Yes, this is a Halloween chapter A MONTH after Halloween. Oh well. It's very cliche'd if that's any consolation :p double line break means a change in POV.
Halloween rolled around, which meant Kevin's boyfriend came back for the holiday. Kevin, of course, was beyond excited to have Seth back, but this also meant that Veronica could no longer stand being in the flat with the two spending all their time together. As a result, Veronica spent the night preceding the Halloween fair at Betty's. However, while Betty believed that she had only signed up to have Veronica there, it felt like the entire town was there. The situation was only made worse when there was knocking on the door and Betty opened it to find her mother on the other side.
She wished her face hadn't betrayed the shock she felt.
"Betty!" Alice exclaimed, smiling at her. Betty could tell that the smile was the rehearsed one that she used around Betty's grandmother.
"Mom, um, what are you doing here?"
"What? I need an excuse to come visit the only daughter I have?"
"Polly's alive, Mom," she said, with a sigh.
"How do you know? Have you heard from her?"
"What? No. It's just a… sister thing, I guess," Betty lied quickly.
It was 3am when her phone woke her up. Betty groaned and rolled over, picking it up and squinting at the screen – an unknown number flashed on her screen. Reluctantly, she picked up and croaked out, "Hello?"
"Betty?"
In a second, Betty was sitting upright, fully awake.
"Polly?!" She exclaimed, in disbelief, hoping she wasn't dreaming.
"Oh thank god. I thought – wait, why aren't you asleep? Don't you have work tomorrow?" She said, and Betty felt like laughing at her concern.
"It's okay. I was awake anyway doing… stuff," she lied and heard Polly giggle on the other end.
"Okay good, I was worried I had woken you up or something."
"It is so good to hear your voice, Polly," Betty said and there was silence for a few moments. "Polly?"
"I miss you, too. And I miss Riverdale – wow, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say," she said trying to lighten the mood, but Betty could tell she was choked up.
"So why don't you come home? You don't need to stay with mom and dad. You could stay with me. You and the twins. How are they?"
"They're fine. They're beautiful darlings, now that they've stopped crying all the time and can talk. About coming home – I can't do that, Betty. I wish I could but I just – I can't. And – yeah I'm coming! – don't tell mom about this, okay. I love you and I have to go. Bye!"
"Love you too, Pol," Betty said quickly but the line was already dead.
Alice's shoulders sagged with evident disappointment, but she managed to conjure the faux smile again and said, "Well, Veronica called and said she wanted help with the Halloween thing so I came right away."
"There it is," Betty muttered under her breath. She hadn't properly spoken to her mother since leaving the newspaper. Luckily, Alice didn't hear this, and Veronica appeared to diffuse the situation.
"Mrs. Cooper! Thank you so much for coming! It's been crazy here. Listen, I need you to…" she led Alice away, leaving Betty to shut the door. Betty walked back into the flat – it was covered in chart paper and fake spiderwebs and everything was a mess. Betty's hands itched to clean up somewhere but the last time she had tried to move anything, Veronica had screamed at her. So, Betty used her escape and disappeared onto the fire escape, climbing down a few steps and leaning against the wall between hers and Archie's flat, taking deep breaths of the cool air.
"Hey," she heard someone say and looked down – Jughead Jones.
"Hi," she replied, and he grinned at her. She wasn't sure when it had started, but his smile was finally reaching his ears – it was finally convincing.
"How come you're out here?"
"Veronica's planning inside… and my mom's there. Also, this is kinda my favourite place to be. How come you're out here?"
"Archie gets cold easily, so there's no ventilation inside. I needed some fresh air. But also, this is kinda my favourite place to be, too," he said, smiling. Betty nodded and they stayed in silence. It was a nice feeling – not being alone out here. Although the solitude was usually what Betty seeked when she came out here, she had found the need for that lessening when Veronica moved out. It was an odd nostalgia now that drew her to the fire escape.
"So, are you going with anyone?" Jughead asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. He didn't need to specify for Betty to know who he was referring to.
"No, I'm not going with Trev."
"Hey, I didn't say it."
"Very funny. I mean, he's coming. But we're not going together or something. There's seriously nothing happening there – we're just friends."
"Then why did he ask you out?"
"He didn't ask me out. He proposed a plan of going to the Halloween shindig that Veronica's organising and since he's only here 'til the end of the Halloween, I said okay."
"Kinda sounds like asking out to me, I'm just saying," Jughead said and Betty rolled her eyes.
"Well what it sounds like is irrelevant, isn't it? Are you going with anyone?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Are you going with anyone?" She asked. It was an innocent question, sure, but that didn't mean it didn't bring back memories.
Jughead pushed through the crowd, searching for his manager. Well, tonight, she was his sister and he was just being a responsible older brother. He could see the tips of her cat ears swaying across the club (Seriously, Jellybean, a club ?) and approached them.
"Juggie! Guys, look! This is my brother – the famous writer, FP Jones the Third!" Jellybean announced, throwing an arm around Jughead to steady herself.
"Jesus, you reek. How much did you drink?"
"Just a little. Speaking of, why aren't you in a costume?"
"You know I don't do Halloween."
"And yet you're here."
"Yeah, to get you. I need my manager tomorrow morning and I'd prefer it if she wasn't hungover."
"God you're such a buzzkill. Okay, how about we compromise – you get a drink and I promise I'll come home," she said and he sighed: Jellybean reverted to a sixteen year old when she was drunk. But he knew if he argued he was just delaying the inevitable.
"One drink," he clarified and she nodded. His agreement to this excited her more than it probably should have, because he found himself being dragged to the bar.
"Excuse me! One vodka sprite, and one – beer, you sure? Okay fine – beer," she told the bartender.
"Coming up," the bartender replied and was about to turn away when Jughead said, "Excuse me, how much would I have to pay to turn that vodka sprite into a glass of water?"
"Coming right up," she said with a laugh. Jughead could have sworn he had just heard fireworks. When she returned, her hair was tied into a bright pink bun and she handed Jellybean the glass of water.
"Thank you," Jughead said and she smiled.
"No problem. I know what a pain drunk friends can be."
"You're American."
"And you're observant. Yeah, I moved here recently."
"Me too, actually," he said and, on an impulse, extending his hand over the bar, he said, "I'm Jughead Jones." She glanced at it and then back at him for a moment before shaking it.
"Toni Topaz."
"Like I said, lone wolf," he said, smiling at Betty. He saw her brow furrow for a moment before she nodded, looking straight ahead again.
"So, who are you going as?" He asked, trying to change the mood to something less cryptic. Betty gave a surprisingly coy smile when he asked and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I would, actually," he replied, smiling with amusement at how she figured it was her turn to be cryptic.
"It's a surprise, Jones. Who are you going as?"
"Oh, I don't do Halloween."
"What do you mean you don't do Halloween?" She asked, frowning again, as if in disbelief that someone could actually not want to celebrate the holiday.
"I never enjoyed the whole dressing up thing. It's always been kinda… silly, I guess?"
"Wow, spoken like a true buzzkill," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Wait, what? Did someone call me a buzzkill?" He asked, already hearing Archie's voice when Jughead had dropped out of all the nights Archie had proposed going to the bar and getting wasted ( "It'll be fun, Juggie! I promise!" - it wasn't fun).
"… No," Betty replied, after an uncomfortably large pause. Jughead raised an eyebrow at her inquisitorially and she averted her gaze. "I mean, maybe Archie mentioned it once or something but he wasn't serious… I think."
"Archie called me a buzzkill?" He clarified and she pressed her lips together, but gave a small nod in response. Jughead shot a glare in the direction of the apartment, a new resolve forming. He knew he was a buzzkill – his entire reputation was built on it – but he was the only one actually allowed to say it.
"You okay?" Betty asked, prompting him to look at her. He saw her smile in amusement at the new resolve he had formed.
"Yup. Never been better, actually. Remember how I said I don't do Halloween? So that was completely bullshit. I'm going to win best costume at the costume contest."
"That's great! Except, I don't think there is a costume contest," Betty said and, as if on cue, the window beside her opened, Veronica's head sticking out.
"Wait, you guys want a costume contest?" She asked.
"No, Ronnie, we-"
"Well you're in luck! There's going to be a costume contest! And you guys had better enter. Jughead, you're going to love Betty's costume idea! It's so nerdy – right up your alley."
"Wow, thanks Veronica," Betty said, rolling her eyes at her best friend. Jughead, on the other hand, saw this as an opportunity to gain hints about her costume.
"Is that so? Who are you going as, Betts? Oh my god, is it someone from Harry Potter?"
"No, she went as Luna last year," Veronica answered, already getting into this game.
"Someone from Middle Earth then?"
"What the fuck is Middle Earth?" Veronica asked and the look of disbelief Jughead shot her could only be contested by the one Betty shot her.
"Middle Earth, V. You know, Lord of the Rings?"
"Oh yeah, no. Hers is more… obscure nerdy. Think Halloween but combined with-"
"Okay! That's enough from you. Did you want something, Veronica?" Betty asked, covering up her strategic interruption with laughter.
"Oh, yeah, your mom had some questions about your room."
"You let her into my room? Veronica Lodge, you are a dead woman," Betty asked and Veronica, after giving Betty the widest and guiltiest grin Jughead had ever seen, disappeared back into the flat. Jughead chuckled while Betty glowered at the now-vacant window frame.
"I should go. I have a mother to deal with," Betty said and Jughead nodded, chuckling.
"Yeah I should go too," he agreed. Both were in the frames, about to climb in, when Betty looked up and stopped Jughead.
"Wait, you never told me what your costume was going to be," she said, looking at him inquiringly. His lips morphed into a sly smile and he shrugged.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He threw her own words back at her and she narrowed her eyes at him momentarily before giving a laugh and climbing back into her own flat.
Betty finished putting on the last of her stitches on her greyish arms and stood up once, turning in front of the mirror to make sure she hadn't missed any spots. She had been planning on this costume for ages now. And now that the time had come to execute it, she needed everything to be perfect. After looking at herself for the third time, she was satisfied with the outcome. Just as she was straightening her red wig, the doorbell rang. She opened the door, holding her pumpkin basket with candy in it, to find Veronica on the other side. True to her word, her best friend was going as Aphrodite. This simply meant Veronica had a white gown and extensions on for the night. That didn't mean she didn't look gorgeous – but again, that was how she always looked.
"You look amazing, Ronnie," Betty said, smiling at her in open admiration. Veronica grinned and twirled once – her gown flaring.
"Thank you! You look great too… even though I'm not sure who you're going as. No, wait, I can tell you – wait, I remember… it's-"
"Hey guys," Kevin appeared with Seth, interrupting Veronica's guess. They were evidently salt and pepper.
"Out of all the couples costumes that exist in the world, you guys just had to go for the most cliché one, huh?" Betty asked, looking at them in amusement.
"Yes well, at least we didn't go as… uh…" Kevin trailed off, trying to guess who Betty was going as. Betty rolled her eyes and opened her mouth, about to tell them, when Veronica's phone rang, preventing that. The call turned out to be Alice, wondering if Veronica was ever going to show up to actually take care of the fair. This meant that between Veronica's freak out at being late and Kevin telling her it was okay, what Betty's costume was didn't matter anymore.
Within ten minutes, all four of them were in a cab – Betty in front while the other three were in the back. Veronica was on the phone the entire time, shouting out commands to nobody knew who while they approached the fair. Even from a distance, the fair was already a spectacle. Despite the sad Mirror Tent right at the entrance, the fair failed to disappoint. How they had secured a literal ferris wheel for it, Betty would never understand. Betty could see her mom from a distance and said, "Okay, so I'm just going to hang out by the Mirror Tent and wait for Trev. You guys go ahead."
"Alright. Also, Betty?" Ronnie said as Kevin and Seth disappeared in the direction of the giant wheel.
"Yeah?"
"I love you, but if you call it the Mirror Tent again, I'm going to have to kill you," she said with a gigantic smile and Betty smiled back nervously, in apology. Once Veronica was out of sight, she went behind the tent, occasionally peeking out to see if Alice was still within her light of sight.
"Betty?" She heard Archie's voice and turned around, seeing him approach. He was wearing green body paint and a pair of purple shorts with his abs on display for everyone to see. She sucked in a breath, trying not to stare.
"Arch! Hey. Um… aren't you… cold?"
"Hulk doesn't get cold," he said in a deeper voice and Betty laughed, for a moment reverting to a time when Jughead hadn't told her anything. "Who are you supposed to be?"
And we're back to the present.
"Are you serious? I'm Sally!" She exclaimed, throwing out her arms to let him see the whole costume.
"Sally! Of course! Um, refresh my memory… Sally's from…?"
"Nightmare before Christmas? You know? The movie I've asked you to watch multiple times and said that it's my all time favourite Christmas and Halloween movie?" Betty said and Archie nodded, clearly pretending to remember. She sighed, looking away, only to see Trev in the distance walking towards them. The closer he got, the more Betty could make out that he was coloured green too. Except he was wearing a t-shirt and purple shorts.
"Hey, Betty! Um, when you said near the Mirror Tent, I assumed you meant in front of it," he said with a grin and Betty laughed.
"Wait… Trev?" Archie asked, narrowing his eyes at him. Betty wondered how they hadn't met until now.
"Andrews! Hey, long time," he said, smiling and nodding at Archie.
"Wow um, I didn't realise you two were…" Archie said, glancing back at Betty with raised eyebrows. Her eyes widened, realising what he was insinuating and, quickly shaking her head, said, "Oh no, we're not – I mean, it's not like that. Trev was just in town and we met while he was buying groceries. He's going back to London tomorrow."
"London. Wow. Great going, Frankenstein," Archie said, nodding at him. Betty didn't know how to tell Archie that Trev was clearly dressed as the Hulk too – just a Hulk that had the sense to wear a t-shirt in October.
"Actually… I'm the Hulk, too," Trev said, glancing Archie up and down once. Betty almost needed to raise a hand to hide her smile.
"Yeah right. What kind of Hulk wears a t-shirt?"
"Arch, come on, it's October," Betty said, fighting the smile really hard. Archie, on the other hand, couldn't seem to believe that Betty wasn't on his side.
"Oh you're that doll from that movie, right?" Trev asked, now shifting attention to Betty's costume.
"Close enough," Betty said, with a resigned sigh. "Hey, here's a thought – do you want to go on the ferris wheel?"
"Yeah, sure!" Trev said.
"Um, before you do that. Betty? A word?" Archie asked and Betty nodded, asking Trev to go ahead and stand in line. Once he was gone, she turned to Archie and raised her eyebrows at him. "Have I done something to upset you or something?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Well I mean, first the ice cream, now… this," he said, giving a look in the general direction of Trev. Betty frowned.
"Archie, I'm not upset with you. I just really like ice cream. And, as for Trev, I know you're trying to be in character, and I respect that, but seriously? It's October – you're going to catch hypothermia," she said matter-of-factly. Archie eyed her for a moment before nodding, although she could tell he didn't really believe her. "Oh, by the way, where's Jughead?"
"We came together but he saw some stall selling candy and disappeared. That man is a huge foodie," Archie said and Betty chuckled, nodding.
"What's his costume?"
"Oh I think you're going to want to see it, Sylvia," he said and Betty sighed again – Archie was really bad with names apparently. They walked out from behind the tent and Veronica appeared out of nowhere. Except now she came with a headset apparently.
"Wow, Archiekins. You sure it's safe to walk around half naked in this weather?" She said, cocking her head to one side with a smile. Archie rolled his eyes and said, "You asked for it, Ronnie."
"I don't regret it. I just hope you don't either," she said, eyeing his abs.
"Get a room!" Betty heard someone say behind her and turned around to find a beanie-wearing Jack Skellington approach them. Her eyes widened when she saw what Jughead had chosen as his costume. It was evident that he put in a lot of work.
"Oh how I wish," Veronica said with a laugh. The laugh, however, left Betty unconvinced. Especially since Veronica's tone wasn't as light as it perhaps should have been. Jughead reached them and, with an amused smile at her, said, "Hey, Sally."
"Hey, Jack," she replied with equal amusement.
"Wait, you guys are characters from the same movie?" Veronica asked and Betty could see her eyes sparking with excitement. This was her cue to be worried about what plans Veronica was now cooking up. Jughead, in his oblivious nature, nodded, and Betty sighed when she saw the grin slowly appear on Veronica's face.
"You guys should 100 percent run as a pair for the costume contest! I mean, Jughead, I know you were planning to run anyway, but if you can convince Betty to run with you, I will be eternally grateful and – no! That's not what… I don't give a," she shouted into the mouthpiece before mouthing an apology to them and leaving the three of them standing together.
"So, Arch, the Hulk, huh? Isn't it a little cold to be as shirtless as you are?" Jughead asked and Archie rolled his eyes while Betty fought a smile yet again.
"Well, would you look at what the tide brought in," a voice came from behind Archie and he shifted, allowing Betty to see who was speaking: Cheryl Blossom. Cheryl was wearing a police outfit although it displayed more than it covered. "Hey, Musketeers. Where's Veronica?"
"She's-"
"Oh my god, Archibald. You couldn't have chosen a better costume," Cheryl said, looking everywhere but his face.
"Thank you! Finally – someone who appreciates this," he said, indicating to his green body.
"Join me on the ferris wheel? I mean, after all, I'm the one who got it built," Cheryl said, sticking her arm out for Archie to take. Although it should have come as no surprise to Betty, she was still mildly shocked when Archie took Cheryl's arm, after giving her a pointed look.
"Wow what was that about?" Jughead asked, once the pair were out of earshot.
"What are you talking about?"
"The look Archie just gave you. Did you do something to him? You didn't tell him that he gained vacation weight in France, did you?"
"Jug, that was months ago, why would I… and he never gained any weight anyway. No, he's just upset that I like ice cream enough to be mad about it."
Now it was Jughead's turn to give her a pointed look. Uncomfortably shuffling, Betty glanced at the ground and muttered, "Also, he may be a little jealous about Trev."
"Wait, what? Archie Andrews? The man who just walked off with Cheryl Blossom? He's jealous? Because you're on a date with someone?" Jughead said, his tone shifting from disbelief to appreciation as the questions continued. Betty couldn't help smiling at this and nodded. "Huh. Go, Betty Cooper, then. The wind really has changed."
"Betty!" She heard someone shout in the distance before she could respond and looked up to see Trev waving from his spot in the queue.
"I need to go. But we'll meet up for the contest?"
"Wait, you're in?"
"Why not? It'll be fun, right? Besides, how could I not enter a contest with someone who claims they don't 'do' Halloween only to put on actual stitches to emulate Jack Skellington. How did you decide on the costume anyway?"
"Well, Nightmare Before Christmas is kinda my favourite Halloween and Christmas movie so it seemed like an obvious choice," he said, with a smile. Betty stared at him for a few moments before smiling too and taking off across the ground, towards Trev.
Jughead had always considered Riverdale a small town… until this fair. Seeing the number of people packed into one ground, mostly huddling together for warmth (with a few idiots like Archie Andrews running around bare-chested) but still enjoying themselves made Jughead feel something for this dreadful holiday that he hadn't felt in a while. He was thrown back to the first Halloween they had shared in France after the one they had met at. She had gotten so drunk, she had actually kissed him. He even told her for the first time that night that he loved her. The softness of the moment was ruined when she proceeded to throw up all over the Elvis costume she had forced him into.
In the morning, all was forgotten and it was like that night had never happened.
Halloween had never been a particularly good time for Jughead. He had enjoyed it since he got to put on a costume – an addition to the mask his beanie provided – but other than that, he thought the entire ordeal was somewhat silly.
And then Betty Cooper called him a buzzkill.
Suddenly the holiday seemed like something to be done.
"I thought you didn't do Halloween," Archie said, as Jughead practiced drawing on the mouth with a marker.
"That was before someone called me a buzzkill," Jughead said, trying hard to keep the lines straight with a moving mouth.
"Who did?"
"Betty."
"Since when do you care what Betty thinks?"
"Doesn't matter. Point is, I'm going to that fair and I'm going in costume."
"Wow. Jughead Jones. Worked up over a girl. Again," Archie said, chuckling and leaning against the door frame.
"Did you need something, Archiekins?" Jughead asked, getting a little annoyed. Archie raised his hands in surrender and backed off, away from the door, shaking his head. Jughead sighed and went back to ensuring straight lines.
He hadn't really thought about what Archie had said, dismissing it as roommate banter. But now, seeing her run towards the ferris wheel in Sally's costume, suddenly things were different. He didn't know how they were different but they just were. It may have had something to do with Betty being the first and only person to actually get his costume.
"Jughead!" He heard someone call and looked up to see Betty waving him over. She was standing at the front of the line, clearly flustered. Breaking into an awkwardly fast jog, he crossed the ground to where she was. "Do you want to come on the ferris wheel with me?"
She asked as he approached.
"What?"
"The ferris wheel. You wanna go? Trev had some important phone call to take and I really want to see the top but I can't stand in the queue again," she explained.
"Um, why don't you ask Archie or Veronica. I don't think it would be the best idea for me to…"
"Ronnie's busy with organising and Archie's already up there somewhere with Cheryl. Listen, if you would rather not-"
"No! No, it's okay. Yeah, sure, I'll come," he said, going against better judgement and going through the little gate with her as the wheel stopped to let them on. They climbed into the seat and Jughead held onto the bar that was pulled down in front of them as they began moving upwards. The higher they climbed, the tighter he held on and the whiter his knuckles got. Betty, clearly not noticing, was looking at the view as they went higher until they finally stopped at the top.
"Wow," she breathed, clearly unaware that Jughead looking at the ground and nowhere else.
"Jughead, you need to see this."
"It's beautiful, I'm sure."
"Come on! We only get a minute up here and you can see the whole town from up here," she said, finally turning. Jughead could feel his cheeks heating up when she turned to look at him. "Wait, Jughead, are you… scared of heights?"
"No," he lied, giving a shuddering breath. The next thing he saw was a bluish hand appear on his. Her hand was cool and her touch suddenly made him realise how tight he was holding onto the bar. His grip relaxed and, with that, some colour returned to his knuckles.
"Hey, it's okay, we're not going to fall. This is brand new. And Cheryl got it built which means it's definitely sturdy."
"If you say so," he said, still not looking up.
"Jughead, look at me. Don't look down, just look at me," she said and, after a heated internal debate, he slowly raised his head to look at her. She was smiling softly in encouragement. "Good. That wasn't really scary, was it?"
"No. But also, you don't need to talk to me like I'm a five year old, Betty," he said, although his voice quavered a little. Betty's smile widened.
"Why don't you tell me a story until we reach the bottom," she said and, after his second internal debate, Jughead nodded.
"What do you want to know?"
"How about why you don't do Halloween?" She asked and the seat moved as they began their descent. Jughead's instinct was to look down but, before he could, he felt Betty squeeze his hand and his attention was pulled back to her face. "Just keep looking at me, okay?" He swallowed hard and nodded.
"So… why I don't do Halloween. Growing up, I always liked Halloween. Until I realised that my Halloween costume was being any other kid instead of being a fictional character or something. My family, well, it wasn't the most functional. My mum left when I was young and took my sister – my agent, now – with her, leaving me with my dad. She occasionally came back to check on me, but the older I got, the further apart these visits were. So Halloween became an escape for me. While other people dressed up as cats and stuff, I would wear a t-shirt and jeans and order pizza, put on the TV and force my dad to stay in and watch with me. Once I grew up, I realised what a bullshit fantasy this was and," the seat swung again and instantly he clutched tighter, "I stopped celebrating it altogether. Haven't really celebrated it since."
"Really? Never?"
"Um… okay, so France was the longest I stayed in any place after I was successfully published. And, the first Halloween I had in France, I went looking for my sister at a party, which was where I met this other girl. She was, well, incredible."
"Sounds like you were in love," Betty commented and Jughead gave a shaky laugh.
"Yeah you could say that. We met on Halloween about our mutual distaste for the holiday and a year later, on Halloween, we were in costumes. And that was the first time I told her I loved her. Except, it was a ruined moment because she threw up on me right after that."
"Oh god!" Betty exclaimed and started laughing. Jughead gave a smile too, remembering how bizarre the situation had been. How he was convinced that she was going to throw up because of the confession.
"It was awful. Anyway, so she threw up on me and then I took her back to my sister's flat – with my sister, obviously – and let her sleep on the couch there. In the morning, she couldn't even remember how she had gotten there. We met up for lunch later that day and she was still nursing what she claimed to be the worst hangover she had ever had."
"Sounds like a real catch," she said and he smiled.
"She was. We dated for about three months, a year and a half after that. They were the best three months I've ever had. But then it kinda ended in a trainwreck. That's actually why I came to Riverdale – I wanted to leave the past behind and – fuck!" He exclaimed, his eyes instinctively shutting when the seat swung harder than it had previously.
"Juggie, it's okay – we've reached," Betty said and his eyes flew open as he looked over the edge – the ground was right there. Cool air replaced Betty's fingers when she removed them and he shakily got off the ride with Betty in tow. Trev reappeared, apologising profusely for taking a phone call and Betty easily forgave him while Jughead concentrated on steadying his fingers. Trev proposed winning Betty something at one of the stalls as compensation for ditching her and she readily agreed.
"You go on ahead, I'll be right there," she said, and Trev ran off. She then turned to Jughead and said, "You okay?"
"I will be, yeah. In a minute or so."
"Good," she said, smiling at him. Something about Betty's smile was incredibly contagious and, in spite of his jittery state, Jughead found himself smiling back at her.
"Hey, um, I know your relationship ended painfully but, if it's any consolation, I wouldn't have met you if that hadn't happened. And I can tell you, that would have definitely been a bad thing. You're not nearly as unfun as you like to lead people to believe," she said and, for the first time in a while, Jughead felt a feeling of contentment. He realised that, even though he had spoken about France so much, not once had he lost sight of her being in front of him. Of her helping him through this. Hell, she had given up looking out of the seat to make sure he was okay – it had been awhile since someone had cared about him this way.
"Thank you, Betty," he said with more sincerity than he had believed he was capable of mustering. She stared at him for a few moments, probably judging how serious his sincerity was (judging the sincerity of sincerity was honestly something only Betty Cooper would do) before slowly smiling. It was a small smile and yet it was the most beautiful one he had seen her don yet.
"Anytime, Jughead," she replied, softly. Then Trev shouted her name from the stall, holding up the unicorn he had already successfully won.
For the second time that night, Jughead watched her run towards Trev. Only this time, he knew that things were definitely different.
