The Serpent's Captive

Chapter 2

Jughead was getting impatient. He had been to Pop's enough to know his blonde waitress's routine. Every night, before the end of her shift, she would take out the trash to the dumpster in the alley way. It took her five minutes at most, than she was back inside, sitting with her friends as they finished off their milkshakes before leaving. It was nearing ten minutes and he was beginning to stir.

"Chill Jug. Maybe she had more trash than usual," Archie commented, dipping a french fry in his ketchup, shrugging his shoulders at his friend's agitation. Before Jughead could comment however, he felt his cell phone begin to vibrate.

"What?" he snapped once the device was to his ear. He noticed the way both Toni and Archie winced slightly at his tone before returning their attention to the french fries and milkshake in front of them.

"We ran into a bit of trouble Boss," Joaquin's voice flitted through the speaker, his tone bored. Jughead exhaled a sigh, glancing towards the kitchen once more before nodding his head to his two friends.

"Alright. I'll meet you at the Whyte Wyrm," he replied, ending the call and following Archie out of the booth. Pulling his wallet from his pocket, he dropped enough to cover the tab plus a generous tip for his favorite blonde before lazily sauntering out of the old diner.

Betty groaned, wincing as she attempted to open her eyes. Her head was throbbing, and she was almost certain she would have a decent sized goose egg from where the one jerk had hit her. Forcing her eyes to remain open, she lifted her head and glanced around the room she was in. She was seated in a hard chair, a desk situated in front of her. The room was dim, something she was slightly thankful for and it looked clean. Voices. That was what had roused her from her impromptu nap. Turning her head, she noticed the trio from the diner standing close to the door way with the two goons from the alley way.

"What the fuck do you mean he's dead?" the girl with magenta hair growled her question, and Betty could practically hear the anger in her voice.

This was the first time she was actually seeing them, and Betty couldn't help the way her eyes swept over each of her usual diners. The girl's magenta colored hair was long and always in an edgy style. Her amber eyes were warm, her lips always painted in berry tones similar to V. She was petite, but she didn't appear weak. She was dressed in a pair of black ripped skinny jeans and a white tank top, the arms elongated to reveal her purple bra underneath. The talkative boy had his red hair messily tousled. His chocolate brown eyes held laughter, as if he was constantly telling a joke. His shoulders were broad and Betty could tell he spent time working out, just from the size of his biceps. He was leaning against the wall besides the girl, blue shirt pulled tightly over his chest and dark wash jeans settled low on his hips. The boy who had caught her eye however was the one she truly noticed. His broad shoulders were tense under his black shirt, arms crossed and pulling the fabric taut over his chest. Black jeans with rips were settled on his slender hips, his stance telling of aggression. His raven colored curls were covered by a gray knit crown beanie and his stormy blue eyes were narrowed to slits.

"So your first thought, finding her on the other side of the dumpster was to knock her unconscious, call me, and bring her here?" she heard the low growl of his voice, and her eyes widened slightly. She thought she had bit back her immediate response of a squeak. However, Raven turned his eyes towards her, noticing she was awake.

"Clear the room," he growled, turning away from the four other members, focusing his attention solely on her.

Betty felt every muscle in her body tense as he slowly crossed the room until he was standing across from her, leaning back against the solid wood of his desk. His hands were shoved into the back pockets of his jeans, legs crossed at the ankle, and a calculating look on his face as he took in her appearance. Betty straightened her spine, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin fractionally as she met his storm colored eyes with a challenging look from her own apple green orbs. A smirk stretched across his lips as he waited a beat. That was when Betty finally heard the door close.

Jughead slowly took in the appearance of the blonde waitress. Her usually perfect ponytail had come undone, the blonde tresses tumbling down to the middle of her back. Her meadow green eyes were challenging, and her shoulders were tense. She was small, petite and so fragile looking that Jughead wanted to call Joaquin and Reggie back just so he could knock some sense into the idiots. The Serpent's had one rule, a rule the founding members had implemented when the gang first formed. No women and no children. Yet a woman had been brought to him because she might have heard the death of one of their drug mules. Jason Blossom had always disgusted Jughead. The man had been born into money and didn't exactly know how to treat others. Honestly, he was kind of glad to be rid of him.

"So, what did you hear?" Jughead questioned lazily, watching the blonde beauty in front of him shrug her shoulders, looking away and mumbling something under her breath.

"I'm sorry Princess, I didn't quite hear you," he taunted lightly, smirking at the glare that she directed towards him.

"Don't call me that," she practically growled, watching the smirk stretch into a wide grin.

"You're not exactly in any position to be making demands, princess," Jughead stated easily, watching the way her shoulders dropped slightly.

"I didn't hear anything," she replied after a moment, looking away and glaring at the bookshelves that lined his office.

"Sure about that?" he asked, taking in the way the emotions danced across her face.

"Positive," she replied firmly.

"Sadly, my colleagues don't believe that to be the case Princess. So, until I can be sure that you won't be a problem, you're going to be our guest for a while," he replied, pushing away from the desk and taking a step around her chair.

Betty shot out of her seat at that comment, twisting to face the Serpent who was demanding she stay.

"Like hell I will. I already told you, I didn't hear anything. The Sheriff comes knocking, I'll tell him exactly what I just said. There is no reason for you to keep me here," Betty snarled, her fists clenching at her sides as she glared at the taller man. He offered her a smirk, pausing a step to glance at her.

"You and Toni are about the same size, I'm sure she'll lend you some clothes," he replied, exiting the room.

"Asshole!" Betty yelled after him, slumping back into her seat and glancing at her palms. She already knew the sight that would greet her, but still, she needed to see the damage. Her hands were covered in blood from the four small crescent marks, and she couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips.

"He's just protective. He doesn't mean to be a total asshole," a slightly familiar voice stated, and Betty glanced over her shoulder to meet the warm amber eyes of the girl who was always at the diner with him.

"I'm sure," she knew she sounded bitter, but she was tired. Her entire life, she had been someone's hostage. Just when she thought she was breaking free, she was back in some tower.

"I'm Toni. Jug, the asshole's name is Jughead, he's just looking out for you, and for us. The red head always with us is Archie. Here, that boy said you might want to change out of your uniform. I'll show you where you'll be staying tonight. Jughead wants you close, so it'll probably be one of the rooms up here for now. Just holler if you need help or something," Toni stated, turning to leave.

"Betty," she replied, chewing her bottom lip before glancing towards her hands.

"And maybe some bandages," she commented, watching Toni's eyes narrow fractionally before offering a sharp nod and exiting the room.

Jughead's brow furrowed as he saw Toni carrying medical supplies up to his office. He glanced towards Reggie and Joaquin, calling out for Toni to wait.

"Did either of you idiots hurt her?" he practically growled the question and both his friends shook their heads in a frantic no.

"We grabbed her, knocked her out, put her in the car," Joaquin stated easily, sharing a glance with Reggie before Jughead turned his attention back to Toni.

"Why does she need medical supplies?" Toni only shrugged, a bored expression falling over her face before glancing towards the stair case.

"I don't know. She asked for it. Why don't you go find out Boss. And by the way, her name is Betty," she commented, shoving the first aid kit into his chest before sauntering towards the bar, muttering under her breath how she needed a drink. Jughead furrowed his brows, taking her advice and making his way back to his office. He didn't bother with knocking, pushing the door open. The sight that greeted him forced him to pause. Betty's back was turned, and all he could see was her pale skin, littered with silvery scars before she tugged the material of her borrowed shirt down.

"Thanks Toni..." she trailed off when she noticed it was Toni standing int the door way but the Asshole.

Betty's eyes narrowed fractionally, crossing her arms over her chest before she watched his eyes fall to her hands, her clenched fists where blood was dripping onto the hard wood floor.

"Did those dick heads cut you?" he nearly snarled the question, causing Betty's eyes to widen slightly at his tone. She shook her head, dropping her hands and forcing her fingers to relax.

"No, no they didn't. I did this to myself," she whispered, dropping her eyes to her now bare feet before she felt warm hands grab her wrists.

"How?" he questioned softly, turning her hands over to inspect them.

"I... When I get angry or feel anxious I dig my nails into my palms. I've done it for as long as I could remember, it helps ground me, helps clear my head so I can think properly," she whispered, unsure as to why she was telling a complete stranger this. Jughead nodded his head, pressing his tongue into his cheek before leading her to the chair she had been occupying.

"Try not to hurt yourself Beautiful. Throw something. I can promise you, everything in this room can be replaced," he whispered as he dropped into a crouch in front of her and began to treat her hands carefully. Betty could only furrow her brow in confusion, unsure just what to think about the man before her.

A/N: Well I wasn't expecting the response I got from the first chapter, however, I'm glad you guys like it. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to let me know what you thought!