You move to a new town after your father accepts a promotion at his company. You soon find out that the small town is riddled with secrets, chaos, and intriguing characters. There is one boy in particular, Jughead Jones, you can't seem to get off yo...
You jerked, startled by the sudden hand on your shoulder. You looked up and saw Sweet Pea looking exhausted. "Hey, it's 8:47. I'm going to get coffee. How do you take yours?"
"Black please. Thank you." You rubbed your eyes, wishing everything had just been a nightmare. But here you were, in this dreadful hospital with Jughead unconscious in some random room after having been beaten to within an inch of his life. You dragged yourself to the restroom, your eyes were reminiscent of puffer fish, and it looked as if all the color had been drained from your face. You went back into the waiting room to see Sweet Pea sitting blearily with two cups. He handed you one with a slight sulk on his mouth. You glanced at your phone. 8:52. It seemed time was moving at a snail's pace. You sat down beside him momentarily, assuming the austere looking nurse now on shift wasn't going to let you into Jughead's room even a second earlier.
...
You walked into his room just after 9:00am heartbroken by the sight in front of you. Jughead laid a bloodied, pummeled mess, completely oblivious to his surroundings. He was hooked up to various IVs and machines. Penny had without a doubt meant to kill him. It was a miracle he was even hanging on at all. You clasped his hand, feeling completely useless.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I am so sorry Jughead." You whispered. "I would do anything to take away your pain, to bring you back to consciousness." You began to cry. "I am sorry if ever for even one second, I made you feel anything less than utterly and unconditionally loved. You really do mean everything to me. I can't lose you. Please wake up. You are a rare beacon of illumination in this awful world. There is so much left for you to do." You sat there and just watched him despondently for a while. "I love you Jughead." You leaned down and kissed him gently on his disfigured cheek, reluctantly forcing yourself to leave his side.
You took a seat back in the waiting room soundlessly, avoiding Sweet Pea's gaze. He soon disappeared down the hall, leaving you alone with your misery. He returned a few moments later, his expression exemplifying pure wrath. Sweet Pea remained standing a few feet from you with his arms crossed. You got up, standing close to him. "We need to kill Penny." You muttered.
He searched your eyes for a moment as if wondering if you were just venting or genuinely meant it. "Okay," he said sincerely.
"Where did FP go?" You questioned suddenly.
"He left a couple hours ago. Probably at the Whyte Wyrm rallying the Serpents."
"Rallying the Serpents for what?"
He tilted his head. "You know what."
"No, I don't." Your voice started to shake. "Jughead did this so this battle wouldn't happen. He didn't want a bunch of Serpents to end up maimed or dead. You can't do this to him. Will you take me to the Whyte Wyrm?"
Sweet Pea shook his head. "I don't know..." He deliberated. "With everything going on..."
You looked up at him desperately. "Please."
He sighed. "Fine. Let's go."
...
"Why did you bring her here?" FP hissed, grabbing Sweet Pea by the collar.
"She wanted to be here." He retorted swiping FP's hands away.
FP shook his head, looking at Sweet Pea like he was insane as he walked off. You recognized Toni's voice shouting near the pool table. "We need to go in there and avenge Jughead." She said heatedly.
"No." You interjected. "That's exactly the opposite of what you should be doing." A bunch of Serpents turned and looked at you oddly.
"If you still go in outnumbered and unprepared, then what Jughead did will be in vain. It wouldn't be avenging him, it would be disrespecting him."
"Who's this outsider bitch talking on Serpent matters?" A bald Serpent piped up.
"Watch it Balding Giant." Sweet Pea interjected. "She's with Jughead, and she's right." He looked around the room. "Jones was willing to die for us. He may never wake up from his coma. He is in this state so that we wouldn't needlessly die at the hands of the Ghoulies. He knows we are outnumbered. That it will be a slaughterhouse."
"We're just supposed to let them get away with what they did to him?" Rooster queried.
"Just be cowards backing down from a fight?" Byrdie spoke up.
"No, we'll get them back. But we need to think smart. They expect us just to run in bashing heads without a plan. Let's not fall for their trap. We'll regroup, bide our time, and hit them when they least expect it." Sweet Pea's gaze lingered on you. You nodded in agreement.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"My son didn't get beaten to a bloody pulp, possibly never to wake up, for nothing!" FP screamed adamantly. "All those for honoring Jughead and sticking to his plan?" Most of the Serpents put two fingers into the air, emulating snake fangs, while a few others sulked and glared. "It's settled then, this war is put on hold until we brainstorm, reorganize, and are able to knock those damn Ghoulies off their heads!"
