More than Best Friends

Archie and Reggie

It was the second time today she had him pinned. She took a second to toss her blonde hair over her shoulder, throwing off her hat in the process.

"Dammit, Jughead, I TOLD you to stop it!" she screamed. He would have cringed at the intensity of her voice, had she not been grinning widely as she yelled it out. Instead, he wiggled a little under her, pretending to try and get out. She held his arms and he pouted.

"Sorry?" he tried. She smirked. All he had done was toss a few snowballs...he had even tried deliberately not to hit her. He pondered this a moment before acknowledging their position.

His eyes widened, just slightly, as she continued breathing in ragged gasps, still tired from having to chase, wrestle, and beat him to the ground. Her scarf was still around his neck and she had unzipped her jacket after a few minutes' chase. She had a leg on either side of him, her face inches away from his, her arms pinning his to the ground. Breathing. Hard. He looked down for a second-only a second-but it was enough.

He threw her off of himself and jumped up, silently screaming at himself to calm down. Shit, shit, shit! Why me?! And why now?!

"What?" Betty asked innocently, rolling over in the snow.

Jughead didn't turn to face her."Uhh-" he stalled. "Uh...uhh..." Quick, Jug. Think. THINK! She had gotten up and was walking over. He watched her bend to pick up her hat. Her shirt...was thin...it was cold...This wasn't helping.

"Um," he thought, facing away, his mouth suddenly dry.

"YOU'RE IT!" he screamed, running away. He heard her laugh. Quickly, he zoomed down the street to his house. She was hot on his heels.

Mom in a bikini. Dad in a bikini, he thought. Grandma in a bikini! He looked down inconspicuously and was relieved to see that he had, in fact, managed to calm himself.

He sighed in relief and slowed to a halt, stopping in front of his door.

Betty tackled him again. When she sat up she was giggling madly. Jughead grinned goofily and retrieved his key from his inside pocket. His mom and dad wouldn't be home until Sunday night. Betty untangled herself from his arms and lay in the snow, eyes closed. It was so deep that it reached his ankles, even on his doorstoop, four steps up.

School would be out for a while.He bowed, allowing Betty to walk in before himself. She curtsied and obliged, throwing herself down on his couch.

"It's so cold in here!" she told him as she began to take off her coat.

"The heater isn't on. Come on up to my room: the thermostat is right outside the door and it always warms up the fastest," he grinned. Betty followed him up the stairs. He opened the door for her and turned the heater onto seventy-two degrees. It read twenty-six. He shivered.

Moments later, when he walked into his room, he shivered again. But not from the cold. Betty had stripped down-well, maybe 'stripped down' is a little dramatic, but she HAD taken off her jacket, mittens, boots, shoes, hat, and a pair of pants (she had apparently worn two...how strange.) These articles of clothing were now neatly folded and littered about his room, with Betty on his bed, lying on his pillow, folding up a sweater and tossing it onto the floor.

Had he been an anime character, his nose would have been gushing blood.

"Betty," he said quietly. She smiled at him from the bed before patting the spot next to her.

"It's so warm," she informed him, snuggling up to his favorite pillow. He grinned, realizing that it would carry her scent for days.

She realized he was staring at her and tossed the pillow at him.