Betty quietly opens the door to the attic, making sure not to wake her Mum. Her hand hovers over light switch, staying the reflex to shed light into the darkness. It would be much better if no-one knows why she's up there, especially him. The trunk- in whose direction she's gingerly making her way through the pitch dark towards- is full clothes that she's sure haven't seen the light of day in a least 16 years. A few years ago Betty had stumbled across it and wondered who they belonged to- Now she knows. The tight black jeans, rock band t-shirts, bright coloured scarves and leather jacket had to have belonged to the Southside version of Alice Cooper.

Finally she's far enough across the cluttered room, that the light from the attic window gives a silver glow to the boxes stacked in front of her. Dropping silently to her knees, she eases the trunk out from the bottom of the boxes. Opening it a waft of lavender releases into the air, Betty can't but rub her nose trying to distract from the sneeze that's just itching to come out. Taking a shallow breath, she start grabbing the carefully selected items from inside and shoves them into her backpack along with her dark Betty wig. The trunk she slides back into place and checks it's positions with a nod to herself- Yep nothing looks disturbed. She's satisfied, tonight she needs to be completely unrecognisable or this plan will never work. She needs to be gone, but not gone, for the next few hours. She needs him to think that she's still faithful, still following his plans. Still cutting herself off from everyone she loves best.

She slips Kevin's phone- he was most likely frantically searching for it, but her need tonight she feels is greater than his -out of her pocket with her lightly trembling hand and sends a text.

"Meet me tonight. Rosewood inn 9pm. Make it look like you're leaving town for good. Make sure you are not followed. You are being watched. Be careful."

Not waiting for a reply, she quickly shoves the phone back into her pocket and silently walks back across the attic, tiptoes down the stairs and out of the house- next stop Riverdale high school. Her steps deliberately rapid, but not running, there are things she has to accomplish before she can leave town, but she can't been seen to be rushing. He's keeping tabs on her, he likes to know where she is, who she is with, so to make this work she has to be visible. Has to make him believe she's being a good Nancy Drew investigating in Riverdale and not escaping for a few hours in the hope of fixing her bruised heart.

Kevin's phone vibrates inside her pocket- silent except for that little buzz to let her know she has a text. She can't check to see if it's his answer. It's too open and even though she's sure he can't tell the difference between her phone and Kevin's, she doesn't want to take the chance that her face will give her away.

She unlocks the door of the Blue and Gold, switches the light on and does her best not to jump when her Betty replica steps out of the corner of the room. She brings her finger to her mouth and reminds the girl to stay quiet. Walking over she slides her own phone onto the dock, selects a long Spotify playlist and turns up the volume.

Betty walks over to her and gives her a quick hug, a thank you for being a good friend- Camilla is one of Betty's fellow Riverdale Vixens. She's about Betty's height and colouring, so a good fit she hopes- "Stay in the corner, you can't be seen yet." She implores the girl, with the excited expression.

Betty quickly shirks out of her Betty clothes and tugs on the slightly lavender smelling Southside costume. Camilla's eyes get bigger and rounder- not at the cute baby blue underwear, she's totally used to seeing an underwear clad Betty- as the skin tight jeans, Skid Row t-shirt, leather jacket and finally black wig convert her blonde, goody two shoes friend into image of the serpent slut that she has thrown at her on the odd occasion.

Finally Betty tugs on a pair of block heel, biker boots. Giving her added height and quiet steps. By now Camilla has taken ownership of her shock and surprise and has the biggest grin on her face. "All for love right?" She more states than asks.

Betty looks down at herself, a slight blush covering her cheeks. Unrecognisable is what she's going for, she's pretty she's nailed it, but would it win Juggie back, or does he only like her for her Northside butter wouldn't melt facade. "Yeah for love." She says when she finally looks back at Camilla.

"Lock the doors once I leave, keep the blind on the door down. Open the window blinds just an inch and keep your back to the windows. I want everyone who walks past to know I'm in here, but not to be able to see enough of you to know it's not me. No talking, no answering the phone. I can't be sure this room isn't bugged."

Camilla's hands grab Betty's and gives them a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be fine. I've got heaps of home work and I get into the zone when I'm busy. Now get out of here and go get your man back."

Betty gives her another quick hug, shoves her backpack into the corner and heads out the door. She waits a couple of seconds, long enough to hear the door locking behind her and walks silently through the empty corridors of Riverdale High. She takes a concealed exit out of the opposite side of the building to the entrance and the Black and Gold offices, thankful for the copied key in her pocket, it's usually only ever used by maintenance.

A dark grey van with fading advertising sits idling just outside the door. She hops into the back and quickly fishes out the phone that's been burning a hole in her pocket.

"Good to go, Betts?"

Betty glances up at the old serpent in the front and finds she barely recognises him. Hair inside a beanie, neatly trimmed beard and worker overalls. A burst of laughter breaks out of her, making her bite her lip before she can answer.

"Yep, all's good. Lets go." She says, as she settles down, out of sight and finally gets a chance to read that text.

"Why?"

Not his usual verbose self that's for sure, but considering what Archie had said to him- Yes, she had demanded ever minute detail of how Archie had broken his heart. She needed to know every word, every ounce of heartbreak that he had dolled out. She needed to know what she had to make up for- So she's not surprised that he's not all that chatty with a Northsider. She replies:

"Don't you want your girl back? I know why, I can tell you why, so do as I say. Make it look good and maybe we can all survive this"

Dramatic much Betty, she thinks as she hits send. But she needs to him to believe her/Kevin. She needs him intrigued enough to get past his hurt, to get his inquisitive mind engaged. That's the only way he's going to do as she asks.

"Well Kev...is is Kev right? Front desk or have you booked us a room? ;-)"

"Room 205. See you then lover!"

She hits sent, before she can overthink it. Flirting with her ex as Kev and not as herself feels really, really weird, especially when this is not at all flirty, but life and death and heartbreak. She still smiles at the phone, after all Juggie and Betty have always got each other's dark humour. She leans back against the cold truck walls and tries to relax. It'll take about 45 minutes to reach Rosewood and she needs to be calm and ready to fight for her man.

The van drops her off around the back of the Inn, before she hops out she gives him a quick hug and he promises to be back in the same place no later than 11pm. That should give her two solid hours with Jug before she has to return to Riverdale, leaving her enough time to swap back with Camilla and then leave the Blue and Gold looking like she had a long session of editing and investigating, just like any other night for Betty Cooper.

She makes her way through the back entrance to the inn. There's no need to pay or collect the key. Her driver, the old serpent, that she had unwittingly known most of her life had booked, paid and collected the key earlier today. Nothing could be associated with Betty, secrecy was the only way she was going to pull this off.

Camilla was the only other person who knew about tonight, but even then she only knows one version of the truth- Betty needing to reconnect with Jughead after a big fight. The secrecy because everyone, including friends and family was against their relationship. She knows nothing about the threats, the meeting place or the driver. Just that Betty needed to disappear for a couple of hours because of love.

Krait knew more. Krait had know Betty from the first time she had ever helped her Dad with an old car. He owned a junk yard on the Southside and was always there to help them discover parts for bringing some old, banged up, beauty back to life. Betty and Krait had always had a soft spot for each other, but it wasn't until recent events that she had realised that he was a long time serpent.

She'd found her way back to him after events went south with her Dad and Juggie had donned the leather serpent jacket. He was there for advice, loosing herself in grease and a shoulder. Treating her much like a daughter, he was the first person she turned to when she had hatched this plan. He'd tried to persuade her to let the boy go for now, he'd keep an eye on him, but she couldn't let the hurt fester too long. Juggie had a fragile heart- he'd told her so the night of his party- and she knew she had a responsibility to look after it, despite whatever the killer on the loose said.

She unlocks the dark motel room door and with a quick look around- nobody seemed to be watching her- she slides inside. Closing the door behind her she feels her way to the the window and makes sure the curtains were tightly shut. Blindly walking across the room, she opens the restroom door and switches on the light- it gives a soft glow into the room, enough to see, but not enough to cast shadows on the curtains. Even with all the precautions she had taken, she can't shake the feeling that she was putting Juggie's life at risk just to fix what she had broken.

She sits down on the bed and waits. She's deliberately early, not wanting anyone to see both of them going to the same room. She tries not to worry, but it's almost an impossible task not to bite on her lip and clench her fists. She stands up and paces, distracting herself by being a little weirded out by the rasp of the tight jeans against her legs- Not a feeling she is used to.

The knock on the door makes her jump. She spins on her heel, presenting her back to the door, unable to move, unable to turn and face him. She doesn't want to answer it. He's early, she's not ready. What if it wasn't Juggie? What if it is Juggie?

Heart racing, take deep breaths, she's still trying to pluck up the courage to go and let him in when her shoulders tense as she hears the door open behind her. Before he can speak she says "Close the door, lock it"

He's a good boy, great at doing what Betty tells him to do, so without question he does as he's told. She turns as she hears the key in the lock, she's facing him as he turns round and before he has a chance to move, to speak, she's on him. Fingers ghosting over the cuts and bruises on his face, tears blurring her sight. "What the hell happened?" She demands.

Silently, his hands reach out and pull at her wrists making her loose grip of his face and jaw. She's surprised at the force of his grip.

"Why do you care?" He spits at her, pushing her back from him. His voice full of venom, his face full of hurt.

Her momentary surprise is quickly replaced. "Archie lied." She pleads. "You have to believe me Juggie. He lied because I asked him to, because I need to keep you safe. I needed you and everyone around you to believe that we were done. That I no longer wanted to be with you." She watches him closely. Looking for any signs of belief, of forgiveness. She goes on, he's not there yet.

"He's started calling me, the Black Hood, he's making threats about you, about my friends. He wants to isolate me. He told me that I needed to break away from you and if I didn't..." her voice breaks a little, as she remembers the voice on the phone, that made her blood run cold. "if I didn't, then you would be in the firing line. I had to do it, I had to keep you safe. We both know what he is capable off."

He's never this silent. Her eyes plead with him to understand. Her chest is heaving with force of her words. She starts to walk towards him. He stops her with a raised hand, his head down, not meeting her eyes any longer. He drops onto one knee, one arm raised to keep her at bay, the other keeping him upright on the floor.

She stops, hands clenched at her sides. "Juggie?"

"I need a minute, just give me a minute." He whispers, his head down, not looking at her.

She waits, afraid to say any more. Her heart beating rapidly, all her dreams, all her happiness revolve around the boy on the floor.

She takes an involuntary step back when he unexpectedly rises. He's pressed against her, hands on either side of her face, lips seeking hers before she can say anything- before she has time to react at all. His teeth pull at her full bottom lip, tugging her mouth open. His hands rough against her face, moving it so he can have better access. Her mouth opens, granting him access. Her hands fly to his waist, pulling him even tighter. She desperate to feel every bump and ridge of his hard body against hers.

She notices the taste of salt mixed in with the taste that is purely Juggie. It had only been a couple of days, but she had missed his taste more than anything. His mouth moves along her jaw, biting and sucking. Her head falls back at the exquisite feel of his tongue, lips and teeth, but she can't quite forget the taste of salt. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I hurt you." She whispers into the air above them.

His mouth descends to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, sucking intensely. Betty can feel the heat building up between her thighs. She needs him to know the depth of the lies, needs him to know just how important he is to her before this goes any further. Her hands move up to grasp his hair and pull him back from that purple mark that he busy imprinting on her soul.

He looks at her- he's beautiful- swollen lips, redden eyes, blown pupils. "I love you. I love you with every piece of my heart Jughead Jones. Do not ever believe what anyone says about you , about us. You are it for me and you always will be."

He pulls back, forcing her to release his hair and steps away. She's a little hurt, then a little worried- did he not believe her? She watches him as he shrugs out of his leather, letting it fall to the floor behind him. He grabs the collar of his dark Henley and pulls it over his head. She can't help but bite her lip as his taunt shoulders and biceps come into view.- Well maybe he does believe her.

Then she sees it. The tattoo. He's now a full member of the serpents - did she drive him to this, was this her fault? A moment of panic, almost makes her heart beat out of her chest- She knows she's partly responsible for this. She looks from the tattoo to his face and her heart hurts, breaking all over again at the broken, afraid boy in front of her. His eyes pleading with her to understand, afraid that this step, this chance he's taken will be what finally breaks them apart.

"I've always been a sucker for bad boys with tattoos." She drawls, as she shrugs out of her own leather, before grabbing the hem of band shirt and pulling it over her head.