#bughead prompts

[rythmicjea]

March Writing Prompts

In celebration of Jughead's fake death day I came up with a month's worth of Riverdale writing prompts. It was my goal to be more diverse than bears, typewriters, pearl necklaces, and vanilla milkshakes. You don't have to write a Riverdale fic to use these. You don't have to write something to use these! But if you use any of these, please tag me and I'll reblog it!

1. Obsessed

2. "I write too many [noun] about you."

3. "I'm not your problem anymore!"

4. Freezing rain on the pier

5. "We've been here before."

6. Lightbox of memories

7. Betrayal in the bunker

8. Rekindled feelings

9. December 3rd / On the third of December

10. A shadow's width between them

11. At a standstill

12. "Why? Why can't we do this?" "Because it's too damn hard!" "It's Riverdale." (Or fandom town name) "Our lives were never supposed to be easy." (Bonus if you can turn those lines into separate fics!)

13. Playing dumb

14. Cherry Phosphates

15. Broken Air Conditioner

16. She/he/they don't taste as sweet as you.

17. Knocks on the door. Door opens. Kiss.

18. Along the riverbank

19. A pack of cigarettes rolled up in a white T-shirt sleeve

20. Motorcycle rides through time

21. Black and white

22. Reluctant model

23. Song: Somewhere Only We Know

24. Dark pool(s) of light

25. One night stand

26. Neon Lights

27. Distant Thunder

28. Food covered walls

29. Lazy sunny afternoon

30. Lemon drops and peppermint schnapps

31. Define: Happily Ever After

[bugheadcentral]

Well hello there! What better way to start off 2024 than by celebrating the couple who has always always existed and WILL always exist?! Um. There isn't one. I miss them. You miss them. Lbr they miss each other, so let's pay homage to true love in the murder capital of the world round the season of love.

Please tag #bughead appreciation week in your posts so they can be reblogged. (You can also tag #bugheadcentral, but one is fine).

Your created content can feature other characters, but it needs to be focused on the Blue and Gold's finest Betty x Jughead.

All prompts listed below have been designed for all content creators—artists, edit/gif makers, fic writers, playlist makers & so on.

All content must be original (no re-posting of any kind).

Bughead Appreciation Week will run from Saturday, 10 February - Friday, 16 February.

SCHEDULE

Day 1 (10 Feb) 🔹 Tropes | Emotions

Day 2 (11 Feb) 🔸 Betty Appreciation Post

Day 3 (12 Feb) 🔹 Parallels | Favorite and Underrated Moments

Day 4 (13 Feb) 🔸 Fantasy | LooksTM

Day 5 (14 Feb) 🔹 Jughead Appreciation Post

Day 6 (15 Feb) 🔸 Lyrics/Poems/Quotes

Day 7 (16 Feb) 🔹 Free Choice

Please feel free to interpret the prompts however you see fit! If you don't like these prompts? No problem, feel free to create your own. We're just here to appreciate and celebrate Nancy Drew and True Detective, whatever that looks like for you! And feel free to post as much or little as you'd like!

Looking forward to another week celebrating these two who literally saved multiple universes and seeing what we all create! 💙💛

[girlsloveamystery]

Prompts for Bughead/Xaden/Violet

Lemme know if you want to see it for either

Deaf Betty or Violet and protective Xaden or Jughead (can do both).

Hurt/sick fic and fluffiness ensues. (Up to reader on who is sick).

Meet cute at a dog park - Bughead

Two sad smol beans dealing with a day of depression - bughead OR Violet/xaden

And then anything you want to see for Nace. I miss writing those babies 🩷🫶🏻

[lesbojughead]

kind of have writers block so if anyone has rvd prompts feel free to send them and maybe i will do some… i might be picky i prefer to write gay ships or maybe like fucked up bughead, and then character study stuff

[ao3feed--bughead]

and you run away from hope (i'll be here for you)

by Jenny_Jensen

The air smells like exhaust fumes, and Sweet Pea is complaining about his butt hurting, prompting Fangs and Joaquin to throw in some sexual innuendo that makes her blush. Her tall friend swears back at them, pushing his long hair back from his hardened face.

Jughead swings his leg over the bike, leaning his full weight on the seat as he tosses his helmet to land somewhere behind him. He rolls his shoulders, working out a kink in his neck before his eyes fall to her and he grins.

“Fuck,” his voice is a little raspy. “Sight for sore eyes, angel of mine, love of my fucking life. Get over here. Now.”

Words: 2507, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Riverdale (TV 2017)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper

Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones

Additional Tags: bughead - Freeform, Fluff, Betty Cooper Needs a Hug

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50440288

[iarasstuffss]

bughead + pregnancy

prompt: “I thought the doctor put you on bed rest” requested by @heytherejulietx hope you like it❤️

…

There’s one thing he knows about Betty Cooper that will never change, her stubbornness.

There she was thirty eight weeks pregnant sitting on their bed filled of case files and an almost empty box of donuts. That’s how he found her when he came back from their office.

Finally life was good for them. They left Riverdale three months after they got back together. It was a big step but they didn’t want to waste any more time.

Boston seemed the perfect place for a fresh start. Jughead was still writing, doing some freelance articles and working on a mystery storybook, and Betty decided to quit the FBI to become a Private Investigator. Soon enough he would join her and after their second year in Boston they opened their own agency.

And when things couldn’t get better they did, they weren’t trying yet, but the topic had been discussed a few times both agreed that they were finally in a good place to start their family, so when Betty found out she was pregnant they just fell in love with the idea.

“I thought the doctor put you on bed rest” he walked towards the bed and put some of the papers away so he coud sit next to her. She had those Braxton Kicks contractions during the weekend, they were so hard she really thought she was giving birth. They ended at the hospital at four am, but came back home an hour later with no baby and a week of bed rest recommended by her doctor.

“I am on bed” he knew this was the last thing she wanted to do, and was annoyed at that.

“But you are not resting ” he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him to kiss her forehead.

“I tried but then I got bored, I even tried to sleep for a bit longer but your daughter definitely had other plans that included kicking my ribs constantly for half an hour” she said caressing her big bump. “Besides, I think I’ve got it, it’s not her neighbor or the nanny the person who’s been stealing Ms. Calloway’s jewelry, it’s her husband, to re-gift them to his secret mistress, aka, his secretary” she said showing him the files.

“I’ll look at this, but I’m pretty sure you’re right, I can’t believe you just put it together in a few hours, I’ve been looking at this case for days” he said as he stood up to put the papers away, and then lay by her side.

He knew the last weeks of her pregnancy were rough but everything will be worth it the moment they meet their little girl. He placed his hand on her bump and felt the baby kick at his touch “Hey baby girl, you really are your mother’s daughter huh? Would you calm down for a while so mommy can get some sleep?” When he didn’t feel her kick again, he leaned towards her belly and kissed it.

“I think she just calmed down” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Try to get some sleep then, remember what the doctor told us, we should sleep as much as we can, because once she is here we won’t be able to have a full night sleep for a long time”

“I know, I can’t wait to meet her though”

“Me too, we are so close” he said caressing her bump.

“I love you Jug”

“I love you both, I can’t believe this is our life”

“It was worth the wait”

“Definitely”

[satelliteinasupernova]

I thought I would share the prompts for @riverdalepromptathon I have received so far! If there’s something you don’t see here that you would like me to explore, send me a prompt!

I would honestly like to do all of these, but that might be too ambitious. We’ll see.

A Perpetual Estrangement: 

A look into Betty and Jughead’s courtship in the past.

Jughead’s point of view from the beginning of the fic, when they met again. [Might lean into how he felt when he moved into town and realized that Betty’s family had connections there/ Meeting Polly, etc.]

Some time with Jules, Penny, and Lorna.

Thawing Ice: A look into what happens later: revealing they are dating again to their parents, Betty driving Jughead back to school after the holiday, JB realizing that they are dating again [I’m leaning toward the last one.]

Heavenly Creatures: 

Angel Betty and Demon Jughead, the second time they meet. [Kind of intrigued by this one, because Betty is only just getting the hang of having a human form at that point. A good opportunity to explore weird, eldritch angel gender feelings]

the first time Betty and Jughead meet

that time “he had convinced her to walk out on the beach with him to feel the waves, when she had a tense family reunion to oversee”

Mismatched Pieces: a check up on their relationship down the road. [might be a good opportunity to explore some Betty POV for that fic.]

The Lady of the Manor: Exploring something from the first 3 chapters from Jughead’s POV.

The Sleeping Prince: A sneak peek into a future moment of them going on a date. Or on a mission where Betty wears one of the outfits she keeps covered in her hanger.

Art prompts: Betty and Jughead dressed similarly, Cuddling with Toffee, B & V friendship [! I miss it]

UPDATED: All prompts as of 10/17. Thank you so much to everyone who has sent me prompts! I’m so excited to work on these, and to see what everyone creates!

[thetaoofbetty]

Adventures In Reporting 

“So, Jughead,” she starts, ignoring his eyes trailing over her legs, “they call you an underdog—” 

“Underdogs don’t keep winning, do they?” He looks almost smug at the question but it suits him, she decides.

Betty laughs, dipping her chin in acquiescence. “No, they usually lose right up until they win the big game in the final stretch.” She leans closer. “That’s not you at all, is it?” 

The corners of his mouth curl up and he turns further into her. “I’m good at whatever it is I decide to set my mind on.”

Read the rest on AO3

I hope it lives up to your idea, @redstar208​!

[gh0stcav1ty]

do 14 for buggie prompts please :)

oh my goodness! this is a whole lot of wow in one prompt. (prompt is “Do you want to borrow a shirt? All of yours are in the wash.”)

Jughead Jones had started a food fight in the middle of the cafeteria. I choose to not get involved from the start, until he decided that it was completely necessary to shove an entire piece of cake into my boobs. Mind you, it was right on the River Vixen uniform I had received not even seconds prior, after Cheryl finally calmed her inner bitch and let me on the squad. Shock is not the word I would use to even begin to describe the way I reacted. A state of utter horror, maybe. As you can imagine, I was pissed.

“Forsythe Pendleton Jones The Third!” I fumed. Jughead gasped as an eruption of laughter flooded the room at the use of his true identity. I smirked lightly, knowing he had taken on my state of horror.

“We’re using full names now? It was one piece of cake at a food fight, get the fuck over it and loosen UP.”  He crossed his arms, seeming content with himself. I was most definitely NOT in the mood to deal with his ignorant bullshit. Me and Jughead, have been rivals since we were little, never a reason to be rivals, but every reason to absolutely loathe each other. Of course though, our mothers were best friends.

“I am very loose,”  I put in finger quotations; totally nailed it. “You’re just an ass who’s legs are so loose, you can’t keep anything in your pants when a girl over the age of 14 walks by!”

“Say’s the whore cheerleader!” It rang through the now silent lunchroom. Although me and Jughead are rivals, he does know when he’s met a boundary, he lives next door. He knows what makes me tic, and knows not to say anything my mother has said about me, knowing full well it’s something I can’t handle, and knows it’s a boundary he can never cross, even when we are going at it. He has his shit and I have mine and we stay out of it, rivalries and all. Jughead Jones however, had just crossed this boundary with his front forward.

I had been standing there for a good amount of time, and he immediately realized what he had said. I was frozen, all I could feel was a tear running down my face. I quickly came back to reality, blinked away my tears as I looked down, quickly turning to run out the door. I just kept running, no breathe entering or exiting my lungs, I had to get out. Out of this school, this world, my head. I pivoted as I ran, kept running till I slammed into the push doors, trying to find strength in the newfound weakness sweeping me.

It was raining, beneath the droopy scenery Riverdale loosely held together. It mixed beautifully with chilled fall air, in a mix of brown leaves rapidly flying throughout. The rain pelted my skin like bullets coming through me. It had awoken me from the state of asphyxiation I was in. I dropped to my knees, and finally, I was at peace.

Almost as if my moment had been detected, bursting through the door behind me comes Jughead Jones himself. I turn to see him, and quickly stand up and walk away from him.

“I am not doing this, Jug-” That asshole always has something to say.

“Betty please-”

“No!” I turn to look at him, he is now just as much of a mess as I am, both soaked, dripping with a mix of rain water and salty tear drops. “You of all people Jug! You should know when it is too far!”

“Betty, I didn’t want to do this in the first place! I didn’t want to continue this but here we are and I can’t-” I started to walk, if I had stayed much longer, my state of asphyxiation would’ve found its way back to me. “Let me just drive you home Betts. Please.”

“I’ll walk Jug.” He caught me by surprise, quickly walking forward and taking my head in his hands, pressing his forehead against mine.

“I don’t want to do this anymore. We’ve been acting too long.” I looked up cautiously.

Here’s something you don’t know about Jughead Jones. 

We’ve been together for about a year now. I love him, but we have a lot of issues. We choose to act the way we used to in front of friends, because if we tell them, it could potentially fatal. Sometimes, including the happenings of this afternoon, I feel that it isn’t an act. I could very well be one of his ‘whores’, but i’d rather risk it being true than ever leave him. 

I may walk out, but I could never leave him no matter how hard I fucking tried.

“We can’t keep acting to protect ourselves, and you can’t walk away from me, not now or ever. I don’t want to pretend anymore. Please, look at me in my eyes and tell me you don’t want that too.” I pulled his hands from my head and turn towards the street. At times like these, my trust issues get the best of me. Why would high school stud Jughead Jones want me when he can have all of them? I’m just not such a believer in his answers to that question anymore.

“Jug, you said it yourself. I may as well be one of your whores, I don’t mean anything to you.” He stood there, dumbfounded. Maybe, I was right.

“Elizabeth Cooper, are you fucking kidding me right now?” I turned back and he was staring bullets straight through me.

“Excuse me?” I practically squeaked, nervous on what I had done.

“You really think that you don’t mean anything to me?” I just simply nodded, bringing my head gaze back to my feet. He stepped forward to bring my chin back to its original state. “ I’m so in love with you, and I will never in my whole life someone like you. I don’t want whores baby, I want you.” Dumbfounded could be the word you could use to describe me at this moment. I grabbed his face and kissed him.

That kiss, it was something you couldn’t even find in the movies. I fell for him so quickly, it was like waking up on a normal day, but one day I was empty and the next day, I just wasn’t. I melted into his arms, his hands in my hair, rain pouring as puddles filled around our feet. The rain was chilled, but the adrenaline was being fed to me from him. It was intense, breathtaking even. When we did come up for air, all we wanted was more. I pulled away reluctantly.

“Just take me home Jug.” He nodded and I silently got on his bike, grabbing my helmet from under his. He mounted the bike in front of me, kicking the stand and starting the engine. I wrapped around his leather, and we rode. We took the long way around, seeing the trees absorb the mist around them, the evergreens thriving in the gloom. When we finally did come to a stop, I was slightly unhappy with the destination we had arrived in and started to tremble. It was the driveway of my own home. Of course, he lived next door, but even the thought of being alone at the time was not something I wanted to cross my mind.

He must of felt my subtle shake as he kicked the stand and rode into his driveway. He dropped the stand, took off his helmet, and silently walked towards the door. I wasn’t far behind, slipping on the leather seat under me. Once I made it through the door, he was already three steps ahead of my mind. He handed me an off colored blue towel and wiped himself off, clearly still sopping even after the fact. At this point in time, I could imagine Weatherbee’s state of anger, so I duly noted to bring him a box of cookies on Monday morning. Jughead was still trying to dry himself before sighing. He must’ve decided that inevitably, we both would have to change, especially with the mix of food, rain, and the gravel of Riverdale High’s parking lot. 

“Do you want to borrow a shirt? All of yours are in the wash.”

“Who says I want any clothes at all?” I smirked, I was feeling daring and I could tell he enjoyed it, as his eyebrow quickly rose and he was officially distracted. He turned to me slowly, looking up to meet my eyes. 

“You’re a naughty woman, Betty Cooper.”

And as if it were fate, Into the night we fell.

[egg-harbor]

okay bUT LISTEN

betty and jughead. miraculous ladybug au.

betty is clearly LB. jug is definitely chat.

BUT

betty, my sweet angel bb, is so hung up on the amazing chat noir.

juggie, the hopeless romantic he is, definitely is pining for one betty cooper.

can u IMAGINE how cute! the feels! the drama! the love square! can someone please write this i haven’t the TIME

(also choni? as rose and juleka? and varchie? as nino and alya? there are so many possibilities)

[swallowofspace]

I would love if someone wrote some bughead interaction and communication CAUSE WE GOT NONE

[madelainesvixens]

PROMPT LIST | PART 3

What’s better for the new year that start with a new, good and fresh prompt list? All you have to do is send a ship name into my ask along with two to three numbers from the list. 

p.s. Please say if you (absolutely) want smut 

‘’Love can be an ugly feeling too.’’

‘‘Can you come over?’‘

‘‘Are you high?’‘

‘‘Why are you bleeding?’‘

‘‘I’m not a damsel in distress.’‘

‘‘You look so fucking how right now.’‘ 

'’I remember it all too well.’’ 

‘‘Can I touch you?’‘

‘‘Anything hurts less than the quiet.’‘ 

‘‘We’re in public, stop that.’‘

‘‘I’m not going to lie, this isn’t how I planned this to go down.’‘

‘‘What am I gonna do without you?’‘

‘‘Your love is my drug.’‘

‘‘Is that a..hickey?!’‘

‘‘Why haven’t you kissed me yet?’‘

‘‘I’ll always love you.’‘

‘‘I wish I could go back in time but I can’t...’‘

‘‘Can you please come and get me?’‘

‘‘I can’t stay.’‘

‘‘Have you been drinking? You look terrible.’‘ 

‘‘You don’t have to say ‘I love you’ to say ‘I love you’.’‘

‘‘You can’t come here unannounced.’‘ 

‘‘I don’t want your apology.’‘

‘‘Nice ass, asshole.’‘

‘‘I’m high on you, Baby.’‘

‘‘I can’t do this anymore.’‘

‘‘Kiss me.’‘

‘‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder.’‘

‘‘We could get arrested for this.’‘

‘’Close the door.’‘

‘‘Please don’t post that.’‘ 

‘‘Can you be serious for a whole minute?’‘

‘‘I’m pretty sure this is illegal.’‘

‘’You had me at ‘hello’.’‘

‘‘I never knew loving could hurt this good.’‘

‘‘Just a touch of your love is enough to take control of my whole body.’‘

‘‘Do you need a place to stay for tonight?’‘

‘‘Always and forever.’‘

‘‘If you love me let me go.’‘

‘‘Take my jacket, it’s cold outside.’‘

‘‘Who the hell do you think you are? My dad?’‘

‘‘Please don’t shut me out.’‘

‘‘I know you feel what I feel.’‘

‘‘You’ve unlocked something in me.’‘

‘‘I knew you were trouble when you walked in.’‘

‘‘Stop playing with my feelings.’‘

‘‘Spend the night with me.’‘

‘‘Who said loving me was easy?’‘

‘‘Even if I did feel something for you, you wouldn’t care.’‘

‘‘You told me you loved me so why did you go away?’‘

‘‘I don’t get tired of you the way I get tired of other people.’‘

‘‘You’re not sorry.’‘

‘’Are you single? Just asking.’’

‘‘You’re not the same anymore.’‘

‘‘I didn’t plan to fall in love but I did.’‘

‘‘I love me a cliché bad boy.’‘

‘‘I never thought anyone could ever make me feel this way.’‘

‘‘It’s lonely here without you.’‘ 

‘‘Bite me.’‘

‘‘It takes everything in me not to call you.’‘

‘‘I’ve had enough.’‘

‘‘You should’ve been there.’‘

‘‘I never thought we’d have a last kiss.’‘

‘‘You make my heart feel some type of way and it’s freaking me out.’‘

‘‘Nice ass.’‘

‘‘You weren’t supposed to see me like this...’‘

‘‘Love terrifies me.’’

‘‘When things gets crazy, don’t push me away.’‘

‘‘I will always be yours, forever and more.’‘

‘‘What does your heart say?’‘

p.p.s. My personal favorites are in italic, in case you were curious

[girlsloveamystery]

I know this probably won’t happen, but if any of you want to see prompts for the bughead oneshots I do, drop em in my ask box thingy

[alittlebugsheadx]

125❤️

125: ‘Just take your shirt off.’

——

Heartbeat

Jughead hadn’t seen Betty all day, and quite honestly, he was getting restless. It almost felt like she had been avoiding him. So when he saw the blonde speed walking towards her Chemistry Lab in the empty hall, he reached out one arm, to spin her around to see him.

“Jug!” She squealed, her heart racing, “Oh my gosh, I was going to smack you, as an instinct.”

He grinned, “Hey gorgeous.”

She smiled back, “I really have to get to class, I’m going to be late.”

“Alright, I’ll let you go, but what are you doing after school?”

She went up on her tiptoes, “Cheerleading practice.”

“Dinner?”

“I have this family thing.”

He pouted.

“But you can come after?” She winked and gave him a peck.

“Alright, see you later then,” he called out to her, but she was already rushing down the corridor.

He stood there for a moment, biting down his smile as his heart slowed down.

Did he love this secret dating? Maybe. It was exciting and thrilling, but he wished he got to see her more, spend more time with her, and let all the other guys know that he had her heart as she did him.

***

“Elizabeth!” Her mother scolded for the 3rd time that evening. “I’ve asked you twice now, can you please pass the carrots.”

Betty apologised and handed them to her.

“What has gotten into you? You’re so distracted. If you’re like this at school-if this is because of that Jones boy-Elizabeth, I swear to God-“

“No, it isn’t, mother.” She did her best to suppress her eye-roll, but didn’t quite succeed, earning a snicker from Chic.

Of course it was ‘the Jones boy’.

Her mother’s voice droned out again, as Betty scoffed down her plate, eager to get this dinner over.

After her mother’s blunt comments about her attention-span, she finally dismissed them all, for bed. Polly was sneaking out in an hour; Chic was actually going to bed; and that left Betty, waiting for him.

***

She tried not to get her hopes up when it had been 45 minutes since she texted him and he had still not come. So she sat on her bed, legs wrapped in a blanket, book in hand, trying to concentrate.

But it wasn’t exactly easy.

Finally, she heard a tapping on the window that always made her startle, even when she was expecting it. Grinning to herself, she pulled open the window, and helped him clamber in.

He shut it carefully, “Hey gorgeous.”

“You’re late?” She tilted her head.

“Yeah, sorry about that, bike wasn’t working, so I had to walk.”

He walked all that way for her. Her heart melted.

“How was it?” He asked, sitting on the edge of her bed, and having her stand in between his legs, his arms around her waist.

She scrunched up her face, “Usual.”

He chuckled lightly, “Alright, I won’t dig deeper. So I was wondering, how do you fancy a date? Like a real, one?”

Her eyes sparkled in the faint moonlight.

He scratched the back of his neck, nervously, “Well. I just mean…do you think we’re ready to like…make it public? If not, that’s totally fine. Absolutely. Totally, totally fine.” He prayed to God that she couldn’t see how red his face was.

One hand still around his neck, the other came up to stroke his cheek, “That sounds good to me.”

Sounds great.

“Really?” The hope in his voice was clear.

“Really,” she bent down closer to his face and he was suddenly much more aware of his thumping heart, “I’d love that, Jug.”

“Okay, good, because I was starting to think you just wanted me for my body,” he joked.

Grinning, she pressed her lips to his, “Just take your shirt off.”

“Alright, alright, damn. Just when I thought we could get emotional for a minute.” He happily complied and lay back, pulling her on top of him.

Jughead stayed the night, Betty wrapped up in his arms. Whilst he wanted to fall asleep, his heart was beating too damn fast.

[enigmaticbughead]

Got any prompts?

I wanna write something. Send them my way. ❤️

[coledemort]

23, 32, 63 and 63 :) THANK YOU!! (Bughead pls)

23 “Just pretend to be my date.”

32  “This is, by far, the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”

63  “What do you mean? It’s exciting!”

Inspired by this comic strip I saw floating around my dashboard for a while.

For @sprousehart-x I hope you like it! :D ( Also tagging @itllbeyou :D )

AO3 Link here

“This is, by far the dumbest thing you’ve ever done!” Betty mutters to herself as she struggles with the zipper of her mermaid costume.

It’s Riverdale’s Summer Festival, and she had made the mistake of agreeing too quickly when her mother had suggested that she joined the annual summer costume contest during one of their family dinners a couple of weeks prior. It’s almost a given, really, for Betty has been joining the costume contest since she was seven, and it’s only right that she caps her tradition by winning five years in a row. (For reasons unknown to Betty, the mayor only allows children up to twelve years of age to join the costume contest, and that doesn’t really make sense to Betty. What if Polly—who’s fourteen by now—wants to join the contest too? Thankfully, Polly had seemed less excited about the costume contest than she had been a few years back.)

Betty has been looking forward to the contest, and she even employed the help of her mother in acquiring the best material for the mermaid costume that will allow her to swim in Sweetwater River after the contest. After many nights of working on the costume, she had managed to create what she had thought was the best costume that she (with the help of her entire household) had ever made. She had no doubt about bagging this year’s trophy and cash prize—which had always been donated to the town’s animal shelter.

Now half an hour after said contest, and after the endorphins about winning had waned, Betty is keen on getting out of the hot and heavy material. She can feel her thighs sweltering from prolonged entrapment in the costume, and she wants nothing but to liberate her legs and walk on land again.

She’s been wrestling with the zipper for too long, and Betty still can’t get the zipper to budge. She looks around the bank of Sweetwater River where most of the town’s people have gathered, but everyone’s either busy taking down the remnants of the event or swimming in the river. Polly, who’s supposed to be by her side is nowhere in sight, and her mother is probably busy covering the festival for tomorrow’s issue of The Register.

A couple of failed attempts later, she lets out an exasperated groan, and she attempts to crawl toward the edge of the river. The distance between her current position and her target location is about ten yards give or take. If she can’t free her legs from her costume, she might as well dip them in the water so she could at least alleviate the heat that has gathered inside the thick material.

Halfway through her journey, she catches a glimpse of a familiar gray wool beanie poking out of a canoe that’s currently gliding across the river. The owner has his back to her, so he probably hasn’t seen her in her current situation.

“Jug!” Betty calls out as the canoe passes in front of her. “Juggie! Over here!” she bellows even louder, and she frantically waves both arms in the air, hoping that the hot and humid air carries her voice to the boy paddling with great difficulty over the steady stream of the river.

Jughead straightens his back at her voice, his head darting in every direction before his eyes landed on her, his expression a mix of curiosity and surprise. He starts rowing towards her.

“Betty? What are you doing wriggling on the bank? Aren’t you supposed to be swimming in the water?” he muses when he reached her position. His eyes glistening with amusement probably from the absurdity of her predicament.

“Ugh, please don’t start. This is the million dollar costume that gave me the title of Riverdale’s Summer Princess. Only it chose to entrap me long after it’s served its purpose,” she replies as she gestures to her zipper. “The zipper’s stuck, and I’m stuck, and I can’t find my mom or my sister.” She heaves out a sigh.

Jughead’s brows knit together—something that happens when he is in deep concentration. He glances around them, and his lips pucker a little as he mulls over the situation.  He’s clearly debating something with himself, Betty notes.

“I am on my way to the other side to bring fish bait to my dad. If you could wait a little, I can get back to you, and probably help you get home, or—”

“I can come with you!” Betty exclaims before Jughead can finish his sentence. She has always wanted to try fishing, and she has brought the subject up to her own father more than once, but unfortunately, Hal Cooper has very little interest in spending idle mornings (or afternoons) throwing fish baits in the river. He would rather spend his free times oiling old cars and smearing grease all over his jumpsuit—not that Betty complains, but she also likes to try something new this summer.

Jughead appears to be a little taken aback by her gleeful suggestion, and he doesn’t seem to be quite convinced, so he clarifies, “You want to go fishing with me and my dad?”

“Yes, why not?” Betty tries to sound as convincing as possible. Jughead has always been very skeptical about a lot of things, and she wants to let him know that she’s as excited about fishing as he is. (He usually lightens up at the mention of fishing, because as far as Betty knows, it’s one of the things that his father does regularly with him since the time that he taught him in the summer before the start of their third grade.)

“I don’t know, Betty. You may not find it very exciting,” he says tentatively as he crouches down on the ground beside her, and then he taps one of his shoulders, offering his body to support her weight.

Betty slings one arm over his shoulder, and he places one hand carefully on her hip, and before Betty can prepare herself, he’s dragging her upright.

She doesn’t quite understand the sudden quickening of her heartbeat or the shallow depth at which her breathing is currently capable of. She glances at Jughead and she thinks that the color of his face has turned a couple of shades redder—surely an effect of the smothering heat that’s also making blood rush to her face.

Jughead removes his hand from her hip as quickly as he had put it there, and Betty swallows down the hint of disappointment at the loss of contact.

“What do you mean? It’s exciting! I’ve always thought fishing’s exciting, Jug! It always made you relaxed. I wanna be able to try it too!” She declares as she shuffles awkwardly on her feet, trying to balance herself while her thighs are unbelievably squashed together. She lets her arm stay a little longer on Jughead’s shoulder, not wanting to fall over the moment she lets go.

Jughead must have sensed her struggle for balance because she feels an arm snake around her waist, supporting her weight. Betty thinks that it’s the first time she’s been in that kind of position with anyone, much less with someone from the opposite gender, and the thought conjures a couple of sensations that are completely new to her. For example, she thinks that a thousand little butterflies must have been unleashed inside her stomach, and she’s trying very hard to compose herself.

“… don’t think I can paddle us both to the other bank,” she hears him say through the haze in her mind.

She blinks twice and looks to her side and mumbles, “What?”

A few seconds pass, her heartbeat loud in her ears. The Sweetwater River disappears, and all Betty notices are Jughead’s hand on her waist, and the way he’s standing so close to her. Has he always been this tall? He kind of smells… good?

“Um, there’s only one life jacket in the boat—” Jughead says, and there’s a slight hitch in his voice. He clears his throat once, twice, and then, “—and I may not be able paddle us both to the other side, I don’t think.”

“Oh, okay,” she says, only mildly disappointed, but also kind of relieved because she hasn’t really accounted the hazard of two middle schoolers canoeing through the river, no matter how short the distance is.

“But I can sit with you here until Polly or your parents arrive,” Jughead offers.

“You would do that?” Betty asks, excitement seeping through her voice.

“Sure, why not? I don’t think my dad would mind.”

“That’s wonderful, Juggie. You can pretend to be my date while you’re at it then,” she blurts out before she could think otherwise. There must be something in the heat today. She glances back at Jughead in time to see how his ears turn impossibly red.

He scratches the back of his neck before saying, “Well, yeah. I could do that… If you want.”

She doesn’t know why his answer makes her infinitely happy, maybe she’ll think about it later, but for now, she marvels at the beauty of early summer and the sound of the river as it steadily moves, and the company of this boy she’s known since she can remember, and she thinks that getting stuck in a mermaid costume may not be too bad afterall.  

“Maybe tomorrow we can go fishing on this bank when there aren’t too many people,” Jughead says after a while, and she only hums her agreement, the thought already making her feel lighter than she already does.