Chapter Text
listen to glittery - kacey musgraves feat. troye sivan
You shake me up and turn me upside down
Just like a snow globe
And every time you touch me
I shiver right down to my toes
You've got a strange effect on me
You know you make me feel so
Glittery
-kacey musgraves, troye sivan
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is actually quite pleasant in your average Brooklyn bar. So many of the city’s citizens flee for the weekend, returning to suburban towns with doting family members to watch football and eat leftovers. None of Veronica Lodge’s friends really have such a sanctuary. Maybe that’s why they’re such good friends. But it’s certainly why they’re all here to enjoy a relatively empty Cardinal Bar.
Veronica stands at the bar waiting as trusty neighborhood bartender Sweet Pea prepares her whiskey sour. At this vantage point, she can watch and observe all her friends squeezed in their favorite booth. Most of them met right here in this bar.
There’s her boyfriend Archie Andrews, laughing his ass off at the moment. He’s a music teacher by day who performs with a bunch of different bands by night. Ever since Archie and Veronica met playing pool at this very bar, they have been nearly inseparable—much to the annoyance of Jughead Jones, Archie’s oldest friend and roommate, a grumpy adjunct professor who’s forever writing his novel. (Though Jughead softened a bit when he found out Veronica was a public defender, having initially assumed she was a corporate lawyer. “Those are my parents,” Veronica had corrected.)
Then there’s Cheryl Blossom and Toni Topaz, perhaps even more inseparable than Veronica and Archie. They sit across from Archie and Jughead, seemingly telling one of their signature outrageous stories if everyone’s reactions are anything to go by. Toni, a barista slash freelance photographer, grew up here in Flatbush with Jughead and Archie, but she lived with her uncle up until a year ago, when she moved in with Cheryl.
The bell on the door chimes. Veronica notices that Jughead turns his head immediately, before Cheryl cheers, “Betty!”
A flustered Betty Cooper shuffles over to their booth, unwrapping the thick scarf tied around her neck. Betty is Cheryl’s cousin, and the two of them moved to Brooklyn from their small town of Riverdale a couple years ago. Cheryl works in fashion marketing, and Betty at the time was pursuing journalism. The cousins were welcomed into their little friend group when Toni and Cheryl met at Cardinal Bar only a couple weeks after their arrival, only to find out that Cheryl and Betty had moved into the building directly across the street from Archie and Jughead’s.
Veronica’s eyes pause to focus on Betty as she scoots into the booth.
Betty is, in many ways, the most elusive of their friends. She’s no longer pursuing investigative journalism, instead using her skills as part of the research department of a labor union. But at the moment, she only seems to have eyes for Jughead.
Veronica narrows her eyes. An interesting development, indeed.
“Sorry for the wait, Veronica,” Sweet Pea says, sliding her glass across the bar. “Wanted to get it just right.”
“Oh no trouble, Sweets. You know how I like to people-watch,” Veronica replies, sliding him a crisp $5 bill.
Veronica finally returns to their table, Archie immediately standing up to make room for her.
Betty looks up from her conversation with Jughead, seemingly surprised. “Oh, V! I didn’t even see you were here. How are you?”
Veronica grins, reaching across the table to briefly clasp Betty’s hand. “I am simply divine, my dear. How was your Thanksgiving?”
Betty shoots Cheryl a look; her cousin snorts.
“We had a very Riverdale Thanksgiving,” Betty says.
“What does that even mean?” Archie asks.
“Let me put it this way, Arch,” Jughead cuts in. “If Veronica is Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Riverdale is In Cold Blood.” Betty and Cheryl both nod their heads in agreement, Toni laughing at the comparison.
“Yeah, that didn’t help me at all, dude,” Archie says. He finishes off his beer, slapping his hand on the table. “Who needs a refill? Betty, you need a drink?”
“Just a beer for me, thanks Archie,” Betty responds.
.
.
.
Veronica keeps a close eye on Betty and Jughead for the rest of the night. It doesn’t take them long to get lost in dialogue with one another again, ignoring Cheryl, Toni, and Archie’s conversation about Spotify Wrapped.
Veronica narrows her eyes, scanning across the table to Jughead. He looks equally as engaged in the conversation as Betty. In fact, his eyes are practically sparkling. Sparkling! Jughead doesn’t typically sparkle. Or really even smile.
“Veronica?”
Veronica turns to Archie. “Sorry,” she says. “Got distracted. What were you saying?”
“We wanted to know if you’re joining our Spotify Wrapped pool.”
“Is this to see if Cheryl gets Carly Rae Jepsen as her top artist for the third year in a row?”
Cheryl rolls her eyes. “We know that’s gonna happen, what’s the fun in that? No, this is to guess which day it’ll drop.”
Veronica says “hmm” and taps her chin in consideration.
But Veronica’s not really thinking about the pool. No, she’s concocting a Christmas scheme.
.
.
.
Veronica waits until Cheryl says she has to use the bathroom, and then quickly follows her into the ladies’ room.
“What’s up, Veronica?” Cheryl says, watching as Veronica opens each stall to ensure they’re alone.
“I need a new scheme for the holidays, and I think I found the perfect candidates.”
Cheryl raises an eyebrow. "Intrigue! Go on.”
“It concerns your dear cousin and my beau’s best friend. Have you seen the way they look at each other?”
Cheryl seems to consider. “Okay, not the worst pairing I could think of, but why this match-making? Did you watch one too many Hallmark movies?”
Veronica laughs, shaking her head. “I just think Jughead might be less broken-hearted in the new year when he hears Archie and I are looking for a new place together…if he had a beautiful girlfriend to console him. And who better than someone who’s already in our inner circle?”
Cheryl grins mischievously. Veronica knows how to appeal to her friend’s propensity for chaos. “I’m in.”
“That’s the last box.”
Cheryl wipes a layer of dust off the plastic bin, labeled “CHRISTMAS” in Betty’s looping handwriting.
“Y’all have a lot of holiday decorations for a couple of twenty-somethings,” Toni observes, opening the bin closest to her to reveal boxes of ball ornaments.
Betty sits across the floor, untangling a string of colored lights.
“We rescued a lot of these from my parents’ house after they got divorced,” Betty explains.
“Believe me, you don’t want to hear any more about that,” Cheryl warns.
Betty laughs, nodding her agreement. “Cooper-Blossom family politics are endless and awful, but at least Alice has good taste in Christmas ornaments.”
“Amen to that,” Cheryl says, pulling out a glittery white ornament in the shape of a stand mixer.
“She got that for me a couple years ago because of my whole baking-while-stressed thing,” Betty explains.
Toni laughs. “That’s one of your tastiest qualities, Betty.”
“Why thank you.”
Toni and Betty get to work unfurling the folded-up branches of their fake tree while Cheryl organizes the ornaments on their coffee table, silently scheming as she watches her roommates. See, when Veronica proposed her scheme the other night, Cheryl’s own wheels had been turning. She could picture what it might look like next Christmas if it was just Cheryl and Toni living in their little apartment, and she liked that picture a lot.
Betty’s a great roommate: she pays rent on time, cleans more than her share, and always makes enough for everyone when she cooks and bakes. But Cheryl has been thinking about taking the next step in her relationship with Toni for a while now. Veronica’s right; maybe a new romance with Jughead is just the thing to soften the blow.
“Cheryl!”
Cheryl looks up and notices that both Toni and Betty are staring at her.
“Sorry, I was totally spacing out. What’s up?”
“Pass us the tree topper,” Betty says, in a tone that makes it clear she’s repeating herself. Cheryl realizes the gold star in question is sitting on the table right beside her.
Cheryl walks over to the tree, admiring the lights Betty has strung. “Looking good, ladies,” Cheryl says, passing off the star so Betty can climb up on a stool and place it on the highest bough.
“So, Betty,” Cheryl says, watching her cousin adjust the star until it sits just right. “How are you feeling about the holidays coming up so soon?”
Toni shoots Cheryl a weird look but Cheryl returns with widened “trust me” eyes.
Betty jumps down from the stool to admire her handiwork. “Fine, I guess? Some of the Christmas magic evaporated for me when I started having to choose which parent to see on Christmas Day, but this helps.” She gestures toward the tree.
“But I mean, spending another Christmas alone, it must get lonely,” Cheryl says. Betty has been perpetually single since they moved to New York, minus an extremely brief fling with one of the old bartenders at Cardinal Bar. None of her boyfriends in Riverdale had been much to write home about or anything, but at least Betty was getting pretty consistently laid back then.
Betty shrugs. “I don’t know, I hadn’t thought about it. I have my job and my friends.” Quickly, Betty pivots. “Should we start putting ornaments on?”
“Start with your stand mixer!” Toni insists, passing the ornament to Betty.
“Do we have any more of those little hooks?” Cheryl asks, rummaging around in one of the ornament boxes.
“I’ll grab some paper clips from my room,” Betty offers. “It’ll do the job.”
The second Betty is down the hall and out of earshot, Toni hisses, “No offense but what the fuck are you doing, babe?”
“Just trust me,” Cheryl says. “I’ll fill you in later.”
She shoots off a quick text to Veronica.
CHERYL:
Groundwork successfully laid.
VERONICA:
Excellent.
For as long as Archie can remember, he and Jughead have watched The Santa Clause in early December, always on Archie’s insistence.
(“We have to get into the Christmas spirit,” he’d insist. “I don’t know what’s so spirited about Santa falling off a roof and dying, but okay,” Jughead would reply.)
This year is no different. Archie sits beside Veronica on the couch, his arm slung around her slender frame. Jughead is perched on his usual armchair, occasionally distracted by his phone but largely paying attention and offering his sardonic commentary here and there.
It’s toward the end of the movie that Veronica apparently decides to pay attention to Jughead’s texting.
“You’ve been on your phone all night,” Veronica observes. It takes Jug a minute to realize she’s referring to him.
“No I haven’t,” Jughead says quickly, putting his phone in his pocket as if he’s in trouble with his teacher. “And you’re one to talk, I’m pretty sure I watched you make a purchase off of an Instagram ad since this movie started.”
Veronica rolls her eyes. “Okay, well, for you that seems like a lot of texting.” She pauses then casually adds, “Are you talking to someone you’re seeing?”
Jughead turns and exchanges a weird look with Archie, who shrugs. He has no idea what’s gotten into Veronica.
“I was just checking the Discord updates on my union negotiations. They had a bargaining session today,” Jughead replies, sounding pretty unfazed.
“Are things going well?” Archie offers, trying to break the tension.
“Not really, no,” Jughead says frankly. “Universities don’t tend to like paying adjuncts a living wage in my experience.”
“Oh,” Archie says. “Well, maybe…”
“Actually, I’m pretty tired,” Jughead says. “So if you don’t mind, I’m gonna head to sleep. But I’m available to help put up the Christmas tree tomorrow like I said earlier.”
“Good night!” Archie and Veronica say in unison.
Archie watches Jughead walk down the hall, waiting until the door to the bathroom clicks shut to turn to Veronica. She’s scrolling through her email, unperturbed.
“Okay, so why the hell are you interrogating Jug?”
“I wasn’t that obvious, Archiekins, give me some credit.”
“Maybe not to Jug, but I know you, Ronnie. What do you have up your sleeve?”
Veronica sighs. “I hadn’t decided if you should be in on this yet, sweet Archiekins. But I guess there’s no choice now.”
Archie narrows her eyes. “Ronnie, you’re being insanely cryptic. Spit it out.”
“MeandCherylareschemingtosetupBettyandJughead,” she blurts out.
“Whoa, slow down,” Archie says, laughing. He tries to process this information; after all, Jughead is his oldest friend and he’s long wanted Jug to find his perfect match like Archie had with Veronica. “So, Jughead and…Betty? Are you just trying to pair off our last two single friends in time for Christmas?”
Veronica shakes her head. “I mean…no! Seriously, I’ve seen a spark between them! And I just…” She grabs Archie’s hand, instantly softening him toward her. “I want us to be able to start looking at apartments in January and not feel like we’re abandoning Jughead to be all alone. I want to make sure he has someone looking after him.”
“Aw,” Archie teases. “You care about Jughead.”
“Uch, whatever,” Veronica says, removing her hand. “This is mostly selfish. And fun.”
“You do love a good scheme,” Archie says, reaching for her chin and pulling her in for a kiss. When their lips part, Veronica’s eyes are still closed, a serene smile on her face. Archie grins; he’ll never get tired of this.
“Alright, Ronnie, if there’s no stopping you then I want in. What’s the plan?”
The next morning, Cheryl and Toni are in bed scrolling through their phones when Toni stops on a picture Betty had posted of their decorated Christmas tree.
“Cheryl,” Toni says. “You never told me what you were up to last night. You know, with Betty.”
Cheryl drops her phone, turning to stroke Toni's shoulder. “You’re right. I’m sorry for leaving you in the dark for so long, TT. Veronica and I have concocted a bit of a Christmas scheme, if you will.”
Toni raises her eyebrows. “Okay, so what is it? And how can I help?”
“Okay, so we’re trying to set up Betty and Jughead!”
“OOH!” Toni says, her own wheels already turning. “I’ve seen the way Jughead looks at Betty. I'm glad that we're in agreement that he needs to get off his ass and do something about it.”
“Yeah, sure," Cheryl says. “I care less about that than about what happens once Betty and Jughead get together. Think about it: Archie and Veronica can move out and then it’s only a matter of time before we get the apartment all to ourselv-”
She’s interrupted by both of their phones dinging.
Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones are inviting you to a Chrismukkah Party! December 17, 2022, 8 PM Click here to RSVP
“Okay, these two would never throw a Christmas party without Veronica’s involvement,” Toni says.
“Yeah, and I doubt they’ve ever watched The O.C. They probably don’t even understand the Chrismukkah reference!”
Toni laughs. “Wait,” she says. “Is this part of the scheme?”
“Oh my God, you’re right!” Cheryl says, shooting off a text to Veronica and Archie. “Those conniving bitches are scheming without us!”
CHERYL:
We need to meet.
Archie is the last to arrive at Sally’s, their much less-frequented bar in the neighborhood. The perfect place for “a lowkey meeting of the minds,” according to Veronica.
Archie finds Cheryl, Veronica, and Toni huddled around a table in the back.
“Did anyone see you on your way in here?” Cheryl asks, lowering her sunglasses.
Archie shakes his head at Cheryl’s usual melodrama.
He kisses Veronica “hello” and is about to get up to order a drink when Cheryl stops him.
“We need this to be as quick a meeting as possible to remain undetected,” Cheryl says. “Veronica, it’s my understanding that you have come prepared with a proposition.”
“Okay, it’s a simple but effective plan, and the entire reason we are throwing a Chrismukkah party.”
“I knew it!” Toni hisses.
“We will have a very strategically placed sprig of mistletoe at the party,” Veronica explains. “It will be our collective duty to get Betty and Jughead underneath it at the same time. And then we’ll let natural chemistry do its work. I mean, have you seen those two get lost in conversation with each other? They just need that extra push.”
“Just one sprig of mistletoe?” Toni says. “Don’t your parents have an insane amount of money? Maybe we could spring for two sprigs. Raise the chances of getting them under the mistletoe.”
Veronica sighs. “Okay, fair. We will strategically place two sprigs of mistletoe throughout the party and work together to get Betty and Jughead underneath one of them at the same time.”
Cheryl nods. “It seems like a perfect plan A. And if it doesn’t work…”
“Hey now, do you really doubt Veronica when it comes to holiday-themed schemes?” Archie defends his girlfriend. “She was known to match-make during Halloweekend at Barnard, and at least one of those couples is engaged!”
“Thanks, Archiekins,” Veronica says, laughing and kissing his cheek. “But that’s okay. If the Chrismukkah party comes and goes and our dear Betty and Jughead are not yet romantically intertwined, we can reconvene here.”
“Great,” Cheryl says. “With that, I guess we can adjourn…”
“Yes!” Archie agrees, attempting to play along with Cheryl’s theatrics. “I hereby adjourn this meeting of Operation Mistletoe.”
“I don’t think we need to name it,” Cheryl says.
“Yeah, we’re good,” Toni agrees.
“Plus aren’t codenames not supposed to give away the plan?” Veronica points out.
Archie rolls his eyes. “Too late! It’s Operation Mistletoe.”
Jughead jumps off the Q train with his headphones on, taking the stairs two at a time. Out on the street, he takes a hit off his vape pen and glances around, making sure he doesn’t recognize anyone. With the way clear, Jughead high-tails it down Flatbush Avenue in the opposite direction of his apartment.
It doesn’t take long to reach Veronica’s building. With a wave to the doorman, Jughead makes his way to the elevator.
Letting himself in quietly, Jughead enters the dark, empty apartment, flicking on lights as he goes. He puts down his work backpack, takes off his jacket, and waits.
The buzzer chimes only a few minutes later.
Jughead stands not-so-patiently at the door, leaving it slightly ajar and shifting from foot to foot.
Suddenly, she’s there. And then, she’s on him.
“God, I’ve missed you,” Betty Cooper whispers in his ear, and it’s everything he needed to hear. His hands find their way into her hair, tugging just slightly to make Betty moan. Jughead closes the door behind them.
It’s been two weeks since Jughead swiped Archie's key to Veronica’s apartment, providing a perfect place right in the neighborhood for these clandestine meetings with Betty. It’s not like Veronica is ever actually here, in this carefully furnished, luxury apartment with an aerial view of Prospect Park. Instead, he thinks bitterly, she’s in his apartment, taking up space.
Betty slides her hands under Jughead’s sweater, lifting the hem suggestively. “Take it off,” she whispers, and he happily complies.
They fumble with each other’s clothing until the garments lay in a puddle on the floor. Jughead grabs her face in his hands, needing to make up for all that lost time without their lips attached. She moans into his mouth, and Jughead slowly walks them toward the bed, Betty gently falling back and pulling him on top of her.
Jughead begins a tedious worship of her body, starting at her collarbone and making his way down between her breasts.
“Have you been thinking about me?” Betty whispers between heavy breaths. He presses one kiss on each breast before taking a nipple in his mouth. “Oh. Fuck.”
“Constantly,” Jughead replies belatedly, continuing his descent past her belly button.
“Good,” Betty whispers, watching him intently, like she can’t wait to see what he does next. “Because I was thinking about…this.”
Betty screams when he finally gets his mouth on her, and he delights in the sound. She comes like that, her hands tangled in his hair, expletives flying off her tongue.
Afterwards, she grabs him, pulling him into a forceful, passionate kiss. It lasts a long time, Betty moaning at the taste of herself on Jughead’s lips. She only pulls away so Jughead can rummage around in his discarded jeans for a condom.
He pauses, careful not to rip the condom in his haste. Every single time they meet up, Jughead can’t believe this is his real life. They’ve been fooling around since Halloween, yet Jughead still can’t comprehend why the neighbor-turned-friend he’d been crushing on for nearly two years would want to slum it with him.
“Jughead, I need you inside me,” Betty pants. He turns around and there she is, legs spread, waiting for him. He’s never been so turned-on.
“Whatever you wish, Betty,” he replies, rolling the condom on as she watches him. He doesn’t think she’s trying to be seductive, but her flushed cheeks and matted hair do it for him like nothing else.
Wordlessly, Betty rearranges herself so her ass is raised in the air, her pussy open to him. He slowly enters her from behind, wrapping his arms around her so he can play with her nipples while she meets his thrusts.
Jughead wonders, not for the first time, if he’s in love with her.
Betty would never dare tell anyone this, but she kind of hates Halloween in New York City. Part of her would rather be in a town like Riverdale, watching scary movies on the couch and occasionally pausing to hand out candy to neighborhood children.
But instead, she’s at some bar’s club night in Bushwick that Veronica insisted they all attend, waiting at the end of the bathroom line and praying there’s toilet paper left when she finally reaches the front. Not to mention that she’d apparently gone too obscure with her costume choice—Judy from her favorite film Rebel Without a Cause—receiving continual reactions of “who?” from dudes trying to flirt with her.
Betty starts scrolling through the apps on her phone, curiously opening Uber to see how much it would cost to go home right now.
“Escaping so soon, Cooper?”
Betty lifts her eyes at the familiar voice. For some reason, her cheeks redden when she finally makes eye contact with her friend Jughead.
Betty shrugs. “I don’t think I came properly prepared for this kind of night.” She gestures to her pastel pink polo shirt and modest blue skirt. “I didn’t dress sexy enough for this crowd.”
Jughead screws up his face in confusion. He moves a little closer, and Betty holds her breath. Time seems to slow down as he tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear. His breath tickles her neck when he leans in. “I actually think you look incredibly sexy, Judy.”
Betty shivers. She can’t decide what’s hotter, his long fingers brushing against her cheek or the fact that he’s the first guy to properly identify her costume all night. Where did this even come from? They’ve been friends nearly two years and though she’s tried her best to hide it, Betty has been attracted to Jughead the entire time. She’d never realized he reciprocated.
Betty tries to think of something witty to counter with, maybe a quip about his half-assed Superman costume. But then the door to the bathroom opens, and it’s finally Betty’s turn.
Before she can change her mind, Betty grabs Jughead by the Superman t-shirt and pulls him into the bathroom with her.
“Betty,” Jughead says, almost like a warning. If there was tension between them before, this impossibly tiny bar bathroom had only quadrupled it.
You can’t take this back, some voice in the back of Betty’s mind says. Fuck it, a louder voice replies.
Jughead must have a similar thought.
Because in the same, beautiful, tantalizing moment, Betty and Jughead reach for each other. They come together in the most explosive kiss Betty has ever shared with anyone. Betty finds herself everywhere: fisting Jughead’s shirt, tugging his hair, cupping his ass.
Soon he has her pinned against the door and every thought Betty has ever had about sanitary conditions or using this bathroom for its proper function fly out the window as she pulls down her underwear.
“Fuck, Betty.” The way he says it has Betty wondering how long he’s wanted this. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything. Fuck me, Jug.”
Every time she has sex with Jughead, Betty looks forward to the after. She’s never slept with anyone who made her want to have an after.
But here they are, completely naked and nestled in each other’s arms, as Jughead absent-mindedly plays with her hair. She feels totally and completely at peace, face still flushed from the orgasms, plural. It’s been over a month of secret little dates and mind-blowing sex, and yet neither of them has dared to attempt a define-the-relationship conversation.
Instead, they stick to safe topics. Like their friends, their jobs, the neighborhood.
Betty shifts in his arms, turning to face him better. “What’s all of this hubbub about a Christmas party at your place?”
Jughead laughs, his grip on her shoulder tightening. “Did you just use the word ‘hubbub,’ Betty Cooper?”
Betty gives him a playful smack on the arm. “Answer my question, Jughead Jones!”
Jughead kind of shrugs.
“I just mean, it doesn’t seem very like you to host such a shindig,” she teases.
“It isn’t,” Jughead snorts. “I mean,” he grabs for his phone, thumbing his way to the invitation. “Look at this thing. It’s got Veronica Lodge written all over it.”
Betty nods, biting her lip. “Will…um….will people be bringing like, dates, to this thing?”
Jughead shrugs again, like he hadn’t even considered it. “Perhaps,” he says.
Betty stares at him, trying to read his mind. Do you want to bring me?
“Um, so are we gonna like…I don’t know, go together?” Betty tries not to sound too eager.
“I assumed we’d just continue like we have been,” Jughead says quickly. “You know, keep it how everyone thinks it is. Just friends.”
Betty gulps, swallowing her hope. “Right. Friends.”
“It’s just easier to not involve everyone else when…”
Betty waits for him to finish the sentence, dying to know what he’s feeling. Grasping for anything to hold onto so she knows she’s not completely alone in this.
“...when we don’t even know what this is.” Jughead turns to look at her, his deep blue eyes practically piercing her fucking soul. “Right?”
Betty reaches for her clothes. The mood has officially been ruined, as far as she’s concerned. “Right,” she says. “Well, I should get going.”
.
.
.
Betty leaves Veronica’s apartment building first, checking that she doesn’t see anyone she knows. Then she turns and takes the long way home.
It’s enough time to have a little cry. Maybe Jughead just doesn’t like her the same way she likes him. Maybe he truly wants her body and her friendship, and that’s it. She shakes her head. But that makes no sense. He’s taken her to restaurants and on walks in the park. They’ve managed to have the most meaningful conversations she’s ever had with anyone.
The first time they hang out after their rendezvous in the bar bathroom, Jughead asks Betty to meet him at an Indian restaurant he loves in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The food is delicious, but Betty isn’t surprised. If there’s anything Jughead Jones has proved himself to be over the past two years she’s known him, it’s a connoisseur for good food at cheap prices.
“Jackson Heights has, by far, the best food in the city,” Jughead argues, gesturing with a piece of naan.
Betty and Jughead don’t say it out loud, but the restaurant also provides built-in distance from their own borough. They don’t see a single person they know, and Jughead seems to take advantage of this fact. He sits on the same side of the booth as Betty, touching her knee and leaning into her as they scan the menu.
Her body is buzzing, wondering what every single touch and laugh could possibly mean.
She doesn't expect to talk for hours, closing the restaurant down. She doesn’t expect to fall asleep on his shoulder on the subway ride home. And she definitely doesn’t expect the way he kisses her forehead as he gently wakes her up just before their stop.
Still, nothing prepares her for the shift in energy when the subway pulls into their station. Jughead stiffens, removes his hand from hers. They walk to their block in silence, Betty scared of what would come out of her mouth if she speaks.
What is this? What are we doing? I don’t want to stop.
He doesn’t kiss her good night, just a sexually charged hug before they part ways.
But when Betty reaches her building’s front door and turns around, she catches Jughead still watching her.
By the time Betty opens the front door of her own apartment, she’s managed to pull herself together.
“Betty!” Cheryl and Toni greet her from where they’re nestled together under a blanket.
“We’re drinking spiked eggnog, want to join us?” adds Toni.
Betty wrinkles her nose, never one for eggnog. “I’m good, thanks. I’m wiped, think I’m just gonna binge a holiday baking show in bed.”
“Really, you’re wiped?” Cheryl says. “Where’ve you been?”
Betty shrugs. “Just out with work friends. Holiday happy hour kind of thing. There’s so many of those obligations this time of year, it’s exhausting.” She trembles a little, wondering if she’s said so much that it’s clear she’s lying.
“I totally know what you mean,” Toni says. “I have like, three events next week alone.”
Betty nods, internally relieved. “Not to mention Jughead and Archie’s Christmas party.”
“Oh, yeah, you saw that invite?” Cheryl says. “Seems like it’ll be fun, no?”
“Very fun,” Betty says, mustering the minimum amount of enthusiasm required. “I’ll see you ladies in the morning.”
Cheryl and Toni watch Betty disappear down the hall toward her room, turning to each other when the door closes behind her.
“Think she has any idea?” Toni asks.
Cheryl bats her eyelashes. “Any idea of what, TT?”
“That her entire life is about to change.”