Author's Notes: Hey all and welcome to Chapter 5 of The Bump in the Road! So, this is actually my second attempt at writing this chapter, which is fine, but basically, Betty's going back to school after taking two weeks off, and her being sixteen weeks pregnant makes it pretty visible if she isn't making an attempt to hide it, which she is. I'm not going to spoil everything from this chapter, but let's just say Betty's school experience this chapter isn't going to be great. Place your bets now, people, because it's about to get pretty dramatic! Don't actually place bets thought but… whatever. Here's the chapter!

BETTY'S POV

It's been two weeks since Gladys and Jellybean Jones arrived in Riverdale. Jellybean and I are getting along pretty well, and Gladys and I like each other, but Gladys has been busy with some… strange business thing here, and I'm fairly sure her son being in a coma isn't the only reason she's come to Riverdale. But of course, that's not exactly the type of thing I can just ask her, you know?

I decided to take a two week hiatus from school, for many reasons. One, I needed to continue packing up my room because apparently, Mom's sold the house to an anonymous buyer, and I'm fairly sure Hiram Lodge wouldn't buy our house, so it's not him.

Truthfully, I haven't put much thought into who could have bought our house. Don't ask me why, I just don't want to. I feel like then, it'll become too real. That I'm actually living at Thistlehouse with Cheryl Blossom, Toni Topaz, my sister, and her kids. That I'm not living in my home, my childhood home.

Even though I have so many bad memories in this house, like when my father confessed that he was the Black Hood, and all the fights my parents had, the fact that my imposter long-lost brother Chic killed a man in our living room, and my mother helped him cover it up, I love my childhood home. There's nothing anyone could ever do to change that.

Polly, having graduated from online classes, drove me to school that day, and the second I stepped out of the car and officially onto campus, I knew something was off.

I was doing my very best to hide my bump. I didn't want to exactly get it out there that I'm pregnant with Jughead's baby. Why? Well, there's a number of reasons.

My older sister Polly had Juniper and Dagwood when she was seventeen, just like my mother when she had our brother, Charles. Now I'm seventeen, and pregnant. Can you imagine what a scandal like that would be for the entire school?

I'm also the daughter of the Black Hood, who was recently revealed to be my father, Hal Cooper. That just naturally puts me in the spotlight. And if what Josie said at the hospital when she came to give Jughead flowers is true, there've been plenty of pregnancy rumors floating around school. So if it turns out they're true, the spotlight is going to get even brighter!

And here's the kicker: my boyfriend, Jughead Jones, is in the hospital, in a coma. That means I'm alone, more or less, which kind of makes me a target.

But, I decided to push those thoughts aside, and just get through the day with my hoodie that I have worn maybe two times in the three years I've had it. Usually confining myself to sweaters because I find them the most comfortable, it felt weird to have the hood on my hoodie flapping around my back.

The farther into the school I got, the more eyes were on me. The more whispers I heard floating around. It was okay, I could tolerate it. As long as I didn't address anything, I would be fine, right?

Everything was fine. At least, until the one and only Chuck Clayton appeared next to my locker after I closed the door.

"So… was it you or Dark Betty?" he asked, referring to the dark part of me that almost drowned him.

I looked at him, not trying to hide my confusion. "I don't understand the question,"

He laughed loudly, looking around the hallway at his friends standing against the lockers at the opposite side of the hall. "I mean, was it you or Dark Betty that got pregnant?"

It was in that very moment that I wished I had drowned him in Ethel's hot tub that night. I never would have, because I hadn't known that somehow my pregnancy would get leaked. But I couldn't tell him that… couldn't let him have the satisfaction.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I told him, matter-of-factly, walking swiftly away in the opposite direction.

"Careful, don't wanna overexert yourself and hurt the baby!" he called after me, making my hormones flare up angrily.

Veronica caught me outside the door of our first class, pulling me aside.

"Have you heard?" she whispered nervously. "The whole school knows about…"

I put my finger on her lips and said, "Please, do not finish that sentence. My idea is, as long as I don't say anything about it, they can't actually know it's true. If I say it is, it is. If I don't say anything, they're still in the dark,"

"But… how could anyone have found out?" Veronica asked, her anxiety still flailing. "Who could've told?"

There are few people I've told about my pregnancy who go to this school. Of course Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs know. Fangs and Sweet Pea would never tell, I'm sure of that. I did tell Josie and Ethel, but would they tell? Did someone overhear me at the hospital or something?

I decided not to think about it, and avoid the topic for as long as possible. And I was doing pretty well! That is, until Mr. Honey called me up to his office for a presumably stern talking to.

"Will Elizabeth Cooper please come to the principal's office? Elizabeth Cooper to the principal's office," Mrs. Bell, the school's secretary, asked into the school's speakerphone.

I groaned, rolling my eyes, and looking at Veronica and Archie, who were sitting on the couch in the Student Lounge.

"Are you gonna go?" Veronica asked.

Again groaning, I replied, "I don't really have a choice. My feet hurt, and I was just trying to give them and extra five seconds of feeling human before I have to go back to alienated feet,"

"That's what… food poisoning… will do to you, Bee," Veronica replied, thankfully careful of her words.

I let out a long sigh as I stood up, and began walking to Mr. Honey's office, having to endure all the stares and whispers that come with pregnancy rumors circling you in a high school. Of course, they'll all know soon enough, but I've decided I'm going to try and keep my pregnancy a secret for as long as humanly possible.

Unfortunately, Mr. Honey was going to deny that decision.

"Well, Ms. Cooper," he said simply, leaning forward in his chair. "I've been hearing rumors."

"What type of rumors?" I asked simply, my hands folded politely in my lap. "Please. Enlighten me."

He closed his eyes, almost to tell me he wasn't going to play any games. "Pregnancy rumors, Ms. Cooper. And I'd like for you to tell me honestly if they're true or not,"

"They're true," I said, and by the look on his face, I definitely surprised him.

Mr. Honey let out a sigh and said, "So, you're telling me that you're pregnant?"

"I am. And I'm keeping it, so don't bother asking,"

"Well then we'll need to devise a special learning plan for you," he said simply.

I looked at him confusedly and asked, "Special learning plan? Why?"

He scoffed and said, "Well, because you're going to have to go on maternity leave at some point. Then, how will you do your tests, get your homework? We have to devise a way to work around all of that,"

"Seriously?" I asked, not really believing the one and only Holden Honey would do something so… decent? Is it bad that I don't believe him?

"Of course I'm serious Ms. Cooper," Mr. Honey said. "How about you head off to lunch, and come back to my office once you're finished eating,"

I smiled at Mr. Honey and then exited his office, still feeling wary of how… considerate?- he's being of my pregnancy.

Honestly, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw in the cafeteria.

Ethel Muggs surrounded by students, laughing at something she just said.

I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but Ethel doesn't usually sit with people. Her usual table is at the very back of the cafeteria, she sits alone, and she reads her book while she eats. At first I thought she'd said something or another that some kid had thought was hilarious, and then rallied his friends around her. Turns out, she had a very valuable piece of gossip that everyone was dying to hear about.

As I walked closer, I heard more and more of what Ethel was saying.

"-I was like, 'Why is she here?' but then she walked up to me and told me everything!" Ethel said loudly, her new posse staring at her in awe. "Turns out, she was at the maternity ward because she's pregnant? Can you believe it? Betty Cooper following in his sister's footsteps,"

I just stood there, my mouth agape at one of the only people I thought I could trust.

I had trusted this very fragile piece of information with Ethel, and she had just gone and broadcasted it to the entire school! That's why those kids were latching on to her every word. Not because of something she said, or her personality. Purely because of gossip.

"I wanted to judge her, but I really can't! Her boyfriend is in a coma and is probably gonna die!" she exclaimed dramatically. "You really can't judge a girl in a situation like that," they all nodded along to her.

Furious, I stomped up to her and yelled, "Ethel, you bitch!"

Ethel stared up at me, fear imminent in her eyes as she said shakily, "Uh… gimme a minute, guys!" and then followed me out to the hallway.

"Ethel, you freaking bitch!" I yelled. "I trusted you with that very important, and fragile piece of information about my life, and what do you do with it? Blab it to the whole school!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Ethel whimpered. "I heard some cheerleaders talking about it, and I just couldn't resist!"

I scoffed, and crossed my arms, asking, "So you told the entire school about my pregnancy to be cool? To be considered cool by some stuck-up cheerleaders?"

Ethel just stared at me, very clearly nervous, and then hung her head. "I'm sorry, Betty. I really am. But… there's nothing we can do now. I wish I wouldn't have said anything, but when I did, I knew there was no going back,"

I sighed angrily, walking away deciding what I would do.

The entire cafeteria looked at me as I stomped up to the nearest cafeteria table. I stepped on the seat and then stood on the table.

"Alright, attention Riverdale cafeteria!" I yelled, still angrily. "I have been hearing pregnancy rumors about me around school, and someone named Ethel Muggs has been saying that they're true. Well, you heard it here folks, they are true! Ethel had no right to say they were, but she's right! They're true! Yes, my boyfriend is in a coma, but he's not going to die. Okay? So stop talking about me behind my back, and just take the gossip and run!"

I then stood down from the table and left, walking straight to Mr. Honey's office.

"Ms. Cooper, back so soon?" he asked.

I aggressively sat down on the chair and said, "I want you to punish Ethel Muggs,"

Mr. Honey gave me a confused look and said, "What? Why?"

"Because, I told her in confidence about my pregnancy, and she blabbed to the whole school. Now everybody knows!" I exclaimed angrily.

Mr. Honey chuckled and said, "Oh, Ms. Cooper, I can't punish a student for gossiping. Yes, what Ms. Muggs did wasn't the most morally acceptable thing, but we're not a religious school, nor are we going to punish students for gossiping,"

"Ugh!" I groaned, standing up and stomping out of Mr. Honey's office.

"But, Ms. Cooper, your special learning plan!" he yelled as I left.

I made the somewhat stupid decision to flip him off as I left his office, leaving the school, and walking to Riverdale General Hospital to visit Jughead.

The doctors said that he had two other visitors, who turned out to be Fangs and Sweet Pea.

"Betty!" Sweet Pea said as he saw me walking through the doorway with relief. "Thank God you're here. We talked to FP, and some other Serpents. We think we may know what really happened that day,"

I closed the door behind me and walked eagerly towards Sweet Pea and Fangs.

"Of course, we don't know for sure because Penny and the Ghoulies've basically fallen off the face of the earth," Fangs remarked, somewhat irritably. "But, some other Serpents have heard whisperings of a new gang created from the Ghoulies,"

I sat down in the chair next to Jughead's bed, silently reserved for me for whenever I'm here. I took his hand in mine and looked up at the two teenage Serpents.

"Okay… so what do we do?" I asked.

Sweet Pea sucked in a sigh and said, "Well, we've heard whisperings that the new gang, the Gargoyles, are out to finish the job. With Malachi gone, and Penny nowhere to be seen, they were left without a leader, and decided to start a new gang. Apparently, some of them have been thinking about breaking into Riverdale General to finish the job,"

"W-what?" I asked gently, placing the hand that wasn't occupied by Jughead's on my stomach. "He's not going to die, is he?"

Fangs shook his head, crossing his arms, and said, "We'll make sure he doesn't die by another Ghoulie attack, if not by natural causes,"

I let out an exhausted sigh and said, "Well, what do you think happened that day?"

"Well," Fangs started. "The first red flag was the fact that Jughead almost died, and we were left basically unscathed except for a few broken bones. In an accident that bad, all three of us would either be dead, or in a coma like Jug,"

"Mhm," Sweet Pea continued. "Like we said, we talked to a few Serpents. One of them considered joining the Gargoyles, for protection from them, and they talked about Penny Peabody hiding out in Seaside, and that one night when she was drunk, she was gloating about some motorcycle accident. He didn't hear exactly what she said, just some short snippets,"

Nodding my head, I said, "That makes sense. So… you do really think it was Penny Peabody? Who either caused the accident, or ambushed you guys and staged it to be an accident?"

"We definitely think it was staged," Fangs said. "And… we have a hunch that they might be coming for you next. As Penny likes to say, all snakes have a soft underbelly. Right now, your every Serpent's,"

I have them both a confused look, and Sweet Pea explained: "Betty, you're the Serpent Queen, and pregnant with the king's baby. Serpents take care of their own, that's one of the laws. Especially in the situation we're in, we all want you and the baby safe. Does that make any sense?"

Silently, I nodded, still doing my best to process the new developments.

I kissed Jughead's hand, then his forehead, and then quickly left Riverdale General, calling Polly to rush me back to Thistlehouse.

Truthfully, I was scared. For my life, Jughead's, and my baby's. I don't want my baby to grow up without a father, or a mother. I'm the entire Serpent gang's soft underbelly. That may make me seem important, but really, it makes me even more afraid.

The second I arrived back at Thistlehouse, I rushed up to my bedroom, refusing to tell Polly anything. I wasn't sure if any of it was classified information, so I didn't want to tell her anything just in case. And, just in case her knowing anything made her a target, I didn't want that either. Juniper and Dagwood need a mother, especially since their father was brutally murdered by his own father.

I spent the rest of the day, and well into the night, alone in my room. I was thinking about everything, rubbing my belly, mostly to comfort myself.

"It's okay, baby," I said quietly to my stomach. "No matter what, you'll always have your mommy. And your daddy, too, even if he's not actually here with us. But he'll survive. He'll wake up. I promise."

A tall order to fill, I know, but it was an order nonetheless. An order that I not only made to my baby, but to myself. An order that made me feel somewhat at ease, although not much, enough that I was somehow able to sleep that night, which made such a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Author's Notes: Alright everybody, that is the end of Chapter 5 of The Bump in the Road! So, if you didn't notice on my profile, I have a new story going on at the moment called Forgetful. It's a Descendants fic based around Audrey and Harry Hook, which is definitely an unlikely couple. They're not technically a couple but… just read the fanfiction, lol. Anyways, like we have for the past few chapters, the next chapter is going to take place two weeks after this one. We'll also get a bit of insight into Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni's backstories. I think Sweet Pea is definitely an underrated character, and I want him to play an important role in this fanfiction. Obviously nothing romantic would go on between him and Betty, that would just be awful! Even if Sweet Pea did make a move on Betty, she would definitely push him away. Not just because of her love and respect for Jughead, but also because it would be so wrong. That's definitely not going to happen, though, for sure. I've thought up a nice, long, backstory for Sweet Pea and Fangs, and Toni's will be later in the story. So far in the show, they haven't explored any backstories for any Serpents other than Jughead, obviously. So, yeah. Before I get more rambly, I'm just gonna leave and start writing the next chapter! Bye!