The Cooper Residence
Friday Night, 7:15pm
Betty stepped out of the shower, wiping her smeared makeup off on the back of her hand as she made her way to the mirror. She sighed as she reached up, wiping the fog away off of the glass and staring into the eyes of her own reflection.
Her phone chimed where it sat on the top of her pile of clothes on the top of the toilet, and what used to be a happy tone to her now made her heart sink and dread reading the messages her friends sent her. She didn't want to make plans. She wanted to get in her pajamas, grab a snack and flip mindlessly through Netflix before finally settling on a show to fall asleep to.
She reluctantly picked up her phone and saw a "text message from Ronnie asking if she wanted to join them at Pop's for milkshakes before finding a movie to go see. She wanted to. More than anything in the world Betty Cooper wanted to doll herself up for the night, go hang out with her friends, and maybe sneak in a few alone hours with her boyfriend before coming home.
But, why then, could she barely convince herself to even get her pajamas on to go downstairs? Why did the thought of leaving the house make her want to curl up into a ball in her bed and cry? She wanted to see them. She hadn't seen any of them in well over a week, so she should be excited, right? She should be pulling on a skirt and tank top, running a comb through her hair, dabbing on makeup and running out the door to meet her friends in true, excited Betty fashion.
So why is it she couldn't even convince herself to get out of the bathroom?
Her phone ringing pulled her from her thoughts and she looked down at her phone to see Jughead's handsome face on the screen.
"Hey, Juggie." she said softly into the phone as she pressed it to her ear.
"Hey there, Juliet." he replied and no matter how many times she heard him say that, it never ceased to put a smile on her face, "Are you coming to Pop's?"
"Uh, well I wasn't at first." she said as movement outside the bathroom window caught her eye and she glanced over. A group of teenagers was gathered out on the sidewalk, pointing at her house and taking pictures on their phones. Her stomach plummeted, "But I think I will. I need to get out of here."
"Good, I miss you, Betty. Do you want me to come pick you up?"
"No, it's fine, Juggie. Mom has to stop by the Register, I'll ask her to drop me off on the way."
"Alright, if you're sure. I love you, Betty Cooper." Her smile widened and she cradled the phone to her ear as she listened to him. She couldn't wait to hug him.
"I love you, Jughead Jones. I'll see you in a bit."
She moved a little faster to get to her room this time, grabbing a pair of faded jean shorts and a simple white tank top. For the sake of time she decided to leave her hair down and dry naturally.
"Betty, sweetie I'm going to the Register, I'll be back in a bit!" Her mother called from the bottom of the stairs, Betty rushing out of her bedroom to catch her mom.
"Wait! Can you drop me off at Pop's on the way? I'm gonna see Jug and the other's."
"I'm glad to see you finally coming out of your room, much less the house. Well get your shoes, let's go." Alice instructed as she grabbed her purse and keys just before the doorbell rang. Betty walked over to the hall closet, fishing out her favorite pair of flip flops before hearing her mother's voice raise.
"Get off of my property and do not come back here! We are sick and tired of being harassed for your twisted pleasure!" With that the door slammed and a huffy Alice came barging back to the hallway with a look of pain and anger on her face.
"Mom?"
"A group of bratty teenagers had the...the audacity to come up to our door and ask if they could come look around inside there The Black Hood lived!" she seethed before Betty pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm just tired of it all! I'm tired of all of these people pointing and staring and coming by the house all hours of the night!"
"I know, I know." Betty said, trying to comfort her mom before the doorbell went off again, "I got it, mom. Just get your shoes on. I'll deal with this."
"Thank you, sweetie." She sniffed, Betty grabbing a tissue for Alice out of her purse before hurrying to the door as it rang for a second time.
"Can I help….You." She stopped in her tracks after flinging the door open, her heart plummeting as her stomach immediately knotted up. The man stood in the doorway, a sly smile on his face as he tapped the tip of a nail covered baseball bat against the toe of his boot.
"Well well well. Found you, Serpent Slut. I told your pathetic boyfriend I would find you just before I beat the holy shit out of him."
"M-Malachi..."
"I'm a man of my word." The man laughed, running his fingers through his thick curly hair before slamming the door open and stepping in.
"Elizabeth, who is it?" Alice asked as she came around the corner to look at the door, "Who are you?"
"Mom...mom run!" Betty shouted as the man smacked her phone out of her hand and raised his bat.
"Elizabeth!"
"I think her phone died." Jughead said as he sat his phone down on the table, picking up his burger and taking a large bite out of it, "She said she was coming."
"We haven't seen her in a while, I hope she's okay." Veronica sighed as she poked a french fry around in a pile of ketchup, "Every time I've asked her to go shopping, or go to dinner, or do something she's always busy and can't."
"I think it's really getting to her with her dad being The Black Hood. I mean, I've seen all kinds of people taking pictures of their house, showing up whenever, knocking on the door. It's crazy. She won't even open her bedroom curtains anymore, so I can't see her and get her attention." Archie added before stealing a french fry off of Veronica's plate, the raven haired beauty frowning and looking out the window to check the parking lot for any sign of her friend.
"Let's take Betty on vacation. We'll leave Friday, come back sometime next week. Let's go have fun and remind her that we are still here and we love her. We can go to the beach." Ronnie offered and Archie kissed her cheek, Jughead checking his phone again for any missed calls or texts.
"I don't think getting a hotel room on the beach is gonna be realistic this short notice, much less two." Jug added and Veronica laughed.
"Who said anything about hotel rooms? I have people with beachfront condos. We're set."
"Of course you do." Jug teased and Archie grinned.
"I'm in. Business has been slow with Dad's construction, so I'm free." Archie chimed in and Veronica smile, grabbing his chin and pulling him in for a kiss.
"If it's for Betty, I'll go. But no Monopoly this time. Brings back bad memories of Lodge Lodge."
"It's a deal." Veronica agreed just as Archie's cellphone lit up and started buzzing across the table top, "Betty?"
"No, it's dad. Hold on, I'll go ahead and ask him about the beach." He said and placed the phone to his ear, "Hey, dad, since you called I have a question. Wait, what? Betty's house, are you sure?"
Jughead and Veronica looked up in panic, Jughead nearly coming across the table to see if he could hear Fred. All he could make out was panic and distress in Fred's voice.
"We're on our way." Archie slid out of the booth, slapping money down on the table as he pulled his keys out of his pocket, "Guys, Betty's house is on fire. We gotta go."
"What?" Veronica and Jughead asked in unison, jumping up to follow Archie out of the diner and into the parking lot.
"I'll meet you there."
"Drive safe, Jug. She'll need you in one piece." Jughead nodded towards his two friends before running to his bike, throwing his leg over and starting it. He pulled out ahead of Archie and Veronica, his back tire slinging gravel into the air before making it to the pavement of the main road. He hurried to the Cooper's house, the city rushing by as he made his way towards their street. The closer he got the more sirens he heard. He glanced up to see thick plumes of black smoke curling towards the evening sky. He turned sharply onto their road, seeing the gathering of emergency rescue vehicles in the street. And in front of them was Cooper's house, flames shooting out of the windows in the living room and reaching upwards towards Betty's bedroom windows.
"Betty!" Jughead called out as he jumped off of his bike, racing towards the barricade that the firemen had set up.
"Jug!" He whirled around, seeing his father rushing up to him and pulling him back from the barricade and away from the burning home.
"No, dad! I have to find Betty, I have to make sure she's okay!"
"Jug, no. No, they're not there." he said and Jug looked up at him, searching his eyes for answers as he tried to finally catch his breath.
"Are they...are they at the hospital, are they okay? They're not...they can't be...they're okay right?"
"They're alive, Jug, but they're gone. They're not at the hospital."
"I have to find them, I have to see her. Call Alice, figure out where they are."
"Jug, you're not going to find them. I can't even find them. All I know is, is that they're gone."
A/N: So, not my first Fanfiction, but my first Riverdale fic, and basically all I write are AU's, so, hope you all enjoy! This wasn't my strongest start, so hopefully it gets better from here. Thank you for reading, and reviews are much appreciated!