The Plan(s) {Betty Cooper} {Bughead}

Stories and the Trip Home

New York Cheryl's POV

After we settled down last night, V said that she felt bad that Peter was all alone in his room and asked if she could go bring him in ours. B and I agreed.

When she brought him into our room he made eye contact with each of us and asked seriously "Is everyone comfortable with this? I don't want to upset anyone." I knew then, without a shadow of a doubt that this guy was trustworthy. We all nodded and he came and sat down on the unused bed. We put on a movie for background noise but sat around talking. Peter and V told us how their parents were always good friends and they grew up together. They talked about how the rest of their friends weren't the greatest and they felt used by them because they had money. They both spoke about how Peter's parents and V's dad were always gone and how lonely they were. I had the feeling that both of them craved their parents approval and I totally related. When they were finished, B and I hugged them both and made eye contact.

I raised my eye brows and asked her "Can I tell them?" and she nodded.

"Everything?" I clarified and she replied "Of course, be forewarned though. I might fall asleep. I'm so tired." She laid down on the bed we slept on last night while V and I sat on the other one with Peter. I then told them the origin story of Betty and I.

Trigger warning: Abuse and suicide

Cheryl and Betty's story

B and C knew each other since birth since they were cousins and they always got along but weren't very close until C moved back to Riverdale in first grade. They went to school together, dance class together, and had sleep overs. Jug and Archie were B's best friends but C became her best girl friend. C was a lonely child and didn't have any other close friends, just people who used her.

In third grade, B's dad started hitting her. The first time it happened, B's mom snatched her up and took her to C's house to be safe. C took care of her and kept her safe from then on. For some reason B's dad would only hit her, not her mom or her sister, Polly. He said that she deserved it, she was too strong and no man would want her. For years, this kept happening. He would hit her, she would run to C's and stay there for a few days. Alice would try to kick him out and he would calm down and apologize and she would relent and let him back in.

Until one day in middle school when B came home and was surprised to see her dad already home. She usually came home to an empty house since Polly had cheerleading practice after school and her parents didn't usually come home from work until 5. She knew that something was wrong as soon as she saw him. He was obviously drunk and she tried to back out the door but it was too late and he saw her. As soon as he saw her, he grabbed her arm and pushed her against a wall. He started yelling about how he was fired and it was all her fault. He said that she was the reason he drank and was angry all the time. He punched her in the face and push her against the wall again and this time, she fell. Then he kicked her multiple times in the stomach and ribs and finally stumbled away. After he walked away, she slowly and painfully crawled to and out the door. She crawled into the garage to hide and called C who got her driver to drive her over to save Betty.

When C got there, she could here Hal yelling and breaking things in the house. C found B and got her in the car, as they pulled away, Hal came running and screaming out of the house after them. That was the last time Betty saw her father. C and her mom called Alice and took B to the hospital. B had a black eye and two broken ribs along with countless bruises. Alice started divorce proceedings that day and had the police pick up Hal. She filed a restraining order against Hal for Betty, Cheryl, Polly and herself. He got out of jail less than a month later but he never bothered them again.

B stayed home from school until her black eye healed so no one would know what happened. B stayed at C's for a few months because she didn't feel safe but eventually moved back home when Archie started asking too many questions and Jughead started looking at her too thoughtfully.