the other boys ⇨ jarchie

13

archie.

i awake groggily to a sharp, rhythmic knock on my door. sunshine lights up my room, and birds tweet outside. vegas lays beside me, his blonde fur ruffled by sleep.

"arch? come on bud, time to wake up." fred instructs from behind the door.

i rub my head. i must have banged it accidentally during the night. "what day is it?"

"it's wednesday," he answers, coming into my room.

"ugh, three more days and then it's winter break," i groan, laying my hand on my chest.

fred walks over, his hands making his way to my messy auburn hair. "come on son. i know school is tough and everything, but all you gotta do is get your work done and go home. and how bad can that be?"

um, very bad. especially when you get chuck and reggie casting dirty looks at you, the pathetic little cunts.

"i guess that's true..." i sigh, getting up from my bed.

i pick out some clothes that are strewn across my bedroom floor - a white jumper and blue jeans. before putting them on, i spray some deodorant: i give my hair a slight brush and then go to clean my teeth. i head down the strairs, vegas following me, trying to bite the bottom of my backpack. i'm greeted by the smell of pancakes.

"pancakes?" i say, putting my bag on the kitchen's island.

fred tosses them in his pan. "yep, homemade. by the way, once you're done eating, i need to show you something that i found last night."

i frown. "um, okay..."

i grab some honey from the cupboards and i chop up a banana. with my eating habits, i'm surprised that i'm not the fattest thing ever. after all, i was blessed with a good metabolism from my dad. i lather my pancakes in honey and then carefully place the banana onto it.

"jesus archie," fred laughs, "that's a lot of honey. who are you, winnie the pooh?"

"yep."

after eating my breakfast, my dad starts conversation. "so," he says, "jughead - i mean, your boyfriend - comes over in a few minutes."

i roll my eyes, blushing. "he's not my boyfriend." but i wish he was.

fred pinches my cheeks. "aww, he totally is! look, you're blushing!"

i hide my cheeks from him. "no i'm not."

"actually, i have something to show you," he says nonchalantly, beckoning me over. "last night, i was looking through all the boxes in my wardrobe, and i came across my old photo album."

i come over, carrying my plate as i go. once i put it in the sink, i look down at the album. "that's a lot of photos."

"yep, sure is," he sighs happily, "this stuff goes back all the way to the 90s. but i found these pictures."

i gaze down at the vintage photos, my eyes widening.