ѕerpenт qυeen - Jughead Jones

XXXVII.

Ava was looking at Cheryl as school was going. Jughead was typing on his laptop about the town. "Mr. Jones. Eyes up front." The teacher told him. Cheryl looked at the teacher then looked at the class. "Thank you, Mrs. Haggly.  As I was saying, each year, we honor the memory of General Pickens. Yet few know the truth. That it was my great-great-great-grandpappy, Colonel Barnabas B. Blossom, who bankrolled General Pickens' settlement of... an Eden along the river of Sweetwater, where maple trees grow taller than the steeples of Europe's grandest cathedrals, which is why, every year, I petition the mayor's office to rename Pickens Day-" Cheryl talks throughout the whole class before the bell interrupted her. " Thank you for that, Cheryl. Mr. Jones, we look forward to your oral history report next week." The teacher told Jughead. Ava went to him and smiled a bit. "I can't for your report. Anything from you is good." Ava said, Jughead smiled softly. 

All of them were sitting down with each other, "Well, he is very fetching for someone who was living on skid row. Yeah, he's a hottie who looks incredibly familiar to me, by the way." Kevin told them. Ava looked at the picture of the long lost Cooper sibling. "Your adventures in the woods?" Jughead asked Kevin. Ava held Jughead's hand as they sat besides each other. "Maybe if we were allowed to meet this hottie in person-" Kevin started before Betty stopped him. "Chic is still acclimating. And I'm trying to get him to trust me, but my mom is treating him like he's a ten-year-old, and my dad's acting like he's the devil's spawn." Betty said. Ava looked at Veronica, knowing she had an idea. "Well, I have an amazing idea. Bring The Omen to Pickens Day, and we can all meet him. Everyone's coming, right?" Veronica said. Ava pursed her lips then looked at her, "No. Because the Serpents weren't invited." She told her. "Serpents were specifically asked to come." Veronica told her. Jughead decided to join the chat, "Yeah, to provide security. Like we're all on the Snowpiercer train,  but the Serpents are eating the cockroaches." Jughead told Veronica. Toni walks inside and Jughead grabs his stuff. "See you later, princess." Jughead told Ava. " You don't have to work if you don't want to." Veronica said. "The damage, as they say, has already been done. I'll talk to you guys later." Jughead said, he pecked Ava's lips getting up. 

"Plans with Toni?" Betty asked kinda upset. "Uh, yeah. I'm interviewing her grandfather for my oral history report." Jughead said. "He's the oldest living Serpent." Ava said smiling. "Have fun." She said to Jughead. Jughead walked off with Toni to interview. The next day, Ava met up with Betty and Kevin in the Blue and Gold office. It felt so good, Betty and Ava. It's like, "Archie, you have the physique of a 1970s porn star, but that doesn't mean you can wrestle." Kevin told them. Ava laughed and rolled her eyes at the comment. "Speaking of porn stars..." Betty said. "Did you get lost down a webcam rabbit hole?" Kevin and Ava asked her. "It's... fascinating. I brought Chic home to help my mom without knowing who he was, and now to find out he's actually multiple people, performing online...How do I broach that with him? Do I broach that with him?" Betty asked Kevin mostly. There was a knock on the door, they turn to see the source of that knock and saw Jughead. "Hey. Am I interrupting?" Jughead asked. "Yea... Kinda." Kevin said. "No." Ava said walking to him. "What's up?" She asked. "I wanted to run stuff by you, Betty. I can come back." Jughead said. "No, no, no, it's fine." Kevin told them leaving. "By the way, I'm really digging Kevin's new gossip column." Jughead told them. "Readers love it." Betty told him. 

"I'm going to go... Leave you two." Ava said walking off. She kissed Jughead's cheek and sighed once she was out of the room. Betty and Jughead talked about his paper then Betty kissed him softly, which he didn't really pull away from. At that time, Cheryl walked by to take a picture secretly. She liked Ava as a cousin, she wasn't like the Coopers, they were closer. Cheryl went to find Ava and show her. "Hey Ave." Cheryl said smiling. "Hi Cheryl. What do you need?" She asked confused as to why she would come to her. "I have some bad news..." Cheryl said before showing her the picture of Betty and Jughead kissing. Ava gasped and stepped back. "Cheryl... I swear if you-" Ava started. "It's true..." She said softly. Ava ran out of the school to rush to Pop's. She couldn't face Jughead or Betty right now after that. She knew this was going to happen too... She just didn't know the time on when. She couldn't believe Jughead would go back to her that quickly when even he told her he wouldn't. FP walked to her and sat across her. "Why aren't you at school?" FP asked. "Jughead.... Is the reason why?" Ava said looking at her legs. She looked at him, she had red eyes from crying. "What did he do now?" FP asked. "Went back to Betty after he told me he wouldn't. Kissed her and Cheryl took a picture showing me..." She said. FP hugged her and went to make her favorite milkshake. She turned off her phone so no one would try to find her. FP gave her a double chocolate milkshake. "It's on the house." FP told her before going. Ava drank it while she sat there upset. 

At school, Toni was reading his article about her grandfather. She got a text earlier about how Ava ran away upset from Sweet Pea. "General Pickens was a murderer, and ripples from his gruesome actscontinue to be felt today. Descendants of the victimsare still being displaced. So, I challenge the Northside, instead of honoring menlike General Pickens and Hiram Lodge, hold them accountable. Reparations must be paidto men like Thomas Topaz, who are too old and beaten downto fight back for themselves." She read off. "This town is messed up,and it needs to own up to its history." Jughead told her as he leaned against the desk. He didn't see Ava at all since Kevin and her left. "My grandfatherisn't some broken-down victim. Okay? Or some prop for your insane vendettaagainst the Northside." Toni said. "No, of course not." Jughead said softly. "Look. I get it. You hate the Northside. You hate that instead of inviting youto a party, they asked you to work it. It triggers your rage about being bornon the wrong side of the tracks. But this? This wasn't your story to tell." Toni said leaving. She stopped at the door and turned to him. "I would also call Aveline... She seemed upset leaving the school earlier." Toni told him before walking off. Jughead knew why she was upset... Betty kissed him and saw him kiss her back. He picked up his phone then called Ava, she didn't answer the phone. He kept calling her then gave up. He called his father's phone to have him answer. "Have you seen Ava? I need to talk with her?" Jughead said. "She was here at Pop's earlier.. She just left a few minutes ago. She might be at the trailer or the Whyte Wyrm." FP told him. "Jug, you did screw up with her." FP said before hanging up. Jughead needed to find her quickly.