↳ Wednesday
Nov. 16th↲
I awoke to feel someone hold my hand. I peeked open my eyes to find Jughead awake, on his phone. He was scrolling down some sort of social media feed.
I smiled and tiredly laughed. "You're such a sap," I teased.
I looked over to see that the sun had barely risen. I looked back at Jug and said "You know, we don't have to be up yet. My moms probably going to make us breakfast."
"Oh well," he shrugged. "Go back to sleep then."
"What about you?" I sat up a little, not wanting to leave him alone.
"I'll go back to sleep eventually," he assured, then looking at me. He smiled a little and said "Go! I'll be alright."
I sighed, diving my face back down into my pillow. I left my arm dangling off my bed, and Jughead and I kept holding hands.
I woke up to my alarm, which was immediately turned off. I ended up falling back asleep once again.
Eventually, I awoke to kisses being gently and lovingly placed on my face. Jughead was leaning over me, kissing my forehead and cheek.
"Morning, again," I laughed, trying to get ahold of his face. I pressed our noses together, and he gave a calm smile.
"You mom came in not too long ago. We need to get ready," he explained, pulling away from our bubble.
"Wait," I abruptly said. He froze, and I reached my arms up to the ceiling. "Help me up?"
Jughead took my hands and easily sat me upwards. I climbed out of bed and tested out my ankle to make sure it didn't hurt as much.
"How is it?" He asked, watching me carefully.
I stood up, smiling at him. "Better than Friday."
"Good."
We both walked downstairs to find that my mom was the only one downstairs cooking. She looked over her shoulder and seemed excited to see us.
"Oh, good! Breakfast is just ready," she moved around the eggs in the pan.
"Smells good, Mrs. Bell," Jughead complimented, sitting down at the table. I sat beside him instead of across.
I gazed at Jughead, who had seemed to zone out. I couldn't blame him since it was early in the morning, so I didn't bother him. It gave me an opportunity to appreciate his features. I gazed at his curly dark hair and slightly pointed nose, his eyes wandering around as his hand pressed against his chubby cheek. I was in awe.
Snapping me out of my own thoughts, my mom brought over our plates of eggs benedict. The sauce oozed down the over easy yolk and the English muffin.
"What is this?" Jughead asked me quietly, intimidated by the golden meal.
"The best breakfast you'll ever eat," I gave a confident smile.
Sure enough, he devoured the meal, scooping all of the sauce off the plate and making sure the plate was clean. I did the same, but Jughead was much faster than I.
I checked the time and reminded Jughead that we had to get ready. We ran upstairs and ran through our own morning routine. For Jughead, all he had to do was brush his teeth, put on his clothes, beanie, and some deodorant. I took much longer than Juggy, so he watched me. I had already put on my sweater, jeans, and fixed my hair. All he had to do was watch me as I put on my makeup.
"You do this every morning?" He questioned, confused at the concept.
"Yup," I nodded a little, carefully applying my eyeshadow.
"Why? You look nice without it," he told me.
I smiled a little. "I know. It just makes me feel good. It changes my face up a bit. Something new," I explained to him.
He understood that I wore makeup because I could, not because I needed to.
We darted downstairs after I finished up and left my house, saying bye to my mom.
As we walked down the road, he had his arm around my shoulders, mine around his waist. This was nice, compared to being a few feet apart.
We skipped Pop's for the first time and went directly to school. As we approached, he pulled his arm away from me. I looked at him, confused.
"What's wrong?" I immediately asked.
"Nothing," he assured. "I just don't want you to get teased."
I smiled a little. "Juggy. Do you think I care if I'm teased?"
"Well, I care," he shrugged. "I also would prefer if we kept our affairs under the radar with the gang. Just for the first couple of days."
"Now that I can get behind," I agreed. "Just the first week though. Then we gotta break it to them."
"Okay. It's a plan."
We both briefly kissed and acted as though nothing happened the past two days.
Walking through the halls, things didn't seem much different. All of my classes felt the same. Then lunch came around.
We sat at the table, as usual, but Archie was in Jughead's spot. Then Betty was in Archies spot, and this continued until it was me and Jughead sitting next together.
Jughead approached the table and found his best friend in his seat.
"What are you doing?" Jughead asked, a bit annoyed.
Archie looked up to find Jughead, standing impatiently with his bag of lunch. "Oh, sorry dude. Betty took my seat," Archie blamed.
"My seat is taken too," Betty gave a false smile, glancing at Kevin.
"I don't know," Kevin shrugged, seeming clueless.
Jughead sighed, and walked over to sit next to me. The whole table practically stared us down, examining our every move. Jughead and I had the spotlight on us as we ate our food quietly.
"So, what did you do yesterday?" Archie asked Jughead.
"Nothing," Jughead sighed, pulling out his phone. He held it underneath the table and began texting. I glanced once, making sure I wouldn't bring any attention.
Betty and Veronica began a conversation with each other when my phone vibrated in my pants. I pulled it out to see Jughead texting me.
Juggy 💕: Stay strong. Don't give in.
Me: Okay
I locked my phone and put it away. A minute later, Jughead put his away.
"Hey Cath?" Archie looked at me.
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Can you help me with something? By the tree?" Archie asked of me.
I gave him a weird look. "Okay?"
We both got up and walked over to the tree. I pressed my back against it, while he leaned on it, his hand above my head.
"I just have to tell you that you're amazing. You're pretty, smart, nice, and just... amazing."
I started freaking out, not knowing what to do. I knew Archie was asking me out since he had that awkward vibe to him. I glanced at Jughead to see him looking at me. He shook his head a little and turned around.
I looked down and back up to Archie, who was still talking.
"... and I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend?" He concluded, before glancing over to Jughead with a devilish grin.
My eyes were wide, my heart racing.
"Wow... Archie. I don't know what to say," I panicked, my face growing red.
"You could say yes?" He winked, looking down at me. He then towered over me, placing his hand on the tree right over my head.
"Well..." I said, sounding unsure of how to deny him. "I don't know, Archie. You and I are really great friends and I don't want to waste that, you know? Knowing you, you can find a girlfriend easily," I confided in him.
"I can't, though," he complained. "I ruined it with Val. I wasted it with Betty-"
"No, you haven't," I told him. I felt horrible for throwing Betty under the bus like this. "I see the way she looks at you, and you still have a chance. I'm sure of it."
Archie looked over at Betty, who was watching us. "You think so?" He asked, pushing himself away from the tree.
The bell rang, and I started walking back with Archie.
"I think you can pull it off."
I grabbed my bags and reunited with Jughead. We both stayed together and parted from the group.
"What happened?" Jughead immediately asked, already seeming protective.
"Archie was late to ask me out," I smiled at him. "I told him to go for Betty instead. Bad idea, I know."
"Hey. If it works," Jughead shrugged it off. "That was another thing between Betty and me. She always had eyes for Archie, as much as she denied it."
I took his arm and rubbed my hand up and down his jacket sleeve, before resting my head on his shoulder to comfort him.
We walked to biology together and then finished the school day. We didn't talk in our classes until we were walking home.
He gently held my hand, but I could tell he seemed distant from me, as though something was bothering him. I didn't mention it, knowing that I was probably over analyzing him. I was proven wrong when he broke the silence.
"Would you have?"
"Would I have what?" I asked, confused as to what he was referencing to.
Jughead tightened his grip a little and stopped us in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Would you have dated Archie if we weren't dating? Please be honest," he said to me, practically begging. I didn't expect it to bother him that much, so I remained calm and serious instead of playfully laughing at him per usual.
"No, I wouldn't actually."
"Why not?" He pressed on. "He's on the football team, he sings, he has abs-"
"Juggy, what are you saying?" I stopped him.
He wiped his hand on half of his face, sighing and looking at his feet.
"I know we've only been together for a day, but- I don't know. I just want you to be sure you want to date me. The kid who's destined to fail and become a low life. Why me? Why not the football player. Why-"
"Stop!" I shouted to regain control of him. "Look at me."
He continued to look away, so I grabbed his jacket and pulled him closer to me. "Look. At. Me."
Jughead finally looked up at me, frowning, trying to tough out his emotions. He was listening amidst all of his feelings telling him not to.
"I want you because you're good Jughead. Yeah, Archie may be good too but you're so selfless. You have always cared about everyone but yourself. You're so nice, smart, and you actually understand me. Archie doesn't know me the way you do," I told him, making harsh eye contact with him. "I don't love Archie. I definitely don't love Derek. I love Jughead Jones."
I could see tears swelling in his eyes, but before any tears dropped he wrapped me in the best hug I have ever felt.
"I love you too, Catherine."
We held each other for a few seconds more than usual, and eventually continued to walk home. He held my hand more confidently, and I felt much more comfortable. We let go when we stepped foot in my house. My mom was in the kitchen making dinner.
"Oh! Hey, kids!" She welcomed us. "I'm making dinner early since I have to go to work soon, okay?"
"Yeah! We'll be upstairs studying," I told her, about to run up the steps. Jughead was already a few steps ahead.
"Wait! Honey, I need to talk to you about your grades, privately. Sorry Jughead," she called over to him.
"It's alright," he smiled at me, before jogging upstairs. I walked down the two steps I climbed, and then over to my mom who was stirring sauce.
"What's wrong with my grades?" I asked, my hands shaking a little.
"Nothing. I just want to talk about Jughead and you. When did your romance happen?" She asked, grinning at me. I gave her a horrified stare as she wiggled her brows.
"Who told you?" I asked, even more nervous.
She laughed a little. "I'm a detective, honey. It's my job to observe. I see the way you look at him."
I got closer to my mom, speaking quieter.
"Can he stay here for the next week? He's having some home problems and-"
"Oh, I can imagine. With his dad being F.P. and all that serpent stuff? He can stay," she assured me.
"Thank you," I sighed in relief.
"Just make sure you don't get in the mix of that serpent stuff. Also if you two ever think you're going to have sex-"
"Mom!" I raised my voice, embarrassed. I then quickly quieted down, not wanting Jughead to grow curious and walk down the stairs. "We won't. I still have the condoms you gave me a while ago anyway," I joked around.
"That's my girl," she smiled to herself.
"Oh, and please don't tell dad. I don't want him grilling Jughead," I begged, slowly backing away.
"I'll tell him in a week," she told me. "He has to know these things, honey."
I sighed, then ran up the steps to find Jughead already laying in my bed with his eyes closed.
"Don't you have homework?" I asked him.
"Eh. I don't feel like it," he shrugged, then he patted the space beside him. I gave in and walked over to him. I laid beside him on my bed, his arm around me. He rolled over and practically forced me to become the little spoon. Within five minutes, he was sound asleep and I was fighting to stay awake in case anyone were to walk in.
I lost the battle and ended up caving into his arms; his warm grasp nurturing me to sleep.
I woke up an hour later to hear harsh footsteps walk up the stairs. My eyes widened and I rolled out of bed, landing on the floor. I pulled out my phone and unlocked it, looking at my apps in a panic.
Sure enough, my old man opened the door. Jughead began waking up a little while I glanced over.
"Hey Dad," I smiled.
"Hey Mr. Bell," Jughead slowly sat up, rubbing his eye.
My dad stared down Jughead a little more than he should've. "What's goin' on kids?"
I just shrugged, smiling at him. "I was doing my homework while Jughead was napping," I lied, setting down my phone.
"Yeah? You should probably take one since you look tired too," he hinted at.
"Me?! I'm wide awake. Don't worry about it," I assured, opening my eyes a little more to convince him.
He and I stared each other down until he gave up.
"Alright. No funny business," he pointed at the two of us before leaving.
I let out a relieved sigh, getting up from the floor. "That was way too close," I told Jughead.
"Yeah," he agreed, rather calmly. He looked at me with a playful grin. "Wanna do it again tonight?"
I laughed a little, saying "You wanna die?"
"I would rather die by your side instead of anywhere else," he expressed, looking at me both lovingly and jokingly.
I sat back down beside him, leaning on his shoulder. The silence allowed my thoughts to flood in my mind.
"Juggy. What about Derek?" I asked, suddenly thinking about my nightmare ex. I almost forgot that we had to talk to F.P. to control Derek.
He put his arm around me and kissed my head, saying "Tomorrow."
AN: Thank you all so much for reading and don't forget to vote!