Author's note: Beta'd by me! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter! X
Betty sat in the police station, the words from the stranger's lips still ringing in her ears. What did he mean that he was Sweet Pea Peabody, and he was there to take her home? It didn't make any sense. And then there was Chic, acting like the douche canoe that he was. He wasn't letting Sweet Pea talk to Betty, which was pissing off the hardened guy, and Betty feared for Chic's safety. She didn't know Sweet Pea from Adam; didn't know if he was a good guy or not.
Betty stared at the wall before her listlessly, hoping to garner information from it. There were two guys with jackets on that she had never seen before in her life. The dark-haired one kept staring at her over Chic's shoulder, as if he could penetrate her thoughts. She hoped he couldn't. She didn't want him to read her like an open book.
Then there was the other guy. The one in the knit beanie. It was too much hope that he wasn't reading her like an open book either. She didn't want him to be able to read the fear on her face; didn't want him to know that she was scared shitless. But she had the sneaking suspicion that he did. And that terrified her.
Just then, the dark-haired guy, (Sweet Pea, Betty), pushed Chic out of his way and walked towards her. He held out a calming hand, smiling at her encouragingly when she met his eyes. "Hey."
It wasn't the icebreaker of the century, but it would have to do. "Uhm. Hi."
"I'm sure you're wondering who we are," Sweet Pea said, and Betty just managed to nod her head. "I'm. Well, this is harder than I thought it would be but shit, I'm your brother."
What.
The.
Fuck.
"Sorry?" Betty asked, voice breaking.
"I'm your brother, kid," Sweet Pea said confidently. Betty shook her head, pointing at Chic.
"He's my brother," she said, somewhat scared.
"And don't you forget that!" Chic snarled, and Sweet Pea huffed out an irritated sigh.
"God," he groaned. "How are you not annoyed by him?"
Betty clapped a hand to her mouth to suppress the laughter that wanted to come bubbling out of her. She shouldn't be laughing at a time like this. The guy in the knit beanie caught her eye and winked, speaking up the next minute. "I'm Jughead, and what this tall guy is saying is true."
That's not possible.
"It can't be possible," Betty managed.
"Why not?" Jughead asked pleasantly.
"Because - because I have a brother," Betty replied weakly, shrugging her shoulder slightly
"Ah," Jughead said. "Yes, I thought you'd say that. This man – what is his name?"
"Chic," she whispered, and he nodded.
"Yes, Chic. He is Alice Smith's kid?" Jughead asked.
Betty received a jolt at the fact that he called her mother by her maiden name. "H-He is."
"But you're not," Jughead said quietly, and Betty's heart fell through her stomach.
"I have the birth certi-," but that wasn't true, was it Betty? She did not have her birth certificate. Alice had said she never needed one, so she hadn't bothered to get one. Jughead looked at her kindly. "I don't know how to make sense of this."
"You're not supposed to," Chic snapped, glaring at her. Betty shook. That was a look she had received many, many times before, and it never ended well for her.
"Chic, I -," she began, but he interrupted her with a slap on the cheek.
"Enough," he hissed. He tried to grab her, but Sweet Pea moved so fast, he was a blur. One minute he was there, the next he was twisting Chic's arms behind his back and crowding into his space.
"Don't you dare ever fucking touch her again," he growled.
It was Chic's turn to whimper. Sweet Pea was a lot taller than him. Stronger too, it seemed. "Okay, man." This was Chic, trying to appeal to Sweet Pea's better nature, but Betty wasn't sure if he had one at that moment. Sweet Pea was still breathing heavily and Jughead cleared his throat.
"You'd be wise to listen to him," he said calmly, turning to Betty with supreme indifference over the situation. "Betty. You must believe us when we tell you that there's more to the situation than you know."
"But - home?" Betty asked, tone puzzled. "You said you were here to take me home? New York is my home."
"No, kid," Sweet Pea said patiently. "It's not. New York is Alice's home." The way he said her name sent a chill through Betty. He hated her. "Your home is in Riverdale."
"River-Dale?" Betty pronounced it as two words, certain she had misheard.
Jughead laughed, bumping his shoulder with hers. "Yeah, Riverdale."
"Where's that?" Betty asked dumbly.
"It's in New York," Jughead assured her, and that brought on a tiny bit of relief. It was still in her state. She could stomach that.
"But how do you know I am from there?" Betty demanded, getting to the root of her confusion.
"Ah," Sweet Pea said, smiling suddenly. "Yes, I thought you may ask that question sooner or later. You were kidnapped out of a front yard – my front yard, to be exact – when you were two years old."
"That's not possible," Betty whispered, but suddenly, memories she had kept at arm's length were threatening to swallow her whole. A memory of a blonde little girl chasing after her brother – her twin brother – and laughing as they played tag in the front yard. Screaming bloody murder when her dad – Jesus, Hal! - showed up at her house and snatched her right from the front yard.
Sweet Pea was watching her with a pained expression. "I promise you, it's true."
"Oh my god," she whispered, staring at nothing and everything alike. She rounded on Chic. "Did you know?"
"Betty...,"
"Did you know?" Betty demanded in a furious tone.
"You're my sister, okay?" Chic growled. "No matter how it happened. And I'll be damned before I let you go with these guys."
"I'd like to see you try and stop us," Jughead piped up, snickering at the look on his face. "There isn't a damn thing you can do to stop us."
"But the question we must ask is this: Betty, do you want to come with us?" Sweet Pea asked with a hopeful inflection in his tone.
She looked at Chic, who was glaring at her murderously. Then she looked at Jughead and Sweet Pea, the former smiling at her gently. It was his smile that sold her. "Yes."