This is part 4)
(Y/N), Betty, and Archie were running around, playing in the park. Their giggles resonated through the neighborhood, all the people down the street able to hear the children perfectly. Archie's dad sat on a bench, supervising them from afar. He smiled at the three kids, happy to see his son so content with his friends. Suddenly, (Y/N) halted, interrupting their game of tag.
"Look over there," she said, pointing her finger. She was pointing at another kid who appeared to be their age, scrawny and alone. He sat on a swing and stared down at his shoes. There was a grey beanie perched on his head, but it was much too big on him.
"(Y/N)," Betty hissed, "my mom said it's rude to point."
"Fine," (Y/N) replied, putting her finger down. "I won't point." Instead, she marched over to the lonesome boy. His head snapped up when he heard footsteps approaching him. "Hi," she greeted him.
"Hi," he replied, looking puzzled as to why this girl was talking to him.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Jughead."
"That's a funny name," she laughed, but she noticed his angered face and stopped. "I'm (Y/N)." Jughead nodded. "How old are you, Jughead?"
"I'm four," he replied, sticking out his hand to show the number on his fingers. (Y/N) beamed.
"I'm four, too!" Jughead smiled at her and the two children fell into a small silence. Finally, (Y/N) broke it when she asked, "Why are you alone?"
"My sister is sick," he responded, slouching. "So now I have no one to play with."
"You can play with us!" (Y/N) offered, pointing at her two friends who were watching from afar. Jughead's face lit up.
"Really?" he asked, jumping off the swing. (Y/N) nodded enthusiastically.
"Really! And then we can all be best friends." She grabbed his hand and led him over to Archie and Betty. "Archie, Betty, this is Jughead."
"Hi," Betty smiled, sticking out her hand. Jughead tentatively shook it. "I'm Betty."
"And I'm Archie," he waved. Jughead waved back. The children quickly resumed their game of tag, this time, Jughead joining them. They played for hours until the sky began to darken, Riverdale turning orange under the sunset's light.
"Kids!" Archie's dad called out, standing up from the bench. "It's time to go." The four kids exchanged bittersweet smiles, waving goodbye to their newfound friend.
After that day, Betty, Archie, and (Y/N) started begging to go to the park every day from dawn till dusk. The four of them soon became attached at the hip, and you could not see one person without the other three close behind. Soon, all of Riverdale grew fond of the tight-knitted friend group.
Two years later, the four inseparable friends found themselves in Archie's backyard. Their shrieks of delight filled Mr. Andrews, who was watching from inside the kitchen, with warmth. They had just grown bored of a game of hide-and-seek, and while Betty and Archie just sat in the grass, Jughead and (Y/N) continued to chase each other around. Suddenly, Jughead stopped, causing (Y/N) to turn around. He took off his beanie and, grinning madly, got down on one knee. Betty and Archie gasped as they ran over to watch.
"(Y/N)," Jughead started, holding out his beaning like a ring, "will you marry me?" (Y/N) beamed as she stared at her best friend. She took the beanie from his hands and placed it on her head, then helped Jughead stand up.
"We're much too young to get married, Juggie," she responded, and Jughead deflated. "But-" he perked up, "ask me again when we're eighteen and I'll say yes."
"You promise?" Jughead asked, holding out his pinky. (Y/N) smiled and nodded, hooking her pinky with his.
"Pinky promise."
Flash forward twelve years, after the first proposal and Jason Blossom's death. Past the beanie incident and the flannel, jacket, and sweater incidents. After the kiss at Pop's, and many more that happened after that night.
Twelve years after Jughead proposed to (Y/N) with a grey beanie, they graduated. Through the years, their friend group grew to include others, such as Kevin and Veronica. After the graduation ceremony, they went to the Lodge's house for a celebration. The party was in full swing: music blasting from the speakers, snacks filling up tables, and graduated high school students dancing everywhere. (Y/N) had managed to get Jughead on the dance floor, both of them laughing at each other's lack of dancing skills. She wore his grey beanie and a wide grin.
The party began to die down, everyone growing tired after their long day. Most people were sitting on the couch, quietly chatting amongst themselves. (Y/N) sat on Jughead's lap as they both conversed with Betty and Veronica. Suddenly, Jughead got up from under (Y/N).
"Excuse me, can I have everyone's attention?" he yelled, successfully silencing the guests. "Thank you. Now if you didn't happen to already know this, (Y/N) and I have been together for quite a while." Everyone in the room chuckled. (Y/N) looked up at Jughead with a puzzled smile.
"What are you doing, Juggie?" she whispered, although everyone was able to hear her. Jughead winked at her and continued.
"But something most of you probably didn't know is that I proposed to (Y/N)." The crowd gasped dramatically, and Jughead smirked. "When we were six." Everyone rolled their eyes and laughed. Jughead grabbed (Y/N)'s hand and made her stand up with him. "And she said no! Something about how we were too young," he scoffed, and she giggled. "But she did promise me she'd say yes one day. When we were eighteen, in fact." He got down on one knee, and everyone gasped, including (Y/N).
"Oh my god," she muttered under her breath, her hands covering her mouth in shock. Tears began to cloud her eyes.
"(Y/N)," Jughead began, fishing around in his pocket. "I have loved you since the day I proposed to you. For a long time after that, I thought we were just friends, and I thought that you liked it that way. And it took me a long while to realize it, but with the help of some of our friends-" Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Kevin shared a smirk, "I realized that we were meant to be more. Now, I'm gonna try this again, and I'm hoping this time you'll say yes. Because, you know, you pinky promised you would when we were six." Jughead pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing a beautiful, sparkling ring. "(Y/N)," he asked, eyes full of hope, "will you marry me?"
(Y/N) couldn't speak. She gleefully nodded, attempting to wipe some of the tears off her face.
"Yes," she finally managed to choke out, laughing. "Yes, of course, Juggie." The whole room burst into cheers, and Jughead shot up, placed the ring on (Y/N)'s finger, and kissed her.
Betty turned to Veronica, smiles plastered on both of their faces, and whispered, "Thank god for that beanie."
