Riverdale Ships One-Shots// ON HOLD

Only The Young

Bughead version of Shooting Star from Glee, based off of the second verse of Only the Young by Taylor Swift, which details school shootings, vaguely. If you are sensitive to these issues, you may want to skip this one. I won't be offended, I promise. :) Also, I'm literally out of ideas so someone suggest some.

--

From the age of three, there was nothing anyone could do to break the bond shared by Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones. The two walked, ran, and jumped through life together, both being pretty good athletes. Betty was a gymnast, cheerleader, and dancer, and Jughead was a football player, baseball player, and basketball player.

They would go to each other's games, meets, competitions, everything, and were each other's biggest fans. When Betty's dad died, Jughead reminded her she couldn't stop living. When Jughead's mom left in the middle of the night and left him, FP, and Jellybean to fend for themselves, Betty offered to babysit JB when the boys had to work. It wasn't only the bad moments they were there for each other, though. Each time Betty won a dance or cheerleading competition or a gymnastics meet, Jughead was there, cheering for her louder than anyone else. Each time Jughead won a football, baseball, or basketball game, there was Betty, either as a cheerleader- his own cheerleader, he'd joke- or in the stands, cheering him to a victory.

Like I said, they were best friends. But there was always the energy between them that made you feel like you were third wheeling a couple; this connection, comfort. The way she would always rest her head on his shoulder and he would reach for her hand, it wasn't platonic. Anyone with eyes could see that, anyone with even a hint of realization saw that.

So none of their relationships worked out, each person saying that they were just a replacement for either Betty or Jughead. The one with a broken heart would be comforted by the other and the heartbreaker wouldn't be spoken to for three weeks minimum. It was the rule. Their rules were their Bible, not to be broken.

The top, most important rule there was, was protect each other at all costs. As they were only juniors in high school, no one really expected it would be that serious. Fight someone, let the other copy your homework, basic stuff, right?

That all changed on February 14, 2018. Riverdale had an active shooter for the first time ever. No drills had ever happened to prepare the students, so, as sane people, they panicked and ran into whatever classroom they found.

Except, Betty and Jughead had already been in the auditorium, hanging out in the back, behind the curtain. They spent their free period there each day, talking and doing homework.

On that fateful day, it was Valentine's Day and both got a present for the other. They had feelings for each other, as had become painfully obvious, even to them. Think late season 2 friendship Derek and Meredith from Grey's Anatomy for an idea of how they interacted.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Juggie," Betty said to him when he showed up, ten minutes late, to the auditorium. He noticed her bag, and she noticed his.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Betts," Jughead smiled at her before deciding to kiss her.

The two kissed for at least a solid forty seconds before a sound echoed through the auditorium. "Did you invite a hot date?"

"Well, I did invite you, didn't I?"

"Jones, this isn't the time for your sarcasm. Now, what was that sound?"

It was a sound Jughead and Betty recognized the second time; gunshots. They both knew how to handle a gun, but didn't ever use a gun outside the range. Too much a shot of screwing up and killing someone.

"I know you're in here!" The voice, which sounded familiar, shouted. Betty couldn't place the voice, but she recognized it.

"Juggie, I'm scared," Betty whispered into his ear.

Cuddling her closer, he whispered back, "Don't be scared. I'm here. No one's going to hurt you on my watch."

She let herself be comforted as more gunshots tore through the auditorium. Faint screams were heard from what she thought was the band room. They were the screams of kids, the screams of her peers. It didn't matter how much she hated someone, none of them should die. Especially not like this.

"Just start telling me who you are, and I'll get out of your hair," the gunman shouted again. Nick St. Clair. That's who the voice belonged to.

They didn't want to die without telling everyone they knew they loved them, and that's exactly what they did. Firing off texts, fending calls, everything was all happening so fast.

The one thing they didn't want to go to the grave with was their feelings.

"I know this is really inappropriate timing, but do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes."

♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋

Idfk anymore and that was a horrible one shot.

Later loves,

~Ry