~~ w r i t t e n i n t h e s t a r s ~~ a bughead story

c h a p t e r o n e

Jughead had always been there for Betty, even when Veronica hadn't. They had been best friends since they met in third grade. Betty could honestly say that she was closer to Jughead than she was to Veronica. Veronica was the one that Archie chose over the blonde, which made her cry, but Betty could never hold that against her bestie. Veronica Lodge was the prettiest girl in the school, tied with Cheryl Blossom. She was rich, funny, striking, gorgeous, she was everything. She made all the boys fall for her, fight over her, ache to be with her. She had boys following her like ducklings, all in a line. Betty often ached to be wanted like that, to be the one boys fought over, dropped their dates over... but she could never tell Veronica that. Despite being slightly spoiled, she was very sensitive, and Betty knew that Veronica would feel awful for hurting her. So she kept her ache inside, and only ever told one person :

Jughead Jones.

He was the only one Betty completely trusted. She even trusted him above her older sister Polly and even her diary. He was the only one she could confide in. He listened to her complaints about menial things, and he held her when she was crying so hard she shook. He kissed her forehead when she fell and hurt herself, and picked her up when she felt she couldn't stand on her own. He calmed her down, and helped her think clearly. She felt safe with him, like he was always protecting her, and in a sense, he was. Holding things inside, she discovered, made her fall over an edge inside her mind, that dropped her further and further into herself. Jughead was like a safety net, that saved her just in time, right before she plummeted to her death. The two were inseparable. Wherever he went, she went with him, and vice versa.

She was his safety net, too. Jughead was highly emotional, but kept it inside himself, just like Betty. He buried his emotions deep inside, scared that someone would turn him away if they saw behind his blank-faced mask. But with Betty, Jughead could be himself. She listened, and cheered him up, and helped him through whatever he was dealing with. She let him cry without judgement, and she let him vent, and kick things if he was angry. If he hurt himself in the process, she would gently scold him as she bandaged and tended to the injury. Then she would kiss it, and tell him to be more careful.

There was a shout from the living room that yanked Betty out of her daze. Jughead and Betty looked at each other quizzically, and walked into the next room. Kevin Keller had apparently arrived, waving around his phone. He looked very agitated, for some reason. When he saw Betty, he practically threw himself into her arms, despite being nearly as tall as Jughead.

"Betty! Betty, have you seen this?!" Kevin shouted, shoving his phone directly in her face. Betty gently plucked the phone from his hand and read it.

"Party at... Betty Cooper's house?" Betty read aloud, quite clearly confused. She most certainly was not having a party in her mother's home. That would literally kill her! Well, the party, or her mom. Betty looked up at Kevin, and asked him to explain.

"Apparently, Cheryl just posted about the movie marathon and called it a party, and now––" Kevin was cut short by the sound of a doorbell.

Betty felt her blood run cold, and a shiver shook through her spine. She took a deep breath, and slowly inched her way to the door. Taking one more deep breath, she threw open the door.

Cheryl Blossom stood on the Coopers' porch with her hand on her hip, and a smirk on her face. Behind her, stood a large crowd of Riverdale students. Betty couldn't help it; she gulped.

"Hey– Hey, Cheryl..." Betty began, nervously eyeing the mob. Cheryl giggled, and hugged the shorter blonde.

"Hey there, Bets! Hope you don't mind, I brought a few friends!" Cheryl sang lightly. Betty, being Betty, couldn't stand not being polite, and so she shook her head.

"Of– Of course not!" she stuttered, even though she most certainly did mind. Archie appeared behind her, while Chuck Clayton stepped onto the porch, along with Moose. Both boys seemed to be carrying plastic barrels, and Betty paled as she realized what the barrels contained.

"Hey, Betty! Where do you want the kegs?" he asked. Archie laughed, as he told them to put them in the backyard and in the kitchen. They nodded and carried the forbidden barrels to the the mentioned locations.

Great, the blonde thought to herself as people flooded into her house, I'm going to die.