Chapter Four
"B? Everything okay?" Veronica asked on the other end of the phone, Betty standing in nothing but a pair of white satin bikini cut panties in front of her closet.
"Hey, V, I have an odd fashion question." Betty said and brought her hand up to her mouth, chewing the pad of her thumb.
"Oh, I love a good challenge. Okay, shoot."
"Hypothetically, if I was to say, be going to a biker bar tonight, what would I wear?"
"O. M. G." Veronica squealed, "Betty Cooper are you going to the Whyte Wyrm tonight?" Betty laughed softly and flipped through her closet once more, pulling out a short black skirt before tossing it aside.
"Yeah, and I need something comfortable to ride on the back of a motorcycle. Juggy is picking me up soon."
"You're going with the incredibly handsome, dark, brooding Jughead Jones? Oh Betty, sweetie, it's a biker bar. You gotta look HOT. How long do you have?"
"About two hours."
"I'll be over shortly." The call ended and Betty chuckled as she continued flipping through her closet. By the time Veronica's limo pulled up out front of the Cooper house Betty had laid out a few possible outfits before grabbing her robe and hurrying to open the door.
"This won't take me long, Smithers! I'll be out momentarily!" Veronica called over her shoulder, Smithers nodding before returning to the drivers seat where Betty saw him pick up a newspaper, "So, B."
"Yes?"
"Why is an engaged woman going on a date with Jughead Jones?" Veronica asked with a grin as she followed Betty to the stairs, Betty shaking her head and laughing out loud at her question.
"Oh V, this is the farthest thing from a date. I'm meeting his friends in return for him coming to help haul out some furniture tomorrow." Betty said as she led her to her old bedroom and opened the door, "My mom hated the Serpents, and Jug said she drug them through the mud and slandered them every chance she got when she owned the Register. All I've heard growing up is that the Serpents were awful, terrible, murderous gang bangers and sex traffickers. Jughead wants me to get an honest opinion for myself, especially since I'm Alice Cooper's daughter."
"B, can I know we've only known each other a very short time, but I already treasure you like a close friend and I don't want to jeopardize that, but can I give you my honest opinion?" Veronica asked as she walked to Betty's closet, pulling out a pair of skin tight black capris and handing them to Betty.
"I admire honesty." Betty answered and laid the capris out on her bed before joining Veronica at her closet. She turned and took Betty's hands in her own, looking down at the diamond ring on her new friend's finger.
"I know today was only our second day of seeing each other, and first official day of hanging out, but everything I heard about your fiancee today made me question if you are truly happy. I am in no way trying to suggest what you should do, it's your relationship and if you are happy and you love him, then so be it. I'm just worried, maybe you aren't as truly happy as you make yourself believe." Betty swallowed hard and avoided Veronica's gaze as her eyes stung with tears she was willing away.
"Michael is just..." she started, clearing her throat and forcing herself to smile up at Veronica in faux reassurance, "He can be a difficult man to love."
"I just want you truly happy, B. I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes." Betty pulled Veronica into a hug, thanking her for her honesty and looking out for her before they turned to Betty's closet and finished piecing together an outfit. Veronica turned her back as Betty dressed, seeing the blonde's phone light up where it lay on the bed next to her discarded robe.
"B, you have a text from tall, dark, and handsome. 'Hope you're ready to go, I'm headed your way to pick you up, can't wait to introduce you to everyone'. Seriously, Betty, are you sure there's nothing going on between you two? Because although I do not condone cheating, I do support a possible Bughead romance."
"Bughead?" Betty asked with a laugh as she slid her capris on, followed by a strapless nude bra. She picked up a white low shoulder crop top that had a white lace overlay and slid it on before slipping her feet down into a pair of black stiletto booties, zipping up the backs and stepping towards her floor length mirror.
"That's what I'm going to call you guys when you finally get it on. Did you not see the way he looked at you when he walked away?"
"We're just friends, V, and we've spoken less than you and I have."
"Girl, soulmates, okay? A lot of people don't believe in that but I am a firm believer you do not have to know someone long to know there is just…something there. Something meant to be. Also going off the fact that Jughead doesn't escort any lady to meet his extended family at the Wyrm." Veronica said before Betty cleared her throat, Veronica turning around and feeling her jaw drop.
"Well?"
"Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes, you are going to knock him on his ass!" she cheered and saw the blush spread on Betty's cheeks, "Speak of the Devil and he shall appear." Veronica added as they heard the loud roar of a motorcycle engine. Both girls crowded the window as they saw a sleek black Harley Davidson pull up behind the limo, the engine cutting off and it's owner leaning it over on it's kickstand. He reached up and slid the helmet off, shaking out his dark hair and running a hand through them before dismounting the motorcycle. Betty found herself swallowing hard before she could stop herself and Veronica giggled at her friend.
"I'll go distract him while you do a smoky eye shadow and fierce cat eye liner. Hashtag Bughead is endgame." Veronica teased and rushed out of the room before Betty could remind her they were only friends. Betty slid in to her makeup chair and pulled out her makeup as she heard the front door open and a surprised Jughead greeting Veronica. It didn't take Betty long at all to do her makeup and hurried to leave her bedroom, stopping for one last look at herself in her mirror.
"Here's hoping I don't stick out like a sore thumb." she muttered to herself and made her way to the stairs.
"Is she almost ready?" she heard Jughead ask, Betty taking a deep breath and rounding the corner into the foyer. Jughead glanced up, doing a double take when he saw her and reached up, scratching his neck as he cleared his throat.
"I'd say she is." Veronica said with a smile and stepped to the side.
Holy fuck. Jughead thought to himself as the blonde made her way to him, a shy smile on her face.
"Where's your onesie? I liked it." he teased and laughed at Veronica's glare.
"I hope this okay for your bar." she said and looked down at her outfit, then back up at him, searching for his approval.
Better than okay.
"You look great, Betts. You ready?" he asked and she nodded, Betty thanking Veronica for her help as the three stepped out of the front door.
"Have fun on your date you two!" Veronica called out playfully as she hurried ahead of them to her limo where she had left Smithers waiting on her.
"Not a date, Ronnie!" Jughead called after her and led Betty to his motorcycle, "Ever ridden on one of these bad boys before?"
"No but I've always wanted to." she answered and he grinned, grabbing his helmet off of the back of his motorcycle.
"Well first off, this is a helmet and will protect your head in case of an accident." he teased and she scowled, propping her hands on her hips.
"I know what that is, Juggy." His only response was to laugh and smile, sliding it over her head and tilting her chin up slightly so he could adjust the strap for her.
"Lean with the motorcycle when we go around a curve, not against or we could have some serious problems. Tap my shoulder twice if you need to stop, three times if it's an emergency, and hold on tight. Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no."
"Roger that." she answered and he threw his leg over the bike, holding his hand out for her. She got on behind him and he kicked the kickstand back up, Betty's arms snaking around his waist as the motorcycle roared to life underneath her. She couldn't help the smile that plastered her face as he revved the engine a few times.
"You ready?!" he called over his shoulder, Betty giving him a thumbs up and Jughead smiled big before turning to face the road and taking off. He smirked to himself as Betty's arms tightened around him, her hands gripping his t-shirt as they flew down the road of her neighborhood.
Betty loved the adrenaline that she felt as they traveled down the road towards the Wyrm, squealing with laughter and tightening her hold on Jughead when they rounded sharp curves. She watched her hometown flash by, the fancy houses, the fancy park, the fancy storefronts. The second they crossed the railroad tracks it was obvious they had left the Northside and entered Southside Riverdale. They passed older looking homes that were slowly slipping into varying states of disrepair, over grown lawns, the tagged and busted up building of Southside High. Betty sat up a little straighter so she could look around easier, her hands resting on Jughead's waist as they passed abandoned buildings, a community center that looked like it was barely hanging on with a playground that had been tagged and nearly destroyed. Only one of the four swings was still attached, the slide was covered in so much graffiti that Betty couldn't tell you if it was plastic or metal. A climbing wall was clearly missing most of the pieces and a seesaw only had one seat to it. She felt a sad tug at her heart when she saw the disrepair of the playground before it was left in their trail as Jug made his way towards the bar. The sign for Sunnyside Trailer Park stood up ahead, the trailer park flying past and Betty remembering how much Archie used to sneak her out there to play with Jughead after her mother had forbade her to go.
It wasn't long until Jughead pulled into a parking lot and killed the engine, the infamous Whyte Wyrm standing before them. He helped her off of the bike and slid her helmet off for her, watching as she took in her surroundings. There had to have been at least thirty or forty bikes in the parking lot, and a few of their owners were standing outside drinking, smoking and conversing with one another. All eyes were watching Jughead and Betty.
"You okay? You look scared." he said softly as he big green eyes looked up at the giant serpent painted on the sign for the bar, a bright neon green serpent sign on the wall next to the door.
"Just a little intimidating." she answered softly and Jughead threw his arm around her shoulder, giving her arm a squeeze and trying to comfort her.
"Just wait until you see the inside. Just relax, Betts. No one is gonna hurt you, I won't let them."
"Are you sure?" she asked as she looked up at him, Jughead giving her a comforting squeeze and smile.
"I promise. I'll protect you. But, cast out everything negative you've heard and come in here with a clean slate."
"Alright, Juggy." she answered with a sheepish smile, Jughead letting her go and placing his hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the front door.
"Sup, Boss?" one of the younger members asked as the pair reached the door, Jughead patting him firmly on the shoulder before opening the door and letting Betty walk in ahead of him. Loud rock music met her ears, cigarette and obvious pot smoke making her choke slightly. She went to turn to look for Jughead but his comforting touch on her back let her know he was there, she was safe.
Of course no one was going to hurt her if he had anything to say about it. He was their King, and it was obvious how well respected he was when he entered the bar.
"Serpents!" He called over the music, sticking his fingers in his mouth and letting out a shrill whistle. Instantly the bar grew quiet, Jughead motioning to kill the music to someone Betty couldn't see, but obviously they saw him because not a second later the music had died.
"Who's the Northsider?" she heard someone murmur, Betty feeling her face growing bright red as all eyes were on them.
"This is a dear old friend of mine, Betty Cooper!" he announced and the whispers immediately began.
Betty wished for the floor to swallow her whole.
"Cooper? As in Alice and Hal Cooper? The hell is she doing here?" an angry voice asked from near the back of the bar, Betty looking up and seeing the flicker of irritation in Jughead's eyes but he quickly masked it with a smirk.
Please, God, swallow her now.
"Easy does it, Tallboy. She's nothing like her parents, like her mom. Betty's here to get to know you guys. Make her feel welcomed!" With that Jughead ended the conversation, signaling for the music to return. It did, along with all halted conversations and Jughead placed his mouth to Betty's ear.
"Come with me to the bar, will get you something to relax you." he said and took her hand, weaving through the crowded floor and finally making their way to the bar. A group of younger Serpents looked up as Jughead approached them, the college aged kids greeting the both of them before moving away to free up some bar stools.
"So you made it out here to visit us after all. Gotta admit, I was starting to wonder if you were going to." The girl Betty met at the diner said from behind the bar as she was mixing up a drink, pouring it into a glass and handing it off to an older woman who was waiting patiently behind Jughead for her drink.
"What's your poison?" Jughead asked and Betty shrugged, the dark haired man raising an eyebrow and smirking, "What, you don't drink?"
"Wine." Betty answered innocently and both Jughead and Toni laughed.
"Toni, make her our signature Snake Bite, I'll take some Whiskey for now."
"Sure thing, Boss man!" Toni said with a playful salute before pulling out bottles of liquor. Betty watched in fascination as she watched Toni work, amazed at her speed and how easy and flawless she made the drink. In no time at all Toni had placed a bright green drink in front of her in a sugar rimmed glass, sliding a glass of whiskey to Jughead. He held up his drink to Betty, the blonde taking hers and holding it up.
"Thank you for coming out with me. Here's to clearing up misinterpretation and to hopefully forging new friendships." he said and Betty smiled, the two clinking their glasses together before taking sips at the same time.
"Holy bananas!" Betty squeaked as the sour drink nearly crossed her eyes, Toni giggling and Jughead downing his whiskey and smiling in amusement as she shook her head quickly to recover.
"Whatcha think?" Toni asked as she leaned on the bar, Betty looking down at the drink and then at her.
"It's so sour, but this is one of the best things I've ever tasted." she said before taking another sip, the sour drink making her eyes screw shut and her jaw nearly lock, "It's like a liquid Warhead candy. I loved those."
"Betty Cooper, we meet again." A voice said from behind them, Betty spinning around in her seat and smiling when she saw Sweet Pea standing there.
"Sweet Pea. Here to try more suggestive pick up lines?" she asked and heard Toni giggling behind her.
"Nah, I'm here to welcome you, and challenge you." He answered with an amused grin, his arms crossed in front of him, a beer bottle hanging from one hand.
"Challenge me to what?" She asked in confusion, looking from Sweet Pea to Jughead who was smirking at the two, "What?"
"Sweet Pea likes to kick every new Serpent's ass in a game of pool." Jughead answered and Betty raised an eyebrow, looking over at the pool tables in the middle of the car.
"I'm not a Serpent though." she said before taking a large gulp of her drink, hoping the alcohol would kick in quickly and help her relax.
"Boss man Jughead brought you in as his exclusive guest. For tonight, that's close enough. What do you say, accept my challenge?" he asked as he held his hand out to you.
"I played a lot of pool at the academy and in college." she said with a smile and raised eyebrow, "Are you sure you're ready to get your butt kicked by a girl?"
"Oh I doubt you will." Sweet Pea teased and Betty took his hand, shaking on it, "Toni, line us up some shots will you? She'll need something to ease the pain of defeat."
"You might want to get off your high horse there, Sweet Pea. It's a pretty long fall." Betty teased and followed him to the middle of the room where people were stepping back to give them room. Jughead hopped up to sit on the edge of the bar so he could get a better view of the pool table, Sweet Pea handing Betty a pool stick as Fangs placed the balls in the rack.
"Ladies first." Sweet Pea offered and stepped back to allow Betty room to approach the pool table as Toni brought a tray of shots out to them. They both grabbed a shot glass and stared each other down as they downed them at the same time.
"You sure you want to do this? You still have time to back out." Betty teased as she placed the white ball.
"You wish, Cooper." Sweet Pea answered and Betty took her position. Jughead watched as she positioned herself and found himself biting in his lower lip as he watched her bending over and lining up her shot.
"You got some drool." Toni teased and Jughead jumped, wiping his mouth to find nothing and looking over at a chuckling Toni, "She is hot. When you gonna get that?"
"She's engaged."
"Oh, well damn him then. That's not fair to the rest of us to keep her all to himself." she said and Jughead shook his head in amusement just as the sound of the white ball making contact with the other balls could be heard. From the sound that the spectators made, this was going to be a bad game for Sweet Pea.
"Last call! Closing soon!" Jughead announced from the bar, Toni reaching over and flickering the lights for him.
"I can't believe you kicked my ass. A girl kicked my ass!" Sweet Pea said as he and Betty stumbled towards Jughead, Sweet Pea's arm laying around her shoulder as they both nearly tripped and started laughing.
"I warned you!" Betty slurred as she jabbed him in the side with her elbow, Sweet Pea laughing again as Fangs stumbled his way towards them and stood on Betty's other side, his arm going around her too.
"Jughead, boss man, can you bring her back? We like her!" Fangs said, nearly dropping his empty beer bottle and Jughead looked over at Betty who was one big smile.
"Of course, as long as Betty wants to come back." he answered, happy with how easily accepted she had been by some of his closest members.
"Okay, next time you come, we're playing darts, and I'm definitely kicking your ass." Sweet Pea said as Toni held out a fish bowl that had a couple dozen sets of keys in it.
"Fangs, Sweet Pea, cough 'em up. You're walking home or calling and Uber tonight." she said, the two fishing in their pockets for their motorcycle keys.
"Alright, but I'll be here first thing in the morning to get them back." Fangs slurred and kissed Betty's cheek goodbye before heading for the front door to leave, Sweet Pea mimicking the same goodbye and hurrying to catch up with his friend.
"Hey, you, looks like you had a bit much to drink." Jughead said as he helped Betty to find purchase on a bar stool and sit down.
"Sorry, Juggy, I don't 'member how many shots I had." she said through a giggle, waving goodbye to Serpents as they were leaving.
"I can't get you home on my bike like that, you'll kill yourself."
"Well, crap, it looks like I'm screwed." Betty said with a laugh as Toni handed her a glass of ice water and a straw.
"How do you feel about crashing at my place? You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the couch and I'll take you home in the morning." Jughead suggested as Betty downed nearly half the glass of water without taking a breath. Betty looked down at her phone to see four missed calls and half a dozen text messages from Michael, each one angrier than the last. She had a few voicemails also, and each one was progressing in anger.
Phone's nearly dead,
need new charger.
Call in am,
Love, Betty.
Thankfully auto-correct helped Betty to write out a coherent message to Michael and sent it before shutting her phone off and looking up at Jughead.
"I would be most appreciative." she answered with a grin, pocketing the cell phone and finishing off her water.
A/N: So, totally did not realize the name I was using for Betty's fiancee is the name of an actor, so I apologize for any confusion! I do not plan to use any actual people in my work, so no, her fiancee is not based after a celebrity! Thank you to my lovely readers who caught that for me. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read, and if you don't mind to leave a review or comment, it would mean the world. Thank you!