Jabitha Oneshots

I'm Here

Tabitha helps Jughead through a panic attack, as Percival floods his mind with traumatic memories.

"It's ok Jug, take your time."

"I-I-I can't," he whispered.

It felt like hours since Tabitha had arrived home to find Jughead curled up in the corner of their bed, breathing heavily and muttering to herself. She had immediately tried to grab his hand, only to be pushed away. The shock left her blinking tears from her eyes- but she knew that she had to be strong for his benefit.

Now, she found herself kneeling in front of his curled-up form, trying to coax some form of explanation from him. He still wouldn't let her touch him.

"Try and focus on your breathing. In and out. I've got you, I'm here," she said gently.

Shit! What did her therapist tell her to do in situations like this? Something about a five-step process...

"Oh!" she said suddenly, "Jug, I need you to tell me three things you can see."

He buried his head in his hands. Tabitha felt an infuriating temptation to reach over and brush his hair out of his eyes but managed to hold herself back. She knew initiating touch was futile.

He groaned, "Uh, you, bed," he trailed off, "oh my god, I can't see anything else." His voice seemed to climb five octaves and he grabbed the pillow out from behind him and buried his face in it.

"Ok, that's ok," she replied, "Why don't we-"

Suddenly, she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone, an Elton John song blaring from her pocket. She reached into it and checked the caller ID: Toni.

"Hey, Toni, this really isn't a good time, so could I maybe-"

Her friend cut her off immediately.

"Tabitha, are you with Jughead? Something's going on?" Tabitha drew her breath in sharply.

"Yeah. What's going on your end?"

A muffled bang echoed through the receiver and Tabitha held it away from her ear.

"Tones?"

"Sorry about that. Look, Cheryl walked into the Wyrm about half an hour ago, completely hysterical. She keeps trying to hide in places and she's saying that her mom's coming to get her?"

Tabitha stood up and walked a few paces away into the corridor. She made sure to keep a careful eye on her boyfriend, still squeezing the cushion into his face.

"Jughead's not doing well either," she lowered her voice, "He's panicking, and he won't talk to me or- or let me try to comfort him."

Tabitha felt her lip begin to tremble, certain that Toni had heard her voice break as she spoke.

"Hey, everything's going to be ok. I'm gonna call Betty and see if she has any idea what's going on, but I need you to try and get through to Jughead. Just try and stay calm, yeah?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Toni."

She hung up and took a deep breath. It was essential that she remained composed, for Jughead's sake.

...

Half an hour passed before Jughead revealed anything of note. During that time, Tabitha had relocated to the floor beside the bed, leaning up against the wall with her head in her hands. She wanted desperately to call Toni again- to have her soothe her anxiety in the way she had been doing for months, but she had a feeling the woman was dealing with her own issues.