heartbeats ; bughead

32

~new year special~

~note: it might be a little longer than previous chapters!~

Jughead

December 31st. The day we all love. But not me. To me, New Year was sitting at home, writing, reading, laughing with Jellybean, or something like that. That was my New Year. But not this year. This year was special. 

This year was my first year with a girlfriend. With Betty Cooper. And I would be spending it with her. But only her. I hesitantly dialed her on my phone, pressing call. 

"Betty?" She smiled into the phone.

"Hey, Jug. I thought what you said yesterday was..." Betty laughed breathily into the phone.

"It was amazing. I never thought you were that interested in me." I couldn't help but smile. Of course, I was that interested in her. Because it's her. 

"Betty, I want us to happen. Speaking of, come over today? I know it's kinda a stretch, and you've never really been over for a good reason, but--"

"Hey, I'll be there. Also, did you hear about Jason Blossom? And the autopsy? He was shot and then dumped into Sweetwater by some guy. They're trying to figure out who." I shivered a little, thinking about Jason Blossom. 

The kid was nothing but trouble. "Is Polly okay?" She sighed, clearly worn out.

"No, she's not. She's been crying a lot in bed. I try to talk to her, but she pushes me away. Emotionally and physically." I laugh softly, and she breathed out.

"I'll be there, Jug, but I gotta go now. The Dragon's calling for me. See you tonight. I'll be there at eight-ish?" I nodded.

"Doesn't matter to me. No one's home, anyway. My dad's in jail, remember?" She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jughead. See you later." I clicked the END CALL button, and smiled a little, envisioning Betty's dimpled smile, her hands touching mine, running through my hair. Then I looked around.

Shit, this place is a hellhole. I hadn't really cared about the mess, but then I noticed the beer bottles strewn around the floor, the moth-eaten furniture, the Riverdale High baseball jacket hiding in the closet. I blushed at the mess, blushed at how much I knew Betty would hate it.

She'd be disgusted. This was a mistake. I knew it was. We should have--

Stop it, Jug, she wants you for who you are. I decided to get some groceries, to spice up the house a little, revving up the old motorcycle and speeding away into the mist.

I rushed into the store, because it was starting to rain, and there was Polly Cooper. I made a dash for the tall fruit stalls, where she couldn't see me, but it was too late. Polly had seen me. 

"Jughead, hey!" Polly rushed over, and I could see her visually struggling to silence her two children. I cringed and walked over.

"Um, do you...need help?" She nodded gratefully, and I grabbed the cart. We were silent for some time until she smiled at me.

"So, you're with Betty, right?" I rolled my eyes.

"Who told you, Mrs. Cooper? Did she tell you in private, at least?" She laughed, but then turned extremely serious. So serious, that her eyes dug straight into mine, and lingered for about a minute.