#the way it goes down is crystal mentions cheerleaders at an old school

[conversationaltreestump]

I think my stupidest headcanon for Dead Boy Detectives is that Charles (and by extension Edwin) does not think cheerleaders are real, and that they were made up for American movies.

[artificialqueens]

(nobody can) drag me down [gigi x crystal] - chapter 1/? - Ag98

Cody moves with his family from Springfield to Los Angeles in his senior year of high school and ends up in a project with Sam, one of the most popular guys in school. Little did he know that he was the popular one in Sam’s world. RPDR Season 12 High School AU.

AN: I decided to use the queen’s boys name in this fic, but latter one there will be some drag involved. English is not my native language, if I make some mistake, please correct me :)!

You can check the A03 of this fic. 

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

“Okay everyone, I know you guys must be very excited for this year but first things first”

The classroom became quieter as the principal Michelle entered the room and started talking as the last class of the morning finishes, demanding respect in her voice tone.

“Senior year is very exciting for us all and today I want the candidates for Senior Class President to give a short welcome speech later in the auditorium”

“But we weren’t asked to prepare anything”

“I know Veronica, but that’s the pressure a Senior Class President must be able to handle.”, the principal continues with a very sharp tone, but the students all know she meant well, “And I see some new students in the class, maybe the candidates can show the place around and make some good impressions”

The whole class looks immediately to the new student who stands out the most, after all a seventeen-year-old boy with a mullet in 2020 hair it’s not that usual even in California. Principal Michelle dismisses the class and not a minute later a nerdy looking boy, with square glasses, clearly Arabic features and a formal button-up shirt is standing next to Cody.

“Hi! I’m Darius, I’m running for Class President. You must be the new guy, what’s your name? I’ll show you around”

The nerdy guy speaks so fast that Cody almost couldn’t keep up with him. But since he was alone anyway, he accepted the school tour.

Darius was speaking so much about the school, his candidacy, and the debate club he was a part of, that Cody just nodded his head during the whole way through.

“Why did you come to study in this high school?” he asks all of a sudden to focus his attention on the mullet boy.

“I’m from a small town in Missouri actually. My family moved to LA because my dad is having some health issues and here, he can have a better treatment.” Cody tells him like it’s not a big deal, but Darius becomes quiet just saying a comforting “I’m sorry to hear that.”

They continue their way to the cafeteria in a much silent conversation now, but Darius invites the new kid to have lunch with him and his debate club friends.

“So, you’ve made a great job showing me around. But tell me, how is the environment here? Is there any student I should be careful with?” Cody asks his new, and so far, only friend as they were sitting around the table.

“Most of them are really nice, the Senior Class is full of proud nerds like me. But the athletes can be jerks.” He says while looking at their direction. “The school used to be filled with artist kids but since the LA Galaxy became a big thing, we have to put up with some of their bullshit.”

Cody follows his eyes landing in a group with some guys laughing loudly and making some jokes to the cheerleaders next to him. The boys aren’t as pumped as he imagined, but with soccer being their main sport, Cody thinks it makes sense.

He realizes all boys are wearing the sport team jacket except for a skinny, tall, brunet one. “Who’s the one without a jacket?”

“That’s Samuel, I can’t figure out why he hangs out with them actually. But I guess he’s pretty close with Charlie who is on the team”

Darius stops talking about the athletes to get back to the preparation of the welcome speech he is going to have to give soon.

As much as Cody tries to keep up the conversation and throw some suggestions in it, he can’t stop looking at the skinny boy among the jocks. There’s something about Samuel’s look that is almost hypnotizing, he just can’t stop looking at it. And every now and then Cody catches a glimpse of the boy staring at him, with a weird, confused expression. —————— The auditorium is filled with students and Cody is getting along with Darius better than he expected to. He even started to get excited with his new friend’s speech and it’s really cheering him on.

“I’ve only been here for a morning and already know you’re the best one for the job, you don’t have to worry about it” he says to his new friend seeing how freak out Darius is starting to get.

“I guess I’m the most prepared one, I just don’t know if everyone knows that”, he says in a trembling voice.

Cody pet him on the shoulder ensuring everything is going to be fine.

The first candidate is that girl Veronica and her speech just doesn’t make sense. The girl went on about how she was the best student of the class and therefore she should be the president. She spent five minutes talking about her grades and clubs she’s in but not a single welcome word or promises for what she’ll do for the class. There are some applauses after she’s done talking, but everyone just looked like they fell asleep for some minutes.

The next kid to step on stage is Michael, the captain of the soccer team, even before he starts speaking the athletes and cheerleaders are clapping and screaming his name. “Thanks guys. I’ll be quick. This is the best year of our lives and we’re gonna party through it. And if you know me, which I bet you do, you know I can throw the best parties in the town”. At that moment Cody gets a glimpse of Darius rolling his eyes out and giggles as he knows how much his friends care about this thing. “So that’s the reason you should vote for me: I’ll make prom unforgettable and I’ll make everything you guys want, literally. I’m up for anything”, He finishes his speeds in a minute or so and everyone starts screaming like they just heard the “I have a dream speech” for the first time.

It’s finally Darius’ turn, he’s the last candidate to speak today. As he walks from his seat to the stage Cody -and all students actually- can see he’s nervous. He takes a deep breath and starts talking.

“Hi, everyone! I’m Darius in case we didn’t get a chance to meet in the last years. And as my good colleague said before: ‘Welcome to the best years of our lives’. I’m as excited as all of you are, but I don’t want to be Senior President only because it looks good on my resumé – all thought that’s a big encouragement”; There are some giggles after he lands the silly jokes that’s enough for the nerdy looking guy to get the rest of confidence he was lacking. “I’m here for a much bigger reason. We all talk a lot about representativeness in our classes and I wanna apply that here too. As I’m sure you all know I’m a half-persian gay man and that’s a lot for one person nowadays. But, if I get elected I don’t wanna do the best only for our class, I wanna do the best for the youngest ones too. Because I know from a personal experience that when you’re this different if you don’t see someone like you in places of visibility you think you don’t have what it takes to get somewhere in life. So, I want to change that starting with something simple –“

He gets interrupted by a very loud “By going back to your country, faggot?” coming from the athletes’ group that just leaves Darius speechless. The principal that was sitting next to the stage gets up and shout “who said that?”. And everyone sees Darius leaving the auditorium as she makes that question. The last thing Cody hears before following his new friend is the tall brunette guy from earlier saying to someone “Why don’t you stand up and say that again you coward? Are you only brave enough when nobody is watching? Well guess what, I was”. —————— “I had a feeling you’d be here” Cody says when he finally catches Darius up, in the debate club room. When he gave the school tour, he mentioned it was his favorite place there, where he felt the most confident and safe. “How are you?” Cody says as he approaches his friends and can see the tears dropping out of his eyes.

“I’m tired of this. It’s like I’m not accepted in the persian community because I’m gay. I’m not accepted by the gay community because I’m persian. And for the rest of the world, well, that in the auditorium pretty much says it all” he says with a lot of pain coming out of his voice.

“Well, I guest I’m not allowed to speak for the entire gay community, but I embrace you one hundred percent. And I honestly prefer when you say you’re persian than when you say you’re Canadian”, the last sentence makes Darius giggle a little and that’s enough for Cody to know that it’s okay to hug his new friend.

“Don’t let that stupid jock bring you down, okay?” He says as he lets go of the hug.

“I’ll try, thank you”

“And, I don’t know if you were there when it happened, but that guy Samuel actually stood up for you. He saw who was that guy that shouted that and told the principal. I’m sure he’ll get what he deserves”, Darius seemed surprised by that.

“Well, at least there’s that. But I would rather not know who was the one that said that”, Cody nods and gives his new friend another hug, and he realizes that he’s much calmer now.

“And for the record, just in case it wasn’t clear, you’ve got my vote. I can even help you campaign, but I don’t know if it’s going to help you”

“Of course it is, I’ll be honored to have you by my side”

“You’re really that political huh? C’mon, let’s go back to there and prove them that words can’t hurt you”

Both boys laugh and get back to the last class of the day. —————— “Hey kid, how was your first day? Can you help me get some food?” Cody’s father says as soon as he walks in the house.

“It was fine, I was able to make a friend” he says as he kisses his father’s forehead and goes to the kitchen to heat up some food for him.

“Just friend?”

Cody rolls his eyes out. Ever since coming out his father has tried to show his support in every single way, it’s almost unnecessary but it’s for a good reason. He knows his father it’s just trying to be supportive even if it’s not in the best way possible.

“Yes dad, just a friend” he answers and gives his father a bowl of food, sitting on the couch next to him.

“Okay, just wanted to be sure. Thanks, son”.

He and his father didn’t have much in common, but they loved each other a lot, so Cody watched tv with him for a while just to make him company. Ever since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago, a lot changed. His father was losing his movement increasingly and his family moved to LA to get a better treatment. But that also meant a more expensive one too. So, his mom has to have two jobs and he’s got to look out for his father after school. It’s been hard the last few years, but he tries his best to stay positive and enjoy his father while he can. —————— “So, the project it’s not that hard. You guys choose someone who you think changed the world somehow and present on why you think that. But, it can’t be someone another pair had presented before. So come prepared with more than one option”

The class started to divide themselves in pairs as soon as Mr. Johnson stopped talking.

“One more thing, since this is a project to show how different people can change the world, I’ll draw the pairs so you can work with different people as well”. The whole class just makes a combined angry noise after that. The teacher asks everyone to write their names in a piece of paper, fold it and then give it to him. Then he goes on to drawing the papers to pair the class up.

“Okay, here we go Darius and Charlie, Veronica and Helen, Michael and Karl, … And that leads us to the last pair Cody and Samuel.”

Cody freezes in that second, knowing that Samuel and the athletes were the only ones he didn’t want to get paired up. But there’s not even enough time for him to think about what to say because before he notices, the teacher dismisses the class and Samuel is in front of him.

“Okay, I don’t have a lot of time so let’s get this over with. You’ll give me your number and I’ll text you my address so we can work on this in the afternoon and finish as fast as we can”

It didn’t seem to be a question, it seemed like an order, so the new student just gave him his number.

“I won’t be able to stay until late” Cody says, shrugging himself.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Samuel says with a smirk on his face that makes the other boy blush. “You have a familiar face, like I’ve seen it somewhere else” he continues and that’s the first time Cody realizes how blue his eyes are.

“Yeah I get told that a lot” he answers.

“Is that true?”

“No”

They both laugh and Samuel leaves saying he’ll see him later. But they are doing better than some of the others pairing. As soon as Darius heard that he would have to collaborate with a jock, he just wanted to die. All he knew about the guy that screamed at him was that it was an athlete, so it could be Charlie.

“Hi! So, how do you wanna do this?” Charlie said, he has a smile on his face, his hair symmetrically combed and the usual soccer team jacket over his shirt.

“Are you sure you don’t want to ask the teacher to change the pair? After all I’m just and out-of-this-country faggot as you or one of your friends referred to” Darius said in a very sharp toned that took the other boy by surprise.

“I wasn’t the one who said that. And I don’t agree with that either”

“Yeah, but I’ll bet when you see the guy who did said that in practice, you’ll just treat him like he didn’t do anything wrong”

“No, I won’t. He was actually expelled from the team and I support this decision one hundred percent” he was talking in a much sadder tone than before, when he actually was excited for this.

“And I’m sorry for what you’ve heard from him. And for not standing up for you” Darius looked at him with an incredibly surprised look, almost as if he was not understanding the words coming out of his mouth, but he continued talking. “I don’t want you to get this impression from me or the other boys from the team, we do not agree with what was said”

“Well, thank you then” was all the nerdy guy was able to answer.

“Let me make it up to you, since we have no more classes today, I’ll give you a ride home okay? Then you can text me later to see how we’re going to do this project; I’ll be free after practice” the excitement in his voice was back again.

“I don’t want to bother you, you don’t have to give me a ride home or anything”

“You won’t bother”, Charlie said and started to walk toward the door. “Shall we?”

Darius was still shocked from the conversation, but he nodded and followed the other boy.

After getting in the blue 2000 Ford Taurus, there wasn’t even a sign of a conversation, it was just a quiet ride with the radio on some pop music radio station. When they finally arrived at Darius’ house, the passenger seat door jammed, and Charlie had to adjust the lock with a slight tug. The half-persian boy just managed to say a goodbye that came out almost as a whisper after being so close to Charlie. As he walked home, he turned his head one last time looking at the other boy, who was biting his mouth as he watched Darius arrive home. He only left after he was sure Darius was inside the house. —————— Cody arranged with his father that he would be home later today, so that he could have some time to do the work at Samuel’s house. Just thinking about the boy made him nervous, but he was trying to ignore that feeling when he arrived in front of the location he had sent and rang the bell. After all, he wasn’t millennium enough to send a message instead of doing things the old way.

“I figured out where I know you from”, he said as he opened the front door.

“Huh?”

“You’re that drag queen from Instagram, Crystal Methyd, I follow you there”

And as soon as Samuel stopped speaking, Cody’s world had turned upside down.

[snelbz]

Chasing the High

Super angsty oneshot ahead, guys. Proceed with caution. I wrote this back in 2010 and decided to sub out my original character for one of our favorite Illyrians.

Once more, I’ll say this gets kind dark. I also want to give it a TRIGGER WARNING as well. There are mentions of self-harm and drug use. If these are sensitive subjects for you, you may want to skip this one.

You silently sat at the desk in the hotel room, waiting for him to come back with your precious Baby. The thing you needed to get you through the day. Unknowingly your foot taps as you sit restless, waiting for it. You take a quick glance at your watch. 2:53. He said he'd be back by 2:45. You look down at the razor blades waiting to cut it into the perfect lines your hands have such precision and speed at now. They're lying on a mirror facing up, shining your haggard reflection back at you. So frail, so thin. "That can't be me," you think.  Oh, but it is. As you were "chasing the high", your body's defenses wore down, and you dropped 35 pounds in what seemed like an instant. Skin and bones would be a compliment for you. A car door slams outside the door of the dirty motel. Slow, deliberate foot steps walk onto the sidewalk. The key slides into the door, and it swings open. He stands there, making sure you don't have anyone else in the room with you, making sure you aren't cheating on him with some gross dealer. Sex for drugs, it's an appealing idea. But right now you're content with the man in front of you. He pays for your high, he satisfies your needs, both physically and physically, and he isn't bad on the eyes. His tall silhouette is outlined dramatically by the contrast of the bright sun against the lone lamp on the bedside table. His dark hair; the way his biceps bulge when he crosses his arms; his shirt is tight, profiling his muscular, toned chest; the way his thighs look in his jeans as he decides to shut the door and walk towards you. He silently tosses a small bag of that pure, crystal white powder onto the desk. "Do you love me?" he quietly whispered. "I brought you the bane of your existence." You dropped out of high school in your junior year so you could devote time to the baby growing inside of your tiny body. You were the model student, the cheerleader, who had her entire life planned out from the moment your started middle school to your last breath. Too bad getting pregnant wasn't in that plan. Then the father of your baby decided he couldn't handle being a father, much less a daddy to a baby girl, at 17. Did he ask you to get an abortion? Of course not. Did he leave you? Why would he do that. No, instead he threw you down the stairs. Well his wish came true. Your baby girl was killed. You lapsed into a deep depression, which eventually led to your drug use. You met Azriel in the drug scene in downtown Los Angeles. He offered you a place to stay one night. One turned two, then three, then weeks, months, and now you've been with him for almost a year. He disappears every night for a few hours, with no explanation of where he goes. But he always comes back with the coke, so you ask no questions. You quickly cut the drugs into the thin perfect lines, and look at him with the eyes that give you whatever you want. He pulls the dollar bill out of his pocket and hands it to you. You quickly snatch it and bend over the desk. You inhale harshly and feel the rough powder attack your sinuses. Your blood rushes through your veins. Your heart race increases and you drop the blade, sighing blissfully. You turn to Az who sits on the edge of the bed, waiting. He knows what always comes from your adrenaline rush. You push him back onto the bed as you pull his shirt over his head.

The light filtering through the window shines into your eyes, slowly waking you up from the deep sleep you crashed into. You slide your hands across the sheets next to you, feeling for Azriel’s warm body.

He isn't there. You sit up, clutching the sheet to your chest. Your bags are gone, including your purse with your wallet, id, and the small baggy of coke you keep for when Az can’t score any. You jump up as fast as you can and try to pull your clothes on from the floor. You start digging through the desk drawers for the cell phone you stashed there two weeks ago. In your haste, something shining, golden in the sun, where your bags were the night before sparkles and glints in your eye. You reach down and pull it from where it sits partially hidden by the sheet. The golden building stares up at you. The badge is unmistakable. Four letters make you start to shake. Everything you've told him has been gathered research. Gathered research, you quickly realize, to arrest you, and others like you. Anger. Anger is all you can feel. You turn around and take a painting off the wall, smashing it to pieces. You throw the lamp into the wall, you pick up the mirror from the desk and throw it. You throw the chair through the window, glass shards rain around you and out onto the sidewalk. You scream as loud as you can. You trusted him. You loved him. But it was all an act to him, a job. You see one of the razor blades on the floor. You pick it up, and slide it harshly over both of your wrists. The feeling of the blood seeping out of your wrists makes you smile, and you laugh without humor. You rub your wrists against every surface you can, leaving bloody smears on everything. You pull your shoes on and run. You drop the blood stained badge, the drugs, the phone, and your instincts behind. Run. That's all you're thinking of. You have no idea where you're going, only that you run into deserted area and run until night fall where you drop from loss of blood and exhaustion. You fall into a slumber the likes of which you've never felt.  You do not resurface.

He sits in the diner, waiting for his back up. "It's time," he thinks. "I have to do it now." He sees the men in the black uniforms he used to wear everyday walk into the diner. He drinks the remaining coffee out of the cup, drops a twenty, and gets up to meet them. He shakes their hands. He gets in his car and leads them to the hotel room where you should be sleeping your drugs off. His car comes to an abrupt stop as he sees the door open and blowing in the wind. Bloody handprints stain it and the wall leading to the road from the old motel. He cautiously gets out of the car, and gets his gun out of the glove compartment. "To protect me from the dealers, baby," he had said, when you found the gun. A lie. It was all a lie. He slowly walks into the hotel room and sees the destruction your drug fueled rage left behind. Shining, red and gold, he sees what set you off. His badge. It glimmers in the sunlight, covered in your blood. He can almost hear your hysterical, humorless laugh as you destroy the room. He lowers his gun and looks around, for any sign of where you may have run. He walks back out into the hot sun. He gets in his car and drives the direction your bloody handprints are smearing on the wall. He drives for hours…until he sees a small, frail body, red and bloodstained on the edge of the road.

[aresaphrodites]

Into The Black Chapter Five

It’s one step forward and two steps back as Betty finds out one of the downsides of being friends with Jughead.

Betty: What are you doing?

Jughead: Considering that it’s almost two in the morning on a Tuesday? Trying to sleep.

Betty: Guess I won’t tell you about my super amazing plan then…

Jughead: …. I’m listening.

Betty: Wanna go for a swim?

Jughead: Really?

Jughead: You’re not joking around?

Betty: Meet me at the high school in twenty minutes?

Jughead: Hell yeah!

Betty smiles to herself as she locks her phone and gets out of bed. She hadn’t planned on texting Jughead and inviting him to go swim with her at Riverdale High’s pool, but she couldn’t sleep and she missed him. And since he had mentioned how much he missed it, swimming seemed like a pretty good and spontaneous idea.

She puts on a yellow bikini and slips a pair of joggers and a hoodie over it. She pauses for a moment as she figures out how to leave her house without waking up her parents. She could always use the front door, they didn’t have an alarm, but if she shut it too loudly then that might wake them up. She could sneak out through her window, but she’s never done that before and it’s a little scary. It’s not a far drop from her second story and there’s a vine on the side of the house that she can use to climb down.

“Oh well,” she says quietly to herself, “you only live once.” She walks over to her window and opens it up as she looks down. It’s not a far drop at all so even if she does fall, it won’t hurt her. Much. With a shaky breath, she swings her legs over the edge and starts to climb down. It’s not scary as long as she doesn’t look down and before she knows it, she’s touching the grass again.

She smiles to herself as she straightens up and pauses real quick just to make sure that she doesn’t see the light come on in her parent’s room. When she finally decides that she’s in the clear, she turns and starts walking in the direction towards the school.

She beats Jughead to it of course and she sits on the steps on the school as she waits for him. She decides to look through her apps on her phone to pass time. She checks her Twitter and Instagram about four different times before she finally hears timid footsteps come towards her.

“I have to admit,” Jughead says once he sees her, “swimming in the winter seems kind of crazy, doesn’t it?”

“The pool is heated,” she reassures him. “It’ll be fun! I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

He shakes his head. “No, I was reading. Another ten minutes though and you might have missed me, though.”

“I’ve been told I have great timing.”

She leads him over to the doors and uses her key to unlock them. Jughead chuckles behind her and she knows it must be from the fact that her breaking the rules seems to entertain him greatly. Once their inside she makes sure to lock the doors behind her just in case.

“I’ve never been inside here before,” Jughead says as he looks around the hallway that’s filled with the many sport’s trophies and awards that the school has collected over the years.

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s a lot nicer than Southside High, that’s for sure. There’s no graffiti on the walls.”

“Definitely not,” Betty says with a laugh.

When they finally get to the pool she’s happy to see that the pool lights are still on, leaving them with more than enough light.

“You swimming in that?” Jughead asks as he points at her outfit.

Betty pulls down her sweats and takes off her shirt before sending him a smirk. “You swimming in that?”

He grins and takes off his shirt and slips off his shoes, leaving him in just the shorts he’d worn.

“You’re going to swim in your shorts?” She asks.

Jughead’s grin grows as he takes off his shorts, leaving him in just a black pair of boxer briefs.

“Well, alright then,” she says quietly more to herself than to him. Jughead still hears her, if the laugh he gives is anything to go by.

Betty walks over to the shallow end so she can dip her feet in the water, but a chuckle from Jughead pulls her away.

“What?” She asks with a frown.

“You would get in that way,” he says as he makes his way over to the deep end on the other side. “The safe way. Live dangerously, Betty.”

“Dangerously?” She laughs. “It’s a heated pool! How dangerous can it be?”

She watches as Jughead gives her a wink before walking up to the high diving board on the deep end. She’s never jumped off of it. In fact the only one who wasn’t on the swim team who has jumped off of it was Reggie Mantle, of freaking course.

“You’re not really going to jump off that, are you?” Her own question is answered when Jughead begins to climb up the tall ladder. “Jughead, you could get hurt! Have you ever even jumped off a diving board that high up?”

“Nope,” he says carefree. “That’s what makes it fun! It’s adventurous.” He finally gets up to the top and jumps around on the board a few times. Each time he does, Betty can feel her heart rate pick up.

“Come on,” he yells down at her, “everything looks better up here.” Before she can even say anything, Jughead jumps once more before throwing himself off the end of the diving board. Betty yells out and watches as he dives head first into the water.

He eventually comes back up, throwing his head back and slicking his hair back away from his eyes. He gives Betty a crazed smile.

“Come on, Betts! You move like an old woman!”

Betty rolls her eyes before walking over to where he’s at on the deep part. She sits at the edge of the pool and gently drops inside of the water. Jughead rolls her eyes at her “safe” way of getting into the water, but she just ignores him as she paddles over to him.

“Took you long enough,” he says as he gathers her into his arms.

“Sorry not all of us are risk takers.”

“It’s a diving board, Betts.”

They float there for a minute, just smiling at each other. On a burst of confidence, Betty wraps her legs around Jughead as he holds her up. It’ll be easier for him to carry her that way. That’s what she tells herself at least. He looks surprised for just a moment before she gives him a smirk and then he’s leaning in and pressing his lips against hers.

It’s the second time they’ve kissed and it’s just as amazing as the first. Jughead’s lips are soft against hers and this time she remembered to wear her favorite cherry chapstick. Simple, but classic. If the way Jughead’s biting and sucking on her bottom lip is anything to go by, then she knows that he appreciates it.

His hands tighten around her back as he presses her against him. His chest feels broad and hard and she loves every inch of it.

He pecks her lips softly and longingly two more times before pulling away and pressing their foreheads together. They’re both a little out of breath.

“You’re full of surprises, Betty Cooper.”

“I aim to please, Jughead Jones.”

She unwraps her legs from his waist and backstrokes away from him.

“I haven’t had a nice swim in forever,” she calls over to him.

“Friends got boring?” He asks and she remembers how she told him she used to sneak in here with them.

She hums out in thought. “I suppose so. Everyone’s a bit busy with school or family stuff. It gets a bit hard to break away and just have fun especially since it’s senior year.”

“How’s that going for you? Your senior year?”

“It’s fine. I got most of my important classes that I needed to graduate out of the way a long time ago so this year I’m really just focusing on the Blue and Gold and cheerleading. Who knew senior year could be fun?”

“Who knew,” Jughead snorts. “What’s the Blue and Gold?”

“Our school newspaper. Not much goes on really, Riverdale’s kind of boring. I’m the editor, but I have help from Trev.”

“Trev?”

“My friend. He’s a great writer.”

Jughead just nods and Betty swims back over to him.

“I like writing,” he says softly, almost to himself.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s always been fun for me and I do it as more of a hobby than anything else when I have a little free time.”

“You should come by the Blue and Gold office.” She says it without thinking. The words just slipped from her mouth and Jughead gives her a wary look. Of course. How can she invite Jughead to the high school’s newspaper office without having everyone know about their relationship? Whatever their relationship actually is. “After hours, I mean. I usually stay late so…”

Jughead gives her a half smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Yeah, maybe.”  

She doesn’t know why, but she feels like she’s done something wrong. She hates how she always seems to ruin things even when she isn’t even trying. The two of them are silent for a bit until Jughead splashes her.

Her head snaps up and she looks at him with wide eyes.

“Did you just—?”

“How fast can you swim, Cooper?” He asks challenging with a gleam in his eyes.

“Faster than you can, Jones.”

“Race you!” He takes off swimming to the other end and their laughing echoes off the walls as they get lost in their silly race.

“This is cute,” Betty says as she rummages through Veronica’s jewelry, holding up a bracelet with clear crystals going all around it. It has little leaves that are a shade of light blue.

“You can have it, Daddy bought me it. It’s from Swarovski.”

“Really?” Betty asks, looking at her friend unsure.

Veronica hums in confirmation. “I never wear it.”

Betty places the bracelet on her wrist, admiring the way it shines and gleams when the light hits it just right. Her and Veronica are having a girl’s afternoon after cheer practice which kind of just means that they’re hanging out at Veronica’s house, watching TV shows and gossiping. They’d gotten tired of the shows and had moved on to Veronica reading a magazine on her bed while Betty went through her jewelry and clothes. Every time she came over to her best friend’s house, it was like she’d gotten a whole new wardrobe. There were always new things to see and admire and Betty took her time doing just that.

“So Archie asked me out.”

The gold ring Betty had been holding up falls back onto the dresser as she snaps her head around to look at Veronica who is smirking at her magazine.

“Repeat that?”

“Archie asked me out.”

Betty just stares at her best friend and Veronica finally looks up at her, a smile on her lips. The two sit in silence for a few seconds before they both get and start screaming.

“Oh, my god! He didn’t!”

“He did!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“What did you say?!”

“What do you think?!”

“Oh my god!”

“I know!”

They’re holding hands and squealing as they jump around the room. The amount of happiness that Betty feels for her best friend is unreal and she has to refrain for attacking her with a million questions.

“We finally had a long talk,” Veronica says. “We admitted that we had feelings for each other and we agreed to take things slowly and figure them out.”

“What brought this on?” She can’t help but feel a bit skeptical. Archie and Veronica had been denying their feelings for each other for years.

“He may or may not have gotten jealous over Chuck asking me out the other day.”

“Chuck Clayton?” Betty asks with a disgusted face.

“Yes! It’s not like I ever would have said yes, but either way Archie definitely wasn’t having it.”

Betty tries to imagine him as the jealous type and she laughs at the image in her mind.

“Well, I’m happy for you guys. I really hope everything works out.”

“Thank you, B,” Veronica says with a smile as she brings her in for a hug. “I hope one day you can be as happy as I am. Even if Archie and I are barely working on things, I’m already so happy. I want that for you.”

Betty smiles, aching to tell her about Jughead, but she can’t. Not yet. She still doesn’t know how she’ll react to Jughead, if Ronnie will be able to accept him. As much as she wishes she could say that she doesn’t really care about it, she does. She wants her friends to like Jughead, to be able to get along with him. She doesn’t even know if Jughead would like them, but she feels like if she could set this up in the right way then things could be perfect.

“I am happy,” Betty promises her. Veronica doesn’t have to know what has her so happy just yet, but Betty can still reassure her.

Veronica just nods and walks over to the dresser that Betty had just been seated at before. Betty walks over to Veronica’s bed and lays down on it. She’s feeling kind of tired. She’d woken up early to get to school before it opened so she could work on the Blue and Gold and it was probably well past nine now.

She looks around, searching for her phone so she can check the exact time but she can’t find it.

“Hey, Ro—.”

She goes quiet once she sees Veronica holding up her phone with a confused look.

“Who’s J.J.?”

Betty mentally curses herself, but thanks whatever higher power out there that she had decided to use Jughead’s initials instead of his actual name for his contact.

“Um…” she drags out, trying to think of a good lie.

“Holy shit!” Veronica screams. “Are you talking to Jason Blossom? Oh my god, is that why Cheryl has it out for you? No way! No way! You were not keeping this from me! You snagged the other ginger hottie? This is crazy. Archie is going to flip!”

“What?” Betty gasps. “No! No, it’s not Jason! Are you kidding me? It’s my cousin!”

Veronica gives her a doubtful look.

“Yeah, it’s my cousin,” she pauses before thinking of the first name that comes to mind, “Jackson Jr.”

“Since when do you have a cousin named Jackson?”

“He’s a really distant cousin. He lives in like Canada or something.”

“Uh huh, well the whole ‘distant’ thing might explain why he’s asking you what you’re wearing with a smirking emoji.” She gives Betty a glare and Betty’s entire face heats up.

Damn you, Jughead Jones.

“He’s just joking,” Betty laughs uneasily. “Maybe he messaged the wrong person or something. He’s weird.” She rips the phone from Veronica’s hand before her friend can do anymore investigating.

“Oh, yeah! Would you look at that?” Betty says with a chuckle. “He just texted me that he meant to send that to his girlfriend. Her name is Bertha. Hand must have slipped.”

“Okay,” Veronica drags out while giving her friend a weird look. “Whatever you say.”

“Yeah, um, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She runs out of Veronica’s room before she can say anything and before she’s even out of the house, she dials Jughead’s number.

“Hey.”

“Hey?” Betty questions. “Hey?! What was with that text?”

“Not feeling frisky?”

Something’s off with his voice and she furrows her eyebrows together.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m out with some of the guys,” he answers lazily.

“Out? Juggie, it’s kind of late. Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

There’s a loud laugh on the other line and muffled talking.

“School? That’s so cute. You would be worrying about something so mundane, little Betty Cooper, cheerleading princess.”

Betty realizes now that Jughead is obviously drunk. She doesn’t know what to do. Does she hang up and act like this never happened? She knows before she’s even done thinking it that that’s not an option for her.

“Where are you, Jughead?”

“Why?”

“I want to see you,” she says gently and sweetly.

Jughead pauses for a moment before talking.

“Isn’t it late? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“No, I just left my friend’s house,” she says, ignoring the condescending tone he was using. He was talking to her the same he’d talk to her when they first met; like she was a little girl.

“I’m at the Whyte Wyrm,” he says easily and Betty’s eyebrows rise up in shock. She knows that place, of course she does. It’s a biker bar on the Southside and it’s known for being where all the Serpents hang out. It’s not the kind of place she ever wants to step inside of. She wouldn’t ever step inside of it, but she’s worried about Jughead. She’s well aware that he can take care of himself, but she doesn’t care. He’s drunk.

“Can I go see you?”

“Where were you? Whose house were you at?” He asks a bit roughly.

“Veronica’s.”

It’s quiet for a few seconds before he speaks again.

“Okay, you can come. I’ll be here.”

“Stay where you are, okay? Don’t go anywhere.”

“Laters, Bett.”

The line goes dead and she grits her teeth at the way he just hung up on her. A million thoughts run through her head. Why would Jughead drink on a Thursday night? Who was he drinking with? Who were these “guys” he was with? Serpents obviously, but were they his age or older? And most importantly, how stupid was she going to look walking into this bar in her cheerleading practice clothes? These clothes are hardly appropriate to be wearing to a bar, especially when it was kind of cold outside and all she had to cover her up was a thin jacket of hers. It was going to be obvious that she stood out like a sore thumb. Honestly, what was she thinking asking Jughead if she could see him?

She’s grateful that she decided to ride her bike to Veronica’s. Riverdale might be a small town, but she really didn’t want to have to walk all the way to the southside so late at night. She just wanted to get there, get Jughead, get him home, and then go home herself.

With the way speed she’s going at, she doesn’t get to the bar too late but she’s also way out of breath and feeling kind of scared. She can see the multiple bikes standing up against the wall. She wonders if Jughead’s is one of the ones there. There are a few guys standing around outside, but none of them seem to take notice of her just yet.

“Okay,” she whispers out to herself as she gets off her bike, “you can do this. It’s just a bar.”

She makes her way towards the entrance and it calls the attention of the group of guys near it. A few of them catcall her, but they mostly just laugh and taunt her. Her cheeks burn at the attention, but she refuses to acknowledge any of them.

She’s here for Jughead.

The bar smells like cigarette smoke and alcohol. It’s overwhelming and she nearly walks right back out. She’s never been around people who smoke and now she knows why. The smell is terrible.

“Hey, guys, would you look at this!” She turns to the side and sees a guy in his late twenties/early thirties smiling over at her, drunkenly. “Looks like we got out very own Riverdale cheerleader in here.” A couple of guys look over at her, but most ignore him.

“What are you doing in here, princess?” He’s speaking directly towards her now, his voice low. Betty’s heart rate picks up as she tries to back away from him. “You’re not scared of me, are you? You shouldn’t be. You’re the one who came into my bar.”

“Back off, Mac.” A sharp voice comes from behind them. Betty doesn’t think she’s ever been so relieved to see Jughead, even in his current state. His eyes are bloodshot and he’s currently holding all of his weight against a pool stick. “She’s mine.”

The words have this Mac guy backing off immediately and Jughead comes closer to her, but Betty backs away. His? Since when was she his? Who says she even wants to be his? She doesn’t know what that even means, but if it means that she has to always come rescue him while he decides to get drunk on school nights, she doesn’t think she wants the title.

“Betts?” He asks her. A couple of guys laugh around them and Betty wants to know what’s so fucking funny. Nothing about this is funny. Not the fact that she was clearly just harassed and none of them did anything about it and not the fact that an underage kid is clearly drunk off his ass.

“Let’s go,” she snaps as she grabs Jughead by the arm and tugs him out of the bar. He’s laughing behind her as he stumbles all over himself.

“What’s wrong, Blondie?” He asks playfully once their outside and far away enough that no one can hear them.

“Don’t call me that!” She yells out at him. His eyes widen as he sees that she’s not laughing along with him. “What are you doing? It’s nearly ten thirty at night and you’re at a bar drunk? How are you even drinking? You’re not twenty-one! Have you been smoking?”

“And what kind of people are you hanging out with?” She continues. “I was harassed like five different times in that bar and no one did a single thing about it! Are those the kind of people who you want to be associated with? That’s what you’re so proud to wear across your back?”

“Betty, they’re not all—.”

“I don’t care if they’re not all Serpents!” She says, exasperated. “You obviously knew that guy since you knew his name! And what kind of name is Mac? Seriously?”

Jughead’s giving her an empty look, as if he couldn’t careless about any of this and she just sighs.

“Let’s just get you home, okay? I’m tired.”

“Are you going to stay with me?” Jughead asks softly.

Betty just wraps his arm around her and lets him support his weight on her as she attempts to lead them to the direction of his house. She doesn’t answer his question.

The rest of the walk is made in silence and soon they’re at what Betty assumes is Jughead’s home.

“Is anyone home?” She asks him as she helps up the steps to the trailer.

“Nope,” he answers her. “No one’s ever home.”

She doesn’t know what that means, but she doesn’t ask. Jughead isn’t in the right state of mind to be telling her anything.

The door’s unlocked and they go inside. Jughead walks over to a room in the back and Betty follows him, watching as he falls asleep on the bed almost immediately. She stands and stares at him, wondering if he’ll even remember any of this in the morning. She debates whether she should just leave him there but decides against it. With a sigh, she walks over to the bed and takes off Jughead’s shoes and jacket. He’s still in his jeans and shirt, but it’s a lot more comfortable than he just was. She goes into the restroom and searches around for some Advil or something like it. She finds it soon enough and grabs the bottle and a glass of water, placing both of them on the bedside table next to Jughead.

She looks at the sleeping boy and doesn’t know what to feel. How could he be the same boy she had been with the night before? What could change that would make him want to get drunk like this in public? Does she even want to find out? She knew that being friends with a Serpent would be tricky, but they weren’t exactly friends anymore, were they? She didn’t know if she could handle that and then whatever this was. She didn’t know if she wanted to handle it.

With a heavy heart she walks out of his home, remembering that she left her bike over at the bar. She doesn’t really want to walk anywhere right now. It’s late, she’s tired, and she doesn’t feel great.

She takes out her phone and calls the one person she knows is least likely to judge her right now.

“Hey B, it’s kind of late right now. Everything okay?”

“Kev, I need you to come get me and I need you to not ask me any questions, please.”

She rattles off where she’s at to him and she can tell he’s curious, but he won’t ask.

She sits on the sets and waits with her head in her hands and she wonders just what the hell she’s doing.