Betty wakes up with an awful kink in her neck. She blinks a few times, forgetting for a moment how she ended up in the position she was in. Her eyes take a moment to adjust to her surroundings, face to face with Jughead's chest. His right arm is wrapped protectively around her waist and they are both naked beneath the throw blanket. A smile forms on her lips and she places a soft kiss against his heart. She looks up at him under sleepy eyelashes and sighs. He looks so serene with his mouth parted slightly, breathing deeply while he sleeps. She's careful to extract herself from his hold, rolling off the couch and onto the floor. Jughead stirs, but doesn't wake up.
Exhaling a sigh of relief Betty tiptoes to her room to change. She grabs an old pair of sweat pants and smirks, sneaking into Jughead's room and grabbing one of her favorite T-shirts of his. She throws it on, the soft cotton smooth against her skin. Betty hopes he won't mind.
After brushing her teeth and preparing for a lazy day cuddled up on the couch at home, Betty moves into the kitchen and begins to make breakfast. Her mind whirls over the events of the past 48 hours. Never in her wildest dreams would she ever have imagined that she'd end up with Jughead. They'd been friends since they were seven years old, brought together by their shared friendship with Archie.
Throughout the years, and once Veronica had entered their lives, Betty and Jughead had sort of fell in step with each other, Archie no longer the anchor holding them all together. Despite for the singular kiss they shared at a party back in high school, Betty hadn't considered Jughead as a romantic interest in her life. Surely she'd witnessed the way he would watch her when she caught him looking but she'd push the thoughts aside and ignore them. Now she wished she hadn't.
"Mmm… good morning little lady." A pair of strong hands wrap around Betty's waist. Nimble fingers toy with the strings dangling from the front of her pants. "Are those pancakes for me?"
"You did not just call me that." Betty warns, turning around and tapping his shoulder with the spatula in her hand. "You're naked."
Jughead reaches for the apron hanging on the pantry door and fits it around his body snugly. "Is this better?" He turns his back towards her and Betty laughs, her eyes gazing over his backside where the knot of the apron sits just above his butt.
"Jughead I've known you for most of my life, and I've never seen you act this way before."
He walks over to her and kisses her shoulder. "I'm just really happy, Betty. That's all. By the way, I like you wearing my clothes." Betty blushes and pours some more pancake batter onto the skillet. She feels something poke the back of her thigh and she turns on him.
"No. No more sex." She laughs, trying to keep a straight face while wagging the spatula at him.
Jughead holds up his hands in surrender. "I can't control Little Jughead. He has a mind of his own." He reaches down and rubs himself over the apron. Betty bites her lip, feeling the heat flush to her neck and over her cheeks. She shakes her head at an attempt to regain her composure.
Betty places her hands on her hips. "You want me?" she asks and Jughead nods his head in excitement. "Good. Take me on a date first." At that she turns her attention back to the stove smiling to herself, amazed at her own self-control. Although who was she kidding. Jughead made her body feel electric. There was no way she'd be able to hold him off for long.
After eating breakfast they decide to spend the day wrapped up in one another on the couch. A movie plays in the background while Betty watches as Jughead edits the photos he took the day before, blushing and covering her face with her hands. "Betty stop, you look amazing. These are nothing to be embarrassed about."
Jughead grabs her hands kisses the tips of her fingers. Betty melts at the touch of his lips. A shiver snakes its way down her spine and she looks up at him, her breath caught in her throat. If he continues to look at her that way she will lose all of her resolve.
"I know Jug, you did a wonderful job. You are truly gifted with a camera."
Betty is awestruck by the pictures. When she looks at herself in the mirror while she's changing all she ever sees are her faults, each one worse than the other. But in Jughead's pictures Betty is anything but shy. Whether it's the angles or Jughead's magic touch when it came to cameras, Betty is unable to spot any of her flaws in his photos. Instead she looks self-assured and poised. The Betty in the pictures keeps her head held high and smiles in a way Betty didn't know was possible. She's almost jealous of the girl in the photos, because Betty can't remember the last time she felt so confident inside her own body.
Betty bows her head and Jughead reaches up to hold her chin. "I think that's enough editing for today." He closes his laptop with his free hand and sets it on the coffee table, then leans in to kiss Betty softly. "Did I ever say thank you for yesterday?"
Betty shakes her head, her lips missing his instantly. "Maybe with your body, yes." She blushes.
Jughead arches an eyebrow and smirks. "Thank you." He falls back against the couch cushion and pulls Betty to his side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She snuggles into the crook of his arm and sighs contently. She could definitely get used to some lazy Sunday afternoons with her favorite beanie boy.
꙰
The week flies by and Jughead can barely believe that it's already Saturday again. It had been hell, with everything going on at school and work. Jughead is a movie attendant at the theater down the road and the new Marvel movie had just released the night before. It had been a long night full of screaming children, buttery popcorn, and soda spills. Although he couldn't find much of an excuse to complain, he'd been lucky enough to get two Saturdays off in a row and for that he was grateful.
All week he had spent editing the photos of Betty while trying to concoct the perfect date for them to go on. Regardless of the almost magnetic attraction they had towards each other, Betty had stood her ground. Jughead had barely touched her since the previous Sunday when she mentioned it was time he took her out. He was beginning to go stir crazy.
After speaking with Veronica and bouncing ideas off the only other person who knew Betty as well as Jughead did, he'd finally came up with the perfect date idea. A movie was out of the question, he already spent four nights a week there as it was. And dinner was too common. It would be too much like the old times when they were just friends and hadn't seen each other naked. He wanted to be able to have fun and make her laugh. Finally he decided on, at least what he thought was the perfect date.
Jughead knocks on Betty's door around 6 o'clock that evening. She opens it up with her lip between her teeth, text books scattered over her bedspread.
"What's up?" She asks, tightening her ponytail and rubbing her hands over her stomach to smooth the wrinkles from her sweater.
From behind Jughead's back appears a single red rose. "We are going to go on a date tonight." Betty takes the rose from him and lifts it to her nose, smelling the sweet scent. She places it on the table near the door and returns to him, a worried look on her face.
Betty's eyes are wide as a doe's. "You're telling me this now? I need to get ready. I need to do something with my hair. I nee-"
Jughead stops her from speaking, placing a kiss to her cheek. "You're cute when you're nervous, you know that?" A deep red hue engulfs Betty's flustered cheeks and she shrugs, playing with the sleeves of her sweater.
"Thanks. Where are we going?" she asks.
Jughead grabs her hand to keep her from scrounging her closet for an outfit. He hands her one of his favorite T-shirts and tells her to throw it on. "I can't tell you that. But you may want to change out of your sweater. You'll get hot."
Her eyebrow raises in question but she refrains from asking. Betty complies and switches tops in front of his eyes, and Jughead's suddenly ready to stay at home and spend the night tangled up in her floral sheets, forgetting the world and getting drunk on one another. Just the sight of her black lacy bra has his mind spiraling and it takes him a second to recover. "Is this better?" Betty asks, pulling on the hem of his T-shirt.
Jughead nods and swallows the lump in his throat. "Y-yeah. That's great. Come on, let's get going."
Jughead holds her jacket out for her to slip it on over her shoulders. He takes her by the hand and ushers her out the door and down to the street, signaling for a cab. Without thinking he tells the driver where to take them and Betty laughs. "So much for a surprise, huh? We're going to an arcade?"
She's smiling wide and Jughead's heart is begging to be released from its cage inside his chest. Her smile is contagious and soon Jughead is wearing the same expression on his lips. "Is that OK?" he inquires, holding her hand between them on the backseat, his thumb stroking circles over hers.
She lifts their intertwined hands to her lips and kisses the back of his hand softly. "It's perfect."
When they get to the arcade the place is packed with teenagers eager to get away from their parents on a Saturday night. Jughead walks them over to the counter and purchases $40 worth of tokens and a time slot for laser tag. "I haven't played laser tag in years!" Betty says, clutching onto Jughead's arm in excitement. Her smile is almost childlike and Jughead swoons. He doesn't understand the powers this girl has over him, but he is head over heels and weak in the knees for her.
The wait to play laser tag is about an hour long. To kill the time they play all the games their tokens will allow. They play skee ball and Guitar Hero and Mario Kart racing games. The whole time Betty stays near his side, clinging to him like a piece of lint that just won't go away. He reminds himself to thank Veronica later for helping plan the evening out.
They take a break halfway through to grab some hot dogs and a shake with vanilla shake with two straws from the concessions stand. Inwardly Jughead is berating himself for the two straws. He hated couples that boasted their feelings around for the world to see. But when it came to Betty he could give two fucks about where they were and who was watching, as long as she was in his company.
Jughead spends more time watching Betty play the games than actually playing himself. He doesn't care about their dwindling tokens because it's worth every penny to watch Betty in her main element. He had no idea she was such a gamer, and he wasn't going to lie but it turned him on in the strangest way. All he wants to do is pull her into a dark corner and kiss her until their lips are numb. He wants to twirl her pony tail around his fingers and bite the smooth skin of her neck. "Jughead, what are you looking at?"
He shakes himself from his reverie and grabs one of Betty's basketballs. He aims for a shot but misses when he feels Betty's hot breath on the shell of his ear. "Just a pretty girl, that's all." He says, his voice quaking.
Betty's cheeks flush pink and she leans in to kiss him. "Who knew you were so smooth?"
Jughead reaches up and readjusts the beanie on his head. His lips are throbbing for more of her gentle kisses. He repeats to himself that all good things come to those who wait. "Smooth as silk." He replies, smirking and taking another shot. This time the ball goes soaring through the net with a swish.
He realizes this may be the cheesiest date he's ever been on but it's definitely one for the books. Jughead's astounded by Betty's extreme competitiveness, finding it charming and even a little bit scary. She takes everything so seriously and it makes him laugh. It's not like he is trying to let her win either, somehow she is just good at everything. He figures if it puts a smile on Betty's face he'll lose to her forever, depending on the circumstance.
They're playing Trivia when their turn gets announced over the loud speaker. Betty forgets the game and grabs his hand, pulling him over the laser tag arena. Jughead glances around at all the teenagers and the glint in Betty's eyes. She tightens her hair and pulls on the light up vest.
They choose opposite teams and Betty blows him a kiss as she makes her way over to her base with the rest of the blue team. It feels like a kiss of doom to come but Jughead lets it happen. Laser tag is probably one of the only games he's actually semi decent at. "Hey Betty!" he calls after her retreating figure, enjoying the way her hips swing from side to side as she walks.
She turns around, aiming her gun at his chest. "What do you want Jones?"
Jughead smirks and removes the beanie from his head, tucking it safely in his back pocket. He runs to close the space between them. "I bet you…" he looks around to make sure no one's within hearing distance, thank goodness the music is loud around them. "…a blow job that I get more hits than you."
Betty throws her head back with a laugh and holds her hand out for a shake. "Deal. But if I win, we get to do it my way." She licks her lips and Jughead feels a tightness in his jeans.
"Fuck, OK. Bring it on Cooper."
Jughead can see the lust in her eyes before she turns away and his feet turn to stone. Although a blow job is on the line, there's no doubt he's curious as to what Betty may have up her sleeve for them when they return home. The intrigue almost makes him want to let her win. Almost.
When the game starts it's as if they are the only two people in the arena. Jughead makes his way through the obstacles with all the stealth he can muster. The red and blue hues from the lights make it hard to distinguish Betty from the others on her team. There's at least three other girls wearing blonde ponytails and it dizzies his mind. "Where is she?" he wonders aloud, checking the hit count on his handgun. If he didn't find her soon before she finds him he was going to lose.
"Looking for someone?" Betty's sultry voice sounds from behind him. He feels her breath on the back of his neck.
Jughead whips around and Betty's right there, pinning him to the graffiti filled wall. He lifts his gun to shoot at the sensors on her vest but Betty already beat him to it. "I'm going to win." She says into his ear, kissing the exposed skin of his neck tenderly. "And you're going to like it."
This is a completely different side of Betty than Jughead is used to seeing. She's all over him, saying things that make his body twitch and toes tingle. She kisses his lips and slips her tongue into his mouth, moaning deep into his touch desperately. "Come and get me." She taunts and runs away from him, shooting at him over her back as she disappears up a spiral staircase to the next level.
Jughead regains his bearings and points his laser at his base's target, charging up before following the girl of his dreams into the darkness.
On the second floor there's five barrels spread out across the empty space. "Betty?" he yells as a younger girl runs by him, shooting him as she goes. He peeks behind each barrel searching for Betty when he hears her voice come from the next room over.
"I see you, but you can't see me!" His vest lights up and vibrates every time she hits him with a direct shot.
He follows the sound of Betty's voice into the room and begins to shoot aimlessly, hoping he'll catch her one way or another. When he finds her he continues to wield his gun, getting her over and over again, the sounds of the target making sweet music to his ears. He may just win this match after all.
They continue to chase each other around the place. Like a game of cat and mouse, they strike over and over again, Jughead already able to feel Betty's lips around him. There's no way she can beat him.
By the time the alarm sounds signaling the end of their round his hair is stuck to his forehead, glistening with sweat. He removes the equipment from his body while Betty does the same. Once they're both ready, they walk together toward the TV's in the lobby, searching for their names on the scoreboard.
"Jughead J. – 57,742 points." He says aloud proudly.
Betty nudges his shoulder triumphantly. "Look above your name. Betty C. – 63,420 points."
Jughead's jaw drops. "What? There is no way you could've beaten me by that much. I swear we were neck in neck the whole time."
She shrugs and says to him, "Maybe you should've paid a little less attention to me and more to the other people on my team. I earned half my points from shooting your teammates. Not you."
"Oh." Is all Jughead can think to reply. He knows she's right, but refuses to offer her the satisfaction of knowing. So he had been a little carried away with catching Betty and only Betty. He couldn't blame himself. "I guess you win." He says in defeat.
She grins mischievously and there's a fire in her eyes Jughead wasn't aware she possessed. His chest caves in and his lungs strain to catch a breath. "Come on Jug, let me take you home."
With their fingers laced, Jughead follows her out into the night like a lost puppy dog. He wonders how someone so seemingly sweet and innocent can play so dirty. He has a newfound appreciation for this side of Betty that he didn't know existed. They hop into a cab and the whole ride home Betty sits in his lap, playing with his hair affectionately, wrapping the sweaty strands around her fingers.
Betty kisses him until his lungs collapse and he can hardly breathe. He tries to come up for air but Betty shakes her head as she kisses the life from him. "I need you so bad." She breathes into his ear and Jughead is completely gone. He struggles to breathe but he doesn't care anymore because Betty is in his lap, whispering all the dirty things she wants to do to him in his ear. "Are you ready?" Betty asks as the cab pulls up to their complex.
Jughead replies with a breathless, "Yes," and tosses the driver some money. He watches as Betty skips up to the front steps, disappearing beyond the front doors and he shakes his head, wondering just what the hell he is about to get himself into.