#abettybug

[therealthingisworse]

Movies | | @abettybug

"Orange or raspberry?" Jughead asked, looking down at his son who was buzzing with excitement next to him.

"Raspberry, please," Theo replied with a sweet smile, his blue eyes shining.

"Okay, make the one small raspberry and a large orange please. Oh, and a pack of M&Ms," Jughead told the teenager working at the concession stand, taking out a couple of bills from his wallet. The concession stand at the cinema was one huge rip-off, but he could never stop himself. A proper movie experience couldn't go without snacks. Even if it was just a kids movie. There was probably a huge group of parents who would judge him for pumping his son full of sugar with the soda and candy, but he was not going to beat himself up about it too much. He could hardly say no to the little boy when he looked at him with pleading eyes.

Today, especially, he wanted to give him a little treat for a successful first week at new school. While the first day was preceded with some anxiety, when Jughead came to pick him up he was pleasantly surprised to see Theo happy and smiley, excitedly chattering away on the whole way home. Most of his experiences from the first day included a girl called Maddie Rose who supposedly came up to him and told him she wanted to be his best friend. Jughead's smile grew especially wide at that part. The rest of the week passed in similar fashion and by the end of it Theo was excited to go to school every morning and Jughead found himself getting excited as well. He tried to tell himself it was just because he was happy for his son finding a place where he felt comfortable, but he knew it was also because he was secretly hoping to run into Betty. They hadn't had a chance to have a proper chat since that time at the coffee shop and even though he managed to attend his first PTA meeting, he was still more of an outsider who was there to observe and make sure it was really something he wanted to join. It seemed like majority of the parents there were really proactive, stay at home moms or parents who had a lot of experience with this sort of stuff, which left him feeling a bit insecure and unsure whether he was the right fit.

"Daddy," Theo whispered as he pulled on Jughead's sleeve to get his attention while the father tried to balance the snacks and drinks in his hands.

"What is it, buddy?"

"That's Maddie. My friend from school," the boy said, pointing towards a little group of people and when Jughead looked in the direction his son pointed him to, his eyes were immediately drawn to Betty. 

"Do you wanna go say hello?" Jughead asked.

"I don't know," Theo replied sheepishly and Jughead gave him a soft smile. His son was no social butterfly, that much he got from him. So Jughead always tried to push him just a little to try to talk to people so he wouldn't become a friendless loner like his dad."C'mon, let's go say hello to your friend and her mom," Jughead prompted him and with a little nod from Theo they headed towards the little blonde girl and her mother. As they got close to them, Jughead cleared his throat and smiled. "I didn't know there were going to be real life princesses here tonight."

[therealthingisworse]

Pop’s | | @abettybug

@abettybug

When Jughead spontaneously decided to ask Betty and her daughter to join him and Theo at Pop's, he tried to keep his hopes down. Surely, she already had some sort of plan for their afternoon. Betty definitely looked like the sort of person who had her life together and her weekends planned. So when she agreed to his suggestion, probably heavily affected by her daughter's excitement about the idea, he was equally surprised and happy. And a little nervous, if he was being honest with himself. It was one thing to sit so close to her at the cinema where she wouldn't notice him constantly glancing at her or the way his cheeks grew uncharacteristically red whenever he thought she was looking at him. Outside of the cinema, the strange feeling he got whenever he was near her would be much harder to conceal. Pop's, the dinner Jughead and Theo like to frequent after every visit of the movies, is only a few minutes away from the cinema and the walk goes by fast as all of them chat about the movie. Every time Jughead writes a review for an animated movie, he likes to add some of Theo's own opinions on it, which is something that the readers who also have kids highly appreciate. After all, a five year old is probably a better judge of movies like that anyway.

The moment they walked in, Theo sprinted towards their usual booth, calling Maddie to sit next to him. "I guess we're sitting next to each other again." Jughead gave Betty a sheepish smile before sliding into the booth opposite his son who was already studying the menu. While he could read most letters now, Jughead knew he was just pretending the read the items because much like his dad, Theo wanted to order the same thing every time. "I'm sorry, maybe I should've warned you, but they have nothing healthy here," Jughead said with a sudden realization, hoping Betty wasn't one of those moms who only fed their children organic vegetables and judged those who weren't doing the same. Though Betty didn't seem like the judgmental type, he had a strange need to show himself in the best light in front of her.

"Can I have a hamburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake, please?" Theo interrupted Jughead's train of thoughts, punctuating his usual order with a wide grin.

"I swear I feed him vegetables at home," Jughead said quickly, cursing himself as he felt his face heat up for what seemed like no reason. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

[therealthingisworse]

Goodbyes and first meetings  | | @abettybug

"Do I have to?" Theo asked in a whisper, tugging on Jughead's hand. That morning Jughead had attempted everything he could to make his four year old son excited for the first day at the new preschool. He let him have his favorite cereal for breakfast while watching cartoons, let him choose his own clothes and bring his favorite toy - a stuffed dog called Hot Dog. Jughead hoped that transferring to a new preschool would be easier than the very first time he started attending one, but Theo's pleading eyes were saying otherwise.

"Hey, what's the matter, buddy?" Jughead asked, crouching down to be on his son's level. "I thought you were excited. Remember when we came here last week? And you saw all the cool toys and books? You couldn't wait to play with them."

"But I want to play with you, daddy. You're my best friend," Theo said and Jughead felt his heart squeeze and tears form in his eyes. He quickly blinked them away. If he was the one to burst into tears, he could hardly persuade his son that preschool was nothing to worry about. 

"I know, I know." Jughead nodded as his fingers brushed Theo's unruly hair from his eyes, just for the curls to fall back immediately, just like his own. "But you're gonna have so much fun here and learn so many new things. You like that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Theo replied.

"But don't just play alone. Try to talk to some kids and make some friends. Even if it's just one," Jughead said encouragingly. He knew very well what it was like to be in a group of people you didn't know and how sitting in a corner with a book was easier than trying to befriend them. But while the introverted and somewhat lonely lifestyle suited him well, he wanted his son to get out of his comfort zone a little and play with kids his age.

The little boy nodded before burying his face in his father's shoulder and Jughead gave him a tight hug. "Dad, I can't breathe," Theo said after a couple of seconds and Jughead reluctantly pulled away, not wanting to let it show that he was going to miss his son at least as much as he was going to miss him.

"Right. We need to get you to the classroom." One more time Jughead double-checked that Theo had everything he needed and took his little hand into his, savoring the few extra seconds it took them to walk from the changing room to the classroom door where the teacher was already waiting for the newest member of their class. "Be good, okay? I'll be back before you know it," Jughead said and with one more kiss to his son's head, he finally let go of his hand.

He watched through the window to the classroom as the teacher led him to a small table where two other kids were already sitting, willing himself to look away and leave, but it was harder than he thought. Maybe Theo wasn't the only one who had trouble saying goodbye.