The Cuckoo Clock

Part One: Chapter One

The fan in the room buzzed with life as 15 year old Jughead Jones lay on his bed, beanie off, tank top and shorts on. It was an unusually hot day for the small city of Riverdale. The temperature was at almost 101° Fahrenheit. Jughead sighed. He wiped the sweat off of his burning forehead, as his dad walked into the room.

"Hey, Jug, you all packed?" He asked, lingering in the doorway.

"Yea, but, I have a few more notebooks to pack, so I'll be down in a second." He answered, sitting up.

His dad bit his thumbnail. "I don't feel comfortable letting you move in with your Aunt Rose." He said uncomfortably, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Jughead sighed. "Dad, I think I'll be fine. Its only in Lima... it's not like she's a murderer." He explained, grabbing the leftover notebooks on the floor and shoving them into a box that contained his pencil cases and laptop.

His dad shrugged and headed down the stairs.

His dad and his Aunt Rose had been quarreling since his Aunt Rose had married her current husband, Liam Stoll and moved to Lima Ohio. His Aunt Rose was an interesting woman. She had 3 cats, lived for going to church and believed her basement and the Cuckoo Clock on the wall inside were haunted. Jughead looked like his aunt except for the fact she is a thick lady and has hazel eyes instead of green. She has the same thick black hair that she wears in a neck length bob and she has, unlike Jughead, a variety of freckles on her nose and cheeks.

She's a sweet woman though, even if she is a little nutty. Jughead thought, shoving the last notebook into the box and sealing it.

"Your Uncle Liam is here to pick you up!" His dad called from the bottom of the stairs. Jughead sighed, clicked off the fan, immediately regretting it, placed it in the corner of the now empty room, put his beanie back on, despite the heat, and headed down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs stood a tall, tan skinned man, he had untidy hazel hair and dark chocolate brown eyes, so dark you could barely see the pupil, he had a pair of thick framed black glasses resting on his face, and a thick hazel beard which was untidy with curls.

He realized he was slouching and stood up straight. "Ready to go?" He asked, gripping the handle of Jughead's black suitcase.

Jughead nodded.

"Your cousins Travis and Connor are in the car waiting." He motioned toward the door.

Jughead laughed. His cousins, Travis and Connor were twins, both sporting thick, curly black hair, a mess of freckles, and his aunt's hazel eyes. Travis also sported thick framed red glasses.

"Jug, be on your best behavior. I'll be over to visit as soon as the police and I crack this case." His dad hugged him, making him sweatier than he already was.

His dad was a detective working on the Jason Blossom case.

"I will, dad." He answered, not daring to break the embrace, despite how hot he was.

"Promise me you'll stay out of trouble?"

"I promise, dad."

They stayed hugging for a few minutes until Liam cleared his throat.

"We might want to get going if we want to miss 5:00 traffic and be home in time for dinner." He grumbled, his grip on Jughead's suitcase tightening.

Jughead's dad nodded. "I'll make sure I don't miss your birthday, Jug, I'll show up and we'll have dinner or something." He patted Jughead's shoulder.

Jughead focused on the tennis shoes on his feet, making sure his dad and uncle don't realize he's tearing up.

"Let's go now." Liam demanded, opening the door and pushing Jughead outside. "FP... always a pleasure." He dipped his head at Jughead's dad before walking out to the car, pushing Jughead in front of him.