Riverdale Oneshots

Sweet Dreams(Bughead)

Jughead was lying next to Betty, his arm curled around her waist and his face snuggled in her hair. Some old sitcom was playing but neither of them paying were paying attention, even though they were both pretending to be engrossed in the television.

Jughead's eyes were on Betty and her fist that were clenched and probably marking her palms with crescent moon shapes. He suspected that her mind was elsewhere, her dad, her mom, her sister, the farm, Griffins, and Gargoyles. Anywhere other than here.

"Betty are you okay?" He asked, his voice however gentle it was, seemed to startle her. Jughead saw her muscles tighten before she realized that it was only him calling her name. She spread out her fingers and flexed her finger muscles before looking at him and Jughead really didn't like the look in her eyes.

It was distant and clouded with hurt that he didn't have the ability to fix.

"Yeah, it's just... I really don't wanna go to sleep right now." She admitted.

"Why not?" Jughead asked.

She took a deep breath before responding. "I've been having nightmares, nightmares about my dad." She said, already on the verge of tears "I'll be outside of my house with my dad fixing cars and then everything goes black. And I hear him confessing to being the black hood, then I see him get shot. That's where the dream always ends."

"Betty, why didn't you tell me this before," Jughead questioned and with the help of the light he could see a lone tear slide down her face and if he didn't already hate Hal Cooper he did now.

"I feel bad for missing him, Jug." She cried "How can I miss him when he's done so many despicable things? How can I miss him when he shot Mr. Andrews, killed Midge, shot Moose, and worst of all he tried to kill me and my mother? So tell me how I can possibly miss him without being a terrible person?"

"I don't get to grieve for him, or feel bad or miss him because he's ruined people's lives, he terrorized this town for months! And now I can't even miss my father without being a horrible person!" Jughead wrapped her into a hug, it was the only thing he could do to calm her. He didn't think he had ever seen her so hysterical. "And I'll always hate him for it." She whispered into his chest.

"Betty, all the bad things that he's done don't cancel out all the good memories you have of him," Jughead said while he rubbed soothing circles into her back and at the moment he felt a little unqualified to be giving advice on how to deal with a serial killer father. "You are allowed to feel sad and miss him."

Jughead found himself thinking about his mom. He had a very complicated relationship with her and he was beyond glad that Gladys was out of his family's life. But he missed her, he missed her smile and the kiss on the forehead she would give him before he left for school. He missed her pancakes and her bacon that was crisped just right.

He missed her and yet he still knew and acknowledged that she was a bad person who had caused his family and Riverdale a whole lot of pain.

Sure his and Betty's situations weren't the same by any means, but in a way, Jughead related to her. And, really, only a kid from Riverdale could relate to his girlfriend and her murdering father through a drug-dealing mother.

"I know this doesn't compare but sometimes I miss my mom." He gave a bitter laugh because nobody should have to have this conversation but this was the life Riverdale gave you.

"I miss her even after her almost getting Jellybean killed and trying to start the drug business in Riverdale again. I miss her because there was a time when she wasn't the villain of my story. She was once upon a time a good mother." Jughead sighed, it was a little sad that those memories were so foggy and clouded by her new image.

"Thank you, Jughead." Betty breathed out. "I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend."

"Are you ready to go to sleep now?" He carefully asked, he didn't want to push her. "If you have a nightmare just wake me up and I'll be there for you."

"Yeah, I'm ready, but can we leave the tv on?" She shyly requested, laying on her boyfriend's chest.

"Anything for you, Betty Cooper." He softly replied. "Sweet dreams."