heartbeats ; bughead

31

Betty Cooper woke up the next morning, smiling giddily to herself. Not even the rainy weather in front of her eyes could spoil her mood. She was pumped for the day ahead, for endless hours of calling Jughead Jones, talking about everything.

She was experiencing that feeling of climbing over a huge mountain of feelings and coming to the top, but not heartbroken. She was glad that everything had come into place, that she and Jughead were finally together. But were they?

She didn't know what to call them. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Crushes? Her head was hurting just thinking about it, and luckily, she was saved when she heard yelling downstairs. Betty changed into a comfy, white sweater with black jeans, and ran down the stairs, somewhat eager to observe the drama going on in the Cooper house.

When she got to the bottom, she noticed two people, and she was extremely surprised, because these two people weren't supposed to be here. She also saw her mom and dad, and they were giving her death stares. 

But that didn't really matter, because those two people were looking back at her with sheepish expressions. One of them was Jughead, who gave her a wink. She blushed a little, and mouthed, What the hell are you doing here?  He waved a hand at her.

"Mrs. Cooper, I'm Jughead Jones. And this is Betty Cooper. I mean, you probably know that. Excuse me." He cleared his throat, and Alice Cooper got even madder. Probably because his last name was Jones. 

Polly caught her gaze, and she smiled a little at Betty. Betty shook her head and smiled, and they both shared a wave of happiness. Her eyes were still sad, but at that moment, they were just too happy to see each other. Hal Cooper cleared his throat and broke the silence.  

"Yes, we know you, Forsythe Pendleton the Third. Now, take a seat." Jughead blushed, gingerly sitting on the couch. 

"So, tell me, how long have you and Betty been getting it on?" Betty slapped her forehead, and Jughead shrunk into the couch.

"Mom, we haven't been getting it on. Stop using that ugly term. We're just...friends?" He nodded at Alice and smiled convincingly. She raised one eyebrow.

"Okay, well, can you explain why you both have been going home so late?" Betty opened her mouth, but Jughead stood up, plopped down next to Betty, and spoke.

"Mrs. Cooper, Betty and I aren't just friends. Yes. And I know you probably think I'm a bad influence or something."

"To say the least." He smiled sheepishly, and Betty concealed a laugh.

"So you do. But here's the thing. I know what you and my dad went through in high school. And I know that you used to be a Serpent. Which is why you think that I'm a bad influence on Betty. Which is why you hate my dad. Because we're 'serpent scum'. Right?" She hesitated and then nodded.

Betty smiled to herself. Jughead always had a way with words. 

"Yes, we're Serpents, but Mrs. Cooper, what you have to realize is that every Serpent is different. We all have a personality. We're not just some random killers who go around and prey on girls and kidnap people and kill them and slaughter their families or whatever." Betty flinched, and Jughead mouthed, Too much?.

Betty only gave a thumbs-up, and Jughead turned away back to Alice. "So, Mrs. Cooper, what I'm trying to say is that I'm different from my dad. And I'm different from some other Serpent on the street. We're all different from each. So it's unfair of you to generalize that we're all the same, ruthless group of people." He took a breath, but Alice Cooper was in a trance.

"And...about Betty. We're in a relationship. But it's not a bad, friends-with-benefits relationship. What we have is real. I promise. I also promise to treat her like a real person, like someone who I deeply care about. Because that's the truth. I do care about your daughter, and nothing will ever change that. And I wanna be her because I want to get to know her more. Not because I want her in that way, or because I want to take advantage of her. So here's what I want, Mrs. Cooper. I want to be with your daughter, and I want you to give it a chance. That's all." 

He sat back on the couch, waiting expectantly for Mrs. Cooper to speak, but everyone was silent. Including Betty. Polly sidled up next to her, and whispered, "You found a good one, Betty." Betty smiled, secretly feeling more sure about Jughead than she had ever felt.

Alice Cooper went to Jughead, grabbed him by the elbow, and took him to the door, where she hissed, "Hurt my daughter, and it's over. I know what you did to Polly." He quickly turned away and ran out the door, hurt and sad, not checking to see if anyone had heard.

But Polly Cooper heard. She was confused at first, but after looking at the newspaper on the empty table, she realized the simple, grave truth. 

She was in something deep, and there was no escaping from the truth of it. Because she was in Riverdale, and until the blood was avenged, nothing would stop the darkness from spreading into the Cooper house.

Because of Elizabeth Cooper's decision, there would be something coming. And that something wanted revenge. 

oof i was tired of writing in first person, so i made this chapter third person lmao. ooh, this part was serious. can you figure what jughead did? if you did, please don't spoil it, okay? i want to keep that part as a bomb-dropping moment. more updates coming soon, i'm really excited to keep writing! thanks for all the love, and the book's about 3/4ths done! i'm sorry if a lot of you are like aww it's not done yet, but too bad because this is awesome to write. anyways, check out the last box, because i'm also excited about that. even if it'll be a little shorter than this baby. anyways, imma go update my other story, see y'all later. ly all <3

~mo