Miss Atomic Bomb (Jughead Jones)

Part 6

I smiled at myself in the mirror.

My burgundy dress fit perfectly and flared out in just the right spots. I had decided to wear a flower crown with my outfit and my black converse.

Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and say I was being a typical, rebellious, teenaged girl, but I actually felt good about myself for once in my life.

"You look so pretty Marina."

I turned around to find my mom standing behind me grinning from ear to ear.

"Mom!" I exclaimed and ran into her arms.

"Oh sweetie, I wish I could see you!"

I looked up at her.

"What do you mean? You're right here." I said motioning to the floor.

She shook her head and her long red hair brushed against my face.

"No, I'm right here." She pointed to my heart and smiled softly, "I can't see you, not really, but you can see me anytime you want."

I nodded up to her and hugged her tightly.

She smelled like strawberries and roses. I suppose it matched her bright red lips and hair.

I looked away for a heartbeat and when I looked back, she was gone.

"Hey Mari! Jughead's here for you!" My dad shouted up to me.

I was still in a bit of a daze and it took me a minute to realize where I was and what has happened.

"I-I'll be down in a minute!"

I quickly applied some finishing touches to my more dramatic makeup and slipped on my glasses.

"I don't think Mari mentioned you were taking her to the dance." I heard my father say to Jughead.

"Oh, well I guess it slipped her mind Mr. Joycelette."

"Jughead, I've known you since you were five. You can call me Gavin."

Gavin? He never let any if my friends call him by his first name.

I shyly walked down the stairs with my hands behind my back.

My father and Jughead both looked over at me.

Jughead's expression was unreadable and my Dad was smiling like an idiot.

"Umm, hi." I said awkwardly.

"Hey Mari." Jughead smiled up at me.

We both stood there staring at each other. Jughead was wearing a suit with his signature gray beanie.

"Well what are you doing, let's get a picture!" My dad announced oddly gleefully.

"Uhh, okay?" I said.

I wrapped my arm around Jughead and he wrapped his around me. We attempted to smile with smallest amount if awkwardness possible, but I've always hated pictures if I'm in them and Jughead hated pictures in general.

After my Dad took about five hundred pictures he put his phone down.

"Oh crap! I left my purse in my room!" I realized.

"Hey Maxwell! Go grab your sister's purse!" My Dad yelled up at my brother who happened to be walking in the hallway upstairs.

I probably forgot to mention my kid brother Maxwell. He was on his last year of middle school, so luckily I didn't have to see him at school, and he mostly kept to himself. He didn't even look like me. Instead of red hair and green eyes, he took after my father and had chestnut hair and chocolate brown eyes.