Flatline ((Jughead Jones)) 3

19

What exactly is the American Dream? For my dad, on the eve of his 50th birthday, the American dream was this: A father, a mother, daughter, a son with his hopefully lifelong partner, a loyal hound, food on the table. The only thing missing was...

"Eat up. Because when we're done, we're taking a little ride." Gladys stated, drawing our attention. Jughead was sitting on the couch, the plate I made him beside his laptop and me sat by his side sipping coffee.
"Where to, Mom?" JB asked, seemingly just as confused as the rest of us. At the mention of it being a surprise, my head started to spin. What could it possibly be? I still didn't trust the woman. But, seeing Jughead sitting beside me, his head on my shoulder and looking at his mother and father, looking better together than they had ever been, I wanted to believe the lie.

We arrived on the same street that I lived on, and I half thought that Gladys was dropping me home. It was Betty's house that the family walked up to, Gladys claiming she had just closed on the house and that it was a birthday present for FP.

The door to the house opened, Betty and her mom carrying boxes of stuff and it was clear Gladys hadn't realised whose house she had brought. I grimaced at the awkwardness of the situation, kissed Jughead before excusing myself. There was no way I would be entering that house with the obvious tension that had settled between them. Instead, I set off to defrost a rat for Wyrm to eat later.

I had been sitting with Jughead as Gladys told him her plans to stay in Riverdale, and how they were a real family, or at least on their way to becoming it. And as I sat there, I kept squirming in my seat, her master plan not quite matching up to what I knew was going on. It wasn't until Jughead got up, telling me he was making me a coffee that I got a chance alone with Gladys.

As Jughead left, the noise of the kettle providing us a chance to speak, I noticed the glare that had settled on Gladys' face, directed at me and me alone.
"You know," She said, "I don't like being bested by some reckless school girl gang member." I knew she was referring to the events at the speakeasy. My vintage rendition of a popular song had not only outdone her perfectly, but also revealed I was well aware of her endeavours that were, let's say, less than honest. Although I didn't know the depth of her operation, I knew it was a large one, and I knew it wasn't part of her 'real family' plan.
"You are using my friend and lying to people I love. I can't let that slide. And when I find out everything, I'm going straight to FP and Jughead." I told her, trying to maintain my dignity. Gladys may be older than me, more experienced, but I hated how she so easily undermined everything I did. She didn't respect me as Serpent Queen. She didn't respect me as a Blossom. And she seemed to despise me as Jughead's girlfriend.

Gladys leaned forward, a smile on her face that seemed more sinister than any I had witnessed before. From this look, if Jughead looked over he would see his girlfriend making his mom smile at something, he'd see the family he wanted, not the battle this was turning into.
"If you so much as breathe a word to either of them, I'll finish the job Hal Cooper started, and believe me, I won't fail." A look of horror crossed my face. The mother of my boyfriend had threatened to kill me. Seeing how her words affected me, watching my body slowly lean away from her and look to a very unaware Jughead, her grin widened. Never before had I thought that the cheshire cat could scare me, but seeing her smile made my blood turn to ice.
"I agree with the Black Hood. My Jug would be better off with Miss ponytail." She hissed.

That was the final straw. I stood, eyes wide and looking at her as I grabbed my Serpent jacket. I called over my shoulder to Jughead that I was going home, a snake emergency, knowing that he wouldn't follow me. Then I was out of the trailer, walking through tent city.

Every Serpent I passed that used to be a Ghoulie, or a Gargoyle made me jump or flinch. Just days before I had stopped Kurtz, but now I was shaking like a leaf trying to run home. I could feel the gazes of the Serpents on me, the fleeing queen as I ran. I hadn't been that unnerved by anyone other than the black hood and that thought alone terrified me.

The moment I burst through the doors of the house, my dad was on his feet seeing who had come through. At the sight of me he instantly asked me what was wrong. Then it came crashing down. The panic. The fear. No longer was it the Black hood's eyes alone I could feel on me, but hers too. I could feel Gladys hanging over me, daring me to challenge her so she could watch me lose.

My dad brought me into his arms, just holding me there while I calmed down. When I was finally breathing normally, even Archie was there looking worried, his arm on my back. One of the best things about these two was that they could tell when someone didn't want to talk about an issue. They accepted that I would talk in my own time, but I knew Archie would be messaging Jughead later informing him of what happened.
"How about some hot chocolate?" Dad offered, and at my nod, Archie pulled me into the living room, sitting with me as he distracted me wth funny stories.