Misfits (Jughead Jones)

Chapter 24

Blake quietly led Betty and Jughead to Jason's room. It had been almost a year since she had stepped foot in Thornhill, let alone his room. She shakily opened the door as the three of them walked in. Jason's room wasn't as fancy as the rest of the house and that's the way he had liked it. The blue wallpaper now shrouded the room with an icy chill. The glass cabinets with his trophies still adorned one wall and his bed was the centre of the room. The large bay window provided the only source of light through its net curtains. Betty and Jughead glanced around cautiously. 

"Is it me or did the temperature just drop like it does in horror movies?" Betty muttered.

"That's just the icy chill of the dead." Jughead mumbled in response.

"Where does a teenage boy hide things?" Betty was completely useless in that area.

"Under the mattresses," Jughead said.

"Maybe in the drawers," Blake added.

"Behind the headboard, in the closet." Jughead finished as they all started looking. Jughead checked the cupboard under the bookcase as Blake checked his bed side draws and Betty looked under the mattress.

"Hello." A voice from behind the door suddenly sounded.

"Holy..." Betty said as all three of them shot up. Betty was slightly in front of Blake and Jughead as the old woman's one good eye scanned them all. Blake felt Jughead's arm snake around her waist from behind.

"I'm so sorry, we were just leaving." Betty stammered.

"Oh. It's you. How lovely to see you again. Come closer, I wanna get a good look at you." The woman said as she wheeled her chair forwards.

"The horror. The horror." Jughead whispered to Blake as Betty stepped forward.

"Come closer, Polly dear." The woman said as Betty carefully took a seat on the trunk at the end of Jason's bed. Betty glanced at Blake and Jughead worriedly as they too stepped forward slightly.

"It's nice to you again, too." Betty said. "I'm sorry it had to be under such terrible circumstances."

The woman reached forward and took Betty's hands. "Well, of course you're not wearing it. Bless."

"Wearing what?" Betty queried.

"The ring, Polly." The woman smiled. "That ring has been in the Blossom family for generations. You keep it close to your heart, always. But don't tell Penelope I gave it to you. Or she'll likely come and snip it off your finger!" She warned.

"I won't, I promise." Betty stammered.

"Such a shame. Your wedding was the last thing I was living for." The woman said sadly. "I lost a grandson, but you, you've lost the love of your young life. Poor child."

"Excuse me." Betty shot up and looked from the woman to Blake. "I'm sorry... I can't." She quickly ran out of Jason's room leaving Blake and Jughead behind.

The pair exchanged a glance before quickly following Betty out of the room. Blake froze in the hallway and Jughead was nearly halfway down it before he realised. He spun on his heel in time to see her sink down the wall and bury her face in her knees. He walked back over and sank down next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. As he peppered butterfly kisses in her hair, they realised that all they needed right at this moment, and maybe for the rest of their lives, was each other. But, they also realised the worst was yet to come and their secrets would drown them in the end.

"Every town has one. The house on the haunted hill all the kids avoid. Now that Jason was buried in the earth, it would only be a matter of time until something poisonous bloomed. In that long, cold shadow cast by his death. Whatever grew in the rich black soil of the Blossom's garden always found its way to the town. Whether it was murder. Or love. Or secrets. Or lies."