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seungmoroll · 3 years

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Heather | Han Jisung

Word count: 5.2k

Genre: slight angst, fluff, realization of feelings

A/N: this is the second part to Minho’s Heather, so if you haven’t already, you can read it here, though it’s not really necessary to read it. you can also read the other member’s here.

F/n = friend’s name

Jisungs POV

“No.”

“But-“

“No.”

“What happened to providing the best service to your customers?”

“Jisung,” they lock eyes with me before they continue their sentence, “I am not going to give you a large cup filled with pearls.”

“But I’m willing to pay for it.” I give them my best puppy dog eyes in hope that they’ll give up their resolve. I had a plan, and I refuse to let Y/n get in the way of it.

“Yeah, but I’m not willing to clean up the mess you’re going to make.” How did they know what I was going to do with the pearls?

“I-“

“I know exactly what you’re going to do with those tapioca pearls, and as much as I would love to see Changbin suffer, I refuse to clean up the boba you plan on spitting out at him.” Dang, they were spot on with my plan.

“Fine.” I reluctantly say. A look of content settles on their face, “Good.”

“I’ll just wait until Minho comes out.” A frown quickly replaces the look of content on their face. “No you will not.”

“Did I hear my name?” Minho pops out from the back room, making me quickly change my plan of attack. I will get the boba.

“Nope, no you didn’t. You can head back to the back room.” Y/n quickly says, trying to get Minho to leave.

“There’s my favorite CuTea worker,” I say in attempt to butter Minho up. I can feel the glare Y/n is giving me, but I ignore it and continue at my attempt to get my cup of boba, “Minho, you’ll get me a cup of pearls, right?”

He gives me a smirk, “Oh, we spitting them at Changbin?” This is why he was my favorite worker…right after Y/n.

“No, stop it right now. You do know that if you give him the pearls, we’re,” they motion their hand between the two of them, “the ones that are going to have to clean it up.”

Minho takes a moment to think before he tells me, “Yeah, sorry bud, I’d totally give you some, but I got places to be after work.” By places, he meant wherever Doyeon was, we all knew. Deciding to change the topic for the sake of Y/n, “Right. Y/n,” focusing my attention on them, “you doing anything after work tonight?”

Leaning against the counter, they say, “Uh yeah, going home to lay in the comfort of my bed.” Great. This meant good for me.

“Well not anymore.”

They quirk their eyebrow at me in confusion, “Excuse me?”

“You didn’t let me finish. Let’s go out.” This time it’s Minho who quirks his eyebrow at me, which I choose to ignore as I focus on Y/n. There’s a weird expression on their face, and then that’s when I realize that what I said sounded a bit weird.

“Like let’s hang out. You and me…as friends. Not like going out out.” I’m just making it worse and more awkward, aren’t I?

“I’d like to Sung, but I’m tired, and I need my sleep.” Oh, you have no idea how much I love it when you call me that name, Y/n.

“Then how about another time this week?”

“Hmmm, what about Wednesday?” That was two days from now.

“Wednesday? I can do that. You working that day?”

“Yeah, but I got an earlier shift, I’ll be done by 5.” Oh? This is working awfully well for me. I’m internally jumping up and down and pumping my fists, but externally I try to play it off nonchalantly.

“Great, it’s a date.” Keyword try. “Not like a date date, but you know.” Y/n starts to giggle at my way of trying to escape the awkwardness, and I swear that that was the sound you hear when the gates of heaven open. However, it sadly ends when the door opens, alerting the shop of a new customer. Getting out of the way for the customer, I stand off to the side of the counter, where Minho is suspiciously looking at me.

“Is there a problem? Is there something on my face?” I quickly grab my phone from my pocket to check myself through the reflection. Fortunately, there’s nothing, but it would’ve been so embarrassing if there was while I was talking to Y/n. Instead of responding, Minho just chuckles and shakes his head.

Before I can say anything to him, the door opens again, and I see that it’s F/n. They approach the three of us at the counter, “Hey guys.”

“Hey F/n.” Y/n’s angelic voice says. Minho gives them a curt nod.

“What can I get for you today?” Y/n asks F/n.

“Let’s see, I’ll have a strawberry banana smoothie with pearls.” Speaking of pearls, I open my mouth to say something to F/n, but Y/n stops me before I can get a single word out. “Don’t even think about it.”

In a second attempt to ask F/n, they cut me off, “I don’t want to know, nor do I want to participate in it.” Their response makes me visibly shrink.

After paying for their drink, F/n says to me, “We should sit down and get to work.” F/n and I were currently taking geology together, and we were paired together to work on a group project. We’ve been working on it for the past three weeks, and I was the one that had suggested we work on it at CuTea. Though, F/n wanted to work on the project at the library, but I like to believe that my cute charms made them change their mind.

Parting from Y/n and Minho, we go and sit down at a table, with me making sure that I have a good view of Y/n. It’s not like I creepily watch them or anything, but I enjoy those small moments when we meet each other’s eyes. However, I’m sure those moments mean nothing to Y/n. When Y/n approaches our table to serve F/n drink, I focus my attention on them as the smile brightly at me and walk away, back to behind the counter with Minho.

“So we only have these last few things to do before we can submit the project, and you’re not even listening to me.” A hand comes into view, bringing me back to focus on F/n. I can tell by their face that they’re not happy with me.

In attempt to make them happy, I tell them, “I was totally listening to you.”

They roll their eyes at me, “Sure, you were.” Playfully, I grab the straw wrapper that was on the table and ball it up, throwing it F/n for not believing me. They manage to dodge it and playfully glare at me.

“You like them, don’t you?” Confused, I tilt my head to the side in attempt to try to figure out what they mean.

Sighing, “Y/n. You like them, it’s obvious.” My eyes widen in shock at their statement. I’m not that obvious, am I? Maybe I should be surprised that F/n. They picked up on the smallest things, like the first week of us working together, they pointed out that I like to stuff my cheeks while I eat.

Leaning closer towards them, in case Minho, or worse, Y/n could hear us, “Is it?”

“You don’t treat me the same way you do them, so yeah, it’s quite obvious.” Of course I didn’t treat them the same.

“That’s because you’re you.” I could tell by the look on their face that my answer did not satisfy them. “I mean-“

“Don’t finish that sentence.” I slowly shut my mouth to prevent anymore words from spewing out of my mouth. I really need to work on thinking before speaking, it’s going to be a big problem for me one day.

“You plan on telling them?” I choke on my spit after hearing their question. After I manage to not die 7 feet away from Y/n, I look at F/n in bewilderment. Of course I thought about telling Y/n, but I shut down the idea every time. There were many obstacles in the way, and to be quite frank, I don’t think I can go around them.

“I don’t have a chance.” They cock their eyebrow at me encouraging me to continue.

“They like Minho. Liked Minho. I don’t know. Either way if they liked Minho then I definitely don’t have a chance.” I could definitely say that Minho was what everyone wanted in a man. He was handsome, smart, funny; he was even a good cat dad, which is what I found out from him after he spent half an hour showing me pictures of his cats. He was basically the whole package.

“Han Jisung. Don’t you dare put yourself down like that. You’re an amazing, sweet, funny guy, anyone that doesn’t like you has a problem.” I knew F/n was just saying that to make me feel better, but it was still nice to hear. However, I can’t help but squint my eyes at them in suspicion, “I think that was the nicest thing you’ve said to me, are you okay? Are you sick?” Reaching out, I place my hand on their forehead to check their temperature. Weird. They’re pretty warm. I can see them looking up at my hand in bewilderment, then all of a sudden, I feel a small tinge of pain in my arm. Clutching said arm, I dramatic express my pain, “Ow, what was that for?”

Instead of the devilish look I was expecting, there was what I think to be a hint of embarrassment on their face. I don’t know, but their face was quickly reddening.

“Hey, but seriously are you okay, you’re pretty warm and your face is turning red.” They quickly grab their face to hide it, “I’m fine, it’s just hot in here.” I checked the thermostat that’s located on the wall and see that it’s only at 70 degrees, which wasn’t hot at all, but decide against saying anything. Alternatively, I push their drink towards them, “Here take a sip of your drink.” Quickly they do as I say, and once they’ve taken a long sip, they say, “Let’s get started on this project.”

We spend about an hour and a half working on the project, and I can proudly say that I actually focused on my work and not Y/n. Though I was very much tempted when I heard her laugh, probably from what Minho said. Eventually we call it a day, with only a few small things that we have to go over remaining. “So when’s the next time we should meet? It’ll be the last time we have to work on this stupid project.”

“How about Wednesday? I was already planning on coming here, so we can just meet up here and finish everything up.”

A snicker escapes from their mouth, “You come here so often, aren’t you worried that it might seem odd?” I did think about that once, but I’ve already came up with an excuse in case anyone asked. “Don’t worry, if anyone asks, I just really like the drinks.”

I’m 100% sure that I hear the word obvious come out from their mouth. I can’t get a word in because Changbin comes barging in the door, “Jisung c’mon, get your butt moving.” Looking at Changbin then at Y/n, who’s by the counter with a knowing look on their face.

“You sure I can’t get that cup?” I ask Y/n.

Giggling while shaking their head, she says to Changbin, “It’s your lucky day, I saved you.” He cocks his head, unsure of what’s happening. As I come up to him, I tell him that it’s nothing.

The following day was possibly one of the worse days I’ve experienced. I had slept through my alarm causing me to miss two of my classes and then when I went to get lunch with Chan, I spilt my soup all over me. Which is why I decided to stop by CuTea, I needed to see Y/n to make my day better.

I barge into the door expecting to see the beautiful face that belongs to Y/n, but instead I am met with the sight of Minho at the counter. Confused, I look at the time on my watch and see that Y/n’s shift should have started already.

“They’re not here.” Minho says to me, continuing, “They took the day off.” I instinctively pout because I won’t be seeing Y/n today, meaning that I had to wait another day to see their angelic face. Instead of turning back around and leaving, I order a drink and as I wait for Minho to make it, he starts a conversation with me.

“You know that I know right?” Tilting my head, confused as ever, I watch as he slightly shakes his head at me. I had no idea what he was referring to.

“I know you like Y/n.” My eyes widen at his statement. Was I really that obvious? He was the second person to tell me that this week. Oh no, if Minho knows, then that means Y/n most likely knows too. Seeing the panic on my face, Minho reassures me, “Don’t worry, Y/n is oblivious. They don’t know.” I let out a sigh of relief. “Or maybe they do, and they choose to ignore it.” I can’t tell whether he’s joking or not, but either way, I don’t appreciate it.

“Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you.” Minho hands me my drink, and I eye him suspiciously as a take a sip of it. I’m sure he wants to laugh at the look I give him, but he goes on to say, “Why don’t we sit down and talk.” I hesitantly agree, but that’s because I’m slightly scared of him.

Sitting down at a table, I refuse to make eye contact with Minho. He keeps on giving me this look and I don’t know what it means, nor do I like it.

“There’s something else that I know.” Now looking at him, I can tell that what he wants to talk about it serious. “I know that Y/n likes me.” Oh. That’s not what I was expecting. So he knew? I wonder if Y/n knows that he knows. Maybe they didn’t want to tell me because they felt embarrassed.

Feigning innocence, I ask him, “Does she now?” He could be trying to play with me, and I wasn’t going to fall for it.

“Quit that, I know you know.” Well he’s no fun.

Quickly stopping my act, I ask him, “How’d you find out?”

“I’ve known for a while now. It was kind of obvious.” He wasn’t wrong there. Even I could tell before I started talking to Y/n. Hm, that’s something that we had in common, being obvious. Wait, now is not the time to focus on our similarities.

“Why didn’t you do anything about it?” I wasn’t mad or anything, well maybe just a little bit, but that was because he knew all along and never said anything to Y/n.

“I didn’t want to hurt them.” Is the excuse he gives me.

“It might be too late for that,” I sharply say.

He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, “Yeah…I know. Look, I didn’t want to reject them and break their heart. I really like them as a friend and I just didn’t want to ruin that. Plus, I really like Doyeon.” That last part wasn’t necessary to add, but I don’t say anything about it. Instead I ask, “Why are you telling me all of this hyung?” Minho and I weren’t that close. Outside of Y/n and CuTea, we never talk to each other, so why would he tell me this?

“Like I said earlier, I know you like Y/n.” I had no idea where he was going with this conversation. “I think you should tell them.”

“No.” Why was everyone telling me to confess? Is it try to embarrass and ruin Jisung’s life week or something?

“And why not?”

“Because…” I look away from him as he sits there and waits for my answer. “Because?” I can’t believe I was really about to tell him this. I mumble out my answer, not wanting him to understand a single word I said. “Jisung.” I didn’t appreciate the tone he said my name in, but I also knew that I was being a bit childish.

“I said, because they don’t like me, and I don’t want to get rejected.” You can’t blame me for being scared of being rejected, I’m human after all.

“And what makes you think that will happen?”

“Did you just forget about our conversation earlier? They like you, not me, so of course I’m going to get rejected.” How many times do I have to say that Y/n like Minho? It’s starting to get annoying, especially since I have to say it to Minho himself.

“Who’s to say they don’t like you too?” What kind of question was that? There was no way that Y/n could like me.

“Did you like snort all the sugar back there or something? Y/n doesn’t like me, at least not in the way I want them to.”

“You won’t know until you do something.” That’s it, he was definitely crazy, either that he wanted me to see me suffer.

Instead of responding, I get up from my chair, “I should get going.”

“Leaving so soon?” This conversation was starting to get repetitive for me and I didn’t like it. I didn’t come here to make my day worse. I don’t respond to him once again, so he asks me, “Got things to do?”

In attempt to leave me alone, I say, “Yea, something like that.”

“Like confess to Y/n?” I don’t have to look at him to know that he’s smirking. I’m sure that if I were to turn around and face him, that my eyes would literally shoot daggers at him.

“Not going to happen.” I make my exit from the boba shop, and as make my way home, I can’t help but think about the conversation I had with Minho.

Today’s the day. The day I get to hang out with Y/n outside of CuTea. Yesterday might’ve been the worse day ever, but there was no way I was going to let anything ruin today. F/n and I were meeting up at 4 to finish up our project, and then I’ll be heading out with Y/n. We agreed to go to a restaurant to get dinner and then to the park just to talk. I’m bringing my skateboard because one time they mentioned how they wanted to learn how to ride one, so I thought this might be a chance to do so.

When arrive at CuTea later on that day, another worker is working the counter, I think their name is Sana. I’m assuming Y/n is in the back room. Once Sana has taken my order, I choose the same table from Monday to sit at, waiting for F/n to arrive.

Once they arrive, I motion for them to come sit down and slide a drink to their side of the table, “Here, I ordered your drink for you already.”

“Oh. Um, thanks.” Pulling out their laptop from their bag, we get started on the finishing touches. I didn’t bring me laptop since I was going out, so we had to share F/n’s laptop. After we finished what needed to be done, we reviewed everything to make sure that everything was there, but I was struggling to see the screen, so I grabbed, F/n’s chair and pulled it closer to me. I could tell that they were flustered from my action when they asked what I was doing.

“I can’t see the screen.”

“Oh. Um, sorry. Is it better now?” Nodding my head yes, we continue to review the final project. Though something feels off about F/n, it’s like they were emitting anxiousness.

“Hey are you okay?” They’re surprised by my question, but I can tell that there are other emotions they’re feeling.

“Jisung,” pause, “I like you.” Uh, did I just hear that right?

Turning to face my whole body towards them, I ask, “What are you going off about?” I wish that I didn’t turn because then I would’ve missed the way the visibly inflated.

“You can’t be that dense, Jisung.” Honestly, I didn’t know what to say to them.

“I’m sorry, but-“ they cut me off, something that everyone seems to be doing lately.

“Don’t. Don’t’ apologize. I know, you like Y/n. I get it. I just wanted to let you know.” They begin to pack up their stuff as a way to escape my stare.

“When?”

I can tell that they’re taken back from my question, “When what?”

“When did you start liking me?” There were no signs of F/n liking me, but then again not everyone was obvious like me, but still I should have been able to pick up on something.

“Around the second week of us working on the project.” It’s been over two months, and I didn’t even realize it. Well this is awkward.

“Well now that the project is done, we can stop hanging out with each other.” I watch as they get up from their seat and try make their way to the door. Getting up, I follow them, stopping them before they could leave.

“Hey, wait up. What do you mean stop hanging out?”

“Jisung, outside of this project, we would have never talked. We belong to two different circles.” It’s true. F/n’s group was more academic than Changbin, Chan, and I combined, but it’s not like you can’t hang out with those not in your circle.

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true and you know it. Even if you didn’t like Y/n, I would have never had a chance with you. You and I both know that.” I could tell that F/n was starting to get frustrated with me, but I could let them leave without resolving whatever this was.

“Why do you have to say it like that? Why are you making these assumptions?”

“Because it’s true Jisung. I’m not your type and it’s clear to see with Y/n.”

“Just because I don’t reciprocate your feelings doesn’t mean we have to stop being friends.” I liked hanging out with F/n, I didn’t want to stop talking after the project was over.

“Yes it does. I can’t stand sitting right beside you and you having your eyes glued on Y/n, and with that being said, I’ll see you in class.” They barge out the door as I stand there unsure of how to take in the situation. I look around and I see that no one else in the shop was paying attention to us, or at least they stopped before I could notice. I sigh in defeat, but a voice brings me out of my mood.

“Hey, did F/n leave already?” I slowly turn around to face Y/n, quickly changing the expression on my face and giving her a bright smile. I guess it was already 5.

“Yeah, they had some other things to get to.” I didn’t actually know if they did, but I’d rather not tell Y/n what just went down, “You ready to head out?”

The restaurant I decided to take Y/n out to was not even a restaurant. It was actually a food truck. I thought Y/n would’ve liked it better than any other place, and I was right because they love the Korean tacos they had. Since it was a food truck there were no actual chairs, so we sat on the sidewalk, talking and grubbing. If I were to be honest, I loved every moment of it. It was nice to talk about something that wasn’t boba related. I got to know Y/n more and vice versa. They also pointed out that I liked to stuff my cheeks with food and called me a chipmunk, and I couldn’t help but blush when the casually wiped a piece of food that was on my face. I would’ve been embarrassed, but I was too focus on the fact that their thumb was that close to my lips and that their hand felt so warm on my hand.

Once we were both done with our food, I offered to throw away the trash, and when I walked back to Y/n, I saw that they were scrolling through Instagram and saw the photo that was displayed on their phone. It was a picture of Minho and Doyeon. Making sure that they knew that I was approaching, I saw that they had quickly turned off their phone. When I reached them, I said, “To the park?”

Luckily the park was only 2 minutes away from where the food truck was. We had been walking in silence, until I saw a set of swings. Pointing at the swings, I ask, “Should we sit there?” Nodding their head, we make our way to the swings.

Once seated, the silence comes back.

“So…”

“Don’t bring it up Jisung.” So they know that I saw their phone. However, I try to act clueless, “Bring what up?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“So I’m going to take that as a no then.”

“No?”

“No, you’re not over Minho.” Great. I really had to ruin the mood for the night by bringing this up, but I had to know the answer.

“Jisung-“ This time it’s my turn to cut off their sentence.

“No, it’s fine Y/n. I get it, you need time and Minho hyung is a cool guy, so of course you’re not over him yet, but I hope you know that there are other good guys out there. You shouldn’t wait for one specific fish when you could get others.”

“Jisung, let me talk.”

Something inside me had sparked, and for some reason I couldn’t stop my mouth from moving faster than my brain. “No Y/n, let me get this off my chest. I like you Y/n. Crazy, right? We’ve only been friends for like three months, but I’ve fallen completely head over heels for you. You know, the first time I went into CuTea with Changbin and Chan and saw you behind the counter with your cute little cap and apron, the first thought that came to my mind was ‘Wow, they’re beautiful.’ And ever since that day, I would come into CuTea every time the others went because I didn’t want to miss the chance to see you. Yes, the other two knew about my little ‘crush’ on you and tried to encourage me to say something to you that wasn’t my drink order, but I didn’t have the guts to do so because I knew you were out of my league. And then one night I came into the shop by myself after having a stressful week and I just wanted to hear your voice, even if it was for a minute, but I saw you in tears, and it broke me to see you like that. This might sound weird, but I’m thankful I saw you crying that night or else I wouldn’t have been able to talk to you. And talking to you makes my day, heck I was having the worse day yesterday, and decided to go to CuTea to see you, only to see Minho and then have that stupid conversation with him that has now landed me here.” After that long rant, I take a deep breath. I refuse to look at Y/n instead, I look up at the sky and focus my attention on the moon.

“Are you done now?” After I nod my head they continue, “I know that you like me Jisung.” What. “I’ve known for the past two months.” Again, what. “You’re quite obvious.” At this point, I’ve twisted the swing so that I could face my whole body towards Y/n, and when I do, I see that they’ve already done the same and that they’re looking at me with those beautiful eyes.

“I-“

“Stop, I’m not done. I don’t like Minho anymore. I stopped liking him a month after him and Doyeon got together.” This was news was brand new to me. Y/n hasn’t really talked about her feelings for Minho as of lately, so I wasn’t sure how she felt, but I guess I know now. “I also like someone else now.” Oh. I’m pretty sure that cracking noise I just heard was my heart.

“Oh, I see. Do I know them?” Why? Why do I like to put myself in pain?

“Yeah, you know them really well.” Great, it was someone that I knew. Wait.

“It’s not Changbin is it?” If it was Changbin, I think I would just cry and laugh at the same time.

“Ew, yuck no, it’s not Changbin.” Good, Y/n is out of his league anyways.

“Chan hyung?” Chan hyung made sense, he too was what every person wanted. I don’t think I could get mad at Y/n for liking him.

Shaking their head no, they say, “It’s not him either.” If it wasn’t Chan or Changbin, then I wasn’t sure who Y/n could be talking about.

“The person that I like is funny, outrageous, sincere, confident,” I couldn’t think of anyone that matched the description, “they also stuff their mouth with food like a chipmunk.” Oh, wait. It takes me a moment to process their words. Are they-are they talking about me?

“Yes dummy I’m talking about you.” I think I need a moment. Y/n just said she liked me. Wait, “I need you to say it.” Y/n gives me a confused look. “I need you to say that you like me.” If they said it, then I can confirm that I’m not making this whole thing up.

“Han Jisung, I like you.”

“You like like me?”

They roll their eyes at me, but still respond, “Yes Jisung, I like like you.”

“Oh. That’s cool.” One second I’m sitting on the swing, and the next I’m on the ground. Y/n just pushed me. “Hey what was that for?”

“What kind of response is that? ‘Oh. That’s cool.’ Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, happier?” Ah, I see where I went wrong. Getting up and dusting off the dirt, I stand in front of Y/n with my arms wide open. Hesitantly, they get up from the swing and wrap their arms around me. Giddily, I encase them in my arms and lift them up. I instantly fall in love with the squeal they let out.

“Han Jisung put me down!”

“No. It was a trap, and now that you’re in my arms, I’m never letting you go.” I give them a tight squeeze, causing for another squeal to escape from them.

“But I thought you were going to teach me how to use a skateboard.” That’s right, I was. Gently putting them down, we make eye contact and I can’t help but look shyly away. They giggle because of my timidness, but I see them shiver due to a small gust of wind. Quickly I take off the hoodie I’m wearing and shove it towards them.

“Here, take this.” They look at me unsure before taking it from me.

“But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me, I got something else to keep me warm.” I wrap my arm around their shoulder, pulling them closer towards me.

“I like shy Jisung more than I do bold Jisung.”

“Well lucky for you, you can have both.”

Yeah, today was definitely a better day than yesterday.

A/N: ah, sorry that it took so long for this to come out! 🥺the semester is coming closer to the end so it’s beginning to get hectic, but I've finally managed to get this out. I decided to do something different this time and wrote in Jisung’s POV. what did you guys think of it? also this came out a longer than I expected, but I really like how this turned out. like always, I appreciate any comments or feedback, so feel free to leave a message.

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cheryllclayton · 7 years

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Sometimes It's Not What It Seems

It had been five years since Jughead had last laid eyes on the Welcome to Riverdale sign, except then he was going in the opposite direction, with high hopes of finding something better, or more so, of hoping to make something better out of himself.

He still remembers the days before he left his old life behind. Tears streaming down the beautiful blondes face as he walked away from Pop’s Diner that night. He thought it was the right thing to do, hell he still thinks it was, maybe not for him but for her. She was too bright, too kind and far too good for this world and definitely far too good for him.

Since his mom left, taking his sister JB with her, his dad started drinking heavier and falling further and further in with the Serpent’s. This in turn made the dangers ever more present. After Fred Andrews was shot, he heard the whispers and the rumors of the coming of an uprising between the North and South sides of Riverdale. Even though Fred survived, there were some folks from the north that were convinced that it was a Serpent who fired the gun.

He started hearing the not so empty threats against northerners as well as against any southerner who didn’t want to fall in line. It had become far too risky for him and Betty to be together, especially since he had no intention of joining the Serpent’s in the impending battle against the north side.

Jughead knew that there is no way Betty would leave him behind after graduation and go off to college and better things if they were still together and if anyone deserved to get out of Riverdale it was Betty Cooper.

His heart broke open as she told him she loved him and begged him not to leave her. He tried to explain the dangers to her but she just wouldn’t listen. In the end he ended up having to be far more harsh then he ever wanted to be. The shock and the hurt in her eyes when he yelled at her will forever be imprinted in his mind.

He could still picture it so clearly,

“Just leave it alone, Betts! Leave us alone! I can’t be with you, it’ll never work and you know it! We are on borrowed time Betty! Forget about me just like I’m going to forget about you, just walk away!” he threw the words harshly in her face.

Her eyes widened, mouth dropping in shock, as the color draining from her beautiful face. It was then that he knew it worked, not because the shock on her face but the silence and tight lipped looked that followed.

I could see the way her fists clenched, knuckles white as she squeezed them to find the release she used to cope whenever life got away from her. I wanted so badly to reach out and uncurl her hands but I couldn’t risk touching her, not if I planned to follow through with this.

She let out the breath she was holding and spoke in a voice so devoid of emotion it almost broke his whole resolve right there.

“Fine” she whispered, “if you want to be left alone Jughead then so be it. But one day you may wake up and realize that you have pushed everyone that loves you away and that you are terribly alone. For your sake I hope I’m wrong”.

She looked at him with what looked almost like pity, and with a curt nod and a “Goodbye Forsythe”, she turned away and walked right out of his life.

The following week was the hardest days of his life, it took everything in him not to contact her, to see her, to throw himself on his knees and beg her to take him back. Betty was right, he was alone, his dad hadn’t been home for three days now and he just pushed the best thing that ever happened to him away.

By the end of the first week he knew he needed Betty, almost as much as he needed air, but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he let his world corrupt her. He would not jeopardize her safety and potential. That’s when he made the decision to leave Riverdale. If he was ever going to be who she needed him to be, who she deserved, then he needed to get out of here.

So, that’s what he did, he spent long hours doing extra assignments which allowed him to graduate a few weeks before everyone else. He applied to every college that he thought would take him and for every scholarship he could find. He ended up getting accepted to a community college in a small city five hours away, he even pulled in a decent scholarship that helped fund his first semester.

He watched Betty and the rest of his classmates from afar as they accepted their diplomas, cheering as they threw their caps in the air before getting into the beat up truck his father let him take and leaving Riverdale behind.

***

After all he had accomplished, he was still terrified as he drove back towards his hometown. He wasn’t the same boy who left but would that matter to people? Or would they still see the south side in him? In the five years he’d been gone, he had done what he’d set out to do. He got an education, graduated college with a literature degree and was now, at 24, a published author with a steady income. But his stomach still tightened with nerves, especially when he thought about Betty.

He had lied to her face all those years ago, for he hadn’t forgot about her, not in the slightest, if anything it was like his mind took a picture and kept it there permanently, the one thing keeping him going anytime he felt like quitting.

He still remembered the lines of her face, the bright sea green of her eyes, her laugh and the way her golden hair glowed in the sunlight like a halo. And god, the way she smelled like vanilla and strawberries, the way she tasted, they way her body curved, he groaned just thinking about it.

He had heard through the grapevine that she was living in Riverdale, whether she ever left or not he didn’t know, he hopes she did but he couldn’t get anything further on her. Even though him and Archie kept in touch over the years, not like they used to, but they would talk and touch base over the phone once in a while, Archie was always vague and quick to change the subject when it came to Betty and he was definitely not forthcoming with any information.

Really, Jughead couldn’t blame him, he was Archie’s friend but Betty was his best friend and Jughead had hurt her terribly. It took Archie a long time to even agree to speak with him so he could try to explain himself, and even longer for Arch to forgive him. Jughead had broke her and then took off leaving Archie to pick up the pieces. He may have forgave him but he still maintained that Jughead is and was a total idiot. Again, he can’t totally disagree.

But he was different now, worthy and ready to beg for her love and forgiveness, he just hoped he wasn’t too late. He was totally swinging in the dark here, Betty could have a boyfriend, a husband, even children, he has no idea what he’s walking into.

All he knows is if there is a chance that she could love him again then he was willing to fight for her, regardless of what her life may hold now. If Betty would entertain the idea of loving him, even just a little, then he needed to try, Betty was it for him, she always was and always will be his one and only.

***

It was already late when he drove into town, coming up on 12:30am, he definitely wouldn’t be making any visits tonight. Deciding the best thing to do would be to track down his dad and talk his way into a bed to crash in, until morning.

It had been quite a while since he had spoken with his father and even when he had, FP was never a man of many words. But if history served him right, the most likely place that he would find Forsythe Pendelton Jones II at this time of night would be the Whyte Worm.

He pulled up in front of the bar and put the truck in park and when he swung out he started a bit at the way it had changed. Nothing drastic, esthetically, it still looked a lot the same but newer in a way, cleaned up, more established. The facade of danger and dirt that used to go hand in hand with the biker bar was gone….it appeared almost….welcoming.

Shaking his head, he bounded up the steps and through the door. He was surprised to find it fairly packed and not just with leather jackets but with everyday people. Older people, couples, college kids…all mingling and conversing together. This was something he’d never seen before, never thought he’d see, especially here.

He was halfway to the bar when he heard “Well, I’ll be damn, look what the cat dragged in!”

Jughead turned towards the voice and spotted one of his dads oldest friends grinning at him from behind the counter. Sauntering over to the bar and plopping himself on the stool he turned towards the large man “hey Viper, how’ve you been?”

“Still on this side of the dirt” he joked.

“It’s good to see you kid, what brings you back to town after all this time? FP never mentioned you were coming.”

“Unfinished business” he replied “and I never told him actually, so I’m sure he’ll be surprised to see me, is he hanging around here somewhere?”

“Just a sec” he said and turned to yell at the guy playing pool, “Hey Snake, FP still here?”

“Nah, he took his old lady and left, they had that look in their eyes” he smirked, “I’m sure you won’t be seeing them again tonight” he laughed.

“You know she would make you eat your words if she heard you call her old lady” Viper replied

“I know” he chuckled “but she’s currently busy and none the wiser” he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows while the boys behind him hooted and laughed.

“Boy, one of these days she’s going to throttle you” a guy named Ferrett interjected with a laugh.

“And I’ll love every minute of it!” Snake replied with a wink.

Viper shook his head and turned back to Jug, “Well I guess you missed him, kid”

“Old lady?” Jug asked with a raised eyebrow “When I left FP could barely hold a job, or anything besides a beer, how’d he land a woman?”

“He never told you?” Viper asked with raised brows and Jughead shook his head

“Your old man quit drinking, it’s been about three years now. Cleaned himself up, took some classes, saved up some cash and about a year ago bought the garage at the edge of town. Even fixed up the trailer, added an addition to the back. He’s like a whole new man” he said as he clapped Jug on the shoulder “you should be proud, and he couldn’t have done any of it without her you know. She stuck by him all the way through, supporting him and helping in any way she could, first as a friend and then, in about the last six months, as something more.” Viper grinned as he talked about her.

“She’s got everyone here wrapped around her finger if you can believe that! Helluva woman, lucky bastard” he smiled.

Jughead was speechless, mind whirling, he’s not sure how many seconds or even minutes passed before he finally came back to earth.

“What the hell happened in the last five years, Viper?!” he croaked out.

Viper looked at him confused, “I just told you” he replied.

“No, not just with dad, but with this whole town, this bar, everything!” he flustered out, “It’s like I drove into the twilight zone. Everything seems calm, peaceful even, they’re new shops and houses littered throughout the town, the air abundantly lacking the tension that clouded it when I left. Even here,” he gestured with his arm across the bar, “the look, the clientele….it’s all….new and improved.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you son, a lot can happen in five years” he shrugged.

“Once Sheriff Keller removed his head from his ass and started following actual leads, arresting the right people, the feud started to fall away, tempers and grudges forgotten, assumptions stopped. It took a while, a long while, before it got to where it is now, but besides the odd tiff between neighbours, we’re pretty much back to your boring ordinary small town” he concluded.

Puffing out his chest, he added “even the Serpent’s are on the up and up now, all business is completely legit, no more shady dealings” he finished with a large grin on his face.

Wow Jughead thought, he didn’t know what he was expecting when he came back but this was not it.

“Any way” Viper chuckled, “how about a drink?”

Jughead didn’t drink much, or often but he could use one or maybe two while he digested the new information. Plus, he didn’t see any rush to head over to the trailer, especially with what the guys just said. He didn’t need to be the instigator of any awkward interruptions like what the Serpent’s did to him and Betty back in high school. He remembers being not too pleased about it then and he imagines FP would feel the same way.

“Sounds good, i’ll take a beer” Jug answered.

Viper popped one open and slid it across the counter to him, “it’s good to have you back Jug”

“Thanks man, so how’s the Mrs?”

***

They carried on that way until lock up around 3:00am. Jug waved and said good night and hopped in his truck. It was still too early to wake his dad or anyone else and was wondering what to do next when he stomach answered for him with a loud growl.

“Good choice” he said looking down, “Pop’s it is”

Soon he was pulling up outside his old haunt, now this felt like coming home. Old vinyl seats and a juke box still in the corner, all bathed in a neon glow. Man, he had spent a lot of hours here growing up. The bell chimed as he walked in, signaling a customer to Pop’s who stepped out of the kitchen.

“Well I’ll be, my best customer has returned” said the older man with a kind smile.

“Hey Pop’s, place hasn’t changed a bit” he sighed with relief.

“Why fix it if it ain’t broke, right? What’ll be, still the usual?”

“That sounds great, thanks Pop” he answered and then turned to walk to the back of the restaurant to his favorite booth.

He sat down and a wave of nostalgia hit him, he had some good memories here he thought as he ran his hands over the table. This is where he started his first book, spending hours writing, sometimes sleeping or hanging out with the gang but his favorite moments in this booth were had with Betty.

Whether they were talking and laughing, or cuddling together their bodies so close you couldn’t tell where he ended and she began or just quietly enjoying each others company. It became their booth, their corner of the world and now that he was here, boy, did he miss that. He could only hope that he would get the chance to experience that again.

He was broke out of his thoughts when Pop’s set a double bacon cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake in front of him. Just the smell alone had him salivating. He grabbed the burger and took a large bite and groaned. Yeah, things here in his corner of the world had definitely not changed.

***

Jug glanced at his watch, it was now 6:05am. He had spent the last 3 hours eating and typing away at his next story on his laptop. He even snuck in about an hour nap with his head tucked in his arms on top of the table. But he was still tired, which was further confirmed by the giant yawn he let out. He got up, stretched, straightened his beanie on his head and figured that it was time to pay his father that visit.

He tossed some bills on the table and shouted a “See Ya later Pop” back into the kitchen and walked to his truck.

Sure it was still early, the sun just rising over the horizon and the sky still a light shade of pink, but he was hoping the door would be unlocked or that the key would still be sitting under the old welcome mat. Maybe he could slip in without waking anyone, and if not, oh well, his exhaustion and the call of a warm bed was enough to make him risk the wrath of FP Jones.

It didn’t take long to reach the Sunnydale trailer park and he noticed right away that it was another thing that had changed in Riverdale. Gone was the run down park full of rusty trailers, oh they were still there, they just weren’t rusty, old and dilapidated. Instead, most, if not all of the trailers had been refurbished and cleaned up, along with manicured lots, added additions and new siding. The sight went along nicely with the new ‘Welcome to Sunnydale” sign that hung over the entrance in an arch.

When he reached his family trailer his jaw dropped. Viper wasn’t kidding, there was an addition to the back and side of the trailer that made it double the size it once was. Like the others, it too had new siding but his trailer also had a privacy fence and a one car garage to the side, as well as new steps and a small deck to the door.

What further surprised Jughead was the flower bed around the front and the potted plants sitting or hanging in perfectly placed spots around the trailer and yard. There was even a walkway through arches of lattice to a large garden in the back yard.

There was no hiding it, FP’s home had seen the touch of a woman. Jug shook his head and chuckled to himself, twilight zone, definitely twilight zone.

He parked along the side in the spot between the trailer and the garage that he could now distinguish as a driveway. Turned off the truck and walked slowly and quietly towards the trailer, up the steps and onto the deck.

He tried the door and of course, locked, but the chance it would be open was a long stretch anyway. There was still a welcome mat, of course it too was newer and not ratty like the old one. He bent over and held his breathe as he lifted the mat off the deck…”Shit” he mumbled as he exhaled the air he was holding and dropped the mat, no key. He stood there for a moment before shrugging to himself, guess I’m going with plan B he conceited.

Jughead raised his fist and wrapped on the door, not too hard with his first attempt. He shuffled from foot to foot and adjusted his beanie anxiously as he waited. Nothing happened so he knocked again a little louder this time, stepped back from the door and waited again. He was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to answer.

He brought his hand up and had banged two more times on the door when he heard shuffling inside the trailer and the muffled voice of his father say “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming, hold on” then he heard him add “this had better be important.”

The trailer door swung open and Jughead took in the sight of his father for the first time in years. Even with FP squinting against the light and scowling in displeasure from being woken up, Jug could still see the change in him. The dark bags under his eyes were gone and even with his bedhead you could tell his hair was groomed and the normal scruffy beard he used to keep was missing and replaced with a face that had been shaved within the last couple days at least.

It took Jughead a moment to realize that his father had also answered the door in only his boxer shorts. He doesn’t think he had seen his dad in that little of clothes ever, maybe when Jughead was little and his father was younger but even then, it would have been in the bedroom or the bathroom, certainly not answering the front door.

Obviously his confidence had improved with the rest of the changes he made. Albeit it could also be the fact that FP looked to be in the best shape he’s ever been in. The small beer gut he developed years back was gone and he was sporting a muscled lean body with a six pack….he looked good, better than good, he looked great! My god this was weird!

Once FP’s eyes adjusted, they widened a bit in recognition.

“Hi Dad” Jughead said.

FP swiped a hand down his face wiping off his initial surprise and then smirked at his son and rubbed the stubble on his jaw.

“Well, the prodigal son returns” he quipped and pulled him in for a hug.

Jughead froze at first, startled by the contact, his father was never affectionate. But then he relaxed and chuckled and returned the manly slaps on the back.

They stepped apart and FP motioned for him to come inside, Jug stepped into the trailer taking it in as FP shut the door. It was clean, and organized and homey and once again, you could see the evidence of a woman’s presence within the home.

“So what do I owe the pleasure” FP said behind him.

Jug turned around with a smirk that mirrored his fathers, “What? A son can’t visit his own father?” he asked innocently.

“Sure” FP replied “but when he hasn’t done so in five years it becomes a bit unexpected”

Jug looked down at his feet trying to hide the shame he felt a little. Rubbing the back of his neck he looked up and met his dads eyes, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that, I had a lot of things to work out but now I’m back and if all goes well I’m hoping it will be for good.”

“Well for whatever reasons you had, I don’t blame you, I wasn’t in a good place then, hell the whole town wasn’t. But as I’m sure you noticed all that has changed” he chuckled.

“You think?” Jughead scoffed “I stopped at the Whyte Worm earlier looking for you and thought I had the wrong town. Then after talking to Viper I knew I must be in the wrong place” he laughed out. “Yeah, a lot has changed since you took off, a lot has happened”

Jughead looked at his father and could swear he almost saw a flicker of nerves all the sudden, but it passed as quickly as it came.

“No doubt” Jug said, “the town looks good, the trailer looks great and you don’t look half bad yourself” he teased “Viper even said you got yourself a lady”.

FP grinned almost shyly but then he glanced at the hallway and it was his turn to rub nervously at the back of his neck. It was uncanny how similar they were.

“Yeah, yeah I did” his voice holding a bit of apprehension. “That’s something we need to talk about Jug, let’s have a seat”.

He gave his dad an inquiring look and moved to pull out a kitchen chair when he heard a door shut down the hall.

FP glanced nervously between Jug and the hallway and then stepped closer to the opening almost to block his view of the person making their way down. He stared at his son with a look that was almost pleading or urging him to understand, as the footsteps made their way down the hall towards the kitchen.

Feminine hands and slim arms wrapped around FP’s abdomen from behind and trailed up to his chest where they stayed in a hold. They almost looked familiar to Jug, except for the delicate tattoos, one on just above each elbow, an arrow on one and a small rose on the other. His father reached up and held her hands.

She groaned into FP’s back and Jug’s heart stopped, no it couldn’t be.

“Hun” she moaned, voice muffled “who is banging at our door and making such a ruckus at this ungodly hour?” she asked “It better not be you Possum, I told you last time that we don’t take house calls before 8:00am” Jughead made some sort of choking noise and looked from the hands to his father and back to her hands. He stood up abruptly not even sure if his legs would work properly. Kitchen chair scrapping back across the linoleum.

At the sudden movement, FP grabbed her hands and brought them down to his sides and moved his body defensively in front of her with a look a warning in his eyes. Not a violent warning or a territorial warning, more like a be careful and think about what you’re going to say and do next warning.

“FP?” the woman asked softly, feeling the change in tension in his body and in the room “who is it, what’s wrong?”

At her question, FP turned around and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing and rubbing small circles with his thumbs trying to relax and reassure, before whispering “it seems we have a surprise visitor”. While he stared at his fathers back, there was no second guessing himself now, Jughead would recognize that voice anywhere, he still hears it almost nightly in his dreams.

Once Jug found his voice, her name fell from his lips

“B…Betty?”

At the sound of his sons voice, FP stepped out of the way slipping one arm around her waist and pulling her into him protectively as she wrapped an arm around his back.

Jughead couldn’t believe his eyes, this had to be a trick, he had to have died and went to hell, that would explain all the weirdness that has taken place tonight, the nightmare that’s happening right here in his family kitchen.

“N….No….No….No…No” he stuttered

He put his fists over his eyes and shook his head trying to wake up or change the sight in front of him but nothing happened.

Betty still stood there, cuddled into his father’s side staring back at him with those huge green eyes. She still looked like Betty but she was grown. She had curves she never had before and with them sported a look a confidence she lacked as a girl and goddammit if she was still sexy as hell standing there in a tight little tank top and a pair of boxer shorts that obviously belonged to FP.

He finally looked her in the eye and the corners of her mouth quirked up just little.

“Hi Juggie” she said softly “welcome home”.

He slumped back into the kitchen chair, reached up and slid the beanie from his head and ran his other hand through his hair before dropping the hat on the table in front of him.

Closing his eyes he leaned his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands. Welcome home my ass! He thought to himself.

#bughead fanfiction #Bughead

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