Hey guys! Here is Chapter 2 of Wicked Little Town! I hope you guys enjoy reading it and find themselves in Betty's shoes.*

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Nightmares

"Archie, please. You have to believe me." I pleaded. I looked back as if something was after me, but my breathe was my only greeter.

"Betty, you're fine. I think you're just seeing things."

"Arch, he was right here! Staring up at my window. I know it!"

He rolled his eyes, frustration painted across his face. I felt my heart tug at his reaction, and tears beginning to form. Is he really not going to believe me?

"Come on Betty, let's just get inside, it's freezing."

He grabbed my shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze, rubbing them as he guided me back to safety. Feeling defeated, I sighed and nodded my head, fighting off the urge to look just once more..

Maybe I was seeing things, I thought to myself.

As we crossed the doorway, darkness blinded my sight, and I set myself free from my best friend.

I reached for the switch and flicked it up and down.

"Arch, do you know-" I turned around expecting to be met by warm hazel eyes, and was filled with shock and terror to be greeted by haunting green ones instead.

The Black Hood stood tall and stiff; the clear black barrel of his gun pointed right to my face. My body stood still, too afraid to move as I moved my gaze from the gun to his eyes.

"Please," I began. Tears stung my eyes and began to blind them with their power. "Don't do this. Dad, Please!"

His finger lightly squeezed the trigger, and a loud bang echoed through the house.

I woke up with sweat piled on my chest and forehead. My breathing was heavy and uneven. I was disoriented for a moment, before I soon focused on a picture hanging behind my desk. I focused on our smiles and the happiness in our eyes, remembering a time the Black Hood didn't exist, and that red-headed boy lit up my entire world.

I cursed at myself for being vulnerable to this town. I let the negative consume me to the point of losing everyone I'd loved. While I had the slightest hope that my nightmares were over and done with, something in me knew that my hope was nothing but disappointment.

I walked towards the bathroom and quickly glanced at the window next door, drums beating inside my chest while unwanted memories projected through my head. I shook the feelings away and impelled myself to begin the day.

In the kitchen, I was greeted by deafening silence and a note on the kitchen island, propped by a vase full of withering flowers.

Working late tonight. – Mom

My mind once again ran through the possible kind of story my mother was working on to make her work as late and as hard as she has since my return. After a moment, I found myself dismissing the cases, only finding the slightest motivation to pursue my inquisition.

I walked around back to the shed to find a forgotten piece of my youth. The rusty handlebars and missing pedals truly showed the bike's age and neglect.

The Riverdale Public Library looked as it did four long years ago, and another hundred before that. The walls were chipped, the chairs were squeaky, and the "Best New Sellers" bookshelf still had Fahrenheit 451. The half hour walks from my house seemed almost worthless when I stood in the lobby of the ancient grounds.

Reading was always my escape from reality. I always focused myself in on the lives of fictional characters whose lives revolved around romantic love triangles, science fictional monsters, and non-fictional murders. After my life seemed too relatable to those same fictional characters, the books on my bookshelf took dust, and my library card expired well before my 18th birthday. A part of me missed reading and escaping my reality, which is why I found myself being captivated the words of 18th century women and their troubles with stones and time.

A familiar voice echoed through my thoughts and disturbed the dancing figures around in my head.

"Betty?" his voice rang.

My gaze lifted from the pages of the book to greet piercing blue eyes and raven black hair. His skin was rough and bruised, but his features were as soft as I remembered them to be. His hat was missing, and his hair stood straight but messy, attempting to figure out where it actually belonged on his head. His jacket hugged him nicely, and the subtle patches of dry leather indicated years of service, He smiled ear to ear, as a sheer blanket of tears formed over his eyes before he blinked them away.

"Jughead?" The tone in my voice came out more surprised than I wanted it to, but I retuned his warm smile and stood from my place on the chair to greet another memory. His hug felt foreign but familiar, and a part of me wished I'd never forgotten the feeling.

"What are you doing back?" Jughead broke the hug faster than I had anticipated but stood close enough for me to still smell the lack of cologne he was wearing that day.

"I, um, my mom wanted me back. Polly left for the farm again so … here I am." I chuckled at my response, unsure of how to properly react.

"Yeah, here you are."

We stood in silence for a brief moment as thoughts raced through my head and I found myself wanting to say more. I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of a ringing cell phone coming from Jughead's direction. He took his phone from his back pocket, checking the caller, and bringing his gaze from the phone back to me.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to go." His eyes seemed sorrowful, and I knew a part of him wanted to stay. I wasn't able to completely decipher all of the emotions behind his eyes before he turned to leave, a book in his right hand as he disappeared through the double doors.

"Bye, Jug." I whispered to what was once again, a memory.

As I headed back home from the library, I decided to continue my walk down memory lane for just a little bit longer, and head towards one of the few places I've actually missed.

The ringing from Pop's bell comforted me as I stepped inside the old diner. The smell of the burgers filled my nostrils, and the milkshakes being carried to a booth forced a smile to my lips.

"Can I help you?" I heard a voice ask. I turned my attention to the counter and came to face a blonde-haired girl no more than 16 wearing an apron and a Pop's name Tag. April.

"You can sit wherever you'd like. Someone will come to you." Her braces dominated her crooked smile, and her piercing green eyes hid behind thick green glasses. I smiled at April and headed towards one of the booths near the windows. I glanced over the many faces eating lunch on that early afternoon, and none of them were recognizable. A part of me sighed in relief, knowing no one here knew me, but another part of me wished for a friend.

As I sat in the booth with the numerous memories within the booths themselves, and my burger, the ringing brought my eyes to avert to the next customer entering the restaurant.

My breathe hitched at the sight of his red hair, brilliant smile, and dirty t-shirt. He turned around with who I was assuming were his new adult friends, to find a booth to sit in. Our eyes met in that instant, and my breathe was once again caught in my lungs. It's been a week since I last saw, and spoke, to Archie Andrews, and everything I wanted to say, or everything I thought I should've said, became void.

His lips curved to the right before becoming distracted with a shuffle to his hair by one of the three other men. I laughed at the gesture and mirrored his smile. He walked with the group to the other end of the restaurant and sat on the stools at the bar one next to the other. I quickly finished my meal before heading home, avoiding any and all contact as I hung my head while walking through the door.

"You know, if I'm going to be here doing nothing but be bored and miserable all day, I might as well come work with you at The Register. At least I'd busy and miserable." I said to my mom later that night during dinner. Her eyes strayed from her plate as she looked at me.

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with this town?" Alice questioned.

"I didn't … I don't. I just think it'd be great to work with you and put my degree to good use."

I studied my mother as she weighed in my proposal, and a small moment of panic rose to her face as she argued within herself. The moment was soon gone the second she darted her eyes towards me and noticed me studying her.

"I'll think about it. There are mysteries still hidden in this town and I'm afraid you're not ready to uncover them."

I cocked my head to the side at my mother's response. She cleaned up the table and retreated to her room, leaving me with my thoughts and the many questions developing in my mind. One of them, grew bigger by the second, a cold, and very familiar, feeling growing with it.

Thank you Boris Yeltsin for being the first to comment! Hope you enjoy Chapter 2 :)

I hope ALL of you enjoyed Chapter 2, please let me know what you all think in the comments!

Smileymee16 x33

Song: What Could've been Artist: Gone West

*I did want to let you guys know that the contents of WLT are based off of events in Season 2, clearly, but it is not entirely based on it. I took what i thought were exciting and captivating episodes/story lines in the show to write the story. What exactly happened after S2 isn't exactly what happened in the story. More information on the core four and their friendship will all be revealed slowly as the story progresses.*