Chapter Two

The moment he felt tugging on his arm, Jughead's eyes shot open. For a moment, he was stunned with a dizzy confusion. Where was he? Why was it so cold? The unsureness lasted a heartbeat, and when he saw Betty, he found he didn't particularly care what had happened.

"Betty!" he found himself gasping. Struggling to a more mobile position, he ducked his head to avoid hitting it on the car's vehicular paraphernalia.

His girlfriend's body was littered on the ground, a blood trail slinking from the- his gaze traveled upward slightly- driver's seat. This was not how it should be, in fact, now that this had come to his attention, nothing was as it should be. The car was upside down and snow piled up every which way.

They had been flung to the glass top of the car, well- the bottom at the moment.

His entire scouting of the car had lasted only a few seconds, and before he knew it, Jughead kneeled beside Betty. Pulling her into his arms, he felt his heart lurch in his chest. Like a lion trapped in a cage. Betty's matted hair was stuck to his forehead, which was patched with blood and glass.

She must've been hit by the glass when the car flipped. Briefly, Jughead wondered why she was in such a bad state when he was much less injured. Then he realized that it had been Betty who had saved him. The memory hit him just as painfully as it was too see Betty curled up to his chest in agony.

Betty shoved the blanket away, hands flying to the steering wheel, but it was too late. The car had changed direction in the fierce winds and was heading toward a snowbank. The blanket was thrown back in the young man's hands and he was too stunned to move it away in time.

Jughead let out a yell, his body naturally moving toward Betty to shield her, but he was jerked back as the car drove headfirst into the sudden gap of snow. It should have stopped. But the car kept going, flipping over.

Pain blossomed in his head as he banged it against the car's side, but the soft blanket had softened the impact as the window shattered.

By pushing away the blanket, Betty had saved Jughead. His hand drifted to his head for a moment, and instead of being sticky with blood, he assumed it would only bruise.

If they got out of there alive.

No, they would.

"Betty, stay with me…" Jughead felt her pulse, relief washing over him when he felt the faint heartbeat. "Wake up." he pleaded, voice cracking slightly.

Blood was seeping onto her face, long crimson vines stretching across her face from the gash in her head. He winced. Why couldn't they switch places? He'd do anything for them to switch places. Pulling his sleeve over his hand, he wiped some of the blood from her eyes. It smeared, but eventually cleared up her line of sight. Betty groaned in response.

"Can you talk? Betty?" Jughead looked around desperately. They were crowded against the glassy car roof, and he pulled the coat over to him. Carefully, he placed Betty down on the coat, trying to protect her from the tiny shards of glass that littered their surroundings. "Come on…"

Suddenly, she shifted. Her eyes remained shut, but she made a shaky sound as her breath quivered. Jughead bit his lip and turned her so she was laying on her back. Blood was smudged on her stomach and chest, and shiny glass pierced her body.

Should he pull out the glass? Or would she bleed out? Hopelessness spread through the young man. "Come on, Betts," he begged. "Please. Please stay awake. Talk to me. Tell me if you can hear me! Please!" Tears streaked his face as he looked around for a phone.

While Jughead couldn't find either of their phones, he was sure he could. He had to. But how could he leave Betty?

"Ju…" she whispered without moving much.

The Serpent's eyes flashed to his girlfriend, and he saw her eyes flutter weakly. "Yes!" Jughead gasped, more tears spilling from his eyes. "That's it, stay awake… don't sleep."

Betty's head moved up slowly, then down in a nod. "I won't, promise…" While her words were shaky and quiet, she was talking. Her hand reached for Jughead's, and he took it quickly. Her fingers and palm were ice cold, but from the way she shivered, he was sure his were too.

"Where does it hurt, Betts?"

Silence. Panic flooded him before she began speaking, slowly. "My… my…" He didn't rush her. While Jughead wanted to tell her to be quiet and keep her strength, he needed to know how to help. "...head… and chest…"

"Yeah, you're not in the best shape, Betts, but you'll be fine. I promise. I promise we'll get out of here." But his promise was empty and hopeless. "I have to find our phones. Keep breathing."

She nodded weakly, and yet determination seemed to flood her. Still, the young woman's eyes remained shut.

Moving away slightly, the Serpent King felt the bitter cold all over again. It cut into his face as he searched the car. Nothing. His gaze glanced outside the car, at the puffy white snow outside. Why did it have to be Winter? Jughead squeezed out of the window gap, the glass that had formerly surrounded it was probably buried in Betty's body. Guilt pulsed through him.

I'm sorry Betty.

The moment he stepped out into the snow, he wished he hadn't. His head spun, and he stumbled backward, hand jolting out to catch himself on the car. He'd gotten hurt in the accident, but he still didn't know where. At least the pain distracted him from the snow that reached his shin.

His feet dragged in the freezing cold snow, vision blurring then unblurring sporadically. "Betty?" he called to the car.

"I'm here." she answered in a quiet voice. "Jug… check…" There was a long pause. "...the dashboard. My phone… should be…" she broke off again. This time she didn't continue.

Jughead quickly hurried back to the car, Betty was struggling to get to her knees. "No, Betty, stay down. I'll check the dashboard, but I don't want you to overexert yourself." She ignored him, still trying to heave herself into a sitting position.

Quickly, the young man entered the car, hissing in pain when a jagged piece of glass cut into his jeans and skin. Biting the inside of his mouth, he ignored the sudden burst of agony as he rushed to Betty.

She was sobbing.

"Betty… Betty, what's wrong? Talk to me…" He murmured as he dropped to his knees and pulled her close to him.

"It hurts… so much. But I…" her breath wavered. "...want to help. Please." Her body shook with another sudden blossom of grief. "It's my fault. I'm sorry! Please… let me help… please-"

Jughead wrapped his arms around her gently. "Shh… it's okay… you didn't do anything wrong. It's okay… I need you to keep your strength up. I'll check the dashboard for your phone. Okay?"

Betty nodded miserably, and eventually, Jughead let her lay down again. Though this time her eyes remained open, along with the occasional blink and shudder. From the cold of sadness, he wasn't sure.

Heaving himself to the middle of the car roof, he lifted his arms up toward the glove department. His fingers fumbled with the area before he finally managed to open it. Supplies scatter the ground. First aid kit, napkins, and Betty's phone!

"You're phone! It's here!" Jughead started, hope skipping in his chest. He picked it up with trembling fingers and clicked the power button.

Once.

Twice.

The battery icon showing it was dead appeared.

"It felt as if she were bleeding - but it wasn't blood that leaked out of her, not something that could be easily transfused. Instead, she was losing her dreams." -Kristin Hannah

A/N: Second chapter- done! Tell me what you all think? What do you all think should happen? Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks for reading!