Jughead watched as Betty slowly came out of her shell over the next week. He knew that while being their hostage, she was starting to trust them more. Well, he amended, she was starting to trust Jughead, Pea, and Toni more. The adult Serpents were still left alone, and he thought that mainly had to do with Tallboy. And, if he was being honest with himself, Jughead was still fucking livid with the way Tallboy was acting around Betty. Looking at her like he was a prize he had won instead of the girl he helped kidnapped.

Jughead sighed as he rubbed a weary hand over his face. He hated the fact that the Serpents had to resort to such low measures to get what they needed to; to know they actually abducted someone who was a nice as she could be to get leverage against her formidable mother left Jughead feeling unsettled and with an ache in his bones. He hated Alice Cooper, but he knew he hated himself more. Hated himself for playing a part in taking her daughter, who was nothing like her mother.

Just then, his bedroom door opened and Jughead looked up to spot Betty walking out of his room. He blinked. While they had been making progress with her trusting them more, (at least, the younger Serpents), he still was the one who had to encourage her to leave his room. If she was doing it willingly this time…well, that gave him hope. He watched as she made her way to him, taking note of the way Toni's clothes still seemed to swamp her frame.

"My eyes are up here, Jughead," Betty said, and was she teasing him? There was definitely a mischievous glint in her eyes, and he laughed.

"Sorry," he said, ducking his head to hide the red spreading across his cheeks. "But, to be fair, I was just taking in the fact that Toni's clothes still look like they're swallowing you. Which is saying something because Toni is tiny."

It was Betty's turn to blush and duck her head as she bit her lower lip.

"Oh, uhm, yeah. Well, you know," she mumbled, and he nodded. He did know. One of the nights during the past week they had stayed up later than normal and Betty had opened up a bit to him. He found out that Alice Cooper had always been extremely strict on what her daughter ate. He also learned that Betty had an older sister named Polly. An older sister who ran the first chance she could and never looked back. Jughead suspected that might be one of the reasons Alice was so trying on her daughter.

"Well, how about some breakfast? I don't know if I told you or not, but Pea makes a mean breakfast taco," he said, watching her. Betty looked up at him, smiling slightly.

"Is there salsa?" Betty asked, and Jughead rolled his eyes.

"'Is there salsa' she asks. Betty, of course there's salsa. Pea would be offended you even worried about that," he replied, grinning at her. Betty laughed and the sound warmed his heart; it was such a stark difference from her first week with them.

"Good. I'll take two, then," she replied, bumping her shoulder with his before walking into his kitchen where Sweet Pea and Toni already were. "Good morning."

His two friends and closest confidants looked up at the sound of her voice and smiled at her.

"Morning, Betty," Pea said, working on scrambling eggs; Toni sent her a greeting as well as Betty went and perched herself on the kitchen counter.

"Smells good, Pea," she said, and he flashed her another smile.

"Thanks, Betty. Wait til you taste them," he said.

"Yeah, gotta put some weight back on you, blondie," Toni teased, and Betty laughed.

"I don't quite think my mom would appreciate that, T," she replied.

"Fuck your mom," Jughead said simply, making his way into the kitchen and leaning against the counter opposite the one she was sitting on. Betty didn't say anything to that, but she did gift Jughead with one of her earth-shattering smiles, so he knew she wasn't mad. He could feel Toni's eyes on him, watching him curiously, but he didn't meet her gaze. He knew what she was after, regardless. She wanted him to admit that he was starting to develop feelings for Betty, despite what she and every other Serpent besides Pea had warned him against. Speaking of Pea, him and the taller Serpent shared a look and Jughead knew he was saying he agreed with him.

Betty laughed. "I'm sure Alice Cooper would love hearing that. I'm sure she'd slap me again if I said anything like that to her."

She was watching as Sweet Pea scrambled his eggs but the silence in the room had her looking up in time to spot all three members sharing an uneasy look with each other.

"Guys…," Betty sighed.

"We never did talk about that, Betty," Jughead said softly, and she shrugged.

"Nothing to talk about," she dismissed, but Toni shook her head.

"Betty, your mom slapped you. We all saw it happen that night. And, if I had to make an educated guess, I'd say it wasn't the first time it happened. It's okay to be upset by that," the petite girl said gently.

Betty looked down, fiddling with her fingers, and that wasn't going to work for Jughead. He made his way towards her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. It showed just how much she had changed in her couple of weeks with them when she didn't flinch from his touch. Instead, she looked up at him questioningly.

"Has it happened before?" Jughead asked softly.

"Once or twice," she muttered, and Jughead felt himself grow angry. Swallowing down his rage, he squeezed her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, you know," he said quietly, and she nodded.

"I know that," she said firmly, and he believed her in the way she held her shoulders back, head held high.

He nodded, smiling slightly.

"Good," he breathed, squeezing her shoulder.

Just then, Sweet Pea interrupted them by announcing the tacos were ready. Jughead nodded and let go of Betty's shoulder before tilting his head towards the food.

"Come on, Betts," he said, and she gifted him with another smile as she hopped off the counter and went to Sweet Pea, who plated her two tacos. After everyone was served, the group made their way to the table and sat down, eating and talking. Jughead found himself thinking he could get used to this for a long time to come. Looking up, he made eye contact with Toni and spotted a knowing look in her eyes. He shook his head in amusement, ignoring his friend in favor of just relishing in the fact that Betty seemed to at least trust them. That was good enough.

Author's note: Just a short one. Enjoy. Xxx