Betty lay on the bed for a few moments, brain going over the basic facts of whatever had just happened. She didn't know what had happened and why her boyfriend had suddenly run out on her while they were ready to finally have sex. But she was insecure—and once the pain reached her heart, hurt—which made her take a bit more time before slowly sitting up, realizing what had happened.
She knew a panic attack when she saw one, and because the triggers were nowhere to be found, she just knew it had something to do with her. Either way, her feet quickly planted on the ground and carried her downstairs.
She pushed past the seniors that had now moved inside, frantically looking around to check if Jughead was still there when she noticed two girls in the kitchen, kissing, out of the sight of anyone else. Frowning and quickly debating in her head whether or not it was safe for Cheryl to know, she ran up to them, patting Toni's shoulder.
The girls jumped apart wide-eyed and stared at Betty. "Sorry," the blonde apologized in hurry, and just as Cheryl's eyes started growing wide, worried about her "cousin" now knowing about them, Betty continued. "Have you seen Jughead?"
"Oh," Toni said. "Yeah, he ran out the front door a few moments ago. Is everything okay?"
Betty didn't have the time to answer or even thank her as she was already running toward the door. Once outside, she made her way over to the vehicles where hers was parked as well and found Jughead's bike parked next to it.
Her brows knitted together and she huffed, frantically throwing her head back and forth until a certain beanie-wearing figure could be seen some feet away next to a huge tree. For a split second, Betty's mind tried to figure out where the beanie had suddenly come from, but then she realized his position: head in his hands, as close to his knees as possible, shoulders shaking. His hands were gripping the edge of his beanie, tugging it down to his ears in the attempt to cover his eyes and whole face with it.
Betty hurried over to him, but the last few steps she took slowly, his attention still on the ground under them as his lungs tried to function while he panted in panic.
"Jug," she said when she kneeled beside him, "breathe."
She wasn't sure if her voice was stern or soft, but it must have helped a bit because his mouth started doing the work, shoulders moving up and down in a steady rhythm.
"That's it," she whispered and offered him her hand which he gladly accepted, the stroke of her thumb on his palm calming him down a bit. Her other hand reached for his head and gently led it to her shoulder.
She didn't dare to run her hand through his hair in a state like that, though. It seemed as if the beanie was his comfort item or some sort, and instead, she pressed her lips on the hat, resting her cheek there, and started fingering the crown-shaped edge of it.
Jughead's breathing got calmer by second and in a few minutes, his body was rested against Betty's. They sat that way for a while until a few jocks walked out of the house, laughing together which was when the two rapidly scrambled to their feet and Jughead pulled Betty behind the tree they were leaning against.
Their arms went around each other, pressing against each other's body as they watched the boys walk away unsteadily. When they were out of the sight, Betty sighed and gently stepped out of his arms, looking up at him with worry.
"Are you okay, Jug?"
"I'm fine," he gruffly said. "But I need to go home."
"Why? What happened?" Her eyebrows furrowed, eyes wide while watching him. Jughead looked away uncomfortably, trying to think of some excuse.
"Was it I? Did I do something you didn't like? Do you... do you not wanna do these things with me?" The last question came out as a whisper, voice outing all her insecurities.
She had thought about it for a while now. How Jughead went around for the past few years, jumping in the bed with every girl on the horizon, but then she suddenly came along and he didn't want to do it with her.
"No," Jughead quickly said, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. "Baby, that's not it. Don't even dare think that way."
"But then... Why? What happened there?" Her voice was full of confusion, the emotion more present as she continued. "I'm worried, Juggie. I love you. And I know you love me too, but if you don't want to do things like that with me, or you feel uncomfortable, I want you to tell me and not get my hopes up."
"Betts," the boy sighed, sounding almost pained. "You didn't do anything wrong. I swear."
His eyes stayed on her as she lifted her eyebrows a bit, waiting for an explanation, and he sighed. "I love you," he simply said, as if that had told her everything.
"Okay... And?"
He chuckled, his voice outing the misery in his heart. "I love you. I've run around with girls since I was fourteen, and they didn't mean anything to me. But I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone, ever. I want it to be good and special, and I'm not sure if that's what I'm capable of."
"Jug," Betty let out an airy laugh. "You're already better than the last guy I was with, and we haven't even gotten to that point with you."
He couldn't help but smirk as he turned his head away, and Betty grinned, gently turning it back to face her. "Let's talk about that later, okay?"
He nodded and sighed.
"Can you tell me what happened in there?"
"I just..." He gulped, staring at the ground in confusion, and needed a few minutes to figure it out himself. She patiently waited, giving him his time, until he spoke again. "I got flashbacks."
"Oh?"
"Not because of you," he quickly said. "A bottle or something fell somewhere, and the guy behind the door barfed and..." he trailed off, looking confused. "I don't know."
Betty stayed quiet for a moment before biting her lower lip. "Your dad?"
"Yeah... I don't handle alcohol well, baby, and everyone smelled like it when I ran out, and I don't know."
At this point, his eyes were filled with tears, and Betty's heart ached at the sight, tugging him into a hug. He answered it with a relieved sigh, wrapping his arms around her as well, and relaxed against her body.
"Where did you get the beanie?" she finally mumbled a few minutes later when they pulled away slightly, her back against the tree.
"In the helmet," he said, and even though she couldn't see it in the dark, his cheeks flushed pink. "I uh... It makes me feel safe, so whenever my dad is a mean drunk and again, flashbacks appear, I... yeah. I use it."
Betty was smiling a little as she nodded. "That's good, right? To have something like that?"
"Yeah, I guess. Just kinda embarrassing, you know." He chuckled, shaking his head at himself. "Gonna be eighteen and I need the freaking hat."
Betty smiled. "Better than what I do."
His eyes narrowed, kind of playfully while also worried. "We're working on that, aren't we?"
"Yeah," she quietly said and looked away from his eyes with a small embarrassed smile, biting her lower lip.
He pressed himself closer so that they were chest to chest, and with his index finger, tilted her chin up. He pecked her lips shortly and when his forehead rested against hers, he smirked. "Now you're all shy? What happened to 'pants off'?" he asked, voice higher while he mocked her.
"Shut up," she giggled and Jughead smiled, pressing his lips against hers again, desperate to feel the joy of her voice.
Betty carefully pushed him away a few minutes later, panting slightly. "I forgot to tell you... I asked Toni if she had seen you, but she was with Cheryl, so now she also might know about us, and now she knows I know about them. So, yeah, just a heads up."
With an amused grin on his face, Jughead just watched her until she looked back at him, waiting for him to say something. "We were having a moment and you bring up my best friend and your kind-of-but-also-kind-of-not cousin?"
His voice was full of amusement, and Betty rolled her eyes, turning her head away with a slight giggle. "I'm sorry."
"You better be," he said, teeth nibbling her earlobe. "I like you without earrings," he whispered, sending shivers through her body.
"Good. I left them off just for you."
"Is that so?" he hummed as he slightly leaned away to see her face while she shyly nodded. Smiling, he leaned in again, kissing her breathless. "What if we set a date?" he suddenly whispered.
"Haven't we been going on dates for a while now?" Betty asked with a hint of a smile.
Jughead rolled his eyes. "Set a date for having sex."
Her body went still and she looked at him in confusion. "Wait what?"
"You're always so eager, and I can't handle myself if you keep flirting and acting this way."
"What way?" she asked, biting her lip. That only caused him to narrow his eyes and her giggle.
"See?" he practically growled. "Let's set a date. My trailer isn't safe even if I know my dad won't come home, because my friends think it's a passageway..."
"My parents are out next weekend," she said.
"Yeah?" There was a smile playing on his lips when she nodded. "Good," he whispered, planting a kiss onto her temple. "Then it's safe and you're gonna feel comfortable."
"Do you promise to bring a condom though?"
He could tell she was making fun of him, and his hands on her waist squeezed her sides for that, making her squeak and then giggle after. "Hm. Tickly, huh? I'll remember that."
Her cheeks turned red and he grinned, noticing it even in the bad lighting. "Real talk, though," he said. "We need lube?"
Betty seemed uncomfortable with the question, but Jughead intently watched her reaction, the embarrassed look on her face not telling him if she did indeed need it or if she didn't.
"Um... I'm... turned on by you," she finally said. "Even now. So, no. I don't think so."
His smirk looked almost arrogant and Betty made sure the slap she gave his chest was hard enough to make it sting a bit, even if all he did was laugh at it.
"Even now, huh? Could I take you right here and now?" he teased.
She seemed to take it seriously though, eyes growing wide. "People will see."
"I was joking, baby," he sniggered, and earned another slap, accompanied by a pout on her lips. "But hey, now I know you don't like to do things in public.
"Ew, who would?"
"I've heard your ginger friend and Toni like to have attention," he smirked.
"Ew," she said again, and then sniggered after when she leaned in to kiss him. "I don't like PDA much."
"What about holding hands and kissing?"
"Always."
She swore his laughter could be heard even from the inside.
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