"What?" He demanded.

He stared at her for a moment, as if she had suddenly grown two heads, his eyes narrowing as he moved to take the phone from her hand.

She stepped away.

"Betts." Jughead grumbled.

Did she really think he was going to let her get herself into another dangerous situation.

"What's your problem?" Betty asked, her tone laced with irritation. "Didn't you hear me, Jug? This is Jason's phone!"

"You don't know that, Cooper." He argued.

"Yes I do!" She insisted, gripping the device a little tighter, like she knew he was going to try and take it from her again.

"It's bigger and better than anything either one of us could ever hope to have. Typical Blossom behavior, getting their kids the best money can buy."

He wanted to chuckle at her words. Instead, he caught hold of her wrist, trying to pull her towards him.

"Juggie." She whined.

"Give me the phone, Betts."

She glared at him. "No way!"

"Betty-"

"Why?"

"Damn it, Betts!" He was beginning to lose his temper. "Just give me the phone-"

"Give me one good reason." Betty shot back.

He glared at her in exasperation.

"You know I can't." Jughead hissed through gritted teeth.

"Juggie..."

Betty slipped her arm from his grasp, taking another step back.

"What are you trying to protect me from?" She seethed.

Everything! He wanted to scream.

The only way Betty could ever be completely safe was if he stayed away from her, if he pretended that she didn't exist, if he pretended that they had never been friends at all, but he could never bring himself to do that. Betty Cooper was the most important person in the world to him. He'd be damned if he lived another day without her.

"I don't want you involved in my shit, Betts." Jughead said. "I won't let you go down the rabbit hole with me."

Betty glowered at him. "That's not your choice to make."

Had she just admitted that she was willing to throw caution to the wind and become involved in his world of secrecy and constant danger?

"And what does any of this have to do with Jason?"

He watched in alarm as a knowing look crossed her face.

"Jug." She pronounced carefully. "Were you... Did you see..."

Jughead took another step towards her, gratitude filling his every being when she didn't try to run away. She really did trust him.

"The body Toni was talking about that night..." Betty shuddered. "It was J-Jason's... Wasn't it?"

He grabbed her before she could collapse again, her head cradled against his shoulder.

He couldn't tell her if she was right or not, no matter how badly he wanted to.

"Do you trust me?" Jughead demanded.

He received a timid nod in response.

"Betts."

"I trust you." She whispered.

"Thank you." He muttered, resting his chin against the top of her golden curls. "Betts, I know this is a lot to ask, but I need you to trust me, I need you to understand that there are things I can't tell you, not because I don't want to, but because I want to keep you safe."

"Juggie..."

"Please." He would beg if he had to. "Let me keep you safe. Let me protect you."

Her arms slipped around his torso.

"Okay." Betty said.

He had never heard anything so satisfying.

"Okay?" Jughead echoed, needing to hear it again.

"Okay." She confirmed quietly. "Protect me, Juggie, but don't think that I won't be curious."

He could live with that, so long as she didn't go all Nancy Drew without him there by her side.

Carefully, Jughead plucked the phone from her hand.

"Hey!"

"Protection." He reminded her, with a grin, holding the device well out of her reach.

"Jug-"

"No, Betts."

A playful look flashed in her eyes, despite the fact that they had just discovered the phone of her recently deceased friend. She tried to grab it again, but he ducked away, his expression mirroring her own.

"Juggie!"

He smirked in response.

Betty jumped suddenly, trying to pry the phone from his grasp, losing her balance when he moved away again. He was quick to catch her, though his feet slid out from underneath him, sending the pair rolling down the hill.

Jughead tried to take the brunt of the impact as they finally came to a halt, his boots digging into the soft ground. Betty was on top of him, her hands pressed to his shoulders while he gripped at her waist, her thighs straddling his hips.

And then, the most amazing thing happened.

She giggled.

He was so happy to hear her laugh, he couldn't explain why, the sound just warmed him to the core, and he poked her waist with a quick finger, hoping to make it happen again.

He was not disappointed.

They stayed that way for what felt like hours. Eventually, her arms began to weaken from supporting her weight, and he quickly rolled onto his side, settling her into the grass beside him.

Betty shivered slightly, and he pulled her close, shrugging out of his Serpents jacket to wrap it around her shaking form, smoothing his hand across the crumpled leather.

She leaned towards him without hesitation, her head resting heavily against his shoulder.

Jughead let his arm slip across her back. A comfortable silence fell between them, though she was quick to break it, hesitantly meeting his intrigued gaze.

"Juggie?"

His voice unintentionally cracked.

"Yeah?"

"I..."

"Betts?" He questioned.

"I miss you." Betty mumbled, turning to hide her face into the crook of his neck.

Jughead chuckled sadly.

"I miss you too." He admitted, his grip tightening instinctively. "So fucking much, Betts."