Protection
I was wondering if you could write a story about Jughead getting protective over Betty
Requested by nostalgicdays
“Even when I’m a little overprotective?” “Even then” She said and kissed him again.
“You did what?” Jughead demanded
“Juggie, it’s no big deal really.” Betty said shrugging her shoulders. Jughead put his hands on his head and took a few steps away, trying to calm himself.
“You broke into someone’s car, a someone who is not who she says she is and might be dangerous. It is a big deal Betty.” Jughead took a few deep breaths and turned back to Betty who was watching him curiously.
“I thought you’d be thrilled, I proved that Ms. Grundy is a fraud and that she has a gun. That’s a pretty big story.”
“Betty we have no idea who this lady is, or why she is pretending to be an old lady that died. We don’t know why she is here or why she has a gun. She could be dangerous. You shouldn’t be so reckless.” Betty took a step back, looking like she had been slapped.
“Reckless? You’re one to talk about that Jughead” She put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a stare. Jughead knew that she was thinking of all of the crazy stunts that he had pulled over the years. Knowing she was right, he immediately started back peddling.
“Okay,” He put his hands up in the air in a sign of surrender. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I won’t Juggie, I was being careful and smart. I knew Ms. Grundy, or whoever she is, was in a private lesson so she wouldn’t find us. Besides, I brought Veronica with me.” Jughead laughed and stepped closer to Betty.
“Ronnie is pretty fierce, but still…” Jughead wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him. “I would prefer it if you took me along with you next time you decide to go somewhere crazy.”
“Are you going to protect me?” She asked teasingly. Jughead leaned down and kissed the smirk off of her face.
“Always”
*****
Jughead had just pushed the door to Pop’s open when a figure ran past him, knocking him sideways. He was so surprised that it took him a few seconds to register who it was.
“Betty?” He called after her, but she was sprinting across the parking lot at full force. Jughead was about to follow her when the bell jungled and Archie ran outside.
“Betty, wait!” He yelled at her retreating back, but Betty just kept on running. Jughead whirled on his friend,
“What happened?” He asked in a deadly soft voice, trying to remain calm.
“God, Jughead, I’m so stupid. I didn’t mean it.” Archie looked distraught, but it did nothing to quell the anger that Jughead was beginning to feel.
“What did you do?”
“We were just talking, you know. Betty was upset because her mom was railing on her again. And she said something about how she wished she could be more like Polly because Polly never took any of their mothers crap...and I…”
“What did you say?” A pit was forming in Jughead’s stomach
“I just said that Polly wasn’t exactly someone she should emulate...It was a stupid offhand comment. I shouldn’t have said it.”
“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have said it!” Jughead was yelling now, but he didn’t care. “You know how much this situation with Polly is killing her. More than she’s letting on to anyone. You can’t just say things like that about her older sister!” “Look, man, I know. I need to go find her. I need to apologize.” Jughead grabbed the front of Archie’s jacket and pushed him against the wall.
“I think you’ve done enough for tonight. I’m pretty sure she won’t want to see you right now.”
“She’s my friend too you know, get off of me” Archie shoved Jughead, sending him back a few paces.
“You’ve got a funny way of showing it.” Jughead was halfway through shoving Archie back when a voice rang out,
“Stop it, both of you.” Both boys froze and turned to look at the speaker. Betty stood a few paces away, she had tear tracks down her cheeks, but her expression was one of anger.
“Betty, are you-” Jughead took a step towards her but stopped when she put a hand up.
“I came back to apologize to Archie, I overreacted and I’m sorry. My sister’s just a touchy subject.” “I know, I’m sorry Betty, I shouldn’t have said that. I know how much you look up to your sister. She’s your big sister, you are allowed to look up to her.”
“Yeah, well you were right. She isn’t exactly the poster child for mental health right now.” Betty said with a smile.
“So are we good?” Archie returned her smile
“Yes, let’s go finished that milkshake. But I’ll have to meet you inside. I need to talk to Jughead first.” Archie headed back into the chock’lit shoppe. Jughead suddenly found himself unable to meet Betty’s eyes.
“I’m in trouble aren’t I?” He mumbled, kicking a stone on the ground.
“Darn right you are, what the hell was that?” Betty’s voice shook with anger. Jughead forced himself to look up, meeting her glare.
“I was angry...he hurt you.” Jughead shrugged hopelessly, knowing that he had overreacted. Betty stepped forward and took his hands, her expression softening slightly.
“Juggie, this whole overprotective thing is sweet, but it’s a bit much. I love that you are looking out for me, but not when it escalates to the point where you are shoving your best friend.”
“You’re right, you are absolutely right.” Jughead said nodding. He reached up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “You just mean so much to be, I hate to see you hurting.” His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing over the soft skin. Betty leaned into his hand.
“Hey, I’m not saying you can’t feel protective over me, hell, I feel protective over you. But this overprotective and overbearing stuff have got to stop. Okay?”
“Okay Betty, I’ll try” Jughead whispered. Betty leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips, then she pulled back and pushed him towards Pop’s.
“Good. Now go apologize to Archie.” With a groan, Jughead did as she asked.
*****
Jughead woke to the sound of his phone buzzing. He picked it up and saw that Betty was calling him.
“Betty?” He asked sleepily. He looked at his clock and saw that it was 2am. Jughead sat up in alarm, considerably more awake. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Y-yes, I mean not really....I mean, I’m on your front porch, can I come in?” Betty’s voice was shaky and Jughead could tell that she was holding back tears. Jughead made his way as fast as he could down stairs. The second he opened the door, Betty was in his arms.
“Shhh, shhhh. It’s okay. It’s okay.” Jughead hugged her close for a moment. Then, he pulled away to inspect her. Her eyes were red and puffy, but other than that she looked unharmed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jughead took her hand and led her up to his room, putting a finger to his lips as they passed his mom's room. Luckily, they were she was a sound sleeper. Jughead guided Betty to the bed and sat next to her, rubbing her back as she cried. When her sobs subsided he asked her what had happened.
“My mom...I was up late finishing a paper. She woke up and noticed my light was on. She came in and immediately started berating me, telling me that I should’ve already had the paper done and that if I weren’t so focused on my social life things like this wouldn’t happen...It was awful Juggie, she just kept going on and on. She was talking about how there I tried to defend myself, but at the end I was crying to hard. Then she just left. She took my laptop, shut off my light, and left.” Her voice was shaking, whether with anger or hurt, Jughead wasn’t exactly sure. He pulled her into a tight hug. What he wouldn’t give to be able to take away all of her hurt, to be able to protect her. “I’m so sorry Betty, she shouldn’t have said those things to you. They aren’t true.” He whispered, trying to soothe her.
“But what if they are? What if she’s right and I am focusing on things that aren’t important and jeopardizing my future?” Betty pulled out of his grasp and stood up. She started pacing, wringing her hands together.
“Betty…” Jughead said gently but firmly. “You have almost a 4.0 gpa, plus you are balancing both cheerleading and running the Blue and Gold. I’m pretty sure you could get into any college that you wanted. Plus you are only a sophomore, your mom should let you enjoy high school without having to worry about what’s next every second.”
“You’re right” Betty stopped pacing and turned to look at him. “I hate that she can get to me like this.”
“God, I wish I could just march up to that woman and tell her how amazing you are. Tell her that with all of her nitpicking she is missing the things that make you perfect.” Jughead said frustrated. Betty let out a breathy laugh and wiped tears from her eyes. She came over and sat on Jughead’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I’d like to see her face if you did.”
“I’m serious Betty, I wish there was some way I could protect you from her.”
“This is enough Juggie” Betty said kissing his cheek. “I have to learn to stand up to her on my own, and you give me the strength to do that.
“We could run away, just the two of us together” Jughead suggested jokingly, sensing that Betty was feeling better. Betty laughed and raised her eyebrows at him.
“Maybe in a couple years, but for now we should probably finish high school. Plus, we’d miss our friends too much.”
“Eh, you’re probably right,” Jughead said with a smile
“Thank you Juggie...” Betty kissed him softly, “for always protecting me.”
“Even when I’m a little overprotective?”
“Even then” She said and kissed him again.
Thanks for reading! My asks are still open for prompts! I have a few waiting so it may take me a little while to get to them, but I promise I will!
