Chapter 2

I'll cover you

Archie followed his best friend outside. Archie stopped and Jughead continued to walk back and forth. He stopped and looked at Archie with anger. "What the hell happened? How did this happen!?" He yelled. Archie looked at him. "It was the Black Hood. He attacked us. I won't get into it but he tasked us to do something." Jughead nodded.

"Why didn't you call me!? Why did you go with my girlfriend alone!?" He yelled. Archie looked at his best friend with anger. "Okay, first of all you guys are broken up. And second he told Betty that if we said anything to anyone, they would hurt them."

"We went to the burial site. And the Black Hood found us and attacked us. He made me get into a coffin and Betty had to bury me alive. Once she heard sirens she refused to bury me. I heard a gunshot and I busted out of the coffin."

"Next thing I knew Betty was bleeding to death in front of me." He said with a shaky breath. Jughead looked at his best friend's shirt and felt nauseous. Betty's blood was all over his shirt. "There was no time to protect her from the Black Hood."

Jughead shook his head. "I should have been there for her. She should have been able to count on me." Jughead braced himself against the wall. Archie put his hand on his shoulder. "You are here now Jug. And you can be there for her now." Jughead nodded.

"I'm sorry that I yelled at you. It's not your fault. It's not you that I'm mad at." Archie nodded. "I get it man." Jughead looked at him. "She means so much to you. I can tell that you love her. And she loves you." Jughead looked at the ground. Archie took a shaky breath. "When she was bleeding to death, she asked me to tell you something in case she couldn't. Jughead looked at him.

"Even with her bleeding to death in front of me, she was worried about me and trying to keep me calm. You were also on her mind. She wanted me to tell you that she loved you." Jughead took a shaky breath. "Only Betty Cooper will be worried about us while she's bleeding to death." said Jughead with a hard chuckle.

"She loves you Jug. You both need to stop pushing each other away. You need each other. And you need admit to yourselves that you need each other." Jughead nodded. "You're right."

Veronica walked out. "The doctor's here." They walked in quickly. They joined their parents. "How is she?" asked Alice. The Doctor looked at the group. "The bullet went through the stomach and it broke up into five pieces. We were able to extract all the pieces. And the bullet pieces missed all the vital organs. She is expected to make a full recovery."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "We have a change of clothes for you." he said, looking at Archie. "Sheriff Keller needs these anyway." He said, grabbing the clothes. "Can we see her?" asked Jughead. He nodded. "She's resting. Just take it easy with her. She's exhausted." They all nodded. They walked down the long hallway to the last room.

They opened the door and what they saw broke their hearts. There was Betty Cooper, her blonde resting on her shoulders. She was pale and she had a nasal cannula. The only sound in the room was the EKG machine, recording the girl's heartbeat.

Alice walked over and kissed her on the forehead. Jughead walked to the other side, pulling a chair with him and sitting next to her. He took her pale hand in his and it was colder than usual.

Jughead never felt such anger towards someone. He wanted to kill the person that did this to his girl. A girl like Betty Cooper didn't deserve this. She was the good girl. She was the most selfless person that Jughead knew. And he wanted to kill the Black Hood for doing this to her. And he was more determined than ever to unmask this psychopath.

He just looked at Betty's face and he tried to focus on her instead of the anger toward the Black Hood and himself. This type of danger was exactly what he wanted to keep her from and he wasn't there for her when she needed him the most. He broke up with her to keep her safe from things like this. And she was in this hospital bed because he wasn't there to protect her.

Jughead bowed his head as he tried to keep his emotions under control. A few hours passed. Veronica, Archie, Fred, and FP all decided to go home and sleep. Jughead was able to convince Alice to home and sleep and he would stay with Betty for the night, calling her if anything changed.

Polly also needed to be told what was going on. He decided to stay in the same spot all night. By her side, holding her hand. He eventually found sleep as uncomfortable as it was. He was just grateful that he could stay with her.

Early in the morning, Betty's eyes fluttered open. She shot up and cried out in pain. Jughead jumped up when she shot up. He gently put his hand on her shoulder, pushing her gently back to her pillows. "Easy. You're alright. You're safe." Betty looked at him. "Juggie? What happened? Where's the Black Hood? How's Archie? Is he okay?" She shot questions at Jughead.

He nodded. "Archie is okay. He's safe. Everyone is safe." Tears filled her eyes. "Jughead, please don't hate me. I didn't want you to be a part of this. And he said if I told anyone they would be killed. Archie almost died!"

Jughead shook his head. "I am not mad, Betty." Jughead kissed the top of her head. "Now calm down. Please." He said gently and calmly. Betty took a few breaths.

He sat down and looked at her. He could feel his eyes sting with tears. Betty looked at him and took his hand. "What is it Juggie? Please talk to me." He sniffled. "I am so angry." Betty looked at him with apologetic eyes. "I said I was sorry, please don't be angry with me." Jughead shook his head. "It's not you I'm mad at. I am mad at myself."

"I should have been there for you. I shouldn't have pushed you away. I should have been there to protect you. You got shot and I couldn't do anything." He looked at her. "I am sorry." Betty shook her head. "You can't be angry at yourself for this. I did this. I did what the Black Hood wanted me to. And I paid the price for that decision." She said, looking down at her gunshot wound.

Jughead shook his head. "I still should have had your back. And Archie's." Betty smiled. "You have had our backs. Just like we've had yours." She put her hand on his cheek and rubbed it gently with her thumb.

She fought falling asleep. Jughead could see it. "Just rest. You need it. I'll be right here when you wake up." Betty nodded. "You promise?" He nodded. He took her hand and kissed it. Betty fell asleep. He kicked back in the chair and closed his eyes.

He was woken up by whimpering. "Please no." Betty begged. Jughead sat up and looked over at her. She was shaking her head in her sleep., tears running down her face. "Please don't hurt him, PLEASE!"

Jughead put his hand on her shoulder. "Betty. Betty! Come back to me." She shot back up, groaning in pain." "Hey, I'm right here. You're safe." Tears filled her eyes. "He had you Juggie. He had you." Tears spilled down her face, Jughead gently hugged, rubbing her back gently.

"I am right here. You're safe. I'm safe." There was a knock on the door. They separated and they looked to see Sheriff Keller standing there. "What is it? What happened?" asked Betty, wiping her eyes. "We need to get your mother here. She needs to be here for what I am about to say."

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