Weirdo - Jughead Jones

8: Making Up

The next time we saw Archie was in the lounge at school. I arrived at the room, and the first person I saw was Jughead leaning against the counter with crossed arms, looking with resentment at Archie, who was having trouble with the vending machine.

"What was it like, Suicide Squad?" I heard Reggie saying. He was turned in his seat, smiling at Jughead, who shut his eyes like he could barely tolerate such idiocy. "When you shot Jason? You didn't do stuff to the body, did you? Like, after?"

"It's called necrophilia, Reggie." Jughead didn't move from his position but raised his eyebrows as if he were teaching a five-year-old. "Can you spell it?" It was pretty hot.

I stayed back, not wanting to get in the middle of a fight. Reggie jumped up, Jughead also moved forward, but Archie got between them. "Just shut the hell up, Reggie."

"What do you care, Andrews?"

"Nothing. Just leave him alone."

"Holy crap." Reggie had his stupid smile again. "Did you and Donnie Darko kill him together? Or was it some sort of pervy, blood-brother thing?"

Archie shoved him.

I was surprised that he was standing up for his former friend even after the fight last night. I could tell by the look on Jughead's face that he was also taken aback. Maybe Archie was coming around.

But Reggie responded, shoving him back harder and into the vending machine. The glass shattered. That side of the room was a blur as Jug tried to pull Reggie off of Archie and another jock tried to pull Jug away. Everyone in the lounge stood up in shock. The fight ended with Archie on the floor, knocked out.

The jocks fled as I walked towards Archie. "We should get him to the nurse's office," I said to Jughead. "Give me a hand?" He nodded and helped me pull Archie up. "Jesus Christ," I muttered under his weight. "Okay." We got one of Archie's arms around my shoulder and the other around Jughead's. "What the hell was that? Why would Reggie think you killed Jason?" We walked out of the lounge and toward the office.

"He found a new way to have fun with people who don't want to play with him," Jug answered with disinterest.

"Are you okay? Unscathed?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

When we reached the nurse's office we could barely support Archie anymore. The nurse led us to a cot where we almost dropped him. We explained what had happened, and the nurse said that she would call Archie's dad.

"Hey." Jughead turned to me when we left the office.

"What?"

"I want to show you something."

"What is it?"

"You'll see."

"Ugh."

"Come on." He smiled and started walking. I followed him up stairs, down hallways, around corners, and then he stopped. "Here it is." He opened a door to a classroom.

I walked in curiously. "Wow. An empty classroom. And?" He walked in behind me and smiled as if I was missing something. I looked around and my eyes fell on a human sized half-cylinder sticking out of the wall. "Is that a darkroom door?"

He walked to it and got inside of the curved space, turning himself and the door until he was out of sight. The opening turned back around without him in it, showing that he'd stepped out on the other side. I got in the small space and held the bar, turning one hundred eighty degrees. I was in pitch blackness. I felt in front of me to make sure I was on the other side, and felt it move past the barrier of the door.