Deadline ((Jughead Jones)) 4

9

"It's a pleasure doing business with you," Ronnie laughed, extending her hand to shake. We had discussed everything, and agreed everything. She was more than happy to agree to my terms, even making a counter offer which would cost me less and benefit the Serpent's more, and Cheryl had accepted my offer of coming to tell everyone with me. I left the Speakeasy with a piece of paper, and the lives of every Serpent saved.

This is what happens in Riverdale: once the sun sets, Doger's minions go to work. He recruits hungry and homeless kids so that if they're arrested they do some time in juvie, but then, they're back on the streets. Working for Doger. Again. They're chewed up by the system. Except that recently, someone has thrown a tire iron into the system. Usually, Doger or the police would go to the kid next, but tonight is his lucky night. Instead of getting sucked back into the system, then spat out again, these kids, they've got someone looking out for them now. People that ask themselves, 'How do you save a town?' And who knows the answer. One kid at a time. For every kid saved, there was one less hustling for Doger, and that would not do at all.

Meanwhile, in existential hell, I was facing the tyranny of a blank page, and needed my anchor.

I received the call from Jughead when I got home. FP had laughed so hard when he heard the news that he ran over and spun me around the living room, praising everything that I was doing. Jughead, on the other hand, didn't seem to be facing the same level of success that I had.
"Hey, I didn't wake you, did I?" He asked. Just his voice alone had me buzzing with excitement, eager to tell him exactly what was happening on Friday and he plans that I had. Friday was the last day before the rent was due, and the queen had called a mandatory meeting. All had to attend.
"Of course not, what do you need?" I heard a laugh on the other end of the line, as he answered. Chilli Fries.

We were in Pop's then, sitting in a booth, staring at each other, Jughead with a basket of chilli fries in front of him and me with a milkshake. I missed our late night Pop's dates. The moment he walked through the door I could see the stress on his face, masking any happy emotion, caging it inside his head.
"So what sparked this impromptu date?" I sigh was my response.
"I just can't write." At this I raised my eyebrow. It was common knowledge to all of Riverdale that Jughead Jones was one of the best writers of his generation, so his statement was met with initial amusement. "Mr Chipping gave the class this assignment where we're supposed to write our own version of a Baxter Brothers novel, which should be a dream come true. But for the first time in my life, I'm having writer's block. Why?"

Writer's Block. A disease that every writer faced and often resulted in some spontaneous trip abroad to find themselves or seek inspiration. Jughead clearly had a deadline to meet, but that didn't mean that he had to work himself to death.
"My advice? Just take a break. Come to the meeting Friday. Take a walk through the woods. Or just kiss your girlfriend."
"I keep thinking I should be breaking the Baxter Brothers novels down, like scientifically or something." Jughead replied instantly, not addressing a single thing that I had said to him. I rolled my eyes, leaning across the table slightly. He hadn't seen me in over a week, apart from briefly when he considered leaving Stonewall, but we hadn't really spoken. I sat across from him, and all he wanted to talk about was writing.
"That could work. But you could also just kiss your girlfriend." I replied, grinning sarcastically at him.

"I'm sorry," Jughead laughed, realising that he had come down and started talking about all of his problems, not really greeting me at all. He then stood from his seat, moving his fries out of the way and then leant over the table to kiss me. I couldn't help but giggle at his antics. Surely this would be enough to give him a little break, or a little inspiration.

And as Archie was dealing with a villain and saving the kids of the town, and I was stuck with writer's block, and Betty was struggling with the new addition to her family, there was Thia. Thia had single handedly come up with a plan that would not only save the trailer park and the families that lived there, but every family that would live there. She had a plan that would give children back their parents and allow for them to be a family again, the kind of family she never had.