Home sweet Home

Chapter 8

I have been avoiding Jughead all week. I never spoke to him at the bar, I just picked up my car and left straight away. He tried calling me for the first few days but eventually seemed to have given up. I couldn't avoid him anymore though. It is Bianca's birthday today and we are all going over for a meal at Cheryl and Toni's. The nerves knotted together in my stomach throughout the morning, making me feel sick. I had just finished wrapping Bianca's presents before messaging Toni to let her know I'm on my way.

The party was in full swing when I arrived. Balloons, music, party poppers and bunting.

"Auntie Betty!" Bianca squealed as she ran up to me.

"Hello birthday girl!" I laughed and rested her on my hip after lifting her up.

"Are you enjoying your birthday?" I asked.

"Yeah!" she giggled.

"Go back to your friends sweetie. I'll put your presents on the pile" I encouraged, putting her down. She ran off and I made my way to the open plan kitchen/living room where I was greeted by a bunch if my friends. I placed Bianca's presents on the pile before going to hug Toni.

"I'm exhausted" she groaned but smiled.

"How early did she wake up?" I asked, laughing already.

"5am! Cheryl was just as excited and I just wanted to sleep. She was not happy with that" my best friend complained.

"I don't know what's up with you and Jug but just to warn you he's over there talking to Cheryl and Archie" she warned. I nodded and before I knew it she was being dragged by her daughter and her friends to play with them. I smiled and turned around, bumping into someone. I looked up and saw Jug, the sickening feeling coming back.

"Betty, we need to talk" he said seriously.

"Not now" I scoffed and pushed past him, going to see Veronica. 

"Okay everyone! Take a seat at the table!" Cheryl shouted. I had Toni one side of me and Archie the other side with Jughead opposite me. Everyone began to fill their plates with food, especially Jughead of course, but I just pushed my small portion around the plate.

"B, you okay?" Veronica asked from across the table.

"Yeah, I'm just not that hungry" I answered, giving her a weak smile. She nodded and my eyes met Jugheads' worried ones. I averted mine back to my plate whilst finally forcing myself to take a bite. Everyone finished eating so Bianca and her friends came rushing over to me.

"What are you up to?" I asked suspiciously, seeing the mischievous twinkle in my nieces eyes. She giggled and held her arms out for me to pick her up.

"Auntie B...can we do your makeup?" I sighed, my face is going to be a mess. 

"What makes you think I'm going to let you do that?" I asked.

"Cause it's my birthday!" she giggled. I laughed and pressed a kiss to her button nose. 

"Fine but only because you're adorable" I laughed and put her down, being dragged my her and her friends away from the kitchen. They sat me down and straight away started pulling out makeup that I had no idea who's it was. 

"Try not to stab me in the eye" I laughed, kind of scared for my sight. Long story short I ended up with lipstick on my eyebrow and eyeshadow on my cheek...that was only the half of it. There was a knock on the door and it slowly opened revealing Archie and Jughead.

"Betty- oh my god what did they do?" Archie laughed, picking Bianca up. 

"She was too cute to say no to" I whined, making Jughead smirk. 

"She looks pretty!" one of Bianca's friend spoke. 

"I can't disagree" Jughead agreed making me blush. 

"Come on kiddos, let's get some ice cream!" Archie cheered, taking the kids downstairs. I turned towards the mirror, using a makeup wipe to scrub my face clean. 

"Bianca has taste" Jughead smirked, sitting down. I laughed and shook my head. 

"How did she get lipstick in my hair?!" I questioned, seeing the red blotch. 

"You seemed a little quiet at dinner and uh...you've been ignoring me all week" he sighed. I've been holding this conversation off long enough so I turned around to face him. 

"I know...I'm sorry" 

"Do you regret it?" he asked, referring to us making out. 

"No, I don't..."

"Then why avoid me?" he asked, the hurt evident in his face. 
"Because Jug...we aren't just dumb kids anymore. You've just got out of a relationship and I will not let myself be someone's rebound" I explained. 

"Betts, you weren't a rebound. I kissed you that night because I wanted to. Not as a way of getting over Melanie. Let's be real we never really ended it because of anything other than we didn't want to put each other through long distance" he protested.

"It's just all going so fast and it's all too real" I panicked.

"Hey, I'm not gonna force you into anything" he soothed, kneeling down in front of me. 

"Lets just take things slow" I spoke softly.

"Wait what? You want to try this?" he asked. I nodded and a grin spread onto his face.

"Can I..." he paused.

"Jug you can kiss me" I giggled, before our lips met in harmony. 

"Can we keep this to ourselves for a bit?" I asked. 

"This is on your terms Betts. We can keep it quiet for as long as you need" he assured, our lips meeting again.

"You ready to go back downstairs?" he asked, holding his hand out. I nodded and took his hand, knowing I'd have to let go soon after. I spent the rest of the party near Jughead, whether I was talking to him or just being around him and honestly it was hard to be discreet. We all sang happy birthday before we left, Veronica giving me a lift home. After a long hot shower I got into bed, seeing a message from Jughead. 

Jug: Just wanted to check you got home safe?x

Me: Yeah, I'm home. Thank you for talking to me today, sorry I avoided you x

Jug: It's okay Betts, I know you're struggling with the fact I've just got out of a relationship but it was a long time coming and I promise you this is real xx

Me: I just need to take things slow. I'm going to get some sleep, goodnight xx

Jug: Sleep well xx

I smiled at the short conversation before putting my phone down and closing my eyes, falling asleep quickly with a smile on my face.