follow the darkness

“hmm,” he lifted his shoulder slightly because he quite frankly felt like he wasn’t all that good at it. he got away with it sure and he had definitely improved but as easy as he breathed? well if that’s what edgar wanted to think then he wasn’t going to stop him. “friend?” joe grimaced a little because that was certainly a loose term especially after that chat. “i’m pretty sure she hates me more than you do right now.” which was saying something. he had never meant to hurt love but he wasn’t going to play pretend, he wasn’t going to lie and risk beck. he couldn’t. “but you two would get on great, i’m sure, she’s very… tense too. you have that in common.” did he want edgar around love? not particularly but did he want love around beck? most definitely not. “i’m not sure ellie would agree with your bonding so you may want to avoid that topic.” not a dig, in fact, it was a friendly tip. “i’m touched. thank you.” he joked. “isn’t it obvious? my greatness knows no bounds… i needed a night off from it too.” was that another joke? oh, this was not happening – was he… not hating being in edgar’s company? what was the world coming too? “i wanted to get shamefully drunk too.”

Oh a smart ass. He should have known. He could tell already that him and this douche weren’t going to be each other’s favorite people but then again, who considered Dean as one of their favorite people anyway? He was fine keeping a  small groups of friends close and enemies even closer. He thrived on those relationships that didn’t involve attachments. He wasn’t the most sentimental man in the universe and he did his best to fight off his feelings on a good day. Dean rolled his eyes again at what this man was saying. Mocking him with his hands, “blah, blah blah,” cutting him off before he could finish, “you realize claiming you’re not a douchebag is exactly what a douchebag would say, right?” He questioned unamused, furrowing his brows at him and crossing his arms over his chest, “your bullshit preaching about no right and wrong makes you no different than those self-righteous pricks that believe in God.” The name, if he could call it that, rolled off his tongue like poison. He’d never hated someone so much than he did Chuck right now and that was saying a lot for Dean considering he’s had his share of deep levels of hatred. “Well good for you.” He stated sarcastically with another roll of his eyes at his response about making himself king. “Good to know since no one in their right mind would WILLINGLY make you king but I don’t know, what can you do for me? What is the point of this schmoozy shit?”

billy lee could only smile - of course, there was nothing that he could do about people that didn’t believe what he preached, but.. he didn’t give a damn about any of that. he could do whatever the hell he wanted in here, he could do absolutely whatever the fuck he wanted and.. who would stop him, in the first place? absolutely anyone, because.. there was no one strong or big enough to stand in his way in the first place and that was why he had been in here for almost ten years and.. he had been allowed to do whatever it was that he wanted and.. absolutely no one had stood in his path, because.. no one was strong enough to stop him. “blah, blah, blah... you do realize that i don’t give a fuck about whatever it is that you’re trying to say, right?” he questioned, arms crossed over his chest, realizing what the other was about to say and.. not liking it one, single... bit. “and that, my friend, is where you’re wrong. i let my people do whatever they want, i don’t let rules dictate their lives.. they do whatever they want. they make their own life.” and he wouldn’t let anyone else say that, not in a million years. “yes, good for me. what is it that you want, again?” he questioned. “i can make your life better. i can make it.. worth living. it looks like you’re at a loss here, my friend. searching for a purpose and.. being unable to find it.”

Dean had met a few people around this town that rivaled him in the area of a ‘dick’ but eventually they came to sort of understanding, however, this guy on the other hand didn’t seem to want to back down. When Dean got a better look at him, he frowned, he literally looked like Captain America only … different. He shook his head in disbelief not wanting to admit to himself he literally just saw that dude in the fact of someone else but when he closed his eyes and opened them again, it didn’t change. Dean shook his head again at his name, “I am sorry I should care, why?” He asked with a nonchalant shrug as he made sure to block his path even more. Dean was mocking the guy in his head over how seemingly childish he was being just for him to not be much better. “There is even less to look at with you. I’ve seen at least ONE other person that looks like you calls himself Captain America  it is unfortunate you both share a face … he wears it better in case you were wondering.” He added with a cocky smirk. Dean wasn’t one to abuse his power but this guy was an asshole, he could very easily slip passed him in the other direction but instead, he stepped closer, looking down at the space between them before looking back up into his face with another smirk, grabbing at his collar, “then it looks like I am going to have to MAKE you move, doesn’t it?”

ransom was truly and completly pissed off - yes, he had hoped that marta would have accepted his proposal right away, he had hoped that she would say and spare him the trouble of even having to try harder, but.. apparently, that was not the case. that was clearly not the case... and that pissed him off the most. why could she just give in and give him what he had wanted all along? and now, of course, he had to deal with this asshole and.. it wasn’t like ransom had a lot of patience for any of this, because.. who the fuck had he killed to have to deal with this asshole? “why? well, perhaps because i can and will happily punch you in the face, if i need to. i’ve been very much looking for a good fight and even thought i’m pretty sure i could kick your ass without a second thought, well.. it sound be entertaining.” and he so would, without ever looking back, mostly because.. he could. “that old man? he has nothing on me, he’s hella old and he was upset by a little curse word. he has absolutely nothing on me - i’m the original here.” and yet, as the other grabbed him by his collar, ransom could only smirk. “try your best, asshole.”

“language!” steve frowned, never having condoned people to talk that way to him. shaking his head, this guy didn’t take the news very well of having a doppelganger. of course steve didn’t like the idea either but it is what it is. he knew there were different universes so doppelgangers were bound to happen. this is the first time he meets someone that isn’t himself. this guy…definitely the opposite of him. “the original? i doubt that. i’ve been around since the second world war and looking at you, i doubt you’ve experienced such pain and misery.” steve wasn’t one to curse but he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. “but you might be the original in your universe.” he wasn’t going to let the bad language affect him that much. he had worked alongside tony stark, he was used to a few curse words.

“language,” he mocked, rolling his eyes at the other - where had this idiot come out of and.. how could ransom even send him back to where he belonged in the first place? “from the way you’re talking, one could say you’re actually hella super old. which would relate to you being ugly and, considering you stole my fucking face, i can’t even say that.” he told the other, snickering at him for a moment, before shaking his head a little bit. ridiculous.. completely ridiculous, that was for sure. he couldn’t have someone walking around with his face. “and who the hell are you to say what i’ve been through or not? you’re weak. you’re sort of ridiculous, with that little pain and misery speech of yours. so what, i didn’t go through a war? i’m rich. i’m better than you. so kindly fuck off.” he rolled his eyes. “asshole, i’m the original everywhere, so.. let it fucking go.”

“it isn’t just the technology required… it’s the time and money it takes to pull off something so… elaborate.” yes, it had always been clear that this went beyond creepy homemade movies but how he spoke of them and how they acted. “charles? that slimy bastard.” her eyes narrowed in what first she thought was disbelief but that theory actually made sense, no one looked at him or pointed their fingers because he was the lead investigator of the case. “and yet you still wanted to take this to the police? that can not happen. if this delightful news were to get back to him and he knew you were not only alive but able to possibly ID him? that you told me? he can never know, not until we have something we can use.” handing that tape over to the police may actually be the equivalent of them signing their own death sentences. “trying to trick us? what on earth is that supposed to mean?” not about his stupid movie of the school, that horrendous crime could not be because he’d made that harmless tape… surely. “i’m no nancy drew that’s betty’s forte but they will pay for what they did to you and to anyone else on those tapes that they butchered pointlessly. i will ensure it.” especially seen as from his words they were not done, she didn’t fancy a tape landing on her doorstep with her own murder on it. no, that was not going to happen. “not many people were aware of its location. it’s isolated, one could say the perfect location for their terrible deeds.” perhaps that’s all it was too it or if this really was charles which – ugh, then he may have wanted to frame her. link this all back to her and archie somehow… it wasn’t like they were family. perhaps he wanted them out of the way. “well, let’s hope they get enjoyment out of spending the rest of their days living in some 4x4 cell.” scowling at them, not at him. “you should never settle. be with someone who wants to be with you for you not because of what you went through.” she didn’t know his wife but how dare she just show up and suddenly want to play the wife of the year. “if we stopped events, stopped living our lives in fear of something horrible happening in riverdale then nothing would ever get done.” it really was a hell hole. her eyes drifted to the hand on her arm as she moved and placed hers on top of his, even despite her better judgment telling her not too. “i can’t ask you to do that for me. i won’t.” and purely because if she involved him and something happened then that was on her hands. hers alone. “we need to get you a hobby, that’s far from healthy.” she would join whatever hobby she found for him seen as… she was the exact same right now. “i don’t sleep either.” veronica’s words were spoken quietly, they were only meant for his ears. “i had just received interest from barnard, if they were aware that i had brought alcohol onto school premises… i would have kissed that opportunity goodbye. it was wrong, letting him take the fall, i know. i wanted to march straight back in and tell you the truth but we were afraid it would do more harm than good.” it wasn’t like she had been getting drunk at school, she wasn’t even sure why she had brought it with her, it had been stupid. “i can assure you we were not.” archie would never do that and when he questioned betty and jughead she still remained loyal, instantly shaking her head. “betty and jughead may have a darker streak than most but they are good people.” it wasn’t a strict no either. 

“i stopped having high expectations for this family a long time ago. if she wants to replace me with some shiny new baby then she can go ahead, i have bigger things to worry about.” her mother’s actions were not of her concern right now, all she wanted was her safe, if fp could keep her away from edgar then that was fine by betty. it wasn’t like she’d been directly involved with their lives since being here, she could live without it she had too. “you might think that what you were doing before was protecting me dad but it wasn’t. i didn’t need it then.” note how she had said she didn’t need it then, she had spoken past tense suggesting she thought she needed it now. “i stood and watched him bleed to death in front of me, if he can bleed, he can die. again… and again.” betty wasn’t going to say it would be easy, she agreed that edgar would present a challenge because he always had but all they had now was time. time to plan, time to wait. her death, it changed… everything. “okay. sure.” nodding her head but she wasn’t sure she believed that he was interested in her past but if he wanted to hear it then she would, of course, be happy to tell him. “i’ll stay.” it was for the best and it wasn’t like she believed she actually had a choice in the matter, he was still the one with the gun. “training? what does that entail exactly?” what did he have planned? perhaps it was better not to know but at least if she had some kind of a heads up she could train her expression not to react in a way he wouldn’t like. “glad i’m alive.” she scoffed because it just sounded… like something out of a movie. this was crazy. “i’m glad i’m alive so i can make that bitch pay.” and pay she would. her eyes flicked to his hand that was on her arm, she couldn’t remember the last time he had been like that with her. the last time they had been close enough to touch he’d been throwing her around at prom. betty wasn’t sure whether this was just the lack of blood flow to her brain that was causing her to struggle. she just… couldn’t. it was okay, they had time, she had nothing but time to sit and think about exactly what she would do to donna. “i already told you. she doesn’t win this time. whatever it takes.” she was basically telling him she’d do whatever it took. dangerous but he’d told her it was kill or be killed and she hadn’t taken him seriously… not till now. now she had too before anyone else she loved was hurt. before she was hurt again. “her allies…” nodding her head slowly. “do i still need to add you to that list?” did she? because if she was ever going to trust him this alliance with donna sweett had to end. now. “no. he was never supposed to die, not like this.” shaking her head in dismay. “before she dies she will tell me where his body is. i need this, dad.” she needed to know, she needed to be able to bring him home… give him a proper grave. “how can i be sure of that? you have had a say in everything else! everything!” the thought of them dragging this out, hurting him, she tried to swallow down the emotion she was keeping trapped inside. “be my guest.” betty wouldn’t lose any sleep over the death of penelope blossom. “she’s still very much alive. cheryl wanted her saved… she said she would handle her and she has.” well, betty hadn’t heard so much as a peep from her which was smart. before she even knew what she was doing she was biting down the piece of leather firmly, her eyes looking anywhere other than at him because she didn’t want to watch the stitches being done. she moved her fingers to curl into the front of his shirt just so she had someone, something to hold onto. it wasn’t like she could hold his hand or his arm if he was going to be stitching her up, she gave him a nod to tell him she was ready.

betty had come to terms with the fact that she had lost polly forever, that her sister was now dead to her after calling and pretending to be the black hood. who even does that? her mom, on the other hand, the two of them had been through so much together, she loved her but she still found herself slowly nodding at his words. “dad, this isn’t mr jones’ fault. he was good to us.” sure, he could throw the blame at her mother all he liked because she was used to him doing that but fp? he had nothing to do with this and she’d spoke up to make sure it stayed that way. “i didn’t even find out about the baby from her, brett told me.” bringing her eyes back up to his face. “plans? are these edgar evernever’s plans?” betty knew that they should deal with one problem at a time, she may have hated edgar but he hadn’t brought her out here to die, he certainly hadn’t murdered jughead. “you’ll like it. it was very… dark.” a sad smile, her hands slowly starting to unclench from the fists they’d been curled tightly in. “so i’m just going to… disappear to them? to everyone?” if they didn’t hold a funeral if they didn’t at least do something then how were her friends going to know? how was anyone going to know? her thoughts for a brief moment went straight to jughead until she realized he wouldn’t be left without an answer. donna gave him his answer, a rock to the head and she’d get hers in good time. “I just wish i could have known so i could have…” said goodbye in her own way, without them realizing. she couldn’t even think of the last thing that she said to jughead, tears burning in her eyes again as she brought the back of her hand to wipe at them viciously. “then what? we just sit here and hope her lawyer doesn’t win the case? no, dad. she’s not getting her family, not when she took mine.” jughead. the one thing she couldn’t bear to lose and donna had swooped him in and taken him out of the equation without even blinking. betty kept her hands on his shoulder so she would stay upright, at least until they could get to this cabin of his. “i want her to feel afraid and helpless. i want her to know that she is all alone and that no one even cares that she’s going to be gone.” darkness, that’s the only word that was needed to show where betty had just taken that. her expression was cold as she thought about what they had done to jug, had they gloated about what they had done to her before they killed him? did he blame himself? had he been scared?  “how could someone do that? she – she dragged him out into the middle of the woods and murdered him like he was nothing.” blinking back thick tears that clouded her vision. “you should go and drag her ass back here so i can –” the edge to her tone said more than the end of her sentence ever could have, what she’d been about to say was incredibly violent as she dug her nails in again. sometime later she heard her dad’s joke, pulling a face at it but she found a slight chuckle. “you seem to manage fine with just one.” it wasn’t a dig at him either, if anything she was going with whatever flow he wanted.  betty winced a little when he started to clean around her wound, knowing how painful this was going to be when he actually touched the wound itself. she didn’t have the energy to talk so instead she let her mind wander to jug, the place she felt safest as she thought of the good times and not… of what had happened tonight.

“how could they possibly sound like us? copying my wardrobe is one thing but my… voice?” her expression showed the confusion and uncertainty she felt on the subject because if they had done this once. what was to stop them from doing it again? it was one thing to think that someone had dressed like her but to sound like her? well, that was an alarming detail she had never been told before. “um, hello? that could be a game-changer. who was it? who’s voice did you hear?” she would string them up for even having the nerve to try and frame her and her friends for such a dreadful thing. “i’m officially creeped out.” if it wasn’t obvious. the idea of some hell blazer happy stabber skipping around pretending to be her was the very type of problem she wanted to avoid in LA. “holden,” that was… weird, even though like he said they weren’t in riverdale any more, it was still… weird. “holden, it is.” a brief smile that by no means met her eyes as she nodded. “mr –” automatically going to use the name she’d just said she wouldn’t refer to him as. “holden,” correcting herself as she proceeded. “i’m not sure if this makes matters worse but something tells me this wasn’t about you.” it wasn’t personal to him, it was personal to… them. “and i may have said certain things in the past that i know are no longer true so i’ll say this now. your not a monster, you never were. you didn’t deserve what they did to you.” did anyone deserve to be kidnapped, tied up and stabbed like that? “like they had practiced on someone else before you?” okay, now they were reaching betty and jughead dark territory. a territory that as of late she had found herself becoming more and more familiar with. he had no idea how much she had needed to hear that, her eyes drifting to the table as he complimented her. “we didn’t have the chance then, mr ho–” it was inappropriate but she allowed a slight chuckle, shaking her head. “but we do now. if that’s okay with you? of course.” truthfully she was sick of being stuck in the past and if they could move forward and… get to know each other? then… why not? “i for one do not take kindly to pity either.” smiling slightly at him. “did she just show up after all that time?” it wasn’t her business but veronica had a way of making things her business and besides, if this hoe bag was out to cause even more damage then she needed to be put in her place. woah, wait. was she seriously getting protective over mr honey? that was something she was going to keep to herself. “it had been a terrible year… even by our standards. we needed prom, we needed to end the year on some high, like it was going to make some difference.” it wasn’t an excuse and being the principal he might have known more than she realized… like archie’s dad, everything with her dad… it had been a mess. “… no. i’m not certain that they ever will.” if these were the men who archie was tangled up with, she knew the expression on her face was giving her away but yes… veronica lodge was scared and not necessarily even for herself but for the guy she loved. “no. i’m the opposite of safe. archie –” oh, she couldn’t. these men would make what happened to him in that video look like child’s play and this wasn’t his mess. “honestly? no. i hadn’t thought of that but now that i am i can’t stop.” great. this was just great. “mr honey… how… how do you sleep at night?” not caring she’d used the wrong name, right now it didn’t matter as she leaned forward, sneaking out her flask as she placed some rum in his mug – of course, he had seen but the waitress hadn’t as she slid some into her own too. “what? i’m allowed to share.” glancing up at him innocently as she took a small sip from her cup.

there were brief moments where she saw the dad she remembered from when she was little, they lasted seconds but she could have sworn they were still there. she knew it sounded crazy which is why she never told anyone, not even jughead but she saw it. “i’m not going too, dad. i’m…” she swallowed hard before nodding. “i think i’m starting to understand.” her voice quiet because her admittance to him may have made her look strong in his eyes but to her she felt weak. like she was finally letting him win but if him winning meant her family and her friends would win too… it was a price she knew she would pay. “she doesn’t remember what you did or edgar, she doesn’t know about any of it. i wanted to protect her…” everything he said she seemed to find herself agreeing with and she tried to hide that it scared her. was he right? should her mom have been protecting her rather than this be the other way around? she dropped her eyes to his feet and didn’t say anything further but it was clear his comments had gotten through. she’d heard him. “yeah.” betty agreed with a sad smile, it was worse than sad, she had never felt pain like this… loosing jughead, she’d completely lost herself already and the news was only just starting to sink in. “jughead faked his death once. we held a fake funeral for him and everything.” she chuckled but the sound was anything but happy. “it worked, we got exactly what we needed and i know it will this time too.” this time it would be more believable because no one would know. they couldn’t. “my friends won’t give up on me easily.” and she wasn’t telling him so he could hurt them but maybe they could find a way to force them into doing so. “i’m dead.” it wasn’t strictly a lie either, she felt it, she certainly didn’t feel like herself any more. “i won’t reach out. i promise.” they may not forgive her now but when they realized who and what she was protecting them from they would. they had too. “i’m not going to hurt a child, dad. do you really think i’m capable of that?” darkness and murder was one thing but a child? an innocent child? she wasn’t a monster… was she? “donna can’t get her child back if she can’t find her. if someone were too… oh, i don’t know… give her adoptive parents the heads up about what was happening?” it was cruel but it was also in the best interests of that little girl and it fit her plan perfectly so she was doing it. “can we maybe do this when i’m not… bleeding to death?” she would tell him everything, she wanted too but… it was going to take time, time she didn’t feel like she had. she could barely feel her legs any more so she had no idea how they were still holding her up. “i want to kill her. she is already as good as dead.” the calmness in betty’s expression, in her body language and voice made it sound like they were talking about take out they wanted… not murder but that’s what she’d been pushed too. that’s what she was going to do. “i just want her to know what this feels like before i do.” this being… devastation, despair – the worst pain imaginable, losing the one person that you truly love.  “i’ll do it. it’s only right that it should be me. will you find out what she did to him? i want every last detail because i’m going to do the exact same thing to her.” then she’d know how scared and in pain he must have been in. “one chance it is then.” another sad smile, seen as they had both agreed to the same. “my hands…” the mention of scars reminding her of the damage she had inflicted on her own palms as she tried to see the mess she’d made through the dried blood. she took in a deep breath, nodding. “i can handle it.”

“my god, do you not hear yourself? it was a setup… yes, a convincing one at that but mr honey, i can guarantee you that i did not want to hurt you. the thought never even crossed my mind.” it was the truth, yes, he’d been an absolute pain to deal with but hurting him? um, no… that was ridiculous. “woah, woah.” holding her hand up because that was new information, the tape they received was silent, they had no idea what was said. “they laughed? that’s creepy and downright disturbing.” wow, that was sadistic even for riverdale and it was clear the new information had unsettled her. if they had been willing to do that to mr honey then what would they have done if they had gotten their hands on them? a shiver ran down her spine but that was years ago. she needed to promptly remind herself of that. “it’s a well-known fact that me and my friends have been through more than most. that doesn’t make us qualified whack jobs who kidnapped our principal and –” gesturing with her hand because she didn’t need to reconfirm details, he was doing that enough for the both of them. “mr honey…” ronnie listened to what he had to say, bringing her hand over her mouth as he described what he was put through. she may have hated his guts prematurely but it was juvenile and she was well aware of that now. weren’t they all? “regardless of what you may think of me right now. i’m…” be the bigger person, the person your father couldn’t be. “i’m sorry. what they did was truly dreadful.” it was and if they played any part in it by getting him fired then yes, she wanted to apologize. of course, she did. “you have a wife?” veronica not the most important thing to pick out of that sentence as she focused again. “i may not be pi betty or detective jones but i have my resources. please, let me help you. sending in that tape…” it could ruin their lives over something they didn’t do, over something that should be in everyone’s past. “it would only do harm. not good.” that was the truth. “i’m aware.” she answered quietly, bringing her hands together on her lap. “you may have noticed i’m… not presented to my usual high standard.” no, she looked like exhausted both physically and emotionally that’s because she was. she was worried about archie quite literally every single second of the day and on top of that she was worried about what she was going to do now she had no business or home. “someone locked me in my office and burnt my speakeasy, my home down around me. if archie hadn’t gotten to me in time…” a frown, one that she didn’t allow anyone else to see but he’d shared so… it was only fair she did in return. “i’m in trouble.” the last three words were not supposed to slip from her lips and it was clear by the sudden startled expression on her face when she realized she had said them verbally. “tea?” quick to move on from that stupid mistake as she placed a clean cup on the table in front of the seat he had originally refused to sit in.

betty lifted her shoulders up almost desperately when he told her to stop it, if she could just stop it didn’t he think she would have by now? rather than listening to him repeating the same thing to her over and over when it clearly wasn’t helping. “to what end dad? in my condition i was never going to take that gun from you. if anything it gives you a bigger excuse to use it.” trying to take that gun wasn’t standing up for herself, it was practically giving him a reason to shoot her. “i don’t need you to tell me what mom did. i was there. whilst you ran around with penelope blossom doing god knows what. i was there. fighting.” he could tell her she didn’t stand up for herself but where was he when edgar was destroying his family? “so i… i have to stay dead.” fake dead and no one could know. “we make our plans, set everything into motion and we wait…” that’s what he was telling her to do, right? and she’d found herself in a position where even if she didn’t want to listen. she had too. perhaps it was easier to tell herself she was doing this so he wouldn’t hand her over to donna, when in actual fact she wanted them to pay for this. was that so wrong? they had murdered the only man she would ever love. when he said her reason wasn’t enough she knew it had been a pathetic reason, he was right. she took a moment, deliberating her next words carefully. “because i choose you.” she hoped that would do it, that for now… it would be enough. “you told me you accepted the life i had here with jughead, with my friends. dad, you clearly didn’t because you were still working against me this entire time.” she wasn’t stupid. how could that plan not be enough? it wasn’t perfect because she hadn’t had time to sit and figure out every part of it yet but once she did. her lips parted to fight him back but she closed them, choosing what felt the most sensible option which was to listen to him. “she doesn’t know where her daughter is to see me coming but i do. i know more than you think.” would that satisfy him as she tilted her head slowly. “i didn–” oh my god. he blamed her for jughead’s death, she had been blaming herself from the start but to hear someone else say it confirmed it. everything she had been about to fire back at him fell away and she was left just stood there staring at him because she clearly didn’t know how far she could take it. she did need him, everything that was happening made it crystal clear. “brett’s an idiot. one that can be easily manipulated.” in love or not. “kill brett?” she paused, taking in a breath. “an eye for an eye.” nodding her head at him. it didn’t make it right but she genuinely didn’t have the heart left to bring herself to care. donna, her father, all of them had made sure her heart was smashed into so many pieces that she’d never fix it right again. they had made sure she would never be whole again. “that’s all you get to dad. one chance.” he was the one who had been lying to her face, running around behind her back with donna to lead her here to… die. betty led back on the bed, trying to remain awake, trying to stop her head from spinning but her eyes were growing heavy. could she trust him? what if she when woke up and he’d called donna and this was yet another trap? “okay.” nodding. betty worked to pull the material of her top down so she could take a look at her wound, wincing at the sight of it as she closed her eyes tightly, trying to remain calm. “dad, hurry.”

“what reason could we possibly have for hurting you once you were already leaving? the timing makes no sense mr honey and i think you know that.” betty shook her head, if he thought for even a second he was going to try and make this a problem for them then he was mistaken. she had enough problems she was currently trying to deal with, he was not being added to that list, she would stop it before it ever went that far. “they were wearing masks. creepy god awful masks so that you would think it was us.” they had already taken care of there mr honey problem, he was leaving for stonewall prep, they had no reason to kill him – they’d already accomplished and got what they wanted. “if i had come up with the plan to kill you mr honey, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.” was it a threat? maybe but not one she wanted to act on. he wasn’t the problem, he never really had been and she could see that now – unless he was about to make himself the problem which right now he wouldn’t enjoy. “i know. ms belle told us everything.” her tone softer as she nodded her head. “she didn’t see everything though, did she? you were far from a saint, mr honey. the yearbook? you knew how hard i worked on that because you asked me too.” and then there was prom. trying to keep people safe in riverdale was like asking for a miracle. pointless. he had no right to take that away from them. “the tape proves nothing. it wasn’t us.”

“you’re going to presume the worst of us based on some disastrous beanie and… okay, i admit wonderful necklace? if it were us, it would have no doubt been betty and jughead’s masterful plan and they would have taken care of it accordingly. not like… that.” veronica shook her head, making sure to meet his eyes to show to him that she had nothing to hide about his murder. “you were a nuisance mr honey, yes but i don’t have those murdered. i shoo them away.” she hadn’t answered why people would go to such lengths to frame them because she didn’t have an answer for him. she honestly didn’t know. they had been in high school and after everything they had gone through that year, prom had felt like one of the most important ceremonies and he had tried to take it. of course, looking back at it now she saw his side of it too but trying to keep people safe in riverdale? they were no safer in their own homes than they were at prom. it was outrageous. “is that where they took you? fox forest?” her eyes narrowing as she waited for his answer, it wasn’t some trick to throw him off. a lot had gone down after his murder, it wasn’t like she could ever forget that nightmare of a tape but the other details? yes, they may have slipped her mind. not that he knew but she was having a terrible few months. “i’m nothing like my daddy which is good news for you.” luckily for him, she was also more like him than she could admit, it was why she tried so hard to be the opposite of him – to do things her way and not his. “are you? going to hand that over to the police?” yes, mild concern showed in her features because she couldn’t have the police sniffing around right now. “what. do. you. want?” if he didn’t want anything then surely he would have just handed the tape over already? “wow.” shaking her head, acting appalled by his attitude when she wasn’t. not really. “i would happily admit if i tried to murder you mr honey because if i had tried, it would have been well deserved. i did not hurt you and it’s preposterous that you believe otherwise.”

“oh, you…” sweet pea couldn’t exactly be all excited but archie was a familiar face and that’s what was important. it was clear to everyone that they never really got along that well, but they were on the same team most of the time. even if they never will become close friends, they still sort of had each oher’s backs. sweet pea was a serpent, loyal to the bone to that group. which meant he’d follow jughead everywhere and with archie being one of his best friends, sweet pea kind of looked after him too. same with betty and veronica. “i’m fine. kind of better now that i’m here and not in that shithole of a town anymore. what about you?” it was strange that suddenly they all started to pop up here. “i did run into betty. huh, strange…”

betty let out an exasperated sigh because he was right, she didn’t get it, she didn’t get what he wanted but if it meant keeping her friends safe – that he would leave them alone then she’d do it. whatever it was. why wasn’t that enough? “i am standing up for myself.” admittedly she wasn’t doing a very good job at it but she had enemies attacking from all angles, she was doing the best she possibly could. “the only thing edgar evernever had over me was jughead and you made sure he doesn’t have that anymore. he has nothing. nothing.” it was clear her drive was jughead, the thought of living in a world where she couldn’t be with him, where he wasn’t alive was enough not to only bury her in darkness but to keep her suffocated in it. she couldn’t breathe without taking in that darkness. jughead was gone. he was really gone and she hadn’t done anything to prevent it… when she could have.“i’m going to push back… in ways, they couldn’t possibly imagine.” betty didn’t feel like the words needed to come with some epic speech because it was that simple. she was going to push back and the best part? they wouldn’t be ready for it, they wouldn’t be prepared for what she was about to do. “because i’m asking you too.” and for once… just once it should be enough. he didn’t realize how much his words hurt but she knew she wasn’t the only disappointment, he was one to her too. “at least now i know you’re being honest with me.” if she made one more wrong move then he’d feed her to the lions and probably enjoy watching her get destroyed because once that happened, he could fix her back up. right? into the daughter he wanted her to be. “i’m going to make sure she doesn’t get the precious family she wants, that she doesn’t get within a yard of that little girl and then… i’m going to turn brett against her, it shouldn’t be difficult… she lied to him once. i mean, we both know it was her decision to send her daughter away again… that she was only pretending to want her back to keep brett under her thumb. then and only then will i kill her.” she only paused briefly. “killing her isn’t enough this time dad, not after what she did to jughead. to me. killing her would be a kindness and i want her to hurt, i want her to know it’s over so she never comes for me or my friends again.” did he want the truth? that was it. “no.” shaking her head too quickly because the threat still bothered her, of course, it did. she couldn’t comment on jughead without feeling like she was being torn into a thousand pieces so, for now, she didn’t and she focused on what she could do. “leave them alone. i’ll prove it to you, just wait and see.” it wasn’t like this could be proved overnight but she would do whatever it took not to have him hunt down archie and veronica. “i don’t want to hurt you.” if he laughed, if he shot her, if he saw it as a weakness then so be it but even after everything he’d confessed to she didn’t want him hurt. “for me, obviously. if donna is going to believe i’m dead we have to sell the story. you have to sell it.” not that she doubted he could do it, she knew he could which was why she had specifically asked him to do it. at his words she simply fell into him, not fighting against him as he picked her up, her fingers curling into the material of his top as he carried her away… just like she used to do when she was little, when she didn’t want him to leave for work or when she wanted him to tell her another story before bed. she’d hold on… tight and she had to do that now.