Author's note: TW: Sexual assault
Jughead, Sweet Pea, and Joaquin all sat in Betty's room, watching her sleep. Veronica was currently back on shift and working with other patients, and Cheryl and Toni were coming back after getting Betty some fresh pajamas at her request. Jughead knew he needed to tell his men that his girlfriend had been sexually assaulted but how the fuck did he bring it up? Especially to Sweet Pea, who had openly declared Betty as his pseudo-sister? He didn't know if he could do that. "Just spit it out, Jughead."
"How'd you know?" Jughead sighed wearily.
"You've been staring at the wall for the last ten minutes, lost in thought. I'm not stupid; I know Betty told you something else about what those dicks did to her," Sweet Pea intoned quietly. Jughead rubbed a hand down his face, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"They attacked her," he said quietly. He knew Sweet Pea would understand the implications.
Sweet Pea stared at him for a full minute, different expressions crossing his features, until it settled on one: murder. "I'm going to fucking annihilate Malachi." His voice was nothing more than a venomous hiss. Jughead shook his head.
"Malachi is mine," he said in a cold and calculated voice, the one that always preset murder. "No one is allowed to kill him but me."
"Fine," Sweet Pea said. "I get Penny."
"I don't care what you do to the bitch," Jughead agreed, staring at Betty as she quivered in the bed. He traced his thumb along her brow, shushing her softly. She settled back down and Jughead felt the ache in his heart lessen slightly. He turned to Joaquin.
"Have you talked to Kev?" Jughead asked, wondering why they hadn't seen the other guy yet.
"He's coming to terms with what happened and letting you have some time with her before he shows up. He'll be here tonight," Joaquin replied.
That was good enough for Jughead, who nodded his head. He stared at Betty, tears burning thick and hot in his throat. He brought a shaking hand up to cover the sound of his sob. "Fuck."
Simultaneously, Sweet Pea and Joaquin both placed their hands on his shoulders, helping to ground him. "Get it out." This was Sweet Pea, pressing down on his shoulder as he grounded him. Jughead was thankful for his right hand. He let a couple of tears slip out and then he swallowed back his sobs. He would not wake up Betty with his crying. Just then, the door opened and in walked Veronica.
"I can watch her for a bit if you guys need some air," she murmured.
Jughead was hard pressed to tell her no but Sweet Pea hauled him to his feet, getting his pack of smokes along with his trusty lighter he never went anywhere without. "Let's take ten and get a couple of smokes in."
Ten seemed like a ridiculously long amount of time to be separated from Betty, but then Jughead saw Sweet Pea looking at Ronnie and he understood. Ronnie needed time with her best friend too. He nodded and pressed a gentle kiss to Betty's forehead. "Be back soon, baby." Then the three of them were leaving the room. Jughead had too much energy, something Sweet Pea matched as the taller punched the wall outside of the room. Jughead knew exactly how his best friend was feeling.
"We're handling this," Sweet Pea intoned darkly.
"I know," Jughead said quietly. He looked at Joaquin, who nodded.
"I'll go put tabs on Peabody," he said, nodding at his leader before heading out of the hospital. Sweet Pea turned to Jughead.
"I don't care what you do to Malachi but Penny is mine," he hissed.
Jughead wouldn't deny his right hand the opportunity to defend Betty. He nodded. "I know. She's all yours."
Sweet Pea exhaled, and they made their way outside. Lighting their cigarettes, Jughead inhaled a lungful of smoke, watching as people walked in and out of the hospital. He wondered how they were faring; if they had loved ones who had been brutally attacked. He wiped his face, no longer caring if his best friend saw him cry. He felt a hand on his shoulder and nodded at Sweet Pea. "You're not alone, Jug."
"I know," he whispered. He inhaled a fortifying breath, body crumpling, and Sweet Pea held him up. "It's not right."
"No it's not," the taller intoned. "But we'll get our justice. Betty will have justice."
Jughead took in great gulping breaths of air before Sweet Pea hugged him tightly. He didn't give a fuck who saw; it was Betty. He needed to be able to cry for her. After he cried himself out, he finished smoking his cigarette, and gave Sweet Pea a chance to smoke too. Then they were heading back inside. It felt like it had been hours since Jughead had last seen Betty, instead of ten minutes, and he hurried to her room. Opening the door, he saw her sitting up in bed, Ronnie hugging her tightly as Betty's shoulders shook. In that moment, Jughead felt Betty's pain tenfold. He eased down into the seat next to her, clasping her hand in his. "Hon."
"I'm f-fine," she hiccupped, rubbing at her face harshly. He winced when she pressed down on one of her black eyes, and gently removed her cast arm away from her face.
"Be careful," he murmured, and she looked at him.
"Ronnie says we – we can get the kit," she muttered.
Jughead inhaled quietly, careful to not make it sound weary. "Okay, we can do that. I'll be right in the room with you."
"Thank you," she murmured.
"I can stay too," Sweet Pea offered up quietly, but Betty shook her head.
"I don't want you to see that," she murmured. "You're my best friend, tall. You don't need to see that."
Jughead understood there were things he wasn't privy to in their friendship, like her love for her best friend, but then again, Sweet Pea wasn't privy to Betty's love for Jughead, either. He looked at Ronnie. "When do we start?"
"I'll get the doctor in as soon as possible." With that, she and Sweet Pea walked out of the room, leaving Jughead to curl up in bed next to Betty so he could wrap his frame around her protectively. She melted into the embrace, and he just held her. He would always hold her.
Author's note: Thank you for the love on this story so far! I really appreciate you guys so very much. Please enjoy it and let me know your thoughts! Xxx