LAST SUMMER [ARCHIE ANDREWS] - DISCONTINUED

thirty-one

A PILLOW SMACKED Kara in the head and she woke with a start. She didn't open her eyes to see who was snapping her awake, but knew soon enough that it was Jughead.

"Rise and shine, Red," he announced, whopping her head with the pillow again. Kara whined quietly, wrapping the soft blanket from Jughead's bed closer around her shoulders and pulling her knees to her chest. "Five more minutes."

Jughead stripped the covers away. She gasped loudly as the cold air hit her body suddenly and her toes curled. Kara blinked herself awake. "I'm going to kill you." Jughead snorted as he pulled a flannel on over his "S" t-shirt.

"Is the princess finally awake?"

Kara rolled over, her eyes drifting to Toni, who stood in the doorway with a bowl of cereal. "Yeesh. The princess looks like a frog," she commented with a laugh. Kara glared. The redhead sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed to pull on her shoes. In a daze, she had collapsed in Jughead's bed the night before, only having enough energy to remove her shoes. "I'm so exhausted that I can't even bother to be offended at that comment."

"Your mom called," Toni said, tossing Kara's phone into her lap. Kara rubbed the side of her face, sighing. "Ugh. Did we drink last night? I have a massive hangover..."

Toni and Jughead shared a glance. "If by drink you mean sipping on some of those little plastic Kool-Aid bottles."

"Adrenaline got to you," Toni laughed, watching from her spot as Kara stood and started off towards the door. "I put a granola bar in your jacket pocket, along with some ointment to put on the fresh tatt," she continued, shifting her stance to watch Kara stumble into the brightly lit kitchen. Kara sent her a grateful smile as she ran her fingers over the bandage on her forearm. She had almost forgotten about it. "Are you going to talk to Archie?" Jughead asked suddenly, chewing on his bottom lip.

Kara was silent as she moved to take the leather Serpent jacket off of the chair in the kitchen. "No," she said harshly, trying her best to remain stoic.

"So you're just gonna let him... go?" Toni spoke up this time, a weird look on her face. Kara ignored them for a moment, shoving her new serpent skin onto her arms. "Kara... We know how much Archie means to you..." Jughead's voice was timid. Kara closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "You heard him. I had to make a choice, and I chose you guys," she replied with a sharp edge to her tone, "Don't make me regret it."

And with that, she wrenched open the door and left, slamming it shut behind her.

-/-

"Riverdale's best and brightest, huh?"

Kara's green eyes flicked over to where Fred Andrews stood next to his son, a gentle smile on his face, one that didn't match the look on his son's as they caught gazes. She looked away quickly.