Smokestacks - Jughead Jones [1] ✔

Chapter One

SMOKESTACKS

CHAPTER | ONE

"Okay, so!"

Savannah Clarke let out a squeak as her best friend, Piper Dowers, slammed her locker shut, almost chopping off her fingers in the process.

"Not like I need those." Savannah muttered to herself as Piper stuck her tongue out impatiently, and continued with her piece of gossip.

"The word on the street, and by street I mean, according to Cheryl's twitter -"

"Cheryl Bombshell." Savannah couldn't help but snicker.

"Savannah! Focus!"

"Oh, come on! Her twitter is named after a push-up bra!"

Piper let out a hiss, her fingers mimicking claws, thrusting them in the direction of her friend.

"Don't be so dramatic." Savannah rolled her eyes, turning away from her friend and starting to head to their next class - Biology. "Just tell me the gossip."

"Polly and Jason broke up."

Savannah halted in her tracks suddenly, her mouth fell open ever so slightly and her heart raced. She craned her neck, trying to see a flash of red hair at the end of the hallway, expecting to see him.

"He's not in school today." Piper told Savannah, knowing exactly who she was looking for. "This is good news, isn't it?"

Savannah frowned in confusion, "How, exactly?"

Piper skirted around her friend until she was standing in front of her, eyes full of hope and wonder. "This means that you and Jason can be together now. No more hiding."

"What?" Savannah asked sharply, partnered with a humourless laugh. "Just cause we hooked up a couple of times doesn't mean I want to be his girlfriend."

Piper's face fell, looking almost sad. "I thought you liked him."

"Well, sure." Savannah shrugged, "but I also like pizza."

*

She felt raindrops start to litter her arm, splattering against the pale skin and freckles. Her head turned up to the sky, embracing the rain as she let out a shaky breath.

Savannah had been watching Betty Cooper lust after Archie Andrews for their entire lunch break. She walked beside him with a bright smile on her face, body turned to him so that she was constantly tripping over her feet. Archie was kind enough to stabilise her.

But Betty was a track runner.

Anyone who didn't know them would have thought they were a couple, and she wondered if anyone had thought that about her and Jason.

They'd snuck around, sometimes pushing the boundaries and exchanging a chaste kiss over a milkshake at Pop's diner. The first time they had, Savannah had noticed a boy sitting at a booth on the other side of the diner.

Savannah brought her head down from the air and flicked a rather unappetising piece of chicken across her plate. She sighed and propped her head up on her elbow, eyes flitting around the school grounds, the bench getting soaked around her.

She used to eat lunch with Piper, who had traded down (in Savannah's opinion) to go make out with her boyfriend in his car.

Everyone was running back toward the school, except one boy who was sitting at a table not far from her, his eyes locked onto a slit in the wood.

Jughead Jones. The boy from the diner.

He'd cast a look of disgust at her, yet he'd never told Betty, Polly's sister, of their escapades. She merely shrugged in return, she didn't even know the Cooper girl.