"Don't let go"

22- pops and bad news

FPs Point Of View-

It's going to break her heart, the way it all went down. But she deserves to know, I owe that to her at least.

I knocked on the door and heard her run to it, it broke my heart when I heard how excited the
"Juggie" was. I clenched my first wishing that there was another way, that this wasn't really real but it was, and we had to do this.

"Just me baby girl" I choked out handing her the pops and barely containing my self.

"FP what's wrong" she said jumping into my arms and giving me a hug.

"It's Jughead" I said composing myself.

"What's wrong with him?" She said her smile fading, and her eyes filling with worry and with tears, and I heard the gulp she took and how dry her throat had gone.

"There's was trouble last night Betty, he fought for us, for the serpents for you... and.... he's gone" I said a tear spilling over my cheek.

"But...but he was here" she said falling to the floor, I leaned down to pick her up and she cuddled into my chest, sobbing, heaving sobs, that wracked her ribs and I felt her exhaustion beneath me.

"He has to come back, he needs to come to me" she screamed, I wiped her face, feeling the guilt wash over me.

"Shhhh, it's okay" I said wiping her tears and swaying her.

"We haven't had any time, our story's not over yet, it was just beginning" she whimpered and the events of the past twenty four hours played on repeat in my brain.

She didn't touch her food, and she didn't speak for the rest of the day, she sat in the middle of the bed in the apartment with Jugheads denim jacket wrapped around her, smoking cigarette after cigarette staring out of the window.

I loved her like a daughter, and it made me feel sick to see her this heart broken.

"Betty?" I said finally, it was just starting to go dark and I wanted to take her home, back to the trailer.

"You coming home baby girl?" I said putting my hand over hers.

"I'll stay here tonight" she whispered.

"Don't let go" I said and gave her one last hug. She gave me a confused nod and a kiss on the cheek as I left the room.

As I left I got a text on my phone, I opened it.

Jughead
Did she believe it?

Me
She's absolutely heart broken, we need to get this shit sorted, so you can come back and fix your girls heart

Jughead
Tell her I love her, I never got the chance to.

Me
You can tell her yourself when you come back!

Lying. Something I've always been good at. But never have I ever felt more like a scum bag lying to that sweet girl in there.

You see, the ghoulies killed one of ours, so we took one of theirs. In anger they wanted Betty, the princess that everyone loves. Jughead immediately offered himself in place of her, they wanted to kill him.

They had a drag race, the ghoulies purposely driving Jugheads car off the bridge. To make them believe it, he went down with the car, hid under the bridge until they watched the car sink to bottom of the river.

To make it believable the serpents went in all guns blazing and we fought till dawn, now Jughead was some where in Toledo, laying low till he could come back.

If anybody asked, jughead Jones was dead. His funeral is arranged for two weeks time, after that, everyone would believe he was dead, and behind the scenes I will be sorting the ghoulies out one by one, converting them to the serpents, with the persuasion of broken fingers and a gun to their heads.

Betty's Point Of View-

He was gone. Like my mom was gone. Like my dad was gone. Like Polly was gone. I only really had FP left and I could face him , not even now.

It's been a week and I've had people come to me in school and tell me how much they loved him, and how he will be missed, they lay flowers by his locker, made a cabinet in tribute to him.

He didn't feel gone. In my heart I felt like o would just turn around and he'd be there, daring me shave a cat, or smiling at me like this is the biggest prank he's ever pulled. But not matter how long I wait, he's not going to come back, I'm never going to see his beautiful curly hair again, or laugh at his sarcasm.

"I'm so sorry Betty, I know how much you loved him, I did too" I heard a voice say and when I looked down to see who's arm was attached to the hand on my shoulder and it was Megan.

I let out an icy laugh and didn't hesitate to punch her full force in the face.

"Don't you ever, talk about him, say you loved him, when all you ever did was try and break us up" I screamed sweet pea once again coming to my rescue.

I hadn't worn make up, my eyes were rimmed red, the bags under my eyes were black and I hadn't eaten since.

Toni came running in and hugged me tight. Throwing her bag on the floor and wrapping herself around me, so alls I could cry into was her pink hair.

"Toni he's gone" I sobbed, Toni's face was pushed behind my head and she was stroking my head.

"I know" she swayed me.

"I didn't get to tell him I loved him" I cried sitting on the desk of the empty class room. And sweet pea gave me a cigarette. I gathered the weakest smile I could muster and he just nodded.

"At least you'll get to say goodbye, next week, make your peace B" Toni said still hugging me from the side.

"It's doesn't feel real" I choked.

"I miss him too" she sighed, still stroking my head.