Fabfiction

Daryl Dixon X OC

All I’ve Ever Known Part 1

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"Never thought you'd miss Winter huh?" Ellie Mitchell whispered, talking to herself had become a source of comfort. She couldn't count the amount of conversations she'd had solely with herself to keep the voices out of her head. Singing worked too, not loud enough to lure walkers but just enough to fill the constant silence she'd lived in for almost two years now.

"All I've ever known is how to hold my own

All I've ever known is how to hold my own

But now I wanna hold you too

Now I wanna hold you."

The words were like a second language to her now, she'd written that song years ago in the back booth of a greasy run down diner with her mamas old guitar. She sang when the sun was shining or the rain pouring, she sang when she didn't think she could make it another day on an empty stomach or when her bones hurt so bad she thought they would snap. She sang when the moans and groans of the walkers kept her up at night.

The snap of a branch had Ellie swinging around, knife poised and ready to throw at whatever thought it was a good idea to sneak up on her. A flash of bright blue and blonde zoomed past, far too quick to be a walker but too small to be any kind of grown man. The blur of blue fabric lunged behind a tree, a dirty sneaker sticking out from its hiding place... small foot.. faded rainbow laces and smiley face stickers on the heel.

Holy shit.. was this.. was this a kid?

"You can come on out, I already saw ya. If I wanted to hurt ya you'd be gone already." Ellie spoke firmly, if she was wrong and this was some kind of trap it was going to be awful to have to kill a kid but she would do it, she'd do just about anything to survive.

The tiniest whimper filled the air followed by long arms and big brown eyes, a messy tangled mop of sandy blonde hair and ripped capris stumbling out from behind the twisted oak tree.

"Please don't kill me.. I... I heard you singing and I just wanted to see.. I wanted to listen...I don't know where I am. I've been runnin' for days." She whispered, sloppy raindrop sized tears cascading down her dirty cheeks leaving streaks of muddy brown on her smooth skin.

She was little, no way she was older than 10 maybe 11 and she was a mess, Her knees bloody and cut up and her face far too skinny. She looked haunted and terrified and something about the way she was shaking in her sneakers had Ellie instantly bending down and brushing the back of her hand against the little ones cheeks, wiping away the never ending tears.

"Hey.. hey I won't hurt you. My names Ellie, what about you?" She stuck her hand out to shake and smiled the best she could, she was never good around other people, kids seemed to like her just fine but still...

The little girl hesitated for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip before taking Ellie's hand in her own

"S..Sophia. I'm ten." She whispered.

"Sophia..." Ellie wracked her brain for a moment before looking down at the ten year old with soft eyes and an encouraging smile "Wisdom. Your name is Greek, It stands for Wisdom and skill. It's a great name to have."

Finally the tears started to subside, sophia looked up at Ellie with wide eyes.. clearly intrigued by the new discovery of her name.

"Really?" She whispered again. At least she wasn't too loud, her quiet would come in handy out here.

"Sure does. Now what's a little thing like you doin' out here all on your own? You got a mama lookin' for you somewhere."

Sophia shook her head aggressively

"Yes! I got lost a couple of days ago. There was

walkers, a lot of them and I got separated from my mom and Rick told me to stay but I didn't and then I just got lost and now I don't know how to get back and I know my mom is looking for me but I don't know where... there were lots of cars and road.." She rambled desperately.

Ellie placed a hand on the frantic little girls shoulder and squeezed reassuringly

"I'll help you find your mama. Can't be too far if you only got lost a few days ago, we'll find her. Find your whole group and help them get their Wisdom back. Lord knows they're all probably goin' crazy without it."

Sophia whipped around, tiny hand gripping the hem of Ellie's jacket and tugging

"You'd do that? You'd help me find my mom?"

She sounded almost amazed, it made Ellie sad to see a child so young so jaded, looked an awful lot like herself.

"Course I will sugar, can't have your mama turning over the world to find ya. I like my world right side up." She tweaked Sophia's nose and nearly shivered when the little girl laced her fingers with hers and beamed up at the older woman beside her. How long had it been since she'd had anyone come close to touching her? To even being this close to her body? Human Contact.. it was a strange and foreign thing to Ellie even before the world turned to shit.

From that point on the two girls had been inseparable, Sophia stuck to Ellie's side like glue and Ellie made sure she was always just a few feet away from Sophia at all times, their was no way she was delivering this kid home to her mother in a body bag. They'd come across a herd just a few days ago and Sophia had nearly passed out when she'd witnessed Ellie take down nearly 20 walkers with nothing but her knives, this had resulted in about an hour of the 10 year old asking her all kinds of questions about what kind of life she lived before this one.

That was definitely not a story for a child.

They were about two weeks into the hunt for Sophia's group when they'd stopped at an abandoned factory to scavenge for something edible, Ellie had given the child most of her canned goods just to build her strength up but with all the walking they were doing, being as weak and tired as she was wasn't good for staying alert.

"Gotta be somethin' in here. Anythin' really. I'll eat dog food if I have too." Ellie wiggled her eyebrows at Sophia and smiled tiredly when she scrunched her nose up in disgust and giggled.

"You will not! You'll get sick if you... mmmph!" Ellie cut off the blonde little girl by smacking a hand to her mouth and tugging her behind the nearest wall she could find. Sophia mumbled something g beneath her fingers and Ellie quickly shushed her, eyes peering over the side of the wall at the back of large shadowy figure.

"We got company sugar. Stay put and stay quiet. If someone comes at you I want you to scream as loud as humanly possible and run as far as you can get... here." Ellie shoved a small hunting knife into Sophia's open palm and wrapped her tiny fingers around the handle "you do what you have to do ya understand?"

Sophia looked up at her with watery eyes and nodded slightly

"Don't die." She whispered desperately.

Ellie felt herself wince, this was part of the reason she liked to be on her own.. she didn't want to lie to anyone and she didn't want to break promises that were inevitably built to fail. So she bent down, pressed a kiss to Sophia's forehead and advanced on the man who currently digging through an empty desk drawer.

"I won't ever stab a man in the back unless he deserves it so do me a favor and turn around nice and slow."

Ellie kept her voice calm and collected as the man in front of her stiffened, his hooked hand contraption raising up in surrender as he turned to face her with a annoyingly cocky smirk, the second his eyes landed on her the smirk grew wider.

"Well well Well... if you ain't the prettiest knife wielding, light footed angel I've ever seen." He drawled, his accent thick just like hers.. he must have been born close to Senoia.

"I'm no angel, I reckon you walk out that door right now and leave and I won't send this knife flying right through that bald skull of yours." She threatened, the venom in her voice further proving just how dangerous she was.

"Ain't lookin' for trouble sweetheart, lookin' for food. Same as you, ya ain't nothin but bones." His eyes scanned her figure blatantly and she didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes this time.

"Well since you're so smart I'm sure you've already figured out that I ain't in the mood to share. So do yourself a favor and walk out of here with one good arm in tact." She took a step forward and the man stepped back, his eyes dropping and his shoulders slumping, he did look awfully hungry and she hadn't expected him to surrender to her so quickly.

"Alright girl.. fine.. this one's all yours. Ain't gonna find anythi.."

"Mr. Merle!"

Suddenly Sophia was darting out from behind the back wall, her skinny legs sending her flying directly into the bald man's body, her arms wrapping around his waist as he stared down at her in shock.

"Sophia?! What the hell are you doing! Get over here!" Ellie whisper screamed, eyes wide and stunned at the carelessness of the little girl she had come to understand.

"Sophia?" The man stepped back, pulling away and holding the young girl by her shoulders "Well I'll be damned." He chuckled ruffling her hair and scanning her quickly for any injuries. Ellie watched as Sophia grinned up at the man and reached for his missing hand carefully.

"I'm sorry I feel like I'm missing something." She dropped the knife she was holding back into the holster on her thigh and raised a brow at Sophia expectantly

"This is Mr. Merle. He lived with us for a long time.. his brother is Daryl, the one who brings us the squirrels!" Sophia smiled excitedly before it turned to confusion as she looked back at Merle "my mom said you died. Said you were too stupid and died."

"Rude." Merle mumbled, his eyes sparkling when he looked back to Ellie. "You know who I am now girly, who the hell are you and why do you have Carols kid?"

Ellie opened her mouth to speak before Sophia cut her off

"Ellie's helping me find my way home. She's been keeping me safe and killing all the walkers and giving me all her food and making sure I get the warmest sleeping spot!" Sophia grinned moving back to take Ellie's hand and curl against her side.

"Oh yeah?" Merle questioned "and what's in it for "Ellie"" He drew out her name and she had to do everything in her power to not haul back and break his already crooked nose.

"Nothing, I'm not looking for a reward. I don't have anything better to do so I'm bringing her home. Beats walking around and trying not to become some zombies dinner." She explained, a genuine smile crossing her face when Merle laughed out loud.

"Got a point girly. Well how'd you like to add a new member to your rescue mission? I'll go with ya, need to find my brother anyway. Fresh eyes never hurt nobody." He hiked his bag over his shoulder and headed towards the door, Sophia hung back with Ellie waiting to see her next move.

Obviously she was going to let him come, his brother was out there too probably looking for him. But it wouldn't hurt to let the cocky man in front of her think she was still deciding. Merle made it to the front door and turned around, Ellie could tell he was nervous of the rejection by the way his good hand wrapped tight around the edge of the door.

"You comin or not?" He pressed grumpily.

After another few seconds Ellie finally let the megawatt smile light up her face as she grabbed Sophia's hand and tugged her past Merle practically skipping as they swung out the doors

It was quiet for a while, they all walked in silence, caught up in their own thoughts before Sophia broke the quiet.

"The three musketeers! That's what we are! The three musketeers." She glanced back and forth between them, her smile wide and proud.

Ellie sughed dramatically and flicked Sophia's nose

"Don't mention that name.. I would kill for a three musketeers right now.. or maybe a snickers bar." She sighed.

It was just a few seconds later when Merle dropped a heavy metal can in her palms, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

"It ain't chocolate but it'll get that stomach a yours filled." He grinned, walking a bit ahead as she flipped the can around to read the label

"Beef and Gravy Dog Food."

Ellies head snapped up to his shaking shoulders as he silently cracked up in front of her.

When fez gets out of prison he has no idea what he’s coming home too. Hundreds of letters left unopened probably revealing the answers to all of his questions but he can’t read them, he doesn’t deserve too.

*Worlds Apart- Eric x OC*

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“I can’t believe we’re stuck in fucking Amity, this place gives me hives.” Eric Coulter swatted away at another low hanging Weeping Willow dangling dangerously close to his line of sight.

It had been way too early in the god damn morning when his cell phone went off, Max’s frantic voice on the other end going on about “the factionless attack on Amity” and how “he better pack a bag because he would be on overnight patrols until further notice.”

What a shitty way to start the weekend.

“I don’t know, I think it’s kind of nice.. fresh air and sunshine never hurt anyone.” Four smirked at the perpetually grumpy grimace on his friends face. “I’m just saying…we’re always cooped up underground in dauntless I haven’t seen the light of day in months.”

As if on cue an orange and yellow butterfly fluttered daintily in front of the two boys before Ianding on Eric’s shoulder and perching there casually. Eric’s entire body tensed as he stood stock still, his shoulders up to his ears and a wide eyed expression on his face, Four had to clamp a hand over his mouth to quiet his hysterics as he stared at the oversized, tattooed man filled with anxiety over a little butterfly.

“Get. it .off .of me.”

He growled through grit teeth nudging his arm slowly and cautiously before four flicked his hand and the butterfly flew off, Eric settled his rifle back over his shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut, shuddering in disgust “I’m going to throw myself into the river before this week is over.” He hissed, marching ahead to lean under the shade of a canopied building and away from the ever present too warm sunshine that seemed to seep through the trees in this faction.

“How long do you think we’ll be here?” Four questioned, moving to stand beside him and closing his eyes as he leaned back.

“Don’t know. Max says until they find who’s leading the factionless armies. Amity is a huge target because of the resources they provide to all of the factions. It’s why they were attacked.” Eric dug his pocket knife into the beds of his nails, it was getting late and someone would be coming to relieve them from their posts soon, he couldn’t wait to sleep this day off and have a beer.. if there was one thing Amity excelled in it was their liquor production.

“Well atleast you got a free meal out of it.. you have to stop giving these guys chances V. They’re not worth your time.”

Fours eyes snapped open and he looked to Eric with a raised eyebrow, they hadn’t seen anyone walking the streets in the past hour or so considering the time.. everyone in Amity seemed to be settling in for the night or out to dinner.

“I know.. but what’s the harm.. you know I can’t say no.. that would be awfully rude.”

Eric and Four stood straight and tall watching as two women rounded the corner of the street.

“You can most definitely say no! It’s not like you’re not busy.. you’re a nurse for Pete’s sake, the head nurse at that.” A short brunette with dark skin and beautiful curls spoke excitedly, her hands flying every which way. She was wearing a pair of dark jean overalls and a yellow bandana around her neck, her feet tucked into clean white slip ons.

“Sophie, I have to have a life too.. I’m trying. you know that.” The most beautiful blonde Eric had ever seen in his entire life spoke calmly to her friend, her long blonde hair was pulled up into a styled bun, pieces loose and dangling by her cheek bones. She had sun kissed golden skin and the longest legs known to man tucked into a pair of strappy heels, her white dress was short and off the shoulder and her shiny chocolate colored eyes were framed by long dark lashes.

“I know that Violet, I’m just tired of seeing you waste your time on these guys who could give a shit less about you.” The brunette sighed.

“I’m going to be just fine, I love that you care but you don’t have to worry about me.. I’m..” violet trailed off, her eyes falling to the two much larger men watching them from against the buildings to their right. Eric watched as her eyes fell to the huge guns clutched in their hands before she quickly took a step in front of her friend and nudged them both back a bit.

“Good evening gentlemen.” She smiled, tense and tight but still the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. “Beautiful night isn’t it?” She was testing the waters, cautious and smart as she observed the two guards curiously.

“Sure is mam. We were just admiring how late the sunshine stays out here in Amity, it doesn’t get this warm in dauntless.” Four answered easily, his eyes lingering just a bit longer on her curly haired friend.

The blondes shoulders loosened dramatically and she seemed to breathe out an audible sigh of relief before she stuck her hand out for four to shake

“I just want to Thankyou so much for what you’re doing for our faction, I know a lot of people were pretty shook up by the attack and having you guys here just makes us feel much more secure and safe. My names Vioet and this is Sophie.. it’s great to meet you.”

“Four, And likewise.” Four shook her hand and smiled before turning to shake her friends hand. Violets body shifted so she was close to Eric, her hand extended and the smell of her strawberry shampoo wafting up towards his nose. The smell made him feel slightly drunk and he had to shake his head to get rid of the thoughts he was currently thinking about the girl in front of him, he fixed his face into his usual sarcastically stoic expression.

“It’s Eric. We’re just doing our job. You usually walk around the streets dressed like that?” He blurted out before he had a chance to stop himself, the question coming out sarcastic and snappy, both Four and Sophie turned to him with equal parts confusion and annoyance.. violet just laughed.

“Not usually no but I was on my way home from a pretty awful date and didn’t think it would be polite to change in the restaurant. Luckily my house is just a street away so if necessary I can just run over there and grab my all black outfit and combat boots.” She teased, eyeing his own outfit up and down.. he did stick out like a sore thumb amongst Amity’s light colors and florals.

He did everything in his power to tamper down the smile threatening to form at her sassy response and teasing manner, he was successful for the most part except for the tiny tilt at the side of his mouth that gave him away. Violet smiled right back before stepping away

“Well we better get going I have to be up early for work and Sophie’s always angry when she doesn’t get enough sleep.” Violets eyes fell to her pretty friend giggling when Sophie shrugged

“Can’t argue with that. A girl needs her beauty rest.” Her sparkling eyes landed on Four for just a split second before she was tugging Violet along with her, the blonde waving one last time before disappearing around another corner.

Four and Eric didn’t say a word for atleast two solid minutes before the shorter boy turned to Eric and grinned.

“Amity’s not so bad after all.”

Eric shook his head and chuckled, rolling his eyes

I feel it all

Riverdale High was average.. plain and boring, Cliche cliques and exhausting displays of hierarchy lined the halls. Between it’s shiny, clean floors and excessive elective classes were normal high school students doing anything to make it to the end of the day.. it was nothing more than your typical small town high school and now having Merged with the lower class side of town, Southside High, the most exciting thing to happen throughout the day was a slashed motorcycle tire or a misplaced all state football trophy and a busted glass case.

Southside High was small, dingy and old.. a sharp contrast to Riverdales modern, clean and advanced high school, but that didn’t mean Jughead Jones liked it any better. Southside High had been his second home, there were no over zealous jocks or prissy cheerleaders sneering at him from the locker room door. there were no iPads and laptops.. there was a library, a cafeteria and space underneath the bleachers.. that’s all he needed… that’s all he wanted. Being here.. surrounded by rich, spoiled upper class trust fund babies?

Yeah. Not quite his style.

And of course the bullies.. he had thought that they were only real in coming of age novels.. he didn’t think the level of immaturity and foolish naivety truly existed.. Riverdale High has proved him desperately wrong. The students here were cruel.. childishly evil and ridiculously unoriginal.. photoshopped pictures taped on lockers, tripping in the hall, name calling.. it was pathetic, barbaric and downright frustrating..and it all was directed at one Riverdale High Student.

Elizabeth Cooper.

He had heard of her long before he’d stepped foot in the halls of Riverdale High, she was one of the most common topics of discussion throughout the tiny town. Adults called her crazy, students called her a freak, and the kindergarteners running through the booths at Pops had penned her “Batty Betty”. Jughead had never actually seen her, she never really left her house if it didn’t involve school and until recently they had been completely separated from each other by the South and North border. There were far too many rumors to count regarding the beautiful blonde…

“I heard she killed her older brother.”

“My mom told me she tried to off herself in Sweet Water River.”

“No one can touch her because she has a terrible disease.”

“They keep her locked away in her house because she came from an insane asylum… I don’t even know why she’s allowed to go to school.”

“Did you hear about the time Josie McCoy accidentally grabbed her in the halls and she had a complete breakdown?”

No one knew the truth, no one ever asked.. jughead included.. in the week they’d been sharing the halls he hadn’t heard her speak once. But god was she beautiful.. she was the type of pretty you only see in magazines, naturally gorgeous with baby smooth skin and long honey blonde curls, her legs went on for days and her eyes, although typically downcast and shaded by her hair, were a stunning shade of emerald green.

But the gloves.

She was never without the gloves.. a fingerless pair of black leather gloves were permanently wrapped around her hands. She kept then tucked to her side or shoved into her pockets, dodging any and everyone who walked in her path, she never looked up and never brushed across anyone. Elizabeth Cooper was not to be touched.. no one dared. It had been made clear since she was a child that she couldn’t be touched, not by anyone.. if anyone was to grab her, hug her or brush a hand across her skin she would scream, her whole body convulsing and pain evident in her eyes.

They called her crazy but Jughead knew.. he knew she wasn’t crazy. He didn’t know how and he didn’t know why but his whole body was telling him there was so much more to Betty Cooper than a pair of gloves and pretty green eyes.

That’s what brought him to this very moment, perched against the streetlight just a few blocks away from the school watching as she made her way up the sidewalk, gloved hands wrapped around her textbooks. She wasn’t looking at him, of course not but he had been waiting.. waiting to catch up to her. she was fast and before he had the chance to fall into step with her she had already breezed past him and was well on her way home.

It took him nearly stumbling over his combat boots to land directly behind her, he stayed there for a few minutes until she whipped around

“Whatever you’re going to do or say.. do it now, I don’t want my dad seeing.. he won’t let me come back to school.” She whispered, her voice was almost as pretty as her face. Elizabeth Cooper stood in front of him, eyes closed and back straight, it took a moment before it clicked, She thought he was like Chuck Clayton and those guys.. she thought he was going to hurt her.

“No! No I didn’t mean to scare you, I just wanted to talk.. that’s all.” Jughead shook his head taking a step back to give her more space to breathe.. he hadn’t even realized how close to her he had gotten.

Slowly her eyes opened, thick lashes fluttering with the mid May wind, she stared at this practically stranger cautiously

“So you can make fun of me? Call me crazy and go to school and tell all of your friends? Just leave me alone.. please.” She spun around picking up her pace as she walked away from him.

“You’re not! I know you’re not.” He called back, his feet glued to the spot.

Betty slowed down but didn’t turn around

“I know you’re not crazy Elizabeth. I know that.” Jughead repeated, still in the same spot.

Betty turned around one last time, a sad kind of ghost like smile on her lips

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m the craziest girl you’ll ever meet.”

Then she was gone, brushed away like the leaves, leaving him staring after her retreating back in awe.

She fell in love with him when she was only six years old, soft pink sweaters and blonde pigtails completely infatuated by dark wavy hair and suspiciously wise, stormy blue eyes. He was like something she had seen before, their was something about the way his head hung a little too low, almost as if he was carrying something heavy on his shoulders a feeling six year old Betty Cooper was all too familiar with.

It had never been easy growing up in the Cooper household, the familiar motto hung on a plaque by the front door “a place for everything and everything in its place.” But perhaps the one thing that had no place was the troubled blonde child hidden in the shadows, scarred palms holding onto a stuffed orange kitten. She would never be Polly Cooper, she wasn’t nearly as beautiful as her sister and her mother let that be known daily, for Alice Cooper looks were the most important thing a girl could have, it didn’t matter that Betty was incredibly intelligent for her age or the fact that at only six years old she had changed more tires than half the men in the small towns mechanic shop, she wasn’t beautiful and she wasn’t enough.

Her father didn’t want to get involved, if he caught her crying to herself under the kitchen table, he would simple touch her cheek with two fingers and whisper “it gets better sport, hang on.” And so she did, she hung on. She hung on tight.

She did however have one escape and that was getting lost in fantasies of her beanie wearing knight in shining armor, they didn’t speak, to be fair Jughead Jones never spoke to anyone, he kept to himself, eerily similar to Betty. One day Betty had brought up her thoughts to her older sister and had received the dirtiest look she had ever seen

“The Jones family is bad news, word around town is his mom beats him up on the daily, you stay away from him, nothing good can come of those people.” Polly had spit, her face scrunched up in disgust.

So Betty did, Betty always did what was asked of her, she never argued, she never fought, she simply agreed and went about her business, eyes downcast and fingers itching to tear into the skin of her soft palms.

“Betty! Get out of that garage and get going to school, you don’t need another Tardy on your attendance.” The shrill voice of Alice Cooper called from inside, effectively tearing Betty out of her reminiscing, she had no idea why Jughead Jones was on her mind this morning. The gorgeous blonde pushed a stray piece of honey blonde hair out of her face as she wiped her grease stained hands on her pants, she had been working on getting an old Camaro up and running, she had even taken the gorgeous cherry red classic home from her fathers shop to work on overnight, she needed this car to work, it could sell for good money.

“Elizabeth!”

Betty rolled her eyes, dropping her wrench with a clatter and heading inside

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” She grumbled, zooming past her mother and grabbing an apple

“Aren’t you going to get changed?” Alice asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust at Bettys plain blue jeans and loose white t shirt, a permanent oil stain smudged across her cheek as she shook her head and headed for the front door.

“I’ll see you when I get home.” She called, slamming the door and finally exhaling. That woman always exhausted her, she was glad to escape to school. The walk to Riverdale took her about ten minutes tops, immediately Jumped by her best friend Veronica Lodge as soon as she stepped foot onto the hall.

“Guess who finally managed to get daddy to agree to letting me have the Porsche?” Veronica clutched Betty’s arm, her dark maroon nails digging into Betty’s arm as she bounced excitedly.

Betty laughed “I’m guessing it’s you?”

Veronica threw her hands in the air and posed “Bingo.” She grinned.

The blonde and the black haired best friends continued on their walk to the lockers

“I’m jealous. You better let me take a look at the inside of the hood, you never know how those German mechanics work, they could ship it down here just to have it break down in a week.” Betty pat the raven haired beauties shoulder affectionately.

“You really think I’d ever drive a car without having you look at it. It’s just one of the many perks of having you as a best friend.“Veronica wiggled her eyebrows teasingly as they arrived at their lockers.

Betty rolled her eyes with a smirk as she looked up from the inside of her locker, her eyes catching on the very person who had been running through her mind all day, she leaned against the locker beside hers, messy ponytail pressing into the cool metal as Jughead Jones, popped his head phones in and shoved books into his satchel, he was so good looking it was sometimes hard to watch, his lean figure was lined with muscle and the way his arms flexed under the flannel he wore when he bent down was enough to have Betty drooling all over herself, if that wasn’t enough there was the fact that his mouth was the literal definition of perfect, heart shaped and deliciously pink, waiting to be..

"Excuse me, Jane Eyre? Do you want to stop pining for about five seconds and pick up all the books that have spilt from your bag.” Veronica grinned cockily, her eyes sparkling at her goofy friend.

Betty looked down quickly and groaned, sure enough her book bag was unzipped and all of her papers and books were scattered on the floor

“Great” she mumbled, looking up at Veronica who was still grinning “are you gonna help me or just laugh at my misery.”

Suddenly the dark haired girls eyes lit up “Sorry Betty but Archie’s coming this way, be right back.” With those final words she flew down the hallway, heels clicking as she jumped into her boyfriends arms.

Betty sighed “Gotta go Betty, gotta go make out with my boyfriend in this very public hallway, I can’t spend two seconds helping you pick up your endless amounts paper from the ground” she mocked playfully, blowing another stray strand of hair out of her face. Reaching for her notebook, a large tanned hand covered her own, Betty’s eyes went wide as she stared at the familiar looking combat boots squatted before her.

“Quite the friend you’ve got there.” Jughead jones smiled lazily , handing her the notebook as he helped her stand.

Keep your cool Betty Cooper, stay calm “Yeah, well she’s a little… distracted.” Her eyes flickered to the couple currently making out in front of some poor freshmans locker.

“I see” Jughead smiled, shoving his NOW empty hands into his pockets

Betty swallowed slowly “Thankyou. For ya know, helping me. My books just can’t manage to stay in my bag.” She shrugged delicately.

“Well it’s better than your lunch running away.” Jughead joked visibly wincing at his poor excuse at humor.

Fortunately for both of them the first period school bell rang, causing the shuffle of students.

“Well…thanks again.” Betty smiled sincerely, hiking her bag over her shoulder, just as she was about to walk away the dark haired boy placed a hand to her forearm, the space he was holding seemed to burn under his touch and he seemed to notice too, staring down at his hand before removing it quickly, his hand came up to her face and gently brushed at a spot on her cheek.

“You’ve got a little..” he trailed off holding up his palm to reveal the oil on his hand.

Betty blushed bright pink “Oil.” She spoke quietly “see you around Jughead Jones.”

His eyes snapped to hers

“See you around Betty Cooper”

Six years old

Sharpie tattoos on his skin that don’t come off in the bath tub and his mom’s coconut scented mouse smoothing his ink black hair. Loves rainwater and the sound it makes against the tin of his trailer roof. only six when his dad leaves for good. His mom leaves too, not physically, just… leaves. Takes in the homeless dogs wandering the Southside, Wraps them in the flannels his dad left behind. He has 5. Rex is his favorite. Thanks god for the first time when his mother leaves her room. Only for a day. Only for a new pack of cigarettes. Bloody knees from exploring the junkyard and heavy pockets filled with broken treasure. Paper airplanes made from eviction notices and stomachaches that don’t go away. Secret handshakes with Sweetpea and a sloppy first kiss from Toni that tastes like Cheerios.

15 years old

Finds out he likes boys… finds out he likes girls too. Steals a book on bisexuality from the riverdale library. Cries with Toni in her grandfathers trailer as the purplehaired girl rubs soothing circles on his back. Sweetpea won’t talk to him, it takes two whole days for the tall boy to come over to his trailer, a basketball in hand and a shrug. He tells him he can like who he wants as long as he doesn’t touch his junk. Meets Kevin Keller. He kisses his tattoos and buys him milkshakes. Falls in love. Falls out of love. Kevin loves Moose. Sweetpea slashes Mooses tires. Sells dime bags of weed for money for baseball cleats. Joins the baseball team, makes varsity league. His mother dies on the day of his first away game.

18 years old

Scholarship to Riverdale Community college. Meets Violet Ross. Falls in love with green eyes and satin brown hair. Buys back his mothers trailer, Finally spreads her ashes by Sweetwater River, Toni holds his hand and Violet holds Rex a few feet away. Sweetpea and Jughead keep watch, Betty Coopers there too. His mother isn’t alone this time. Helps Fp move heavy cartons of cocaine two towns over, nearly throws up when the red and blue lights flash from behind the beat up truck. Drunkenly Fights Chuck Clayton inside Pops two days before graduation. Sherriff Keller doesn’t arrest him, he figures its because he’s tired, Moose was killed two years ago and Kevin had never been the same, he never left home. Buys curtains and table mats, vacuums. Grows up.

22 years old

Six years old

Tall for his age. Ripped Hand me down t shirts from the donation box on Main Street and fingerprint shaped bruises on his arms. Locked bedroom doors for his own safety. Spends most of his time hiding underneath his bed, angry voices filling the tiny trailer and broken glass mixing with his mom’s screams. Frozen peas pressed against his bruised parts and tootsie rolls from his mom’s purse when his dad gets really really mad. A baby sister that’s taken away before he even gets to touch her soft skin in the brightly lit hospital. Mom says there home is no place for a little girl. Meets fangs. Has a best friend. Dirty basketballs from the junkyard and candy stolen underneath winter coats. Fangs trailer is quiet. Stays there whenever he can. Meets Toni. She’s loud and funny and wears dirty dresses. Becomes the unbreakable three. Finds out what it means to love someone. Loves his best friends.

15 years old

Switches schools. Loves Riverdale High but won’t let it show. Watches his two best friends fall in love. Steals the book fangs buys about understanding bisexuality. Reads it every night over and over. Learns to tolerate Jughead Jones. Finds a new best friend in Betty Cooper. Joins the basketball team, Blue and gold jersey underneath his Serpent black leather. Gets straight A’s and a certificate that says “honor roll” folds it up and puts it in the table beside his bed. Spends most of his time at the auto body shop, Loves to fix bikes and cars, loves the smell of oil and the roar of an engine. More prominent in the Serpents, the go to guy. Goes on a double date with Toni and Cheryl, leaves through the bathroom window when the pretty black haired cheerleader asks him if his tattoo is real. Finds his way to Jugheads trailer that night. Betty’s the person to tell him he doesn’t have to date anyone if he doesn’t want too. Jughead agrees, calls his girlfriend the exception. Fudgey homemade brownies and Westside story playing on the Jones tiny tv as Betty cleans up and Sweet Pea falls asleep on the hideous brown couch.

18 years old

Beats out Dilton Doiley for Salutorian. Stands next to Betty at graduation. Holds her hand tight. His parents don’t show up. Toni, fangs and Jughead scream loud enough that it doesn’t hurt as much as it should. Graduation party in Betty’s back yard. Sits next to Veronica Lodge at a picnic table. Pulls her hair and dodges her smacks. Alice Cooper makes sure his plate is never empty. Claps the loudest when Jughead gets down on one knee in Betty’s backyard. Doesn’t go to college. Full time job at the Autobody shop. Meets a girl with brown eyes and blonde hair at a dinner party at Betty’s and Jugheads new house just three streets away from Sunnyside trailer park. She works at Southside high with Betty. Lilah. She’s a guidance counselor. Falls In love two weeks later with her pink painted fingernails resting on his bruised cheek.

22 years old