The Smell Before Rain // Jughead Jones

Chorus: chapter three

Call me a safe bet, I'm betting I'm not

The next few weeks are much the same. Awkward, half interactions in the presence of his friends she begins to call her own. Steadily growing each day.
Sunday's, 3 am.  Cokes and parmis, coffees, milkshakes and cheeseburgers. Each week getting to know the other better in the sanctuary of the empty diner, Pop as their chaperone and the sole Riverdale citizen to know of their secret rendezvous'.
She's yet to spend a full day around the gang. She prefers to alternate the times she hangs out with all four. A lunch here, a free period there.
But always in the presence of Jughead.
They still gravitated towards each other when they weren't together. Noticing, always noticing, the other.

Neither of them believe it could be this good for so long. She watches over her shoulder every day still, waiting to be the punch line of a huge practical joke everyone but she's in on.
He's waiting for her to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Never too sure if she's real.

The other three watch on quietly. Four weeks of silent observation of the odd pair has taught them, Archie included, that both of their fears are 1. Illogical, and, 2. Reciprocal.
They've also noticed, Archie included, that both are beyond head over heels for the other.

In the short time Archie's gotten to know Brady, even he's been able to see her admiration for the boy dripping from every subtle move she makes and choked comment she blurts out with too much force it nearly hits the person it's intended for in the face.
In the short time Archie's seen Jughead and Brady interact, even he knows Jughead's found his perfect match.

However, Jughead deals with fact. To him true love or perfect matches don't exist. He likes this girl. Sure. But how long will that last? He's constantly surprised he hasn't gotten sick of his friends yet, and he'd never want to get sick of Brady.
But Brady lives in a fictional romantic alternative universe, where the likes of Mr Darcy and Edmund Bertram exist. Her hopeless romantic heart can only handle a real, encapsulating love.
Jughead may end up being a Wickham, and she never wants to find out if he is. She wouldn't handle it. It would break her.

Archie sees all this, he has a plan to make his best friend happy for once and help the young girl, he's starting to call his close friend, speak with out choking and smile without looking like she should rather be crying.
So it's lucky when he just so happens to be jogging by Pop's diner early Sunday morning (and by early it's 5:45) when he spots the two aforementioned love birds convalescing at Jughead's usual booth, four cups of coffee around them each.

What he sees surprises him. At school neither of them can talk to each other like this. He's shocked because Brady has a smile that reaches her eyes and he can't see her scratch her palm while she's talking, a sign they've all come to notice she does when she's nervous.
He's not sure if he can remember the last time Jughead's laugh wasn't forced.
Probably when his mum was still around.

The scene in front of him is so hard to imagine is real he's not sure if he's hallucinating, so if he can't believe what's in front of his eyes, his girlfriend won't believe him when he tells her. So he takes a video from over the bushes, hiding in the shrub off to the side where he can get the perfect angle of the two.

He sends it to Ronnie with a text: maybe we don't need to scheme too much? They're doing all your work for you, Cupid.

The reply that comes back was swift: They still need our help. I don't want my new best friend waiting forever for that muppet to finally make a move. Lord knows I waited too long for you. If you won't help me, Bets and Kev will.