Plan 'Bet Together' - A Riverdale Fanfiction

Phase One

The bell rung, and Jughead cleared up his belongings. He wandered slowly to the place where his friends hanged out, head filled with ideas on how to go about Phase One. He recalled some of Betty's notes about it in her plan. Thorough as it was. Some came to mind, and so he locked them down, making sure to use them.

He sat down at the table, the first. He breathed in the solitude, basking in the excellence of this fleeting silence. To Jughead, isolation was like a medicinal drug. In small doses, it was good, beneficial. Too much and it could be detrimental, a remedy made toxic.

He knew he had been on the verge of an overdose, close to being an outcast amongst outcasts, a king of a no man's land. But, fortunately, a few words of forgiveness and acceptance had rid the toxin of loneliness from his system, and he once more had his friends to keep him well.

Jughead flinched in surprise when he realised Kevin had arrived. He and Kevin weren't exactly close, so he was surprised when Kevin addressed him.
"Hey, Jughead. What's up?"

Jughead searched the other boy, looking for the reason that he wanted to talk. All he could find was a strange, pursed smile, one that Jughead read as 'I know something you don't'. Jughead, ever the sleuth, began to question Kevin.
"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Kevin retorted without hesitation. Jughead's suspicion grew and he narrowed his eyes.
"Kevin. Tell me."

Kevin looked away, pretending not to have heard, tapping the table with his fingers like it was a piano, the sung lost to their ears. Before Jughead could try to get an actual answer, Kevin spoke up, dramatically, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Oh, here they come!"

Jughead accidentally followed Kevin's eyes, berating himself as he did, knowing that was what Kevin wanted. He saw Archie, donned in his varsity jacket, a piece of clothing that was as perdurable as Jughead's beanie, and beside him, Veronica and Betty. They were all laughing, a joke Jughead would never hear in context.

When they reached the table, only the leftovers of their amusement remained. Betty sat beside Jughead whilst Archie sat parallel to them, Veronica and Kevin at his side. Archie waved at Jughead, smiling brightly, as did Veronica. Jughead just looked at them, perplexed. Was it just him or was everyone acting weird today? The others began to converse as he and Betty sat in silence.

Betty nudged him without warning. Jughead started at the touch, withdrawing with surprise. He felt bad when he saw a flash of hurt flicker across her face. He sagged, conveying a silent sorry. After a moment, she shrugged, a 'don't worry about it' in their wordless conversation. Then, she looked between him and Archie, telling him to initiate Phase One with that subtle movement. He nodded.

"Sooo," he drawled, loudly so Archie could hear him clearly, "I heard you got some coupons to that new fancy restaurant that opened..."

Betty nodded, a small smile accompanying it as she glanced at Archie.
"Yeah. I got two actually. But, sadly, I have no one to go with...."

Jughead frowned exaggeratedly, embracing his dramatic flair.
"Oh, that is a shame. You're such a great person. I can't believe no one wants to go with you."

Betty sighed expertly, again her eyes flickering to Archie, as if impeaching him. He shared eye contact with her, squinting his eyes, before jumping as if bitten.
"Oh! Yeah, that's sucks Betty. I wish I could go with you but I'm going to be busy." The words following the exclamation sounded insincere, like Archie didn't think it was too terrible. Jughead looked to see if Betty was hurt by Archie's tone, but she seemed nonchalant, her eyes on Jughead. Jughead looked to Archie, annoyed on Betty's behalf.

"Dude, you don't even know what day it is she wants to go. How can you say you're busy without even knowing that?"

Archie looked taken aback, but didn't argue against the logic.
"I'm sorry. I've just got a lot on my plate."

Jughead scowled bitterly.
"Oh, like the rest of us don't."

Archie eyes widened, then went downcast, avoiding Jughead's dark glare.
"I'm sorry, really."

Jughead wasn't going to continue the argument, realising his friend was being truly apologetic, but Betty jumped in like she thought it would.
"Jughead, it's alright. That's okay Archie. I'll take someone else."

Archie looked back up, a sheepish smile, eyes glancing at Jughead. The raven haired boy sighed. He had been mean to his friend and Phase One had failed without ever really having liftoff. It wasn't his greatest achievement.

Now, he'd have to find a date for Betty so they could do Phase Two: Have Betty go on a date to make Archie jealous. It wasn't Jughead's idea, but he knew it was likely to work on Archie, who often only realised he loved something once it was gone. Jughead was going through the list of boys that Betty had written down for Phase Two when said girl piped up.
"Hey. Jughead, if your not busy tomorrow, do you want to go?"

Jughead turned to her, eyes wide, wondering if he had misheard.
"Sorry?..." he mumbled, too startled to speak coherently.

Betty smiled fondly.
"Do you want to go with me to the restaurant, seeing as Archie can't?"

The others were all silent, watching him with steady, expecting gazes. Jughead felt lost for words. This wasn't what Betty had planned, an option she herself hadn't written down. Jughead was just the wing-man. Oh God, he thought, this is what wing-men do, isn't it? They're the bait that hooks the fish in. Jughead scolded himself. He should've realised this would be a possibility. He escaped the confines of his mind and returned to the external world, realising that he had been silent for too long. He thought of how many burgers he would get in the end and it motivated him to answer.

"...Sure."