𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘆 ∙ 𝗝𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆

     Hidden in a booth at Pop's Leia sat, tapping her hand against the table nervously as she thought over what Chuck had said to her, how Cheryl had given her a look of disbelief. It hurt her to think that if even for a second, Cheryl judged her, sure she was a judgy bitch to everyone but she had never been like that with her.

     The door to Pop's sounded and Leia kept her eyes trained on the table until she felt someone sit down beside her. "This has been the worst birthday, somehow I hate it even more than I thought was possible." Jughead chuckled as the girl raised her head, gasping as the cut that laid across his cheek.

     "What the fuck happened to you?" She asked as he shrugged.

     "I punched Chuck." Jughead commented nonchalantly, calling over to Pop to order a strawberry milkshake.

     "You did what?" Leia asked, her eyes wide as she grinned at the boy beside her.

     She stood up, heading around the counter and grabbing a first aid kit and heading back to the seat. Immediately, Jughead pushed it away but she grabbed his hand, sending him a glare as she grabbed a wipe, wiping the blood off his cheek. "It's going to get infected if you don't clean it." She commented, softly dabbing at the wound while he winced. "Stop being a baby and suck it up."

     "It hurts." Jughead complained as she fake pouted.

     "Aw does it really," she softly caressed his cheek before her face dropped and she turned serious, "suck it up." She continued wiping the blood off and cleaning the wound while the boy winced.

     "Leia," Jughead began and she nodded, showing she was listening, "what did Chuck mean when he said you had a drug problem? Is that was Fred was talking to you about the other night?"

     "Yes." Leia responded, dropping the wipe onto it's opened packaging that sat on the table. "When he said drugs he meant pills. They help me stay awake because I have insomnia." She decided she should just tell him the truth, he was bound to find out anyway. "As you know, my parents died." Jughead slowly nodded as she took a deep breath. "After my parents death, Fred took me in and I kept seeing my parents bodies every time I tried to sleep. It reached the point where I refused to sleep because I didn't want to see that."

     "That's horrible." Jughead frowned, grabbing the girls hand as she chuckled humourlessly.

     "They took me to a doctor where I was diagnosed with insomnia." Leia continued her story as Jughead listened intently. "They tried everything, pills and even herbal remedies. Nothing worked, until I found those pills that Chuck mentioned. I started to rely on them and it reached the point where Fred grew concerned with me. I was a complete mess and I swore I wouldn't touch them again."

     "Recently, I started relying on them more and he found out. That's the night Archie ushered you and your dad outside so you didn't see it." Leia finished, shrugging nonchalantly as she sipped her milkshake. "I told Fred I'd look for other ways to sort it out and that's why I went to visit my parents graves. My doctor thought maybe that my problem was I hadn't accepted that they were dead yet, so maybe seeing their graves would trigger something inside."

     "And did it work?" Jughead asked slowly as she bitterly chuckled.

     "It's not that easy, Jug." She clicked her tongue, moving her hair out of her face, pausing as she thought back to anything else that Chuck said that she might need to clarify. "I didn't have a job or any way to pay for them for I told Chuck I'd do anything for them. Apparently what he wanted was to sleep with me. So, I did." She swallowed harshly thinking to all the nights she'd given him exactly what he wanted.

     "When we first met," she continued, a thoughtful expression in her face, "he was lovely, showing me the pills and how they could help me. So, when I said I'd do anything for them and he proposed sleeping together, I didn't even think anything of it, still stuck in that belief that he wanted me." A bitter laugh left her as she smiled. "He didn't want me." She bit her lip, the smile staying on her face. "He wanted my body, he wanted popularity or he just wanted to say they got to brag about how he fucked me."

Jughead frowned at the girl as she continued smiling, not a sweet smile, it was a sad, painful smile that was forced. "Guess he got his chance to announce to the world how really fucked up I am." A humourless laugh escaped her as she ran her hand through her hair. "I have two options, continue to take them and disappoint everyone around me or don't take them and walk around like a motionless zombie."

     "You're not a bad person for wanting to be free of your demons." Jughead reassured her, squeezing her hand as he smiled. "If anyone else had to deal with what you've dealt with, they'd probably do the same thing as you. Ignore what Chuck said," he squeezed her hand again, "in my opinion, you're the bravest person I've met."

     "Aww, look at you going all sappy on me." She booped his nose with a bright, teasing smile. "What happened to the old Jughead?"

     "Hilarious." Jughead rolled his eyes, letting go of her hand as she laughed, nudging his shoulder.

     From behind the counter, Pop watched the two with a small smile, turning back to the till, shaking his head in amusement.

     Some things just never changed.

Words~968.
{edited:no}