Brickwall (Bughead AU)

Chapter One

Betty's POV-

    Betty Cooper sat in front of her vanity, reapplying lipstick gently to her lips as she stared at herself in doubt. People told her she was pretty, but she didn't always feel it. She didn't feel it in the presence of her girl best friend, Veronica Lodge, and her cousin, Cheryl Blossom. And she especially did not feel beautiful standing in front of Jughead Jones.

    Jughead Jones... even his name made her swoon, regretfully. Of all people to have a foolish crush on, her heart chose her boy best friend, and she just couldn't seem to get rid of the painful tug in her heart she received every time she look at him. Betty hated it, but she always went out of her way to dress nicer in front of him, to let her hair down (which was forbidden by her mother) to present herself as one of those fun, party girls guys like him probably enjoyed more. She was flirty with him, and boy was Betty a god-awful flirt, but when she was around Jughead, the bubbly, teasing attitude came natural to her. As did the affections.

    He was coming over to her house tonight to watch an episode of their favorite TV show, Dateline, with her and then sleepover until the next day. Betty didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was determined to let loose with her balled up feelings. She couldn't stand keeping them hidden anymore, even though she knew without a doubt he didn't love her in the way she loved him. But he deserved to know how she felt before they were forced to separate and leave for different colleges next year.

    Betty twirled her hair between her fingers and swiped one more layer of mascara on top of her already applied layer, just to enhance her eye lashes just that bit more. After a moment, she leaned back and stared at herself, pursing her lips gently as she decided reluctantly that she was finished. It would have to do anyways, as Jughead was going to arrive in just a few minutes, if he was timely.

She stood up, switching her vanity light off, smoothing down her skirt as she moved to unlock her bedroom window just in case Jughead decided he wanted to enter using the ladder. It was all surprises with him--Betty knew that all too well. That was part of the reasons why she felt so foolishly in love with him. His unpredictableness felt... thrilling.

    Betty sat down, pressing her back against her bed frame, sighing as she checked her watch. Dateline had already started a minute ago, but luckily she had taped it in advance in case Jughead was running late, which it appeared he might be doing just that right now. As that minutes added on, Betty began growing anxious that Jughead might have decided he didn't want to waste the time coming to her house and that he would rather be hanging out with his serpent best friend, Toni Topaz. Ugh, even the sound of that girl's name...

    Betty scolded herself inwardly, reminding herself that she had never even met the poor girl. She just didn't like Toni out of spite because lately, ever since Jughead had been forced to transfer to Southside High and become the leader of the Southside Serpents, he was never free because he was doing stuff her. He talked about Toni to Betty all of the time whenever they hung out and Betty desperately wished Jughead would realize how jealous and hurt it made Betty feel. But then again, she figured she didn't have any right to feel the way she did. It's not like she was dating Jughead, or he knew about her affections towards him. And it wasn't as if Toni had done anything wrong, either. She was probably more fun than Betty would ever be, anyways.

    One minute stretched into 30 minutes, and Betty stayed perfectly still on her bed in the same spot, drumming her fingers against her legs as she waited impatiently.

    That 30 minutes soon turned into an hour, and that hour turned into a few hours.

    At this point, Betty knew her waiting was hopeless.