Poison | Jughead Jones

Chapter Fourty

Hospitals and Hatred

Hospitals always reminded Bella of her first night away, the foul stench of bleach and pristine white walls. She hated them. But Archie needed her and so every member of their troop had managed to squeeze into the waiting room, too worried to speak.

The phone call was unexpected, and struck fear into both Jughead and Bella as they laid on the lumpy mattress within his home.

With hearts stuck in their throats and panic lodged into their thoughts, the group settled into chairs to hear the horror Archie had faced only hours before.

"I came out the bathroom and there was this man, this thief wearing a hood. He had a gun aimed at Pop Tate, but he pointed it to my Dad. An- And he fired." Bellas hand fell on to Archies as the boy stuttered his way through what had happened.

She was always hard faced, never seeming bothered by whatever was thrown at her. But letting that barricade down to admit what occurred in that forest. Allowing herself to let others in, it no longer felt okay to pretend to be alright. It felt selfish, especially when someone so close to her was going through something so similar.

"Oh my god, Arch!" Veronica gasped, trying to not let the jealousy in the pit of her stomach control her thoughts.

"And then..." the red head carried on, voice soft and almost going unheard across the bustling hospital floor.

"And then he what?" Jughead pressed, lips tightly pursed as if he awaited for something worse.

"And then he bolted. I was holding my dad, pop Tate called the ambulance but it didn't come! So I drove him here... maybe I should've waited, I don't know, what if I made it worse?" The desperation that clung to his voice made Bellas heart ache. For so long she blamed herself, she couldn't let Archie believe his fathers pain was his fault.

"No, arch. Because of you, your dad survived." She hummed, squeezing his hand in a form of silent comfort. But his head still hung low, not wanting to believe that he did in fact help. Because if he did, surely his dad would be okay.

"If you keep this up, you're going to need a superhero name. Like Pureheart the Powerful." Jughead laughed lightly, trying to boost the weary atmosphere that had sunk deep into the hospital air.

"No offence, Jug. That's a shit superhero name." Bella declared, smile tweaking at her lips as the red haired boy let out a quiet chuckle.

As if to purposely disrupt the little relief Archie Andrews has experienced, Hermione Lodge crept up to the boy and whispered in his ear. Bella felt the hold on her hand fall as Archie rose from his seat, scurrying away toward the phone to call his mother.

An awkward silence quilted the small group, parents barricading the teens from following their friend. It felt as if a wall had suddenly rose between the scooby gang and their Fred. Each parent possible standing strong and seemingly unfazed by the traumatised teens before them. Jugheads eyes flickered up in boredom, gaze skipping across all the faces across the room. Familiar and not.

"What?" He muttered as Alice's eyes clung to his skin, scrutinising every tiny aspect that sung Serpent.

"Mum, do not start this." Betty spoke up, pleading for the Cooper stubbornness to die even if it was just for one night. The only known serpent looked up, brunette locks messily strewn across her face as she narrowed her eyes toward the middle aged woman.

"Start what? Of course I can't help but wonder if certain south side associates had anything to do with what happened to Fred." The mother feigned shock, but disgust rang more honest in her tone. Bella had hoped the hatred between Coopers and Serpents would be left at the Hospital doors, knowing that certain things took presidency over idiotic arguments.

"Unbelievable." Jughead muttered, hand falling against Bellas thigh as if to stop her from harshly reacting. A loud sigh flitted through the room, everyone silently awaiting the serpents response.
The girl glanced up, Poison ever so delicately intertwined with her gaze.

A viper hidden in grass. Ready to find it's pray.

"Please just shut up, Alice. For once in your fake ass life, shut up."