Betty and Jughead

"Hey there, Juliet."

- Jughead appears at Betty's bedroom window

The relationship between Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones began as a friendship long before the start of the series but soon advanced to romance.

The two have given each other pet names, 'Betts' and 'Juggie'.

History
Jughead, alongside Archie, grew up with Betty in Riverdale. They were friends, but it was not until they began investigating the murder of Jason Blossom that the two started to spend a lot of their time together.

Season 1
To further investigate what really happened surrounding Jason Blossom's death on the 4th July, Betty reopened the Riverdale High School newspaper, The Blue and Gold and convinced Jughead, and his well-found journalist skills, to join her. For his first assignment, Betty mentioned that there was one person no one had been talking about who was at Sweetwater River on July 4th: Dilton Doiley and his scouts.

Jughead visited Dilton and asked him if he had heard the gunshot that morning. Dilton insisted that neither he nor his boy scouts heard anything unusual on that day. Jughead, upon hearing this, was not convinced. He noticed one of Dilton's scouts eyeing him from a distance and later on, sought out that same scout sitting at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe who confessed that the gunshot, in fact, originated from Dilton himself, while he was secretly teaching the scouts how to shoot. Once caught, Dilton was willing to compromise with Betty and Jughead. They were to leave Dilton out of the murder case and forget that it had been him who shot the gun, which in exchange, he offered them a better story— Dilton saw Geraldine Grundy's car by the lakeside early that morning.

With the Twilight Drive-In closing, Jughead was furious as the drive-in was very special to him and thought the residents should be trying to save it, which he tried to explain to Betty, Veronica, and Kevin at Pop's. Jughead struggled over which film he should play for the closing night, and he asked the group, who he had already invited to attend, for suggestions. He ultimately went with Betty's: ''"." ''That night while everyone was watching the film, Sheriff Keller's home is broken into and all the files on Jason Blossom's murder were stolen. Come morning it was revealed that Jughead was homeless and had been living out of the drive-in's projection booth, and his father FP Jones, was a member of the Southside Serpents.

At The Blue and Gold offices, Jughead, Betty, and Kevin reconstructed Sheriff Keller's murder board that had been previously destroyed. Unfortunately, the police had no suspects for the break-in, there weren't any fingerprints, and they had no leads. Their conversation was interrupted by Trev Brown, who had come by to confirm a date with Betty that evening, which made Jughead look very jealous. However, after Trev left, Betty said that the date was just a way to get more information on Jason, who had been close friends with Trev.

Betty reported back to Jughead, who wondered, “Why does a rich kid sell drugs?” and what would make him run away from his family so badly? Since they couldn't ask Jason or the Blossoms, they decided to use Jason's memorial as an excuse to dig around Thornhill for clues. Just before they go to Thornhill, Jughead comes round Betty's house to pick her up, and both of them seem to approve of each others attire, although Jughead subtly blushes as Betty 'checks him out'. Following an emotional eulogy from Cheryl, Jughead and Betty snuck away during the commotion and made their way to Jason's room. Unbeknownst to either of them, Rose Blossom, Jason's grandmother, who had been sitting in the dark corner of the room in her wheelchair, startled them. However, she mistakenly took Betty for Polly and unknowingly revealed to them that Polly and Jason had secretly become engaged.

As more secrets from Betty's family came to light, Jughead believed that her parents knew more than they were letting on and wondered how far her they would go to protect Polly. Whoever broke into Sheriff Keller's house was not at the drive-in, and coincidentally, Betty's father hadn't been there that night. With that being said, they added the Cooper family's name to the board and decided the time had come to find Polly.

In an attempt to find out where Polly was hidden away, Betty invited Jughead over for breakfast. Alice accused Jughead of being the reason that Betty was obsessed with the investigation of Jason Blossom's death. However, Betty quickly stated that it had been her idea to publish it in The Blue and Gold. After a look from Betty, Jughead then asked for directions to the bathroom, and as planned, Alice escorted him, which provided a long enough distraction for Betty to go through her mother's purse and take photos of her check book. At The Blue and Gold, after doing a little digging, Betty and Jughead discovered one of the checks were sent to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, a group home for troubled youths. During lunch, they quietly discussed Polly and their next course of action, which was catching a bus to the group-home to find her. They found Polly, and Betty was surprised to find that all the information her parents were telling her, was just to cover up for the fact that Polly was pregnant with Jason's baby. Unfortunately, Betty and Jughead were caught by Alice and were forced to leave.

After she returned from the institution, Betty was alone in her room when Jughead knocked on her window after climbing up a ladder. She smiled and opened the window to which he quipped, "Hey there, Juliet", before climbing in. After a brief conversation, Betty confided in Jughead about her feelings towards her parents, sister, and even herself. He calmly helped her through it and told her that she is not her family. Jughead then kissed Betty, to which she smiled and he deeply exhaled, before Betty remembering that earlier Polly had told her about a car Jason had kept for them out by an old maple farm sign on Route 40 and it might still be hidden there, to which Jughead is humorously shocked that she changed the subject so quickly.

That night, they found the car, hidden under a tarp and filled with Jason's things, including his varsity jacket, as well as plenty of drugs. They took pictures and alerted Sheriff Keller, all the while as they were unknowingly being watched by someone hidden in the woods. The authorities arrived only to find the vehicle had been set on fire. Jughead and Betty then raced to rescue Polly from the group home but found that her room was empty, the window broken and blood coated the glass.

After being forced out of the drive-in, Jughead secretly moved into Riverdale High, taking over a small forgotten closet under a staircase, where one morning he dreamed a strange 50s style dream in which he is married to Betty, Jason Blossom is alive and the Coopers are loving parents who approve of both their daughters relationships. In the dream, the family as well as Veronica and Archie, were sitting down to a big turkey dinner and as Jughead started to carve the bird, the knife disappears from his hand. Archie then walked up and calmly asked, "Dude, why'd you stab me in the back?" before turning around, the carving knife embedded between his shoulder blades. That same morning his living situation is found out by Archie. Jughead then asked him not to tell anyone, especially not Betty, which confused Archie who wondered why Betty would care.

Later on, the gang met up in the student lounge and discussed Polly’s escape from the group home. Betty became stressed and clearly worried about how Polly could be hurt and how the person who killed Jason could be after Polly too. To comfort her, Jughead put his arm around her shoulder and Betty reached to hold his hand, which surprised Veronica and confused Archie. Archie caught up with Jughead in hall afterwards and asked if there was something going on between the two of them and Jughead hesitantly replied that they may have had a moment. Flustered, Archie cuts him off and changes the subject, clearly not happy with the answer he got. At the other end of the hall, Veronica also asked Betty about Jughead and Betty smiled and gushed that Jughead had really been there for her through the trouble with her family the past few days. Veronica was excited for her and gave her approval.

To find Polly, Jughead and Betty organised a search of Eversgreen Forest together, which was interrupted by the Blossoms and ultimately unsuccessful. As Jughead walked her home afterwards, holding hands, he struggled to define their relationship. Betty was upset that there was no luck finding Polly and worried that she should not have told Polly about Jason’s death, that Polly could be hurt because of it. Jughead reassured her she did the right thing, that it was her parents who were the ones in the wrong for keeping the truth from Polly. Betty then told him how Polly once ran away before when she was nine after a big fight with their mother, Jughead asked how far she got, which led to her realising where Polly had gone to hide. Thankful and excited, Betty kissed Jughead and said goodnight before quickly rushing home, as Jughead smiled all the while. At the Cooper House Betty found Polly hiding up in the attic.

Later that night, Jughead, Archie, FP Jones and Archie's dad went to dinner at Pop's and Archie brought up Jughead’s work at The Blue and Gold with Betty. Jughead’s father asked if Betty was Jughead’s girlfriend, which Archie looked very interested to find out the answer to, but Jughead not wanting to tell anyone about his and Betty's situation, swiftly changed the subject. Archie then looked taken aback and a bit jealous.

The next morning Jughead was brought to the Sheriff Station by Sheriff Keller as a suspect for Jason's murder. His and Betty’s fingerprints were found on Jason’s torched car as expected, but Jughead had a surprising juvie record from six years prior when he almost burned down Riverdale Elementary School, which, according to Jughead, was an accident; he was just playing with matches. Sheriff Keller unfairly suspected him as the killer due to his background and being from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’.

Betty was allowed to speak to Jughead alone after his interrogation, and held his hand while she reassured him that she believed him, that she knew who he was. Betty promised him that she would not let anything happen to him. She also told him that his father had been called but no one knew where he was. Jughead was released after Fred Andrew’s lied and told Sheriff Keller that Jughead was tearing down drywall for his construction company on July 11th, which Fred and Archie later falsified a time card to prove.

Jughead’s father showed up to the station just as everyone was leaving and caused a scene in front of Fred, Archie and Betty. Jughead convinced him to let it go and before he left, FP promised he would get his act together and that they would have their family back, it would just take some time. Jughead looked angry and resigned as he told his father he believed him. Betty placed her hand on Jughead’s cheek and comforted him as they left the station and once again Archie looked jealous. In the end, Jughead went to live at the Andrew’s house.

The next day, in the student lounge, Jughead, Archie, Betty, Veronica, Kevin, Cheryl, and Valerie analyzed Polly's dilemma, in which the Coopers wanted her but not the baby, and the Blossoms wanted the baby, but not her. A true Gordian Knot, Jughead said. However, Veronica disagreed, it was a fairly solvable problem, she suggested that they throw Polly a baby shower at The Pembrooke where Polly had been staying, which would force the Coopers to finally start communicating. Jughead inquired whether he would be expected to attend and Veronica immediately replied yes, because he was Betty's boyfriend. Betty and Jughead then shared a smile.

After Moose Mason was attacked while helping out at Andrews Construction, Jughead filled Betty and Veronica in on the attack at Pop's shoppe, in which he assured them Moose was fine. Just then, Archie entered the diner, seeking Jughead's help as he, Moose and Kevin planned on finding the supposed Serpents that attacked Moose. Kevin's boyfriend, Joaquin, who was also a Serpent, could get them into the Whyte Wyrm, a known hang out for the gang. Betty wasn't too sure that it was the best idea since the Serpents were dangerous drug dealers; the drug dealer portion of that comment being confirmed a day earlier as Polly informed them that Jason was dealing for the Serpents. Jughead insisted that going into the bar was a terrible idea, but all Archie wanted to know is if Jughead would join him, which he didn't, and Archie went without him.

Jughead and Betty shared a kiss as the baby shower began, she thanked him for being there since that event wasn't his usual kind of scene. Jughead sarcastically replied that "organizing a baby shower was totally on his bucket list", making Betty smile. During the gift portion of the shower, Archie unexpectedly showed up and angrily confronted Jughead on his father being a Serpent and the reason he tried to prevent them from going to the bar. As the baby shower came to a close, Jughead explained that he was ashamed of his father's affiliations, which is why he hadn't told anyone, which Betty immediately forgave him for, and then suggested that they pay FP a visit and ask about Jason.

At the trailer park with his father, FP claimed they gave Jason some product to deliver upstate, but when it never showed, they assumed he had run off with it, until his body showed up at Sweetwater River. Jughead then asked his father if he had any involvement in Jason's death, despite FP being his father, it was the dark ages, he didn't know what to think. FP admitted that he was a lousy parent, but he insisted that he wasn't a killer. Outside the trailer, Jughead told Betty that he believed his father, and she believed Jughead, the two of them then shared another kiss.

After Polly went to live with the Blossoms at Thornhill, Betty and Jughead discussed why she had stopped returning Betty's calls in her bedroom. She understood Polly not speaking with their father but what had she done? Jughead assured her that they would figure it out and they briefly kissed before Alice interrupted and announced she was writing a no-holds-barred exposé on the Blossom clan.

In the student lounge at school, Archie informed the group that Penelope Blossom offered to put in a good word for him at a prestigious music academy in exchange for him escorting Cheryl to her family's annual tree tapping event. Jughead didn't think it was a good idea, but Betty disagreed and asked him if he could use the opportunity to speak with Polly on her behalf. Unfortunately, after the event, he informed Betty that Polly wanted her to stop trying to contact her. Disregarding Polly's message, Betty and Jughead asked Cheryl to talk to her sister for her who informs them that Polly would be having twins. Saddened that Polly hadn't called to tell her the news, Betty once again asked Cheryl to give Polly a message, to call their mom. Cheryl joked that she would, if she remembered, but Jughead quickly stepped in and Cheryl agreed to send the message along, but made no promises that Polly would care or respond.

The next day, in The Blue and Gold offices, Betty dejectedly told Jughead of an occurence between her parents the night before, which ended with her mother throwing a large rock through The Registers glass door at her father. Extremely upset, Betty began to cry as she expressed the thought of her family falling apart, and there not being anything she could do to stop it. Jughead attempted to encourage her, claiming that she was much stronger than both her parents, strong enough to hold her family together. With tears in both their eyes, he told her not to give up. Betty promised she wouldn't and they hugged each other tightly.

After a call from Archie, Betty and Jughead went to see Alice at the Cooper house and happily informed her that Polly was safe and that she had not deserted them, but had actually chosen to live with the Blossoms in order to spy on them and discover more about what happened to Jason. Alice was relieved and overcome with emotion as she believed she might have lost Polly for good. Betty assured her mother that Polly would come home and that they would be writing their story on the Blossoms with Polly as their woman on the inside. Jughead then asked Alice to join them at the school newspaper. Later, Archie informed Betty and Jughead of what else he had found out about the Blossoms: Clifford Blossom might have been responsible for sending Hiram Lodge to jail. Jughead posited that perhaps Hiram had taken his revenge by killing Jason and added his name to their murder board.

Upon Betty's discovering that Jughead has never had a birthday party, Betty tried to throw a party which she described as "inner circle only," knowing that he despises his birthday. She made him a cake and sang to him, then told him to make a wish. He wished it would be just them alone instead of everyone who attended, including Veronica, Kevin, and Joaquin. When Cheryl and Chuck crashed the party, along with 100 other people, Jughead disappeared into the garage to be alone. When Betty tried to ask him what was wrong, and explain that such a huge party was never her intention, he accused her of not caring about how he felt, and said that they were practically on borrowed time when referring to their relationship, and said she only threw this party to prove she was a good girlfriend. When she protested, he said she would only stick around him until she was either sick of him, or Archie changed his mind. She left the garage in tears.

During a game of "Secrets and Sins," at the party, Chuck revealed the "Dark Betty" incident to all the attendees, shocking Jughead, and he threw a punch to defend Betty, getting himself hurt in the process. FP broke it up, and yelled at everyone to go home, but stopped Jughead when he tried to leave too. He said that what he and Betty had was something his family could never give to him, and he should fix it. The two reconciled at Pops, with Jughead apologizing for being incendiary about a genuinely kind action, and Betty opened up to Jughead about what she called a "darkness inside her" that made her do such horrible things, showing him the scars from her nails digging in her palms. His look softened, as he kissed her hands. They kissed after, and Betty rested her head on his shoulder in the booth, feeling glad that they had made up.

Quotes
"Jughead. If we're gonna be together, I wanna know who you are. All of it."

- Betty to Jughead.