Catching Feelings

Shake Hand with a Clenched Fist - Part 4

Three days have past and Jughead Jones is still not her fake boyfriend. No, in fact, the plan is for her and Jughead to become friends, transition in flirting friends, then once their group starts to notice said flirting the fake boyfriend thing can start.

Veronica is not very happy with this amendment to her simple plan.

She couldn't, however, discount his argument.

"We can't just start dating. First off we hardly spend any time together. Secondly, I am not the type to just start dating someone, especially someone like you."

She did not care for that last sentence at all.

"Last but not least we need to fool Archie and Betty the two people in this world that know almost everything about me. Rushing this is not an option."

So she agreed. It hasn't been all that bad considering that she actually shares a number of interests with Jughead including literature and film. While they don't always agree on certain points in these interests it's always, dare she say, fun.

At least for the two of them. Seeing Kevin roll his eyes, while Archie and Betty share a look whenever either of them opens their mouth to rebuff the other one, makes her even more eager to argue.

She would never admit that to anyone, but she can't ignore the thrill that shoots down her spine whenever Jughead's eyes meet her own in a challenge.

He's even started stealing food from her plate, a sure sign that they are building toward the friendship they need to make this whole thing convincing.

Veronica isn't even sure if he realizes he's doing it either.

Either way, she still nudges her plate toward him when she's eating.

She is hoping that today she can "subtly" start flirting with him as a way to expedite this process because while Jughead Jones may not rush into things, Veronica Lodge waits for no man.

Making her way to the student lounge she starts to slow when from the doorway she sees Betty and Kevin.

Betty's hands are clenched so tightly, Veronica is surprised that there's no blood dripping to the floor, looking at Kevin's face there is a deep frown of disapproval etched into it.

Curiosity fuels Veronica now as she enters through the doorway behind her friends. She opens her mouth to ask what's going on when a student shifts and the scene opens to a sight that has her frowning as well.

A jock Veronica doesn't recognize, not Reggie is all her mind supplies, is standing and holding a laptop behind his back with one hand. A couple of other jocks are beside him surrounding a person by the vending machine. Postures are stiff, but clearly on the offensive.

She has seen the laptop before but can't quite place it. The grey crown beanie of the person in the center of the jock circle, however, is incredibly familiar.

Jughead's posture is stiff as well as defensive and his green eyes have taken on a darker color than normal.

She can't hear the conversation but the details paint a clear picture and with Archie nowhere in sight Jughead is a sitting duck.

A fury so white hot pierces Veronica suddenly and before she knows it she moves past Betty and Kevin and heads directly into the fray.

"Veronica." She hears Kevin hiss out, but she ignores the warning, her mind already set.

Grabbing the laptop out of the not Reggie's hand she shoulders through the group shoving the laptop into Jugheads body and injecting herself between the two facing the nameless jock.

"Is there a problem?" Her voice comes out as cold as ice, brown eyes glaring into main jocks mocking ones.

The boy looks confused at her presence and the fact that she has so easily taken the laptop from him that his answer doesn't come

Geez, do I need to talk slower? she thinks.

"Does she need to talk slower?" she hears Jughead speak mockingly slow behind her and withholds the urge to turn around to look at him.

She wishes he hadn't spoken but she knows that he wouldn't back down even with a threat to his well being.

And with the way every jock tenses and squeezes their fists at his voice, it's a big threat.

It's called necrophilia Reggie, can you spell it?

At the time she didn't think too much of it, but now she knows that sardonic wit and Jughead seem to go hand in hand.

There might be something to be said about a boy who has an obvious lack of care for his well being. What that is, remains to be seen.

His voice seems to snap the meaner boy out of this confusion because Not Reggie comes to his senses.

"This is between me and the weirdo fag behind you. This has nothing to do with you," She hears an angry whisper by where Kevin and Betty are about the homophobic slur and it does nothing but strengthen her choice to intervene.

"It seems like it has something to do with me now." Where the hell is the school faculty when there's this obvious bullying going around? The thought angrily makes its way through her head. She swears she walked by one or two teachers on the way here.

Not Reggie looks her up and down, a sleazy smirk settling on his unattractive features.

"Why don't you step aside baby while the big boys talk. I promise you and I can play when we're done." She holds back the urge to gag and decides to respond instead.

"Sorry, but I don't do stupid." His face contorts in fury and she feels Jughead's body press closely against her back tense and ready for an attack. She blindly reaches behind her and grabs his hand in order to stop him from taking any action.

Surprisingly the jock notices this.

"And what weirdo loser is more your flavor?" She tries not to think about how he didn't even defend the stupid comment.

"Not a loser, but absolutely, especially over you." The jock rolls his eyes a face full of disbelief.

"Yeah right, this loser never even kissed a girl. Probably spends all his time jacking off to dead boys and their crying sister." The boys around him chuckle in a way that just screams mindless follower and Veronica decides that she has had enough.

"Quite the contrary, This man has touched me in places you could only dream of." Veronica spins around towards Jughead, who is eyes her apprehensively "Jughead, Don't freak out. Just trust me" she whispers and without giving much thought to her actions grabs Jughead by the lapels of his cheap jacket and pulls his lips down to hers.

The shocks that Veronica feels across her skin at the contact of their lips is indescribable and unexpected. Jughead seems to feel it too because he lets out a small gasp that part his lips slightly.

All rational thought seems to fly out the window as Veronica takes advantage of this to bring her tongue to quickly swipe across his lips. His tongue tentatively follows hers when she brings it back to her mouth. Then it's as if a switch has been turned on because all she feels is Jughead.

Sometime during her brief conversation with not Reggie, Jughead must have put his laptop away because he is holding her tightly against him. One arm around her waist, the other is holding her neck and the back of her head. One of her hands is splayed against his chest while the other one seems to have made its way into his hair, the beanie is unexpectedly still in place.

The lack of air makes itself known and she reluctantly pulls her lips away from Jughead's soft ones. A look of confusion covers his face and she is pretty sure hers is mirroring that very look.

She suddenly wants to kiss him again.

So caught up in each other neither notice the furious boy next to them who lunges straight for Jughead knocking Veronica head first into the vending machine.

She doesn't hear Betty scream or Kevin gasp because darkness has surrounded her.