LAST SUMMER [ARCHIE ANDREWS] - DISCONTINUED

twenty-five

"WHAT IS it, Arch?"

Archie had frozen underneath the concerned eyes of his friends. "There's something I haven't told you... cause I'm so ashamed..." The paper from his burger was trembling in his hands. "After the guy fired, I-I should've rushed to my dad right away..." Kara watched him intently as he told them the story.

"Or I should've tackled him o-or something... But I was paralyzed. I didn't move, not even when he walked up to me and held a gun to my head." Kara suddenly got this horrifying image of her boyfriend's entire body trembling, his eyes squeezed shut with a gun to his head. "I-I don't know how long I closed my eyes, long enough for him to take my dad's wallet I guess..." He looked at Kara shamefully. "But I didn't open them until I heard the bell ring, which meant he was gone..." Archie glanced at his burger, his appetite suddenly disappearing. The group was silent, waiting for him to get to the bad part. But Archie stayed silent.

"Archie, there was nothing else you could've done," Kara crooned, placing her hand on his. Betty looked at Jughead nodding in agreement. "That's not true, I... I could've done anything to comfort my dad, to get the gun away from the guy... I was a coward," he lamented, "This Guy has my dad's wallet, all of his information..." He glanced up with a gleam of fear in his eyes.

"What if he comes back?"

-/-

"It feels crazy to be doing a biology project in all this mess," Kara laughed, swinging a leg over the side of Jughead's motorcycle. Jughead snorted, taking off his helmet and hanging it on the handlebars as he stood. "Yeah, well at least Mr. Andrews is going to be okay."

That settled her nerves a little, remembering that Archie's dad has woken up from surgery and would be ready to go home tomorrow. That's why her next priority was finished this project at Jughead's trailer. "So... You think she'll care that's it's a few weeks late-"

Jughead lips froze as he stared through the door into his trailer. Two men stood with bloodied fists and another day in between them, tied to a chair with duck tape. Kara didn't recognize him- how could she? His face was a blue and red mess. "What the heck?!" Jughead exclaimed, slamming the door shut behind her. Kara jumped, her eyes as big as saucers. "Jughead... what..."

One of the men set his jaw, the other started to speak. "Went out like you asked. This guy was holding court in the Whyte Wyrm," he said, gesturing towards the man in the chair, "Talking about how if Freddy Andrews was gonna let that Hermione Lodge run the show, fire his crew, then it was good he was gut-shot." Kara's mind was swirling. Who were these men, and what did Jughead ask them to do? Were they Serpents?

"So we thought we might press him a bit, see if he was all talk." Jughead shook his head, expecting. "And-?"

"Turns out he's just a loud mouth," the one with the mullet shrugged. Jughead scoffed in bewilderment, running his hands over his head. "Then why bring him here if he didn't even do anything?!"