In the space of about three weeks, Betty had become even closer with the group of serpents that had welcomed her in so easily. Jughead often invited her to meet up with them and she always found ways to get out of seeing Nathan so she could be with them. It was as if she could finally press the pause button for good without Nathan's wrath snatching it away from her.
The only significant place she hadn't been with them was the Whyte Wyrm. A bar on the southside where the serpents hung out, held all their meetings and formed the majority of their gang. Until today. Jughead had invited her to go with him as he had a free evening without any responsibilities.
"Jug I don't know about this" she expressed nervously, biting down on her lip as they neared the bar. She wore a plain white t-shirt with her blue denim dungarees, scared she was going to stick out like a sore thumb in her 'Northside' clothes.
"You'll be fine, I'll be there the whole evening and Toni is bartending. Fangs and Sweets will be around too, no one is gonna mess with you. They all just want a beer and a chat with their friends, okay?" he assured, his hand on her back as he lead her through the door.
"Okay" she whispered, her hand wrapping around his lower arm when she noticed a few serpents already staring. The air was thick with tobacco and alcohol, people playing a mixture of darts and snooker. He chuckled softly at her sudden action, carefully wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"This okay?" he checked, not wanting to make her more uncomfortable. She nodded in return, liking the feeling of his arm securely around her. They walked over to the bar and sat down on the stools, Toni making her way over.
"Hey Cooper, Jones. What can I get you?" she asked with a sweet smile, hands pressing against the edge of the wooden counter.
"I'll just have a coke please" Betty replied.
"My usual" Jughead nodded, watching as Betty frowned at her phone. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah sorry, V is covering for me but I won't tell her what I'm doing. She's just making sure I'm safe" Betty explained, shoving her phone in her pocket.
"Look who showed up, no offence ponytail but you're rainbow and glitter attitude doesn't exactly fit the mood" Sweetpea teased, pulling her ponytail to annoy her.
"Says the guy who had his head blown off 10 times at the weekend, I don't think you have any place to judge me" she bit back, rolling her eyes.
"I like this girl" Toni laughed, sliding her drink towards her to which Betty took a sip and laughed.
"I don't" Sweetpea complained with a scowl.
"Ditto" Betty smirked as she spun on her bar stool, knowing he didn't actually mean it.
Betty had never felt so free in her life, playing darts with the serpents and singing on stage with Toni when the night drew in. Jughead introduced her to a bunch of new people, all looking intimidating but were actually sweeter than she thought. She listened to older serpents' stories; some of which were very dramatic.
"See they love you" the boy whispered close to her ear, his arm around her shoulders. She smiled fondly at him, resting her head on his own shoulder whilst they watched Toni and Fangs in a tense game of snooker.
"I love it here"
---
"Okay so be real with me for a moment, what's going on with you and Jug?" Toni asked as she lead her new friend to her trailer, having offered to let her stay the night.
"Me and Jug? Oh, we're just friends" Betty shrugged, crossing her arms in defence against the cold breeze.
"Really? I think he's more interested than that, I haven't seen him this happy in a while. It's nice to see" Toni smiled.
"Is that rare?" Betty asked, raising an eyebrow at the thought there was more to what Toni was saying.
The pink-haired girl sighed, looking over at Betty. "Look Jug is...how do I put this? A little on the complicated side. It's not really my place to say but he's got his own stuff going on, except he's damn good at hiding it"
Betty frowned at Toni's words, not having noticed any odd behaviour from him or indication that something was going on.
"All I'm saying is to be careful, I don't think he can deal with much more hurt" she sighed "It's clear you two like each other, but if you're still involved with Nathan then please don't mess with him"
"I would never do that T, I promise. The last thing I want to do is hurt Jug" Betty shook her head, trying to assure Toni who was always protective over her best friend.
"Then I have no problem with you two, now please tell me you're a comedy girl? None of the boys will watch crappy comedies with me" she asked hopefully.
"Then they have no taste" Betty grinned, linking arms with her. And so the girls spent the whole evening sitting in front of Toni's TV, watching awfully directed comedies that they ridiculed whilst throwing popcorn in each other's mouths. There was no pressure to act a certain way like there sometimes was with Veronica and there was no thought of her devilish boyfriend. Betty considered it one of the best nights of her teenage life.
---
"If you're not taking it seriously I'll have to consider your position" FP sighed as his son lay back on the sofa.
"I am! I didn't even ask to be a leader, you forced me dad. You always do" he complained.
"Because it's your legacy!" the man argued back.
"Legacy? What staying in this dreary town to run a gang that is constantly under fire? Some legacy. This is what you want, it's your legacy not mine"
"You don't want to run the serpents?"
"I just....I want my own life too"
Thoughts so far?
Bit of a filler chapter to show the serpent's connection with her! Get ready for the next few!
YOU ARE READING
Learning To Love You
Fanfiction"Why are you still with him?" the raven haired boy asked. "because I can't escape him" she replied in a single whisper. A story of pain, temptation and love.
