Tonight was the night of the winter dance. I know Jughead would go with Betty but I didn't care. The only thing I needed to know was where he'd be afterward. Archie told me that he'd more than likely be at Pop's. As I walk up to the neon building, I sign to myself. My heart began to sink deeper into my stomach as I stepped closer.
I open the door and the bell at the top rang loudly, causing Jughead to look straight at me almost immediately. My face softened when I saw him, but he remained cold as ice. He crossed his arms and leaned forward, already prepared for my kiss ass apology. I don't blame him for being mad, but he doesn't seem like he'd want to hear me out.
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"What are you doing here, Hennessy?" Jughead looks at me coldly. I sigh and stepped to his table, but I kept my head down the whole time. My heart grew heavy. What I'm about to do hurts, but I know it's right. I don't deserve Jughead and now I know in my heart, what I did was wrong.
"I want to give you something before I leave. " I look up at him. I hand him a flash drive with all the answers on it.
"Leave?" Concern raises in his voice.
"I'm going to stay with my aunt for a while. I'm kind of lost here, you know?" I sigh and look out of the window. I fight back the tears and swallow my pride. He looks down at the device I gave him, then back at me. His eyebrows were sewn together, he looked confused and worried. We stared at each other for a minute in bitter silence. I'd be lying if I said It didn't make me happy he was finally showing some type of emotion.
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"Goodbye Jughead." I turn my back to him and keep walking. I wanted to turn around and jump in his arms, but I ruined it. With each step, I regret leaving even more. I pause before I step out of the diner. Every moment of my adolescence came back to all hit me at once, every time I sat down with my brothers to get a milkshake or how my dad would take me on motorcycle rides felt all too real now. Leaving all this behind is hard but I think it's time I should.
I've ruined everything, all my friendships, what could've been a beautiful relationship, and my family. Maybe I could've gotten over myself and fixed things with jughead, or maybe even my mom. I've never felt more selfish and horrible. Maybe what Betty said was right, I'm worse than Cheryl.
As I walk out of the parking lot I pass Betty, probably looking for Jughead. She instantly notices me and shoots me a confused look. "Hennessy, what are you doing out here?" She asks.
"Finishing some business. Don't worry, once I'm gone you can go back to focusing on your little love triangle." I say passive-aggressively. I try to turn away but she stopped me.
"Leave? You can't just leave Hennessy, what about your friends and family?" She asks.
"Friends? What like you? You kissed Jughead when you knew what we had going on was fine. You ruined what could've been a good thing for me. You betrayed me as a friend."
"You've known I wanted to be with him for a long time, Henny. You can't be mad at me for trying." She sighs. I wasn't going to feed into her anymore, there's no point. We've been chasing each other in circles ever since the school year began, and I'm tired of running.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I have a train to catch." I turn and finally make my way to the train station.
I know in time, I'm going to regret leaving everyone behind. But I need to be alone. I've finally forgiven my mom for leaving because I truly understand now. There's nothing left for me in Riverdale. Things here are already crazy and they're about to get worse after that video gets released. Although it's going to hurt, it's best for me to leave. I disappointed everyone and Jughead will probably never forgive me. But I truly believe I'm finally at peace with my past and all the shit that's happened this year. I will look back at these past few months as a learning lesson and when I'm ready I'll be back and I'll finally make things right with everyone.
I'm sorry Jughead, I can't take back what I did and I don't know how things are going to go with your dad after this video. He'll probably be released and will be fine, but it's the principle of things. Maybe one day we can make things right in the future.
Boarding the train, I take one last look at my childhood. Riverdale represented the importance of all things innocent, but not everything is as simple as it seems. I've grown to learn that recently.
I quickly find my seat and sit in silence. Bay Springs was a lot bigger than Riverdale. It's a coastal town all the way on the west side. A fresh start sounds good, new opportunities... friends...
