Chapter Two
"So, Betty, you're a photographer? Care to share some of your favorite pictures?" Veronica asked as she rested her elbows on the table, threading her fingers together and laying her chin on her hands. Betty, feeling the blush spread on her cheeks as all three pairs of eyes were on her now, nodded and fumbled her phone out of her pocket to pull up her business Instagram page.
"Well, I haven't been able to really pick a favorite yet, here's a collection I had in an art gallery back home." Betty answered as she handed her phone over to the raven haired princess, Archie leaning in close to her to look through the pictures as well.
"So what brings you back to Riverdale after all these years? I barely recognized you when you walked in. You've changed a lot."
"I sure hope so, Jug, I was ten then." Betty answered with a smirk and Jughead gave her a crooked grin, reaching over and stealing a fry off her plate, "Hey now, you already ate all of yours."
"Jughead is and has always been a bottomless pit." Archie said before Jughead could defend himself, the fry thief shrugging at Betty who only smiled and rolled her eyes, "Anyways, I'm back to sell my parent's house. Well, it's my mom's now since the divorce, but she refuses to come back so it's on me."
"What about Polly? She couldn't do it?" Jug asked and reached over to take the cherry off of her milkshake, amused at her glare as he popped it into his mouth.
"Really? Now you take my cherry?"
"I can if you want me to." Jughead said and held his arms up in defense as she swatted him, Archie and Veronica biting back their laughter and trying to keep their attention on Betty's phone, "You walked right into that, I could not pass that opportunity up."
"Jughead Jones, you are still such a pain." Betty huffed, moving her milkshake farther away from him. Jughead smiled and winked, seeing the blush creep across her face. He stretched his arm across the back of the booth, turning his body to tuck more into the corner of the booth and window so he could see her better.
"Oh, excuse me, I have to take this." Veronica said as she laid Betty's phone down and picked up her own, sliding out of the booth and walking towards and empty section of the diner.
"Those are really good pictures, Betty. Just to warn you, Veronica was really amazed by them and suggested scheduling you for a photo shoot while you're in town." Archie said as he slid her phone across the table back to her, Jughead letting out a snort and crossing his arms over his stomach.
"I guess she doesn't have enough pictures of herself for her selfie shrine." Jughead said and slid his beanie off, running his fingers through his hair before putting it back on, Betty resting her elbow on the table and placing her chin in her hand. Jughead looked over at her and it was his turn to feel his blush creeping up as she stared at him with a big grin, "What?"
"That can't possibly be the same hat you wore when we were kids, can it?"
"It most certainly is." he said and she laughed softly in amazement, shaking her head and picking up her milkshake, "How is it not full of holes or shredded?"
"Hey, Archiekins, do you mind taking me to the Pembrooke?" Veronica asked as she hurried back over to the table, stiletto heels clicking loudly against the tile floor. She grabbed her purse up, rifling through her wallet and grabbing a hundred dollar bill.
"Uh, yeah Ronnie, that's fine. Everything okay?"
"My mother is freaking out about something. Betty, dear, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope we can get together while you're here for some girl time, I went ahead and left my number in your phone. Jughead?"
"Yeah?"
"Please don't run her off. I really need a female friend."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Veronica. She was my friend first."
"Jug, can you make sure Betty gets home okay?" Archie asked and grabbed his keys as Veronica laid her money on the table, Jughead nodding and saluting Archie with two fingers.
"Dinner's on me. Just keep the change." Veronica said before they hurried out of the diner, Jughead and Betty watching them hurry across the parking lot to Archie's truck.
"I hope everything's okay with her mom." Betty said and saw Jughead roll his eyes in response, "What?"
"Her American Excess card was probably canceled. That, or The Matchelorette and now she doesn't know what to do with herself."
"You're not too fond of Veronica, are you?"
"She gets on my nerves and we butt heads a lot, but she makes Archie really happy so I tolerate her." Jughead answered as the bell over the door jingled and Jughead watched as a group of nearly a dozen leather clad bikers started spilling into the diner, "Don't freak out, okay?"
"Freak out about what?" Betty asked as she watched the group of men looked around the diner, one of them catching sight of their booth and getting the attention of the others. Betty swallowed hard as they all turned their attention to them and started walking towards them, Jughead sitting up straighter in the booth and Betty feeling herself start to inch closer to him.
"Hey! Way to leave me behind out there, Fangs!" A pink and brunette haired girl called as she came in after them, sporting the same black leather jacket. The one she assumed was named 'Fangs' turned around at the sound of his name and Betty saw a bright green snake on the back of his jacket that had a head at each end, the words South Side Serpents surrounding the dual headed snake. Betty felt the color run from her face as her mother's voice filled her head.
"Can you believe it, Hal? FP Jones moved his family into Sunnyside Trailer Park where all those Southside Serpents live. I do NOT want our daughter around those drug running thugs! She's no longer allowed to go to Jughead's house, there's no telling what she'll be exposed to!" Alice shrieked from the kitchen, a ten year old Betty sitting on the top step of the staircase as she listened to her mother rant.
"Alice, I'm sure FP knows better than to have the kids around any Serpents, and especially if Archie and Betty are with Jughead." her father tried to reason with her, Alice letting out a laugh of disbelief and Betty heard her coffee mug slam on the counter.
"Don't be stupid, Hal. Ever since Gladys took Forsythia and left FP has done nothing but screw up. He's probably passed out drunk while the kids do God knows what. I'll be damned if my daughter gets kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking by a bunch of gang banging biker thugs!"
"What are you doing here, we thought you were gonna be at the Wyrm tonight." one of the men said to Jughead as they all stopped at the booth, Betty looking up at each of them to realize the one speaking was the only one not staring at her.
"I'll be by later, an old friend came into town." he said and jerked his head towards Betty who was studying each one carefully, "Betty?" She jumped slightly and turned to look at Jughead, the man biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. The poor girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Betty, huh? Say you're pretty cute. How'd you get a cute girl like this to be your friend, Jones?" a dark haired man asked as he leaned against the table, his eyes never leaving Betty, who instinctively sat back against the booth seat to distance herself.
"Back off, Sweet Pea. I'll see you guys in a bit, I'm gonna walk Betty home."
"Just take her on your bike." Sweet Pea said as the majority of the group moved to the counter to start placing orders with Pop.
"I don't have my helmet with me for her to use."
"I'll take her off your hands for ya." Sweet Pea answered with a smirk and looked back over at Betty who raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her.
"Sweet Pea -."
"Not in your wildest, wettest dreams, Sweet Pea." Betty said with a one sided smirk, cutting off Jughead who was staring at her with an open mouthed grin, the pink haired girl laughing and slapping Sweet Pea on his back.
"Shot down! I'm gonna petition your name to be changed to Horndog. I'm Toni, by the way. Tell Jones here to bring you by the Whyte Wyrm some time. I have a feeling you'll fit in fine there. Come on, loser, let's get some food."
"See ya later, boss." Sweet Pea said and followed the rest of his group over to the counter.
"Boss?"
"Maybe I should pay and walk you home now. I can explain on the way."
"A Serpent, Jughead? You're a Serpent?" Betty asked as they walked slowly towards Elm Street where Betty's house sat.
"You don't have to sound so disgusted when you say it. And yeah, I'm a Serpent, sorta."
"Sorta?"
"I'm the leader."
"You're a gang leader?!" she asked as she stopped in her tracks, Jughead turning to look at her as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.
"Betty, it's fine, honest. I'm not gonna hurt you if that's what you're worried about." he said and she started walking again, Jughead moving to walk next to her.
"How long have you been a gang leader?" she asked and Jughead reached into his back pocket, fishing out a cigarette and lighter.
"About ten years now." he answered before lighting his cigarette, taking a long, soothing drag from it and looking over at Betty who snorted in laughter, "What?"
"Ten years? Who the hell becomes a gang leader at sixteen? What did your dad say?"
"I'm retiring from the serpents for real this time, and went on a speech about how I never gave up on the Serpents before officially handing me the title of Serpent King." Jughead said and Betty stopped again, "Why do you keep doing that? It's making it very hard to keep my promise to Archie to walk you home if you just won't walk."
"You're dad was a gang leader? And just, handed it to you? At sixteen?!"
"Betts, you're Alice Cooper's daughter."
"What the hell does that have to do with our conversation right now?" she asked and placed her hands on her hips.
"It means, you've probably heard all of these horror stories about the Southside, and especially the Serpents, so you're freaking out right now. I can guarantee you that almost everything your mother has ever said about us, has ever printed up in her precious paper, is garbage and bullshit." he said, this time Betty seeing a flash of irritation on his face before he turned and kept walking in the direction of her home.
"So, you're not sex trafficking, drug running thugs?" Betty asked as she caught up to Jughead. He placed his cigarette to his mouth as he side eyed her, his brow furrowed in aggravation.
"No, Betty, we're not. Serpents don't deal with more than dime bags of weed." he answered. His voice was more serious now and Betty frowned, reaching up and touching his arm gently as she stopped walking, "Really, Cooper, I'm never going to get you home at this rate. I have a bar I have to go run tonight."
She recoiled her hand when he snapped at her and shoved them into her pockets.
"Jug, I'm sorry. I don't honestly think of you like that." she apologized and Jughead took another drag off of his cigarette before tossing it to the sidewalk and crushing it with his black combat boot.
"You sure about that? You've only been freaking out this whole walk home." He exhaled the smoke, Betty watching it reach towards the sky in curled tendrils before disappearing. She took a step closer to him and Jughead fought the urge to step back, looking down at her large green eyes.
"I really am sorry, Jug. I don't think that of you. I've only ever heard bad things about the Serpents, but if you're anywhere close to being the same, sweet kid I played with, you wouldn't have joined if they were truly bad people." she said as she removed her hands from her pockets and held her arms out.
"What are doing?"
"I'm apologizing, Jughead, just go with it." she said and wrapped her arms around him, tucking her head under his chin. Jughead rolled his eyes but found himself smiling as he returned the hug, patting her on her back before catching a whiff of her shampoo, or perfume, he wasn't sure. It was a whiff of something fruity and tropical with a mix of floral and he found it surprisingly pleasant. The moment was interrupted by a loud rendition of The Chordettes 'Lollipop'.
"Oh shoot!" Betty hissed, stepping back and quickly retrieving her phone from her pocket, "Hi, Michael!"
Jughead raised an eyebrow and leaned back against one of the many trees lining the street, crossing his arms over his chest and watching Betty. Her demeanor changed from happy and sweet to almost panicked and apologetic as she conversed on the phone with whoever this Michael was.
"No, Michael, I'm sorry. I saw some old friends as soon as I got into town and they took me out to dinner. No, I wasn't going to forget to call you. Michael, please stop. I am sorry. Yes, I'll send you a text when I get home, I'm almost there."
Whoever this Michael was, Jughead decided, he didn't like him. He didn't like the way Betty was tripping over herself in almost panic trying to rectify whatever mistake he was claiming she made. She huffed and hung up the phone, sliding it into her pocket and looking over at him with a sheepish grin.
"Sorry, that was uh, that was my fiancee." she said quietly and cleared her throat and Jughead had to force himself to keep from scowling.
"Sounds more like a parent than a fiancee." he said and pushed off of the tree, "Alright, Cooper, let's get you home."
They chatted the rest of the way to her house, Jughead trying to keep the small talk up to distract her from that phone call from her fiancee. They stopped at the bottom of the steps that led to the walkway to her front door, Betty turning to face Jughead and smiling softly at him.
"Well, Jughead, I'm really glad we got a chance to catch up."
"You say that like you don't plan on seeing me anymore." he teased and fished another cigarette out of his pocket.
"That's not what I meant!" she exclaimed, placing her hands on his arm and he smiled, "I'd love to see you guys as much as I can while I'm here, as long as you want to hang out."
"How about, if you're free sometime, I'll introduce you to my friends at the Whyte Wyrm, and you can see for yourself what kind of people the Serpents are."
Betty bit the inside of her cheek, her mother's words rushing through her head again.
Don't you dare, young lady! She could hear her mother demand in the back of her mind.
"I think that would be really fun, as long as Sweet Pea behaves." Betty answered and Jughead laughed softly, reaching out with one hand and giving her shoulder a quick pat.
"I'll see you later, Bets. Get some sleep." he said before she smiled and took off up the steps, Jughead waiting until she made it into her house before making his way back to Pop's to retrieve his motorcycle.