The Origin of Love | Bughead Oneshots

Protecting her

"Well, it's getting late," the blonde said as she got up from the booth she was sitting at. "I'm going to go before my mom gets home from work. I told her I was studying."

"You want me to walk you home?" Archie offered, his arm around Veronica's shoulders. "It's getting dark, it's not very safe to walk alone at night."

"No, no, don't worry. I only have a few minutes walk home, I'll be fine. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Betty said goodbye to her friends before heading outside. It was starting to get dark as winter was fast approaching, making the temperatures drop. She was dressed only in a small sweater and jeans, not expecting it to be this cold.

Without wasting any more time, Betty started to walk home. Fortunately, she only had about ten minutes to walk. As she walked, she had a strange feeling that someone was following her; but when she turned around, she saw no one.

She walked faster, feeling watched. Then, after a few minutes, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning quickly, she saw a man wearing a hoodie following her, speeding up with her.

Her breathing began to quicken as she dug her nails into her palms. She had this bad habit whenever she was stressed, sad or angry: which she was right now. She was certain that this man was following her.

Picking up the pace again, he did the same. It was already dark in Riverdale, and the streets were deserted. By chance, she saw a boy smoking a cigarette near the bridge.

And this boy, she knew him. It was Jughead Jones, aka the Serpent King. He was the leader of a Southside gang that everyone was afraid of. He wore his famous leather jacket with the gang logo on the back with black jeans.

Not knowing what to do, she walked up to him and hugged him to make it look like they knew each other so the man who followed her would leave her alone.

Jughead was very surprised by this gesture, as the girl whispered to him, "this man is following me, I didn't know what to do. Pretend you know me, please..."

He said nothing, but wrapped his arms around her as the man approached them. "Do you know her?" the man asked as Jughead placed Betty behind him.

"Yes, I do. She's my girlfriend. May I ask why you were following her? You know she's only seventeen, you pervert? How old are you, forty? You must know who I am, right? Jughead Jones, leader of the Southside Serpents. You better get out of here and leave her alone before things get out of hand."

"Oh- I-I didn't know she was with you... I-I'll go away," the man said quickly as he walked as far away from Jughead as possible, knowing full well what he and his gang were capable of.

"Thanks..." Betty then said in a whisper as Jughead turned back to her. "I-I'm sorry to have bothered you... I'll be going now."

As she prepared to leave, Jughead held her by the wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I-I'm going home..."

"Let me walk you home, then. The streets aren't safe for a girl alone, let alone after dark."

Without lying, Betty was surprised. Very surprised, in fact. She hadn't expected this answer, knowing full well that Jughead was known as a boy with a heart of stone, violent and lonely. "Y-You don't have to..."

"Sure I do. Come on. And put this on, you'll freeze to death if you don't," he told her as he removed his Serpent jacket, pulling it over her shoulders.

"Thanks..." the blonde mumbled in a low whisper as Jughead walked her home. "Thanks again for what you did. I-I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there."