Smokestacks - Jughead Jones [1] ✔

Chapter Twenty-Two

SMOKESTACKS

CHAPTER | TWENTY-TWO

It was just after twelve on a cold winter night, the street lights were beaming down against the concrete, lighting the way for a few stragglers out past their bedtime.

Most teenagers had made their way to one of the many after parties that happened after each school dance, but there was a group of teens who had decided instead, to look for one friend that had taken off into the night.

One girl was walking along the edge of the sidewalk, balancing daintily as she watched her feet cross over each other, each step feeling like a tidal wave, ready to knock her off into the unforgiving ocean.

Her hand was held up to her face, pressing the phone against her ear. "Jughead." She sighed, voice full of worry and distress, "Please, just call me back."

She'd left too many voicemails to count, wondering how many until it was full. Somehow, thinking of her other friends who were just as concerned, she thought it would happen quite soon.

Veronica had texted her, saying how sorry she was that she'd been dragged into their mess. Savannah hadn't replied.

Still in her blue dress and black flats, Savannah wondered whether her brother would be worried about her. Probably not. He'd assume that she was out having fun with her friends.

How wrong he would be.

Her phone vibrated and Savannah's heart leapt at the thought that it could be Jughead.

Found him. He's at Pop's. - Betty.

A wave of relief washed over Savannah and she hopped off the sidewalk and onto the road, feeling the stress lift off her shoulders.

The girl set out in the direction of Pop's. She hadn't exactly been looking for him rather than hoping he'd come to her. If he didn't want to talk then she couldn't make him, Jughead wasn't that trusting, especially after his friends betrayed him.

But if Betty had already found him then she was going to see him.

The large 24 hour sign was familiar to her, giving her a sense of comfort. She came here almost every day, either to work or sit with Jughead as he wrote. However as their world started to spin around them, they'd had less time to do the simple things. Like have coffee.

Savannah recalled the empty offer of getting dinner with Cheryl Blossom.

Had the girl meant it? She wasn't sure, but it definitely wasn't likely after that stunt she had pulled at Archie's house on Jughead's birthday. Betty had cried in her room all weekend.

Savannah could see the group stand just as she arrived, all of them coming toward her quickly. Betty latched onto her hand and tugged her right back out the door that she walked through and into the cold once more.

"We're going to the police station." She told her hastily, eyes flickering to Jughead with worry every few seconds, his face unreadable. "The gun wasn't there when Veronica and Archie searched it. He's being framed."

And despite their story, while it may be the truth, FP Jones confessed to Jason Blossom's murder all the same, unable to look his son in the eye as he walked past in handcuffs, now branded a murderer.

*

School.

It seemed so trivial after the events that had unfolded. Jughead's father was in prison for killing Jason Blossom, a crime that he did not commit. And yet, there it sat, a newspaper on the top of a plastic cafeteria table - the article that blamed him, with his face for all to see.