Mine (a Riverdale fanfiction)

Conform, or Be Cast Out

It was a shock to all of them when Southside High was shut down—unexpectedly, and all at once.

Taken aback, Jughead went, as he always did, to Pop's, where he read out the notice from the mayor to his father, who was mopping the floor. "'Mayor McCoy has deemed Southside High a public health hazard due to toxic fumes from the methamphetamine lab in the basement.'" He sat back in disgust, crumpling up the notice. "There was no meth. Just Jingle-Jangle."

"So the worm turns and it's back to Riverdale High, huh?"

"The way that all this went down? Something smells fishy."

FP laughed. "Damn straight something smells fishy: you not wanting to admit the real reason you don't want to go back."

Jughead frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

His dad made a face at him that said he knew Jughead was avoiding the question. Then the bell jangled and FP's face lit with humor. "Ah, she just walked in the door."

Turning in his seat, Jughead saw the one person he always hoped to see and always tried to avoid. Her ponytail bobbed as she came toward his table and took the seat across from him.

"Good to see you, Betty," FP said, turning away from the table with a significant look at Jughead.

"You, too, Mr. Jones." She looked at Jughead. "Thanks for meeting with me."

Score one for Betty: She was composed and calm, as if there was no reason this meeting might be strange, or emotionally fraught. Jughead, on the other hand, couldn't seem to get hold of himself, stammering a bit as he replied, "No problem. I was going to reach out, clear the air, before Dr. Beaker awkwardly pairs us up in chemistry or something."

"Actually, I wanted to meet because I need help. You remember that baby my mom put up for adoption?"

It was the last thing he had expected her to mention, but it took a lot of the pressure off the conversation. "The long-lost Cooper sibling? Yeah."

"I was hoping you'd put me in touch with your social worker, Miss Weiss, to see if she can help me find him."

Betty was smiling like this was a great idea, not densely packed with any kind of weird issues, and Jughead was immediately alarmed. "Betty. 'Course I'll help, but ... why this sudden need for a brother?"

She was silent for a moment, the smile gone from her face. "Polly had the twins," she said at last, her voice flat and emotionless. Knowing how much she loved her sister, Jughead could only guess at how much hurt lay beneath this studied calm. "And she didn't even call my mom to tell her. I know my mom's crazy, but she's also really sad. Maybe if she found her son ... having him in our lives ..." Betty let the words trail off, shrugging a little to pretend this wasn't for her, as much as for her mom.

"I'll send you Miss Weiss's number," Jughead promised. Suddenly he missed his own sister fiercely.

"Thank you, Jug." Betty paused a moment, then went on, still calmly, "As for clearing the air, I'm ... happy you're going to be back at Riverdale High."

"I'm ... not unhappy to be going back myself," he admitted. "A little worried how Riverdale High is going to like the Serpents, but I guess we'll see."

"I guess we will."

They looked at each other, the space between them heavy with unspoken words, all the things Jughead wanted to say to her so desperately and couldn't, and then Betty stood up, politely said good-bye to his father, and left.

"That went well," FP said.

Jughead snorted. "Too well. When Betty's that calm on the surface, there's a whole lot going on underneath that she doesn't want anyone to see."