Bughead One-shots | Riverdale

deep breath

betty's chest was tight when she had opened the front door to see jughead stood there, and she didn't even have to say anything for him to understand what had her so worked up. even from the front door it was easy to hear her parents arguing in the kitchen, and as their voices raised betty visibly flinched and clenched her teeth.

jughead had never seen how bad her family was, she didn't want him to. they hadn't been dating for long, and betty knew he had more than enough on his plate. but they had been arguing all day to the point where anytime one of them raised their voice she flinched and had the urge to cover her ears, and she knew jughead was only across the street and at archie's, so in a panic she had text him to come and get her. she needed to get out of the house.

"okay, come on." jughead reached to gently grab her hand, and her hand was tight around his as he pulled her through the door and shut it behind her. she shook as they walked down the porch steps, and her waterline burned with tears as she walked alongside her boyfriend, not speaking for a moment.

she knew he understood exactly what she was feeling. jughead hadn't had the best home life, and he wasn't a stranger to parents arguing. the only difference was he had a sister that was there with him; betty didn't have polly anymore. it would be easier if her sister was there, she could handle it.

her hand trembled in his as they walked down the street, not a set destination in mind, and when she sniffled through the oncoming tears she felt him pull her closer into himself, letting go of her hand to move an arm around her waist.

"take a deep breath, betty." jughead mumbled beside her, and she did as she was told; inhaling shakily as the tears started dripping down her cheeks.

she did it a few times, inhaling deeply through the tightness of her chest and her shaking limbs, though it didn't stop the tears that formed in her eyes at just the thought of her parents at each other's throats. they had always argued on and off, but the blonde couldn't remember the last time that it was that bad. not since polly had left.

she hadn't been paying attention to where jughead was leading her, too focused on trying to calm down, but she looked up at him once he had stopped and realised they were at the park. it was always empty in the evenings, which at least gave them some privacy. they were tucked behind a tree that stopped anybody from outside the park seeing them, and it allowed betty to be fully vulnerable to jughead when he pulled her into a hug.

she sniffled as she held onto him, still shaking as she gripped onto his denim jacket. he tucked her head underneath his chin, and for a moment he simply just held her and let her cry. he was warm and comforting, and she gripped onto him even tighter when she had cried. it wasn't for long, but it was tears that she had needed to get out all day.

"i'm so sorry, betty." jughead mumbled into her hair, and she took in another deep breath as she nodded.

"they've-" she hiccuped. "they haven't been this bad in a long while."

she felt him nod against her head, and he sighed as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "why don't you go and stay with veronica for a night or two until they cool off a bit?" he asked gently. "i'd offer, but.." he trailed off with a sigh, and betty frowned.

"i know, i know i'm sorry jug, i shouldn't be bothering you with this when you're already-"

jughead cut her off by leaning back from the hug to kiss her, one of his hands against her cheek to hold her close. he kissed her for a long moment, letting his thumb stroke her cheek until her grip on his jacket had loosened and she seemed to relax slightly, before he leaned back to look at her.

"you're not bothering me, okay?" he asked softly, and betty nodded a little as she sighed. "you never could. i just want to make sure you're okay."

betty hugged him again, and she relaxed into his embrace as his palm gently moved along her back. "thank you for coming out with me." she mumbled into his chest, and allowed a small smile when he kissed the top of her head.

"it's no problem," jughead whispered. "like i said, i just want to make sure you're okay. i'll always be there when you need me, okay?"

betty nodded and felt another kiss to the top of her head as he held her tighter against himself, in absolutely no rush to leave and get back home.