2+1=3//Bughead

2: Innocents and snakes

BETTY
Only having turned 18 a few months ago, life wasn't much different. School hadn't changed. Veronica hadn't changed and neither had Archie. What had changed, was the newest visitor to Riverdale.

Walking up to the front door of Archie's house, I opened it, as I always did, calling out for Archie, who'd either be in the shower, or getting dressed.

"ARCHIE! I'M HERE!" I yelled, earning no response as I walked into his kitchen. Making myself some toast, I enjoyed the smell of honey in the morning.

"Do you always steal Archie's bread to make toast?" I heard a manly voice behind me. My fight or flight response activated, and I grabbed a knife.

"Woah! Calm down goldilocks." A boy who wasn't much taller than me stood on the opposite side of the kitchen, his hands up.

"Sorry." I dropped the knife onto the counter.

"Who are you?" I asked, confused.

"I'm Jughead, Jughead Jones." He announced himself.

"What kind of a name is Jughead?" The last name Jones, it was familiar.

"It's better than my actual name." He spoke, leaning against the wall.

"What's your actual name?" I asked, intrigued.

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones III." My eyes widened.

"As in, FP Jones?" I stood up straight.

"Yep. I'm his kid." He crossed his arms.

"Wait, if you're his kid, that- that makes you..." I was shocked.

"...a serpent. A Southside Serpent, to be more precise. By blood." He turned around, revealing the serpent jacket before pulling down the jacket and pulling up his t-shirt to reveal the serpent tattoo.

"I can't believe that I'm talking to a Southside Serpent. No offence, but my mom warned me about you serpents." I spoke up.

"Warned you? Who cares. I don't. But what I do care about, is learning who I am talking to." He moved closer to me.

"My name is Elizabeth 'Betty' Cooper." I announced.

"Ah. You're the Black Hood's daughter. Nice to know." He smirked.

"I'm not his daughter. Not anymore." I snapped back at him.

"Hey, you criticized the Southside Serpents, so I'm criticizing you being his daughter." He uncrossed his arms, taking the piece of toast that I had completely forgotten about.

"Jughead!" I heard Archie's voice.

"Archie!" He hugged Archie, who saw me.

"Oh, Jughead, this is my next door neighbour-" Before he could continue, Jughead stopped him.

"-Betty Cooper, also known as the Black Hood's daughter." He smirked at me again.

"I'm not his daughter!" I was upset.

"Ok, ok. It's time for school." Archie stole the piece of toast from Jughead. We walked to school, Veronica meeting us there.

"Any word on your sister?" She asked, worried.

"Sheriff Keller said that he knows that Polly is ok. He's looked everywhere, but he can't seem to find out where she is." I frowned.

"Polly? Who's Polly?" Jughead asked, confused.

"My sister." I replied, already tired of him.

"Oh, the Black Hood raised two daughters. How interesting." Jughead smirked.

"Look, I don't care that you are a serpent. I'm asking, politely, that you refrain from mentioning h- him. I'm no longer affiliated with him, and I'd appreciate it if you shut up about anything to do with him." I turned around, glaring at Jughead who suddenly dropped his smirk.

"Dude. I know that it's been years since you've even lived in Riverdale, but the Black Hood is a touchy subject for everyone, but especially Betty." I heard Archie warn Jughead.
———
(Time Skip, 2 months later)

"Hey there, Juliet." I smiled, looking at Jughead who climbed through my bedroom window.

"Hey, Juggie." I watched as he sat down on my bed.

"Any news on Polly?" He asked, holding my hand.

"Nope. Keller has been searching even harder since my mom basically threatened him, but he did discover something." I smiled.

"What did he discover?" Jughead moved closer to me.

"Well, apparently, Mrs Blossom reported Jason missing a few days after he got news on Polly 2 months ago. He thinks that maybe Jason and Polly had met up and run away together." I took a deep breath in, happy that there was a lead.

"That's good news." Jughead walked over to me and kissed me.

"I love you, you know that?" He asked, kneeling in front of me.

"I love you too, Jug." I kissed him again, but quickly pulled away when I heard footsteps coming closer.

"You better go." I warned him, smiling as he left the room through the same way he entered.

"Betty. Are you alone?" My mom entered the room, searching.

"Yeah? Why?" I asked, confused.

"Well. Jason's dead." She didn't bother beating around the bush.

"Uh, what?" I was shocked.

"Jason was found this afternoon, his body drifting down Sweetwater River. Some fishermen saw his head and notified Keller. He drowned." My mom sat on my bed.

"I'm so sorry mom." I frowned.

"That damn kid was the closest link that we had to Polly, and now...he's gone, just like our chances of finding Polly." She cried.

"Mom. Polly is still alive. Sheriff Keller would have told us if she were dead. I mean, from what I've heard, he's still looking for her." I comforted her.

"Are you sure?" She lifted her head.

"I'm sure." I smiled, hugging her as she continued to cry.