The coming weeks proved to be some of the toughest Betty had to face. It seemed like everyone at school had now heard about her abduction and torture. People she didn't even know were coming up to her to give her their well wishes and deepest sympathies. It'd be nice if it wasn't for the fact that all Betty wanted to do was forget this nightmare had happened in the first place.

As Betty struggled to comprehend complete strangers well wishes, she also struggled to deal with her demons laying just beneath the surface. True, she hadn't crossed over into her dark side, but that wasn't because she didn't want to. Betty knew just how easy it'd be to be able to quit being the good girl everyone expected her to be. Penny had certainly showed her that. Sighing, Betty brought herself out of her musings and back into the present moment: FP's trailer.

Glancing around, Betty saw that FP was hunched over the table, poring over paperwork of some kind. Alice was next to him, talking lowly. That left Betty and Jughead on the couch. Sighing, she looked at her boyfriend.

"What's your dad doing, Jug?" Betty asked quietly. Tearing his eyes away from his dad, Jughead looked at Betty warily.

"He's working on a plan of revenge," Jughead said hesitantly, and Betty felt her heart clench.

"Revenge for what?" Betty asked slowly, noting the way Jughead sighed and cut off eye contact.

"Revenge for you. For what Malachi and the rest of the Ghoulies did to you. Penny and Malachi being in jail helps eliminate some of the revenge, but there are still other Ghoulies who have to pay for their crimes," Jughead said quietly, and it was Betty's turn to sigh.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. Especially your dad or any of the other Serpents," Betty said with conviction. She couldn't stand the fact knowing that FP was going to willingly drag the other Serpents into the middle of the fight.

"We're at war here, Betts," Jughead murmured, and she looked at him. "This isn't simply about getting revenge for the actions brought against you. This goes back further than that. Penny and the Ghoulies need to be dealt with once and for all."

Betty didn't like the way that sounded. Biting her lip, she looked at Jughead closely.

"And, how exactly does your dad plan on "dealing with them"?" Betty asked carefully, praying she wasn't going to get an answer she couldn't stomach.

"I'm not sure," Jughead admitted with a furrowed brow. "That's what he's figuring out right now."

Betty turned her focus back to FP who was still huddled with her mother. His hand was resting against her lower back as the two of them pored over sheets of paper. They were muttering but Betty didn't have a hope of figuring out what they were saying. Sighing, she looked back at her boyfriend, who was watching her with a tender expression.

"What?" Betty asked softly.

"Feel up for a ride?" Jughead asked, and she thought about it. Most of her injuries had healed over the prior weeks, with the exception of her ribs and three fingers. But, it'd be nice to be able to get out of the all of a sudden stifling trailer. She nodded, brushing her lips against his.

"I'd love to," she whispered, and he grinned.

XXX

Half an hour later found them back at Sweetwater River. Betty inhaled the fresh air, smiling serenely as she was overcome with a sense of peace and calm. She felt Jughead interlock the fingers of her non-damaged hand with his own and she brought the back of his hand to her lips, pressing a quick, but gentle kiss to it.

They made their way down the bank towards the water. When they were a sufficient amount away from the water but further from the woods, Betty tugged Jughead down to the earth with her. He automatically opened his arms and she nestled herself inside of them. Perhaps Jughead knew that she didn't want to talk, not really. Perhaps he knew that she just wanted to sit there and enjoy the safety blanket that was enveloping them. He simply stayed quiet, pressing the occasional kiss to her hair.

Betty let her mind drift, something she knew better than doing, but these things couldn't be helped. Her thoughts turned to the inevitable: the darkness inside of her. She had tried to deny that there was anything wrong with her; that she did not feel an anger that represented Hal's. She knew that Penny had succeeded in what she was aiming to achieve: Betty had been mercilessly broken. But the beauty in it? She wasn't broken beyond repair. While not wanting to accept help from others, Betty was willing to help herself through her trauma and grief.

She wasn't aware that tears had gathered in the corner of her eyes or that they had the audacity to actually fall until Jughead swiped his thumb underneath her eye, catching them.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jughead asked quietly, and Betty bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying her darkest fears. Instead, she swiped at her face mutely for a couple of moments, trying to get control of the situation and herself, before looking back at her boyfriend with watery eyes. She chuckled.

"I think I'm always going to feel the repercussions of that time with Penny and the Ghoulies," she admitted slowly and honestly. Jughead tightened his arm around her, nodding at her to continue. Betty sighed.

"I can't sleep because when I try all I see is Malachi and Penny. They're doing whatever they please with no regards to me and how I'm feeling. Then if it's not them that I see, it's…" she trailed off, picturing the main image that had been in her mind as of late. It was her, wearing a black hood, just like Hal. Like he had got her to put on that one night all those months ago.

"It's what?" Jughead prompted quietly, and Betty sighed again.

"It's seeing you or the other Serpents hurt," she said, changing what she was going to originally say at the last moment. "It's seeing Ronnie, Arch, Kev, and Cheryl; Polly and the twins; my mom and your dad. All of you hurt, because of me. Because I wasn't strong enough to fight back."

"Hey," Jughead said firmly, and Betty looked at him. "You were beyond strong, Elizabeth Cooper. They were torturing you but you still didn't let them win. You didn't let them inside your head."

"I came close," Betty muttered in shame, staring down. She could feel her boyfriend's eyes on her and knew he wanted her to elaborate on that particular statement. So, inhaling shakily, she carried on.

"It was right before you came. Literally just moments prior. I was starting to truly think about my options. Defy them and keep getting hurt. Help them and Hal and defy myself. It was a lose/lose situation," she muttered, hating herself for even considering helping the Ghoulies.

They were silent then, for several long minutes, and Betty could hear the rhythmic beating of her heart. It was a pitter patter against her rib cage. Finally, Jughead looked up at her, soft smile adorning his face,

"I'm so unreservedly in love you, Betty Cooper," he murmured, and she blinked, not quite expecting that reaction to her confession.

"I'm unreservedly in love with you, too," she commented, eyebrows knitted together in confusion; Jughead smoothed them out.

"I'm unreservedly in love with you because you let me in. All the way in. I know you're struggling with the idea of having darkness inside of you, I can see it etched across your face. However, you shared with me. You trusted me enough to confide in me your fears with Penny and yourself and for that, Betty Cooper, I'm in love with you," he murmured, tracing her forearm. She inhaled shakily, deciding to let him all the way in.

"In that case, I need you to do something with me," she murmured, and he nodded once.

"Anything," he promised.

"Come with me to the prison to talk to Hal and Penny."

Author's note: Enjoy. Xxx