*Sorry for the shorter chapters! I'm coming to the ending of this book and need more time to start writing the second one! :)*

Lliaar

Jughead stared down at his phone at the text just as a call came through from her, he answered but no one answered on the other end, he could hear faint talking, hearing a guys muffled voice.

"Looks like it's hitting you hard."

His body tensed and his gut twisted. Something wasn't right. He hung up calling her back twice and when she didn't answer, he just jumped into his car, slamming it into drive and hitting the gas so hard he thought it might snap through the floor. He called Joaquin, as he drove, his surroundings flying by at an alarming speed.

"Hey," The boy answered quickly.

"Where the fuck is she?" He snapped.

"Uh, she went to get water, but I haven't seen her" He stuttered out.

"Find her, now!" Jughead yelled not even bothering to hang up and throwing his phone onto the seat. He had no idea how he got there as quickly as he did, but he threw himself out of the car barely putting it into park before he pulled the keys out. He walked inside looking around, his eyes narrowed. He sucked in a deep breath, his body shaking with rage. He pushed through people not giving a shit when they glared or yelled at him, coming to an opening in the crowd. Almost as if he had some magnetic pull to her he looked up the stairs, about to climb them when Joaquin rounded out of a hallway at the top, Betty slumped on his shoulder as he held her up, the amount of rage that Jughead felt was blinding as he took the stairs two at a time, grabbing her from Joaquin's arms.

"What the fuck happened?" He growled looking at her and to Joaquin. She leaned into his arms too heavily her eyes blinking as she tried to keep them open.

"Jug?" She looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot and heavy.

"Yeah, baby, I'm here," He tried to speak to her calmly but he was struggling to stay in any form of control. He looked down the hallway and saw Kevin yelling at a kid.

"You think this is funny?!" He yelled, the boy just shrugged. As they walked towards the mouth of the staircase.

"Nothing happened man, we just got too drunk," The kid shook his head innocently. "I'm sorry I didn't know," But his eyes went wide when he saw Jughead and Joaquin standing with Betty.

"She had one drink, I watched her!" Kevin yelled hysterically. The words Jughead had heard on the phone became all too clear, and he stood up straight, handing Betty to Joaquin, who leaned against the banister holding her up against him. He took a menacing step toward them. Kevin looked up at Jughead's face and went silent, cowering away from what Jug knew was the look of someone about commit murder, his vision went red as he focused on the kid.

"Look I'm sorry, she didn't say she had a boyfriend," He lifted his hands in front of him in surrender.

"Do your roofies give a shit?!" He growled angrily, towering over the boy.

"Woah man, I don't know what you are talking about," He laughed and Jughead snapped.

"Let me jog your memory," He gritted out grabbing the boy forcefully by the shoulders and pushing him over the banister, gripping his shirt with a tight fists, smiling as the kids legs dangled. His face going sheet white, his eyes wide with fear. "Looks. Like. It's. Hitting. You. hard."

"Jones," Joaquin warned, watching them carefully, Betty still slumped in his arms, but her eyes were more open now as she watched him, gulping obviously.

"I should drop you, snap both your scrawny ass legs" Jughead said getting terrifyingly calm "Much harder to be a predator when you can't walk," The kid got tears in his eyes and Jug smiled back, but he dragged him back over the bannister shoving him to the ground. "But I think she has been through enough tonight, so you can thank her that you are still alive," He kept his eyes leveled on the boy.

"We should go," Joaquin said carefully, Kevin still silent at his side, but lovingly stroking Betty's face, trying to wake her up more. Jughead finally noticed his surroundings and literally every pair of eyes at the party were on them. He sucked in a deep breath trying to find his composure. The kid had found his balance again and stood, Jughead turned to him, taking a menacing step forward.

"I better never see your face again," He spoke deliberately, making sure the threat was clear. Joaquin had started helping Betty down the stairs, Kevin behind them.

"I don't know what you mean, she threw herself at me," The kid sputtered out obviously trying to save face in front of everyone, Jughead turned and he couldn't stop himself. He cracked his left fist so hard against the kids head that he knocked out from one hit and tumbled down the stairs, laying motionless right next to Joaquin and Betty who had just made it to the bottom. Jug walked down the stairs, ignoring all the stares and whispers, he made it to Betty and grabbed her lifting her into his arms just as the redhead girl he knew as cheryl screamed dramatically.

"He's still breathing," Jughead rolled his eyes at her, watching as the kid on the floor came to and rolled onto his back. Betty reached her arms up and around his neck loosely, resting her head on his shoulder and he walked her out of the house. The lodge girl ran after them.

"Betty, oh my god, is she okay?" She asked looking at all of them frantically.

"She will be," Joaquin answered, realizing that Jughead was still shaking with rage and couldn't find words right then. "Kev and I got in there as soon as we heard a door slam, she is out of it… but nothing happened," He explained to her, but his eyes shifted to Jughead, who let his words sink in, letting out a struggling breath. He looked at Veronica, wanting to strangle her for taking Betty to this stupid party.

"Put me down," Betty whimpered out, her voice impossibly weak. Jug looked at her searching her face, but not listening to her. "I said put me down," She said more strongly, trying to wiggle out of his arms.

"Okay, Okay, stop it," Jug tried to say soothingly, as he lowered her to the ground slowly. Her feet hit the ground, and she tried to stand straight but still had to lean on him, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her to him. She pulled away oddly forcefully, shaking her head. "Are you okay?" He asked keeping his distance slightly, sensing that she didn't want to be touched. She looked up at him somewhat more clearly and glared. Jughead searched her face, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion as to why she had anger directed at him.

"We should call my dad," Kevin said angrily, stepping to Betty's side.

"No," She shook her head.

"Betty he assaulted you, we need to call the police," Kevin tried, his voice shaking.

"I said no," She practically screamed, Jugheads eyes went wide at her reaction, feeling even more concerned than he already did. "We are not calling the police… They are just gonna arrest Jug for trying to kill him," She huffed doubling over, and putting her hands on her knees.

"I wasn't trying to kill him, if I wanted him dead, he would be," Jughead tried to sound somewhat light hearted, feeling oddly guilty that he had handled it his way.

"Can you not?" Betty looked up at him glaring.

"Sorry," He mumbled having no idea how to handle her right then. "I'm sorry I lost it…"

"I just want to leave," she cut him off, looking up at all of them and letting out a shaky breath.

"I can take her home," Jughead recognized the voice and turned his head to see Archie, standing behind Veronica.

"The fuck you will," He snapped, his nostrils flaring. "I got it, red."

"Betty should come back with me," Veronica tried.

"How about you all go fuck yourselves," Betty yelled, reaching down kicking off her shoes and shoving them with her foot at Veronica, glaring. "I would rather walk," She shook her head, and stood straighter, before turning and starting to walk away

"Betts," Jughead called after her, feeling so insanely bad that she was feeling however he could only imagine she did.

"Betty!" Kevin called "I have your phone, wait!" But she didn't even slow down.

"Just…." Jug sighed, frustratedly "let me handle this, I will get her home safe, I promise," He looked at Kevin taking the phone from him and sliding it into his pocket, before leaving the group and taking off in a jog to catch up to her.

"Hey," He said softly grabbing her shoulder, she spun around shooting him daggers "Babe, I'm so sorry, I should have stayed calm, If you want to call the police it's okay," he tried.

"I don't want to call the police," She glared, turning to walk away but stumbling slightly, he reached out catching her.

"Let me look at you, or at least take you home. We can sleep and talk about it in the morning. I just want you to be safe," He looked over her, hating himself for not being there sooner. She just kept trying to walk away, further down the dirt road that lead into the woods surrounding the estate. "Betty," He growled getting increasingly more frustrated. "Please," He begged "I just want you out of here."

"I can't go anywhere with you," she said flatly, spinning to face him.

"Why the fuck not?" He asked, genuinely lost, nothing had happened between this morning and now as he racked his brain for any reasoning she might have, unless she was just angry at the male species as a whole. "I'm not that kid, Betty. I won't hurt you, ever," He said willing her to believe him.

"This isn't about him!" She yelled "Go back and kill him for all I care!" She turned slowly, seeming like she wasn't sure where to go, she turned back to him, her face oddly calm, but her hands were at her sides in tiny fists. "You lied… you looked me dead in the eye and lied," Her voice shook like she wanted to yell, but she kept quiet.

"About what? What are you talking about?" He searched her eyes in the darkness, trying to follow her thoughts and just wanting to get to the bottom of this so she could stop looking at him like she hated him. He had done everything he could to be good for her, he had opened up to her in ways he didn't know he was capable of and none of it was a lie.

"Jason is the drug dealer you are supposed to replace," She said sharply, staring at him through narrowed eyes. He closed his eyes slowly, dread coursing through his veins as her words sunk in. "You promised me you didn't have anything to do with his death," He knew she was furious, he could feel it radiating from her, but her voice was quiet and oddly sad.

"No, I promised you I didn't kill him…"