2+1=3//Bughead

8: Leaving

BETTY
After Toni's evaluation and explanation of my dream, I was happy to know that I could sleep soundly, mostly dreaming of the future, more specifically, imagining my son or daughter on their first day of school.

"Morning baby. How's the nausea?" Jughead rolled over, his hand on my belly.

"Still around, but not as much." I admitted, smiling.

"What's got you so happy?" Jug asked, confused.

"Just my dream. I had a very good dream about our future child's first day of school." I smiled.

"Oh yeah?" Jug kissed me.

"Yep. Our child arrived at school, in a child-sized Southside Serpent jacket." I laughed.

"How ador-" He was cut off by the sound of the front door shutting downstairs.

"ELIZABETH COOPER!" I heard my mom yell.

Walking downstairs to the living room, I freaked when my mom stood in front of the couch, her hands crossed.

"Morning mom." I didn't know what was about to happen.

"Get changed, then you can go get that snake that's currently up in your bedroom and sit here." She waited for me and Jughead to do exactly what she said.

Before long, we were sitting in front of her, worried. Surprising, she handed me a box of condoms.

"Uh, mom? Why did you give me a box of condoms?" I looked at her, confused.

"Because, I know that you and Jughead Jones here, have been sexually actively and I don't need another pregnant daughter." She admitted.

"Well, it's too late for that." Jughead spoke without thinking.

"What?! Please tell me he's joking!" I stood up, waiting for her to calm down.

"It's true. I'm pregnant. 1 and 1/2 months pregnant to be exact." I spoke calmly.

"Elizabeth Cooper! You promised me 2 years ago that you wouldn't get pregnant until after you graduate from college, and that you wouldn't share a baby with someone from the Southside!" My mom was being a bitch.

My hormones were off the charts at the moment.

"That was 2 years ago mom! Besides, I love Jughead and we're going to be amazing parents." I yelled at her.

"Elizabeth, you cannot be serious right now! You made a promise to me, and we Coopers never break promises." She got in my face.

"Well, we both know that's complete bullshit." I objected.

"Language, Elizabeth!" My mom was shocked.

"You know what? It's clear that you are not at all happy that in 7 and 1/2 months, you'll have a grandchild. So guess what. You'll either be happy for Jughead and I, or you can be a bitch and I'll leave and never come back." I threatened. By the silence my mom was giving me, she had made her choice.

"It's settled then. I'll go grab my things. Jughead, can you please get your dad's truck and bring it here?" I looked at him.

"Of course Betty." He kissed me.

JUGHEAD
Watching as Betty headed upstairs, I looked at Alice before leaving.

"You know, she just wanted to give you a chance at being the grandmother she knows you can be. Instead, she's leaving like Polly did." I knew she didn't want to hear it, but I still said it, eventually heading back to my trailer to get my dad's truck. Getting back just in time for Betty to exit her house, I watched as she walked down the pavement, carrying at least 4 different bags.

"Let's go Jug." I put my bags into the back of my truck, a wave of nausea hitting me.

"Elizabeth Cooper! Come back right now!" Mrs Cooper yelled from her front door.

"Where shall we go?" I held her hand as I started up the truck.

"I'm moving in with you." She placed my hand on her stomach.

"Sounds like a good plan." I smiled, watching as Mrs Cooper ran down the pavement, hitting her fist against the truck window.

Pulling away from the curb, I kept my eyes on the road, feeling Betty's hand covering mine as my hand rested on her slightly noticeable baby bump.

"Can we stop at Pop's? I'm craving a burger." She kissed my hand.

"Anything for you Betts." I kissed her forehead as I drove towards Pop's eventually pulling into the parking lot.

Getting out of the truck, I walked inside Pop's the usual faces smiling at me as I walked up to the counter.

"Hey, Jughead. How can I help you today?" Pop smiled at me.

"Just my regular, times 2 please. Both Betty and I are really hungry." I smiled, watching as Pop took down my order.

"Give me...15-20 minutes." He spoke, walking off.

As I waited for my order, I watched as Betty walked in.

"You ok?" I asked, watching as she sat down next to me.

"I needed to give my back a break." She explained, kissing my cheek.

As we waited, I saw a familiar face sitting in a booth across from us.

"Dad?" I was shocked. I hadn't seen him in almost 5 months.

"Jughead?" He clearly heard me and looked up.

"Hey, it's been a long time..." I hugged him, Betty watching as she smiled.

"It really has been." He smiled, sitting back down.

"What's brought you back to town?" I asked, sitting across from him. Betty joined me, holding my hand.

"I got a call, from your mother actually." He looked at Betty, who knew why he was called.

"I- I- I'm going to go wait for our order." Betty got up, walking towards the counter, just as the bell rang, signalling that someone had entered the shop.

"Hey, Alice. It's been a long time since you entered the shop." Pop smiled as I watched Mrs Cooper smile back.

"I'll be leaving now." I quickly escaped the booth before Mrs Cooper could stop me.

"Jughead, your order." Pop pushed the two bags and the two drinks towards Betty, who grabbed one of the bags.

"Keep the change." I smiled, pushing the required cash plus a few extra dollars towards him.

"See you kids later." He smiled before we swiftly left the shop, Betty stopping when she saw my dad talking to her mom.

"Do you- Do you think that she's called him because of...our baby?" She looked at me concerned.

"What other reason does she have to talk to him? He's a serpent and she hates serpents. She wouldn't be talking to him if it weren't for our baby." I didn't want to make my answer sound negative, but it was true.

"Juggie, I'm scared." She got into the truck, our food resting on her lap while our drinks rested in the cup holders.

"Whatever happens, I'm sure my dad will be less hard-hitting, unlike your mom." I admitted.

"It's true. If he responds the same way my mom responded to our news, I'm truly terrified." She held my hand.

"Don't worry. We have Archie, Veronica, Sweet Pea, Fangs and Toni on our side. 3 of our 5 friends are serpents. Besides, my dad wouldn't hurt his own son, not just because I'm also a serpent." I reassured her as I drove us back to my trailer.

The trailer used to belong to my dad, but once he started doing odd jobs throughout Riverdale and outside of Riverdale, he only used it when he was sick of being away from home, which is rare. I started paying for things, and with my job at Pop's, keeping the trailer and my life on track was much easier, and would become easier now that I had a reason to keep going: Our unborn baby.