Chapter Six
"Please don't hurt yourself!" Betty warned, watching as Jughead and Sweet Pea started lifting the heavy couch, Fangs and Archie tackling the heavy granite coffee table.
"Good God, Betty, why does this way two tons?" Sweet Pea asked through gritted teeth, Betty apologizing as he and Jughead managed to get it out the front door and down to the road where a moving van sat waiting. Archie and Fangs followed shortly with the table, Betty pulling out her notebook and standing in the middle of the living room to get a better view.
"Dude, I didn't think helping your girlfriend meant breaking our backs." Sweet Pea grunted as he started walking backwards up the loading ramp, Jughead trying to keep the couch balanced without straining his back.
"How many times do I have to tell you guys, she's not my girlfriend." Jughead said, the guys sighing in relief as they finally got to set the sofa down.
"Yeah, yeah, we know, we just like getting under your skin." Sweet Pea answered, walking past Jughead and giving him a playful punch in the shoulder as he moved to hop out of the back of the truck.
"Watch out!" Archie warned as he and Fangs began to ascend the ramp, setting the table down and scooting it to the back of the truck, "How much more do we have?"
"I don't even wanna know." Fangs grumbled as he and Archie jumped out of the back of the truck, Jughead making a move to follow when a man coming down the sidewalk caught his eye. On any other day it wouldn't have phased Jughead, but something felt off about the man as he walked, a Golden Retriever pulling at the leash he had in his hand. Jughead slowly walked down the ramp, glancing up at the house to make sure everyone else was inside. The man drew closer and Jughead raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look up at Betty's house, his pace slowing and his gaze never breaking.
"Can I help you?" Jughead asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk in his path, the man jumping and coming to a halt as his dog pulled on the leash to keep going.
"Easy, Rocky." the man said, turning his attention over to Jughead and giving him a grin. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, a red baseball cap covering his hair, "You guys moving?"
"My friend is, yeah." Jughead answered, crossing his arms in front of himself as he watched the excited dog jump up and smear mud on the guy's gray tracksuit.
"Rocky, bad dog!" the man scolded and pushed the dog back down, "Say, isn't this the Cooper household? I thought they moved a long time ago."
"Who...are you?" Jughead asked, the guy visibly tensing as he slowly looked up at Jughead, the biker placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket and wrapping his fingers around his switchblade.
"Jug? You coming?" Betty called from the front door, both the men turning their attention to the blonde.
"Yeah, I'll be right...there...Hey!" he shouted as he turned to look back at the guy who was almost sprinting down the sidewalk, the dog in tow. Jughead narrowed his eyes and watched him disappear at the end of the block before turning to meet Betty at the front door.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked as she reached out and placed a hand on his arm, Jughead looking back down the road of the quiet neighborhood, "Who was that guy?"
"I'm not sure, some neighborhood creep." Jughead answered before turning his attention back to Betty, her big green eyes searching his and he swallowed hard, "What uh, what else do you need moved out?"
"Betty, I gotta bail, I've got some plans I really can't skip out on." Archie said as he walked up to the blonde and gave her a hug, Betty thanking him as Jughead, Sweet Pea, and Fangs waved goodbye.
"Is that everything?" Sweet Pea asked as he walked over to Betty and threw his arm around her shoulder, Betty laughing softly and reaching up to pat his hand in reassurance.
"Yes, Sweet Pea, that's everything. Thank you guys for all of your help. Are you sure I can't pay you You've nearly broken your backs today."
"You're our friend, Betts, I'm not taking your money." Jughead said, Fangs and Sweet Pea nodding in agreement, "Why don't we head to Pop's and get something to eat. I'm starved."
'Sounds good to me. Betty, you coming?" Sweet Pea asked and she shook her head, looking around at the living room.
"I'm gonna have to take a rain check. I'm gonna finish staging the downstairs and start editing the pictures I do have so I can get them ready to post for the listing."
"Oh come on, Betty, can't you do that later?" Fangs begged as he stood, both he and Sweet Pea standing on either side of her and wrapping her in a tight hug.
"Oh, geez guys!" she squeaked with laughter, Jughead smiling and leaning back on the arm of the remaining couch.
"Told you they fell in love with you." he said as both the Serpents embracing her gave her two big grins.
"How about I treat you all to dinner some time? We can do pizza, beer and movies." Betty suggested and giggled as their embrace tightened, "You're gonna make me pass out."
"Jughead, she's the best. Can we keep her when the house sells?" Fangs asked and Jughead gave her a sad smile, Betty raising an eyebrow as he smile slowly faded into a look of concern.
"Let's go eat guys." he said as he stood straight, fishing his keys out of his pocket. Sweet Pea and Fangs planted a kiss on her cheeks at the same time before saying goodbye and heading outside to their motorcycles, "Are you sure you can't come? I'd feel better if you did."
"I'm fine, Jughead. I'm just gonna work on some pictures, heat up some leftover Chinese from last night and call it a day. Maybe watch some Netflix on my laptop."
He nodded, reaching up and scratching the side of his nose as he looked away from her, Betty reaching forward and taking his free hand into both of hers. Jughead nearly froze, her small warm hands wrapped around his large and rough one.
"Juggie? What's wrong?" she asked softly, taking a step closer to him and turning his head so his eyes met hers.
"I just have a lot on my mind lately. I'm fine, Betts. I'll call you in a little while and make sure you're okay for the evening." He said before she closed the gap between them and pulled him into a hug, Jughead wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head.
Honeysuckle he thought as he inhaled her scent, stepping back and placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Have fun, Juggie. I'll see you later." she said as she walked him to the door, moving to her tiptoes and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Ow ow!" he heard Sweet Pea call from the seat of his bike, Fangs laughing loudly and Jughead pinching the space between his eyes.
"Sorry." she said with a sheepish smile, Jughead waving it off before stepping out the door and Betty closing it behind him. He made it to his bike, swinging his leg over as Fangs and Sweet Pea made mock kissy faces at him, Jughead glaring at them both and causing them to bust out laughing.
"Last one there gets his ass kicked." Jughead said as his engine roared to life, taking off down the road and leaving them in the dust before they realized what happened.
Betty watched as the three motorcycles took off down the street, sighing softly and moving away from the window and further into the empty house. She went ahead and set up her tripod for the morning, placing her camera on it before grabbing her laptop and settling down the couch. She reached over and turned the tv on to the nightly news, pulling up her photos she had already uploaded to her laptop and sorting through to pick out her favorites of each room. It wasn't long before her stomach was growling with hunger and she looked up, the clock on the wall reading 10:30 at night.
"Let's go eat." she muttered to herself as she headed to the kitchen. She pulled her take out containers out of the fridge, dumping her orange chicken and fried rice out on a plate before popping them into the microwave. She hummed to herself as she waited, glancing up as a blur outside her window caught her attention.
Her heart seemed to trip over itself as she stood still, waiting to see if she saw anything else. When she decided it was probably an owl that flew past the window, a sound made the blood in her veins turn ice cold.
The door handle was turning, slowly.
Betty reached into her pocket, taking her phone out with shaky hands and quickly hitting her speed dial.
"What's wrong, Boss?" Fangs asked as he dipped his fries in his ketchup, Sweet Pea leaning over to look at Jughead's computer screen.
"Hey, who's Michael Weston?" he asked with a mouthful of cheeseburger, Jughead picking up his milkshake and taking a large gulp from it as he scrolled through an official biography of him, ending up on a picture of him and Betty at a charity function, "Oh shit, that's her fiancee, right?"
"Yeah." Jughead said as he studied the picture. Betty stood next to Michael, his hand resting on her lower back. She stood so there was a gap between them, her smile big but her eyes were empty. He stood a good foot taller than her, his light brown hair combed back out of his face. He had a strong square jawline, his mouthed pressed into a tight, firm line and just a hint of five o' clock shadow.
"Checking out your competition? I mean, he's a muscular looking dude but we could take him." Sweet Pea said before taking another bite of his cheeseburger, shoving a couple fries in behind it and washing it down with a swig of soda.
"He's dangerous." Jughead said, Fangs snorting and looking over at their leader.
"Yeah? So are you. So are we. Most people don't know half the shit we've done. We're a gang." Fangs said and watched Jughead slide his beanie off, tossing it onto the table as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"I've been researching this guy for a few days now and I'm not liking what I keep seeing." he growled as he clicked on another link, "I need to get in deeper. There's something not adding up with this guy. Fuck!" he hissed, shutting his laptop and tapping his fingers across the top.
"What's wrong, Boss?" Fangs asked as he sat up straighter, Jughead running his hands down his face and pulling out his phone.
"We need Black Hat." he said as he pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts before selecting one and placing it to his ear.
"Hello?" a gruff voiced asked from the other end.
"Bloodhound, it's Jughead."
"What can I do for you, Jug?"
"I need a favor."
"Anything."
"I need you to find Black Hat for me. I know it's been a while since any of the Serpents have seen him, but this is an emergency."
"I'm on it boss. I'll call you as soon as I figure something out." With that Jughead ended the call and slid his laptop into his bag, taking another gulp of his milkshake before a mouthful of burger. At that moment his phone started going off and Sweet Pea chuckled.
"Alright, Bloodhound, that was fast." he said and Jughead shook his head, choking down his mouthful of burger as he placed the phone to his ear.
"Hey, Betts." he said, raising an eyebrow when he didn't receive an answer. He put the phone on speaker, Fangs and Sweet Pea leaning in closer, "Betty?"
"Jug...where are you?" she asked, her voice quiet and calm.
"We're still at Pop's." he answered and heard her let out a small whine, this time when she spoke her voice was shaky and upset.
"So you're not currently at my back door trying to get in?" The three looked up at each other, Sweet Pea slapping money down on the table as they rushed to get out of the booth.
"Betty, grab something to defend yourself and stay away from doors and windows. Now! We're on our way." Jughead reassured her as they ran across the parking lot and hopped on their bikes, each one tearing out of the parking lot and in the direction of Betty's house.
Betty backed slowly away from the kitchen, stepping into the dining room and feeling frightened tears welling in her eyes as the door handle shook violently. She stifled a scream as she backed into the dining room table, grabbing one of the heavy candelabras off the middle. The shaking stopped, Betty swallowing hard as her heart hammered in her chest.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Suddenly the window of the back door exploded as a rock came flying into the kitchen, Betty gasping as a gloved hand came through and reached for the handle to unlock it. Fear turned anger and survival and she hurried forward, raising the wrought iron candelabra and smashing it down on the hand. A loud, angry cry answered her strike, the hand retreating quickly just before she heard a hard bash against the wood.
Whoever it was was trying to kick the door in.
"Shit!" she hissed and took off, grabbing the chef's knife out of the knife block as she darted for the front of the house. She decided against going upstairs. If she had to make a break for the outside she didn't want to risk breaking a bone jumping out of a second story window.
Coat closet? No. An obvious choice and a small space. She would have no room to fight if it came down to it. She darted to the only closed room, the half bath, shutting the door before she heard the splintering of the back door as it swung open, wanting to cry out when she realized the lock was busted on the bathroom doorknob. She backed against the sink, trying to keep her breathing as quiet as possible as her sobs threatened to give her away. She sat and listened, the sound of her own heartbeat deafening as it throbbed in her ears.
"Please go away, please." she begged mentally, trying to steady her shaking hands. A crunch of glass in the kitchen made her heart plummet into her stomach and she bit back a whimper. The heavy footsteps were slow, cautious, and she heard them moving through the dining room, then the living room, getting closer and closer to her spot. The closet door opened, Betty knowing she would be next.
"It's now or never, Betts. Time to fight." Her grip on the knife tightened and her jaw clenched. Her heart was racing, her adrenaline pumping as the footsteps came to a stop in front of the bathroom, the door handle turning slowly.