Hello! We are back once again! Hope everyone had a good holiday break!

I do not own these characters. Enjoy!


Betty felt appalled by what she was hearing. She wishes that everything that Jughead was saying was a lie. She knew in her heart that it was true. She knew her mother could be a horrible person sometimes, but this was a new low. For Alice to take advantage of the circumstances of last Summer to separate her from Jughead had to be the most vile thing she had ever done. She could picture her tearing down Jughead while he was recovering from an attack and it made her sick. She couldn't help the tears that started falling as Jughead kept telling her everything that Alice said.

"Jughead I swear none of that happened." She sobbed. "I would never do that to you."

"What?" Jughead seemed authentically surprised by her words. "What are you saying Betty? If it's not true, then please explain. Because I feel like I'm going crazy."

Betty knew exactly what he was asking. It didn't take a genius. She had been devastated when she found out what happened to him while she was in Salem. Now she realized that Jughead went through it all while believing everything her mother had said. He never knew the real reason.

"Jughead last summer my mother sent me to Salem." She began. "I left the day we were supposed to meet at the drive-in."

"What?" Jughead said again. It seemed to be all he could say.

"I promise Jug. It's when I bought you that shirt and..." Betty ran over to her nightstand and rummaged through the drawer until she found what she was looking for. "I also got you this."

Betty placed a small metallic thing in his hand. Jughead tried to regain focus. He felt dizzy. He didn't know what to think. He studied the small object and saw it was a keychain. He felt his heart stop for a second as he read what it said. You Bewitched Me. He lifted his head to look at Betty. She was still crying and looked at him with fear. She was almost shaking. She was hoping that he believed her. He knew she was telling the truth.

Jughead could see the sincerity in her eyes. She wasn't lying to him. In that moment, Jughead could feel all his pain and resentment dissipate. In the seconds that followed, all those feelings were quickly replaced by a new one. Anger. He could feel the rage build up inside of him. It was aimed and the woman downstairs. Alice Cooper had caused him so much pain. He took another glance at Betty who was still crying and saw the pain in her as well. It was something he would not forget.

Betty saw the way Jughead's mood changed through various phases. She knew he had settled on one when he caught the glare he directed towards her door. She could only imagine how he was feeling about her mother at this moment.

Betty knew she would have to deal with that later but now all she wanted to do is ensure him that she would always be there for him. She closed the gap between them and grabbed his face in her hands. She made him turn his attention to her again. Their eyes locked. She took a deep breath to settle her heart down.

"Jughead, I promise you..." she began. "I would never do or say any of the things my mom told you."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head into his chest. She hadn't been able to stop crying yet but she didn't care. She just needed to hold him.

"Jughead please believe me. I had no idea about what happened to you. I kept asking my mom about you and she never told me anything. If I had known I would've gone to you. You would have never been alone. Please, Jughead, forgive me."

"What?" Jughead was confused by the last thing she said. "Betty... no."

Panic struck her. Despite his words, Betty only tightened her hold on him. She couldn't just let go and let him leave her. The she felt herself get surrounded in his embrace. He pressed his lips to the top of her head as he spoke softly.

"Betty, this last year has been the worst year of my life. I was full anger and resentment towards you. I felt abandoned. And after your mom's visit it felt like you realized I was trash and tossed me aside. Betty, at the beginning of last summer you filled me with hope and then it was just ripped away. I felt so lost. Everything changed."

"Now, listening to you explain everything I feel so fucking stupid. If I hadn't been stubborn. If only I had sought you out. I shouldn't have believed your mom. Betty please don't apologize because I don't deserve it. You didn't do anything, yet I blamed you. I was a jackass. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

The two stood in the middle of her room clutched to one another. Every emotion that had been held back over the last year and a half was being conveyed in their silence. Betty felt relief overwhelm her. After so long, they had finally gotten to the point she always wanted. She believed their friendship could only progress from here on.

"Jug, you don't have to apologize either. This is not your fault. My mom lied to you. She lied to both of us. And I can't help but feel guilty since she is my mother." She said honestly. It was hard to believe all what mother had done. She felt ashamed to be related to her.

"Betty..." Jughead finally spoke as he slowly pulled away. She caught his eyes and saw that they were filled with pain. She took his hand in hers and waited for him to continue.

His phone went off in his pocket, interrupting the moment. He sent her an apologetic look before taking his phone out and walking to the other side of the room. Betty could make out someone shouting on the other side. Jughead winced as he listened to whatever was going on. The call only lasted a few seconds, but Betty knew Jughead had to leave. He seemed to struggle with it however. She decided to help him. She walked over and melted into him for the second time.

"It's ok, Jug. I understand if you have to go."

"Betty, I'm sorry."

"It's ok. The timing could be better but I'm comfortable with where we are. Trust me, it took us a long time to get to this spot and it was horrible and it sucked, but we're here now."

She squeezed him gently before pulling away. Then, just before letting go entirely, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. The kiss wasn't long, but it held a lot of meaning for both.

"Go, Juggie." She told him as she pulled away. "But we will definitely have to revisit this later."

Jughead remained silent. He was stunned by everything that had taken place since he had stormed back into Betty's room. She stood there smiling tenderly at him after the kiss. All he could do is nod.

As he walked towards the door, he braved a glance back at her. The smile on her face was one full of love. He didn't know why but while it filled him with hope, it also left him unsettled. He shook those thoughts as a more pressing matter appeared before him.

He walked down the stairs and came face to face with the root of all problems. Alice Cooper stood by the door, glaring at him. He gladly returned the gesture. The rage he felt was blinding. He felt a culmination of everything he had experienced over the last year and a half about to explode the closer he got to her.

"I'll talk to you soon, Juggie." Betty called up from the top of the stairs.

Despite his anger, Jughead couldn't help hut smirk. Betty knew him so well. In just a few words she had stopped him from exploding. He just walked past the Cooper matriarch without a word. It was hard, but he wouldn't stoop to her level. At least not today.

As he hurried to the Southside his mind was flooded with everything that had taken place. He thought about what this meant for Betty and himself. He wondered if they could ever get back to the point they were at before misfortune struck.

Remembering his reason for leaving her at this moment he was brought back to reality. The Southside. Even if it had been Alice's lies that drove him to that lifestyle, they weren't lies anymore. He was fully submerged in the Southside now. So what difference did it make what the truth was before?


Once across the tracks Jughead made his way to the White Wyrm. Once inside he couldn't believe all the commotion. There were Serpents running around and everyone was screaming. The bar reeked of smoke and alcohol. Jughead pulled Toni aside once he saw her.

"What the hell happened?" He asked her once they were in a more secluded spot of the bar.

"Freaking Ghoulies, Jug" she said frustrated. "They drove through and threw molotovs at the place."

"What?!"

"Yea, most only hit the outside of the bar, but one broke through the window and created the mess you see before you."

"Fuck man. This is getting out of hand. It's like they make problems every chance they get."

"Well, word is their leader got locked up and our favorite crooked nose asshole was the one to step up." Toni said annoyed.

"Malachai?" Jughead felt shivers down his spine. He hadn't had any real encounters with the man since the night of his attack. He had, however, heard about he was climbing through the ranks of the Ghoulies.

"Yup." Toni answered in a clipped tone. "And we know his mentality is to make a big splash and he thinks the best way is to go hard against the established Serpents."

"Well, maybe we're gonna have to push back a little harder." A new voice joined them. They both turned and saw Mustang had joined them.

Jughead was instantly put off. He got along well with most of the Serpents, but there were some bad apples. He couldn't shake the feeling that some of the members didn't have the gang's best interests in mind. Mustang fit into this category.

"I don't think so." Jughead told the older man curtly.

"Come on. Don't you wanna get back at those assholes." Mustang shot back.

"No. Not really. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to... well doing literally anything else is better than talking to you." Jughead said as he led Toni away. As they walked he heard Mustang mutter an unmistakable insult.

"What you say?" He asked as he turned around. Glaring at the man.

"You're a coward, Jones." He spat out. "You hide behind the Serpent jacket, but you don't fit in here. You're only here because of FP."

"Gee, all this talk of fitting in, you sound like an afterschool special." He said. "If you have a problem take it up with my dad, Mustang. I don't really care what you think."

With that he turned again and left. He saw the situation was under control and beat himself up for leaving Betty's for this. He just wanted to get home. When he stepped outside he saw that it had started to get start dark. His walk home in the cool autumn air felt like it took longer than usual.

He was going to take his medication and then smoke a bit before crashing for the night, when he got a better idea. He went to his room and laid down before pulling out his phone. He decided he would call his favorite girl before falling asleep. He couldn't help the dopey smile that spread across his face when she answered.

"Hey, Jellybean. I've missed you."


A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the silence but I was disconnected from the world. My holidays were spent detached with just my S.O. The good news is that I was able to type away during our down time. The net few chapters are already drafted and just need to be edited. Expect the next couple of updates to hit soon. Its gonna be a great year! thank you so much for reading my story!