Love Him Like He's Yours [FPJones] [JugheadJones] [O.F.C]

2012 - Part Two

The first time Jughead Jones ever moved to a new home, he was eleven years old.

It wasn't a big move.

It was actually just from one end of Sunnyside to the other, but it was still a move nonetheless. To Jughead, it seemed like so much time and effort being put into something that was clearly going to be a downgrade for his family.

On the morning of their actual moving day, his dad would stumble out of their first home for the last time. With his noticeably swollen red-rimmed eyes and pale shaking hands, Jughead couldn't pinpoint  what the previous night had entailed for FP but he could tell his Dad was exhausted and pushing himself to the limit to get the move over with.

Luckily for them, after giving Jughead a ride home from a game night at their house, Fred and Archie Andrews would stay to help their friends load boxes and bins into the back of their truck before returning to the Northside.

With extra hands pitching in, Jughead watched as the last traces of all their time spent in the doublewide were erased within an hour.

It was finally happening. They were moving from the only place Jughead had ever lived in his whole life, to an older, smaller unit in the farthest, most southern corner of Sunnyside Trailer Park.

It was still close by, but it was far from the same. The two bedroom singlewide was older than his parents, and the so-called "yard" was just patches of sharp gravel and overgrown weeds.

They hadn't had much to begin with, but Jughead knew that it'd been theirs and that had been enough. Now they were going to have even less.

But Jughead didn't want to say anything of the sort in front of his Dad. He knew that his Mom didn't seem to care much, and his sister Jellybean was still young enough to not really notice the differences, but Jughead knew how badly his Dad hadn't wanted to move. He knew giving up their nicer trailer had been hard on his Dad and he didn't want to make it worse.

Which had been one of the reasons why Jughead had put his investigation on hold. Since learning of their impending move, Jughead had taken a temporary break from trying to uncover more details about the hidden beanie and the mysterious girl who had worn it.

When all of their belongings had been successfully moved over, and his mother had begun unpacking in the new place, his Dad would quietly ask him to go for a ride. Jughead would find it curious and say yes without hesitation. He hoped to himself that he could find a way to cheer his Dad up.

Climbing into the old pickup truck, Jughead would flop down onto the passenger seat, embracing the silence as he waited for his Dad to speak first.

He could tell something was off. This truck ride felt different somehow. Jughead peered out the window and felt his eyebrows inch towards his hairline when he saw the truck speed past the Southside's city limit sign.

His Dad would suddenly jerk the steering wheel to the left and almost immediately, they plunged forward into an unnatural angle as the truck navigated a steep decline through invasive brush on a winding unfinished road.

The truck rolled to a stop and Jughead watched his Dad hop out and start to walk further ahead. After a few steps, he would turn back and gesture with his head for Jughead to follow.

Catching up to his Dad in the tall grass growing beyond the truck, Jughead was becoming more and more confused. His Dad had never brought him to this place before. He couldn't help himself, he just had to ask.

"Hey Dad, where are we? What is this place?"

Before he had finished speaking, Jughead would literally stumble upon his answer. Just beyond the tall wild grass, was a small clearing. At the far edge, tucked away beneath a thick sprawling tree, was a single headstone.