Bughead: What Would I do Without You?

Chapter 1

Jughead Jones never really talked to anyone. It wasn't because he didn't want to. It was because he was very socially awkward. Especially when he was around his crush Betty Cooper. He had had a crush on her since they were ten. She never had a boyfriend and wasn't interested in anyone at Riverdale High. She never knew Jughead. They had never had any classes together growing up. He also lived on the Southside of town and she lived on the Northside. He had always admired Betty from afar. He always noticed how perfect her hair looked in a ponytail. He admired how open and positive she was. She was always so bubbly. He just wished that she would notice him and maybe start interacting with him. However, he thought that it would never happen.

Betty Cooper grew up with the expectation of being perfect. She hated all the pressure she was under. These expectations mostly came from her mom. Betty was always expected to be the perfect daughter, the perfect student, etc. She felt so much pressure to the point that she would freak out if she got a 99% on a test because she knew her mom would ground her if she got anything less than 100%. So she had to keep the facade of being perfect. She had to act all bubbly, warm, open, and positive. She hated it. All the boys at Riverdale High would hit on her because they thought she was so perfect. Yet, there was one boy at Riverdale High that never hit on her. She didn't know his name or who he was. She noticed how awkward he seemed to be around people. She noticed how he tried to blend in. She was always jealous of him because she always wished that she could blend into the crowd and her surroundings. Betty was grateful that she had her best friends Veronica, Cheryl, Toni, Kevin, and Archie. They hung out all the time. Cheryl and Veronica would take Betty shopping. Toni and Kevin would take her to the Bijou to catch a movie. And Archie would walk Betty to school since they were next-door neighbors. Betty couldn't help but get the feeling that Archie was into her. He always looked at her like he was. He would always do things that would make it seem like he was interested. She never thought of Archie as more than a friend. He never hit on her but the things he did and the way he looked at her made her think that he thought that there was something between them. He would do these things even when they went to Pop's with Cheryl, Toni, Veronica, and Kevin.

One day Betty was opening her locker to get her stuff for class when she heard it collide with something. Or was it someone? She immediately closed her locker to apologize. Right before she could apologize she realized that this was the awkward guy that never hit on her or did things to make her think he was interested.

"I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Betty said to the guy her locker had collided with. She noticed that he was wearing the same beanie he always wore and that he had a blue jean jacket with fake fur on the inside. She also noticed that he had headphones around his neck which suggested that he wanted to listen to his music and not interact with people.

Jughead could only nod because he was so stunned and felt so awkward.

"I am so glad you're okay. I feel awful. Let me make it up to you. Do you want to go to Pop's after school today?" Betty asked him.

Jughead nodded again.

"Great. I'm Elizabeth. But, call me Betty. Everyone does." She was so relieved that he was okay.

"I... I... I'm... J... Ju... Jug...Jugh...Jughe...Jughea...Jughead." He couldn't keep from stammering. Not only was he socially awkward but his longtime crush was actually talking to him. This was the first interaction he's ever had with her. He was so stunned. He couldn't believe that she had actually noticed him.

"Jughead?" Betty was confused as to why he introduced himself as Jughead.

"M...mmm...My...r...rr...re...rea...real name... is... F... Fo... For... Fors... Forsy... Forsyth... P... Pe... Pen... Pend... Pendl... Pendle... Pendlet...Pendleto...Pendleton Jones III. But (he took a deep breath) I go by Jughead." He finally felt like he could talk to her.

"Oh. So you don't like your real name so you use a nickname. Well, for the record I really like the nickname Jughead. It's really creative." Betty didn't understand why it was so easy to talk to Jughead. They had only just met. She also had this really weird feeling in her stomach. Did she like Jughead? If she did, why? She just met him and already she had butterflies.

Suddenly the bell rang.

"Damn it. I gotta get to class. It was nice meeting you Jughead." Betty said before she ran to class.

Jughead smiled and ran off to his class which unfortunately wasn't with Betty.