I LIVE! I have risen from the dead! This story is not abandoned :D
I just needed to write something solely Bughead for a bit (a new chapter is coming for DoW soon too, don't worry) but I've been really vibing with SweetBetts and I was just itching to write this again.
So yay, here we are!

Song is 'Baby You're a Haunted House' by Gerard Way!

Thanks to my reviewers: Boris Yeltsin, Guest (x3)

Guest: Jughead is from the line of Werewolves, and we can feel him inching closer and closer to the truth, so... he's not far off

Inside the forest portal, Betty sits on the ground, legs drawn up to her chin.

In front of her is Jason, his body still cold to the touch and unmoving, still deathly looking.

After dragging him inside, Sweet Pea had squished a bag of blood down Jason's throat. That had gotten a little more color into his face, or as much color as a vampire could possess, and this was just further evidence that he would wake up. Or, so Sweet Pea claimed.

He'd left a box of blood bags near where they laid Jason on the grass. When Betty had asked where he'd gotten the blood bags, Sweet Pea had said he'd 'ever so generously taken them off the hands of the local clinic'.

First, if the Blood Drive posters were true at all, Betty was pretty sure that the clinic had never had a time where it had too much blood. Second, she knew this was a more creative way of saying he'd stolen them. But she couldn't complain; she wasn't exactly cutting open her arms for his food and all.

It had been hours, and he still was silent.

She'd been warned it could take days, but…

"You gotta wake up," She whispered, "Please, Jason, wake up in there."

She inhaled hard. She'd never really been this close to Jason before. He was just the star football player at her school that she would pass by in the halls on occasion. She truly couldn't think of a single conversation they'd ever actually had. It was bizarre that he was in her room right now, after being changed to a vampire.

"Not only do we gotta figure out who killed you, and I fear you're the only one who can tell us, but you have to come back for Polly. You're going to be a dad."

Of course, he already knew this, but Betty had to say it out loud again. She thought of Sweet Pea, who had no parents. She thought of Jughead, whose mom left when he was young and he rarely heard from her aside from an obligatory birthday call. She thought that it was so unfair and that her niece or nephew deserved a dad.

She wanted this for Polly.

Of course, Jason did not answer.

She hoped he heard her though. Maybe he'd fight harder to wake up if he remembered what was waiting for him here?

Betty's phone beeped. She lifted it to see a text from Cheryl. She frowned, reading it.

"Your sister," She told Jason, "She says she urgently needs to talk to me. I wonder what she wants?"

Betty started to crawl out of the portrait hole but turned around one last time to stare intently at Jason. No movement, but she hoped. There was a note near the blood bags explaining things if he woke up and no one was around.

Betty, if she could, would have waited in the portrait hole all day and night for him to come around, but Cheryl said that this was a matter that could not wait.

Betty wasn't taking any chances about anything anymore.

XXxxXX

Betty sipped on her milkshake at Pops, checking her phone, waiting for Cheryl to arrive. She felt the chain of her necklace, but Polly was still suspiciously silent.

Why wasn't she answering?

The lack of communication was nearly enough to make Betty drive herself back up to her grandmother's house. This was unlike Polly, especially since she'd been talking Betty's ear off over the necklaces of late.

Before she could worry more, Cheryl breezed into the diner.

"It's hard for me to admit this," Cheryl said without any niceties or helloes, "But I don't think Polly should come back at all."

"What?" Betty frowned, "I'm not…"

"My parents, they don't want to help her," Cheryl leaned in close, and Betty saw her lips trembling, "I wanted to believe a baby would bring out some other side in them, but I was wrong. It's not safe with them."

Betty didn't speak, she just frowned, recalling her mother's words. It was eerily similar.

"They don't want Polly, just want the baby. I'm afraid as to why." Cheryl was shaking, "Jason would…" She shook her head, "He might not wake up, and I know my parents well enough. Don't let her come back."

Cheryl flagged down Pop for a milkshake. Betty just sighed.

"I would tell her, that is if she were responding to me on the necklace." Betty punted.

Cheryl sat up straight, "When did the communications stop?"

"A few days ago. It's unlike her."

Cheryl relaxed a bit, her worries and knit brows vanishing.

"Just, keep trying. Because if she comes back, I'm not sure that we could protect her. And Jason's baby. He clearly saw something redeeming about her…"

"Hey now," Betty snapped, offending, "I just think that…" She trailed off, eyes wide, fixed on the door.

"What?" Cheryl snapped her fingers, "Hello? Earth to Cooper?"

"I think I just realized why she wasn't responding," Betty murmured, already getting out of her booth.

"Oh, of course?" Cheryl muttered, turning to see Polly and Grandma Smith walking into the diner.

XXxxXX

"You're always such a quick thinker, Betty."

"We'll see, Polly," Betty said, gnawing on her fingernails. After the stares had stopped and the pair had gotten a meal, squished into the booth with Cheryl and Betty, it had been decided that Polly could not go to the Blossoms, nor back to the house.

"Alice probably wouldn't welcome me much anyway," Grandma said with a shrug.

Running out of options, Betty had called Veronica. Now, the trio stood outside the Pembrooke in the middle of the night, Betty clutching to Polly's arm as though her life depended on it. As terrified as she was for her sister's return, she wasn't letting her out of her sight again.

She asked Polly why she'd returned. Polly had gotten a look on her face that Betty knew well. One that Betty herself got when she had set her mind to something.

"It's time to start setting things straight. Plus, I want my child to grow up where Jason was raised. It took some convincing, but Grandma finally agreed."

Betty had just sighed but knew there would be no budding Polly on this very risky choice.

Veronica met them in the lobby.

"I know this is a lot to ask-," Betty began.

"You are my best friend," Veronica said, stilling Betty's words by grasping her hands, "And what has happened to your sister is just awful. I told you, anything you needed. A lot of these apartments are empty anyway."

"Miss Lodge," Grandma smith nodded to Veronica warily, "This is very kind of you. We'll pay for the apartment."

"Don't be silly," A crooning voice said from the end of the hall, "Dolores, you won't pay a cent. Ma'am."

Betty frowned, watching the square-off between the two. Or, square-off wasn't quite the right word. Grandma was watching Mrs. Lodge with trepidation, as one should do with a vampire, but Mrs/ Lodge was looking at Grandma Smith with deep respect and almost adoration. Betty hadn't thought that Hermione and Alice were friends as children.

"It's only fair," Grandma insisted.

"Perhaps. We'll discuss it later. You are welcome to remain here as long as you need it. Anything for your granddaughters," Hermione said, looking at Polly and smiling. Dolores gave a grunt and a scowl and now Betty really needed to know what the history was between these two.

There was a pause until Veronica smiled brightly.

"Well, come on! We've picked out a great apartment, right next to ours. I'm sure you'll be very happy here."

Polly placed a hand to her rounded stomach.

"I sure hope so."

XXxxXX

"That was the last time you saw him?"

Betty watched Polly inhale hard, her face set into a deep concentration, though it was tinged with frustration.

"Yes, as I said." She said, trying not to lose her temper, "He was going to disappear for a little bit, but…" She trailed off, not because she was overcome with grief, but because her eyes flickered around the room with a careful calculation.

It was the same looks that Sheriff Keller and Hermione had been sending around the room the entire morning. Every time they came to a point where something should have been discussed, such as the entire magic that lay rippling underneath the cover of the story, they all had to pause. They'd gone through it all already; how they'd met on Spring Break and it had started as a cute flirtation that led to something more, about how their families were very against their relationship, about the pregnancy, the ring...all things that were common knowledge. It all hardly scratched the surface of the true nature of his death.

Betty could see Sheriff Keller trying to suss out the trio of gathered children in front of him for how much they knew. He had to expect that Betty knew more than most. Polly, perhaps. Veronica? None.

Hermione was doing so too, but she kept looking between Veronica and whoever was speaking, her eyes flashing dangerously. The implicit threat was clear; let Veronica know about any of the things she's not supposed to, and you'll wish for a swift death.

Grandma Smith sat at the head of the little circle, eyes watching the entire exchange like a hawk. Betty was sure that with her there, Sheriff Keller would have no reason to push Polly too far. Like Hermione last night, Keller was almost reverently respectful to Grandma Smith in ways Betty didn't gather.

She bit her lip hard. See, this is why they needed a coalition of magic folk so that everyone knew what everyone else knew! She needed to remind Kevin of that, but there were bigger issues on the table.

"And then your parents sent you away after you'd heard about his death?"

"I completely broke down. I tried to kill myself, sir," Polly said, chin raised with a dare to him to say anything about that. This was all that had been more or less passed on via others. Her repeating it was getting them nowhere.

Betty covertly slid her phone from her pocket to underneath her leg. She made sure Veronica was preoccupied with watching the interview go down before she did so. Then, she made a half-public motion of patting around her thighs for her phone.

"Damn it, V?" She asked quietly, nudging Veronica's shoulder, "I think I left my phone in Polly's room in the apartment over. I don't want to miss any calls from my mom, you know?" Betty's wince was real. She was just waiting for her mother to thunder in.

"Oh, is that all?" Veronica said, effortlessly grinning, "I'll get it, of course. Where was it?"

"I think maybe in my bookbag. Or, if not there, I was sitting on her bed this morning," Betty lied. Thank god for Sweet Pea, or else she'd be stumbling through that. She wasn't going to thank Sweet Pea for making her a better liar, but...no, maybe she should be. Veronica nodded, standing.

As soon as the door to the Lodge's apartment clicked close behind them, Betty straightened her shoulders.

She wasn't sure how long it would take Veronica to realize the phone wasn't there, even if she deep-searched the room. Point being, they were running short as it was. They weren't going to waste it.

"Let's talk freely," Betty said, interrupting Sheriff Keller, who was flipping back through his notes to find something else to ask Polly, "And we know what. We're all in the know, so," Betty pinched her nose.

"Ah, so, who told you?" Sheriff Keller asked a tad bit awkwardly, glancing at Polly. Polly didn't answer that, just raised an eyebrow, "Right. Okay. Before Jason left, I heard one of his teammates say he was dealing drugs?"

"To pay for us leaving," Polly confirmed, "it was just supposed to be a one-time thing. We needed money. To get away and start over."

"Well, what was it?" Keller asked, "Kevin and Jordan reported something strange before the car was torched. Looked like coke, but-,"

Polly frowned. She knew who Kevin was, but Betty hadn't time to fill her in on her werewolf friend yet. A conversation for later.

"I honestly don't know. I didn't know about any of this world until recently. I did remember that the amount they quoted him was a lot more than what coke went for," She blushed, "From what I researched, anyway. Enough for us to settle comfortably and live low, unpaid, for almost three years."

Betty bit her nail. That was a lot of money. Sheriff Keller whistled, tilting his head as he wrote.

"Well, someone had to agree to pay him for that. Let's say I believe that the star football player even becomes a one-time drug mule, then this was bigger than him setting it up. Mysterious substance aside."

"He went to a bar on the other side of the tracks," Polly waved a hand, "And made some deal with a biker gang."

"The Southside Werewolf pack?" Hermione said, unable to keep the surprise off her face, "Err, The Serpents?" She added to Polly's white face. She'd just learned that there were such things as witches. Betty hadn't even gotten close to explaining about fae, werewolf, or vampires yet. She probably assumed that Hermione was just naturally dead-looking.

"Uhm, I mean," Polly blinked a couple of times, "I guess yeah."

Betty bit the inside of her cheek. She accepted that the Serpents occasionally had to do some bad things to survive, but she didn't like it. Still, drug dealing? Somehow, this just didn't sound like them. Not whatever this was, at least. And for Sweet Pea to not have known about it? That meant that FP was keeping secrets from the whole pack, or at least most of the pack…

Which wasn't anything they hadn't theorized before, she reminded herself.

"He got an address upstate. They were going to pay cash," Polly continued, twiddling her fingers, "And that's all I know. It seemed fishy, off, but I couldn't describe it then. I wonder if it was just the magic and all or something." She admitted.

"Even to me, it's fishy," Grandma Smith said in her quiet, resounding voice. Keller nodded his assertion and Hermione hummed.

"We won't know now, since it's up in flames," Keller bit out furiously.

"Along with everything I had left of him," Polly added, the heart-break evident in her tone, "The ring, our pictures together, letters he'd written to the baby…" She sniffled, trying hard not to cry. Betty rested her head on her shoulder, cooing.

If Jason would just wake up, all of this could be so easily solved! It was so infuriating that he hadn't just gotten up like he'd taken a very long nap. It was magic beyond her control, but it still bothered her.

"Now that you do know, did Jason ever make any comments or allusions to the magic here?" Keller asked, "Something you realize now?"

"I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I'll think on that," She said, "Everything feels muddled. My memories are all messed up with each other."

"Hardly surprising," Hermione said kindly, "Veronica is coming back." She said suddenly. Sure enough, a moment later, the door clicked back open.

"B, I couldn't find it anywhere! I'm sorry. I can try calling it?" Veronica sighed, crossing her arms.

"Oh! Sorry, yeah, I guess I grabbed it and it fell onto the floor," Betty said, holding it up. It was sort of a weak excuse, but it had gotten Veronica away for a few moments.

Beside her, Betty felt a spike of pain through the necklaces. She looked to Polly, a wild frantic look in her eyes. Grandma Smith stiffened, having felt it too somehow.

"I think that's enough for now," Grandma Smith said in her commanding tone, and that was that.

Betty was itching to tell Sweet Pea what they were uncovering. Maybe he would be able to fill in some more blanks?

XXxxXX

Sweet Pea yawned as he slouched into the side of his locker.

All that fucking work and Jason was still comatose. Or, at least he assumed him to be. He hadn't heard anything from Betty.

Damn, what he wouldn't give for a gigantic coffee right now. Or some cocaine...kidding, sorta. He had football practice after school and at this point, he wasn't sure he'd make it to the 2nd period. He would just skip since that was his pre-Riverdale High M.O., but the coach wouldn't let him practice. Crazy as it seemed, he still felt a weird sense of loyalty to this new group. It helped him get rid of some of his energy and he felt good after play, especially when his teammates patted him on the back.

Football teams were just a different form of packs, he'd decided.

"You look exhausted."

He jolted, seeing Betty next to him. He'd been so tired he hadn't even registered her coming up to him.

"Any news?"

Betty's face pinched into a frown, "No." She bit her lip, nervous, "Hey, uh…"

"Yeah?" Sweet Pea said, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Nope, nevermind," Betty said, trying to pass by him. Her face was bright red and Sweet Pea grabbed her sweater to stop her from sliding past.

"Spill it," He said.

"At what point do the, erm, effects of vampire blood wear off?"

Sirens went off in his mind. His wolf immediately jumped to attention and it was all he could do not to snarl in the middle of the halls, "You've been having dreams about St. Claire?" He demanded, horrified, furious and disgusted all at the same time. Mostly, however, he was mad at himself. He should have never let Betty drink that blood, especially not from that creep and now she was having dreams and-

"No!" Betty's eyes were wide, "I haven't, which is why I was curious. I'm not going to sleep tonight and have visions of his naked body or something from here on out, am I?"

Sweet Pea worked to settle his still snarling wolf, but he was still on edge, "Oh, thank god. No, I mean, yeah. You're fine. Usually, it's like the first forty-eight hours."

"Hmm, right," Betty said, tugging on her ponytail, "Erm, speaking of blood...can I have a bit of yours?"

"Uhm…" Sweet Pea blinked, "To non-magical folk, that would be a super creepy question. To magical folk, it still is. Care to elaborate?"

"Just a spell I'm tinkering with. It would really help." She pouted, giving him her best pleading expression. He could feel his resolve breaking, damn her.

"I'm not going to like...turn into a duck, am I?" He asked uneasily.

"If anything, it will help you," Betty said cryptically, "Just whenever you get the chance."

"Right." He said, still trying to figure her out. He grabbed a stack of notebooks haphazardly from his locker, probably not even the right ones, following Betty to the lounge, "You met with Keller today. Anything?"

Betty opened her mouth to speak until she noticed Veronica and Jughead, plus the ginger and whoever he was dating currently. She pressed her lips, "Nothing more than we already knew."

There was something, but she'd have to tell him later.

Betty sat down next to Jughead, taking up the rest of the couch. The rest of the group was scattered, discussing a science lab. Sweet Pea sat down in the last available seat in the circle, scowling, starting to dig through his pockets for enough change to buy a Pepsi.

"How is your sister holding up?" Veronica asked, reaching out to Betty, "She seemed so off-centered when you all left this morning."

"Well, Polly's convinced no one wants the baby except her. I mean, my grandmother supports her, but she's not openly joyful about it." Betty said, playing with her necklace.

"Well, no-one except the child-snatch Blossom witch...bitches," Kevin said, catching himself just in time. It was only then he seemed to notice Cheryl sitting in the circle, an unusual addition, "Uhm, no offense."

"None taken," Cheryl said, though it sounded a bit forced.

"So your mom and dad want Polly but not the baby, and the Blossoms want the baby and not Polly," Jughead summarized, shaking his head, "That's a true Gordian knot."

Betty's shoulders slumped, and Sweet Pea could almost feel the hopelessness radiating from her, "An impossible situation," She agreed.

"Oh, come on," Veronica said, her high-pitch startling Sweet Pea, who had zoned out for just a second, "An impossible situation is being invited to both the Vanity Fair Oscar party and Elton John's Oscar party on the same night. Which happened to me one year, I know. This is merely an annoying situation." Veronica said, as though Betty's issues were small.

While he usually just ignored Veronica while she name-dropped, today his head was pounding and his wolf was still pacing and he just wasn't in the mood, "Oh, shut the fuck up, Lodge," He snapped, "No one cares what you did in New York or who you knew or what celebs you kissed the asses of."

"I do," Kevin said, raising a hand.

"It's insulting. You have no idea what's going on. You're saying that a teenage mother, unwanted by her parents, is just a trifle? God, shit." Sweet Pea pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too early for all of this.

The group was staring at Sweet Pea with varying degrees of expression. Jughead was trying not to laugh behind his hand. Cheryl was grinning like she was front-row for her favorite reality T.V. show. Betty was beet-red, Archie was confused, Kevin was horrified and that one girl that Archie was with looked like she didn't know what to think. Veronica was glaring, though, and if looks could kill…

"Oh, and you know?" Veronica asked, her voice sickeningly calm.

"More than you." Sweet Pea sneered, "Not everything needs to be related back to some hilarious sitcom worthy moment from The Big Apple. This is real deep shit, so unless you have some actual advice-,"

"I do," Veronica said, "Until I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to suggest something." It did seem like Sweet Pea had taken the fire out from under her, her presentation not as flawless as she may have imagined it. She coughed, turning back to Betty, "Right. Well, I was going to suggest that my mother and I throw Polly a baby shower."

"Count me in!" Cheryl piped up. Betty was still recovering from the little spat and blinked at Veronica twice.

"You want Polly to feel loved and supported, right?" Veronica prompted.

"Uhm, that's nice, but ideally by her own parents." Betty finished, managing to find her voice. Sweet Pea nodded. This sounded like a bad idea waiting to happen.

"Well, baby steps! Get your mom and Polly in the same room and go from there," Veronica said as though it was incredibly obvious, "They can't fight because it's a public setting and voila! Let the healing begin." She was beaming as though she'd just fixed world hunger.

From the pensive look on Betty's face, it was clear she was considering it.

"Am I expected to come to this thing?" Jughead said, seemingly uncomfortable.

"Well of course," Veronica said, blinking, "You're Betty's boyfriend." Though, as she said it, her expression switched to Sweet Pea. He locked his jaw, narrowing his eyes. Jerk move, he thought. Cheryl was watching him too, a sort of apologetic expression on her face.

Jughead looked startled, just as taken aback as Sweet Pea felt by the usage of that word. Veronica laughed out loud.

"Oh, it's just a word that begins with 'B', calm down," She teased, though it was a much bigger deal than that, "We'll all go. Show Polly she has friends everywhere." She turned to Sweet Pea, "Except for you. If you can figure out whatever the hell is eating you, fine, but otherwise I don't want negative energy at her baby shower."

"Hey-," Sweet Pea began to argue, though he wasn't too keen on going anyway, it was just the principle of it.

"I think that's for me to decide who comes or goes," Betty said, trying to smooth the tension, "And I haven't agreed yet."

Just as Veronica was about to launch into another argument, Sweet Pea swiveled his head. He'd smelled it before he saw it; the cloying scent of perfume and the tinge of magic.

"Betty-," He hissed in warning, but it was too late. Alice Cooper stormed into the lounge like the devil.

"Elizabeth Cooper, we need to talk."

XXxxXX

"Sorry Fred…"

Hermione watched as Vic closed the door behind him. Fred turned, his entire expression just defeated.

"What am I supposed to do?" He murmured, less to Hermione and more to himself.

"Wait here," Hermione said, standing abruptly, "I'm going to and talk to him."

"Hermione," Fred sighed, "I mean, I get it but-,"

"You know I can be very persuasive, Fred." Hermione said tightly, "I'll be right back."

She caught up with Vic just as he was about to get in his car.

"Vic!"

Vic winced as she approached, "Look, I know, but-,"

"You will call your crew and tell them to not listen to Clifford," Hermione said, grasping at his shoulders and turning him, meeting his eyes completely, "And you all will be back here in an hour to break ground."

She released her hand, grinning, satisfied with herself...until Vic shoved her away, just enough to confuse her.

"Look, I get it, you're upset. But really, we just can't turn down this money."

Hermione frowned. Why didn't that work? It had been years since a simple vampire trick had failed her. She did not think she could have done it wrong which meant…

Which meant someone had put Vic, and assumedly the others, on vervain.

She stood back as his truck squealed away.

Someone was out to make her life much more difficult.

XXxxXX

"Sheriff Keller told me everything. I cannot believe that you dragged your poor grandmother into this mess-,"

"You were the one that sent Polly to her!" Betty snapped back, "Besides, 'poor grandmother'. She seems pretty capable, mom," Betty said, thinking that there was no way that she could have convinced Gramma Smith out of anything. That seemed to be a shared trait between the three of them.

"Besides, it's better than shipping her away to some back-country small town. At least here she has me," Betty continued, crossing her arms firmly.

Alice pinched the bridge of her nose, "And who's idea was it to have her stay with The Lodges?"

"Veronica's." Betty fibbed.

"Of course it was," Alice gave a sugary, fake smile, "Betty, you have no idea what's going on and-,"

"Then tell me, mom!" Betty all but stamped her foot, "We need to talk. All three of us. Really actually talk."

"About what?"

"You know about what," Betty said, but didn't dare bring it all up here at school, not when Polly deserved to be there, as well as her grandmother… "So far, it's only caused us all the problems."

"I am just trying to protect you," Alice said firmly, "It's what a mother does."

"I'm sixteen and I'm not just going through puberty. I'm going through something else entirely. I'm not sure you can protect me, not like you used to," Betty said, and a part of her did feel sorry for her mom. Her mother had tried to keep magic away from her daughters her entire life, fearing for their lives, but it had still backfired. And yes, there had been an attempt on Betty's life, so she understood that. But they were past playing offense.

"I know that you want to take your sister's side, but the best option would be if she and that baby vanished." Alice said, "I was hoping she'd stay with Grandma up there."

"You don't get to decide that," Betty said, tired and angry and hurt, "You only get to decide if you want to be part of her life." There was a beat, "We're having a baby shower. You and dad should show up."

The bell rang and Betty grasped her backpack, "I have to get to class. I hope you decide to come."

"Elizabeth," Alice said just as Betty touched the threshold of the door. It seemed like there was so much more Alice wanted to say, but in the end, she just sighed, "Perhaps...we do all need to talk."

Betty, despite everything, took this as a positive sign.

Lord knew she needed one of those.