The next morning Betty decided to take her daughter to Pop's, her favorite restaurant in town. As she walked into the room Juliet was staying in, Betty took a moment to admire and appreciate the silence and how adorable she looked when she was asleep.
Her raven black hair was sprawled on the pillow, her little mouth was open ever so slightly and her pink pajamas were hidden beneath the quilt. Clutched in Juliet's arms was her purple fuzzy covered dream journal, something Betty had told her about last year when Juliet began having nightmares. Betty got them too, and after the fourth night in a row, Betty told Juliet about how she dealt with her nightmares, by writing them down to get them out of her head.
Ever since then, Juliet wrote down every dream she could remember, both good and bad. Sometimes at the breakfast table back in New York they'd share theirs with each other, both good and bad dreams. Betty was happy Juliet wanted to talk to her and ask her questions about her nightmares because Betty never, ever told her mom about any of this or the darkness that lived inside her. Betty cherished that she felt closer to her daughter and more like a mother to Juliet than Alice ever was to her. She hoped their bond would only strengthen as Juliet grew up.
The other thing in Juliet's arms that she refused to sleep without was the hardcover copy of the Nancy Drew book Betty had gotten her for Christmas last year. Like her mother, Juliet loved mysteries and puzzles, putting the clues together to figure out whodunit was yet another thing they bonded over. Betty loved that Juliet proudly told everyone that her mom was like Nancy Drew and Scooby Doo but better because of the the mysteries she got to solve everyday. Betty was overwhelmed with pride and adoration for her daughter the day she announced that she wanted to be just like her mom when she grew up.
Betty crouched at Juliet's bedside and gently stroked her matted hair from her face. "Jules? Hey, you ready to wake up?" Betty asked softly, with a smile on her face.
Juliet moaned and rubbed her eyes, "no, I sleepy."
Betty chuckled, "okay then, I guess you'll have to wait for my surprise then."
Juliet sat straight up, light and curiosity igniting in her eyes, "what surprise?"
"How about you and I go to breakfast at my favorite restaurant? Just the two of us." Betty asked, already knowing the answer.
Juliet gave her mother the biggest smile she could, "just us? Yes! Yes, yes yes! Can we go now?" She leaped out of bed charged with energy for the first half of the day.
"Of course, but get dressed and be quiet please ok? We don't want to wake grandma." Betty said in a whisper.
"Oh, sorry mommy. Can you help me get dressed? Shirts are hard." Juliet whispered.
Betty smiled to herself, cherishing these limited moments she had with her daughter about accomplishing simple and everyday tasks. "Sure thing, what do you want to wear?" Betty took Juliet's hand as they walked over to the closet where Betty had hung up all Juliet's clothes yesterday.
"Umm," Juliet tapped her little chin, "my flower jeans and my pink shirt, and my jean jacket. The dark one, not the light one."
Betty handed her the clothes and helped Juliet put on her shirt and brush her teeth before they both crept out of the house like spies. Like Betty, Juliet had an active imagination and Betty found that if she made any task a game or added a little fun to it, Juliet would excel in her role.
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"Ooh my Mickey Mouse pancakes are here." Juliet clapped her hands happily as Pop set their orders down at their booth.
"And here's your hash browns and eggs Ms. Cooper." Pop said with a genuine smile.
"Thank you," Betty said, then turned to look at Juliet, "Jules, what do you say to Pop?"
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What We Once Were: A Bughead Fanfic
Fanfiction---Completed--- Almost five years ago, Betty Cooper took off and fled the town of Riverdale. Rumors were spread and the townspeople whispered about why she might've left, some suspect that her dreams of living in New York were the cause. But those w...
