Trust (Jughead x Reader)

"Betty," Jughead said softly. "What is it? You can tell us."

Betty sighed, throwing up her hands in defeat. "I kissed Jughead!"

Veronica's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Okay? Why does Archie and (Y/N) care about... oh." She crossed her arms in understanding.

"I still don't get it," Jughead admitted.

"Go on girl," Veronica said. "You need to own up to it."

"Jughead..." Betty said nervously. "(Y/N) really liked you. I knew about it and I kissed you anyways."

Jughead's eyes widened. "What? Betty, why?" Jughead has always thought of Betty as the moral compass of the group. For her to do this was... shocking.

"I like you too, Jughead!" Betty cried out. "I was tired of (Y/N) waiting for you to notice her. I deserved my chance, too."

Jughead's eyes narrowed at Betty. "I can't believe you would do this to her." He grabbed his stuff, leaving the room.

"Oh, God," Betty said after a moment. "I really messed up, didn't I?" Her lip began to quiver. She's always liked Jughead, but never as much as (Y/N). Certainly not enough to warrant tearing her friends apart.

Veronica wrapped her arms around Betty consolingly. "It's okay, Betty. We love the both of you. Families fight, but we always make up. I know I've done some crazy stuff for a boy, before. We've all been there."

Betty smiled sadly, leaning into her friend for comfort.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)!" Jughead yelled, jogging through the quickly darkening forest. Upon his arrival to your house, your parents had confusedly told him that you told them you were spending the week at Betty's while her parents were out of town to keep her company. Jughead then pretended that he'd forgotten about that, and went in search of you elsewhere.

Finally, he'd found it. When you were kids, you would run through the forest as if it were your personal wonderland. The first tree you'd claimed as you fortress stood taller and wider than the rest. To commemorate it, the young Jughead had proudly carved your initials into it. Whenever one or the other of you were upset, that's where you'd go.

"(Y/N)–" Jughead yelled again, stopping when his foot hit something. Looking down he saw you curled up against the tree, hugging a bottle of scotch you'd stolen from your parent's liquor cabinet.

You looked up at him, your smirk lazy in your inebriation. "Oh, wooooow," you drawled out. "Isn't it Jughead Jones himself?" You were shivering, lips blue from the nighttime chill.

Jughead tried to grab the bottle from you, but you held it out of his reach. "(Y/N). You need to go home. You're drunk."

You sat up, glaring at him. "You need to go home and suck Betty Cooper's face off!"

Jughead's face reddened, though you couldn't see it in the darkness. "(Y/N), I can explain, I–"

You held up a hand. "I don't wanna hear it, pal o' mine. I'm done." You shakily stood, stumbling through the forest.

Jughead followed after you. "(Y/N), (Y/N) please!" He grabbed your shoulders, turning you to face him.

Upon your facing him, he realized you were crying. Your mouth was stretched into a mournful grimace, tears dripping down your face.

"I don't want to hear it, Jughead, please," you sobbed. "Just leave me alone."

Jughead felt like his heart had just broken into a million pieces. "No."

You downed the rest of the scotch, swinging it angrily against your tree. It shattered.

"Fuck," you breathed. Shards of glass were embedded into your hand from the impact.

You tearfully looked into Jughead's eyes. You were so, so tired. "I just can't do anything right, now can I?" You said with a sad smile.

This whole time, Jughead couldn't figure out what to say. What to say to make you stop, to make you believe him. Well, he figured, actions speak louder than words. So he pulled you into his arms, hugging you tighter than you've ever been hugged before. Hugging you so tight, he hoped, the pain would go away.

"...why?" you whispered.

"It's always been you," he breathed into your hair. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I'm so sorry."

He gave you his sweatshirt and took you to his room in the Drive-In, going to work removing the glass from your hand. This whole time your face was blank, unsure of how to interpret the situation.

"How do I know you're not just saying all of this?" You whispered.

Jughead then stopped his work, looking straight into your eyes. "You can't know, I guess," he said with a small smile. "You just have to trust. And over time, my actions will show you what's true."

You looked away. "You should know I'm having trouble trusting people nowadays."

"I know," he said. "I'll wait for you to be ready."

He then continued to fix your wounds, patiently waiting for you to be ready to trust again.