Cingulomania

This is a work of Fanfiction, no copyright infringement is intended. I own nothing pertaining to the Archie Comics/Riverdale universe.

Chapter 1

Hearts are shattered everyday, in innumerable ways by innumerable people. When your heart is ripped violently from your chest by the person whom you appointed it's guardianship, the pain is that much more unbearable. To watch that same person walk away with to little no emotion in regards to your utter hollowness, a change can take place. Severing the ties that once bound those two people, indefinitely. Such was the case of Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones.

When Jughead told her they needed to be away from each other until it stuck, she thought she might melt into the asphalt beneath her feet. She hoped that she would if she were being honest, and goodness knew she was always honest. She felt beyond hopeless, even thirty minutes after he had left her standing alone in the parking lot. She stayed still, unmoving in the spot she stood hoping he would come back and take back the damage he'd caused. No such luck.

The hammering of her broken heart never ceased, it's beating causing her hands to shake. She breathed deeply as the door to the Whyte Wyrm swung open. She let a tear escape her eye, spotting FP and her drunken mother leaving arm in arm. Even her mother had better luck with the Jones' men than she had. She felt a spike of anger course through her veins. The familiar pulse of energy jolting through her fists, balling them at her sides when FP and Alice came to stand in front of her.

"Hey there Betty, your Mom's pretty trashed. I was going to take her home, it might be a tight fit, but I think I can squeeze you in the truck too." He noticed the tears in her eyes, as well as the streak that flowed down her cheek. He knew something had happened when Jughead came smashing back into the bar and ordered a beer from Toni. Betty standing here with her emotions raw, it brought back memories. He blinked and pushed his and Alice's history away.

"Oh, it's alright Mr. Jones, I can drive mom home in the wagon." Betty's eyes went from FP to watch her mom's unsteady stance. Clearing his throat, FP repositioned his hold on Alice.

"I dunno kid, she's out of sorts. I think I can handle your mom, but you? You have no clue how to deal with drunk Alice." He chuckled when Betty smiled in response.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. What about the wagon?" She motioned toward the old car behind her. The door to the Whyte Wyrm flung open again, Betty looked around FP and her mom expectantly. Her face fell when she seen a tall slender boy walk out instead of her beloved. Sucking in a breath, she let her head sag, eyes welling with fresh tears.

Betty's reaction to seeing Sweet Pea come outside instead of his son did not go unnoticed. He knew his boy was an idiot, they were similar that way. Pushing the people away that meant the most to them. History repeating itself. He had an idea, something that may just spurr a reunion between Betty and Jughead, or the opposite. He didn't care, he just knew that Betty was more a Serpent that even Alice was.

"Hey! Sweet Pea! Come here!" FP yelled over her shoulder. Betty noticed the boy saunter over, half smiling at her, pulling a cigarette from his pack.

"Whats up boss?" Sweet Pea asked, lighting his cigarette, eyes never moving from Betty.

"I have a favor to ask of you Sweet Pea, it's a big job." FP winked at the younger Serpent.

"Sure FP, what's the deal?" Smoke curled out from Sweet Pea's parted lips. He was thoroughly interested where this going to go. There was no doubt the newest prospect Betty Cooper was involved.

"I need to make a drop. A couple in fact, with Betty here. Teach her some things. You'll need to get her dressed for the part. Toni's in her dorm. You down Betty?" FP's eyebrows shot up in questioning, he was testing her.

Betty felt her stomach twist, adrenaline shooting through her veins. She wanted to say no, but what came out of her mouth was the exact opposite. "Yes Mr. Jones. I'm in." She stepped forward, shoulders back, and head up. FP smiled in that dark and wild way. Betty found it intriguing. He was handsome, she'd never seen him this way before. He felt giddy at the prospect of her turning into a full fledged Serpent.

Alice turned into FP's side, holding on the lapel of his jacket while resting her head in the crook of his neck. "I'm cold FP, and tired. Can I just stay here?" She was almost begging.

FP's eyes darkening at the thought of Alice Cooper slithering into his bed in the dorms. She was always sneaking around when they were kids, finding her way into the club house dorms to be with him. He felt a pang of guilt for entertaining the idea of it now. They were both married, both with children, both with baggage. It was the worst idea to ever cross his mind.

"Nah Alice, I think I should get you home. Maybe you can come and stay when you decide what side of the tracks you belong on Darlin'." FP steered the drunken woman toward his truck at the back of the lot, taking the keys to the station wagon from Alice's purse and tossing them into the passenger side door, ignoring the imploring gazes of the two teenagers behind him.

"Well, I can see where you get it from, your mom is a bombshell Betty Cooper." Sweet Pea flicked the cigarette butt to the asphalt, smashing it out with his boot toe. He held out his hand to Betty, waiting for her to take it. "Shall we?"

"Yes." She had to look up considerably to meet his eyes. He smiled at her when she took hold of his large hand. She smiled back.

"We have a couple of things to do actually. First being to change you out of," His outstretched finger pointing from her shirt to her shoes. "Whatever that is. We have a part to play Betty. You can't be a princess on the back of a bike. We'll just grab some clothes from Toni's room." He led Betty back into the Whyte Wyrm. "Don't look for Jones. We don't have time for a lovers squabble." Betty did as she was told, looking only at the patch on Sweet Pea's jacket.

Sweet Pea knocked on the tattered wooden door, waiting for it open. Toni swung the door open, a look of irritation on her face when she seen Sweet Pea standing on the other side. "This had better be good." Her arms folding in front of her as her hip swung out to the side.

"Oh, it's good!" He gave Toni a wink, leaning on the door frame next to him, revealing Betty to her.

"Oh shit, Betty. What's up?" Toni let her arms fall to her sides, this was definitely going to be good.

"We have a drop to make?" Betty felt self conscious standing here with the two Serpents. She was far out of her element and it made her hyper aware of the looks she was being given by Toni and Sweet Pea. "I need to look the part apparently."

"A drop huh? Yeah, can't exactly be on the bike with pastels. It's almost a sacrilege. Let's see what we can do." Toni took Betty's hand now, dragging her over the threshold. Sweet Pea winked at Betty for the second time in less than ten minutes. He couldn't wait to see the transformation.

Sweet Pea found himself sipping a beer from a bottle that he'd swiped from behind the bar when Hogeye went to collect empties from the tables and stage. He wasn't really into it, it was more something to do. An action to keep his mind steady, and not watch what Jughead was doing on the other end of the bar. Jughead had taken to watching Sweet Pea after he'd come from Toni's room. He'd noticed that Betty was wisped away by his friend down the dark hallway. He didn't want to ask Sweet Pea anything, he was going to stick to distance, no matter how hard Betty tried to pry her way into the Serpents. A vibration started in his pocket. Pulling out his phone, he seen that his Dad was calling. He answered it and stepped outside, completely missing Betty's entrance into the bar area with Toni.

Vaguely aware that Jughead left, Sweet Pea was pleasantly surprised by Toni nudging him on the arm. With a smile on her face, she pointed toward the dark hallway and he waited. Releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding, he almost lost hold of the bottle in his hand. He knew why Toni was smiling now. Why she looked absolutely pleased with herself. She'd removed any traces of the Riverdale princess and brought out the Serpent in physical form. Betty Cooper was smoking hot, and Sweet Pea couldn't help but adjust himself in his pants. An action not lost on Toni, or Betty for that matter. There Betty stood, black lace shirt over a gray camisole, black skinny jeans tucked into borrowed black Dr. Martens. Blonde curls wild around Betty's face, and then there was her face. Toni had really done Betty a solid. Her eyes were done up in deep shades of shadows and lined with black, and she had eyelashes for days. Sweet Pea was pleasantly surprised.

"Oh kill me now." He swallowed thickly, not wanting to miss when Betty walked over to stand in front of him.

"Yeah, I thought you might feel that way. She's all yours." Toni hugged Betty, then moved toward the Hallway. "Hey, Betty, hit me up tomorrow yeah?"

"Of course!" Smiling sweetly, Betty turned her attention to Sweet Pea. "I really like her. So what do you think?" She turned in a circle to show him her new outfit.

"I think, you should probably keep everything you borrowed from Toni. Maybe go on a shopping trip with her too." Raking his eyes over her curves again, he couldn't help but to lick his lips. Betty noticed the simple action, blushing in response. Sweet Pea stood before her now, bending his index finger and using his knuckle to tip her chin up, their eyes met. "Hey now, don't be bashful Betty. Own it. You're banging baby." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Okay, I'll try. It's all new to me. You might have to teach me…" Her voice trailed off, she was uncertain of herself and what she may be asking, but it was too late.

"Teach you huh? I can teach you all kinds of stuff. Like tonight, I can teach you how to slang Betty. Make you a badass spliff roller, teach you the art of nugs and dabs." His smile was sinful, full of promises she almost hoped he would fulfill with her. She could feel his body heat close to her, she leaned into it. "But first, we need to get you a jacket. It won't be plain forever, you'll earn your patch soon enough." He reached over the barstool he'd been sitting on to the next stool, grabbing the black leather jacket that rested upon it. It was older, worn in, but it looked comfy and just right for her.

"Whose jacket is this?" Betty questioned. She felt weird accepting it, in case it belonged to someone else, she didn't want to owe anymore than she felt she already did.

"It's all yours Betty. FP has some spares around in case prospects can't afford them. I'm guessing you don't have an afterschool job like most of us, but here you go." He held the jacket open by the collar for her to slip into. She paused for a moment, looking at the young man holding her jacket. It was almost surreal, that she would slipping this leather over her arms, her back, she'd be wearing a patch soon.

She hadn't anticipated this when she was removing her modest clothing to wriggle around a cold metal bar in front the entirety of the Serpents. She hadn't thought it through, what it actually meant to take that stage and be vulnerable before all of them. Standing here now, she felt the comradery with Sweet Pea, with Toni even. They had stayed here, when the closest friends she'd had her whole life had left. They didn't even stop to think if she had a ride home, or a sober mother to drive. Not one of them asked if she was alright, or if she needed a shoulder to cry on. None of them gave a damn, and the one person she thought was there for her always, left her crying and cold in a parking lot. He made it clear she wasn't to be here, hanging around with his friends, his crowd, at his bar. She felt the weight of not feeling good enough lift effortlessly from her thundering heart, turning around and slipping her arms into the satin lined leather. Letting a new weight settle upon her shoulders. The weight of her new found brethren and sistren. She eased into the leather the way she eased into her performance earlier. It felt right, it felt good, and she allowed it.

"Okay, let me see, turn around." She obliged. Watching Sweet Pea's face for his reaction, she was glad to see a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. She almost felt sexy. Something she'd never felt in all her life, she'd only been allowed to feel smart and dignified. It was almost addicting to watch how Sweet Pea's eyes devoured her, how he'd unabashedly tugged at the crotch of his pants, and licked his lips. She wanted to taste his lips, feel that tongue on her own.

"Goddamn Betty! Yeah, Okay. It's time darlin', let's go!" Putting his arm around her shoulders, guiding Betty to the door of the Whyte Wyrm, he felt like a changed man. He seen how the others regarded them, tilting their heads in acceptance. He felt pride well up inside of him, with Betty on his arm. Pulling her closer to him when Fangs did a double take before they exited the bar, he felt a bit irritated at his friend, the way he looked Betty up and down. The way he himself, hadlooked her up and down just moments before. They way he'd wanted to grab himself earlier when she shimmied around that pole on the stage. The way he'd gluttonously drank her in when it was obvious that Jughead was pissed she'd even done the Serpent's dance.

They walked together, arm in arm, to his bike. She wondered how it would feel on the back of Sweet Pea's bike, she'd only ever been on Jughead's. Feeling a surge of adrenaline at the prospect of one day maybe having her own bike.

"Hey Sweet Pea?" She looked up at him.

"Yeah darlin'?" He looked back at her.

"Do you think one day I could have a bike too?" She enquired genuinely, innocently. He liked it, leather and lace. Made him hum in contemplation.

"Yeah, I do. I think it'd be pretty fucken hot too. Are you an angel Betty Cooper? Cuz I think I might have died and gone to Serpent's heaven." He swung his long leg over the bike and sat down, watching her intently.

"Not at all Sweet Pea. I'm just Betty." She mimicked the boy's actions to get on the back of his bike. Settling in, she pulled herself closer to him, nestling into his back.

"You've done this before?" Turning to look at her, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I rode on Jughead's. It was only a couple of times." She looked away from him, feeling a ball lodge in her throat at the thought.

"Sorry, I just haven't ever had anyone on my bike before. You're the first." Her head snapped around, her eyes darting between his.

"Not even Toni?"

"Nope. Why would Toni be on my bike?" His eyebrow knit together in confusion.

"I just thought… The way Jughead spoke about you and Toni, I just thought, that…" Now she was confused. When Jughead spoke of meeting up with his new friends, he always lumped Sweet Pea and Toni together. It was easy to just assume they were an item.

"So he makes us seem like a couple? That's interesting." He kicked the pedal with his foot, the roar of the engine vibrating into the seat.

"Oh my god, Sweet Pea!" Betty grasped onto the boy's torso, hugging him tightly to her. She hadn't been on such a beast of a bike before. The feel of its power between her legs had her feeling certain things. Things she'd dare not say out loud.

The sound of Betty yelling "Oh my god Sweet Pea" had him also feeling certain things between his legs. He'd not been ready to hear such things fall from the innocent lips of one Betty Cooper. He'd never heard those words fall from anyone's lips really. He wasn't inexperienced per se, but no one had ever said such things to him before. Adjusting his stance on the bike, he reached a hand down to the dainty ones at his waist and squeezed. Pushing off from the asphalt, the pair were sailing out of the parking lot, blonde hair whipping behind them.

Having answered a phone call only ten or so minutes prior to the couple's take off, Jughead was at the back of the parking lot, near the Cooper station wagon. His dad asked him to bring the car around to the Cooper house, and he'd give him a ride back. Jughead questioned his father, 'what about Betty?'. His Dad's response being, that she was going to be out on a job for the remainder of the evening and it was none of his business now that he had squashed their relationship. Extinguishing his cigarette on the side of the brick building he leaned on, he heard the door opening, it was a couple exiting from the bar. He almost didn't pay any attention to them, seeing as they seemed pretty cozy, holding each other tightly. That is until he recognized the male as Sweet Pea himself. He had to refrain from running up on the pair, he felt he quake in his muscles; anger pulsing through his veins. He had done this to himself, practically pushed Betty into the snake pit, literally. All he could do now was watch. Betty was not herself, not wearing her clothes from earlier. Her hair was down in curls around her face, eyes rimmed with Toni's signature smoked out eyeliner and nude lip. He could see Betty somewhere in there, but even the way she walked was different.

He ached at seeing Betty sit on the back of Sweet Pea's bike, wanted to puke at the sight of her tangle her arms around his friend's body, the way she'd done with him before. The way she yelled out Sweet Pea's name when the bike was started. She'd never called out his named like that. He felt inadequate, defeated. He'd brought it all on himself. He couldn't pull his eyes from the pair, even after he seen the other boy squirm on his seat when Betty called out his name, or when he touched her clasped hands. He kept watching the spot where they'd driven, long after they'd gone. The phone vibrating in his pocket once more brought him back to reality once more, it was his dad. He'd wasted time, and he was sure to get an ear full. If he'd just left when his dad asked him to he wouldn't be doubting this entire night right now. Pushing away the bile that threatened to rise in his throat, he got into the car and started the engine.