Shedding Our Skin {Jughead Jones}{Bughead}

Chapter Ten

I was awoken that morning by the one of the most ominous, alarming, and purely terror-evoking sound of my young life: click.... click.... click

It wasn't until the clocks were interrupted by giggling that I understood what the sound was: a camera. My eyes shot open to a curtain of blonde hair. I heard more giggling and a few more snaps. I knew what I had to do.

I waited for a few seconds more and sat straight up, shouting. Polly and Alice jumped, and Alice out her hand over her heart, and Polly put hers on her stomach. They were both gasping for air. Mission accomplished.

I laughed harder than I had in a long time.

"I'm sorry, but I do believe that's payback! Polly, are you okay?" I asked, wiping away the tears.

For a moment, hey both stared at me wide eyed, before they, too, began to laugh.

"Yeah I'm fine, that was good Jug!" Polly replied.

"What's with all of the laughing?" Betty asked groggily, sitting up.

We explained the situation to her through our laughter. My stomach literally began to hurt from all of the laughing.

"So... you were taking pictures of us?" Betty asked.

"Yes, dear, you two looked so precious!" Alice explained, showing us the pictures.

You almost couldn't see Betty for my body wrapped around her. It was pretty adorable.

"Whatever!" Betty said, falling back onto the bed. I kissed her on the top of the head.

"Get some rest." I told her.

After that, I followed Alice and Polly down to the kitchen, where two plates covered in tin foil sat on the counter top.

"We went ahead and ate breakfast, as we didn't want to wake you up. I hope you won't mind warming it up." Alice told me.

"I'm sure it'll be fine!" I said, "I really appreciate you guys letting me stay the night here last night!"

"It's no problem, really, I mean, you did bring Betty home!" Said Polly.

I smiled at them.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked.

As I ate warmed up eggs and bacon with Betty, I told her about the day.

We'd go to the grocery store for the week's groceries, pick up some prescriptions for the girls, run a few more errands, then come home and eat.

I know it sounded kind of boring, but I was actually really excited. It was almost as if I was part of a family.

Betty stood on a bar along the bottom of the buggy, holding onto the handle. I had my arms on either side of her and pushed the buggy as Alice, with her mile long list, and Polly walked beside us.

Once, all three of the girls were looking at a box of crackers. None of them were paying attention when I pushed Betty, causing her to almost tumble into the buggy.

She let out a squeak, and I wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her from falling. She jumped onto the ground, and pushed me by my shoulder lightly.

"Jughead Jones!" She semi-shouted.

"Just get back on the buggy!" I told her.

Alice and Polly looked on, shaking their heads at us.

At the pharmacy, Alice "hissed" at us to behave.

"The grocery store was all fun and games, but this is a professional environment so please act your best!" She said in a total mom voice.

Betty rolled her eyes, and whispered, "That was what she said when we were younger."

We did what she said, however, and didn't act out as they picked up the medicines.

For the rest of the day, we mostly stayed in the car, except for Alice who was running errands.

Once we drove past Riverdale's hospital, and Polly pointed at it.

"Look, guys! That's where I'm having my babies!" She exclaimed, excitedly.

Betty and I smiled at her, and I think her excitement rubbed off on us, as we were giddy the entire way home.

I volunteered to cook dinner that night, to show my appreciation for all the Cooper's had done for me. We were having spaghetti.

I put the water onto boil, then began to gather all of the ingredients for the sauce when I heard Betty scream at the top of her lungs.

I turned the stove off and ran into the living room, where Polly sat on the couch, breathing ridiculously heavy. Betty was on her needs on the ground next to her, trying to talk to her, and Alice was speaking rapidly into the phone.

"Betty, what's wrong?" I asked, climbing on the couch next to her sister. Betty looked up at me,

"I think Polly's going into labor!"

Before I could reply, Polly let out an awful howl. Alice hung up the phone.

"Ok, Polly, that was the hospital. They're preparing your room. Let's have this baby!"

With that, we all shifted into an entirely new gear. Betty ran upstairs to get our things, as I helped the young soon-to-be mother out to the car, which her mother had waiting.

On the way to the hospital, Betty coached Polly on breathing exercises I'm sure she learned in a birthing class. The entire situation was a blur.

The next thing I knew, they were wheeling Polly back to her room. I stopped at the door.

"I'll be in the waiting room if you need me." I told my girlfriend.

"Okay." She told me, smiling.

I sat in the waiting room for an hour, writing on my laptop, when Betty walked in, knocking on the open door.

I shut my laptop and put it in the chair next to me as she sat in the chair on the other side of me.

"They said it would be a few hours before Polly is ready to have them." She relayed the information to me in a hoarse voice, probably from the stress and yelling.

"How's Polly doing?" I asked.

"Well, she's in a lot of pain, but she seems to be coping." Betty answered.

"Well, I didn't get to cook, so do you want to run to the cafeteria and eat?" I offered.

"Sure." She replied.

After checking on Alice and Polly, we headed down to the cafeteria to grab a bite.

We got there at 9:30, which was thirty minutes before it closed.

Once we got our food, we sat at a table next to a window. There, next to the glass, it felt almost like a normal night. As if there was no Polly a few floors up, experiencing unimaginable pain. As if there wasn't bruises covering Betty's arms like telling tattoos. As if the snake, quite literally on my back, meant nothing here.

As if we were just Jughead and Betty, who wrote for the Blue and Gold and created murder boards, and our secrets were different but no less sinister. No less dangerous. With that being said, things felt better then. We could ignore our state of fragility and the way life and death kissed like children grappling for an understanding of true love.

Now, there was, in fact, a pair of babies preparing to enter the world. They would for some time no nothing if the truths we learned to endure with each passing day, and nothing of their twisted ancestry and the morality of their conception.

Now, Betty winced when something so much as brushed up against her arm. She tried to ignore her own pain and the way she shook when she slid on her pink cardigan and tied up her hair. She tried to ignore her reflection, showing the truth of the last few days.

Now, the nurses tried and failed to hide their surprise when a Southside Serpent traipsed into their hospital with the perfect girl next door and her family. Now, I was marked with a sign that sealed my fate with each day that passed.

Now, Riverdale had changed, and nothing would ever replace that.