Flatline ((Jughead Jones)) 3

24

Hearing news of an accident was bad enough. But when I found out that Hal Cooper, A.K.A the Black Hood, otherwise known as my attacker/ demon that haunts every nightmare I have, was involved in the collision, I tried to feel relief. That's what normally happens. Some people would call this justice but I couldn't shake the feeling that no justice had been served. In fact, I stuck by other people more now than ever.

Sadly, not only was I getting attacked from one side with Betty constantly saying the Black Hood was out there, but now Archie's mom had come home. When she had walked through the door, she didn't even look my way before, even when I mentioned making her dinner. I thought she was a lovely lady, so it must have been hard hearing that in the same year she was pregnant with Archie, her husband hooked up with a Blossom to form me. I couldn't help but accept her anger.

Jughead had headed downstairs before me, saying that he would make me some coffee. As much as lying in the bed, surrounded by the sheets that just smelt of Jughead, I couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on me. I knew it was completely irrational, like the fear of a monster under your bed, or the fear that the spider on the opposite side of the room is somehow going to launch itself onto you. Instead of lying there, I got out of bed, pulled on one of Jughead's t-shirts, and walked downstairs.

Jughead was talking to his sister. I knew she missed her mom. I couldn't blame her because I missed my own, I missed a mother that I never really had.
"You may not have your mom for a bit, but you do have a big sister!" I exclaimed, hugging the girl as I came up behind her. She started laughing, agreeing with me, and I could see Jughead rolling his eyes, knowing that we would cause so much trouble for him.
"Just no more playing G&G you two, okay?" Jughead asked us both before placing a cup of coffee in front of me. The scent alone was enough to wake me up a little more.
"Why is everyone so freaked out about it? It's just pretend quests and costumes." Jellybean said. She had told me many times that she didn't understand the fascination and I was glad for that. For me, I was curious about the final quest for me. I had to 'meet death'. This was a fact that I hadn't told Jughead, believing it to be just another junkie make believe. Jughead asked who was in costume.
"Well, Ricky had those ears, and I had a crown. Thia didn't have anything, but I liked to pretend she wore wings." I had been offered wings, but seeing the small white things I had declined. If I was to wear wings they would be majestics sculptures of white feathers. "And the Gargoyle king, of course."

Jughead stopped what he was doing instantly and turned to us. It had just been a faceless costume, no one was inside it.
"Well Ricky said our next quest was to find the Gospel that holds the Gargoyle Kings secrets. Thia wasn't allowed on that quest because she was getting one of her own." JB explained and I raised my eyebrow. Jughead questioned his sister more, but since Ricky had run off and to meet the actual king we would need the Gospel he dropped the subject after I insistedI had no idea what my quest was. I had a good idea what it was.

I then excused myself to get changed, before heading next door so I could talk to my dad before he went away. After Archie's mom, Molly, had gotten home, he had wanted to speak to me. So that brought me to sitting at the kitchen table, toast in front of me and my dad opposite me. Archie had taken his mom to visit the gym.
"She hates me doesn't she?" I said, breaking the peaceful silence and delving right into the hard conversations. Deep, tough conversations happened all the time with me. I was no stranger to rephrasing a sentence in your head until it was worded perfectly to best express to the individual your thoughts.
"No, Cynthia. She hates me for what I did, but she doesn't hate you." I just nodded mutely, biting into the toast so I wouldn't have to answer. I didn't need to tell my dad how little she had spoken to me or even glanced my way since she had been back, or how she had forgotten to plate up five plates for dinner when Jughead and I had stayed over, only plating four. It was no question as to who she had forgotten about. "She'll come around." He promised, but I think he was saying that more for his peace of mind rather than mine.