Return to Riverdale {Bughead} [BettyCooper] Completed

Chapter 13

POV Betty

The next couple of days flew by. We had cheer practice that went surprisingly well and then the next day we left school as soon as the bell rang to go find dresses for the dance. I was happy that I had been able to avoid Jughead most of the day. We still had lunch with him but V and I were careful to sit so he and Sweet Pea couldn't be near us. We also made sure to bring up Mac as much as possible. Sweet Pea looked pissed most of the time. Jug looked livid.

V still wasn't sure what she was going to do about Sweet Pea. Deep down, I think that she kinda liked him but she didn't like how possessive he was. In reality, she hated commitment almost as much as I did, she just wouldn't admit it. She was always on the verge of getting serious with someone when she would find a flaw and end things over it.

Kevin, Toni, Veronica, Cheryl and I all piled into Cheryl's car after school. Toni looked nervous but the rest of us were excited. Well, with the exception of me. I wasn't excited about shopping or the dance but I knew that it made my friends happy, so I faked it.

"Let's head to the mall and see what we can find" Kevin decided and the car pulled away just as Fangs, Jug, and Sweet Pea walked out. We waved at them as we drove away. It looked like Jughead was trying to get us to stop but we ignored him.

"So, ladies, what store do you want to start in?" Kevin asked. V and C listed a few stores and I noticed Toni looking uncomfortable.

"Are you ok?" I whispered as the rest of the group continued to talk. She looked at me and blushed.

"Yeah... I'm just not really used to shopping in the same kind of stores as the rest of you" she whispered back and I thought hit me. How could I have been so oblivious. Toni might not have the money to buy a dress from these stores.

"Don't worry about it. We'll help you find something you like and I'm buying your dress." I replied in the same hushed tone. She shook her head.

"Betty, you don't have to do that" she began but I could tell that was what was bothering her.

"I know but I want to thank you for coming with us. I would be stuck with these three fashion freaks by myself without you. Trust me, you are saving me" I said and she looked at me, doubtfully. She started to argue but I cut her off.

"I'm paying for it and that's final. You wouldn't want to piss off your new best friend would you?" I insisted and she grinned.

"Fine but I'll pay you back" she added and I shook my head.

"Nope." I then turned to the rest of the group and started talking so she couldn't respond. The rest of the trip, Toni seemed to relax and enjoy herself. When we got to the mall, the driver dropped us right at the door. As we walked in I heard the faint sound of motorcycles but didn't pay it any attention.

Kevin drug us to one store after another for a couple hours before any of us had any luck. Finally, in the fifth store, we all found what we were looking for. V knew right away when she saw her dress that it was the one. Toni and I took a bit more convincing but after trying on three other dresses each, we decided.

Toni looked so happy and beautiful in her dress but then her face fell when she saw the tag.

"I don't think this is the one" she said as we admired her.

"What do you mean? You look perfect" Kevin pushed. She looked at me and I smiled and nodded. I knew how much it was and I knew that my Mom wouldn't care if I put it on my card along with mine and V's, especially after I explained the situation. We could afford it and our Moms were always in favor of us helping friends out whenever we could.

"Are you sure, Betty?" Toni whispered as we walked back to the changing rooms. I put my hand on her arm.

"Yes, of course, Toni. Don't worry about it. I want to buy it. Ok?" I replied and she looked at me and smiled.  She hugged me and I laughed and hugged her back. We hurried to change out of our dresses.

As we left the changing rooms together, we were surprised to see Fangs, Sweet Pea and Jughead standing with our friends. Our friends looked annoyed and the guys looked a bit sweaty but grinned when they saw the two of us.

"What is going on?" I asked, suspiciously and Jughead grinned.

"You all took off so fast, I needed to give Toni something so she could buy her dress" Jughead said and he turned to Toni and pulled out his wallet.

"I owe you some money and figured that you would need it to buy your dress" he said softly as Fangs and Sweet Pea distracted the others in conversation. I wasn't going for it though and I moved closer to Toni. She looked confused.

"You don't owe me any money, Jug" she responded and he shook his head and handed her a card.

"Just put your dress on this. I know that you and your grandpa can't afford a dress." he insisted but I cut in.

"Toni, can you hand me your dress? I'll go check out" I said, pretending not to hear the conversation. I thought that it was sweet that Jughead took such good care of his friends but I didn't want Toni to owe him this. Who knows if he would hold it over her.

She looked at me in surprise as I reached over and took the hanger. Jug glared at me and shook his head. He looked at Toni with a questioning face.

"Betty said she wants to buy me my dress. She insisted" Toni explained. I smirked as I made my way to the register. On the way, I grabbed V's dress from her, deciding to just put it all on one card. It all came out of the same account anyway. V smiled at me as she and Fangs continued their conversation. I handed the clerk the dresses and she rang them up quickly. I was just handing her my card with a hand pushed it back and handed her a different one.

"What are you doing?" I demanded as Jughead gave the woman his card.

"I'm paying" he said simply.

"No! That's all our dresses, Veronica's and mine too." I protested and he smiled.

"I know. I wasn't going to insist on paying for them but since you demanded to pay for Toni's, I can't resist." he replied calmly. The clerk looked hesitant but he glared at her and she took his card despite my protests.

"Why are you doing this?" I snapped as she handed him the slip along with the dress bags.

"Why did you insist on buying Toni's dress?" he asked quietly. I looked at his face and I could tell that he really wanted to know. I shrugged.

"I could tell that she was nervous in the car and I finally realized why." I answered and he looked confused.

"That doesn't answer my question" he pressed.

"I could tell that she was upset and worried and I wanted her to have a fun day and she deserves a nice dress. I can afford to give that to her so why wouldn't I? My moms would agree, hell they would probably insist on buying her a whole wardrobe." I responded but he still looked confused.

I sighed, "She's my friend and I wanted to do something nice for her. She's cool and sweet and I like hanging out with her. I don't want her to feel left out or nervous because then she won't go out with us as much."

He stared at me for another moment and then grinned. I looked at him uncomfortably as we walked back over to our friends.

"Thanks, Betts" V said but I shook my head.

"Thank Jughead. He's the one who bought it" I answered and everyone looked at him in shock. He shrugged as V and Toni thanked him.

"Let's go get something to eat. Chasing you all over the mall has made me hungry" he said looking at me with a grin. I sighed as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the store with our friends following behind us.