I Got You || Jughead Jones

To Riverdale and Back Again // Part Two

Lunch came quickly, as usual, and I finally found my friends at the table outside. Why we chose to sit outside while there was snow on the ground, was beyond me. Jughead was sitting next to Betty so I sat next to him. I didn't even get a greeting out of my mouth before Cheryl appeared right next to me.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have an announcement to make. One that tangentially involves you, Betty. I'm bringing Polly to the dance as my date, and we're campaigning as co-queens of Homecoming Court." Cheryl pursed her lips.

Betty raised an eyebrow, "Because why?"

"Because, Nightmare Smurfette, by all rights it should've been Polly and Jason on that stage being crowned. This is the next best thing." Cheryl folded her hands, "So, don't forget to vote, and I'll see everyone at my coronation!"

Jughead nudged my shoulder. "Hey, haven't seen you all day."

I smiled and handed over a piece of my brownie. "I looked for you this morning but couldn't find you."

"Oh. I went to see my dad, brought him coffee and donuts." He looked down at his hands.

"And?" I pushed, "How'd it go?"

He smiled and glanced at me. "Good, actually. He's cleaned up a lot. Asked me about my novel and said he actually read it."

"Aw Jug!" I placed a hand on his arm. "That's awesome."

He nodded and turned back to our friends who low-key insulted Archie's music. Betty was in charge of the Homecoming dance so she had the final say over everything that happened. I'm guessing Archie asked to play some songs and nobody really wanted him to.

"No need to fret, Betty. Archie asked me to sing with him, and we're thinking about doing some upbeat covers." Ronnie nodded her head towards the singer.

Archie looked absolutely confused, "We are?"

Ronnie turned back to him, "Aren't we?"

Archie shrugged and turned to stab at his food with his fork. Betty looked at me and grimaced at the situation that occurred. I shrugged and turned my attention back to my sandwich as Kevin started asking about decorations.

This dance was going to be interesting, that's for sure.

--

Jughead and I walked into the gym looking for Betty. My boyfriend had a box of decorations in his hands as we finally caught sight of the blonde.

"Hey, you." Jughead's voice was deep as Betty turned around. "Why didn't you tell us about the dinner?"

Betty tilted her head, "What?"

I grabbed Jug's arm, "Your mom basically tackled us in the hall to invite both of us and Jug's dad over before the dance." Betty looked completely surprised by the news. "Wait, did you not know?"

She shook her head suddenly, "No, no, of course, I've just, you know, got so many...plates are spinning."

Jughead shifted the box in his arms, "I'm a little terrified about the social experiment of it all, but I think it's good for our families to get to know each other."

"Yeah," Betty nodded uncertainly.

I could tell Betty was hiding something from us but I didn't push. We helped her set up for a bit before I left. Ronnie needed my help picking out dresses for homecoming and I was more than happy to help.

Snow crunched under my boots as I walked down the street. My headphones played Ed Sheeran's Even My Dad Does Sometimes as I watched the ground beneath me. Cheryl's talk in the library today left me emotionally drained. Since this weekend, everything had been setting down on me harder than it usually did. I could handle it most of the time but I was stuck in a rut that was hard to break out of.

When I got home, I found Ronnie in her bedroom with her laptop open. She was already in her pajamas so I'm guessing we weren't going anywhere special. I sat right next to her and tucked my legs beneath me.

"Find anything good so far?" I pulled my hair out of the bun it was in and ruffled the dark locks. I reached over to grab a hoodie off the floor and pulled it on.

Ronnie shook her head. "Not yet. This is so frustrating. Here, you look."

I took the laptop from her and started scrolling. There were too many styles to choose from nowadays. And chances were if you found a cute dress, someone else already had it.

A knock on the front door made us both look up. Ronnie climbed off the bed and walked out as I followed behind her. She pulled the door open to reveal Archie.

"Archie." Ronnie opened the door further to let him in. "If this is a booty call..."

"Ew, gross Ronnie." I stuck my tongue out in disgust. "I'm out of here."

I walked back into the bedroom and flopped in front of laptop. Long sleeve dress for sure, especially since it was winter. And something shorter, I guess. This wasn't prom so gowns were a definite no.

I heard Archie and Ronnie talking quietly. Whatever he was here for must've been urgent. It was almost nine at night. And where was Jughead?

I stopped scrolling as my eyes landed on a dress. I didn't even hesitate to order it. Homecoming was going to be fabulous.

--

sorry this one's kinda short. the next one's a lot better, i promise. i ran out of ideas of stuff to add. on another note, thank you all so much for 5k reads! this book is soaring.

let me know how you feel in the comments!