The exception -- A bughead story

Chapter 5: Betty - "He is not my boyfriend, Veronica."

"What's up with him?" Veronica giggles. I smile to myself. "I have no idea, V." I lie. She looks at me knowingly. "You're such a bad liar, Betty! Spill." Veronica grins, getting excited. "Ok, maybe..." I try to begin. Veronica claps her hands together. "OMG, Betty! This is so exciting! You and Jughead?" She shouts. I open my eyes wider. "Shh, V. I don't want the whole school to know. And anyway, it was just one time..." She pretends to zip her lips shut. "Wait, not even Archie?" She asks.
"Just don't tell anyone at all." I tell her. "Ok, deal. Aaah! My girl's got herself a boy!" She squeals.
"He is not my boyfriend, Veronica." I groan. "Suuuuure." She says sarcastically, then runs off squealing still. I rub my eyes. Veronica has good intentions, but something tells me she can't keep a secret to save her life.

I find myself in Pop's after school. I asked Jughead to meet me here so we could discuss our relationship. If I'm brutally honest, I'm pretty scared he won't turn up. Fortunately, I am proved wrong. He strolls into the choc'lit shoppe, looking directly at me. Sure enough, he comes and sits down next to me in the booth. "Betty, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" Jughead sighs.
"No, Juggie. I like you. I wasn't lying when I said that." I cut him off.
"Well that's good, because neither was I." He admits. "So what are we then?" I take a deep breath. "Well Jughead, I'd love to be your girlfriend, but the question is, do you want to be my boyfriend?" I ask, holding my breath. "Betty, you have no idea. Yes." He breathes out. I smile the widest smile in a long time, then hug him. He strokes my hair as I lean into his chest. I'm about to drift off, until someone else walks into Pop's. Archie. Jughead hasn't noticed yet. I brace myself for the hurricane that is Archie. "Jughead!! Something you want to tell me, bro!?!" He yells, his voice laced with jealousy and anger. I hear Jughead swear under his breath. "Nope, don't think so." Jughead over-exaggerates. "Betty, go." He then whispers. I slowly release my grip on him. "Go!" Jughead then says a little louder. I get up and walk to the door, about to open it. "Do you really think you can just snatch her from me?" Archie seethes.
"Ya know, I really thought you were a good guy with good intentions. In fact, I thought you were my friend, Archie. Clearly, I was wrong." My new boyfriend states calmly. "Since when do you get to decide what intentions I have!?!" Archie growls.
"You can't just treat Betty like a trophy. You shouldn't treat anyone like that, but especially not Betty. You can't just decide when you want her and claim her as yours." Jughead shouts at my old best friend. I smile at how protective Jughead is being. "Oh yeah?!" Archie screams, punching Jughead in the jaw. "Alright, too far." My adorable boyfriend raises his voice even more. He gets up from the booth, then punches Archie in the stomach. The fight continues until Pop Tate breaks it up. I run to Jughead's side, turning my back on Archie. "Betty, don't be like that..." Archie wails. I ignore him, checking Jughead is okay. He has a cut on his lip, but that's all. I hug him again, happy that he's ok. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Betty." Juggie  states. "That's ok. Anyway, it was kind of cute, you standing up for me and beating Archie up." I giggle. He laughs too. "Let's get you home before your mom goes mental."