Serendipity - A Bughead Fanfiction

twelve - tell me

Hey guys! Just a quick note, I have another new book out that a lot of you guys asked for, The Girl Next Door! Please be sure to check it out!

  ♛jughead♛

 "Betty?" I say through the phone, on the screen I can see her eyes are shutting as she lays on her bed. 

Her eyes jolt open, "Huh? HI yeah?" she says hazed. 

I chuckle, "We can go to sleep if you're tired, Betts." 

She yawns, "No, just worn out."

"You should rest, I'll see you tomorrow at school." I say.

"Nooo," she whines, "Don't hang up on me, Jones."

"I don't want to." I respond.

"Then don't." her eyes flutter once again.

"Betty, you're half asleep. I'm gonna let you go."

"Please don't." Suddenly she wasn't just asking, she was pleading. "You make me feel safe." she whispers.

"Safe? Do you not feel safe at home?" I ask, worried.

She gulps noticeably before stuttering, "I-uh, no I, I do, I just like your company."

"Betty, if someone is hurting you at home you have to tell me." I press.

"No! No one is hurting me."

"I don't only mean physically, Betts." I say, knowing she was crying before our call. 

Her gaze shifts, "No!" I can read through her lies. "No, everything is fine."

I sit up straight on my bed. "Look, Betty. I know it's hard to share things that you don't want people to know out of fear of ruining your image. Trust me, I used to hide anything that made me seem weak in the eyes of the Southside, and I have a feeling you're hiding something to keep up your pristine image. I care about you, a lot, Betts. So you need to tell me if something is going on, I don't care what it is, I want to help."

I can see her chest rising and falling deeply. "Jug.." she starts, "Thank you, so much for that. I'll tell you everything that goes on in my life when there is something, but nothing is wrong right now."

I wanted to trust her, I did, but I knew she was lying. 

"Alright. Now, get some sleep, Juliet."

"Fine." she pouts.

I smile, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Parting is such sweet sorrow." she grins, referencing the nickname I gave her.

I can't help the smile that plasters my face. "Goodnight."

With that I hang up, falling back onto my bed and shutting my eyes with a wide grin, but my mind still runs with thoughts of worry. Worry for Betty.

~~~

♥betty♥

After our facetime call, it's around 8pm. I felt bad lying to him and I wanted to tell him everything, but saying it a loud made it all too real. I didn't like who I really was, that was a fact, but I would never say it.

Sometimes it's too harsh of a reality to say, but blatantly put, I"m breaking apart.

--

The Next Day: School

I nod in response to Veronica as we all sit in the student lounge. My mind keeps running off to last nights talk. It had become clear to me just how unhappy I was after someone else had noticed it. No one ever did before, no one worried about me, they all assume I'm fine and dandy. But Jughead saw, he noticed when he's only been a big part of my life for a few weeks. 

"Betty?" Jughead says, I think he must've been calling me multiple times before but I didn't hear because everyone is looking at me. 

I raise my eyebrows, "Yeah?"

"Veronica just asked you if you wanted to help her run for Student Body President." he says.

I stutter quickly, "Oh, yeah, sure V." 

I get up from the couch and say, "I've gotta go." 

With that I fast-walk to the bathroom, hand over my mouth as the tears threaten to fall and the cries threaten to escape. I don't know why I was crying, it just happened. I feel overwhelmed. I was falling apart, and coming to terms with it sped up the process.   

I run into a stall, sitting on the toilet with the lid down and letting my face fall into my hands. I let it all out, all the screams, all the blood, all the tears, everything that I've kept hidden for the past 5 years of my life.

All hell broke loose after my dad's car accident, it's like he never wanted to miss out on an opportunity to yell at me and my mom, like after experiencing near death he regretted not screaming at us enough. I know, it's crazy but it felt like the harsh reality. 

I whimper into my hands, trying to muffle the sounds of my cries. 

"Betty?" I hear a voice. Cheryl Blossom, my sisters boyfriends sister. Complicated, I know, but also quite simple.

I take a deep breath before shakily responding, "I'm fine, Cheryl."

"No you're not, I just saw you run in there." I see her heels in front of my stall.

I squeeze my eyes shut and gulp, my voice coming out as a whisper, "Please just go."

"Betty.." she begins.

I stop her, pleading, "Please."

I see her feet turn towards the exit, "I'm sorry for whatever's going on." She walks out.

I fall to the side slightly, letting my head rest on the wall that separates the stall. What can I do to feel happy again?

~~~

 ♛jughead♛

"What?" I ask in disbelief. Cheryl Blossom had stopped me in the halls after I chased after Betty from the student lounge.

I had no luck following her, but now hearing that Betty was in the bathroom bawling, I needed to go to her.  

"Thank you, Cheryl. I'll go check on her."

"Sure thing." she smiles and then walks away.

I run past the crowded hall until I reach the bathroom nearest to the student lounge. I step in carefully in case there are other people. Once I see the coast is clear, I lock the bathroom entrance to keep anyone from coming inside. 

"Betts?" I say.

No response. I bend down to find no feet in the stalls. I open every stall. Empty. She must've left.