Bughead 🔥❤️

Chapter 22

*ignore all spelling mistakes
From off to the side, Betty watched Jughead as he stood in the front of the small group of bikers. Most of the men were in their forties, close to FP's age, but a few younger ones were mixed in. In a dull hum, they talked amongst themselves, some behind their hands, reminding Betty of gossiping old ladies at church. Johnny was there, too, still sitting in his corner booth, cup of coffee in hand, but he'd taken off his flannel shirt. He had on only a v-necked t-shirt, and Betty noticed a tattoo of a blooming rose peeking out of the color of the shirt.

When they arrived at the Whyte Wrym, the lights were on, and in the brightness, every knick on the wooden floor, every ding in the bar counter, and every tear in the plastic seats were visible. The place wasn't dirty, though, just well worn. Everything was much the same as it had been when Betty and Jughead had been here a few hours ago, except now there was a scratched up pool table pulled into the middle of what was the dance floor, right in the way.

Eric was with Jughead, huddled together, their heads close as they talked quietly. Jughead perked up, looked to Betty, and called her over to them. He had on FP's black Serpent jacket, his beanie sitting atop his black wavy hair, making him truly look like the crown prince of the Serpents. She noticed now that the circles under his eyes were darker than usual, yet he didn't look weary. His shoulders were squared and he was vibrant and alert. Jughead wasn't one who sought the spotlight, but he took to it easily. Betty could see him as a leader.

She approached them, and when she was next to Jughead, he put his arm around her, drawing her into their closed circle. "Where have you been, Eric?" Jughead asked.

"Looking for my dad. I got this weird call last night, after I talked to you," Eric said. "It was from an unavailable number, and the voice was strange, scrambled with one of those voice changers they used in that movie Scream. Whoever called me said to wait for them outside the Whyte Wyrm. As I stood outside in the icy rain, freezing my ass off, my phone died. But I stayed there, praying the caller would show up. Hours later, I was about the give up, but then the payphone next to the Whyte Wyrm's front door rang. I answered it, and the same voice told me to go to Sweetwater River, so I went down there to search."

"But Johnny said that he saw you outside the Whyte Wyrm early this morning," Betty said. "And you got into someone's car."

"Yeah, it was Sheriff Keller. I flagged him down when I saw the squad car. I thought maybe he could help. My dad thought Keller was a bumbling idiot, but he told me once that Keller was the one cop he trusted. So Keller pulled over, and I got into his car. He drove me down to Sweetwater and we looked around for a while until he got an emergency call. He had to leave right away and I couldn't come, but he sent another officer to pick me up. But before he left, he told me to stop looking. He kind of yelled at me."

"That must have been when he decided to move FP," Betty said.

"I bet that Keller saw something at Sweetwater that made him nervous," Jughead said. "Maybe that not-so-burned-down cabin that belonged to Michael James."

"Exactly" Betty said.

"What cabin?" Eric asked.

"We think it has something to do with Goldhead and why our dads are MIA, but we're not sure yet. We're still piecing things together," Jughead said.

"So did you find anything else out at Sweetwater? Do you know if your dad ever when there?" Betty asked.

"No, nothing. No clues, no trace of my dad. The call sent me on a wild goose chase."

"Eric told me what he knows about Goldhead," Jughead said.

"It's a Serpent secret," Eric said. "We're supposed to keep it just between members."