Young Riverdale

Chapter 9- JJ

Ow. My head was throbbing. I slowly rose from my bed, as I rubbed my eyes, my feet hitting the ground. I stared up at the body length mirror in front of me. I looked liked crap. My orange hair was all disheveled and my eyes were all red and swollen. What happened last night that made me go back into my old drinking habits?

Then, I saw the painting I had started of my family. Oh, right. I punched Uncle Jughead right in the face. Scum. I can't believe that he killed my father... or that his father killed my father too. Aunt Cheryl has always been right- the Joneses are scum. I can't believe that Aunt Betty had the audacity to defend  him.

I rose from my bed and stumbled to the door. My head was driving me insane. I needed an aspirin. Of course, I started to open my door and I saw two unexpected figures on my couch- Joe and Vanessa. Wait, why were they cuddled up on the couch? Vanessa had her head on his shoulder and... was she crying?! I quickly rushed over to her.

"Ness, baby, what happened?" I hurriedly asked.

"Baby?" Joe gave me a quizzical look. Vanessa just sniffled and threw her arms out to me. I sat down next to her and she clung onto me. Joe appeared to be very surprised at this notion. Vanessa hung onto me for dear life and wept her eyes out.

"What's going on?" Joe and I both asked each other at the same time.

"You first. Why is Vanessa crying like...?" I threw one hand up in the air and held onto Vanessa with the other.

"She was... ummm... let's just say I saved her from Mantle," Joe mumbled under his breath. My eyes widened. MANTLE.

"I'll kill that son of a-" I immediately stood up, but Vanessa pulled me back down.

"NO!!!" She cried. "The cops took care of him... p-p-please... don't leave me right now." Even though her eyes were puffy and red from crying, she was still just as gorgeous as ever. She was wearing a pink tank top and shorts, and her hair looked perfect in her messy, wavy ponytail. I sat back down, and she threw her arms around me again. I gently kissed the top of her head.

"Your turn to explain, bro." Joe glared at me, as if I had been the one to hurt Vanessa.

"Pssssh. Ummm... I don't know, Joe." I attempted to explain the situation.

"Ha. That rhymed." Vanessa quietly laughed at my unintended pun. She looked up at me and half-heartedly smiled. "Thanks for being here, JJ." Then, she gently placed a hand on my face, stared into my eyes, and softly kissed my lips. "Ew. JJ, you taste terrible." She got up and gagged. She rushed to the kitchen and searched for a cup to grab water.

"Sorry... I was drinking last night. Can I have a glass too?" I rubbed my temples. She walked over and handed me a glass of water.

"Please stop drinking. It's gross." She replied, as she sat down.

"Sooooo, when exactly did you guys umm...?" Joe awkwardly inquired. Vanessa and I exchanged a glance and laughed at each other.

"I don't really know. This weekend I guess? At.. umm.. the pool party?" Vanessa explained.

"Wait, really?" Joe looked at us weird.

"Yeah, really. We ran into each other in the hall and we found out..." Vanessa shut her eyes, so I didn't dare say Mantle's name out loud. Geez. I can't believe that jerk... and he's her brother! But he doesn't know it yet... either way, he's a creep.

"Right. Well, umm... you're welcome for me saving you, but I should probably work on...um,.. you know what? I should go check on my parents." Joe stood up to leave. The audacity.

"What the heck?" I exclaimed.

"What, JJ?" Joe turned around and crossed his arms.

"You're going back to your scum of a father? I can't believe you'd attempt to forgive that murderer." I scoffed.