There was probably a certain set of feelings she was supposed to be having in reaction to seeing her boyfriend kiss another girl. But in truth, she wasn’t having any of the ones that might pop to mind first.
Jealousy, disappointment, or even inadequacy weren’t bubbling to the surface.
No.
Betty was angry, plain and simple.
Livid. Engraged. Seething. A whole slew of adjectives could describe the way she wanted to peel her skin off and scream.
There was a fire blazing across her skin, a brewing, bubbling, raging inferno that, when combined with the hot water of the tub, made her feel like she was in the depths of hell. Her teeth clenched together so hard that her jaw ached from the pressure. The flush of her skin could have been blamed on the water from the hot tub, but truthfully it was from the fire of twisting anger that was threatening to eat her alive.
One hand curled around the stem of the margarita glass in her grasp and Betty wished she could snap it and swallow the pieces whole. Her other hand was clenched into a tight fist; the press of her nails into her palm provided the slightest release from the tension that had turned her muscles rigid. The way she was clenching her jaw was surely going to give her grief tomorrow when she woke.
It wasn’t even about the fact that Jughead was kissing Veronica. It wasn’t about leveling the playing field.
It was the fact that Jughead was her’s.
She was ready to throw her drink all over the two of them, ready to launch forward with her nails out.
Betty gulped down her drink instead, trying not to choke when Veronica patted Jughead on the cheek. She narrowed her eyes and watched as the two moved away from each other.
Jughead settled back down beside her, arm curling around her raised knee. He gave her a sheepish shrug of his shoulders and took a drink from his own glass, as if to wash away the taste of her best friend.
Betty glanced over to where Veronica was whispering something into Archie’s ear, arms looped around his neck, and almost rolled her eyes.
She wanted to dunk her head underwater; stretch out and float then fly away. Her body felt like it was buzzing with an untamable energy that made her fingers tingle. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the curved edge of the pool.
The moment stretched into awkward silence that Betty refused to break. She was nothing if not stubborn.
Eventually, Archie and Veronica made the mutual decision that they were “going to bed" even though she wasn’t sure if that’s what they really meant. Though, Archie seemed a little disheartened, so maybe their bed wouldn’t be squeaking tonight after all. An actual conversation would do them some good.
After the other couple left, Betty felt a squeeze of her knee.
The heat of Jughead’s breath brushed against her neck as he hovered close. “Do you wanna go inside?”
“You go. I’ll be in, in a minute,” Betty answered without opening her eyes. She heard his small sigh, and she wondered if Jughead thought he might have hurt her. But it didn’t matter, not really. Because she knew that hearing she’d kissed Archie hurt him too, even if only for a moment, right after the fact.
