Chapter 10 - Snakes and Roses
Summary: Who shot Fred? 🔫 Is Snake behind this? 🐍 Will Betty ever get her embroidered jacket from Eric's granny? What really is Goldhead? 💸💊🔑 Will the soap that shooketh the fandom in FP's kitchen ever shake again? 🛁 Answers below. As always, thank you for reading and reviewing! I can't figure out how to reply to each comment, (because I'm old) but I read everyone and they make my life better.
Betty stood outside the Andrews's house, pacing on the cement walkway in front of the porch, listening to her phone ring, waiting for Alice to answer. Her mom never picked up, so she slipped her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. After they got the call from Keller, she and Jughead tried to take a nap, but after hours of restlessness, both of them pretending to sleep, they gave up, showered again and headed over to Archie's. Jughead was inside with Archie now, and Veronica had stopped at her parents place. Keller hadn't been in touch yet.
And Betty was outside, staring at the house she once frequented as a girl, and wondering how her perfect, peaceful town had turned into this. When did everyone she cared about being in danger become the norm? She looked up to Archie's window and instead of her best friend, saw Jughead's silhouette against the illuminated curtain. So much had changed in the last few months, the best one being Jughead. Even with all the murder and depression and anxiety, she was happy. The world could be literally falling apart, but having him by her side made everything better.
The snow had turned into slush again, and she shivered in her pink peacoat. She was freezing, but didn't want to go back inside yet. The last forty-eight hours was catching up to her. The meds were working, but a part of her wanted to crawl out of her skin. She sat down on the front steps and inhaled the cool crisp air of the early evening. She felt better, her darkness still kept at bay, but even when she didn't feel it, it was always there, the proverbial elephant in the room that she could never quite ignore.
Her phone rang in her back pocket. "Hey, Mom," she said. "How's Polly?"
"Your sister is fine. What's this I hear about Snake getting arrested for shooting Fred? That's not possible. And Keller won't answer his phone."
"We can't get ahold of him either, but he promised he'd be by Archie's soon to explain everything. But he's not here yet." Mary hadn't shown up either. Her flight should have gotten in an hour ago, but Archie hadn't heard from her.
"Snake didn't do this. There's no way. The man I lo-" She stopped abruptly. "The man I knew from high school was kind and gentle. He's no killer."
Alice Cooper had once loved a man named Snake. A scraggly haired man from the wrong side of the tracks had at one time been the love of her mother's young life. And her mother had also once been a Serpent. The information was still hard to wrap her head around, but that was reality. She and her mother weren't all that unlike, and she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.
"I don't think we truly ever know what someone of capable," Betty said. "I saw the gun and the pictures. It doesn't look good for your former high school flame."
"But when Keller accused Jughead of being involved with Jason's murder, you stood by him. I'm standing by Snake now. I know who he is and he wouldn't do this."
It was almost verbatim of what Betty had said to Jughead in that police station interrogation room. "You're right, Mom," Betty said.
"Yes, I am. Now do what you and Jughead do best, solve the mystery."
"We will."
"But if things get dangerous, you and Juggie get out of there, and come to the address I gave you where Polly and I are."
As she hung up, a beat up SUV pulled up in front of her house. Its engine shut off, and Eric hopped out and started up her driveway. "Eric, over here!" she called out as she jogged over to meet him.
He was pale and disheveled, reminding her of how Jughead looked when he'd found out FP had been arrested. "Hey, I wasn't sure if I should even show my face over here, but my grandma wanted me to give you this." He held up a petite black leather jacket, tossed it to her.
She unfolded it so that she could see the back. The snake embroidery was similar to Jughead's. The two headed snake forming the S looked just as venomous and vicious as Jughead's, but her snakes had vines of roses woven around them. She ran her fingertips over the green and red stitching. "It really is beautiful," she said. "Your grandmother is very talented."
"Thanks." He took a step back, but he hesitated. "You know my dad didn't do this, right? He's getting framed for this just like FP was framed for Jason's murder. This stupid town thinks just because we're Serpents, we're trash-killers, drug dealers, and deviants. You're one of us now, Betty, and my dad needs your help."
"We'll clear his name, I promise."
"Jughead is so lucky to have you. We all are." His phone rang and he looked down at the caller ID. "That's my grandma. She doesn't like to be left alone. I haven't even told her about my dad. It'll break her heart."
"Don't say anything to her. We'll get Snake out."
"Thank you, Betty. Really. Thank you."
As he drove away, Jughead came out of the front of the Andrews's house. "Was that Eric?" he asked.
"Yeah. He wanted to give me this," she said, and held up the jacket.
"Oh," he said with a smile. He took the jacket from her and looked it over. "It's like mine. Granny Snake outdid herself. Want to try it on?"
She nodded excitedly and slipped off her peacoat, and like the gentleman he was, Jughead helped her put on the Serpents jacket. He stood back and admired her. "Gorgeous," he commented. He took her chin in his hand and brought her mouth up to hers. "Beautiful." His words whispered across her lips. "Sexy." His hand slipped under her shirt, his fingers closing around her breast.
"Nice jacket!"
Betty opened her eyes and saw Veronica walking up Archie's driveway. Jughead sighed as he pulled his hand away, and said, "Hey, Veronica. Perfect timing as always."
Veronica came to Betty and kissed both her cheeks as a greeting before brushing off both of her shoulders and looking her friend over. "Is this a mere fashion statement or so much more?" Then she glanced at Jughead. "You, too, Jughead Jones the Third? Is this a couple thing with the matching jackets or do my eyes deceive me? Are you two Serpents now?"
"Serpents," Betty said. "And proud to be."
"Well, good for you both. Because of all this craziness with Mr. Andrews, we've all found out that all our blood runs through the Serpent lineage." Veronica shrugged. "Maybe I should get a jacket myself. I could accessorize the hell out of some black leather."
Jughead scoffed. "You can't just buy a jacket. You have to be invited in."
Veronica giggled. "Well, excuse me for assuming," she said. "But if I heard from Betty correctly, aren't you the crown prince of the Southside?"
"I don't think the Serpents are for you."
"Rude!" Veronica gave a dramatic frown. "I think you forget just how dark Veronica Lodge can go. Full dark, no stars. I think I'd be an asset to the team."
"Then find out what your parents know about Goldhead," Jughead said.
"They don't know anything," Veronica said.
"They have to know something. They were there," Betty said, pulling out the picture again.
"Just because they were there doesn't mean anything," Veronica said.
"Hey!" Archie said. He was on the front porch, bounding down the steps to met them. "What's up, guys?"
"Jughead was just telling me that I'm not good enough to be a Serpent," Veronica said. "And I'm fully offended." Jughead rolled his eyes in response.
"Do you really think Snake shot my dad?" Archie asked. He took the picture and looked at it.
"I don't think so," Betty said.
"Me either," Archie said. The others nodded in agreement. "I just have a feeling it's not him. It's like FP and the Serpents getting blamed for something they didn't do all over again."
Archie was actually making sense and not jumping to conclusions like Betty assumed he would. Maybe her best friend was evolving a little.
"So it could be any of these seven people-excluding Fred of course-that shot your dad?" Veronica said.
"There were at least 8 people there," Archie said, taking the photo back from her. "Someone had to take the picture. Someone was holding the camera."
"Maybe they used a timer," Betty suggested.
"Did they even have cameras with timers back then?" Archie asked.
"It was the 90s, not the Dark Ages," Jughead said.
"Fair enough," Archie said. "But what about that shadow going across the floor? That's definitely the silhouette of someone." He pointed to a long shadow that was cast across the floor of Goldhead.
Betty studied the picture for what felt like the thousandth time, and Archie was right. Both she and Jughead had missed the shadow before. "He's right," Betty said. "Maybe the shooter isn't one of the seven. Whoever took the picture is the person behind this."
"Who else hung out with them?" Archie asked.
"We don't know," Betty said. "Where are your parents, V? They could tell us."
"They hightailed it out of town when I told them what was going on."
"They just left you?" Betty asked. How could her parents abandon her at such a dangerous time?
Veronica shrugged. "They knew I was in good hands," she replied. She put her arm around Archie's waist, and he slung his arm around her shoulder, leaned down to kiss her head.
"Keller still won't answer his phone," Jughead said.
"My mom won't either," Archie said.
"So what do we do?" Veronica asked.
"Stay put?" Betty suggested. "Maybe get a good night's sleep. See what happens in the morning?" She was still so tired. Perhaps after a good night of sleep, she could concentrate.
"That sounds like a perfect plan," Jughead said. "But I'm hungry."
"Dude, you're always hungry," Archie said as he clapped Jughead on the back. "You know what I think sounds amazing? A home cooked meal by your darling girlfriend."
Veronica clapped her hands. "Oh, yes, please, B. You are my favorite cook. I'll help of course."
"Me, too," Jughead said. "I keep trying to cook for you, but keep getting distracted." He and Betty shared a secret smile. They had used FP's kitchen for a lot more than just meals.
"I can help, too, you know," Archie said, pouting a little like they were leaving him out.
"Please don't," Veronica said. And when he frowned, she patted his cheek. "Some of us, like Betty, were born to bring culinary delights into this world-"
"And some of us were born to eat those delights," Jughead interjected, patting his flat stomach. His smile was wide and teasing.
"And some of us were born to looked pretty in the kitchen while the others cooked," Veronica told Archie.
"I should take offense," Archie said.
"But she's right," Jughead said. "He can somehow follow the directions on a frozen pizza box, and still manage to char it into brimstone and ash," Jughead said.
In the Andrews's kitchen. Betty went through the fridge and pantry, and once she'd decided what to make, put Veronica and Jughead to work. Jughead was in charge of thawing and deveining frozen shrimp she'd found in the freezer, and Veronica boiled water and then fettuccine noodles. Betty made a cream sauce while Archie set the table, and no one complained when he added a bottle of wine to the place settings. Within half an hour, the group of friends sat down at the kitchen table and enjoyed a meal, enjoyed each other's company, enjoyed being teenagers. Betty was already a little buzzed when they finished off the bottle of wine, but then Archie went back to the fridge and returned with a six pack of Zima.
"Zima!" Veronica exclaimed. "My mom used to drink this when I was little. I thought it had been discontinued."
"My mom found it at the store. She and my dad were really excited," Archie said. He handed the bottles out, popping off the caps with a bottle opener as he did so. "I guess since she's MIA with the rest of the adults, she won't mind if we have some."
"Where are all our parents?" Veronica asked.
"My mom is in hiding with Polly. FP is squirreled away somewhere. Fred is under protection in the hospital," Betty said.
"I got a text from my mom saying that she's safe, but she's holdup with Keller somewhere," Archie said. "That's all she'll say, just to be patient and not to worry. So for tonight, I say we relax. We deserve it."
"I'll drink to that," Veronica said.
Veronica clinked her glass bottle to Archie's as he sat down next to her again. She snuggled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder. Archie smiled down at her. Betty watched them, her two best friends, happy and in love. They ate their fill of creamy shrimp fettuccine, drank another two bottles of wine, and talked and laughed like it was a normal day. No one was in danger. There wasn't a mystery to be solved. They were just kids having a good time together and that's all that mattered.
Drinking the wine had filled Betty with warmth, a happy tipsiness. She could hardly remember why she'd felt anxious early, could hardly find the wherewithal to be worried about the seven or eight teens from the 1990s involved in Goldhead. And it felt good not to care, not to worry for just a little while.
"I'd like to make a toast," Betty said, coming suddenly to her feet. She swayed a little, but Jughead pressed his hand into her lower back, keeping her steady like always. The wine hit her a little harder than she thought it would. Betty raised her bottle of the fruity flavored beer. "To the four of us-the core four of Riverdale."
"Hey! I thought I was the soul of Riverdale," Jughead said. He was smiling, but he wasn't holding up the bottle like everyone else. In fact, he hadn't even touched the wine glass next to his plate. Her hazy mind tried to make sense of it, and after a moment, she remembered that Jughead had grown up with an alcoholic father. No wonder he wasn't drinking.
She cupped his face. "Oh, Juggie, you are the heart and soul of my world," she said. "The sun and the moon and the stars." She leaned down and kissed him, and for a moment she forgot Archie and Veronica were watching them, so she slipped her tongue into Jughead's mouth. He pulled back a little and chuckled, and she continued her toast. "To being with your soulmate." She raised her bottle and clinked it to everyone's bottle, even Jughead's though he only took a tiny sip before placing the Zima down next to his untouched wine glass.
"To soulmates," Archie and Veronica said in unison before taking a moment to kiss each other.
Betty gazed at Jughead. Even though it was warm, in the kitchen, he still had on his leather Serpents jacket. The dark waves of his hair were falling into his eyes. She brushed the locks back. He looked at her, their gaze fixing on each other. He tugged at her fingers, pulled her down so that she landed on his lap, and he palmed her cheek and gently brought her lips to his. She settled onto him ran her hand down his stomach, and then slipped her hand underneath the hem of his shirt. She kissed his neck, drawing his skin between her teeth. The buzz from the alcohol was morphing into a different tingle. Forgetting again that they weren't alone, she tried to push his jacket off his shoulders. Jughead took her hands in his, stopping her, bringing her back to reality. Her cheeks started to redden when she realized tho overthetop PDA she had just forced Archie and Veronica to witness.
Archie cleared his throat and she turned her head to look at him when he spoke. "Um, maybe get a room?" He giggled and Veronica joined in.
Veronica stood up and offered Archie her hand. "Or maybe we should get a room ourselves and give them a little privacy." Archie stood up, too.
"No, no, no," Betty said, the words slurring together. She got to her feet, and Jughead was right next to her, his arm around her shoulder, making sure she was steady.
"We'll go next door, and leave you two alone," Jughead said.
She bit her bottom lip and tried to organize her thoughts. When nothing coherent formed, she told them the truth. "I'm drunk," she whispered dramatically. She picked up Jughead's wine and downed it, too. For the last few years, Alice had allowed Betty little sips of wine here and there, but she'd only gotten drunk two other times before. Even at Jughead's party, she'd only had one cupful of nasty keg beer.
"We know, Betts," Jughead said with a grin. With his hand on her shoulder, Jughead lead her out of the Andrews's house. With his help, she stumbled through the front yard and up the porch. She shouldn't have let herself get drunk, but she needed to relax, and with Jughead helping her, she could allow herself to let loose. And right now, that was all she wanted, to not be so perfect, to be flawed and carefree.
Once he got her into the house, she closed the door behind them, and immediately pushed Jughead against it. She clawed at his jacket and shirt until he was standing in front of her, naked from the waist up. She undid the snap of his jeans, but then the floor tilted. Her eyes fluttered shut. She'd moved too fast, and suddenly, she was so tired. She laid her head on his collarbone.
"Come on," Jughead said. He held both her hands. "Let's get you sobered up, just a little." He led her upstairs and went into the bathroom she shared with Polly, but Betty stopped him when she realized where he was going.
"No," she said, pulling him back into the hallway. "My parent's tub is nicer. My mom never lets me use it, but she's not here right now."
Jughead followed her into the master bathroom. He ran her a bath as he set her down on the edge of the deep garden tub. He only turned on the soft light over in the attached walk in closet, and lit a few candles that were set around the room. He hadn't put his shirt back on, so the candlelight bounced off his bare torso as he moved about gathering her a fresh towel, a washcloth, and soap.
When the tub was filled, he helped her to her feet, pulled her jacket, and then sweater over her head and her jeans down her legs. Then she sank into the hot water. Leaning her head against the ledge of the tub, she closed her eyes. But when something occurred to her, she sat up, her breasts coming out of the water, the cool air hitting her skin.
"I'm sorry," she said. "If this reminds you of your dad."
He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "You naked in a bathtub? Believe me, FP is the farthest thing from my mind right now."
"No, I mean having to take care of a drunk person. I should have thought of that before I drank a bottle of wine. You're always taking care of someone, Jug. Always taking care of your crazy girlfriend." The bath was already sobering her up, her head beginning to clear.
"Betty. . . You're not crazy and you know it. And you're the one always taking care of me."
"How?" she asked. She placed her forearms on the tub ledge, rested her chin there.
"By always standing by me, loving me, giving me the life I've always wanted. No other person has ever made me feel so whole, so loved. You, Betty Cooper, have made all the difference."
She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss her. Her tongue rubbed against his, but before he let it go any further, Jughead straightened back up. "Let me get undressed this time before you pull me into the bath." He smirked down at her as he undid his jeans and boxers, his erection springing free. She sighed at the sight of him. Not only did Jughead know what to do with his hands and mouth, he was also well endowed. It was no wonder he'd made her come a record breaking amount of times in the last twenty-four hours.
She bit her lip as she reached out and stroked him from his base to his tip. He grinned down at her, leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. "You going to get in this bath with me or not?" she asked.
"Hell yes," he replied. His entry into the tub wasn't graceful, water sloshing over the sides. Betty briefly worried about the mess making her mom mad, but she had time to clean up, and Jughead was distracting her. His mouth was on her neck, his hand sandwiched between them as he groped her breast. His other hand reached lower, easily gliding between her legs. She spread her knees wide, accommodating his girth, his weight settling there.
With both of his hands gripping the sides of the tub, Jughead tried to enter her, but he couldn't get leverage and kept slipping face first into the water. Every time they both giggled until, on the third try, they gave up. Jughead stood up first, and then helped Betty out of the tub. Their bodies were slick as they came in for a passionate kiss, soft lips pressing together, mouths parting as skin slipped against wet skin.
Jughead broke away from her, and he spun her around, her back hitting his front, the water between them turning to mist. His arms went around her middle as he turned her to face the mirror. Their eyes locked in the reflection. One of his hands went to the valley between her thighs, cupping her sex while the other hand palmed her breasts, taking time to bring each one to a peak, nipples hardening. He was breathing hard, the hot air of his breathing tickling against her ear.
His fingertips circled that tight little bud of nerve endings. She quivered at his touch, but when his fingers probed her, Her head fell back against his shoulder. She rubbed her ass against his throbbing erection, Jughead groaning when she continued to thrust backwards. He continued to stroke her until she clenched around his fingers.
Before she could recover, he propelled her forward until she clutched the edge of bathroom sink. But Jughead cleared the top the counter, brushing off the expensive night creams, makeup, lotions, and soap, everything falling into the sink. With the palm of his hand at the top of her spine, he pushed her down until he anchored her on the counter. Then he ran his hand from the nape of her neck all the way to the dip in her spine. He nudged her knees apart, tilted her hips back, and with one shift thrust, he was inside her, deep, filling her.
As he moved within her, she looked up, into the mirror, watching him watching her. His fingers splayed across her back, keeping her still, letting her enjoy every inch of him as he plowed into her over and over. By watching him, she could tell he was getting close. So was she. She arched her back while he reached around to her mons, pressed his fingertips to her, and the world darkened and brightened as their release came in unison.
He smiled at her in the reflection of the mirror as he pulled out of her. He grabbed his jeans from the floor and pulled them on. She was next to get dressed, and as she did, Betty saw that she'd missed seventeen calls from Carol at the police station.
"Carol has been trying to get ahold of us," Betty said. She hit redial for the police station.
Jughead looked over her shoulder. "That's a lot of missed calls. Tell her we were busy having sex on Alice Cooper's bathroom counter."
While he was in the middle of that sentence, Carol answered, so Betty wasn't sure just how much Carol heard. "Betty! Finally. I need you to come to the police station right away."
"Did Keller come back?" Betty asked.
"No, that little shit won't answer his phone. He's MIA. And I'm running this damn police department all by myself!" A phone rang in the distance, and then another one. Carol swore, but kept talking to Betty. "Just get down here and I'll explain everything."
Betty told Jughead what Carol had said to her, and they both got dressed and drove to the police station. When they arrived, the wait room of the station was at least three people deep. Carol struggled to answer phones while people continued to come up to her desk and ask for help. When she saw Betty and Jughead, she slammed down the phone receiver.
"You're here!" Carol exclaimed. "Thank god!" She pushed her way through the throngs of citizens in wait room, and motioned for them to follow her. They ended up in Keller's office. Parked in front of Keller's desk was an old, tube TV and a VCR on a rolling cart. The screen of the TV was black until Carol switched everything on.
"I found the footage from Pop's the Fred was shot."
"The police already saw it," Betty replied. She and Jughead sat on the edge of Keller's desk, almost knocking over Kevin's framed school picture from last year.
"Yeah, but from only one of the cameras," Carol said. "The other camera's footage was erased, but our tech guys figured out how to get it off the hard drive."
The VCR's tape played, and Pop's front counter and entryway came into view. Fred was visible in the booth, sipping his coffee and waiting for Archie. A waitress passed by Fred, stopped for a moment to chat and then moved on.
Then the front door of Pop's swung open, the bell overhead chiming. The masked shooter rushed in, and everything unfolded from there. The shooter hopped onto the counter, grabbed Pops by his collar, and then Archie came out of the bathroom. Fred stood up, his hands out in surrender as the gunman twisted toward him. The shot rang out. Archie rushed to Fred as the assailant ran out. Archie held Fred in his arms, Fred's blood turning black on the black and white screen.
When the tape ended, Betty glanced at Jughead who had tears in his eyes. For most of his life, Fred Andrews had been more of a father to Jughead than FP had been able to. Fred had to pull through, and Betty had to figure out who tried to kill him.
"Rewind it," Betty said.
Everything she'd seen was nothing new, but there had to be something. This camera angle had to have captured something valuable. Carol did as she asked and pushed play again. On the fifth viewing, something clicked. Betty pushed pause on the VCR. The frame was a close up of the shooter as he passed through the entry of the diner.
"There!" Betty exclaimed. The attacker's neck was in full view. "That tattoo!"
"What tattoo?" Jughead asked, coming to stand right next to her. "The rose one? I thought he was completely covered up. You can't see this from the other angels. But it still doesn't tell us who it is."
"Yes, it does," replied Betty. "Snake didn't do this. I know exactly who has a rose tattoo on his neck.
"Who?" Jughead and Carol asked in unison.
"Johnny."