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hisserpentqueen · 2 months

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A Taste of Home, Chapter 8

Chapters 1 - 7 can be found here

Chapter Eight

By the time he had dropped Betty off, gotten back to the apartment, and into bed it had been all of 3am, so when FP knocked on his door at 7, it was indeed an early morning for Jughead.

It was a beautiful ride as they drove towards Riverdale. Pulling over after a couple hours, FP grabbed out the breakfast that he had packed for the two of them. They were both quiet as they started eating but Jug could feel FP's eyes studying him.

“You had a late night,” he finally commented. Jug smirked and dropped his gaze to the pavement, not saying anything. “Oh, come on boy!” FP laughed. “I know you and I know there is something between you and Betty.”

Jug sighed, but a smile stayed on his face. “I really like her, dad.” Then a furrow formed on his brow. “Things have been…complicated between the two of us and last night something shifted but I don’t know if that means things will be better or not.” He looked up at FP.

He smiled at his son. “Life is complicated, Jug, but if you wait to tell her what you want, she could slip through your fingers…a woman like Betty doesn’t wait around forever.” Jughead nodded in agreement. “What does complicated mean, anyways?”

“Oh, no thank you,” he shook his head, “next topic…when are you going to tell Alice about my book?” FP opened his mouth to say something but shut it quickly. “It’s complicated?” Jug asked sarcastically, his eyebrow raised.

“You know what, shut up and eat your damn food!” FP laughed.

They finished their breakfast and talked more about Jellybean and the Serpents before they said their goodbyes and headed in opposite directions.

When Jug got home it was almost noon. He had an informal meeting with the agent the publisher wanted him to work with that afternoon at 4 and as much as he wanted to go talk to Betty he knew he needed sleep if he was going to be coherent during the meeting. So instead of jumping in the shower and thinking through exactly what he wanted to say to Betty, he pulled the blinds in his room and buried himself under the blankets, letting sleep overtake his exhausted mind.

Jughead sat nervously as he waited for the agent to join the Zoom call. He wasn’t sure what he would need, so he had gathered several different sized notebooks, three pens and two pencils, a glass of water, and had even gotten a large drawing pad he found at the bottom of his chest. He had the folder with all his stories open in the background on his computer and had all of the printed copies of his random works sitting in a pile next to him.

He knew he couldn’t be any more physically ready if he tried, but he couldn’t shake the fidgety feeling he had. Closing his eyes, he let out a long-held breath between his lips before inhaling deeply through his nose; he repeated this several times until the fidgety feeling had subsided. A moment later a man who appeared to be in his mid-50s logged onto the call and introduced himself as Samm. The meeting went very well, and Jug made a mental note to thank Betty for teaching him her relaxation skill.

After cleaning up from his conference call, he had texted Betty, asking if she wanted to meet up for lunch the next day, hoping to talk about what had happened between them the previous night. But she had texted back saying that she had promised her mom to spend the day with her and that she would see him at work on Monday. He had started to let his thoughts run wild with assumptions of how Betty was feeling but he shut them down and opened his most recent project, setting his mind to a task.

He woke before his alarm on Monday, ready for the day. Not wasting any time around the house that morning, he was 15 minutes earlier to work than usual and used his nervous energy to get everything set and ready for their morning rush.

Hearing the front door unlock and the buzz of their open sign start, he took a deep breath, ready to see her. “I was surprised you weren’t already here when I got – ” he stopped short when he saw Ethel grabbing an apron.

“Morning Jug!” She smiled brightly at him.

“Ethel, what are you doing here?” He attempted to mask the disappointment in his voice.

“Betty messaged me yesterday and asked if I could cover for her this morning – she has some kind of appointment and will be in by 10.”

“Oh.” He forced a smile and asked how her weekend had gone.

The morning seemed to drag on and as 10 o’clock approached, he found himself checking the clock every few minutes. Finally, the door chimed and Betty walked through, making his heart do flips in his chest.

“Hey guys.” Betty gave an exhausted smile. “Ethel, thank you so much for the short notice cover.”

“Any time!” She handed out the drink she was working on. “I can stay till the afternoon coverage comes on, if you need.”

Jug held his breath. Talking with Betty at work was difficult enough with the come and go of the customers, but having a third person behind the counter would make things nearly impossible.

“That’s very sweet of you Ethel, but I just need to check a few things in the back and I can get you out of here in a few minutes.” Betty hurried to the office and Jug had to stop himself from following her like a lost puppy.

As Ethel was leaving a wave of midmorning customers swamped them as a nearby plant was on their morning break and left them with little time for chit chat. As the last of the rush cleared out, they both heaved a sigh of relief and looked at each other, giving a small laugh looking around the now completely empty café.

“I, uhh, hope everything was okay with your appointment this morning,” he started.

“Oh, umm…” She furrowed her brow and he shook his head, not wanting to overstep.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” Turning away from her, he grabbed a rag and started cleaning up the chaos from the rush, wishing he had just kept his mouth shut as a wave of regret washed over him.

Feeling a hand on his back, he stopped and looked at her, trying to keep an expressionless stare.

“I met with my therapist,” she shared. His face tightened into concern as he turned to face her head on. “I’ve…” she swallowed hard and lifted her hand, showing him the healing self-harm wounds, “I’ve been avoiding my feelings lately and I haven’t been dealing with it the best.”

Jug cupped her hand in his and brushed a finger over her palm, avoiding the cuts. “I’m so sorry you’ve been struggling.” He couldn’t help but worry that their arrangement was making things worse for her and at the very least, it wasn’t helping things. “I’m here if you ever want to talk about it.”

“Juggie – ”

The front door’s chime rang out and they sprang apart.

Betty controlled her emotions and forced her customer service smile on her face. “Afternoon, what can – ” but the words died on her lips as she turned towards the patron.

“Elizabeth.” A man with light brown hair and an expensive looking suit stood smiling at her.

“Glen?” She squinted at him, not wanting to believe that he was standing in her café on today of all days. “What are you doing here?” She didn’t bother to keep the annoyance she was feeling upon seeing him again out of her voice.

He gave Jughead a once over and what Betty perceived as a look of dismissal, but Jug didn’t move.

Glen cleared his throat, “I was hoping we could have a moment to speak in private. I remembered that there was usually a calm after the mid-morning rush.” He gave her an expectant look and added in a hushed tone, “You haven’t returned my calls.”

She suppressed the desire to chew on the inside of her cheek while she thought…

Saturday Morning

Betty felt sore as she rolled over, blinking at the harsh morning light. Looking at the clock she could see that it was almost 11 and she was surprised her mother hadn’t barged into her room hours ago to wake her. Sitting up, she almost slumped back down at her pounding head. Assessing the rest of her body, not only could she feel the pain in her back from the long bike ride yesterday, but her knees were screaming in protest at what she had done to them last night on the dock.

The dock.

She knew the look he had given her last night would be burned into her memory for the rest of her life no matter what happened between them. If things ended and she met someone new, marrying him, building a life with him, having children and grandchildren, nothing would be able to remove that look from who she was now…not 20, 30, or even 50 years with someone else could touch that memory.

And that scared the hell out of her.

Getting dressed, she thought back to the night he had first kissed her. It wasn’t that she hadn’t had feelings for him then, but she was afraid of putting her darkness on him...of letting someone get that close again. But hadn’t he proved to her that he could handle her past? That he had his own darkness that he had been working through and was better for it on this side of things?

But that didn’t change where he was from. Where home was for him. Riverdale. She wasn’t sure how her mom and Polly had found it so easy to go back there after everything…but then again, they had always been alike while Betty had been…

She shook her head, doing her best to clear her thoughts, and walked downstairs. Her mom had left her a note saying that she and Polly had left early to get in some shopping that morning and that they should be home after lunch. She sighed and grabbed some fruit before turning on her computer to look through the online catalog of business classes. Her last class had ended and while she had easily passed it, she had been bored out of her mind every minute of it. As she continued to search the catalog, the nagging voice in the back of her mind saying she was going down the wrong path, for many things in her life, was starting to grow louder.

Betty was relieved when her mother and sister got home as their chatter filled her mind, giving her a break from all the doubt and anxiety that were swirling there. And as the afternoon wore on, the tension in her body started to dissipate and she started to enjoy the conversation with them. Until her sister announced that she was leaving to go study with a group of her friends around the same time her mom had to get to the station for the evening time slot, promising that the next day she would be home all day and they could get Chinese takeout for lunch.

Her mom had encouraged her to go out or meet up with Veronica, but she had waved her off saying she wasn’t feeling well and thought she might be fighting off something…which in her defense was not a complete lie. In her room, she dragged her computer back out and started looking through the business classes again. About to bang her head on the wall, she paused and did a search on journalism. Several options popped up.

She read through the list of classes that were offered and found a couple of introductory classes that sounded rather interesting. Back in Riverdale her parents had run the local newspaper and as a little girl she had always thought she would one day write stories that her parents would publish. She had the money set aside for another class but knew that if she took on one of these, she would have to wait to take another business course – guilt overwhelmed her as she thought about it.

No, she needed to put the money towards the classes that would help her be successful in her business.

She felt the sting as tears welled up in her eyes and she wiped at them angerly. She was being foolish. She had been the one to want the café, to skip college and start a small business. When she graduated high school, she kept remembering how she had missed the diner, Pop’s, back in Riverdale. She had so many good memories, even with her dad, from the many times they had spent in a booth at Pop’s. But she knew better than to try and recreate Pop’s as it just wouldn’t be the same and would disappoint. She had worked at a chain coffee shop while she was in high school and had found making coffee came naturally to her, thus the idea for her café was born out of the need to fill something missing from her childhood that could never quite be replaced.

She enjoyed the coffee shop, she really did. But she didn’t love it. She didn’t feel fulfilled. It was just a distraction from…

“Ahh,” Betty opened her eyes, tears still streaming down her face, and looked at her hands. Slowly she opened them revealing that she had reopened one of the cuts from the day before but this time, instead of the pain recentering her, she found she felt even more off center than before. Her tears turned to sobs as she balled her hands into fists again and buried her face in her pillow.

Sunday Morning

Betty stood in her bathroom, staring at her hands, dried and crusty blood was stuck around a handful of fresh cuts on her palms. Had she anymore tears left in her, they would have been streaming down her cheeks, but she was all cried out and felt hallow.

“Betty, I was wondering if – “ She jumped at her mom’s voice and hid her hands behind her back as Alice walked into her room. “Didn’t mean to startle you.” Alice’s smile faltered as she walked towards the bathroom and noticed Betty’s unease. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

Betty shook her head, “I’m just not feeling very well this morning.”

“What’s behind your back?” she asked, her voice thick with worry. Betty shook her head again. “Elizabeth, show me your hands. Now.”

Monday Morning

Betty frowned as June gave her a half smile, the quiet still surrounding them. After the very limited small talk that June had given into, they lapsed into silence, leaving Betty on edge while June seemed as comfortable as ever. In the six years that she had know the women, nothing ever seemed to catch her off guard. When she had been 15 and angry at her mom for making her see a therapist, June had welcomed her mood swings and cocky teenage attitude and within six sessions, Betty found she looked forward to her therapy appointments instead of dreading them. Two years later when June suggested that she no longer needed weekly appointments, Betty had opened her mouth to give a snarky remark about her (nonexistent at the time) self-harm, but June had challenged her to list the positives of this change instead of the negatives. She had had her last therapy appointment 4 sessions later.

That was, until Glen had appeared in her life, a walking red flag, as June liked to call him, and she spent another twelve months in therapy, her last session barely six months ago. But here she was again. Sitting across from her therapist who didn’t seem the slightest bit shocked to see her.

“You could at least pretend to be surprised to see me,” Betty said flatly.

“I could…but that would be a lie.” June’s smile grew softer. “Betty, we’ve talked about this before, many people return to therapy several times throughout their lives…there is nothing wrong with that.”

“I know…but you always hope that you are the one who won’t be a part of a statistic.” She dropped her chin dramatically into her palm.

June gave a small laugh and nodded in understanding. “I know you said you’ve relapsed with your self-harm again.” Betty held up her hands, showing her the small cuts. “Any new methods?”

“No.”

“Any new places of self-harm on your body?”

“No.”

“Suicidal thoughts or thoughts to harm others?”

“No.”

“Desires to dress in drag and do the hula?”

“N – what?” Betty shook her head and stared at her. “Did you just quote The Lion King?”

June gently pumped her fist in front of her. “Thank you for catching that reference!” She reached out her hand, looking for a high five, and Betty reluctantly obliged her with a look of complete confusion on her face. “Gotta keep you on your toes.” She gave her a ridiculous smile and Betty couldn’t help the small one that tugged at her own lips. “Ahh! There we go! Her smile does still exist.”

Betty scoffed at her, but finally relaxed into her chair, thankful that June always knew what she needed to hear to get her in the right head space for session.

“So, how about we start at the beginning…tell me about Jughead.”

Betty tried to keep her story short, but she also knew that June had made extra time for her that morning and was appreciative of it. She told her about how the friends with benefits had started and that while she did have genuine feelings for Jug, she had been nervous about how her relationship with Glen had affected her. She told her about the late nights and reading his book and helping him fix the ending. About the last few weeks and how things had been strained between them leading to her self-harm on Friday. About his celebration dinner and the bike ride and the exchange on the dock. Then how she had let herself dream about being with him…but that all things seemed to lead back to Riverdale.

“You really care about Jughead.” It wasn’t a question, but Betty nodded anyways. June nodded, pursing her lips together, thinking a moment before speaking. “I know you are very emotional right now, so I say this gently, hoping that you hear what I am saying instead of automatically throwing up a defense.”

Betty sighed and nodded. She knew if June was taking the time to warn her that whatever she was going to say was hard to hear, that it was also probably something that she desperately needed to hear right then. “Okay.”

“It doesn’t seem like any of this self-harm is actually about Jughead or your situationship at all. And in fact, I feel like there is more going on under the surface that you aren’t telling me.” Betty didn’t say anything. “In your text you said you self-harmed twice, but you only told me about the first time.”

Betty shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she told her about Saturday and what classes she had been looking at online.

“There seems to be a lot of guilt around the idea of taking a journalism class,” June pointed out.

“Well, I can’t just waste my money on stupid ideas,” she bit out.

“Why is it stupid?” she asked, gently.

“I have a business to run, coffee shop! How does a journalism class help me with that?” She tossed out her hands in frustration.

June nodded. “You’re right, a journalism class would not help you gain a better understanding of how to run your café.” Betty gave her a, I told you so, face. “But you’re only 21…you’re allowed to continue to explore who you want to be.”

“A journalist isn’t it!” she snapped.

“Because your father was a journalist?”

“Yes!” Betty looked shocked at her own answer. “No…I…” Tears gathered in her eyes. “Yes,” she said quieter as a tear rolled down her face.

June nodded, giving her space to process what she had just admitted to out loud. After a few moments she spoke again. “Correct me if I am wrong, but I vaguely remember you telling me when you very first came to see me that the adults in Riverdale used to tell you that you reminded them of your father at that age.” Betty gave a small nod. “Are you afraid that if you follow after him into journalism, that you will somehow follow after him into the darkness?”

Betty sat with eyes downcast, wringing her hands, tears still rolling down her cheeks. “Yes.”

June shifted forward in her seat, drawing Betty’s gaze back to her. “Sharing common goodness does not mean we have to share common darkness.” Betty felt something lift off her chest. “You also can’t decide for others how much of your past they can handle.”

“Glen, this is not an appropriate time. I am at work.” His chest seemed to puff out in annoyance as he opened his mouth to speak, but Betty cut him off, holding up her hand. “But, if you are free tonight, I will have time after work.” She felt, more than saw, Jughead turn away from them as she spoke. “Does 5:30 sound okay?”

A self-satisfied grin spread across his face. “Sounds perfect. I will meet you here.”

#bughead #bughead au #riverdale #au #riverdale au #kate writes

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hisserpentqueen · 1 year

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Chapter 7, A taste of home

Chapters 1 - 6 can be found here

Chapter Seven

“Congratulations, Jughead.” Alice gave him a sincere handshake. “Getting a book published is quite an accomplishment, especially so at your age.”

“Thank you, Miss Smith…there are still a lot of steps before my book hits the shelves, but I’m excited to start the process.” Jughead beamed.

“Please, its Alice.” He nodded at her. “Betty told me that its based loosely on real life…what’s the title?”

“That took me awhile to get right, but I think it fits now – They weren’t all mistakes.”

When they had arrived, Veronica ushered them inside and got them all drinks. Archie had banished her from the kitchen as she had been more of a hinderance than a help. When Betty offered to help him finish up dinner, Veronica had started to protest, but then quickly agreed to stay the hell out of the way when Betty reminded her what happened last time they let her use a knife; she was lucky she still had to pay for a full manicure when she got her nails done.

Betty couldn’t help but let her mind wander as she watched Jughead talk with her mother and sister. Glen had been superficially sweet with them, but she could tell he hadn’t really had any interest in getting to know them nor did they seem to care to get to know him. But with Jughead, he was relaxed and genuine and she could tell from across the room that her sister and mom were authentic in their questions and comments.

He asked Polly about her summer and how she had liked Riverdale. They talked about her upcoming semester and what she was interested in pursuing after she graduated. He asked her mom how she had become a news anchor and she told him about the Register. She asked him how he had gotten into writing and how he had liked growing up with the Serpents.

“I was actually a Serpent when I was growing up as well,” Alice admitted.

“WHAT?!” Polly and Betty had both been completely caught off guard. She stared between her daughters, a confused look on her face.

“You act as if I don’t have a past or something.”

“You just never talk about it,” Polly pointed out. Alice rolled her eyes and brushed her off, returning to her conversation with Jughead.

“Where is FP?” Betty asked suddenly, turning to Archie.

“Veronica sent him out to grab a cake – he should be back any – ” and as if on cue, the front door opened. “That must be him.”

“Oh good!” Veronica rushed over to him. “I was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong with the order.”

“Sound be good.” FP grinned as he held it out to her.

“It’s perfect!” She clapped and took the cake out of his hands.

“FP?” “Alice?” They stared at each other, the rest of the room growing quiet.

“I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight,” she said as she walked over to him, the conversation with Polly and Jug completely forgotten.

“When I saw the letter for Jug in the mail, I arranged for Jellybean to be with a friend and drove here without another thought.” His smile softened as he looked at her. “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”

“Well, I was invited.” She placed a hand on his arm and the two smiled at each other, completely unaware of the uncomfortable silence settling around the others in the room.

“OH MY GOSH!” Betty exclaimed causing everyone, including FP and Alice, to look at her. “FP’s the guy from Riverdale that you’re seeing!” She gestured between the two of them with the knife that was still in her hand.

“Yes.” Alice dropped her hand from FP’s arm and turned back to face her. “I was going to tell you after we had officially decided what…this is.”

“Holy shit,” Jughead laughed quietly, as if realizing something.

“What?” Polly asked. He looked past her, towards his dad and Betty watched as something unspoken passed between them. Jug then gave him an exasperated look and FP frowned, shaking his head slightly.

“She’s the girl,” Betty whispered, finally setting the knife down.

“What girl?” Archie looked at her with a very confused expression about everything that was happening around him.

Betty shook her head, “Never mind.” Clearing her throat, she looked over at Jughead. “I know it’s your party, but can you set out the plates?”

After the cake had been served, Polly headed out to meet up with some of her friends for drinks and FP offered to take Alice on a bike ride…which everyone there had understood exactly where that bike ride was going to end.

“My mom…your dad.” Betty shook her head and sank down on the edge of Jughead’s bed. “I mean…how does that even happen?” She fidgeted with the fraying edge of the band aid on her palm.

“Your mom is the girl that got away.” He sounded just as confused as she was. “Are you going to tell her about my book?” He sat down next to her.

She shook her head, “No, I think if your dad wants to tell her, he can.” He nodded in agreement but said nothing.

Taking a deep breath, she let out a long sigh and fell back on the bed and he followed suit. They were quiet as they laid together. Betty wondered if he was over thinking everything that had happened that evening as well. She wasn’t sure how it looked now if they kept up their friends with benefits situation if their parents were dating. Was that too weird for everyone? Should they just stop the whole arrangement? Or did she want to change their arrangement? After seeing him with her mom and sister, it was getting harder and harder for her to deny that she might have real feelings for him. But then again what if –

“Want to go for an actual ride?” he whispered.

The dim light of the day was still hanging at the edge of the horizon as Betty clung to Jughead as he drove out of the city. Having been a warm day, she didn’t have a coat with her, so he had lent her one of his extra jackets and a helmet. He had smirked as she put it all on, but she just rolled her eyes and told him to get on the bike before he could say anything.

She had never actually been on a motorcycle before and had only agreed to go with him to stop thinking about the complicated emotions that were starting to rise up in her. She thought it would feel terrifying and that she would have to focus all of her energy on not freaking out, but sitting behind Jug, arms wrapped around his middle, air rushing past them…well, she wasn’t sure of the last time she had felt so at peace.

By the time Jughead pulled over next to a lake, the moon shone brightly overhead. They had driven far enough out of the city that as they sat on the dock, bare feet in the warm lake, all they could hear were the sounds of the night around them.

“This is perfect.” Betty gave a contented sigh as she stared up at the stars. Maybe I do want this to be more. Looking over, she saw a frown on his face. “Hey.” He shook his head slightly. “What’s wrong?”

He swallowed hard, thinking. “Everything changes now.” He gripped the edge of the dock.

“Jug?” She placed a hand on his arm, and he blinked a couple times before looking back at her. “Tell me.”

He sighed heavily as he let go of the edge of the dock and ran a hand roughly through his hair. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic that my book is getting published but ever since I fixed the ending, I feel like I haven’t been able to get anywhere with my other writings.” Betty thought about how she had been pulling away from him since that night and couldn’t help but wonder if that was affecting him as well. “Since moving out here, my writing has been great but lately I feel like I’m losing it again…what am I going to do if they sign me, and it takes me this long to finish another story?”

Without saying a word, she slid her hand into his. He looked down at their intertwined fingers and was quiet for some time.

“I don’t think I’m ready to be done at the coffee shop either,” he looked up at her and smirked, “I was just getting good with my latte art.” She scoffed and bumped his shoulder with hers. His smirk softened into a small smile that quickly faded from his face as he looked back at their hands. “I also don’t want to know how it would feel to not see you every day.”

Betty froze at his words, unable to move as she tried to process what his words were making her feel but then he looked back up at her and all sensible thought left her mind. Raising her free hand, she cupped his face and brushed her thumb against his cheek. He was tense as he searched her face for something, and she watched as he relaxed against her touch after finding whatever it was he was looking for. After a moment, he leaned into her and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

This kiss wasn’t like the usual kisses he laid on her, the ones that were driven by lust and an innate need. No, this kiss was caring and gentle…like the first time he had kissed her, a sharing of secrets.

As he leaned back, she followed after him, capturing his lips and gathering the sides of his jacket in her hands. She wanted him. Right then. Right there. She didn’t care what rules the unspoken conversation they had just had had broken, she wanted him and knew he wanted her too.

Breaking for air, she pressed her forehead into his, breathing deeply. Letting go of his jacket, she pulled her legs up on the dock, moving so she was on her knees, and pulled her skirt up her thighs. Jughead followed her lead and unbuttoned his pants, shifting back, so she would have room to sit on his lap. Steading herself with hands on his shoulders, she swung her leg over his legs, straddling him, hands holding tightly to his jacket. Without taking his eyes off of hers, he reached down and pushed her panties to the side. Sliding his fingers into her warm folds, it didn’t take him long to make sure she was ready for him.

Lifting her hips, he helped guide her back down, both sighing in pleasure as she settled around him. Keeping her eyes locked on his, Betty rolled her hips gently. She wanted to kiss him, bite his neck, moan, call out in pleasure…but the look in Jug’s eyes held her where she was, unable to say anything.

“This is perfect.” He had heard her words but could not bring himself to respond. She sounded so hopeful and all he was feeling in the moment was dread – he didn’t want to put that on her. But when she asked, he couldn’t stop the comment from falling out of his mouth because it was true. Everything was going to change. This was the part he had always been dreading because one successful book did not equal more and lately his other work was shit – how could he keep up with the expectations of a signing deal? All of his other works were suffering since he had fixed the ending.

Staring at their intertwined fingers, he was silent. He wanted this book deal, true, but he wanted nothing more than he wanted Betty Cooper. He wasn’t ready to be done working with her…seeing her…spending time with her every day. He had no desire to find out how it felt to be away from her now that he had found her.

As she cupped his cheek, he searched her face, thinking back to the night they had first agreed to this arrangement. She hadn’t told him that she wasn’t interested in him or that she didn’t have feelings for him, she had told him that she wasn’t ready for a relationship. Looking at her now, he realized that the look in her eyes told him that she didn’t want to be without him either and he couldn’t stop himself from relaxing into her touch at the thought. Holding her gaze a moment longer, he leaned into her and placed a soft kiss on her lips, hoping she understood what he was trying to say and as she pressed her forehead into his, he knew she did.

As Betty gripped his shoulders, he slid his hands inside of her jacket and around her middle, hands bawled up in her shirt. Her eyes remained locked on his and in that moment, he realized that he was completely in love with her. And he wanted to tell her, whisper it in her ear, shout it out to the sky, but the words died on his lips as she continued to look at him. So instead he wrote it on her skin with his lips, pulling her closer and leaving hot wet kisses under her ear, across her jaw, and down her neck.

It was well past two in the morning by the time they pulled up to Betty’s house. They were silent as they both climbed off. Jug took the helmet from her and stooped to strap it to the back of the bike. Straightening up, he pulled his helmet off and looped it over his arm by the strap before running a hand through his hair.

She wanted to say something, anything, as she stood there just staring at him again, but she worried anything she would say at this point would ruin the feelings she had coursing through her. So instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, giving a contented sigh as he wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling her tightly against him. She allowed herself to stay there for several moments before releasing her hold and as she did, she placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Night,” she finally said, softly.

“Good night.”

Her body was still humming as she got ready for bed and decided to take a bath as she knew she would never get to sleep feeling this way. Filling the tub, she sprinkled in some bath salts and clipped up her hair before getting in. As the hot water swallowed up her body, she allowed her mind to picture what being with Jughead would look like and a sudden, jarring thought slammed into her.

Riverdale. His father and sister were still both there and he loved being a Serpent – she knew he would be spending holidays there and would most likely want to move back at some point. Was that something she wanted, something she was willing to do? To go back to the town where her father had…had killed people…taken innocent lives?

As she thought, she picked at the edge of the frayed band aid on her palm. Frustrated, she yanked it off and looked at the small half circles on her hand, a tear running down her face.

#bughead #bughead au #riverdale #au #kate writes

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