It's over, Betty. I'm walking away.
Those six words played like a record on repeat inside of Betty's mind. She couldn't remember the exact point things started going astray in her relationship, but she knew that they had been in sink or swim mode for a while. Digging her palms into her flesh was the only thing that kept her grounded as those six words haunted her. Jughead had said he was walking away. Walking away from them. Their relationship. Her. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. Not that she hadn't tried. She fought tooth and nail to get him to reconsider his idea but his mind was made up; she was a thing of his past.
Sighing, Betty curled her nails into her palms, digging at the flesh the way one would dig for buried treasure: hungry and desperately. She needed to feel something, anything to alleviate that dull ache that had wrapped itself like a noose around her heart. She felt the warm, sticky liquid before she saw it but when she glanced down, she saw the crimson blood making paths down her wrists. It felt good. She felt good. She released her palms from the prisons she placed them in and made quick work of going to her bathroom and rinsing the cuts out with water. Then, with a quick tightening of her ponytail, she left, determined to prove herself to be the perfect girl everyone wanted.
XXX
"B, you're coming to Reggie's party tonight, right?" Veronica broke into Betty's thoughts sometime midafternoon that following Friday. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts of Jughead, (damn him), and she looked at her best friend.
"Ronnie," she sighed. "I don't think that's such a good idea."
Veronica was having none of it, though. "Betty, honey, I know you're still moping about Jughead-"
Yeah well, when one's soulmate breaks up with them, moping tends to be the most prominent course of action, honey.
"- And while I understand that, I think it's time for you to get out and have a bit of fun," Veronica continued, and Betty eyed her skeptically.
"By attending a party at Reggie's?" Betty asked warily. Betty didn't want go, would vehemently protest the notion if it wasn't for a ginger boy who had been her brother for longer than she could remember sitting down, throwing his arm around the dark-haired raven as his eyes locked with Betty's.
"Come on, Betty. It won't be so bad," Archie said gently, and Betty knew that Veronica had reached out to him; had hoped he'd be able to persuade her where she could not. Betty sighed.
"Are you going?" Betty asked, thinking gloomily that if he was it was two against one and those odds never stacked in her favor. Archie nodded, biting into his apple.
"I really don't want to go, Arch," Betty said, and he sighed.
"Look, I know you're still upset about the way things ended between you and Jug. If it's any consolation, I think he's pretty miserable, too," Archie offered. Betty knew he was hoping to bring a beacon of light back into her life but Betty couldn't lie to herself and say she gave a damn about what Jughead was feeling. He was the one who ended it, on his terms, without anything other than a whispered goodbye stolen away by the night.
Fingers curling inward of their own accord, Betty sighed miserably.
"Fine," she muttered, and Veronica squealed happily.
"Ah, thank you so much, B," she gushed. Betty just nodded, pushing her plate of food away from her as her appetited diminished rapidly.
"I'll be in the Blue and Gold office until class," she said offhandedly, hurrying away from her two friends without a second glance.
XXX
By the time Betty got home for the evening, it was to the formidable Alice Cooper asking her why she had to hear through the grapevine that her and Jughead had broken up. Rolling her eyes, Betty walked past her mother, mentioning something about not really having the energy to talk about it with anyone, least of all her. Alice said something in response but Betty was well equipped in the art of tuning her mother out. She didn't spare her a second thought as she shut the door to her room.
Betty spent the evening trying to put in the effort to look presentable for this party that she was being dragged to. Loose curls: check; make-up: check; appropriate outfit: check. Glancing into her mirror, she gave herself the once over, finding nothing out of place. Good. Just then there was a buzz from her phone and she opened her texts, noting that it was Veronica telling her that they were outside.
Sighing, she looked herself once more in the mirror.
"You can do this, Cooper. You've been plastering smiles on your face for years now without actually meaning them. Just go and mingle, then go home," she coached herself. Taking a deep breath, Betty opened her bedroom door and headed down to her driveway where she would accept her fate.
XXX
The party was in full swing by the time the trio got there. Predictably, Archie and Veronica split off to some private corner to make-out in without interruption, leaving Betty to fend for herself. Sighing, she made her way over to the array of drinks, trying to decide which one she wanted. After studying them for a moment, she heard someone clear their throat and looked around.
"You know, they're not going to jump out and attack you," Chuck Clayton said, amusement twinkling in his eyes. Betty rolled her eyes. Chuck Clayton, notorious bad boy. Betty Cooper didn't want to be stuck spending the evening with him.
"Forget it, Chuck," she said warily, too tired to have this conversation with him. He sighed.
"Look, Betty, I know what you think of me and I'm not going to lie, I deserve it," he said, and Betty pursed her lips, staring at him. "But what I am going to say is this: don't you think everyone deserves second chances?"
Thinking of Jughead and how she'd give him a second chance in a heartbeat if he asked for one, she bit her lip, looking back at the selection of drinks in front of her.
"What do you recommend?" Betty finally asked and he grinned.
"Rum and coke are my go-to choices, but I'm going to suggest whisky and coke for you. Here, I'll mix it," Chuck offered, walking towards the drinks and grabbing the appropriate bottle he was after. As he mixed her drink, he kept conversation going with Betty and she found that it actually wasn't as bothersome talking to him one-on-one as she thought it might be. She was even laughing at a few of his jokes he was cracking.
"Come on, Cooper, come hang out with me," he said, handed her the drink and walked towards a couch in the next room over. Sitting down, Chuck held his cup up.
"To new friendships," he said.
Not thinking too much of it, Betty clicked her cup with his. "Cheers."
XXX
Betty couldn't remember much of what happened after taking those first few sips except that she suddenly felt dizzy. Placing a hand to her head, she groaned.
"You alright, Cooper?" Chuck asked. She started to nod but shook her head instead.
"I don't feel so good," she mumbled, wondering why on earth her vision was as blurry as it was. She was nursing one drink for goodness sake's. Chuck stood up, placing his drink down on the coffee table in front of them, and helped eased Betty to her feet.
"Come on, let me take you the bathroom," he murmured, and she nodded, feeling touched at how kind he was being. He led her to a room down the hall that was empty and the first thing she noticed was the bathroom in the corner. Sighing happily, she started to make her way to it when she felt him grip her elbow and turn her.
"No, no, not that way, Betty," he said quietly, and she was too dizzy to question him – she simply allowed him to lead her to the bed that sat pushed up against the wall.
"What are we doing?" Betty mumbled as he laid her down on the bed, straddling her body as he did so.
"Shh, relax," he whispered. Through the haze in her mind Betty could tell that something wasn't right and began pushing on Chuck's shoulders.
"No, Chuck. I want you to get off me," she protested weakly, but he just silenced her with a kiss.
She tried to roll away from him as the tide of consciousness threatened to pull her under, weakly kicking out her legs to create space between their bodies. As her eyes started to slip close and her muscles started to relax, the door was opened and Chuck was off her in a millisecond.
Blinking open her eyes lazily, she spotted Jughead and the murderous look he wore.
"Juggie?" Betty whispered. Then, she tumbled into the dark abyss.
XXX
"What the fuck are you slowing down for, Pea?" The voice, however familiar, didn't stir Betty awake completely. No, it was the arms she found herself in and the footsteps of whoever was carrying her as they ran.
"Jug, we should take her to a hospital," came the reply.
"No, they'll know to look for her there," Jug said, and suddenly Betty broke free of her paralysis.
"Jughead?" Betty asked hoarsely.
"Shh," he murmured, tightening his grip on her. "We're almost to where we need to be."
She didn't question where that might be; she simply allowed herself to absorb the fact that she was in his arms once more, safe and sound.
XXX
The next time she remembered being aware of her surroundings she found herself in a bed. Blinking her eyes open, she stared around, trying to make sense of things before a soft voice to her left spoke.
"You're awake," he breathed in relief, and she automatically reached out her fingers, hoping he'd understand what she was after; he did, and acquiesced her request by interlocking their fingers together.
"Juggie," she murmured.
"Hey, baby," he said softly. She blinked her eyes owlishly at him, before frowning.
"You're an asshole, Jughead Jones," she muttered, and he laughed.
"I know. Please, let me explain a few things," he said. She had nowhere else to go and desperately wanted to know why he broke up with her, so nodded her head.
"Alright," she said quietly.
He sighed. "First things first. We'll make sure Clayton pays for what he did."
"Did he…," she trailed off, unable to say the words out loud. Jughead shook his head quickly, offering up a comforting kiss to her knuckles.
"Like hell I'd allow him to get that far," he soothed, and she nodded.
"Thank you," she breathed out.
It was silent for a few minutes and Betty could tell he was trying to gather his thoughts so gave him all the time he needed. Eventually, he nodded.
"The Ghoulies wanted to get me where it hurt," he said quietly.
"Me," Betty replied simply, and he nodded.
"I couldn't let them do that; couldn't let them bring you into the mess I created with Penny last year," he said.
"Jug, why didn't you just tell me?" Betty asked. He sighed.
"I should have, I should have, baby," he murmured. "But I didn't want you dragged even further into this fucked up situation than you already have been."
"We're a team, Jug. You asked me to be your Queen. That means we need to be able to trust one another when the shit gets hard. Especially then," she said quietly. She watched as he blinked back the moisture in his eyes and traced her hand along his face.
"What did Malachi want with me?" Betty asked.
"To make you pay for my mistakes," Jughead growled, and Betty calmly cupped his cheek.
"If protecting you means putting myself in danger, I'd do it without hesitation," she said.
He stared at her. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
"Don't be," she murmured. "I'm resilient. It's going to take more than a washed-up gang and some football player to knock me down. Do you remember who I'm related to?"
"I thought I had bad parents," he muttered, and she laughed.
"Promise me this Juggie: promise me you won't shut me out when things get hard. I know that's our go-to defense mechanism but we're a team. We fight like one. You prevented something from happening tonight, and I want to prevent something from happening for you."
He nodded, closing his eyes and kissing the palm that his cheek was still enclosed in.
"How did you find out about the party?" Betty asked after a moment of silence.
"Archie texted me when they couldn't find you. They had heard a rumor that Chuck and you had been chatting and it really didn't take me too long to deduce something bad was on his agenda for the night," Jughead said.
"Yeah well, after I went full dark, no stars on him, do you honestly blame him?" Betty asked quietly.
"You listen to me, Elizabeth Cooper. I don't ever want to hear you say that again. Do you understand me?" Jughead asked firmly. She studied his face.
"I hear you," she murmured after a moment of contemplation. He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer.
"Get some sleep," he said once he noticed her eyes start to grow tired.
"Will you still be here when I wake up?" Betty whispered, and she felt him place a kiss on her forehead.
"Always, my Betts. Always."
Author's note: One shot idea I had. Don't like Chuck so whatever to him. Hope you enjoy. Reviews are lovely. Xxx