Ariana Andrews.

Chapter Four: Scars

Ariana Andrews woke up in a cold sweat. She found herself connected to different tubes, with a heart monitor beeping in the background. No, no,no, not again. She quickly looked down at her exposed arms, panic starting to rise in her. She frantically looked around the room, looking for something that was long sleeved. Her eyes fell on a dark figure in the corner.

"H-hello?" She said softly, worried about who it might be. She watched as their head snapped up, before letting out a sigh. Not him. "Jughead? What are you doing here?" He gave her a slight smile before getting up and walking towards her.

"Waiting for you to wake up." She smiled back at him, maintaining eye contact as she hid her arms underneath the blanket.

"Well I'm up."

"I should get the doctor."

"That can wait." He gave her a weird look.

"Ari, its a matter of your health."

"I know, but if they know I'm up, then Archie will come, and I won't get to talk to you, alone." He face contorted in confusion.

"About wh-"

"That night Jug." He looked down at his shoes, clearly not wanting to talk about it. "I get it." She said softly. "Your with Betty now. I just want to know why."

"You know why." It was her turn to look down. She wasn't really sure what she expected to get out of it. Kissing usually only means one thing. And in their case, it ment that thing. "Ill go get the doctor." With that, he rushed out if the room, leaving her alone.

***

The next day, both Ariana and her father headed home. Ariana, high on pain killers crashed on the couch the moment they got home. Her father joined in the chair, and Archie next to his sister. She snuggled up close to him, feeling safer in his presence. No one mentioned her arms, but she knew that they knew about them. They just didn't know how and why, but they knew what was there. She was glad that no one mentioned it, but she only knew that it was only a matter of time before the questions came.

***

It was saturday morning, Ariana had stayed home from school all week after getting back from the hospital on Tuesday. She said relatively immobile, often spending hours on the couch or in her bed, clad in one of Archie's sweatshirt and leggings. People came and went, Veronica and Betty being the only ones to stay for longer than 20 minutes.

Currently, she was home alone, Archie out God knows where, and her father at work, dispite his condtion. Sighing, started to raid the fridge, looking some kind of food that she could make. While in London, it was required that students took at least 2 life skill electives. Ariana had taken Cooking and Self-defense 2 years in a row, getting pretty good at both. Seeing that it was around 12, she started to make pasta, a simple yet tasty dish. Once the pasta was done cooking, she added butter, garlic powder, cheese, and smoked paprika. It was one of her favorite dishes, to make for herself because of the simplicity. Deciding to eat it straight out of the pot, she grabbed a fork and headed over to the couch to eat while watching T.V.

***

"We will find you, and we will end you."

Ariana watched in horror as she veiwed the video her brother posted. He formed some sort of gang called the Red Circle. Angry, she waited at home for him to return. Soon, she watched as her brother came through the doors.

"What the Hell Arch?" Her brother gave her a confused look, obviously confused. Her eyes followed him, waiting for an answer as he took off his shoes and jacket. "We will find you, We will hunt you, and we will end you?" What the Hell happened to you? Did you get a concussion playing football or something?"