Blackmailed by Betty (Jughead Jones III)

La Grande Illusion Part Three

The next day at school was tense to say the least. I hadn't spoken to Veronica for days and it made me nervous that she was starting to side with Betty, but when I got a text asking to meet her at my locker I became hopeful. "Well long time no talk Ms. Lodge." She handed me a coffee and gave me a smile. "What are you so happy about?"

"Well I've spent my week woo-ing a certain Muggs on a mission to find my greater self. And why are you so unhappy Ms. Andrews?" We walked further down the hall as I filled her in on my mission with Cheryl. "Wait, you're trying to tell me Cheryl came to you for help and in return she's on our side?"

"I wouldn't say our side, probably just a temporary fix." Further down we saw Kevin and Betty talking and we went our separate ways. I headed to the bathroom to fix my hair as she met up with the two of them. It wasn't long before Veronica came in behind me and stood at a sink taking deep breaths and looking at her reflection. Out of nowhere she ripped her pearl necklace off and starts bawling.

I rush over and wrap my arms around her letting her cry into my sweater before I feel a second set of arms do the same. It's Betty, but right now Veronica matters more to me than any blackmail or fight. We stay there for a while and it isn't long before the bell rings for class. "I'm not going to class, I can't. I'm gonna bring Ethel and her mother flowers at the hospital. Can you guys please come with me?"

"Of course Ronnie." I say answering for the both of us. Looking at Betty she's nodding in agreement and the three of us make our way out of the school. I grab Betty by the arm and hold her back so Veronica is slightly out of earshot. "I know we don't see eye to eye literally ever, but today is not about you and how horrible of a person you are. Today is about helping our friend who is heartbroken cope with whatever problems she's having. If you start any sort of fight with me about looking in the direction of MY brother and friend I will not hesitate to deck you right in the middle of that hospital. Do I make myself clear?"

The look on her face was priceless. I had to stop myself from laughing to guarantee she took me seriously. She looked scared and just nodded before stepping out of my grasp before following Veronica. Smirking to myself I walked past her and linked arms with Ronnie as we walked right out of the building. And for once I had the upper hand.

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Sadly, our hospital plan hadn't gone to plan and from the messages Cheryl was sending I could only assume the same thing was happening with Archie. It was snowing outside today and usually that meant trips to the café for Hot Chocolate and movie nights cuddled under twenty blankets. Today was different. Walking out the door I stopped short when I ran right into Jughead. "Hey." I said softly as we stepped away. "Do you wanna walk with me? I know usually you walk with Archie or Betty but it's been a while."

"Actually Alex I think I'm just gonna walk by myself thanks." He turned away from me and walked down the steps with my following closely behind. Moving as quickly as I could on the slippery ground I stood in front of him.

"Did I do something wrong that I'm unaware of?"

"You threatened Betty, why would you even put yourself in a situation where you had to go near her? What if she did say something to you? Were you actually gonna hit her?"

"Jughead the only reason I was near her was because Veronica was having a crisis. She needed both of us and I was willing to put things aside for her sake, but I needed to make sure she wasn't going to try anything when I had my guard down. Why are you defending her so much? Nothing even happened!"

"Alex at the end of the day we're still dating and I still care about Betty. If you want to stay friends or whatever it is the two of us are right now you have to respect that." He moved away and walked away leaving me dumbfounded in the middle of the walkway. Further down I saw Valerie and Archie having a similar conversation. When she walked away from him I decided my brother might need someone just as much as I did that morning.

"Is she mad?" I asked him as we started walking.

"Oh yeah. What about Jughead? You two were pretty heated back there too."

"He's mad. He's defending Betty when I didn't even do anything to her." Making our way down the path I kicked some snow under my boot.

"Well I guess it's just you and me."

"Andrews twins against the world."