Bad Beat Jackpot (Jughead x Reader)

Chapter 80

The next day it seemed like the entire town wanted to go see Jughead, thrilled about his miraculous recovery. Kevin, Ethel, even Moose and Reggie had showed up to pay him a visit. It all seemed very convoluted and insincere. You could only image what Jughead was thinking about all of it. You felt like he should have been resting, not overwhelmed with all this phoniness. You left the hospital, wanting to get away from all the random people who suddenly seemed to care. You'd come back once things died down.

You walked over to Sunnyside Trailer Park and knocked on the door to Sweet Pea's RV. "Who the hell are you?" A burly looking man with a beard and a beer gut answered the door.

"I was wondering if Sweet Pea was here." Sweet Pea suddenly appeared behind him in the doorway.

"Uncle Roy, I-"

"I'm going to Athens." He cut him off bluntly. "Try not to let my home get boosted, shit for brains." The man busted out of the trailer, nearly running into you.

Sweet Pea looked ashamed. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came from the hospital. I guess I thought I'd see you there this morning."

"Trust me, there's plenty of other people Jughead would like to see before me." He looked at the rain picking up. "Uh... do you want to come in?"

"Sure." You made your way up the stairs. The interior smelled like cigarette smoke and stale beer. You were appreciative that he'd left the door open. "What happened?" You said, noticing his black eye.

"My uncle." He sat down in front of a half-eaten plate, that looked like SpaghettiOs, jerky, and dry cereal. "He came home last night and realized the gun from the van was missing. I told him someone must have stolen it. And I mean that's kind of why he keeps me around. So, I can keep an eye on things while he's on the road."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He said between chewing. "I've had hundreds of black eyes. And I get it, that was a nice shotgun." He smirked.

"Can I sit?" You gestured towards a bench half covered with clothes.

"Yeah."

"Sweet Pea?"

"Yeah?"

"What..." You lowered your voice. "Did you end up doing with your switchblade?"

"It's like the only thing I have left from my dad." He grabbed a can of Keystone from under the table and popped it open, seemingly drinking half of it in one gulp.

"Are you drinking hot beer?" You said feeling repelled.

He gave you a sideways glance. "The coolers out of ice, and the fridge is broken."

"That sucks."

"Yeah." He tossed his plate in the sink and looked out the window. "It stopped raining."

"Okay." You stood up. "I can take a hint."

He gave you a strange look. "That's not..." His face turned into a scowl as something caught his eye outside. "Keller's back. Get out of here. I'll talk to you later."

You sprung from the RV, heading towards the exit of the trailer park.

"Hey." You heard someone call. You spun around and saw FP sitting at a rickety table outside his trailer. You made your way over to him.

"Hey." You said apprehensively.

"I guess I owe you an apology. Do you drink?"

"Not really."

"Good." He grabbed a garden gnome off the chair beside him and gestured for you to sit. "So, that witchy gibberish did end up bringing my boy back." He took a swig from his beer.

"Well, I don't know. It could have just been a coincidence."

FP chuckled. "A hell of a coincidence."

"I'm just glad he woke up."

"I'm sorry about how on edge I was. Just the thought of losing Jughead..." He shook his head. "The doctors were so certain, but I guess you can't trust them."

"You can't. Doctors are literally businessman. They know when to cut their losses, exactly what to do to gain lifelong patients. Healthcare is for profit. They don't care about anyone or anything other than their pocketbooks."

"You sound like Jughead." FP smirked. "Look, I am having a little gathering for him tomorrow and I'd like you to be there."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, you didn't hear. He's being released in the morning."

"I thought they'd keep him longer for evaluation."

"Like you said. They see no payout in my boy. If he was a Blossom or a Lodge, guaranteed he would be in that hospital longer. But Jughead doesn't need them anyhow. He's tough. He's ready to be out of that bed." 

"Do you think he's ready for a party though? I mean he's still recovering."

"Damn, don't be a stickler. I am talking a casual thing down by the riverbank. Not some raging rave down in the catacombs."

You laughed. "Okay, sounds good."

"Alright, just you though. Don't invite his other buddies. We're having this down where the first ever Serpent meeting took place. I can draw you a map."

"I've been there."

His eyes widened. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, for Tallboy's anniversary party."

"Alright then, well, see you around four."