Author's note: Eh. I don't know at this point. I really don't.

"So, who's the girl I'm looking for?" Jughead asked, eyes watching his superior closely. Fangs Fogarty scanned his eyes across the file before him, scoping the information out before looking back up at Jughead.

"Well, her name is Elizabeth," Fangs replied, chewing on his lip for a moment. Then, in quieter tones, "or, was, for all I know. There's a very real chance this woman could be dead, Jughead."

Jughead nodded, knowing just how true those words rang. In their line of business, it wasn't uncommon for cases to grow cold; wasn't uncommon for the missing to not reappear again. "When was she last seen and where?"

"Uh," Fangs consulted the file once more. "Small town called Riverdale, night of October 4th, 2019."

Jughead nodded, accepting the picture from the file that Fangs handed him. Staring down at the blonde woman before him, Jughead sighed. "She went by Betty."

Fangs looked at him calculatingly, knowing exactly what Jughead was implying: there was a history of some sort between them. Rubbing his jaw, Fangs nodded slowly. "Can I trust you to remain focused and try and find her? To not allow whatever emotions you're feeling or could feel to cloud your judgement?"

Jughead exhaled slowly, eyes never straying from the picture before him as he stared at the woman who was once his best friend. Who was once his world. "You can."

XXX

"Jughead!" Betty's broken voice reverberated in his ears, making Jughead shake to his core. He had caused this. He had brought the only light in his fucked-up world pain. "Why."

It was a simple question that would never be able to be answered simply.

"Betty, I love you. I will always lov-," Jughead started, knowing the words rung out against deaf ears.

She held up a hand, halting him midsentence. "Don't. Just fucking don't. You decided something that not only affects your future but ours. You know, the future you said you wanted for the both of us? When did that change? When Donna batted her pretty little eyelashes at you, and you were convinced?"

Jughead sighed, knowing Betty questioned his fidelity. Truth was, he hadn't cheated on her. Truth also was Donna had made it abundantly clear how she felt about him but promised to lay off as long as he joined her staff at the NYTs as her top writer. It was good money. Enough to get JB into college. He took it.

"I don't know what to say here, Betts," he sighed. "I love you. I will always love you and I don't want to lose that. But I can get JB to college."

"I promised to help pay, Juggie," she said. "I promised."

Jughead shook his head. "Betts, I don't want your money. We're not a charity that you need to contribute to."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how bad they sounded and the context she'd take them in. Chancing a glance up at her, he was unsurprised to find unfiltered pain on her face. "Bett-,"

"You need to go," she said, voice firm. "You have made your opinion on Donna and me very clear. You need to go. Now."

"I didn't mean it like that, baby. You know I didn't," he said imploringly, but she just shook her head.

"Go," she whispered. "Just go."

XXX

Five years later and Jughead still replayed the worst night of his life in his head every night before he fell asleep. Things had turned to shit within the first year of working with Donna. He was good at his job; got paid well, but the advances she blatantly made had him missing Betty and homesick for the only home he had ever known. Her arms. He quit, turned in his two-weeks' notice and left. Had signed up for the FBI not even a month later. Four years later and he had climbed the ranks quite rapidly, answering only to his superior, Fangs Fogarty. The two had become somewhat good friends when Jughead promoted, going out for a drink here or there for some of their crimes they solved. And some they lost, too.

Now, here he was, sitting in a train taking him back to the town he had left behind. Taking him towards people he hadn't talked to in five years. Without a doubt, he knew he wouldn't be receiving a homecoming. He'd be lucky if Pop Tate even talked to him. But he wasn't bothered by any of that. His only true concern right now was finding out what happened to Betty and how it was bad enough to land on a federal agent's desk.

Getting off at the train platform, Jughead caught a cab into town and watched as the familiar streets flashed by his window. The cabbie didn't exchange words and he didn't offer any, either. He was tired, worried about coming back and, most importantly, petrified to the bone about Betty. He had never stopped loving her. Didn't think there was any way that he could. In any world or story of theirs'. It was just simply unfathomable to him.

The driver pulled up to the old Jones-Cooper house and he stared at it for a moment before handing over a few twenties to the driver with a muttered, "thanks". Grabbing his bag out of the trunk, he stared up at the house for a few more moments, trying to work up the nerve to go knock on the door. It wasn't like he could just waltz in there. Just then the door opened.

"Your ass gonna stay out there all night?" FP Jones II called; voice as rough as he remembered it. Not many phone calls had been exchanged the past two years as Jughead climbed the ranks at the FBI. He nodded, swallowing quickly.

"Uh, hey dad," he greeted, holding a hand up awkwardly before walking up the familiar porch steps. He stopped just shy of his father, who was studying him with a glint in his eye.

"They don't have phones in the city, son?" FP asked gruffly.

Jughead sighed. "Dad, I -,"

"Never mind," FP waved a dismissive hand. "I'm assuming you're here because you heard about Betty?"

"Yeah, the case was given to my superior today. What the hell happened?" Jughead asked.

"Went missing in 2019," FP replied.

"And why the fuck did no one tell me? It's 2021 now," Jughead said, barely containing his anger. FP leveled him with a look.

"Would you have left the fancy FBI for the woman and family you claimed you loved just because she had gone missing?"

"What the hell type of question is that? Of course, I would have! And, you know I only left in the first place to get JB into college," Jughead ground out through clenched teeth.

His dad just shrugged. "If that's the story you're spinning for yourself, alright. But that's not important. Alice is inside, along with Veronica, Archie and Sweet Pea."

That caught Jughead by surprise. "Sweet Pea? Since when were him and Betty ever close?"

"Someone had to clean up the mess you made of her," his dad said and as Jughead opened his mouth to furiously demand to know what the hell he was insinuating, FP held is hand up. "Relax boy. He's her best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. He's actually been the main one responsible for keeping the search parties going even two years later and petitioned for the case to even reach your jurisdiction."

"Look, I know you're all mad, but I didn't make the decision to leave lightly. I did it to give JB a fighting chance. You weren't going to be able to give her the college experience she deserved. Not with Gladys out of the picture," Jughead said firmly.

"Yeah, Jug, but at what cost?" FP demanded.

"What do you mean, dad?" Jughead sighed.

FP rubbed a hand down his stubbled chin wearily. "Look, Betty was a mess that first year. A god damn shell of the strong woman she's always been. I would have thought that seeing Hal Cooper shot in front of her would have broken her spirit but no, you had that award handed to you. She – she didn't get out of bed to even eat for the first week after you left. Alice and I had a serious conversation about hospitalizing her."

"And where does Pea fit in with all of this?" Jughead hated how sharp his voice sounded; hated the fact that he wasn't there in the first place.

"He showed up at the house one day," FP replied with a laugh, shaking his head a little. "Kid was on a fucking mission. Blew right in, didn't even acknowledge Alice or myself and bounded straight up the stairs. Next thing we heard was him yelling and then Betty dressed and downstairs for the first time in a week as he shoved a plate of food under her nose and threatened if she didn't take a shower, he'd throw her into Sweetwater to get the stench off."

"I-I didn't know he cared for her like that," Jughead said softly, touched that someone looked out for her.

"Love her like she's my sister," came a hard voice and Jughead turned around, spotting the man they were talking about glaring at him.

"Hey," Jughead tried but Sweet Pea snorted and looked at FP.

"Going to the Wyrm to rally the guys and do a search in Fox Forest," Sweet Pea said. "Keller said his dad found something."

FP nodded and Jughead stood to attention, showing that he was going nowhere. "Let's go."

"I owe you nothing, let's make that perfectly clear, Jones," Sweet Pea hissed after staring at him for a long moment. "You're here to help find the woman you destroyed. Got it?"

Jughead nodded.

Sweet Pea started walking to his bike that was parked to the side of the driveway before pausing and turning around. "Oh, and Jones?" Jughead looked at him. "If she ends up dead, I will never forgive you."

With that, he straddled his bike and took off, FP and Jughead following shortly after in FP's truck.

Author's note: So, I actually woke up this morning and this whole idea in my head, haha help. And now, here it is. Couple of things: FP and Alice are not together. I thought it was weird. Always. They're just good friends. Alice is good. Not everyone is who they say they are. Sweet Pea is though cause the day I make him bad is the day I lose my sanity. Anyways, welcome aboard. Would love thoughts! Xxx