The following Saturday, with Betty's parents out of town for a conference, the girl was finally allowed to go to the drive-in—the first one this summer. Well, maybe 'allowed' wasn't the best word choice for it, but she was able to go.
Supposedly, she was going with Kevin in his truck, even though Betty was sure her gay best friend would sneak off to have a secret date with whoever he had been running around with lately, and she would be able to slip into the oddly big projection booth Jughead most likely would be at.
And there was Betty's problem. She couldn't tell her friend she would be having 'a date' with someone, and therefore, couldn't dress like it. But for Jughead, she also didn't only want to pull on her skinny jeans and a sweater as usual.
Biting her lip, the girl observed the outfit laid out in front of her on the bed; ripped jeans that her mom never let her wear, and a slim white sweater. Betty carefully grabbed the light material, folding it together perfectly, and placed it back into her dresser. With a nervous smile on her lips, she grabbed a white top with spaghetti straps instead, making sure to add one of her baggy dark green sweaters on it.
She had felt rather good about her body that day and hadn't eaten much, so even when the small white material was pulled on and she stared into the mirror, the stomach didn't look as bad as usual.
Adding the jeans and cute pink sneakers, she watched her reflection again, giving a shuddering breath. Betty wasn't used to dressing as she liked. Though, after putting on a small amount of natural makeup, constantly looking at herself in the mirror, she tugged the green sweater over her head, wondering that she wouldn't even have to take it off if she felt self-conscious later.
Jughead was seated in the bar when a message came through from Betty, telling him she was ready and would see him in an hour. With a grin on his face, he texted back a few emojis.
"There he goes with that look again," Toni said, his head whipping up to look at his best friend. "Talking to the pretty blonde, I guess?"
"Shut up," he almost grumbled, giving her a death glare.
"Why, dude?" Joaquin chuckled, appearing next to their table as well. "Everyone knows."
"What?" he said, bewildered.
Toni simply rolled her eyes. "Oh come down, lover boy. Everyone knows there's a girl. Nobody knows who she is. That is, no one but us."
Jughead's eyes moved to Joaquin, observing his smile as he took a seat next to his other friend. "I know, mate. I had my suspicions, and when Toni blurted it out, it became real."
"Fuck you, Topaz," the boy cursed under his breath.
Emojis the only thing you give me today? Ooookay... see you soon!
Another smile came to his face as he quoted a book to her, Betty sending back a winking emoji, understanding.
"So, how far along are you two? I understand she's a Northsider, but have you gotten her to bed already?" Toni smirked.
"Not telling you this," Jughead said, a frown present on his forehead. He slowly sipped the drink in his hand while his friends shared a look.
"You haven't even kissed her yet, huh?" Joaquin asked.
The boy groaned, throwing his head back while doing so before leaning forward and shifting the beanie back onto his head normally.
"Come on, Jones, what are you waiting for? Usually, it takes two minutes to get a girl into your hands, and a few more to get into her pants..." the girl said.
"She's different," he mumbled.
"Never thought I'd see the day when Jones falls in love," Joaquin said, smirking as he joined Toni in teasing their friend.
"Fuck you guys." Jughead stood from the table and grabbed a cigarette from Joaquin's pack that was resting over the table.
"Where are you going?" Toni called after him.
"Away from you!"
With the wooden ladder securely under his shoes, Jughead peeked into the window and knocked on the glass. The girl on the other side grinned, jumped off her bed, and hurried to give him a hand on climbing inside.
"Hey there, Juliet."
With a slight roll of her eyes, a giggle escaping from her mouth, Betty hauled him inside. "You know nobody's home, you could've used the door this time."
The boy simply shrugged, for the first time having the chance to normally look around her room. Various shades of pink, some white, and a few darker posters on the wall above her bed. The room was girly yet endearing and he could tell she had had a say in the decorations—it didn't look completely like her mother.
"This way is more fun," Jughead said before moving to give her a long welcoming hug. "Had a nice day at work?"
"Mhm," Betty smiled. "And I won't be needed for the next few days. Also, Mrs. Mantle decided to pay me a bit, and it's not the small amount I had been expecting."
"How could anyone not pay you a huge amount of money with a smile like this?"
Pulling her lip in between her teeth, Betty stared at him for a moment before turning away, the boy quietly sniggering. He had seen the big smile on her face and knew she liked compliments. They made her feel good and wanted, and if anything, he could at least do that.
"So when's Kevin getting here?"
"Uh, in about half an hour," Betty said and sighed when he leaned against her window seat. "You gotta go already?"
"Unfortunately. I need to get the movies ready. But... I'll see you there?"
The blonde nodded, leaning up to give his cheek a brief kiss goodbye, resulting in the boy's cheek turning slightly pink, Betty giggling at it. Jughead frowned deeply and started to climb down the ladder again, not liking the fact that she had broken his cold exterior. When had he ever blushed?
The girl smiled to herself, about to leave her room to go downstairs and drink a glass of water when Jughead's head popped back to her view next to the opened window. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look? Because you do. I love the outfit, it's very... you."
Without having the chance to blush or ask what he meant by that, Jughead was already gone and Betty turned to look at the mirror once more, a smile lingering on her lips this time. With her hair down and ripped jeans on, she felt like herself, as well.
"I wanna meet her, Jones," Toni said without exchanging welcoming pleasantries when Jughead approached her and Joaquin in the furthest end of the back row full of Serpents.
"She's not here yet," the boy simply stated. "Besides, it would be too risky."
"Oh come on, Jug," the girl chuckled. "You don't actually believe we're not allowed to date Northsiders?"
The beanie-wearing boy simply raised his eyebrows, eyeing her for a moment before gazing at Joaquin who seemed just as serious as he was. Toni looked between the two boys before widening her eyes. "Oh my god. Are you serious?"
"It's written in the Serpent rules, Toni," Joaquin said.
"Well... yeah, but... aren't most of them like... fake?" the girl was almost stuttering while stumbling over her words with a look of horror on her face.
A smirk appeared on Jughead's face, knowing that look fairly well. She had something she had been hiding too. "Who's the Northsider, Topaz?" he asked, taking a seat next to his friends on one of the free camping chairs they had brought.
"What?" her eyes went huge, and Jughead couldn't help but laugh at the fact that she was a horrible liar.
"Spill, Topaz," Joaquin sniggered as well, looking around to make sure nobody was listening to them. No one was.
Toni grimaced, glaring at her two friends. "Blossom," she whispered, resulting in the boys' jaws falling towards the ground.
"Blossom?" Joaquin whispered back in horror. "Which one?"
Jughead on the other hand erupted in laughter, throwing his head back—something his friends or the other Serpents didn't see too often. By now, some of the older guys were throwing looks at them, surprised to find Jones laughing and not wearing one of those icy cold glares.
"Not her, Toni. Do you know how bad she is?" Jughead quietly said, still laughing to himself.
"Well, I'm sure she's not as nice and sweet as your sunflower, but she's one hell of a woman in bed," the girl smirked.
"Ew, Topaz. Cheryl Blossom?" Joaquin whispered.
"Again, probably not as nice as Keller, but—"
She was cut off by Joaquin choking on his drink and Jughead laughing once again. "This is like a whole comedy show," he chuckled. "We're all breaking the rules? Dude? Why haven't you said anything?"
"He's a Keller," Joaquin hissed at them. "The worst for the Serpents. He's a cop's son. The sheriff's."
"Not as bad as Alice Cooper's I assume," Toni smirked.
"Or the Blossoms'," Jughead added before chuckling to himself and standing up from his seat. "Let's go get some snacks? I gotta head back to the booth soon."
Betty was sitting in her car with Kevin who was gushing about the vehicle and enjoying the attention he got. She couldn't focus on it, though. The smell of the popcorn and nachos were everywhere as she drove through the gates of the drive-in, stopping momentarily to show their tickets to the gatekeeper.
The food and the constant fear of driving into someone were occupying her mind, plus the fact that every head turned when they passed. Betty slowly drove toward the third to last row of cars and trucks, finding their spot, and carefully tried to maneuver the car into the tight parking space.
"Betty, watch out!" Kevin suddenly exclaimed, pulling her out of her trans, hitting the breaks as soon as possible. Someone could be heard shrieking behind the car, making the blonde quickly turn around in horror, afraid she had hit them.
There he was. Jughead Jones. With his two best friends since the night of the fight in his trailer park when he was still in kindergarten. Betty was utterly shocked, not knowing what to say, and slowly turned back around, closing her eyes in embarrassment.
"It's fine, blondie!" she heard the girl's voice and when she turned back around, the three had already started moving on, an amused look in Jughead's eyes even as his usual scowl was present on his face.
She also noticed another detail—Joaquin winking at Kevin before they disappeared.
"Oh god, that was embarrassing," the girl breathed, quickly covering up the fact that the boy he had developed a major crush on had almost been run over by her. Alongside with his two best friends, one of which clearly was dating Kevin, as much as both of them tried and failed to hide it.
The blonde didn't bring the topic up though and watched the way her friend grinned while nodding. He sucked at keeping secrets. But, this time, she was going to act as if she didn't know. Even though it had been on her mind for a while, and all her theories had just gotten proved a second ago.
"Let's just park the car and get some snacks," the boy said, oblivious to the grimace Betty made at the mention of food. She wasn't going to be able to hold herself back from eating the buttery popcorn if Kevin would be gulping it down next to her. Or for that matter, Jughead.
"Jug?" the boy heard about thirty minutes into the movie and smiled widely from his chair, staring out of the window to see the movie himself.
"Hey you," he said. "Still haven't learned how to work the breaks on your car, huh?"
"Shut up," Betty mumbled, deeply embarrassed by it, though feeling better when he wrapped her up in his arms and dropped a kiss on top of her head.
"How much time you have before Kevin starts suspecting anything?" Jughead said into her hair.
Betty leaned away and grinned up at him. "He sneaked off himself, and sometimes he forgets I exist, so maybe till the end of the first movie?"
Jughead chuckled, reading from her eyes that she knew who he had run off with, but not mentioning it for the sake of his friend. It wasn't either of their business, and both being respectful, they kept it to themselves even as they respectfully shared a smirk.
"Enough of that," the boy said and pointed at the ladder taking them to the top floor they had hung out at quite a few times.
Betty smiled and took the lead, starting to climb up the wooden piece carefully as if not to fall. Jughead could've sworn her ass looked even better this way though and was oblivious to the fact that she was swaying it a bit more to give him a better show, smirking to herself while doing so.
When the boy reached upstairs as well, he saw Betty already sitting on the mattress there, shoes pushed off and legs crossed. "So why this movie choice, Jones?" the blonde questioned. "I mean, knowing you, it's definitely not for the sake of more people?"
Jughead shrugged. "My boss told me to put on something teenagers would like. So I decided on crime and action. Plus, name one movie writer slash producer better and iconic than Tarantino."
He sat down next to her just as Betty smiled, knowing his preferences. "Hitchcock?"
Jughead shrugged as he lay down to see the movie that was simultaneously playing outside on the big screen and the wall in front of them. "No Betts. While his movies were legendary, he created the stereotype of blonde young women being stupid, oblivious, dependent on men, without her own thoughts, and more. That is unacceptable. We do not sexualize women in this projection booth."
Betty giggled as she lay down next to him, accepting his arm by placing her head on his biceps. "I thought you liked the movies."
"Well, the fact that he fashioned and showcased a stupid stereotype that doesn't even exist, doesn't mean we can't enjoy the amazing, iconic cinematography."
"True," she said. "But maybe it does exist? I mean at least in some people..."
"I know for a fact that it doesn't," Jughead murmured, watching her face intently. "I've got this blonde in my arms right now and she's the smartest and strongest girl I've ever met."
As her emerald eyes moved to him, they were big and genuine, the smile on her lips widening when she turned to her side to be more comfortable against his side. "Oh yeah? And who's that?"
Kiss her. "Hm, I believe her name was... Liz?" he teased back, making her laugh out loud.
"You're a dork, you know that?" she said admiringly.
Kiss her. "Only for you, Betty Cooper," he mumbled, eyes dropping to her pink lips that smelled like strawberries.
"Oh, I know," Betty said the same way, eyes locked to his lips, the slight smell of cigarettes erupting for them for the first time in her life feeling appealing. Now, one of them would need to make the next move and shut the small distance between their mouths.
Kiss her, the voice in Jughead's head whispered. Breathing quietly in the loud noise erupting from out of the booth, the boy's head started moving. Their foreheads touched. Noses brushed. Betty's lips parted in anticipation, eyes falling shut. The boy was focused on her upper lip, about to take it in between his—
"Jughead!" they heard, jumping apart and into seated positions at the sudden voice. Betty bit her lip, sighing quietly as she rested her forehead against her knees for a moment, breathing uneven. "Jones, get your ass down here, FP got into a fight with a ghoulie!" Toni shouted.
"Fuck," the boy groaned and threw an apologetic look to Betty before disappearing down the ladder and jogging into the night. The girl simply sighed before getting up herself and moving downstairs and slipping out of the booth.
"Dad," Jughead cursed under his breath as they reached the crowd around the two grown men fighting, a guard trying to separate them, only to receive a few punches and dial the police instead.
Malachi, the young leader of the Ghoulies stepped into the circle of people repeating the word over and over again. Fight! Fight! Fight! Jughead, already angry at his father, Toni, and everyone but Betty on this goddamned planet, went to help his dad, and protect him from the uneven leagues of fighters.
His fist collided with Malachi's chin and the guy was hauled onto the ground solely from that, making Jughead sneer. But then, another Ghoulie showed himself, giving him what in the future would be a black eye.
Jughead heard many gasps from the crowd, as well as people cheering him, but the one that stood out to him was the small cry of worry erupting from a girl's mouth. He turned his head only to see Betty standing there, eyes huge with worry as she stared at him.
The boy froze for a second, staring right back at her, but that brief moment was enough to receive another punch. Cursing himself for having a weak spot for this girl, Jughead wiped his nose from the blood, throwing a hook at the guy's chin before helping his father up from where he sat in pain.
"Thanks, boy," FP said, receiving a small nod from Jughead right before the sirens could be heard.
The whole crowd started separating rapidly, running away, but the blonde girl in the very front stayed, eyes still wide, and Jughead was about to start to worry about her having a panic attack when Kevin came along. "Come on, Betty," the boy urged, grabbed his friend's hand, and pulled her away, back toward their car.
Jughead was arrested that night for a questioning, and he knew it would also contain something about Mantle being murdered. But he wasn't worried for the Serpents, knowing that even the ones who didn't have an alibi, had gotten it now from him, appearing at least once on the bar safety camera.
The boy was worried because he could feel the phone going off in his pocket, and later hear it on the table between him and Sheriff Keller, without being allowed to answer. He needed to make sure Betty was fine. Because even as they hadn't kissed, not even once (his father be damned for that), he knew that he felt something for the girl that he had never felt before.
And now, most likely, he had scared her off.
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I'm sorry? Who knows if they'll ever kiss now that Jughead has scared her off, huh? Hehe xx
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