Smokestacks - Jughead Jones [1] ✔

Chapter Sixteen

SMOKESTACKS

CHAPTER | SIXTEEN

Savannah lay on her stomach, a book propped up in her hands, while Jughead sat on the floor, his back against the edge of the bed, his laptop on his lap.

They sat, listening to a playlist that Savannah had put on; the rhythmic typing of fingers against a keyboard; and the occasional sound of a page turning.

The girl licked her lips in thought, eyes tearing away from the line she was reading to glance down at the boy who always wore a beanie. A soft smile tugging at her features.

In one fluid movement, she flipped off the bed into a position where she was sitting right next to him, her shoulder brushing against his.

Jughead looked at the girl, startled. "Hello?" He asked, very aware of how his bare forearm was less than an inch away from hers, electricity crackling through his veins.

"I got lonely." 

Was all she said.

*

"Why do you have to go?" Savannah pouted, hours later, when Jughead stood at her front door pulling his shoes on.

"I have to help Archie's dad, his whole crew pulled out and there's no one who'll help him." Jughead explained, leaning down to do the laces on his boots.

"Really?"

It wasn't Savannah that spoke, but her brother, Kyle, who had appeared at the kitchen door. He had his arms crossed, his face furrowed in thought.

Jughead turned to look at the boy, they hadn't really spoken before, only nodded to each other in passing. "Yeah, Clifford Blossom is trying to screw Mr. Andrews over."

"Count me in." Kyle said, going back into the kitchen to let Piper know that he'd be leaving.

Savannah smiled at Jughead, who looked surprised that the boy was willing to help. She knelt down on the floor and finished tying the knot that he had abandoned.

They were so close, Jughead watched as she double knotted the bow and looked up at him, their noses centimetres apart.

"There." She said, quietly, her warm breath fanning his face. He could smell the strawberry bonbons that she had eaten earlier, nearly cracking her tooth on a particularly hard one.

Savannah straightened up and leaned back against the staircase, holding onto the railing with one hand.

The two came out of the kitchen, the blonde looking put out that her boyfriend was leaving, and the other looked determined. They had been arguing, she noticed, from the tear marks that had been hastily wiped away from Piper's eyes.

"I'm just gonna change." Kyle muttered to Jughead, not meeting his sister's curious gaze as he raced up the stairs to his room.

Savannah had her eyes locked onto Piper, who was staring at the floor. "Look after my brother, will you?" She asked the dark haired boy, before taking the hand of her friend and leading her into the living room.

"Sure." Jughead replied to empty air, his eyebrows furrowed as he waited for Kyle to return.

They didn't talk for a while, even after the front door had slammed shut, letting them know that Kyle had left. Savannah had put on a sad movie, the Notebook, how cliché, and pulled Piper into her arms.

It was about an hour after that she spoke, after Savannah had brought back a bowl of popcorn and two glasses of lemonade.

"I kissed someone else." She had said.