Jellybean Jones

Chapter 22: Inseparable

Jellybean POV
I watched Jughead as he shut the door behind him. I bit my lip. "Not today." I muttered as I wiped away a tear, but in my defence, what the actual hell? Like yeah, I understand why he was concerned and everything, but did he have to present his concertedness like that? I shook my head. I had been so happy about my writing until I had saw that text and yes, I totally lied about it.

It was from, I don't even want to bring up his name, Ryan. All it said was Girl, why are you leaving me on read?. Part of me wanted to block his number, but for some reason, I just couldn't. I grabbed my notebook and looked at what I had previously written. Falling. Falling fast. Spiralling out of control. There is no control. Everything is too much. No one to help and no safety net at the bottom, but there is no bottom. Falling forever. Falling endlessly. Then it stops. Stops just as quickly as it started. Control is gained once more. It's all over for now.

Now that I read it again, I no longer liked it. How had I thought that was good? I meant for it to describe an anxiety attack, but it just sounded as if I was summing up the beginning or Alice in Wonderland. I glared at it and tore the page out of my notebook. I crumpled it into a tight ball and bitterly threw it onto my nightstand. I was frustrated and I don't think it was just about my writing.

Jughead POV
I felt terrible. Why had I egged her on? I probably just imagined that look on her face. It must've just been a text from Rosie. I sighed and put my head in my hands. I hated when Jellybean was mad or upset at me and when she was, it was always my fault. My phone rang, surprisingly, it was Dad. "Dad? Is everything alright?" I asked as I answered the phone, he never called from work.

"Oh yeah everything's fine. I just wanted to check up on you guys and let you know I'll be home a little later than usual. Is everything alright?" He asked the question I had been completely dreading. "No. I messed up with Jellybean." I said, trying to keep it together. "Jughead, it'll be a cold day in hell before your little sister stays mad at you for more than an hour." He reassured. "It'll be fine." He added.

"Thanks Dad. I'll see you soon." I said. "Bye Jug, good luck." He ended the call. I decided to wait a good half hour before I went to apologize to Jellybean. I knocked on her door. "Oh piss off." I heard her mutter before she opened the door. "What?" She demanded. "I messed up really badly and I hate myself for that-" She was about to cut me off.

"Just let me finish." I said, holding up a finger to her lips. "Look Jellybean. I don't know why I acted that why and I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry-" She opened her mouth to talk. "I'm not done. I regret doing that and I feel awful and I hate when you're mad at me but I deserve it and-" "Jughead!" She said. I shut up at that point. "It's okay." She said. She hugged me and buried her face in my shoulder. "If anyone should be sorry it's me." She whispered. I was confused.

Jellybean POV
"I lied about the text. I-I don't know why. It's just I didn't want you to be worried." I began slowly. "It just said Girl, why are you leaving me on read? and I don't know why I lied. I'm so sorry. You felt bad but I brought that upon myself and it was all my fault." I said, fully realizing what I had done. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I whispered. I let my body go limp, just like I used to the few rare times Jughead and I had had an argument.

"I'm not going to lie Jellybean, I resent that." He said. "You should, I was an idiot." I agreed. "We both messed up, let's just put it behind us and move on." He suggested. "Gladly." I said and pulled away from the embrace. He smiled a lopsided smile. "I hope you know that I love you." He said touching my cheek. "I know." I responded. "And I love you too." I added.

I was pretty sure we were the most inseparable siblings ever. I mean, after five years of being separated. "Have you eaten?" He asked, after we made our way to the living. "No, but I'm good for now." I said and Jughead, being Jughead, put his hand on my forehead. I rolled my eyes and removed it. "Just because I'm not hungry doesn't mean I'm sick, jeez Jug." I laughed.

"I'm just taking precautions." He said defensively. I smiled. "Would you be hungry if I told you there were Pop Tarts left?" He asked. "Yep!" I said and grabbed one from the kitchen. I ate it without bothering to heat it up. "Jeez kid, you are that like it was your last meal." Jug teased. "Yeah well, it's a Pop Tart, what did you expect?" I asked, while sitting down on the couch and it was that moment that I realized just how lucky I was to have my brother back in my life.

Jughead POV
We had ended up watching The Imitation Game. It was an incredible movie, but some parts were terribly sad. "So amazing that that was based off a true story." Jellybean commented after we shut off the TV. "Yeah it surely is." I agreed. "I have a bit of homework, and I'm sure you do too, but after we're done, do you want to go to Pop's?" I asked her. She nodded. "Yeah that'd be great."

We finished our homework and by the time we left, the rain had subsided. Leaving behind a fresh scent. We reached the diner at about two o'clock. We both ordered Milkshakes and a side of fries to share. "Are you sure you know how to share food?" Jellybean asked, after we sat down at our usual booth. "Very funny." I said coolly. She smirked at me and said. "We'll see about that."

Our food came quickly. She sipped at her milkshake. I stared at her. "What?" She asked, looking up. "You have whipped cream on your nose." I told her and laughed. "It's a talent, I know." She said and wiped it off. Talent. I mouthed and put air quotes around it. We laughed. "You're right! It's more of a skill!" She said, taking a fry. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was going for." I said sarcastically. In that moment, everything seemed alright and I knew that we would be okay.

Jellybean POV
I had had a great time at Jughead with Pop's. While we were there, there wasn't anything to worry about and it was fantastic. Right now, I was going to bed. There was school tomorrow and I remembered I had a math test. I wasn't tired enough to sleep yet, so I grabbed Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. I tried to read it, I really did, but I guess I wasn't in a reading mood.

I went on my phone instead and I got a text from Seth. I smiled to myself. You ready for the test tomorrow? It read. You know it! I responded. I could feel myself blushing. Yes, it was just a simple question, but I always got overexcited whenever I got a text from Seth. I turned off my phone and shut my eyes. I was, for once, happy without a single worry. And maybe, all the people who said everything will be okay were right. Because right now, everything is okay and I hope it's like this forever.