Chapter ONE: Unwilling Participant
Not too long ago, it was a cold, dark night when five teenagers crept through the empty halls of Riverdale High and found what they were looking for.
A little, black playbook full of conquests…
Upon discovering their finding, everyone had been too far shocked, too disgusted or too stunned by the findings to truly analyse it and its content.
… No one had noticed that on the second page, there was the name of another Cooper on that sickening list, in that book.
CHUCK - Betty (9) - unwilling participant, double points = 18
Unwilling participant… Rape.
It had happened one night just after Archie had rejected Betty for anything more than friends.
Unwilling? That was one thing for sure.
It was just after Jason Blossom's death, but just before the small town of Riverdale was shaken to the core, learning that not only was Jason's a tragic death, but rather a tragic murder.
It was before the town began checking that their doors and windows were locked at night… Before they started using their cars, rather than walking into school or work… Before they started to look behind their shoulder every few minutes… Before they felt that Riverdale was a safe place to live.
That was when it happened. The worst night of Betty's life at the hands of Chuck Clayton and all just for bragging rights and a bunch of disgusting points.
After the incident with Veronica, Betty had tried so hard to work along with Ethel and the other girls to expose Chuck and his friends and their sickening game that had been the cost of the lives of so many girls.
Betty had done it for Ethel… for Polly… for her…
But, unlike Ethel, she couldn't go on the record. She wanted justice. She wanted Chuck and the other boys to pay, but she couldn't; despite being the greatest victim of them all on that list… Instead, she wanted to suppress what happened to her.
So, after it happened, she tried to hide it, she tried to take charge of her life and move on. Forget about it and just move on.
What difference would anyone finding out make now? Chuck's a juvenile. He'd get a slap on the wrists, maybe some community stint or a very brief stint in juvenile detention. What difference would it make on him, when it means sharing her darkest secret, the worst moment of her existence, with her boyfriend, her friends, her family and her whole town?
Besides, who would believe her now? She had been the ring-leader and instigator of bringing justice to Ethel and the other girls. People would reason that if Betty had a personal experience to share, she would have shared it then.
Betty Cooper's life has been settling down again, anyway.
She found some of the justice and some peace that she'd been seeking for what happened to her, at least to a degree, when Chuck and his friends were outed and punished for their disgusting game.
Too, she's found happiness with the man that she's known for most of her life, finding love in an unexpected place, with Jughead.
Jughead…
Jughead.
Betty is jolted from her thoughts by Jughead as he complacently waves a hand in front of her face, seeing as repeating her name hadn't worked.
"Sorry. I was in my own little world… What is it?"
"Uh, can't remember now… It wasn't important. But, uh, Betts, you okay?"
Betty is quick to give Jughead a smile in her attempt to alleviate any suspicion or further questions.
It does not work.
Unfortunately for Betty, Jughead knows her far too well. His concern for her is not dismissed in the slightest.
"Betts, you would tell me, you'd talk to me if there is something wrong, right?"
Betty just gives him a smile.
She can't bring herself to lie and to say that of course she would when Jughead is just one of the many people that she has to keep her darkest from.
However, unfortunately for Betty, no matter how hard you try to push some things down; secrets always have a way of pushing through to the surface and making themselves known…
Chapter TWO: Nightmares
Betty Cooper jolts upright in bed, her chest rasping as she pants breathlessly.
Every night since the attack, she has woken up out of breath and in a sweat, forced to relieve the nightmare. Every. Single. Night.
After a few minutes, she begins to control her breathing, she starts to see clearer in the dark room and become assured that she is safe, sound and most importantly, alone, from where she is tucked up in her own room and her own bed.
Before it's even struck 5 AM, Betty crawls out of bed, turns her lamp on and wraps her dressing gown around her, knowing that she won't be getting anymore sleep tonight.
Ever since Jason Blossom's murder, most of the residents of Riverdale have had night terrors for the unknown murderer, the unknown evil, whoever may be lurking in the shadows.
But, for Betty Cooper, her night terrors have been for Chuck Clayton. The evil she knows…
The night of her attack, she'd been upset, Archie had just rejected her. She was suffering a broken heart and the loss of her best friend all in one swift hit.
But just after midnight, she had had enough of trying to conceal and mute her sobs from in her room. Her mother had already paid her one visit that night to emphasise the fact that it was a good thing that nothing has to come of her and Archie, since Alice Cooper was not a fan of the boy-next-door. However, that is exactly not what any broken-hearted, rejected, teenage girl wants to hear at a time like that.
So, she'd snuck out and gone for a walk, crying to herself through the dead of the night until a voice in darkness alerted her to the fact that she wasn't so alone.
"Betty? Is that you?"
Chuck had been walking along the same street; one of Riverdale's most desolate, hearing the cries of his fair-haired classmate before he'd seen her.
Initially, he'd raced over, checking if it was Betty and asking what was wrong, just receiving an incoherent response from her.
So, he wrapped an arm around the girl who trusted the familiarity of her classmate far more than she should have.
He held her there in his arms for a few moments, before moving his arms and his head slightly, being quick and swift to change the course of the comfort before she knew what was happening.
The next thing she knew, she was being kissed, she was being grabbed and she was being restrained. The embrace was no longer a hug. Now it was a strangle -an attack- and the worst was not over yet…
At the resurgence of that awful, inerasable memory, Betty can feel the shivers shooting down her spine, coursing through her body.
She would not be getting any more sleep tonight…
Later that same morning, at a far more respectable hour, Betty is drifting her way through the school hallways, books and folders in hand, on the way to her next class.
Turning out of a classroom, Jughead spots his girlfriend further down the hallway, easily checking up to her and slinging an arm around her back from behind, with the idea for them to walk side-by-side.
However, from the second Jughead lays a gentle, loving hand on Betty, he can feel the intensity of her jolt and he can feel every muscle in her back and shoulders tensing up as she swings around to see who has touched her.
"Sorry" Jughead is quick to say and instantly feeling obliged to apologise, seeing as his intention for a sweet gesture feels as though it has backfired completely. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Oh, it's okay. I just had a couple of other things on my mind. Wasn't expecting it" Betty says, desperately trying to settle her pounding heartbeat and the shaking of her hands after her boyfriend's unexpected greeting.
"You look like you barely slept last night, no offence."
"None taken" Betty just chuckles lightly. "I feel like I barely slept last night."
He presses a kiss to her temple affectionately as they walk through the hallway alongside each other. "What's your last lesson of the day?"
"I have a free period. I'm planning to catch up on a bit of study before I meet up with you the Blue Gold after school."
"That's sounding a hell of a lot better than History is. Then again, you're the only student that uses free periods for actual study… By the way, after class, I might be a few minutes late. I'm going to the paper via the staff room to collect something for a piece."
From where she is being held close to his body as they stroll the hallway together, side-by-side, Betty looks to her boyfriend giving Jughead both a nod and a smile in response.
"No worries. I can hold the fort."
"I know you can" Jughead replies quickly, a little grin beginning to take form on his lips, before being suppressed into a small smirk.
At the end of the school day, Betty was quick to reach the newsroom for the Blue Gold, busying herself with the mountain of work that she's grown to expect from the monumental task of reinstating the newspaper.
She's currently laying out her paperwork from her folders, aligning her tasks for the afternoon with what has already been done with what still needs to be done.
As she's handing an assortment of papers, she hears the door of the newsroom click open for long enough to someone to walk through, before closing shut again.
She's distracted from her surprise at just how fast her boyfriend had been with his own after-class errands. She hadn't really expected him to join her at least another ten minutes or so, at least.
"Well that was quick" Betty grins, looking over her shoulder where she expects to see her boyfriend.
But, instead, the smile is wiped off her face in an instant, her blood running cold and her heart beginning to pound inside her chest.
"Chuck…"
What's the only thing worse than reliving your night terrors… the most horrific night of your life in what is supposed to be the safety and comfort of your own room and your own bed…?
… Being stuck on the other side of a closed room with your nightmare…
Chapter THREE: Confrontations Bluffs
From across the room, Betty jolts as soon as she sees the man who has just walked in.
… The man that is most certainly NOT her boyfriend, who she had been expecting to see.
"Chuck. Get out!" Betty attempts to say firmly, but she can't control the quiver of fear in her voice.
Quickly, Betty stands behind a desk on the side of the room. There isn't much furniture in that old room, but she just has to find something to steady her trembling body and to protect herself against Chuck, like she hadn't been able to on the horrific night that has agonised over mentally reliving each night since.
Betty can't let her guard down. She can't let him get to her. She can't let him win… again.
However, unfortunately for Betty, she also can't control her subconscious jolts and shakes; the raw, lingering scars from the damage that had already been done.
"Have you told Jughead anything?" Chuck asks with an urgency in his voice as he whips his head around just to make sure that they really are alone.
Betty simply scoffs, equally stunned at the irony of the situation and the audacity that Chuck has to ask her that question. In fact, the irony of it provides a welcome distraction for her as she tries to maintain a strong composure against him.
"Seriously? You seriously have the nerve to ask me whether or not I have told my boyfriend that you assaulted me? That you raped me?! Go to hell, Chuck."
"Look, Betty, we both know that it wasn't like that…" Chuck tries to reason as he gestures with an arm out in her direction while he takes a few steps closer to her.
Tears prick Betty's dilated eyes, but she remains determined to stay strong, calm and determined not to let Chuck win, again.
"What? It wasn't like you went from hugging me to restraining me? It wasn't like you ignored the word 'no'? Oh, we both know that that's exactly what it was like… So, let's go back to your question, shall we? Does Jughead know? Maybe I've told him, maybe I've told more people than just him…"
As she speaks, Betty finds a surprising slither of strength to stand up against her attacker, crossing her arms in front of her to strengthen her body language and turn the games back on him.
"Because, why stop at Jughead? Wouldn't you like to know who else I have, or have not told? … My friends, perhaps? Yout parents? Your little sister who idolises you? How about Sheriff Keller? I'm sure he'd be interested. Or, your adoring grandmother, maybe? Oh, wouldn't she be so proud of you? … Or, maybe I could just tell them all, one by one…"
In that moment, Betty feels empowered speaking up against the man on the other side of the room, feeling like the tables are turning just a little as she takes charge of the situation.
"You see, that is the question isn't it, Chuk… Who else knows what heinous thing you did? Who else wouldn't want to be left alone with you? Who else is disgusted as soon as they hear your name? Well, I hope you enjoy having no clue as to who may or may not know what you did. Because, now, every time you meet someone new, every time you see someone flinch when they hear the name 'Chuck Clayton', you can agonize over whether or not they've heard about you, whether or not they know… Whether or not Betty Cooper told them."
There is a fleeting moment of weakness in Chuck's eyes, before it passes with a wave of confidence as he attempts to degrade Betty's own self-confidence.
"No one will believe you… You are just a crazy Cooper."
"Huh. Is that right? It would make no sense to believe someone who says they have been raped by someone with priors for sexual harassment… No sense at all, right?"
Betty's response only maddens Chuck as his eyes tighten in an intense glare towards the girl on the other side of the room.
Despite how empowered she's feeling in that moment at seeing the fleeting glimpse of Chuck's own weakness, Betty is grateful not to know what would have followed after that glare from her attacker, when the door swings open again.
From the second he opens the door of the newsroom and from the moment he catches a glimpse of his girlfriend across the other side of the room, Jughead instantly feels uncomfortable. He can feel the palpable tension in the room and while might not be that obvious to the untrained eye, Jughead can sense just how uncomfortable his girlfriend is right now.
"Betts…?" Jughead asks cautiously, immediately making his way over to the other side of the room, to be with her as he looks for some explanation as to why his girlfriend and Chuck are alone together and what's propelling the obvious tension between the two.
Although he can't quite tell what is happening in this room, or why, what Jughead can sense is that despite her ferocity and strength in this moment, he can tell that Betty needs some support. Only Jughead knows her well enough to recognise that beyond her facade and deep within, she's not okay.
"Are you still really hung up on Betty for helping those girls get justice? Build a bridge across Sweetwater River and get the hell over it. Actions have consequences, knucklehead. Leave her alone."
Just seconds ago, Chuck had not been pleased by Jughead's presence when he entered that room; a fact that was only made perfectly clear by his demeanor and the glares in his direction.
However, as soon as Jughead speaks up, referring to the book of conquests and his own surprise party, a smug smile ripples across Jughead's lips.
In his well-meaning intentions to defend Betty, Jughead has just revealed the fact that he doesn't have a clue behind the greater meaning of the tension in that room, that there is more to it than just 'justice for Ethel'.
Unintentionally, Jughead has just sabotaged Betty's threats of who she has or has not told, revealing the fact that the man closest to her doesn't have a clue about her attack… That it was just a bluff.
"Mm. Right. Just those other girls" Chuck smirks, looking straight at Betty, both of them knowing her threats had been for nothing and knowing that her bluff has just been called. "You're right. I should just get over it. After all, no one really believes it anyway..."
Jughead just rolls his eyes at the oozing arrogance of the man on the other side of the room who has zero repentance for the book of conquests that had been revealed. He's grateful as Chuck takes a few steps backwards, chuckling to himself about something that is anything but funny, as he shakes his head and finally, walks out.
After Chuck leaves, it takes Jughead a moment, before he can feel Betty's hyperventilating breathing as he holds her and it takes him a moment to realise that she is really not okay.
The second after her attacker left the room, Betty's strength and her ferocity that she had managed to maintain for the entire confrontation suddenly comes crumbling down in front of Jughead.
All of it.
After all, the moment she had seen that it was Chuck, not Jughead, who has entered the newsroom just ten minutes earlier, Betty had immediately focused on pouring every ounce of strength that she has into making sure that she didn't let her guard down and making sure that she didn't let him win.
Now that he's gone and now that Betty's left with the security of her boyfriend's arms, her mask and her facade of strength against him is torn off and ripped away. As her heart pounds from within her, Betty's breaths become shorter and shorter, her body growing warmer and warmer as she shakes, trembling, trying to steady her breathing, calm her thoughts and reassure herself that he's gone, all at once.
Jughead feels as though his attempts to comfort his girlfriend during her panic attack are feeble and he hates that he feels like there's nothing that he can do to help her. However, he is all the while preoccupied with one pounding question that he is unable to ignore after feeling the tension in the room he walked into just minutes ago...
Does he really know all the facts about what went down with Betty and Chuck?
Chapter FOUR: Something More
After Chuck confronted Betty in the Blue Gold newsroom, it took a good twenty minutes after he'd left for her to move away from an inconsolable level of upset.
Jughead hates it. He hates seeing her upset. He hates feeling so helpless.
He may be just a little biased, but Jughead is confident that she is the strongest woman he knows, so seeing her so, completely upset, kills him. In fact, he might not know exactly why she is, but one thing that Jughead feels sure of is that Betty's not just upset, she's broken.