The Theory Of Chaotic Perfection |BUGHEAD|

Chapter XXIX. Not Everybody Gets A Happy Ever After

It seemed to her like time stood still in Riverdale that night. FP was pacing around in the waiting room. His son's life was on the line. Betty sat in one of the hospital chairs, her arms hugging her legs. It couldn't end this way.

FP walked up to her, whispering, "where's your mom, does she-"

"Know that I shot my own father, yeah, she was there," Betty answered, a little too loudly for FP's liking.

He shut her mouth, "quite kid, you don't want anyone to hear do you."

She shoved his hand away, "remember I asked you if there was something wrong with me," he nodded his head, "well, what if there is. I mean, I murdered two people in cold blood and I feel totally fine."

"Wait until it kicks in," FP scoffed.

What if there was really something wrong with her? Betty had never even imagined that she could be okay without drinking her medication every day. She wanted to punch everyone in this hospital, feeling like they weren't doing enough to help Jughead. A nurse stepped out of the emergency room with blood on her gloves and her uniform. She noticed how both FP and Betty eyed her and sighed, approaching them.

"You two family?" she asked and they quickly nodded, "he's not great. He lost a lot of blood. We did everything we could."

Betty fell down on the floor, "no-"

"we will prepare his body-"

"STOP!" She cut off the doctor. Her whole world crashed in front of her. This could not be happening. Her head was spinning and anything FP or the doctor were saying to her made her head buzz. She couldn't hear them.

Finally she calmed down, the buzzing stopped and she was shivering on the ground of the hospital, feeling like she was about to throw up. The doctor slowly ran his warm hand up and down her back, "would you like to say goodbye?"

Betty nodded her head, wiping away the tear that was escaping her eye. She picked herself up and inhaled sharply before walking into the room Jughead was laying in. He looked so peaceful, yet she couldn't hold back the tears. Stepping back she bumped into FP who wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back in, still holding her for support.

His hand felt cold, the life inside of him gone. Betty looked him up and down with teary eyed, she couldn't believe that her father killed him, couldn't believe that all of this was happening, "this is all wrong, this is wrong."

The doctor closed the door behind them and frowned, "I am sorry, to the both of you."

FP, who couldn't hold his own tears down cupped Betty's face, "Betty," he said, and then sharply looked at her, "wake up!"

Betty snapped out of her dream and heard FP's voice again as well as a gentle jolt, "Betty, wake up, the doctor is here."

She opened her eyes to a poisonous green hospital hallway. She was laying on a cold chair, waiting for the doctor to announce Jughead's state. The doctor was standing in front of her, holding a notepad of some kind. Quickly grabbing FP's hand and squeezing it, she realized that she had just had a horrible nightmare that might come true.

"He's alright," the doctor said and they both sighed deeply. 

"In fact," he added, "you two can see him right now, but remember he lost a lot of blood so he won't be as responsive since he is still sedated. Thank you for donating your blood Mr. Jones," the doctor said and they followed him to the room where Jughead was.

He looked pale, but at least he was not dead. As soon as the doctor and FP exchanged small conversations with him and left the room to give them some time to talk, Betty closed the door and jumped at him.

"Slow down Cooper or you'll break something," Jughead teased.

Betty kissed up and down his cheek, "I never thought I'd be happy to hear you call me Cooper again."

"What, you thought you could get rid of me that easily? I meant it when I said I'd stay with you forever," he joked.

She sighed, "I'm afraid if you didn't Riverdale would have their very own Romeo and Juliet."

Frowning he grabbed her hand, "as romantic as that sounds I would have killed you in heaven for killing yourself on my behalf."

"So you think you'd go to heaven Jones?" She raised an eyebrow, "after everything you did."

He pulled her down to his bed and she wrapped her arms around him, safely tucked away with him. He kissed her on the forehead, "first of all, anywhere with you is like heaven. Second of all, I would rather not answer that question. We've done a lot Cooper, you and I."

"I killed two people-" She suddenly trailed off, as if realizing what she did for the second time.

Jughead pulled her into a tighter hug, "this place is definitely hell, what do you say once I can walk we get a car and get out of Riverdale?"

She looked up at him, "that sounds fantastic." Watching his eyes run across her face and down to her lips, Betty smiled. She pulled herself off the bed and leaned against him, hovering above him. Slowly pulling down and pressing her lips against his Betty couldn't believe she was able to kiss him again. After everything that had happened to them, she did not want to let him go. Whatever happened next to them, she knew she could never let him go. From now on, it was her and him.

After that night everyone who was involved in the kidnapping of her when she was a child was given up to the police by FP Jones. He confessed to knowing that the kidnapping was planned by Betty's father and presented the court with proof, a recorded exchange of the steps to what exactly they were going to do. The Cooper name was forever dirtied in the town of Riverdale, but they moved away. Alice moved to New York, pursuing her dreams of being a reporter.

"No one knew what happened to Elizabeth Cooper, the dangerous murderer, although some say she skipped town and now lives under a different name. Still, the town urges the citizens to all be on their alert for her," Veronica Lodge read the newspaper and smiled to herself.

Her mother sighed, "how terrible, and we had dinners with that family."

"I guess it is true what they say, all politicians are dirty," Hiram Lodge pointed out and continued to eat his breakfast.

Veronica looked out the window, knowing that her best friend was somewhere out there, living her life free of her parents control. She smiled again, at least Betty made it out safe.

++

"Mr. and Mrs. Jones?" An elderly gentleman asked, taking off his cap.

Jughead turned around with a warm smile, "yes, that's us."

"The house is ready, you can move in within the next week, would you like one last tour?" The old man asked.

Betty climbed out of the car, she was wearing an elegant Sunday dress, her eyes were covered with sunglasses and her hair with a hat. Looking at herself in the rear view mirror she joked to herself how she resembled her mother. Jughead reached out his hand for her to take, "I think it is a splendid idea."