Chapter Seven
The late summer wind whipped around the three Serpents as they sped down the road towards Betty's, Jughead in the lead with Fangs and Sweet Pea side by side behind him. The roar of their three engines filled the quiet night, the motorcycles weaving in and out of late night weekend traffic. Jughead ignored the stares, the looks of fear as they pushed to and then over the speed limit to get there.
No cops. Please, no fucking cops out. Let me get there. He pleaded with himself, glancing in one of his side mirrors to make sure Sweet Pea and Fangs were keeping up. The turn to her neighborhood came up quickly and Jughead felt as if he was going to lay the bike completely on it's side to make it but by the grace of God he was able to right himself, his two friends doing the same. By the time they got to the house Jughead could barely get stopped and get his kickstand out before he hurried off the bike and running up the walk.
"Boss?"
"Fangs, garage. Sweet Pea, you stay here, I'll go around the back." Jughead instructed just before they heard a bone chilling scream inside the house.
"NO!"
"Betty!" Jughead cried out before he and Sweet Pea ran full force and threw their body weight into their shoulders and against the front door, the door frame splitting and splintering from the force.
"It's now or never, Betts. Time to fight."
Her heart was pounding, adrenaline and fear making her whole body shake as the door handle to the bathroom turned. She gripped the knife tightly and raised her hand as the door began to open, hot tears pouring down her cheeks.
Fuck, Jughead, where are you?
If she was going to go down, she was going to go down fighting.
"NO!" she screamed out as the door opened, rushing forward and preparing to start slashing.
"Betty! No! Shit!" a familiar voice shouted as she brought her hand down, a hand catching her wrist and stopping the point of the blade inches from the body in front of her.
"Archie?! Oh thank God!" she cried out as her adrenaline fueled blurry vision cleared and she saw his face, finally taking in a deep breath and letting the knife clatter to the floor and flinging herself into his arms as relieved tears fell down her face. At that moment the front door swung open, the doorframe splintering all over the foyer as Archie held Betty tightly and pulled her back away from the intrusion.
"Betty!" Jughead shouted out as he, Fangs, and Sweet Pea came barreling through the front door, "Archie? What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Jug!" Betty ran from Archie, the biker holding his arms open and picking her up when she flew into them, "Oh God you're here!"
"I was in my garage getting some tools to fix the kitchen faucet tomorrow morning when I heard glass shattering from over here. When I came outside I heard a door being kicked in and I came running. That's when I found the back door was nearly demolished." Archie said as Jughead was rubbing Betty's back, Sweet Pea and Fangs taking off for kitchen to inspect the damage.
"Did you see anyone, Arch?" Sweet Pea called from the kitchen.
"No, I was checking the house and Betty nearly stabbed me to death. I didn't know she was home."
"My car's in the garage and I had the lights off while I was working on my laptop. It could have been a robber." Betty said as she stepped back from Jughead.
"Betty, go ahead and call the cops, get them out here so they can see if they can catch this guy. The guys and I will come out and fix the doors in the morning." Jughead said and Betty nodded, pulling her phone out of her pocket and walking over to the couch to sit down.
"I'm sorry, Juggie, I didn't see anyone when I got over here." Archie apologized, Jug walking over and patting him on the shoulder.
"It's okay, Arch, you may have scared him off and saved Betty's life. Let's just hope that they can catch the bastard."
"Cops are on their way." Betty said from the couch, wiping her eyes and sinking back into the cushions. Jughead made his way over to her and sat down, placing and arm around her and pulling her against him, "I'm sorry I ruined your dinner at Pop's. What can I do to make it up to you?"
"Betty...no...no no no you didn't ruin anything. Ruining my dinner would be if you ended up dead and I'll be damned if I let that happen. I'm just glad Archie was home to hear it." Jughead sat with Betty as Sheriff Keller and his crew arrived, Sweet Pea and Fangs excusing themselves outside to go smoke. Archie stood in the kitchen with a deputy answering questions and describing what he heard happen, Betty talking to Sheriff Keller and holding Jughead's hand so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Still though, Jughead rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand trying to soothe her and ignoring the questioning glances Keller kept giving him.
"Mr. Jones, you're the head of the Serpents, correct?" Keller asked, Jughead glaring over at him as he felt his body grow tense.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? The Serpents didn't do this." he snapped, feeling his temper flare. Betty turned to him, placing her free hand on their joined hands and giving him a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm not saying any Serpents are responsible for this. I'm wondering if it was an attack from the Ghoulies. Is it possible, in your opinion, that it could be?"
"Why would I get attacked by Ghoulies?" Betty asked in confusion, looking from Keller and to Jughead. He was staring at the floor, his eyes narrowed and jaw set firmly, "Juggie?"
They were watching me in town. Malachi, their leader, was watching me that day I was talking to her. Were they watching the Wyrm when I brought her? Did they see me take her to my trailer? Did they follow us to her house?
"Well if you two are...involved...and Mr. Jones here is a gang leader, they could be targeting you. The Ghoulies and the Serpents have been rivals since they formed over sixty years ago."
"We're not involv-."
"Yes." Jughead choked out, Betty whipping her head around to look at Jughead, "It's...It's possible they could have done this."
He looked up at Keller and Betty frowned, swallowing hard at the anger in his eyes.
"Jug..."
"Miss Cooper, if you have a safe place to go tonight, I would go ahead and go. We'll finish up here and board up your doors for you. Go ahead to your room and take what you need for tonight, and I'm sorry this happened to you. I'll get started on this immediately." the Sheriff said shook both of their hands before standing and walking to the kitchen.
"Are you going to a hotel?" Jughead asked quietly, handing Betty a tissue as she sniffled. She pulled out her phone, checking the time before calling someone at the front desk. Jughead listened as she spoke quietly, her voice still shaking.
"It's an indefinite time, right now. I don't know how long I'll be staying. Let's say a week for now and I'll extend it as see fit. Sounds great, thank you." With that Betty hung up the phone and exhaled a heavy sigh, "They'll have a room at the Five Seasons available tomorrow afternoon, until then, I don't know."
"Betty," Jughead started, taking a deep breath and taking her hand in his, "When I ran into you in town the other day, I was being watched by the leader of the Ghoulies, Malachi, and some of his goons. There's a chance we were being watched at the Wyrm or at my home. Betty, this could be my fault that you got attacked."
"I don't blame you, Jughead. If being harassed by a bunch of delinquents is the price I have to pay to be your friend, well then it's worth it. I'll get a security system, or a weapon to defend myself, whatever I have to do. I thought I lost my friendships once, I'll be damned if it happens again."
"Betty I don't want you getting hurt."
"Tough, Jones, you're stuck with me. If it's okay with you, can I crash with you tonight?" Her voice was soft and shy, Betty avoiding his gaze when she asked as she blushed from embarrassment, "I mean, I can always find another place to go. I don't want to burden you or make you uncomfortable. I know the other night I was drunk and you couldn't get me all the way home, so I'm really sorry for asking this time. Actually, let me just call Sweetwater Motel and see if they have a room, that way I don't inconvenience…you..." she rambled, slowing as Jughead placed a finger against her lips.
"Breath. And then go pack your stuff and I'll help you load your car so you can follow me to my house." She smiled and leaned over towards him, giving him a tight hug before taking off for the stairs.
Jughead opened the door for Betty, letting her walk in first as he followed behind with her overnight bag. She walked into the living room, letting her purse slide off her shoulder and down her arm, hitting the floor and spilling it's contents out.
"Betty?" Jughead asked as he locked the door, setting her bag down and walking up behind her. He placed a hand gently on her back, stepping around in front of her to see her eyes squeezed shut and tears running down her face.
"Thank you for letting me crash here, again. I'm sorry if I'm burdening you." she sniffled, reaching up and wiping her tears away on the back of her hand. Jughead said nothing as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, letting her bury her face in his chest as her strength finally crumbled. He reached up and pulled the elastic band from her hair, running his fingers through it to soothe her as her golden locks fell free. She tilted her head back to look up at him, her emerald green eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying, her bottom lip trembling as she held back tears. Jughead sighed softly as he brought his hand up and cupped her cheek. Her skin was so soft, his heart racing as his eyes traveled from hers down to her lips where she was biting her bottom lip.
Oh, God help me he begged as he felt his breath catch, his thumb running along her bottom lip and pulling it free from her teeth. Her lips...they were so plump, so tempting and inviting. He stifled a groan and placed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath.
"Jughead..." Her voice was so soft and he loved the way it sounded coming from her.
If I kiss her right now that would be taking advantage of her after all she went through tonight and then I would really be an asshole. Also...there's a diamond on her finger that's making her unavailable.
"How about you get a relaxing, hot shower and I'll find you something to eat. Then we can sit and try and get you relaxed before you go to bed." His voice was shaky and hoarse as he fought an all out battle with himself to kiss her and God he really, really wanted to kiss her. He had had those feelings a few times now but dammit these were the strongest they had been since they started seeing each other more regular basis.
"I think that would be a wonderful idea." she said softly and stepped back, taking her overnight bag with her and disappearing into the bathroom. By the time Betty had finished with her shower and had changed into a pair of pajamas Jughead had three turkey club sandwiches made, a couple sodas and a bag of chips sitting on the coffee table in the living room.
"Feel better?" he asked as she walked it, using the towel to dry and wring the residual water out of her hair.
"A hundred times better, thank you." She answered as they sat down, Jughead taking a big bite out of one of his two sandwiches, "Juggy, I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here tonight. I don't know if I could have made it through tonight by myself after what happened." Jughead gave her a smile around a mouthful of food and Betty blushed as she looked down at her food, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. Her thoughts traveled to earlier, to his strong embrace, to the way he was watching her lips and the way his warm breath felt on her skin.
She had never wanted someone so bad as she did right then. Was it the situation? Was it the fact he had come to try and save her, whisking her away from the place of danger and offering her a place of safety? Was it still the adrenaline or shock of what happened?
She knew she had been developing a little crush on Jughead, but that's all she had allowed it to be. She knew she had to go back home to Michael soon and she couldn't risk breaking her own heart by growing attached to anyone there.
But Jughead...he was there for her, comforted her when she needed it, would call or text randomly to see how she was doing, he even took her and introduced her to his gang because he wanted her to have an honest opinion of them.
"Betty? Back to Earth." she heard Jughead say, Betty's attention snapping up from her plate of food and up at him, "I asked if you were going to call Michael and let him know what happened."
"So I can get yelled at for waking him up?" she asked as she looked at her cell phone for the time.
"I meant tomorrow."
"So I can get yelled at then for disrupting him?"
"Betty." Jughead said, Betty sighing and opening her drink, "What do you see in that guy? I know you're not shallow so it's not the money. Is it the social status?" She let out a small laugh, taking a bite of her sandwich and washing it down with her drink.
"I make a lot of money with my photography, I don't need his. And I could care less about the social status or all of the appearances I have to make. I hate doing them."
"Betty, why are you with him then?" he asked and she sighed, sitting her food down and leaning her head back against the back of the couch.
"When I met Michael, he was worlds different than he is now. He was fun and adventurous. We went on dates all the time, we traveled during summer and spring breaks, my parents loved him. I loved him, Jug. And then he proposed on graduation night and a week later he started working for his father's real estate company. He slowly began to change. The years went by and the colder he got, the more reserved he became. He started working longer hours, coming home extremely late and sometimes not at all. He said his father was handing him the company and he needed to start preparing for it and I needed to become the picture of perfection and I needed to make him look good, that he couldn't afford to have me tarnish his image when we got married."
Jughead clenched his fist, his soda can crushing and Betty sighed softly as she looked at her hands folded in her lap.
"I keep hanging on, hoping this storm will pass and the stress of transitioning to owner will pass and things will go back to the way they are. Maybe I'm stupid for having hope, stupid for hanging on and waiting for things to change back when in fact it's been headed this route for years and I can't hold on anymore. I can't convince myself anymore that I love him when that died a long time ago. I can't convince myself to stay just to make my parents proud. I'm tired, Jug. I am tired of feeling like this robot, this image of perfection and I'm not allowed to slip. I want to feel happiness again. I want that loving connection with someone that I've been missing for years. I just want to feel human again." she said as a tear slid down her cheek.
"Betty..."Jughead whispered, reaching over and taking her hand in his.
"I've been wanting to end things with him for a long time but I have no one back home. He's all I have and that's so scary." she said and wiped her tears off of her cheek, "Can we go to bed, Juggy? It's been a long day."
"Anything you want, Betts."
A/N: So I wanted to apologize for any spelling errors I don't catch right away or any typos I have in my work. The only time I get to write is after midnight so I'm usually really tired. Thank you for sticking with me and reading! Let me know what you think!
