An attic romance [jugheadxreader]

romance

  "Where will you stay now?" He looked up at you from his laptop with a tired look before he returned to stare atthe blank monitor and the open notepad in it. At Pop's it was slow today. The occasional bright laugh from a fewbooths back seemed ill fitting in the situation you found yourself in at this very moment. The plastic table wascold on your palms, your brows burrowed together in worry as you tried to catch his gaze again but to no avail.You leaned in ever so slightly, the bright yellow uniform shifting just so that it let your bra strap slip into view, "Imean..." you trailed off, trying to find the correct words. Biting your lower lip you glanced at Ronnie's mom – shewas very obviously following this conversation with a knowing look, standing all the way behind the counter andwiping a few glasses – and you actively missed Jughead throwing a look at your exposed shoulder."Since Twilight Drive-In is..." His jaw tensed. You halted, "I'm sorry, Juggie, I know it's a touchy subject, butyou gotta give me an answer.""I'll figure something out." He said dryly. Anger flared in your chest and you inhaled though your nose, your lips lining thin. Glaring at Ronnie'smom, who shuffled away as the booth third down from you called her, you looked back at him, again failing to notice him sneaking glances atyour pink strap."Well figure it out now." You declared, "here. With me." He rolled his eyes. Your anger wilted and you reached for his hand across the table,"Juggie," you said his name tenderly, wrapping your fingers around his. He refused to look at you, "we've been best friends for what now...twoyears? Three? Ages?" A somber smile pulled on the corner of your lips, "I have every right there is to worry about you, you know I do. I care foryou."His jaw locked in place and he cleared his throat. Jughead finally lifted his eyes up from the screen, the dimmed down white light reflecting inhis irises and masking whatever painful emotion was displayed in. "I know." He said, "I—" his voice cracked, "I care for you too, (Name)." Yourlovely smile was the only answer he received. A pause. You let your ears capture the soft tune coming from the stereo, an end of a joke fromthe table behind you, and even the order Ronnie's mom said aloud to double check – all the while absentminded your thumb caressed thesurface of hand. When you caught what you were doing you jerked away and tried to normalize such a reaction by fixing your hair. Your eyeswandered away from his and you blushed. Just as someone called for an order, your table you realized, you thanked whoever was up above andquickly stood up."My cue to leave..." You mumbled, turning on your heel and about to bolt down the aisle when an idea popped into your head and youstopped. Back tracking you turned back to him, looking somewhere above over his head, "You know...I have an attic. If you really have nowhereto go, you can..." Your eyes met his, "stay there." Jughead nearly choked on his saliva, "Until you get it together, that is." You added."Uhm, ah, yeah, I'll...I'll think about it." He nodded stiffly."Great...well...call me if you want some more coffee. Or a milkshake." With that, you hurriedly scurried away./////////////////////////////
Of course he agreed to stay over. He had been crushing on you for years, there was no way in hell he'd miss such an opportunity. Granted, apart of him, the rational one, insisted on staying away - it was simply convinced that he would hurt himself even more if he didn't keep hisdistance. Seeing you every day in school smiling was enough. Seeing you at Pop's in that cute uniform bringing him coffee like clockworkwas enough. Being your friend was enough.

Except it wasn't.  

  He fixed a smile as you looked up at him. Your attic was small and scruffy, dust particles dancing inthe air and lingering on old boxes. You had just finished making him a bed - you carried and oldmattress from the garage (with his help, of course), picked the fluffiest pillows and gave him cleancovers. Even threw in a few stuffed animals you had laying around in your room so that he 'wouldn'tget scared or lonely'. He was grateful, beyond words grateful, but having you be so close yet so farhad never been so painful. He inhaled, the back of his throat tickling from the polluted air, and hemade a mental note to pry the small window open to let the room breathe."Thanks." He said, shifting from the floor to the mattress and lightly bouncing on it, "Really, I...Am apparently not a man of many words." He finished on a lighter, less emotional, note, making yougrin."No one uses this attic anymore, so I doubt anyone will come up here...And if they try you can besure I'll stop them." You said, "I'll let the ladder down when you can come out." You glanced out thewindow – dark. Downstairs the main door opened and shut. The jingling of keys reached all the wayhere. It was soon followed by your dads 'Honey! Baby sweet cornflake (Name)! We're home and wegot pizza!' and your moms quiet and displeased 'Again...'. As if on cue you looked at Jughead – in thedim lighting of several phone flashlights he appeared almost ghostly and was wistfully staringsomewhere behind your shoulder. You faltered. You needed to go, but leaving him here, alone,depressed and an asthma den seemed impossible."Honey! Come down while it's still hot...!"   

  You snapped your head back "Save some for me! I'm in the attic!" Pregnant silence followed byJughead's eyes widening in alarm. The shuffling downstairs stopped."Attic? The hell you doing there?""Just looking at some old pictures! I'll be down later!" You called, pacing to the ladder and bringing itup. The opening closed and all fell quiet. Jughead, still on edge, pointed at the entrance, about toopen his mouth but you beat him to it, "They won't come up here." You said, coming to sit next tohim, "I sort of...Used to come up here when I was ...singing.""You never mentioned you can sing.""That's because I can't." You replied with a smile, "Some secrets are meant to be taken to the grave."You finished coyly, "Besides," You tilted your head to the side, letting your eyes wander over the eerieshadows, "I'm pretty sure if I was ever to mention my...love for music you would've bullied me intoshowing you.

"I'd never." He faked offense with a grin, "But honestly? The information of your parents refusing togo up here because of your singing is enough for me to stop questioning it all together.""A wise man, you are.""I just know when I'm venturing into dangerous territory."

The two of you shared a laugh, which lastly died down into pleasant silence. The soft buzz from theworking engines of your mobiles bounced off the wooden walls, shuffling from downs stairs droningfor a while before some tune from the radio started playing in the kitchen. The room was fairly cold,but sitting this close, shoulder to shoulder, sent a spike of heat down your skin, it tingling and youblushed again. Out of the corner of your eye you saw his face turned to you, trying to catch yourgaze but you didn't dare to look at him. It was getting hot."You know..." He started quietly, startling you slightly as you found his voice much closer to your earthan you though he'd be, "You didn't have to stay, Capulet. Trusting your family to leave you a bite isnot only foolish, but also should be considered a crime." A cheeky smile made its way on your lipsand you tilted your head to him."What art thou saying, Romeo? Do I suspect an ulterior motive of hunger steering thou decision?" Hescoffed, playfully rolling his eyes."Thou are brainy-er than I thought-th-" He nearly bit off his tongue, making you slap your hand overyour mouth to hide your giggles. Jughead elbowed you playfully, "To be fair, I read 'Romeo &Juliet' in eighth grade. Refrain from mocking me too much.""You aren't exactly the 'Romeo & Juliet' type, so I'll let it pass.""And why is that?""I don't know, actually." You said after a moment, "I think you're more of a Hamlet. Brooding and—""-Irrational?"You cracked a smile, "No, I was going to say emotional, even though you hide it well." The airstiffened and so did he. Your smile fell, "Listen, Jughead, I know it's tough. You just lost somethingspecial to you, and not having a home is...I have no idea what it feels like. And I hope I never haveto, but..." Your hand found his again, squeezing it reassuringly, "I'm here for you. Whenever you needme."
A pause. "Do you remember..." He stared, "the day we first met? Me and Archie had just pulled up inthe Drive-In and were setting up the pillows. Betty was...almost drooling over him, even back then,"His voice was low and rasp. You gulped. "And then...I saw you-Well, we saw you. Standing by Sheryl'scar and looking lost. And I swear to you, right there and then I knew that I—" he suddenly looked atyou, his voice cracking. His eyes briefly wandered around your face – from the worry lines in betweenyour brows to your parted glossy lips on which he lingered for much much longer, "I..." the proximitybetween the two of you was slowly dissipating and whether it was his doing or yours you had noclue. His breath fanned your lips in a slight moment of hesitation. The blurry image of him faded intonothing as you shut your eyes in an instant. You felt the burning touch of his rough palm cup theside of your jaw and pull you close as he captured you in a passionate lip lock.The kiss set you ablaze. The taste of his lips and his musky scent made your head spin and you didn'tdare to open your eyes, instead savouring the sensation and pushing closer. His thumb caressed yourcheek making a quiver shoot up your spine. The need for oxygen made the two of you part. Pryingyour eyes open you took in soft gushes of cold air, through the dark crown of your lashes seeing himclose made your heart swell and jump. Excitement pooled and dropped to your abdomen. Jugheadleaned in again, softly the tip of his nose brushed against yours as he aimed for your lips again, butstopped. He was hesitant, you realized, perhaps he was wondering whether you wanted this just asmuch as he did. As a way to rid him of all doubt, your fingers curled on his shirt, a frail breath leavingyour lips before you kissed him.

tbc