Crossing Paths- Chapter 10: Beloved

Betty woke up the next morning to the smell of waffles and bacon. She sat up on the couch and set aside the blanket that was draped over her. She walked over to the kitchen and hugged Jughead from the back.

“Good morning beautiful” Jughead said

“You haven’t even looked at me yet” Betty said with a slight laugh

“Your always beautiful” Jughead said turning around to face her.

She immediately leaned up to kiss him. “Sorry about my morning breath” Betty said when she pulled away.

“I don’t mind” Jughead said smiling

“I’m just going to go take a quick shower. Hopefully I don’t flood your apartment also” Betty said

Jughead felt bad because he didn’t want Betty to feel like the flood was her fault, but soon looked up and saw her face smiling.

She grabbed some clean clothes from the pile of stuff from her apartment and headed to the bathroom. When she stepped in the shower she let out a long sigh as the hot water hit her body. ‘How amazing is Jughead. He is so caring. How do I deserve him? I can’t believe we exchanged I love yous.’ Betty had known she loved Jughead for a little bit but hadn’t admitted it to him or herself really until last night. And how good it felt, especially since he reciprocated her feelings.

Betty stepped out of the shower, got dressed, brushed her teeth and loosely french braided her hair. When she walked back into the kitchen she saw that Jughead had set out an amazing spread on the table for the two of them. Eggs, bacon, waffles, strawberries, orange juice, and two lit candles in the middle of the table. Jughead went over to her side of the table and pulled out her chair and gestured for her to sit down, then went to the seat opposite her and sat down.

“Jug, this looks amazing! Thank you so much” Betty said gazing at the table

“Anything for my favorite person” Jughead said winking

As they ate, Betty was almost positive Jughead had eaten about 8 waffles.

“How on earth does that all fit inside of you?” Betty said shaking her head

“I don’t know I just love food, it’s my passion in life, didn’t you know?” Jughead said giving Betty a teasing smile.

“Who do you love more, me or food?” Betty asked instantly regretting it as she didn’t want to push the word on him more.

Jughead proceeded to go around the table and pick Betty up by the waist and carried her to the couch. He came down on top of her and started kissing her passionately and with such intensity that Betty had turned to mush beneath him as he moved to her neck.

“Jug” Betty breathed, “You left your plate full of eggs and bacon over there”

Jughead immediately pulled back and looked at her with a great big smile on his face, “Does that answer your question Betty Cooper?”

She just smiled.

Later that day Betty got a call from Veronica. She picked up in the living room while Jughead was changing his sheets in his room.

“Hello” Betty said

“Hey Betty, How are you?” Veronica asked

Betty sighed

“Betty what is it?”

She told her all about her apartment and how Jughead let her stay with him.

“Wait so you're just staying in his house?”

“Yeah he insisted and has been taking really good care of me, you won’t believe how sweet he is.”

“Oh, that’s good. Are you ok though, like after the flooding?”

“Yeah, well I had a little bit of a panic yesterday, but it’s been fine today. I just don’t know how long it will take them to fix it”

“Well I’m sure as long as you’re with Jughead, your in good hands”

“I can literally hear you winking at me V”

“You got me”

“Thanks for calling to check in, your really sweet”

“Of course, I’ll call you soon B”

“Bye”

“Bye”

Just then Jughead walked out of his room.

“Hey, I cleared a drawer in my dresser, so you can put some clothes in it instead of having them in a crinkled pile on the floor.” Jughead said

Betty walked up to him smiling and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “You’re the best… You know you didn’t have to offer your house to me, I could have stayed somewhere else…”

“Betty” Jughead said sounding a little offended.

“What?”

“I wouldn’t have offered my house to you if I didn’t want you to stay here… I love you, and I wouldn’t have you stay anywhere else… in fact i’m excited for you to stay here, we spend most our days together anyways, and now we can spend even more time together. I don’t want you to feel like an inconvenience to me, because you’re definitely not.”

“I love you too” Betty said hugging him, she leaned back to look at him, “Thank you”

“Anything for my beloved”

They folded and put Betty’s clothes in the drawer and then went to cuddle on the couch and watch some TV.

“What do you want for dinner?” Jughead asked

“Whatever you want Jug”

“Pizza it is!” Jughead said getting up to get the phone to order in. He ordered their usual and went back to Betty on the couch.

“Where were we?” Jughead asked

Betty jumped up and on to his lap as soon as he sat down and put her arms around his neck and cuddled in to him.

Jughead smiled and exhaled letting all negativity leave his body as he snuggled Betty closer, inhaling her scent.

They sat like that for a while before the pizza arrived. Jughead got up and put their pizza on a couple of plates and brought 2 mugs of tea over to the couch and handed them to Betty.

“Thank you. Oh my God! Jughead, you grabbed my Star Wars mug?” Betty exclaimed.

Jughead smiled and winked at her before sitting down and tucking in to his pizza. Before he could swallow, Betty took his face in her hands and kissed him.

“I love you” Betty said

Jughead swallowed and pulled her in for another kiss, but this time they didn’t stop.

After a while Betty heard Jughead’s stomach growl.

“Hey, maybe we should stop kissing, and eat our pizza.” Betty let out in a breath.

“Ok but I don’t know how long I’ll last” Jughead said winking

“You sure like winking at me Mr. Jones” Betty said

“Yeah… I think I get it from my dad. He had a way of making you want to smile… that is accept for when he was getting into trouble with the Serpents”

Betty instinctively grabbed his hand on the couch next to her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to lower the tone” Jughead said with a slight laugh as he stared at the floor.

“No, I like hearing about your life, tell me more if you want to” Betty said cuddling closer to him.

“Well… my dad was the Serpent’s leader essentially, for most of my childhood, he actually just recently left the gang. It pretty much consumed his life, to the point where it drove my mom away and she took my sister, and I still don’t see them that often. My dad really is a good guy, he just has a rough past and got into some bad stuff. I even joined the gang for a while…”

“Yeah, I remember Archie telling me about you when that happened…” Betty said

“It wasn’t all bad though. There were some nice guys I met, they were just into the wrong stuff. I was in a dark place at that time of my life, I let the Serpents consume my identity to the point that I was very protective and touchy about it. That got me in some trouble which led to my dad having a long talk with me about it. After that I let that identity insecurity go a little, and a little over a year later, I left the Serpents, and then about six months after that, I came here to go to college.”

“Wow, I’m sorry Jughead, I wish I could have been there for you then” Betty said sadly

“No no, Betty don’t be sorry. It’s ok I promise, that’s all in the past… and look at me now, I get to sit in my own apartment, eating pizza, and snuggling with the most beautiful woman in the world.” Jughead said turning to face Betty.

A smile crept across Betty’s face and they both leaned in for another kiss.

“I’ll be right back, I have to use the bathroom.” Betty said

In the hallway by the bathroom and his bedroom, Betty stopped to look at Jughead’s bookshelf.

While Betty used the bathroom, Jughead began to clear up their dishes and took them to the kitchen, when Betty came out from the hallway in her pajamas and was holding something.

“Hey, whatcha got there?” Jughead asked

“Beloved by Toni Morrison, will you read it to me?” Betty asked batting her eyelashes playfully at him.

Jughead started towards her, and picked her up by the waist and carried her to his bedroom. He placed her on his bed and changed into some pajama pants before crawling in next to her and opening the book.

He read a couple of chapters to her with her snuggled up in his side before he noticed her yawning.

“I think it’s time for bed” Jughead said as he set the book on his side table.

“Ok… do you want me to go to the couch?” Betty asked timidly.

“What? No of course not… unless you wanted to” Jughead said

“I don’t” Betty said sliding further under the covers and wrapping her arms around his waist. Jughead did the same, and they fell asleep easily in the comfort they had found in each other.

Crossing Paths- Chapter 8: Food and Farewell

Betty woke up and checked her phone, 6:43. She got out of Jugheads arms slowly leaving him asleep and went back to her room to get clothes to take a shower.

Later when she was done with her shower and she was ready for the day, she went back out to the living room to find Veronica and Archie cooking breakfast in the kitchen and Jughead folding his blankets and putting them in a stack on the back of the couch.

“Betty!” Veronica said when she saw her friend walk up to the breakfast bar.

“Hey, you guys cooking breakfast?” Betty asked

“Yeah I’m making waffles upon Jugheads request” she said gesturing in Jughead’s direction

Betty looked and he just winked and then plopped down on the couch. She went to join him and again snuggled up right into his side.

When breakfast was done they all sat at the table together and ate.

“So should we go to that food festival today?” Veronica asked.

Jughead looked up from his plate with a mouth full of food and said “You already know my answer”

“Betty?” Veronica asked

“Yeah sure it sounds like fun!”

“Great! Let’s leave at 11:30” Veronica told them

Once they arrived at the festival Jughead was visibly excited, which he never is. The rest of them started looking around and found themselves following Jughead to a stand with Burgers.

“This is the best burger I’ve ever had.” Jughead said taking his last bite

“Jug, I’m only halfway through mine. And how can you even taste it when you eat that fast?” Archie said in astonishment

Jughead just shrugged and walked over to Betty and took her hand in his.

“Where do you want to go next Betty?” Jughead asked

“I saw some strawberries and cream over there” she said pointing

They all walked over there and got two to share between them. The rest of the time pretty much consisted of Jughead getting excited at the sight of more food, and Veronica trying to take control of where they were going next (which wasn’t really working), this left Archie and Betty pretty amused at their friends.

Later they all sat down at a table bringing some last minute food with them. Betty had a cup of mac n cheese, Veronica and Archie were sharing some nachos and Jughead had a piece of pizza and some wings.

“Veronica this was an amazing idea” Jughead told her

“Thanks, I saw a flyer for it the other day and knew you would like it” she said smiling

They finished their food and headed back to Veronica and Archie’s apartment. After sitting around and doing some more catching up, they started a game of cards on the living room floor.

“Betty how are you winning?” Archie asked sounding defeated

Betty just shrugged and looked back to her cards

“Cause she’s better than you, accept it” Jughead added getting an annoyed look from Archie. Betty grabbed his hand with her free hand and scooted closer to him.

“Hey are we like taking sides now?” Archie asked with pointed looks at all of them

Veronica just rolled her eyes and nudged him because it was his turn.

Later once Archie and Veronica had gone to bed, Betty and Jughead were cuddling on the couch.

“I’m so glad we came to visit, this has been so fun, too bad we have to leave tomorrow night” Betty said

“Yeah...but we can always come back” Jughead replied squeezing her tighter to him

“I could just stay in this moment forever” Betty said

“So could I, I’m so lucky to have you” Jughead said

“You have no idea Jug” Betty said smiling

Betty yawned “Hey are you getting tired?” Jughead asked

“Yeah all that food I guess, but I don’t want to go back to my room, it’s still freezing”

“Then just sleep with me on the couch again...unless you didn’t enjoy that?” he said smirking

“It was literally my favorite part of the day”

The next morning Veronica dragged everyone out of bed to go get breakfast at her favorite place in Springfield.

Once they all ordered Archie excused himself to go to the bathroom. Betty and Jughead were holding hands and Jughead was moving his thumb back and forth across the back of Betty’s hand. They kept glancing at each other and smiling and giggling.

“You guys are literally the most adorable people I have ever seen. I still can’t believe it.” Veronica said suddenly

“Believe what?” Jughead asked

“That you guys are together, when I look at you, I can instantly tell that you care about each other, and that’s really special” Veronica said

“Thanks V that means a lot” Betty said

“You better not mess it up Jughead!” Veronica said

“Hey, why me?”

“Cause Betty isn’t that stupid” Veronica said

“Pffft Well…” Jughead said pretending to be mad

There was a pause, “Don’t worry Veronica I won’t lose Betty if my life depends on it”

“That’s more like it” Veronica said winking

Veronicas phone dinged and she picked it up to look.

“What is it?” Betty asked

“Archie is being sick in the bathroom, he thinks it’s the chicken he had yesterday, it did look a little undercooked…” Veronica said

“Oh no” Betty said

“I’ll go check on him” Jughead said standing up

He walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door, “Hey Arch are you ok? Do you need anything?”

Archie opened the door “Wow man you don’t look so good” Jughead said

“I’m fine, I promise but i probably shouldn’t leave this bathroom for a while. You guys just finish your meals then we can go home” Archie said

“Are you sure?” Jughead asked

“Yeah I’m good just some food poisoning, I should be good in a couple hours

“Ok, sorry man”

Archie smiled and then closed the bathroom door again

“Hey so is he alright?” Veronica asked when he got back to their table

“Yeah just some food poisoning, he said we should just finish our meals and then we can all go home”

“Man, I feel bad for him” Betty said

“Yeah I love food but sometimes food doesn’t love you” Jughead said smirking

“Wow” Betty said burying her face in her hands

Later when they got home and set Archie up on the couch with a trash can and some TV, Veronica announced that she wanted to take Betty and Jughead shopping before they had to leave.

“That’s ok with you Archie right?” Veronica asked

“Yeah there’s no need to stay here watching me throw up all afternoon” Archie said

“Alright let’s go guys” Veronica announced heading out the door

Betty glanced back at Jughead who was looking a little apprehensive.

“Hey come on Jug it will be fun” Betty said smiling and reaching for his hand

“Shopping’s not really my thing..” Jughead said

“Well would you rather go out with your Girlfriend and friend or stay here cleaning up Archie’s vomit?” Betty asked

“Good point” Jughead said letting Betty pull him out of the door

“Bye Arch!” He yelled before shutting the door

Once they were out shopping, Veronica led them to a clothes shop and as soon as they walked through the door, she started piling clothes into Betty’s arms.

“Ronnie I can’t hold much more” Betty said sounding slightly winded before Jughead grabbed a couple of dresses off the top of her pile.

“Thanks” Betty said exhaling slightly

Veronica walked over holding a skirt and handed it to Jughead, “Ok let’s go try all this on” she said skipping towards the dressing room. Betty and Jughead rolled their eyes and followed her.

“Ok, Jughead, you sit here” Veronica pointed to a bench, “And Betty start trying on some stuff, and don’t forget to show us”

Betty walked out of the dressing room in a floaty, tulle, pale pink dress, and Jughead’s jaw instantly dropped.

“Betty that dress looks amazing on you!” Veronica said excitedly, “Jughead what do you think?”

Jughead just looked from Betty to Veronica and back to Betty with his mouth still hanging open. “You are so beautiful Betty” he said softly staring into her eyes.

“Thank you” Betty replied shyly while still holding eye contact with him.

“Hello earth to Jughead. She still has a bunch of stuff to try on, and if you react like that every time, it’s gonna take a while” Veronica said interrupting their moment.

“Well it might be kinda hard because Betty always looks amazing” Jughead said leaning back on the bench and crossing his legs.

Betty tried on the rest of the clothes they had picked out and Veronica ended up buying several things for Betty including the pink dress by Veronica’s insistence even though Betty argued she had nowhere to wear it.

When they got back, they found Archie feeling a lot better. They hung out for about another hour while Betty and Jughead packed up to go.

“It was so good to visit you guys finally” Betty said to Archie and Veronica at the door, “We would definitely love to come back” She said giving Veronica a hug.

“Of course, you are always welcome” Veronica said pulling back from their hug and smiling.

“You guys should come visit Betty and I sometime too” Jughead said as he shifted over to hug Veronica as well.

“Yes! I’d love to explore Boston” Veronica said

“We’ll miss you guys” Archie said giving them both a hug

“You too” Betty said as they headed out the door.

Once they were settled in Jughead’s car and were heading back to Boston, the sun was starting to set and it was beautiful.

“I’m so glad we did this trip together” Betty said

“Me too, I can’t believe how lucky I am to be honest” Jughead said

“Why’s that?” Betty asked

“Because I have two really great friends who are together and an amazing girlfriend who is friends with those same people.” Jughead said

“Your the greatest” Betty said grabbing his free arm and snuggling with it.

Crossing Paths- Chapter 7: Friends and Snuggles

It was the day before they were going to make the drive down to Springfield and Betty was in her apartment trying to pack, but it was hard to concentrate because she is so excited, and someone keeps texting her.

J: I’m so excited :)

B: Me too ;)

J: What are you up to?

B: I’m trying to pack, but someone keeps interrupting me ;)

J: I’ll come help you :)

Once again, before she knew it there was a knock at her door. The second she opened the door, she was grabbed by the waist, lifted and carried into her apartment.

“What are you doing Juggie!”

“Just carrying my favorite person to my favorite spot” he said

He put her down on the couch, grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped her like a burrito before sitting down and wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck.

“The couch is your favorite spot?” she said raising an eyebrow

“My favorite spot is anywhere you are”

“You're awfully cute and romantic for a brooding writer” she teased

“You bring out that side of me you know, it’s kind ruining my reputation Betts”

She giggled “So this is what you call helping me?” she asked raising her eyebrows again and smiling

“Yeah...this isn’t helping?” he asked

“Well it’s not helping me pack”

“Oh, ok let’s go pack then” he said getting up and reaching his hand out to her “What can I do?”

“You can pour us both a glass of lemonade, it’s in the fridge, and then come meet me in my room” she smiled and walked into her room.

A couple of hours later when she was done packing, they cuddled up on the couch and watched a movie.

“So we’re leaving at 11 tomorrow right?” he asked heading to the door to put his shoes on

“Yup, I can’t wait, don’t be late” she said winking

“I won’t, I promise” He said leaning down to kiss her.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re good at kissing?” she asked

“No one except you” he said blushing “See you at 11”

“See ya”

The next day at 11 Betty came down the stairs onto the bottom floor to meet Jughead and he was already there leaning against the wall.

“Hey, you ready to go?” he asked

“Yeah, I’m so excited. I didn’t know you had a car until now.”

“Yeah, I usually keep it in a garage during the summer, because I walk everywhere, but I usually pull it out this time of year. Shall we get going?” he asked and then picked up his bag.

Betty nodded and did the same, following him out the door.

Later when they had been in the car for about 45 minutes, and they had been listening to music for a while, they started talking.

“Are you nervous at all or just excited?” she asked him

“I am excited, but I am kind of nervous about telling them about us, I mean we’ve been friends with them a while but not with each other really”

Betty reached over and grabbed his free hand. “It will be fine, they will be happy, maybe confused, but happy” she smiled and looked over at him and when he glanced over they giggled at the thought of the confusion they were sure to see on their friend’s faces when they told them.

They came to a turn and after a couple minutes the Springfield sign came into sight.

Betty heard her phone ding and saw that Veronica had texted her.

V: Hey do you guys want to meet for a late lunch before going to our place?

Betty read it to Jughead and he quickly responded with a yes.

B: Yeah we’d love to, where?

V: It’s this place a couple blocks from our place. I’ll send you the address.

B: Ok, we can’t wait to see you guys!

V: Us either!

“Ok it says turn here” Betty instructed “and then pull in there” she pointed and they parked.

“You ready?” she asked

“Yup, let’s do this” he said sighing and getting out of the car.

He went around to her side of the car and she wrapped her arm around his, gave him a reassuring smile, and they walked into the restaurant. When they saw Archie and Veronica at a table they went over to sit with them. Once Veronica spotted them, she jumped up and hugged Betty excitedly.

“I missed you so much Ronnie” Betty said when they both looked over and saw Archie and Jughead bro fisting. Veronica interrupted and gave Jughead a hug while Archie went over to greet Betty.

“It’s good to see you” Archie said to Betty “Shall we sit?”

Once they all sat down Betty grabbed Jughead’s hand.

Veronica made a double take. “Oh my God, are you guys holding hands?!”

Betty and Jughead looked at each other unsurely “Uh yeah.. We’ve been meaning to tell you, we’re kind of together” said Jughead

“Sorry we didn’t tell you earlier, we kind of wanted to surprise you..” said Betty

Veronica just stared at them for a minute before saying anything.

“I can’t believe you guys are together” Archie said “I mean I’m happy for you and it's really cool that we’re all friends, but I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of surprised”

“Why is that?” Jughead asked

“Cause she’s so sunshine and your so.. not” said Archie

“I think he’s actually more sunshine than you think” said Betty winking at Jughead

“She brings it out of me, sometimes” Jughead said kissing her cheek

Veronica finally closed her mouth “I.. just… you guys are so cute. I mean just looking at you guys, I can see that you care so much about each other, I’m so surprised but I’m so happy for you guys!”

“Thanks V” Betty said leaning into Jughead’s side.

Later when they went back to Archie and Veronica’s apartment, they were all sitting in their giant, open living room in front of the fireplace talking.

“Your guys’s place is so nice” Betty said looking around.

“Thanks! You know how I like my interior decor” Veronica said “Ooo let me show you how I decorated the guest room!” she grabbed Betty and they were out before they knew it.

“So…” Archie started

“Yes?” Jughead said smiling and raising his eyebrow

“How did this happen?” Archie asked

He sighed, “Well.. we just always ran into each other and we started hanging out and talking. To be honest a couple of weeks ago we didn’t really know what we were exactly so I decided to ask her on an actual dinner date to see what would happen, and we had a great time, and now were together I guess”

“You seem so happy Jug, this is the happiest I’ve seen you in a while actually”

“This is the happiest I’ve been in as long as I can remember, but we haven’t actually been together for more than a month, I just hope I don’t mess it up somehow” Jughead said

“You won’t, I can tell” Archie said smiling

After admiring the guest room, Betty and Veronica sat down on the bed together.

“How did you guys get together?!” Veronica asked

“We have a class together, we live in the same building, we work on the same street, so we always ran into each other. And actually I kind of liked him since the first time I saw him, and he helped Archie and I carry some stuff up to my apartment. He was always there for me when I felt nervous about living away from home, or when I was sad. He may not seem like it on the outside but he has a very sweet interior, all he does is care for me” Betty said

“Wow it seems like you guys really like each other, I’m so happy for you both. As long as he makes you happy and takes care of you, I approve!” Veronica said

“Thanks V, that means a lot” she said smiling

“Hey wanna go back out there and check on the guys?”

“Yup, who knows what they’re talking about”

They walked out and towards the living room. Betty sat next to Jughead and pulled her feet up and nuzzled herself in his side, while Veronica sat in a chair near Archie who was sitting on the other end of the couch.

“I just can’t believe how cute you guys are!” Veronica exclaimed

“I’m just glad we can be comfortable around you guys” said Betty

“Well you certainly look comfortable snuggled up to Jug like that” Archie said chuckling

“He’s cozy” Betty said shrugging her shoulders. Jughead smiled down at her and kissed her head.

“So what do you guys want to do while you're here? There’s a food festival this weekend, which I was assuming Jug would want to go to” Veronica said

“You got me there” Jughead said

“I can’t wait to show you guys around, maybe we can go shopping tomorrow!”

“Yeah, that sounds great” Betty said

They talked for a while longer before everyone started getting really tired.

“Ok I’m going to bed, there’s the bedroom and the couch if you want it Jug” Veronica said before getting up, grabbing Archie, and heading to their bedroom.

“I’m pretty tired too...although I wish I could just fall asleep in your side like this…” she yawned before getting up from his side, “I’ll see you in the morning Jug”, he then stood up and grabbed her face and kissed her.

“See you tomorrow Betts”

When Betty crawled into bed she was freezing, but wrapped up in the blankets and tried to go to sleep, but she kept waking up shivering. By 2 am she gave up and crept out of bed to the couch.

“Hey, Jug?” she said gently shaking his shoulder.

“Yeah?” he said lazily

“I’m freezing in my bed and I can’t warm up”

He smiled and opened his arms to her. She crawled under the blankets with him and they wrapped their arms around each other before Betty finally fell asleep warm and toasty.