now tell me, how did all my dreams turn to nightmares?

Chapter 8

"I do," she sighed. "Believe me, I'm not looking forward to that part either."

"Anyone home?" Jughead's voice sounded from the other room.

"In here," Cheryl replied as she ushered Hot Dog out of the room.

Jughead's face lit up at the sight of the dog. He dropped to his knees, spread his arms, and called, "Hey there, buddy! Come 'ere."

Cheryl released her grasp on his collar and watched as the hound charged the boy, knocking him to the ground on impact. The redhead couldn't help but laugh as Jughead rolled around on the floor playing with the dog.

Jughead found his bearings and sat up. Hot Dog flipped onto his back, inviting the raven haired boy to scratch his stomach, which Jughead did without hesitation.

"Oh hey, Jughead," Claude greeted as he made his appearance.

"Hey, Mr. B," he responded. "You coming tonight?"

"Nah... can't, sorry. Please watch after this one for me?"

"Always."

"Right... well I best be off," Cheryl's uncle said as he made his way to the door. "I'll catch you kids later." He turned to Cheryl before leaving, "Good luck tonight, Goose."

"Thank you," she answered lowly.

Once the front door shut behind Claude, Jughead turned his attention back to Cheryl. "Did that playlist I sent you help at all?"

"Yes, actually. It helped a lot," she said before nodding with a tight lipped smile. Cheryl turned and walked over to the couch, sitting down as she ran her hand through her long red hair.

Jughead got to his feet and followed, taking the seat beside her. "So did you figure out which song?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go with that Twilight baseball one," she answered.

"The what one?"

"You know... the one from the movie," Cheryl pressed.

Jughead's face furrowed in disgust, "You mean Muse?"

She nodded in response as Hog Dog jumped into her lap. "Right, that one."

"Why did you even watch that movie? It's atrocious. My Cheryl wouldn't have been caught dead watching that," he said adamantly.

Cheryl challenged him with her eyes first before verbally, "If your Cheryl didn't watch it, how did you know which song I was talking about?"

Jughead let out a small laugh and nodded, "I do have a sister you know?"

"Mmhmm," Cheryl smirked. "And you're sure it didn't have anything to do with trying to have something in common with a certain blonde with an affinity for ponytails?"

He looked at her, deadpanned. "You know what? Shut up," the boy spat.

The redhead laughed, "Sure, Juggie."

"Juggie?"

Cheryl shrugged, "You wanted nicknames; I'm giving you nicknames. I can always go to my fallbacks if you'd prefer?"

Jughead raised his hands in surrender, "No, Juggie is fine."

"You sure?"

"Well, it's better than Hobo," he admitted.

She raised her hands and placed them over her heart. "Aw, you remembered."

He rolled his eyes, "You don't really forget your best friend calling you a hobo, Cher."