Summary: Returning to the town you fled a decade ago following a career failure you never expected to fall in love with him again. You didn't want to fall in love after the New York love you believed you had. It seems fate wanted to teach you a lesson again.
Characters: Jughead Jones x Reader, Betty Cooper (mentioned), Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews (mentioned), and Reggie Mantle (mentioned).
Warnings: Possible swearing, implied mental and emotionally abuse, fluff and angst.
Words: 2263
You were firstly a playwright that had an astounding first play that had your name in the leagues of famous playwrights. You riding the high with your sold out play until a year later your second play was brought to stage. It came with mixed reviews but your fears of failure were hit when your third play was a massive crash with so much negative criticism that barely any tickets were sold after the opening night.
You retreated back to your hometown of Riverdale feeling pathetic. You hadn't been back in Riverdale in the ten years since you graduated high school. You left behind everything for the big city. Even the boy was your confidant.
When your parents divorced following your mother leaving your barely there father you changed. First your old sister Anna ran when she graduated five years before you to build a new, albeit parentally parallel version, with two kids and a divorce. On graduation day you had your car packed for the rest of your life.
You promised yourself you wouldn't come back but here you were standing on your family porch watching the kids play in the street. You had been back for three days to hide out with your little sister.
"He's back in town." Bella said tucking her legs under herself.
"Who?"
"Jughead." Bella simply said, "Look I don't know what happened in New York but Jughead won't close the door in your face."
"You don't know that."
"I do." Bella softly spoke.
"I broke his heart." You sadly smiled thinking back on the day you told him you weren't coming back. Just remembering his face split your heart in two, "Besides isn't he happy with Betty?"
"They barely lasted a month after you left, you would know if you let me tell you that years ago." Bella sung with a smug smirk.
You were shocked to hear that they had split up. Where you saw Jughead you would see Betty and vice versa. Maybe that's why leaving was so easy. Knowing was too busy to hang out with you and that distance helped but it still hurt ten years later.
"He thinks I'm a pitiful human." You grunted tapping your fingers against the chair, "I told him I was going to make it big and never have to come back. Yet here I am."
"Has Ian called you yet?"
You tensed up remember the man you wasted seven years on both professionally and personally. Ian had been your mentor before it blossomed into a relationship you drowned yourself in. It took a year before your feelings for Jughead faded behind but things didn't pan out. You caught Ian cheating and realized how toxic he was.
You vividly remember him praising your first play before cutting you down with the way you went about your second play. When you brought up wanting to sent a manuscript out he scoffed and reminded you that you were good but not that good.
"Ian's part of my New York life. That part is done." You spat, "I wasted seven years on someone who didn't appreciate me. God I'm so stupid."
"Will you tell me what happened?"
