My Serpent's Keeper [J.J]

Masks

In Riverdale, everyone wears a mask, not just the Black Hood.
But every so often, the mask slips and our true selves are laid bare, for all the world to see. So we scramble to put it back on, like a kid in a cheap Halloween costume, but it's too late. People have already seen what's underneath...and it's terrifying.
-

Cleo woke up to an empty bed. She laid tangled in the sheets and took a deep breath as she stretched her arms above her head. A content smile crossed her lips as she sat up and looked around. None of her clothes had made it to the bedroom so she grabbed one of Jughead's shirts and put it on.

She walked out of the bedroom to see Jughead sitting on the couch with his laptop, furrowed brow and writing away. Hot Dog immediately got up to greet her with a wagging tail. Cleo smiled and scratched his head before walking over and sitting with her back against the armrest of the couch facing Jughead. "Morning." she smiled. Jughead slid his eyes from his screen, up her smooth legs that were stretched out next to him, to the t-shirt that stopped at her upper thigh, and then flicked to her face. Every moment of last night was still fresh in his mind "Morning." she smiled at the shyness in his voice, vastly different than it was last night.

"What'ya writing?" she asked looking to the laptop screen. "Uh, novel...on Riverdale. I-it started with Jason Blossom's death but..." he trailed off looking back to his laptop "You uncovered more secrets that need solving." Jughead nodded. "Well, you hungry?" she asked, Jughead scoffed "You never have to ask me that." she chuckled and stood "I'll get dressed and we can go to pop's, I'm craving waffles." she pat his leg as she stood and started to look around for her clothes that were strewn through the house. Jughead watched as she bent to grab her jeans, the shirt she wore riding up.

"I never got a chance to say last night but your snake tattoo is really good." Cleo looked form him to her right hip. The tattoo went from her knee all the way up to her waist, a large snake wrapping around a skull. She got it on her seventeenth birthday. "Oh, thanks. It took hours to do." she lifted the shirt not caring about just being in her underwear, considering what they did last night, and Jughead got a full view of the tattoo.

Jughead moved his laptop to the coffee table and stood, he walked towards Cleo and rest a hand on her waist, running it over the curve of her hip, his thumb brushing over the tattooed skin. Cleo watched his face as he did this, he looked so entranced by her tattoos. Last night he didn't take the time to really look at her as they were busy doing other things but he decided that he wanted to know every inch of her skin. Every tattoo, every freckle, every beauty mark.

Jughead met her eyes, their faces inches apart. "Go get dressed....I'm starving." he said, his voice husky. Cleo bit her lip and looked to his but Jughead gave a light slap on her butt and she jumped and looked at him with wide eyes. He a had a large smile on his face and Cleo soon matched it. "Serpent for a day and he's already getting cocky." she muttered to her self as she walked towards the bathroom.

-

Cleo and Jughead sat across from one another at pop's, she had waffles and he had pancakes, and they both had smiles on their faces. "So, last night..." Jughead started. "Was just something that happened. I get it, Jug." Cleo shrugged "You were hurt over Betty, fueled with adrenaline from the gauntlet, and I was just your rebound." she looked back to her waffles. She couldn't deny she liked Jughead but she also knew how these things went. It was better to break it off or act like nothing happened than to fall and get her heart broken.