Smokestacks - Jughead Jones [1] ✔

Chapter Twenty-Four

SMOKESTACKS

CHAPTER | TWENTY-FOUR

"I told her I wouldn't do it." Betty announced, "Not unless you're up there with us, Jug."

"I appreciate the righteous indignation, Betty, I do." Jughead told her with humour in his tone, "But Jubilees aren't my thing."

"Jug, hows your dad?" Archie asked, taking a bite out of his chicken. "Did you get in to see him?"

"Here's the latest." Jughead started, as if he were spreading around locker room gossip. "Mayor McCoy wants my dad to name names in exchange for a lesser sentence."

"What?" Betty exclaimed, "Who's names?"

"The Serpents. Sheriff Keller thinks they're dealing the drugs that Clifford Blossom brought into town."

"My dad says more and more drugs are hitting the streets." Kevin interjected with a somber expression on his face.

"Kevin, relax." Jughead told him with a scoff, "This isn't The Wire. My dad says they weren't the ones dealing."

"Meanwhile, Mayor McCoy hasn't even said the words Clifford or Blossom in public." Betty contributed, raising her eyebrows as if she should be surprised. "It's all about how the Serpents are the problem. The Villains. This is outrageous, I'm writing an article about this. And not just for the Blue and Gold, for the Register. This is a town story."

"Okay." Jughead said hesitantly, "As long as the article doesn't include my dad."

"No, it is going to be about your dad, Jug." Betty declared firmly, "It doesn't matter how many Jubilees Mayor McCoy throws. This town has changed."

Veronica watched as Betty leaned back with a sigh. "Speaking of the Jubilee. Does anyone know is Savannah is going?"

The group all looked exchanged glanced, each of them coming up blank.

"She won't answer my calls." Jughead admitted, his phone sitting in front of him on the table, attracting his attention every few seconds. "She text me saying not to worry but, what does she expect?"

"It must have been difficult for her." Betty hypothesised, "She watched the boy that she had basically been in a relationship with, get shot by his own dad."

"I'll try and speak to her later." Veronica assured her friend, "I'll try and get her to come to the Jubilee.

Both Betty and Jughead nodded in thanks.

*

As Savannah wandered blindly through the halls of the school, she heard the whisperings of a girl who had written an article defending the Serpents. Her mind was clouded with fog, each locker slam echoing like a gun shot through her ears.

Kyle had made her come back to school. She'd already missed two days.

Savannah guess that the girl who wrote it article was Betty Cooper, one of her closest friends. That she'd tried to defend Jughead's dad as an act of friendship and support, painting a target on her back in return.

She felt two pairs of eyes on her as she walked into the cafeteria, over to their usual table, on the other side of the hall as the table she used to sit at with Piper, her ex-best-friend.

"Savannah!" She heard Veronica cry in surprise, "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Fine." The brunette said, stonily. "What are you two talking about?"

Veronica frowned in concern for the girl, "Uh, just that I'm dating his best friend, so I thought we should get to know each other better."

Savannah quirked an eyebrow, "You and Archie? Congratulations." She didn't sound too joyful.