Chapter Fourteen : Liars

Facing the music was a lot harder than Betty thought it would be. There was more schoolwork in Betty's room in the following few days than she thought was acceptable. Headaches were common and gruelling, and sometimes her thoughts would get so jumbled that she could hardly remember to breathe. It didn't help that she was back in her own house, living with her mother.

Visits were a whole different level, a much harder level. Every time somebody came over it was the same as the last time they visited. They talked about school, asked how she was doing, and looked at her like she was broken before they finally left. Routine was nice of course, but not like this.

But Jughead's visits weren't like the others. There he was at Betty's window, every day, even though he knew he could walk through the front door. He came with a ladder and pulled himself through the window every time. It wasn't like Betty was complaining; he was handsome and seeing him out her window was a perfect way to get a smile to flash across her face. He didn't offer fake sympathy or try to cheer her up. Instead, he simply held her close and helped her with everything.

Currently, Betty was sitting at her dresser, staring at her schoolwork on the white surface. The numbers swirled in her head, not making any sense. Closing her eyes tightly, she sat back and sucked in a breath before sighing. Two hours; that's how long she had been working on schoolwork.

As much as the assignments themselves were stressful, it was more so the thought of giving Penny the money. Betty had collected the two thousand already, selling her stuff online and sneaking twenty bucks from her mother's wallet a few times. All the money was in her Christmas gift from Jughead, tucked away in the pages of the lovely book that was nestled in her dresser drawer.

Penny had called her earlier that morning shortly after she had awoken. Betty was supposed to meet the Snake Charmer herself in a booth at Pop's and hand her the money at five, today. In person. The thought send chills down her spine and she scratched her neck absentmindedly as the guilt she felt made its way back to the front of her mind. She was hiding so much from Jughead.

Her headache pulsed as she shakily stood from her chair and looked around. Everything looked so blurry, her vision seemed to be pulsing. Her legs gave out and she fell to the floor. Betty hardly felt her knees crashing against the ground as she held her head in her hands. Betty's forehead was burning with fever and the pain in the back of her head was pounding. Betty closed her eyes as she tried to forget the pain, forget the guilt, forget everything.

A few minutes past before Betty allowed herself to open her eyes and get to her feet. She took a shaky breath and dragged herself over to her bed. She sat down with a shaky breath and massaged her temple. After a few more minutes, the worst of the headache passed and she fell back into her soft bed, her fair falling over her face because she wasn't wearing it in a ponytail.

A knock on the window made Betty fling herself off her bed and glance over at her window. A certain black haired young man was leaning against the window. A beanie rested gently on his head and a smile was plastered across his perfect features.

"Juggie." Betty grinned and forced the last bit of her headache as far back as possible. She unlocked her window and pulled it open.

Jughead ducked into the room and gently kissed Betty on the lips. She smiled when he pulled away and helped him inside the room completely. Then she heaved the window shut and locked it.

Betty then turned to see Jughead standing by her desk, examining the papers on the dresser. "How long have you been working on these?" Jughead murmured and turned to face the young woman.

"Not too long," she lied easily, voice smooth.

Jughead didn't look convinced but moved over to Betty, putting an arm around her. "Betts, working this hard isn't healthy," he said.

"I took a break earlier," she told him as she placed her hand on his hip.

Betty smiled softly and the two walked over to the bed and sat down. They sat in silence, arms around each other as Betty leaned into the young man's chest. His perfect black locks falling gently from his crown beanie.

"Is Alice home?"

The question went unanswered when Betty heard her phone buzz. She let out a surprised yelp and concern flickered across Jughead's face. Gently moving herself from her boyfriend's comforting arms, she tried her best to push away her fears. What time was it?

"Betts?" Jughead's concerned voice resounded from where he sat.

Betty ignored him again, swallowing hard and snatching her phone from the window seat. It was three. She had two hours to get to Pop's. She had time, not a lot of time, but time. Finally, she managed to draw her gaze to the message. A single message from an unknown number was all that was there.

Unknown Number: Time is ticking.

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. Could she ever escape being the plaything of murderers? She quickly deleted the message and brushed away her tears with her hands. Betty heard the bed shift as Jughead stood up and she placed the phone on the seat again. With one deep breath she pushed away her tears and her sadness, just like she had done over and over before.

"Who was it?" Jughead asked when Betty turned around to face him.

Her heart sank when she she the concern in his face. "The Sheriff. He wanted to tell me that my father keeps asking for me." Betty's lip tightened in a straight line and the tears threatened to escape once again at all her lies. Jughead seemed to take her teary eyes as a sign that she was still suffering from her father's haunting memory and he wrapped her in a hug.

Betty carefully slid from his hug, and in one swift movement, brushed away her tears. "I'm fine, Juggie," she stated softly as she looked into his perfect blue eyes.

The young man took a breath and began to speak with soft words. "It's okay to still hurt, you know that, right? I'm always-"

"You're always there for me. I know. Thank you, Juggie," the blonde Serpent whispered and before he could open his mouth to protest, she placed her lips to his. Electricity sparked in Betty's heart as Jughead cupped her cheeks, deepening the kiss. Betty felt frozen once again, frozen in time that only included Jughead and her.

Forcing herself to pull away after a moment, Betty let out a sigh of affection and looked into Jughead's trusting blue eyes. His lips pressed against her forehead and she couldn't suppress a smile. Could she have ever ended up with a better life companion?

They stood there for a moment, adoration and concern filling the Serpent's blue gaze. Betty planted a quick kiss on his lips once again, trying to push away his final doubts that she was okay. Jughead was smart, one slip and she was exposed, putting Jughead in danger. When she did pull away, Jughead's eyes were cleared from all worry.

"I love you, Betty Cooper."

"I love you, Jughead Jones," Betty answered and walked to her bed, laying down with a sigh. Her boyfriend followed, laying beside her and smiling when she snuggled into him. After a moment, she looked to Jughead and a smile tugged at her lips. "Jug?"

He looked down to her and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yeah?" His voice was laced with a tense worry. When he saw her smile, he relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"Wake me up in an hour? Kay? Or before you leave." Her voice was pleading and her eyes were soft and hopeful. When he gave a nod and a hum that she was positive meant 'sure', she settled into his warm body and closed her eyes. Betty's breathing almost immediately slowed as she drifted into the deepest slumber she had in weeks.

Jughead eyes opened a short time later. Betty's arm was draped across him and his around her. His gaze softened, a look he had only ever given her. She was sleeping so peaceful, he almost stopped himself from thinking about the Serpents and Reggie and everything else. Almost.

He thought he was acting well, in his opinion, so it was possible he had fooled Betty. Jughead knew he was no Betty, graced with the skills of acting and singing. The last time he had ever sung was when he was ten and Jellybean was four. He was singing in his room with his headphones on, trying to block out his parents arguing. It hadn't worked and a drunk FP had stumbled into the room, swearing and yelling at Jughead before his mother stormed in and dragged FP out of the room again.

Jughead pushed the memory away, a sickening feeling of loss at the thought of Jellybean made his heart sink; she used to yell at FP whenever he got too close to their mother or Jughead when he was drunk. The memories hurt more than it hurt to hear his parents arguing.

"Jug?" Betty murmured and he looked down, suddenly realizing he was tensed up and his eyes were narrowed. Betty eyes were halfway open, proving she was only half asleep. He forced himself to loosen up and sighed softly. He gave her a gentle hug and leveled out his breathing.

After a few moments, his plan worked and Betty drifted back to sleep once again, breathing soft and even. Since he had relaxed himself though, his own need for slumber tugged at his limbs. Jughead's eyes blinked slowly and he rested his head on Betty's soft pillows, letting himself slip into a slumber.

When Jughead woke up Betty, she shot up with her eyes wide. Panic bloomed in her heart and she swallowed hard. Sweat dripped at her forehead and her thoughts ran wild. "What time is it?" she blurted before realizing that was Jughead looking at her with concern. He must be tired of looking at her like that.

"Almost four thirty. You didn't sleep too long," Jughead replied softly. His hands drifted over to hers, as if on instinct to pull her nails away from her palm.

Jughead needn't worry. Betty was far to worried about getting to Pop's on time than to convince herself she was in control. She knew she wasn't. Besides, why worry Jughead more? "Okay. I need to go," she murmured and he nodded softly, getting off the bed and helping her up.

"Where you off to?" Jughead asked, choosing his words carefully.

"The prison. I need to see my dad," Betty replied smoothly and he nodded, seeming satisfied but worried for her mental health. "And yes—I'm sure I'll be fine. It'll just be a quick visit. I'll see you later, kay?" Worry jabbed into her lungs, making it hard to control her breathing.

"I could come with you…"

"No!" Betty blurted before opening her drawer and sighing. "I mean—no. I need to speak to him alone. You understand, right?" her voice was sly, as if daring him to call her weak. She picked up the book with the money and pressed it close to her chest. "I'll bring this," she reasoned, trying to make it seem like she would bring it to make him feel better.

Jughead moved across the room in a few strides and gave her a gentle hug. "Aright. I love you…" he offered and she smiled back at him.

"Great. See you." She gave him a quick kiss before hurrying out of her room and pulling the door shut behind her. Betty needed to get to the diner, quick. It was time to face the Snake Charmer once and for all. If only Jughead wasn't watching through the window. If only he didn't know where the prison was located. If only he didn't know she was going in the wrong direction.

But he did know.

A/N : Thanks so much if you're reading my book. It means a lot! Things are about to get really intense, really quickly so watch for my next chapter!