maskormenace | 001

[ He's the one who broke up with her and Betty isn't completely sure how to proceed, how he wants to proceed despite what he'd said when they saw each other.

She lets her hands drop to his shoulders, a smile still on her face. Her skates make her about as tall as him, which is a strange thing to be.]

I got some good tips. Want some coffee while I close out these customers?

Sure, that'd be great.

[ He lets her go with some reluctance, taking up a seat somewhere where he won't be in the way. This whole thing is... messy, was messy back home but more so now that they're not even from the same point in time. If she had lived through the same events as him, maybe there could be a more satisfying conclusion to this. As it is, all he knows is that he wants to be with her and hopefully that'll tide them over until they figure this thing out. ]

[ Betty finishes out her shift, dropping off coffee and a burger in a to-go bag for Jughead as she does. And once she clocks out, she rolls her way over to him, sitting in the booth next to him with a relieved sigh.]

I'm ready to get out of these things. [ She glances at him with a smile before she twists, her back to him a bit so her legs stick out of the booth so she can properly get the skates off.]

What's your plan for the rest of the day?

[ He shifts a little when she joins him in the booth, making sure she has enough space. The coffee tastes like diner coffee, which only adds to the feeling of familiarity - the two of them, hanging out in a booth, the only thing really missing being Archie and Veronica. ]

No plans. I have work tomorrow, but until then I'm all yours. [ He's also new in town, making plans is hard. ] What do you feel up for?

Well, I need to go home and change out of this-- [ She waves her hand at her uniform, it's the cheesy kind of waitress uniform. She pulls off one skate before she glances back over her shoulder.]

Do you want to come see the farm?

The farm? Where you live? [ He pauses briefly, eyebrows raised. ] Sure, I'd like that a lot. Are your, uhm... do you know if your roommates will be home?

[ That he's nervous about. Visibly so, even if he's trying to hide it by taking another drink of coffee. ]

[ She can see it. And frankly, she's a little nervous for him to meet them too.

She shrugs a little and takes her other skate off as she speaks--] They might be but... we don't have to see them if you don't want to. I have a side door to my room, so I don't have to go through the house.

No, that's... fine. You don't have to sneak around. [ He clears his throat. Maybe he should consider the possibility that it's not just about him meeting them - they'll be meeting him too. He's not exactly the image of a perfect boyfriend. ]

Unless you want to.

[ She turns in the booth so she's facing him better, her eyes meeting with his.] I want you to meet them. [ She reaches for his hand, bringing the back of it to her lips, pressing a kiss there.] I want them to know you're real. [ Betty surrounds herself with broken boys (she's broken, herself), he doesn't have any more cracks than the rest of them.]

Would you rather meet them all at once? Like at a party or something?

Do they doubt that I'm real? [ He jokes, lopsided smirk and all. There's so much she doesn't know about him, things he hopes she'll never know but sooner or later it'll spill through those cracks.

He wrinkles his nose at the idea of a party - really not his scene. Doubly not his scene if he's in any way the focus point of it. ]

This is probably better. Keep it casual.

No, but I talk about you enough that they'd probably like to see the real you. [ Her heart flutters at the sight of that smile. It's one she's very attached to. And yes, she'd already knew what he'd answer when she asked the question, given how much of a disaster the last party she threw in his honor had gone.

She leans in to press a kiss to his jaw.]

Noah won't be there and I'm pretty sure that Adam will be at work. So chances are you might meet Gansey and Ronan, if we go into the main house. [ Gansey is probably the best person to meet first and Ronan... well, he's Ronan. He'd probably fit right into the Serpents if he wanted to, attitude wise.]

[ It feels surprisingly good to hear that she's been talking about him. Not that there should be any doubt, but... y'know. Insecurities. At least at home they're geographically connected. ]

I think I can handle that. [ He smiles at the kiss, leaning in to give her one in return on the lips. ] Ready when you are.

[ She returns that kiss happily, smiling towards the tail end of it. She nods when he says he's ready when she is, moving to turn and pull her shoes out of her bag, the one she'd dropped at her feet earlier, to put on.

Once she puts the skates into the bag, she moves to slide out of the booth, standing so he can join her, offering her hand.] Did you walk or ride here?

[ He slides out after her, happily latching on to her hand. ]

Walk. I'm trying to get to know the neighborhood better.

[ And he's kind of starting from scratch here, which is rough in completely new and sucky ways. He didn't have much in Riverdale but he had something. ]

[She grins at him, slinging her back over her shoulder and tilting her head towards the burger in the to-go bag to remind him not to forget it without actually saying anything.]

I drove today. [ Her lips quirk into a teasing smile.] Want to see my powers in action?

Edited 2018-02-07 21:07 (UTC)

[ Like he'd ever forget a free burger. He grabs it, intent on finishing it on the road, expression brightening by a lot at her offer. ]

Are you kidding? I want to see your powers more than anything, Betty. Up close, this time.

Okay, [ She looks happily smug as she pulls him outside of the diner and towards her car.]

This thing doesn't actually run. I found it in a junkyard, got it for dirt cheap and fixed it up. Now, I control it with my powers to drive it. [ She moves to unlock it, opening the trunk and throwing her bag in before unlocking the passenger side with her powers.]

Edited 2018-02-07 21:30 (UTC)

[ He raises a brow in approval at the car - it suits her so well, it's almost ridiculous - before sliding into the passenger seat. ]

Very resourceful, Cooper. I'm impressed. [ And since he's been thinking about this a lot... ] How, uhm. How are you doing here? With life, I mean. Every day stuff.

[ Without family and school and everything they had at their disposal in Riverdale. ]

[ She hops into the car and with a hand on the dash, the car comes to life. She looks pretty prideful up until he goes and asks about her day-to-day.

Her expression falters as she starts them down the street, her eyes focusing on the road.]

The Black Hood stuff... It's messed me up pretty badly, Jug. [ She doesn't look at him.] I was having nightmares for weeks after getting back here. [ And she'd missed him fiercely.] But I try to keep myself busy here. I have the diner job. I'm helping one of my roommates do research on an ancient king he's obsessed with. I read a lot, volunteer at places.

[ He wants to reach out and grab her hand, but that's probably the worst idea while she's driving. Doubly so if she's using her powers - in the short time he's had his, he's come to realise that concentration is key. ]

I wish I could tell you that it's over. The Black Hood stuff. I've been pretty busy with the Serpents but as far as I know, they're no closer to catching the guy.

[ Little does he know. ]

[ He won't be able to miss the look of surprise that plays out on her face at his words. He was so busy with the Serpents that he didn't know what was happening with the Black Hood? Maybe she'd kept it that way on purpose, to protect him. ]

I guess if we were broken up... we weren't speaking much.

We weren't. I'm at Southside High, we don't really see each other as much as we used to. It's - easy to avoid each other, I guess.

[ Which sucks so bad but it was for his good and her good and they'll always find some excuse to keep the other out of whatever trouble they're in, huh? ]

[ She stares straight ahead as she drives.] I bet I hated it. I just hate idea of it.

That makes two of us. [ He glances over at her, full of things he wants to say about how sorry he is and how something Archie said stuck with him and maybe there was some truth to it because wow he's been spiralling ever since she broke up with him and he's no longer sure if he can find the breaks, let alone have the power to hit them.

But she's driving, so he settles for something less extreme. ]

It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. [ Which says a lot. ]

[ Her mouth twists and she looks at him.] I was a coward, sending Archie to do it. [ Her eyes go back to the road and she feels tears welling up in them.] But I couldn't... I was so tired and scared. And I didn't think I could convince you that I meant it, I didn't think I would be able to go through with it if I was there with you. Even with your life at stake. It was the worst thing I ever had to do.

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