AN: So much love to my readers out there and especially to the ones that reviewed. :) Makes my heart happy. Special shout out to itsBeckChadwick, my Beta who is amazing and tries to keep me in line! :D Key word there is tries. Any mistakes are mine, never theirs!
The light coming in from the sheer curtains in Jughead's trailer shone on Betty Cooper's face early the next morning. She reluctantly awoke, rubbing her eyelids and stretching over the edge of the torn couch that Betty and Jughead had spent the night on. The blanket that her boyfriend had retrieved from the night before scratched her lightly as she moved, but in an oddly comforting manner. The trailer remained dark with only the sun streaming through the curtains to enliven the room, seeming to touch only the two of them, as if blessing their emotional union from the night before. Looking down to find herself in only a bra was a bit of a shock, but simultaneously finding Jughead without a shirt elicited a happy intake of breath. They had not lost very many articles of clothing with each other on previous occasions of making out and Betty marveled at the man she loved. Her hand gently slid over Jughead's slender but muscled body, delighting in the grooves and dips she found along his chest and arms. He was perfect.
Taking a moment to remember where she was, the previous night came flooding back: every second, every detail. Both of them had expressed very real concerns for the other, and their worries did not stop last night, not by a long shot. Jughead was still thinking of joining the Serpents, much to Betty's frustration and Betty still had a problem with coming to terms with her demons. Nothing had really changed. But somehow in learning that Jughead was willing to walk her through whatever was happening, Betty felt emboldened to not just stand up to said demons but tackle them in the streets. She felt stronger.
The blonde looked upon the snoring man by her side with fondness, his dark hair splayed messily across his alabaster skin. They had shifted on the ratty loveseat during their sleep, Jughead on his back with Betty sprawled across his body. Trying to ignore the intimacy of their bodies touching one another, Betty chose to focus on how her boyfriend's mouth had opened slightly while in sleep and a small drool puddle landed on one of the well worn cushions in the couch. She giggled to herself, knowing she had material for months of teasing and used one finger to try and close the faucet that was Jughead's mouth. This only succeeded in surprising the boy underneath her who snorted himself awake in the next moment, green eyes wide and blinking. Jughead spotted Betty and smiled, stretching his body as much as possible on the small sofa. His girlfriend watched as his muscles shifted under his skin, biting her lip to hide the grin threatening to burst onto her cheeks.
"Good morning," he rasped out, clearing his throat soon after. A few sparrows began chirping outside the windows of their secluded room, signalling the beginning of a new day. And what a day it would be.
"Morning, Juggie," Betty all but sighed, snuggling into his side so that he could wrap his arms around her.
"What time is it?" the brunette asked groggily, yawning into his girlfriend's' hair. Betty shrugged.
"I'm pretty sure you were the one who fell asleep with his phone in his pocket."
"Or maybe I am just happy to see you," Jughead quipped, waggling his eyebrows intensely. Betty rolled her eyes but could not help the chuckle that escaped. What a goofball. Jughead took the time to ruffle through his pants, doing his best to figure out where his phone went. The couch squeaked underneath him and Betty braced herself, trying not the fall over the edge.
"Got it!" he exclaimed, opening the screen. "It's 9:45 am, by the way. Wait, how do I have ten missed calls?"
"From who?"
"Archie."
"Why is he calling you? Did he call all last night?" Jughead shook his head.
"They were all this morning, within a minute of each other. There's a voicemail, just a second." Jughead placed the phone up to his ear and Betty leaned in, trying to hear as well. After about twenty seconds, Jughead hurriedly sat up, throwing off the blanket and gently pushing Betty to sitting as well. "We have to go."
"What's going on?"
"Archie's dad is in the hospital. He's been shot."
The world began to run in slow motion. Betty watched as Jughead slowly reached for his sweater, as well as her own, lightly draping it on her knee. All she could do was sit still, mouth open like a fish. Who could have done this? Why had they done this? Why now? Why Archie? In noticing the vacant look on Betty's face, Jughead took her face in his hands.
"Look at me, Betts," Jughead demanded firmly and Betty slowly moved her eyes in his direction.
"Who would do that?" Betty asked, eyes still dazed.
"Gotta snap out of it, Betty. This is not the time. We can ask all the questions we want but Archie is at the hospital and he needs us to be there." While it took a second for the message to sink in, Betty quickly nodded, breaking herself from her daze. "He also wants you to get in touch with Veronica."
"Veronica, why?"
"She's not picking up her phone. He told me to get in touch with you, to get in touch with her."
While that sounded odd, Betty supposed it made sense. Jughead really didn't know Veronica outside of the four of them. There would be no reason for him to call her on his own. Betty put on the shirt Jughead had given her and quickly found the trench coat she abandoned the night before, putting it on as well. Grabbing her phone from inside, Betty quickly dialed Veronica's number, only to sigh upon hearing her voicemail.
"Not picking up for me either. How about I go and see if I can track her down?" Betty asked, and Jughead nodded.
"Sure, makes sense. I'll head to the hospital-"
"And I'll check Pembrooke."
As they headed outside, Betty vaguely noticed that Jughead had found and put on his beanie. The beanie always represented a sort of comfort and stability that he would need in a situation like this, and Betty's heart clenched at his need for it. Fred, after all, was like a second father to him. The cold whipped around them upon exiting the trailer, the snow on the ground presenting an unspoiled world that the two of them didn't belong to anymore. Trekking down the stairs outside, Betty stopped Jughead on their last step, pulling him into a fierce hug that knocked the wind from him.
"It's ok, Juggie," she said softly and Jughead visibly relaxed in her arms, the couple realizing in that moment how tense he was. He returned her hug with the same veracity.
"Thanks, Betts," was his only reply as he pulled away, his face unreadable. He gently brushed a kiss onto her forehead in goodbye before taking off running in the direction of the hospital. Betty hoped she would find Veronica easily, beginning her own journey to the Pembrooke.
The Pembrooke always made Betty feel underdressed, columns outside its copper doors reflecting the streets in their pristine manilla tones. She could be wearing a ball gown, and the antique lantern lighting the outside would expose her for what she really was: middle class. Betty might not be poor, but she would never have Veronica Lodge money. It didn't help Betty was still in last nights'... everything. Her tired face reflected off those doors as she opened them carefully, afraid of damaging them just by touching the reflective surface. Walking into the earth tone lobby did nothing to make her feel like less of a street urchin. The solid wood floors echoed as her sneakers padded across them, cylindrical lights lining her path to the elevator. The scent of the lilies hit her at full force from within their glass vases and Betty wondered when she stopped being allergic to lilies, or if money was truly that magical.
Even the elevator shone with such a pure quality and Betty was sure she could see bags under her eyes being cast back from its surfaces. She tried smoothing her hair down a bit, but quickly gave up. Pressing number three, the blonde rapidly found herself staring down the hallway to Veronica Lodge's apartment: Apartment 305. The hand woven carpet made no sound under her feet as she made her way to the front door. Her hands itched to run her fingers along the shiny surface of the numbers she found there, restraining her impulse and choosing to knock on the clean, white door instead. Veronica was the one to open the door, dressed in her usual pearls and black knee length dress. Her face did not reflect happiness upon seeing Betty, scowling instead as she narrowed her eyes. Betty supposed it was understandable given the circumstances. Still, it was unnerving.
"What are you doing here, Betty?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," Betty exclaimed, wanting to smile at her friend but deterred by the look on her face. Instead of inviting Betty in as usual, Veronica crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door frame. "I'm here to get you so that we can go to the hospital. Did you lose your phone charger or something?"
"I'm not going to the hospital, B."
"That's ridiculous, of course you are," Betty said, feeling suddenly very awkward that they were having this conversation in her doorway. "Can I come in?"
Veronica's glower told her that she absolutely did not want that, but she stepped aside nonetheless, allowing Betty to walk through the door and into the apartment. The blonde was always amazed at how clean the place was for how much white furniture they had. The paintings hung up along the walls reflected a natural life that Betty found to be odd in that moment, juxtaposed by Veronicas' unusually dead eyes. Betty thought about sitting on the lush, white furniture but decided she favored standing instead, watching as her best friend looked upon her with frustration.
"Betty, I'm not sure if you want to stay. This isn't going to take long."
"Obviously it is. Why aren't you coming down?" Veronica sighed, reluctantly closing the door.
"I need to wait for my mother. She must have left earlier this morning. I have to talk to her."
"What? No, you need to be at the hospital with your boyfriend."
"This is important, B."
"I don't care. It's more important to be comforting the guy you're with. Can you even imagine what he's going through?"
"He'll be fine. He has you, he has Jughead-"
"Of course he has me and Jughead! He's always had us, ever since kindergarten. But now you are apart of us too." Betty's voice was beginning the raise, signaling to herself that she was on a very dangerous precipice between calm Betty and self-harming Betty. She tried taking a breath to quell the darkness but Veronica's scoff brought it back to the forefront.
"This is not a black and white situation, Betty. It's not automatically good for me to be at the hospital and automatically bad for me to stay home, waiting for my parents. Don't act like such a child all the time." Veronica was beginning to become angry herself, Betty could tell. What she had to be angry about, the blonde wasn't sure but being referred to as a child did nothing to dampen the darkness within. Betty's jaw clenched, trying not clench her fists instead.
"That's where you're wrong, V. Because no matter what you think you're doing here that's important, if you stay home right now Archie might never forgive you. He is the most trusting person I have ever met and when someone breaks that trust, he does not forgive easily. He needs you right now." Veronica's eyes softened at the mention of her boyfriend's name, her body relaxing but not quite giving in.
"No, B. My dad is coming home today-"
"See him later!"
"My mother and I need to talk-"
"Do it another time!"
"You aren't listening to me! I can't go." Veronica's anger fed into Betty's, Betty clenching her fists without realizing what she was doing. Veronica was not normally this unfeeling and Betty couldn't understand what was happening. The coldness encompassing Veronica's face stoked a fire inside Betty, her blue eyes radiating the anger she felt. As Veronica continued to stand there, emotionless, the fire grew bigger. Betty could feel her nails begin to cut through her flesh, willing herself to unclench her fists. Her hands shook, needing an outlet for the anger and frustration caused by what happened to Archie's dad, doubled with Veronica's uncaring nature. None of it made sense. Before she knew what was happening, the heel of Betty's palm slammed into Veronica's tan wall, shaking the forestry painting hanging there and causing Veronica to gasp. When she removed her hand, a small dent was left. Before she had time to feel remorse for her action, Betty rounded on Veronica, the brunette's eyes wide in shock and fear.
"You don't have to come. But you need to know something," Betty was calm then, suddenly very sure and confident in a way that she was not used to. "If you don't follow me to the hospital right now, you will not just lose Archie, you will lose me as well. I can't be, will not be friends with someone who doesn't want to be there when their friends need them the most."
"You just put a dent in my wall-"
"And I'll fix it." Betty opened the door to the apartment. "Veronica, you can't just choose when you want to be a friend and when you don't. Are you coming or not?"
Though the shock and fear still reflected in Veronica's dark eyes, she began moving again, grabbing her coat and placing it around her small frame. Veronica did not make eye contact as she exited through the door, Betty closing it behind the both of them. As they made their way to the lobby of the Pembrooke, Betty tried to understand the actions she just took. She had threatened others before, her mind going to Cheryl and Chuck, but physical violence was not something she was used to expressing. The darkness had receded for now, and Betty supposed it had been adequately fed by the savagery it just experienced. This did not make Betty feel better about herself, instead churning her stomach in a way that made her want to throw up on the expensive carpet in the hallway. She knew she couldn't just be violent or use sex whenever the darkness began to take over, but that was all Betty had at the moment. She vowed to do a little internal digging to see how else the darkness might be satiated so that Betty didn't just go around putting holes in people's walls. Entering the glassy elevator, Veronica finally glanced in her direction before looking away again.
"You are becoming quite the godfather type, aren't you, Betty Cooper?"
Her stomach churned again. She supposed she was.
AN: Would love some feedback. Review, please!