Silence. The blonde said nothing for a long time, her features clearly working to process what she was hearing. Her hands found themselves clasped and positioned neatly on her thighs, keeping hidden away from him. Blue eyes no longer met his, her gaze was set downcast.
Jughead was supposed to hate it at South Side, to hate being away from her, from everyone. The opposite turned out to be true. It was hard to deny the fact that people shunned him at Riverdale High which wasnโt right by any means. South Side was more welcoming and somehow she was surprised to hear that.ย
Something snapped hearing that.ย โTheyโre not just like you, Jughead. They arenโt even close.โ No one was just like him, he was unique at least in her perspective. It wasnโt possible, she didnโt want to accept that he supposedly fit in better there. He couldnโt be like the people at South Side.
Now her eyes faced him, determination and a sort of fierceness flooding her expression.ย โYou belong here, Jug, you belong in Riverdale and at Riverdale High.โ Fingers curled in harder and she could feel the beginnings of pain in her palms. Still, she ignored the feeling and persevered. Her voice had begun to rise, filling with a passion that was incrediblyย Elizabeth Cooper. What high school they were at didnโt determine how they were together, neither did what side of town they lived on.
โI donโt know how you can say that.โ Brows drew inward in denial.ย โItโs not obvious.โ If he was the only one that could see it, how was it obvious? She could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes which she attempted to hold back.ย โWeโre stronger than this, Jug.โ
โHow can you say that?โ He retorted, his tone pointed and sharp, โHow can you say any of that?โ Jughead shook his head some as he tried to reel in his emotions before they got him in an even worse situationโif that was possible. He took a moment, taking in a short breath and swallowing against the words building in his chest. Jughead didnโt want this to turn into a full blown argument, especially in the middle of Popโs.
โBetty, you and I both know that I belong in Riverdale just as much as you belong in the South Side. Iโve always been the outcast thereโand yeah itโs a role I accepted---but in the South Side Iโm not an outcast.โ The teen tried to explain, his expression a cross between pleading and anger. It was a frustrating thing to tell someone you loved that you feel comfortable somewhere and for them to tell you the opposite, that he really belonged in a place that was, at times, a small piece of hell. Heโd lived most of his life in Riverdale and surrounded by people who lived there, heโd never known anything else. Arriving at South Side High Jughead realized that there were other options.
โAt South Side High Iโm not looked at like a criminal because of my Dad or Iโm not teased because I donโt come from the best of financial backgrounds. They just call me by my name instead of โFreakโ.โ He continued, his eyes boring into hers in search of some kind of understanding. He needed her to grasp what he was talking about, her more than anyone. Why was this so hard?
โYou know, typical things that majority of people in Riverdale wouldnโt get.โ Jughead couldnโt keep the edge of bitterness filtering into his voice. He just couldnโt see how they were on opposite ends of the spectrum now.
โThatโs where weโre different, Betty and I donโt think strength has anything to do with this now. Itโs fact.โ ย
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