This is probably terrible, but it is my first Riverdale/ Bughead fic, so be nice to me please xoxox

Chapter 1 No One's POV

Flashback

"Betts, it's getting late. Maybe we should take a break, we've been at this for hours."

"I can't stop now Juggie, I know that I've seen these symbols and codes before, I just know it." Jughead sighs deeply, shaking his head at his overly stressed out girlfriend.

"Betty. You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" she questions without looking up from her pen and paper.

"Obsessing." She finally looks up and takes in the sight of her boyfriend. "You always do this when you are trying to distract yourself from something bigger that's plaguing your mind. What's really going on with you Betty?"

"I just don't want anyone else to get hurt," she whispers dejectedly.

"This I already know. What else is making you so edgy, so distant, and so stressed?" She almost did. She almost told him about the letter that accompanied the cypher when she opened the package with her name on it. She almost spilled it all, but she didn't want to risk it. She didn't want to risk his safety by being dragged into this unknown world of violence, hatred, and cold darkness that is currently looming over Riverdale, even more than murder and apparent suicide of the Blossom men. So, instead she told another truth that was buried deep within her heart and soul.

"I love you so much Jughead," she softly speaks, but with conviction.

"I know you do. I love you too," he smiles at his favorite blond.

"I don't know what any of this mean, the murders, the threats, and the black hood sending me this cypher, but that is one thing I am sure of. I love you more than words can say, and you are one of best things to ever happen to me. But Juggie, you have to promise me that if things get worse, and I believe they will at some point, that you will stay safe. I can't lose you to a maniac with a gun and an agenda. Why he contacted me? I don't really know, but if things were to ever escalate, I want you to stay away."

"No, Betts-"

"No, listen Jug. I need you alive, I need you safe Jughead because if anything ever happened to you because of me-"

"No, you listen Elizabeth Cooper. I am not going anywhere without you there with me. You are everything to me and one of the only things keeping me from falling apart. Whatever happens, we are in this together and nothing will ever change that. Was there something else the black hood said to make you think that I would get hurt? Did he threaten you or me?"

"No, n-n-nothing like that," she stammers. He believed her, but he knew she was hiding something.

"Maybe we should just run away. Get away from Riverdale, the Serpents, this maniac and just go far away. Like you said, we will not let Riverdale and its looming dark forces tear us apart. You want me safe? Well, I want you safe and away from all of this bullshit. You deserve better than all of this fear and stress Betts." He's pacing by that point, trying to figure out just what it will take for all of this to end. All the lies and secrets are tearing them all apart, not just him and Betty, but Archie, Veronica, Kevin, they're all going through hell because of someone's idea of a sick joke. Playing with people's lives is so much more than a drug cartel scandal. Finally, halting his movements, he catches the dejected look on his girlfriend's face, the pain in her eyes, and the start of tears that she is trying her best to hold at bay. He slowly walks over to her and takes her hand, lifting her off the floor. It's well past midnight and they have been racking their brains endlessly for most of the day. They lay down and cuddle on the couch, he's holding her close as she relaxes in his warm, yet firm embrace.

"We will get through this. We are so much stronger than everything that is happening around us, especially you."

"Do you promise? You promise that we will be okay?"

"If and only if we stop lying to each other. We have got to learn to communicate better. Starting with the fact that I sit with Serpents at lunch because I was jumped by the Ghoulies. I was at Southside High late, and they came out of the woodworks and jumped me. I lied because I didn't want you to worry so much. Lately, they've been saying these things about me joining and how I can't be half-Serpent and half-Northside. They want me to cut ties with the Northside once and for all, which is something I will never do. It's been a rocky transition to say the least."

"I told you I support you and I do. Maybe you should join the Serpents. I mean, there is safety in numbers and I know that despite some misgivings, that they protect their own."

"What? I'm not saying goodbye to you Betts, for any reason."

"And you don't have to. I'm okay with this because I know that you love me, and I love you. If this can at least keep you safe, I am all for it. Besides, it could be interesting to be the girlfriend of a hot badboy type," she winks.

"What about the black hood? What if he tries to contact you again? I don't know if I can handle that without wanting to kill him. You sure he didn't send anything else besides the cypher?" She hesitates, not for the first time tonight, and he notices.

"I'm sure and if anything happens, I'll handle it. It's not like he's going to make us break up or something, or come after our friends. Our love and the friendships we have aren't sins, seeing how he goes for things representing "uncleanliness." I just hope he is caught soon, before someone else is targeted.

"Well, if anything of that nature is thrust upon us, WE will handle it together, no questions asked. Now get some sleep Cooper, tomorrow's a new day."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he answered knowing that those words held more meaning than either of them cared to voice aloud.