serpent ♔ juliet

The following day, Betty awoke bright and early. Despite the blankets, the bed was the most comfortable she'd ever slept in - not that she'd ever say it to Jughead or anybody else. There had been a slight hue of blue light in the room when she fell asleep, and there had been a faint hue of blue light in the room when she awoke a couple of times during the night, suggesting that Jughead had been working late into the night. It seemed strangely pleasant to know that he'd retained some of his old behaviors. Some things never seem to change.

She checked her phone for 7:00 o'clock in the morning, which was nearly late by her standards. She really wanted coffee, but she'd have to wait until 8 a.m. because they didn't serve breakfast until 8. She slid out of bed and entered the bathroom as quietly as she possibly could. She brushed her teeth and fetched a glass of water for herself. When she emerged from the toilet, Jughead was breathing deeply and regularly, which she assumed meant he was comfortably asleep. He appeared calm in a manner that he never did as a teenager. She wondered, not for the first time, what his life had been like in the previous several years and why he was so angry with her.

Then she realized she had no right to be interested in knowing about him in the first place. Given what he thought of her, she was lucky he conversed with her. She sat back on her bed, returning to the small bed as she was starting to think about it, suddenly experiencing a wash of uneasiness all over again. She passed the time by scrolling through her phone till she had an idea. She hurriedly put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt and looked for her handbag. She expected to find Jughead still asleep when she went out into the central area of the room, so she was taken aback to discover him sitting up on the bed, bleary-eyed.

'There's no rush.' Betty took a seat in the room's nook armchair. When Jughead got out of bed, she realized he was still wearing an S t-shirt from the night before. She'd never known where he got them, and she'd never seen them for sale elsewhere, but it was reassuring to know that Jughead could still find them all these years later. Also, pajama bottoms with a plaid pattern. At the very least, certain things remained unchanged. It was a road they had walked thousands of times before, first as children with their parents. As friends permitted to make the short trek alone, and finally as boyfriend and girlfriend, navigating the hardships of their first relationship as well as everything Riverdale had to offer. Their final visit, the last before they all left, was the final splintering of their friendship and the last time she'd seen Veronica and Archie in a long time.

Pop arrived with their coffee and took their order at that time, interrupting their chat. Betty drank her drink while attempting to answer reasonable questions to ask him. That wasn't precisely a targeted question regarding the two years since he received his book contract and left her that note.

She was also attempting to figure out how she was feeling. Feelings she'd buried deep and then shoved down by her never-ending to-do list. Should she make an apology? Should he make an apology to her? Should she be making amends to him, or was she the one who had been wronged? Was it true that she deserved such comments from him? Could they overlook it and rekindle their delicate relationship?