jealous - a jeronica fanfic

Chapter Nineteen

I fiddled with my pearls to calm my nerves as I waited for F.P. to bring Betty into the interrogation room. This wasn't going to be an interrogation, but it was the most private place they had.

Suddenly the door opened and Betty, walked in, surprisingly seeming calm- almost too calm. She sat gently down on the chair across from me, and F.P. turned to me one more time before he left the room.

"If she does anything, just yell. I'll be in the other room the whole time, okay?" he says, and I nod, turning back to Betty who is refusing to meet my eyes.

I hear the door shut behind me, and try and search for something to say to my former best friend.

"So.." I begin, my voice trailing off since I have no idea what I'm going to say.

"You don't have to try to small talk with me, Veronica. What do you want?" she asks coldly, and I'm slightly taken aback. She sounds different than she usually does, her perky self nowhere to be found.

"Why? Why did you attack all those people, Betty?" I ask, and Betty scoffs, rolling her eyes at me. "This isn't funny, Betty, I'm serious. You seriously injured some people."

"You really don't know why?" she sneers, beginning to laugh at me condescendingly.

"Sorry that I find it hard to believe that my old best friend completely became another person over night?" I say, trying to match her tone without aggravating her too much.

"I did it because my boyfriend just kissed my old best friend on stage in front of everyone. I was humiliated, Veronica. Because of you- and Jughead. While you two were having a grand old time, I was left to be laughed at, and to answer all the questions," she says through her gritted teeth, and I feel my confidence begin to shrink away.

"You slept with my boyfriend when I was your best friend, and then stole him from me and embarrassed me in front of the ENTIRE school! What the hell kind of monster does that?!" she continues, raising her voice gradually and beginning to lean across the table. I struggle to find a response, and slowly I feel my confidence come back to me.

"I am not the only one in the wrong her, Betty," I begin, and she cocks her head, raising her eyebrow at the same time.

"Oh? Please elaborate on what I did to deserve that kind of pain."

"You whipped Jughead, Betty. That's an abusive relationship if I've ever seen one, and a fucking insane relationship if not. Who helped bandage him up? Me," I state, feeling my usual confident demeanour return to me.

Betty scoffs, trying to brush it off, "I barely touched him. That only happened because you decided to be a whore and sleep with him."

"Only because we got super drunk- and he was super drunk because of you storming out and ignoring his explanation!" I retort, and she scowls.

"That's not fair."

"You know what's not fair? Getting whipped because your psycho girlfriend found a necklace at your house!" I feel my blood begin to boil as all the memories of what Betty has done to Jughead flow through my mind.

"You slept with him Veronica!" she shrieks, and I stand up to match her level.

"It. Was. An. Accident," I sound out for her condescendingly, making her visibly more angry.

"You're a liar, Veronica. And you know it," she replies weakly, unable to come up with a better comeback.

"You're one to talk about being a liar- lying to the entire school about Jughead and you being the "golden couple" and "loving each other endlessly"?" I reply, and she slams her fist against the metal table, sending a loud echo of the bang through the room.

"Shut UP Veronica! What do you know about Jughead, anyway?" she retorts, and I roll my eyes.

"Way more than you ever did, Betty! I actually care about him and talk to him when I have a problem with him. Like a normal fucking person. God, what the hell is wrong with you, Betty?" I ask, and she's surprisingly not ready with another insult to throw back at me. She sits back down, her eyes on her knees and her hands folded on the table.

"What? Can't fight with facts?" I say, trying to get her riled up. At this point, I don't want to have a normal conversation with her- I don't think I can even have a conversation without screaming with this new side of Betty.

She sighs, and I sit back down, the empathy I have for everyone becoming my inner saboteur.

"Veronica I... I'm so sorry, okay? I don't know what came over me," she says softly, and I feel myself soften to her tone.

I reach across the table to grab her hand, and I squeeze it in an attempt to comfort her. I know she is hiding something, I can see it in her eyes.

"What is it, Betts? You can tell me," I say kindly, and she takes a deep breath while I hold mine in anticipation.

"I've been experiencing... some outbursts of anger, as you probably already know about," Betty begins, and I'm tempted to speak, but don't. This seems like something she won't be able to work up the courage to say again. Instead of talking, I give her a reassuring nod.

"But.. over nothing sometimes. Sometimes I just get angry and I can't control it, and I just start yelling and hitting things and it feels like somebody else is in control of my body," Betty explains, and my heart begins to ache for her. I can't imagine how it must feel when you do awful things to people you love- things that you can't even control.

"I've also been experiencing a lot of body pain like headaches and stuff, but I didn't realize that they were connected until I talked to Archie about it. He told me he has IED, which has similar symptoms that I was experiencing. He really helped me figure out what was going on. He's the one who convinced me to go see my doctor. I went to my doctor and found out that I had- I have... IED," Betty finishes, slightly shaking from the memories.

"Betty.. I'm so sorry.. what is IED?" I ask, rubbing my thumb on her hand comfortingly.

She breathes in deeply before speaking again, "IED stands for Impulse Explosive Disorder- a behavioural disorder. It means I have outbursts of anger and violence, that doesn't necessarily need a reason- or something to provoke me."

I sigh, feeling a stabbing pain in my chest as I listen to her explanation.

"I am.. so sorry Betty. That you have IED, about sleeping with Jughead, about prom, about everything," I say, and she nods slowly.

"Me too. I really missed you Veronica, I just.. I couldn't control myself. I never ever wanted to hurt you or Jughead, or any of our classmates for that matter," Betty says, her voice cracking. "I've hurt so many people, Veronica. How is anyone supposed to forgive me? I wouldn't."

"Is there any treatment for IED, Betty?"

"No. There's a rehab you can go to, but it's way too expensive for my mom to pay for," Betty sighs, and I chew on my lip as I think.

"I have an idea... but before I go, I need you to answer my question," I say, and Betty nods.

"Anything."

"I know that you were mad about me being with Jughead, Betty. Maybe we didn't get together in the most.. common way, but I do love him. And I really want you to be okay with that," I say, and Betty produces a small smile.

"Honestly, Veronica? I'm okay. With you and Jughead. I was so caught up in spiting you that I forgot what it was like to actually be with the person you love, and - I hope this is okay - ever since I started talking to Archie about IED, I've felt myself falling for him. I know you and him went through h-"

I cut her off, "It's okay, Betty. After hearing you talk about him, I feel like I understand him better. And you better. I feel like I know the real you now, Betty."

Her face breaks into a smile, "Thank you for trusting me, Veronica. It means so much to me."

I smile back, "Of course Betty. You are my best friend. I missed you."

She reaches across the table and I meet her in the middle, letting her hug me tightly. I'm
so happy to have my best friend back, but I still have some business to attend to.