𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙧 | 𝐉𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 |

No Shame

Chapter thirty: No Shame

    The five teenagers sat at a table in the hospital.  It was now night, and everything was just quiet. "Your dad would be proud of you, Arch." Betty interrupted the silence as she smiled at Archie.

"Yeah, you've really been such a Rockstar God through all of this." Jughead added.

Archie only stared. There was something he wasn't talking about. He was hiding something.

"Archie, what is it. Talk to us. Maybe we can help." Veronica urged.

"There's something I haven't told you because uhm...I'm so. I'm so ashamed. After the guy fired, I should have rushed to my dad straight away, or I should have tackled the guy, but I was paralyzed. I didn't move, not even when they guy walked up to me, and he held his gun to my head. I just closed my eyes. I don't know how long. Long enough for the guy to have taken my dad's wallet, I guess, but I didn't open them until I heard the bell. Pop's bell, which meant he was gone." Archie explained what happened at Pop's.

"There's nothing you could have done." Betty told him.

"That's not true, Betty. I could've done anything to comfort my dad to get the gun away from the guy. I was a coward, and now me and  my dad and I were witnesses Pop Tate too. This guy may have my dad's wallet. All his information.  What if he comes back?"

When no one said anything, Drea stood up and walked around the table to Archie she knelt on one knee and looked up at him.

"Archie, look at me." She said in a soft voice. "No matter what happened this morning, no matter if that bastard has your dad's wallet, we will be with you no matter what. There was nothing you could have done in that situation.  If you did do something, it wouldn't just be your dad in a hospital room. You got him here. You saved him, and now you need to be strong for him, ok?" Drea spoke, her voice breaking slightly.

Archie nodded before Drea pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged her back tightly. After a few moments, they let go, and Archie went to see his father leaving Drea, Veronica, Betty, and Jug.

"So..." Veronica looked between the three. What is up between you two." Veronica motioned between Betty and Jughead.

Betty looked at Jug. "We uh broke up a few days ago. It was mutual. We're still very good friends." Betty smiled at Jug, who smiled back.

"And what is going on here." Veronica pointed to Drea and Jughead.  Drea stared at Jughead, biting her lip nervously. 

"Oh, so nothing is official, huh?" Veronica noticed the blush on their cheeks as they shook their heads no.

"Well, I'm happy that something good is happening in our lives right now." Ronnie said before sighing.

"When we moved here, I never expected to find friends like you guys and go on these mystery chases, but even through all of this, I'm glad we had these experiences together." Drea smiled at them.

"Us too." Betty smiled back.

They soon decided to go home and get some rest. "Hey, can I uh stay with you tonight?" Drea asked as they stood outside. The sound of the rain filled their ears.

"Yeah, definitely." Jughead smiled.

"I'm sorry if it seems like I'm moving fast with whatever this is. I just get so lonely at home." Drea said, trying not to sound down.

Jughead's smile didn't waver. He walked closer to her and put his hands on her arms, rubbing them. "I would love it if you stayed the night." Jughead whispered before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

Drea blushed at the small gesture.

Jughead and Drea drove through the rain on FP's motorcycle. When they entered the trailer, they paused.

"What the hell guys, what is this."

Tall boy and the young Serpent stood beside a guy tied to a chair. He was beaten and bleeding all over the trailer floor.

"Went out like you asked. Found this guy at the Whyte Wyrm. Talking about how Fred Andrews was gonna let Hiram Lodges bitch run the show. Fire his crew that it was good he was gut shot." Tall boy spoke.

"So we thought we might press him a bit. See if it was all just talk." The young Serpent said.

"And?" Drea pressed on.

"And after a lengthy cross examination, we concluded he was just being a loud mouth." Tall boy approached the bloody man.

"So what did you bring him here for. If he didn't do anything." Jughead began to freak out. Drea only stood back without a word. She was calm. Too calm.

"So you could see we'd done what we asked. So you could tell your old man he's important to us. With or without the jacket, you're a Serpent." Tall boy spoke calmly.

Drea ran a hand through her wet hair. "Well, thanks for the help." She said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Just deal with that." She motions to the man in the chair. She was going to walk off when the young Serpent stopped her.

"Jemma said to give you this. Her number." He handed her a piece of paper. "Thanks." Drea gave him a nod before heading to Jughead's room.

She sat on the bed, taking out her phone. She put in Jemma's number. She decided to message the purple haired girl in the morning.

Drea laid back on the bed. She let out a small sigh when her head hit Jughead's pillow. She turned on her stomach and inhaled his scent. A faint scent of coffee, a hint of old books and...laundry detergent. Drea smiled into the pillow.

She was so enhanced with the pillow that she didn't notice Jughead enter the room until the bed dipped. She turned her head to look at him.

"Hey."

"Hi." Drea smiled. "They gone?" Drea asked Jughead, who nodded. She turned over on her back and stared at Jughead. "What?" Jughead questioned. 

"Nothing." Drea shook her head with a smile. Jughead looked to her lips.

"You know if you wanna kiss me, you could just do it." Drea said with a smirk. Jughead returned it before leaning in and connecting his lips with hers. Just like the first time, it was perfect.

They both could get used to this.