Lost (in Your Emerald Eyes)

E I G H T E E N

The following Saturday, with Betty's parents out of town for a conference, the girl was finally allowed to go to the drive-in—the first one this summer. Well, maybe 'allowed' wasn't the best word choice for it, but she was able to go.

Supposedly, she was going with Kevin in his truck, even though Betty was sure her gay best friend would sneak off to have a secret date with whoever he had been running around with lately, and she would be able to slip into the oddly big projection booth Jughead most likely would be at.

And there was Betty's problem. She couldn't tell her friend she would be having 'a date' with someone, and therefore, couldn't dress like it. But for Jughead, she also didn't only want to pull on her skinny jeans and a sweater as usual.

Biting her lip, the girl observed the outfit laid out in front of her on the bed; ripped jeans that her mom never let her wear, and a slim white sweater. Betty carefully grabbed the light material, folding it together perfectly, and placed it back into her dresser. With a nervous smile on her lips, she grabbed a white top with spaghetti straps instead, making sure to add one of her baggy dark green sweaters on it.

She had felt rather good about her body that day and hadn't eaten much, so even when the small white material was pulled on and she stared into the mirror, the stomach didn't look as bad as usual.

Adding the jeans and cute pink sneakers, she watched her reflection again, giving a shuddering breath. Betty wasn't used to dressing as she liked. Though, after putting on a small amount of natural makeup, constantly looking at herself in the mirror, she tugged the green sweater over her head, wondering that she wouldn't even have to take it off if she felt self-conscious later.

Jughead was seated in the bar when a message came through from Betty, telling him she was ready and would see him in an hour. With a grin on his face, he texted back a few emojis.

"There he goes with that look again," Toni said, his head whipping up to look at his best friend. "Talking to the pretty blonde, I guess?"

"Shut up," he almost grumbled, giving her a death glare.

"Why, dude?" Joaquin chuckled, appearing next to their table as well. "Everyone knows."

"What?" he said, bewildered.

Toni simply rolled her eyes. "Oh come down, lover boy. Everyone knows there's a girl. Nobody knows who she is. That is, no one but us."

Jughead's eyes moved to Joaquin, observing his smile as he took a seat next to his other friend. "I know, mate. I had my suspicions, and when Toni blurted it out, it became real."

"Fuck you, Topaz," the boy cursed under his breath.

Emojis the only thing you give me today? Ooookay... see you soon!

Another smile came to his face as he quoted a book to her, Betty sending back a winking emoji, understanding.

"So, how far along are you two? I understand she's a Northsider, but have you gotten her to bed already?" Toni smirked.

"Not telling you this," Jughead said, a frown present on his forehead. He slowly sipped the drink in his hand while his friends shared a look.

"You haven't even kissed her yet, huh?" Joaquin asked.

The boy groaned, throwing his head back while doing so before leaning forward and shifting the beanie back onto his head normally.

"Come on, Jones, what are you waiting for? Usually, it takes two minutes to get a girl into your hands, and a few more to get into her pants..." the girl said.