You woke up to sound of water running in the bathroom. Jughead was no longer next to you, but he had wrapped a couple of blankets around you and you were still warm. You sat up slowly and glanced around. Sunlight was coming through the blinds, and you could hear heavy chatter outside.
"Jug?" You called sleepily. After a moment the bathroom door opened. Jughead walked out, while drying his hair. His shirt was still slightly clinging to his chest, a sure tell sign that he didn't dry off all the way. You made a face and laughed as he hung up the towel.
"Why didn't you dry off all the way?" You asked.
"I heard you call." He said sheepishly. You realized that in order for him to have heard you he must have been listening.
"How'd you sleep?" You asked him, as he sat on the edge of the couch.
"Fine. What about you?" He asked. As if on cue, you yawned and stretched.
"Best I've slept in a while, but still kind of tired. What time is it?" You asked.
"A little after nine." He said. Your eyes instantly widened and you sat up abruptly.
"Oh crap! I have to get home. My mom is getting up for work in like thirty minutes." You told him.
"Right, lets go." He said, before grabbing a pair of keys. "We have to go through the back."
You took a peek out of the window and frowned. Just like yesterday, a few reporters were gathered outside of the door. You followed Jughead out of the back door, and he handed you a helmet. You quickly strapped it on and sat on the back of the bike. You wrapped your arms around his lower torso, and he winced.
"Jughead, you really need to get that checked out." You stated seriously. "I don't want you putting up with more than you have to."
You loosened your grip and waited for him to respond.
"It's just a bruise." He said quietly. "I'll be fine."
You sighed, but decided not to argue as he started the bike.
*FIFTEEN MINUTE TIME GAP*
Jughead slowly parked the bike along the curb and climbed off. You did the same and sighed sadly.
"What are you going to do today?" You asked. You didn't want him to spend more time inside of his trailer than he had to. You could imagine him sitting around with nothing to do but wait for the time to pass.
He looked away, almost apologetically and frowned.
"I think.." he paused and looked at you, searching your eyes for god knows what. "I'm going to visit my dad."
It took you a moment to process what he was saying. "What? Why?!" You asked. Jughead sighed and looked down the street, as if he were expecting someone to walk down any second.
"I need answers, y/n. He's the only person right now who can give them to me." He said.
"Answers? What more do you need? It's like you're purposely poking at a sleeping bear, Jug. You're finally free, you can move forward. Enjoy it." You said. You couldn't keep the condescending tone out of your voice. Jughead looked away, and began to climb back onto his bike.
"Never mind, y/n. Forget I even said anything." He mumbled. "You should go before your mom wakes up."
"What time are you planning to visit?" You asked him. Jughead nervously adjusted the straps on his leather gloves, and started the bike.
"Not sure." He said dismissively. You bit your lip and looked over your shoulder, half expecting your mom to be tearing down the street in anger.
"Are you sure you want to do this alone?" You asked him.
"That's the only way to do it isn't it?" He asked, annoyance slowly creeping into his voice. You forced yourself not to flinch. "Look okay? You don't get it, and I don't expect you to. But I need to do this, with or without help."
You sighed. There was no way you could change his mind, and you couldn't bring yourself to offer to go with him. The thought of Fp caused a deep repulsion in you to stir. After all he did, you couldn't understand why Jughead would want to see him again.
"Okay. Please stay safe Jughead." You said, before hugging him. You felt him stiffen, obviously surprised by your sudden mood swing. But he slowly relaxed and you felt him wrap his arms around your lower waist. After a brief moment, you released the hug and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Text me okay? And don't wait forever like you did yesterday, or I'll spend all day worrying." You told him. He gave you a small, cheeky smile before nodding. He put the bike in reverse and turned it so he could drive down the street in ease. Before going however he turned to you and gave a small wave.
You forced yourself not to let out a shaky cry. In that moment he looked so alone. It took all your strength not to run after him and beg him not to go.
"I love you!" You called, silently commending yourself for keeping your voice steady.
"I love you too. I'll see you soon okay?" He said. You nodded. With that he drove down the street and disappeared around the corner. You stayed firmly planted on your spot on the sidewalk until you could no longer hear the dull roar of his motorcycle. You began to make your way to the house. To your surprise, as soon as you stepped inside, you could smell the sweet aroma of a mornings breakfast.
You slowly made your way to the kitchen and found your mom at the stove making pancakes.
"Good morning y/n." She said calmly, without turning around. "How was your run?"
You turned to glance at Sadie, who was sitting at the dining table. She gave you a look and you quickly cleared your throat.
"It was fine. Why is everyone up so early?" You asked. Your mom served the food on a plate and handed it to you.
"You've missed a lot of school work y/n." She said slowly, while taking a seat at the table. You stared at her oddly, and took a seat next to Sadie.
"I'm sure I have." You said, completely missing her point.
"Your uncle and I have decided that it's best if you girls get back into a normal routine as soon as possible." Your mom said. You and Sadie threw her a confused look.
"We've decided that not only will you go back to school today, but Sadie will also join you. We've enrolled her at Riverdale high." She said.
"But mom!" You said, trying not to sound whiny. "It's already eight, I'm missing first period. Can't we just go tomorrow? Sadie isn't prepared."
"Your first day back isn't going to be perfect y/n. That's hardly surprising giving what you two have been through. But your uncle and I have decided that it's best to get things back to normal as soon as possible." She said. You glanced at Sadie, who was looking down at her phone and typing furiously. You knew that she was probably texting Cheryl. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked dazed. This news was obviously a shock to her too.
"Mom, it's too early." You said stubbornly. "The press is still out there."
"They're not allowed within 500 feet of the school. I will drive the two of you so you won't have to walk." She said. You knew that once you were at school, the gossip would be overwhelming. You didn't know if the rest of the group would be there, and the thought of being alone during your classes and lunch scared you.
"Seeing as you're done with breakfast, you should go get ready." You're mom ushered. You looked at Sadie for help. She only shrugged and bit her lip.
"Is this some kind of punishment?" You asked her.
"The longer you sit here and argue with me, the later you walk into school. Now go take a shower and get ready. My mind is made up." She said. You pushed your chair out, grabbed Sadie's arm, and began to stomp up the stairs. You closed the door behind you.
"What was that?" You hissed at her. She looked at you, obviously confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"You didn't back me up!" You yelled.
Sadie looked at you and sighed before sitting on the bed.
"I didn't back your mom up because.. I think she's right." Sadie said slowly and carefully. "I think we should try to get things back to normal as soon as possible."
"Wow. Typical." You muttered. Sadie stared at you strangely.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"You've been wanting to go to Riverdale high for ages. Now that the opportunity has been presented you don't care that you completely threw me under the bus." You said. You watched as Sadie's face flushed pink with embarrassment.
"I'm not a little kid you know. You act like everything you do I want to do too. You're not that important, get over yourself." She said.
You scoffed and began searching through your drawers for something to wear.
"You didn't see yourself the way I saw you last night." Sadie mumbled. You ignored her, and decided on a plain white t shirt with black jeans. You studied yourself in the mirror. You had noticeably lost a little weight. Your face seemed to have a new, natural glow to it. Your skin was clearer than it had been in months. Your eyes however, were dull.
"You were obsessed. You waited by your phone for hours yesterday, and practically had a panic attack when he didn't text you back immediately."
"Well can you blame me?" You shouted, while throwing your clothes down on the bed. You quickly rushed into the bathroom and hopped into the shower, leaving the door ajar so you could hear Sadie's argument.
"Of course I don't y/n! You were worried and you had a right to be. But I'm just saying I think school could be a nice distraction from all that." She said.
"Right. Having hundreds of people ask me about what happened is definitely better than staying home and wallowing." You snapped.
"You're being over dramatic." Sadie said. "Sure people will whisper and gossip, but I bet none of them will have the guts to say anything to our face."
You let out a sharp bark of a laugh as you stepped out of the shower.
"Riverdale high is not the same as your school. You'll see. The kids here are much more cruel." You said, as you sat on your bed in your towel.
"What do you mean?" Sadie asked, for the first time in ages sounding concerned.
"Remember when I used to have acne?" You asked her quietly. "And not just a few pimples, the time when it was all over my face?"
Sadie nodded, already able to see where this was going.
"The kids there made my life a living nightmare. No one even dared to help me, in fear of getting bullied themselves. Then my face cleared and most of the teasing stopped. That's when I had the courage to look around and observe what happened to others. If you weren't popular, or skinny, or even dressed well, you were targeted. I mean yea sure, kids obviously get bullied. But if you saw the way those kids treated people like Jughead, you'd know that it's not just normal high school bullying. Those kids teased me and called me rude things and it was enough to send me home crying every day. I just felt so awful about myself. But then, I looked at Jughead and realized I didn't have it as bad. I wasn't getting shoved into things and beaten up everyday after school. I wasn't being tripped in the hallways, yet they made it so hard for me to continue as normal. If teasing could do that to me, imagine what all that bullying does to kids like Jughead?" You asked.
You could feel tears pooling in your eyes and threatening to spill, but you ignored them and angrily wiped them away.
"And the worst part about it is, they've broken and beaten you down so much that you're desensitized to any kind of bullying. Instead you become a part of their agenda. When you laugh or join in the bullying. You don't see that you're doing anything wrong, until someone comes around and tells you."
Sadie studied you for a minute, as if trying to figure out if you were just being over dramatic. "Your school sounds like a war zone."
"In some ways it is." You said, as you slipped on your clothes. Discussing what was making you feel so bad surprisingly made you feel a lot better.
"Is Jughead going to school?" Sadie asked.
"No. He has some things he has to take care of. And good thing he isn't, those kids would tear him apart after hearing about his dad." You mumbled.
"So you think he did it?" Sadie asked.
"I mean, how could he have not? He was so ready to kill us that day. Only someone whose killed before could do that." You said. You didn't really like talking about Fp with anyone, it made you feel as if you were gossiping behind Jughead's back.
"How is he?" Sadie asked.
"I think he's coping the best he can. Last night it felt like he was only keeping it together because I was there. He's obviously very worried about Jellybean, and having to spend his time alone in the trailer where his dad tortured him.. I don't know. He didn't talk about any of this stuff but it's evident that it's eating him up." You said.
Sadie thought for a minute. "Well we can't just wave a magic wand and automatically make everything better, but we should try to cheer him up."
"How?" You asked.
"Remind him that he has people that care about him." Sadie said. "How about after school we pick up some pops and bring it to him?"
You thought about it for a moment. "Okay, but just the two of us. I don't know if he'd want any other visitors."
"Okay." Sadie said. You finished dressing yourself and picked up your backpack.
"What about you? You don't have any school supplies." You told her.
"Your mom already bought stuff for me. It's downstairs." She said. You decided not to ask when she had done that. The two of you made your way downstairs, and you glowered at your mom as she handed Sadie a backpack. You held your silence as the three of you solemnly stalked over to the car.
"I'll be waiting in the east wing to pick the two of you up after school." Your mom said.
"No thanks mom. If I have to go to school today, I'm staying at homework club. I want to spend as much time away from home as possible." You lied.
Sadie quickly nodded her agreement. "Me too. I'm going to get a lot of stuff that I don't know how to do today. A homework club would be good for me."
Your mom looked at you through her rear view mirror, and you stubbornly looked away.
"Alright. I'll give you guys about two hours, then I want you home. Do I make myself clear?" She asked. Sadie gave a bright yes, while you stayed silent.
"I'm taking the bus home." You told her. "The five o'clock bus."
"As long as you're home by 5:30. I'm trusting you guys to be responsible young adults. Only god knows why." She said. "The press shouldn't bother you anymore. We got a restraining order against we particularly nasty ones."
You rolled your eyes, and continued to stare out of the window. By the time you made it to school, there was only ten minutes left of first period. Instead of going to class late, you showed Sadie the way to the office and waited for her to get her schedule.
"You must be the new student." An office lady said. You watched from a distance as the lady handed her a small stack of papers.
"Yes." Sadie said, while throwing her a picture perfect smile. "I'm y/n's cousin."
You mentally face palmed as you watched the office lady's expression change to one of surprise.
"Oh wow, I didn't realize she'd be back at school so soon. Tell her if there's anything she needs, counselors are always available to talk."
Sadie's expression dropped and she realized her mistake.
"Oh, um of course." She said, her chirpy demeanor faltering. She quickly rushed out of the office and looked away from you.
"It's okay Sadie. You were just trying to be friendly. Let me see your schedule." You said. She handed it to you slowly and you studied it.
"That's strange." You mumbled, as you looked at the familiar classes. "All of our classes are the same except sixth period."
"Is Cheryl in any of our classes?" She asked. You suppressed a groan of annoyance before nodding stiffly.
"Yeah, she's in our second and fourth period class." You said. At that exact moment, the bell rang. You and Sadie glanced around the hallway, stunned. It felt like it had been ages since you had been around so many people.
"People are looking at us." Sadie whispered to you. You looked around and realized she was right. Almost every head in the hallway was turned toward you two.
"Hey." Someone called. You turned around and frowned as soon as you realized who it was.
"What Chuck?" You asked.
"You're the chick that went missing right?" Chuck asked. You rolled your eyes and turned towards your cousin, who surprisingly hadn't said a word.
"Don't you have anything better to do? We have to get to class, goodbye." You told him, as you began to walk away. You felt his firm grip tighten around your wrist.
"Let go!" You protested as you tried to pull your hand away. He instantly let go and held his hands up in surrender.
"I just wanted to talk. Reggie was with you guys right? Have you heard anything from him lately? Any news? The guys and I haven't heard anything from him in ages." Chuck said. You felt your blood run cold as you shared a nervous look with Sadie.
"You should ask Archie. He didn't come back to Riverdale with Sadie and I, but I think he came back at the same time as Archie." You said. Chuck looked thoughtful for a moment. Without a word, he turned around and walked away.
"That was crazy." Sadie mumbled as the two of you walked towards second period. The two of you had to walk quickly to make it to your next class on time. As soon as the two of you stepped inside, the class went silent. Even Mr. Sang turned around and glared at the two of you.
"Y/n. Pleased you can join us in class today." He said sarcastically. A few of your classmates snickered and it took all of your might not to roll your eyes. If it had been any other day, you probably would have hid your face in embarrassment. But today, you didn't care.
"And who might this be?" He asked, while looking over at Sadie. Sadie's face was red with embarrassment, and she took a deep breath before speaking.
"I'm Sadie." She said happily. "I'm new."
"Now we have two red heads in this class. Better watch out Cheryl, looks like another girl is trying to take your spot." Mr sang joked. Sadie's head instantly snapped up from the floor as she made eye contact with Cheryl. As usual Cheryl was wearing a red top with a pair of white jeans. Her hair was wavy and her face had a splash of makeup.
Her eyes were as lit as Sadie's as the two of them stared at each other. The class, who had been whispering furiously about the two of you, caught onto the two girls eyeballing each other.
Some might of mistaken it for two girls silently feuding with each other about who was the better redhead, but you knew what it was. It could only have been the look of love.
A hint of a smile came over your face as you took your seat. You glanced over and your smile faltered abruptly as you stared at Jughead and Reggie's empty desks.
You let your mind wander to Jughead, who must have been seeing his father at that very moment. Mr Sang gave Sadie a spot next to Cheryl. You knew that it was his idea of getting a dig at Cheryl and Sadie, but neither of them seemed to care. The two of them chatted away happily as if they'd known each other for years.
You were once again filled with sadness as you watched them. Your own boyfriend wasn't able to be with you on your first day back. Obviously you didn't blame him, but you wished that his life wasn't as complicated as it was. The entire period was spent reading from the textbook and answering questions. After what felt like an eternity, class finally ended. The two of you slowly bustled towards third period, feeling slightly drained from all the textbook work.
To your surprise, the first person you noticed as you stepped into the classroom was Archie.
"Archie!" You said, as you took your seat next to him. His eyes that were dull and almost lifeless a second ago lit up.
"Y/n! You're back to school so early." He said. "And with Sadie." He stated in surprise as she took a seat in front of the two of you.
"I can say the same to you." You grinned. "My mom made us come today."
"It was the complete opposite for me. I had to beg my dad to let me come." He said.
"Why'd you want to come?" Sadie asked. Archie was quiet for a moment.
"The atmosphere at home is suffocating at the moment. My dad just stares at me at the dinner table, looking so disappointed. He's been helicopter parenting. It's not a good look for him. So I'd do anything to get out of the house. Even come back to this place."
You made a noise of sympathy and shook your head.
"Have you heard from Jughead?" He asked you.
"Yeah. I slept over at his trailer last night." You said.
"How is he?" Archie asked anxiously.
"He's doing alright." You lied. You weren't sure how much you were allowed to disclose with anyone. "Coping the best he can."
"Do you think-" He started.
"Hey y/n." Some random dude cooed at you as he took his seat beside you. You stared at him in confusion. You recognized him of course, but he had never spoken to you before now.
"Hey.. uh-" Your mind blanked and you instantly felt embarrassed.
"Tom. My name is Tom." He said. Tom had a face that was easily forgettable. He was wearing a baby blue zip up sweater with green navy pants. "Is it true what people have been saying?"
You and Sadie exchanged a look. "Well what are people saying?"
"That you were kidnapped." He said nonchalantly. "By some gang, some people are saying the serpents but most people are saying the ghoulies."
You felt your breath constrict in your throat.
"I-uh-well-we-" You started. You just couldn't get the right words out and it felt like everyone was staring at you.
"Of course she wasn't kidnapped! Whoever started that ridiculous rumor must be some attention whore." Sadie said, coming to your rescue. Tom turned around, looking ready to fire back with a sarcastic remark. However, once his eyes rested on Sadie, his cheeks flamed and his eyes widened slightly.
"Who are you?" He asked, his voice slightly laced with bewilderment.
"I'm Sadie." She said. "Her cousin."
He cleared his throat and looked down at his desk. While the four of you had been discussing, the teacher had dropped worksheets on your desk. There was only thirty more minutes of class left and you hadn't even started. You turned away from the noise and began to work on your worksheet.
*TIME GAP*
By the time the bell rang for lunch you were practically starving. The three of you walked to the cafeteria together, and you were pretty bummed to see Sadie break off and sit with Cheryl at another table. To your surprise Betty was sitting at the lunch table, picking at her salad.
"Hey Betty." Archie said, as the two of you sat down.
"Hey." She said, slowly looking up from her salad. The two of you made brief eye contact and you threw her a small smile.
"Heard from Jughead?" She asked curtly, almost bitterly. You had half the mind to lie, but instead you sighed and nodded. "Well? How is he?"
"Coping." You said bluntly. Without another word, you got up and made your way towards the lunch bar. You quickly put together a salad and a sandwich. As you were putting the dressing on, you felt the atmosphere in the cafeteria shift. Everyone had gone quiet and seemed to be looking at one particular place. You slowly looked up. To your surprise and confusion, your eyes were immediately drawn to Jughead. He was walking over to someone. His head was down cast, and his fists were jammed into his pockets. A habit you knew he picked up when we was nervous. For a moment you thought he was going over to the table, but that thought was quickly changed as he walked towards Sadie and Cheryl. You placed your salad tray down and watched from a distance as he stopped in front of them.
He said something that you couldn't hear. Sadie's eyebrows etched in concern as Cheryl stood up slowly. She stared at him for a moment, and without warning she drew her hand back and slapped him.
Hard.
You dropped your tray and rushed towards the scene as Cheryl began to pummel him. The thing that bothered you the most was that Jughead didn't bother to defend himself. He didn't hold up his arms to his face or tried to block her blows. All he did was stand there and take it. By the time you got to the scene, Sadie and Betty had managed to pull Cheryl away. Jughead had already rushed out of the cafeteria, and everyone was staring at the group. You broke away from them and rushed out of the cafeteria. Jughead had already exited the school leaving you to wonder if he had been running or not. You watched as his silhouette disappeared around the corner. You stopped in your tracks and ran a hand through your hair.
You didn't know whether to be angry or emphasize with Cheryl. You suddenly did not feel hungry anymore. You made your way to your next class and sat by the door, waiting for it to open.
*TIME GAP*
The rest of the day was a blurry haze for you. More than once your teachers had asked you if you were paying attention. You would always give them a detached no. Your head was so cloudy, and your thoughts were so jumbled, that at the end of your last class, you didn't hear the bell ring.
"Do you need something y/n?" Your teacher Ms Paris asked.
"What?" You asked, while snapping out of your thoughts.
"The bell rang five minutes ago." She said, while taking a seat next to you.
"Oh." Was all you said, not making an attempt to gather your things.
"Are you okay? Is there anyone I can call?" She asked.
"No, no. I'm fine sorry. I just didn't hear the bell." You said, before beginning to stuff your notebooks into your backpack.
"Maybe coming back today wasn't the best idea." Your teacher said softly. You let out a short laugh, your stress getting the better of you.
"It wasn't really my choice." You admitted, as you slung your backpack over your shoulder. "My family thinks I should get back into a normal routine."
Your teacher gave a small, sad smile. "Well if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"I won't. Thanks for the help." You told her, as you exited the classroom. You walked down the hall and out of the school where Sadie was waiting up front. She saw you and gave a small smile. You didn't return the smile, and walked past her towards the bus stop.
"I got a friend to pick up the food for us, so we don't waste any time. Two hours is a lot and I want you to have as much time as possible with him." Sadie said.
"Thanks." You said dryly. As the two of you took a seat on the bus, you could tell that there was an elephant between you two.
"You disappeared during lunch." Sadie said quietly.
"What do you expect Sadie? Your girlfriend attacked my boyfriend." You snapped. Sadie's face flamed and her eyes widened in surprise.
"She's not my-I'm not-she's just a friend!" She shouted, causing several heads to turn your way.
"Yeah, right." you said.
"Either way can you blame her? Jughead should've known to just stay out of her way and leave her alone." She said. You felt your blood boil as you listened to her say that.
"What did he say to her, because I seriously doubt that he provoked her." You stated defensively.
"He said that he was sorry." Sadie said. "That's like the worst thing he could say to her."
"Right, so she slapped him for apologizing. Sounds perfectly logical to me." You replied. Your bus finally stopped in front of the trailer park. You and a couple of other people hoped off. The two of you walked through the park in silence, barely speaking to each other. Now that it was brighter, it was way easier for you to distinguish which trailer was Fp. Carrying the food carefully, the two of you quietly knocked on the door.
He opened it after a minute. You forced yourself not to gasp as you stared at the bruise on his left cheek.
"Y/n?" he asked after a moment. "Sadie?"
"We brought you pops." Sadie said, after you hadn't replied. Your voice had somehow left you. He stood out of the way and allowed the two of you to make your way inside.
"Nice place you got here." Sadie said, and you could've face palmed. Jughead let out a soft laugh.
"I would hope so." He said. The three of you took a seat on the couch. Jughead stared at a spot on the rug, obviously lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" You asked him. He continued to stare at the ground for a moment, before turning to you, puzzled.
"Can you call Betty and Archie?" He asked.
"What? Why?" You asked, startled.
"My dad didn't kill Jason Blossom." He said, standing up and going over to the counter. He picked up a familiar blue and yellow bulldogs sweater. "I can prove it."
A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for following me on this journey of creating my first X reader story. You guys have been such amazing readers and it fills me with joy watching the reading base grow, and reading all of your lovely comments. There are times that I get frustrated with my writing, then I read the comments you guys leave and I'm reminded of why I love to write in the first place. A couple months ago I didn't think this book would even reach 500 reads let alone 4k! So thank you all for the love you've shown me. I hope I continue to keep you interested with every upcoming chapter.