7. She's Encouraging

"Why aren't you publishing these?" she asks, looking irritated with him.

Jughead turns to her, bewildered. "Publishing what?"

She's got his notebook in her hand, the handwritten notes mixed in with the typed up stories he's been carrying around.

"Where did you get those?" he questions her.

"I stole them out of your bag when you weren't looking," she informs him without a trace a guilt.

He's annoyed. "Betty, did it occur to you that maybe if they were in my bag, they weren't for everyone to read?"

"Of course it did," she says, shrugging at him. "If you were sharing them, I wouldn't have had to steal them."

Rubbing a hand across his forehead he lets his shoulders fall in resignation. "Betty-"

"Look, Jug, I'm sorry for snooping but you're always writing and you never let anyone see it. I run the Blue and Gold, you know. We could have been publishing these for weeks or months, or even since last year but you've been keeping them to yourself!" she exclaims, waving the papers in front of him as she's talking.

"Did you think that maybe I didn't want my stuff printed in a school newspaper?"

Betty scoffs. "Oh, I'm sorry it's not the New York Times, Jughead, but-"

"That is not what I meant," he interrupts. "Some stuff isn't meant to be shared."

"I didn't read your diary, Jug, these are stories, they're human interest pieces, these are definitely meant to be read and you know it. You can lie to yourself all you want if you must, but don't lie to me."

They're staring at each other and Jughead knows she's right. He doesn't want to admit it but, yeah, he knows she's got a point. Letting out a deep breath as he runs a hand across the back of his neck, he gives in.

"Fine," he tells her. "You can put some of them in the paper if you want to."

Her smile is wide as she bounces a little on her toes, ponytail swinging as she shakes the papers in her hand happily. Throwing her arms around him and hugging him tight she whispers in his ear, "You won't regret this, Juggie, I promise."

He thinks he might actually believe her.

8. She's forgiving

In the weeks he's been "dating" Betty he'd noticed just how often she forgave everyone their transgressions.

The people who take advantage of her, the ones who only talk to her when they want something from her, her friends who love her but aren't perfect people, her sister who means well but seems to live in her own world, and her parents, who he's never met but has heard enough about to know that her generous spirit couldn't have come from them.

She just continually finds it in herself to assume the very best of everyone and when they prove to not deserve it she decides they deserve it anyway.

He'd been in awe of that part of her for weeks now, watching her share her big, beautiful heart with whoever needs it, never asking for anything in return. She quick and sarcastic, talks back with the best of them but as soon as she thinks someone needs her, she's all smiles and gentle reassurances, helping where she can and helping them find the help they need when she can't.

He's in awe of her, really.

Part of him had wondered if the glow of perfection he could have sworn was surrounding her would ever fade and when it did, would he be the architect of his own destruction?

Yes and no.

It takes seven weeks but when it implodes, they both blow it up. It happens in the Blue and Gold office, door closed and locked for privacy.

"There's a party this weekend," Betty starts, spinning her chair around from her desk to face him as she speaks.

Jughead groans. "No. No more parties please. Even if you paid me, I wouldn't want to go."

She sits up straighter. "Jug, you are being paid."

He had forgotten. He had completely forgotten he wasn't really dating Betty Cooper. It makes him angry and without another outlet, he wants to blame her. He knows it's wrong but it was such a slap in the face of reality he feels like an idiot. Almost duped though it was his idea in the first place.

"Well, I'm so sorry that I can think of better things to do with my time than sit bored at a Northside party making sure you don't end up drunk again."

She rears back from the heat in his voice. "What-"

"Did it occur to you, Betty, that I might have better things to do?"

Her eyes are wide and hurt. "Jughead, what are you talking about? Why are you so angry?"

Jughead wants to stop himself, he can almost see his brain leaving his body while screaming at him to pull his shit together and stop. To s-t-o-p while he's ahead but he doesn't.

"Maybe I don't want to be your revenge plan anymore, Betty," he says, trying to look unaffected. "Maybe I'm tired of wasting my time on a fake relationship that's not going anywhere."

"Wasting your time?" She sounds like she's about to cry. "Are you for real right now?"

Crossing his arms and shrugging, he looks off to the side, out of the window on the far side of the room, leaning back further into the desk he'd been leaning on, trying to get why he's hurting the one girl in the world he never wants to hurt. A feeling of embarrassment creeps up in the back of his head that he had let himself forget that while his feelings were real, he doesn't know where she stands because he's been so caught up in it, he'd forgotten it was all a lie. Either way, he knows he's being a dick for no real reason.

Her breathing is loud in the room, like she's trying to calm herself down. He doesn't know why he's lashed out at someone who doesn't deserve it. The armor he'd been wearing coming up and turning him into the asshole everyone thought the leather jacket made him.

Every second is another second he has time to hate himself a little more. Just as he's starting to realize how much he's going to regret what he's just done, Betty gets mad.

And not the mad that means her smile is slightly fake and she blinks faster than normal until the conversation is over. This is the mad that has her jumping up and out of her chair, ponytail swinging, cheeks red with anger.

"I don't know who you think you are, Jughead Jones, but you approached me. If anyone is wasting their time, it's me!" she yells at him, hands on her hips, breathing heavy.

He winces with the direct hit.

"I agreed to do this stupid plan with you, not for you," she snaps at him. "You agreed with Jason's idea to make money off of dating me and I thought, you know, I actually thought, okay this guy told me upfront about what he did, he's not some asshole who's gonna make money off of me then humiliate me later when I find out about it."

"Betty-"

"Because you know, Jug, you know those plans always fail, right? You always get caught, you always show your true self, and I-and I-" She waves a hand in front of herself, staring at the ground as she finally breaks down into tears. "-I really thought you were this great guy who, like you said, did it because you didn't know how to ask me out. Was this the plan? To let me in on it, to play me for a fool while I thought you were being honest?"

He reaches for her, trying to catch her wrist but even upset, she's quicker than him. "No, you know me better than that-"

"Do I?" she interrupts. "I never thought you'd live up to the stereotype, Jughead."

Furrowing his brow he asks, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Jughead, leather and a motorcycle, pretending to the world that you don't care when it's obvious to anyone who looks that you care. You care so much you're willing to write off anyone you think might hurt you first," she scoffs angrily at him, wiping her fingers under her eyes to get rid of the remaining tears.

"What the actual fuck, Betty? Is that what you think of me?" He's offended. And legitimately pissed, mostly because he's not sure she's wrong.

She lifts her shoulder at him in a half shrug, looking away from his face.

He's getting angrier with each second that passes and she's trying not to cry again and though the idea of her in tears is ripping him up, he's genuinely hurt by what she's just said. He's not even sure what he said to her in the first place to fire her up any longer if he's being truthful, he just reacted and now they're both paying the price.

Trying to decide between storming out of the room or ignoring her until one of them cracks he's thrown out of his silent staring contest with the wall behind her when he hears her sobbing, harder than before.

Even mad, he can't stand the idea of being why Betty Cooper is crying. Standing up straight, he pulls her to him, even as she's trying to push him away, telling him plenty of choice words he never thought he'd hear from her mouth, almost making him laugh.

Finally getting a grip on her, he tightens his arms around her, trying to calm her down. Once she's just making small sniffling sounds and her shoulders go slack he backs just far enough away to look down at her.

She's got mascara running down her face and god, he hopes those are tears and not snot she's getting all over his shirt. Her big green eyes are glassy and her nose is red, under her eyes is already puffy, and her hair is somehow frizzing at the edges.

He can't help the smile that comes across his face as she glares up at him from her position in his arms.

"What?" Her tone would be harsh if she didn't sound like she was three days into a cold.

He's so amused the words just come out before he can stop them. "It's just a relief to know there's one thing you do that isn't attractive."

The fire in her eyes makes him think she's about to punch him so he hurries the sentiment along.

"But even so, you're still the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

Relaxing just slightly at that, she lightly kicks his shin. "I hate you."

"That's fair," he tells her, pulling her back into a tight hug. "You know, this stopped being fake a long time ago right?"

She's nodding against him, picking at his shirt. "Was it ever fake, Juggie?"

"I don't think so."

He tries to kiss her, for real this time, when she leans back from him and he looks at her in confusion.

She gestures to her face. "I'm all gross."

Jughead smiles at her. "A gross Betty Cooper is still better than anyone else, I think I'll take my chances."

Taking her face in his hands he kisses her for the first time for no other reason than he can.

9. She's loving

Jughead Jones is standing nervously on the Cooper doorstep as he waits for someone to answer the door. He's not met Betty's parents yet but he knows this meeting is important, this is the first impression they're going to have of their daughter's boyfriend and he knows, he just knows it'll probably be a bad one.

The Jones luck almost demands it.

He jumps back in surprise as the door swings open and all he can hear is yelling and someone wailing like they're dying. Tentatively taking a step forward he sticks his head in the doorway carefully, just in case it's a trap of some kind.

Seeing nothing inherently dangerous he catches a flash of blonde ponytail so he follows the path it was taking, hoping he's following the right Cooper as he cautiously walks through the house to the sound of the commotion.

When he finds her, she's holding onto what he assumes is her wailing mother. The only words he hears clearly are curse and oh god why and what was she thinking? Catching Betty's eye she just shakes her head at him and mouths, "Polly's pregnant."

For the first time in his life he's glad a woman is crying loudly, he hadn't been able to keep the snort of laughter in when he realized the situation.

Betty throws him a half hearted glare but even she looks like she's about to bite her lip to keep the giggles in. The absurdity of the whole situation is almost too ridiculous to not be slightly amusing.

Mrs. Cooper finally pulls her head off of Betty's shoulder, seeing him for the first time standing there in a leather jacket and beanie, suspenders hanging with black combat boots on her perfectly perfect living room rug and she stands up quickly.

He takes a step back.

She takes another step forward and it takes everything he has to stand still as she walks to him. Narrowing her eyes she walks around him in a circle and the only thing he can do besides breathe is think about the fact that now he knows where Betty gets her glare from.

Stopping in front of him, still dressed in her business casual suit, arms crossed with a tissue in hand she stares at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You're FP's son." It's a statement, not a question.

"Uh, yeah, how'd you-"

"Out."

Jughead takes another step back out of sheer self preservation. "What?"

"You heard me. Get. Out."

"Mom!" Betty exclaims, pulling on her mother's elbow. "You can't just talk to him like that!"

"This is my house, Elizabeth, and I do not want this...this leather jacket wearing, Jones genetics having, beanie wearing miscreant in my house!" Alice yells, pointing a finger at him.

He's shocked and he knows Betty is as well by her mom's meltdown.

"Mrs. Cooper-"

"Don't you get it, Betty? We're cursed! The women in this family must be cursed and trust me, running around with a Jones will get you in trouble faster than you can close your knees!"

"MOM!" Betty is horrified. She twists to look over at him again, eyes big and worried by the situation. "Stop yelling at Jughead, you don't even know him."

Alice turns to her daughter with a serious face. "Elizabeth -Betty-, please, I understand the appeal of the Jones men, I do, but it leads to nothing but trouble, I don't want you to end up like the rest of us."

"Mom, ew," Betty says quietly, stealing another look at Jughead who is still standing slightly terrified near the sofa he wants to bury himself under until Mrs. Cooper is no longer in the room. Or maybe the house. Possibly even the same town.

"Come on, let me take you to bed," she's whispering, tugging on her arm to get her to follow Betty up the stairs.

She tells him she'll be back in a few minutes and he nods at her, finally able to flop on the sofa, his shoulders hunching up to his ears, waiting for something else to go wrong.

When it had been quiet for close to five minutes, he sees Polly Cooper sneaking out the front door, bag in hand, before he clears his throat causing her to squeak in surprise.

"Going somewhere?" he asks her. He knows if she plans on just leaving it will destroy Betty.

Polly adjusts her sweater, pulling out all the Cooper tactics he's seen over the last year. Chin up, back straight, looking him straight in the eye with a complete facade of confidence. "Yes, I am. My parents are certifiable and I don't want to be around that while pregnant."

"Does Betty know about this?"

Polly rolls her eyes at his protectiveness. "Of course she does, who do you think told me the coast was clear?"

Jughead shrugs. "I just don't want to see Betty upset."

She smiles at him, adjusting the grip on her bag. "You're good for her, Jughead. Even if you were just fleecing Jason for cash."

"You knew?"

"Duh, from since the beginning. Betty and I don't lie to each other," she tells him, starting to walk out the door. "Hey, Jughead?"

"Yeah?"

"Remind her that I love her and I'll see her soon, okay?"

"You got it," he replies, leaning back against the sofa cushion again.

He thinks it might be another ten minutes before he hears Betty coming down the stairs. Her face is tired and she looks emotionally drained. She sits next to him, laying her head on his shoulder, reaching to take one of his hands.

She exhales loudly after a little while. "I don't mean to presume anything but, Juggie, we're gonna need, like, three kinds of birth control."

Jughead starts coughing. He'd thought about it sure, but he didn't expect her to say it like she was telling him about a homework assignment.

Adjusting himself so he can wrap an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her into his side for comfort.

"So," he says, changing the subject, "where's your dad?"

Betty throws her head back dramatically. "Probably in the basement. He disappeared as soon as Polly said she was pregnant and had plans to live with Jason."

"She told me what you did for her," he tells her. "Wanted me to tell you she loves you and she'll see you soon."

Betty smiles sadly. "I'm going to miss her being here with me."

Kissing the side of her head he breathes in the scent of her hair. "You're too good for all of us, you know that, Cooper?"

She shrugs, picking at her sleeve. "I just love all of you, that's all-" She stops when she realizes what she just said, looking up at him with wide and slightly terrified eyes. "Uh-"

Laughing at her nervousness he just holds her tighter. "I love you too, just so you know."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But to be fair, I think I love you most in that short little cheerleading skirt-"

Betty cuts him off by whacking him in the chest and he starts laughing, catching her hand in his, pressing a kiss to her palm before sitting back on the Cooper's sofa, holding the daughter that holds them all together.

10. She makes him happy

Betty Cooper makes Jughead Jones happy and that's probably the only fact he can count on sometimes. She makes him happy when she's smiling and when she's laughing with him. Often it's even when it's at him.

She makes him cookies and rolls her eyes at his sardonic outlook on life with humor and exasperation. Kisses in the hall and even the time she got him to sing karaoke with her at one of those terrible Northside parties. And if she never brings it up after the fact and pretends it never happened with him, well, that's another reason she makes him happy. Caring for him when he's sick and helping him with college applications, submitting his papers and stories everywhere she can think of to get his foot in a door, any door, she sends shudders of pure happiness up his spine.

Jughead gets the love of Betty Cooper and he doesn't think anything will ever make him happier. Not the time they lost their virginity together on the bed in his trailer, with two kinds of birth control and him still pulling out before he had finished can even top the fact that he gets hear the words I love you come out of her mouth meant for him.

But still, the sex is definitely at the top of the list even if they're beyond careful each and every time. Nothing could ruin a mood more than a screaming baby and they're not trying to play any sort of Baby Russian Roulette while in high school.

She holds his hand and looks at him like she can't believe she got him and the idea that she thinks she's the lucky one makes him happy. She's not, but who is he to tell her what to think? The fact that she still sits on his lap at lunch and the fact that she got immense pleasure of thanking Jason for all that money in front of about twenty people once when he said something that irritated her still makes him laugh to this day.

Jason's face, shocked and horrified as he turned to Jughead like he couldn't believe he told her, made for a great meme after Kevin took the perfect picture of it on his phone. Jason had turned to Polly, probably in fear of what she'd think about it and she just shrugged, eating another fry and told him, "You tried to pay someone to date my sister, of course I was going to let her take your money."

Betty's bright laugh and smug smile over the whole situation made him incredibly happy. He didn't think such a good thing would come from such a dumb decision on his part but he's not going to look too close at the details, he's, for once, just going to enjoy it.

Which is what he's doing now as he's got his hands hooked under her bare thighs, her god awful wonderfully tempting River Vixen skirt pushed all the way up with her panties shoved to the side as he slides in and out of her, pushing her harder against the wall for leverage as she locks her legs around his hips and hangs on to his neck. He's put his head into the curve of her neck, biting little kisses being pressed along her skin with each push and pull. Her head falling back against the wall of the newspaper office they should definitely not be having sex in but it's been a fairly popular go-to spot for them over the last year.

He can feel her breath hitch with each thrust in and he knows he's hitting her clit with each slide up and he's adjusting his hands to grip her legs tighter so he can hit it harder, making her moan and squeeze him with her thighs as she comes before going almost boneless against the wall. She comes back to herself and kisses him, sliding her tongue along his lips until he lets her in, slipping her tongue along his, the sucking and nipping she's doing to his bottom lip making him speed up and groan into her mouth.

The shiver up his spine tells him he's close and the tension in his abdomen have him pulling out of her with her reaching down to help him finish into the condom as he breathes heavily, trying to maintain some semblance of sanity so she doesn't realize just how ridiculous he about her every second of every day.

A goofy smile crosses his face as she looks at him with affection.

"What are you smiling at, Jug?"

He shrugs the best he can with her still in his arms, staring into her pretty eyes and trying to memorize her beautiful face. "You just make me happy, Betts, that's all."