↳ Friday
Nov. 18th↲
Waking up with Jughead had been comforting, and I always woke up just shy a few minutes before he did. We got ready and head out the door, holding hands and talking as usual.
Although it had been an absolute blessing being with Jughead consistently, I felt a little tired of it. I loved Jug, but I needed some personal time for myself. I didn't want to kick him out of my house because I didn't want him on the streets, but I would go nuts in a day or two if I didn't get some alone time.
As Jug and I walked to school, I held his arm and said: "I think it's time we told the gang about us."
I looked up at him to see that he was already hesitant. "I guess," he gave in. "I like how everything is right now, though. We don't have to worry about people acting differently around us."
"Yeah, but they're our friends. I wouldn't feel right hiding it from them. Plus, I don't want to hide forever," I expressed, squeezing his hand a little.
"We're not hiding. We're just staying private," he excused, looking down at me, the corner of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.
I frowned a little. "I don't know. It just feels like... I don't know. Never mind." I shook my head, embarrassed.
"No, what?" He asked, seemingly concerned by my change in tone.
I shrugged a little, looking down. "It feels like you don't want to be seen with me in that way. Like you don't want to flaunt me."
Jughead scoffed a little, thinking I was joking around. He quickly saw that I wasn't. He stopped us in the middle of the sidewalk, similar to the other day.
"Jingle. I love you, okay? I'd put you on a podium in front of the whole school if I could. Trust me on this," he told me.
I grew the strength to smile at him, taking both of his hands and pulling him towards me. "Come on. We'll be late," I changed the topic, leaving the conversation open for later.
We got to school, and climbed the steps, passing by all of the students. Some turned and stared at both Jughead and me, having shocked expressions as they whispered amongst themselves. I was confused, thinking that something happened that involved one of us.
Then I realized it was about the both of us.
Jughead kept his arm around my shoulder, smiling, content for once. I grinned, glad he had a change of heart. I put my arm around his waist and confidently strode down the halls with him until we reached our locker.
Veronica walked up to the two of us and took my shoulder.
"Hey, Cath. Betty and I were planning on going out to get a facial. My treat~!" She sang a little, jumping slightly in excitement.
"Yeah! When?"
"After school today. This cold weather is taking a dastardly toll on my skin," she touched her cheeks.
The bell rang and I closed my locker. Jughead put his hand on my lower back, pulling me close to him and giving me a passionate kiss, hard yet supple. My eyes were wide, staring at him with both confusion and surprise.
"B-but we're going to the same class?" I questioned him, barely able to speak.
He grinned and said: "I know," cooly. He put his arm around me and glanced at Veronica. "Bye V," waving at her a little before stealing me away. Veronica also looked shocked and confused, trying to gather what just happened.
I gave Juggy a side hug, sweetly saying: "Thank you."
"Anything for you, babe."
After my first couple of classes, I joined Jughead in walking me to lunch, where Veronica seemed to be gossiping rapidly.
She looked over to us and quickly closed her mouth, making it even more obvious that she was talking about me and Jug's relationship. We got to the table and were watched closely. Jughead and I sat beside each other, and I quietly opened my wrapped sandwich my mom made for me this morning.
Jughead unwrapped his sandwich that my mom also made for him. The table was dead silent as everyone just... watched.
Archie cleared his throat. "So uh, you two have anything to uh... say?"
Jughead and I looked at each other, before shaking our heads.
"Can't think of it," I said.
Jughead shrugged. "Me either."
"Oh come on!" Veronica burst with excitement. "They already know about your budding romance. Please! Spill everything! Tell us how the stars aligned to bring you two together!"
"Have you guys kissed yet?" Kevin asked, a little too interested.
"They did! Right in front of me!" Veronica confirmed it, as if she was talking about the best concert of her life.
"When did you guys start dating?" Betty asked, seeming interested.
Jughead and I looked at each other again.
"It's complicated, but we had a moment when Jug stayed over after Derek. But we officially started dating earlier this month," I explained, looking at the gang.
"Oh, so that's why," Archie nodded, referring to when he asked me out.
"Why what?" Veronica asked, turning to Archie.
"That's why Jug and I have been hanging out so much," I lied, glaring at him.
"Yeah," Jughead agreed. "I kept blowing off Archie. Sorry, bud," he kept up the lie.
"It's alright," Archie scoffed, smiling a little. "I'm just glad you're both happy."
"Me too," Betty agreed.
"So have you two?" Kevin asked again. "Kissed? The neck? Lips? Chest?" He gasped loudly, leaning forward to say something else.
"No," Jughead and I quickly answered, already knowing what he was talking about.
"Can we talk about Archie's game coming up this weekend or something?" I asked, looking over to Archie. Jughead put his arm around me, looking at me before looking at Archie.
As Archie was about to speak, Veronica exploded again.
"I'm sorry. You guys are just- ugh! So cute," Veronica smiled. "Anyways, continue, Archiekins."
Archie briefly explained his game and when it was going to be.
I wanted to make Veronica and Kevin content, so I took Jug's cheek and turned him to me.
"Just one," I quickly whispered.
He rolled his eyes and nodded, pulling me into a quick kiss.
Kevin swooned at us and Veronica loudly gasped. Meanwhile, Archie and Betty gave awkward smiles.
Cheryl planted her palm on the table, forcing a smile on me and Jughead.
"So, a kid with a deadbeat dad meets with a girl that has an apple pie life. Sounds like the opening to the worst joke ever," she taunted us out of nowhere.
"At least someone actually cares about me, Cheryl," I snapped back at her.
She laughed and replied with: "At least I have money."
"At least I have a sibling," I spat out.
I saw that I hit a hard spot, and decided to pull it back a little. I then realized that it wasn't my place to even say that since I don't even have a sibling anymore. Her jaw clenched as she took a hard swallow.
"Don't think I don't know about, Claire. The accident," Cheryl brought up.
I bit my tongue, staying in my place.
"It was one of those cases where you were seconds away, right? You did a shitty job of keeping her alive," she smirked, seeing that she's also pinned me down. "All I had to do was look up her name, and bam. The morgue."
I stood up, ready to sock her in the jaw. A pair of arms held me back, and I was face to face with Cheryl.
"That's right, Juggy. Hold her back," Cheryl told him with a cocky grin. She coldly stared me down and said: "Next time, clean your hands before you point your dirty finger at me."
She walked away and the bell rang. I stood there, defeated and embarrassed.
"Claire has been gone this whole time?" Archie asked, sounding hurt.
I looked away and all I could do was nod.
I couldn't look at any of my friends in the face, knowing that I've lied to them this whole time.
"We'll see you in class guys," Jughead told them as they slowly left.
Once everyone cleared out of the courtyard, Jughead finally turned me around to see my eyes red and filling with tears. I sniffled and wiped the edge of my eye with my sweater, admitting: "I deserved it."
"No, you didn't," he assured, bringing me into a hug.
He kissed my head a few times as I told him exactly what I was thinking.
"I stooped pretty low."
"Kinda."
"I lied to everyone."
Jughead sighed and put his arm around me. "You only did it so you wouldn't have to be reminded of it. That's okay. They'll forgive you."
"They shouldn't."
"They will."
The second bell rang, meaning that we were officially late for class.
Jughead let go of me and stared at me, seeming upset from me crying. He wiped my tears away and took my hand, walking me around the school until I calmed down and returned to normal.
"Oh, Juggy! I don't want to keep you from class," I told him, forgetting that he had a life too.
"I've barely skipped class this semester, so I'm sure they'll let it slide," he assured, smiling at me as if I was the cutest thing he's ever seen.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I smiled a little, scoffing.
Jughead shrugged. "It's just that... I don't know. Whenever you're upset you seem to worry about someone else instead of yourself."
We circled back to the entrance of the school by then, still holding hands and keeping close.
"I'm not gonna lie, I think I do that because of the car accident," I told him. Naturally, he gave me a strange stare. "I know, but think about it. I clenched up and shielded myself. I had enough time to cover her and I didn't."
I grew upset again, and Jughead quickly took notice.
"Hey, hey, hey. No more talking about the crash, okay? It's not your fault and what's done is done. Instead of dwelling, we need to be in the present. Like for example, we're missing class," he tried to divert my attention.
It was a kind attempt, but it wouldn't erase the memory or the regret from the back of my mind. I decided to act like it vanished from my brain since it would make Jughead worry less.
"Yeah. Right. Let's go," I nodded.
Of course, walking into class the teacher was furious until I spoke to him in private about the scenario as vaguely as I could. Hesitantly, he accepted it knowing that I never miss any of my classes and I had a good grade.
After the rest of my classes, Jughead and I held hands as we strolled across the schoolyard when I heard a familiar voice.
"Yo! Gerard Way!"
Jug and I turned to see Reggie and his jock friends roll up on us.
"Let's go," I turned back around and pulled his hand with me a little.
It was already too late, and they were here.
"I see you were pretty quick to hop on my boy Derek's girl," Reggie stood a little too close to Jughead.
Immediately, I was angry.
"I'm not Derek's girl. I'm not Jughead's girl either. I'm my own person. So first of all, you can stop talking about me like I'm a piece of property," I snapped at Reggie, letting go of Jughead's hand.
"Woah, guys. Watch out!" Reggie laughed, as his friends laughed and egged him on. "Little princess here is fighting her own battle. Is her frog prince going to save her?"
Jughead just gave me a confident smile as he crossed his arms. "Actually," he looked back at Reggie. "I think she's handling herself just fine."
"She obviously couldn't when she was with Derek last weekend," Reggie taunted, running out of ways to pick on us.
Jughead's grin immediately went away to a cold hard stare. "Is Reggie still feeling lonely after Catherine turned you down at your own party?"
The guys behind Reggie collectively said "oooooh," as his face went red with humiliation.
"That's it, Jones," Reggie stepped forward and gave him a hard push. Immediately, everyone around caught attention and started cheering and chanting like a bunch of wild animals.
As the two fought, I looked around to see if I could spot any of my friends to help separate the two. I found the complete opposite, and my skin turned cold.
I saw Derek watching, his hair messy, his eyes red, and a look of slight amusement on his face as he watched. We then locked eyes, and his smile went away.
I didn't know what to do, but what I did know was that I wanted to leave.
I stepped in between the two and raised my knee toward Reggie's crotch, which he flinched and crouched down in preparation. My knee and his crotch didn't connect, and in that moment of desperation, he looked cowardly and pathetic. That was enough for him to stop.
I grabbed Jughead's upper arm in that small window of opportunity and pulled him away.
"I want to go," was all I could say.
No surprise, Jughead noticed that something was off with me.
Once we were away from the crowd, he fixed the straps of his backpack on his shoulders.
"What happened?" He asked, looking down at me. "Besides the fight. You seem off."
"I saw Derek," I spoke harshly, still tense from even seeing him.
Jughead grew defensive and protective. "When? During the fight?"
"Yeah. He was watching. Then we saw each other and I got scared. He looked awful," I tried to explain. "Like, he was hopped up on a lot of drugs."
"You're worried about him?!" Jughead asked, disappointed and surprised.
"God, no! I'm worried about what he's thinking on all those drugs," I told him. "I'm not that dumb, Jug."
It upset me a little that he'd even believe that I had a chance of falling back in love with Derek. There was a negative one percent chance of that ever happening.
There was just silence between the two of us as we walked along the sidewalk. We arrived at my house, but Jughead took my shoulder and turned me into the park across the street. We walked along the curved pavement until we reached the bench.
I couldn't help but smile a little. "Remember when I was drunk and we stayed here to look at the stars?"
Jughead let out a soft laugh. "Yeah. I do. I like that memory."
After a moment, he took my face and turned it to his, an inch apart.
He then gave me a hard kiss, which was oddly sudden, but it made me feel a lot better about everything that had happened today.
After the long kiss, he slowly pulled away, still holding my head.
"Yhe heef gj shkl wgryknff," was all I heard.
I took his hands off of my ears and brought them down to my jaw.
"What?" I asked, laughing a little.
"Oh," he smiled. "I said that you need to stop worrying. I don't like seeing you this worked up and... tense."
I grinned with an idea.
Jughead noticed. "What?"
"Wanna give me a back massage? Back at my place?"
Jughead sighed, smiling a little as he rolled his eyes. "If that's what it takes to make you feel less shitty, I'll do it."
As promised, I got the best back massage of my life and convinced him to stay over another night. Score!
An: This chapter was so relieVING TO TYPE! I also decided to post early this week since RIVERDALE COMES BACK TONIGHT!!!! I'm LIVING Y'ALL. WE MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT RIVERDALE!!!!!!!! :))!:)!!:!):)!!!!:)
Thank you all so much for reading and don't forget to vote!