Work Text:
I think you should know
You’re a work of art
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Jughead doesn’t think Archie and Betty’s friendship can come back from this. He looks up from his laptop to see a teary eyed Betty Cooper. Jughead sighs.
“How long have you known?” She asks nasally, and he doesn’t make a move to lie. He knows what she’s asking, and it warrants another sigh.
“I tried to get through to him.” He offers and Betty just shakes her head. Jughead makes a motion for Betty to sit and gives a relieved sigh when she does.
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“I can’t believe I thought I was actually fighting with Veronica.” Betty gives a slightly dark chuckle as the waitress places their milkshakes on the table. Jughead notes again that she always gets the classic Vanilla. He knows deep down that she was more than that, but he has to ask, “Ever thought of changing it up?”
“When you stop eating the same burgers.” She retorts and Jughead gives her a slight smile. He had missed her over the summer- her and Archie both.
“Alright. You got me.” They sit in silence for a few minutes before Betty speaks up again.
“What do we do, Juggie? Do we say something or just let it be?” She asks, and Jughead raises his head. He hasn’t heard that nickname in a while. Jughead just shakes his head.
“I’ve been mulling that over. In the end, it’s up to him.” Jughead always tried to be objective when he looked at things, but sometimes it wore thin.
Betty gives a sniffle, “Jug, what if everything falls apart again?” Jughead feels a pull at his heartstrings. He had always hated seeing Betty cry, so he reaches out and pats her hand gently. Betty looks up in shock.
“We do the best we can to try to make it work.” He offers, as the plate of food arrives. He pushes the burger towards her, but Betty isn’t inclined to eat. More for him, he guesses, but her not eating worries him a little.
“Or it does fall apart. But, you have me.” Jughead offers, and it feels weird to say to her. As kids, he would always try to “avoid” her affectionate nature, finding it a little suffocating. But protectiveness has taken over, and he doesn’t- ever- want their friendship to suffer. He decides it right there. “I’ll be right here, and we’ll continue to fight for justice together.”
Betty gives him a smile that could combat pop’s neon lights, and pulls her burger towards her, giving it a bite. And just for that one moment, things seemed to be at peace.