Betty's POV

I was frozen in time....frozen at that moment I made a mistake. When I kissed the boy next door and he kissed me back. It was nothing more than what it was a kiss. If it had been a year ago...if we were who we used to be...maybe then. If anything it felt like the goodbye I so desperately needed and the closure I always deserved form, Archie. Jughead was right about the feeling of riding a motorcycle, it did make you feel invincible. The wind in my hair as I drove deep into the woods...it made me realize something. I had been looking too closely at something that never existed. Archie and I...were never anything more than friends. I pushed for us to be more,  I tried so hard to be someone I just wasn't, it almost killed me. Well, you know what I'm not afraid of dying...not anymore. It's living every day that's terrifying me to my very core.

He has to start planning what to say at my funeral...Archie had the nerve to say that to someone he considered his best friend. I took a deep breath as I rode down a hill, this is all wrong. Since when had life spun so out of control?  We're just kids..kids fighting for our lives every single day we wake up in this town. 

My phone started to ring pulling me out of my dreary thoughts. I looked down at his name as it lit up my screen. I noticed the time and that's when I realized I'd been gone for hours. Jughead was probably worried sick about me. But I just needed to clear my head, I needed time to think about everything. If I was going to accept the responsibility of being queen. I had to figure out how to actually be one. Dark Betty was just the beginning, in order for me to become the person I was meant to me..the one I needed to be. I had to let the darkness take over me, to make me stronger, tougher, fearless and at times a little reckless. As I was riding out of the forest I realized I wasn't alone. Malachai the leader of the Ghoulies had followed me there.

"Betty Cooper.I hear you're the new queen of the Serpents now?" He said as he approached me. I got off of Jughead's bike and walked right up to him.

" You are correct..and you must be Malachai...Jughead has told me quite a lot about you." I said as I got closer to him.

" Frisky...I like it. What is a North Side sweetheart like you doing with Jughead Jones?" Malachai questioned me.

"He's my boyfriend..." I said sternly.

"Well, maybe we should send a little message to your boyfriend." He said grabbed my wrist. I smirked at him.

"That's a big mistake sweetheart. " I said.

"The mouth on you...wow I like that you've got bite to you." Malachai said as he pulled his pocket knife out. "It's a shame I have to make an example out of you. After all, this part of the woods is Ghoulie territory." He said about to swing the blade at me. I pushed him off of me immediately. 

"You know I fought off the Black Hood right? You seriously think you can take me? Are you really willing to take the chance? " I said to him as he tried to corner me with the knife just inches from my face.

"I'll take my chances princess. " Malachai said as he went to pierce my skin with the blade, I grabbed it with my bare hand and bent it back, snapping the blade from its metal holder.

"Wow, I heard about your dark side...I like it...fucking you must be wild. " I said as he looked at me with shock in his eyes.

"Well, that's what I've been told. But you'll never find out. Now I suggest you leave before I break your wrist with my bare hands too. Please don't test me for the second time Malachai. You will lose again." I said as he smirked at me.

"See you soon princess...I look forward to it." Malachai laughed as he took off on his bike. I waited until he was out of sight before I got back on the bike. I pulled up to Sunny Side Trailer Park and I don't know why, but I broke down. My adrenaline rush had faded into pure terror. I didn't even know what came over me in the woods. I got off the bike and collapsed to the ground crying. Jughead who had been calling me not stop was standing a huge circle with all the Serpents gathered around him. He was organizing a search party to look for me.

"Oh my god Betty! Thank god! I was worried sick...Cheryl and Toni said Archie was here. And that you two got in a fight. You left here in tears, I was so worried something happened to you! None of that matter now! Your home!" He said as he ran up to me. When he noticed I was crying he motioned for the rest of the Serpents to disperse. 

"Jug...I..I'm sorry I didn't answer you. I just...I had a lot to think about. I just needed to get away for a minute and calm down." I said to him. He kissed my forehead and helped me up from the ground. 

"Wanna go for a ride, we can talk about it?" He said pointing to his bike. 

"Yeah, I'd like that. " I said as he handed me a helmet. "I rode it without one before. " I said.

"I know you did. You're quite a reckless one babe. Just put the helmet on this time...for me? " Jughead smirked at me.

"Fine.." I said as I took it from him and put it on. We took off back towards the woods.

"What happened, babe?" He asked as drove down a hill.

"Archie...he.." I stuttered. Archie's name made Jughead stop his bike short. From what he heard from Cheryl and Toni about our run in, I could tell he was in a complete state of panic.

"Sorry, Betty.." He said as he pulled over to the side.

"Jug, he came to yell at me. " I said looking as if I might cry again. Instantly my boyfriend's reaction went from potentially jealous to furious. 

"I heard...what the hell was it about...wait oh my god about joining the Serpents? He and I had a fight about that in school this morning. Then I didn't see him the rest of the day, I should've known he was going to come here to try to talk you out of it. He thinks I'm the one who forced you into it. I told him it was your decision, but he didn't want to hear it." Jug said back to me frustrated.

"It wasn't just about that Jug. It was about the kiss..about he and I and our friendship. He said becoming a South Side Serpent meant I was as good as dead anyway. When I argued back with him about how he didn't know who I was anymore. So he wasn't allowed to judge any of the decisions I make. He told me he should start planning what to say at my funeral. Jug...I'm not afraid to die though. Archie having said that didn't scare me. The thought of living with this much pain is terrifying to me. I'm hurting so bad...and no one sees it but you. It's getting worse. I ran into Malachai before, he must've followed me into the woods. He came after me with a knife Jug, I grabbed the blade with my hand and bend it back towards him until I snapped it out of its holder." I said showing him the blood all over my hand, from grabbing the actual blade. 

"Betty...oh my god." Jug said as he grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Archie hates that I love you, he just wishes it was him that got to be your boyfriend. I can tell he's jealous of what we have. He doesn't have this type of relationship with Veronica. He can't be this deep with her. Archie doesn't mean it...you know he doesn't. You have to. Promise me you get it, Betty." Jug said starting to be visibly worried.

"He meant it Jug, I felt it. You should've seen the look in his eyes. If he hates who I've become...then he never knew me at all. This is who I've always been. I'm scared Jug..this feeling..this darkness. It's growing and I'm starting to just give into it. You can only protect me from so much Jug, you can't protect me from myself." I said as tears fell down both our faces. He put his hands on my cheeks as he looked into my eyes.

"Betty, I'm going to get you through this. You're going to be okay. Promise me you'll keep fighting. I need you to keep fighting." Jug begged me.

"I'm afraid of living with this much pain Juggie, it's not getting better. I think you and I should take a break. I'm not dragging you down, you have too much going on with the Serpents to deal with me right now. I should probably just go back to my house. This isn't something you can help me with." I said about to turn away from him. He grabbed my hands and kissed up and down my wrists.

"No! If you push me away Betty, you'll fall back into your old patterns. You'll hurt yourself! " Jug said to me.

"So what...Jug..everything comes to an end...even me...even Betty Cooper." I said as I started to walk away from him. 

"I won't let you. Not this time, not ever again. I love you, Betty Cooper, I'll always love you. So if you want to run away I'm going with you." Jug said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me. 

"The thoughts don't stop Jug, they're always there. " I said as I turned to face him.

"We'll work on coping with them if you work on being open with me about the darkness. I'll protect you from the monsters inside of your head." Jughead said. I cried in his arms for a good hour after that, he didn't say a word. He was just there for me and at that moment everything seemed so clear.

"I need to make some changes to myself. " I said to him as we let go.

"Toni and Cheryl love makeovers." Jug said with a smile.

"I'm going to need a major one, Jug...I'm ready to get my tattoo. " I said as he kissed me.

"Let's go right now." He said as he grabbed my hand and walked me back over to the bike. He was quiet on the ride to the tattoo parlor and even more so when I was getting my tattoo.

"Does it hurt?" Juggie finally broke his silence to say.

"Yeah...I kind of like it." I smirked at him.

"You're the type of girl who bleeds, just to know she's alive Betty. That alone scares me." Jughead said as we walked out of the shop.

"Me too..." I said as I got back on his bike.