Bughead I Shots

A Fight Not Worth Mentioning

Betty's Pov:

Jug and I haven't been seeing a lot of eachother lately. After I convinced him to go to stonewall prep there's never a good time for us to meet or go out on a date. Phone calls are few and far between and I'm so swamped with finishing up high school and working on cases with Charles that there isn't much time for me to spend on anything else; that includes Jughead. So being as distant as we were, I felt almost as if he were a stranger to me. We were living two different worlds with two different tracks of life to focus on. Different mysteries to unravel and different circumstances. I was working on a case with Charles when my phone began to ring and lit up with the name "Jughead" flashing. I had to decline it. Me and Charles were so close to cracking something and I couldn't put my focus on anything else or I'd get distracted. Besides, he's done it to me countless times since he transferred.

Jughead's Pov:
She declined my call. Almost immediately. I felt so outside of her world. So lost in this Prep school with preppy schoolkids hiding in every corner, waiting to devour me. I couldn't help but feel as though she were a stranger in this moment. I heard a knock at my door.

"Who is it?" I projected my voice towards the door as I sat in my desk, beanie on the rare occasion not fit around my head but laying on the floor.

"It's Brett."

Brett. I don't know what it is about this guy but he gets under my skin.

"Come in." I say I an an exasperated tone.

"So Forsythe, there's a harvest party that the school is throwing tonight,(it's stonewall prep tradition) and you're invited."

He said in such a nonchalant way it gave me the feeling there was more to this "party" than he was letting on. I furrowed my brows together to indicate that I wasn't buying whatever he was trying to coax me into. He just shrugged his shoulders and added,

"Think about it." Then flopped himself on his bed with a novel for homework I suppose.

Betty's Pov:
It had been 2 hours since Jughead called. Charles and I finally decided to take a break from the case. I decided to text Jughead, feeling bad about earlier:

Hey Jug, I'm sorry I missed your call. If you're free maybe we could get a milkshake at Pop's??? We haven't gone out in a while...

It was a Friday night which meant he'd be coming home this weekend. Hopefully Pop's wouldn't be out of the question.

I waited for a reply while finishing up on some school stuff.

Yeah that should work.

He responded. It was relieving to know that we'd finally get some time to talk and be with eachother, just the two of us. He later responded to collaborate on time and we both agreed 6:30 suited well enough for the two of us. It's exciting actually. Jughead and I really have been so distant and with all the chaos that's been going on lately I really need him around more. But I would never want to discourage him from going to Stonewall, so I have to make the most of the time that we are present in the same room.

Jughead's Pov:
Almost immediately after Betty and I coordinated Donna barged in the room with what was apparently some important information regarding tonight's party which I would not be attending. She kept going on about something but I really wasn't paying attention as I was practically counting down the minutes until I could escape this place. I only hear the end of what she said which was,
"And I'm assuming that you are attending this, Forsythe." She looked at me with a peculiar eye.

"Oh no." I chuckled, "I've made plans. But you guys enjoy your little harvest party or whatever you preppies call it." I began scrolling back over Betty and I's texts as something to look forward to until Brett interrupted my scrolling,

"Take my advice Forsythe, go to that party." Brett responded in an "all-knowing" tone of voice.

"Brett I case you haven't noticed, I'm not a party animal. Besides, like I said, I have plans tonight. Important plans." I retorted trying to keep my annoyance from showing itself too much in my tone. Donna began,

"He's right Forsythe, we take traditions seriously here at Stonewall Prep. If you don't go than you're not really one of us."

I was getting frustrated with their pestering.

"Maybe if it was a different night but I'm sorry, I have important plans." I turned in my chair to find the two of them eyeing one another. Some communication that was beyond words I couldn't possibly understand.

"What is it?" I replied simply.

"We weren't suggesting you go to the party Jones, we're telling you." Brett said. He looked into my eyes, evil plastered with a stupid toothy grin.

"Or what?" I asked, raising my tone of voice. My patience was wearing thin and it was already time for me to begin packing up for the weekend.

"Or we'll exile you from our group. You have to do tradition." Brett said basically as bluntly as he could. He then chuckled and went on to say,
"you need to prove you're one of us, Jughead." As he said Jughead he enunciated every syllable with too precise accuracy, as if to sink in the the idea that I'm still Jughead. The kid from the wrong side of the tracks. I stood up out of my seat and walked slowly towards Brett. Eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched.

"You're really sick Brett you know that?" I said, my voice quivering more than I'd like it to.

"Why is it so important that I go to this stupid party anyway? Huh?" I asked them, waiting for a response.

"Hey, all I'm saying is, you want a shot at that book writing contest, you gotta prove your loyalty AT LEAST." Brett laughed out the last part, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I stood there feeling conflicted. I knew Betty would understand but I couldn't abandon her after the time we've spent apart. After all she's sacrificed for our relationship. I finally stumbled on my words in my reply,

"Fine. I'll do it. I'll go. But next time there are any "traditions" why don't you let me know ahead of time?" I asked more in an angry tone than I probably should have. I was about to grab my phone and call Betty but Brett swiped it away before I could reach it.

"Hey! Give it back Brett." I exclaimed. Any calm that was left in my demeanor was now quickly fleeting away.

"Oh no. Part of proving your loyalty is proving you've detached yourself from your old ties. At least, for tonight." The more anger appeared in my expression, the wider his grin grew.