Jughead sat at his kitchen table, drinking the cup of coffee he poured for himself. Every so often, his eyes flickered to his bedroom where he could see Betty tied to his bed. He hated himself for kidnapping her – more than she could ever hate him – and he wondered, not for the first time, how he had agreed to do this. Then his father's face popped up in his mind and he had his answer. He knew that FP Jones expected to be paid back and if holding Betty Cooper hostage was the answer to that, then so be it.
Then why the hell did Jughead feel guilt squirming at his insides like snakes?
He sighed softly, standing to his feet. The least he could do is offer her some coffee. Treat her like person. He went to go pour her a cup, snagging the creamer as well, before slowly making his way into his room. He spotted her staring out the window, wrists tied together, and he sighed softly. "Betty?"
She turned to face him, tears glazing her cheeks. "Hmm?"
"I – I brought you some coffee," he said quietly. "Would you like some?"
She stared at the cup. "What's in it?'
What's in – oh. Right. "It's not poisoned." He hated the fact that he had to say that at all in the first place.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I can't exactly trust just your word, now can I?"
He supposed he deserved that. He nodded slightly and took a sip of the coffee, swallowing it, before looking at her once more. "I promise, it's not poisoned. Or drugged."
She nodded slowly, then looked down at her tied wrists with a frown. One he matched. He took a moment to think, and then he was pulling out his knife after setting the coffee and creamer down. She gasped softly. "Please don't hurt me."
His heart ached at the scared voice she adopted when asking that question. He kept his movements nice and slow as he made his way towards her. Cupping her wrists gently, he set about cutting the zip ties. She deserved more freedom in the first place. Betty's wrists were shaking and he hated that he caused her so much fear. "Hey, it's okay. I don't want to hurt you." He didn't know how many times he would have to tell her that before she believed him, but he would tell her as many times as it took.
She bit her lip, trying to still her tremors, and let him untie her. When her wrists were free, he went back and picked up the coffee, handing it to her. Taking a sip, she looked at him. "Thank you." Her voice was soft and quiet in ways that hurt Jughead's heart. After watching her for the past three months, he knew her mother had berated her enough to make her feel like her voice wasn't important; wasn't worthy.
"You're welcome," he said. Just then, there was a knock at his apartment door, and Betty flinched. He placed his hand on her knee gently. "Probably just my dad." He made sure to keep his voice calm; he didn't want to spook her. Calling for whoever it was to come in, Jughead heard the door opening.
His dad appeared in his apartment a moment later. "Jug?"
"In the bedroom," he called back, smiling reassuringly at Betty. She kept her eyes down as FP walked in, taking in the situation.
"You're the Cooper girl?" FP asked gruffly, and Jughead threw him a frown. He shrugged his shoulders as Betty barely raised her eyes to meet his. She nodded at him, too scared to say more. "I'm sorry it's come to this."
FP softened his tone and Betty hesitantly looked up at him. "Your son says I'm only here for a month, tops. And that you don't want to hurt me." Her voice was shaking, betraying the nerves she felt at speaking to his dad, and Jughead knew how hard this was for her. Tracing his thumb along her ankle that wasn't sprained, he looked at his dad.
"Jughead has it right," FP said after a moment. "We're not looking to hurt you. Your father just owes me a lot of money."
Betty laughed bitterly. "And, you think he'll pay it because you kidnapped me? News flash, my parents only live to serve themselves."
Jughead's heart ached at the bitter acceptance in her tone. He shared a concerned look with his dad. "Surely, they'll want you back."
"Hah." Betty blew out a burst of air. "Don't hold your breath."
Jughead knew she was putting on a front; that she was trying to act nonchalant about parents who didn't give a damn. And, what was worse, he knew that she was right. He had seen the way her parents treated her; had seen the way her best friends ignored her in favor of each other. It was too much to think about. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, you're sorry," Betty scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Forget it."
FP had a peculiar look in his eye when Jughead turned to face him. It was as if he felt sorry for the blonde. Or deeply saddened. And Jughead couldn't blame him. FP nodded his head. "We'll discuss logistics later. Right now, are you hungry?"
Betty shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself and then wincing. "Ah, fucking foot."
"What happened to your foot?" FP asked, looking down at her ankle that was swollen to the size of a softball. "Shit, what did you do?"
Betty pursed her lips and Jughead answered once he realized she wasn't going to. "She tripped out of the van and twisted her ankle."
"Fuck," FP sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "I've got some painkillers I can give you."
"No, thank you," Betty replied in a steely voice, and Jughead realized she didn't want to show her pain. He didn't blame her for that. He wouldn't want to show his pain to his captors as well. Jughead sighed as FP nodded his head.
"Okay," the older man said. "I know you must be scared."
"I'm not scared," Betty snapped, eyes steely. "I just want to go home or whatever."
"Your father owes me a lot of money," FP began, but Betty interrupted him.
"That's not my problem. Nor is he going to pay it just because you kidnapped me," Betty said quietly, in a firm tone. "My dad doesn't do anything unless he sees how it'll help him."
"Surely, it'll help him by getting you back," Jughead said desperately.
Bety chuckled; the sound was bitter. "You clearly don't know my father very well. No, the only thing that he or my mother are going to care about is the fact that you're making demands. I assume there's a ransom involved?"
FP studied for a moment, nodding slowly the next minute. "What he owes me from his debt."
Betty snorted. "Good luck getting him to pay that."
Jughead sighed as FP shook his head. "We'll deal with that later, dad."
"Okay," FP said. He smiled apologetically at Betty. "We're all really sorry that you've been put in the middle of this."
Betty didn't deem that worthy of a reply and Jughead wasn't surprised. FP was making his way out of his apartment with a significant look sent to Jughead. Jughead turned back to Betty, noting the hard exterior of her mouth had softened and she looked like she was ready to cry again. "Don't cry, Betty, please don't cry."
"My ankle really hurts," she whispered, eyes closed, and Jughead knew how badly it was hurting her by her face alone.
"I can get you some pain meds," he said softly. "It wouldn't be any trouble."
"No, thank you," she said firmly.
Jughead didn't know why she was being so stubborn. What was the harm in admitting she needed something to make the pain go away? There was another knock at his door. "It's open."
In came Sweet Pea and Fangs. Sweet Pea looked at Betty, watching as she tried to scoot up on the bed as much as her tied ankle would allow her. He frowned. "Are you comfortable?"
"What does it matter?" Betty asked dully.
Sweet Pea sat down on the edge of the bed. "It matters to us."
"I don't understand you guys," Betty snapped, looking at them in disbelief. "You pointed a gun to my head and kidnapped me. Now you care about if I'm in pain? Make up your mind."
Jughead had to admit she had a point. He shared a look with Sweet Pea, while Fangs was looking at Betty apologetically. He started speaking. "Not all of us agreed with this idea, I just want you to know that."
"It doesn't matter," Betty snarled, eyes blazing. "You kidnapped me. Tied me up and gagged me. Took me away from my home. My family isn't going to fight to get me back because they care more about themselves than they do me. You guys took the wrong fucking girl."
Jughead's heart hurt and he stared at her for a long minute. Fangs' eyes were wet, and Sweet Pea was frowning sadly. "Betty, we aren't looking to hurt you."
She turned to look at Sweet Pea. "So you've said." Her tone was cool; sharp in ways Jughead was used to talking to his men in. He sighed softly.
"We really don't," he murmured. "We want you to trust us on that."
Betty stared at him incredulously. "Which part of yourself am I supposed to trust? The part that kidnapped me or the part that tied me down to his bed? I literally cannot trust you. Any of you."
Jughead knew she wasn't going to make this easy on him and he nodded slowly, standing to his feet. "We'll let you get some sleep. Let me know if you need painkillers."
The three of them shuffled out after that and Jughead was left wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into.
Author's note: Thank you for the love for this one. Hope you like this chapter! Xx
