Following a break up with Betty, Jughead finds himself exiled to the library, where he meets you, a seemingly sweet girl. Little does he know the dark secrets you keep inside.
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In which important questions are asked.
After the Incident had blown over, it was almost like life actually was perfect.
(Y/N) slipped into the group seamlessly. Much to Jughead's frustration, she had reverted to her quiet, yet polite self, too shy to open up to the others. He missed hearing her laugh, seeing her reactions, and knowing her thoughts. He found himself Feng Shui-ing everyone's schedules so that there were times when the two had to be alone without them.
(Y/N) began helping out with the Blue and Gold, and made an excellent extra helper in the search for clues. This week, their focus was figuring out who in the town was embezzling money from the Riverdale School District, causing things in the school that the kids cherished dearly to be cut from the budget.
"The numbers just don't add up," (Y/N) remarked after pulling up previous records of the budget that she had swiped from the office. "How can we have extra money for a new gymnasium one year and not enough money for chemistry class the next?"
"Could just be the economy," Kevin noted.
"Or it could just be Coach Clayton's new sports car," she replied, pointedly looking at the shining case of football trophies in the hallway. "No one in Riverdale is that rich, not after the Blossoms."
Archie and Veronica went to interrogate Chuck while (Y/N) went to her AP chemistry class. This left Jughead and Betty continuing research in the Blue and Gold office, alone for the first time since they've broken up.
While the overall goal had been to catch the embezzler, Jughead had something else on his mind.
He couldn't stop thinking about (Y/N). He paid an uncomfortable amount of attention to how she would behave, watching closely whenever she would say something or someone would say someone to her. He tried to be the focus of all of her free time much to his guilt, whether in their library or through text message when she was at home. Even when they were with the Gang, he sometimes wished desperately that they were somewhere else. And for some reason, he became especially annoyed when she went off investigating with Archie or when they discussed the possibility of performing music together.
Ever since that day in the closet, it was like he was obsessed. Someone who everyone ignored for so long, he couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to pay attention to her. She was absolutely enthralling–every word, every expression, and most certainly every smile.
"Jughead?" Betty interrupted. "What are your plans for prom this year?"
Jughead swallowed nervously and turned to his ex-girlfriend. With all of the work with the embezzler and his fixation on (Y/N), he had sufficient distraction from his recent heartbreak. But here, all alone, he had no choice but to face it.
"Oh, relax!" She laughed, reading his expression easily. "I was just gonna say, Archie, Veronica, and I all agreed that our junior prom is supposed to be one of the most important times of our lives, and we didn't want to ruin the memory with messy romances or drama." Betty beamed. "We're all going to go in a group as friends, and you're more than welcome to join us! (Y/N) too."
"Thanks, Betty," Jughead said, relieved at how painless and amicable their interaction turned out to be. He was happy to have his friend back.
The two returned to their work, reading files and searching the Internet for clues.
Jughead's mind continued to wander. He couldn't get off the thought that for some reason he wanted to be with (Y/N) alone. Was it that he missed being in the library with her? Did he become accustomed to the solitude? Did he still resent his friends? Why her? Why this?
"Jughead!" Betty waved a hand in front of his face, breaking him from his trance. "You don't have to sulk in silence. You can go to prom with (Y/N) on your own if you really want to."
"What!?" Jughead blushed furiously. "What on earth would give you the idea that that's what I want?" He glared. "That's weird. We're just friends. Just friends going as a couple is weird."
"Okay..." Betty smiled knowingly and returned to her research.
A few minutes later, Jughead asked, "...how does one go about asking someone to prom?"
Betty, one. Jughead, zero. "I knew it!" Betty said. "Well, prom isn't like homecoming," she blushed, remembering their horrible experience that night. "No parents except the chaperones. It's supposed to be the biggest dance of the year. Everyone goes all out and there's a big emphasis on extravagantly proposing to your date."
"Extravagant?" Images of doves, cakes, and musical theater flashed through his mind. He shuddered.
"Oh, shut up, Juggie. Extravagant just means that you put a lot of thought into how to ask the person so you make it creative by catering it to their personality."
"Oh. You should have just said that." Jughead set aside his files and opened his laptop, typing rapidly.
"What are you doing?" Betty glanced over his shoulder.
Jughead smirked, eyes not leaving the screen. "I have a plan."
