Under The Blood Moon

Memory

The full moon shed the only light on the altar in front of them. Jughead had no idea what any of it was for but he knew if he didn't put it all together in the next two minutes Veronica could die for good.

He looked to his left where she lay unconscious, her black hair a stark contrast against the pure white snow.

He had to carry her out to the clearing on his own, his whole body shaking from adrenaline and the deep winter cold. He barely remembered getting here, carrying her or even setting up.

He began to throw random liquids together in an old bowl Veronica had gotten from her mother. Smoke began to rise from where Jughead had just been adding the last ingredient. He prayed he did it right. The bowl burst into flames under his touch burning his palms.

Veronica shot up with a deep gasp that cut through the wind like a knife.

"Veronica! Oh My God, are you okay?" Jughead used his burnt hands to push the hair out of her face and check for signs of distress.

"I'm okay. You did it! Jughead you-"

"Ahh" Jughead screamed in pain as he fell to the ground fully. It felt like every bone in his body was breaking at once. He rolled onto his back, screaming in pain, staring at the moon as Veronica hovered over him.

Jughead shot out of bed with a guttural scream. The pain from his dream was so intense it felt as if he had truly been there. He squeezed his eyes shut to will the pain away. Images of the moon played behind his eyes as the pain slowly faded from his limbs.

He opened his eyes and looked at his palms. There was no burning, scarring, or any sign of injury but he could feel the lingering tingle of pain.

"What the fuck" he whispered to himself as he got out of bed. His alarm was set to go off in twenty minutes and there was no way in hell he was falling back asleep after that. He just needed a shower and he'd be good as new. Or he hoped so at least.

*****

The bell rang overhead signaling the beginning of the day. They had about five minutes to get to class before it started and all Jughead could think of was Veronica. His dream felt so real and he could still feel the remnants of pain soaring through his body.

He scanned the halls as he walked through them to get to his locker. If he could just see her... As the thought entered his mind she came into view and it felt as if a weight was lifted off of him. He walked to her faster than needed and placed himself on the other side of her locker door.

The moment she closed her locker Veronica let out a surprised hiss at seeing Jughead on the other side.

"What is the matter with you, Jones?" Jughead ignored the comment and began looking her up and down for any signs of injury.

"You're okay?" Jughead asked the air because he still wasn't looking at her face.

"Yeah I'm fine, weirdo boy. Can you tell me why you look like you're ready to cart me away at any given moment?" Veronica responded asking a question of her own.

"I just had- You know what never mind. You're good I can see that now. We have to get to class you ready?" Jughead nodded down the hall in the direction of their first class.

"Alright..." Veronica replied hesitantly but headed down the hall anyway.

Jughead spent the entirety of their first class paying more attention to Veronica than the teacher. They could have been spilling all of Jughead's innermost secrets but he wouldn't even hear it. His dream kept replaying in his mind like a memory. Veronica, on the ground lifeless, breathless, him standing above her trying with all his might to save her.

The bell rang overhead once again and only then did Jughead finally bring his mind back to the present. He followed Veronica out of class and walked behind her to her next one, silent. He hadn't said a word to her since he so crazily gave her a once-over. He watched her move with the same ease she always had. He watched her walk into her class and take a seat before he began to walk to his.

As soon as the second period was over he rushed to Veronica's class. He had to make sure he'd be there. If something was going to go wrong he wanted to see the signs, he needed to make sure everything was truly normal, that she wasn't hiding something from him.

Jughead had walked her or followed her to every one of her first four classes and if he was in them with her he got no work done, spending the entire time watching her like a hawk. By the time lunch had rolled around Jughead had spent four hours worrying about Veronica and not school.

The cafeteria was loud as usual. Even though she had broken up with Archie, again, Veronica still sat at the same table the core four had sat at that first year she came to Riverdale. Archie and Betty didn't seem to mind the way all of their relationships had changed and welcomed Veronica with open arms.

Jughead normally couldn't stand it. The idea of sitting with his ex-girlfriend, ex-best friend, and the girl he had hated for most of his high school career made him feel sick, but when he was coming out of the lunch line with his tray of food, he looked to where he normally sat with Sweetpea and Fangs and it didn't feel right. He looked across the cafeteria to where Veronica sat with Betty and Archie and began moving in that direction.

Jughead dropped his tray quietly on the table and slid in next to Veronica trying to stay as far from Betty as he could. Veronica didn't even bother to look at him and he didn't mind. He just wanted to listen to how she was with her friends. She'd be more open and honest with them around he knew it. He could feel Archie and Betty's eyes on him as he ate in silence never really looking up from the tray in front of him.

Jughead finished his food relatively quickly and when he did he had nothing else to keep his eyes off his old friends so he turned around leaning his elbows on the table and scanning the room. He could see Sweetpea and fangs on the other side of the room catch his eye and give him a confused look but he just smiled in return and continued on scanning the room.

Behind him, he heard the conversation go quiet for the first time since he got there and within a second Veronica was standing up and dragging him with her.

"That's it we need to talk," Veronica said as she dragged him out of the cafeteria and into the empty hall. "What the fuck is going on, Jones? You've been acting weird all day and you sitting with us at lunch was the last straw. Spill." She looked on expectantly and he knew she'd stand like that all day until he came clean.

"Alright fine." He conceded. "I had this dream last night-"

"This is about some dream? Jughead-"

"No, it felt so real. Like it was a memory and not a dream. Veronica, you were dead and I almost didn't get you back. When I finally did something happened to me I don't know how to explain. When I woke I could still feel all the pain of it all. I've been watching you to make sure everything was alright." Veronica watched him intently as he spoke. It took her a while to respond but when she did it was just above a whisper.

"Jughead I'm fine. You probably just spent too much time reading all those articles about the supernatural. You can stop pretending to care now." Veronica evaded Jughead's gaze and began to turn around to head back into the cafeteria. Jughead grabbed her arm, faintly aware that she could get out of his hold without so much as a fight.

"I might not like you, Veronica..." He trailed off for a moment waiting for her to turn back to him. "but that doesn't mean I want you to die." She didn't respond, just walked back into the cafeteria and met back up with Archie and Betty.

Jughead didn't bother to go back to the table with her instead he made his way to Fangs and Sweetpea.