Archie and Jughead

The white van

Monday morning, in school, Archie was constantly thinking about Jughead. He could barely concentrate, especially during the lessons he and Jughead spent together. They hadn't told anyone yet, so they had to act like nothing had happened all day. Archie thought about telling Bettie or Veronica. But then he remembered Bettie's shocked face and Veronica's outburst of laughter the night of their kiss. Maybe he should tell Kevin. He would understand them, and why they wanted it to stay a secret. Archie decided to talk this over with Jughead the next time they were alone. They wanted to meet at Pop's after school, just Jughead and Archie. Archie counted the seconds until then. 

Jughead's last lesson ended earlier than Archie's. He decided to wait at Pop's until Archie arrived. He walked there by himself, since nine of his other friends were out of school yet. The café was only a few streets away and it didn't take Jughead very long to reach the last corner before he could see it. 

As he continued to walk down the lonely street, a white van without back windows pulled up behind him. Jughead expected it to accelerate after the turn, but it didn't. Immediately, Jughead started to feel uneasy. The car was slowly getting closer. Jughead started walking faster, and as the car continued following him, he broke into a run. He only had to reach the next corner, he thought, there would be people on the next street. But before he could reach the corner the car sped past and then pulled over right in front of him, blocking his path. Jughead stopped dead in his tracks, breathing heavily. As he was starting to turn around to run into the other direction, the door of the van opened. Before Jughead could get further away than two steps, someone bigger than him grabbed him and forced him back towards the open van. Jughead struggled and kicked, but the other person was stronger than him and it didn't take long until he got pushed into the van. The door closed and Jughead was pushed to the ground. The hand that had been clamped over his mouth to stop him from screaming was replaced by a dirty rag by a second pair of hands. The second person must have been waiting in the van while Jughead was grabbed. This person tied rope around his wrists and ankles, then a dark cloth was pulled over his head and Jughead couldn't see anymore. He hadn't been able to get a look at his attackers, either. He was left alone, lying on the floor of the van, and then he heard the engine start.