Please forgive the grammar in this chapter, I edited it myself.

There are spoilers for Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club in this.

Thank you to everyone who is reviewing and favouriting the story. It's so encouraging and makes me want to write faster.

Enjoy!

It wasn't difficult for Betty to avoid Archie for the rest of the week. He didn't show up to any of the classes they had together and she asked for future assignments to keep herself busy.

Time did not lessen her anger and she was not interested in forgiving him anytime soon. This was her and Archie's pattern and while she knew he was capable of cruelty his most recent stunt hit her hard. He had never come after someone she had a tie to. Jughead had a personality, he had thoughts, feelings and opinions. He wasn't a faceless void in a crowd, he someone she was starting to consider a friend. Betty was taking the time to think about if Archie was the type of person she wanted to be with.

Betty met Cheryl at the back of the school during her free period to watch her smoke a cigarette. It was Friday and it was the night Betty was set to go on her double feature hangout with Jughead and his friends. It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. Being forced to hang out with Jughead at work was one thing but going out with him was another. She was afraid it was going to be a disaster.

"Archie is super upset over what happened." Cheryl said blowing perfect smoke circles as she wrapped the massive black coat she had on around her body. Betty couldn't help but notice it was the same coat Veronica was wearing the day she came to visit Jughead at the library.

"Is he?" Betty said with indifference as she continued to read Gone.

"It's not even that big of a deal what he did. I don't understand why you are so angry." Cheryl irked.

"He threw a milkshake at him, Cheryl. It was humiliating."

"Technically, Reggie threw it and when did you start caring about Jughead." The redhead leaned towards her with raised eyebrows.

"I spend more time with him now than I do with you; he's a good person and he doesn't deserve what we do to him." Betty slammed her book shut.

Cheryl scoffed. "There are losers and there are winners, it's a balance. The losers skim the sides and we push them there by any means necessary. Its like you're in love with him or something, he's not even hot."

Betty glared at her smoking friend as she wrapped the coat tighter around herself. "That's an exquisite coat, Cheryl. Where did you get it?" Betty inquired.

Cheryl went rigid for only a second and then relaxed. "Um, I don't remember, maybe on a trip to Paris." She guessed.

"Interesting cause I saw this coat on Veronica Lodge last Saturday." Betty cocked her head while Cheryl's eyes widened for a moment.

"It must be a coincidence. Money attracts money, similar tastes and all that." She shrugged and started patting her pockets.

"Lost your phone? Happening a lot lately, Cher?" Betty continued to smirk. She never called her by that nickname and only heard Veronica use it a few nights before.

Cheryl narrowed her eyes at the amused blonde. She was deciding if she should continue the conversation or let it hang. She wasn't ready to discuss her relationship with Veronica and she wouldn't be coerced into it. "You know nothing, Betty Cooper."

"I guess that's a chance you have to be willing to take." Betty cocked an eyebrow and opened her book.

"Jason and Polly are coming into town in a couple weeks for spring break, my mom is going to ask your family to dinner." Cheryl stated changing the conversation.

"Oh god, I can hardly handle my own parents but yours as well? I won't have the strength to make it through."

"I already have a bottle of vodka stashed away for the occasion." Cheryl gave Betty a self satisfied smile. "We can sneak away and take the edge off."

"I love you Cheryl." Betty grinned, their friend status falling back into place. "You always think of everything."

She took in a deep breath in and tossed her cigarette. "I know." She stood and looked down at Betty with an air of superiority she always had. "Forgive Archie but make him beg for it."

"I'm not sure if he thinks I'm worth begging for." Betty looked up at her.

"He will, men are stupid and it takes time for them to realize what they are missing. He'll come around." Cheryl blew her friend a kiss and sauntered towards the school, leaving Betty by herself.

She took in Cheryl's words but had no intention of listening to her. She didn't want Archie to beg for it, she wanted him to see the error of his ways but she wasn't sure if he was able to do that. She shook the thought of Archie from her mind and focused on the upcoming evening.

Betty headed home to get ready the moment school was over. She wanted to look nice and impress her new friends. She took her time to set her hair in soft waves and apply make-up. She gave herself smokey eyes, made her cheeks look rosy and finished off the look with a shimmery pink lip gloss. She went through every piece of clothing she had wanting to impress Veronica and look good next to her. She settled on black skinny jeans, a sheer navy blouse with a black bra and black ankle boots.

Betty agreed to meet them at the library. She didn't want her mother asking questions. Jughead had arranged for Mr. Williams to cover his shift and they were already waiting for her when she arrived. Veronica was leaning against her Lexus while the boys were in the car.

"Damn girl, look at you." Veronica complimented, looking her up and down as she pulled her into a hug. "Are you dressing up for me?"

"Of course," Betty said with a wink. "You look incredible as well."

"I know," Veronica said sounding so much like Cheryl is caught her off guard. The brunette was wearing the black coat Betty had seen on Cheryl earlier that day along with black leather pants, black velvet knee high boots and a sheer black blouse with two solid panels which covered her braless chest. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders as usual. "Jughead told me you saw Cheryl and me. Thank you for keeping it to yourself. Dude-bros get really disgusting when they think there is a lesbian in their midst. I do not need that attention." She smiled placing her hand on the back car door.

"Not a problem, it's not my business." Betty smiled reassuringly. "You secret is safe with me."

Veronica grinned and opened the door for the blonde who stepped inside.

Jughead was sitting in the back with her. His denim coat was on over a forest green cable knit sweater and black jeans. His beanie was in the place it always was and Betty wondered if it was glued to his head.

"Hey, Jug." She smiled widely and nudged him in the knee.

"Hey." He looked her up and down. "You look nice." He remarked realizing he had never seen her with her hair down.

"And we all know I look fabulous." Kevin said turning to look at the two of them. He was wearing a black coat and a navy button down.

"You do man, I'm so upset that I was born heterosexual." Jughead clutched his chest in fake heartache.

"The pair we would make." Kevin eyes glazed over and he stared off.

Jughead looked at Betty. "He's imagining us in a romantic musical montage. His brain really only works in musical montages."

'Right, Kevin is in all the school musicals." Betty remembered. She and her friends rarely went to the productions. The art department and the school sports teams were constantly at war. The athletic department made not only the school but the town money and, as a result, received all the funding. As a rule, the cheerleaders and jocks never when to the school plays and the theatre kids never came to the games.

Betty felt guilty that she had never heard Kevin sing and she hoped that one day she would.

Veronica opened the door and turned to look at Betty. "I drive incredibly fast but I can assure that you are 100% safe." She started the car and Carly Rae Jepsen thumped out of the speakers. She put the car in drive and raced down the street.

"Can you please turn that off?" Jughead pleaded.

"Carly Rae is my jam and I'm the driver so I pick he music." Veronica shouted back.

"She likes this?" Betty questioned, leaning towards Jughead so he could hear her.

"Under her goth exterior Ronnie is a bubblegum princess. She loves all this shit." He shook his head. "You two should have that in common." He stated in a snide tone.

"You have no idea what I listen to, Jones." She rolled her eyes.

"What do you listen to then, Cooper?"

"Let me play one playlist at work and then you'll know." She cocked an eyebrow.

Jughead let his eyes sweep over her face that was so close to his he could feel her breath wash over his face when she spoke. The gloss she was wearing made her lips look irresistible. He noticed the way her makeup made her blue-green eyes look larger and how her hair framed her delicate face. He smirked at her. "Never."

She made a noise of frustration and leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.

They were silent the rest of the way to Clinton as the music made any kind of conversation impossible.

The movie theatre was old and only had two auditoriums. The carpet, the seats and the curtains around the screen were all red velvet and all the decor was accented in gold.

They hit the concession and purchased sodas and popcorn to share and found a place closer to the back to sit. Betty ended up sitting on the end beside Jughead, Veronica was beside him and Kevin on her far side.

"I've never seen Sixteen Candles before." Kevin admitted taking off his coat and draping it on the seat next to him.

"It's a lot of fun." Betty reassured him. "I haven't seen it in years though."

"It's okay, it's not my favorite." Jughead said making sure he was comfortable.

The lights dimmed then, ending their conversation. They quieted down and settled in for the next hour and a half.

When the movie finished the house lights went up and the four of them sat before Kevin leaned forward. "Now, it might be because I've never seen that movie before, and it was a lot of fun, but did that nerd date rape that popular blonde girl?" He asked with a genuine concern.

"I'm not sure." Veronica said slowly, a look of worry on her face.

Betty looked over at them. "My twelve year old self definitely missed that when I watched it the first time."

"Yeah, it has a lot of flaws that don't hold up but it's of its time." Jughead stood. "I'm going to hit concessions again, does anyone want anything?"

"One of everything," Betty smirked looking up at him.

"Alright," Jughead shook his head and made his way down the row and out of the theatre.

"Are you having fun?" Veronica asked twisting her body to look at Betty.

The blonde nodded fervently. "It's nice to see a movie that doesn't have one superhero in it or a raunchy comedy with tons of naked women. Archie is obsessed with them."

"He knows porn exists, right?" Kevin asked.

"Or his super hot real life girlfriend?" Veronica pointed out.

"He's really weird. He loves Showgirls. I've watched it like twenty times and its campy fun the first two or three times but after that it's bad and he loves it." Betty shook her head. "Like of all the stripper based movies or movies in general, why Showgirls?"

"He sounds so weird." Kevin shook his head as he looked past Betty and his eyes widened.

Betty turned to see Jughead struggling with two trays filled with popcorn, drinks and candy. "A little help." He pleaded.

Betty stood and rushed over, taking a tray from him. "Did you actually get one of everything?" She asked.

He shrugged. "That's what you asked for."

He passed her to get to his seat and Betty couldn't fight the smile tugging at her lips before she took her seat. They angled themselves so that their knees were touching as they assessed all the food.

"First, the M&M's need to go in the popcorn." Betty informed.

"Agreed." Jughead opened them up and poured them in.

"I'll take the Red Vines, they're my favorite." He passed them to her.

"Good, I hate them. I also hate Junior Mints." He said passing them back to Veronica who happily accepted them.

"The Goobers are mine." Kevin stated as he snatched them out of Betty's tray. "And the Icee," he grabbed the cup before kissing Jughead on the cheek which elicited a grin.

"Ron, the Sour Patch Kids are yours." He tossed them behind his back.

"I want the mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups." Betty demanded.

"No, they are my favorite." The boy in the beanie informed.

"Halfsies?"

"20/80."

"Fine, but I'm taking the Skittles." She smiled and relaxed into her seat as the movie started.

She had always loved The Breakfast Club and it had been awhile since she saw it. It was different to see it on the big screen and she felt she like she was seeing it for the first time.

Everything was going well until she noticed Jughead stiffen in his seat. His fists clenched when Bender began telling the story about his abusive dad. If this was a trigger for Jughead she couldn't imagine what he had been through and she hoped it wasn't as bad as what was being described on screen.

A part of her wanted to comfort him and in this space she did the only thing she could. She placed her hand on his wrist and extended her fingers so they were resting them on the lower part of his palm. She saw him look over at her and then to her hand but he didn't say anything and made no motion to shake her off. They sat there, half holding hands for the rest of the movie.

When the film was over Betty removed her hand as if it had never even been there. She stood and looked at the three of them. "Now what?" She asked with a cheerleader level of pep.

"Open your purse." Jughead instructed. "You too, Ronnie." He started placing all the uneaten candy inside. "There is no way I'm letting this go to waste. I'm going to have a religious experience with this candy later." He smiled as he finished loading the salvageable sweets into their bags.

"You are so weird." Betty shook her head and looked to Veronica as she put her coat on.

"Now we go to Felix's." Veronica informed as she glided out of the theatre.

"What's Felix's?" Betty asked following the boys.

"It's our Pop's." Kevin said nonchalantly as they headed out into the parking lot and got into the car.

Five minutes later they were pulling up to a diner with a flashing neon sign that said Felix's Diner on it. It was the same size as Pop's but that was where the comparisons ended. Felix's was bright on the inside and none of the tables and chairs matched. They were all different colours and styles and the booths were upholstered in either vinyl, velvet or leather. None of the waitresses wore a uniform and there was a lone jukebox in the corner that needed quarters to work.

They were sat at a large corner booth farthest from the door. The waitress took their orders and even though none of them should have been hungry, they all ordered full meals.

"So this is why I never see you at Pop's?" Betty asked looking around, still trying to take in all the decor.

"They have better food, a better atmosphere and no one has every called me a fag or threatened to beat me to death here, so we like it." Kevin remarked.

"We can be ourselves here." Veronica confirmed.

Betty nodded. "I'm sorry all my friends are such assholes to you, myself included."

"Those people aren't your friends." Jughead said putting his arm around the back of the booth and effectively around Betty. This did not go unnoticed by Veronica and Kevin who exchanged the briefest of looks with each other. "They abandoned you the night you vandalized the library and didn't even stick up for you when you were getting in shit. Real friends don't do that." Jughead held Betty's gaze as she searched his eyes for some sort of sarcasm. She was looking for some sort of sign that he was trying to trick her or was lying to her but she couldn't find one.

"I suppose you're right." Betty shifted uncomfortably which did not go unnoticed.

"Who do you think you would be in The Breakfast Club?" Kevin asked wanting the awkwardness which had descended on the table to lift.

"You would be the nerd, your into musical theatre and you're really smart." Veronica answered him.

"She is smarter than me." He pointed at Betty offended that he had been likened to the nerd. "I'm only second in the class next to her, if anything she's the nerd."

"No, she's the rebel, she just doesn't know it yet." Veronica smirked.

"Wait, no, I'm the rebel, I'm clearly the rebel." Jughead pointed at himself.

"You are the princess for sure." Veronica laughed as she moved her cutlery as her food was placed down in front of her.

"How do you figure that?" Jughead challenged.

"Uh, you get moody if Rosa buys the wrong type of milk, you're a princess."

"That would make you a basket case." Betty pointed out to Veronica while cutting her burger in half.

"I'm fine with that.' She shrugged.

They ate in silence, dropping the topic, until most of their food was gone.

"So, Veronica, how did you and Cheryl happen?" Betty asked with genuine interest.

"She was playing with her Ouija board, summoned a demon and Cheryl appeared." Jughead joked as Veronica pelted him with fries.

"I was coming back from a run just as she was leaving for one and I complemented her running capris. We started talking, I invited her in and I took a chance." She shrugged. "I knew one way or another she would never say anything. She wouldn't want to admit to spending any time with me."

"So, do guys actually like each other or is it just..." Betty trailed off.

"Sex?" Veronica said melodically. "You can say the word, were all adults here."

"Well, I mean if we are going to split hairs, none of us are adults." Kevin pointed out pushing the remaining food around on his plate.

Veronica brushed off his statement. "Anyway, as of right now it's purely physical but I don't know, I kind of like her."

"Seriously?" Jughead threw his hands up in the air. "Is she different with you, Ronnie? Under her cold hard bitch exterior lies and big softy?"

"Actually yeah, she isn't afraid to be herself with me. She wants companionship and everyone in her life has denied her of that. I think she feels safe with me." The dark haired girl took a sip of her coffee.

"I think you can do better." Jughead said shaking his head.

"That's not an opinion you get to have. If I'm happy, you're happy, remember."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." Jughead exasperated.

"You also know there are no eligible men or women in this town. I'm taking what I can get."

Betty's head cocked in confusion. "Wait, I thought you were gay, you just said men." She pointed out.

"Ronnie isn't the type to discriminate." Kevin grinned.

"Oh," Betty nodded in understanding. "So, if that's the case then why did you two never date?" She asked pointing between Veronica and Jughead.

They both started laughing. "Oh, we tried." Jughead informed.

"And there was no spark there? You guys get along so well, I figured it would be so easy."

"We have zero sexual chemistry." Jughead said.

"Have you ever tried to kiss your sibling in a romantic way?" Veronica asked. "I don't have a sibling but if I did I'm pretty sure it would feel the same to kiss them as it did to kiss Jughead."

"It was so bad, we have way more of a brother/sister type relationship." Jughead agreed.

"No one is good enough for Jughead anyway." Kevin teased as his eyes went wide. "Oh shit, he's here."

Betty turned to see a tall, dark haired man walk in. He was around the same age as them and he took a seat at the counter. He was wearing a leather jacket, a simple black t-shirt, black jeans, and black biker boots. "Who is that?"

"Kevin has loved his from afar for months." Jughead told her.

"You've never spoken to him?" Betty questioned. "How do you know that you love him?"

"He's so pretty." Kevin whined.

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Betty suggested.

"I don't know if you've noticed but being gay around these parts can get your ass beaten."

"You don't have to tell him you're gay, you can just go talk to him."

"It's not that easy."

"It really is."

"Then you go do it." Veronica chimed in.

"What?" Betty sputtered out.

"If it's so easy to talk to someone then you go and do it." A smug smile spread across her face. "If you can get his number, I'll pay for your dinner tonight."

"Bets, you don't have to do this." Jughead angled himself towards her. "Ron's a shit disturber.

"Please don't bring attention to me." Kevin begged.

"This is actually a good thing for your Kev, if she gets his number we know he's straight and you can move on." Veronica pointed out.

"I'll do it." Betty smiled. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself. "Yep, here I go." She stood and walked as confidently as she could towards the total stranger.

She sat down next to him and plastered on a smile. "Hi there." She cooed in what she thought was a seductive voice.

He gave her a side glance. "Hi." he said crudely.

"I'm Betty," she held her hand out.

"Joaquin," he took her hand and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you Joaquin." She tossed her hair over shoulder. "So tell me, do you have a girlfriend?" She cocked an eyebrow.

Jughead did not like that Betty was talking to Kevin's crush. They all knew this guy wasn't gay and if Betty was successful would she could potentially go out on a date with him.

"You look uneasy." Veronica pointed out.

"You shouldn't have made her do that."

"I didn't make her do anything." She held her hands up in innocence.

"He could be a serial killer and we just sent her over there."

"Please do not talk about the future father of my children like that." Kevin closed his eyes and placed his hand over his heart.

"She's not gonna leave with him and she's like seven feet away. She perfectly safe." They all looked over when both Betty and the mystery man laughed loudly. "You's jealous, that's the problem."

"I'm not jealous." He brushed her off.

"You like her, like you actually like her. I was teasing you before but you like her." Veronica smiled realizing she had never seen her friend have a crush before. It looked good on him.

"Please, I don't like people." Jughead rolled his eyes.

"I saw you guys holding hands during the movie." She raised her eyebrows expecting an explanation.

Jughead's face flushed at the thought of Betty's hand pressed against his. He could still feel the ghost of her touch against his palm. He shook his head. "That wasn't romantic, that was something else."

"Someone is buying me dinner." Betty sat back down with a smile on her face ending the line of conversation she interrupted. She slammed a small square of paper into the middle of the table with ten numbers written on it.

Both Kevin and Jughead looked at it and frowned.

"Good for you Betty." Veronica applauded.

"Pie, I think I'm gonna get some pie." Betty proclaimed looking through the menu.

"So it went well?" Jughead asked watching her look over the dessert menu. "Are you gonna go out with him?"

She shook her head. "No, that dude is Kinsey 6 gay." Both boys at the table perked up. "He told me that he was flattered but I had 'too much vagina for his liking.'" She shrugged.

"What a wordsmith," Jughead remarked with a large smile on his face, leaning to look over Betty's shoulder. "I mean if you are going to get pie and Veronica is paying your bill, I should get pie."

Veronica rolled her eyes and noticed the one-eighty in her best friends attitude. If anything, his actions enforced her crush theory.

"Kev, you should go talk to him. His name is Joaquin by the way." She looked over at Jughead. "Strawberry Rhubarb?"

"Strawberry Rhubarb is my favorite." He agreed with a smile.

Kevin started pushing Veronica out of the booth, desperate to speak to the man of his dreams. "Move, Ron."

"You are being so rude right now." She scrambled to get out before he stepped on her. She plopped back down, watching as Kevin introduced himself and began talking to his rebel without a cause.

The waitress came and they all ordered pie.

"Betty, tell me about you and Archie." Veronica asked leaning forward with interest.

Jughead shot the girl clad in black an annoyed look.

"What's there to tell? We've been dating on and off again since freshman year."

"What does that mean? On and off again?" Veronica asked brushing all her hair to one side.

"It means we do what we are doing right now, he does something stupid, we break up, he apologizes and we get back together."

"When you guys break up do you see other people?"

"We can but I don't."

"Does he?" Jughead asked bleakly.

"He has but that was during our longer splits."

"Why didn't you?" Veronica asked as the pie arrived.

"There was no one I was interested in and I was madly in love with Archie. We all do stupid things when we're in love."

"And now?" Jughead inquired.

"Sorry?" Betty looked over at the boy beside her.

"You said you were madly in love with Archie, you used past tense." He pointed out.

"I still love him, I meant to say, I am madly in love with Archie." She shook her head and took a bit of her pie as Jughead and Veronica shot each other a quick look.

"It doesn't bother you that he's slept with other people?" Veronica asked.

"Of course it bothers me but we break up and we don't discuss when or if we are going to get back together. Every time could be the last time and it's not fair to limit each other." Betty reached over and realized her coffee was empty. She started to look around for the waitress before Jughead passed her what remained of his.

"No offence, but that is super unhealthy." He told her as he finished his pie.

She took a sip. "Please give me romantic advice, how many relationships have you had?" Betty snapped, instantly feeling guilty at her outburst.

"Touché." Jughead backed down putting his hands up as if her were surrendering.

"Guess who has a date next Friday?" Kevin squealed as they all turned to watch Joaquin get up and leave the diner with a wave in their direction.

"Good for you man!" Jughead exclaimed grinning at his friend.

"See, I told you it was as easy as going over and speaking to him." Betty pipped up.

Kevin took her by the hand and pulled her up into a hug. "I love you so much." He squeezed her so hard Betty was having trouble breathing. "You are a member of our group now."

"Okay, well, don't kill her." Jughead nudged his friend handing Betty her coat while Veronica threw a hundred dollar bill on the table.

"Did you pay for everyone's meal? I thought you were just paying for me?" Betty questioned.

"I always pay." Veronica said putting on her coat.

"So you were going to pay for this meal even if I didn't talk to Joaquin?" Betty put her hands on her hips.

"That's right." Veronica winked as she passed the group and exited the diner moving like everyone's gaze was drawn to her. She was right, everyone was looking at her. Everyone except Jughead Jones who couldn't take his eyes off the rosy cheeked blonde at his side.

Veronica dropped Betty off a block away from her house.

"Thank you for tonight, I had a lot more fun than I thought I would." Betty admitted tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Oh sister, you've been hanging out with the wrong crowd for years." Veronica drawled pulling her new friend in for a hug.

"Please don't take it personally if I ignore you at school, its just-"

She was cut off by Kevin. "You have a reputation to up hold, we get it. No point in committing social suicide this close to graduation." He hugged her tightly when Veronica stepped away. "Although, we've been dead for years and it's not so bad."

Betty laughed and looked at Jughead. "Thanks for suggesting this." She stepped forward, unsure what to do and then nudged him in the shoulder with her fist.

"Seriously?" Veronica scoffed. "A nudge?"

"He doesn't look like a hugger." Betty defended herself.

"He gives amazing hugs." Veronica informed.

"He really does." Kevin confirmed.

Betty rolled her eyes and took a step forward throwing her arms around his neck and she squeezed. His arms went around her waist and pulled her body towards his. It lasted a second too long as they inhaled the others scent. She smelt like strawberries and vanilla while he smelt like old books and evergreen soap.

"Good night, Jug," she nearly whispered looking up at him through his lashes after they parted.

"Night, Bets," he breathed back wanting to touch her hair to see if it was as soft as it looked.

She stepped away from the group. "Night guys, thanks again." She smiled and headed towards her home.

The three of them watched her go and Veronica looked at her brooding housemate. "You are so screwed." She smiled at him and turned to get back into her car, Kevin grabbing the passenger side.

Jughead stood for a moment longer to watch Betty disappear around the corner. "Fuck," he muttered to himself knowing she was right.

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