I Got You || Jughead Jones

The Sweet Hereafter // Part Three

After an hour of cuddling, Jughead and I finally decided to go to the jubilee. I didn't bother changing except I did put leggings on instead of sweatpants. We walked through the snow, telling jokes and stories. Christmas was so close and that was one thing I would've missed the most. My favorite holiday was hands down, Christmas. Winter was my favorite season and the holiday just so happened to fit in perfectly.

We walked into the event a few minutes before it started. Jughead stood by me in the back before he grabbed my arm.

"I'll be back in a bit. Will you be okay here?" He kept glancing towards the door.

I nodded. "Be careful, okay?"

He smiled at me and nodded curtly before taking off. Mayor McCoy asked for everyone to take their seats. The crowd followed her command and quieted down. She talked for a bit before introducing the Pussycats and Archie to the stage. I saw his right hand, his playing hand, wrapped in a cast like Jughead's.

Oh my God, Archie.

Josie took the front mic as soon as the clapping stopped. "Hi, hi, everyone. We're switching things up tonight. We are singing a song that my boy, Archie Andrews, wrote. So..."

Josie stepped away from the mic to let Archie take her spot as she moved over by Veronica. Valerie started the song off before Archie joined on the guitar. I listened, amazed by the fact that one of my best friends had such an amazing talent. Songwriting was a beautiful gift. Archie loved music, as did I, and we both knew that he could change the world with it.

The song ended after a few minutes. I attempted to cheer loudly but my voice still didn't want to cooperate with me. Betty took the stage next looking extremely nervous. She had gone through her speech with me a million times and I knew she was going to do amazing, as always.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to thank Mayor McCoy for inviting me to speak on this historic day." She turned to the side stage to smile. "Seventy-five years of Riverdale.."

Jughead appeared at my side at that moment, looking like he just ran a mile. Betty stopped talking to smile at us before continuing.

"But what is Riverdale? It's the people, right? You, me, our friends, our neighbors. Riverdale is Archie Andrews." She turned to the side to look at Archie as a few people cheered. "Kevin Keller is Riverdale. Veronica Lodge, she's Riverdale. Savanna Marrows is especially Riverdale. But you know who else is Riverdale? FP Jones, who we were so quick to blame for Jason's murder."

People in the crowd starting talking and shifting at Betty's words. I smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. This town needed the truth more than anything. If nobody else would do it, Betty would.

"Jughead Jones is Riverdale, the very soul of Riverdale. Without him, we may not have ever found out what happened to Jason. And yet how do we thank him? By banishing him. Which is what we do when the truth gets too ugly in Riverdale. Truth being," Betty took a deep breath, "Clifford Blossom was also Riverdale. Riverdale's at a crossroads. If we don't face the reality of who and what we are, if we keep lying to ourselves and keeping secrets from each other, then what happened to Jason could happen again. Or, God forbid, something even worse. Riverdale must do better. We must do better."

A moment of silence passed and I could see Betty shifting from foot to foot. Jughead tossed his jacket to the ground and clapped first. I followed second, using my fingers in my mouth to whistle. Kevin stood up, followed by a few others, and eventually, the whole room was clapping. I saw Betty's sister and mom stand as others got to their feet.

Riverdale could be so, so much better. It all starts with a spark. It was clear to me, at this moment, Betty Cooper was our spark.

--

As usual, we found ourselves in a booth at Pop's with milkshakes in hand. Veronica was practically on top of Archie on their side as she capped the sharpie marker.

"To Archie Andrews, who saved the cheerleader and saved the town." She beamed at him.

Archie shook his head, "You know what, actually I think it was Betty's speech."

Betty turned pink as I nudged her shoulder. "Here's to Betty Cooper."

All of our glasses clinked together in a toast. For that time, we were all kids. We didn't have a care in the world about anything but us. We had been through more than any other group of friends, that was for sure but I wouldn't change it for a thing.

Jughead and I eventually left together. He said he wanted to hang out a bit, alone, which we hadn't done in a while so I agreed. When we walked in his dad's trailer, my jaw dropped.

"Jug, it looks great in here." I spun around to see the entire area.

Jughead locked the door behind us. "I cleaned it up after Sheriff Keller trashed it. Just in case my dad..."

I kept walking forward, "Until he gets out, I'm not giving up on him, Jug. None of us are."

"Hell no." I heard him toss something on the couch. "That is why I love you, Savanna."

My eyes widened slightly at his words. We had said we loved each other but never in person. I spun around to see him staring at me, his beanie tossed aside. "I love you, Savanna Marrows."

I walked closer to him. "Jughead Jones, I love you." I laughed quietly before grabbing him and pulling us together. Our lips collided and I could tell there was more to this. Lust, passion, love. We weren't just playing around anymore.

Suddenly, he reached down to grab my legs earning a squeal from me. He carried me with his good arm into the kitchen and set me on the counter as we kissed again. His tongue swiped across my lip before slipping in my mouth. I kicked my shoes off as he grabbed my sweatshirt and slid it over my head. I retaliated by grabbing his sweater and pulling it off too, adding it to the clothes on the floor. I grabbed the sides of his neck gently. Skin was on skin, lips on lips, and there was nothing but love between us.

A pounding on the door had us scrambling apart. Fear filled my body as Jughead jumped in his spot. He quickly reached down and grabbed his shirt as I struggled to get the sweatshirt back over my head.

"Is that your sister?"

I groaned, "Fucking Ronnie being a cockblock."

Jughead tried to make himself look somewhat presentable before pulling the door open. I heard a dog barking and someone talking. From what I could see, there were a bunch of guys outside. A jacket was tossed into Jughead's arms. He looked at the people before sliding it across his shoulders.

My eyes caught the back of the leather jacket. Southside Serpents. "Jug?"

His cloudy eyes met mine as we stared at each other. He looked back at the Serpents in front of him and thanked them before coming back inside. The mood was instantly killed as he stood in front of me.

"I would say that leather jacket made you ten times hotter, and it does, but what just happened?" I grabbed Jughead's arm.

He looked at me before gently grabbing my chin and pressing a kiss to my forehead. He stepped back and stretched his arms out, admiring the jacket. "This means something, Sav. I-I think...I like to think that everything's going to be okay."

I smiled at him before stepping forward and pulling him into a hug. If Jughead thought things were turning around, that was saying something. Maybe he was right. Maybe this was the start of a new beginning.

And in our minds, it was, until a call from Betty sent everything spiraling back down. Down, down, down into what felt like Hell. Nobody was safe anymore. Riverdale had been broken beyond repair. What used to be a small town filled with happiness and joy, had now been reduced to a war zone.

Riverdale was falling apart, one family at a time.