Line break means change in POV. Also, the one quote that is now officially canon has nothing to do with the canon bc I wrote this before 2.05 aired. Js. Thanks for reading!
Over the following days, Betty managed to avoid any deep conversations with Jughead – much to her relief. But at the same time, although she would never admit it, a part of her was glad that they had talked. There was the added fact that now, everything Archie did, she construed as clues that he didn't like her.
And there were a lot.
Like when she had called him one time to talk through her stress only to have him tell her he was too busy to talk to her. Well, he had asked if it was urgent and she had said, as she usually did, "No it's fine. We'll talk later."
They never talked later.
A month ago, she would have dismissed these things as trivial – he probably forgot, it's okay, I would too – but now she started to get annoyed. She nearly snapped at him once but managed to bite it back and instead gave him the usual "it's okay" smile before going back to her flat, wanting to tear her hair out. Veronica's incessant questioning about her out of character behaviour around Archie didn't make the situation better.
"What an idiot!" Betty muttered furiously to herself as the door slammed behind her. "I explicitly asked for ice cream – it was his fucking turn but does he get me ice cream? Noooo. But of course, Veronica gets all the expensive vegetables that she wants. She can't even cook! Ugh! I just-" her muttering was interrupted by hesitant knocking on her fire escape window. Looking out, she saw Veronica crouching there, giving her a slightly nervous smile. Sighing, Betty opened the window.
"What's up, V?" She asked, going back to keep her ice cream-less groceries away. She asked for ice cream every time anyone went to buy groceries and yet she never seemed to get it. Weirdly, that only seemed to happen when Archie went to buy groceries.
"Hey, B, you okay? You kinda stormed out of Archie's."
"Yes, well you would too if you asked for ice cream three times and never got it. I would go get it myself but I'm busy, you know? I mean, I put one thing on the list while everyone else puts like five things and guess who doesn't get their share of groceries? Of course, it's me!"
"B, if this is about the ice cream, I can go get some for you," Veronica said, cautiously and cluelessly. Betty gave an exasperated sigh. She really didn't want to talk about any of this.
"No. It's… whatever. It's how it is."
"It's just… I've never seen you that way around Archie," Veronica said in a rather small voice.
"There's only so many times a girl can excuse missing ice cream," she replied with a sarcastic smile, ending the conversation.
"Betty, hey, are you done with the report yet?" Reggie asked, appearing at the glass door separating his office from Betty's, interrupting her stream of thoughts and bringing her back to reality.
"I'll have it by the end of the day," she said with a sigh, and Reggie nodded. Betty couldn't wait for said end of day.
As soon as she got into her car, her phone pinged with a message on the group chat. It was in reply to her message.
Going grocery shopping – send in your requests. -B
I need lettuce. I promised myself I'd start eating salads again. -V
Great. -B
Veronica please. Don't do this to us. If you start eating healthy you know I'll start too. On that note, some chicken wings? My grandma sent me this great recipe that I want to try. -K
Only if you promise to give us some. -B
It's for my boyfriend! -K
Regardless. -B
Fine.. -K
Pretty sure we're out of yogurt. -A
Yeah we are. Please pick some up, I don't think I'd be able to stand another day of poor wee Archiekin's yogurt-less troubles. -J
Hahaha which flavour? -B
How about vanilla? -J
Betty stared at her phone in disbelief for a few seconds, reliving that day. Thinking back on it now, she already realised how cringeworthy it was and shuddered once before laughing. Switching to private chat, she sent Jughead a text.
You fucking asshole. -B
I saw an opportunity and I took it. You would have done the same. -J
If you think that then you already know me better than I thought you did. -B
I choose to take that as a compliment. -J
You're still an asshole. -B
I regret nothing. Oh, btw, I have a surprise waiting for you at the grocery store. Wanna guess? -J
Is it you? -B
How did you… you know what nevermind. You ruin everything, Betty Cooper. -J
Betty laughed out loud and began driving.
Jughead saw Betty walking towards the store and instinctively smiled. Although he wouldn't admit it, Betty Cooper was becoming one of his favourite people. After all, she was smart, confident, beautiful, hardworking, and the only person he'd met who was more practical than he was. She tackled situations with perfect calm and rarely (if ever) lost her temper. The only time he had seen her lose her temper was when she had climbed into their apartment for ice cream, only to storm out when Archie admitted to using the ice cream money for more yogurt.
"Okay, cereal, carrots, pasta, pasta sauce, microwave pizzas…" Archie continued listing things as he emptied the contents of the grocery bag onto the breakfast bar with Veronica and Kevin hovering like vultures. Jughead's job was to keep a close eye on them since they were prone to stealing groceries that weren't theirs and replenishing the stolen groceries when it was their turn (sometimes they stole the ones they were supposed to give back too – Jughead didn't understand it). Jughead had learnt this the hard way.
"Where's Betty?" He asked. As if on cue, the window slid open and Betty climbed in, humming softly. Jughead had gotten used to Betty's humming. It wasn't hard since she was an incredible singer – or so he had heard. Veronica told him that Betty never sang around people but she sang in the shower which was why Veronica knew.
"I'm here!" She announced and Jughead gave her an amused smile. Walking over to the bar, she glanced at the slowly deflating grocery bags. She stared for a moment before making her way to the fridge and opening the freezer.
"Um, Arch?"
"Yeah, Betts?"
"Where's my ice cream?" Although she asked with a smile on her face, there were venomous undertones to her voice. Jughead had only read in books about people with the ability to be poisonously sweet, and now Betty was living proof that people did have this ability. Archie clearly understood this too, because he instantly looked guilty and slightly scared. Although not nearly as guilty and scared as he should have looked. In fact, it just looked like a rehearsed look – like he was preparing for this.
"Fuck, Betty! I can't believe I forgot again! Ugh, I thought I had just taken extra money by accident so I bought the carrots with that. I'm so sorry," he said, giving the most insincere apology Jughead had ever been party to. Jughead guessed that Betty was supposed to melt and comply and accept this bullshit apology.
"You spent my ice cream money on carrots?" Betty said, dangerously softly, the smile no longer on her face. Instantly Archie's face shifted from false guilt to very real worry. "You spent my hard earned ice cream money on some fucking carrots? On health food?" She repeated when Archie didn't say anything. Archie opened and shut his mouth several times, searching for something to say.
"I – I'm sorry, Betts. I didn't know it was such a big deal," he said the worst possible string of words. Jughead wanted to punch and protect him simultaneously.
"Oh no, it's not a big deal at all. I mean, it's only the third fucking time you've claimed to have forgotten my ice cream. When we decided to do monthly grocery-buying turns, I assumed we were all mature adults who knew how to make a basic grocery list and stick to it. Apparently I was wrong. I'm sorry for expecting so much from you, Archie."
Jughead was so stunned, he barely registered her storming out. Archie looked like he had been slapped (Jughead suspected that Archie would have preferred that to the sarcasm Betty had showered on him) and Veronica and Kevin seemed to not want to steal any groceries. Jughead felt simultaneously terrified and in awe of Betty. If anything, he was somewhat proud that she had said all that instead of simply letting it go like every other time.
"How come you're here? I thought you guys avoided the supermarket like the plague unless it was your turn to get the groceries. I know I do," she said, the glass doors sliding open as she approached and the heat inside washing over them. Considering how cold it was outside, this was a welcome change for Jughead, who tried to walk in as casually as possible behind Betty.
Betty grabbed a cart and pulled out her phone, going through the list. Jughead peeped over her shoulder and was surprised to see that yogurt wasn't on the list.
"Um, Betty?"
"Yeah?"
"Isn't that list missing something?"
"No, it isn't," she said, giving him a reassuring smile.
"But didn't-"
"I never forget to add things to the list, Jughead," she interrupted him and Jughead fell silent, the situation sinking in. He couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. Betty noticed and, with a satisfied smile of her own, said, "Shall we begin?"
An hour later, Betty and Jughead were standing in line to bill their groceries. The line moved slowly and, when they were finally one person away from reaching the counter, the person in front of them, in an attempt to put their basket on the counter, dropped it, the contents spilling everywhere. Jughead instinctively rolled his eyes and instantly felt bad for doing so when he saw Betty crouch down, helping the man in front of them. Jughead was about to do the same but was too late. He noticed, however, that as Betty handed back the Lucky Charms, her movements slowed as her eyes narrowed.
"Trev? Oh my god, hi!" Betty exclaimed, her face breaking out into a smile. While Jughead frowned, the man grinned back.
"Betty? Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
"It really has. So, how've you been?"
"It's been – one moment," he paused to pull out his card to pay, "- good!" He finished paying and moved away, allowing Betty and Jughead to go forward. "How have things been with you?"
"Great! I mean, I can't complain."
"Still working for your mom?"
"With. I was working with her. Not for her. But no, it wasn't really my cup of tea so now I'm Reggie's assistant."
"Reggie? As in Reggie Mantle?"
"The one and only."
"Wow. I guess you never really leave high school, huh?" He said and Betty giggled. Jughead frowned slightly: they weren't close, that was evident – Betty seemed to keep him at arm's length. And yet, the way she laughed at his rather regular – Jughead thought – use of vocabulary told a somewhat different story. He continued unloading groceries onto the counter. It was when he put a jar of jam a little harder than intended onto the counter that Betty seemed to remember he was there.
"Oh! Trev, this is Jughead Jones – Archie's friend from France. Jug, this is Trevor Brown – we used to go to Riverdale High together."
"Nice to meet you," Jughead said, shaking his hand.
"Likewise. Also, Archie went to France?"
"Yeah, and you won't believe it – Cheryl got him the trip. People say it was an enormous ploy to get him to stay with the company."
"Really? Cheryl? Wow, I guess some people just don't change. So, is everyone from school still in this town?"
"No, not everyone. Josie managed to get out – last I heard she was touring with the Pussycats. Cheryl only returned to town a few months ago – her mom still lives elsewhere. Veronica's parents moved out too. But she's still here. And I heard you left to go to… Amsterdam?"
"Yup. Started my own restaurant there."
"Food? Really? I never knew," she said and Trevor nodded.
"Yeah. So I'm only in town for a few days."
"Oh," Betty said, Jughead noticing that her tone was tinged with disappointment.
"Betts?" Jughead asked, and she turned around to face him, once again seeming surprised that he was here. He motioned towards the groceries and she nodded before turning back to face. "I need to..."
"Yeah, no, yeah! Okay, how about I give you my number and we can, I don't know, hang out? I mean, since I'm only here for the next four days I'd much rather hang out with a friendly face. God knows how hard that is to find in this town," he said and, after a skipping a beat, Betty laughed. Jughead frowned again – he was going to have to ask Betty about this apparently godforsaken town sometime.
"Yeah, that would be great," Betty said, grinning and handing her phone to him. He put in his number and then gave the phone back.
"Okay, I gotta run and you need to pay, so I'll text you?"
Betty nodded and Trev disappeared, leaving behind a smiling Betty and a slightly disoriented Jughead. He had to mull over the events that had just transpired a few times before he could begin understanding the dynamics.
The window opened just as Betty's phone began to ring. She glanced over at Jughead, who was climbing in, and raised one finger, asking him to wait before she picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Betty. It's Trev – I was just just making sure that we were still on for tonight?"
"Absolutely. It's a date!" Betty regretted the words as soon as she said them. She didn't even have to look at Jughead to know he was giving her an amused smile. "I mean, yeah. I'll see you there," she said, trying to save the situation and wanting to smack herself for creating it in the first place. She heard Trev laugh on the other end – thankfully – and then cut the call. Turning back to Jughead, she was surprised to see him frowning.
"What's up?" She asked, hoping to blow past this.
"So… you're going on a date with Trev?" He inquired, even though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"It's not a date date," she attempted defending herself but at the same time she was thinking about how they were going to a fancy restaurant for dinner.
"You just called it a date. You literally said 'it's a date'," Jughead quoted and Betty sighed.
"It's just two friends catching up after a while. Now, what's up?" She said, quickly changing the topic.
"Oh I just came to get our groceries."
"Um, Betts?" Archie asked, after going through the grocery bag for the millionth time. Betty looked up innocently – she was still dividing the groceries between herself, and Kevin and Veronica. "Where's my yogurt?"
Betty noticed Veronica and Kevin share a look before they went back to sorting through groceries – the chatter that usually accompanied this activity now gone.
"Fuck, Archie! I can't believe I forgot! Ugh, I thought I had just taken extra money by accident so I bought the carrots with that. I'm so sorry," she said, a similar level of insincerity colouring her tone and she heard Kevin bark a laugh, which he tried in vain to cover up as a cough. Archie, on the other hand, seemed at a loss for words.
"I already gave your share to Archie," Betty replied and Jughead looked confused. She waited for realisation to dawn on him, and before he could say anything, she said, "No I didn't get any yogurt."
Jughead nodded mutely and exited the same way he had come in. Betty was about to turn away from the window when she heard knocking. Turning around, she saw Jughead back at the window and quickly unlocked and opened it.
"What's up?"
"Good luck on your date. I hope you have fun," he said and Betty rolled her eyes, unable to hold back the smile on her face.
"It's not a date but thanks."
"Okay, have fun on your non-date," he said with a boyish smile and Betty, to make a point, simply shut the window and walking away.
"That's rude, Elizabeth!" She heard him shout and turned around, pointing to her ears and shaking her head. He rolled his eyes and trudged down the steps in a kind of awkward waddle since he was crouching down to maintain eye contact with her at all times. Betty watched him with an amused smile until he was out of sight. Shaking her head and chuckling to herself, she went into her bedroom to figure out what to wear.
"My, my, Betty Cooper, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," was what Jughead said when Betty stepped out of the main door downstairs, only to see Jughead there with a cigarette.
"Why thank you, Jughead Jones," she said, a light blush colouring her cheeks in spite of herself. "Archie doesn't let you smoke in the flat?"
"No, Archie doesn't know I smoke. He also went on a semi-rant about smoking so I figured it was safer not to smoke around him," Jughead said, shrugging. Betty nodded, pulling out her phone to check where the cab was.
"So, you excited?" He asked, and Betty rolled her eyes.
"Not as excited as I was when I heard your next book was coming out in a year," she said, giving him a sly smile. Instantly his eyes widened in shock and evident fear. Whipping out his phone, he frantically opened Twitter and Betty could see him looking at Forsythia Jones' profile.
She's blonde and knows how to solve crimes. Coming out in November 2018 – Save The Last Date! Stay tuned for updates!
"Jellybean, what the fuck!" Jughead exclaimed, instantly calling her while Betty watched with an amused smile on her face. Just as Jellybean picked up, Betty's cab arrived.
"Oh fuck," she heard Jughead said again before he asked his sister – and manager as it were – to hold, "no, this is important Jellybean! Have fun on your non-date, Betty! No I don't like her. Oh, shut up. Now, what do you mean..." Betty watched him animatedly speak to his sister while she went off on her date.
Non-date. She reminded herself.
The non-date itself was perfectly pleasant. She was adequately dressed for the restaurant – although she spent a while ranting to Trev about why formality standards were just another unnecessary social restriction – and Trev was a perfect gentleman, just like he had been in high school. In fact, if it were possible, he was even more of a gentleman now than then. Yet, Betty's mind kept going back to Jughead stopping mid-conversation with his sister to tell her to have a good date. It was such a small detail and yet, only Kevin ever wished her well when she left. And, considering that he didn't know she was going on this date – Jughead was the only one who did know – it was a gesture Betty appreciated more than she could show.
Maybe it was weird that something as small as this meant so much to her.
"Betty?" Trev asked, bringing her back to the present: in the car, going back home.
"Sorry, yeah?"
"We've reached," he said, smiling at her with amusement.
"Oh… right," she glanced at the door and was about to open it when she turned back to him and said, "Um, Trev, this is going to sound really stupid but… this wasn't a date, was it?"
"What? No. I mean, unless you wanted it to be?" He said, evidently unsure about this situation. Betty, however, only heard "no" and sighed with relief.
"No. I mean, I'm just not in a good place to start dating right now. I just – I got out of a kinda long relationship and-"
"Wait, you and Andrews finally went out?" He asked and Betty felt like she had been stabbed.
"What? No! Why would you think that?"
"Betty, everyone knew what the… situation was with you and Archie, you know. And when Veronica was thrown into the mix, people starting placing bets on who Archie would go out with first. It was pretty creepy," he said and Betty sighed with relief, not knowing what she would have done had he admitted to being part of this gamble.
"Well I hope someone won because it's been awhile since high school and Archie hasn't dated either of us," she said and Trev chuckled.
"If you ask me, even though I never gambled, my money was always on you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean you guys have been friends forever. It kinda seemed like the natural progression of events. But then I saw you in the grocery store with Jughead and I guess you and Archie aren't really meant to be after all. Speaking of, Jughead must be really secure in your relationship to be okay with you coming to dinner with-"
"Wait, wait, wait, what?" Betty stopped him as everything he said sunk in. "Trev, I'm not dating Jughead. We are not together. Seriously. I mean, I don't even know him."
"Didn't you say he's been here for like, what? Two months now?"
"One and a half months. It's not nearly long enough," she said, rolling her eyes. Trev, although seeming unconvinced, nodded. Betty sighed and opened the door, about to get out.
"Wait, Betty, you know the Halloween thing that's happening?"
"The fair? Yeah – Veronica's on the organizing committee."
"Great. Well, since you and Jughead aren't together, I was wondering – do you want to go for it?" He asked and this time Betty didn't have to wonder about whether or not it was a date. This was definitely not a non-date.
She hesitated, debating what the best way to let him down would be. He seemed to sense her indecision and said, "It doesn't have to be a date, okay? We won't wear like couple's costumes or anything. I mean, it's my last night here so it would be nice to have a friend to go to the fair with."
"A friend," Betty clarified, slowly.
"Completely platonic," he agreed and she felt her will weakening. Sighing, she gave in and nodded.
"I'll see you near the Mirror Tent."
"Don't you mean House of Mirrors?"
"There's like one mirror. Veronica's not very good at organizing, apparently," she said, with a laugh. Trev chuckled at this and nodded.
"The Mirror Tent. I'll see you there at eight?"
"Yup. Goodnight, Trev," she said and he grinned.
"Goodnight, Betty."
She shut the door and went upstairs. It's okay, Betty, it's not a date.
"So, how was the non-date?"
Betty jumped, hearing Jughead's voice as she passed Archie's flat on her way up. Jughead was leaning against his door and she frowned.
"Were you just loitering around, waiting for me to come back so you could ask me this?"
"What? No – I was taking out the trash," he said, nudging the trash bag at his feet in indication. Betty's eyes widened with recognition and she nodded.
"It went very well, thank you," she replied.
"I knew my blessing would work," he said, with a smug grin.
"You seem in a good mood considering that you need to put out a book in presumably the next nine months," she said, raising an eyebrow at him and managing to wipe the grin off his face. Sighing, he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
"Yeah, so Jellybean's account was hacked by some fan who posted that. So when I called her was when she found out about the hacking. It was actually a very confusing scenario where I found out from you and then she found out from me. Anyway, that said, there's no new book coming out next year. Although I should probably get back to writing. Not that you care," he explained.
"Actually, I find the writing processes of authors fascinating."
"Even when it's almost midnight?"
"Especially when it's almost midnight. Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to you about writing sometime."
"Oh, yeah, sure. Just tell me when. Maybe we can have our own non-date," he said with a wink and Betty rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself.
"That would be brilliant. Anyway, I'm heading to bed now, I'll see you later, Jones," she said, continuing her climb up to her flat. She was only five steps up when she remembered that she had wanted to ask the group something. Well, even if it was only Jughead, it was better than there being no one. Running back down, she caught a glimpse of the black trash bag being taken downstairs.
"Jughead!" She called out, and he turned around, looking at her curiously. "Halloween. You coming?"
"You think Veronica would allow me to sit it out?" He responded and she laughed.
"Good point. I was just making sure you'd be attending your first ever Riverdale Halloween," she said, and he laughed.
"Worry not. I fully intend to grace the event with my presence. Although, it would, in my opinion, be better graced by my absence," he said and Betty laughed. His occasional faux Victorian manner of speaking often made his statements much funnier than they would be if Archie had said something. He managed to say it without sounding pretentious. In fact, although Betty would probably never say it to his face, in her opinion, Jughead's humility was his most attractive feature. After all, with being a bestselling author and everything, he could have easily been a big-headed, self entitled piece of shit. And yet, he was always Jughead before he was an author.
Okay Elizabeth, time to go to bed and stop thinking about Jughead's personality. You don't even know him, remember?
"Well, I strongly believe you're going to prove yourself wrong when you show up. And, on that positive note, I'm going to bed," she said, and he gave a laugh, nodding and turning to continue going down the stairs. Betty waited for him to disappear around the curve of the staircase before she retired to her flat above, a smile playing along her lips throughout.
