Flash of Red

Chapter 20

Betty laughed at Jughead's furrowed brows, pulling his head down and kissing him. "She does that all night?"

"Pretty much," Betty laughed. He shook his head, the two of them stilling when the baby kicked again. "But, on another note, everyone's going to be here today and I still haven't told them I'm pregnant... or engaged."

"You still haven't said anything?" he questioned with furrowed brows. She shook her head, eating the piece of toast Jughead had brought up for her. "You've told Kevin, right?"

She nodded, swallowing. "Yeah, but that's it. I never got around to telling my family."

"So we're going to have a house full of excited people for a good day?" She nodded with a smile, Jughead chuckling and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

~

"Are they here yet?" Betty looked out the window, chewing her lip. "What if they all leave because they disown me?"

"Betts, they're not going to disown you. Stop stressing yourself out, it's not good for either of you." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and she sunk into him as much as she could. "They're going to be happy, I know they will." She smiled up at him and he placed a faint kiss on her lips, a knock on the door pulling them apart.

"Well, here goes nothing," she breathed. She smoothed a hand over her stomach, letting out a deep breath. Just as they got to the door she turned to Jughead, panic on her face. "Jug, I can't do this! What-What if they hate me? I don't want to know if they do or not!"

He squeezed her shoulders, her hands reaching up and holding his wrists. "Betts, they love you and just because we're having a baby will not change that. If it does, screw them. It's your life, not theirs."

She sighed, nodding. "Okay, okay." There was another knock on the door and she took in a deep breath, twisting the knob slowly.

"Betty—oh my god!" Jughead's hand squeezed Betty's behind her back as Polly squealed, letting go when Polly pulled Betty into a tight hug. "Since when?! You didn't tell me?!" Betty just shrugged, Polly letting go of her, her eyes looking down at her hand. "And you two are engaged? Betty!" 

"I was going to tell you, really, we just got... caught up." Polly pulled her into another hug, Jason and the three kids walking up onto the porch.

She stepped back and Jason's eyes widened. "Wow. Congrats." Betty stayed back talking with Polly while Jason and Jughead went to empty the gifts in the car.

~

"I can't believe you didn't tell us." Betty shrugged as she watched her sister, sighing. "You didn't even tell dad and you talk to him every Saturday."

"Yeah, it's been under my nose for six months." Betty laughed lightly at her dad's words, shaking her head. "I'm happy for you two—with the engagement and the pregnancy. It's always nice to have more grandchildren."

"Jug," Betty whispered as she tilted her head back and he glanced down at her. "I'm tired." He nodded, standing up. "We're going to go to bed," she sighed. "We'll see you all in the morning." Jughead helped her up, standing himself.

"You can have whatever you want in the kitchen." He gave them all a tight lipped smile, following Betty's trail upstairs. "Are you okay?" He closed the bedroom door, locking it as Betty sighed.

"I want to take a bath. Can we take a bath?" He nodded, moving to the bathroom. "I'm tired of answering their questions and hearing 'why didn't you tell us', why didn't you do this, why didn't you do that, you know. It gives me a headache."

"But other than that, you're okay?" She nodded and sat down on the edge of the bath, Jughead turning it on. "Too hot?"

"No, that's perfect." It was his turn to nod and he sat next to her, Betty resting her head on his shoulder. "We're not doing this next year. We can go to their houses, they're not coming back here."