Just This Once

6

"Hey, Betty. Do you want to go out again when the snow clears out and we can get out of here?" Tomas asked her. I walked in between them and wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Actually, we're together now." I kissed her forehead to prove it, and she blushed.

"But you were the one who told me to ask her out." Tomas looked angry.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But, I guess we just have this connection." I pulled her closer to me, and I could feel her getting uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"It's fine. I'll be in my room, then, I guess."

"Go ahead." Once he was upstairs and wasn't coming back, I whispered something in Betty's ear.

"You're welcome." I let go of her and started to walk away again.

"Jug." She stopped me. "I could've handled that myself."

"Betty, I know that you're a strong, wonderful person who is capable of many things, but you try to please people too much, so you would've said yes, and you would've been tortured throughout the rest of the time that we stayed here, and possibly afterwards."

"Fine then." She turned away from me, looking grim.

"Betty, it's nothing against you, I just wanted to help." She turned back towards me, and looked super angry.

"I don't want to have to pretend to date you Jughead!" She didn't yell, but I could feel her words echoing loudly in my head. I wanted nothing more than to be with her, and she couldn't even pretend to like me.

Betty's POV

I really like Jughead. And I didn't want to pretend to date him. I wanted to actually date him. And I wasn't going to just fake it until it might become real for him. I wanted him to like me, actually. I guess all that comforting was fake, then. I'd live, though. Those weren't my biggest problems.