CHAPTER TWENTY ONE – Black And White

Upon returning home from Pop's that night, Veronica immediately notes the gloom on her husband's face from the moment that he walks in the door, carrying their takeaway dinner.

"What's raining on your parade, Archiekins?"

"I kicked a puppy tonight..."

The look of total horror on Veronica's face quickly calls for the red-head to speak up and explain, before his wife throws him out of the house.

"It was Jug... He was getting dinner at Pop's too so we got talking while we waited. He was telling me about how good things are going with Betty and Bailey and he started talking about how different things could have been, how different they could hopefully become... I realised he had no clue about Casey. I had to tell him. I couldn't let him hope to be a family when she's moved on. "

As she takes a few steps closer to her husband from across the room, there is a firm pout plastered on Veronica's lips as her arms cross in front of her to complement her eye-roll; she's riddled with judgement.

"Serves him right..."

"What did you say?" Archie questions incredulously, despite knowing exactly what three words his wife has just uttered.

However, with her arms still tightly crossed, Veronica just raises an eyebrow and gives Archie a shrug. They both know that the other knows exactly what has been said between them, but neither of them is backing down.

In response to her strong silence, Archie chokes out a scoff, shaking his head as he glances over to Veronica before imitating her pose, crossing his arms in front of himself, too.

"Yes, Jughead screwed up... Big time. But, he was seventeen. Don't try and tell me that you never did anything that you regretted as a teenager, because I know for a fact that you did. But, you're just lucky that the ramifications from your mistakes didn't impact three people's lives like his did. So, give him a break, Veronica. He's paying for it. And, he's still my friend..."

"Yeah, and Betty's mine. I've seen the way that she's suffered over the last four years because of him. Besides, I thought Betty was your friend, too."

Archie's outburst in defense of his friend has done nothing to alter his wife's attitude or her view towards the very same man. Veronica's arms are still very much crossed and her pursed lips are still very much pouted.

"They're both my friends, which puts me in the perfect position to play Devil's Advocate. Jughead stuffed up monumentally and he brought a whole world of pain down on Betty as a result. But, he didn't do that knowingly... Yes, Jughead left Betty with no phone call, no goodbye and no reason why. That was wrong. But, I know Jughead... I believe he left with the intention of pulling away to set her free. He wasn't to know that he was leaving her in the situation he was when Betty herself has said that she had no idea she was pregnant at the time, either."

Taking a breath of air, Archie seizes the split second of Veronica's silence to keep talking and continue pounding his own point, passionately.

"And, if you're going to be so high and mighty, Veronica, then we have to take some ownership over the blame, too. After all, we are very much a part of the reason that Jughead left Riverdale that night at homecoming, so as a result we are a part of the reason that Betty was left as a single mum and we are a part of the reason why a little girl didn't have a dad for the first few years of her life..."

Veronica exhales a heavy sigh but her arms remain crossed as her gaze falls to the ground.

"See, it's not so black-and-white when the shoe's on the other foot, right?"

With an unimpressed glare at the point he has just proven to her, Veronica turns hot on her heel, walking off in the opposite direction as she storms away from her husband.

"Lounge is all yours tonight."

#

Jughead had a rough night that night after picking up his takeaway from Pop's that had come with a side order of discovering that his ex-girlfriend has moved on. Consequently, he spent the night overthinking and worrying about what impact another man in Betty's life will have on his own relationship with his daughter... Does she call him by a nickname too? Does Bailey get excited as soon as she sees him, too? Maybe his daughter likes her mother's boyfriend even more than she likes him...

Jughead's stomach churns at all the different thoughts and possibilities that he has come up with as he lay awake all night, tossing and turning, back and forth.

Of course his anguish has nothing to do with his own history with Betty and nothing to do with any residual feelings for the mother of his child... Well, that's what he keeps telling himself, anyway.

So, trailing out of his old bedroom that morning, Jughead finds himself headed for the instant coffee to get him by before his first of many from Pop's for the day, walking past his father who is demolishing his breakfast of toast from where he's seated at the old and flimsy dining table.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty" FP says, teasing his son as he rubs his face that is surrounded with his dark, messy curls that fall in front of his face and his under-eye bags that are even heavier than usual.

"Get stuffed" Jughead snipes with annoyance, not in any mood to take his father's jokes, getting by on such little sleep from the night before.

FP rolls his eyes at Jughead's rudeness, just returning to his breakfast and putting it down to the fact that he knows his son well enough to know that he has never been a morning person. So, the two Jones boys go about their business until Jughead is halfway through his first black coffee for the day, raising a question to his father from the other side of the room apprehensively.

"Hey dad? Has Betty ever mentioned anything to you about a boyfriend?"

FP's deep and resounding sigh answers Jughead's question long before his words do.

"Yeah, mate, she has... A couple of months back she mentioned to me that she's been seeing someone. She told me that she thought I should hear about it from her rather than through the grapevine. But, I haven't heard anything about it for a couple of months since so I didn't want to mention anything to you in case they'd fizzled out. As far I know, he works out of town a lot so that could be why you don't see or hear much about him..."

Jughead does his best to keep his expression neutral, uninterested. However, even at his best, with every ounce of his acting abilities, his father knows him enough to be able to read him, resulting in FP raising the question to his son.

"You still have feelings for her, don't you?"

Jughead blanches instantly at his father's blunt question that he has put to him, before FP attempts to soften it with reasonableness.

"I mean, you guys have a kid together. That's a fair bit of history to have with someone. It would be only natural if there was something still there..."

It takes Jughead a few moments and a sigh before he composes an answer to his dad's question.

"I'm just a little worried about what impact Betty's boyfriend wil have on my relationship with Bailey. I don't know just how much of a step-father he is to her, whether he's filled my place. That's the only concern I can have."

FP watches his son intently from the other side of the room. At first, the older man isn't having his son's answer, until he elaborates on his previous words, succinctly, but truthfully.

"As for Betty, I just want her to be happy, dad. That's all..."

#

That same day, Betty Cooper slowly approaches the familiar house on the familiar street, hand-in-hand with her plus one.

As she nears her family home that she had spent most of her life as well as the first year of her daughter's life in, Betty feels terrified... It's not quite -but almost- as terrifying as the day when she had to tell her parents that their baby was having her own baby.

Betty takes a deep breath and increases her hold on Bailey's hand, looking down to her daughter, gaining a slither of confidence simply at the sight of the little girl from where she stands by her side. She would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

However, the feeling in the pit of Betty's stomach certainly rivals that of the same feeling that she felt the last time she felt so nervous to be approaching her parent's home, trying to prepare herself for the Spanish Inquisition that lay ahead...

#

A little over four years ago...

It is only after her pregnancy is one hundred percent confirmed with a home pregnancy test, a blood test, an ultrasound and a little black-and-white image that evidences hers and Jughead's little creation when Betty finally faces her fears and tries to tell her parents of her pregnancy.

Betty has just walked home from her doctors appointment that Saturday morning, lying that she had cheerleading practice, knowing that the truth would be the only thing worse than reminding her mother of her role as a River Vixen.

Then, come to a standstill outside the front of her home that seems so much bigger and scarier than it ever has before, Betty can feel the heavy weight pit in her stomach and she can't stop herself from wondering whether the sensation comes as a result of the baby occupying her womb or her fear at having to share the news of that baby's existence.

Finally, with her umpteenth deep breath, Betty works up the courage to take her first steps up to her own front door; slowly but surely taking the leap of faith.

"Mum, dad, have you got a minute?" Betty bellows out as soon as she enters her home, before she loses her nerve.

Almost instantly Hal appears from the second-storey of the Cooper family home, while her mother surfaces from somewhere further in the home, likely the kitchen.

"Mum... Dad... I've got something I need to tell you and you're not going to like it" Betty opens with as she leads her parents into the dining room, taking her usual seat at the table as her parents find their own seats at either end, looking over to their youngest daughter, across to each other and then back again.

Then, with yet another deep breath, Betty lays her hands out on the dining table in an attempt to give off clear, strong body language in front of her parents, despite how petrified she's really feeling as they watch her intently like two, circling, well-dressed hawks.

"I'm pregnant, with Jughead's baby, and I'm keeping it."

The silence which follows Betty's nine words that turn her parent's world upside down is deafening.

From where she's seated between her parents who are at either end of their dining table, Betty looks between them both, shamefully. She sees the flood of emotions that flare up and then fade away within seconds, moving onto the next emotion. She sees the shock, the fury, the devastation, and worst of all, she sees the disappointment...

As much as she hates her family's image of 'perfection' that she conforms to, Betty quickly learns that disappointing people and shattering that image entirely isn't that all that much great either.

Her dad is the first to speak up. Hal's face has turned beetroot-red and you can just about see the steam pouring at of his ears as he points a sharp finger at his youngest daughter.

"No... No way. Not you, too, Betty. No. We can fix this. This mess doesn't have to ruin the rest of your life."

It takes just about every ounce of strength within Betty to stand up for her unborn baby as well as herself. But, as she blinks back the tears in her eyes that have begun to fill with tears, she finds the courage that she needs to scoff at what her father has just said.

"Seriously? 'This mess'?! Call it what it is, dad. 'This mess' is a baby. Mine and Jughead's baby... 'This mess' is your grandchild. It's not just a string of words. It's not just something else that you can banish and try to force to disappear, in lieu of adding another skeleton to the Cooper family closet. Did you learn absolutely nothing from Polly?"

Betty's last words to her father hold the greatest power against him as he runs a hand through his hair from the realisation that he has reverted to his first instinct in the shock of his daughter's news. But, he knows that she's right. And, as much as he may not agree, as much as he may wish to take any action possible against his youngest daughter, deterring her from following the same path of single, teenage motherhood as his eldest daughter, he still knows that Betty's right. That, unless that decision is coming from Betty, anything that he might try to do, or say, or try to enforce is only threatening his relationship with his daughter, his marriage and his family...

Meanwhile, glancing over to the other person who is sitting at the table, Betty can see the look on her mother's face at the fact that her overprotective eagle-eyes have failed her. However, it doesn't take her long to recover and return in full-force.

"Jug-head? Jug-head, as in the boy who loves you so much that he left you without a word and without a trace?"

Betty can hear the scoff and mockery in her mother's taunts which she has deemed to be the most effective way to attempt to dissuade her daughter from her confidence in her decision.

Before she answers, a deep sigh spreads through Betty's body, with her head in her hands as she tries to muster up the strength to make a reply to her mother.

"Look, I don't know where he has gone or why he left. But, deep down, I feel like he will come back. I trust him. I trust that he has got a reason why..." Betty explains with a devastating faith and confidence in the father of her child that has slowly diminished over the years that followed the day she uttered those words.

Then, the teenager takes a deep breath and finds a mere moment of comfort and solace in touching her stomach, reassuring herself of her decision.

"But, no matter where he is and no matter what happens with Jughead, I'm having our baby. There's nothing you can say and there's nothing you can do or force me to do that will change my decision."

#

Four years on, Betty learns that it's still no easier being cast into the lions den that is her parents home.

So far, she has managed to make it through the greetings and the small talk as well as both lunch and dessert during the formal Cooper lunch. Fortunately, it has been pleasant enough. Thus far, her parents have predominantly just made conversation with their daughters and three grandchildren. The worst of it has been manageable, just consisting of the occasional pointed jibe or odd snarky remark targeted to either Betty or Polly, managing to fly straight over their children's heads.

In fact, at one point Alice was put back in her box when after making some snide comment about Jughead, she had not been anticipating the fact that his daughter would recognise the name, exclaiming "Juggie!" with excitement which was enough to make Alice quickly back off, realizing that her youngest grandchild is perhaps a little more aware of the conversation than she had first realised.

So, after Bailey had unknowingly alerted her grandmother to the fact she knew she was talking about her dad, it's only after Alice sets her grandchildren up in the lounge room with a movie and enough sweets and treats to induce one hell of a sugar rush, shutting the door behind her, when the mood intensifies between the four adults.

Betty and Polly share a desperate look to one another, the two sister's only imagining what is about to go down...

"So, Jug-head is back..."

Alice states obviously, her face growing tighter and more serious after being in sickly sweet grandma-mode in front of her beloved grandchildren just minutes ago.

Betty raises an eyebrow at her mother and her obvious comment, calling her out on it.

"Yes. He is back… But you knew that already."

Alice doesn't acknowledge her daughter's remark and both of them are interrupted by Hal as he curses under his breath, simply at the mention of the man who had knocked his youngest daughter up, leaving her sixteen and pregnant, all those years ago.

Funnily enough, while her father had been the vocal one during her pregnancy, insisting on her taking another path and choosing another option, Hal had mellowed after Bailey's birth and it wasn't long before he was cast under his third grandchild's spell. Alice was much the same, except for if and when Bailey's father and her father's side of the family is ever, ever mentioned; always on the ready to have her say on Jughead and the Jones'.

Betty is almost grateful for her father's interruption before it's her mum who speaks up again.

"And he has met Bailey? You're actually allowing him to be a part of your daughter's life?!"

Once again, Alice asks Betty questions that she already well knows the answer to, seeking to hear it from her daughter; looking for a reason more than an answer.

"Considering the fact that Bailey is our daughter, yes... Yes I am allowing it. But, if you must know, I have been very clear on the fact that Jughead has one chance in our life and, if he screws things up or if he leaves like last time, then that's it. It's the last chance I'm going to give him."

Alice spends a long moment looking at her youngest daughter incredulously before she erupts into hysterical laughter. Then, once composing herself, Betty's mother exhales a judgmental tut, tut, tut before replying.

"Betty, Betty, Betty... My sweet, sweet Betty... You know that I love the fact that you choose to see the good in people; that you want to give the people who don't deserve it the benefit of the doubt. But, this is only going to end in heartbreak for both you and Bailey."

"I have faith in him, mum. I trust that Jughead's going to try his best to make things right by both of us. He wants to be a part of Bailey's life and he knows what's riding on him not screwing this up" Betty says in little more than a whisper in defense of her ex-boyfriend.

After all, while Betty believes in and stands by her own words, there is still more than a little forgiveness that is needed to glaze over the pain of the last four years that had started with her boyfriend breaking her heart after he left her.

"Yes, because he has done so well by you both and Bailey, hasn't he? Four years of being supportive, right by your side, every step of the way... Am I right?" Alice mocks sarcastically.

"That's not fair, mum. You know that Jughead didn't know I was pregnant and that he was abandoning his child..."

"But he still left you. He broke your heart and he didn't look back."

Betty winces at her mother's words, the reminder of the pain that Jughead has put her through over the years and the reminder of her own heartbreak that she has tried to suppress for the sake of their daughter.

"Yes. Jughead hurt me badly when he left Riverdale. No one knows that better than me. But, he was hurting, too... There are two sides the story and I can't blame him for everything that I went through now that I know what he was going through, too. I can't hold all of my blame against him…" Betty's explains empathetically as her green eyes rapidly grow red and fill with tears.

As much as she might stand up for the father of her child, knowing the pain he endured and the true reason behind why he left all those years ago, it's still not enough to alleviate all of Betty's own pain that had resulted from four hard years, after all.

From where she's seated across the table from her sister, Polly can see that Betty is struggling. She can see that the walls that she is trying so hard to keep up are slowly caving in and crumbling under the pressure. So seeing her struggle prompts the protective older sister to speak up in Betty's defense.

"Do not give Betty a hard time for allowing the father of her child be a part of their daughter's life. Having a dad is a privilege that not everyone has... At least Bailey has the opportunity to know hers, unlike her cousins."

As ferocious as she is, filled with bitterness over her granddaughter's father, Alice realises the sensitivity of her eldest daughter's point with a little huff. So, she quickly changes tack and tries a different line of reasoning.

"And what about Casey? You better not ruin things with him just because Jug-head is back for the blink of an eye. You wouldn't be stupid enough to sacrifice the perfect man for the man who hurt you so badly, would you?"

"Look, Jughead is Bailey's dad...That's not going to change. It doesn't matter if I'm with Casey or not. It's about Jughead and Bailey, not Casey and I. My boyfriend doesn't have any pertinence on my daughter knowing her father or not, okay? Neither of things is dependent on the other. I am with Casey and, unless Jughead hurts me or Bailey or unless he leaves like he did last time, then he is going to be a part of our life, too. That's just the way it's going to be."

After making her point forcefully, Betty gets up from her seat, doing her very best to hold back her emotions from the confrontation, quickly getting up to fetch her daughter and leave as quickly as she can, before leaving Alice Cooper and her disapproval with her final, cutting words.

"But, you know what? Maybe we wouldn't be having this discussion and maybe Jughead never would have left if it wasn't for you and your witch-hunt against his father, so thank you, mum."

Hope you all liked that one! This chapter feels a little different than a lot of the others have, with less of a focus on Betty/Jughead/Bailey interactions, but it's a bit of a one-off, to deal with a little more of the past and some of the other characters.

Now, even though a lot of you guys had picked that Betty was hiding a boyfriend, quite a few questions were raised about how come he hasn't been mentioned before now. Want a fun fact? Casey has actually been mentioned on two separate occasions, once by Veronica and once by Bailey, albeit subtly. Evil, right? Anyway, more about him, the type of person he is, how he fits into the story and his history with Betty will be detailed in the next chapter.

Thank you so much to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter! The response kind of blew me away! It definitely inspired me to get this chapter up as quick as I could, so thank you!

Next chapter: Meet Casey! Betty finally fills Jughead in on her new relationship and he realises the reason why she has been keeping her new beau on the down-low. Then, while Betty and Casey go out on their date, Jughead looks after Bailey on his own for the first time.