To See You With Her (Jughead x Reader)

"Hi there :) id like to request an imagine along the lines of jughead finds out you self harm / sees your self harm scars? i totally get it if its way to far over your blogs boundaries. thank you :)" --Anonymous

Warnings: mentions of self harm, self harm scars

You bit your thumbnail, trying and failing to focus on the homework in front of you as the words danced around the page. They blurred out of focus, your peripheral vision zoning in on a familiar dark haired boy sitting across the student lounge. Your best friend, Jughead Jones, in all his sincere glory, sinking into a bean bag chair. He sat next to an equally familiar girl with a blonde ponytail and a sweet smile. He leaned in to her, whispering something. She laughed. They would switch roles and the cycle would continue.

It had been like this for two months now. Ever since Betty Cooper had invited your long-time best friend to write with her on the Blue and Gold, they'd been inseparable.

Which should be a great thing. It really should be.

Your growing separation with Jughead was more than losing just a friend. You no longer had someone to text for hours on end into the night, educate you on classic movies (while you educated him on popular ones), and share milkshakes with. You'd be lying if you said you'd never thought of your friendship becoming something more. For your amused glances to become sweet kisses, for your walks alongside the Sweetwater River to become hand-in-hand, that would make life truly perfect.

Any hope of that was severely crushed by the unexpected introduction of Elizabeth Cooper.

You wanted to hate her. You really did. But she was everything you weren't, and everything you wanted to be. She was beautiful, with a loving, wealthy family. She was smart, but not rude about it. She was kind indiscriminately, and always fought for what was right. She was a River Vixen, for God's sake. There wasn't anything about her to even hate.

She was the girl Jughead deserved, and you tried to be happy for him. You really did.

Sometimes, the pain would be too great to be happy for him. Those times when you'd have a great movie in mind to see, but Jughead had already seen it with Betty. Those times when you'd walk home alone, Jughead staying late at the Blue and Gold office. Those times when you'd see Betty walk down the hallway, practically glowing in her River Vixen uniform,Jughead scurrying closely behind. Those moments made you feel like nothing. Worse than nothing.

The pain became so great you had to release it through self-harm. You would politely excuse yourself whenever Jughead and Betty entered a room when you could help it. You would cut yourself in the bathroom, clean and bandage it quietly, and return, able to tolerate their presence. Your sweater and cardigan sleeves hid your greatest secret.

And no one was supposed to know. They really weren't.

With all of the wonderful cards you'd been dealt, you received another wonderful hand to be assigned to work on the English tri-fold with Jughead. You tried not to notice his shared glance with Betty when the teacher announced the project, and their shared sadness that partners would be assigned randomly.