longing for another person, a specific person. He felt that if he could keep his hands on Betty Cooper for the rest of his life, everything else in the world would simply fall into place.

The grip of her thighs on his hand slackened and her legs fell open for him. Jug didn't hesitate. He slid his hand up that sweet skin to cup her center where it was warm and damp. So much heat and so fucking damp.

"Fuck, baby," he whispered against her lips, "you're so wet."

Betty's breath hitched and her eyelids fluttered up at him, "Is that wrong?"

"God, no!" Jug said and pushed what he knew was a desperate kiss to her mouth, "No! You're amazing. You're gonna make me lose it."

In as fast a movement as he could muster, he pulled his hand away from her to reach across and pull the lever on her seat to recline it. Once Betty was laid back, Jughead ignored the discomfort of the center console and put as much of his body overtop of her as he could. He braced one elbow by her head to stroke her hair and returned his other hand to the utopia between her legs.

"Relax," he murmured, "I'm gonna take such good care of you, baby. You're gonna feel sensitive and wanna pull away. When that happens, push against me instead, okay?"

Betty stared into his eyes and nodded. At her consent, Jughead slid his hand beneath the waistband of her lace panties and into the soaking folds of her sex. His own jeans had grown uncorfortable tight around his throbbing erection, but he refused to acknowledge the damned thing. He tunneled all of his attention on Betty; he needed to make this good for Betty.

Betty was pretty certain she was dying. Her heart was beating so fast and she couldn't seem to draw enough air into her lungs, she was going to have a heart attack or suffocate. But dear heaven, this was the way she wanted to go!

Jughead hovered over her, kissed her, did things with that incredible mouth of his and then touched her in all the ways that she had been unable to touch herself. His wonderful fingers found the sensitive button of her clit at once and rubbed tight little circles of the most glorious friction right around it. Betty would have been embarrassed by the whimper that escaped her throat except the noise seemed to do something fantastic to Jughead. He growled and deepened his kiss. He slid those fingers down and pressed one inside of her, curled it up and pressed the pad of his thumb into her clit.

Betty gasped against his mouth.

"God, you're tight," he breathed, his mouth hot against her neck, "you're tight and responsive and fucking made for me, I swear."

"Juggie…" she whined as she began to feel that intangible pressure build up in her belly as he pumped his finger in and out while simultaneously he swiped his thumb in circles over her clit. Betty sank her teeth into the plump flesh of his pouting bottom lip and tugged. This elicited another groan from Jughead and he inserted a second finger into her core.

The movement caused Betty to gulp involuntarily at air. She arched her back and bore down against his invading digits. With his free, Jug reached down and yanked at the top of her uniform, the snaps gave willingly and exposed her lace covered breasts to the attention of his hungry mouth. She felt a tingling at the base of her spine and she started feeling that distinct 'too much' sensation. She pushed at Jug's shoulders and pulled her pelvis back just slightly in an effort to get away.

"No, baby, push into me. Work with me, harder. Let go for me."

It took a little but of focus on her part, but she did what he ordered and ground hips downward against his hand.

The reward was indescribable.

The pressure built and built and built. Jughead continued to mutter wonderful words of endearment and encouragement, his breath hot against her chest, and that potentially did even more to arouse her than his hands. His scraped her teeth across her nipple through the lace of her bra and then bit down oh-so gently, cradled the base of her skull in his free hand. And then it felt like everything inside of her shattered into ten million pieces and then melted back together like golden honey.

Her skin was oversensitive and damp with sweat, she couldn't see beyond the stars in her eyes and her breaths were short and uneven as she tried to calm her racing heart.

"My, God," Jug said, pressing his own moist brow to hers, "you are everything."

Betty slid her hands into his hair and kissed him again. She didn't think she would ever grow tired of his mouth. She couldn't believe she was allowed to taste it. From the way he spoke, she was allowed to taste him whenever she wanted. In the back of her mind, self-reproach lingered in a bubble and waited to be set free. As though he sensed this, Jughead leaned back the slightest bit to look her in her eyes.

"Okay, princess," he said, "you're gonna wanna let yourself spiral into some form of guilt over this. You're not allowed to. This was something for you. For us. Fuck labels and titles and all of that bullshit. This was about you and me and you're not allowed to feel shame for it. Understand?"

Betty wanted to melt into him, to be a part of his makeup. Could she let herself have this? Could she have a lover outside of her realm of approved social status quo? He was beautiful, inside and out, and she couldn't imagine ever being ashamed of him…but at the same time she knew her parents, as wonderful as they were, would not understand their daughter's connection with him.

But she wouldn't give him up. She didn't think she could if she wanted to, and she didn't want to.

She pressed into Jughead's shoulder, "What are we gonna do, Juggie?"

"Hey," Jughead replied as her brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "we don't have to do anything right now, tonight, okay? This is not something I want you to pressure yourself over. I'm here. I'm yours. In whatever capacity you want me. I want you to be mine, but that's your call, princess. But I'm not going anywhere."

Author's Note : Okay…so that happened. Thoughts? How do y'all feel about Jughead now? He's a big ole softie for Betty! Y'all know the drama is coming, but maybe there'll be a little bit more fun times before then. Of course, actions always have consequences. That's just science right there.

Anyway! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!