What Fools These Mortals Be {Bughead Fanfiction}

Do Not Be So Bitter With Me

Betty paced the small theatre anxiously. She had texted Jughead the day after she bumped into him outside Kevin's office. After his initial suggestion that they meet at her apartment or at the bar, they had finally settled on meeting at the theatre,. Betty preferred an environment that would provide them equal footing and would maintain the distance that she was trying to keep between them.

She scrolled through the messages on her phone. She wasn't sure what she was looking for in them, an indication perhaps of his true intentions. It was impossible for her to believe that he would agree to something like this without there being some sort of benefit to himself. Jughead Jones was not one to actively put himself in the spotlight and he was definitely not the type to do someone a favour out of the goodness of his heart.

After waiting what seemed like forever, Betty heard the door open and she quickly put her phone back away in her pocket.

The man in question entered the theatre warily and she noticed his eyes scanning the room looking for her. She was sitting cross legged in the middle of the stage with her worn copy of the play in her lap, a highlighter beside her, and her pen in her hand gently tapping against her leg. She had been preparing for their session since the night before. As he made his way over to her slowly, the tapping of the pen against her leg intensified, her fingers betraying the nerves causing somersaults in her stomach. She stood up, grabbing her book, and putting the pen and highlighter in her back pocket.

Taking a deep breath, she frowned and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You're late." She moved across the stage to meet him.

"Good afternoon to you too, Betts," he replied dryly.

She felt her skin prickle at his nickname for her which he had asked him already more than once not to use. She considered correcting him but instead decided this time to be the bigger person and let it pass this time.

"I had to sort something out at the bar," he continued as he made his way up the steps. He stood awkwardly in front of her, his hands jammed in his pockets. She took in his appearance and noted that he looked tired, but then he always did these days.

"Just text me next time." She wanted to to argue with him but she didn't, she held it back. She was used to holding things back. "Anyway, I've been making some notes on your character."

"You think I can't interpret a character from the text?" He looked at her insulted, ignoring as Betty shook her head. "You remember I majored in English, right?"

Of course she did. She remembered everything about him. He may have had the smarts and superior knowledge of the English language, but according to Kevin, at the moment Jughead's performance was severely lacking, trailing behind even Dilton's.

"Kevin asked me to come here and help you. Part of acting is knowing what motivates your character." She explained simply. Betty opened her book to his lines, her finger moving down to find her place again.

The frown hadn't left his face. "I think I have a handle on his motivations, Betts." She stiffened again at the name, finally rounding on him as she closedthe distance between them.

"I've warned you about that." Her teeth were clenched, her hands closed in tight fists by her sides. The frustration and anger that had been swirling inside her had startedto bubble up and make its way to the surface. Maybe taking the high road wasn't the way to go.

"Kevin said you would help with the acting, that's all," he answered darkly, ignoring her warning which only made her more frustrated.

"I'm surprised you even agreed to this. I thought you liked slinking around in the shadows, passing judgement on the rest of us."