Chapter 36 - Deal
Alice was more than happy to drop Betty off at Veronica's; her company, Alice approved of.
When Veronica answered the door, Betty was slightly struck by her appearance. Her usually well-groomed raven hair looked as if it hadn't been brushed since she'd awoken. What seemed to be last night's mascara was smudged around her glassy eyes and she was otherwise clear of make-up. She wore grey sweats and a baggy dark green sweater. There was no smile to greet Betty, as there always was, she wore an expression of what seemed most adequately described as self-pity.
"V?" Betty asked, her voice thick with concern. Veronica's lip started to quiver and moistier welled in her eyes that seemed to be only recently dried of previous tears. "My god, what's wrong?" Betty asked, wrapping her arms around Veronica and pulling her in close.
Veronica shook her head, tightening her grip around Betty's waist and sobbing into her shoulder. Betty rubbed her back and held her as she cried. That went on for several minutes, though Betty didn't push her for an answer. She tried her best to comfort Veronica, eventually her sobs calmed.
"Betty…" Veronica croaked, pulling back to look at her. She went to say something more, but a helpless cry cut her off and she buried her head back into Betty's chest. Veronica couldn't bring herself to say the words she needed to, the thought of doing so caused her emotion to overwhelm her.
"It's going to be okay, whatever is wrong, it's going to be okay…" Betty tried to reassure her.
"N-no, it's n-not." Veronica choked through sobs, muffled against Betty's body. Betty sighed sympathetically, pulling Veronica close again and letting her cry.
No words were exchanged as Betty slowly pulled Veronica into the kitchen, getting her a glass of water, before snooping in the pantry.
Betty unwrapped the chocolate bar, and after taking her now empty glass of water, she handed the comfort food to Veronica – whose tears had finally stopped, but she still hadn't told betty the reason for them.
Veronica took a bite of the chocolate bar, keeping her eyes directed at the floor. She let out an exaggerated exhale as her eyes closed, she tilted her head up to the ceiling before opening them and bringing her gaze back down to Betty. She wordlessly turned around and headed for the stairs, Betty quick on her trail.
Betty followed her into her bedroom before she was led into Veronica's ensuite. Several things were scattered around on the floor, as if swiped off the vanity. Veronica picked up something off the bench top gripping it tightly in her hand before turning back to Betty.
Her eye started to water again as she held her hand out the Betty. Gripped in her tiny fist was a pregnancy test.
Betty's eyes widened, she looked up to Veronica as a tear slid down her cheek before looking back to the device in her hand. Betty tentatively reached out and grabbed it. The situation made it obvious what the result would read, but Betty needed to see it for herself. She flipped it over in her hand to see the '+'… Positive.
"Oh, V…" Betty said sympathetically, pulling her best friend back into her arms as Veronica's crying became hysterical.
Jughead walked into the meeting room on the second floor of the Whyte Wyrm with Sweet Pea, his other five best friends - the usual group – on his trail. However, they were also joined by Greyson and Yazmine.
Yaz was in her late twenties, Greys in his early thirties and essentially from another generation of the Serpents. However, if you wanted to gather intel, they were your best bet. They were like the Serpents very own private investigators. So naturally, when Jughead asked Sweet Pea to gather information on the Ghoulies, he'd gone straight to them.
Jughead took a seat, before addressing Greys and Yaz. "What have we got so far?" he asked with a stern expression.
"Well," Greys started, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table in front of him. "A lot actually, I mean, the Ghoulies are involved with a lot of crap."
"But we do have some bigger ticket items that we could use to blackmail Malachai." Yaz shot in.
"That we do. First off, he is in deep shit with his old gang from Florida. They're looking for him, apparently he owes them a fuck tonne of money." Greys explained. That could be useful, however Jughead didn't want to get the Serpents in the middle of two gangs if the situation was avoidable.
"How do you even find this kind of shit out?" Fangs asked incredulously. Greys sent him a smirk with a bounce of his brows.
"We have our ways." Greys commented before turning back to Jughead. "In the way of 'weaknesses', we're not sure he has any human ones. He's got two younger brothers and a mother but they live in Europe. He doesn't have a missus, sleeps around, different girls every night kind'a guy. But he does have a few vices, first off; total crack head, hooked on all sorts of shit. Also, his car, apparently someone scratched it slightly with a button on their jeans once and he broke three of their fingers." He continued.
"That guy is fucking psycho." Toni commented, shaking her head.
"Best for last guys." Greys chuckled looking over to Yaz, who continued.
"There is talk that there is a video of Malachai torturing some drug-fucked guy who died off 'grievous bodily harm' that resulted in a brain hemorage." Yaz said.
"Holy shit, really?" Joaquin commented, utterly horrified.
"Jesus." Sweet Pea said, his face contorting at the severity.
"We've been trying to track it down but haven't managed to get it yet. Got a meeting organised tonight that may prove results." Greys said.
"That's some fucked up shit…" Fangs uttered.
Jughead wasn't completely shocked by the information, though it did disgust him to his core. If they were able to get their hands on that and threaten to hand it over to the cops, Malachai would face life in prison, if not worse. That was undoubtedly their best leverage.
"If you can get a hold of that footage, we'll well and truly have the upper hand indefinitely. I want it, I want that video." Jughead said seriously. "Tell me what you need to make that happen and I'll get it."
"What if we can't?" Yaz asked.
"Well, I'd say his previous gang ties is the next best bet." Sweet Pea suggested to Jughead.
"I agree. But we should avoid getting in the middle of that, if we can. So, top priority is that video." Jughead said, standing up from his chair, looking to Greys and Yaz. "If you need anything from any of us, ask, just run it by me first." He told them.
"Got it, boss. Few guys for back up tonight would be good." Greys requested as everyone stood to leave.
"Done. Just come get me before you need to leave and I'll suss back up."
If Jughead could get this level of leverage, they'd be indefinitely set against any threats posed by the Ghoulies. This video was vital, Jughead did not expect it to come easy. It was going to be an expensive purchase, whether the seller wanted actual money was an uncertainty.
Veronica had cried herself into exhaustion, falling asleep in Betty's comforting arms about an hour ago. Betty had not tried to ask any questions, though so many needed answering. She knew there would be plenty of time for that later and Veronica didn't seem remotely ready to speak about it yet.
Betty had stolen her arm back just after Veronica fell asleep and had been googling on her phone for the past hour. Starting with a search of 'my best friend is 17 and pregnant, what do I do?'. Google always seemed to help with the difficult questions.
Through many related links she'd ended up at an article on miscarriages when Veronica finally stirred.
Betty watched as Veronica's eyes fluttered open beside her. She stretched with the smallest hint of a smile on her lips as she spotted Betty sitting up on the bed beside her. All too soon a wave of reality hit Veronica and her smile was long gone, replaced by a hard setting frown that echoed pain.
She shuffled herself up to sit beside Betty. Betty had quickly locked her phone and set it aside, not wanting veronica to see what she'd been looking at. Veronica sat in silence, hands hung in her lap and shoulders hunched over in defeat.
Betty wrapped her arm around Veronica, rubbing her shoulder soothingly. "It's all going to be fine, V. We're going to get you through this together." Betty assured her.
"This is so far from fine. This is a whole new level of utterly, devastatingly... fucked." Veronica replied weakly.
"There is always the chances of a false positive." Betty tried.
"I've had random bouts of vomiting for almost a week, it's getting worse. On top of that I'm also almost two weeks late and my nipples ache. I'm 99% sure that I'm…" Veronica's voice barely shifted above a whisper. For a woman whose always confidently outspoken, it was undeniably obviously how hard this had hit her. She couldn't even admit it out loud. "My dad is going to go… oh god, I don't even know." Veronica said, meekly pulling her arms up in a lazy gesture before they fell back into her lap.
"Is it Archie's?" Betty asked. This question had been digging at her since the moment she saw the '+'. Veronica slowly turned to look at Betty, tears quickly forming in her eyes again. Betty stayed silent hoping for an answer as a tear rolled down Veronica's cheek.
"I-I'm not sure." Veronica sobbed. Betty knew that Veronica had slept with Archie a few times now, but she'd not admitted to sleeping with anyone else recently, so that confession had taken Betty by surprise. Veronica met Betty's questioning gaze before looking down to her fingers that fiddled in her lap. "I slept with someone else a few weeks ago… at Reggie's party." She admitted.
Betty wasn't sure if it were appropriate to ask, but she had to. The desire for answers was eating away at her. "Who?" she asked cautiously.
Veronica's breathing hitched, and her teary eyes widened. She was up so quickly it almost bounced Betty off the other side of the bed. Veronica ran to the bathroom, betty quickly followed. She heard the gagging before she saw Veronica with her arms wrapped around the toilet. Betty spotted the hair clip on the bench, where she'd put everything back while Veronica slept, researching while she tidied up.
She went over to Veronica and twisted her hair back into the clip before rubbing soothing circles on her back. Betty made her way to the sink to fill up the glass beside it – usually reserved for rinsing when brushing teeth – setting the glass down beside Veronica.
When that nausea wore off Veronica sipped back the water, resting her head against the wall beside her.
Now having the ability to speak without purging her stomach contents, she finally answered Betty's question. "Reggie."
Jughead sat atop his lifeless motorcycle, around him several other serpents did the same. Including the lead on this specific meeting, Greys and Yaz.
"You think your dudes still coming?" Sweet Pea asked. They had organised to meet up at eleven, here in the deserted parking lot by Sweet water river, but when Jughead checked the time on his phone only moments ago it was already 11:18pm.
"They'll show up, they need something from us otherwise they wouldn't have organised this meeting." Yaz said confidently.
"You know, th-" Fangs started to speak but Jughead cut him off with a stern hush as a rustling in the bush beside them sounded.
All six of them turned to the dark figure clocked in a large black hooded sweat shirt, hood up and hands shoved in its pockets. The figure shuffled over to them, keeping their head down. They couldn't have been taller than five foot, seven and certainly didn't seem to be all too intimidating.
Greys and Yaz hopped off their bike, meeting the person half way. When they stepped up to each other and the figure made no effort to remove their hood.
"You Yaz?" The figure asked. Jughead was shocked by the feminine voice, it had been assumed the person they were meeting was a man. But this small figure seemed to be a woman. It was clearer to see the as they came closer and Jughead noted the black wedge heel boots they wore – not the most masculine footwear.
"I am," Yaz answered casually. "You're Jo?" Yaz questioned.
"Yeah." 'Jo' answered meekly.
"So, getting right to the point you got evidence of the video?" Greys jumped in. Jo reached into her hoodie pocket, retrieving a small tablet.
"Just so you know, the video is not actually saved onto this tablet. This is simply acting as a screen from a computer elsewhere. Jumping me and stealing it won't do you any good. The person manning the mirrored computer has strict orders to cut the feed if I don't contact them within ten minutes." Jo explained. Jughead admired her preparation and caution.
"Wouldn't dream of screwing you over, chick." Greys said honestly. She handed the tablet to him while pulling a phone from her pocket and tapping at it briefly before holding it to her ear.
"Play it." Jo instructed into the phone and Jughead could see an image appear on the previously black screen in Greys' hands – though he couldn't quite make it out from where he sat. Greys and Yaz concentrated on the screen for no more than twenty seconds before the screen once again went black.
"Looks legit." Greys commented, handing the tablet back to Jo who hung up the call she was on, tucking both back into the pockets of her sweatshirt. "So, what are you asking in return?" Greys asked. This was Jughead's cue to join in on the discussion. No one, other than him, made deals on behalf of the serpents.
"To disappear." She said simply, looking up to jughead when he stepped off his bike, hanging his helmet on the handle bar and starting towards them.
"Well, I'm the magician you're looking for. What do you need to disappear?" Jughead asked casually, as he stood next to Greys, he crossed his arms looking down at the girl. It was difficult to see her with the lack of light and her hood still covering her head.
"I need a new identity. Passport, drivers license and all the legal papers. I also need a plane ticket out of here and guaranteed protection of any information regarding my whereabouts, especially where the Ghoulies are concerned." She waged. Jughead quirked an eyebrow, this girl had issues with the Ghoulies too. Some of what she was asking for would be easy enough to get; some, no so much. However, Jughead had a lot of contacts and a lot of people that owed him favors. Jughead enjoyed dealing in 'favors' with the right kind of people.
"And when would you need that by?" Jughead asked with a quirked eyebrow. She shuffled uncomfortably.
"As soon as possible, by next Saturday at the latest." Jo announced. Jughead let out a short hum of deliberation.
"Alright, deal. We'll give you a new identity, get you out of here and in return you'll give us that video." Jughead offered, holding out his hand to shake. This was going to be difficult and risky, but if Jughead could pull this off, it would be worth it. Him, Betty and their families – Serpents included – would be safe from the Ghoulies.
She took his hand weakly with a clammy trembling hand, and shook.
"Deal." She confirmed.
SO! That was a bit crazy!
Review question: Thoughts on Veronica's pregnancy?
I'll be honest, I was gonna make the other potential baby daddy Sweet Pea, but I couldn't make it work because they hadn't known each other long enough. Ahhh well, a story for another time. Safe to say, this will not be the last story I write.
It was asked how many more chapters can be expected, I'd say about 45 - 65 chapter total will see this story out... I'm not good with commitment to limitations, the large bracket is necessary ;) If you ever feel the need to contact me, go ahead! Send me a message or find me on Tumblr under: kaylaarann Fun fact: My name is not 'Kayla Rann' my middle name is Anne. So, when I say 'Kayla Anne' it come out much more like 'Kayla Rann' - AND THUS THE POWERPUFF GIRLS WERE BORN... Oh, wait no, I mean 'Kayla Rann' was born, not the Powerpuff Girls ;)
Have a story behind your online name? I'm curious to hear it if you're willing to share!
'Till next time my lovelies!
- Kayla