Another day. The old mattress in the basement was really starting to give him back pain. His foster family was nice, but having to sleep down there every night was not fun. Jughead knew what Betty would say when he told her. She'd laugh and call him "old man." Seeing Betty everyday after school the highlight of his day. Southside High got off an hour earlier than Riverdale High did. So everyday Jughead would do the same old routine. He'd go visit his dad, who was still in jail, although things had gotten a lot better since Jughead found out the truth of Jason's murder. His dad just wanted to protect him. After his visit with his dad, he'd take the truck, drive to the North side of town, and wait for his friends. Veronica and Archie were a thing now, even though no one acknowledged it, and it just sort of came out of nowhere. And Kevin was around a lot more, too. Ever since Joaquin left he hung around Betty all the time. Even Cheryl would occasionally hang out with them. She was still her usual mean self, but more tolerable for some reason. They'd all go to their usual booth at Pop's, order milkshakes, and listen to the Pussycats play. Pop thought it would be a good idea to get entertainment for the diner, and he was right. It was different from what Jughead was used to at Pop's, but man, those girls could sing. Southside High was okay. Ever since he became associated with the Serpents no one bothers him. He wore his Serpent jacket to school everyday. It was a real status symbol in the Southside, like a Bulldog jacket or a River Vixen uniform on the North Side. Betty was fine with it. At first, Jughead joining the Serpents caused a rift in their relationship, but they worked it out. And Jughead knew that secretly, she loved it. He even made a few new friends. Of course, he rarely sees them outside of school though. Life was good, better than it had been in a long time.
Today, though, something was different. When Jughead, in his usual pose, leaning against his truck with his arms crossed in front of him, looked up expecting to his his normal group, he was surprised. But in a good way. Archie, Veronica, and Kevin weren't there, just her. The love of his damned life, Betty Cooper. She looked so beautiful today, she was wearing a flowy, light blue dress. It made her silvery, gray eyes sparkle. She was also wearing her hair down today, not in her signature ponytail. As she walked over, Jughead thought, 'What did I do to deserve her?' "Hey," she said, the words coming out of her mouth were like heaven in his ears. "Hey to you, too," he replied. "Where's the rest of the Scooby gang?" Betty let out a small, but noticeable laugh. "Kevin and Veronica decided to ditch me to go shopping with Cheryl and Josie because the Bergdorfs in Greendale is having a major sale, and you know Archie follows Veronica around like a little puppy dog, so it's just us today." She smiled. Jughead loved her smile, it was one of his favorite things about her. "In that case," Jughead whispered, sounding a little sarcastic, but Betty knew he was serious, "We should do something special. Because I just realized that we haven't been on a date before. An actual date where we talk to each other, about each other. And not about our friends or murders. Because you deserve that Betty Cooper, you deserve the world." He kissed her. "Juggie, I think you might just be the best boyfriend in the world, and I would love to go on an official date with you."
To Be Continued...
