Fight Club (Jughead Jones x Reader)
Prompt: Jughead and reader have a huge fight, resulting in a break. Betty tries to make a move while they’re on break.
Warnings: none, that I can think of.
Pairing: Jughead x Reader
AN: This one especially sucks. I have no excuse for that.
To be fair, this wasn’t the first time Jughead had been late to anything. But it was in fact, the first time that he had been late to what could be considered the most important meeting in your year and 3 months of dating.
You and Jughead have been having a rocky relationship the past month or so. With all his work on the Blue and Gold, he was swamped with writing stories and articles. You were proud of him, but you missed him. Even if he could just do his work with you, while you both sat in a booth at Pop’s. It’d be better than nothing.
So you took the initiative, you called and texted (half of those would go unanswered). When you did make plans to meet up, something would always come up. The most popular response was that he was working on cracking the Jason Blossom murder, and Betty had needed his help. The excuses got to even him saying that he was “too tired” to hang out.
If he did show up to hang out, it would be close to your curfew time, to which you had to leave before he arrived. When he would arrive (and the meeting place usually was Pop’s), the melted chocolate milkshake was sitting there, whipped cream dripping off the side. Pop would give him a pointed look, one of those ‘you screwed up’ looks, and Jughead would just sit in the empty booth, head in his hands, trying to call you, text you, have any form of communication with you. You’d just ignore it though, like the countless times he has, and cry in bed.
Now you wouldn’t let yourself cry, wouldn’t let yourself succumb to the tears threatening to spill down your smooth cheeks, which were hot with anger. You wouldn’t let yourself show him how this was making you feel.
“(Y/N),” you hear from behind you, and see Jughead. The tension in the air was hazardous, threatening almost. You break the stare that had formed, and he sat across from you. This time, there was no melted milkshake, nothing was there to separate the both of you.
“Jughead…” you began, “Have I possibly done something to upset you?”
He looks at you quizzically, before responding “Well, no. Why?”
“Then why,” you don’t respond to his question “have you been freezing me out? When was the last time we have seen each other, outside of classes?”
“Woah, you called me here so you could yell at me?” he asks defensively, and you snort.
“How else would I have seen you? How else would I have been able to talk to you about what I’m feeling?”
“You’re not talking, (Y/N). You’re dictating.” he says, and your eyes turn black, face turning almost purple in anger now.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?!” you ask, gaining the attention of some of the other patrons in the small diner. Jugheads eyes widen slightly, not expecting your outburst.
“There are other people-” he starts but you cut him off.
“I don’t give a shit about the other people, Jughead! I give a shit about you! About us! But obviously you don’t. I’m nothing but a bother to you anymore, so I feel like this, whatever is between us should be put on hold until you figure out what you want.”
He obviously wasn’t expecting you to say that, because his eyes went wide and you could see him swallow hard.
“(Y/N), you don’t mean that?” He asks hoarsely, and you cross your arms, keeping your face unreadable.
You nod once, “I do” you say, and grab your bag to stand up “Call me when you’ve figured out what you want.”
You storm out, earning the glances of the customers in the small diner, and begin your trek home in the brisk cold.
It’s been a few days since you last saw Jughead. Every time people see you at school they give you a look, noting that you and the boy you loved weren’t together.
You walked into your shared class period, a free period thankfully, with your headphones in your ears and your eyes deep in a book. You didn’t turn the music on, you’ve noticed that just popping the tiny speakers in will make people leave you alone. Unfortunately, that also means that you can hear everything going on. Including Betty’s flirtatious giggle.
You look up to see her practically leaning on Jughead, giving him her big doe eyes and biting her lip in what was supposed to be flirty. You saw it though, as a slight annoyance, and when you looked to Jughead’s face he saw it as the same.
He looked insanely uncomfortable, as did Veronica and Archie, sitting across from the two.
“Betty what are you doing?” You heard Veronica whisper to Betty, and Betty turned around.
“Since (Y/N) and Jughead broke up, I finally decided to act on the feelings I have for him.”
“Betty how do you know Jughead and (Y/N) broke up?”
“‘Well,” Betty starts “they haven’t been hanging out like they usually do, and they haven’t spoken in awhile.” She says, turning back to Jughead.
You watch her moves closely, noting every action she makes. Her hand inches closer to his, and once she intertwines hers with his is when you snap.
“You’re seriously going to make a move on my boyfriend when I’m right here?” You ask, making eye contact with Betty. She snaps her hand away and begins her apology. You don’t hear any of it though and look at Jughead.
“You didn’t even stop her. If you wanted to fully break up all you had to do was say so.” You croak out, tears welling up in your eyes. You promised yourself you’d NEVER cry in front of people, and you weren’t going to break that promise now. But you felt the wetness straining against your lashes, and you pack all of your things up and leave.
All the while, Jughead sat there like a deer in headlights, never moving.
Once you leave, Archie looks to Jughead.
“You guys were still together?” He asks, and then shakes his head “Whatever happened man, you need to go and get your girl.”
Jughead nodded at this, standing up and grabbing all of his stuff, blatantly ignoring Betty’s apologies and going after you.
You were already almost home by the time Jughead had caught up to you. You hadn’t even made it a block closer to your house when the tears spilled, making their way across your cheeks.
“(Y/N),” you hear a breathless voice behind you, when you spin around you see Jughead, his beanie almost falling off. You roll your eyes, turning back around and continuing on your trek towards the comfort of your bed.
“(Y/N), stop!” Jughead had never been much of an athletic person, and when he caught up to you you could hear how much he exerted, his face flushed the deepest red. He bent over, placing his hands on his knees, and took several deep breaths. You stand there, not saying a word, watching him.
Once he regains his breath he stands up straight, and then looks at you.
“What the hell was that?” He asks, voice raised slightly. You go straight into defense mode.
“You’re joking right? What about you? Letting Betty throw herself at you. Is this like getting back at me or something?”
“I didn’t even know she was flirting with me until she held my hand, and I didn’t get a chance to say anything because you did it for me.” He says, and you frown.
“How could you NOT know that she was flirting? You spend all your time with her, it has to be obvious!” You shout, your normally small and timid voice echoing through the neighborhood.
“I didn’t realize because all I think about is you!” Jughead yells “From the moment I wake up, until the moment I go to sleep, even in my dreams, the only thing I can think about is you. I am numb without you, without your touch. I miss feeling you next to me, miss the smell of your hair and the way you laugh at the stupidest things. I know I don’t always say this stuff, it’s hard for me to let my emotions out, but with you, I can’t control how I feel. I love you so much (Y/N). More than you’d ever know.”
By this point you were crying. How could you not be? This was the first time Jughead had expressly told you how he felt, and you were on Cloud 9.
“Jughead-” you started to say, in between your sniffles. But he cut you off, pressing his lips to yours, feverishly. It had been a while since you two shared a passionate kiss like this, and it still made your heart race, a whole year later.
“I don’t want to talk. I want to go cuddle and relax with my girlfriend… if you’ll still be my girlfriend.” he says sheepishly, and you smile, playfully smacking his arm.