Coming Home By Shrugheadjonesthethird (Series 1)

Chapter 9

“Jug,” Archie sighed nervously, beginning to walk to him. Jughead’s eyes widened, his nostrils flaring in frustration. Archie met him at the edge of the table. “Can I sit?” Jughead didn’t respond. He stared at Archie is disbelief, tears welling in his eyes. Archie sat, but didn’t say anything.

“How’d you know where I’d be?” Jughead asked, shaking his head, still in disbelief.

“We came here once in high school, back in the height of your serpent troubles. I saved you here once, I figured I’d start here. Besides, you can’t resist a diner, am I right?” Archie attempted a smile at Jughead.

Jughead pushed his computer to the other side of the table. “What do you want, Archie?” Jughead was angry, primarily with himself.

“What the hell happened to you?” Archie looked closely at Jughead’s injuries. His lacerations were scabbed over and the blood was dry.

“The road was slick and I skid out on my bike.” Jughead bit. “I’m fine.”

“Jug, you are not fine. I’ve known you way too long to believe that that’s true.” Jughead continued to stare at Archie, not blinking. He knew that if he blinked, the dam would break and he’d be a puddle, right there in the diner. He reached for his messenger bag. “Don’t run away from me, Jug,” Archie scolded. This is all he needed to hear to break down. His hands shaking more than they had been. “What’re you doing here, Jug?” he said hushed.

“Does anyone know you’re here?” Jughead rubbing the tears from his eyes with his knuckles, reopening the laceration on his cheek. Great. Just what I needed. He reached for a napkin. Archie shook his head.

“No, Jug. I told Veronica I was going to find you. I went and talked to your dad, to see if he had seen you. He told me bring you home in one piece. Guess that isn’t going to happen,” Archie taunted. He finally got a slight grin from his friend. “But, no, no one knows we’re here.”

“Betty?” Jughead looked up at Archie, with the saddest eyes.

“No, Betty doesn’t know I went looking for you. She’s probably still passed out on my couch.” Jughead sighed, running his fingers through his thick mane to the back of his neck. He crossed his arms, elbows on the table and buried his head within the space it created. Archie reached out in an attempt to console him. He shrugged him off, but Archie insisted. Jughead’s shoulders shook violently. He had finally let his emotions catch up with him. “Jug, talk to me. Please?”

Jughead slowed his breathing, hiccuping from nearly hyperventilating. He rubbed his eyes again, embarrassed. “I ruined everything.” He muttered, head still in the crook of his arms. Archie’s heart broke for him.

“Jug,” he didn’t know what to say.

“I told her I wasn’t going anywhere. I told her she wasn’t a problem. I told her I can handle it. What is wrong with me?” Jughead’s tone was harsh. He had been beating himself up over it since he left. “I’m so mad at myself for hurting her.” He finally looked up at Archie, tears streaming down his face. “I hydroplaned on the bend not far from here. Luckily no one else was on the road. I picked up my bike and kept walking. I didn’t know where to go. I’m sorry, Arch.” he wept. “This isn’t what you should be focusing on this week.” 

Archie exhaled sharply. “Jughead, I will always be in your corner. How can I help?”

“Arch, no. You’re getting married in a few days. This isn’t your problem to be focusing on.” Jughead insisted.

“Well, I can’t do it without you and Ronnie can’t do it without Betty, so what can I do to help?” Archie smiled at Jughead, who still had tears in his eyes.

“Can I fix it?” he whimpered.

“Are you ready to? You’ve been gone two days, Jug. Why’d you run?”

“Haven’t you heard by now? that’s what I do. When things can possibly work out, I leave. That’s what I did with Toni. That’s why I went on the road--I never had to stay around long enough for things to stick.” Jughead had thought long and hard about what he’d say to Betty. After two days, he had a vague idea, but nothing that seemed good enough. “Nothing I say to her is going to be good enough. I’m not--”

“You stop right there, Jughead Jones. You are one of the best guys I know. You’ve got a bad habit of selling yourself short. You always have.”

“So I’ve heard,” Jughead chuckled, recalling the conversation he had with FP a few nights earlier. “I don’t know how to tell her how sorry I am. I feel like nothing I say will unshatter her heart.”

“Take it from me, little things go a long way with Betty. I think if you just talk to her, she’ll understand.” Archie buoyed. “Do you even know how you feel about it? I’m sure it came as a shock to you.”

“I don’t know, man. I’ve always seen her as your girl. Don’t get me wrong, spending time with her, and you guys, this past month has been amazing. She’s beautiful, and thoughtful, and compassionate,” he started. “I think I could feel for her the way she feels for me, but I’m a wreck.”

“Trust me, she can handle it. She’s tough. If she can handle a serial killer, she can handle you.” Archie jested. Jughead laughed. “It took so much for her to tell you how she feels. She’s been on my couch a day and a half. Betty is worried sick about you, Jug.” His eyes pled with Jughead’s. “Come home. What is being here doing for you?”

That was a good question. The diner he had set-up shop in wasn’t anything special. All it was was a painful reminder of Jughead’s past and the terrible decisions that followed. Jughead looked around the dingy diner. He leaned over and closed his laptop. He closed the notebooks and recapped his pen. He packed everything carefully back into his messenger bag and closed it. There were still rogue tears falling from his face. As Jughead gathered himself, Archie text Veronica. Found him. We’ll be home soon. Hopefully.

Jughead took a few deep breaths before he spoke again. “What do I say to her? I can’t just approach this without a plan. You know her better than anyone else. You’ve been her best friend forever, how do I fix this?” There was a desperation in Jughead’s voice that knotted Archie’s stomach.

“I think you need to figure out how you feel. You can’t say anything to her before you figure it out for yourself first. Let’s get your bike into my truck. We can talk about it on the drive back.” Jughead nodded, grabbed the strap of his bag and stood up. Archie followed his lead. They headed to the back of the lot, where Jughead had stashed his motorcycle. It was scraped up, but still drivable. Archie insisted Jughead ride home with him, fearing he’d bolt again.