Strangers

promise?

Betty's POV:
We were seated in the office when the principal walked out, 'Betty, Jughead. I have spoken to FP and he has made me aware that there are some problems at the moment with your family. He has made it aware that your attendance over the next 2 months might be bad but if all the work is collected once a week and handed in then we can work out an arrangement. Also Betty he has told me that if a women or a man come down here claiming they know you to contact him straight away, is there something I need to know?' I shook my head and said 'no sir everything's fine, like he said were just going through some stuff at the moment. We're serpents so it could just be people looking for revenge. Thank you sir, is it okay if we take the day. I can collect the work now and have it in, in a couple of days?' He nodded his head and said 'you too Mr Jones' I turned to Jughead and he nodded his head.

When our principal left I turned back to Polly, 'can you come and collect our work then we can leave and we can talk?' She nodded her head and followed me and Jug as we grabbed books from our lockers and work from our teachers. As we were walking through the halls I bumped into Kevin, 'hey Kev' I say while kissing his cheek. He responded with kissing my cheek back and saying 'hey B, everything okay?' He says referring to the work and books me and Jughead were carrying. 'Yeah we're all good, I'll explain later' he nodded his head and started to walk away when I said 'hey Kev, wait a sec' he stops and gives me a confused look. 'Cheryl and Toni told me what you heard and um... well I was wondering do you know what he's going to do?' He nodded his head slightly. 'Kind of, he's treating the situation as a kidnapping, you need to warn FP as I don't want to see any harm come to you or your family. I wanted to stop him and I wanted to explain but obviously i can't turn around say your doing more harm then good is your return her to your parents. I'm sorry betty but at this rate he's not planning on backing down' I nod my head slightly before saying 'do you think if I explained he would understand? If I told him the reason I left and the reason why I can't stay he would stop trying to get me back? Be honest Kev, if I tell him will he keep me safe?' Kev shrugged his shoulders and he said 'I'm not sure betty, everyone is different behind closed doors, the coopers are really respected in Riverdale and to hear what's happened to you, he might believe it, he might not. It depends on how much you plan on telling him and showing him, in the end my dad has a duty of care, if he sends you back fully aware of what might happen he could lose his job as sheriff. But if he doesn't send you back and he lets you stay with FP, things might be better, your parents could get arrested for neglect and abuse. You could be safe, I reckon it's worth a shot' I nod my head and say 'thanks Kev I'll be in touch, can you let me know if you hear anything else' he nods his head and says 'be safe B'.

I walk back over to my sister and Jug and we head outside to our bikes. We hop on and Polly gets in her car, we are heading to the Bar.

When we arrived we walked in to see a serpent meeting going on, FP clocked us and raised his eyebrows, when he saw Polly he pointed to his office. When we reached the office door we all headed inside, we needed the privacy to talk. 'Polly, what's up?' She gives me a concerned look 'after you left, I started to realise something. Betty be 100% honest with me right now. Was Fin the one who told mum and dad?' I froze and started to speak but nothing came out 'betts, are you okay?' I hear Jug say from behind me. I knew I was going into one of my attacks, when this happens I blank out. I can hear everything but I can't say or do anything. Jughead has witnessed a few and he knows all I need is company, mainly his, in order to come back to the present and to knock myself out of the daze. I looked down to see my fists were clenched and I had a few tears streaming down my face. He then knelt in front of me trying to distract me and loosen my hands 'baby, can you hold my hands?' I quickly unclenched my hands and held onto his. I heard the sigh that left his mouth and he turned back to Polly who was looking concerned and worried 'sorry Polly, she'll be okay just give her a minute. But the answer to your questions is yes. It was Fin who told them' her mouth dropped and I saw a few tears spill from her eyes. 'Betty... I'm so so sorry. I... I didn't think he... he would do anything like that. Do you know why he did it?' I nodded my head slightly and squeezed Jughead's hands. 'When you were kidnapped, that same night we got you back was when the first phone call was made, 2 days later was the first meeting. He doing it because betty supposedly put your life in danger and he wanted to do it in return. He doesn't care about Betty's safety and about the fact that she could die if she went back, he doing it because if Betty's the one in danger, your not. I'm really sorry Polly' Jug managed to get out while still trying to calm me down. 'Juggie...' I say after a while, a small smile formed on his face 'hey, your back. are you okay?' I nod my head, 'sorry about my hands' I say quietly, he chuckled slightly and he said 'it's okay, but like you said to me a while ago. We should probably find some other way for you to cope instead of doing this' I nod my head and he stands up slowly and kisses the top of my head. 'Do you want me to leave betts?' He says quietly, I shook my head and then I turned back to Polly. She had tears streaming down my face and she could see my hurt  'has Fin been acting weirdly or secretive over the last month? Any longer days at work or phone calls he takes away from you?' She nods her head 'yeah a few, they are always on a Monday or Wednesday' I look to Jughead and he sighs 'those are the days when your parents receive calls from burner phones' she sighs and whispers 'I can't believe this... this is why you freaked when he walked in the house earlier. Why didn't you do anything, confront him?' I look at her and say 'because in the end Polly he's your husband, the father of your children. Me and Jug would have taken him out there and then if I didn't have you or the twins to worry about. But also, if we give it away too soon he can tell them and they will find me sooner. Twist a story and fake everything, I did this for you and for me. I need to act normal and to act like nothing ever happened and I need you to do the same. If you want to keep me safe promise me you won't let him know that you know. I have one more thing I need to do before I sort out this mess. Can you help me pol?' She was silent for a moment and then she said 'I will do anything to keep you safe, keep me in the loop, tell me what's going on and I will help in anyway I can. I promise, your secret is safe with me' I nod my head and embrace my sister in a hug. When we pull away I hear her say 'I better be off, I told Fin I was popping out do do some errands, I love you betty. Jughead keep her safe' she says while grabbing her bag 'always' I hear Jughead whisper while gripping my waist and walking towards the door to show Polly out.