If I Were Him (Bughead) ✓

𝑻 𝒘 𝒐

"Ah, Jughead, there you are," Alice smiled, setting down a few papers.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, walking over to his desk in the room. "I had to walk," he stated. "My dad took the truck to work today." 

"Oh...well, if you don't have a car of your own, doesn't your dad still have that old motorcycle of his laying around in the garage?" 

"Yes..." Jughead didn't exactly understand what she was getting at. 

"I was thinking, I'd bet Hal would love to fix it up for you-"

"He doesn't have to do that, you've both already done enough for my family..." It was true. When Jughead's father had hit rock bottom, the Coopers were easily there to help the family. From day one, believe it or not. 

"Don't be silly, and Hal hasn't had a project to work on in a long time either," she told him, grabbing her coffee from a nearby table. "He's been bored around the house with nearly nothing to do, so I can bet he'd easily jump at the chance." 

"But...doesn't that all cost money?" 

"Don't worry about it," she assured. "The Joneses and Coopers are family. Maybe not by blood, but does that really matter?" 

Sure, the Jones men did live on the Northside, but they weren't exactly wealthy; Alice knew that. The Coopers on the other hand, well, they had more money than they could really need, or know what to do with. 

"You really don't need to do that..." Jughead knew it would cost a lot. Way more than he could ever pay back. The boy remembered from when his father's truck had been rear-ended, and that alone had cost thousands, for the smallest dent to be pushed back out. 

"Jughead," Alice sighed, leaning back on the table behind her. "You're like a son to Hal and I, and we only want the best for you, and your Dad too." Jughead smiled at her kind words. "You can someday in the future pay us back if you want, or don't. You don't have to give us anything back, it's not like we need it anyway." 

"Mrs. Cooper-" Before Jughead could finish, a certain blonde walked in through the large glass door, which rang the bell above. 

"I'll talk to your dad about it," Alice told him before walking off to greet her daughter. "Elizabeth," Alice smiled, giving her a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you," Betty lied. Jughead knew exactly why she was really there. "And I haven't been here in a while," she added. Jughead gulped as she glanced over to him, then back to her mother. "Archie just dropped me off."

He could tell she was just trying to rub it in his face now. That bitch.

"Oh, well...do you want to help out a little?" Alice asked, walking over to the printer and grabbing out a few sheets she must've printed beforehand. 

"Um, sure." 

Jughead couldn't believe her. Of course, now she wanted to get back at him. 

The boy opened a drawer of his desk, pulling out a stapler and a staple remover. He could feel the girl's eyes on him as he walked over to a stack of papers, neatly set there from last night by himself. He grabbed a few of the ads printed on the coloured paper, taking them with him. 

Jughead walked out the door, over to the bulletin board stood on the sidewalk. He set down the papers on the wooden bench beside him, putting the stapler on top of them so they wouldn't blow away. He took the staple remover and set it down for a moment, ripping off a few of the older flyers first. 

"Whatcha doing?" The blonde's voice scared him, making him jump a little before turning around. She laughed at that. "Sorry," She giggled, stepping a little closer.