A dance club. Jughead is not sure how he got roped into this decision, but it's too late to get out now. Or maybe he does know how it happened. As always, Veronica suggested it and he only managed to resist as long as Betty's pleading eyes didn't meet his. And once they did, he knew that Betty's discomfort of being the third wheel was far more important to him than his own discomfort over whatever Veronica is trying to make them do this time.

The club they're going to is only a twenty-minute walk away from their building, but Veronica insists they take a cab because she's wearing unpractical shoes she can't possibly walk that far in. He wants to ask why she thinks they're the right choice for a dance club anyway, but decides to stop himself. The heels seem sharp and he's sure Veronica wouldn't hesitate to use them as a weapon.

When the cab arrives Jughead takes the front seat, not trusting himself to sit next to Betty. Her dress is riding up dangerously high, exposing her bare thighs, and he's already working hard enough to keep himself in check. There hasn't been a single moment when he didn't think of her as beautiful, but this is something else. She looks sexy, fierce, confident. All the things he already knows she is, but that she usually keeps hidden behind pastel clothing. He wishes he got to tell her before they left. Whisper it in her ear and watch the goosebumps spread from her neck down across her long legs. But Veronica and Archie were with them constantly so he didn't dare to stand close to her, knowing he couldn't keep himself from touching her, as if to find out whether her skin is as soft as it looks. He already knows the answer is yes, but he always needs to try anyway.

Once they get there everything is moving as fast as the beat of the music, which, in Jughead's opinion, is too fast to be enjoyable. They find themselves a booth to sit in and halfway through their first drink, Veronica is already pulling Betty towards the dance floor.

Archie stays behind, saying he needs some alcohol in his blood before he can attempt to bust out his best moves, and Jughead is glad nobody even tries to persuade him to join them. While sitting in a club sipping on a single beer is not his ideal type of evening, it's million times better than actually being forced to rub up against all the other sweaty bodies that use the excuse of a dance to dry hump each other. Watching them from a distance is a slightly better option.

Jughead tries to use this little outing as an opportunity for one of his favorite activities - people watching. As he already knows all the regulars and staff in his favorite coffee shop, he may as well use the time in the club he won't likely visit again to do observe many different people and their behavior. He knows it's a weird thing to do in a dance club, but being called a weirdo is hardly a new thing to him.

However, his people watching quickly ends up being rather unsuccessful when every ten seconds his eyes land back on Betty. He doesn't know anything about dancing, but even he can tell she moves with grace like nobody else around her. Her body moves perfectly in sync with the music even though it seems impossible to follow, if the other people on the dance floor are any indication. But she's Betty Cooper and he's sure she can do the impossible.

He manages to tear his eyes away for a bit but the next time they wander back, there is a tall blonde guy dancing with her, his hands resting on her hips and while Jughead can't see that far, he's more than sure his gaze is glued to Betty's cleavage. Jughead tightens his grip on the beer bottle and tries to swallow his jealousy. They haven't defined their relationship so he feels like he has no right to feel this way. And even if they did, Betty is a person, not an object he owns. But still, some primal instinct inside of him is telling him that nobody else should be touching Betty like that. It's a new kind of feeling. Different from the jealousy he used to feel before, whenever Betty went on a date with someone who wasn't him.

"It seems like Betty is getting a lot of attention," Archie says, nodding his hair towards the girls and Jughead wonders whether his best friend caught him staring, berating himself for putting his feelings on display.

"So is Veronica," Jughead replies, avoiding Archie's comment. "Doesn't it bother you to see all those guys basically salivating over her?" he asks, trying to sound casual as he nods his head to the raven haired girl on the dance floor. Two guys are trying to rub against her in a way that's he assumes is supposed to be a dance, but would surely get age restricted on Youtube.

"It used to. But Ronnie and I have been together for a while and I know that no matter what they say or do, she's not interested in them. If any of them tried to take it too far, she can stand her ground. And I'm keeping an eye on her," Archie explains with a shrug. "On both of them," he adds after a second and gives Jughead a look he's not sure how to interpret.

Jughead nods and brings the beer bottle to his lips as his eyes slide to Betty again. He knows she's capable of taking care of herself, he's seen it more than enough times. He silently watches her for a few more moments, his feelings battling inside of him.

The other man's hands are on her, and he can't help but compare himself negatively to what else is out there. He has never felt like this about anyone else. He thinks it might even be love. Just thinking about the word makes him feel all flustered and before he knows what he's doing, he shoots up from his seat, mumbling to Archie something about fresh air before darting towards the back entrance of the club.

While dance clubs are not really Betty's thing, she loves dancing. There is something about moving to the rhythm of the music that makes her feel relaxed and free of all the worries that plague her mind most of the time. There aren't many activities that make her feel that way. But other than shaking her hips around her apartment, there are few opportunities for her to really get lost in dancing. So when Veronica grabs her hand and pulls her towards the dance floor mere minutes after their arrival, she happily follows.

They're only dancing alone for a few minutes when three guys roughly their age start moving towards them with obvious determination. Betty doesn't catch their names as they whisper them to Veronica and frankly, she doesn't care. She didn't come here to meet anyone new. But it's not long before her best friend is pushing one of them, a tall blond guy, towards her with an exaggerated wink.

He re-introduces himself as Matt and Betty gives him a smile that's equal mixture of shy and awkward. While she doesn't see dancing as something that's necessarily sexual, she notices the way his eyes linger at her cleavage before they start moving together with the rhythm of the music, and she feels guilty for letting him ogle her that way with her boyfriend just a few feet away from her. Except Jughead's not her boyfriend. Not officially. But he's the man who, when their eyes meet, makes her heartbeat speed up and her skin flush. A simple label doesn't seem to cover how she feels about him and she wonders whether he feels the same way.

For the time being Betty tries to push those thoughts away and instead get lost in the music. It's what she came there to do after all. But ever since Matt's hands landed on her hips, things haven't felt right. She keeps sneaking glances at Jughead, wondering if he's enjoying himself more than she does, but there are too many people in the way for her to catch his gaze. When she finally sees him, he's getting up from his seat and heading towards the back of the club in a rush. A thousand thoughts flood her mind as she shakes Matt's hands from her hips, mumbling something about how she has to leave. She doesn't bother with a proper excuse and she doubts her cares, already moving to the next girl.

"Going to the ladies," she mouths to Veronica, not even trying to shout through the music and quickly tries to find her way through the mass of people on the dance floor. Once she finally pushes through the crowd of people, instead of turning to the hallway that leads to the restrooms she heads for what seems to be the back door of the club and the same door that Jughead was striding forward two minutes ago.

As she steps outside she's greeted by the fresh night air, welcoming it on her heated skin. She didn't even realize how uncomfortably hot it was inside and not just because she felt her best friend silently prompting her to make the most out of the hot guy rubbing against her. She shudders at the thought and looks around, trying to spot Jughead and hoping he didn't just get up and leave without a word.

"Jug," she says with a hint of relief when she sees him leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets and his face seemingly deep in thought.

"Oh, hey, Betts." He's a bit startled when he sees her, not expecting her to come looking for him. A bitter thought enters his mind about how she probably didn't even notice he was gone, too preoccupied with dancing with all the guys in the club that could give her more than he can. He quickly tries to chase those insecurities away. Betty has never given him a reason to doubt her feelings for him.

"What are you doing here?" she asks as she steps closer to him. She stops before touching him, suddenly feeling like she's intruding.

"Just... wanted some fresh air," he answers with a shrug. It's not a lie per se. He did feel like suffocating mere minutes ago, but it wasn't the thick hot air inside. It was the weight of his feelings pressing on his chest.

"You aren't mad that I danced with that guy, are you?" she asks, feeling like there is no point in beating around the bush. "Ronnie just kinda threw him at me and... It doesn't mean anything. But if it bothers you..." she trails off not sure what she wants to say. What would she do exactly?

"No, it's not... I'm not mad." Jughead shakes his head wondering whether Betty thought he was angry. Was he supposed to be? Did he even have a right to be? Certainly not.

"Jealous? Maybe a little," he admits sheepishly. "You're gorgeous. Of course guys will stare and try to dance with you or even touch you. But as long as you're comfortable with it, it's not my place to stop you," he says, thinking of Archie's words. "And I know we haven't even really talked about what we are or whether they might be some other people or..."

"Jug," Betty interrupts him, placing her hand on his chest. Is that what he was thinking? That she may want to see other people while seeing him? "I don't want there to be any other people."

She gives him a small smile and he feels a weight lifted off his chest. He never really expected Betty to want to see other people, but seeing her with that guy... Well, it certainly made him wonder about things he didn't want to think about.

"Me neither," he stammers out, not wanting her to think he's hesitating. Betty's small smile turns into a huge grin and she takes a step closer to him, pressing her lips to his in a soft sweet kiss, grateful for the high heels making things easier for once.

"So does that make you my girlfriend now or..." Jughead asks with a dorky smile once they break apart, feeling a sudden surge of confidence from a single kiss.

"Do you want me to be your girlfriend?" She looks up at him, her green eyes big, her bottom lip caught between her teeth and she wonders why they waited so long to confess their attraction to each other in the first place. She can hardly remember a time when she didn't want to be his girlfriend.

"I should be so lucky." He grins and this time when their lips meet it's everything but soft. Teeth tugging and biting in a desperate need to mark each other.

"You look so hot tonight," Jughead mutters against her collarbone. "So, so hot."

She wants to tell him she knows and that he looks hot too, the dark blue dress shirt that Veronica forced him to wear bringing out the color of his eyes even more. But instead of words, a gasp leaves her throat when his hands slide from her waist to her butt, pulling her closer to him. She grabs his face in her hands and brings his lips back to hers, swallowing his moans when she rolls her hips against his. They most definitely shouldn't be doing this here and now, but the outside world is momentarily forgotten when all they can think about is touching each other. A need that's very familiar to them.

Their feverish kisses and wandering hands are suddenly interrupted by the loud creak of the door that makes them both jump, though their bodies stay pressed together. If it had been either of their friends there would've been no chance to cover up what they were doing. Thankfully though, it's just a group of giggling girls stepping out of the club for a quick smoke break.

"We should probably get back inside before our friends start looking for us," Betty says with a sigh, not quite ready to extract herself from Jughead's arms. Her boyfriend's arms. It's strange to call him that, but it feels right.

"Mmmm probably," he hums, leaning over the capture her lips with his again and showing no intention of moving from his current position.

"I'm serious," Betty murmurs between kisses. She wishes they could stay like this forever, but the idea of their friends catching them rattles her a little. While a part of her wants to stand on the roof and scream to the whole of New York that Jughead Jones is officially her boyfriend, she's not ready to let their little bubble burst.

"So am I." He grins against her lips and she can hear a hint of mischief in his voice. "We need to get out of here."

"What about Archie and Veronica?"

"We'll tell them we're tired, or hungry or something." He shrugs. None of those things is a lie so he assumed it shouldn't be hard to get past Veronica. "We haven't been here that long so I'll doubt they'll want to go home yet and then..."

"And then we can get some alone time," Betty finishes for him with a smirk. While she was the one who initially asked Jughead not to tell their friends about them just yet, he seems to be the one to enjoy the little game they're playing more than she thought he would.

"Precisely." Jughead nods with a proud look on his face.

"Okay, I'm gonna go back in first," she says, running her fingers through her hair to tame them a little. "How do I look?"

Jughead slowly drags his eyes up and down her body as a cheeky grin spreads across his face. "Absolutely fuckable." That low tone of his voice causes goosebumps to break across Betty's skin and she feels her cheeks flame up but doesn't let that phase her.

"Great!" she exclaims, her eyes quickly running over Jughead's face and neck to make sure there are no traces of her lipstick there. She finds none and silently thanks whoever created kissproof lipstick. "Don't forget to wipe that grin off your face before you come back inside," she reminds him.

His brows immediately furrow into a scowl, making her giggle.

She heads for the door leading back to the club, but just before she touches the door handle she turns back to him, a playful smile on her lips.

"And just so you know, you don't have to be jealous at all. Those guys might be rubbing all over me but it doesn't turn me on half as much as one look from you." She winks at him and disappears back inside. Now he'll definitely have trouble keeping the smirk off his face.

"Do you think it worked?" Veronica asks expectantly, clutching her boyfriend's arm.

"Well, he stormed out of here pretty quickly. But maybe that's just him being Jughead." Archie shrugs his shoulders.

"What are you guys chatting about?" Betty asks as she returns to their table, sitting down next to them.

"Music." "Football," Veronica and Archie say at the same time and both Veronica and Betty give him a confused look.

"I mean, music." He quickly brings the beer bottle to his lips to stop himself from saying anything more.

Betty furrows her brows but lets it slide, trying to focus on the lie she's about to tell them. Or maybe it's not a lie. She is tired. She persuades herself that if she doesn't think of it as a lie, she won't give herself away so easily. Because for someone who came up with the idea of keeping her relationship a secret, Betty is still a terrible liar. In fact, she's surprised that in the thirty-six hours that Veronica's been back, she hasn't been found out. Or so she hopes.

Betty takes a deep breath and covers her mouth with her hand, faking a big yawn.

"That dancing really tired me out," she announces, trying to sound casual. "Aren't you guys tired?" She looks at her friends and they both shake their heads like she expected them to. "I think I may need to end this night a bit early before I..."

"Guys, I'm famished. Do you know if they make any burgers here? Or at least fries?" Jughead interrupts them when he appears seemingly out of nowhere and slides in the booth next to Betty. "I thought I could smell onion, but that was probably just the mix of sweat and testosterone coming off the guys flexing their muscles on the dance floor." He scrunches up his face in disgust.

"How many dance clubs have you been to that make food?" Veronica raises an eyebrow, not sure why she's still surprised by Jughead asking for food in any and every situation.

"How many dance clubs have I been to in general?" he deflects with a question. "If you haven't noticed, this isn't exactly my scene."

"Why did you come here then?" Veronica scowls at him and Archie brings his hand to her back, rubbing small circles until he feels her shoulders relax.

"You threatened me that if I didn't participate on your crazy plan to make up for our last summer you'd put up an ad with my phone number offering phone sex to women above sixty." He shoots her a dirty look back.

He wasn't sure how many calls he'd get from the ad, but he was not willing to risk it. He knows Veronica Lodge well enough to take her threats seriously.

"Fair enough," Veronica admits, still a bit surprised she managed to persuade Jughead to come. Even though he's spent the whole time sitting down and sipping on one beer, things seem to be going according to her plan.

"Anyway, Betty was just telling us she's tired so maybe you could be a gentleman and walk her home. You can get a burger on the way. That way Archie and I can stay and dance some more and Betty can get home safely," she suggests with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. Neither Betty nor Jughead dare to question it. "Or do you wanna stay here?"

"Definitely not." He shakes his head, a bit surprised how easily their plan worked. Veronica must be very annoyed by his grumpy face after the whole day. "I'm ready when you are," he tells Betty and she quickly gathers her purse and cardigan that she brought for the walk home.

They bid a quick goodbye to their friends and two minutes later they're outside again. They walk in silence for a bit and as they round their first corner Betty slips her hand into Jughead's. He doesn't say anything, just squeezes it and gives her a small smile.

"You know," he speaks up after a moment, "I think I get it now. The thrill of hiding, sneaking around. I guess it's a kind of teenage experience everyone should have."

"Didn't you?" Betty asks with curiosity. While they'd met in kindergarten and seen each other briefly during childhood, by the time puberty hit they were completely off each other's radars. Since meeting again in college, they haven't talked much about the past, neither of them wanting to relive most of it.

"Back in Riverdale... It's not really sneaking around when neither of your parents care about where you are and what you're doing," he says matter-of-factly. Betty feels her heart squeeze.

"And in Toledo..." he trails off, thinking about the dreadful two years he spent in Ohio after his father was arrested and he was forced to move in with his mother. "I just put a lot of time into making sure I could get out of there. Dating wasn't high on my list of priorities."

"What do you think would've happened if we had dated in high school?" Betty asks, sensing that Jughead doesn't want to delve much deeper into that part of his life.

"I'd have probably climbed through your window just to kiss you," Jughead says with a shrug. He wouldn't admit it to her, but this is not the first time he's wondered about what their lives might have been like if things went a little differently in the past. Usually, he tries to dismiss the thoughts. While his teenage years sucked, he's happy now and he wouldn't risk changing anything.

"What else would you have done in my room?" she teases, the corner of her lips curling into a grin.

"You," he answers simply, smirking back at her, and Betty bites her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"I was a good girl in high school. Why do you think I would've let you?"

"I was a very persuasive teenager." He winks at her, making her flush.

They walk in silence for a few moments before Betty stop abruptly, tugging on Jughead's hand.

"I need you, Jug."

"Me too, actually. I know I said it mainly to get out of there, but I could really go for a burger right now."

"No, I need you, not food," she says, raising her eyebrows and staring deep into Jughead's eyes.

Jughead can't stifle a grin when he realizes what she really said, the thought of burgers quickly pushed aside. For now, at least.

"But, there is this place not far from here and... I think we could take care of both there."

Her cheeks are flaming red as she gets the suggestion out. It's not as clear or eloquent as she hoped it would be, but she's feeling nervous about Jughead's reaction. She has always felt a little adventurous. Vanilla might be her favorite flavor of milkshake, and the scent of her trusted shampoo, but that's where her preference for it ends. Still, she's never been with someone she trusted enough to share this side of her. Not until now.

"You sure?"

Betty nods and catches her lower lip between her teeth once again. Jughead feels heat stir low in his abdomen and knows he can't say no to her. Not that he'd ever want to. He squeezes her hand a bit tighter, his eyes already sparkling with mischief.

"Lead the way."

"It can't quite compare to Pop's burgers, but it was pretty good. Too bad we probably can't show our faces there again," Jughead says as they walk out of the elevator. Their moment in the handicapped bathroom seemingly didn't go unnoticed by the cashier. The whole time they were waiting for their order, she was giving them a look that was a mixture of amusement and disgust.

"Sorry about that," Betty apologizes. She's got a mischievous look on her face anyway, so he knows she has no regrets. Much to his surprise, he doesn't either.

In just a few steps they reach their respective apartment doors and Jughead can't help himself from letting out an involuntary sigh. If they want to keep their secret for even a little longer, they can't risk spending the night in the same bed again. And while they decided to only keep it going for two more weeks, just until they're all back in college and too busy for Veronica to micromanage them and turn every second they have into a crazy double date, the thought of not falling asleep next to Betty for so long feels awful.

"What's wrong?" Betty asks as she notes the sullen look on Jughead's face.

"I just realized there will be no pretty blonde and her tiny freezing feet sharing the bed with me tonight. For a lot of upcoming nights."

"I know. I'll miss your soft snores and drool on my pillowcase."

"I don't..." he starts to defend himself but stops when he sees the amused grin on Betty's face. "Really funny, Cooper."

"Don't worry, it will pass quickly enough. And until then we'll have stolen kisses and secret rendezvous." She smiles as her fingers brush the hair escaping from his beanie.

"Make outs in the hallways," he adds.

"Make... what?" she raises her eyebrow in confusion but instead of answering Jughead pushes her against the door of her apartment, ghosting his lips over hers.

"Make outs in the hallways," he repeats in a whisper and this time she understands him completely. His lips are still hovering over hers and she tries to chase them and pull him into a kiss. He's faster, moving his mouth to her jaw instead, slowly inching towards that place behind her ear that always makes her moan.

"Stop teasing if you're not gonna follow up on that," she whimpers, her breath catching in her throat when he gently drags his lips across her earlobe.

"You were teasing me all morning. It's only fair." He chuckles and goosebumps break out all over her body. He loves seeing how the faintest touch makes her body react so visibly.

"No, I wasn't," she breathes, trying to defend herself though she knows he's right. Despite her best efforts, he held up pretty well.

"Mhm, you were," he hums, his lips now brushing against her collarbone. She throws her head back, a silent invitation for him to kiss more of her neck, which he gladly takes.

"You wore that lip gloss knowing I wouldn't get to taste it. And the dress... god the dress."

The sound coming out of his throat is almost a growl. Keeping his poker face during brunch was incredibly hard, and if it wasn't for the huge amount of food to keep both his hands and mouth occupied, their secret would've been revealed.

"I didn't think you noticed," she says, glad to hear her teasing worked after all.

"Of course I noticed. I notice everything about you," he replies

He finally presses his lips to hers in a hungry kiss. His tongue sinks into her mouth and she grabs the back of his neck, pulling him closer as the fire inside her comes to life once again.

Betty never thought she could want someone this much. That she could feel so deeply for someone so quickly. It's equal parts scary and thrilling.

They hear the elevator ding and for the second time that night they spring apart, thinking that their friends decided to end their night early after all. They both breathe a sigh of relief when it turns out to be just one of their neighbors stumbling toward his apartment, too inebriated to even notice them.

"Is the universe trying to tell us to stop making out?" he asks with a frustrated huff.

"Nah…" Betty shakes her head with laugh as she takes his hands in hers, linking their fingers together. "It's telling us to find a better place to do it."

"And where would that be?" Jughead cocks his eyebrow, hoping that Betty has a solution up her sleeve.

"I don't think there's a place safe from Archie and Veronica," she says, and laughs when Jughead's face immediately falls in disappointment.

"We'll have to be creative for a while then," he says after a moment, bringing their joined hands to his face and lightly kissing Betty's knuckles.

"Are you sure you don't wanna spend the night in my bed?" Betty asks, batting her eyelashes at him. She knows it's a stupid idea. It's been less than two days and they've already almost been caught. If they want to keep their charade up for even a little longer, they'll have to try a bit harder.

"You know I do, but..." he groans, knowing he'll be kicking himself when he's lying alone in his bed, unable to fall asleep and thinking about Betty. "While I said I like the thrill of hiding, I'd rather not wake up to Veronica's face hovering over mine as she finds us in bed together."

"She'd probably scream if she saw us." Betty laughs at the idea. She has spent quite a bit of time thinking about how their friends are going to react once they find out about them. Archie is most likely going to be a bit confused and maybe a bit protective of Betty as she's basically his little sister. But ever since Archie and Jughead reconnected, their friendship became very sibling-like as well, so she hopes he'll be happy for them.

"Yeah, I don't wanna wake up to that either." Jughead shakes his head with laugh. The idea of Veronica finding out they were hiding their relationship from her scares him a little, but he's also not ready for her to stick her nose into their perfect little bubble.

"Well, then I guess we're sleeping alone tonight," Betty says with a pout.

Jughead wraps his arms around her once again before giving her a lingering kiss. When he pulls away, Betty lets out a quiet whimper, making him chuckle.

"With all my snoring and drooling you don't wanna sleep next to me anyway, right?" He smirks and Betty rolls her eyes, disentangling herself from his arms.

"Yeah. I'll enjoy that very much. I'll get the best sleep ever," she replies cheerfully, putting on her best fake grin.

"Then you better get that sleep quickly because I may have blamed my tiredness this morning on Archie and Veronica being too loud last night, so I think they'll be spending the night at your apartment," he says and gives her a small apologetic smile.

"Oh, no," Betty groans. While living with Veronica is otherwise a breeze, her and Archie's seemingly endless sex drive is something she could do without. Especially with the thin walls of their apartment muffling nothing. "I hate you."

"No, you don't," Jughead replies with confidence and leans over to peck her lips one more time. "Good night, Betts," he whispers, brushing his fingers along her jawline and reluctantly takes a step towards his apartment.

"Good night, Juggie," she says back.

They both stare at each other for a few more seconds before finally parting ways. It's gonna be long two weeks for both of them.