Bughead Oneshots✨

Fading Away✨

⚠️ TW// Eating Disorders

Jughead scanned the room, his eyes stopping to glance at the golden blonde hair, slightly longer than when he last ran his fingers through it. She sat at a round table in the serpent bar with Veronica, Toni and Kevin. Toni had planned a 'dressed down' night to make herself feel better about the fact that she could no longer fit into anything too glamorous, so everyone went along with it. Almost everyone was dressed in sweatpants and trainers.
"Isn't she pretty?" Veronica spoke, shocking Jug out of his thoughts. He hadn't even realised that she had moved from the table.
"Jeez Ronnie, give a guy a warning!" He exclaimed, letting out a breath and pushing his hair out of his eyes.
"Don't her clothes look kinda baggy though?" Veronica asked, completely ignoring Jughead.
"Who, now?" He asked, still dazed.
"Betty!" She exclaimed, causing the girl herself to turn around and look at them at the sound of her name. Veronica's eyes widened in panic, covering for herself by asking if she needed a drink. Betty shook her head, holding up her still pretty full glass.
"What about her?" Jughead asked, returning to the conversation.
"She just...I don't know. She doesn't really look like her. Her face just seems...hollow. Skinny. I don't know maybe I'm wrong but I swear I saw her wearing those sweatpants the day that she arrived in Riverdale and now, when she lifts her arms slightly and her shirt rides up you can see that she's having to keep them up with an elastic band. I'm worried. She's only been back for just over a month and if she's lost that much weight...then something is wrong, Jug." Veronica said as her eyes become glassy. Jughead knew that she had drunk maybe a few too many cocktails but he knew that she was extremely concerned for her best friend so he pulled her into a hug.
"It'll be okay, Veronica." He whispered into her hairline, placing a platonic kiss there.
"Will you talk to her?" She mumbled against his shirt.
"If it'll make you feel better..." He said, pulling out of the hug. "Whenever I talk to her I'll let you kno-"
"Wait, no!" Veronica interrupted, whipping her head away to glare into his eyes. "You have to find out now. I can't wait any longer. I won't sleep tonight. Please. The office from when I owned this place is still here, you can use that." Veronica rambled, gripping his shirt in her tight grip.
"Alright, alright...I'll do it. But only because I love you and I can't handle you being this annoying." He agreed.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She squealed. "But you're not just doing this because you love me, you're doing it because you love her and you know it." Jughead just rolled his eyes with a slight nod. "Oh and Jug? I love you too." She said as he turned to face her from his journey towards Betty's table.
"Hey, Betts." He spoke. Betty turned to him wide eyed, as if in shock that he had even approached her.
"Hi...Jug. Everything okay?" She asked concern etched on her features.
"Yeah, I uh...can I-...can I have a word? In private?" He rambled.
"Oh!" She replied in shock. "Sure, uh...I'll see you guys in a bit." She turned to Toni and Kevin, dismissing herself, both of them smirking. She stood up with her glass of wine and he began walking towards the office, knowing that she would follow. He stood by the open door, allowing her in first - always the gentlemen. After they both made their way into the room, Jughead shut and locked the door behind them, as Betty placed her glass on the desk.
"Is everything okay, Jug? You're worrying me." Betty said.
"You tell me." He stated. He hadn't realised that this was angering him until he spoke those words. He wished that she would take care of herself.
"I'm sorry...is there something you want to say? Or are you just being angry for no reason?" She asked, getting slightly angry herself.
"Take off your shirt." He said, fury in his eyes.
"Excuse me?!?" Betty exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Now. Take it off now." He spoke, walking forward and reaching for her shirt. Betty grabbed his hands before he could grab it.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to have hate sex with me or something?" Betty fumed.
"Hate? What do you mean hate?" His eyes furrowed, confused.
"Hate sex. It's what you do when you have history with someone that you've grown to hate." Betty spoke as if it was obvious.
"Are you kidding me? I don't hate you, Betty, I could never." He said, his eyes softening.
"Then what the hell is going on?" She asked, feeling confused and upset at the same time.
"Please. Just take off your shirt." He said, passionately. She looked utterly terrified at the idea.
"No. I don't want to." She spoke, fiddling with her fingers.
"I know you don't but I need you to." He walked over and held her hands, not wanting her to return to old habits.
"I haven't done that in a long time, don't worry." She said, trying to change the subject.
"No. Don't change the subject. You might not be hurting yourself this way but you're doing it another way." He said. She looked at him in shock.
"What?" She asked, her breath hitching. He reached for her shirt and this time she didn't stop him. He started to lift her shirt but she stopped him so that she could take his place by removing it herself. He winced as he watched her ribs become more prominent as stretched her arms. She put her t-shirt on the desk behind her and he reached behind to undo the elastic around her joggers. She looked up in shock.
"Veronica noticed it." He said, focusing on the knot. The joggers dropped, almost making it to the floor if her hip bones didn't stop it. He sighed, tears coming to his eyes.
"You're fading away in front of my own eyes. When was the last time you had a real meal?" He asked, hands on her waist looking down at her body.
"I'm not doing it on purpose. It's just the FBI training programme. It's a lot of working out and the diet can be brutal." She shook her head, waving it off as if it was nothing.
"Bullshit." He spat, removing his hands and turning around, wiping a tear from his face.
"Are you...angry?" She asked. He spun around faster than the first time, facing her. Only now had she noticed the glittering in his eyes from his tears.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I'm mad. You're lying to me about your health. Those joggers fit you when you arrived in Riverdale so it's bullshit that this weight loss is from training. So what is it from?" He asked. Betty reached for her shirt and tugged it back on making Jughead sigh.
"Can I have my hair tie back please?" She barely whispered.
"No. No you can't. I need an answer." He demanded. She looked down at the floor as a tear fell from her eye.
"So do I." She responded, looking up at him.
"What?" He questioned.
"I don't know the answer. So please, if you find an answer let me know because it's driving me insane!" She yelled.
"You...you don't know?" He asked.
"I don't have time. I have two 9 year olds that need my help. I don't have time to eat. I don't have time to even think! It is my job to take care of my godchildren because they have no parents left and it's my fault that their mom doesn't get to watch them grow up. I don't have time to eat. I don't want to. I don't want to be able to do something that Polly can't. I'm already replacing her as her kids' mother. I can't make things worse by doing things that she can't so I'm not eating. I'm not doing anything that she wouldn't do." She ranted, wiping the tears as they fell.
"So, what? You're gonna be a prostitute and a drug dealer?" He snapped. She looked as if she'd been slapped.
"Fuck you, Forsythe!" She spoke, gritting her teeth and making her way towards the door.
"Betty wait!" He yelled, grabbing her wrist. She looked as if she had been burnt and he realised that he felt her bone through her wrist. He crumbled, not stopping the tears from falling.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I hurt you and I'm sorry for what I said about Polly, alright? I didn't mean it. I'm just frustrated." He almost begged. She turned back to him.
"You're frustrated? How do you think I feel?" She retorted.
"I don't know how you feel and that's why I'm frustrated! I just want you to be honest with me." He begged.
"I just...my mom. She's...she's going back to how she used to be. 'A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips', 'are you sure you want to eat that, Elizabeth?'" Betty mimicked. "It never really got to me in high school so I don't know why it's getting to me now, but it is." She sighed.
"You know...I love your mom most of the time...but the rest of the time, I really wanna shake her and make her realise what she's doing and has done to her daughters." He spoke, frustrated. Betty let out a humourless laugh,
"Trust me, the feeling is mutual." She admitted. After a few minutes of silence, Betty spoke up again. "I wanna get help." She said, clearly.
"Then we'll get you help, Betts. I'll be right here in your corner helping you fight this, alright?" He said, walking closer to her, his hands resting on her arms.
"Alright." She whispered. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Betty leaned forward and wrapped her first love in her arms with him following.
"I missed you." She whispered in his shirt.
"You have no idea." He replied, letting a tear fall out of his eye and into her hair.
"Thank you. For helping me realise that I need help. I wanna thank Veronica too." She spoke, turning her head to nestle it in his neck.
"Okay, let's go see h-"
"No." Betty interrupted, pulling him back into her. "Just...hold me a little while longer." She muttered.
"Happily." They might not have known it in that moment, or maybe they did, but this was the start of their epic reunion, and the resolution to their love story.
2 months later
With the help of a nutritionist and a personal trainer, Betty had managed to gain 20 pounds in the last 2 months and Jughead had never been so proud. He loved watching Betty even more confident now in her body throughout her journey. Just a week ago, she spent the day walking around her bedroom in her underwear, throwing away the clothes that were now too tight for her with a massive grin on her face as Jughead admired her from the bed. Betty's recovery hasn't come without its challenges and there were days when Betty still struggled to eat but she was trying and succeeding. There were undoubtedly going to be hurdles coming their way but they felt comfort knowing that they'd already overcome so much. Sitting
across the booth at Pop's from each other, Jughead finally felt at home, sitting in a place of comfort and sat with the love of his life. He watched as she demolished a burger and chuckled as he leaned forward to swipe away the ketchup that had escaped the burger and landed on her lip. They both laughed as he sucked his thumb clean and wiggled his eyebrows.
"We should bring the twins here soon. We haven't spent time with them in a while without your mom being there." Jughead spoke, dipping some fries in ketchup.
"Look at you. Mr Super Uncle." Betty giggled, slurping at her milkshake.
"Actually, I'm Uncle Hobo, thank you very much." Jughead responded with a sarcastic offended look on his face. Betty laughed, before smiling at him.
"They really love you, you know." She spoke softly.
"Well, good, because I love them too." He softened.
"Not to pressure you but you're the only male figure that they have in their life, really. It's nice to see them with you." Betty smiled.
"That doesn't pressure me. It makes me happy. Quick question...just out of curiosity...did they have any other...uncles in the past 7 years?" Jughead questioned. Betty raised her eyebrows.
"Are you asking if I introduced the kids to anyone I was dating whilst we were broken up?" Betty asked, a glint in her eye.
"Uh...yeah, I guess." He scratched the back of his neck.
"No. No one special enough ever came along to introduce them to our niece and nephew, don't you worry." She giggled. She saw his shoulders sigh in relief. "Jug...do you think I should tell the kids about what's going on?" Betty questioned.
"I think it's important that we're honest with them but only if they ask about it. I think that maybe if we talk to them about it then it could maybe...I don't know, confuse them but if they ask I think we should talk to them about it honestly." Jughead spoke. Betty nodded along.
"Okay, I think that's a good way to handle it. You're a great parent, you know?" Betty smirked.
"Oh, I know!" He chuckled. "I promise that I'm never going to treat the twins or any of our kids the way that your mother treated you when you were young. It breaks my heart that you felt like you had to change yourself to fit your mother's standards and that's never going to happen for any of our kids, okay?" Jughead reassured her.
"Okay." Betty smiled, her heart warm.

{A/N} ~ 2357 words not including this.
Hope you enjoy!✨
Lots of love - C x