Chapter Six

Betty

I find Veronica sitting outside of the court room. She has tears on her face already. I run over to her in my two-inch heels and wrap my arms around her body. She lets me hug her. I can already feel her sadness as she leans on me. I lean back and try to adjust my pink dress so that it flows on my body. She looks over at me with sadness.

"What?" I ask.

"You look nice," she says.

"Thanks."

"You've been alright. Not dying of emotional conflict?" she asks. I nod. I don't want to tell her that I had the best day ever with Jughead yesterday. I also don't want to tell her that I sort of ride a motorcycle and joined the Serpents. I don't think she'd care but it's just another thing that Veronica would have to wrap her mind around. She is busy with Archie's case and she's scared. I am not going to let her be scared about one more thing.

"Everything's fine with me, Veronica," I assure.

She nods.

"Come on," I tell her, pulling her into the lobby. She follows with her hand in mine. We stop, standing in the middle surrounded by unnamed people with confused faces. I hate this. So many people who are willing to hurt Archie because they don't know anything about him. Not the way we do.

"Jughead's here, Betty," she says. I turn around and see him walking into the doors. He is looking around the room but when his eyes fall on me, he gives a visible sigh and reaches his hand to me as he walks. I take his hand and kiss him gently.

"This is already stressful and the trial hasn't even started yet," he whispers.

"I know," I agree. I can feel his hands shaking. I look down at them at the same time he does. He stuffs them both in his pockets when he realizes that I noticed. I grab onto his arms and make him look at me.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He shakes his head and gives me that smile that shows he wants to be strong for us. I fix his overalls and then adjust his hat on his head. He leans closer to me, almost as if I am helping him calm down.

"There are a lot of people here," he says.

I nod. They're making him nervous. The people. The court. The situation.

"Have you ever been to court before?" I ask.

He nods.

"Jug, come on," I say. "What happened to talking about everything? Didn't we promise that just yesterday?"

"I was at court when my dad was accused of child neglect. You know that day in 7th grade that I came to school in shorts and a tee shirt and it was snowing?"

"Yeah. Archie and I were so worried about you."

"Worried enough that a teacher noticed and called my father. When he was rude to her on the phone, child services paid a visit to my house. They realized that I was living in hell. My sister was naked on the floor, crying when they came. They gave our parents a week to clean it up and fix everything. But when they didn't, we had to go to court."

"Oh, Jug," I say, putting my hands on his chest. He shrugs but I can tell that this memory still haunts him. He remembers every detail and it scares him being back in a place that often takes so much from his family.

"You just have to remember that no matter what happens, we are going to be okay," I promise. "We are going to walk out of here together the same way that we walked in. Just remember that, right?"

He smiles and wraps his arm around me.

"You are an enigma, Serpent Queen," he says as we walk over to Veronica. But it's too late. She heard it. She turns around with her hands dropped at her sides and an expression that shows some fear and a lot of shock.

"Veronica, I was going to tell you," I tell her before she looks angry and then wipes her hand under her eyes. I step forward, out of Jug's grasp and then try to grab her hands but she pulls away from me.

"That's dangerous, Betty!" she shouts. "Jug was almost killed just a few weeks away. He was beaten so bad, he still has bruises on his arm!"

"I know. I know," I state, trying to console her again but she is not having it. She grabs my arm and starts flipping it around. She turns me around as I ask her what she is doing and why. I get no answer until she finally looks at my face.

"Where's your tattoo?" she asks.

"I don't have one yet."

"Do you drive a motorcycle?"

I nod.

"Did you drive it here?"

"Yes…but Veronica, I swear it's not that bad. We know what we are doing and two is better than one. Jug and I work together. Neither of us are alone in this."

She grabs my hands and makes me look at her. I so did not want to worry her more before this trial.

"This is dangerous, Betty. The Serpents are dangerous and are easily manipulated. They are low-class people. You aren't. I'm sorry, Jug, I am not trying to offend you. But the Serpents are no place for someone like you."

I take a deep breath and pull my hands away slowly.

"I didn't mean for you to find out before the trial but I am not changing my mind, Ronnie. The Serpents listen to me. I am their leader too. They count on me to make good decisions, to fight with them if I need to and support them no matter what. I can do that for Jughead and I can do it for Sweat Pea, Toni, Fangs, and Cheryl. It doesn't—"

"Whoa. Whoa. Wait. Cheryl is a serpent?" she asks.

I nod.

She throws her hands in the air and her face looks as if she is in anguish. I look to Jug but he is sympathetic. I know he didn't mean to give it all away. I slip my hand in his. His fingers are shaking even worse now. A very tall man in a nice grey suit comes out of the double doors and opens them both. We all look to him.

"Please enter the court room. We will begin shortly."