Quick A/N: I'm sorry to those of you who are getting upset by the last couple of chapters, but please keep reading. There is so much more to what happened the night of the party. Betty remembers more thank she thinks. Not everything is as it seems. Thank you again for reading!

"How many books do you have?" She demanded, sliding into the booth across from him.

Jughead grinned, his eyes never leaving the page. "Enough to tide me over. How was practice?"

"Fine."

He closed his worn paper cover at her tone.

Toni was a tough girl, always had been, but sometimes, he could read her just as easily as a certain golden haired girl next door.

"Toni."

Toni sighed. "Some of the Vixen's aren't exactly thrilled to have a Southsider on the squad, let alone a Serpent."

His jaw tightened. She could take care of herself, he knew that, but that had never stopped him from wanting to look out for her. She reminded him of Jellybean in a way, why, exactly, he really wasn't sure.

"Do you want me to say something?"

"Actually." She said. "Someone already did."

"Who?" He questioned, his brow arching in confusion.

"Your girl." Toni replied with a smile.

Should he have even asked?

"She's not my-"

"Jug."

"It's not like that." Jughead defended.

She shot him a knowing look that he tried greatly to ignore.

"What did she say?"

"She got into a fight with that raven haired chick... Um..."

"Veronica." He deadpanned. He didn't care for her much either. "Veronica Lodge."

"Right, Veronica. She got into a fight with her friend Veronica-"

"About what?" Jughead cut her off again, more desperate than he would ever admit aloud to hear something about Betty's life.

She hadn't spoken to him in three days.

She had every right to be angry with him, he just wished he could explain his reasonings as to why there were now so many secrets between the one time best friends.

"Do you wanna hear this, or not?"

"Sorry."

"Veronica asked Betty why she was hanging out with me."

"You were hanging out with Betty?"

"Jug."

"Sorry." He mumbled.

Toni eyed him warily. "Should I not hang out with her?"

Jughead let his shoulders drop. "Do what you want, I just thought you were gonna stay on the sidelines."

"That was your plan, Jones, not mine."

"Is it really safe for us to be hanging around her?" Jughead asked. It was a thought that had been nagging at him since the night he'd discovered her at Sweet Water River. "Toni, we are Serpents."

She stared at him for a few moments, her expression unreadable.

"Toni-"

"You really do care about her." Toni mused.

He did.

Maybe more than he had ever cared about anyone in his entire, even his own family, or what was left of it.

"Yes."

"You're right, Jug." Toni told him. "We are Serpents, we find ourselves in dangerous situations all the time, we do dumb shit that could very well harm the people we love the most, but we also protect our own, and you have made it clear that Betty Cooper is yours, so I'm not going to stop protecting her now just because you're worried about collateral damage."

Jughead had never been so grateful to have a friend like her.

"We can't leave her alone now." She added.

"Finish your story."

"Oh, right. Betty got mad at Veronica after she insulted the Serpent name. She said that she and her friends have been way too judgmental."

Jughead chuckled darkly.

That was an understatement.

It shouldn't have surprised him that Betty had come to the Southside's defense, but it did. As much as it pained him, there had been a few times during his interactions with her that he truly believed the Betty Cooper he knew and well...

That too, he guessed, was gone forever.

She was not like her friends, whether she wanted to believe that or not. She was not too far gone to become her own person again, and he was going to fight for her, to bring the old Betty back.

She was in there somewhere.

"I also got invited to a sleepover."

Jughead snorted. "Seriously?"

"Inner circle only?" Toni questioned, her brows knitting together in disgust.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

A plan had been put into action. Fangs, Sweet Pea and several of the other Serpents currently attending Riverdale High reluctantly agreeing to help him. He wasn't going to tell Betty about it, he couldn't, because he knew her. Too well. She would insist on being there, but the last thing he would ever do was let her anywhere near Serpent business, even if it was technically on her behalf. He had to protect her, any way he could.

"Is Betty going?"

She laughed. "Does she really have a choice?"

"Good point." He replied, his tone bitter. "Toni, you're going to hate me..."

She glared at him. "Please don't say what I think you're about to say."

"Someone has to look out for her." Jughead reminded her. "I need you to keep an eye on her will I get rid of Grundy."

"Get rid of... You mean..."

"No, Toni."

"Kidding!"

"Right."

"Do you not trust her?" Toni asked. "Is that why you want me to babysit your girlfriend?"

"She's not my..." He trailed off, unwilling to amuse her. "I do trust her, that's the problem. I trust that she'll do whatever it takes to protect her precious Archie."

"Including confronting Professor Cougar by herself?"

"Or worse." Jughead agreed.

Toni frowned. "You don't mean..."

"Chuck." He hissed. "I'm afraid that if I don't tell her soon, she'll go after Chuck."

"Or Chuck will go after her." She muttered, her expression suddenly turning grave. "I've seen the way he looks at her, Jug."

His jaw tightened.

"I'll kill him before I let him get within an inch of her." He promised.

Toni pulled her fingers through her thick curls. "You really need to tell her."

"I know."