Betty looked up towards the ceiling and inhaled heavily. It didn’t stop the tears from welling in her eyes, but it kept them from tumbling down her cheeks. It was easier to maintain her composure if she didn’t let them see all the hurt. If she just stayed calm, then maybe she’d be able to leave this situation with her dignity intact if not her heart. She was already starting to flush red and she knew standing in her prison orange, she made a ridiculous sight. That knowledge only made it hurt even more.
“I can’t...I can’t really be angry.” She promised them, despite every bit of her that insisted that she could. She could be furious if she just let herself. It made her feel like she was nothing to anyone. It made her feel lots of things she was too smart to voice. But it wasn’t about her self consciousness. “How could I expect the same rules to apply? You were alone, scared, and you needed each other. I’m not selfish enough to think that you should have both...been alone for my sake. I wasn’t here before.”
“Betty, I...” Jughead started, stopping when he realized there weren’t words for this. Anything he said would make it worse. He knew from experience that declarations of love and good intentions just made every wrong more painful. Promises that he couldn’t keep would be no good. Lies that he didn’t love Audrey weren’t going to solve this. He dropped his gaze to the ground.
“But I’m here now.” Betty reasserted, tone growing firmer. She was doing her best to regain control over the conversation. They had to resolve the situation tonight, regardless of the conclusion they reached. She wasn’t going to bed wondering if her heart was going to be broken in the morning. “So that is the problem we’re going to solve.”