Panic Room || Jughead Jones

In Memoriam // Part One

Once everything was ready to go, Jughead and I climbed in the front of my new Lexus. Veronica and I had one too many arguments about cars over the summer and since she's the liable owner of the Lodge properties with Mom gone and Dad slightly in jail, it took some reworking but we managed to land a new car in the mix of things so we wouldn't have to share any longer.

"Mocha!" Veronica's arms were open wide to welcome her nephew when she saw him bounce out of the back of the car. The puppy gave me a glance, waiting for my assuring nod before he took off into my sister's grasp. Jughead's arm wrapped around my shoulder as he squeezed me into his side before kissing my temple and letting go.

We got to work immediately with Betty, Veronica, and I working on the paint for the float while Archie and Jughead tag-teamed the building part. The sun was warm against my back as I tried to keep up with the girls so we would finish at the same time.

About partway through, we were interrupted by the sound of squealing tires. A stiletto hit the concrete before Cheryl Blossom emerged from the red convertible. "Well, well, well," She greeted as she stepped towards us."Stop the presses, the Riverdale Rag has finally reported a story accurately. Not only is there going to be some hideous, janky parade sneaking its way through town, you five are the architects of this outrage."

"What's your problem, Cheryl?" Veronica raised her hands in defense as she stood back up to full height.

"My problem, Veronica, is that the 4th of July is a day of tragedy for Riverdale, not celebration. Or have you forgotten what happened to my poor brother Jason?"

Betty shared a look with my sister before replying, "Cheryl, Riverdale hasn't held a parade out of respect for what happened to your brother in...like, years. I think it's time..."

"I mean..." Jughead shrugged as he watched the redhead. "You don't have to come."

Cheryl smirked at the idea. "Oh, I'll be there, Insufferable Smurf. Front and center, with a sign of protest in one hand, and a horn of compressed air to silence any revelry in the other." With the spin of her heel, the Blossom teen was stomping back in her car, before leaving a trail of dust in her path.

Jughead interrupted the silence that followed. "Anyone hungry for breakfast?"

The waffles on my plate were steaming as I smeared butter across them, followed by an overload of syrup. Pop's breakfast never failed to settle any hunger in my stomach and I practically ate it every morning.

Mocha was curled up on the booth in between Jughead and me, perks of your sister owning the diner. He was sound asleep, not even woken up by the smell of fresh food on the table.

"So, camping this weekend, are we still on?" Jughead asked as he pulled the syrup out of my hand.

"Well, I'm open," Veronica started, "But what are we talking about here? Like... "

I gave her a dumb look, where exactly did she think we were going? "The woods, Ron," I replied, slightly annoyed. "But remember, this could possibly be our last summer to do this because next year we'll be getting ready to go to college."

Jughead nudged my shoulder slightly as he spoke up. "And if anyone is scared of bears, well, don't be, because Archie's been attacked like, what, multiple times and still survived."

"Hey," Archie cut him off to take a bite of pancakes, "I wear my scars proudly." The redhead's phone began vibrating away on the table as we all shared a few laughs about his joke. "Hey, Dad." He stepped out of the booth after a moment and walked away, our eyes watching him carefully as he held his back towards us.

Archie's phone hit the floor first, sending my sister and Betty out of the booth before Jughead and I followed their heels. My boyfriend caught Archie before he slammed to the floor, Veronica flanking his side as she kneeled next to him. Archie was practically unresponsive, clearly in shock about whatever news he had just received, and wasn't answering any questions that Veronica was throwing him.