"I cannot believe no one has signed up." Roman slams a hand against the paper, eyes wide. Jughead shrugs, drawing another chip out and popping it into his mouth.
"I guess that's how low we are on the food chain," He says, mouth utterly filled with food. Roman glances at him, only to groan in disgust.
"Chew with your mouth closed, dumbass." She rolls her eyes, turning back to the paper. All the slots were empty, to her surprise. She'd expected at least two people to sign up (or to even take interest in it), but no.
We give out free cameras, what the hell, what other club does that?
"Hey, I'm not a dumbass. I'm also not the one living in the illusion that somebody might want to join a club with two-two morons." Jughead wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, slightly intimidated by Roman's glare. After all these years he's known her, he's still not used to that terrifying look.
"Okay, smartass." She snatches the bag of chips from his hands and takes one before Jughead can rip it out of her grip.
"Do you have any better suggestions?" Roman shoves the chip in her mouth, before she realises how stale it is. Jesus, Jug does anything for food.
"Okay, look," He glances inside the bag briefly, before turning back to Roman, "I know how much the Photography Club means to you, I know how much you love it," Jughead's face hardens for a moment; his eyes are settled on her, his lips are drawn into that serious, thin line. He looks exactly the way he does when he's working on his novel. Serious.
"But you might have to let it go."
Roman scoffs, folding her arms over her chest. She appreciates Jughead's advice, but it isn't enough. His words aren't enough to convince her that it's going to be alright. The Photography Club did mean a lot to her, and she did love it. She'd been apart of it since last year, it was where she belonged.
And after all that had happened to her, it was the only place that made her feel safe.
"Well, that's easy for you to say, Jug. All you do is take pictures of Pop's Place, food, and The Twilight. Do they even mean anything to you?"
Jughead gasps, a hand pressed against his chest as he looks at her with pure disbelief.
"Mean anything to me? Why, Roman, I thought you of all people would at least understand my undying love for food! Do you know what it feels like to look at a photograph of a burger? A real, good, juicy burger? No, of course you don't! Because the only photographs you look at are of gir-" Jughead is abruptly cut off by the presence of another. He just appeared out of thin air, standing awkwardly behind the novelist. So, of course, no one blames them for what happened next.
"Hey, is this where you sign-"
"HOLY SHIT!" The two are cut off guard by him and jump at least two feet away from the scout. Roman shrinks behind Jughead, who has his hands swinging around in a boxing-like form. His bag of chips are lying on the ground, it's stale contents dotting the floor.
"Be gone, Doiley of The Dark Side. Kch, Kch." Jughead hisses, making air quotes with his fingers, as he is trying to look menacing (and failing miserably).
"Jug, stop, it's just Dilton." Roman steps away from her friend, eyeing him questionably.
"Kch, Kch."
"Jughead." That mother-like tone takes over, and his hands begin to droop down.
"Kch, Kch..."
Roman rolls her eyes aggressively, turning back to Dilton-who appears to be frightened and yet, very confused.
"You'll have to excuse our outrageous behavior, Dilton-"
"No! My potato chips," Jughead exclaims quietly before he drops to his knees, hands fluttering to pick up his prized possessions. Roman stares at him abnormally, wondering why he must be this way. Secretly, she is thankful that it's lunch, so no one is in the halls to witness this disaster.
"So, uh, were you gonna ask us something or...?"
"Actually, yes. I was, before your boyfriend interrupted me." Dilton stands straightly, giving Jug a dirty look.
Roman hears the chips in Jughead's hands fall to the floor again. She opens her mouth to argue that Jug is in fact, not her boyfriend-but Dilton doesn't let her get a word out.
"I couldn't help but overhear that you guys need more people in your club," He says softly, eyes flickering from the ground to the two sponsors.
"Yes! We do!" She smiles, suddenly forgetting he was Dilton Doiley and just being grateful that someone was thinking about signing up.
"Well, you're in luck." Dilton adjusts his glasses, a small grin reaching his lips.
---
"Hell no. Hell to the no. Please, Roman, please tell me you're not actually considering this." Jughead watches in horror as Roman writes Dilton Doiley's name in the first slot. The dork could've done it himself, but he was in such a hurry he actually forgot. But hey, at least they had a third member, right?
"You best believe I'm considering this, Juggie." Her smile grows by each passing second, and when she's done crossing t's and dotting i's, Roman clicks her pen and slips it into her back pocket.
"Can I remind you that not only did he make me drop my potato chips, but he also-get ready for this," The boy raises his now-empty hands up, defensively.
"He thought I was your boyfriend. Actually, he still thinks that, since you didn't bother to correct him on his huge mistake!" Suddenly, the novelist's face is tinted red. He huffs angrily, fixing the crown on his head.
"Relax, it's only a matter of time before he realises that I like girls, and that you might as well be my brother." The teen waves her hand in the air and Jughead is startled by how calmly she's handling this. Usually Roman is the one to go-off like this.
"Besides, Dilton's cool."
Jughead gives her a bizarre look for that one.
"Okay, you know what? Fine. Not my problem, I don't care." His eyes drift down, hands hiding away in his pockets. Roman twists her lips, glancing at Jughead understandably.
She's known the boy since they were in second grade. Ever since then, Roman knew Jughead like the back of her hand. She understood what each glance, flinch, and smile meant. And she liked to think he knew her just as well.
They were practically siblings, even though people liked to think otherwise. And after all that Jughead has lost, Roman knows why he's so touchy on this topic-why he doesn't want any 'false advertisement' of their relationship.
Rumors tear people apart, after all.
Roman sighs, wiping her hands on her thighs as she looks over her shoulder. She glances at the clock on the wall, wondering if their lunch time was coming to an end. Before she can count the minute hand, her eyes are caught by someone else coming their way.
Oh, Geez!
"Jughead, quick, how do I look?" Roman's hands fly to smooth out the wrinkles in her shirt.
"Moodier than usual."
"Thanks for being honest." She branches him a forced smile, before straightening herself. Betty Cooper is coming their way, with that same, sweet look on her face.
It's been three days since Roman has had an actual conversation with her. Still, she isn't sure why she wants to appear nice for Betty; maybe it's to display a better image of herself, or maybe she just wants a friend. It didn't make complete sense to her, but ever since they had first met, Roman couldn't get Betty Cooper out of her head! She was just so nice, and pure. It was really relieving; she didn't seem to be fake or boring, like the other kids at Riverdale High.
Maybe...maybe she has a schoolgirl crush!
By the time all these thoughts have circled inside of her head, Betty is a foot away from the two.
"Hey, Betts." Jughead grins in a way that makes Roman feel like he knows what she's thinking.
"Hey, Juggie." The blonde waves lightly, coming to a stop. Roman is surprised to see Betty by herself, usually she has someone standing next to her-Kevin or the new girl: Veronica.
"Hey-Betty! I bet you're interested in the Photography Club," Ro steps aside, showing off the sign-up sheet. She casts the blonde a wink, and for a moment, Roman thought she saw Betty blush.
"Are you guys looking for members?"
Even if she did, Betty was quick to hide it. She wanders closer to the sheet, slightly bending down to see the one name scribbled in.
"Yep." Roman nods her head, starting to second guess this whole thing. If people wanted to join, wouldn't they have signed up by now? Was she making a fool out of herself in front of Betty Cooper?
"And from the looks of it, you guys aren't doing too good." The blonde laughs lightly as she straightens her spine, folding her arms over her chest. Jughead mouths something to Roman, and she in return gives him a look.
"It doesn't make sense, right? I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out with me and Jug?" Roman laughs lightly and only now does that sentence seem to sting. She begins to think she's really embarrassing herself now-part of her wishes Jughead will step in and save the day.
Betty turns to her, a warm smile settled on her lips, which sends the feelings of remorse in Roman's body away. Meanwhile, Jughead gags in the background, he feels sick to his stomach watching the two eye each other this way and that.
"Do you have a pen?"
The two nerds blink, second-guessing what they just heard.
"What?" Roman stutters, switching her gaze from Betty to Jughead. He shrugs unknowingly, appearing to be just as shocked as she was.
"Do you have a pen?" Betty repeats herself, and this time her hand is stretched out in front of her, an open palm facing up towards the ceiling. Roman licks her lips, nodding her head as she fishes her pink pen out.
"Here you go," The photographer bites her lip, brushing a curl out of her face while she watches Betty.
The vixen turns back to the sheet, which is curling at the edges now. Clicking the pen, she leans forward and writes her name in the second slot-right below Dilton's name.
Jughead and Roman both suck in a sharp breath.
"I guess I'll see you next Wednesday?"
A second later Betty is back in the same place she was before: face-to-face with Roman Williams.
The blonde hands the pen back to it's owner, and just for a millisecond, their fingertips brush against each other.
"Bye Roman, Jughead." Betty nods her head at the two before she walks away.
The bell shrieks above their heads, and Roman waits another minute before shooting her fist in the air.
---
i hope u can tell i started
to get lazy at the end :((
sorry for the long wait cuties!!
i had major writers block and i couldn't write anything,, it was so frustrating. but here it is! i hope it's somewhat enjoyable and cute :'-)
also ?? ro's feelings are really confusing in this but i will try to explain them better in future chapters. for now, she just has this small crush on betts,, mostly because she seems so sweet and (not to mention) she is v cute !! but honestly i was jug throughout this entire thing
oh !! ok i forgot to mention that im drawing the timing of this out a bit ?? in the show lots of things happen too fast so im slowing it down. && this fic is kind of an au (it's a mix of the comics and the show). hopefully you guys will find that enjoyable ???
so far, it's just the beginning of school (bett and ronnie have made the cheer team) and as u can tell they haven't found jason's body yet lol
++ boy i sure hope u guys got my road to el dorado reference (kch kch) !!!!
thank you xx