Betty's Pov:

It had been a few days since Archie's dad had been shot. A few close calls but he had pulled through. I don't know what would have happened to Archie if he had lost Fred. They may fight, but they have a bond like no other. Archie had started to change. He wasn't the boy next door who smiled constantly and hung out with his teammates and friends since the incident.

This Archie... He only has one goal in mind now, to take down the black hood. Some people would say he is obsessed with him, for once I'd have to agree with a rumor. But, if someone tried to kill someone you love, wouldn't you do everything you could to take them down too? I would if they did it to my Sweet Pea. I shudder at the thought of it. The black hood is out of control, he shot Moose while he and Midge were in the park. With the black hood closing in on his targets, everyone is staying inside, the town isn't the same. I feel like I see the black hood everywhere I go.

"Betty. Earth to Betty!" Veronica snaps her fingers in my face, bringing me back to reality. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" I give her a soft smile. Ronnie played with her salad and shrugged "Archie blew me off last night. He was supposed to come over. It was just to do homework, but it's still time I wanted to spend with him." I frown and look at her. "Have you said anything to him about it? How did it make you feel?" I ask.

She shook her head "No, I don't want to start a fight. If I say something he might go off on me and say that he has more important things to do, like catching this black hood dude." I hated seeing Ronnie this sad, "You are important. Don't put yourself down. It won't improve your relationship if you stay quiet about these things. It's what ruins a relationship." Ronnie nodded in understanding. "I know, I will today. How are things with you and Sweet Pea?" Whenever someone brings him up I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. "Good. Mom and dad are going to meet him officially tonight. I'm a little nervous... You know my parents. But, I think they'll love him, as I do." Ronnie's head snapped up "You love him?!" She squealed with excitement. "I haven't said it to him yet. But... Yes. He's good to me. The other day he brought me flowers, not roses, but tulips. He remembered they are my favorite. When I asked him what was the occasion, he said that he saw them and thought of me and had to buy them." Thinking about it made my heart skip.

"You guys are so cute. Maybe we could all go to Pop's soon for a milkshake." Ronnie suggested. I quickly nodded and glanced down at my phone, "I gotta go, it's almost dinner time and I want to make sure Sweat Pea isn't having a heart attack." I stood from the bed and glanced down at Ronnie. "I'm serious, don't stay quiet about how you feel with Archie. If he loves you, he will try and change his behavior." She nodded and gave me a small smile "I will. Thanks, Betty. Good luck tonight."

I step out of the car and make my way to the house. I hate how quiet this town has become. Everyone is so scared of the blackhood. Sometimes I feel like he's right under my nose, lurking, watching every single thing I do. My feet lead me to my front door, my brain continues to think about the mysterious man. The phone, the calls, setting up Jughead. What does this man want from me? I know one thing, I am just a pawn in his game, do I want to play the game? Of course, you want to play this game. The Blackhood will tell you his moves, you can plan your countermoves. Play your cards right and this could be a win-win situation. Don't let this opportunity fall through your fingers. I agree, however, I need to make sure I don't get too comfortable. He can and will still kill everyone I love if he thinks that I'm stepping out of line.

I jump from the door being pulled open. Mom is standing on the other side, a worried expression written on her face. "Betty? Are you alright?" She questions as she makes her way into the kitchen. A variety of different foods litter the table, there's barely enough room for our plates. "Of course mom, I'm just nervous about this dinner is all '' I try to sound reassuring. "Alright, help me finish setting up" she orders, I comply and place napkins and other things around the table until the doorbell rings. Dad makes his way down the stairs with a bright smile plastered on his face, he answers the door wide, welcoming Sweetpea into our home.

Sweetpea cautiously steps through the door, shaking dad's hand and then making his way to the kitchen, he quickly embraces me and I feel myself melt into his arms. He's my safe space. Mom chimes in "Welcome Sweetpea, come, have a seat next to Betty. I made a little bit of everything because I wasn't sure what you liked." Sweetpea flashed his beautiful white smile and nodded "thank you, Mrs. Cooper, it smells great." We start to pass food around the table and eat. So far, so good.

About an hour into dinner dad excused himself to take a phone call. While he stepped into a different room mom started questioning Sweetpea "Do you have any plans on college? Or are you going to stay with the Serpents?" Sweetpea softly put his fork down and looked at mom "I'm not too sure, I haven't had time to sit down and think about it." He answered truthfully.

I felt my thigh buzz, I quickly pulled out my phone to see a text from him. Is it another mission? Should I even call it a mission? A favor? A task seems to fit well.

I open the text. BH: Sinners must be punished. We need to cleanse this town of all the sins. Starting with your boyfriend. I have eyes and ears everywhere, I know he has sinned before, belonging to a gang is one, how many other things has he done? You need to break up with him, you are special, pure. If you do not break up with him in 24 hours, I will kill someone you love.

My heart shattered, tears pricked my eyes and my breathing increased slightly. I couldn't leave him, he is my rock. I love Sweetpea. If you want to get on his good side, you need to do this. It won't work if you don't cooperate with him. I cleared my throat and started to clear the table when everyone was finished. I assumed dad was finished from the scraps on his plate.

I washed the dishes, deep in thought. Then an idea popped into my head. I glanced up at Sweetpea and smiled slightly. "Can you finish up? I have to go get something really quick." He nodded "of course, go ahead." I quickly ran upstairs and drew my curtains and closed my laptop, slipped my phone under my pillow. I can't be too careful with this if I want this to be perfect.

I grabbed a random piece of paper and scribbled down a note: I still love you, please trust me. I had to do this. Keep acting upset and hurt around me. I can't tell you what's going on. But I want you to know I want to be with you, but I needed to break up with you so I can figure out who BH is. Okay? I'll explain everything when everything is all over. I love you, Sweetpea. - Betty I folded the paper and shoved it into the spot where we finished our last class. There would be nothing suspicious about giving another classmate some missed notes and classwork, right?

I made my way downstairs and held out the textbook to him, "I highlighted everything you missed in class the other day. Starting on page 154" He raised an eyebrow "oh yeah... Thank you."

I put my hand on his jacket and walked him out the door to his bike. "I had a great time, your parents are nice," Sweetpea said, looking down at me. "Sweetpea..." I took a deep breath and looked down at my shoes "I don't think we should see each other anymore... We're just too different. I don't think that we can make this work, you're sweet, and caring and everything I want in a boyfriend but... The Serpents are a big deal breaker for me..."

I tried to come up with random reasons why I "didn't" want to be with him. Tears started to surface again, this is something I didn't think I'd ever had to do, well, not yet at least. Sweetpea stood there, speechless, his smile had disappeared. He looked so upset. Well, why wouldn't he? I frowned and looked up at him "Sweetpea, I'm sorry" I whispered. "Please, don't forget to look at the classwork on page 154. I think it'll help." Sweetpea scoffed and threw the book into his bag and drove off, without a word.

My Sweetpea...

I hope you all are doing okay. Lemme know if you have any ideas! Or anything you'd like to see happen in the story. I'm gonna be honest, I stopped watching after season 3. I have been wanting to watch the other seasons but people seem to dislike it. I dunno, anyway, thank you for reading! - Joce