I'm Darkness || Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones [2]

Undying Love

UNDYING LOVE

Ellie grabs her purse after she dresses her coat, things are not calmer around the Southside but she can't stay, not after Betty called her telling her their father told her to bring her sister home, that they all needed to talk. She's already panicking when she makes her way to the door, the tears settling in for the long ride.

"You leaving?"

Ellie turns around to face the dark-haired boy, and he notices how vulnerable she looks. "I gotta get home, Betty called me. I'm sorry,"

"Betty right," Jughead breathes, and it sounds like he forgot all about her for a second. He nods, trying to look ok with that fact that's she's leaving. "Thanks for helping me with them."

"In unity there's strength, right?" She tries to smile, and it's the first time tonight.

Jughead loses himself in her for a moment, and Ellie finds herself in his eyes. And there's this unspoked connection that they've always felt towards each other, but that somehow seems stronger than ever now.

He clears his throath, and tells her. "Be careful out there."

"Yeah, I'm hoping to make it home without getting shot at one more time." Ellie jokes, but he sees behind that. He sees a shade of fear in her eyes.

Jughead still chuckles though, and lets her go. Even though most parts of him want her to stay, he also knows he's not her whole life, and he doesn't want to be. How wrong would it be if he wanted to though, if they kissed. So Jughead convinces himself that by letting her walk out of the Whyte Wyrm, he's letting go of his feelings too.

. . .

"I can't just sit here."

Jughead pushes him against the wall. "Sweet Pea. You're staying put!"

He pushes the dark-haired boy away in a harsh gesture, and steps away from the wall. "You said it yourself. The Ghoulies are back."

"We'll deal with them." Jughead tells him, his voice determined. Or at least he tries to make it sound like that. "As soon as my Dad gets back –."

"You're not our leader all of sudden?" Sweet Pea scoffs with a slight shake of his head in disapproval, and that's when the accusation comes. "That's right. You're just the guy that got Fangs shot."

"Watch it." Jughead mutters through his teeth, his voice deep.

"Fangs might die." Sweet Pea steps a little too close to him, and that's when he pushes him back. "The Ghoulies are out for our blood, specially Ellie's blood, because of a race where you let her bet her head on it. So what if she's next going down? What then huh?"

There's this small moment of tense silence where both Jughead wonders if maybe Sweat Pea is right, what if he could have come up with a better plan. A different one, where Fangs would be here with them right now, and where the Ghoulies weren't obsessed with getting their revenge because of that stupid race. Maybe – just maybe – he's right, Sweet Pea's last words haunting his mind, a constant reminder that Ellie's head is at stake.

"An hour." Jughead asks, he's voice softer now. "That's all I'm asking for, Sweet Pea."

Jughead's ends up by the bar, trying to make sense of everything going through his mind.

It starts with the Serpents and ends with Betty as he wonders if he should tell her. It seems like the right thing to do, but what good would it do. They didn't even kissed, and he faces the possibility of it almost happening because tonight's being shitty. That makes it better, so he goes for it, for the easy excuse he's bee telling himself.