Weirdo - Jughead Jones

7: Secrets

Jason Blossom's body was found by Kevin Keller and a boy people called Moose at the banks of Sweetwater River. He had been shot, the bullet wound on his forehead. Until then we had all thought he'd drowned.

The news had spread to many, along with multiple rumors. I heard students whispering about the discovery as I walked through the school. I hadn't seen Betty or Archie yet, but my eyes fell on another familiar face.

"Watch it, Wednesday Adams." A jock in a varsity jacket laughed as he intentionally rammed into Jughead Jones. Jughead said nothing, wearing a look of disinterest as he passed them.

When he saw me he almost looked embarrassed. He joined me. "Hey."

"Hi. You heard what happened?"

"Jason's body. Yeah." He nodded. "A murder in a perfect town." We started walking together as more students filed in. "Archie's pretty cranky. I'm guessing things didn't go well with Betty?"

I chuckled. "Well, she let him walk her to school, so I'd assume things are fine. Not sure why Arch would be pmsing."

"Wait." Suddenly he stopped, his eyebrows pulling together before realization crossed his face. "Archie." He turned to me. "Remember that road trip I told you about?"

"Yeah. The one he bailed on."

"Yeah. We planned it for fourth of July weekend."

"Oh, shit," I mumbled. "Archie?"

* * * *

The day got weirder as it got later.

There were suspicions that Cheryl had been the one who killed her brother. She had been the one who said he'd drowned in the river. Every time I heard people whispering about who could have been Jason's killer I shuddered, thinking of Archie. I'd avoided him the whole day. I was scared to look at him after hearing what Jughead had said.

"Why would he do this?" I asked Jughead when we met again in the hallway.

He shook his head. "No idea. Captain of the football team, perhaps?"

"Did you talk to him?"

"Caught him in the bathroom. He looked stressed out."

"What did he say?"

"When I asked him about the road trip, he just said he couldn't talk and he walked out."

I let out a deep breath. "God, Archie...."

Jughead stopped and after a moment of thought walked back to the music room, which we'd just passed. He looked at me curiously before turning to the long, rectangular window in the center of the door. I joined him at the window and was shocked at the scene I found while looking through.

There were Archie and Ms. Grundy, the music teacher, standing unnaturally close. She held his hand between them, getting closer by the second in their intimate moment. Jughead and I stepped back, sharing a look of confusion.

Archie, what have you gotten into?

* * * *

"So what are you writing?"

"A novel." He sipped his coffee. "It's about Jason's death. I started it a few days ago." We were sitting in a booth at Pop's, and he was typing. With everything that was happening with Archie, Jughead decided it would be nice to get away for a little bit. I didn't hesitate when he invited me to join.

"What made you want to write about him?"

He looked at me for a second before smiling. "As you know, I'm a weirdo and I don't talk a whole lot. And I guess that, for all of the times I could express my thoughts through spoken words, I express them through written words. It's just easier for me, y'know?"