Love And Leather

Chapter 24

"No, V. I'm not going."
"You have to," she says sternly. I roll my eyes at her and keep eating.
"Come on, Betty, it'll be fun," Toni says.
"I think 'fun' died a long time ago for me."
"Jughead!" Veronica yells.
"What?" he yells back.
"Come here," Kelly says with a louder voice.
"I'm busy."
"We don't care, get your ass up here, Jones!" Toni shouts. When we don't get an answer with a few seconds, Kelly says something and Jug answers he's coming. So I keep being in my phone and he finally gets up here. Millie's sitting on his foot, giggling, arms wrapped around his leg.
"Hey Millie, give daddy a break," I say, taking her off of him. He gives me a thankful smile and drops down next to me, lying down in the bed.
"What's so important I had to eat my burger faster?" I laugh at him quietly.
"She says you're not going to the Homecoming. You have to," V says.
"Ronnie, we have a little kid who has no one to stay with," Jug says.
"You can take her with you to the pep-rally and when the dance takes place, you can leave her with your dad," Kelly says to him.
"My dad's going, he's been to that school too y'know."
"Leave her with Jellybean," Veronica smiles big.
I roll my eyes. "We're not going, V."
"Yes you are," Toni says, crossing her arms.
"You're going where?" Millie asks me.
"To the homecoming dance," I tell her.
"What's that?"
"It's when you go to high school. All the Senior students and their parents are usually going," Jug explains.
"Why aren't you?" she asks, looking up at me with the same green eyes I have.
"Because we have you and we wanna spend tine with you," I say and kiss her all over her face, making her giggle.
"I can come with you," she smiles big. Her language skills have really improved with the last two or three months because we read her many many books.
"No you can't, kids aren't allowed," Jug says.
"Yes, but you can stay home with Jelly if you want to," Kelly says. Millie nods eagerly and they all smile.
"Baby, you're staying home with us," I assure her.
The girls roll their eyes at me "Jug is FP here?"
"Yeah," he says and they go downstairs. I bring Millie to my chest and fall down on the bed on my back, hugging her.
"Mommy," she giggles. I rub our noses together and kiss her cheek. "Momma," she whines.
"What?" I mumble in her cheek.
"I wanna play," she whines.
"Nuh-uh," I tease her, holding her tighter. She takes a breath and starts crying, tears running down her cheeks. "That's fake," I sing with a teasing voice and kiss her all over her face, making her giggle and tears stop as her face is already wet.
"Come on, princess," Jug chuckles, lifting her out of my arms and places her on her feet, letting her go run downstairs to her own room.
Jug grins at me and drops himself down on the bed next to me. I smile and turn my back to him so that he could spoon me. He pushes his one arm under my head and other one wraps itself around me.
His head moves over my shoulder, resting his cheek against mine. "I've missed you," he says quietly, with a sad expression.
"It's okay, you're back in my bed now," I tell him.
The truth is, we fight a lot. Over stupid things like why didn't I do something, why did he do something and then wise versa. But the last week, we didn't basically even communicate. He kissed a girl from our class and I saw it. They and some of our friends later explained to me that it was truth or dare and the girl's into him, that's why she kissed him back. I could see from the kiss that Jug didn't like it, but I still got mad. I hate my emotions.
Relationships need work. You can't get anywhere if you haven't worked for it. Even though we're only 18 in a month, I feel like we're grownups. And like normal grownups, because his between us can't just be a relationship that soon won't matter anymore. We're not just 'high school sweethearts'. Because I just got Millie adopted and she has chosen to call that boy whose arms I'm in right now her daddy. I can't just throw it away. He isn't her real dad, I'm not her real mom, but if she has chosen us for that, we will do this and get through every fucking argument stronger than ever, mire in love than ever. We have a reason to fight for us.
I turn my head and kiss him softly, but it comes heated fast. He pulls me on top of him in a few minutes so that I'm straddling him when I pull away, both of us panting and grinning at each other. My hands continue in his hair, tugging on it as a few moans escape into his mouth while his hands are under my shirt on my waist, holding me close to his body.
We hear a knock on the door, making me pull away immediately and as the door goes open, I'm working my way off of his lap. FP raises his eyebrows, our siblings and friends grinning. I sit on the bed next to Jughead, wiping my mouth and swollen lips clean from my remaining lipstick as I'm staring at my lap, eyes and mouth wide open from embarrassment. Meanwhile, Jug groans from frustration and I see his pants incredibly tight.
"Look at that, Jug's got a boner," Toni grins as we push ourselves further apart from the bed not to feel the electricity still between us.
Before Jug can start screaming his head off, I rapidly speak up myself. "Why are you all here?" I can't hide the disappointed voice, which makes my triplets laugh as they hear it.
Millie runs to me and I take her onto my lap and wrap my arms around her to hold myself back from Jughead who is shifting on the bed, seriously uncomfortable.
"I can babysit," Jellybean says brightly.
"She'll do fine and I'll come home before she has to put her to bed," FP says.
I frown. "I don't want to go."
"Exactly. You see? That's where we should've started," Veronica says to the others, crossing her arms on her chest.
"Why is it so important that I go?" I ask.
"Because it's once in a lifetime experience, Elizabeth Cooper," Toni says, annoyed.
"Betts, if they'll take care of Millie, I'm down for going," Jug says.
"You can," I tell him.
"Baby," Jug chuckles and moves closer to me.
He's bout to touch me when I shake my head rapidly. "Don't. Touch me."
"You guys fighting again?" V frowns.
"If he touches her, they'll end up naked," Kev explains, making me roll my eyes.
"Back to the topic, guys," Kelly reminds and I lower my head again.
"Betts, why don't you wanna go?" Jug asks me softly.
"I just don't, okay? Get over it," I snap, looking at him madly. He raises his hands up and I clink my teeth together and kiss Millie's hair as he is looking at me worriedly.
"Guys, give us a moment," I hear FP saying. I sigh quietly. He gets it. I know he does. I let Jughead take Millie and they all go out of the room.
I keep looking at my legs when I feel the bed shift a little. "Why don't you wanna go?" he asks softly, already knowing it.
"I'm gonna get a panic attack and die," I answer honestly.
He chuckles. "You're not gonna die."
"It hurts to see everyone with their parents," I mumble as I rest my head against my knees, cheek against it, looking at him now. "It already hurts when you're with Jelly or Jug, but if it's room full of them..." I sigh. "I'm gonna die."
"You're not gonna die," he repeats again, his hand softly fondling my hair.
I gulp. "I'm failing myself. I told myself that I have to go out and party and all the things I did before, but I got Jughead to agree to miss our Junior prom and now I'm guilty... Homecoming is so much worse."
"It's been almost a year, Betty. And you're doing so good already."
"I hate parents," I murmur and move my forehead to rest against the knees now.
"You're a parent," he says, making me smile a little.
"I meant parents your age," I grin to myself. He chuckles quietly and we just sit like that for a few minutes. "Has it gotten better for you? Do you still think about her like I do?" I ask quietly.
"All the time," he sighs the sentence out of him. "But yes, it has gotten better. Maybe just a little, but it has. Every day you feel a little less," he adds quietly.
"So by the time I'm 80, I won't feel it anymore."
"Right," he says sarcastically, making me giggle. "Don't feel guilty about Jughead missing the prom. I'm sure he spent the night much rather with you than alone in a school gym. Plus you have another change in 7 months. That's obligatory by the way," he says, pointing his finger at me.
"It's not," I say with a frown.
"I just said it was," he says with raised eyebrows. "I don't care if you don't want to go, you're going to the prom." I roll my eyes at him with a small smile and rest my cheek back against my knees.