Jughead had spent the next three days leading up to when he and Betty were supposed to meet for coffee questioning so many things and having no answers turn up. He wasn't sure why Archie and Veronica, at least, hadn't told him about Betty. Hadn't told him how Betty – his old love – had gotten injured and ended up losing her hearing. Based off Sweet Pea's reaction on the metro, Betty was still at least in contact with Ronnie and Archie. He felt he should have been told.
Then, the more logical side of his brain, the side not running with possession, told him to take a moment and recalculate. That Betty didn't owe him anything. Did it hurt not knowing that she was injured so drastically? Certainly, no denying that. But, she was alive, as Sweet Pea had said. And, more importantly, they hadn't spoken since their breakup. She owed him nothing. Ronnie and Archie neither, for that matter. He didn't need to make this about him and his hurt feelings.
Friday afternoon came, the day for their coffee, and he found himself facing the coffee shop closer to where she worked. It was some magazine company and while Sweet Pea had said it helped her with her portion of the bills, it wasn't something she saw long-term. He had also mentioned her interpreter was going to be there for the first coffee, (first of many, his brain supplied hopefully), and that she would just be there to assist any confusion on Jughead's part.
Walking into the coffee shop, he glanced around, spotting her familiar golden tresses and he headed in her direction, not altogether surprised to see Claire sitting next to her. He had wondered how she and Betty knew each other. Betty was laughing at something Claire was saying, signing at a rapid pace and Claire was matching it, soft smile on her lips and Jughead got the impression the two women were good friends. Approaching the table, he paused just shy and Betty looked up, smiling at him.
"Jughead," she said, signing as well and he tried to catch the way she spelt his name as she did so. He grinned at her in return.
"I'm going to go order really quick," he said, jerking his thumb to the counter behind him – then promptly wondered if she thought he was making it obvious that he was overcompensating. With an excited nod, he got the feeling she didn't think that and that let some of his insecurities and doubts rest. Going to order, he tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his black coffee and nodded with a polite smile at the barista when she handed it to him, before making his way back to Betty and Claire. Taking a seat across from them, he took a sip of his coffee, trying to collect his thoughts on how to begin the conversation. Luckily, Betty was one step ahead of him.
"Read your book, Juggie," she said, and he watched in fascination as her hands moved in tandem with her speech. Betty Cooper, who had never been born with a hearing impairment, seemed to have learned sign language quickly – and it didn't surprise him in the slightest. Whenever life tried to knock her down, she stood up ten times taller and came back swinging. Her losing her hearing wouldn't have derailed her – she would have gone with the curve ball life threw at her and kicked it's ass.
He nodded, making sure to keep his eyes on Betty as he replied, once more forcing himself to not slow down the pace of his own response. "Did you like it? What were your thoughts?"
Jughead watched as Claire relayed what he said to her and Betty smiled happily. "It was written by you – of course I liked it. The fact that it's a murder mystery wrapped in a trilogy series made it all the more appealing."
He chuckled as did she, and the sound of her laughter warmed his heart. God, he had missed her. He wasn't going to pretend otherwise. "Thanks, Betts."
She ducked her head, blush kissing her cheeks as she tucked her hair behind her ear before looking at Claire and signing to her. He felt that surge of curiosity about what she was saying and watched as Claire signed back with a nod before turning to him.
"She wants to cut to the chase and know if Sweet Pea told you how she lost her hearing," Claire said, and Jughead chuckled.
"Never were one for holding punches," he smiled warmly at Betty and she shrugged, own smile toying at her lips as she looked at him expectantly. He nodded. "Sweet Pea said you were hunting a lead – a drug lead – down by a plant factory. That there was an explosion and…" he paused to swallow. "You got hurt."
Betty watched him; green orbs filled with a curious nature. She took a sip of her coffee before replying. It was still a painful punch to the stomach to hear how hurt she had been – to hear that she lost her hearing all because she was trying to catch the bad guys – but it was Betty. She'd risk her life if it meant the streets were safe. "I got a lead on a gang – mediocre, at best." She was signing and, while she talked at a normal pace, Jughead noticed she was signing slowly and made a mental note to ask later – like, when they were well on their way to building a friendship once more – if she were signing slowly enough that he could learn. God, he hoped she was.
"I didn't know they had caught on to the fact that I was trying to bust them," she said, fingers still moving in tandem with her speech and he was half enchanted and half afraid of the ending of her story. "The plant blowing wasn't an accident. But, they're in jail and their drugs are off the streets. I think that's a fair trade."
"You almost dying and losing your hearing is a fair trade for getting drugs off the streets?" Jughead clarified, and Betty laughed again, as did Claire.
"It's only been five years since you two saw each other, Jughead," Claire said. "She hasn't changed."
Had she talked to Claire about him? Sweet Pea?
Not knowing the answers or even how to ask for the answers, he nodded his head between the two women, waving his hand between them.
"I met Betty through the School for the Deaf. There's a location right outside of the city's limits and closer to Manhattan that I work at. I was assigned as her interpreter and I was fairly new. She was my second hard of hearing woman to work with. The first one, an elderly woman at the time, had passed. So, I was looking forward to having someone my age."
"It wasn't easy at first, as I'm sure you can imagine," Betty said. "I fought pretty hard against her." She turned and signed what was clearly an inside joke between the two women and Jughead found himself smiling at them. Betty continued, always making sure to sign slowly. Jughead was definitely downloading the software he researched the other night now that he knew she liked to sign just as much as she liked to talk. "It wasn't until I got stuck in an elevator and couldn't call anybody but Claire to help figure out a way to get to me did I start realizing I needed to rely a little more on her and a little less on my stubborn nature."
Jughead could feel very real fear at the thought of Betty, already a claustrophobic person by nature, scared and panicking in an elevator and not having anyone she could reach out to who would be able to help her because she couldn't hear them. He wasn't sure if there were operators for 9-1-1 that solely relied on helping deaf individuals, and that was something he also made a mental note to look into – something he at least wanted to know should she ever need it.
"You got out though," he said, more to assure himself than her. "You're okay?"
"I'm okay," Betty agreed with a smile. "That was also the night I crossed paths with Sweet Pea at the pizzeria. Claire and I were eating, and I had my head down, looking at my pizza, so I didn't hear him calling me and when he got to the table, he slammed his palms on the table and asked if I was too good to face Jughead's old gang buddy. And, what did you say Claire?"
Claire snorted. "I said, 'what piece of shit thinks it's okay to yell at a deaf woman'? She can't hear you and you're making a scene'".
"Then I said hello and I damn near peed myself at how horrified he looked. We've been friends ever since and he moved in with Claire and I about a month after they started dating," she finished.
Jughead winced, knowing just how embarrassed Sweet Pea had to have been upon finding out. "And, Archie and Ronnie?"
A shadow passed over Betty's face before she smiled tightly. She shrugged but Jughead knew he'd hit a nerve and didn't press. He could find out later. For the rest of the coffee hangout, they talked, Betty signed, and Claire signed some things when Jughead found himself getting into a heated debate about the latest murder documentary he and Betty had both watched. For the most part, it was like the past five years hadn't happened. Standing up to leave, he didn't hesitate to hug her, tucking her underneath his chin for a moment. Pulling back, he looked at her and, thanks to Claire teaching him, he signed goodbye to her and that he'd see her in a few days.
She nodded and they were gone, leaving him to plan a visit to Archie and Veronica's to see just what the hell had happened between them.
Author's note: Hope you enjoyed this one! Bit of angst coming up soon! Thoughts lovely! Xxx