#otpc

“Jughead?” a voice called out confused, echoing throughout the empty hallway.

The raven haired boy’s eyes shot open in surprise at the familiar voice. He turned his head towards the noise, his gaze falling onto his old friend (Y/N). She was standing a few feet away from him dressed in her cheerleading uniform, holding a duffel bag with one hand and her backpack with the other.

The air suddenly got tense. This was the first time they’d interacted in months since things fell apart between them, though Jughead knew he was the cause for it.  It was rather strange how they had gone from best friends to strangers in the span of one summer.

“(Y/N),” he greeted simply, pushing himself off of the lockers to face her. “What are you doing here?”

She quirked an eyebrow at him gracefully, walking a bit closer. “I could ask you the same question Jones.”

“I asked you first,” he retorted, a slight smile forming on his lips. The banter between them came naturally, almost as if nothing had changed.

(Y/N) pushed a stray strand of (Y/H/C) hair behind her ear and looked down at the bags she was holding. “I finished changing for the basketball game early and decided to put some of my books into my locker.”

Jughead nodded his head slowly. “That would explain the uniform,” he commented giving her a once over.

(Y/N)’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “Now you,” she said firmly, looking up so that her (Y/E/C) eyes made contact with Jughead’s bluish green ones.

He looked into the classroom wistfully. “I left my laptop in there during 7th period. I came back to get it but it’s locked.”

(Y/N) bit her bottom lip between her teeth in thought, looking between Jughead and the door. The action mesmerized him completely.

After a brief moment of silence, she dropped her bags onto the floor by her feet and squatted down next to them. (Y/N) unzipped her backpack and began to dig around for something.

“What are you looking for?” Jughead asked, watching her with a perplexed expression.

She looked up at him, still digging around with one hand in the bag. “This,” she mumbled, pulling out a very full key ring. (Y/N) stood up straight and began flipping through the plethora of keys, a proud smile adorning her face.

“What is that exactly?” Jughead asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just about every key to every door in the city,” she replied casually, not looking up from her task.

Jughead shook his head confused. “Wait, how the hell did you get those?”

(Y/N) looked up finally, holding a small brass key between her fingers. “That’s not important,” she answered mysteriously, a heart stopping grin overtaking her face.

Oh yea, Jughead thought to himself, that’s why I liked her.

“Look, (Y/N),” he started, looking down at his feet shyly. “You don’t need to do this I don’t want you getting in trouble for me or something. I’ll just wait until tomorrow to get it.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes and walked over to the door, sticking the key into the lock. “It’s not a problem Jughead,” she said, twisted the key and successfully unlocking the door.

She turned around to face him directly, her (Y/H/C) flowing effortlessly behind her just like her cheerleading skirt. (Y/N) ‘s (Y/E/C) eye bored into his for moment as they stared at each other in silence.

There was tension in the air between them, but it was a different type. It wasn’t like the uncomfortable, awkward tension that was there at the beginning of their conversation. It was almost… romantic.

Jughead suddenly felt the urge to kiss her. This wasn’t a new feeling however. After-all, it was this exact feeling that constantly overcame Jughead that lead to the end of their friendship. (Y/N) of course, didn’t know this.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it slightly, giving him a soft smile. “Think of it as a favor for an old friend. You know, for old times’ sake.”

He nodded his head, trying to ignore the sensation of electric sparks shooting up and down his arm where she was touching him.  “Thank you,” Jughead whispered softly, a small smile gracing his lips.

(Y/N) nodded her head and dropped her arm back to her side, backing away from him. “Of course.”

Jughead stepped to the side and walked into the classroom, his mind going a mile a minute. He put a hand over his heart, trying to calm its rapid rate.

He didn’t realize how much he missed spending time with (Y/N) until he got a taste of what he was missing. This was the first conversation they had had in months, and it was the highlight of his day.

As Jughead picked up his laptop and shoved it into his backpack, he revisited the decisions he made last summer that ended their friendship.

Jughead stopped being friends with (Y/N) because he was a stupid teenage boy who couldn’t deal with his emotions properly. The minute he began to develop a crush on her, he shut her out.

And now, almost 8 months later, he finally realized what a huge mistake he had made.

He had always heard the phrase ‘hindsight is twenty-twenty’, and at this particular moment he really resonated with it.

So as Jughead zipped up his backpack, laptop in tow, he took a deep breathe trying to instill confidence within himself. He began to walk out of the classroom with a newfound purpose.

A purpose to tell (Y/N) the real reason he stopped being friends with her. A purpose to repair their relationship. A purpose to show her how much she really meant to him.