Jabitha Oneshots

Death Sentence

A... unique... Jabitha proposal.

Tabitha wasn't planning on her proposal almost killing her boyfriend, but sometimes in Riverdale, life has its own ideas.

She came up with the plan weeks in advance, combining the many things Jughead loved into one, grand event; burgers, Pop's, friends and of course, herself.

Until the day itself, everything had gone according to plan. Choosing the ring was simple, a matter of borrowing one of her boyfriend's current accessories for sizing and picking something out from a nearby jewellery store. The chosen piece was simple and silver, unique without being too flashy, just like Jughead. When she took it home, she immediately made plans for all of their friends to arrive at Pop's for the proposal, none of them knowing what her arrangement was but hopefully, all of them in good spirits.

Finally, she decided on how she would propose. She'd offer the ring to him on top of a burger instead of getting down on one knee, then give him her whole "we should spend the rest of our lives together" speech while he ate. It was perfect.

The night before the event, Tabitha's mind was whirring. She pictured Jughead's facial expression, adorably surprised upon finding the ring, and she imagined him picking her up and spinning her around for the first time as fiancés, surrounded by all of their friends. The idea left a smile on her face that lasted for hours.

At last, the sun began to rise over the town with pep and the day had finally come.

--

"Here ya go," she said, pushing the plate across the table and sitting down expectantly in front of her boyfriend. The ring glittered atop the burger, the silver band planted securely and obviously in its centre. Tabitha watched his expression, waiting for the inevitable change that was sure to take place once he noticed it, but nothing came. Instead, he picked up the burger and took a ravenous bite.

"Thanks Tabs. God, I'm so hungry."

Ok, she thought to herself, not quite what I had in mind, but I can work with this. Surely, he'll notice once he gets towards the middle.

But after two bites; then three; then four; he still hadn't looked down at his plate. Finally, the ring sat on a tiny piece of bread only a centimetre wide, and he still hadn't noticed it.

"Wait, Jughead," Tabitha said, reaching forward to grab his arm as he lifted it to his mouth. But it was too late. The final bite disappeared, and with it, the beautiful ring she'd so carefully picked out for him. It almost made Tabitha want to cry before she realised that it would likely re-emerge within a day or two.

He looked up at her in confusion. "What?"

Suddenly, his eyes went wide, and he reached up, his hand finding his throat. He started grabbing at his neck in horror, terrifying garbled sounds erupting from his mouth, causing heads to turn all throughout the diner. Tears were leaking from corners of his eyes as he tried to find air- it truly was an awful sight.

"Jughead!" Tabitha screamed, leaping out of her seat, and rushing to him, "Somebody help, please, he's choking!"

She started aimlessly slapping his back, but it was futile. The ring remained firmly lodged in his throat.

Suddenly, she felt a strong arm urging her aside and saw somebody crouching beside her boyfriend. As soon as she noticed the familiar shock of red hair, she exhaled deeply: Archie.

He picked Jughead up, his arms wrapping around his friend's waist as he lifted him into the air. The Heimlich Manoeuvre, Tabitha realised. The movement made him cough even more, but the sounds started to become increasingly less desperate.

Finally, with one, grand splutter, he spat the ring (and a large chunk of burger) onto the surface of the booth. The diner was silent aside from the feint sound of music emanating from the jukebox.

Archie looked from Tabitha, standing beside him with wide eyes and a guilty expression, to Jughead, keeled over and leaning against the seat.

Archie placed a hand on Jughead's back and turned to Tabitha, leaning over to look at everything he'd spluttered onto the table.

"Did you put a-" he paused, "ring in his burger?"

She shrugged, running her hands through her hair nervously.

"I was trying to propose, but he didn't see it, and then next thing I knew it was in his mouth and-"

Tabitha was interrupted by a hoarse burst of laughter. She looked over to see her boyfriend straightening up, one hand on his stomach and the other braced against the booth.

"Well that certainly was quite the memorable proposal, Tabs."

She ran her hands nervously down her dress, eyeing the ring on the table before slowly, lowering herself onto one knee.

"Jughead, I'm so, so sorry. I honestly thought you'd see the ring before you even touched the burger. If you want to say no, I'd completely understand," she whispered, "but will you marry me?"

He slid his hand along the booth, picking the ring up and brushing it on his pants, before sliding it onto his finger, nestled in amongst his other accessories. Jughead placed his free hand on her shoulder. After a moment, he grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Hey, I wouldn't dream of saying no. It's probably my fault anyway. I think most people would have recognised a ring in a burger within seconds."

Tabitha felt her eyes beginning to water and she grabbed Jughead's hand to admire the ring, "So that's a yes?"

"Yes. Tabitha, it's a yes."

Slowly, in a collective state of distress,confusion and excitement, everybody in the diner began to clap. It was astrange proposal, sure. But then again, this was Riverdale. And this wasJughead and Tabitha