"What the hell, is secrets and sins?"
Jughead seemed particularly annoyed tonight, his patience extremely low.
Well, yeah. He does have good reasons, Betty thought. After all, it was she who threw Jughead this, what turned out to be terrible party.
She was just trying to help.
Archie had told her that it was his birthday, seeing as the two friends had gotten a lot closer in the last few months.
Yes, they weren't dating, but they had come closer still. Betty had thought that she was just trying to do something nice for him, to make him feel better and normalize his birthday as a celebration, not a time to be depressed.
As it turned out, though, Jughead wasn't for any of it. He hated his birthday so much that he shunned Betty, bullying her about the fact that she still hadn't told her mom that she was dating Veronica. Jughead knew that this was a very sensitive topic for Betty, considering her parents were arguably among the top ten most homophobic people in the world.
She was hopelessly in love with Veronica; so even though she didn't give a damn what her parents thought, the truth had to come out sooner or later.
Saying what he had said, and the fact that Chuck and Cheryl, two of Betty's most hated peers, had shown up, actively crashing the party and dousing any hopes of keeping it 'inner circle only'.
It had been a mess. Betty hadn't gotten a chance to talk to anyone about anything yet; she was too preoccupied on Chuck and making damn well sure that he didn't try to pull anything.
Just seeing that excuse for a human being made her blood boil. That night, that horrible, terrible night at Ethel's house, was the worst night of her life.
She and Veronica had confronted Chuck about what he had done to Veronica and several other girls, getting justice for all of them.
Betty did admit that she took it a bit far, to the extent of dumping an entire bottle on maple syrup on his head whilst he was on the verge of boiling alive. However, what he had done after that, made Betty want to do that a thousand times over.
Once Betty had uncuffed his hands, Chuck had forcefully handcuffed Veronica to the hot tub bars, and forced his way onto Betty, assaulting her, violating her, all in front of her girlfriend.
Veronica had eventually managed to uncuff herself with and old bobby pin, and punch Chuck out of the way, weeding him out of their friends' house.
Then for hours, Veronica held a sobbing, vulnerable Betty in her arms, murmuring comforting words and affirmations, telling her that eventually, everything would be okay.
They had gone home late, with Betty staying at Veronica's house, not being able to stand being alone after what had just happened.
In the end, everything had been okay. It took a long time, hell, she was still recovering from it, not being able to sleep most nights, but she would get through it.
Seeing Chuck, though, had brought back all of those awful memories.
When he approached her in the cafeteria, she had dug her nails into her palms so hard, she needed bandages afterward. Not to mention that after he had walked away, she had run to the bathroom, throwing up everything she had just eaten, Veronica holding her hair back and rubbing her back.
Maybe, that was the real reason she had threw this stupid birthday party. To keep her mind off of the fact that Chuck had gone unpunished for what he did to her.
And, that she had to keep her cool in front of everyone else, since she never told them what happened and had no intention to. Same with her self-harm. When she had shown up to the party with bandaged hands, she just said that she cut herself when she was making dinner. It was a lame excuse, she knew that, but everyone knew her too well to ask any more questions.
"It's a variation, on truth or dare. In which we own our truths, by telling it like it is."
Cheryl was talking, but it was like she was underwater.
Owning our truths? Betty thought.
She looked over at Chuck, who was playing joint ringleader with Cheryl, as he looked her right in the eye, smirking.
She dug her nails in past the bandage, causing her pain, but it was worth it.
Veronica seemed to sense her pain, because she caressed Betty's hand in hers; a sign of comfort.
"I'll start the game with, Veronica Lodge." Cheryl said, her face too lighting up with a smirk.
"Naturally." She pounded back, not missing a beat.
Just the pure fact that Cheryl was manipulating her girlfriend, spreading rumors about her when she was already in a tough spot with her family, made Betty want to punch something.
"Let's begin, with the day you, and your mob wife of a mother came to town for a so-called fresh start. Tell us, Veronica. What's so fresh about defiling Archie Andrews in a closet?"
"First of all, nothing happened in there. And second, if it did, it would be your doing!" Veronica retorted.
"Moving on, to dear daddy Lodge. Is it true that your father, from prison, illegally purchased the drive-in land? Which makes me wonder, what else is he doing from behind bars?"
Jughead turned and stared at Veronica, a look of shock and betrayal on his face. Even if that were true, it was V's dad that bought the land, not Veronica. The last person he should be getting mad at was her.
"Well, I can't speak for my father, but I can think of someone with a very dirty secret. Specifically, Cheryl killing her very own brother."
"Everyone knows how much I loved my brother." Cheryl said, trying to defend herself.
"Exactly. But did you love him, maybe, in ways that a sister shouldn't love a brother? And as you got older, Jason thought that it was strange, unnatural. So, he chose Polly over you. So, you shot him between the eyes with one of your father's many hunting rifles." Veronica stated, to Cheryl's shock.
"This is riveting. I can't breathe." Kevin whispered, bringing to life what everyone was thinking.
Cheryl was obviously shaken, as she wiped a stray tear from her beautified face.
"This game is sick. I wanna go next."
Dilton Doily, a geek that spent his spare time making wizard potions, said.
"That's the spirt, Doily. What secrets do you have to reveal to us?" Chuck said, making Betty's blood boil. Her fingernails were digging deeper yet into her already ravaged palms.
"I saw Ms. Grundy's car, by Sweetwater River, the day that Jason went missing. I told Betty, and Jughead, and then Ms. Grundy quit her job and left Riverdale like, two days later. And, let's not forget, that Archie was also at Sweetwater River that morning."
"Oh, my god. Color me shocked, Archie Andrews, is that why you became a mediocre musician overnight? Because you and Miss Forez were pulling a Mary Kayla Turner?"
More secrets being revealed. Betty thought, paralyzed in fear that hers was going to be next.
Chuck had promised her that everyone would find out about Dark Betty, as he called it.
"Archie, you don't have to say anything. You don't have to get in the gutter with them." Veronica said.
"Wait, Andrews banging a teacher? Well, I wish I would've known. I would've added you and Ms. Grundy to The Book of Conquests." Chuck said.
"Well, Chuck. Classy as always."
"Wait a second, that also explains why Archie can't seem to keep a girlfriend to save his life. He's got serious mommy issues. Anything to say for yourself, Arch? Were you a victim or a perpetrator?"
Archie locked eyes with Josie, the latter sending a pitiful, but understanding gaze back.
"Dilton Doily plays with guns," Betty said, hoping to get the conversation off of this path. But with every passing moment, she could feel it coming closer. The confrontation.
"Big whoop, Betty. So Dilton believes he's a psychopath. Everyone knows that." Cheryl said, unconvinced.
"Well, I guess it's my turn, now. Boy do I have a twisted secret to reveal, starring, Betty Cooper." Chuck said, making Betty actively shutter.
"Leave her the hell alone, Chuck." Archie said, though Betty knew it wouldn't be any use.
"Shut up, Andrews. Look, you may get a free peep show, every night, but you do not know her. Hell, Betty doesn't even know herself. And, who knew she was so good in bed." Chuck said, a gruelling smile lighting up his face.
Betty froze, all eyes turning to her. Strangers' eyes were curious, even a little impressed. But her friends' stares', they were all either disgusted or worried.
She stood up, coming face-to-face with Chuck.
"You know that wasn't consensual, you asshole." Betty said, loud and clear, ready to smack him.
She heard murmurs of disbelief from all around her, as one of the biggest secrets she'd ever kept was unraveling.
"Oh, that might not've been, but you dressing up as a hooker was. You attacked me, almost drowned me and boiled me alive. Hell, you even thought you were Polly for a minute. No one knows the real you, but now they will. In fact," Chuck said, pulling out his phone and clicking a few buttons," This is the realest you there could be."
As he pressed a final button, everyone's phones went off, including Betty's. Hurriedly, she checked it, horrified to see that it was a picture of her bare arms, legs and palms, all heavily scarred.
Up until this moment, no one had known about that part of her. No one but Veronica.
That sad, lonely, depressed, desperate part of her, that was now released to the world.
She couldn't hold back anymore; there was already blood dripping onto the carpet where she stood, trembling with anger.
Letting go of all her self-control, she punched him.
Hard. In the jaw.
It felt so good, she did it again. And again, and again.
Punching him countless times, until she felt strong arms holding her back.
Archie, she thought.
He was the one holding her back.
"Archie, I swear to god! Let go!"
"Betty, you know I can't do that." Archie said, holding a thrashing, writhing Betty back.
Betty tried with all of her might to squirm out of his grasp, but it was no use. He easily had 30 pounds on her.
Eventually, she elbowed him in the neck, causing him to fall back, clutching it, and ran outside.
She was breathy heavily, her body exhausted from the feat that she had just completed.
Betty had never punched anyone, ever. She hadn't lain a finger on anyone, let alone beat them up.
But yet, there was still an angry cloud covering her judgement. She was pacing, on the sidewalk, as she glanced around, seemingly looking for something to punch.
Tree.
As soon as it came into her line of sight, she knew that she her self-control was out of the question.
Without hesitation, she sprinted over to it, punching it with all her might.
Everyone knows, now.
They're all going to judge you.
All of your dirty little secrets are out in the open, it's all over.
She kept punching the tree, each punch ridding some of her anger. This problem was much too big for fingernail marks in palms to solve.
She was blind with anger, not registering that her knuckles were now broken open, bleeding furiously.
It wasn't until there were two sets of strong arms pulling her back on each shoulder, that she fully realized what she was doing.
"Betty, Betty can you hear me?"
It was Archie. He was pulling her back from the tree, and into the present.
"Arch, Arch I'm sorry. I didn't- I never," Betty started her apology, only to be cut off.
"Betty, it's not your fault. You had a human reaction to a situation that was totally out of your control," Archie said, pulling her into a hug.
She was burnt out. It turned out that punching multiple things dozens of times consumed energy fast.
She fell limp in his grasp, as she looked behind him, and at the crowd that had gathered.
Josie, Kevin, Veronica and Jughead were all standing directly behind Archie, all looking concerned and angry.
Veronica especially, though, was looking furious. Their eyes locked, each's gaze softening for the others'.
In that moment, all she wanted was to be in her arms, for them to stay there, touching each other for the rest of eternity.
Hastily, she clambered out of Archie's arms and into Veronica's. There was something about her warm embrace that nothing else could even offer.
As soon as Betty hit Veronica's arms, she choked out a sob. So much had happened tonight, for Veronica too. There was yet another piece of evidence that her father was a worse man than she thought, which was another piece of evidence weighing her down.
She had to remember, that no matter how bad the night got, though Betty couldn't see it getting any worse, that she had to talk to Veronica and make sure that she got her venting time, too.
For now, though, Betty rested her head in the crook of Veronica's neck, which was somehow the perfect height for her. It was bliss. She forgot about everything as she stood there, leaning on Veronica for support.
It didn't last very long, though.
Suddenly, smashing the bliss that she was in, she heard a shrill cry, that could only have come from one person.
Mom.
Nononononononono, she thought, immediately pulling away from Veronica's grasp and leaning up against the side of the house.
She can't see us like this. She'll know, she'll realize what's been going on, who I am!
Taking a deep breath, she turned around, not nearly ready to face her mom, but knowing that she hadn't any other options.
"Mom-," Betty managed to say, but then was silenced by her mother's hands. They had closed around her throat, menacingly.
Betty tried to get a few words out, to ask why she was doing this.
She had done it before, only a couple of times, but never in front of prying eyes. They were supposed to be the 'picture perfect' family, one that doesn't succumb to abuse.
Her eyes fluttered, as she realized that consciousness was slipping away. She glanced around, seeing her friends frozen, not knowing what to do.
A part of Betty wanted, needed to cry out and tell them to do something, to get her mother off of her.
But there was also another part of her, a part that blamed herself for everything, and that knew that whatever punishment that her mom gave her, was because she deserved it.
She understood why her friends weren't doing anything; if Betty was watching parents choke their child, she'd be frozen too. Paralyzed with the terrible thoughts of why the parents were doing such things to their child, the child that they had raised and cared for its whole life.
Before she could pass out, Betty could feel her dad tugging harshly on her sleeves, revealing the hundreds on scars that she had inflicted upon herself.
Her mom suddenly tore her hands off of Betty, leaving her to drop to the ground, gasping for air.
Out of the corner of her eye, Betty could see Hermione, Veronica's mom, dash out of her car and run over to the scene.
"Elizabeth Ann Cooper! How dare you deface your family like this? Why did you let those evil, nefarious demons into your head? How could you? And then cut yourself, just to get attention? We raised you to be perfect, and this is nothing short of horrible! You are a terrible, demented, horrendous, child!" Alice shouted, impaling Betty's heart with her razor-sharp words.
She just lay there, trembling, sobs escaping her throat every few seconds, wondering why she had to be such a bad person.
Her mom was right, she was demented. She had let those demons inside her head.
But, are they really demons? They are your true feelings, Betty.
The voice of reason spoke inside her head.
Sadly though, the voice that her mother had been engraining into her ever since she learned how to speak, was also the one that won the arguments.
"I- I'm sorry, mom." Betty choked out, sobbing freely at the hands of her satanic mother.
Veronica was appalled.
Betty was, apologizing?
This just further proved that Alice and Hal were extremely unstable parents, and that Betty wasn't safe in her own home.
Veronica glanced over at her mom, whom she had called when Betty first ran out, as they made eye contact.
Her mom's eyes were ablaze, probably because her eyes were glued to the scene unfolding in front of her.
Her mom had gone to school with Hal and Alice, and was bullied by the latter. So, she knew exactly what it felt like to be harassed by her.
But Hermione at least had a safe haven; anywhere but school. Other than that, Alice would leave her alone. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be under her surveillance 24/7.
Horrible, was the nicest word she could think of.
Hermione caught her daughters' eye, and, not exchanging words, she ran over and slapped Alice.
"How dare you do something like that to your daughter? You know what, Alice? You were a stone-cold bitch in high school, and it looks like you haven't changed a bit." She yelled at Alice, furious.
Veronica, on the other hand, was kneeling next to Betty, her hands holding up her face, murmuring words of encouragement into her ear.
Now Hermione could see exactly why her daughter had to keep her relationship a secret.
At first, she'd said that they were being ridiculous, and that Alice was bad, but that she wouldn't shun her daughter because of something like that.
Now, she could see that she was completely and utterly wrong. Not only did she shun her daughter because of it, but she nearly choked her daughter to death, all because it wasn't her religion.
Hermione shook her head in disbelief, not only because of Alice's actions tonight, but also because her parenting skills were absolute trash, judging by the array of scars that were up Betty's arms.
Standing her ground and glaring daggers into Alice's stone-cold eyes for one last second, Hermione glided over to where Veronica and Betty were, against Archie's house, and took Betty's hands in hers.
She was about to say something, then she noticed that there was blood coming from her hands. Slow and steady, the drip was a thick scarlet.
Hermione was confused; why her hands? Yes, there was blood on the outer part, but the fresh stuff was coming from the inside.
Then, she remembered the picture that had seen earlier; Betty's scars.
There were scars on her hands, Hermione thought, saddened even more.
"Betty, you are coming to live with me and Ronnie, ok? I don't want you spending another second in that horrible house."
"But-"Betty tried to object, but Hermione was having none of it.
"No 'buts', Betty. I went to school with your mother, so I know what it's like to face her wrath. Only, I can only imagine you have lived something ten times worse. So, you are coming with us."
Betty was going to object some more, saying that it's really not that bad in her house, but she was just too tired.
She had punched Chuck, a tree, and been choked by her mother. Not to mention being put through all the emotional stresses of everybody knowing her darkest secrets.
"Ok, thank you, thank you so much," Betty said, letting her tears free fall as she dissolved into tears.
Both Veronica and Hermione held her in their embrace, not caring if some blood got on their pristine wardrobe.
"It's okay, everything's gonna be okay-," Veronica was reassuring, pressing comforting kisses to Betty's forehead every so often, as she was cut off by none other than Alice Cooper.
"Ha! You think that you can take my daughter away? You can't steal them, like they're some sort of property! Betty is mine, all mine, therefore I get to decide where she goes. And right now, I have other, more functional plans for this excuse of a daughter." Alice screeched, glaring daggers at Hermione.
Betty let out another sob, as Veronica held her closer.
I can't even imagine living like this, Veronica thought. Being scared every day, hiding who your true self is for fear of being disowned. It's horrible.
From the deck of Archie's house, Cheryl was staring, tears in her eyes, watching this whole thing unfold.
As a closeted person herself, who was terrified of this exact thing happening to her, she actually felt sympathy for Betty.
Cheryl had known that Betty and Veronica were together, and known the reason why they couldn't tell Betty's mom. Cheryl had accepted that, and promised not to use it for blackmail, for fear of that happening to her.
Hence, Cheryl couldn't believe Chuck would do such a thing. Honestly, even exposing her mental illnesses was bad enough, without sending a picture of B and V kissing to Betty's mom. Chuck knew, too, that's why it was so horrible.
From where Betty was leaning against the side of the house, her brain was deep in action.
Different plans? Functional? What does she mean? Unless…
The Sisters of Quiet Mercy.
That's where they had taken Polly when they said she was trying to hurt herself.
Too soon, a gray van pulled up the driveway, almost hitting several teenagers in its haste.
Four people in full white suits jumped out, immediately spotting Betty and running towards her.
The mother and daughter looked at each other in confusion, then panic as they realized they were coming for Betty.
Sadly, though, it was too little too late.