Jughead kept a close eye on Betty. His girlfriend had been subjected to unspeakable acts of violence: drugging's, beatings, starvation, you name it. He knew that those types of horrors would leave scars even he couldn't fathom. But he promised to always be there for her. There wasn't a day that went by that he wasn't there for her. And he thought she appreciated that. He knew she felt safe with him; the safest when she was with him, and she stayed with him at the trailer on the southside. Alice Cooper hadn't come by – yet – but Jughead didn't put it past her.

There was a lot of healing that Betty had to do. Sister Woodhouse was a lot of things, unforgivable being one of them. She had abused his girlfriend in some sick game of control, and Jughead wanted to pulverize her. And he would. He would make sure he saw that idea come to fruition.

Betty and Jughead were currently at the school, staying late for an article that needed to be edited by the next afternoon. Jughead knew that Betty felt the safest when she was with him, and he felt the safest when he was with her. Then there was the fact that the Serpents were guarding the school.

Joaquin and Sweet Pea took their roles as bodyguards very seriously. Jughead wouldn't have assigned them to watch over Betty if he didn't think they could handle it. So, he appreciated what his two closest men did for him; for them. He continued to tap away on his keyboard, editing the article that they had to submit by eleven that night.

Joaquin, Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea, Archie, and Ronnie were all sitting by them, talking quietly with one another while Betty and Jughead worked. Jughead would sometimes look at Betty and see that her eyes were hollow, and it sent a shiver of fear through him. He didn't want his girl to ever look empty. But he wasn't stupid. Sisters of Quiet Mercy hadn't done her any favors. Or Ethel, for that matter. And Ethel had found a way out and had gotten to the Serpents. So, he was grateful.

Still.

Still.

His girl was hurting in ways he couldn't fathom. How he wanted to, though. He wished she understood that she could open to him about anything. Anything at all. But so far, she had remained pretty quiet on that front.

Then there were the drugs he couldn't help but be worried about. Sister Woodhouse had had her goons force-feed Betty pills. Fizzle Rock. Fizzle Rock that Hiram Lodge was selling to people in their community. Betty had said all the girls at the sisters were taking Fizzle Rock. She had tried to defy them of course, but when someone was stronger than her, it left little room to work with.

She stretched her arms above her head just then, rotating her shoulders, and popping her neck. She looked at Jughead. "I think we're in a good place."

"Me too," he agreed, shutting down his own computer. Then there was the fact that Betty had pledged her allegiance to the Serpents. FP had taken her in like a daughter. And he knew it would cause a world of hurt for the blonde beauty. He just didn't think that Alice would be stupid enough to try anything when Betty was on the south side of the tracks, and she was on the north.

That didn't mean he was going to let his guard down for even a minute, however. He fully anticipated an attack from Alice Cooper of some sort. Ne, Alice Smith. She had gone back to her maiden name and hadn't given Betty the same curtesy. It was something that pissed Jughead the fuck off.

Just then, Betty stood up, Joaquin and Sweet Pea following suit. Archie and Ronnie were next, holding hands, and looking at their golden-haired friend expectantly. "I'm starving."

Jughead breathed a sigh of relief, sharing a look with Sweets. Betty had been forced not to eat at Quiet Mercy and he was scared to find out if that meant she was done eating in general. His girl often stopped eating altogether when her emotions were heightened, causing her weight to slip down to lower numbers. Jughead knew it wasn't an eating disorder, but he still fed her every time something pulled out big emotions from her. "Pops?"

Betty looked at Archie and Ronnie, noting that they were quick to agree, and then she turned back to Jughead. "Pops sounds good. I could do with a burger."

Thank God. He smiled at her, interlocking their fingers together, and then he was leading the way out of the Blue and Gold and out of the school. Where, he stopped short and shoved Betty behind him. Alice was standing there, staring at her youngest in disdain. "It's time you came home, Elizabeth."

Betty scoffed at her mother as Jughead sneered. "I'm not going anywhere. My home is on the southside, no thanks to you."

"I will not have you running around with these miscreants, Elizaeth," Alice snapped.

Betty rolled her eyes, tugging Jughead's wrist. "Come on Juggy. Let's go get something to eat and then go home."

It all happened so fast. One second, Betty and Jughead were trying to push past Alice; the next, the older monarch was slapping an open palm against Betty's cheek, sending her head snapping in the other direction.

Jughead saw shades of red and handed Betty to Joaquin, who immediately took her and placed her behind him. Sweet Pea, Toni, Cheryl, and Jughead all got in Alice's face, with Archie restraining Ronnie from kicking her ass to the ground. Jughead seethed and spoke in a voice filled with venom. "How dare you touch her, Alice! How dare you even look at her."

"The brat is still mine," Alice hissed.

"Yes, but see, she's not," Sweet Pead said in a deadly quiet voice. "The moment you put her in Sisters, she no longer had to call you mother."

"Count your days, Alice," Ronnie hissed. "Because they're surely numbered."

With that, the group pushed past her, shielding Betty from view and left the school, chests heaving with exertion.