take me back

Round 1

It was finally time to decide whether they wanted to go or not. It had been a whole year since they had seen each other last. They knew that Chock'lit Shoppe would bring back all sorts of memories, both good and bad. They knew they would end up going back to all those dark and cold nights in which the only warm moments were had at Pop's.

Both Jughead and Betty found themselves stuck in their own heads, creating all sorts of scenarios to avoid actually making a decision. It was 6:45 and they knew they didn't have any more time to keep procrastinating on what they needed to do. Decide.

It was already 7: 15, and Jughead had been waiting for his friends for a while now. Meanwhile, Betty was getting ready to see everyone once again. She decided to wear a nice blue sweater, just like she used to when she was sixteen, and a pair of jeans. She didn't really know if this a formal thing or not, so she just went for the basics.

It was 7: 45 when she got there, and their booth wasn't empty, but she couldn't spot any familiar faces. There were a couple of high school kids having what appeared to be a double date, just like Archie, Veronica, Jughead, and herself used to. "Maybe it's too early" she tried to convince herself, but really, she knew no one had a reason to come back.

I mean, they all had broken up, and even if Veronica and Archie had ended on good enough terms, her and Jughead hadn't. And even though the fact that she didn't have to spend a whole night with her ex-boyfriend brought her relief, a part of her really thought they would reunite that night.

By this point, Jughead was already back at the motel he was staying at. It was early, but he really needed to sleep. Between staying up late at night to study and the stressful days he had had due to the supposed reunion, he was exhausted, but he couldn't get himself to fall asleep.

A couple of hours passed, and he was still staring at the ceiling. Tossing and turning in a bed that wasn't even his, even though it wasn't too bad compared to the bed in his dorm room. He decided to stand up and go grab his computer. Maybe he would be able to finish that chapter he had been working on.

He rested the computer on his lap and started writing. He was so concentrated, he wasn't even blinking. He was stressed, but he wasn't sure about what. That's when it hit him. He actually had lots of things to worry about, he just had been avoiding the mess he was supposed to be dealing with.

Meanwhile, Betty was just getting home. She stepped into the living room where her mother was watching tv, and she collapsed into her arms. She really thought it was all her fault. That stupid kiss had ruined everything.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Alice asked, but Betty was sobbing so hard she couldn't get any words out of her mouth.

"I- I fucked up real bad, didn't I?" she said while sobbing. "What are you talking about honey?" "Pop's was empty. No one showed up, not even Jughead."

"Maybe today wasn't the day. Are you sure you remember when you all made the promise?" Alice said in a relentless effort to comfort her daughter.

"It was today mom, the day after graduation. I'm entirely sure." she said a bit more calmly. "I think I'll just head upstairs, I- I'm really tired." she mumbled as she stood up from the couch and walked up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Jughead was freaking out. He had just realized all the things he had to worry about. He realized he had been trying to act as if everything were alright when in reality, he was falling apart.

He still needed to deal with a break up that had happened a whole year
back, but he just couldn't bring himself to accept the fact that the love of his life wasn't by his side anymore.

It truly broke his heart that he had let a meaningless kiss ruin his relationship, but he was also tired of being the second option.

Deep down, he knew he had always been second to Archie. Even in their highest moment, if Archie were available, Betty would run to his arms.

It didn't matter how deeply she had fallen for Jughead, he was never there as Plan A. That's something Jughead never truly got over.

Betty found herself in the same situation as Jughead that night. It was hard not to remember what had occurred in high school when she was sleeping in her childhood bedroom.

Even though Betty had gotten over Jughead pretty fast, or at least that's what it seemed like, she always regretted that kiss her and Archie shared.

She always regretted those moments she shared with him. She always regretted not telling Jughead right away. And she always regretted betraying both her best friend and boyfriend just because of a stupid kiss.

To her, it was meaningless by now, but she wasn't really sure if it was meaningless when it happened. At the end of the day, Betty and Archie were always meant to be together, but they just never clicked.

They had nothing in common. Nothing to talk about. Not a single shared passion, and nothing holding them together.

Archie didn't get her, and she didn't get Archie either. She denied letting Archie in as she was scared to ruin him with her darkness, and that was never the case with Jughead.

She specifically remembered this one night where she had struggled with her dad's death. It had been a really rough couple of weeks and she was tired of herself.

In between sobs she asked: "Jug? Why do you like me?" "Well you're the most beautiful woman on earth." was his usual answer.

"That's not what I mean Jug... why do you like me? I'm so fucked up." He stopped for a second and smiled at her for a bit.

"Because you're almost as fucked up as I am." he responded, and she couldn't help but giggle for a second.

"I love you Jug. A lot." "I love you a lot too" he said while smiling as he was getting closer just to give her a kiss.

That night, Betty came to a conclusion: no one would ever get her the same way Jughead Jones did.