Just the Two of Us

Chapter One: Blood Lust

She was in love, unbeknownst to her, with the boy who's birthday it happened to be today, in love and prepared to throw him the best day he ever had.
Betty's eyes twinkled and her lips curved into a grin.
Although Jughead had a disdain for birthdays Betty could surely throw him the best damn, small, low key and chill, first high school party of his life. She would get to see that adorable grin stretch across his lightly flushed cheeks, saved just for her viewing, and for a second she would see his eyes brighten with an almost star struck wonder. She craved to see him in actual bliss for even a few seconds.

"Jughead has never had a birthday party." Betty gaped.
Archie nodded, "yup."
Betty grinned, "well let's throw one for him-a low key, nice, party." She said.
Veronica nodded, her smile growing, possibly more because she didn't have anything to do that night and the stress of her morbid home life was beginning to make her cry in random situations, but also because Betty was her friend.
"Yes! A chill gathering with just his friends!" Veronica praised.
"Exactly"- Betty began.
Archie swooped in, Betty was being typically Betty; nice and considerate and sweet. However, Jughead would take it the wrong way, as he refuses to "fit in" and has tremendous trauma, which is why he refuses to, once more, "fit in".
"Betty I don't think that's a good idea, he doesn't like birthdays..."
Kevin piped up, "everybody says that, nobody means it." He grinned.
Betty rebuffed Archie's attack, she was throwing her boyfriend a great party and finally he could have a memorable birthday, a cheerful celebration of his being, not a demeaning reminder of his dads alcoholism or his moms estrangement.
Veronica shook her head, "no, ignoring the negativity-Betty you know me any excuse to wear a party dress, so I'm thinking a quaint gathering." Veronica prompted. "Inner circle only"-

At that moment, like the cherry on top of the cake of foreshadowing later events, Chuck "date rape, loser, sticky maple" Clayton walked into the cafeteria.
"Oh my god, don't turn around..." Kevin gasped.
They turned around.
Betty began to shake, chuck's eyes flicked to her with smug intensity. Betty curved her nails into the soft flesh of her shaking palms and squeezed them tighter and tighter together, go away, go away...her mind repeated, her mind harbored thoughts of that pool, stop... the steaming water...
Palms squeezed tighter.
Stop... the black Lacey skirt and the black bra... STOP!
It dawned on her she wasn't taking in air, she squeezed her palms tighter again...
Please stop... the yelling, his stupid face in the water...
Fuck off, go away!! Her leg was twitching, she kneaded her palms deeper.
And that wig, that god-awful wig...STOP!!!
She sucked in air, her nails had dug so deep into her flesh that she knew there was blood, but before she knew it the anger had boiled to a temperature she couldn't handle and she got up and stormed to Chuck who was sitting beside Ethel.

"Get away from her, chuck." She loomed.
"Easy, Betty." He glazed. "I only came over here to apologize." He said.

Betty's blood must have flooded to her hands because her legs felt as though they would collapse, where is her Jughead?

Chuck gave her a look, slowly, up and down her plaid pink skirt and her little knitted sweater with the white collar poking out and up to her innocent perfect ponytail at the top of her head, he had a shark grin hiding under his smug expression, and he said. "It's okay, don't go all dark Betty on me..."
The wig, the lingerie, the heels, the anger-"IM NOT GOING"- the silence of the room pulled her back and she softened her voice, her face pale and sickly now.

"I'm not going dark anything." She said finally, her nails were inside her skin and there was blood slowly filling up her palms. Bad habits, she supposed.
"Ethel is Chuck bothering you?" That was the real issue here, make sure Ethel was fucking safe.
Ethel looked at her sweetly, her eyes a little glazed and tired and Betty wanted to protect her from the malevolence that was Chuck Clayton. And she became calm in that moment, her fists, however still tight.
"You can relax Betty it's fine." Ethel smiled.
Betty let in some air again, she would be sick later.
"Yeah Betty, we're fine. The real question is, are you?" He leered.
Make it stop...there was too much anger and fear running through her and the pain from her palms, as she simultaneously balled them tighter, was starting to actually hurt her.
She stared a withering glare at Chuck before quickly turning and walking away. As she turned she felt the eyes of not only her friends but the people in the cafeteria following her and all she wanted was to be in nowhere land, asleep in Jughead's embrace. Or stuck in the moment where his lips touched hers and there was nothing but complete ecstasy.

Washing away the unpleasantness, she focused on Jughead's birthday, and the darkness fell away.