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“Come on Jug!”
“No. Nope. I refuse to do it.”
As Archie walks back from the shed where the sleds are being sold, Jughead crosses his arms over his body in obstinance.
Archie had all but begged Jughead to join him on his quest for some semblance of an exciting winter break, what with his parent’s divorce being finalized. Jughead reluctantly agreed but with the condition of a chilled and lowkey stay. So here they are, away from their shitty New York apartment, at some snooty, upstate cabin.
When Jughead arrived, he was so ready to just eat all the free buffet food and relax inside their room, but as soon as Archie got one look at all the pamphlets, he looked like a kid on Christmas.
Now they’re here, on a mountain, apparently going sledding .
Jughead didn’t sign up for this shit.
He didn’t sign up for the early wake-up call, going out in the cold, doing any activity whatsoever.
But here he is, being forced to slide down a mountain at an attempt at doing something fun.
“Come on, you never know, you might even like it,” Archie says as he begins to walk up the slant of the mountain with Jughead trailing behind reluctantly.
Jughead narrows his eyes and shakes his head, “I seriously, seriously doubt that Archibald. Why would I like anything,” he waves his hands indicating the mountain, “physical?”
Archie chuckles and stops as he reaches the sledding point. He places the sled down and turns back to his friend, “Listen,” he sighs in defeat, “if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to,” Jughead nods, “But I’d really like to do something with my best bud because we might not get to do this again.”
Jughead sighs, feeling bad. Archie is right. They might not ever get to do this again, with life rushing past them full-speed-ahead. “Okay. I’m doing this once. If I die, I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life and eat all the food in your fridge as a ghost.”
“Is that how it works?” Archie says as he climbs into the sled.
“That’s how it’ll work for me because I’m a ghost and I can do what I want.”
“But I don’t think ghosts can eat.”
“But it’s me. ”
“Fine. But you won’t die.” Archie says and then indicates the free space in the back of the sled. Jughead raises his eyebrow in question and Archie rolls his eyes, “Hop on.”
Jughead snorts, “With you?” Archie nods.
Jughead continues, “You want me to get on with you and hold you like we’re lovers?”
“Yes,” Archie says.
“Yeah, fuck no. I love you but not that much.”
Archie rolls his eyes, “So when I come back up, and you get on the sled, you want, for your first time ever on a sled, to go by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.” And with that, Archie slides down the hill.
Jughead scoffs and mutters to himself, “How hard can it be?”
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Apparently very hard because the moment he gets on, he’s zigzagging down the hill with abandon. He can hear Archie’s laughs as he slides down at an extremely fast pace that he’s pretty sure Archie wasn’t going at.
“Shit shit shit,” he pants out as he attempts to swerve himself away from a tree. As he gets closer, he admits defeat and gives up trying,
“Well, this is how I die,” he mutters before hitting the tree very unceremoniously. The front of the sled ricochets off the tree causing him to land on his back.
“Oh my god,” a concerned voice says, “Are you okay?”
Then an angel appears, an honest-to-God angel appears as he opens his eyes. Her blonde hair cascades around her like a halo as she looks down at him and her green eyes shine as brightly as emeralds. She crouches down and he turns his head to look at her for a moment before groaning softly, “Am I dead? Are you an angel?”
“Are you always this dramatic?” The angel says with the most heavenly laugh he’s ever heard, “I’m pretty sure you were going like five miles per hour. You couldn’t have hurt yourself too badly.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here. Has God sent you to bring me to heaven because if so, take me to him so I can thank him for bringing me the most attractive being I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The blonde laughs and grabs his hand to pull him up to the sitting position, “Well, the ‘most attractive being you’ve ever seen in your life’s’ name is Betty and is very much not an angel. But I’ll let God know, you know, the next time I see him, that you’re grateful for me.”
“Thank you, that’s all I ask.” Jughead says with a smirk, “I’m fine, I’m just, as you said, dramatic.” He sees Archie running towards him and quickly rushes out, “But don’t tell the redhead I ever admitted that because he’s never going to let me live that down.”
“Jug,” Archie puffs out as he laughs, “That—are you okay?”
“Yeah bro I’m fine.”
Archie chuckles before turning to face the blonde looking at them in amusement. Archie nods his head in--what Jughead can only call--a ‘douchey’ way, “Hi, I’m Archie.”
“God Archie, even when I’m dying .”
The redhead rolls his eyes, “I’m just introducing myself, relax.”
Betty stands up and shakes his hand before looking back at Jughead, “Betty. So your name is...Jug?”
Jughead shakes his head and chuckles, “It’s Jughead. Which isn’t that much better.”
Betty chuckles and there’s silence for a few moments. Archie observes his best friend staring at the tree he hit and crouches down to him with amusement, “You good there buddy?”
“Just contemplating life.”
“Okay. You wanna get up now?”
Jughead continues to stare at the tree, “...I’m stuck.”
Archie chuckles and grabs his arms to pull him up.
“Oh look, I’m free,” Jughead says dryly before hopping off the sled, “Yeah, I’m never getting on that thing again.”
“Just come on with me one time and then you’ll see how fun it is.”
Jughead rolls his eyes, “Listen, I’m all for this bromance we’ve got going on but you have a girlfriend and the minute I wrap my arms around you, you’re going to fall in love with me and I don’t want to have to deal with Veronica Lodge complaining about how much you want me and not her.”
He hears Betty giggle and he turns to wink at her before surveying his best friend again. Archie scoffs and shakes his head, “Jug--”
“I’ll help you. You can join me on the sled.”
The boys turn to the blonde and Jughead tilts his head, “You don’t know me.”
“You don’t seem like a bad person and it’s one sled ride.”
Jughead smirks and looks at Archie, “Well I’ll take a ride with her. ”
Archie bites his lip and smiles, “Yeah, of course, you would,” he mumbles, “she’s your type.”
Jughead ignores Archie’s comment and turns back to the blonde with a soft smile, “I would appreciate if I could go with you.”
Betty nods and leans down to pick up the boys’ sled. She passes it to Archie and he raises his eyebrow in question, “Don’t you need it?”
“Nah I’ve got my own.” she turns back to Jughead who’s looking at her softly, “I’ll go behind you and wrap arms and legs around you so you’re safe. It’ll be better if you want to really experience sledding for the first time if you’re at the front.”
“Sledding isn’t the only thing you’re experiencing.” Archie mumbles and Jughead slaps him on the arm.
Betty begins walking up and Jughead runs up to follow her, leaving behind Archie and his stupid comments.
.
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He thinks he’s dead.
Betty said he didn’t die, but maybe that’s what angels say to people who have died.
Because honestly, this beautiful blonde has her legs wrapped around his and he thinks this might actually be heaven.
“Okay, I’m going to hold onto this rope here. Just keep your arms on your lap and you should be fine. I’m going to be moving it--something you didn’t do when you were sledding the first time--using the rope. I’ll be looking over your shoulder so don’t move too much.”
Jughead feels her arms wrap around him and her chin plant itself firmly on his shoulder. He involuntarily shudders at her warmth and he turns his head to look at her and smirks, “Anything else?”
“Have fun.” She deadpans before she does a little jump causing the sled to move. They begin to slide down the hill and Jughead turns his head to look at the decline only to shut his eyes and stiffen in fear.
“It’s okay,” Betty whispers as she giggles in his ear. He relaxes a little bit and opens his eyes only to see that they’ve made it, very unceremoniously, down a very small hill.
“I did it.” he says softly before repeating loudly for everyone to hear, “I fucking did it!”
Betty giggles and he turns his body to look at her in giddy excitement.
“You’re so cute. You look like a kid on Christmas.” She says with a soft smile.
She’s so beautiful. And kind. She took his stupid ass down the smallest fucking hill and is looking at him like he’s not a complete idiot.
He’ll look back on this exact moment in the future and realise this is the moment that changes his life forever.
He looks at her. She looks at him. His eyes flick to her lips and she bites her lip with a smile.
He hastily grabs her face and leans in to kiss her.
Their lips touch.
And she kisses him back.
He’s still convinced she’s an angel.
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He gets why people explain kissing like melting because he feels every inch of his body go warm and melt perfectly into hers. He forgets they’re on a sled and that the position his body is in is extremely uncomfortable. He just kisses her. He loses himself in the softness of her lips.
Somewhere he’s conscious that Archie is probably watching them but he can’t seem to care.
Even though it feels like it lasts hours, he pulls back after a few moments to her eyes still closed and her lips still slightly puckered. Her lips are red and shining from his kiss and he can’t help but lean back in. Before he can kiss her properly again, they hear the clearing of a throat.
Betty snaps out of her daze and Jughead turns his head quickly to see his demon of a best friend standing there, with his arms crossed, looking about as smug as a raffle winner, and shaking his head, “You two wanna get a room?”
Jughead opens his mouth to speak only to interrupted by the blonde sitting next to him, “Actually, yeah.”
Jughead begins to have a coughing fit and Betty moves her hand to rub up and down his back. Archie smirks at them and nods, “Well, I can make myself scarce for the afternoon while you two use the room.”
Jughead continues coughing and Betty shakes her head, “It’s fine, I have my own room.”
Jughead whips his head to look at her and coughs again, “Y-you’re serious?”
“Yeah. We can have a nice intellectual conversation. I have a mini-fridge.” She finishes with a shrug and a smirk.
Jughead exhales and chuckles. Archie nods and salutes them, “Well, I hope you enjoyed your first time sledding Jug. I’m gonna go see what’s on more those pamphlets. Have fun.”
Jughead nods and Archie walks away. Jughead turns back to the blonde looking at him and smiles softly, “We don’t actually have to go to your room.”
She smiles back at him and stands up. She puts her hand out to help him stand up and she grabs the sled, “Well we are. We’re going to get to know each other more,”
Jughead nods with a smile.
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Much much later, when they’ve talked until the early hours of the morning and she’s given him amazing head, he calls her an angel as he kisses down her stomach and she doesn’t deny it.
(She’s too lost in the sensation of his tongue.)