YES. I am alive. This story is alive. Thank you to everyone who continued to read this story!
Onwards! With some extra heavy PG-13. I am considering changing the rating from T to M...if anyone disagrees with this change, speak now or forever hold your peace! ;)
Previously:
?: By the end of this week, Betty won't ever want to speak to you again. She'll never look your way again. She'll never even think about you. By Friday evening, Betty Cooper will want nothing to do with you...and you'll have lost her completely.
Jughead's heart hurt at the mere idea of losing Betty forever.
J: Why are you telling me this? What do you want from me?
It took several minutes for the next reply to come in.
?: I want you to suffer, Jones...
?: I want you to bear the burden of knowing that you were warned...and knowing that you are powerless to stop it.
?: I want you to get it though your thick skull that your 'serpent royalty' is nothing but a trashy title. You're no King.
?: You think you have power, Jones? Think again.
[Later that Monday]
Jughead was nowhere to be seen at lunchtime. Veronica sat with Cheryl, Toni, and Kevin while Archie went searching for him.
"So he just got up and bolted?" Kevin asked incredulously. He took a bite of his lunch, eyes wide with disbelief.
Veronica nodded, absentmindedly dragging her fork through some pasta. "He was texting with someone, though, before he suddenly shot out the door." She shook her head, concerned. "Something's wrong."
"A lot of things are wrong," Cheryl muttered under her breath, too busy on her phone to watch her mouth. Toni subtly kicked her under the table, giving her a pointed look that said Remember what we talked about! Cheryl sighed, quickly correcting herself with an all-too-cheery voice and plastered a fake smile on her face. "I mean...I'm sure he'll be okay!"
Just then, Archie appeared out of nowhere and flatly said, "He's not okay." He ran a hand through his hair in distress and sat next to Veronica. "He won't even talk to me, but I convinced him to come in and get some food." He gestured towards the cafeteria line, where Jughead stood with a tray full of food.
"Jughead needed convincing to eat?" Toni asked with a frown, and Archie nodded. "Wow. He's definitely not okay. That boy lives for food just as much as he lives for—" She saw Jughead approaching and cut herself off before she could say Betty.
Jughead plopped down next to Toni without a word. "You'll feel better with a little food, man," Archie said from across the table. He tried to shoot him a friendly smile, but it just looked more apologetic. Jughead clenched his teeth in annoyance. The last thing he needed was people feeling sorry for him.
So he ate silently, mind replaying the events of this morning—his infuriating conversation with the anonymous texter, and then his encounter with Betty that morning.
As if on cue, Kevin suddenly said "Shit," dropping his fork on the table with a loud clank. He was staring across the room.
"Kev?" Veronica looked at him, perplexed.
In a more hushed tone, he asked, "Is that Betty?!" Kevin pointed to where he was staring, and the rest of them turned to follow his gaze.
All conversations in the cafeteria seemed to turn into whispers as Betty Cooper walked in, looking fine as all hell. Hair down in waves, black boots with a sexy kitten heel, fitting jeans, and a wine red top complementing her berry colored lips.
"Talk about a wardrobe change," Kevin said.
"Well if you ask me, it's about time that girl ditched those drab sweaters for some style," Cheryl stated bluntly, eyeing Betty's outfit with approval.
"No one asked you, Cheryl," Archie said, his voice laced with warning. Cheryl whirled on him to tell him off, but held her tongue when she saw him silently gesturing to Jughead, as if to say He doesn't need your shit right now. She did feel bad for Jughead, and knew it wasn't the time to push his buttons...especially about Betty.
Betty.
Betty has always been beautiful. Jughead knew that. Archie knew that. Everyone knew that. But there's a difference between beautiful and hot—and today, Betty Cooper was showing everyone that she could do both.
Archie and Veronica were saying something to Jughead, but he wasn't listening. He was too busy looking at Betty with a mixed expression of longing and pain, unable to take his eyes off her. Unfortunately for him, neither could any other guy in the room. He clenched his jaw tightly and glared daggers at the few who were bold enough to wolf whistle at Betty.
As Betty's eyes scanned the room, he could instantly see a look of regret cross her face from the amount of unwanted attention she was receiving. Part of this unwanted attention included a guy in a black bomber jacket that Jughead didn't recognize. He watched on in silent rage as the strange boy nudged his buddies next to him, before jumping up to approach Betty in the cafeteria line.
The guy smirked, blatantly looking Betty up and down, and leaned in to say something to her. Jughead couldn't hear their exchange from this distance—but from her eye-roll, he gathered it was offensive. Thankfully, Betty hardly spared the guy a glance. She stated something brief while she picked up a tray of food and walked away.
"Who the hell is that?" Jughead asked angrily, gesturing towards the brown-haired boy who persistently continued to follow Betty.
"I think he's new," Archie said, also annoyed by the scene.
"I don't know, he looks familiar to me…" Cheryl pondered aloud, looking at the boy with a frown. She couldn't place her finger on it, but she definitely recognized him from somewhere.
Jughead narrowed his eyes and harshly shoved his tray of food away when he saw the guy jump in front of Betty to block her path. She tried to side-step him, but he wouldn't budge—he instead placed a hand on her waist and stepped real close, whispering something in her ear.
Jughead instinctively started to stand, fully prepared to walk up there and remove the guy's hand himself. But Toni was faster; she placed her hand on his shoulder and forcefully sat him down. "Don't," she hissed quietly.
Appalled, Jughead started to protest. "But he's—"
"Out of bounds. Clearly. But you can't start a scene, Jug," Toni said, looking at him sternly. "Going all 'protective-boyfriend' on this guy isn't going to do anything except scare Betty more, especially when she doesn't remember you…"
Jughead shrugged off her hand in annoyance, but silently agreed with her. He knew Toni was right; the last thing he wanted to do was frighten Betty. So, he remained seated. But as he looked back towards Betty, he was surprised to find her staring right at him. His anger subsided—only for a moment—as his eyes locked with hers.
Jughead knew Betty better than anyone else. He considered himself pretty attuned to Betty's body language, always seeming to know how she felt or what she needed. Simply put, he knew Betty inside and out.
Which is why Jughead was confused when—for the first time ever—he couldn't read her expression. For once, he couldn't tell what she was thinking, or how she was feeling. He searched her eyes for something—anything—that would show she remembered something about him. Her expression was blank. Empty.
Their moment lasted for only a few seconds before it was disrupted by a forceful tug on Betty's waist, making her break eye contact with Jughead.
"Dude..." Jughead suddenly heard Sweet Pea's voice behind him. He glanced back briefly to see him and Fangs approach the table with deep frowns on their faces. Sweet Pea jerked his head towards the guy and Betty. "You wanna do something about this guy, or should we?"
Toni instantly leaned out to punch Sweet Pea in the arm, saying, "Can you not provoke him?!"
Jughead returned his steely expression to the scene unfolding before him. Toni might be right, but Jughead wasn't thinking too clearly anymore. The longer he watched this guy with his hands on his girlfriend, the angrier he got. "I'm giving him ten more seconds to remove his hands," he growled in response to Sweet Pea. Before I go over there and break them myself, he silently added. He saw Toni roll her eyes.
But Betty suddenly looked down, smiled sweetly, and looked back up at the guy holding her waist. Oh no…don't buy his crap, Betts, Jughead silently pleaded.
He watched in disbelief as she sidled up to this guy, mere inches between them. She said something to him that made him take her tray, and—to Jughead's absolute pleasure—she suddenly took her plate of pasta and overturned it, all over the guy.
He dropped the entire tray with a loud *crash*, shouting, "What the hell?!"
"You just strike me as someone who...'comes'... All. By. Himself." Betty said with a suggestive smirk. And with an adorable wink, she left the cafeteria.
Nearby tables burst out in laughter, many shocked by her sexual innuendo. "Did Betty just say what I think she did?" Archie said incredulously.
Cheryl sat back with a proud smirk. "Oh dear cousin," she mused. "Who are you, and what have you done with our innocent Betty Cooper?"
Betty was already having a very bad day. She was tired of the long stares and hushed whispers that followed her in the halls. It was always, "What's wrong with her?" or "She looks so different," or "I hear she has amnesia," and a whole bunch of "Daaaaammmn, baby!" from a bunch of jocks. She was sick of the pity, sick of the rumors, and sick of the catcalls.
But most of all, she felt embarrassed. Several students had approached her in her first few classes and asked her if she really couldn't remember anything. It was annoying. Her standard answer had been, "I remember certain things, but not others. But I'm doing fine." Insert fake smile here.
By lunchtime, Betty was ready to call it quits and go home. Her patience was already through the roof.
The last thing she needed was this guy hitting on her.
She automatically tensed up when the brown-haired boy approached her in the lunch line.
"Damn baby, where have you been hiding my whole life?"
Seriously? A line? Betty rolled her eyes. "Far away from you," she shot back instantly, picking up a tray of pasta and walking away. Even with her damaged memory, she could definitely recognize a cheesy pick up line.
"Baby, baby, wait!"
Betty groaned internally at the guy's persistence and continued stalking away; but he was quicker, and stepped around to block her path. This guy must be proof that men can exist without brains, she thought sourly, trying to move around him. But no luck—he kept stepping in her way.
"You gotta stop running away from me." He flashed a smile and placed a hand on her waist to prevent her from moving. "I'm just tryna get to know you, sweetheart..." Gross. If she wasn't uncomfortable yet, she was now.
Betty was about to tell him off when some movement caught her eye. It was that guy...the one that bumped into her in the hall this morning; the same beanie-wearing guy who was in her hospital room when she woke up. She suddenly recalled the weird dream from the other night:
"My best friend is named Archie," the younger Elizabeth replied. "We have another friend with a funny name. He goes by Jughead. I think it's silly."
Jughead. Jughead Jones.
Betty watched him with genuine curiosity. He was glaring at a pink-haired girl who had a firm hand on his shoulder. He appeared angry, by the way he shrugged off the girl's hand. But then, his eyes were on her. She didn't miss the way his expression changed—his anger fading in a heartbeat.
The way he stared at her... It was like he knew her. Like, really knew her.
Betty held his gaze, not wanting to be the first to break eye contact. His eyes are beautiful, she thought. She bit her lip as an involuntary shudder ran down her spine. His gaze almost felt familiar to her, yet she wasn't sure why. She was certain she wasn't friends with him; she couldn't be.
Right?
A sharp tug jolted Betty from her thoughts and she looked up in annoyance at the guy who was still holding her waist. She realized she had accidentally tuned him out. "...back to my place, show you a good time," he was saying with a smirk. "So, what do you say? Wanna come with me?"
Betty instantly understood his sexual innuendo, inwardly cringing at his emphasis on 'come'.
But instead of getting angry, she decided to play along. Betty plastered on the fakest smile she could and stepped up real close, making his smirk falter. "Will you hold this for me?" she asked innocently, changing the topic. "Please?" she added. Betty glanced down at her tray and then looked back up at him in a way she hoped was cute.
Her change in attitude and their sudden proximity clearly threw him off. The guy swallowed hard and stuttered, "Uh—um—yeah, sure, I guess…"
She smiled brighter, handing him her lunch tray. "Thanks," she said cheerily. Then, without warning, she picked up her plate of pasta and dumped it all over him.
He dropped everything, shouting "What the hell?!" and looked at her through the pasta noodles hanging off his face.
Betty bit back a laugh, stepping back to admire the bolognese sauce dripping down his shirt. "You just strike me as someone who...'comes'... All. By. Himself," Betty enunciated slowly, adding a mischievous smirk. She placed extra emphasis on the word "come," throwing his own sexual innuendo back in his face. She winked at his frustrated expression and left without another word, leaving behind a cafeteria howling with laughter.
Satisfaction never felt so good.
Her little lunchtime show left Betty with a brief adrenaline rush. Feeling rebellious, she decided to bail on her last class of the day and explore the school grounds instead, motivated to find anything that helped her remember who she was.
In one of the hallways, Betty came across a glass showcase displaying trophies and photos of Riverdale High's sports teams. Was she an athlete? she wondered, searching the teams; but she quickly dismissed the idea when she struggled to find herself. Maybe she wasn't an athlete, she thought disappointedly. Betty was about to leave when someone on the football team caught her eyes. She recognized the redhead from next door, Archie Andrews.
But it wasn't Archie that triggered something...it was the guy next to him.
Chuck Clayton! she suddenly remembered. Betty felt a surge of excitement and pride; she finally remembered something on her own!
But she paused to humble herself when she couldn't remember why she knew Chuck Clayton. Frowning, she looked at his picture again. Did they date? He was definitely attractive; she could see herself dating him.
Unable to come up with a solid reason, she started a mental checklist of things she needed to do:
1: Talk to Chuck Clayton.
She was ready to continue her stroll through the high school when a picture next to the football team grabbed her attention: a group of girls. "The River Vixens..." Betty read aloud. Her eyes widened in shock when she spotted herself among the cheerleaders. In the photo, she was standing opposite of a raven-haired girl, while one of the other Vixens with long red hair was posing dead center.
"A cheerleader?" she mumbled to herself, baffled. "No fucking way..."
"Betty?"
Taken by surprise, Betty whirled around to face the new voice. The same raven-haired Vixen from the photo had appeared in the hallway a few doors down. Betty straightened her posture and tilted her head curiously. "Hi…" she said hesitantly.
"You look amazing! Love the outfit change!" the girl said with a smile, coming to stand next to Betty. She moved forward to hug her, but Betty responded with a huge step back.
"Whoa, sorry, um—" Betty frowned as she looked at this girl, trying really hard to register a name; but to her frustration, her mind was drawing blanks. "Do I know you?" Betty finally asked.
"Oh...I was really hoping you'd remember me." The girl smiled sadly. "I'm Veronica. I followed you home from the hospital yesterday." Oh, right. That, she remembered. She came with the other two boys, Archie and Jughead.
"Okay?" Betty looked at her questioningly, not knowing what else to say. So far, she wasn't impressed.
Veronica fiddled with her hands awkwardly. "I'm—well, I'm sort of of your best friend."
Betty raised both eyebrows in surprise. Best friend? Surely she would recognize her 'best friend'. She eyed Veronica up and down, noting the Jimmy Choo heels, designer dress, and expensive pearl necklace. Clearly rich. Definitely spoiled, she decided bitterly. The complete opposite of Betty. "Are you sure?" she asked, forcing a dry laugh to relieve some of the awkwardness.
"Of course!" Veronica exclaimed. "We're B & V! You know—" She motioned heavily between the two of them. "You're B...I'm V…" But she trailed off, face falling when she noticed Betty's lack of excitement. "Wow, you really don't remember me."
Betty paused to consider several thoughts flying through her mind. A picture was starting to form of this rich girl, Veronica. "I mean, no offense, but think I know your type—and it's not me."
Veronica visibly flinched. "What do you mean, 'my type?'"
Rich. Spoiled. Daddy's girl, she thought automatically. Everything Betty wasn't.
But then, something strange started to happen to Betty. The longer she studied Veronica, the more she began to remember—and it wasn't good memories. "Actually...fuck, I think I do remember you." Betty cursed when a familiar pain hit her head, along with bits of a conversation that started to resurface in her mind. "And I don't think I liked you very much."
"W-What?" Veronica stuttered, looking at Betty with wide, hurt eyes.
But Betty kept a cool exterior, despite the turmoil she felt inside. A foreign feeling had started to bubble up in her chest—a strange mix of pain, anger, and anxiety. "I mean...this 'nice girl' exterior—it's just a charade, isn't it?" Betty challenged. Anger started to override the other emotions as she remembered more. "It's just an act, right?"
Veronica stared at her in shock, but said nothing. So Betty went on, the next words tumbling out of her mouth automatically as if she were reciting the memory that was playing so clearly through her mind at that very moment. "You just try to distract everyone from the fact that there's nothing going on underneath…"
"Betty, what the hell are you saying?"
It was Archie who was questioning her. Betty looked around; she was in the middle of some sort of kickback, surrounded by several faces she didn't recognize. Betty could feel that she was hurt and angry, but continued to go off on Veronica.
"She's not our friend!" Betty was saying. "The minute someone from her trashy past shows up, she starts using us for drugs or music or distraction—and why should we be surprised?" Betty looked at Veronica with disappointment. "Like father, like daughter...right?"
Veronica glared back at Betty angrily. "You better shut it down, Betty."
"Or what, Veronica? You'll have your dad put a hit on me? Or maybe you'll do it yourself?" Betty moved forward slowly. Daringly. "You may have fooled everyone else, but not me..."
Although the memory had faded, words spoken still lingered. "Try to reform all you want," Betty repeated from her memory, "but you're a bad person, Veronica. You'll always be a bad person."
Veronica looked at Betty with tears forming in her eyes. "So that's it then? That's how you remember me—as that monster?"
Betty looked at this girl who claimed to be her best friend, but couldn't find a way to believe her. "Is it not true? Are you not that person?" Betty asked.
Veronica blinked back her tears and looked away, crossing her arms defensively but not arguing.
"That's what I thought," Betty said quietly. She knew Veronica wouldn't challenge her. She didn't just make that memory up—it actually happened. It was real. And that meant Veronica really was a bad person. So Betty knew she couldn't trust her, let alone believe they were friends in any sort of way.
Don't listen to her. She's not your friend. She's just some entitled rich bitch who is trying to manipulate you. Angry thoughts suddenly rang in Betty's head as she turned and began to stalk away.
"Betty, wait!" Veronica finally called out, but it was too late. Betty continued to storm off in the other direction.
Familiar words repeated in her head like a mantra:
I won't be manipulated. I won't trust her.
I won't.
I won't.
I won't.
"I don't know, TT, I'm pretty impressed with the new Betty."
Cheryl and Toni were chatting in the Serpents' usual classroom during their free period, waiting on Fangs and Sweet Pea to show up. The girls had asked the two boys to do some recon on the missing serpent jacket. They didn't, however, reveal their true intentions—which was finding out how he got one of their jackets, and what the hell he was doing with Betty.
Toni looked at Cheryl pointedly. "'New Betty" is not the real Betty, Cher."
"Maybe." Inspecting her bright red nails, she replied, "Or maybe it is. Maybe this sassy little minx has been there all along, hiding underneath all those awful sweaters." Cheryl's eyes glinted with excitement at the possibility of her cousin turning a bold new leaf. At Toni's amused expression, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine; I know things need to change. Before Jughead blows his top. Did you see him at lunch today?"
"I haven't seen him that pissed since the day he carved up Penny Peabody."
The girls looked up at Sweet Pea's voice, seeing him walk in with Fangs. They noted that both boys had their leather on.
They shut the classroom door before getting settled. "So what's with the secret recon mission, ladies—and why aren't we telling Jones?" Fangs asked.
Cheryl ignored Fangs' questions about Jughead. "First, you tell us what you found out, then we'll tell you why."
Fangs looked at Sweet Pea who just shrugged. "Well, we asked around like you said...but no one's missing their jacket," Sweet Pea said, causing Toni to look tense and Cheryl to huff in annoyance. He narrowed his eyes and glanced between the two. "You two are hiding something—what's going on?"
Toni shared an uncomfortable glance with Cheryl before replying, with carefully chosen words. "If what you say is true...then we have reason to believe a Serpent has broken one of the bylaws."
"Which one?" Fangs asked, puzzled.
"'A Snake never sheds its skin,'" Toni recited. This obviously wasn't literal; but the point of this law was to keep their "skins" close. Safe, at least. For it to end up in the wrong hands was a clear violation of Serpent law.
Fangs just looked more confused. "And why would you think that?"
Cheryl sighed. "Just show 'em, TT."
"Cheryl!" Toni hissed, turning on her girlfriend in shock. "We agreed."
"Well!" Cheryl threw her hands up in exasperation. "It's the only way to explain it! You and I can't solve everything—we aren't the investigative duo, Toni." Right. Jughead and Betty were.
"'No serpent stands alone'...right?" Sweet Pea reminded Toni, quoting another serpent law. "Whatever it is, we got your back. Just tell us what's going on."
Toni silently weighed the options in her head, but reluctantly agreed. "Fine," she said, reaching into her backpack for her camera. Toni then looked hard between the boys. "I'll show you—but you cannot tell Jughead. Is that understood?"
Both boys nodded firmly.
Toni grimaced, and hesitantly handed them her camera. "I saw Betty this morning...with him."
The images on her viewfinder shocked both boys into silence. After a few moments, Sweet Pea growled angrily, looking at the camera with disgust. "Hell fucking no, man. What the fuck is he doing?"
Fangs was still stunned. He grabbed the camera out of Sweet Pea's hands. He flipped through several shots, muttering a slow and quiet, "Holy...fuck…"
"And touching Betty?" Sweet Pea angrily gripped the desk in front of him.
"Jughead's gonna kill him," Fangs stated matter-of-factly. "He's actually going to kill him dead."
Betty was spiraling after her encounter with Veronica. She sat in the bleachers after school, alone and miserable. That strange feeling she had while she was talking to Veronica—that mix of pain and anxiety—hadn't gone away. It had actually grown, and brought with it small bursts of pain in random parts of her body—her cheeks, her shoulders, her arms.
Seriously, she thought, what the fuck is this—PTSD? If it was PTSD, it was really fucking unfair that her body remembered the pain while her mind forgot the actual trauma she'd been through.
Her predicament really sucked.
Betty hugged her body tightly as a single tear ran down her cheek. She willed so hard for the pain and emotions to go away.
What the hell was wrong with her?
"Mi bella!"
Her head snapped up to acknowledge the familiar voice. At the bottom of the bleachers was him, donned in black leather.
Betty chewed her lip, suddenly nervous that he was seeing her so vulnerable. "What are you doing here—how did you find me?"
He climbed the stairs to Betty, peering down at her through his black curls. Flashing her a charming smile, he replied, "Oh, Betty...I will always find you. You should remember that by now."
I will always find you. That sounded oddly familiar...
"Why are you crying, love?" He asked, as she stood with a long sigh. "Did someone upset you?"
"It's nothing," Betty said stubbornly, wanting desperately to brush off the topic. Diving into her deep troubles wasn't exactly appealing.
"C'mon, bella. You know you can tell me anything."
"Yeah...okay," Betty agreed meekly, beginning to recount her conversation with Veronica. She told him everything—including her memory and the way she remembered Veronica to be.
By the end of her story, he was frowning at her and shaking his head. "I remember that party. I tried to stop you from going, but...you wouldn't listen."
Betty looked at him with wide eyes. "You did? What happened?"
"Well...it was exactly how you remembered it. You finally exposed that dirty Lodge for what she really is..." He reached out to stroke her cheek, cradling her face in a way that forced her to look into his eyes. "A lying, manipulative bitch—right mi amor?"
Betty automatically mumbled "Yeah," but wasn't really listening anymore. She was absorbed in his eyes. They were absolutely captivating—and slightly...what was it? Dangerous? Wild?
As she searched his dark brown eyes, her brain chose that exact moment to randomly flash back to her eventful lunch period, when her eyes had locked with Jughead's.
She tried to remember what color they were—blue? Green? Whatever they were, she remembered they had looked beautiful. Light. Soft.
So different from his, Betty thought, looking into the mysterious pair of dark eyes.
Two sets of eyes. Both totally different. Yet, both so fucking familiar to Betty.
She added two things to her mental checklist:
1: Talk to Chuck Clayton.
2: Figure out who he is.
3: Find out how she knows Jughead Jones.
Betty decided now was as good a time as any to start with number two.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked, looking up at him shyly.
He released his hold on her face to tuck some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Anything."
"What's your name?"
He chuckled deeply and reached out to grab her waist tightly. "Oh, bella, you don't remember me?"
"No! No, I do...sort of…" she admitted. Their proximity made her blush, and her thoughts were starting to jumble. He's really fucking close, she thought. Is he supposed to be this close? Is he supposed to be touching her? She was so confused. All she wanted to do was remember his name.
"Maybe you just need a little reminder…" he said, dipping his head low to nuzzle her neck. She bit her lip, mind going haywire. Did she like this? Was she supposed to be liking this?
It felt like her brain and body were at war. Her mind was screaming YES! But her body was tense, holding her back. Involuntarily cautious. Careful. Calculating.
He boldly snuck a kiss on the side her neck, and she gasped, causing him to growl and grip her waist tighter. "Say it, Betty," he suddenly demanded, kissing her neck again.
Say what? Her mind was fuzzy. She probably would've forgotten her own name if he hadn't just said it.
"Say my name…"
His tongue started licking small circles on her neck as he sucked on her pulse point. "Betty…" he warned lowly, teeth scraping her skin lightly. "You know it, I know you do."
Fuck you, she thought. Betty was getting too hot and bothered right now to think of a damn name. He moved to suck on a different pulse point, and she cursed under her breath. Was this actually turning her on?
"Bella…" he warned again. He sucked harder, causing her to yelp out in pain. "Say. My. Name."
And that was it—it finally hit her. In the midst of the pain, she remembered his name. As the name rolled off her tongue, she felt a twinge of something—guilt?—as if what she was doing was wrong.
But the way he leaned back to praise her (or maybe praise the marks he left on her neck) made her believe that this was normal.
And Betty was desperate for a little normal right now.
"She just...she just snapped, Archie!"
After her encounter with Betty, Veronica texted Archie and Jughead to meet up after school. They were in the Blue and Gold, waiting for Jughead.
Veronica was describing her conversation with Betty. "I tried telling her that we were best friends, and she outright refused to believe it; she jumped straight into denial." Veronica looked down as she recalled the stone cold glare Betty had given her. "And the way she was looking at me...it was just so..."
"Empty?" Jughead entered the room and shut the door. He came to stand by Veronica and Archie. "Yeah I know. I noticed."
"Did you talk to her too?" Archie asked.
"Sort of…" Jughead grimaced, remembering running into her in the hallway after first period. Her words still rang clearly in his head: 'You're that guy!' Ouch.
Archie just looked at him. "And?" he pressed.
Jughead sighed. "She had no idea who I was." Admitting those words out loud made him uncomfortable. It sounded so wrong.
"She's not herself, Jughead." Veronica looked at Jughead, pain evident in her eyes as she spoke. Man, could he relate. "She's always so levelheaded and calm. I mean—the only time she's ever snapped at me was..." she trailed off and froze, eyes widening in realization.
"Ronnie?" Archie touched her shoulder gently with concern.
But Veronica began to pace nervously, muttering "Oh my god" repeatedly under her breath.
"You're doing wonders to my nerves right now," Jughead said sarcastically, annoyed by her sudden panic. "Care to finish your thought?"
"I knew it sounded familiar. I'm such an idiot—I can't believe I didn't remember sooner!" Veronica stopped pacing and massaged her temples.
"Remember what?"
She turned to Archie. "Do you remember Nick St. Claire's party?"
Archie instinctively clenched his fists and glared angrily. "I would rather not—but yeah, I remember that asshole. Why?"
Jughead was completely confused. "Wait, party? What party?" Why didn't he remember this?
Archie's face scrunched up distastefully, recalling the event. "Nick St. Claire had a little kickback when he rolled into town. It was when Betty broke up with you, so you weren't exactly invited...sorry bro."
Jughead briefly scowled at the mention of their breakup, but otherwise maintained a relatively stoic exterior. "Okay...so what happened?"
"Remember how the Black Hood told Betty to cut us all out of her life? Well, that's when Betty went off on me," Veronica explained.
"Oh shit, yeah." Archie ran a stressed hand through his hair. "I was shocked that Betty had it in her."
"She said these awful things about me, painting me as a monster."
Jughead frowned, struggling to imagine Betty being so ruthlessly cold. "Okay, but that wasn't really Betty. You said it yourself, the Black Hood was making her do that. So how exactly is this relevant?"
"Because Betty said the exact same things to me, just now!"
Jughead shook his head, thoroughly confused. "Wait—what do you mean?"
"I mean, she literally used the exact. Same. Words." Veronica clapped her hands for emphasis.
"Wha—how can she even remember that?" Archie argued. "That was so long ago."
"Well, I certainly remember it all!" Veronica fired back, crossing her arms defiantly. And if she could, then it's not surprising that Betty could too. "Everything she was saying was so strangely familiar, and in the moment I couldn't remember why. But everything she said about me—being some spoiled, rich girl, and not being a real friend—she said it all the exact same way." Veronica took in a long breath, still upset from having her best friend snap. "Like, she was word for word exact. It was weird—like she had it ingrained into her memory."
"Exactly?" Archie asked again.
"Word. For. Word," Veronica emphasized sternly.
"That's a little...strange. And you're saying she couldn't remember anything else?"
"Exactly!" Veronica exclaimed. "I told her I was her best friend, and she had no clue what I was saying. It's like the only thing she could remember was how horrible she thought I was…"
After a few seconds of silence, she sighed in frustration and turned to Jughead, who had been silently brooding. "You've been simmering for way too long, Jones. Spill it."
He frowned deeply, still trying to piece it all together. Things didn't add up. "I just don't get it. How does someone who has amnesia remember an entire conversation with you—and recite it word for word?" He looked at Veronica with a hard gaze. "You're positive she said the same exact thing?"
Veronica threw her hands up furiously. "Yes, Jughead! A thousand percent, yes. Word-for-fucking-word, how many times do I need to explain this to the both of you?" she asked, looking annoyed at both boys.
"That's my point—" Jughead began slowly pacing. "You can't have amnesia and remember an entire damn conversation word-for-fucking-word."
"What are you getting at, Jughead?" Archie asked, looking at him curiously. They could practically see the wheels spinning in his head.
"It's just… the fact that she was able to recall an entire conversation makes me wonder—maybe we can do it again?" Jughead was thinking out loud at this point. "Maybe we can force her to remember something else?"
"I literally called us 'B and V' —" Veronica rolled her eyes. "And she straight up told me she didn't like me. At all."
Whoa. Ouch. Jughead cringed. "Okay, yeah, that sucks," he admitted. "But we can't give up on her."
"Of course not," Veronica stated firmly, and Archie nodded along. Their commitment to Betty gave Jughead a little extra hope.
"Maybe 'B and V' just wasn't enough of a trigger…" he continued. They needed something more meaningful. "Maybe you need to try something deeper?"
"Well, her hate for me seemed to run pretty deep," Veronica muttered sarcastically.
They stood in sad silence, none of them knowing how to move forward. What could they possibly say to Betty to get her to remember?
After a few moments, Archie spoke up. "Well, out of the three of us, I'm the only one who hasn't tried talking to her yet. Maybe she'll recognize me."
Veronica wrung her hands nervously. "Just be prepared, Archiekins. It's not the Betty we're used to. It was literally like talking to a stranger. A stranger with a lot of pent-up anger."
Jughead's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to find more messages from his new anonymous BFF.
?: Come on, Jones, don't start leaving me on 'read'. The fun's just about to start!
?: You're absolutely gonna LOVE what I have planned for Betty.
?: (And by love, I mean hate.)
What the hell is his obsession with her?! This guy was constantly trying to get under his skin, and it was working.
J: Stop fucking around with Betty and leave her the hell alone.
Asshole. Jughead took a deep breath to calm down, setting his phone on the desk next to him.
"...and no offense Ronnie," he heard Archie saying, "but Betty and I have basically been best friends since we were born. That's years and years of memories."
"What are you implying?" Veronica asked incredulously, slightly offended. "That you have a better relationship with Betty than me? Her best girlfriend? Or Jughead—" She gestured to him. "—her boyfriend?"
Archie waved his hands up in surrender. "No, no, I'm sorry—that's not what I'm trying to say." He placed a hand on Veronica's, and she recomposed herself. "I'm just saying that I've known her the longest, so maybe I have a better chance at getting through to her…"
Jughead's phone buzzed again. He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep, bothered breath. He knew he shouldn't, but he had to look.
?: Oh, I'm not fucking Betty.
?: YET.
Boy, if Jughead wasn't pissed off, he was now. He didn't need to think twice about his threat.
J: You touch a single hair on her head and I will be hunting you down til the day I die.
"Jughead?" He looked up to see Archie looking at him strangely. "You okay, man?"
"I'm fine," he grinded out, just as the next BUZZZ! sucked him right back into his phone.
?: Aw, Jonesy, I'm flattered you would dedicate the rest of your life to me!
?: But you see, I can do whatever I want. And I WILL do whatever I want.
?: Wanna know why?
Veronica suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "So what do you think, Jughead?" she asked.
Irritated, he glanced at his two friends. "Of what?" Jughead was angry and distracted, and had been totally unaware of their conversation.
"Talking to Betty," Archie replied. "I could go over tonight and see if Mrs. Cooper will let me talk to her."
Jughead's phone now buzzed rapidly with an incoming phone call. Veronica sighed in annoyance, and turned to him with crossed arms. "Okay, Jughead, who the hell are you talking to?"
I wish I knew, he thought bitterly, reading "UNKNOWN" on his caller ID. "Really—no one important. I'll be right back," he told them, stepping out to take the call.
"Listen here, asshole," he growled into the phone. "It's only a matter of time before I track you down and kick your ass myself—"
"Shut your mouth, boy."
Jughead almost dropped his phone. What the fuck? "Dad?" he asked, confused. He glanced back at his screen, confirming the "UNKNOWN" caller ID. "Dad, what the hell—what phone are you using?"
Several seconds of heavy breathing filled the line. "I have a message for you." FP spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were reading the words.
Jughead frowned, recognizing instantly how off his dad's voice sounded. It was hoarse and weak—very unlike FP. Something was wrong. "Dad…" he tried again, "What's going on? Where are you?"
There was a long pause before FP finally spoke. In a slow and strained voice, he muttered eerily, "Daddy's safe…for now."
Oh, God…
Jughead shut his eyes tightly, leaning into the wall for support. He realized exactly what was happening—he just didn't want to believe it.
"Here's what's going to happen," his dad continued.
"You're going to let things run their course with Betty."
"Otherwise…daddy's gonna get hurt."
"Fuck you," Jughead whispered angrily—not to his dad, but to the anonymous bastard he knew was forcing his dad to say these things.
This was a whole new level of fuckery for Jughead. Being threatened was pretty normal for a Serpent. But being threatened by someone—via his dad? He was pissed, scared, and heartbroken, all at the same time.
"You don't want daddy to get hurt, do you Jughead?" He couldn't reply even if he wanted to. Hearing these horrible things come out of his dad's mouth—it was seriously fucking up his mind.
"Consider yourself warned."
The line went dead with a click just as Jughead's phone buzzed with a new text. It was a horrifying photo, with the caption Make Daddy proud!
Shaking with anger, he slammed a fist into the nearby lockers loudly. He winced, but welcomed the pain. It reminded him that yes—this was real. This was happening.
"Jug?" Archie and Veronica came barreling into the hall just as Jughead sank to the floor, a look of dread on his face. "Jughead, what's wrong? Who was that on the phone?" Archie asked, concerned.
Jughead handed his phone over wordlessly, showing them the photo that just came in. Veronica audibly gasped at the sight of FP, bound and gagged to a chair. His clothes were tattered and the bloodied cuts on his face show that he was recently beaten.
With his head buried in his hands, Jughead said quietly, "Someone has my dad."
S/O to users "An" and "Los perras" who had some EXCELLENT guesses on who Betty's new fake-lover is... any other guesses?
Guess now, because I will be revealing him NEXT CHAPTER!
I thrive off of your comments, so please leave them below!
Q: Do you have a favorite (or important) scene you think Betty should remember?