The Theory Of Chaotic Perfection |BUGHEAD|

Chapter XXVI - Archie Andrews vs. Jughead Jones; Round 2

Fred Andrews knew of the little horrors of his town for a while. He didn't do much about it, however, what could be done anyway? He just stood by and observed families fighting each other for power. A small position on the scale of the world, but they didn't care. Fred tried to stay away from that life, but having the Coopers on your side was an opportunity one would not want to pass. When his old friend FP was accused of most bad things that happened in town, Fred didn't stand up him. He regretted it ever since then. It was time to do things the right way, a time to pay for his sins and make amends with his mistakes.

"I want to help you. I don't know much, but all I know is that Betty can't be dead," he told Jughead.

Rolling his eyes, Jughead brushed Fred's hand off his shoulder, "I know that already, the coffin is empty."

Fred looked around, "but you don't know where she is, do you? Our family has a vacation hut in the woods, it is small and we usually use it for hunting. I used to take Archie there when he was a kid. If I know my son, I know he has something to do with her sudden disappearance. I want to help you, Jughead."

"And why would you wanna do a thing like that, knowing who I am?" Jughead almost laughed at Fred.

"Because, I wronged your father once and I want to make it right," Fred sighed.

Jughead could see that Fred Andrews was being honest, and his father always went out of his way to help Fred, whether it be by defending him from the rest of the Serpents, or trying to have less association with him as possible, so Fred wouldn't ever be a suspect.

Letting Fred help him, Jughead got into his car and they drove out into the night. Archie was supposed to be home, catching sleep before tomorrow's big game.

Fred drove as fast as he could without breaking any laws, but once they were in the woods he was no longer concerned about the law. He was worried about Betty, what if she froze to death? It has been a day, and the little shack in the woods was supposed to be a place for supplies and living in the hot summer, not the cold autumn.

~~

Staring out the cold foggy window, Betty wondered if her parents knew where she was. They probably did, it was all their doing anyway. The front page of the morning newspaper was right in front of her, Archie brought it in with her dinner 6 hours ago. It was nearing 1 am and she couldn't stop crying. How horrible Jughead must feel reading the headlines. She wished there was a way she could tell him that she was still alive, wished he wouldn't do anything stupid. The broken side of her whispered that he didn't even care in the first place. She was alone in this world, Jughead against her, her parents against her, Archie against her. Even though she was tied to the wooden bar that stood in the middle of the shack, she still tried to break free. Perhaps if she rubbed the rope against the wood it would snap? No, that didn't work. The wood was too smooth and the rope too perfectly tied. She was surrounded mostly by darkness, the moonlight only shone on some places. What she remembered from daylight was that the shack was filled with shelves. On those shelves there were cans of food and fishing supplies, as well as some old hunting rifles.

The sounds of animals scratching at the wooden walls outside didn't frighten her anymore. The insects crawling around the floor didn't bother her. They were all in the same situation as her, trying to find a way out of the shack and into the woods. What surprised her was not the howling sound of a wolf, but the noise of a car engine nearing the shack. She could see its headlights through the dirty window. The car stopped and she heard two people get out, since the car door was slammed twice. Maybe, her parents finally came to their senses and realized the stupidity of this situation.