Betty sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her outfit would have to do. She couldn't afford to be late to the meeting at the Blue and Gold and Jughead would kill her if she missed it. She was co-editor. She needed to be there. Tightening her ponytail, she made her way out of her room and down the stairs. Her family wasn't home right now. Hal and Alice were at the Register – how her dad worked for the newspaper and still managed to run the Serpents with FP was beyond her – and Sweet Pea was out with Joaquin on a ride. So that left her. She had to make it to the school because Jughead was already there. She had denied his invitation to ride with him to the school and now she was questioning why she had done that.

Archie Andrews had been a thorn in her side for the last three years. And it was more than that if she was being honest with herself. He had developed an infatuation with her that went beyond anything that she had ever experienced before. He was obsessed with her. And it scared the hell out of her. She didn't feel safe in her own life, and she hated that with passion. So, she had to deal with that all the time. Then she had to deal with the fact that both her brother and her boyfriend were stupidly protective of her. It left her with little room to breathe. But she wouldn't complain. She knew that Sweet Pea and Jughead had her best interests at heart.

Stepping into the living room, she glanced around the room. Nothing was out of place. Archie wasn't hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce. She could breathe a bit easier. Grabbing her Serpents jacket – she got one by default – she made her way to her front door. Her car was in the shop, so she was going to walk to the school. It would only take her about twenty minutes.

Opening the front door, she felt the crisp autumn air kissing her cheeks pleasantly, and she smiled. She loved Autumn. It was probably her favorite time of the year. Turning to lock the door, she heard the voice she dreaded to hear calling out to her. "Need a ride?" Turning around, she spotted Archie Andrews bounding up towards her, smile threatening to split his face in two.

"No, thanks," she replied firmly, fingers holding her keys tightly in case she had to use them as a weapon.

Archie sighed. "Look, Betty. I just want things to go back to normal. Back to how we were when we were friends."

She stared at him incredulously. "Archie, we were never friends. You never gave me the chance to see you as a friend. I think you need to go."

A shadow passed over Archie's face and suddenly, Betty was trying to unlock her door so she could run back inside. She got the door unlocked and ran inside. Archie shoved his way in after her and she felt her heart reverberating in her ears as she ran. "Betty, I just want to talk!"

She raced towards the kitchen, trying to reach a weapon, but he grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her down. Smacking her head on the tile, stars burst in front of her eyes. She needed to fight him. She needed to get outside so she could call for help. She was foolish for going back inside and thinking he wouldn't follow her.

Archie spun her around, straddling her hips as he tried to hold her down. She wasn't going down without a fight. She kneed him in the groin, relishing his groan of pain. Falling off her, she was quick to her feet. Running away from her tormentor, she ran outside, carefully avoiding their pool in their backyard. It was mainly for Sweet Pea's pleasure; she never learned how to swim.

Hearing footsteps coming from behind her, she ran towards the gate. If she could just get outside of her house and to her neighbors, she'd stand a fighting chance. Just then, she felt someone grab her from behind and throw her down. The second time hitting her head on something hard, and she was certain she had a concussion. Archie was looming over her when she blinked her eyes up at him. "Betty, I'm going to teach you a fucking lesson."

She struggled against him, screaming for a minute before he punched her in the mouth. She felt blood pooling to the surface and groaned in pain. "Archie..."

"No, Betty," he snapped, fists clenched. "I've spent the last three years doing everything for you and this is how you repay me? I fucking love you!" His fist connected with the side of her head, and she groaned. She had a concussion. Just then, the sound of motorcycles could be heard and he glared at her. "What did you do ?"

She snickered. "It's called an emergency contact, you asshole."

He was frothing at the mouth and punched her one more time, before tossing her carelessly into the pool. The water submerged her, soaking her, and her arms started flailing as she tried to get out. But she hadn't ever been a good swimmer. She coughed, spluttering around as water got into her windpipe. What a sad way to die.

Just as she felt the last of her air circulation cut off, she heard a splash in the distance, and then arms yanking her above water. "Betty! God, breathe, baby!"

Her head lolled to the side as the last of her consciousness slipped away from her. She was floating. She was safe. And for once, she wasn't scared. But there was a sharp pain starting in her chest, pulling her back to consciousness. No, no. What was happening? She just wanted to sleep. "...Breathe, dammit! Fight!" This was Jughead. She recognized his voice like the back of her hand. Why couldn't she follow his instructions? Then she felt his lips on her as he pounded against her chest. Coughing up the dreaded water, her eyes flew open as he pushed her head to the side, telling her to cough it all up. "That's it. Good girl. Just get it up, baby."

Betty trembled and shook in his hold, and then Sweet Pea was there, as was her parents, and they were pulling and pulling and pulling on her. "Betts?" This was Sweets, terrified beyond belief. "Just breathe, hon."

She coughed and expelled the water from her system, blinking it out of her eyes as she shook and shook. Finally, she pressed her head against Jughead's chest, breathing him in. "Juggie?"

"Archie Andrews will fucking pay for this," he growled.

Too right he would.