one-shots || bughead + sprousehart

"i'm not in love with archie." - bughead

set in the pilot when v and arch go in the closet 

She watched as Archie took Veronica's hand and with a glint in his eyes led her to the closet.

She felt as if she was drowning, there was no denying in what the two would do in there. Betty jumped up from her seat, her eyes glossy and her hands trembling.

Jughead watched her as she left the room, his heart clenching at the sight of her.

The room went quiet when the blonde slammed the door closed behind her, but Jughead was the only one to follow.

The wind was sharp and cold as he stepped out the house. Betty had seated herself on the steps in front of the door, huddled in herself.

She was sobbing, but tried to muffle her tears. "Betts." He mumbled and she lifted her head of her knees to look up at him with her teary eyes and red cheeks.

"I'm fine, Jug." She whimpered, "I didn't know what I expected. He knows how I feel but I'm just not enough."

He could sense her pain as she spoke, the tears coming down her cheeks.

"I get it, Veronica is much prettier, I wish I was—" Jughead broke her sentence, his frustration high.

"Stop, Betty!" He tried to keep his voice low, "Before you sit here and scream about how useless you are again, you need to know there was at least one thing you were good at." He said, sitting down beside her on the steps.

"Yeah, and what was that?"

"While everyone else and all my thoughts were dragging me into the deep at two in the morning, you were pulling me up and showing me I was at least worth someone's time even if I didn't have your attention all that long." He recalled the many nights and days, ever since they were little, that Betty would be there for him when no one else was.

Betty gasped as she looked back up at him, her eyes filled with sympathy and a sense of gratefulness. "Jug." She mumbled, her hand reaching up to trace the lines on his cheek.

"I don't mean to turn this on me, I just wanted to show you that you are important, Betty. I would not have made it here if it wasn't for you." Her lips curled into a gentle smile. The two fell silent, Betty's tears staining her cheek.

"I just— I just want to know, why Archie?" He asked after a while, leaning against the softness of her hand.

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you love Archie so much? He's tall and big and all, but I've never seen how you and him would fit." Betty dropped her hands into her lap, playing with her fingers.

"I don't— I don't know why. I guess I've always seen Archie and me as a perfect couple, I even joined the cheerleaders to optimise the idea of us even more." The realisation of her own words dawned upon her and she could already see Jughead grinning slightly.

"I'm not in love with Archie." She whispered, gasping softly at the sudden reality of it. "I'm not in love with Archie." She rose her voice slightly, her confidence taking over.

"I know."

"How did you know?"

"I've known you since we were little kids Betty. You've never felt anything for Archie until he joined the football team and became this strangely popular guy. Ever since then you've had this image of him and you, but the way you looked at him was never in love." Jughead admitted, gently stroking Betty's arm. Her tears had dried up, a little smile playing on her lips now.

"Why— How—" She mumbled, her eyes still in a small battle of confusion.

Jughead just grinned, reaching down to take her hand. "Wanna go to Pop's?" She looked into his eyes, nodding and gripping his hand tighter.