Chapter One: The Black Parade

Betty's eyes welled up with tears as she said goodbye to Archie and Veronica, watching them walk away hand in hand. Archie never looked so bad, his face covered in a red stubble. Veronica, no doubt, was the one who fixed his hair, for it had been in a red disarray around his head for days. He walked with his shoulders rounded and his head low; Veronica slid into the driver's seat of her car and drove away with him. She had told Betty of her plans to take him on a small getaway, and Betty couldn't be more please. She was thrilled Archie had someone to comfort him and to hopefully love the pain away. She wasn't even upset that it wasn't her. Had it been a few months ago, she might have felt different...

However, she knew her tears were not all for Archie.

With a clenched jaw, she headed to her own car and found herself parked in front of FP's trailer. The lights were on. He was there.

"Where were you?!" she shouted, opening the door in one quick swipe. Those were the first words she had spoken to him since the night the Serpants came to see him.

"Betty?" Jughead answered, his voice revealing how startled, yet relieved he was to see her. He worried if he'd ever see her again after that night. The pain that was etched on her face at the sight of him in that leather jacket... He wasn't sure if that would ever leave his memory.

"Betty, I..." Jughead Jones was stumbling over his words, and if she had not been so angry, she would have teased him. The man of many words couldn't find a single one to explain himself.

"He needed you, Jug," she sniffed, wiping her eyes. "He needed all of us and you didn't even show. How could you?" Her eyes narrowed. "After all Fred did..."

He stood up and shook his head. "I know," he siged, "I know, I had to be somewhere, and it was for the best." He brushed the hair out from his eyes and stared up at her, begging her not to question his actions and knowing that she was incapable of leaving it alone. She was persistent -one of the many reasons he was attracted to her.

"Where?"

"Don't worry about it."

She took a deep breath, and her eyes went straight to the black leather jacked slung over the back of his dad's old couch.

"FP must be real proud," she said, tears rolling down her face. There was bitterness in her voice, but it quickly faded. Betty wasn't good at being bitter.

"Jug, please... please don't do this to yourself."

"I'm doing this for us," he said. She noticed his hands were shaking. Too much coffee. He didn't sleep.

"For us?" She stepped forward and grabbed his hands, pulling him close. Her held tilted back to look him in the eyes. "We don't need them. I'm not leaving you, and you aren't leaving-"

"They are sending death threats," he snapped.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Jug." Her eyes, shining with old and new tears, made his stomach turn.

"They aren't meant for me," he whispered. For the first time, Betty witnessed his chin tremble and his eyes become glassy. "They want you... and I won't let that happen."

"Who wants me?" she asked, taking a step back, "Mr. Blossom is dead."

"Mr. Blossom wasn't the only one affected by my dad's confessions. He ratted out all of Blossom's guys to protect his own." He shook his head, his jaw clenched. "Betty, this isn't something you need to try to solve. This is something you need to let me handle."

"They can't hurt me."

"They can and will. They are very 'eye for an eye'. What better way to get to my dad than to threaten me? And what better way to get to me than to threaten you?" He started to pace. There was no doubt in Betty's mind that he did that for most of the day.

"We have to go to the police, Jug," she said, but he shook his head and rubbed his hand over his face in frustration.

"No," he said, "The Serpants... they are protecting me, and they promised to protect you too." He turned from his pacing and pulled her on the couch with him. He hands went to her face, his thumbs rubbing the soft, delicate skin under her eyes. Off came her mascara.

"Betty, you have show me a love that I haven't seen in a long time. You've taken care of me when-" He swallowed and shook his head. "Let me take care of you the only way I can."

Every bone in Betty's body wanted to protest it. She wanted to scream at him until he was thinking rationally... But his stormy eyes longed for her acceptance, and her heart couldn't take it.

"What about your foster family in the Southside?" she asked, her face leaning into his hand.

"They are taking care of it," he said, shrugging, "They said I can stay here."

"You can stay at Riverdale?" A selfish relief started to take over.

A smirk grew across the left side of Jughead's face, and he nodded.

"I can stay."

Betty bit her lip, knowing that there was no use in convincing Jughead of changing his mind. Not now. She would try that later.

"Juggie," she whispered, but he didn't let her continue. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

It was then that Betty knew Veronica was right; This was not the puppy love she had for Archie. No, this was growing bigger and deeper, and there was no turning back.

Author's Note: Short chapter, I know! I had to type this on my phone due to my laptop being worked on. I just couldn't wait to start this story! Pardon any weird typos. This will very much be a Betty/Jughead centered story, and this is only the beginning. Leave a review and let me know what you think! Xoxo