Jughead kept a close eye on Betty in the upcoming days. He knew his girlfriend would go through withdrawals from the gratuitous drug usage Sister Woodhouse forced her to participate in. He knew that, while not her choice in the slightest, Betty would feel the ramifications of not having the drugs in her system. He kept a watchful eye on her, making sure she wasn't suffering too badly.
Minus a few quiet days and some tremors, Betty seemed to be doing admirably, and Jughead couldn't be prouder of her. He knew that she was going to go through the withdrawals beautifully, and this was just another hurdle she had to leap over. Still. Still. It didn't make him feel all that better. Not when she had the hurdle to jump over in the first place.
Alice had come a knocking a time or two but FP was adamant that Betty was to stay with them. Betty hadn't even shown her face when Alice showed up both times, instead choosing to hide out in Jughead's room while her mother and his father exchanged acerbic comments with one another. "She's not your daughter, FP!"
"She's as good as fucking as!" FP had screamed back. "It's not like you treat her like she's your daughter!"
"I'll have you for kidnaping," Alice sneered.
"Go ahead and try, Ally," FP snapped. "I'll have you for wrongful imprisonment and abuse towards your daughter. Don't think I won't tell Keller what goes on at that group home."
That was enough to make Alice blink coolly and stand down. "Fine. I hope the brat is worth it."
Jughead had flown out of his trailer at that point, having been in the room with Betty and comforting her. "How dare you! What the fuck is your problem, Alice? Betty is a saint and you sent her there – to that hellhole – to break her. I swear to God, Alice Cooper, I'll get her the hell away from you."
Alice had laughed in his face and turned on her heel, striding away from him, and Jughead had sworn he had never wanted to wring someone's neck as much as he did then. Betty had come out of his room.
"Is she gone?" Betty had asked in a small voice, peering outside of the door nervously.
Jughead had taken her into his arms and rubbed a soothing hand up her back. "She's gone, she's gone. I promise, I won't let her get to you again."
Now, it was three days later and Jughead and Betty were getting ready to go back to school. He had taken the week and a half with her, having Veronica bring by their homework. Jughead looked at Betty. Betty smiled at him and nodded her head smally. "I'm ready."
"It's okay if you're not," Jughead cooed, going to cup her chin into his palm gently. He traced his thumb over her cheekbone and she leaned into the touch.
"No, I'm ready," she murmured, closing her eyes. "I have to be. I can't hide out in your trailer for the rest of eternity."
He kissed her languidly, always making sure it was what she wanted. She had had things happen against her will and now every move he made, he made sure it was one she wanted. Naturally, she did the same for him and they just coexisted with one another. "I know. You're going to be okay. I'm in all of your classes today and you have Archie and Veronica with you, too. The Serpents as well.'
"It's the only reason I can make it through this day," she admitted.
He kissed her once more before grabbing their backpacks. "Come on. Let's go show the school it takes more than a bunch of batshit nuns and a demented mother to knock Betty Cooper flat on her ass."
She laughed out loud, the sound warming Jughead, and the two of them left, with FP calling out a goodbye to them.
XXX
School wasn't easy by any means. Halfway through the day, Betty went up to Jughead and asked for some time in the Blue and Gold with him. He knew she was after a respite of some kind and didn't begrudge her that. Walking towards their newspaper office, he let them into the room and she headed straight for the couch. Their friends trailed in after them, Sweet Pea shutting the door behind hm as he did so. "How can we help, mini-Coop?"
Betty looked towards the taller, dragging a hand down her face. She looked tired and withdrawn; pale in ways Jughead wasn't accustomed to seeing from her. "Got any drugs I can take?"
Sweet Pea barked out a harsh laugh. "I'll fucking kill Woodhouse."
Betty smiled grimly. "Thank you, Pea. I'm just feeling the withdrawal symptoms today."
"That's okay," Jughead murmured, trailing a hand down through her hair. "You're allowed to feel those. Hell, you're even allowed to want the drugs that will stop the withdrawals. You're just not allowed to give up fighting, baby."
"I know," she sighed, nodding her head the next moment. "I just hate the fact that this is even an issue in the first place. And…"
When she trailed off, quietly, Jughead cupped her cheek. "And what?"
"I'm scared of everything," she admitted in a hoarse whisper and Jughead felt his heart clench.
"I know," he murmured, swallowing the lump that had lodged itself painfully in his throat. "I know you are. That's okay. We'll work on it together."
"Promise?" Betty asked in a small voice, and he kissed her gently, not giving a damn that their friends were watching sadly.
"I promise," he breathed against her lips.
Veronica was speaking up the next minute. "Why don't you take the afternoon, Bettykins? I can get your homework and you can just hang out in this room. If Weatherbee asks, we'll just tell him you needed one more day."
"Yeah, Betty," Archie replied, "It's okay if all you can do is a half day today. No one is judging you for that."
Betty looked at their two friends, with Jughead smiling at them smally, and she nodded her head. "Okay. You guys are right. I'll take the afternoon."
Jughead pressed a tender kiss to her temple, knowing it had to get worse before it got better.
Too bad, worse looked a lot like hell