Slowly Giving Up ~Bughead~

Chapter 17

          Betty's POV: That night, I was awake for several hours. Just lying there, breathing in the strong scent of rain from my open window. My head was buried into Jughead's chest all night, and his scent was mixing into the rain. He smelled like a thousand roses shoved into one vase, all together. His arms were wrapped around me, holding me close. I looked at his peaceful, silent face, and noticed the darkness around his eyes was fading away, and his cheeks weren't sticky anymore from his tears. His breathing was heavy, causing every breath he took to touch my forehead lightly. His light snore wasn't annoying, but it made me feel safe. Because I knew, that now, hopefully, I wouldn't ever be alone again. And I sure wasn't going to leave Jughead alone anytime soon.
          I looked over to my window, and the curtains were going crazy. I closed my eyes, hoping it was time to let sleep take me away from the world. But, before it could have happened, my phone went off. I quickly grabbed it before it could wake Jughead up, because he needed sleep. As much as he could get.
The text was from Archie. I honestly would have rather heard from Veronica than him. He should be ashamed of himself.
Archie: please forgive me?
          I didn't know if I should forgive him. Because when we were little, every single time I'd forgive him. And he'd just do the same thing over again the very next day.
Archie: window?
I thought about it for a minute, and then slowly removed Jughead's right arm from my freezing side. I sat up, and waited to hear the sound of Jughead's small snore before I got up.
As I walked over to the window, there sat Archie sitting in a chair.
Me: What, Archie?!
Archie: please talk to me. I'm sorry.
Me: Archie, Juggie is your best friend. And you just totally hurt him. How'd you figure it out, anyway?
Archie: me & Ronnie went to the Twilight Drive in. We saw his dad, except he had a jacket on.
Betty: It's not his fault. Any of it. If you want to be my friend, then apologize to Juggie.
Archie: Betty...fine.
All of a sudden, Archie's eyes focused on the back of my room. I turned around, and saw Jughead's feet sticking out of the bottom of my bed.
Archie: Betty, What is that?
Betty: Night, Arch!
           I quickly shut my window and curtains, and jumped back into my bed. I got next to Jughead, and put his arm around myself. It was a pain to get the covers, because Jughead was on top of them. I eventually got them out from under his body, but he sure was a deep sleeper.
          For another few hours, I was still. Now that the rain was no longer a sound I heard, Jughead's snore took up all of my room. I would have never thought, that Jughead would be the one I'd be sleeping next to in high school. And the good thing? My mom was starting to like him. He obeyed every one of her rules, and helped her clean the house up sometimes. And, Jughead loved reading her papers. She loves anyone who likes her writing.
          Now I know what she meant, when she started talking about us two getting "closer". Until now, I never noticed how we were together all day. We finished each others sentences. Drank the exact same coffee. And we would always flirt, but I never realized, of course. Again, I was always so caught up in Archie business. I wonder if Jughead liked me through all of it, though?
Only time will tell.
With all of these thoughts and questions in my head, I finally fell asleep. Admiring every minute of tonight.
          When I woke up, Jughead was surprisingly awake before me. I sat up, and pushed the covers off of my legs. "You look tired, and you just woke up. Why is that?" He asked jokingly. I smiled, and went to my vanity and sat. "Well, where are you going so early in the morning?" I asked him. "I thought about going to see my dad. I'm going try to get him back on track. It's unlikely, but possible." He said. "Good luck. And just remember, don't give up, Juggie." I said. He smiled, and walked over to me. I stood up, and he hugged me. "Thank you." He whispered in my ear. I kissed him on the cheek, and said, "Go get your dad back." And he walked out. Deep down inside, I knew he had faith.
I sat back down at my vanity, and let my hair down. I went downstairs to find my mom standing in the kitchen.
"So, what was that kiss on the cheek?" She asked. "Mom, are you serious!? You know I hate it when you spy on me!" I said. "I'm your mother. I check on my children." She said. "You mean your child?" I said. "Are you two dating now?" She asked me. "Mom, we haven't discussed it yet." I said while feeling a blush approach my already red cheeks. "At least he's not Archie." She added. "Mom, stop." I said. She took a drink of her coffee, and sat her mug down. "Any plans for today?" She asked me. I remembered the fight with Veronica, so obviously not. "Not today, mom. Not today." I said, and went back upstairs. I started reading a book, but I soon grew tired of it. I walked over to Jughead's book, and grabbed it. I sat down with it, and noticed a small bump in it. I opened to the page, and there sat the rose. My rose. The petals were all still attached, but the smell had faded away. The thorns were nowhere to be found, just the bent stem. I smiled at the memory, and began reading the book all over again. It was one of the best books I'd ever read, and I didn't even know who wrote it. Or what it was called.
An hour later, my bedroom door opened. Jughead walked over and laid down with me. He hugged me, and I hugged him back. Soon enough, there were tears from his eyes that were staining my shirt. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked him. "My dad. He's never going to be better." He said. "That's not true. He loves you, and he'll do it for you." I said. "No he won't, Betty." He said. I hugged him again, and he saw my book. "You're reading it again." He said. "Yeah. It's actually really good." I said. "Who wrote it?" I asked him. "I did." He said.
I wasn't surprised that it was him. The main characters matched our looks, and the writing was amazing. He chose the words well, and each chapter was better than the last one. "Juggie! You did a great job on this." I said. "Not that good, but whatever." He said. "Oh, come on, you know it's good." I teased. "Look what I found." I said while holding up the old rose. "Wow. It's still in one piece." He said. He grabbed it, and put it in his bag. "I'm going to use it for something." He said. "Ok. Just don't break it." I said.
"Hey Betty?" He asked. "Yes?" I said. "Are we...something?" He asked. "Oh. Um. I don't really know." I said shyly. He smiled mischievously, and got up. "I'll be back in a bit." He said. "Bye?" I wondered.
          For the rest of the day, Jughead was no where to be found. I waited and waited, but Jughead didn't come. I read, and read, but Jughead didn't come. I began to worry, because it was now dark outside. And then, my phone lit up.
Jughead: Behind your house. Come outside.
I quickly got my shoes, and did as he said.
          When I got outside, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were fairy lights everywhere, and Jughead was standing in front of all of them. I wasn't fit for this scene, because I still had my pajamas on and my hair was in messy curls again. I felt myself blush, and I walked up to Jughead. "Juggie.." I began. "Shh. I have something to say." He said. He bent down on one knee, and pulled something out of his pocket. It was my rose, except it wasn't just a rose. He had torn all of the petals off, and gathered leaves and more stems. He made the leaves and stems into a circle, and glued the rose petals onto the stems. It was beautiful, and I loved it more than the rose. "Betty, I've liked you since the first day we met. You're the nicest girl, and I was wondering..." he choked on his words, "If you'd be my girlfriend?" He asked. I couldn't help but smile, and tear up. I shook my head yes, and he stood up. He placed the rose crown on my head, and smiled. "I now claim you mine." He said jokingly. We both laughed, and he leaned forward. Before our lips touched, he smiled. And then it felt like we were the only two people alive.
And it was still, just the beginning.