Dreamers

12

J POV
I walked into the office and saw Betty clinging onto Fp. "Shhhhh. You're gonna be ok." he says. "I told her dad." she says. "Told Who What?" he says. "I. I told Toni about........ wanting to........." she says. "Was it an accident?" he says. What did she tell Toni? "Yes. It just slipped out while we were yelling." she says. I knock on the door. "Come in!" Betty yells. "Hey." I say. "Hi." she says awkwardly, looking at the ground. Fp lifts her chin and he nods at her. She faintly smiles and walks towards me.

B POV
We went back to the apartment to talk. I open the door and fall on the couch. Jughead picks me up and sits down with me in his lap. I cling to him like he's going to leave. "I'm not going anywhere." he whispers, like he's reading my mind. "I'm sorry." I whisper against his neck. "You shouldn't have to say sorry." he says. "But I do. I bring this upon myself every time." I say. "Look at me." he says, but I don't budge. "Betts. Look at me." he says sternly. I slowly and reluctantly look up at him. He cups my face and kisses me softly. I rest my head on his chest when we break.

J POV
I wanted to ask what her and Toni were fighting about before she left, but I didn't want to ruin anything. "What's got your panties in a twist?" she asks. "Hmmm. Oh, uh, nothing." I say. "If I'm gonna tell you my problems, then you gotta tell me yours." she says. I look up at her with a shocked expression. "You're gonna talk to me?" I ask and she nods. "So tell me what you're thinking about." she says. "I heard you and Fp talking in your office and I can't stop thinking about what you said." I say. "Which part?" she asks nervously. "You yelled at her, about something, but you never said what it was." I reply. She sighs and answers. "I, uh...... I have a lot of things wrong with me, most from what my parents did to me. Everything just keeps piling up by the minute and I didn't mean to yell it out at Toni, but sometimes I just get so depressed, that I try to.......try to kill myself." the last part is so quiet, I almost didn't hear her. I pull her as close as possible and hug her tightly. "Please. Please. Don't ever feel like that again. Everyone loves you, and needs you in their lives. You may not think it sometimes, but it's true. No matter what." I say. I feel my shirt get wet and look down at her face. She was in tears, clinging to my shirt. She looked so broken. "I'm always here for you. Even if it's over stupid stuff, come talk to me. I don't want to lose you." I say. She nods and rests her head on my chest, drying her eyes.

B POV
I was making dinner, and jughead was asleep on the couch. I had everything done and set the plates at the table. He helps me in a way that no one else does, not even Fp. For some reason, I feel like I can open up to him. I poke his cheek but he doesn't move. I lay on top of him and kiss his face, but he doesn't budge. "I guess you're not gonna eat tonight." I whisper in his ear and get up. Before I had time to react, I was underneath him on the couch. "What was that?" he asks. "I was trying to wake you up, but I'm assuming that you were faking and said that you weren't eating tonight." I giggle. He smiles, knowing I was spot on about him.

FP POV
Betty invited me over for dinner and I was outside her door. Jughead opened it and let me in. "Dad!" she says and hugs me. "Hey Betts. What did you make?" I ask. "You're favorite. You told me that Gladys used to make it all the time before she left." she says. I smile and nod. "That she did." I say. "Gladys?" I hear jughead say. "Yea. She's my ex-wife. Why?" I say. "I heard about her. She was my moms sister I think." he says. "Oh, I never really knew her side of the family. She was always to drunk to go somewhere, or sleeping with other guys." I say, and Betty knew this, which made her grimace. "She stayed the first few years I was there. She never really liked me, and me becoming a serpent threw her into the deep end. I heard the fights, saying to get rid of me, or send me back. She was one of the reasons I ran from the trailer." Betty says, "enough about her. Let's eat before the food gets cold."

J POV
The silence was uncanny. Nobody dared to say a word. "Thank you Betty. That was delicious." I say finally. "You're welcome." she says quietly. "Betts. What's wrong?" Fp asks. "Nothing. I'm fine." she says, but we both knew she was lying. "Truth Elizabeth." he says. She laughs a little. "They all used to call me that, Elizabeth. Even Gladys would call me that. It was never anything nice that came out of their mouths when they said it. Just the usual, screaming then hitting me." she says staring at her plate. She jumps up suddenly. "Its really late and I'm tired. Good night." she says before running to the bedroom. "She still hurting. Give her some time and she'll open up a bit." he says standing. "She did tell me some, but not much." I reply. "I'm gonna head to the trailer. If she gets worse than this, call me and don't let her run off. If you have to tie her to a chair do it." he says. "Of course." I say. I get in bed and pull Betty close to me. I know she's not asleep. "Good night, Betts." I whisper in her ear and close my eyes. "Goodnight Juggie." she replies, turning towards me.