Holding Back |~| A Bughead Story

Chapter 1

Betty's P.O.V:

I have been best friends with Jughead Jones for the past 7 years. Ever since we met on that fateful day at Pop's. We instantly clicked and so did our siblings. When Sweet Pea first met Toni, it seemed like our families were meant to meet. But, when Toni told us she was gay, something snapped in Sweets. I don't know why but ever since then he's been different. It's not like he doesn't support her or, that group of people, he just stopped talking to her, me, everyone. Toni feels that its her fault, but because of that we've gotten really close. Though not as close as Juggie and I. But... No one could be as close as Jug and I are, well unless it was romantically. Everyone says that Jug and I are gonna get together but, we just laugh at the comment. We talk about marriage and stuff, but never like, together. We always say that once we meet the 'one' that we'll invite each other to our wedding. We always talk about how our kids are gonna be best friends, and that we'll be each other's god parents. But, until that happens it's me and Juggie against the world.

Betty and Jughead | Ages: 11 and 12

Jughead's P.O.V:

"I think this is my favorite time of the year," I said smiling. "And why's that?" Betty asked me. "Because from a few weeks ago until October I am older than you." Betty scoffed, "Your older than me by 4 months." She huffed. We were walking to our favorite place, the treehouse. The most important and crucial things were discussed there. Plus it was a secluded place for us to get away. As we walked, arms linked, we took in the sights. It was quite a sunny day and we had decided to have a picnic. I held the basket in one arm, while my other was wrapped around hers. She laid her head on my shoulder as we walked, signaling that she was getting tired. "How long did you sleep last night?" I asked. "I don't know, is it really that obvious that I haven't been getting much sleep?" she asked. "Well it may not be obvious to everyone else but I'm your best friend so I have to know." "True." she replied. Soon we made it to the treehouse. I laid the blanket out under it, the canopy of trees letting a little sunlight in. She sat down on the blanket and opened the basket. I had made her favorite. A Nutella and marshmallow fluff sandwich.  I grabbed out my favorite, a BLT. She unwrapped her sandwich, immediately chowing down. I looked at her chuckling. "Wha?" she asked her mouth full of food. "Just you," I answered and began to eat my sandwich.  When I finished I laid back on the blanket feeling the warmth of the sun coat my face. I felt some pressure on stomach, meaning she was finished and was now laying on me. I felt her hair sprawled out on my chest, she had taken out her ponytail. I opened my eyes to see hers closed. I reached my hand down, to pet her head, knowing she needed to sleep. I closed my eyes... Feeling totally at peace.  

                                                                    *2 HOURS LATER*  

Betty's P.O.V:

I awoke to splash on my forehead. I opened my eyes to see dark clouds above me. I sat up and realized we had fallen asleep in the forest. I quickly gathered our things back in the basket and tapped on Jughead's chest. "Juggie. Juggie come on it's about to rain." I say. His eyes popped open and he looked around. "We fell asleep didn't we," he said. "Yeah we did. But get up it's starting to rain." I answered. As he got up I pulled the blanket out from under him. I folded it up and shoved into the basket as we started the walk back towards his house. As we were walking I found myself thinking about what was gonna happen in a few days. " Are you nervous?" I asked him. "For what?" he replied. "For Monday." I stated. "Yeah kinda, I mean who isn't. It's our first day of sixth grade." "Yeah, but what if we don't have the same classes?" "Then we'll meet in the next one." He was good at calming me down. "What if we don't have the same lunch?" "Betty this isn't high school we all have the same lunch." These weren't the real questions I wanted to ask and I knew he could sense that. "What's really wrong?" he asked. I hesitated. "What if you find someone better than me?" I asked. This time he stopped walking, looking me dead in the eyes. I look up at his kind, calming face, into those lovely oceans. "I could never find anyone better than you Betts." he said smiling. Betts... I always loved that nickname. Only he used it and only he was allowed to. If someone else used it I always gave them the death stare. The same went for Juggie. He always got angry when someone else called him that. As we arrived at his house he let go of my hand and handed me the basket. He reached into his back pocket and grabbed his keys, fiddling with them and shoving the right one into the key whole. He twisted the knob inviting me in, I set the basket down on the kitchen counter. The trailer was small, not much bigger than my own. But it was homie. I sat on the couch thinking about our families. Each was broken but happy. Once my dad left it was just me, Sweets and my mom. Until my mom left us when I was 4, Sweets was 12. Even though he was way older then me, we had always been really close. Until he shut me out. Jug's family wasn't much different. His parents split up when he was little then his mom remarried which is where Toni came in. Then his mom died from cancer and their dad became an alcoholic, and they moved out into the trailer we sit in today. The alarm of the microwave snapped me from thoughts. The savory smell of buttered popcorn filtered through the trailer. Juggie came out of the kitchen with two bowls of popcorn, one for us and one for his sister that was bound to come out of her room from the smell. As he set the bowl down, we heard the door to Toni's room open and she walked into the living room. I pointed to the bowl and she walked over and picked it up. "How was the picnic?" she asked. "It was good, we ate, then fell asleep, and then it started to rain so we came here." I replied. "I see." she said. "What are we watching today Juggie?" I asked. He came over and sat beside me opening a blanket and laying it on him. He held up the side inviting me in. I slid up to him, cuddling into his chest. "We are watching Rebel without a Cause." he said, taking the popcorn from my hand and setting in between us. Toni had sat in a chair next to the couch, where she usually sat. But we were missing someone, someone we had missed for a little while. "Do you wanna text sweets?" she asked. "I probably should this is his favorite movie." I replied. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and shot him a quick text.

B- Hey, at Jug's watch RWAC wanna come?

SP- As long as there's popcorn and a blanket

B-Of course! get your ass over here quick its starting

SP-5 mins.

"Pause it real quick. 5 minutes he said." Toni nodded, grabbing the remote. Sweet Pea hadn't hung out with us in a while, and it was a little bit of a surprise when he said yes. We were all on our phones when the door opened to reveal sweets. He smiled and said, "Hey guys." "Hey Sweets," I said patting the seat next to me. He walked over and sat down. Toni grabbed the remote and pressed play. Toni shuffled around so Sweet Pea and her could share the popcorn. Everything felt right with the world. This is what it was like before Toni came out. And it felt amazing having everything normal. While I was watching the movie I couldn't focus on it. I was thinking about why Sweets locked him self away for a month. My mind fell to one thing. The realization was weird, like it just popped in my mind. He was heartbroken, he liked Toni and she completely rejected him. I didn't know the feeling but I'm happy he's happy. I was excited for what was to come.