Flash of Red

Chapter 12

Betty sniffled as she closed her suitcase, giving Jughead a deep frown. "I don't want to go."

He brushed hair from her face that had fallen loose from her ponytail, tucking it behind her ear. "You can always stay."

"But I can't." She said it softly, leaning into his touch. "I want to, but I can't." He nodded, kissing her slowly and deeply. She whimpered, moving to straddle his waist.

Their tears mingled on their lips, Betty fighting around a silent sob. Her hands worked to undo his belt buckle, Jughead lifting his hips up off the floor so she could push them down to his thighs. His own hands bunched her dress around her waist, pushing her panties to the side as he lined himself up with her.

She sank down on him slowly, his head falling back against the bed while Betty gripped the sheet beside his head tightly. They had both sat for a moment, savoring the feeling of each other. She moaned when he moved his hips up, his hands holding her waist as he helped her find a rhythm that was easy for her to work with.

She had kissed him again, this time slower and more languid than before. Her heart was pounding in her ears the more she moved, pulling back to watch Jughead's hand snake between them. "Oh, god, I'm close, Jug."

He kissed her again, his free hand knotting into her hair. "I got you, love." He said it through gritted teeth, his hips snapping up into her. "I got you, let go." She held his eyes as the small band inside her snapped and she came with a loud moan, her head dropping to his shoulder.

Jughead followed seconds later, Betty sobbing as she fell limp in his arms. He held back a cry himself, his arms holding her as tightly as he could. He breathed her in, both of them calming themselves from the high they were on.

"Betts," he rubbed her back lightly, coaxing her head up off his shoulder. He cupped her face and wiped her tears, fighting his own. "Lets get cleaned up and go to bed, okay?" She nodded with a shaky exhale, sniffling.

~

Betty rested her cheek on her fist, watching Riverdale fade away behind her as her and Jughead drove to the airport. Her heart was stinging in her chest and her stomach was in her throat. She didn't want to leave, but at the same time she knew she had to.

She was supposed to be there for one night, two tops. But that had turned into three months in no time and she now found herself so crazily in love she would do anything for him. She constantly told herself that the house was his, it was the home he made for himself, not her or them together. As much as she loved being there and being with him, it wasn't her home. Her home was in LA, everything she knew was there, even if she was somehow coming to know Riverdale better.

Her heart would twist everytime she thought about him alone in the house, just the dogs there to offer him comfort. It would hurt more though as she imagined him alone in the dark, walking around as he did sometimes. He had said he always found some sort of peace while doing it.

She would also find him on the balcony some nights, a cigarette burning in his hands as he talked aimlessly to the sky - more so to Jellybean. She had caught him doing that often, mostly when she had first gotten there and then again more frequently when things between them would change. She always wondered if he looked to her for help when he would get lost, seeing as he really has no one else to turn to besides Archie.

The thoughts broke her heart and she quickly wiped away a tear that slid down her cheek when Jughead cleared his throat. "Um," his voice was shaky and he tried to steady it by clearing his throat again. "We-We're close." She gave him a nod, turning back to look out the window and taking in a deep breath and wiping at her face. She stared down at her hands as he pulled into the parking lot, putting the truck in park.