AUGUST , riverdale (ii)

18: Jawbreaker

My eyes flutter open, and I see Jughead sitting at the foot of my bed. I groan, sitting myself up. "Hey, you're okay." He breathes.

"My head hurts, but yeah."  I groan, running a hand loosely through my hair. I remember everything. The memory of the night flashes through my mind. "Did you get Kurtz?" I ask, sitting up straighter.

He shakes his head. "Barely got away." I hiss, shaking my head. "It's okay, I'm more worried about you."

I look up at my best friend. "What did the doctor say?"

He shrugs, looking down at his shoe. "Said you could go home when you wake up, just hit your head too hard." I smile at him, the grin soon fading when I see the serious expression on his face. "You could've died tonight, Em."

I roll my eyes. "And the night I was shot, and the OTHER night I was shot. This was nothin." I tease.

"I don't want you doing anything that will put you in danger." He says. His eyes water, his face contorting as he nearly cries. "I don't want you dying in my arms." I pout, wrapping my arms around my best friend. He sobs as I soothe him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Jug." I whisper.

After a few minutes of a comfortable silence, his phone rings. He sits up, looking down at it. "It's my Dad."

I frown. "Why?"

"We've been looking for Baby Teeth." He says. My eyes widen. Baby Teeth's gone? "Hey, Dad."  I watch as Jughead's eyes widen. "Be there in ten." He hangs up and looks at me. "We found Baby Teeth."

We stand side by side with his father, staring at the corpse. My hand shakes as flashes of Ben and Dilton flood through my mind. "Poor Baby Teeth." Jughead whispers.

"Brandon Morris was his real name. We ID'ed him from his prints." FP Jones says. "First glance, very similar to how you two found Ben and Dilton. But I don't know." He looks at the two of us. "I need your help, guys, please."

"Yeah." I reply.

"Of course." Jughead pulls out his camera, leaning towards Baby Teeth's body. "These blue lips are the same. Marking on his back are the same, too." The camera clicks, giving us a brighter look at the carvings along Brandon's back.

I shake my head. "But his missing teeth. That's the twist." I whisper.

Jughead sighs, standing up and looking at me and his dad. "This might be a copycat killer." He says. "I mean, it could be the same guy that went after Ben and Dilton, but they were willing participants. Baby Teeth struggled."

I snap my fingers, looking at Jug. "Maybe the brutality of his death was the message."

Jughead nods. "Like a warning that he's back. And he's angry."

FP stares at us both. "The Gargoyle King?"

"The real one." Jug mumbles.