{A.N. Oh my god you guys thanks for the reviews! To clarify, Betty and Jughead aren't dating just yet but there's definitely something between them...}

Chapter 2: Suicide Blonde

"What the hell," Jughead breathed as she made eye contact with him. He suddenly felt like throwing up and not from Stinger's brass knuckled punch to his gut a moment ago. No, this was the last thing he needed - for anyone to know he was fighting for money in the dirty, dank basement of the Serpents-controlled dive bar on the south side of town. The second-to-worst thing in the whole crappy situation was that Betty didn't look too surprised. She just looked disappointed. The worst thing was that she didn't leave. In fact, she descended the rest of the stairs and stood next to the makeshift bar on the raised end of the basement so she could overlook the fight without getting caught up in the crowd.

"Jughead?"

Jughead snapped his attention back to the fight and to Python who'd called him over.

"Stinger says he's very sorry for using the brass knuckles. Won't happen again. You can forfeit the fight and we'll call it a draw or you can keep going. Up to you," Python said. his eyebrows raised in question.

Jughead risked a glance over to his father. His face was unreadable but Jughead knew that if the fight ended in a draw, FP would simply get back the money he'd bet on his son, instead of doubling it if Jughead won. And then there wouldn't have been much point in getting beat up with brass knuckles in the first place.

"Nah," he said with a sigh and a resigned shake of his head, "I'll keep going. I've got this far."

"Your choice kid," Python said. "Over to you two."

Python stepped back and this time Jughead could see Stinger was seething. Angry guys were generally easier to beat than focused guys. But Stinger was still huge - towering over Jughead and at least twice his weight - it was going to take immense amounts of ingenuity instead of pure force to beat him.

Stinger came at him, swinging but Jughead ducked and then punched him in the side. Stinger growled and swung again, narrowly missing Jughead's jaw. Jughead clocked him one right in the nose and if Stinger was angry before, now he was furious. Before Jughead could dart away again, the huge biker simply reached out, striking as fast as his motorcycle gang's namesake and grabbed a fistful of Jughead's black hair and jerked him closer, eliciting a cry of pain from Jughead.

"Get off me!" Jughead shouted, clawing at Stinger's hand. His scalp stung so painfully but it was nothing compared to the fist that Stinger buried into his ribs. Jughead gasped, winded, and Stinger punched him again in what felt like the exact same spot and then a third time. Between the agony in his scalp and the crushing pain in his ribs, Jughead started seeing stars. The crowd was shouting at them and one voice stood out to him - his father's. He suddenly felt cold and shivery all over. He needed to win this fight, Jughead realised with a freezing jolt of terror in the pit of his stomach. If he lost and his father laid into him, well after Stinger's treatment, thought Jughead, he might not actually survive.

Stinger landed a fifth punch to his side then pulled Jughead even closer to his body, spinning him around so his back was pressed up against Stinger's chest. The huge biker didn't waste any time wrapping an arm around his neck in a choke hold. Jughead couldn't get in any air as he struggled against Stinger's hold. This was it, this was how he would lose for the third time, Jughead thought as he started seeing black spots in his vision. He had the morbid idea to just let Stinger keep choking him, maybe even just let himself go to the darkness. But one bright spot in that darkness made his self-preservation kick in. That one bright spot with blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

Suddenly Jughead's oxygen-deprived brain had a better idea. He kicked backwards and his boot connected with Stinger's knee. He heard a sickening crack and Stinger howled in pain behind him. Immediately both of them were on the ground, Stinger with his hands holding his ruined knee and Jughead on all fours gulping in lungfuls of air.

"You bastard!" Stinger roared at him but Jughead ignored it. Instead he waited until he'd gotten his breath back before taking his opportunity and striking Stinger right across the face, knocking him out in an instant.

"I think we have a winner," Python announced stepping back into the circle. He grabbed Jughead's arm and hauled him to his feet. Jughead's knees almost buckled but another Southside Serpent grabbed his other arm, supporting him while he breathed heavily. "Jughead Jones is your winner tonight, gentlemen! Time to pay up on those bets, heaven help anyone who'd bet against FP Jones's son!"

Jughead breathed out an audible sigh of relief at Python's words. He'd all but forgotten about Betty but when he looked up finally, he immediately spotted her, sitting at the bar, biting her bottom lip, her hands clenched in tight, unforgiving fists.

{A.N. What do you guys think? I'll be posting a new chapter really soon - let me know what you want to see...}