Chapter 12: Planting things. Like Seeds. And evidence

Later that night, when Betty got to her house she was somewhat surprised to see it was dark and her Mom's car was not in the driveway. She opened the door and kicked off her shoes before shutting the door behind her. She felt for the light and flicked it on and she was startled by her dad coming down the stairs.

Her dad put his hands up but then relaxed when he realized it wasn't Alice coming in the door. He came down and pulled Betty into a hug but she did not reciprocate. She was surprised and angry all in one; what was he doing there and how did he have the audacity to act like he gave a crap about her?

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

He looked embarrassed as he headed into the den and she followed him. He began rifling though the desk drawer and pulled out a few papers, closed the drawer and then went to another drawer.

"Look, I asked your mom if I could come get a few things and she told me she would leave so I could come over. But I have to hurry, she will probably be back any minute and I really don't want to see her right now.

Hal pocketed some cufflinks from the drawer as well as a watch and then pulled out something an odd shaped leather bag. He unzipped it to make sure it had the item inside and Betty could see inside it was a handgun. Betty was stunned at that revelation, she had no idea her parents kept a gun in the house. She opened her mouth to say something but the words didn't really form and it was just a soft babble. Hal saw she that she knew what was in the bag and his embarrassment turned into nervousness and he knew he had to explain it away.

Honestly, an odd thought came over her. She almost wished she had known it was in the house this whole time. It could have been very useful. Could still be useful. She could stop freaking out about getting attack by a Ghoulie on the way to school. Maybe end this thing with Penny Peabody once and for all. If only... she even knew how to use it.

"Betty, we just have it for protection. I promise."

"Oh, I, uh... I understand. It's fine. Just surprised is all."

"I was thinking about going to the gun range sometime soon so I thought I would just take it with me."

"Oh," she said, her mind going a mile a minute. "Maybe you could take me? I think it might be interesting."

"You'd want to do that?"

"Yeah, I mean; what kind of woman won't have to defend herself someday? I should probably learn, right?"

"Um, sure. Maybe... tomorrow after school? Just don't tell your mom. I don't think she would be too keen on us spending any time together."

"My lips are sealed," she said with a smirk.

The next morning at school, Betty got there early with the intent of finding Veronica to see if she could ask her if she had information on her dad buying her parents' paper and maybe any dealing he had on the Southside. She didn't see her outside so she went in to the student lounge. Veronica was sitting next to Archie over by the soda machine so she made her way over.

"Hey," she said as she played with the strap on her backpack. She always had a tell when she was up to something and she hated it. Maybe Veronica wouldn't notice.

"Well, isn't it our old friend Betty deigning to slum around with her non snake friends."

"Ronnie," Archie said, trying to say she was being rude.

"What? Betty hasn't talked to us, at least me, in like 3 weeks."

"That's not true, V! We just talked at Vixen practice last week."

"Oh, my bad, like that is so much better. What do you want?"

"Well, I missed you. That's why I'm standing here."

"Sure. And you are fidgeting because you missed me."

"Well I was nervous you would act this way. Please don't be mad at me. I've had a lot of shit going on."

"Yes and I had to hear all about it from someone else. Cheryl Blossom of all people."

"How does Cheryl know... never mind. I know who would have told Cheryl."

"Yeah, your new BFF with the pink hair who she is so into right now spilled her guts because apparently your life is falling apart but you don't even reach out to me!"

"Veronica, I'm sorry," Betty said, truly feeling apologetic. "Toni has just been around. She is my boyfriend's best friend so I see her a lot. You have not been replaced. I promise. You are still my Louise."

"Oh, no, I want to be Thelma. Geena Davis aged much better than Susan Sarandon. But I accept your apology."

"Thanks," Betty said, trying to think of how to change the subject, but there was no way she could ask Veronica about her dad after they just had a fight. "So guess what I got yesterday?"

"What, Betty?" Archie asked.

Betty smiled and scrunched up her sleeve so they could see her new tattoo.

"Whoa, savage," he said taking her wrist so he could get a better look.

"So what are you doing this weekend?" Veronica asked, not even paying attention to Betty showing off her body art.

Betty rolled her sleeve down and answered, "nothing."

"My dad suggested that Archie and I should go to my parent's cabin for a little pre-spring break relaxation and he said we should each bring a friend. Want to go?"

"Um, sure. That could be nice."

"Great. Well, I will see you later, OK? And call me once in a while, huh?"

"Yeah, V. Maybe we can go out for a milkshake after practice tomorrow and I will fill you in with everything that's been going on?"

"I'd like that a lot. See you."

Veronica got up to go to class and Archie followed waving a quick goodbye. As they left the room, Jughead slipped next to her out of nowhere and she shrieked when he touched her shoulder.

"Where the hell did you come from?" she asked catching her breath.

"Just over there. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with the Queen Bee. You are going to the cabin?"

"Yes?"

"Good. Me too. Archie asked me last night."

"You're going? Jughead, I can't go on a weekend away with you and another couple."

"Why not? It will be the perfect time to try and get dirt on her dad."

"Because I have a boyfriend! What will he think?"

"Don't worry; I will explain everything to him. Plus, he has a big job this weekend so he will be too busy working to worry about anything. I promise."

"You really think it's OK?"

"Of course. What could happen?"

"You're right. As long as he's OK with it... otherwise you have to play sick."

"Fine. Leave it to me."

"Fine.

At lunch, Sweet Pea slid into their lunch table next to her as she was reading and put his tray down rather loudly.

"Sorry," he said. "How's the book?"

"Good. It's just going to be forever before I finish and this report is due next week."

"Maybe you should skip the weekend at the cabin to do some homework."

Betty sighed and put down her book. "Jughead already talked to you."

"He did. It's just funny that I had to hear it from him."

"Don't be mad, I raised my own concerns right when I found out he was going. But he promised to fake sick if you said you weren't comfortable with it. Are you? Comfortable with it?"

"You both can go. It sounds like a total snooze anyway. And I have to work. Jughead did bring up a good point though; if anyone can figure out if Lodge has something to do with the Southside real estate grab, it's you. So you have to go."

"Thanks, I think. Well good. I promise I will have a crummy time without you," she said kissing him.

"You better," he said in between kisses and then pulls her closer by the lapels of her jacket.

"OK, knock it off you two," Jughead said as he sat down by them. "Eat your lunch, not each other."

It was still irritating to Jughead when the two of them acted so in love and he didn't want it to be that way. He had thought he had been doing better with seeing Betty in a relationship with someone else, he really did! But spending time with her lately made him think about her more and how he really did still love her underneath it all. Now that she was a Serpent it seemed like they could make things work; he almost couldn't remember why he had pushed to keep her out and was even helping to convince her to stay in. The trouble of course, was that now she was in love with someone else. If he was smart he would stop imagining that it was him she was kissing. Apparently, he was a fool.

After school she made excuses to Sweet Pea about why she had to go and hang out with her dad but how he could not mention it to her mom. She felt weird telling him that she was going to learn how to shoot a gun, especially since he made her promise she would stay out of any altercation. Not that she didn't trust that he could take care of her, this was just going to be a little insurance policy.

Her dad picked her up from school and it was a quiet and uncomfortable ride to the gun range in Centerville. Hal asked her basic questions about school and cheer-leading. She wanted to hound him with questions about why he was ruining her mom's life, but she knew if she did that, he wouldn't teach her to shoot. Instead she tried to think of inconspicuous questions that she could use to maybe get information on why he sold the paper or why Veronica's dad was interested in buying it. He evaded all of her questions like a slick politician and she did not learn anything besides that he didn't want to work with her mother anymore and that's why he found a buyer for the paper.

When they got to the gun range, he helped her pick out a light weight pistol to rent. She had been completely overwhelmed by the choices and she was glad for his help. The man behind the counter gave them eye and ear protection as well as two paper targets. "Lanes six and seven," he told them before they headed off.

"I'm glad you wanted to do this, Betty," her dad said as he clipped up their paper targets. "We don't really get to do anything these days."

"Yeah. It's nice," she lied. She would rather have been there with Ted Bundy than her dad but when else was she going to get this opportunity?

She held the pistol she had chosen in her hand and it was heavier than she expected. She almost wondered if she could just bean someone over the head with it. Her dad showed her how to load the gun and she got ready to take her first shot.

He stood behind her, giving her some tips and warning her about what he called "kick", or the force of the gun, and that it would push her back so she had to be ready. She held her stance and tried to aim at the target while holding her breath. This was it for her in a way; this was the moment where she left scared Betty behind and became a warrior.

Her first shot was a near miss from the paper head that she was trying to hit as she stepped back and the gun went up. Her dad said she was doing great and to try again. The second time she pulled the trigger she was ready and held her posture. She still didn't come close to the center of the target but she clipped the top of the paper. She didn't wait for her dad to say anything and she fired again hitting it in the drawn on ear. She unloaded two more shots and one was a far miss and another was at the bottom of the paper. Her dad tried to show her on his own target as she reloaded to try again.

As she saw the bullets shredding the paper face, she imagined that they were piercing Penny Peabody's skin. She emptied her own clip and even though she still had not hit the center of the target, she felt like she was really getting the hang of it. Her dad clapped her on the back and asked if she would want to do this again sometime. She figured she should be cordial and said yes.

She left the range with a sense of accomplishment. She now felt safer knowing she had her own defense skills. She was not going to let anything happen to herself now, or anyone that she loved.

A/N: I don't know much about guns so I apologize if anything isn't very realistic. I did try to do my research, IE ask my husband some questions!