I'm so sorry about the delay but it's an extra long chapter so I hope it makes up for it? Probably not.

Line break means change in POV.


Six seemed to come much faster than before, and before Betty knew it, the diner was welcoming her with the scent of coffee, muffins, and burgers after a long day spent in the same clothes. All Betty could think about the whole way there was how much of a mess she probably looked like, and yet, the second she walked through the diner door and locked eyes with Jughead, the smile he gave her made any insecurity she had melt away. She knew what he would say if she told him about this – Betty you shouldn't need anyone to tell you you're beautiful. You are under no obligation to meet society's beauty standards. Fuck society – and that was why she chose to keep it from him. She allowed the way he made her feel like she was made of precious stone be her own little secret.

"You ready?" She asked, approaching the counter. Jughead nodded eagerly, pulling off his hat and going into the back and changing. She heard him shout some orders at Dan before stepping out from behind the counter and joining her in a booth. The burgers and hot chocolate arrived soon enough, almost as soon as they settled in, in fact.

"So, how was your day?" Jughead asked, once they had tucked into their burgers a bit, satiating the immediate hunger. Betty smiled, recounting her day. It had been one of the best and most relaxed in a while. She and Kevin shopped a little before going to a spa and just spending the day there. She couldn't remember the last time she had truly decided to treat herself, and yet that was what she had spent the entirety of New Year's Eve Eve doing. In addition, she was finally able to talk about Jughead as the person she was currently involved with romantically (or, at the very least, sexually) instead of just pretending they were entirely platonic and just "really good friends."

"I know we kinda have an unspoken rule about not telling anyone but Kevin figured out about us on his own," she told him after giving him the play-by-play of her day. "Apparently Dan snitched on us when we had breakfast here after Christmas," she whispered the last part, feigning secrecy in the matter. However, in spite of only spending a grand total of five minutes with Jughead, Betty already felt like they were the only two there and nobody else mattered.

"Because of course he did. Anyway, so I'm guessing then you spilled the beans and told Kevin everything," Jughead said matter-of-factly. His tone was so factual that, had he not spoken the complete, unadulterated truth, Betty might have actually been offended by his lack of faith in her ability to keep a secret.

"Yeah, he even asked how you were in bed," she decided it was her turn to make him uncomfortable and, to her immense delight, he choked on his hot chocolate, breaking into a coughing fit when she mentioned the word "bed." She watched in amusement as he reigned in the cough with continuous sips of water. "You okay?"

"Totally fine," he spluttered. "What did you say?"

"I said you were adequate," she found herself wishing for another bout of coughing but settled for the wide-eyed horror with which Jughead was now staring at her.

"In a… good way?" He seemed to be choosing his words with great care, only increasing her amusement.

"In an amazing way," she amended and he nodded, still seeming unsure. Deciding to change the subject, she turned the question back on him. "How was your day?" If Betty had blinked, she would have missed that momentary crease in his brow that followed the question – the way he sifted through information, filtering out things he either didn't deem important enough to tell her or thought she didn't deserve to know. Betty sincerely hoped neither was the case.

"It was fine," he decided on. She raised her eyebrows, asking him to elaborate, so he told her a story about a woman who thought she was buying a dog and ended up with a male escort. The excitement with which he told the story sufficiently distracted Betty from her worry about his keeping secrets from her.

A motorcycle ride later, they were at the theatre and Jughead got the tickets while Betty stood awkwardly, glancing around. It was only in this bout of awkwardness did Betty realise that they hadn't actually picked a movie they were going to watch. Love, Simon was still playing (Betty figured that Kevin deserved sole credit for that), but so were a bunch of other they glanced at the list, Betty noticed that Jughead's gaze lingered for a moment longer on An American Werewolf in London before moving on. Since she had never seen American Werewolf in London, she decided it was as good a movie as any.

"So, what do you want to see?" Jughead asked, attempting at an off-hand air in spite of evident preference.

"How about An American Werewolf in London?" She replied and his eyebrows nearly disappeared into the curls falling over his forehead.

"You want to watch American Werewolf?"

"Well, I've seen all the others," she lied. She hadn't seen most of the movies on the list, but the sheer joy glistening in his eyes at her mention of this film was enough for her to know she had made the right choice. Jughead, in all his perceptive glory, seemed to catch her fib about seeing the movies, but nodded nonetheless, his smile widening, giving her an appreciative nod.

"Well don't look too surprised," she rolled her eyes, unable to fight the smile.

"Sorry. I just – I didn't realise you were an American Werewolf kind of girl," he admitted, evidently abashed, and Betty grinned. He wasn't wrong, she wouldn't usually jump at the opportunity to watch a movie like this, but she wasn't going to let him know. She gave him a coy smile instead.

"That's where you're wrong Jughead Jones. I'm all about the beast within," she took a strategic sip of her coke, making him laugh at the dramatic nature of her words. Once inside the theatre, while Jughead left to use the washroom, Betty pulled out her phone and quickly Googled the movie. The second she read that it was under the "horror" genre, she wanted to leave. Ever since Archie, Veronica, and Kevin had forced her to watch The Exorcist, Betty had completely cut herself off from horror movies. Even reading the word gave her flashbacks.

For Jughead, Betty. Played on loop in her mind, each time louder than the last. The volume wasn't to cement the decision so much as to drown out a voice that sounded a lot like Kevin's, telling her that the movie being of this particular genre made it more date-like than anything else. Luckily for her, Jughead soon returned, and although the question of this being a date plagued her mind, she decided not to bring it up until she had managed to sit through the movie. However, due to her distraction, she found herself constantly glancing at the man sitting beside her, enjoying how immersed he was in the film while her fingers itched for his. Occasionally he would catch her staring and give her a small smile before returning his attention to the screen.

The credits rolled and Jughead finally gave her his full attention. In spite of the horror, Betty had found herself comparing it to The Exorcist, which meant this was more comedy than horror.

"Well?" Jughead asked, eager for her opinion. Managing the fakest smile Betty had conjured up in a while, she nodded enthusiastically. His face, in response, fell. "It's okay, Cooper, you don't have to pretend you liked it."

"I did! The werewolves were… pretty cool," she attempted half-heartedly.

Jughead rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless, appreciating the effort.

"Shall we get out of here, then?" She nodded with the enthusiasm he had shown while watching the movie and he motioned toward the door with a resigned sigh. It was freezing when they stepped out and, although Betty was wearing a jacket, she wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them to warm herself up. Jughead noticed and shrugged off his jacket to give her an extra layer – which only made it more date-like in Betty's mind.

"I'm fine," she refused and he frowned, seeming almost offended that she didn't take it.

"You're cold, Betts. Just take it," he tried putting it on her but she immediately shrugged it off, almost letting it fall onto the wet road if Jughead hadn't swooped in and caught it.

"You're going to catch a cold," he said, matter-of-factly and Betty shrugged, accepting her fate. Jughead shook his head at her idiocy and left to bring the motorcycle, muttering under his breath. They had a silent ride back to the flat, and while Betty wanted to attribute it to the wind whistling in their ears, she knew it was because of how emphatically she had denied his jacket. The silence continued when they reached the apartment and, as they trudged up the stairs, all possible conversations ran through Betty's mind, only one prevailing as the right way to approach this.

They reached Jughead's flat and he turned to face her before going in. "I guess this is goodnight," he said it with the same tone as someone would use when saying goodbye.

"Tonight was fun."

She tried to add some levity to the situation and he scoffed.

"I – I'm sorry about… earlier. That was weird," she said.

His eyebrows rose, in disbelief of receiving an actual apology, it seemed.

"Yeah." He also seemed glad that she brought it up. "Why did you do that?"

"I'm an idiot, that's why."

"Okay, but apart from the obvious."

It was her turn to look at him with disbelief. She received a smirk in response, which soothed her since it meant he had forgiven her.

"When I spoke to Kevin about this… us, I told him that we were going for the movie and he, well, called it a date."

"Ah. And that made you uncomfortable."

"It's just… the more I thought about it, the more date-like it seemed. And, I don't know, I was wondering – was this a date?"

"It's whatever you want it to be, Betty," he replied after a moment of thought. Betty sighed. She had been worried that this would be his take on the subject. After all, if there's anything she knew about Jughead, it was that he was almost as bad as making decisions as she was.

"Okay but what about what you want it to be, Jug? I mean, we're in this together aren't we?"

"This really isn't a conversation we should be having out in the hall. Do you want to come in?"

"Is Archie home?"

"Do you think I'd invite you in if he was?"

"Fair point," she walked in while he held the door open and he followed, locking it behind him. She crossed her arms, waiting for him to answer her question.

"Do you want some coffee?"

"No, I want an answer."

"What do you want me to say, Betts? That I wish I could call this a date and know we were on the same page about it? That I wish I could hold your hand in public without worrying about Veronica or Archie or anyone else knowing we were… what? What are we even doing?"

" You said no labels, Jughead," she retorted, now hating herself for bringing this up.

"I know! I said no labels which meant I made my move. The ball is now in your court, Betty and it's up to you to either move this forward – which, FYI, would require labels – or simply keep it stagnant. It's up to you," he repeated in staccato and Betty's eyes widened. She felt herself in disbelief yet again, except this time it was coloured red and bordered on madness rather than flirtation.

"But why! I mean, we're in this together, aren't we? Why are we on opposite sides of the net, then? Shouldn't we be on the same side of the court? If you had such a problem with this arrangement, don't you think you should have brought it up earlier and then we could have a normal, adult conversation about it, rather than a childish screaming match?"

"And how exactly do you propose I would even broach the topic? 'Hey Betty, I know it was I, Jughead fucking Jones, who said no labels but now I kinda want to call you my girlfriend now so how about it'?" He asked and her eyes widened at the confession. She knew it had been there, lying under all the words they had been throwing at each other but she wasn't sure if he would actually say it. His eyes widened too in realisation of what he had said. "I didn't mean – if you don't want to, obviously-" she took three quick, long steps towards him and kissed him. "Is that a yes?" He asked, breathlessness roughening his voice.

"Just take your top off," she replied, shrugging off her jacket and kicking off her shoes. He laughed and pulled off his sweater before doing the same to hers.


The party was in full swing when Jughead arrived – the town square buzzing with people drinking and talking around with a projected countdown on a giant screen. Betty had left long before Jughead had woken up, and he had come very begrudgingly to this place. She was his only motivation to be here. He climbed onto the slide in the playground nearby and, from this vantage point, scanned the crowd for a blonde, hyperactive woman, possibly carrying a clipboard with an attached pen. He wasn't even sure what she was wearing but decided that it couldn't be too hard to identify her. To his horror, before he ever identified her, he spotted pink and purple hair in a distance, accompanied with an unbelievably short top considering the weather. What Toni was even doing at this thing was beyond him. It was one of the things they had bonded over: they both hated crowded spaces. And yet here she was, grinning and laughing with people and – his stomach dropped by nearly a foot – Betty was walking in her direction. He all but jumped off the slide and sprinted across the square, pushing people out of his way until he reached Betty. Her face broke out into a grin when she saw him running toward her and he slowed his pace, panting as the distance between them closed.

"Juggie, hey! Um, are you okay? Do you want water or a chair?" Amusement coloured her tone but her eyes shone with concern for his breathlessness.

"No, I'm okay. You just take my breath away, Cooper," he replied, eliciting a laugh from her as she nodded.

"Someone's in a good mood," she commented, and although she couldn't have been further from the truth, he decided to nod his agreement.

"Well, it's a great party," he said, justifying himself.

The shift in Betty's expression was evident as she grinned, looking around with pride.

"Isn't it? I still have no idea how Veronica managed to get a permit for the alcohol in a public space, but hey, that's what happens when she sets her mind to something, I guess. I'm actually more impressed you're here. I mean, it's really sweet. I know this isn't exactly your scene."

She smiled and Jughead frowned at her in mock hurt at her surprise.

"What? Attending a New Year's party in the town square surrounded by drunk people? It's totally on my bucket list."

She chuckled at his response and, casting a furtive glance around to ensure no one was watching, leaned up and kissed him quickly. He was impressed and somewhat honoured that she was actually taking this chance. Looking over her head, he briefly locked eyes with Toni, whose eyes widened when she realised his attention and was clearly about to move toward him. Instantly turning his attention back to Betty, he said, "Well, why don't you give me the grand tour?"

She agreed and they began walking as she pointed out the various stalls, the kids section, where you could get the red cups of booze, and more. With time, he managed to put Toni completely out of his mind and focused entirely on the tour and his girlfriend (he was still getting used to being able to call her that).

As things are usually ruined for him, it was only a matter of time before Toni actually interrupted this tour, appearing before them, and making Jughead see red instantly. Betty seemed completely oblivious to Toni's presence (Jughead would never understand how, in such a small town, Betty still remained beautifully ignorant of the goings-on around her) and therefore displayed a considerate amount of surprise and hospitality when his pink-haired ex appeared. Toni, all smiles as she usually was, grinned and said, "Am I interrupting something? Hi, I'm Antoinette."

She extended her hand to Betty, who took it reluctantly but happily enough.

"Betty Cooper," she replied.

"Jughead, um, I was hoping we could have a word about the little situation we're in," Toni turned her attention to him and Jughead frowned.

"Your situation is yours alone. There is no 'we'," he hissed and Betty frowned at him.

"Jug, are you okay? Wait, do you two know each other?"

"Biblically," Toni replied and Jughead glowered at her – it was a predictable response and he didn't care for it. He watched as realisation dawned on Betty, the pieces fitting together in her mind.

"Antoinette," she repeated while Toni watched her with amusement. "As in Toni? Wait, you're Toni Topaz? The Toni Topaz?"

"My reputation precedes me," Toni seemed oddly proud that Betty had heard of her, only making Jughead angrier. "Now that we're all on the same page, Jughead?" He was about to protest when he saw Betty shake her head beside him.

"You should go, Jughead," her tone was accusatory and a little bitter. Jughead opened his mouth to answer and tell her he wasn't going anywhere when he noticed the way she was looking at him – begging him to leave so she could make sense of the situation on her own before asking him for an explanation. She was also daring him to disagree with her after the information she had just learnt.

"You won't even know I'm gone," he promised and she smiled, taking his hand and squeezing it once to reassure him that she wasn't mad before he left. When he and Toni had walked a distance away to a quieter location, he turned to face her. "I'm already paying for your lodging, Topaz, what more do you want?"

"A little less hostility maybe? Jeez, Jones," she seemed genuinely taken aback that he wasn't pleased to be pulled away to talk to her. "And are you planning to hold that over me forever? I mean, seriously. But anyway, the reason I pulled you aside is because I need your help."

"My help?"

"Well, don't sound too surprised. You know the magazine your girlfriend works at?"

"The one Reggie Mantle runs? I'm familiar, yes."

"Well, before Reggie started running the place, there was a giant fire there. All records were lost, andthe people who owned the magazine were run into the ground with the losses. It closed for a while before the Blossom family bought it from the previous company – dirt cheap, might I add – and placed Reggie in charge as their pawn."

"I don't understand what this has to do with me."

"Cheryl suspects that her family was responsible for burning down the company so that they could buy it at rock-bottom price and build a fortune on it. The thing is, when the fire happened, there were people inside the building who never made it out. The fire department called it an accident, but Cheryl doesn't think it was."

"You're telling me that Cheryl Blossom thinks her family murdered a bunch of people to buy, what? A shitty magazine that people read on the toilet? Do you know how crazy that sounds? Also, I repeat, what does this have to do with me?" He asked, hoping he wouldn't have to get tangled up in the mess Toni was explaining to him. She sighed and shook her head.

"You don't understand. We need you to help us prove the arson. The people who died, they had families Jughead. One couple left behind two orphaned kids. It was disgusting, dirty business."

"That still doesn't explain why they would do it."

"They weren't able to force the Coopers to give them the Register so they turned to the next best thing. They wanted to take over the free press and use the magazine to get people to vote Cheryl's father into power. And after Cheryl ran them out of Riverdale, the only way they could continue their influence was through this company and Cheryl wants to take it away from them. She also wants to expose them for the arson and murder. But we can't do it without inside help and since Betty works there, I was hoping-"

"No. No fucking way am I letting Betty get caught up in all this. Even if all this is true – and that's an enormous if – it sounds like dangerous business and I would prefer it if Betty – whose sister, may I add, mothers twins with one of the Blossoms – were left out of it. Also, it's not like you to go entirely on the word of one person. Have you actually done any investigation of your own?"

"I mean, I've checked some of the sources that Cheryl gave, and they seem pretty legit."

"Pretty legit isn't good enough. Not if you want my help bringing someone to justice for murder. Also, how did something like this even happen in Riverdale? It's such a small town."

"Doesn't mean there aren't bad people here. But, Juggie, just think about it. If you and Betty help us bring down the Blossoms for this, Reggie would have to leave his post and you could buy the magazine and Betty could run it. Isn't that what she's always wanted anyway?"

"How the fuck do you know about that?"

"Like I said, I do my research." Toni shrugged, infuriating Jughead by the second. But her mention of placing Betty in charge of the magazine was making the gears in his mind turn. "Jug, it's not like she needs to do much. Cheryl and I have put together a majority of the case anyway. We just need one inside source to dig up records of the feud for the magazine from before the fire and, even though Betty told Cheryl those didn't exist, I'm sure there's proof somewhere. We just need her to find it so we can tie it up with a nice big bow. It's really not that dangerous, when you think about it." Jughead narrowed his eyes at her – they both knew that was a lie and something Betty could lose her job over. But with solving an actual murder (and not to mention arson) on the table, he was finding it hard to say no. He could already see Toni's smile of triumph growing as she watched his resolve splinter. Slowly he began to nod and she clapped her hands together, grinning. "Great! I knew you'd say yes! I'll go let Cheryl know. Thanks, Juggie." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which made him recoil with disgust. In his mind, he already decided that this was going to be a strictly professional relationship.

He couldn't find Betty anywhere when he returned to the main party and, upon some broken conversation with Kevin, learnt that she had gone home early, muttering something about feeling unwell. He sighed, the weight of fucking up making his heart heavy as he began the walk back to the apartment. He reached her flat and knocked twice, calling her name when she didn't respond. When there was still no response, he took the spare key that she had given all of them and unlocked the door. He realised why she hadn't opened the door when he saw where she was standing: the fire escape. He rapped lightly on the window, in spite of it being open, asking for permission to enter. She turned around, phone in hand, clutched to her chest, her eyes wide with something resembling fear. Jughead frowned but waited for her to nod and let him in which, to his relief, she did. He climbed in and immediately apologies poured out about Toni's presence in Riverdale and the way the night had turned out, when he noticed that she wasn't really listening and her nodding was out of sync with his speech.

"Betts, are you okay?" He asked, concern replacing his guilt and she locked eyes with him again before showing him her phone: there were five voicemails from Polly.


Betty was exhausted – the party planning was exhausting, going around pretending to be happy to see people was exhausting and, as the icing on the cake, Toni her-current-boyfriend's-ex-girlfriend Topaz showed up, only making Betty more tired. She was too tired to even be mad at Jughead. She understood on some level why he didn't tell her. They were very similar that way; they prefered to keep things to themselves and work them out privately before talking them out with the other. Which had been Betty's go-to solution when she had excused herself from the party and checked her voicemail inbox for the first time in days. To her immense surprise and apprehension she had five voicemails from her sister. Somehow, this managed to simultaneously exhaust her further while also invigorating her.

She climbed out onto the fire escape as she often did when she needed to enter her own world. Her thumb hovered over the voicemails. Don't do it. And then she pressed, putting the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Betty. I hope you're well. I'm really sorry about how Christmas went down – it was a terrible move by me. I know you probably have a lot of questions about why I did what I did and I'm ready to answer all of them so just call me when you get this, okay? Bye."

Delete.

"Hey, it's me again. Obviously you didn't call, what was I thinking. I'm just, I'm really sorry Betty and I don't want to lose you again. You're my best friend. I know I don't always act like it but you are and I don't see the kids too much anymore and- yeah! Okay I gotta go now, bye! Call me!"

Delete.

"Okay, well, since you obviously aren't checking your voicemail or you're not calling me, I'm just going to tell you here. If you don't want to know, just ignore all the voicemails this one onwards and I won't call again."

Betty deleted this one too and her finger hovered over the next one, wondering if she did want to know. After some deliberation, she decided she didn't want to know alone and was about to call Jughead when there was rapping on the window behind her. She turned around to find the very person she had been thinking of. The second she allowed him out (she did greatly appreciate that he took her permission before joining her on the fire escape), he began apologising profusely for Toni but Betty wasn't really listening. She was still thinking about the voicemails. He seemed to realise and, when he asked her what was wrong, she showed him the voicemails. His brow creased and he looked back at her, asking for the course of action.

"Will you listen to them with me?" She asked, her voice a notch higher than usual. Polly had managed such a buildup that now she was both worried that there would and wouldn't be sufficient payoff.

"Betty, I – isn't it private – I mean-"

"You can say no, it's okay, Jug," she couldn't hide her disappointment no matter how much she tried. He seemed to notice and his face collapsed into a soft smile. He leaned toward her and kissed her on her forehead, lingering a moment longer than expected.

"Of course I'll listen to them with you," he took the phone from her and waited for her to give him the go. With a deep breath, she nodded and watched him click on it.

"Jason and I split two years after I ran away with the twins. He got custody over the twins and I got visitation rights. There are reasons that this happened that I can't go into over voicemail but let's just say I was unfairly treated by the court. Anyway, I'm afraid there's more mom in me than I thought, Betty. After you dropped by on Christmas Eve and the twins weren't there, I was freaked out. I mean I ran away because I wanted the happy content life that Riverdale couldn't give me, right? So I called Jason and told him that I wanted to set up this afternoon. He was weirded out but accepted since it was Christmas and all that. Basically it was a giant charade that I was maintaining in Boston," the voicemail ended and Betty looked at the phone in Jughead's hand through a vision blurry with tears.

"You okay?" He asked and she could tell he knew the question was stupid.

"Play the next one," she instructed and he looked at her for a moment, as if making sure she was sure, before he hesitantly clicked.

"I'm really sorry, Betty but I can't come to Riverdale. I know you're probably wondering why I didn't just come to Riverdale if Jason and I separated but Jason is trying to get rid of my visitation rights and I think the only thing preventing him from doing so is that I'm still in Boston and close to the kids. He's also been recently promoted, which means he's traveling more and leaving the twins with the Blossoms more. I'm hoping if I can provide enough evidence of neglect, I can get custody, but I also don't want them to go through another custody battle, y'know? It doesn't help that he's a lawyer, obviously. Anyway, I'm rambling, sorry. But that's the short version. Now, if you want to meet and talk more we can do that or-" the voicemail ended there and Betty stared at the phone, her eyes completely clear now. All she felt was white hot rage toward Jason for keeping Polly from the twins. And its intensity was staring to tire her out.

"Betts?" He prompted again when she had remained silent for a while and she met his eyes, only now hers flooding with tears. In an instant he pulled her into his arms and held her close, letting her cry and dampen his sweater as he rubbed her back gently and in rhythm to calm her. Slowly her breathing evened out and matched the rubs until she was able to speak again.

"I hate him," were her first words and Jughead nodded. "I hate Jason. He has no right to keep the kids from Polly. She's their mother. They deserve to see their mother, don't they? Ugh, I hate him so much. And on top of that I have my mother on the other side who asks me if I've heard from Polly every other day and I keep lying to her and my father couldn't care less or at least he acts that way and Polly – Polly isn't even trying to patch things up with them which is clearly because she has bigger problems on her plate thanks to one Jason fucking Blossom. It's just – I've always been the link between Polly and my parents. The mediator who relays messages and now neither of them are telling me the whole truth or their intentions and I just used to think that maybe if Polly just came back and talked to my parents we could be a real family for a change, you know? Not this broken trash that we are. But then this kind of stuff happens and Polly isn't turning to my parents for help or support and I can't either because they can't know about her and my family just feels like it's falling apart and there's nothing I can do to stop it!" Betty could feel the tears returning and her breathing becoming uneven again as she unleashed the last too many years of anguish at one go.

"Hey," Jughead put a hand on her shoulder to stop her monologue. "Betty, don't do this to yourself, okay? Don't give up. Your family has definitely been splintering for a while now but it isn't going to fall apart, okay? I know I don't know much about your family – you don't talk about your parents much – but from what I do know, you're definitely the only thing in your family still giving it the semblance of one, okay?" He looked at her with more earnest than he ever had, imploring her to believe his words and allow him to put her mind at ease. "You're so much stronger," he continued, "than all of the white noise. You're stronger than your mother; you're stronger than your father. You're what's holding this family together. So don't – don't let go," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze and maintaining eye contact throughout. Betty felt the knot in her chest loosen and her heart feel lighter. She realised that even if there were things Jughead didn't tell her as soon as they happened, he was still there for her, and he was evidently there for the long haul. She couldn't smile, but she wanted him to know that she was smiling on the inside, even if she wasn't able to show it on the outside.

"I won't," she agreed, and he pulled her into a hug again. This time it was just one so they could be close to each other and simply hold each other. She shut her eyes and breathed him in, allowing his body heat to seep into her as they stood in the moonlight. They stayed on the fire escape after the embrace. Jughead brought pillows and a blanket that they snuggled under, Betty's head on his chest as they stared at the starry sky.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about Toni. I should have told you as soon as I found out," he said after a few minutes of silence. Betty looked up at him curiously.

"Why didn't you?"

"After we broke up, Toni joined the box of people I want to forget about completely. She both made me believe in love and was my wakeup call about falling in love. I'm not proud of that, and of the way my walls reached monumental heights when she left. So I guess I figured that if I just ignored her and didn't tell anyone about her, the box would tighten and the walls would be reinforced," he admitted, looking at the ground in clear shame. Betty sat up, smiling reassuringly, and took his hands.

"Jughead, if we're going to be together, I want to know who you are. All of it," she said softly and he searched her eyes for any kind of reproach at his actions. She could already see cracks in the walls he claimed were at monumental heights. Slowly he nodded.

"Okay," he agreed and her smile widened.

"Okay," she echoed

They heard cheering in the glanced at her phone: midnight. She looked back at Jughead with a smile to find him mirroring her expression. Leaning in, she kissed him gently. "Happy New Year, Jughead Jones," she murmured against his lips. Then, pulling a little further away, she smiled. "Here's to new beginnings."

"To new beginnings, Betty Cooper," he replied and kissed her again before she settled back with her head on his chest to watch the celebratory fireworks.