The Theory Of Chaotic Perfection |BUGHEAD|

Chapter XXXIII - Closer To The End Of The Line

Jughead knew that they'd find Rat dead in the rented house, he knew that Rat's friends would snitch on him, he knew that Betty was terrified. She was sound asleep in the front seat of the car he was driving. He could see in her calm state the worry that was going on inside. Jughead stopped the car close to the woods, getting out quietly, making sure he didn't wake Betty up.

Walking up to a nearby tree, Jughead sat down under it, imagining the times where all he had to worry about was sneaking out of her room unnoticed by her parents. Slowly getting up, he looked up at the sky, blocked by the branches. No birds, no airplanes. Forming a fist, Jughead smashed it into the tree, the bark flying away from the spot. His knuckles started bleeding after a few more blows. He felt warm tears come out of his eyes, but Jughead resented them, wiping them off quickly. Taking out Betty's phone from his pocket he dialed Alice Cooper.

"Betty, are you alright? What's wrong, did that boy finally abandon you?" He heard Alice's voice from the other end.

Jughead sighed, "Mrs. Cooper, it's me, Jughead."

He could hear the disgust and horror in her voice, "what do you want? Why do you have Betty's phone? Did something happen to her?" He could also hear worry in her tone.

"Everything is fine," Jughead said, "I need your help. They are going to find out about Rat and how Betty killed him, she can't go to prison, I am afraid it will change her for the worst. I made this whole mess, and I want to fix it."

Alice was quiet, thinking about his words, and then she said, "what do you propose we do?"

Betty woke up to no sounds, the car stood still and Jughead was not in the drivers seat. Reaching for her phone she saw that it was not beside her. Looking around Betty wondered where Jughead was. The sun was already setting, and she was a little scared to be alone in a car on the side of the road.

As if hearing her prayers, Jughead emerged from the woods, making his way towards the car. He got in, slipping her phone onto the seat without her noticing. Jughead smiled and started the car, ignoring her shocked expression.

"What happened?" Betty questioned.

Jughead tried his best to smile brighter, "nothing."

"I lost my phone, have you seen it?" She asked, looking around the car again.

"Did you check the seat?" Jughead said and Betty instantly spotted her phone.

Taking it into her hands she looked up at him, "I swear this wasn't here before." She noticed his bloody knuckles and grabbed his hand that was holding the gearshift.

"What happened to you?" She asked, rubbing her thumb across the wounds.

Jughead winced, "this is from last night, I got into a fight with some of Rat's guys."

Although she didn't believe him, Betty was satisfied with the answer, Jughead would tell her the truth once he was ready. She was more focused on what happened, afraid of the fact that she shot a man. Betty was sure that she would become someone horrible, given the chance. Snuggling up to the car door and putting the hoodie she was wearing over her head, she tried to go back to sleep.

Jughead glanced at her, wishing that they could stay in this peaceful state forever, but that simply wasn't true.

The next time Betty woke up, she noticed a room that was very familiar to her. It was her own room she woke up in. For a second the past few weeks she experienced seemed like a dream to her, but then she realized that they weren't. Jumping off her bed, she saw a glass of water and some pills on her bedside table. They were the same pills her mother gave to her every morning, to calm her down. A pounding in her head started to bother her and Betty decided to throw the pills off her nightstand. She opened the door, which was not locked at all, and marched downstairs.

Jughead was sitting on the couch, a cup of tea in his hands and Alice by his side. Alice was shocked to see Betty up, and Jughead looked back at her without a smile.

"What is this?" Betty asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Betty-" before Alice could finish, a knock on the door distracted her.

Betty noticed how Jughead's expression became less at ease and more tense. He slowly got up, putting the cup of tea down. Two cops walked in, the lights on their car reflecting in the window.

It all happened fast, they asked for Jughead, who walked up to them. They started putting handcuffs on him, telling him he was under arrest. Jughead did not protest the arrest, he didn't do anything, just patiently obeyed. It was Betty who leaped to his side and was stopped by her mother.

Her whole world came crashing down, she was calling out his name, but he just glanced at her with a sorry expression, as if it was all his fault. She knew that it wasn't, he didn't do anything. Running back up to her room, Betty didn't know what to do. Her head was spinning. If she had never met him, never dragged him into this, he would not be taking the fall for her.

Betty grabbed her phone off the counter, not sure whom she was going to call. Putting on her coat quickly, she climbed out of her window, carefully making her way down and running into the abyss of the morning back in Riverdale.