I want to apologize that I've posted this so late but it's my 30th birthday on Tuesday and I went out with a friend and my husband on Friday night and was pretty much useless yesterday. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, I edited this myself.

The song's in this chapter are Butterfly Etude Opus 25 Number 9 by Chopin and Heart and Soul by Hoagy Carmichael.

Enjoy!

Jughead could have snuck in. He could have gone in the back door and up the stairs located in the pantry but he didn't. He could have come in the front door, quietly shut it and headed upstairs but he didn't. Instead he fumbled with his keys, he slammed the door and decided to pass through the house.

He knew Veronica would have a change of heart after she had a few drinks in her like she always did. He wanted to hang out with Betty and he was willing to do anything to make that happen.

Now he was up in his room trying to figure out what shirt he should wear. Normally he would wear a basic t-shirt to bed but he was toying with the idea of wearing a tight, white tank top. That would get Betty's attention. She would like him in that, she would pay attention to him if he wore that. He put the shirt on and looked at himself in the mirror. "What the fuck are you doing?" He asked himself, shaking his head, embarrassed that a girl had this type of power over him.

He raced downstairs, slowing down mere feet away from the TV room. He wanted to make it look like he had sauntered the entire way, like he didn't care if he was part of their girls night.

After he sat down, the girls got off the couch and started looking through nail polish colours, speaking in hushed tones and giggling periodically. "Push your hair back with this?" Veronica said tossing him a hair band. "And I got you a drink." She motioned to the Pina Colada on the table.

"What's this for?" He asked examining the head band

"It's to keep your beautiful hair out of the face mask."

"Your hair does look really nice, it looks so soft." Betty complimented.

"It is, I make him put coconut oil in it."

"Ron." Jughead sighed, closing his eyes in embarrassment.

"That works?" Betty inquired.

"Touch it, touch his hair, it's incredible." Veronica suggested.

Before he knew it the blonde was in front of him running her hands through his hair and she gasped "It's so soft, like a pillow. I want to take a nap on it." She joked causing Veronica to laugh as Betty placed her cheek on the top of his head.

Jughead was too aware of how close she was to him and how she was barely dressed. The shorts she was wearing were more like underwear and she wasn't wearing a bra. The white tank top which clung to her chest was leaving little to the imagination. He looked away and thought of disgusting things; roadkill, moldy food, kissing Veronica.

"So soft," she murmured still rubbing her face against his hair.

"How drunk are you two?" He asked taking a sip of his drink.

"A lot to very." Veronica said absentmindedly.

Betty started chuckling and sat at the foot of the chair. She accepted the nail polish that was handed to her. Veronica approached him with a paintbrush and a tub of face mask creme. "Close your eyes."

He did as he was told and leaned his head back. "Please, for the love of god, do not tell anyone about this."

"I'm literally texting everyone I know about this right now." Betty said seriously.

Jughead opened his eyes.

"Close your damn eyes, Jug!" Veronica chided.

He snapped them shut. "You're not actually not texting anyone, are you?"

"Of course not." She giggled and he could feel the brush hit his nails. "You have really wide toenails." She observed.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked feeling insecure.

"Considering I'm pretty intoxicated and I'm trying to do something which requires a lot of precision, it's a very good thing." Betty laughed.

Jughead, despite having large toe nails, could feel how poor of a job she was doing. The brush kept hitting his skin. "I'm pretty sure my twelve year old sister could do a better job than you're currently doing." He smiled.

"Well, feed your sister eight Pina Coladas and then we'll talk." Betty defended herself. "I didn't know you had a sister." Betty confessed.

"She lives with my mom."

"Oh right." Betty mumbled, remembering him mentioning a sister briefly the night he was in her room.

"Her name is Forsythia which is as stupid as Forsythe so we call her Jellybean."

"Which isn't stupid at all." Veronica snorted.

"She liked jelly beans when she was little." Jughead informed with a shrug.

"And you guys are close?" Betty asked.

"You can open your eyes now." Veronica said.

He looked down at Betty who was concentrating on his toenails, coating them with bright red nail polish.

"I mean we used to fight like any pair of siblings but she was an outsider like me. When she wanted to play beauty parlour and all the girls in her class called her a loser because she had the cheap makeup, I let her put it on me." He laughed. "I would get so many pimples after she would put that stuff on my face but it made her happy and I couldn't say no."

Betty had stopped painting and was looking at him with a sad smile. She couldn't help but think of a dark haired girl with tears in her eyes watching all the popular girls leave her behind. She thought of her running home, crying and wondering why these girls disliked her for such a silly reason. She thought of a sixteen year old Jughead with bruises on his face, bruises that Archie had put there, doing everything to stop his sisters tears. Asking her to cover the purple spots around his eyes so he could be pretty just like her. "That's really nice of you." She croaked out.

Jughead took a deep breath in and looked at the TV. He didn't like that he had made her upset when this was supposed to be a fun evening. "Why are you watching Inception?" He asked.

"Bets is a Tom Hardy girl." Veronica said.

Betty's cheeks flushed a deep red colour. "He has a nice face." She whispered.

"I get it, he's handsome and ripped." Jughead smiled. "And he loves dogs, what's not to like?"

"I actually don't like really muscly guys." The blonde admitted wishing the red in her face would go away.

"You are dating the quarterback of the football team, he's huge." Jughead reminded her.

"He wasn't like that when we started dating."

"What do you like?" Veronica asked with a sly smile.

"I like lean and strong but not showy."

"So like Jughead." Veronica beamed.

Betty could her face flush further as she looked between the smirking brunette and the boy who sat before her. "I guess." She managed to squeak out.

Veronica smiled in amusement. "I'm done with this." She said standing putting he lid on the nail polish.

"So, I'll have one painted foot and one painted hand?"

"And you'll be the coolest boy in school." She exclaimed. "Let's watch Magic Mike XXL."

"You like that movie?" Betty asked.

"I want to do things to Channing Tatum that would get me arrested." She smiled plopping down on the couch.

"I like Donald Glover." Betty admitted as she snuggled up beside Veronica.

"Childish Gambino is the best!" Jughead proclaimed.

"Yes!" Betty's eyes widened in excitement. "Have you watched Atlanta? He is the most underrated person working in Hollywood right now."

"Agreed." Jughead stood and sat down beside Veronica wishing he had the guts to sit beside Betty.

"Are you two gonna talk about TV the whole night or are we going to watch dudes take their clothes off." Veronica asked mildly annoyed.

"Proceed." Jughead said.

"Go wash that off your face." Veronica said draping a blanket over Betty and herself.

Jughead did as he was told and when he returned Channing Tatum was on screen dancing around his workshop and Betty had fallen asleep.

Jughead and Veronica sat in silence as the watched the movie together.

Half way through Jughead decided to speak. "You didn't have to embarrass her like that, you know." He said not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"When you told her that I had the body type she liked. You embarrassed her."

"I was trying to embarrass you." She said with a smirk.

He looked over at Veronica and then to Betty. She was softly snoring, her mouth was open and her cheek was pushed up against Veronica's shoulder. A small smile spread across his face.

"You are so smitten, it's disgusting." Veronica said looking at him. "We should go to bed though, I'm getting really tired." She suggested nudging Betty awake.

Betty bolted upright and wiped the sides of her mouth. She began smoothing out her hair. "I'm sorry I fell asleep."

"Lets go upstairs and fall asleep together." Veronica said with a smile, holding her hand out.

Betty took it and stood, looking over at Jughead. "I'll see you in the morning." She smiled and followed Veronica upstairs.

Jughead followed after he had finished turning everything off. His bedroom was two doors down from Veronica's and he could hear them giggling.

Jughead entered his room and closed the door. The room had a queen sized bed in the middle of the far wall, night stands on either side and a dresser on the opposite wall. On the dresser was a TV with a Playstation sitting beside it.

He took off his shirt, climbed into bed, turned off the light and closed his eyes but sleep didn't come. He could hear them laughing and he couldn't help but think what they were talking about. He wondered if they were talking about him.

He thought about how Betty would look in bed. Her hair splayed out over the pillowcase leaving the smell of strawberries there. Or how her long, soft legs would rub against Veronica's expensive sheets. How her chest would bounce when she laughed. He envied Veronica and where she was sleeping that night.

He imagined what it would be like to have her body curled up against his. Her legs intertwining with his, her hand running over his bare chest. Her hot breath against his neck, his fingers running up and down her spine causing her to shiver.

He squeezed his eyes tightly and let out a groan of frustration. He was hard and he wasn't even thinking about her in a sexual way. The simple idea of sleeping beside her had him aroused.

"Ignore it and it will go away." He lied to himself.

He focused on his breathing, a technique he had read about when he couldn't sleep when he was living with his father. He began count and got to seven before he heard her giggle again.

"Fuck it." He mumbled as he wrapped his hand around his hard length.

He closed his eyes and thought of Betty. He imagined her laying beside him. Her lips pulled into a smile pressed against his neck while her nose grazed his jaw line. "Hi Juggie," she breathed. "It's not nice to have such naughty thoughts about a nice girl like me." She teased nipping at his chin as she raised herself up to look at him. "Do you think about me like this often?" She asked biting her lip.

He nodded.

"What do you think about doing to me?" She asked rubbing her body against his.

"I think about having sex with you?" He said lamely.

"You thinking about fucking me?" She asked running her hand down the length of her body.

He nodded as his hand moved faster.

"Do you think about sinking your fingers into me?" She questioned, taking his index finger into her mouth and sucking it from base to tip.

He nodded again letting out a shaky breath.

"Do you wonder what I taste like?" She leaned over and ran her tongue along his bottom lip.

"Yes." He choked out.

"And this?" She enclosed her hand around his hand that was wrapped around his erection. "Do you imagine how warm and wet I would be for you?"

"Oh god." He whimpered.

"Is that what you want to do to me?" She asked. "Tell me what you want to do."

"I want to fuck you so hard your legs shake and you can't see straight." He looked over at her. "I want to fuck you so hard you forget your own name and can only scream out mine."

Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction and a grin spread across her lips. She began placing a series of kiss on his cheek moving towards his ear. "Absolutely filthy." She said letting out a sigh, nipping his ear lobe between her teeth.

He moaned.

"You almost there, baby?" Betty asked sweetly.

He nodded.

"Cum for me, Juggie." She growled in his ear.

He obliged her demand and released, groaning louder than he should have. Loud enough for the girls to hear if they were still awake. He didn't care in that moment. He had never had a fantasy quite like the one he just had and had never had an orgasm quite like the one he was having.

He laid in bed with his eyes closed, steadying his breathing as reality seeped back in. He opened his eyes to his empty room and he looked down at his chest, ribbons of his arousal laying there. "God damn it." He muttered as he stood to clean himself up.

He wasn't annoyed by the fantasy, he was annoyed because he knew wasn't just crushing on Betty anymore, he liked her, a lot. He had avoided relationships for a reason. He had been turned away and cast out so many times that if she did the same to him he wasn't sure his heart could take it but it was a risk he realized he was willing to take.

Betty woke up at eight the next morning with a pounding hangover. She sat up and flung her legs over the side of the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in. She would look as perfect as Veronica everyday too if that was the kind of rest she was getting.

She tip toed to her bathroom and hoped there would be some Advil in her medicine cabinet. To Betty's delight there was. She took two and washed them down with a few gulps of water from the tap.

She exited the bathroom, quietly opened the door and headed downstairs to make coffee. On her way to the kitchen, a large, polished baby grand piano caught her eye and stopped her in her tracks. "Well, hello there." She said walking into the room.

She sat down behind it and lifted the fallboard to reveal the keys. She played a few notes sighing at the crisp, clean sound.

She could hear the sound of bare feet on hardwood and Betty looked up as he passed by. "Jug?" She called causing him to startle and clutch his bare chest.

He doubled over, placing his hand on the door frame as his willed his heart rate returned to normal. He was used to being alone this early in the morning. Veronica was the type of person who slept for hours on end.

"Jug?" She called again with more concern than originally.

He took a deep breath and stood up. "Morning Cooper, what's up?" He asked casually strolling towards her. "I see you found the piano."

Betty couldn't help but let her eyes roam over his bare chest. While Archie was big and muscular, Jughead was lean and defined and she bit her lip.

"I did, it's nice to play a piano I don't have to turn on." She said looking away, hoping he did notice her staring.

"Play me something difficult, with a lot of notes." He had rampant bed head and his hair was sticking up every which way.

"I'm a little hungover Jug so I don't know what you're gonna get out of me this morning." She rubbed her face and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Play the easiest hard piece you can." He leaned against the piano, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

"Okay." She looked down at the keys and making sure she was at the centre of the bench.

"What you gonna play?" He asked with a grin on his face.

"'Butterfly Etude Opus 25 Number 9' by Chopin." She took a deep breath in.

"I have no idea what any of the that means but I'm really excited to hear it."

Her fingers found their starting place and she let out the breath she was holding in and began.

Jughead's eyes widened instantly. This wasn't a sweet little pop song, this way a complicated piece of music and only someone with as much training as Betty could play it. He watched as her fingers flew across the keys and a beautiful sound filled the room. He was mad at himself that he had under estimated her again. He had no idea why it didn't occur to him that she could play like this. Now that he was hearing it, he felt a surge of pride go through him that she was as talented as she was.

She played the final notes and moved her hands away from the keys and began gripping the bench.

"That was insane Betty." He walked around the piano to sit beside her. She moved over to make room for him. "If that was easy I can't even imagine what a difficult number sounds like."

"When I am of sound mind and I'm fed and didn't poison my body the night before, I will play you something much harder." She promised feeling how hot his skin was. They were both sparsely dressed and the skin to skin contact was making Betty flush.

"I learned to play something." Jughead held his head up high with a pleased smile on his face.

"Really?" Betty laughed. "Well, go on then." She waved her hands over the keys inviting him to start.

He took his time making sure his fingers were in the right place and began. Betty started laughing knowing the song immediately. "'Heart and Soul'?" She asked.

"It was either this or 'Chopsticks' and 'Chopsticks' is lame." He said missing a note.

She joined in playing the accompanying part, embellishing it to show off.

Heart and soul/I fell in love with you heart and soul/The way a fool would do madly/Because you held me tight/And stole a kiss in the night

Betty's cheeks turned a shade of crimson realizing how romantic the words were and stopped singing.

"How do you know the words to this?" He asked shocked.

"This was the first song I learned to play." She continued to out play him. "One more time around and then we'll stop, okay?"

He smiled and nodded. He really focused to make sure there were no mistakes. She watched him as he played and there was something so familiar about his face. Like she had been looking at it for years. The line of his jaw, the way his brow furrowed in concentration and the way he pouted his lips. She felt like she had seen this same look before and couldn't place it.

When the final notes were still ringing Betty leaned across Jughead to play one final note. She looked up at him with a smile, not realizing how close her face was to his.

Their expressions became serious and their breathing shallow as they stared at the other's lips. They inched closer and closer together until her lips brushed over his. He sighed, his breath breezing over her face, his hands coming to cup her jaw but before their kiss could become a kiss, Veronica's voice rang out.

"Rosa is making stuffed french toast you guys!" She sang.

Betty took in a sharp breath and moved away from Jughead as if he had become scalding hot, falling off the bench and landing hard on her butt. She stood quickly, moving to the other side of the piano as Veronica entered the room and narrowed her eyes. Her gaze shifted between the two of them. Their cheeks flushed, chests heaving and they both looked uncomfortable.

"Did I interrupt something?" She asked looking at Betty first.

"Nope," she smiled coolly. "I was giving Jughead a piano lesson."

Veronica looked over as her roommate who was staring blankly at the keys. "Mmmm-hmmm." She crossed her arms, clearly not buying it.

"I need to go wash my face." Betty said fleeing the room.

Veronica watched her go with a grin and looked back to Jughead. He was standing in front of the piano now, his fingers steepled under his nose. "Ronnie?" He said, his voice almost shaking. "I know," he let out a frustrated laugh. "I know you couldn't have known what we were doing but I need you to assume, from now on, that if Betty and I are alone in a room we are about to kiss. Or we are kissing. Or about to do something super inappropriate. I need you not to be around."

"You have a crush on her, admit it." Veronica pointed at him like she had caught him red handed.

"Of course I have a fucking crush her Ron, I thought that was obvious by now." He ran his hands through his hair.

"Were you guys kissing?"

"Just about but then you came in and scared her off."

Veronica's body went rigid with excitement and she started making a squealing sound. "Oh my god, I'm so excited."

"I need you to not meddle in what I am trying to do and I know you are going to try because you meddle in everything." He put his hands on her shoulders.

"I have an idea, why don't you ask her out?" She shrugged.

"How about you shut up?"

"I'm just saying it would save so much time."

He ignored her. "I'm going to go put a shirt on, please start making coffee."

Veronica smiled. "I'm gonna make that girl take to that Italian place I love in Clinton."

"What are you talking about?"

"Not everything is about you Jughead." She sounded annoyed. "God." She turned and headed towards the kitchen shaking her head and Jughead followed, confused, going upstairs instead.

Betty sat at the kitchen island and watched the coffee percolate. Rosa was beginning to make the french toast and the smell of cinnamon was starting to flood the kitchen.

She had almost kissed Jughead and was upset that Veronica to walked in. She could still feel his warm breath washing over her face and where he brushed his fingers along her jaw. She wanted to kiss him but she was also terrified of what that meant. She was still with Archie and her feelings for him weren't entirely gone. They were having a rough patch and Betty wasn't sure if she wanted to try and fix it. On the other hand, she had something great going with Jughead. She was comfortable with him, she loved her time with him and the way he made her feel. She loved the friendships she was developing with Veronica and Kevin. She was afraid if she and Jughead tried to date and it didn't work out she would lose all these friendships. She couldn't have that, she felt like they were the only real things in her life right now.

"Why the long face, gorgeous?" Kevin glided into the kitchen wearing a basic grey t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He placed a carton of orange juice and a bottle of champagne on the island.

"What?" Betty said shaking her head bringing her focus back into the room.

"You looked upset, are you okay?" Kevin asked wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a hug.

Betty nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm just a little hungover." She laughed.

"Ah, yes, the famous Lodge Pina Colada has gotten the best of all of us at one time or another." He laughed. "You look great by the way." He said looking her up and down. "I've never truly appreciated how incredible your body is."

"It's all the v-sits I've been making the team do." Cheryl said entering the kitchen, a beautiful red silk robe trailing behind her.

"When did you get here?" Betty asked the redhead.

"She got into my bed about five minutes after you crawled out of it." Veronica informed with a grin, following behind Cheryl, giving her a kiss.

Betty looked away giving them privacy. She jumped when Kevin popped the cork and started pouring the bubbling liquid to flutes.

"So is she going to be a part of our routine now?" Jughead stomped in and motioned towards Cheryl. He had put jeans and a navy blue sweater on.

"Awe, are you upset that you are being replaced?" Cheryl pouted accepting a glass from Kevin.

He sat down beside Betty who took her first sip of her mimosa. "No, I don't care if you're here, I want to know you aren't going to be a total asshole."

"In this space, I have no problem with you and when we are at school I will ignore you just like Betty does." She smiled at the blonde before making her way over to the kitchen table.

Jughead shot Veronica an annoyed look and downed his drink in one go. Veronica rolled her eyes and joined Cheryl.

Jughead looked over at Betty. "Are you okay?" He asked squeezing her knee.

Betty looked at his hand and then looked at him. "Yeah, I think my hangover is hitting me hard. I need to eat something."

"And you are okay, with me?" He questioned, red creeping into his cheeks.

She couldn't help but smile warmly. "Yeah, Jug."

"Let's go get you fed." He said holding out his hand, which she took, and they headed to the table.

"I have a good idea." Veronica perked up as they sat down. "How about over the next couple of weeks we all pick our favorite thing to do and then we all go do that."

"I want to do see Hamilton! You can get us tickets to that, right V?" Kevin asked.

"Betty, how about next weekend you pick something to do?" Veronica suggested. She smiled pleasantly feeling Jughead's eyes burning into her.

"You want me to arrange an outing for the five of us?" Betty asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I mean, we know so little about you and you know so little about us. We all might learn something new about one another." Veronica looked around the table trying to drum up enthusiasm.

Jughead wasn't having it, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. "You're meddling." He spat through gritted teeth.

"There is a place I wouldn't mind taking you all. It's kinda silly but it might be nice if we went." Betty blushed shooting a quick glance in Jughead's direction.

"Wonderful!" Veronica clasped her hands together. "Send us all the deets and we'll make a day of it." She sighed in contentment as Rosa placed a plate of french toast in front her.

Jughead leaned over to Betty and whispered. "Don't let her bully you, you don't have to do anything."

"I want to, I like hanging out with you guys. You make me happy." Betty smiled. "Is that okay?" She asked.

Jughead's heart broke that she was asking permission to do something that made her happy. "Of course, Betty." He said, squeezing her hand under the table and instead of pulling it away, he left it there.

Reviews are appreciated.