Betty couldn't have been more content with how her life had turned out. Sure it had been a rocky start, but from the moment she'd found her solace in Jughead, years of friendship blossoming into something so much more, she couldn't imagine a life better than this.
She'd been delighted when Polly showed her the diamond sitting prettily on her perfectly polished finger. It had always been a nagging concern in the back of her mind, as she and Jughead sat opposite Polly and her mother at the weekly family dinner table, that Polly had given up hopes of finding happiness after Jason's death. She's smile and say "oh, Betty, don't you worry about me. I have everything I need," glancing over at Violet and Jason playing happily on the lounge rug, afternoon light casting a sunset glow around them as it shone through their bright red hair. Betty had smiled, just a small placating tilt of her lips, but she felt an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach at the sadness brewing behind her sister's eyes. She was losing some of her essence, the thing that made her so rebelliously Polly. Being a mom of two and under Alice Cooper's watchful eye, it wasn't a surprise she was bowing to the pressure of the high class housewife facade.
And then she met Andrew and the perfect high school whirlwind romance that had been cut too short in her youth overtook her all over again. He revived her, breathed a new life back into the girl that threatened to become a dormant shell. For the first time since she got sent to the home, Betty finally felt as if her sister had come back to her.
She watched them now from a seat in the corner, as Polly's white dress bloomed around her while her new husband twirled her back into his waiting arms, blissful expressions on both their faces.
"What are you thinking about, green eyes?" A low voice suddenly asked by her ear, Jughead throwing his arm around her shoulders as he sat down, placing the next in an innumerable line of plates piled high with food onto the table in front of him.
"I'm just happy she's happy," Betty sighed in contentment, gently caressing the fingers that rest on her shoulder, turning to face him with a beaming smile. "I can't wait till it's us," she whispered, closing her eyes as he leaned forward to place a sweet kiss in the space between her brows, twisting the beautiful piece of antique jewellery round her ring finger with excitement.
"Me neither," he murmured back, butterflies erupting in his stomach.
"Betty?" The wavering voice came from their left, both heads turning sharply to see the speaker. Rolling towards them from the shadows, as if she carried her own personal dark corner around with her, was Rose Blossom. She'd been so fond of Polly in their youth that the pair had kept in close contact, often spending days together as Nana Rose reminisced, recounting stories of Jason to the twins as Polly looked on fondly.
"Hi, Nana Rose," Betty greeted as Jughead shivered beside her. The old lady had always terrified him, he couldn't quite put his finger on why. His fear hadn't improved with age, her ghostly white skin and now completely white hair not helping any, her eyes constantly clouded these days as if she were permanently in a far off trance.
"It's so lovely to see you," she croaked, stretching a bony wrinkled hand out for Betty to hold affectionately. Her grip was icy cold.
"And you, Nana Rose," Betty replied in her clearest, politest voice. "You remember Jughead?" He shot Betty a look as she drew the attention to him, eyes narrowing at the sickly sweet smile she threw back in return. Jughead turned his gaze to the old woman, smiling despite the cautiousness in his eyes. He stiffened as she stared at him, cold eyes piercing through him. He could have sworn he felt a chill shoot straight down his spine.
"You two have met before," she began, voice distant. The couple glanced quickly at each other in confusion.
"Part soothsayer, part senile," Jughead said softly, leaning in close to whisper against Betty's hair. She pushed a gentle elbow into his ribs, pressing her lips together to stop herself from smiling. The old woman didn't seem to notice their antics.
"What was that, Nana Rose?" Betty asked, trying to get Rose's eyes to focus on her own.
"Many times, over many years, always the two of you coming together. There is a force that converges on the both of you, as old as the time that flows around us. It has never been easy, but true love never is. Some forms have been happier than others; a soldier killed at war, a child lost. But then there's a feud overcome, a family the strongest of it's age. Not all are easy but all are sure. You must meet, and you must fall in love." Betty couldn't stop the tears that pooled in her eyes at her words. She always felt a truth in Nana Rose's stories, the sincerity in her faltering voice washing over her in calming waves. She saw Jughead's mouth drop open from the corner of her eye. Suddenly Nana Rose cast her eyes about her in confusion, as if she were reorienting herself back in the present from a far off dream.
"I must find Cheryl..." she mumbled absentmindedly, turning to wheel herself away. "Oh!" she paused, reaching back out to place a hovering hand above Betty's forearm. "And congratulations, it's a girl," she cooed, offering one final smile before wheeling herself away.
Betty gripped Jughead's hand tightly with hers, body going rigid. "Did she just-?"
"Are you...?" Jughead's eyes searched hers frantically, disbelieving grin spreading across his face. His free hand slipped down to rest tenderly over Betty's abdomen. "Do you believe her?" His eyes were glistening with hope.
"I mean, she was right about the twins?" Betty said, the inflection in her quiet voice rising in question. She didn't dare speak too loudly, as if it would break the spell the premonitions had placed over them. "If I think about it, something hasn't felt quite right lately. Maybe..." she trailed off, joyful tears spilling down her cheeks in plenty. Jughead reached up to wipe them away with delicate brushes of his thumbs, cupping her cheeks, unable to believe what he held in front of him.
"A girl?" he whispered, throat thick with unshed tears. She bit her lip, positively glowing beneath his fingertips. He cleared his throat, glancing down at her still flat stomach. "We should make sure, before we get excited," he said reasonably, still speaking with a lingering awe. She nodded, unable to make her mouth form words through her grin. She knew he was right but from that moment on she felt it, she knew it to be true. Just like she, and Nana Rose, knew that this love that they shared... it was eternal.
