Great Minds Think Alike (Jughead x OC)

Part 11

She was surprised to realize that she remembered how to get to Jughead's house without using her GPS, and soon parked her car in front of the old house, her heart playing the maracas in her chest. There was a huge lump in her throat, making her wonder if she would even be able to talk at all. Iris caught her reflection in the rear view mirror and winced.

Veronica had made wonders with her, there was nothing wrong with her appearance per se, but she looked so unlike herself that for a second she wanted to go home and change, take off the makeup, undo her hair. Had this entire situation turned her into something she wasn't?

A tired sigh fell from her lips – one more, one less, who was counting at this point? Iris kicked open her door before she could chicken out of this and put the contact on again. It was now or never, she was already ditching school, she was already feeling like utter shit, so really what more could Jughead do to her? She would end up getting a lecture from her dad, and feel miserable in any case.

Worst pep talk ever, she thought to herself, and smiled a little. She used to be funny. Who had sucked the joy out of her? Could she only joke around the one Jughead and no one else? If feelings weren't so wild and out of control, Iris would have chosen to swing the other way and live her happy ever after with Ronnie. Now she groaned. She was pathetic.

Her feet lead her to the front door and her hand raised on its own to knock, the gesture being so natural that she could do all of that on autopilot. And she was thankful, because her brains was on overdrive and it didn't help think clearly.

As soon as she had knocked, Iris began to panic good and proper. What was she going to say? Where to start? She should be calm, or scream at him for behaving the way he did? Did she have to apologize? Would he? And what if he slammed the door to her face and refused to listen? Had they reached that point? It wasn't the first time in her life that Iris lost a friend to a grief, but it burnt like acid in her stomach each time.

The door remained closed for the longest time – or perhaps it was only long due to Iris' distorted perception of time. When it did swing open, her heart nearly dropped in apprehension.

"Hello? What can I do for you?" An old lady greeted her, only opening the door enough to peek through the crack.

Iris breathed again.

"I- euh- I'm sorry to bother you, I'm looking for Jughead? Jughead Jones? He lives here," she stuttered out, feeling like an intruder suddenly.

The old lady smiled a little and opened the door wider.

"Jughead!" The lady said. "Oh my dear the boy doesn't live here! He helps me take care of my garden sometimes, you see I'm getting too old to mow the lawn, so I give him a little something and he does it for me."

"This... is not his house?"

Iris' mind was a mess. All sorts of red flags raised at this revelation, and her brain glitched altogether. What was going on? She was absolutely certain that she had picked Jughead up right here. She couldn't be mistaken, she remembered the roses next to the door, the wooden beams, the flowery garden.

The more she thought about it, the less this house looked like a teenager lived here, or anyone under the age of sixty for that matter. This was an old lady's house, with an old lady's garden full of peonies, roses, and gardenias. This was not Jughead's house – he had lied. He gave her a wrong address.

Why did he do that? Was Iris to high on his list of suspects that he refused to let her know where he lived? Did he mistrust her so much? Was their entire friendship a scam? If she didn't get out of here right now she was going to cry right in front of the woman, who now looked at her with concern in her eyes.