Jabitha Oneshots

Deep Breaths

Tabitha's feeling nervous about going to visit her parents in Chicago. Jughead comforts each other.

"How're you feeling?" Jughead asks, brushing his hand with Tabitha's as they take their seats side by side in the back of a taxi.

She doesn't answer for a minute, letting her head loll back against the headrest.

Finally, she looks over at her boyfriend.

"I don't know if I'm ready to face them again, Jughead. Not after last time."

He must see something in her face- perhaps her glistening eyes or the paleness of her skin- because he strains against the seatbelt to cup her face in one hand.

"Hey, take a deep breath," Jughead whispers, fully aware of the driver listening intently to their conversation, "we'll get through this together, and then that's another year's visit done, right?"

She shudders, "Right."

His touch slowly drifts down from her cheek, across her shoulder and to her hand. He gently lifts it, tracing circles over her skin with the tip of his thumb. Tabitha's vision wanders, drifting out the window, where the towering skyscrapers have begun to give way to mini mansions. Cafés, shops, and clubs drift by, and she can't help but feel dimly excited about what the next few days with her boyfriend might entail. All she has to do is to get through this one, tricky dinner. And then the city is hers and Jughead's to explore.

"That's not so bad," she mumbles aloud.

"Did you say something, Tab?"

"No," she replies, "Nothing."