A/N: First time writing for the Riverdale fandom (also posted over on Ao3) hope that ya'll enjoy.
Champion
Champion, champion
There was a quiet dripping sound coming from somewhere above her head, the water was pooling slowly by her feet. Betty Cooper shifted slightly in the small wooden chair that she was tied to, the wood creaked and groaned and she winced slightly at the sound. Her green eyes scanned the small room that she was being kept in, her breathing quickened and her pulse did too but now was not the time to panic. She already knew that screaming would be pointless, as she had already screamed herself horse the night before.
I'm calling you from the future
To let you know we've made a mistake
There's a fog from the past that's giving me, giving me such a headache
Her head throbbed at the memory of the night before, she had been waiting at Pop's for Jughead who was running late she'd looked around to realise that the restaurant was looking surprisingly empty for this time of day, even Pop had disappeared, she had briefly wondered why when a movement at the door caught her attention, an easy smile was already making its way onto her face as she assumed it was her boyfriend. The smile slipped and was replaced with horror at who entered. Ice ran through her veins as her eyes locked with his, she was sure that she'd tried to get up but in two large strides he was in front of her the barrel of the gun pointing at her.
He didn't speak, she didn't either.
He gripped her arm and pulled her up. That was when she found her voice, demanding that he let her go, telling him to stop that she wouldn't go with him. The cold metal of the gun whipped across her face splitting her lip and knocking any more words out of her. She was thrown head first into the back of a van, she tried to catch a glimpse of something that would give her a clue before the world went black.
The Black Hood paused at the door of the van contemplating something before he climbed in with her, her fear increased tenfold as she wondered what he wanted from her as he started patting down her pockets. He pulled her phone out and a glimmer of hope she had been holding onto faded as she watched him throw it out of the back and she heard the undeniable crunch of it hitting the tarmac behind the van.
She had screamed then. Screamed and kicked and thrown herself against the door in a blind and angry panic. This psycho said that she had inspired him that she was the reason people had been dying and now that she had put her foot down and said that she wouldn't do his bidding anymore, despite what he might do to her loved ones, he had come for her.
And I'm back with a madness
I'm a champion of the people who don't believe in champions
I got nothing but dreams inside, I got nothing but dreams
Now she found herself bruised and bloodied and tied to a chair in a damp basement. Most of the bruises had been self-inflicted in her attempts of escape from the van, but her lip and cheek were swollen from the gun. Her stomach growled angrily and she realised with a start that she hadn't eaten anything since the milkshake the night before. She'd been drugged so that he could remove her from the van without drawing any attention so she hadn't even seen her surroundings when they arrived.
"HEY!" she shouted finding her voice rough from the screaming the night before. There was the sound of feet shuffling above her head, "HEY!" she shouted again. The sound of a door being unlocked sent a shiver down her spine. He'd locked her in here even with her tied to a chair. Feet thudded down the narrow staircase and he stopped a few feet from her at the bottom, "Why am I here?" her voice cracked with emotion as she felt tears welling in her eyes.
He shook his head and turned to walk back up the stairs.
"Wait!" she needed food, "I haven't eaten or drank anything in what I assume is 24 hours, if you're going to keep me here I need food."
The eyes she could see narrowed slightly at her as he turned and headed back up the stairs without saying a word. He returned with a glass of water which he held to her lips, she drank greedily from it grateful for the liquid. She wouldn't let him know that however.
I'm just young enough to still believe, still believe
But young enough not to know what to believe in
Young enough not to know what to believe in, yeah
23 hours earlier
Jughead Jones the third was not one for amateur dramatics or histrionics, he loved mystery, intrigue and Betty Cooper. The latter of the three was never, in all the time he'd known her, late. He approached the counter after waiting for almost half an hour.
"Hey Pop? Was Betty here earlier, did I miss her?" he asked frowning slightly as he pointed to where a vanilla milkshake sat half finished in a booth.
Pop leaned forwards and looked at the forlorn glass, "She was in here…I don't know where she went sorry son." He shrugged cleaning a glass.
Jughead knew better than to jump to any conclusions so he pulled his phone from his pocket and stepped outside to call Betty. He waited as he heard it ringing on the other end. He pulled the phone away from his ear as he realised he could hear her familiar ringtone, he rushed towards the sound and stopped short when he found her phone lying on the tarmac with a broken screen. His whole body turned cold. He found in that moment that it was very difficult to breathe.
Alice Cooper was the definition of dramatic, she lived off jumping to the worst conclusion and she frowned deeply at the teen stood on her doorstep holding up her daughter's broken phone.
"She isn't here." She told him holding the door so that it was mostly closed.
What little resolve he had left was being tested, "I know…I know that. I…" her mother had been hurt by the exposé her daughter had posted, "I think she's in trouble Mrs. Cooper…I think the Black Hood has got her."
Alice Cooper rolled her eyes, "I never pegged you as one to overreact Jughead. She's probably gone to Veronica's, I think it is about time for you to head back over to the South side." He was about to argue his case further but the door was promptly closed in his face. He needed to tell Archie he'd believe him.
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
I can do anything
She was struggling to stay conscious, the late hour was catching up with her, there was a small window above her head and she could see that outside it was dark. They must be looking for her by now. She wondered to herself if they actually stood a chance of finding her.
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
I can do anything
Jughead paced up and down in Archie's bedroom, Sheriff Keller had told them and both Mr. and Mrs. Cooper that they needed to sit tight and let the professionals deal with it. He couldn't sit still.
"She's somewhere out there in trouble and I can't do anything about it." He wanted to kick something wanted to break something, Archie's brown eyes watched his friend as he paced back and forth he had no words of comfort for Jughead.
"They will find her." Archie tried to reassure his oldest friend but his words fell on deaf ears.
"They don't know who the Black Hood is, they don't know anything. He managed to get to the Sugarman in prison Arch. He's going to kill her…he's going to-"
Archie jumped to his feet and gripped Jughead by the arms trying to ground him, "Breathe, Juggie breathe for me." Jughead's panic attack was in full swing and Archie's words weren't nearly enough to calm him. He was hyperventilating and had started spiralling. Archie kept trying to remind his childhood friend to breathe, he knew it paled in comparison to any reassurance that Betty could give him but it was all he had to offer.
Champion, champion
Champion, champion
If she could she would have shielded her eyes from the bright light which stung her eyes. Betty strained against the ties which held her hands behind her back. The plastic of them bit into her skin leaving her wrists red raw. She strained her ears listening for any movement above her head as her time with the Black Hood neared 36 hours. She knew that if she waited much longer she'd be disposed of. The Black Hood had already changed his MO by kidnapping her. He had no real reason to keep her alive.
"Stay sharp Betty." She muttered to herself as she concentrated on listening for him. She needed to get off this chair. If she rocked it and fell over on it there was a chance it would break, she could also seriously hurt herself. If he heard and came to investigate she could say she fell asleep but she knew that was a weak excuse and only that was unlikely to fool him. She rocked herself back and forth until the chair tipped over backwards, the loud crash that followed was muted in her own head as she smashed into the floor behind her. Her vision blurred and everything was white for a moment before the pain shattered through her causing her to gasp for air. She lay still, dazed by the pain for a moment.
"Move." She muttered to herself through gritted teeth as she tried to break the already splintered chair. It scraped noisily on the ground and she wondered how long it would be until he came to investigate the sound. She needed to get off the floor now.
I got rage every day, on the inside
The only thing I do is sit around and kill time
I'm trying to blow out the pilot light
I'm trying to blow out the light
He wanted to punch something, needed to feel pain, needed to feel something other than the hollowness which seemed to haunt him. Archie was watching him carefully Jughead worried that he had somehow voiced his thoughts as he watched his friend's frown deepen.
"I just really need them to find her. I just really need her back now." He fiddled with his fingers anxiously. He started pacing again and Archie watched him before looking down at his knees and balling his own fists. Archie too felt completely helpless one of his best friends was missing and probably going through hell and the other was going through hell before his very eyes.
"I wish I knew what to say Jug." His eyes remained downcast, "I would give anything to stop you from feeling like this. I'm so…"
"Don't say it-" he could take words of comfort he would listen to that but he couldn't handle an apology that meant she wasn't coming back, that meant she was dead and he couldn't even entertain that idea.
I'm just young enough to still believe, still believe
But young enough not to know what to believe in
Young enough not to know what to believe
When the 40th hour hit he decided to talk to his father, FP's incarceration meant that he wasn't able to physically help but Jughead hoped he would be able to ease his mind at least a little. He sat waiting at the table for his father to walk in, the bags under his eyes a dark purple, his signature beanie was pulled low over his hair, he barely looked up as he father sat down in front of him.
FP's eyes scanned his son, "You've not been sleeping…what's going on." When Jughead looked up there were tears in his eyes, "Are you in trouble?" he asked.
Jugehead shook his head slowly, "Its Betty." His voice was small and FP leaned forward to hear him, "The- the Black Hood took her."
FP knew enough about the outside world to know about the mysterious Black Hood that had been terrorising Riverdale, the colour drained from his face, "When was she last seen?"
Jughead felt cold again, "About 40 hours…the police have no leads at this point…I'm…I'm waiting for them to find a body." He stopped himself from crying by biting his lip.
FP wanted to reach across the table to reassure his son in some way but he only had words, empty words which could not help ease the anguish that his son was feeling, "You stay strong, she's going to need you." Jughead contemplated arguing with his father but the more he thought about the worst case scenarios the more his heart hurt.
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
I can do anything
Betty slipped in and out of consciousness, she knew she needed to get up but the pain in her head was a constant reminder of the danger she was in. She pulled against the wood and whimpered as the plastic once again bit into her skin reopening wounds that had only just stopped bleeding. A crack of the wood coming free gave Betty a new jolt of energy as she shuffled her arms around to the front of her body. One of her shoulders popped angrily as she dislocated it. She needed to free her hands, she'd seen videos on youtube of how to break plastic ties by forcing them against your own hips.
She had to psych herself up for it, her dislocated shoulder would surely make it hurt like a bitch. She was ready for that though. She was sure she'd been missing for just over a day and a half and she knew that the chances that he would keep her alive much longer became smaller and smaller with each passing hour. Nausea hit her as she finally managed to sit herself up, her swimming head confirmed the suspicion that she had a concussion. Her blonde hair was probably stained red with her own blood, she could feel it slowly trickling down her neck. She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and steadied her breathing.
"Focus." She muttered to herself through gritted teeth as she breathed slowly and readied herself ready to break the ties. She forced her elbows either side of her hips and pulled hard, once, twice and on the third pull found that her hands were free. Her wrists were now sore and more cut up than before. She looked up at the staircase frozen in fear for a second at some perceived sound from above. There was no time to waste now, she had to get out of here. She looked up at the small window which had been shining light into her eyes it was still light out but that light was beginning to fade. She looked down at her hands turning them over wondering if she would have enough strength to pull herself up and over the window ledge.
She braced herself for the pain a gritted her teeth together to stop herself from crying out as she reached up to pull herself over the ledge. It hurt. A lot. She whimpered slightly before steeling herself and pushing her weight against the window. It scraped loudly against the stone of the wall. Betty flinched and froze for a second – there was no time for that she heard footsteps moving above her head and knew that it was time to move. She shoved her whole body weight against the window once more and felt herself tumble sideways.
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
If I can live through this
I can do anything
Champion, champion
I can do anything
Champion, champion
And I can do anything
Jughead sat with his head in his hands, his leg bounced up and down as nerves and fear gripped him. All of the thoughts that he had been trying to supress earlier now washed over him. Tears had dried up and now his eyes were red and puffy as he glared hopelessly at a spot on the carpet. Archie had begged him to stay at his house but Jughead felt like he had long overstayed his welcome and needed some time to himself. He sniffed loudly and got to his feet when his phone buzzed loudly on the coffee table in front of him. It was a number he didn't know.
He answered it, "Yeah?" his jumbled thoughts meant that politeness was forgotten as he answered.
"Mr. Jones." The tone of the woman on the other end was clipped and tight, Jughead immediately recognised it as the voice of Alice Cooper, Betty's mother.
"What's happened?" he braced himself for the worst.
She let out a shaky sigh on the other end and his blood turned ice cold in his veins, "Someone spotted her bloodied and bruised looking for help – they called an ambulance she's in the hospital…she's alive Jughead." His heart skipped a beat as he realised how worried she had been, despite her dismissive tone days earlier she had soon come to realise that he hadn't been wrong.
He needed to hear her say the words again though, "She's what?" he breathed hardly daring to believe.
"Betty is alive." There was a pause and Jughead wondered if she had hung up before he heard her speak again, "She'll want to see you when she wakes up."
Champion, champion
And I can do anything
Champion, champion
I can do anything!
The first thing she became aware of as she regained consciousness was that she ached all over. Her shoulder, head and wrists throbbed painfully. The second thing she became aware of was that someone was talking to her. She groan as she tried to open her eyes reminded of the blinding light that had come through that window as she sat in that awful basement. The basement! She forced herself to open her eyes and looked around the room in fear. Her eyes met concerned ones belonging to her boyfriend.
"Hey…hey it's fine. You're safe." He stood up and cradled her face. Her eyes studied him for what felt like an eternity, she looked like a deer trapped in the headlights of a car, panic-stricken and ready for the terrible thing to happen to her.
"Ju-juggie?" she stammered his nickname breathlessly as tears started to fall from her eyes. She closed them willing herself not to cry anymore.
He wanted nothing more than to take her pain away, the fear he had seen on her face when she opened her eyes was enough to make his already fragile heart hurt even more. When he had walked in he had stopped in the door and stared at her for what felt like a really long time. Seeing her dwarfed by the hospital bed with machines around her had made him feel physically ill.
"You made it, you're okay. I'm here." He whispered to her before pressing his lips to hers in a chaste kiss.
She pulled in a deep breath and pressed her forehead against his, "I'm sorry." She whispered in reply.
His head shook against hers, "No, no you don't need to apologise. This was him. This was all him. We will find him and make him pay." He promised her.
Betty was the suddenly aware of the other person in the room, her mother shifted into view by her feet and held on to them clearly hoping to anchor herself to her daughter with physical contact. Betty's eyes locked with her mother as Jughead stepped back for a second and rubbed his face. Alice looked like she wanted to say something to her but settled for squeezing her feet a little tighter when words failed her. When her emotions became too much she turned away from her daughter and pulled in a long and shuddering breath.
Jughead could see the guilt written on Alice Cooper's face and in the hunch of her shoulders as she turned away. He was sure the same guilt was written on his own face as Betty reached out her hand to take his and squeeze it reassuringly. His eyes were almost instantly drawn to the stark white bandages which adorned her wrists. A pang of guilt hit him again full force as tears stung his eyes once more. He willed himself to blink them away as he forced a watery smile.
"I called Archie. He's going to come by in the morning. Everyone is so happy that you're okay. I-" he cut himself off she didn't need to know how crazy he had been going when he didn't know where she was and if she was even alive. "I love you." He whispered again ducking his head towards her and kissing her gently.
Once he had pulled away she smiled weakly at him, "I love you Jughead Jones." She told him her voice sounding stronger than it had done before which lifted his heart slightly from where it had settled low in his stomach.
"Thank you for that." He told her tears brimming in his eyes.
A/N: Reviews are love - thank you