jealous - a jeronica fanfic

Chapter Eight

(Warning: physical and sexual abuse in this chapter, possible trigger)

It had been two days since Jughead and I's.... mishap and also two days since Reggie and I started our little fling. At least I considered it a fling. Reggie had really been going above and beyond with romantic gestures, even though we'd only been "together" for a couple days.

"Hey honey!" Reggie called to me from across the hall, and I put on a sickly sweet smile as I made eye contact with him. He jogged over to me and gave me a hug.

"How was your night? Miss me?" he grins, and I gave him a smile you might give while talking to a child.

"Of course I did. Well, I gotta go to class, catch you later babe!" I say, before turning away from him and beginning to walk to my class.

He grabbed my wrist forcefully, pulling me back towards him and pushing me against the lockers, the sound causing some people in the hallway with us to turn to look at us.

I could feel his hot breath against my neck as he leaned in closer to me to whisper in my ear.

"You forgot my kiss goodbye princess," he says, his voice stern yet still somewhat sweet, but the kindness seemed fake.

I laughed uncomfortably, "Of course."

I stood up on my tip toes and gave him a small peck, before once again turning around, wincing slightly as I felt him spank me while I walked away.

I shook my head as if to shake off the feeling of Reggie's eyes on me, and turned into my classroom. I sat down in my usual spot, next to Betty.

"Did you hear that loud bang? I bet some girl was making out with her boyfriend right on the lockers- again," she whispers to me, and I feel my cheeks flush.

"That was um.. Reggie. He was just goofing around with me, NOT what you think goofing around but.. just playing around I guess," I scramble to find words, and I see Betty look slightly concerned.

"Whatever you say V. Doesn't sound like fun and games to me," she says, before turning to face our teacher, Mr. Johnson, as he begins to explain our next Science project.

"Alright class! This term, most of your Science mark will be relying on one project- a term long partner project! You will be given information one week, and have to take notes and analyze the information, and then have two weeks to create a presentation with your partner on the topic. Are we clear?" he states, and I sigh. Betty and Jughead are obviously going to be together, they always are, and the only other person I know in this class that won't have a partner is Archie. Great.

Betty raises her hand while keeping eye contact with Jughead, "Will we be able to choose our partners?"

"No, I have already decided on your partners," he replies, and I hear Betty sigh next to me.

"This is stupid," she whispers to me, and I nod my head in agreement.

"Alright! Here are the pairings," Mr. Johnson begins, picking a list up a piece of paper on his desk and beginning to read names out loud.

"Ginger and Claire, Cheryl and Midge, Moose and Toni, Sweet Pea and Fangs, Reggie and Josie, Dilton and Ben, Ethel and Chuck, Archie and Betty, and Jughead and Veronica," he finishes, and I let out a small gasp.

"What?" Betty asks, clearly uncomfortable with my reaction.

"Nothing!" I reply, fiddling with my pearls like I always do when I'm anxious.

"Okay... can you believe I'm with Archie? Gross!" she complains, and I raise my eyebrow.

"Betty, you don't have to pretend to hate him just because he hurt me."

"No but I do hate him! He's a sucky person!" she insists, and I roll my eyes.

"It's okay, Betts. I know you guys have been best friends since you were four. You don't have to make this project thing any harder than it already is going to be," I assure her, and she sighs and smiles at me.

"You're the best, V," she says, giving me a half hug, and I feel a pang of guilt. I doubt she would be saying that if she knew what Jughead and I did a few nights ago.

"Alright, well I better get to my partner, see ya V!" she grins at me, before skipping over to sit by Archie. We make eye contact for a second before I break away, and turn my attention to the boy heading towards me- Jughead.

I smile, "Once again, fate throws us together."

He rolls his eyes, "Sure, now fate is Mr. Johnson."

I laugh and he grins, sitting down next to me. After class, Reggie runs up to me and give me a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh! Hey Reg-"

"Hey gorgeous! Missed you!" he blurts out, and I flick my eyes to Jughead and give him an Oh God look. When I turn my attention back to Reggie it's clear that he saw our small interaction, and now he looks pissed.

"Veronica? Let's go," he says, and without waiting for a response drags me out into the hallway, and then into the boys bathroom.

"Reggie what the f-" I'm cut off as he slaps me across the face, and I let out a small shriek in surprise.

He pushes me on top of the sink counter, muttering to himself before making eye contact with me.

"You little slut. I saw that look you gave Jughead," he hisses, slapping me again, and I cringe away, trying to scramble away from him.

"Reggie, stop-" I start again but he cuts me off again, by grabbing my hair and forcing me against the wall. He holds my hair above my head, and I squirm with discomfort.

"REGGIE!" I yell out in shock, kicking my legs as I try to get away from him. He starts to slide his hand up my dress and my brain goes into panic mode. I start kicking and screaming like there's no tomorrow, doing everything I can to get away from Reggie.

He holds me firmly against the wall, my efforts seemingly doing nothing against his strong grip. I feel tears begin to flood down my cheeks and I try to hold them in. As soon as he sees me crying he slaps me again, and I cry out, more tears flooding my vision.

All of a sudden I feel myself fall back down onto the counter, my hair finally released from Reggie's grip. I blink away my tears and see there's someone else in the bathroom now. It takes me a second to realize who it is, but after a moment I see him more clearly, see Jughead pushing Reggie to the ground and hitting him repeatedly with his strong fist.

Reggie goes unconscious and Jughead turns to me, the rage that overtook him moments ago completely dissolved.

He doesn't say anything, just wraps me in his strong arms, holding me close to his body. I feel more tears roll down my cheeks and know my mascara is probably running, but I don't care. I burry my face into his shoulder and let the tears flow freely.

"You're okay, Veronica. You're okay. You're safe now," he whispers in my ear, planting a small kiss on my shoulder.

I'm still shaking, but his words make me feel less terrified, and I feel myself sink into his body. The adrenaline that flooded me so suddenly dies as quickly as it came, and I feel my eyes grow heavy.

I look up at him, our faces only inches away. I rub my finger on his cheek, and he looks at me tenderly.

"You're okay, Veronica. You're safe now," he tells me, his eyes locked with mine.

I hiccup, but I've stopped crying, and try to smile a little. He wipes away the last tear rolling down my cheek with his thumb, and picks me up into his arms.

I feel him open the bathroom door, adjusting my weight onto his other arms as he does so, and walk down the hall. I close my eyes, hoping that this was all a dream- a very bad dream. I feel my body begin to relax into sleep and I don't resist, shutting out my reality.