Chapter Twelve
The early morning sun filtered through the old, faded blinds and Jughead groaned as he tried to turn away from the light. A weight on his chest made him open his eyes and he smiled as he looked down to see Betty's head resting there, her arm and leg draped over him. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a firm squeeze, kissing the top of her head and closing his eyes as he inhaled her scent.
She was here. She was really here and last night hadn't been some crazy drunken wet dream.
As much as he wanted to lie there with her wrapped up in his arms, his bladder was screaming for release and his stomach felt as if it was going to digest itself from starvation. He slowly and carefully slid out from her grasp, her face scrunching as she began to reach for him in her sleep. He slid his pillow close to her and smiled when she pulled it tight to her body and nuzzled her face into it. After relieving himself and brushing his teeth he tiptoed through the room, making sure to avoid the spots in the floor he knew squeaked and creaked, stepping through the bedroom door and grabbing his favorite pair of sweatpants and his cell phone on the way out.
"Alright, let's see here." he mumbled to himself as he hooked his phone up to the charger and grabbed his coffee tin and filters off the top of the fridge. As he sat on the counter waiting for the coffee to brew and reading the paper he had quickly retrieved from the front porch his phone finally came to life and began to buzz from missed text messages and a voicemail. He set the paper down and picked up the phone, punching in his password and going to the voicemail.
"Boss, it's Bloodhound. I've located Black Hat. Call me when you're ready to head out." He glanced back down the hall towards the bedroom door, listening for any noise before making the call.
"Boss."
"How soon?" he asked, hopping off the counter and grabbing two coffee mugs out of the cabinet that had been behind him.
"Within the next hour."
"Sounds good. I'll meet you at the Wyrm." With that he ended the call and opened his fridge, fishing out eggs and bacon before grabbing a half used pack of hash browns out of the freezer and set to work making himself and Betty breakfast.
She emerged from the bedroom roughly ten minutes later rubbing sleep from her eyes in just her sweater and a pair of underwear, her hair still tousled and messy from the previous night. He plated their food and poured her a coffee for which she thanked him with a groggy voice and poured what seemed to be half a container of sugar into it, taking her plate and joining him at his little dining table.
"Did you sleep okay?" he asked her as she tucked her legs up in the chair to sit cross-legged, Betty glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes with a grin on her face before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Best sleep I've had in a while." she answered as grabbed a piece of bacon, her eyes rolling back in her head as she savored the flavor, "I cannot begin to tell you how spoiled I feel just from this. I wasn't allowed to have bacon back in New York."
"What the fuck?" Jughead asked as he nearly dropped his own piece, his eyebrows pulled up towards his hairline with his mouth open, "Why?"
"Because Michael didn't want me getting fat and making him look bad. No bacon, burgers, milkshakes, fries, steak, most breads, basically anything delicious and made life worth living."
"What did you eat? Grass?" he asked and she laughed as she took another bite, washing it down with her coffee.
"Some days it felt like that. Mostly salads, fruits, nuts, water, some fish, and I got a glass of wine at dinner." Jughead scrunched up his nose and tossed an extra piece of bacon on to her plate, smiling as she laughed and thanked him and picked it up to eat.
"I'm gonna make you a steak dinner soon and really spoil you." he said with a mouthful of egg, pointing his fork at her as he spoke and seeing the blush creep across her face.
"I think that would be amazing." she answered. They finished their breakfast with quiet conversation, Jughead watching Betty as she talked about the photo shoot she had lined up with Veronica that afternoon. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her talk, seeing how happy and relaxed she was and couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since she had a meal where she wasn't putting on a show for the public. When they finished she offered to do the dishes as a thank you to him for making breakfast, Jughead excusing himself to the bedroom so he could dress for the day. As he was disappearing into the room he couldn't help but sneak a peek of the panty clad woman standing in his kitchen, her hair all a mess and singing to herself as she cleaned up. And he couldn't help how natural it felt to see her in his house like this. There was no awkward morning after, no awkward breakfast or awkward conversation. And definitely no walk of shame out the door as they stepped outside into the cool morning air.
"Cold?" he asked as he was securing his helmet on her head, Betty nodding as she looked down at her sweater and denim shorts.
"I didn't think about pants last night. I just thought about getting to you." she answered and he slid his leather Serpent jacket off. She thanked him as she put it on, giggling as it seemed to swallow her small frame.
"Luckily the Wyrm isn't to far away from here and we can get you back to your car in no time." he said as he swung his leg over the motorcycle and twisted his body to help her. Her arms slid around his waist as the engine roared to life and a smile stretched across her face as the bike took off. When they arrived at the Wyrm Toni was standing outside with an almost empty fishbowl, passing keys out to almost entirely sobered up Serpents who were thanking her and retrieving their motorcycles and taking off to perform their daily tasks. A small group was hanging back, standing by the front door smoking and shooting the shit. He stopped next to her car and waited as she cranked it and turned the heat on to knock off the chill, Betty nearly skipping back to him and handing him his helmet back.
"Jughead?" she asked softly as he kicked the kickstand out and got off the bike. He set the helmet on the seat and wrapped her up in his arms as her hands flattened against his chest, "Thank you for last night."
"Anytime." he answered with a smirk and a wink, Betty laughing and moving to her toes as his head came down.
"Yeah!" Sweet Pea called from the group and Fangs whistled as their lips met, Betty giggling into the kiss and Jughead flicking them off for the second time in under twelve hours. She slid his jacket off and handed back to him and with a wave goodbye she was in her car and backing out of her parking space.
"Just so you know, boss man, you might want to move your bed a few inches away from the wall next time she stays over." Sweet Pea teased, Jughead laughing as he socked him in the arm and pulled his cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, "We could hear it across the trailer park."
"Well, our trailers aren't known for their sound proof walls." Jughead said as he lit his cigarette and welcomed the smoky burn in his throat and lungs first thing in the morning, "You guys ready?"
"Yeah, we'll head out as soon as Bloodhound gets here and gives us the address."
"Betty Cooper! O. M. G!" Veronica exclaimed as she hugged her best friend, jumping up and down excitedly as Betty showed her her ringless finger, "I'm sorry about the ending of your relationship but I'm not sorry you're away from that control freak!"
"V, for the first time in my life I feel like I can breathe, I feel free." Veronica smiled as they linked arms and walked towards Sweetwater Treats, "I don't have someone breathing down my neck, telling me what I can and can't eat, do, or wear. I don't have someone basically writing out what I'm allowed to say in public or during important business dinners. And if I step out of line I won't get hi...yelled at." she corrected quickly, Veronica snapping her attention to her with a look of concern etched on her face.
"B?"
"Jughead made me breakfast but I could kill for a maple sticky bun." Betty continued on, avoiding Veronica's unspoken concern as they neared the busy bakery.
"Wait, Jughead made you breakfast?" Betty looked over at Veronica, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she smiled slowly at the raven haired vixen, "Betty, did you do what I think you did?" She nodded and Veronica's eyes lit up, stopping and placing her hands on her arm as a blush took over Betty's face.
"Yeah, I went to see him at the Whyte Wyrm last night to tell him what happened and one thing led to another."
"Oh my God, Betty, please you have to give me all of the juicy deets after we get our pastries and coffee. Like, was it good? Was he good? Is he...you know?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and nodding her head down. Betty laughed and linked her arm back through Veronica's as she pulled them near the line. They sat down in a quiet corner away from the rest of the crowd, Veronica and Betty leaning in close to each other as Betty gave her an almost play by play of her night with Jughead.
"Oh my God, swoon! I'm so glad you guys finally hooked up. I told you Bughead was going to be endgame." Veronica said as she sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, sipping on her coffee and cutting off a piece of her sticky bun. She looked up and saw Betty staring into her coffee with a sad smile on her face.
"B? What's wrong?" she asked softly as she reached over and placed her hand over her friends. Betty glanced up. She was chewing on her lip again but this time in worry instead of happiness.
"Did I make a mistake, V?" she asked quietly and Veronica cocked her head to the side.
"A mistake? You mean breaking up with Michael?"
"Oh God no. I'm talking about Jughead."
"What do you mean, B? What's going on?"
"I ended an eight year relationship yesterday and was already in someone else's bed, which is not who I am at all but I just felt so free and so happy. But what if I made a mistake? I mean, even though the last few years with Michael were hell, there were still good years and I loved him so much. There were still happy memories and really good times with him. Maybe I'm an idiot for thinking this way but I feel like I rushed quickly into Jug's arms and bed and ultimately I don't think I'm ready for a relationship yet. I feel like I just lead Jug on big time."
Veronica stood and moved her chair over next to the distraught blonde who was biting back tears, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her.
"Betty, you need to talk to Jughead. It's okay not to be ready for a relationship yet. You're right, you just got out of a long term relationship and an engagement on top of that. You're allowed to take all the time you need and to grieve what could have been. If you're not ready, you're not ready and not you or anyone else can force yourself to be ready for one."
"Do you think Jughead will understand?" she whimpered softly as she kept her hair down, trying to hide her face from the other patrons in the store.
"Jughead is one of the most understanding people I know. Just talk to him, B."
"Thanks, V." she murmured and laid her head over on her friend's shoulder, Veronica smiling and resting her head against Betty's.
"Girl, you have got to tell me your shampoo because that smells amazing." With that they both started laughing and dug back into their coffees and pastries.
The motorcycles slowed to a halt in front of an old abandoned lumber mill, Jughead looking over at Fangs who pulled out the piece of paper Bloodhound had given him and double checked the location.
"This is it. Old Sweetwater Sawmill." he reassured him and they dismounted their motorcycles and left their helmets hanging off of the handlebars. Jughead, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni made their way through the overgrown weeds and decayed sidewalk up to the sawmill, splitting up to find an entrance that wasn't padlocked or boarded up.
"Yo, Jug! Over here!" Sweet Pea called out as he pointed to a window, the glass broken out and the frame completely cleaned from any shards.
"Good job, man." he said and grabbed his flashlight out of his belt where he had it tucked, flipping it on as he climbed up onto an old dumpster and peeked in through the window. When it looked like the coast was clear he stepped in, the rest of his group following and making their way into the middle of the old building.
"Black Hat! I know you're in here!" he shouted as they all shined their flashlights around, their switchblades firmly grasped in the other hand as they moved as a solid unit across the dirty floor, "Black Hat! Don't make me find you!"
"What the hell do you want?" a voice asked from an open doorway, the group nearly jumping out of their skins as they whirled around and all shined their lights in the direction of the voice, "Jesus Christ turn off the spotlights."
"You Black Hat?" Jughead asked as the others turned off their lights and he lowered his from the guy's face.
"Who's asking?"
"Southside Serpents."
"Ah hell, you guys again? What does FP want this time?" he groaned and Jughead couldn't help the smirk on his face.
"FP doesn't run the Serpents anymore. I do. Now I'll ask you again before this gets more complicated and messy than it needs to. Are you Black Hat?"
"Keep your switchblades under control. I'm him. Follow me." he said as he shoved his hands in his old gray hoodie and turned to walk away from the room.
"Where the hell do you think you're taking us?" Sweet Pea demanded and the guy turned back around and rolled his eyes.
"You're here because you need my help, right? Let's go to my office and discuss business." After glancing at one another they all nodded in agreement and moved to the doorway to follow the guy. He took them down a long hallway, stopping at the last door and stepping though the doorway and motioning for them to follow. When they stepped in they stopped and looked around. Computers lined two of the walls, a third wall housing an old refrigerator and a rickety card table that had a microwave on top and a stash of boxed and canned foods underneath. The fourth wall had two air mattresses pushed up against it, the covers thrown all over the place and charger cables strewn across them.
"So who was making the noise?" A voice asked from one of the computer walls, a high backed black office chair turning around to show a petite blue haired girl, a phone in one hand and a bag of chips in the other, "Who the hell are you guys?"
"Customers. Guys, this is Proxy." Black Hat said and closed the door behind the group of Serpents and moving to his seat at the other wall of computers, "Now, what can we do for you?"