Betty approached the group of cheerleaders surrounding Cheryl, she had to try again to get through to Polly. The group dispersed quickly at her approach, she suddenly felt a warm hand on her lower back. She shouldn't have been surprised that Jughead had found her in her moment of need, she turned at met his eyes for a split second before turning back to Cheryl with a newfound confidence.
"Cheryl, can I have a word?" Cheryl nodded for the rest of her group to leave her.
"Yes, Betty, what is it?" She passed Jughead one harsh look before her attention was fully on Betty.
"Polly. I don't know what you're doing to her in there but I want to talk to her, now."
"Let's not fight. Not when we should be celebrating."
"Celebrating?"
"Why, what happened?" She heard Jughead's voice behind her asking for the details.
"You haven't heard?" She saw Cheryl blanch slightly at whatever look she was getting from Jughead behind her. "Dr Patel just confirmed it this morning, Polly is having twins. Blossom genes strike again." She felt herself go cold, feel weakened by the words she was saying.
"She didn't even call me to tell me this." She turned again to meet Jughead's eye, they were soft with sympathy as he stroked her back lightly. He turned back to Cheryl and his eyes turned hard.
"Hostage don't usually get the chance to make outgoing calls." Betty just shook her head lightly at Jugheads words.
"Would you give her a message for me?"
"As long it wouldn't upset her." Cheryl had a triumphant smile at being in control of the situation.
"Just tell her she should call our mum. She's really hurt and upset, she's trying to hide it but I can see it."
"I'll pass along the message." She looked sympathically towards Betty briefly before her smile came back. "If I remember, of course."
"Cheryl." Betty heard Jughead's harsh voice again from behind her and saw Cheryl shoot daggers with the look she gave him.
"That was a joke." She turned her attention once more to Betty, this time with a sweet reaction. "Of course I'll tell her Betty." She touched her arm breifly before walking away. "But no promises that she will respond, or even care." Betty felt the cold come back with a force at those words.
Jughead knew how much the last words of Cheryl would affect her but he couldn't think of a way to help her out of this. He pulled her close with a hand on her back, there were no words in that moment just whatever comfort he could pass with his touch.
Betty was sat on her bed, hoping to hear from either Cheryl or Polly for a response on the message she had sent with Cheryl. She couldn't focus on the homework that was strewed across her bed spread. It was getting late and she had basically nothing done, the sudden appearance of her mum in her doorway made her jump.
"Mum, jeez wear a bell. What's going on?"
"Come with me." She stood up to follow her crazed looking mum down to the door.
"Mum, talk to me. Where are we going?"
"Get in the car Betty, we are going to visit your dad." She was confused as she went to sit next to her mum in the car, she shot a quick message to Jughead tellling him what was going on.
Her mum pulled up outside the office for the Riverdale Registry, she should have known this was where her dad would be staying. Her mum was stoming in the door before she could even get out of the car, she hurried after her to see her drop something on the desk in front of her dad, who looked just as confused as she was.
"What is this?" Her dad asked as he looked quickly over the document.
"This is a tell-all expose on the Blossom's, all the corruption in that family." It all made a little more sense to Betty now.
"Mine telling me what your mother is talking about?" Her dad turned to her for some clarity.
"It's all the answers, everything they've done. All they've done to our family over the years, including taking Polly from us." She felt the need to defend her mum's article even if she didn't agree for her reasoning behind doing it. She knew it wasn't going to bring Polly back.
"Polly is living with the Blossoms now, so you got what you wanted Hal." Her mum's voice started to rise, Betty tried to calm her with a hand on her arm but it was shook off. "She's out of our lives now."
"I'm not publishing this Alice, it's nothing more than a personal vendetta." She saw the imploring look her dad was giving her, as if she would some how be able to talk her out of this.
"Well, I don't need your permission." Betty watched as her mum pushed her way to the computer but seemed to have a problem with signing into it. "What did you do, Hal?" Her voice was acid as she asked the question.
"You kicked me out, so I kicked you out. You're done here Alice, you're fired." Her mum dropped her head, seemed to rethink the way she was going about this.
"Hal, exposing the Blossoms, it could bring Polly home. We could get our daughter away from these people, back to where she belongs."
Betty saw her dad shake his head and move away from her mum, he silently raised his arm towards the door signalling it was time for them to leave. Betty took hold of her mums arm and pulled her slightly, once she was spurred into movement she walked straight out of the building. The cold air hit her suddenly as she went outside, she hoped it would help calm her mum as they started back to the car. She noticed her mum had stopped just a few steps outside the door and quickly turned back to her.
"Mum?"
There was an odd expression on her mums face, something she couldn't work out. She watched as she moved suddenly, turned back to the door while bending at her knees. Betty couldn't see what she was doing as she bent down and suddenly she was moving again. In one fluid motion she was back upright and something was flying from her hand into the glass door, smashing it loudly. Betty saw the paniced look on her dad's face before turning back to her mum.
"I want my daughter back!" Her mum was shouting loudly at the now unhindered space between her and her dad.
"Mum!" She couldn't process what she had just seen her mum do, she was too shocked at the behaviour. Instead she grabbed hold of her mums arm again and pulled her towards the car, she took the keys from her hand this time got into the drivers side herself, not trusting her mum to drive at the moment. It was a silent ride home, she couldn't think of anything to say at that point. Her mum was out of the car as soon as it stopped and went straight upstairs.
Betty watched her mum walk slowly up the stairs and heard her bedroom door close loudly, she headed to the kitchen and poured herself a drink before slowly heading up to her own bedroom. She nearly screamed when she saw a shape in her bedroom but quickly relaxed when she saw it was Jughead sat on the end of her bed.
"Jeez, Juggie." She heard a small chuckle from him as he stood up to greet her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He wrapped his arms softly around her. "The message you sent sounded weird, thought I'd come over to check up on you."
"Thank you for coming." Her voice was muffled as she buried her face in his chest but he managed to make out what she said.
"Of course."
They stood in silence for a few minutes, staying in the tight embrace. He started to feel a slight shaking movement from her slight body and a dampness soaking its way through his t-shirt. The realisation that she was crying hit him suddenly, making him pull slightly away from her, to look her more fully in the face.
"Betty?" He bent slightly to make eye contact with her. "What happened?"
"My parents are unbelievable." She pulled further away from him and walked away from him. "Polly is locked away in that house, and they are changing each others log ins and throwing bricks through windows." He couldn't make sense of what she was saying.
"I wish I'd seen that." He couldn't help the words coming as the reaction to the image of Mrs Cooper throwing a brick through a window. He should've thought more about her words, he felt instantly bad when Betty's face expressions shifted and more tears came to her eyes. "I'm sorry, that's not funny."
"It's a time of crisis, it can bring people together or tear them apart. This is tearing us apart. I feel like, soon, the Coppers are all going to fall apart and we will just be gone. And I don't know how to stop it." He moved back towards her then, engulfed in his arm once again.
"Don't say that Betty. Don't give up. Your family, their splintering, but they aren't going to fall apart. Because of you Betty." She looked up at him now, still tears in her eyes threatening to spill again. "You're the one holding it together, and Betty, you are so much stronger than all the white noise, than your mum and your dad. Your stronger Betty, than all of it. You are holding this family together and you can do that Betty. Just don't let go, don't give up on that." He saw her nod up at him, her eyes dryer now and a small smile on her lips.
"I won't."
He relaxed now he knew he had gotten through to her, he had meant every word. He knew she was strong enough to hold this family together through the hell they were going through, because she was strong enough to keep him together as well. He held her tightly, hoping he would be enough to keep her strong through what was coming. He felt her hands pressed against his chest as it rose and fell with his deep breaths, still reeling from the heartfelt speech he had given. She slowly pulled away from him but brought her arms around his neck and pulled his face closer to join her lips with his. She deepened the kiss and he complied happily, running his hands over the exposed skin from where her t-shirt had risen above her waist. They were out of breath when they pulled away, his hands staying on her hips while hers stayed entangled in the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Stay here tonight?" He searched her face as she smiled at him.
"Of course."
