Work Text:
We can see the stars
I wanna take you so far
Out past the Saturn rings
And into my heart
I wanna drive you wild, wild, wild
I wanna love you for miles and miles
“Wild” by John Legend
6 months until launch
“Betty!” Veronica chirps happily as she enters Betty’s office. Her best friend sits down in the bright orange chair and taps her manicured fingernails against the tabletop.
“I finally decided on a software developer. I made him the offer today,” Veronica says as she hands Betty her daily cup of morning coffee.
“Thanks V,” Betty responds gratefully. She takes a big sip and sighs happily. “Who’d you end up picking?”
“Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third or Jugface. No, wait. That wasn’t his preferred name.” Veronica looks thoughtful for a moment, trying to remember the correct nickname.
“You mean Jughead?” Betty asks, raising an eyebrow. “He gave me the slightly strange and very emo vibe during interviews.”
“Oh yes, you mean when tall, dark and broody couldn’t stop staring at you even though I directly asked him several questions?” Veronica teases. “I feel like I should be offended but I’m not. I think it’s cute.”
“He was not staring at me. He probably just liked my sweater or something,” she retorts and then huffs, crossing her arms. “I liked Brian the best.”
“Ughh Brian,” Veronica says with a look of distaste. “He was so boring. I think I fell asleep just listening to him during his presentation.”
“He graduated from Caltech. He was definitely the most qualified of the bunch.”
“Just because he was the most qualified on paper does not make him the best fit for this company. We’re building the future, Betty.”
“I thought we were building a dating app.”
Veronica sighs and sets her coffee cup down on the desk. “This is why I’m the visionary and you’re the-”
“The loyal worker ant?” Betty prompts.
“You made the analogy not me,” Veronica responds before she gathers up her purse and gets up. “I need to go charm some sponsors. Lunch later?”
She doesn’t wait for a response before she flits out of the room.
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The first time she interacts with him is because of coffee.
Jughead typically refuses to drink the drivel provided by the office. He usually brings his own travel mug filled with his own brew but now it’s nearing 4PM and the drink is long gone. She finds him in the lunch area fiddling with the complex machine, a frown prominent on his handsome face.
He notices her immediately and straightens. He stabs the machine a few more times and it sputters out at him. Frustrated, he lets out a sigh of annoyance.
Betty ignores him for a moment, filling the kettle with some tap water and then setting it to boil, but it’s getting harder and harder to disregard the continuous stream of unhappy noises that he’s making. She grabs a bag of gummy worms from the snack section, opens it, and pops her favorite flavor, the green and yellow ones, into her mouth. She sidles up next to him, still chewing, and gently nudges his hand away from the machine.
“Cappuccino, right?”
He nods silently, staring intently at her.
She holds down the cappuccino button for five seconds. The machine shakes for a moment and then starts spitting out the coffee.
She flashes him a bright smile and then moves back to where she was by the cupboards. She takes her french press out, humming a tune to herself, and fills it with two scoops of her secret stash of coffee. She pours in the hot water, grabs a mug, and manages to balance the french press in one hand and the bag of gummies and mug in the other.
When she turns around, he’s still staring at her and she wonders if he’s been looking in her direction this whole time.
“I always bring my own,” she says before she leaves the lunchroom.
“That’s brilliant,” she thinks she hears him say as she walks away.
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It’s been two weeks since Jughead has started working with them and she realizes a few unfortunate things that she has bullet-pointed:
- From her vantage point in her office, she has a direct line of vision to his desk which means that she spends an inordinate amount of time accidentally staring directly into his eyes or at him in general. Several times, she’ll look up from her typing, trying to gather her thoughts, and see him doing the same thing. It’s distracting and annoying.
- They eat lunch at the same time. Well, really, it seems like he’s eating all the time so this means that whenever she’s in the lunchroom heating up her food, he is there. When she gets a snack, he is there. Whenever she makes herself a coffee -- oh yes, he is also there. She’s starting to think he lives there.
- He agrees with her way too much. She knows she’s smart, talented, and probably way overqualified for her current position as product designer but she also knows that she makes mistakes and has terrible ideas sometimes. However, every time they’re in an all-staff meeting, whenever she makes a point, he has to chime in to say that he wholeheartedly agrees. It’s the most irritating thing. She can’t possibly be right all the time.
This has led her to decide that clearly Jughead Jones wants something from her and is currently trying to suck up to her so that she’ll give in. Well, she’s not so easily fooled. Stubbornly, she decides that whatever he wants, she will not give to him because she’s an independent woman and it’s the 21st century and tactics like this will not work on her.
She tries to explain this reasoning one day when she and Veronica are having drinks after work. Betty sips at her glass of Sauvignon blanc.
“I really think you should’ve hired Brian,” Betty complains.
“Why?” Veronica asks, taking a big swig of her old-fashioned cocktail. “Seems like Jughead loves you so what is the issue here?”
“He’s plotting something, I know it.”
“What are you even talking about? He’s been working with us for two weeks. What could he possibly be plotting?”
“I don’t know all the intricacies of his devious plan, Veronica. This is why I’m looping you into this so you can help me figure it out.”
“Have you officially lost your marbles? What is your issue with him?”
“Okay, so have you noticed how he agrees with me all the time?”
Veronica raises an eyebrow. “And this is bad, why?”
“I can’t be right all the time, Ron! He agrees with even my dumbest, most out there ideas.”
“So maybe he likes that you think out of the box sometimes?”
“Okay.” Betty slaps her hand down on the table, jostling her wine. “How about how he’s constantly in the lunchroom? He keeps trying to make conversation with me every time I go in there. Like can I please just eat my sad salad in peace?”
There’s a devious smile on Veronica’s face and suddenly, Betty wonders if she should’ve told her best friend this at all.
“I think someone has a crush.”
“What?” Betty manages to sputter out. “You think he has a crush on me?”
“No, I think you have a crush on him.”
Betty scoffs loudly and shakes her head frantically in a comical way. “Absolutely not. I’m 25. I don’t have crushes anymore.”
“I don’t think we ever grow out of the ability to crush, Bettykins. I think it’s cute.”
“This is not cute,” Betty hisses in response.
“Well, I mean we are creating a dating app that’s supposed to help people find love. Maybe we can help you both find a little love along the way.”
“I’m not talking about this anymore.” She downs the rest of her wine and waves at the waiter for another drink.
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5 months until launch
Betty stands at the white board in the conference room and starts to scribble down her ideas.
Potential Profile Questions:
- The one thing you should know about me
- Most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done
- What I wanted to be when I grew up
- Describe your typical Sunday
- I’ll know I’ve made it when:
- This year, I really want to:
- I'll fall for you if:
She pauses for a moment and holds the cap of the marker to her lips. She adds: A secret that only my pet knows about me.
“I really like that last one.”
Betty swerves around in surprise. She recaps the marker and places it back on the ledge. She cocks her head to the side in question.
“My dog, Hot Dog, knows more things about me than anyone else in the world, I think,” Jughead explains. He fidgets with the papers in his hands and then sets them down on the conference table.
Against her better judgement, she smiles at this. “What kind of dog do you have?”
“He’s a sheep dog mix.” He takes out his phone and presses a few buttons before he shows her the screen. “He’s only 4 but he’s wise beyond his years.”
“He’s so cute,” she coos at the picture. She bites her lip and asks hesitantly, “So what is the secret that only Hot dog knows about you?”
“I hate thunderstorms,” he says honestly. She’s surprised at the revelation.
“Any reason why?”
He shrugs and settles into a chair. “Just a bad memory associated with them.”
“I’m sorry,” she replies softly. He smiles and nods. She sits down at the table across from him and they start to discuss the functionality of the dashboard.
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“I think we should intersperse images with fun facts about the user,” Betty says to the team around the table.
“You don’t think that’ll be distracting?” Kevin asks with a small frown. “Every app that I’ve used, and lord knows I’ve used plenty, usually has the profile picture and additional images on top and then the text below that. Are we really going to go against the standard formula?”
“No one ever actually reads the profile though. Some people write an entire essay with paragraphs of information that no one will actually look at,” Betty argues. “You know as well as I do that most people are visual so we should design our app to highlight that. Each user profile is composed of a few images and a few fun facts, one sentence max, all mixed together.”
“Can you draw it out for us?” Veronica asks, intrigued.
Betty walks up to the white board and starts to illustrate her idea. When she’s done, she takes in a deep breath and turns around.
Kevin still looks apprehensive but Jughead and Veronica have both leaned forward a bit. Betty bites her lip and waits for the verdict.
“I like it,” Jughead says first. “This design plays into the hypothesis that we are now a society that wants to consume facts instantaneously. Our attention span is a few seconds long. Short bursts of information combined with images will encourage each individual user to actually continue to scroll down through the profile which provides increased engagement.”
Something warm spreads across her stomach at his words and she finds herself smiling.
“Okay,” Veronica decides. “Let’s do this. Jughead and Betty, can you guys plan to work on a sample user profile for us?”
“Absolutely,” Betty breathes out. She sits back down with a relieved sigh and watches as Kevin gets up to present his different ideas of how to market the app when it is released.
From across the table, Jughead winks at her and she flushes, looking away from him and towards the front of the room at Kevin.
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It's dark out and she has no idea what time it is. They've been working for hours together, papers and notes spread over the conference room table, their secondary joint office. She had been distracted earlier, watching as the sun slowly dipped under the horizon and turned the sky shades of pink and purple.
Jughead paid no attention to the sunset, simply focused on his work. She admires this aspect of his personality because she's like that too.
“You know what I just realized?” Betty asks as she takes a bite of lo mein, sitting back against the chair.
“What?” Jughead asks while chewing his broccoli beef.
“I think Kevin will be the only one that works here that will end up actually using this app after we design it.”
He snorts indelicately. “Doesn’t he use Grindr?”
“You know Kevin isn’t loyal to just one app. He probably has an account on every one. He’s ready to settle down with his Prince Charming.”
Jughead lets out a small laugh and continues to finish off the rest of his entree. He grabs an egg roll from the carton in the center of the table, equidistant between them. “You don’t think you’ll use it?”
“I don’t think so,” Betty says honestly. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be brave enough to put myself out there like that. It just seems a little daunting.”
“I can relate to that,” Jughead responds. “I’ve spent most of my life hiding behind something. When I was younger, it was books and video games. Now it’s programming languages and computer screens.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”
“What? Hiding?”
“Yeah,” she says softly. She grabs an egg roll as well, biting into the end. “It just means that you need to find someone that will hide with you.”
The look he gives her is undecipherable but she can feel his gaze burning into her skin. She clears her throat uncomfortably and returns her attention to the papers scattered out on the table in front of her.
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4 months until launch
Betty and Jughead are discussing which aesthetic elements to incorporate into the dashboard when Veronica bursts into the conference room.
“I need you to download Tinder and create a profile,” she says to Betty seriously.
Betty looks at her incredulously. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I need you to download Tinder and create a profile,” Veronica repeats. She sits down across from Betty and snatches her phone from the table.
“Ronnie, what are you doing?” Betty demands before she rips her phone from Veronica’s grip. “Why are you forcing me to do this? Also, why can’t you do it?”
“We need to do some competitor research, first of all. And I’m forcing you to do this over Kevin or Jughead because women statistically get more matches than men. Also men prefer blondes over brunettes.”
“Veronica, I am not-”
Before Betty could finish, Jughead chimes in. “What if we just created a fake profile?”
“Okay, a fake profile with real pictures of Betty?” Veronica asks.
“I do not give you consent to use my real pictures,” Betty says.
Veronica seems to be ignoring her. She starts to scroll through her phone, clicking every so often.
“What are you doing?” Betty asks, suspicious.
“I’m creating a profile for you. I have a bunch of pictures of you on my phone already. Genius idea, Jughead.”
Betty glares daggers at Jughead who shrinks down in his chair sheepishly. “Veronica, stop what you’re doing right now. I do not give you permission to use my face.”
She walks over to the other side of the table and tries to wrench the phone out of Veronica’s hands without any success. They struggle for a few moments before Veronica skips off to the side of the room, cackling.
Betty cradles her head in her hands as she watches Veronica continue to tap away at her phone. After a few more minutes, Veronica claps her hands together in excitement.
“Okay, so you are officially Nancy Drew, single and ready to mingle!”
“Nancy Drew, really? Seems a little on the nose. People are obviously going to realize this is a fake profile,” Betty says with a roll of her eyes.
Veronica continues on as if she hadn’t spoken. “You are 25, love long walks on the beach, and watching romantic movies.”
“You know I hate the sand,” she mutters before she walks up to Veronica and snatches the phone from her hands, reading everything that Veronica had written. “I do not love peach champagne!”
Veronica grabs the phone back and throws her head back laughing. “Oh my god! You already have a match. This is amazing.”
“What?”
“Really?”
Jughead and Betty both ask their questions at the same time. Betty rests her shoulder against Veronica’s shoulder as she peeks over.
“Wow, you’re right. Nancy’s got like two matches already. I don’t know if I should be offended or flattered.”
“Definitely not the latter,” Jughead pipes in.
Betty rolls her eyes at his response. “Well, I guess I should start looking through Tinder’s interface and learn from their mistakes.”
Veronica gives her a smile. “See, I knew you’d get on board.” She hands her phone over to Betty. “Do a little research for a bit and then you have my blessing to delete the profile immediately afterwards.”
“Thank goodness,” Betty mutters. She sits back down next to Jughead and starts to scroll through the page.
“Let me know what you find!” Veronica calls out as she leaves them to their work.
Betty jots down her notes as she scrolls a few more times. She pushes the phone towards Jughead to let him take a look as well. When she looks up, his arms are crossed and he looks mildly agitated.
He takes the phone wordlessly and stares at the screen for a few minutes. Betty’s still writing down her thoughts when Jughead speaks.
“Clearly the swiping motion is integral to their user interface design. I think this is something we might be able to replicate easily.”
“I don’t think I like the swiping element as much though. I don’t know about you but it seems like it would be too easy to accidentally swipe left on someone that you actually liked. So what if we did a like function instead?”
“Similar to Instagram or Facebook?”
“Exactly.” Betty nods. “That type of feature will be familiar to most social media users.”
He appears to agree and goes up to the white board to start writing down his ideas. They work in silence for a bit, him at the board and her in a chair. When he finally rejoins her at the table, he sits down with a sigh. He looks at the phone next to her.
“Are you going to delete the profile? I don’t think we need it anymore.”
She looks at it thoughtfully. “We could always keep it around for more research. It’d be easier than making a new profile every time we have a question about the competitor.”
“I think you should delete it,” he says decisively. “I mean, just think of how much storage space and processing power that app is using up. You should definitely delete it.”
Betty looks at him in utter confusion. “Well, I guess we don’t really need it anymore,” she says mostly to herself. She taps the phone a few times and in a few clicks, Nancy Drew’s profile is officially removed from the app.
He seems to visibly relax after that.
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Their late nights and dinners at the office become the normal way they spend their evenings. They switch off deciding who gets to pick where they order dinner from. Tonight, it is Jughead’s turn so they get delivery from a diner a few blocks away.
Betty takes a bite of her pastrami on rye, earbuds in, as she types away at her laptop. Her immediate surroundings are only illuminated by the light of her monitor and the sole desk lamp they've left on.
Most nights, they work quietly in the relative dark. It feels safe that way.
She glances up as she chews, noticing how distracted Jughead seems to be. He’s staring out at the window as the rain drops that keep pelting the glass. She turns towards where he’s looking and sees a flash of light against the dark grey sky. There’s a rumbling of thunder and Jughead flinches at the sound.
He hates thunderstorms.
She remembers it suddenly. She clears her throat, drawing his attention away from the window. “Hey, do you want to come help me with this?” She moves to a new window on her monitor.
Jughead sits down next to her and she rattles off a few questions that she actually knows the answers to, hoping to distract him. This seems to work as he looks at the screen intently. There’s another flash and a clap of thunder and he visibly recoils from the sound. She takes her right earphone out and hands it to him.
“Listen to this,” she says soothingly. “It’s a great album.”
He murmurs his thanks. They continue to work like that in relative silence, both enjoying the music. When he speaks next, it’s so soft that she barely hears him over the sound of the song playing.
“My mom left and abandoned our family during a thunderstorm,” he reveals. “Since then I’ve always hated them.”
Betty turns to him, concerned, but he doesn’t look at her. He continues to work at the computer.
“I’m so sorry,” she tells him. He nods briefly, accepting this but not wanting to delve further into the topic.
When the thunder rumbles a few minutes later, she smiles reassuringly at him and squeezes his knee.
“It’ll be okay.”
“I know,” he responds. “Thank you.”
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3 months until launch
Veronica invites Jughead and Kevin to their next after work drinks outing and Betty resists the urge to kick her under the table when she starts giving her saucy winks and encouraging nods in Jughead’s direction.
She definitely does not have a crush on Jughead. That would be ridiculous. They are colleagues that just happen to get along really well and work together in an effective and productive environment -- nothing more.
They're celebrating tonight because the meeting with Facebook went particularly well this afternoon. The folks they had met with loved the app concept and the sample user profile that she and Jughead had worked tirelessly on. This response is better than they could’ve hoped for and Veronica immediately called for alcoholic beverages. Any type of partnership with the company would greatly impact their user base so Betty is cautiously optimistic that this may be their big break.
It would certainly make all these late nights at work worth the effort.
Betty sips at her white wine, Sauvignon blanc of course, and bops her head to the music, not really paying attention to the conversation. Kevin and Veronica are still talking about how the meeting went and she wants no part of that discussion.
She just wants to decompress.
She finishes her wine and moves to the bar to get another drink. The others barely seem to notice as she leaves. As she stands there waiting to get the bartender's attention, she feels someone stand next to her.
He's a handsome stranger with the most captivating caramel brown eyes. He smiles at her winningly and just as he's about to open his mouth to speak, she feels herself being pulled away.
She starts to complain and resist until she realizes it's Jughead.
"Sauvignon blanc, right?" He asks as he waves at the bartender, immediately getting their attention.
A tiny huff escapes her. "Yes," she replies shortly. "I was about to talk to that guy."
He seems unaffected, a neutral expression on his face as he leans on the bar and places their order. "He looks boring."
"What do you mean he looks boring? How does one look boring?" She retorts.
"Don't you want someone that challenges you when you need it? Someone that is complementary to your personality and has similar interests?"
"How do you know that guy isn't that?"
"Call it instinct," he replies simply and hands her the glass of wine. She starts to grab her wallet when he stops her, waving her off.
She's mildly annoyed but accepts it as a form of payment for when he dragged her away from a nice, tall and attractive man.
As they make their way back to the table, Jughead keeps a hand at the small of her back, leading her in the direction of their colleagues. Strangely, she enjoys the sensation.
The rest of their night passes away in a jovial blur, conversations with random strangers long forgotten.
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Veronica decides to hire a junior software developer, someone that can assist Jughead with the source code so they can meet their upcoming deadlines. Brian, sadly, did not apply for the position so Betty didn’t really have an opinion on who Veronica ended up hiring.
“Just make sure they can deal with his temperament. You know how moody he gets,” Betty had advised.
Today is the new developer’s first day and Betty had baked cookies, hoping to welcome them on board eagerly. After all, she would be working very closely with this person along with Jughead.
“You didn’t bake me cookies when I started,” Jughead complains as he moves to grab a cookie off the table. She slaps him away and he retracts his hand with a pretend wounded look. She rolls her eyes at him.
“You can have one after Ethel has one first.”
When she finally does meet Ethel later on in the day after Veronica stops by her office in the middle of the introductory tour, Betty realizes that she’s really, really pretty. She has soft red curls that frame her face and the sweetest disposition.
Something twinges in her chest but Betty deliberately avoids it. Instead, she smiles widely and introduces herself brightly and with more pep and energy than she’s expressed cumulatively over the last few months. She hands Ethel the plate of welcome cookies to which Ethel thanks her profusely. Veronica shoots her a weird look as she escorts her to the next part of the tour.
The feeling remains unnamed.
Betty suddenly has visions of all the late nights and the close proximity in which Jughead and Ethel will be working together over the next few months. Something within her wants to reach out and build a barrier between them. She doesn’t understand what she’s feeling and what this unexpected compulsion that’s growing in the pit of her stomach is.
She does what she does best -- she pushes it down and ignores it.
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They’re laughing together again.
Betty resists the urge to storm over to Jughead and Ethel’s conjoined desks and demand to know just what exactly is so hilarious that they’ve been giggling and snorting over it for the last 26 minutes. Yes, she counted.
She squeezes her fingers into her palms, letting the pressure of her fingernails and the briefest hint of pain center her. It’s not enough to break the skin but it’s just enough to snap her out of her thoughts.
She bites her lip and looks down at her palms, shame creeping into her cheeks. It’s a leftover coping mechanism from when she was younger. She hasn’t done it in years.
She hates that she’s doing it now. She goes online that afternoon and buys a large standing plant for her office that will block her direct viewpoint of the software developers’ desks.
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Working with Ethel is painfully pleasant.
She’s the most easy-going, hard-working, lighthearted and kind soul that Betty has ever had the displeasure of working with. Betty hates her so much for it. A part of her wishes that Ethel has more annoying characteristics but she doesn’t. She’s so goddamn sweet and adorable.
It’s pissing her off. Betty knows she’s unreasonably moody but she can’t help herself.
After a stupidly productive meeting in which Jughead happily presented that his team is officially ahead of schedule now, Betty leaves immediately after it ends and storms into the restroom. She grips the white porcelain of the sink and splashes a little cold water on her face. She does a breathing exercise that she learned as part of a mindfulness seminar.
Deep breath in. Focus on the breath. Breathe out.
When she opens her eyes and looks into the mirror, Veronica is standing behind her, staring at her with a worried expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Betty plasters a forced smile onto her face and starts to make excuses but her best friend stops her.
“Don’t lie to me, B.”
Betty drops her head and tightly grips the sink one last time before she turns around. “It’s just a stupid crush,” she finally says.
Veronica steps forward and envelops her in a hug. Betty immediately melts against her, enjoying the warmth and comfort.
“This is way more than a crush, Betty. You should tell him how you feel.”
“I can’t,” she replies simply. “I won’t.”
There’s a look of disapproval on Veronica’s face but she doesn’t say anything more. She just continues to hug her.
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2 months until launch
Ethel bakes a lot. She’s also really good at it, often experimenting with new flavor combinations and textures.
Betty tries her best not to partake in her tasty treats for a variety of reasons:
- She doesn’t want to give Ethel the satisfaction of actually enjoying her scrumptious delights
- Carbs are the devil’s food and bad for you. Her mother has forever ingrained this into her brain.
- There’s really no third reason no matter how hard she tries to think of one.
She knows she’s being petty but this small consolation makes her feel just a tiny bit better.
Betty has also gradually pulled back on how friendly she is with Jughead. In previous months, they would sometimes just spend hours talking in the conference room, making jokes, sharing stories, and just generally, being good friends.
They don’t do that anymore.
Instead, Jughead does that with Ethel. It feels like he’s replaced her with Ethel.
It hurts more than she would like to admit.
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Ethel’s out sick today because of food poisoning. Apparently her latest baking experiment did not end well.
This leaves Jughead and Betty working alone in the darkened conference room. They mutually decide on ordering Chinese, their go-to favorite. She’s nibbling on the corner of a crab rangoon when he interrupts her work, his voice clear against the quiet night.
“Are we okay?”
She doesn’t look up from her monitor. “Yeah, we’re fine,” she says dismissively. She finishes the rest of her crab rangoon and goes to grab the carton of lo mein when he puts his hand over hers, stopping her. She pulls her hand back like she’s been burned.
“We don’t really talk anymore.”
“What are you talking about? We talk every day,” she responds.
“Not about work, Betts. You know what I mean,” he trails off and looks at her with a pained expression.
She’s not having this conversation. Not now.
Betty shrugs and reaches for the carton again, snatching it back quickly towards her side of the table. She digs in and doesn’t respond.
“I miss you,” he says softly.
She drops her chopsticks back down into the carton. She meets his gaze and offers him a small smile. “I miss you too, Jug.”
They’re quiet for a few more moments, neither really knowing how to move forward the conversation. They remain at the precipice -- still and frozen, terrified of tumbling over. So for now, they don’t, still safely ensconced on solid ground.
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Veronica Lodge does not do anything like a regular person. She’s always got to be different and unique. So, when the winter holidays roll around, she decides that her company will not host a Christmas party but will instead, host a New Year’s Eve party.
Betty has to admit that it’s a brilliant idea. Everyone is planning on staying in the city for the holiday anyway and it’s a great excuse to drink copious amounts of alcohol and not be judged for it.
Veronica rents out the top floor of a fancy hotel downtown. The event center slash ballroom is surrounded by glass and it’s all a little surreal when Betty steps into the space wearing a silky silver dress that hugs all her curves. Her hair is down and falls around her face in soft waves.
She stands at the edge of the room, her breath forming small fog circles on the glass. Staring down at the city lights beneath her, she feels a buzz of anticipation. She loves New Year’s Eve. She’s always loved how it signifies a fresh start. Every single mistake that she made this year doesn’t matter in the new year. She can finally move on from them.
She looks down at her palms and makes a promise to herself. She won’t do that again in this new year. She won’t let anything deter her from this pledge. No one, not even a handsome, tall, dark and broody heartbreaker, will avert her goal.
The night’s frivolities have put everyone in the best of moods. Betty giggles as Kevin twirls her around the dance floor. She throws her head back and lets the cool air hit her face. When they finally move to the bar to take a breather, she grabs a glass of champagne that she quickly downs. She’s about to order some white wine when Jughead approaches her, handing her a glass.
“Sauvignon blanc.”
“Thank you,” she says with a bright smile. Her cheeks are still red from dancing and she’s positive she looks like a sweaty mess right now. “Happy New Year!”
“Thanks, Happy New Year to you too.”
They stand away from the crowd, awkwardly smiling at one another. She shifts her foot from one leg to another.
“You look beau-”
“Any New Year’s resolutions?”
They speak at the same time and Betty doesn’t hear his declaration.
“Sorry, what was that?” She asks.
He fidgets with his whisky glass. “Nothing,” he finally says.
“Any New Year’s resolutions?” She repeats after a few moments.
“Oh.” He seems caught off-guard even though he’s heard the question twice now. “I’m going to eat healthier.”
Betty giggles at this. “No more ordering takeout Chinese and diner food?” She teases.
Jughead lets out a laugh and nods. “Yes, and no more sweets.”
“You definitely wouldn’t be able to resist that.”
“You’d be surprised.” He gives her a genuine smile and she feels like he’s making her an unspoken promise. She wants to ask him what he means by that but before she can, the countdown starts.
She finishes the rest of her drink and sets it to the side. When it hits 20, she starts to join in on the countdown and claps her hands together after each number. She and Jughead continue to smile at each other.
When it finally hits one, she claps and yells out, “Happy New Year!”
Her voice is drowned out by all the other cheers in the room. She turns to Jughead and gives him a dazzling smile.
“Happy New Year, Juggie.”
He doesn’t respond. Instead, he focuses his eyes on the curve of her lips. Before she can process what’s happening, he leans forward and places the gentlest kiss against her lips. His arms go around her midsection and he brings her closer. She can smell the scent of his cologne, a mix of oak and saffron. He pulls back after what feels like the briefest of moments.
“Happy New Year, Betts,” he says softly.
She’s stunned. She touches a finger to her lips, her eyes still wide with shock. Before she can say anything, Veronica, Ethel, and Kevin bounce over to them, all clearly inebriated. They all start to wish each other a very Happy New Year.
Even entangled in Veronica’s arms and drunken affectations, Betty can’t stop staring at Jughead. He gazes right back.
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1 month until launch
He doesn't talk to her about it.
To be fair, she doesn’t try to talk to him about it either. She’s replayed the kiss in her mind over a thousand times between that evening and when she returns to work after a brief vacation three days later.
He doesn’t text her. He doesn’t call her. When she gets back to the office, he greets her with a friendly, platonic, absolutely not romantic smile. So, they don’t talk about it.
During her time off, she had determined the kiss was either one of two things:
- Just a genial New Year’s kiss between two friends that had no romantic undertones
- A proclamation of five months’ worth of desire and affection that definitely involved romantic feelings
He clearly meant the first when he kissed her. It’s so obvious. There’s nothing intimate between them at all. The kiss meant nothing -- it’s so clear.
Except it’s not. It’s so goddamn ambiguous that she’s spent hours and hours speculating.
It’s just exhausting at this point.
She wonders if it was an accident? Perhaps he doesn't want to talk about it because there's something simmering between him and Ethel and the kiss was a mistake. He couldn't find Ethel that night so he settled for Betty.
The more she thinks about it, the more she believes these fabricated lies.
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There’s a bit of a commotion in the front lobby and Betty peeks her head around her monitor, unable to contain her insatiable curiosity. She thinks she sees Ethel, Jughead, Veronica and Kevin all gathered around and merrily chatting about something. Betty’s neck is extended so far past the monitor at this point that she probably looks ridiculous.
She grabs her mug of water, dumps it into her new office plant that she’s named Benjamin the Ficus, after his scientific name Ficus benjamina. Airily, she walks out past the lobby and pretends that she’s heading towards the water fountain.
“Oh Betty!” Ethel calls out.
Betty pretends to be surprised and walks over leisurely, joining the group.
“This is my boyfriend, Dilton. He’s visiting me for the week and I thought I’d bring him by,” Ethel says with the biggest smile. Her fingers are intertwined with Dilton’s and they keep staring into each other’s eyes lovingly.
"This is your boyfriend," Betty says slowly, as if not comprehending the words. "And his name is Dilton." Not Jughead, she wants to add but doesn't. "Fascinating."
Dilton and Ethel both give her a confused look. In fact, most of the group seems to be looking at her with a perplexed expression. She ignores them all and starts to make polite conversation with Dilton, asking about his job and interests.
After a few more minutes, Betty smiles at them all politely and makes an excuse to retreat back to her office. She sets the empty mug down on her desk and pushes a hand into her face, her back facing the door.
She hears a knock and turns around quickly, pasting a courteous smile on her face.
“Jug?”
He stands in the door frame, looking devilishly handsome in a dark navy blue button down shirt and black jeans. A lock of raven hair falls into his face as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.
“How’d you like Dilton?” He asks, his voice neutral.
She moves so she stands behind her desk and sits down. “He seems nice, a little intense but still very lovely.”
“Yeah, he is lovely.” Jughead nods slowly. “He was also lovely when I met him a few months ago at that after work drinks thing that Veronica hosted for Ethel when she first started working here. You know, to welcome her aboard?”
Heat burns through her cheeks and she fidgets with her mouse, returning her attention to her computer.
“Oh right, I think I missed that.”
“Yeah, you did,” he says, looking intently at her.
She’s still deliberately avoiding his gaze and eventually, she hears him sigh and leave her office.
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Launch
It’s finally here.
Betty’s worked so hard so they could meet their target launch date for the last few months and it feels amazing that they’ve finally accomplished that. As of 12PM today, their dating app has officially launched, available for download on iOS and Android.
Veronica insists at the launch party that every person that works at the company should download the app so that the initial numbers will be high. This is how Betty begrudgingly finds herself downloading the app that she has spent countless hours creating. She clicks through and creates the most basic of profiles, hoping that would satisfy Veronica.
Betty sips at her champagne as she moves through the crowd, occasionally stopping to chat with a few sponsors, posing for pictures with Veronica, and providing quotes to several media outlets. The crowd has died down and she feels dead on her feet.
She’s good with talking to people but she’s always seen herself as an introvert with extrovert personality traits. Socializing and putting on a polite and friendly face is exhausting.
Her phone dings and buzzes. She grabs it from her pocket and looks at it in utter confusion. She has a match. She frowns at it.
How could she possibly have a match when she didn’t fill out anything in her profile? She clicks on the notification and their app takes over the screen.
Jughead, 27, 5”11, graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, software developer
The one thing you should know about me: I'm terrible at talking about my feelings. The prospect always seems to terrify me.
Most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done: When I kissed you on New Year’s Eve. I’ll remember that moment forever.
What I wanted to be when I grew up: A writer. Somehow I’ve switched from writing novels to writing code.
Describe your typical Sunday: Sleeping in and cuddling with Hot Dog.
I’ll know I’ve made it when: I can stop debating if I want to buy the store brand or the name brand.
This year, I really want to: I want to finally tell you that I’ve been in love with you for ages now. I honestly can’t even remember a time when I didn’t love you after you came into my life.
I'll fall for you if: I’ve already fallen for you. Please tell me you feel the same way.
She almost drops her phone after she finishes scrolling through his profile. He loves her? What? She immediately storms out of her office, searching for a particular raven-haired software developer but she can’t find him anywhere. She spots Ethel instead and walks over, greeting her and Dilton distractedly.
“Hey, have you seen Jughead?”
Ethel smiles sweetly and shakes her head. “I think he went home early. He said he wasn’t feeling well but I think he just doesn’t do well with crowds.”
A disappointed look appears on Betty’s face and she says her thanks before retreating into Veronica’s office, shutting the door behind her. She hops onto the computer and starts to input a few things and after a few clacks, she’s managed to break into the company’s private personnel files. She’s not necessarily a hacker, per se, but she does have enough know-how to finesse her way around the protection. She makes a mental note to tell Veronica to improve the security on this personal information.
She inputs the address into Google Maps and closes out of all the windows, leaving no trace.
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It only takes 15 minutes to get to Jughead’s apartment and she stomps up the stairs to the third floor. By the second landing, she loses a bit of momentum and silently curses Jughead for living in a walkup without an elevator like a heathen.
She calms her breathing and runs her fingers through her hair, making sure she looks somewhat presentable. And then, she’s pounding on his door.
It swings open in a few seconds, as if he’s expecting her. He’s still dressed in his launch party outfit, a light grey button down shirt paired with some dark grey slacks. They mold his ass well and she definitely was not staring at it for most of the party.
“What is this?” She asks, holding up her phone. His profile picture, one where he’s holding Hot Dog and laughing, is displayed prominently on the screen.
“It’s my profile,” he answers and she has to stop herself from slapping him on the chest for his obtuse answer.
“Yes, I see that. Imagine my surprise when the only match that I get is with you. How could you just leave the party like that?”
“What do you mean?”
"Really?" She demands. "You're going to profess your undying love for me and then just disappear? Do you know how many laws I had to break to find your address?"
"I thought it'd be more romantic that way,” he replies sheepishly.
"Your intuition on this type of thing is terrible." She pauses for a moment and stares up at him. “Can I come in?”
He immediately moves to the side and welcomes her in with a gesture. She walks into the apartment and is silently impressed. There’s exposed brick and hardwood floors. The walls are lined with books and it seems like the ideal place for him. This is exactly how she imagined where he lives, not that she imagined that at all in the past.
She steps into the living room and clasps her hands together, turning to him slowly. “Did you mean it?”
He seems to be watching her and trying to read her face. Her hands settle on her hips and she looks at him, annoyed that he hasn’t answered her question.
“Did you mean it?” She repeats.
“Of course, I meant it,” he finally says softly, exhaling deeply. He flops down onto his couch and runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve been hopelessly in love with you since the day I walked into that meeting room to interview with you and Veronica. I’ve been in love with you all this time and I just didn’t know how to tell you. I waited for any sign from you to see if you were interested in me too but I could never be sure. So then I thought it’s fine, we can just be friends but then it seemed like you didn’t even want to be that. I felt like you’ve been slipping away from me these last few months and it scares me because if you don’t see me that way then fine I’ll just deal with it but I still want you in my life.” He pauses in his monologue. “I need you in my life, in whatever way possible.”
She stares at him for a few moments, expression unreadable. Then wordlessly, she approaches him and holds a hand to his cheek.
“You’re an idiot. Of course, I’m in love with you too.”
The biggest grin spreads over his face and he moves closer, pulling her body in to mold against his. He starts to say something but she interrupts him.
“Before you launch into another soliloquy, can you just kiss me?”
Jughead nods and lowers his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply. She moans into the kiss and sinks into it, her hands going into his hair. She’s wanted to run her hands through it ever since she first saw him and his unruly locks. It’s so much softer than she expects it to be.
He backs her up towards the couch and they fall onto it, him on top of her until he moves so that he’s seated and she’s straddling him. She reaches behind her and takes off her heels. His hands run up and down her exposed thighs and she’s glad that she had the foresight to wear nice lingerie today under the short black dress.
Her new favorite activity is kissing him, she decides. Of course, he’s a wonderful kisser. The smug bastard is good at everything.
She unbuttons his shirt, taking care with the buttons because she realizes it’s a nice shirt, and when she’s exposed his chest, she runs her fingernails down his pectorals and abdomen. His muscles pulse under her touch and she takes the shirt off of him, throwing it somewhere behind her. He returns the favor and strips her of the dress and bra.
His hands feel like they’re everywhere and she pants against his mouth when his fingers skim the edge of her underwear. His mouth is on her neck, nibbling and sucking at it while he teases her between her legs. She whimpers involuntarily as he pushes her underwear to the side and starts to stroke her. His thumb flicks over her clit and she grinds further onto his hand. He enters a finger into her slowly and she drops her head to his shoulder, letting out a low moan.
He forces her head up with one hand, his fingers grazing her chin.
“Look at me when I touch you.”
Her green eyes snap up to meet his blue ones and she’s taken aback by how intensely he’s staring at her, his eyes darkened.
“Juggie, please,” she says, her voice hoarse. She’s honestly not even sure what she’s begging for. She just wants to feel him everywhere.
He nods into her neck as if understanding and gently, moves her off of him for a moment as he undoes his pants, grabbing a condom from his wallet as he does so. He moves faster than she’s ever seen him. She hooks her fingers around her underwear and slowly drags it down her legs. He watches her actions, a low growl emitting from his throat.
He pulls her back on top of him and before she can think or process, he slips inside her with a sigh. She throws her head back, exposing the column of her neck to him to which he eagerly places kisses all along it. She starts to move her hips back and forth and he meets her stroke for stroke. She can feel him pulse inside of her as he moves rougher, faster, and deeper. He grabs her hips, pressing his fingertips into her skin, marking her.
He leans back against the couch and stares up at her through hooded lashes in reverence.
“I love you,” he manages to squeeze out as he pumps his hips into her choppily.
His thrusts become messy and harder. His thumb comes to her clit and he rubs it, making her moan even louder. She opens her mouth in a silent scream as she comes, gripping him like a vise, as she collapses against him. He groans and moves into her one last time, holding her body flush against his as he comes inside her in hot spurts.
She’s trying her best to catch her breath. After a few quiet moments, she rubs her nose against his neck as she snuggles further into his body.
“I love you too,” she whispers against him.
She doesn’t need to look to know that he’s smiling.
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They spend the weekend entwined in one another’s arms. On Monday, they arrive at work together, hand in hand. Betty sips her coffee and gives him a gentle kiss when he drops her off in front of her office.
Behind them, Veronica and Kevin watch with matching smirks.
Kevin reaches his palm out towards Veronica. “You owe me $50.”
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