That episode made me feel all the feelings. Jughead and Betty are truly our OTP and I love them. This next chapter takes place before The Outsiders. But speaking of our latest episode, can we just take a moment to laugh at Archie's jealous face when Veronica calls Jughead Betty's boyfriend. Get used to it, Archiekins, and stop being such a little bitch and appreciate who Jughead is.
Jughead didn't stop kissing Betty until he heard someone clapping. He pulled away from her to see Veronica Lodge standing so close that she might as well have been involved in the kiss herself. Her hands were clasped over her heart as she beamed at them.
"Yay!" She applauded again like she was asking for an encore. "Veronica Lodge approves. I ship this so, so hard."
"Um. . . okay," Jughead said. He had no idea what she was talking about, but he was pretty sure she was happy that he had kissed Betty. He turned away from her and back to the girl he should have been paying attention to all along. Betty's lips were full and flushed, her cheeks pink. God, she was like some angel sent to earth, a miracle just for him. And he'd treated her like a jerk this morning.
Since he was crashing at Archie's, Jughead was trying to spare his best friend's feelings. Archie never told him that he didn't like the idea of them together, but Jughead could sense it. Anytime the three of them were together or Jughead even mentioned Betty, Archie tensed. Normally Jughead wouldn't give a damn what Archie thought, but he knew he owed more than he could ever repay to Archie and his dad for giving him a safe place to live. He needed to tread lightly for a little while, at least give him a chance to get used to it.
Jughead opened his mouth, ready to explain all of this to Betty, but Veronica interrupted. "Well. . . I guess that makes it official," Veronica said. "See, Betty. I told you that there was nothing to worry about. Jughead is your boyfriend!"
"Shh!" Betty said. Her blue eyes wider than usual as she looked around to the people watching them. Most of the students in the hall had taken notice of their interaction.
He wasn't normally one to make a spectacle, but he couldn't help himself. He knew he'd treated her poorly on the walk to school, and when he saw how downcast and then down right pissed she'd gotten, he had to show her what she meant to him. He had to kiss her right then and right there no matter who was watching.
The homeroom bell rang and the students around them started to move again, but Veronica stayed put. She fanned herself, and said, "That was some kiss, very Scarlett O'Hara and Gone with the Wind. No wonder you're so taken with him, B."
"Veronica, please. . ." Betty said, pleading with her to stop.
"I thought you wanted to be his girlfriend," Veronica said. Betty gave her a look like she wanted Veronica to shut up, but Veronica paid no attention. "Well, you do. And he wants to be your boyfriend." She turned to him. "Don't you, Juggie?"
He glanced from Betty who was still glaring at her friend, to Veronica, and then back to Betty again, trying to figure out what he was supposed to say.
"I think this is a conversation Jughead and I should have without you," Betty said.
"Fine, fine, fine," Veronica said. "B and I are usually a packaged deal, but I suppose I can let her have you to herself." She leaned over and kissed Betty on both her cheeks. "I need all the deets." Then Veronica winked at him and flounced away from them.
As Betty watched her walk away, Jughead studied Betty's face, trying to figure out if she was glad he had kissed her in the hallway of RHS or pissed. Shit. What if the grand gesture was too much? Betty was a private person, and she wouldn't look at him. Instead her eyes were over his shoulder in the direction Archie went. Maybe she wanted to keep whatever this was between them a secret so she could still have a shot with her first love. Maybe he was just a placeholder until Archie got his head out of his ass and saw how amazing Betty was. What would happen then? Would Betty pick Archie over him, just like everyone else?
"Betty?" he said, and she finally turned to him. She opened her mouth, but instead of answering him, Reggie pushed his way between them and high fived him.
"Good job, dude! Way to land a Cooper!" Reggie said. "I hope she's as hot in the sack as her sister. Polly could do this thing with her mouth. Let's hope being able to detach her jaw is hereditary."
Reggie tried to high-five him again, but Jughead, grabbed Reggie's big, beefy hand and twisted his arm behind his back. "Ouch!" Reggie yelped.
"Don't don't ever talk about my girlfriend like that again."
Reggie struggled to get loose, but Jughead wouldn't let go. Instead, he yanked Reggie's arm up higher. Most people saw Jughead as a skinny, sarcastic wimp. They never expected him be strong. It was one of the very few advantages of being FP's kid. At a young age, Jughead had learned how to fight back and protect those he loved.
"Say you're sorry, asshole," Jughead said.
"I'm sorry, Betty," Reggie mumbled, his face contorted in pain.
"Say it like you mean it," Jughead said.
"Juggie, stop," Betty said, laying her hand on his shoulder. "It's not worth it."
His eyes met hers, and she looked just as scared as Reggie did. He never wanted to frighten anyone, especially Betty. "You don't deserve to be treated like that," Jughead said.
"You're hurting me, Jug," Reggie said. "That's my throwing arm. If you let me go now, I won't say a word to Weatherby or Sheriff Keller."
Keller. That's what Betty was warning him against. Fighting in the hall at school wouldn't look good when he was still a person of interest in Jason's murder investigation. He couldn't afford to get sent into Weatherby either. This wasn't the first fight he'd gotten into a fight and the school year had barely started.
"Fine," Jughead said. "Never talk to my girlfriend or any girl like that ever again." He released Reggie and stood back.
Reggie backed away, rubbing his arm, a little more pale than usual, but no worse for the wear. "Damn, Jug. You're stronger than you look. Maybe you should try out for the football team."
"In your dreams, Reg," Jughead said. And just like in most situations like this, the male species settled their differences with violence. Reggie actually laughed, smacked him on the back, and then left them alone in the hall.
"So? I'm your girlfriend?" Betty asked, biting her bottom lip. She wasn't mad, but shy and demur, and still sexy as hell. She stepped up to and slid her arms around his neck, going up on her tiptoes, ready to kiss him again, but they still weren't alone.
A loud cough drew their attention away from each other. "Mr. Jones, Miss Cooper, I believe the bell rang. Five minutes ago. And my assistant principal told me that he caught you skipping class the other day." It was Principal Weatherby.
"We had a note excusing us," Betty explained. "We had a deadline for The Blue and Gold."
"Well, you don't have one today," Weatherby said. "Get to class."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Weatherby," Jughead said. He kept his tone respectful and even, when he wanted to make a smartass comment. Weatherby was the one who had told Keller about the murder board and about Jughead's troubled passed, the reason Jughead was taken in to be questioned for Jason's murder. Jughead had to tow a fine line here. He might hate Weatherby for what'd he'd done to him, but he was smart enough to know that the principal still had the power to get him into trouble again. So Jughead would swallow his pride and act the part of a good, straight A, respectable student.
Betty didn't move, so Weatherby hovered next to them, refusing to budge. Betty glanced at Weatherby and then to Jughead. She huffed out an irritated breath. "Fine," Betty said. "To be continued, Romeo." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked away.
He placed his hand over the spot where she'd kissed and just grinned after her like a love struck idiot until Weatherby cleared his throat. "Sorry again, sir," Jughead said and then he rushed to his first period.
His mouth spread into a smile so wide that it felt like his cheeks might crack. Betty Cooper was his girlfriend and they'd kissed in front of their friends, the rest of the school, and even the principal. That made it pretty official. His entire life had gone to shit, the world was burning around him, but he had her and that made everything okay. She was kind, smart, loving, and sexy. Betty Cooper was a gift. And she was his girlfriend.
Jughead smiled right through first and second period, and he didn't stop until he walked through the doors of the biology room and saw Archie glaring at him. Jughead wanted to turn around and skip it all together, but Archie was his lab partner, so he didn't have a choice.
"Hey," he said as he slid into the seat next to Archie.
"Hey," Archie replied, but he kept his focus on the teacher who was standing next to a TV on a roll away cart, explaining something. Mr. Rich popped in a DVD and started a video on the reproductive system of plants.
Archie didn't say a word, but Jughead could still feel the irritation radiating off of him. "Arch-" he started to say but Archie interrupted him.
"Betty is mine," Archie said.
That took him aback. Sure Archie was selfish, but he'd never expected him to say something so archaic. "She's not a possession, dude. Betty Cooper belongs to no man, especially not me. And besides, why are you so pissed? You rejected her, remember? You only want her now because she wants me." He kept his voice low, and with one glance, Jughead saw that Mr. Rich was looking at his phone, and not the class.
Archie's nostrils flared as his eyes cut to Jughead. "She doesn't want you, Jug. She feels sorry for you, just like the rest of Riverdale. Betty Cooper has a Savior complex and she wants to save you."
Betty only being with him because she felt sorry for him was one of his biggest fears about their relationship. He had loved Betty for as long as he could remember, but he didn't deserve her. But neither did Archie. Jughead would fight for Betty until the end of time if that meant she would remain his girlfriend.
"You have been babied and coddled your entire life. You're selfish and spoiled. Oh, poor Archie! He has to play football, but he just wants to sing! Poor Archie, he gets stagefright! The rest of us live in the real world. I'm homeless. Betty's family is literally crazy. Veronica's dad is in jail. Sorry we don't have problems as serious as you."
He couldn't believe he'd said all that. He'd been thinking it for years, but he never wanted to say say those hurtful things out loud. They were both upset right now, but it wasn't worth ruining a lifelong friendship.
Archie's eyes were on his books as he whispered, "My mom left me, too, Juggie."
He'd gone too far, said too much. Archie had problems, too, and it wasn't right to trivialize them. A second later, the teacher flipped on the lights, and dismissed the class. Archie stood and stormed out the door.
Jughead tried to go after him, but Archie got lost in the crowd. When he met the others in the student lounge for lunch, Archie wasn't there, and no one had seen him. While the others ate and gossiped, Jughead sat on the couch next to Betty, his mind too consumed to realize that she had laid out a meal for the both of them. On the coffee table were containers of tupperware of fried chicken, potato salad, cornbread, and one with banana pudding. When he saw it, his stomach growled, and Betty laughed.
"Hungry?" she asked.
"Where did you get all this food?" His mouth salivated as he picked up a chicken leg and took a bite. He sighed. If he didn't love Betty already, this lunch would have sent him over the edge.
"I made it last night for dinner."
He got a forkful of potato salad, and said, "Can I move in with you, please? Can you cook for me everynight?"
"I think over Alice Cooper's dead body," Kevin Keller interjected. "If I was the two of you'd I'd keep this little romance from Mrs. Cooper for as long as I could. I overheard her threaten to cut Jason Blossom's manhood off once."
"And the longer she doesn't know," Veronica said. "The longer Betty can sneak you into her bedroom at night."
His head snapped around to look at Betty. Her mouth was opened in shock as she shook her head. He wasn't upset that Betty had told Veronica, happy actually. If she told her best friend, it made their relationship even more of a reality.
Veronica must have understood what their exchange meant, because she said, "Oh, relax. Of course she told me everything. And she spoke very highly of you, Juggie. Very highly. I hear you're very skilled with your hands. You got my girl hot."
Betty's skin was flushed. She shrugged her shoulders as she gave him a nervous smile. "I gave her the abridged version. She cornered me in the ladies' room and wouldn't let me go until I told her."
Jughead chuckled. "I'm not mad, Betts, not at all." She grinned at him as she took his hand.
"Well, good job on landing the prettiest girl in Riverdale," Kevin said.
Veronica, who was perched on the arm of his chair, said, "Hey! You told me last week that I was the prettiest girl in town." She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
Kevin frowned, suddenly at a loss for words. "Well, now it's a tie between V and B." Veronica leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.
Jughead continued his lunch with Betty by his side, but he didn't speak unless spoken to. He was too distracted by his exchange with Archie. He hadn't handled it the right way. He should have heard his friend out instead of belittling his problems. If Jughead was in Archie's place, he'd be jealous, too. He would have handled it differently, but he'd be jealous nonetheless.
He pulled out his phone and texted him. Hey, sorry about earlier. Can we talk after school?
Sure. I'm sorry, too. I have football practice this afternoon, but I'll be home for dinner. Pizza?
Pizza is perfect. See you then.
He felt a little better with the texts. This wasn't the first time they'd fought, and it wouldn't be the last, but this time what was at stake was worth so much more than anything else.
Betty bumped his shoulder. "You okay? You've barely eaten."
In reality, he'd consumed two pieces of chicken, but for him that wasn't very much. He took the potato salad from her and started in on that. "It's Archie, but I'm handling it."
"You two okay?" she asked.
"We will be," he said. "We're going to talk after football practice."
He kissed her on the lips, his mouth lingering longer than they should have in public.
"Swon!" Veronica said. Once again she was somehow so close to them that it felt like she wanted to be involved in their relationship. She sighed and then turned to Kevin. "Why don't you ever kiss me that way?"
In response, Kevin pulled her onto his lap and kissed her soundly on the mouth as she giggled. The bell for the end of lunch rang and as everyone else left the room, Betty began to pack up the leftovers.
"Thank you for thinking of me," Jughead said, snapping on the lid to the cornbread. "I hate to sound sexiest, but you really do belong in my kitchen. . . as an equal partner, of course. But you really should do all the cooking so we don't starve. I'll do anything else."
"Anything?" she questioned, wagging her blond eyebrows at him.
"Anything you want, Betts. Whenever you want."
She smiled at him as she put all the tupperware in her backpack. "And where would this kitchen of yours be?" she asked.
"New York maybe? Boston? Not in Riverdale at least. "
"I'd like that," she said, and to him it sounded like she'd want to go with him. The warning bell for getting to the next period went off. "You know what class we have now?"
"Our independent study Journalism class," Jughead said, grinning as he realized what The Blue and Gold meant to them now, not just the artistic freedom to write the stories that needed to be told, but also lots of alone time at school to make out.
They walked down the hall with the few lingering students who didn't want to give up on their lunch break. Betty grabbed Jughead's hand, and all but pulled him into the classroom. The Blue and Gold stopped printing two years ago when the last editor and chief graduated, and no one had wanted to take up the torch again until Betty, and he was grateful she did. The newspaper was what had pushed them together.
"So what are we working on-" Jughead started to ask, but couldn't finish because once the door to the classroom was closed, Betty shoved him against it and shoved her tongue down his throat. She reached behind him and locked the door.
"I'm doing an article on human sexuality. Want to help me do research?" He chuckled because for a moment, he thought she was kidding, but then her hands moved to his belt buckle and undid it. His zipper came next.
Oh, god, yes. He was a thousand percent into the research she wanted to do. But first he need to touch her. He grabbed her shoulders, and spinning her around, reversed their positions. She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him, and as she did, he lifted her up. Their mouths never left each other as he moved them across the room and placed her to the long table where they usually kept their laptops.
He pulled her down the tabletop until her legs came over the side, the back of her knees hinging on the edge. He pushed her skirt up and pulled down her panties. As he dragged them down her legs, he knelt in front her.
Her slender, yet shapely thighs were soft under his touch, and he spread them just a little in order to give himself a better view of the perfect patch of short, downy, blond curls that covered the triangle of space at the juncture of her legs. He leaned in and her core quickened when his breath whispered across her, and when his mouth brushed over her, she flexed her fingers in his hair, tugging on it gently, pulling him closer.
His eyes met hers a second before his tongue darted out and swirled. Her taste was a sublime mix of salty and sweet. He lapped up her juices, and decided that he never wanted to come up for air. He'd happily suffocate if it meant he could draw his last breath between her thighs.
His tongue moved back and forth, up and down, and she squirmed beneath him, her quiet moans raspy, her breathing labored. He increased the pressure on her, sucking gently on that tight bud of nerves and her hips bucked up off the table. Her grasp on his hair tightened, yanking it but he didn't care. He kept up what he was doing until her thighs closed, pressing into his ears as she came against his mouth.
He stood up, wanting to give her a moment to relax, but standing only made him realize how hard she had made him. His erection strained painfully against the front of his jeans. And looking down at her didn't help the matter any. Her chest quickly rose and fell, her nipples hard and erect under her shirt. Worse, her shirt was pushed up over her hips, her panties on the floor. She was still pink and wet, and he wanted to go down on her again. He started to fall to his knees once more, but she sat up and stopped him.
"No way," she said. "It's your turn now." She stood and her skirt fell back into place. She placed her hand on his chest, and as she walked him backwards toward the locked door, all he could think was that Betty Cooper wasn't wearing any panties under her sensible skirt.
This time Betty went down on her knees. She pushed the flaps of his unzipped jeans aside and reached beneath the elastic of his underwear. He swore when she sprung him free of the confining fabric. "Shit," he moaned when her fingers formed a tight fist around his shaft, her thumb rolling over the tip of him. She stroked up and down. Then her pretty pink mouth parted and her tongue flicked out. Just the idea of what was to come next was almost enough to make him cum right then and there. But he held himself together.
She took him between her lips and he decided this was the way he wanted to go, entrapped in the wet, softness of her mouth.