Jughead knew he couldn’t leave. He didn’t want to. He knew he had to talk to Betty about this, but they were both too emotionally charged to have the conversation they needed to have right then. He paced around the living room for a few moments before deciding he needed air. He slid the glass door open and stepped outside. The early evening air was hot, but the breeze made it tolerable. Jughead choked back sobs as he tried to settle himself and think of his next step.

He pulled out his cell phone and unlocked it, revealing a photo of Betty he’d taken a year ago on their road trip home. She was so carefree and beautiful, but he couldn’t stand to look at it. He opened his contacts and found Archie’s. He hovered over the call button for a minute before finally pressing down.

“Hey, Jug, man. What’s up?” Archie’s cheerful voice rang on the other end of the phone.

“Don’t hey, man, what’s up me, Archie!” Jughead grunted. “You ruined her! You ruined everything!” He could almost hear Archie’s confusion.

“Jughead, what the--”

“You warped her brain. You cheated on her! And now--” Jughead began to sob again. He tried to calm his breathing and stop the tears, but there was no end in sight.

“Jughead, what happened?” Archie’s concern was clear.

“She came by the bookstore I was having a signing at. She wasn’t supposed to know about them. She saw one of my student’s there. We had a fight a few months back about her. She thought I was cheating on her. She said she believed me when I reassured her that I would never. Her first thought went there because of you, you son of a bitch!” He snapped on the last few words.

“Jug. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You weren’t, right?” He had to ask.

“Archie, are you serious? You’ve known me my entire life. I’ve never had anything like this before. Why would I do anything to sacrifice losing her? Now, because of your terrible decisions, I’m going to lose her. I’m going to lose the only woman I’ve ever loved, who’s ever loved me back.”

“Jug. Listen, I’m sure it doesn’t mean much to you right now, but I really am sorry. You know how much she loves you. If you just explain it to her, she’ll understand.”

“Do not placate me, Archie Andrews! I am allowed to be mad right now. She’s gonna--” his tears obstructed whatever he was going to say next as he sunk to the floor of the balcony, his back against the rails.

“This is going to work out, Jughead. I promise. Give it some time.” Archie said reassuringly, hanging up after his last word.

---

Betty cried in their bedroom. How could she have been so wrong? She pulled out her phone and the screen lit up in the dimly lit room. She opened her phone quickly so she wouldn’t have to see Jughead’s smiling face that was her lock screen. She dialed Veronica furiously.

“Hey, B! How was--” she was cut out.

“V. I really messed up this time,” she whispered.

“What happened?”

“I saw-- He was-- And her-- I was wrong.” Her sobs took over and she couldn’t get the words out.

“Take a deep breath, B.” Once she heard her breathing calm down, she began again. “What happened?”

“I accused Jughead of cheating on me because he’s been coming home late and lied about going on a conference in Atlantic City, and she was there and--” she cut herself off to calm herself again. “I was wrong. I told him I believed him. What is wrong with me?” she whispered again. Veronica cooed and attempted to reassure her that everything would be fine.

“Elizabeth Cooper. You know how much that boy loves you. Do you really think he’d do that?” This simple statement forced Betty to think. She began shaking her head, but soon realized that Veronica could not see her.

“No,” she squeaked.

“So. What is this really about?” Betty could almost see Veronica’s perfect eyebrow arched into the middle of her forehead. “Is this about Archie?”

“Yes,” she admitted embarrassed. “Things were great, until they weren’t. I guess, I just thought that Jug would get sick of me and--”

“I’m going to stop you right there, Betty. Have you seen how he looks at you? He would never do anything to lose the best thing in his life. He’s said it and you know it.”

“I know,” her voice was small, like she wanted to hide inside herself.

“You need to talk to him, B. Try to stay calm, you can do it,” Veronica said. She hung up after a mumbled goodbye. Betty cried again, this time blaming herself for being too stupid, for being so far in her head that she didn’t see how it was probably killing him. She couldn’t face him. Not yet. Her phone pinged next to her. Archie apologized relentlessly via text message.

A: You and Jug fit, Betty. Don’t throw that away. Talk to him.

Jughead’s phone vibrated next to him. It was Veronica, checking in on him. Archie and Veronica had talked about their respective phone calls and did what they could to reassure their best friends that it was all a misunderstanding.

V: She’s loved you for more than a decade, Jug. Don’t give up on her yet.

Jughead blinked the remaining tears from his eyes rapidly. He looked up to see Betty looking around the house for him. Her silhouette slowly moving around the house, her hands in her hair. She was distraught. He got up from his place on the balcony slowly and walked into the house. His footsteps startled her and she turned around. Tears were forming in her eyes again.

“You’re still here,” a small smile emerged. She ran the short distance to him and leapt into his arms, pulling him impossibly close. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered into his neck. He squeezed her tight and put her down on the floor. “Jughead, I’m so sorry,” she said again looking up into his bloodshot eyes. He closed them shut slowly, willing the tears away.

Jughead sat on the kitchen floor with his back pressed against the cabinets. His trembling hands raked over his face. Betty wedged herself between his legs, wanting to be as close as possible to him. She pressed her tearstained face into his chest, whispering endless apologies. “Stop,” Jughead finally said, his volume only slightly louder than hers. She looked up at him.

“Yes, I lied to you, but only because I wanted to keep it a surprise. If you knew I was going to Riverdale instead of a work conference, you would have insisted on coming with me,” he started. “Archie and Veronica knew. They helped me. It killed me to lie to you.”

“Wh--”

“I only did the signings to earn some extra money, so it wouldn’t interfere with the household funds. Everything was going perfectly, until today. And I swear, there really is nothing happening between me and Kit. She just reminds me so much of Jellybean, that--”

“I know, Juggie.”

“It kills me that you think that I am even capable of doing that to you.”

“I’m sorry, Juggie. Please believe me,” she asked grabbing his face, her eyes pleading with his.

“I do,” Jughead sighed. “How could you think that I didn’t mean what I said yesterday? I poured my heart out to you. I was finally able to verbalize it and you threw it back in my face. I think that is that part that hurts the most.”

“I didn’t mean it. I was so angry, and I had no right to be.” She pressed a featherlight kiss to his chest. He looked down at her, his eyes finally dry. The familiar glimmer was there; his love shining through the glassiness. Veronica was right, he did look at her like she hung the moon for him. She sighed.

He threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her into a bruising kiss, trying to put forth all the words he couldn’t say out loud. When they pulled away, they both smiled. They moved to the couch, her head in his lap.They laid there in silence, listening to each other’s breathing.

“You really went to Riverdale to pick out a ring?” Jughead nodded. “I wanted Veronica’s help. I even asked your dad for his blessing when we were there for spring break. That’s why he hugged me when we left.” Betty’s eyes widened, she had wondered what that had been about, but when she asked, he brushed it off. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out,” he said, combing his fingers through her hair. “But now you have to wait.”