Picnic || jarchie

twelve

Kevin gave him a curious look, and for a second Jughead held his breath, but in the end Kevin just shook his head at Jughead's antics and pointed down the hall, "Its the 4th door I believe."

Jughead gave him a shaky thumbs up and turned abruptly, walking down the hall in a fast pace. When he looked over his shoulder, Kevin was gone. Jughead held onto the wall for support and let out a breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose and gave himself time to recover. He stood up straight, continuing his walk down the hallway.

The doors were all shut, and he wasn't stupid enough to try opening any of them. The door right after the  bathroom was open. Jughead found himself looking around to make sure nobody was following him before turning and peaking his head inside.

The room, Jughead noted, was like adorned in different shades of maroons. The bed was simple, almost like it had been left alone for months. The shelves in the room were covered in trophies and knick knacks. A giant poster of a famous football player was on the wall above the bed. The closet was half empty, basket ball shorts literally the floor. There was no doubt in Jughead's mind that this room once belonged to Jason.

Jughead stepped inside, the floor creaking beneath his feet. The room smelled like apricot air fresheners. It looked as if someone had made it their goal to make sure that Jason's room was exactly how he left it. Jughead moved to look at the shelf of knick knacks.

They hit Jughead like a ton of bricks. Pictures of Jason and Cheryl when they were little. High honor role achievements, basketball trophies. Jason was just a kid, 15 years old like Jughead. He was star of the football team. He got all As. He hung out at the second to last booth at pops everyday after school. Jason was a normal kid. Jughead held onto the shelf for support, his head feeling woozy. This kid, he was just  a kid. He didn't deserve to die. Jughead suddenly felt like he wasn't doing this for the sake a mystery. He had to solve what happened to Jason Blossom because he deserved justice.

-

Jughead came pounding down the stairs, his eyes darting around for Archie. He jumped off the second step, standing on his tippy toes to scan the dance floor for a head of red hair. He saw none, continuing his walk towards the dining room in search of the familiar red head. He found him, sitting on table next to Veronica, the two looked deep into conversation. Holding red cups and laughing.

Jughead found himself watching them from afar. The way Veronica would twirl a strand of her hair with his finger when Archie was talking. Or the way Archie would look at her when she spoke. Jughead felt like there was a boulder in his stomach, it almost made him ill to watch them. He took his beanie and held it in his hands.

He felt Kevin bump into him, "Hey Jughead! You made out of the bathroom just in time! Chuck is organizing  a game of secrets and sins!" Kevin squealed excitedly, grabbing Jughead and pulling him into the room. Jughead tried to tell him he wasn't playing but kevin wasn't having it. He put his beanie down on the counter behind him, leaning in front of it.He handed Jughead a cup, full of some completely unidentifiable liquid. He was definitely not going to drink that. He caught Archie's eye across the room looking from the drink and then back up to Jughead's face.  Jughead pointed at the drink and then shook his head.

"Alright boys and girls I assume we've all played this one before," Chuck announced, leaning on the wall, and gaining everyone's attention, "anyone want to start?"

silence was the loudest thing in the room until Reggie cleared his throat, "What about you, Veronica? Rich girl who grew up in New york, you must have a hell of a secret." Reggie pressed.

Veronica had laughed at him, shaking her head, "My dad's famous, nothing about me is secret, ask google. But what about you Reggie? Big high school football star, perfect car, perfect hair. It's  all a lie right? You're hiding something and we all know it."