Whataya Want From Me?

Yeah, it's plain to see (it's plain to see)

That baby you're beautiful

And there's nothing wrong with you (nothing wrong with you)

It's me, I'm a freak (yeah)

But thanks for lovin' me

'Cause you're doing it perfectly (perfectly)

Yeah, there might have been a time when I would let you slip away

I wouldn't even try but I think you could save my life

Whataya Want From Me? - Adam Lambert

Flashback - July 2019

"Juggie? Are you alright?" Betty asked softly, stepping onto the balcony and wrapping her arms around her lover's waist.

She had woken up in their hotel room to find that he wasn't lying beside her, which had become a regular occurrence in the last few months, so she knew something was bothering him. When she found him standing outside smoking, staring across the river towards their hometown, she knew her guesstimation was correct.

He'd been having trouble sleeping ever since learning the details of Fred's death and it made her heart bleed for him. Fred's passing had been extremely hard on his whole family, but for Jug, it was especially devastating. Fred was the only real father figure Jughead ever had in his life growing up and losing him so suddenly took a toll on him.

"Yeah, just couldn't sleep..." Jughead whispered as he took another drag from his cigarette, gripping her wrist gently and affectionately laying her hand over his heart. He'd been woken up by another nightmare, something that had been happening at least three or four times a week, but this one actually started out better than most.

He dreamt about standing in the front of a church, Archie beside him as his best man, surrounded by his family and watching happily as Betty walked down the aisle towards him in an elegant, free-flowing alabaster dress. His breath hitched at seeing how breathtakingly beautiful she was. He was overjoyed at the knowledge that she was about to be his forever.

However, it didn't take long for the happy scene to shift into something horrible. As soon as she stepped in front of him, she stared blankly into his eyes with an eerie Stepfordish grin plastered on her face, one that all of their guests suddenly held as well. It was eerily quiet as he looked around, the twisted smiles on everyone's faces giving him a chill through his bones.

That's when he looked down to see a sticky reddish-brown liquid covering his hands and turned to find Archie laying on the ground in a pool of thick crimson, a bloodstained knife protruding from his back. Archie's eyes opened slowly as he asked Jughead why he'd stabbed him in the back before he finally woke in a sweaty panic.

"Jug?" Betty's concerned voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Just a bad dream, baby. It's nothing to worry about, I promise," he tried to reassure her, not wanting her to feel like the nightmares were because of her.

Sure he was carrying an enormous amount of guilt about betraying his brother's trust, but that wasn't her burden to carry. Especially not when they were trying to have a relaxing birthday weekend away before classes started back in a few weeks.

"Come on, Juggie. I know there's more to it than that. Talk to me, baby..." she murmured softly. He sighed, knowing her well enough to understand she wasn't going to let it go. He reluctantly told her everything that happened in the dream, holding his breath and waiting for her to respond once he finished.

"Jug, I think it's pretty obvious why you were having that dream. You've been under a lot of pressure these last few months and given the delicate circumstances of our relationship, it's normal for you to carry some guilt with it," Betty explained, swallowing hard, "And..."

"And what, Betts?"

"Um, I mean, if it makes you feel any better, I've been feeling guilty about it too. I hate having to lie to everyone all the time..." she confessed softly, pausing for a moment to let out a shaky breath, "...and I would understand if this was too much for you and you wanted to end thi–"

"Elizabeth Marie Cooper, don't you dare finish that sentence," Jughead scolded, tossing his cigarette over the railing and twisting to face her. "It was just a bad dream, nothing more, alright? So unless you decide that you don't want to be with me anymore, then I'm afraid you're stuck with me because nothing will make me want this to end, you hear me?" he stated with conviction.

"That's good, Snake Boy. Because I don't ever intend on letting you go. I'm in this for the long haul so you're kinda stuck with me too. I hope you're okay with that?" Betty teased, looking up at him through thick lashes as she slipped her hands up his chest and into his messy hair.

"I'm more than okay with that, Duchess," he rasped, gripping the back of her neck to pull her into a searing kiss. Betty sighed happily into his mouth, her fingers winding into his curls as his tongue danced with hers. Jughead picked her up -never breaking their kiss- and carried her back inside, the desperate need to bury himself deep inside her taking over.

He placed her onto the king-size bed, pulling her t-shirt over her head to reveal her supple nude figure, her ivory skin already peppered with love bites from their earlier romp. She gave him an ethereal smile as she spread herself out for him, her hair fanning out into a halo that shimmered in the moonlight.

Jughead knew that he'd never get enough of seeing her like this, so seductive and wanton, drawing him into her sinful web. A lusty smirk stretched across his face and he removed his pajama pants, his thick cock already at attention. He could see the hunger flickering in her eyes while she watched him stroke himself lazily before climbing over her.

His nimble fingers took no time in finding her core, teasing her swollen bud until she was screaming his name as she peaked. He gently worked her down from her high before he pulled away, sucking the coated digits clean before easing into her, allowing her a moment to stretch around his pulsing member.

"You are so fucking beautiful... What did I ever do to deserve you, Betts," he groaned into her ear, pressing her into the mattress as he slowly slipped in and out of her silky heat.

"I could say the same thing about you," Betty gasped as he pressed deeper into her, feeling him fill her in the most delicious way possible.

The sensations they were sharing became too much and he began to plunge into her wildly, already feeling her fluttering around him as she crested towards her next climax. He doubled his efforts and shifted her legs over his shoulders to fuck her even deeper.

"Oh, God... I can't hold– Oh... Fuck, I'm coming, Jug-gie!" she cried out, seeing a flash of white stars bursting behind her eyes as she fell apart again. Her climax triggered his own, her pulsing cunt milking him as he thrust into her one last time, grunting profanities into the satiny skin of her neck.

They both collapsed onto the mattress, a heap of sweaty limbs holding each other as they tried to regain their composure. Jughead was the first to move, rolling off of her to grab himself a towel, coming back with a warm washcloth and cleaning her quickly before carrying her to the bathroom for a quick shower.

"Juggie..." she whispered sleepily a while later- after they were both cleaned up and thoroughly sated from another round of vigorous sex in the shower. He rolled to face her, smiling as her eyes fluttered closed briefly, "Yeah, baby?"

"Do you think that we'll always be together?" she yawned, snuggling into his chest as she drifted off to sleep. His lip briefly quirked up into a smile at her soft snore and he leaned down to kiss her crown, pulling her into his arms.

"Of course I do, Betts. In what future are we not together?" he whispered into her hair, holding her tightly as he followed her into dreamland.

December 2019 - The Plan

Archie stepped into the Wyrm tentatively, his face etched with concern as he approached the bartop where Toni was cleaning glasses.

He guessed that it must have been a pretty extreme fight between Jughead and Sweet Pea if she'd called him here, especially after everything that happened in the last few weeks. While it was surprising to get the call, Archie always seemed to be the one person who could pull Jughead back when he got close to the edge.

When they were younger, Jughead went through a period of time where he was angry at the world and it got him into a lot of trouble. He had a very short fuse and would start fights with anyone and everyone, skip school to run around with the other Serpents, and he almost got in trouble once for breaking and entering and trespassing when Sheriff Keller caught him sleeping at the old drive. That was when Fred and Mary stepped up to foster him so they could give him a stable home.

"Hey, Toni..." She nodded in acknowledgment as he asked, "Where is he?"

"In the back office. He's refusing to talk about what started the fight or even let anyone help him upstairs. Just kept saying something about too many ghosts. He's probably had a hell of a lot more to drink since I called, so I'd tread lightly if I were you," she replied, continuing to clean shot glasses.

"Thanks, Tone," Archie replied, grimacing as he thought back to the last time he saw his brother; right after he caught him with Betty and they'd fought. He wasn't sure if Jughead would kick his ass for showing up like this but he needed to do something. He turned to walk toward the offices but was stopped by Toni calling out to him.

"Hey, Arch?" she asked, tossing the hand towel she held over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"He didn't say what started it but... Does this happen to have anything to do with Betty?" Archie flinched and Toni knew she'd hit the nail on the head. She continued watching him, several emotions flying over his face before he looked back up at her. "That's who's got him all twisted up and the two of you fighting, am I right?"

"Yeah, it's Betty," Archie simply stated, turning around and feeling his gut clench with anxiety as he walked away.

He'd spent a whole month thinking about his actions and exactly why he got so upset about Betty and Jughead being together and he wanted to fix things. He'd come to realize just how much of a selfish prick he'd been and how his actions destroyed all of their lives. He needed to make amends, he needed his brother -his best friend- back in his life, and he needed to clean up the mess he'd made.

He walked down the long hallway at the back of the bar that led to the main office and rapped on the door lightly, slowly opening it to find Jughead sitting on the leather couch, hunched over with his head in his hands as he sobbed softly.

"Jug?" he asked. Jughead jerked his head up, completely jarred to see Archie standing in his doorway at first before being filled with irritation at the interruption.

"Oh, great. W-What the hell are you doing here, Arch?" he said apathetically, reaching for the glass of brown liquid next to him and throwing it back before sneering hatefully, "You come here to r-rub salt in the wound-d?"

His speech was a bit slurred and he was still crying, but Archie could tell he wasn't utterly trashed like Toni thought he would be. If he had to guess from the look in Jughead's eyes, he was well on his way to being sober despite not wanting to be.

"Uh, Toni called me... Said you tried to mangle Sweet Pea's face and that I needed to come to get you before he kicked your ass and embarrassed you in front of your crew," Archie joked weakly, laughing nervously with a shrug. He wasn't sure if he should actually step inside the room or not, but the fact that Jughead hadn't tried to punch him just for showing his face was a good sign.

Jughead let out a watery laugh, "Whatever asshole, I could totally take him..."

His laughter faded as he trailed off, staring down at his shaking hands. Jughead couldn't get the broken look Betty gave him before she walked away out of his head. It was tormenting him and there was no relief, nothing that could stop the images of her leaving him from flooding his thoughts.

Archie knew that look of agony on his face all too well. He and Jughead had been friends for a very long time (even before his life fell to shit and Archie's parents adopted him) so he knew that whatever was on his mind, it was heavy.

"Look Jug, I know I haven't exactly been the best brother to you lately, and if you tell me to fuck off I will, but... do you wanna talk about whatever the hell happened here tonight?"

Jughead choked back a sob, trying to hold himself together, "I don't know what to do, Arch. I think I fucked it up again and I lost her... for good this time, I think..."

Archie's body went rigid at first but then he sighed, loosening his muscles before he walked into the room and sat next to his lifelong friend. "Is it really that bad, Jug?" Jughead nodded, still staring at his hands, clearly destroyed. "Alright, tell me what happened, and don't leave anything out to spare my feelings, okay?"

Jughead agreed, pouring himself another stiff drink and lighting a smoke before telling Archie everything. He began with the start of his crush on her, to their breakup on Halloween, all of it leading up to the circumstances of tonight's disaster.

Archie sat in stunned silence, not really knowing how to respond to everything he'd just learned. He never had any idea that Jughead had been in love with Betty this whole time, even back when Archie himself was dating her.

He had suspicions that Jughead found her attractive but he thought it was just the typical guy wanting to sleep with a hot girl thing. He didn't realize it was love. But in retrospect, he could definitely see the hints scattered around if he really thought hard enough.

"So yeah, that's it; the whole sordid tale of how I fucked it all up, yet again. And now she's gone and–" Jughead's voice cracked as he tried to stay composed, his fingers itching for another cigarette, "Dammit, I don't know what to do, Arch. This hurts worse than anything I've ever been through. Fuck, it even hurts worse than when my Mom and Jelly left me behind..."

"You really love her, don't you, Jug?" Archie stated more than asked hesitantly.

"With every last breath..." Jughead replied softly.

"Okay."

That was all Archie needed to hear and he nodded in resolve, standing abruptly and walking over to Jughead's desk to rifle through the drawers in search of a notepad and pen. Once he found what he was looking for, he walked back to the couch and sat down, scribbling something at the top of the page.

"What are you doing?" Jughead asked, tilting his head in confusion at Archie's look of determination.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm gonna help my brother come up with a plan to win his girl back," Archie replied, grinning as he bumped Jughead's shoulder and started writing again.

~~The Next Morning~~

Twelve hours...

It had only been about twelve hours since Betty walked out of the Whyte Wyrm, away from the man she loved more than life itself but it felt like a lifetime ago.

The night before she had called Veronica as soon as she was out of the Southside and burst into tears, telling her everything that happened. By the end of the conversation, Veronica was spitting nails and ready to march down to the bar herself but Betty begged her not to and said she just wanted to go home and sleep it off.

However, Betty still spent half the night driving around in a haze, not wanting to go home alone again and trying desperately to hold it all together.

Once she was too exhausted to keep driving, she headed back to her apartment, taking a scalding shower as soon as she was in the door before she slipped into one of Jughead's tees that she'd kept. She took her anxiety medication and curled up on her couch, hugging the stuffed penguin he'd won her at the Greendale Fair the previous summer as she drifted off.

Only a few hours later she woke up in a cold sweat, images of Jughead and Candy kissing flooding her mind. She figured she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore so she decided to make a pot of coffee, considering everything that transpired and what she wanted to do next.

Truthfully, Betty felt awful for leaving Jughead the way that she did, and she understood there was a real possibility that he hated her now for walking out on him a second time, but the stress was just too much to handle.

She felt that maybe stepping away and allowing them to both cool down before they tried to discuss their relationship status would work best for both of them. She didn't want either of them to say anything they didn't mean in the heat of the moment that would just make the situation worse.

As she was pouring her cup of coffee, she heard a knock at the door, making her heart race in nervousness. She shuffled slowly toward the door, secretly hoping to find Jughead on the other side, only to feel let down at seeing a certain pink-haired Serpent instead.

"Toni?" she questioned in confusion, not sure why she of all people would be darkening her doorstep.

"Hey, Cooper. Got a minute?" Toni asked apprehensively, before holding up a coffee cup. "I come bearing a peace offering! It's a cinnamon dolce white chocolate mocha..."

"Oh. That sounds delicious actually, thanks. Please come in," Betty stepped back allowing Toni to sweep past her into the apartment. She looked around before turning back to Betty with a quick smirk, finally noticing that she'd been wearing one of Jughead's shirts.

"You know, he's a mess, right? " she paused briefly, handing the latte to Betty before continuing, "My expertise tells me there might have been a bit of a lover's spat between you guys?"

"You could say that, yes. But if you're here to warn me off or tell me I'm not good enough for Jug then you can just–" Toni raised her hands in submission, shaking her head.

"Hey, I'm not here for that. Well actually, I did sorta come here to give you the whole sisterly 'break his heart, I break your face' talk but just from the looks of those bags under your eyes and the fact that you're sleeping in his clothes tells me you're hurting just as much as he is," she admitted.

"I really just came here because I thought if you and Jug are gonna be a thing, I needed to get to know the girl he's in love with," Betty shook her head, trying to deny the words, but Toni continued, "He's never been this broken up over a woman before, so I know things must be serious between you two. And– well, JJ's family."

Tears began to form behind Betty's eyes, once again remembering the pained look in his eyes when she drove away.

Love? What have I done? He must hate me now...

"Is he–? Uh, is he okay? Things kind of got out of hand last night with us... and it was just too much and I... I ran and I know it was stupid and I shouldn't have and–" Betty's resolve broke as she choked back a sob, "I d-didn't mean to hurt him, I love him so m-much and– and he probably–"

"Hey, hey! Cooper, look at me," Toni ordered, grabbing the blonde's chin and staring into her mossy green eyes. "Jug's gonna be just fine, this wasn't your fault. He just got into a fight last night and I had to call Archie to–"

"What, Jughead got into a fight last night? Oh my God, Toni! What happened? Wait, did you just say you called Archie? Did he actually show up?" Betty rattled off question after question until Toni's head started to spin.

"Breathe, Cooper. Jug's perfectly fine, he and Archie seemed to have a good talk - I mean, if him leaving with all his teeth intact was any indication at least. He managed to talk Jughead into going to his apartment to sleep it off," Toni explained.

"Who did he fight with?" Betty asked quietly, sitting down and crossing her legs underneath her as her mind raced.

"Well, after he told Candy to fuck off and never come near him again–"

"He did? Wow..." Betty interrupted, a small smile crossing her lips before meeting Toni's impatient gaze, "Oh, sorry. Continue."

"Anyway, after that, he and Sweets went to play pool for a while. Everything seemed fine but I guess Sweets said something to piss him off cause JJ snapped and slammed him onto the table. The next thing any of us knew, they were beating the brakes off each other and we had to pull them apart. I can only guess it was something about you from the things Jug was yelling when he pounded on Sweets."

"That wouldn't be too surprising, actually. Sweet Pea's always hated me for no apparent reason– other than the fact that I exist. I've never done anything to him, or any of you really, but he just keeps making the same jabs as he always has," she sighed, running her hands through her blonde tresses.

"It's cause Sweets is an asshole who doesn't know when to shut his fucking trap. Honestly, I'm surprised someone hasn't handed his ass to him before now," Toni chuckled, looking around at all the knick-knacks on Betty's shelves before taking a seat beside her.

Betty laughed, pausing for a moment to chew her bottom lip before she asked, "So why do you hate me so much? Is it because you and Jug used to date and now he and I–?"

Toni sighed, shifting closer to Betty and placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "God, no. And for the record, I never hated you, Cooper. I don't think any of us really did. You were just an unfortunate causality in the Northside/Southside bullshit and happened to be a fresh target," Toni admitted.

"I know it's a poor excuse for the shitty way we've all treated you over the years but that's what it boiled down to. But I'm really sorry about how I've treated you. It was wrong of me to be like that when you never did anything to any of us."

Betty sat in silence, taking in the Serpent's words before she finally spoke, "I never expected you to say that but thank you, Toni. It means a lot to hear that and... I forgive you. You're one of Juggie's best friends and I don't want there to be any animosity between us."

"I would like us to be friends too if that's alright with you?" Toni replied.

Betty smiled widely and nodded, happy to start over and get to know the young woman in front of her. She'd never had a ton of friends growing up so she was always excited to make more.

"I'd love that. Also, if it makes you guys feel any better, I always hated my whole 'Perfect Northsider' image too. It's not who I really am, at all. Sometimes I wish I could just change from Sandra Dee to the badass Sandy at the end of the movie," Betty laughed lightly.

"Really? Well Blondie, you're in luck. I hereby offer you my services, free of charge," Toni said with a wink, slipping her jacket and boots off to get more comfortable.

"Services? What services?" Betty asked in confusion.

"Oh, you'll see, Cooper," Toni replied, grinning from ear to ear.

~~Meanwhile, just on the other side of Riverdale...~~

Jughead paced back and forth in Andrews' living room, worried that somehow in the last few hours Veronica would have changed her mind and refused to help them.

Not that I'd blame her...

After Archie left him the night before with an outline of ideas and a fraction of hope, he'd gone to bed and passed out. When he woke up, he'd proceeded to call Veronica and beg her to help him get Betty back.

She'd already heard about what happened from Betty the night before so after she spent twenty minutes cursing his existence in a mixture of English and Spanish, she finally agreed to meet with him and Archie to discuss their ideas.

"You're sure she'll be here, bro?" Archie wondered out loud, knowing how bad things ended between the two of them. All of which was his fault, he knew that now, but he would understand if Veronica wouldn't show up because of his actions alone.

"I honestly don't know, but if it's for Betty, I assume–" the ringing of the doorbell cut him off. He held his breath and opened the door to let her in, taking the cloak from her shoulders and shaking the snow off onto the porch before hanging it by the door.

Veronica looked as elegant as ever in her black lace dress with peter pan collar and ribbon tie paired with her signature Manolo Blahnik stilettos. She marched past Archie into the living room, seating herself as far from him as possible, and turned to speak to Jughead.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Ronnie, thanks for–" Archie started but swallowed his thought when she leveled a piercing glare his way.

"Don't. I'm not here for you," she stated coldly. "I'm here for Betty -and by extension- Jughead. That's it."

"I know you are, Ronnie, and so does Archie. And we both appreciate it. I'm glad Betty has you on her side but Archie just wants to help– actually, this whole thing was his idea," Jughead explained, surprising her. After a moment, she turned back towards her former lover and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't think that you helping him do this will make up for anything between us."

"I know it won't. I still love you Ronnie but I'm not doing this for us. I'm doing it for Jug and Betty, just the same as you," he replied, the sincerity clear in his voice. She paused for a moment, contemplating before she nodded curtly and then turned back to Jughead.

"So, what's the plan, Romeo?" she asked.

"Well, we haven't come up with anything concrete just yet but I gave Jug a few ideas and thought maybe you–" Archie answered but Veronica cut him off again to address Jughead, "To quote a classic: 'You embarrassed the girl. Sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity and even the score'."

"Huh?" Archie said in confusion, "Is that from a book or something?"

"Oh Dios mío," Veronica huffed as she rolled her eyes. "No, it's from–"

"Wait, that gives me an idea! Thanks Ronnie, you're a genius!" Jughead said, jumping up suddenly, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Arch, you still got my bass in your garage, right?"

"I think so, why? You gonna pawn it to buy her a present?"

"Not exactly. I just had an inkling, but I'm gonna need help from you and a few of the Serpents to get it all together. You game?" he asked. Archie nodded in agreement and Jughead took a few moments to explain his idea to them.

"Alright Verona, that sounds like one hell of a grand gesture... but what exactly is my role in this plan of yours?" Veronica inquired, her brow arched in curiosity.

"You, Miss Lodge, are going to throw one kick-ass New Year's Eve Party at the Whyte Wyrm..."

A Few Days Later

"I don't know, T. Do you think this look is really me?" Betty asked from behind her dressing room door. She stared at her reflection, taking in the maroon bodycon dress that hugged her curves and the sleek, form-fitting black leather jacket that her new friend had picked out for her.

Even after leaving her mother clutches, Betty never got the chance to experiment much with her wardrobe until Veronica came along. The Latina always pushed her to wear things that were a bit more scandalous, but this was a whole new experience that she was both excited for and terrified of at the same time.

When Toni insisted that they give her the 'bad girl beauty makeover' that she'd always wanted but was too afraid to fully commit to, it didn't take much for Betty to cave in. Their goal was to trade in her good girl persona for something a bit sexier; something edgy that fit her true personality a bit more.

"Cooper, you better get your tight ass out here so I can see how hot you look!" Toni shouted back playfully. Betty huffed, fluffing her loose curls a bit before slipping on her flats and opening the door. As soon as she saw the blindsided look on Toni's face, she began to blush and toed the carpet innocently.

"How do I look?"

"Whoa," Toni muttered, her jaw hanging open as she blatantly ogled the blonde. "Cooper, if things ever go south between you and JJ, you've got my number. Goddamn, Jug is one lucky son of a bitch. I mean... fuck, you're hot..."

"Really?" Betty squeaked bashfully. "I mean, thanks, T. I really didn't know how I felt about the tightness but now I can just imagine the look on Juggie's face when he sees me in this."

"Yeah, I imagine he'll be the one having issues with his clothes being too tight after seeing these curves," Toni said, wiggling her eyebrows as Betty went to stand in front of the three-way mirror in the dressing area.

"Toni!" Betty giggled, smacking her friend's shoulder as she twisted to look at herself from different angles. "I do look pretty good in this, don't I?"

"Oh yeah, girlie. Total smoke show. Jughead's gonna–" A harsh voice from behind the girls cut Toni off mid-sentence, stopping their admiration of Betty's new look.

"What have we here? Is Little Miss Perfect trying to play Southside dress up?" The girls turned to see Candy watching them, a disgusted sneer on her face as she took in Betty's outfit, "What? You think if you try to dress like us, then you'll be one of us? Because it's never gonna happen."

"What the fuck do you want, Candy?" Toni snarled, annoyed at the intrusion.

"Oh, I just saw blondie over here and thought I would give her some friendly advice," she replied, her eyes never leaving Betty's. "You best just be staying on your side of the tracks, bitch. Everyone around here knows JJ belongs to me."

"Since when?" Toni shot back, cutting her eyes at the girl's statement.

"Well, since he kissed me the other night, of course..." Candy smirked, stepping closer and getting into Betty's face.

"Oh, you mean when you forced yourself on him?" she growled angrily in response, fighting the urge to strike out at the other woman.

"Oh, you missed the real action after you ran out but don't worry, sug'... I took real good care of him," she stated, grinning wickedly. "You know, after the things we did that night, I'd be surprised if he even remembers your name anymore..."

That statement was the last straw for Betty and something inside her snapped. She'd had enough of Candy's bullshit games and she wasn't going to stand for her lies. Toni had already told her where Jughead was that night and it made her furious that Candy would try to lie in order to break them up. Coupled with the rage of knowing that this woman took advantage of Jughead by kissing him without his consent and it was the perfect storm.

Her fury was so engrossing that Betty didn't even realize she had punched Candy until she heard Toni's startled gasp and saw the blood leaking from her rival's mouth. The girl looked back at her in stunned silence, disbelief that this girl had the nerve to hit her written on her face. But Betty wasn't deterred as she grabbed Candy's collar and yanked her closer.

"Stay. Away. From. My. Man... Next time, it won't just be a busted lip you walk away with, got it?" she snarled before pushing the frightened girl away, "Leave. Now! Before I change my mind and kick your ass in front of everyone here."

She watched patiently as Candy stumbled from the store in fear, not wanting to get into a physical altercation. It wasn't until she was completely out of the store before Betty let the facade drop, wincing in pain.

"Fuck me, that hurt like a son of a bitch!" she complained, shaking her hand.

Toni burst into a fit of laughter, grabbing Betty's hand to examine it, "Well, Rocky, it's not broken but you're gonna have some definite bruising if we don't ice this. First time?"

"No... I mean, yes? I guess slapping the shit out of Archie doesn't count–"

"Whoa, stop right there! You didn't tell me you slapped Archie! I'mma need to hear this story, girl!" Toni begged.

"Well..."

Four Days Until Christmas

"Hey Mom, it's great to have you home. How was your flight?" Arche asked, taking his mother's coat as Mary smiled at him.

"It was good, Archie. Is your brother around by chance?" she wondered quietly.

"Right here, Mom." Mary turned to see Jughead sheepishly leaning against the door frame to the kitchen, his head hung low and his hands shoved in his pockets.

When he lifted his head, she could see the turmoil clear in his eyes. Their last conversation didn't go very well and they both said some awful things. They hadn't spoken to each other since and it broke her heart. She had spent the better part of this young man's life as his secondary mother, even before it was official, and she always treated him as one of her own.

She loved Jughead just as much as she did Archie and she'd been swallowed up with guilt after they last spoke. It upset her that she had let Archie's anger cloud her feelings towards Jughead and she wanted nothing more than to tell him how sorry she was for her reaction.

"I want to apologize for the way I acted, Jug... And I know you're angry with me after the things I said but do you think you might be up to giving your Momma a hug?" Mary asked him hopefully, holding her arms open. Jughead stepped forward and wrapped her in a bear hug, squeezing tightly. She sighed in relief, holding her boy as he laid his head on her shoulder. "I love you, son."

"Love you, Mom. I'm sorry too. I know I made a mess of things–" Mary pulled him away, cupping his face in her hands.

"Hush with all that now, Jug. Archie called me and told me everything that happened since we talked. I should've never gotten in the middle of what was happening with you two, and I told Archie as much last week. This thing with Betty was between the three of you and I was wrong to take sides. Will you ever be able to forgive me, Jughead?"

"It's alright Mom, there's nothing to forgive," Jughead replied, placing his hands over hers with a smile. He cleared his throat after a moment and stepped away. "Are you hungry? Archie and I were thinking of taking you out tonight since it's your first night back."

"Counteroffer, we order from DinerDash and stay in tonight? I haven't seen my kids in months and I'd like to spend time catching up. Is that alright with you two?" she asked.

The guys happily agreed and spent the entire evening chatting and filling Mary in on what Veronica had dubbed 'Operation: Bughead Reunion'. Mary thought it was a brilliant idea and even agreed to help any way she could, seeing as she would be in town through the holidays anyway.

It wasn't until Jughead was preparing to leave and head back to his apartment when Mary pulled him aside. "Can we talk about something for a minute, Jug?"

"Sure Mom, what's up?"

Two Weeks Before New Years

Jughead sat at his desk in his apartment above the Wyrm, using his typewriter to write another letter while he waited for his crew to show up. For once in his life, he was actually glad he listened to his mom's advice and reached out to someone to deal with his issues.

Therapy was something he probably should have started years before, given his upbringing and the trauma that came with it, but he'd always resisted; never wanting to open up to a stranger about his problems.

Betty had even tried to get him to see someone when he started having nightmares after Fred's death but he wasn't ready then either. He honestly thought he could do it all on his own, that he didn't need help, but now he could see how wrong he was.

Well, you know what they say, better late than never, he thought with a chuckle.

So far he'd only had two sessions with his new therapist but already he could feel some of the old hurts leaving him. He attributed his brighter outlook to Dr. Ali's suggestion that he write a letter to all of the people in his life that he'd lost over the years to say goodbye as necessary.

Jughead had already written letters to his parents, his sister, and Fred -which was a rough one- so that only left one person: Betty. He knew hers would be the toughest one for him to get through so he wanted to save it for last.

As hard as it was to say goodbye to everyone else he'd lost, he was ready and prepared to do so. However, that wasn't really an option when it came to Betty. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to let her go, not fully anyway.

So instead, he decided to write her a series of letters; more a confession of his love and his journey to win her back than a way to say goodbye. Just as he began typing again, a rough knock sounded on the door to his apartment, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Come in," he called out, lighting a cigarette and leaning back in his chair.

"They're all here, Jug," Archie said as he walked inside, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni following close behind. Jughead knew things were probably about to get really awkward, especially since he and Sweets hadn't really spoken much since their fight, but he needed their help regardless. And fighting or not, Serpents stick together, it's part of their code.

"Whatcha need, Boss?" Fangs asked. Toni watched Jughead with a knowing grin playing on her lips as she waited to hear whatever plan he'd come up with.

"Well, first off, the four of you are my closest friends so I need to talk to you guys about some things that have been going on and then I need your help with something," Jughead stated, motioning for them to all have a seat.

He went on to explain the whole situation to them and his plan to show Betty how he feels about her the night of the Veronica New Year's Eve bash. He also made it clear that -should Betty so graciously choose to take him back- she was not to be treated the way she had been by Serpents in the past. She would be their Queen and they would respect her as such, or else they'd answer to him.

Toni and Fangs were more than happy to support their friend, no questions asked, and after some reluctance on Sweet Pea's part, he agreed to help Jughead's in his plans as well. Now all that was left to do was prepare and hope that one extravagant romantic performance would be enough to fix the things he broke.

Hey Betts,

I know that you'll probably never see these letters but there is so much that I want to say to you, so here it goes.

Mary recommended that I talk to a therapist friend of hers and he thought maybe this coping skill would help me out in the long run. So I've been writing letters to all the people in my life I have loved and/or lost.

I've already written one to each of my parents, Archie, and also to Jellybean but I was saving yours for last.

I know I may never be able to make up for the shit I put you through but I need you to know just how much I love you. You came into my world and spun everything around and twisted me up in the best way possible.

I've never felt this way about anyone ever before and I doubt I will ever feel something like this again.

I love you more than I could ever say and even if you never come back to me, I want you to know that I will always love you.

Nothing will ever change that.

-Jug