Blue Bell ⸕ Jughead Jones

━ vii.

"You sound like Ronnie," Archie cut her off, shaking her hands off of his shoulders as he ran his hands through his hair. "I don't need sleep. What I need is to make sure my dad stays safe."

"That's not your job, Arch," Rosemary argued back, making sure not to raise her voice since she knew Fred was sleeping upstairs. "Listen, I know you're scared about that guy coming back. Everyone is Archie – Hell, I'm terrified! But what happens if he does show up, huh? You haven't had a full nights sleep in who knows how long and you think you can take him on with your bat and some Red Bulls?"

Archie was silent, though Rosemary could tell he wasn't listening to her words. His eyes were locked on the window to his left and his body was tense. Rosemary peeked around his broad frame and felt her heart jump to her throat as her eyes landed on a hooded figure staring back at her. He swiftly walked away out of sight, but Rosemary knew he was there and was quick to scoop up Archie's bat and hold it tightly in her hands.

She was never good at baseball. When they had to play it in gym Rosemary was always at the end of the line when hitting and in the far outskirts of the outfield where no one would hit the ball. She always struggled with being able to swing the bat accurately since she excelled more in her gymnastics and wrestling. Any sport with a ball she kept far away from.

Archie sprung into action, rushing through the back door and tackling the dark hooded figure to the ground. Rosemary was petrified, her heart pounding in her ears as she heard the grunting of both Archie and the hooded man from outside. She heard them struggling as they fought each other and knew she had to go help, but she was frozen as flashes of the hooded man holding a gun to her head flashed in her mind. She was only snapped out of her paralyzed state when a voice yelled out from outside.

"Stop!"

Rosemary broke into a run, running through the front door and holding the bat up threateningly as she watched Archie rip off the hood of the man. A mess of black hair and tan skin shone in the porch light and Rosemary let the bat fall as she stared down at Reggie Mantle, who was panting underneath of Archie.

"It's me," Reggie sighed, pushing Archie off of him as he tried to catch his breath. "Are you freakin' insane?"

"What the hell are you doing here, Reggie?" Archie asked from his seat on the ground next to Reggie.

Rosemary sighed, leaning the bat against the house as she tried to calm down her rapid heart rate. There was no hooded man outside of the Andrews household. Just Reggie freaking Mantle probably pulling a stupid prank. The sight of the dark haired teen made Rosemary's blood boil as her eyes landed on the black hood laying on the ground. She glared daggers down at Reggie, who met her eyes and seemed shocked at her angered expression.

"Delivering your uppers," Reggie panted, his words catching Rosemary's attention as her head snapped to Archie's direction as her hazel eyes widened. "Clearly the last thing you need. You've lost it, Andrews."

"Excuse me, Uppers?" Rosemary spoke up, neither boy looking in her direction or even acknowledged her words.

"You're the one here wearing this hood," Archie accused as he held up the black fabric, still panting as he tried to catch his breath.

"It's called a prank," Reggie defended himself. "I didn't expect you to attack me. What if I had been the guy? Eh? You would have just tackled him?"

Rosemary sighed, sliding down the side of the house onto the porch so she was next to Reggie and across from Archie. Her eyes were locked on the ginger, her mind racing with Reggie's words.

He was right. What would have happened if it wasn't Reggie pulling a stupid prank and it was the man back to finish the job? Archie would've most likely been shot because of his recklessness. Rosemary had seen killers before, her time on the Southside made sure of that. Hell, she had probably walked among some in the Whyte Wyrm. But the hooded man? He was different. His green eyes were cold and empty. He didn't care who he was attacking and if Archie had run in like that without thinking he would have been shot on sight.