Shedding Our Skin {Jughead Jones}{Bughead}

Chapter Twelve

I walked into the night, and he was standing at the end of the hospital's steps.

"Everything ok with the girl, kid?" He asked.

"Yes, her sister's about to have twins." I told him, with a touch of pride. "What's wrong?"

"It's the Serpents. Pug's been saying some nasty things, son. That now that your girl's safe, you're gone. And that he should take FP's place." He told me.

"Maybe that's for the best. I don't know how to lead a gang, I'm about to start my junior year of high school, I'm just not sure I can help you guys."

"You don't understand, Jug, he's violent. Wants to shoot first, ask questions later. Anything for his next fix. He's going to destroy us." He said.

"Well can't you guys stop him?" I asked.

"Some of the Serpents agree with him."

"How many?"

"About half." He sounded nervous, "It's already beginning to tear the Serpents apart."

"When is the next meeting, Donny?" I asked.

"Day after tomorrow."

"I'll be there." I promised.

"Be careful." He said, walking to his truck.

"And watch out for that girl."

I was still shivering when I walked back upstairs to the waiting room.

Betty was sound asleep in a chair, and our friends were speaking quietly.

"Any word?" I asked. Everyone shook their heads at me.

"I think I may go check on her. Maybe Alice will be outside." I told them.

"Has Polly thought about any names, Jughead?" Kevin asked politely.

"What is wrong?" I asked them. "You're acting strange."

"Nothing, Jug, we're just afraid for you." Archie said.

"What with Polly, and now the Serpents, and Betty. Are you okay?" Veronica asked gently.

"Guys. I'm fine. Don't make it weird." I said.

They all looked at each other and shrugged.

"Got any 7s?"

"Go fish."

We had been there for an hour and a half. It wasn't until thirty minutes in that Kevin remembered he has some cards in his truck.

As we ran out of games to play, the anxiety in the room rose.

"It shouldn't be taking this long." Veronica muttered.

"Maybe she wasn't ready, like they thought." Cheryl suggested.

"Maybe there's something seriously wrong." I said nervously.

"Jug. Polly, Betty, and the babies are going to be fine." Archie said.

"I hope so. Just, why is it taking so long?"

We all grew silent, revealing the very apparent truth that no one wanted to admit: No one knew what was happening.

"I mean, I'm sure-" Kevin stuttered. Then, something he saw walking towards the room shut him up, leaving him only able to say one word: "Alice!"

Alice Cooper, tears streaming down her face, walked into the waiting room. I jumped up and hugged her without thinking.

"Wake up Betty!" I shouted.

Alice dissolved into sobs.

"It's okay." I tried to comfort her, "We'll be okay."

"Mom?" Betty asked, sobering from her nap quickly. She rushed over to us and put a hand on her mother's shoulder. She looked at me, eyes filling with tears.

"Mom." She said shakily, "What happened?"

Alice choked out a response in between sobs.

"They're. So. Beautiful."

All of the tension and anxiety from the night miffed away from me in that moment. If only for one second, all was well.

Betty threw herself into my arms and kissed me. It felt different than usual, like maybe she had just experienced the same thing I did. We seemed to kiss for ages, and I fell in love with her deeper than ever before. I truly wanted to fight for this. For her, and my broken, makeshift family I'd found right past my computer screen. For once, I didn't feel a trace of sadness. My personal ocean of angst and depression evaporated, and I had never felt so relieved to be without water.

She pulled away, and looked me in the eyes. Everyone in the room began to clap, causing both of us to turn varying shades of blush and scarlet, two colors I had never been very fond of, but had instantly fallen in love with. I think I could fall in love with any color on her skin.

She looked at her mother sheepishly, "Can we see them?"

Alice led us to Polly's room. "We probably won't have much time, because they'll want to take them to the nursery." She warned us.

She knocked on the open door, "Polly? Betty and Jughead are here. May we come in?"

"Sure thing, Mom." A weak but happy voice spoke from the quiet room.

Betty gasped when she saw her sister, though she was covered in sweat and her hair was a mess, she look uniquely beautiful holding two infants in her arms.

"Oh, Polly, they're precious!" She said, rushing to the new mother.

"Thank you, Auntie Betty!" Polly said giggling. The sound of that put a warm feeling in me.

"They're.... amazing, Polly." Even as a writer, I had ran out of words. Even though they had only just been born, I was able to identify how much they looked like their parents.

"Thank you, Uncle Jughead." She said, beaming. I quickly blinked years out of my eyes, and Betty grabbed my hand, squeezing it for comfort.

"Oh, Polly, tell them the names!" Alice urged.

"Well, there's one boy and one girl. I originally wanted to go with Alice and Jason, after mom and JJ, but I really didn't want to tie them to the Blossoms that directly if I can avoid it, and mom insisted I chose names I liked instead of trying to pick from family names."

"They're taking the name Cooper, which is enough of an honor!" Alice cut in.

"So, instead of that, I chose names that I really loved. Auntie Betty, Uncle Jughead, meet Persephone Briar, and Paris Jason."

Betty gasped and I nearly broke down right there.

"I know they're unique, but I first connected with Jason over our fascination with Greek mythology. It was our secret, because no one else knew that we were interested in it. You don't expect that sort of thing from a couple like us." Polly explained.

"Those are beautiful names, Polly!" Betty reassured her.

"Absolutely wonderful." I agreed.