This is gonna be a long one. Also the part 2 to bullying will be out soon:)
Betty's POV:
Juggie<3: Sorry babe, can't make it tonight. Toni wants to hang out
I sigh and shut my phone off, not even bothering to reply while sinking lower into the booth. He's stood me up again to go and hang out with Toni. For the last 2 months, Jughead has been ditching our dates and hangouts and we barely see each other anymore. The times we do see each other is, sometimes at school if he's not busy talking to Toni.
I stand up from my spot in the booth at Pop's where I was waiting for him to show up, and shrug my coat on. I wave bye to Pop as I walk out of the cozy diner and in the direction of my three-story residence. The fall air nips at my legs and ears as I walk through the windy night, and the sound of leaves crunching underneath my shoes fills my ears. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, and take it out to look whose calling me. Veronica's name flashes on the screen, but I ignore it and let it ring as a tear escapes from the corner of my eye.
When I arrive home, I push open the front door to be greeted by my over-bearing mother.
"Elizabeth, where the hell have you been? Please tell me you were not out with those lousy friends of yours." I roll my eyes.
"I went to Pop's for dinner." I say simply. Her eyes go wide and she scowls.
"You are not allowed to go to Pop's. You are already putting on a little bit of weight, and we don't need you becoming fat. Do you understand?" I just nod my head and hold back a sigh.
"Good." She pats my cheek, and walks off back into the kitchen, probably to have another glass of wine. Tears build up in my eyes, and I quickly run up the steps into my bedroom, and close my door. I lean up against the wood of my door, and slide down until I'm on the floor. I pull my knees up to my chest, and wrap my arms around them burying my head in my knees. A sob comes out of my mouth and tears cascade down my face and drip onto my jeans.
The next morning, I tighten my ponytail and slip my feet into my checkered Vans. I grab my backpack up off the floor by my nightstand, and pull it onto my right shoulder. I take one last glance into the mirror before bounding down the stairs and into the living room. I walk over to the front door, and step outside and onto the porch, before my mom has time to come and bitch at me.
As I'm closing the door behind me, I hear another door slam shut from not too far away. I lift my head up, and see Archie descending the stairs from his front porch. He sees me looking and comes over with a broad smile on his face.
"Hey Betty, how you doing?" He asks while walking down my driveway with me by his side. I give him a small smile and a shrug. He just gives me a nod, and doesn't ask me about it which I appreciate. The rest of the walk to school, he tells me about the surprise he has planned for Veronica for their 1st anniversary which is coming up in a couple days. I nod along and try my best to listen, but my mind wavers in and out of listening. It continues like this until we walk through the doors of Riverdale High, and are separated due to the people in the hallways.
When we are able to make our way through the crowd of our peers, I see the serpents standing in the student lounge. I watch as Jughead laughs and talks with Toni, and she caresses his arm which he doesn't make any move to stop. I feel my stomach churn at the sight, and when Jughead turns and catches me looking I turn around and walk to my locker. My hands move swiftly over the lock as I put my combination in, and watch as the door to my locker pops open. I hang my bag up on the hook and as I'm about to grab my books from the shelf, I see someone in my peripheral lean against the locker next to mine. I look over and see Jughead staring at me with a smile on his face.
"Hey Betts." He leans into kiss my lips, but I turn my head at the last second so his lips land on my cheek. I see his smile falter, but he quickly recovers from my rejection.
"So how are you? I'm sorry I couldn't make it last night I got caught up with Toni. We went and saw this new movie at the drive-in and-"
"That's cool." I cut him off, and he furrows his eyebrows.
"Are you okay?" He asks. I slam my locker door closed, causing him and people around us to jump.
"I'm fine." I avoid eye contact with him as I walk off, leaving him confused and disappointed.
At lunchtime, I still sit with my friends but barely speak a word. When Jughead tries to touch me I flinch away or move farther away from him so that he can't. Everyone at the table notices that I'm being distant and quiet, but luckily nobody says anything.
That is until Jughead says something while walking me home- he insisted. I reluctantly agree, but refuse to talk to him and keep my distance as we walk down the cold streets of our town. He must have had enough of my silence, because he speaks up.
"Betty, what's wrong are you? Are you mad at me?" He asks.
"I'm fine." I say while continuing to walk. He grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop, while cocking an eyebrow at me.
"Is this because I couldn't hang out last night? I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to leave you hanging, but I just got caught up in other stuff. Why don't I come over tomorrow night, and we spend the night cuddling and watching movies?" He suggests. I sigh and think for a moment before nodding my head and smiling a little bit. He grins back and leans down to leave a soft kiss on my lips, which I return. He grabs my hand and interlaces our fingers, while pulling me forward and continuing to walk me home.
-The next night-
I bite my lip as I pace in front of the couch. Jughead is an hour late, and I'm getting worried. I bring my pinkie finger up and chew on my nail, while my heart races. My phone lays on the coffee table, and when I hear it buzz against the wood I snatch it up. I feel my breath catch in my throat as I look at the message that was sent from my beloved boyfriend.
Juggie<3: I'm really sorry, but I can't come over tonight. Toni invited me to go to the Whyte Wrm with her and fangs.
I stare at my screen with a blank look on my face, and I feel anger boiling up inside me. I pocket my pink phone, and rush into the kitchen to grab my car keys. I walk out the front door, and slide into the driver seat of my car. I turn the ignition on, and back out of my driveway gripping the steering wheel tightly.
By the time I pull into the parking lot of the Wrm, My anger has turned into more of feelings of hurt and betrayal. I take one last deep breath, before grabbing my keys and stepping out of my car. The frosty air hits me as I walk towards the entrance, and I wrap my arms around my middle really regretting not bringing a coat. I push open the doors to the bar and step inside, letting the doors slam behind me. I feel the eyes of many people- most of them being creepy old men- as I walk through the bar looking for Jughead. I scan the bar, and sigh when I see him standing over by the pool table with a bunch of other serpents. I stand up straight and make my way over to them. As I get closer I can hear them all laughing at something Jughead had said. Then I see Toni. She is standing on his right, with her arm linked in his as she leans on him and laughs. When I'm close enough for them to hear me, I clear my throat and watch as all of their heads turn toward me. I see Jughead glance around at the group surrounding him before taking a couple step towards me.
"Betty, what are you doing here?"
"We need to talk." I say bluntly.
"Can't this wait until later? I'm busy right now." He responds, almost annoyed. I just scoff and shake my head.
"No, we need to talk right now." I demand. He hesitantly nods, and takes my elbow leading me up some stairs, where he ushers me into an office. I pull my arm away from him, and take a few steps away from him. He leans against his desk, while I stand across from him with my arms crossed over my chest.
"So what did you want to talk about?"
"Us." I say. He furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head to the left a little.
"What about us?"
"About you constantly standing me up. We had a date tonight, that I might I remind you, you set up. So what the hell was so important, that you left me waiting for an hour." He sighs and runs his hand over his face.
"I told you, Toni invited me to hang out with her and a bunch of other serpents." I roll my eyes at that, and just shake my head.
"What Betty? What is so wrong with me wanting to hang out with my friends? You were the one who encouraged me to make more friends." He exclaims.
"I don't have a problem with you hanging out with friends. I have a problem with you constantly ditching me to hang out with Toni! Every time we have something planned, I wait an hours for you to show up, to end up getting a text from you saying that you 'can't make it because Toni needs me'. It's always 'Toni this' and 'Toni that'. I'm sick of it Jughead!" I yell.
"Are you kidding me, Betty? So yeah I miss a few dates, but you act like I'm cheating on you. Is that what you think? You think I'd cheat on you?" I open my mouth to say something but no words come out, and tears well up in my eyes. Jughead just shakes his head at my silence and scoffs.
"Wow, glad to know my own girlfriend doesn't trust me."
"Do not, act like you are the victim right now! You're the one ditching me, not the other way around! I've waited, Jughead. Waited for you to step up and show me that you still care about me, that you still love me. But when it came down to it, you chose her and you continue to choose her every single time. For once in my life I wanted someone to choose me, but I guess that's too much to ask for. I guess it's too much for me to ask my own boyfriend to choose me." I yell at him, but as I get closer to the end of my rant my voice quiets down. I watch as Jughead's face drops, and his eyes go glassy. I wipe a tear that managed to escape, away with my back hand. Neither of us speak for a moment, and all you can hear is our breathing and my sniffling. He finally, looks me in the eyes and speaks up.
"You really think I don't love you?" He asks, hurt.
"I don't know what to believe." I say, and walk past him and out of the room. He doesn't follow me or try to stop me, and part of me is happy because I'm not sure what I would've done if he had. The other part- the bigger part- is hurt that he didn't try to fight for me. I weave my way through the people, and exit the bar. I open my car door, and get in, starting the car. I sit back against my seat, and let all the sobs and cries I've been holding back go. I feel them wrack my entire body, and my heart feels as if it's been ripped into two. My other half is gone.
After a little while, I've finally calmed down and am stable enough to drive myself home safely. I drive out of the parking lot, and start the familiar drive back to my home. I don't remember much of driving home, my mind was too stuck on the events that had just taken place. When my car stopped in my driveway, I slowly scoot myself out of the car, and walk up into the house. Luckily, my mom is out on a business trip, so it's just me. I drag myself up the stairs into my bedroom, and slip under my pink comforter on my bed. I pull the covers tight around my body as I stare at my blank, white wall while tears stream down my cheeks. I'm not sure how long I lay there for, but I do know that at some point I did cry myself to sleep.
It's been 3 days. That's also how many days of school that I've missed. I haven't moved from my bed, not even to eat. My body feels weak and as if I've just shut down. I turned my phone off sometimes during the last 3 days, because I couldn't handle the constant calls and texts that I've been receiving from my friends.
I lay on my back staring up at my ceiling with no emotion on my face. I'm in my own little bubble of thoughts, when I hear footsteps approaching my bedroom. I turn my head and see Veronica standing there with sympathy and concern written all over her face. I don't say anything as I turn my gaze back to the ceiling above me. I hear her walk closer to my bed, and out of my peripherals see her sit on the bed beside me.
"Hey B, how you doing?" She asks me softly. I just scoff and move onto my side to look at her. She just nods, and reaches out her hand to rest on my arm, in an attempt to comfort me.
"So how's school?" I ask after a moment of silence.
"You mean how is Jughead? He's miserable, Betty. He comes to school with bags under his eyes, and his eyes are all red and bloodshot. As soon as he gets to school he comes to ask us if you're there, and when we say no he gets teary-eyed. He's so upset, you have no idea."
I feel my heart break as she tells me about him. I hate that he's in pain, but he really hurt me and I'm in pain too. I scoot closer to Veronica and lay my head in her lap as I start to cry. She pets my head and rubs my arm while shushing me.
"I miss him so much, V. I love him." I cry.
"I know, I know."
I continue to sob while she holds me. We stay like that for most of the night until she has to go home. I manage to fall asleep that night the same way I have every night.
The next morning, I stare at my reflection in the mirror sitting in the corner of my room. I'm wearing blue jeans, a gray hoodie- that just happens to be his- and my white Vans. I have dark bags under my now dull green eyes, with red rims around them. I didn't want to go to school today, but Veronica threatened to come over and drag me out of my bed all the way to the school. I sigh as I pick my backpack up off the floor, and walk down the stairs out the front door.
My anxiety gets higher and higher as I get closer to the school. When it comes into view, I have to take a few deep breaths before I feel okay enough to actually walk inside the school. When I push through the double doors, everyone turns to look at me. I just put my head down and walk down the hallway while everyone stares at me. I walk to my locker and open it, but as I'm grabbing my books I feel eyes burning into my neck. I slowly turn my head, and see Jughead standing with a group of serpents by the lockers across the hall from me. I meet his eyes and we just stare at each other. My eyes start to water, so I quickly look away. I close my locker and speed walk down the hall away from him. I round a corner, and lean against the wall while taking deep breaths. I try to calm my erratic breathing, and will the tears in my eyes to disappear.
I'm about to push off of the wall and continue my walk to science, but a rough hand on my elbow prevents me from moving. I look to my right, and Jughead's sorrow filled face comes into my view.
"What do you want, Jughead?" I say sharply. I rip my elbow from his grasp and pull my books tighter to my chest.
"Can we please just talk? Let me try to fix this. I don't want to lose you."
I think for minute, but reluctantly nod my head yes. He nods back, and starts walking toward the Blue and Gold with me following.
When we enter, he shuts the door behind us and comes to stand across from me. I drop my books onto the couch against the wall, and cross my arms over my chest. I keep my gaze trained on the door behind him, and don't even bother saying anything.
"Betty, I'm so sorry. I wasn't even thinking about how me skipping dates would affect you. I was selfish and completely neglected our relationship." He finally speaks up. I slowly move my eyes to look at him, and find him already staring at me. I look back down at the ground again, as his stare is too intense.
"Why did you do it? Why did you ignore me and continuously ditch me? I don't care that you have other friends, I'm actually really happy for you. I want you to have people that you feel you fit in with. It just hurt me that you'd rather hang out with some other girl that isn't me, and that maybe you didn't love me anymore." When I finish talking, I hear him walk closer to me, and soon I feel someone lifting my head up. I meet his glossy blue eyes, that are full of love and regret.
"I know baby, I know and I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it, but I promise if you give me another chance I won't do that to you ever again. I love you more than you'll ever understand, and I could never cheat on you," I hear his voice break as he talks, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because I can't picture myself with anyone else. I want to move in together in a house of our own, get married, and have a bunch of adorable little kids running around. I want to get so many dogs and watch our children grow up together, and even when we're old and wrinkly still be as in love as we were when we were 15. I want all of that with you, and only you. Please give me another chance, I can't do this without you."
Tears are streaming down both of our faces, and I reach my thumb up and cradle his cheek in my hand. I put my other hand on the back of his neck, and pull him down so our lips can meet in a passionate kiss. Our tears mix together as our lips move in a beautiful harmony, and I try to push all my love into this one kiss. I feel him doing the same as our tongues dance against each other. After what feels like an eternity, we pull away for air. I rest my forehead against his, as my chest heaves, looking for air.
"I do."
I actually published something, what the heck