FREAKS - jughead jones imagines

058. positive

Trigger warning: covid-19

Also just a little PSA: I'm not romanticizing Covid-19, I just wanted to make a little lighthearted imagine to lift our spirits a little.

This was an idea from idk_123445

3rd person pov:

Y/n and Jughead moved in together a month before the pandemic started, for they'd been dating 2 years prior. Luckily enough neither of them had gotten sick, and they weren't struggling financially either. Y/n had been taking double shifts at Pop's, while Jughead attended college classes online, still profiting off being serpent king. They wore their masks, and kept to seeing a small, close group of people.

They were recently exposed however, when one of Y/n's fellow waitresses tested positive- Y/n hadn't seen her in days, but she was still worried. They both got tested, though Jug convinced her that they didn't have it. The test results were originally supposed to arrive yesterday, but they still hadn't heard anything.

So there they were, Y/n sitting on the couch scrolling through her emails, as usual, when she received an email- from the place they did their testing. She immediately threw down her phone, her hands shaking while she repeated what Jug had said, in her head "we don't have it, we don't have it". She opened the email, seeing both their test results

Forsythe Pendleton Jones iii: Negative

Y/n L/n: Positive

Her stomach dropped as she registered what she'd just read. I mean, she didn't feel sick. And there's always false positives right?

"Juggie-" she called out shakily, barely able to raise her voice loud enough for him to hear. He answered with a simple 'Yeah?' to which she didn't respond, making him come into the living room to see what was the matter.

"Are you ok?" He went to walk towards her, but she put her hands up, stopping him, backing up several feet away from him.

"I got the results back"

"And?" he knew what was coming next, he ran a nervous hand through his hair, his beanie long discarded on the couch on the other side of the room.

"You- you tested negative. Me, well... not so much" He sighed, his heart racing as his mind flew to the worst possible scenarios. "What do we do?"

"Don't panic- um... I'll go get my stuff out of the bedroom, and I'll stay in the living room, and you can self-quarantine in the bedroom." she nodded her head, taking a deep breath, though she was way past being calm. He could tell she was on the verge of going into a panic attack, so he instinctively stepped forward, going to comfort her, though he realized that was no longer and option and stepped back.

He rushed into the bedroom, getting only what he needed for 2 weeks: a small amount of clothes that he would rotate and wash, his toothbrush and other essentials, and his pillow. He stuffed the few things into a backpack and walked back out to the living room.

"I'll disinfect everything, there's a tv in the bedroom, and the bathroom's connected. I'll bring you food- we'll make this work, I promise."

She looked at him with hesitation, neither of them had any clue what was going to happen, nor how to handle it. She walked back into the bedroom, going to close the door when he calls to her,

"Y/n?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll be ok, we'll get through this... I love you"

"I love you too" She smiled to him, closing the door behind her, feeling overwhelmed to say the least.

~~~

Over the next few days, their definitions of 'normal' had changed drastically, as had their schedules. Y/n was up all hours of the night, her symptoms showing up after a few days, meaning he had to listen to her pain-filled cough, without being able to comfort her, or do anything to make her feel better.

He of course, also had to stay home, since he may have been exposed. So he spent his days trying to write, but mostly worrying about Y/n. Every morning he'd make her breakfast, putting it on a tray and sliding it in the door.

He did this for every meal, and found a way to make it a little more enjoyable for the both of them. He made her little handwritten notes, with cheesy sayings on them like 'olive you' and he'd draw a little doodle of an olive, or 'you should be arrested- for stealing my heart' and he'd draw some handcuffs with smiley faces- as dumb as it sounded, he just wanted to give her something to look forward to, something to make her smile.

Some days he went beyond that, and began giving her gifts, such as a stuffed penguin he'd bought when he went to pick up some cough medicine for her, or one of the flannels he was wearing, just so she could have something that smelled like him.

The house felt empty without her walking around. Without her making a mess in the kitchen with her questionable 'food inventions' as she liked to call them. Without her blasting music and dancing around, or walking around half naked with her hand shoved in a box of dry cereal... with no explanation whatsoever. The house just felt empty. Jug had nobody to cuddle with at night, or have movie nights with. He just missed Y/n.

He was feeling extra lonely tonight, the movie he was watching becoming background noise to his loud thoughts. He found himself looking to the spot next to him where Y/n would usually sit, and his mind dwelled on the loneliness, and he mindlessly walked over to the bedroom door,

"Hey Y/n?" He called through the wood, hearing the noise from the tv stop.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come to the door for a second?" There was a faint shuffling sound, followed by footsteps.

"What's up Jug?" she asked, right on the other side of the thin door. They were so close, yet so far, divided by an inch-thick door that felt like a brick wall.

"I- I just miss you" he said quietly, almost as if it was a question.

"I miss you too. Only a few more days, then I can go get tested again. Okay?" She asked, even though she wasn't able to see or touch him, she was still looking after him, always making sure he was ok.

"Yeah. Ok." He sunk down against the door, as did she. They sat with their backs against the door, feeling so close, yet so far apart.

They got through it, however. Y/n tested negative and went back to feeling better only a few short days later.

Now as they lie in bed together, tangled up in the sheets, cuddling and spooning, they realized the days they spent apart were- almost- for the better. It made them both realize how much they needed each other. For example Jug wouldn't be able to survive without Y/n's cooking consider he hardly knew how to cook anything but toast. And Y/n wouldn't be able to live without Jug's constant love and support, because without him, she would've suffered alone... more alone.

"Hey Y/n?" He whispered into her neck, making her giggle at his lips tickling her neck. "I love you"

"I love you too"

"I'm so glad you're okay... honestly I'm just glad we can be together again, it was torture without you."

"I mean you know what they say..." she trailed off, drawing circles on his arm with the tip of her finger.

"What do they say?"

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder"

A/n: I won't blame you if you unfollow me because this is absolute trash