Lost (in Your Emerald Eyes)

T H I R T E E N

Fuck the votes. Here you go.

☆☆☆

Jughead was sat in a booth at Pop's, nursing a huge cup of black coffee, and having a conversation with Toni when Hal Cooper entered the diner. His eyes automatically fell on him, knowing fairly well what he looked like. The boy's head turned to see if Betty was waiting outside in the car, but he didn't find the yellow, retro vehicle she had described.

Frowning and blocking his friend entirely out, his eyes focused back on the man, ears sharpening to hear the order. Crispy chicken wings, a grilled cheese, and a coffee with two sugars.

A coffee? The frown remained on the boy's face, not realizing his friend was trying to snap him back into reality and get his attention. Betty never ate anything but healthy food when she was with him, and small amounts of it, so he would have been surprised by the chicken and grilled cheese, but the coffee made it impossible. She was through and through a vanilla kind of girl and had told him numerous times about her hate for the drink.

Besides the fact that none of the food was her style, it was also only one order. Not two. Had Betty been lying to him? Was everything okay?

"Jughead!" Toni raised her voice, practically shouting at him, making him turn his head and look at the girl in front of him again. "What's wrong with you?" she frowned.

"I... probably need to go." Then, without listening to any more words from her, he got up and placed a twenty-dollar bill on the table, simply walking away when Toni protested. She wasn't the kind of girl to let anyone pay for her, even just a friend (especially one with money problems).

When Jughead exited the diner and walked to his bike, his lips itched for a cigarette, but instead, he jumped on the motorcycle, starting the engine. He was out of the parking lot within a few seconds, riding towards the Cooper house.

The boy parked about a block away where he usually waited for Betty and grabbed his phone while strolling towards the house. The girl hadn't been online since 4 am which made him a bit cautious, but the fact that no cars were in the driveway was a positive thing, he thought. Forcing his body and mind to relax a bit, he moved towards the front door, stopping himself on the front porch.

The house looked super expensive, and he didn't want for Alice Cooper to break anything by throwing it at him; he knew he wasn't welcomed. So, sighing, he walked a circle around the house, noticing a few opened windows on the second floor. The boy stopped right below what he thought had to be Betty's. Hers faced Archie's, she had once told him, and apparently had the best lighting in the house. The one he was standing under was receiving the mid-day light, making it believable.

Now, the problem was... how the hell was he supposed to get up there? A million thoughts filled his head, snorting at every single one, even the one he decided to go for. Romeo and Juliet, right? A balcony? A ladder?

Abruptly turning around, he hurried towards the backyard where one had been rested against a huge tree, giving access to some kind of treehouse situated in between the Cooper and Andrews gardens.

Jughead carefully carried it to the window and looked around briefly before carefully climbing up. The wooden ladder moved a bit, making him freeze, but when the balance was back, the boy rested his foot on one of the highest bars, knocking against the glass.

Betty appeared on it about half a minute later, after knocking once more, with a look of confusion on her face. Her eyes widened, seeing his face there, and Jughead waved a bit in amusement, hoping for her to open it.

She did and quickly grabbed his hand. "Jug, are you kidding me? You could break your neck and die like this."

"Hey there, Juliet," he smirked, ignoring her scolding, climbing inside, and over the window seat.