Weirdo - Jughead Jones

14: Research

I had almost forgotten about my dad's disappearance, even though it had been so recent. Because when I woke up the next morning, all I could think about was Jughead Jones III.

How I would be seeing him at school in a matter of minutes. How we would talk and be together. How we may or may not share the events of last night with the rest of our friends. How it would be our new secret.

I avoided my mom as I made my way out of the house. She probably would have asked how I was feeling or what I thought, and I didn't want to answer those kind of questions. I didn't see her, which meant that she was still in her room.

I found Betty outside of her house and joined her. "Hey, B."

She turned to me and smiled. "Maddie! What's going on?"

"Not much."

"Really? Because you look unusually happy today."

"Do I? I don't think so. It's probably the light."

Betty smiled curiously but didn't ask more questions. When we walked her smile faded. "So, um, last night," she began. So many things happened last night. "Did you know about Archie and Ms. Grundy?"

I frowned. "Yeah. I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I looked at her, guilt burning in my stomach. "Betty, I'm sorry. I know you were broken up about Archie. But I sort of just caught him. He didn't tell me. And he told me not to repeat it to anyone. It was his secret to keep."

Betty nodded, her green eyes directed at the ground. "Yeah. You're right. It's none of my business. But I'm worried about him, Mads."

"So am I," I admitted. "It's like she's controlling him or something."

"Yeah...." Betty looked up in thought.

"What are you plotting?" I teased. We turned into the entrance at school.

"I have an idea. See you later?"

"Yeah, sure."

She walked off in the direction of the Blue and Gold offices. As I walked I found a dark haired boy with a beanie down the hallway. I went to meet him just as Archie approached him.

"Hey," said Archie. "How hard would it have been for a heads-up?"

"Archie, not saying anything was the most moral, apathetic choice I could have made." Jughead defended himself.

"What if she's writing about me and Grundy in the paper? Like she did with Chuck?"

"Archie," I joined. "Betty would never do that."

"Betty would never do anything that could possibly hurt you," Jug added. "But where do you see yourself? What do you see with Grundy in the long run?"

"I don't know," Archie admitted. "For now I just want to hold on to what we have."

I bit my lip and nodded. Archie was in over his head. I didn't know what I could do to help him.

* * * *

"So where are you going today?"

"To see Mayor McCoy," Jughead sighed. "And try to get her to save the Drive-In." He looked at me from across the booth and laughed when he saw my expression. "I know. I'm crazy. But I can't just let it go without a fight. It's like a home to me."

I nodded, admiring his passion for the place. "Well, tomorrow night will be my first drive-in experience."

He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "You've never been to a drive-in?" I shook my head. "I wish I could be your date but I don't have a car and I sorta have to play the movie."

"That's okay. I'll go with Kevin and Veronica."

"I'll make sure you get a free soda and popcorn, though."

"Ooh, is that the perk of being the projector's girlfriend?"

"Among others," Jughead smiled. I could swear I saw a blush. "But yes." He went back to typing on his computer.

I sort of just stared at him for a while, sipping my milkshake.

After a few minutes he shut his computer. I blushed when he caught me staring and he smirked. "I should go before the mayor's office closes."

"Okay."

"Need a walk home?"

At that moment I saw Archie, Betty, and Veronica enter Pop's. "Nah. I'll see what these kids are up to." I stood up and joined him. "They aren't looking...." I said quietly. Jughead smirked and held my cheek as he leaned in to kiss me. He lingered for a moment before pulling away. I smiled. "Okay. Go protest."

He nodded and left, the smile still on his face. I walked to the booth where the rest of the gang were. "What's going on?" I noticed a folder Betty had laid on the table as I sat next to Archie.

"I just did some research," Betty answered. "On Ms. Grundy."

I thought this was odd, but I listened to what she had to say.

"She showed up out of thin air," Betty explained. "There's no record of her life before she moved here. All of her social media accounts were created a year ago. It's like she didn't exist before that. The only Geraldine Grundy I could find before that was an elderly woman that died seven years ago." She pushes forward a newspaper clipping of a Geraldine Grundy's obituary.

"Why are you telling me this?" Archie spoke up. "Why does it matter?"

"Archie, she also taught Jason Blossom."

"She taught a lot of people," Archie defended.

"Archie, she's just looking out for you," I told him. "She's worried. We all are."

"I'm not in danger. And if you guys really care about me, you'll let this go." He looked from Betty, to Veronica, and to me.

I could tell that Betty wasn't ready to let it go.