Choices

Chapter 19

You could hear a pin drop, that's how quiet it was in a bar full of very loud men. Everyone has their attention on Jughead who just appeared. He was standing behind everyone. Some faces full of shock, others full of anger. But the one that mattered most was full of hurt.

Jughead sees his father for the first time in 10 years, he keeps tabs on him like he did with the others, so he knows he's been doing alright. He looks older but still looks the same, which is tired. They all look tired.

He's also nervous, a feeling he should be used to by now. He looks around and sees everyone staring at him. He looks back at his father.

"Jughead," Fp said in shock. His son is one person he never thought he would see again.

"Hi dad" he said, with a slight smile.

Fp cant take his eyes off of him. He is so confused. "What's going on?" FP finally asked.

"Umm" Jughead said. He is unsure if he wants to do this here. It might be better if they do this alone, in private. They don't need all these eyes on them.

"Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on before I lose my shit" FP yelled. "Because I'm telling you I'm close to losing my shit." he adds, still yelling.

"I need help." Jughead said as he just blurted it out. The real reason he is here. Help to find Betty and to get her back.

"Boy!! That doesn't answer my question" he said, getting more and more angry.

"Fine. Penny kidnapped Betty." He sighed

"What?" Fp said. "Penny is dead." he adds.

Jughead sighed, again,"10 years ago, Penny threatened Betty after she found out what I did to protect you. After she sent you to prison. I then decided to fake my death to protect Betty and everyone else too. Penny then faked her death to draw me out because she found out I was alive. Now she took Betty for revenge" he said as fast as he could.

"Wait... what?" FP said as he ran his hand through his hair trying to comprehend what's going on.

"Will you please help me?" Jughead asked him. He has no one else to turn to. But he knows deep down his father will help. The serpents will help.

Fp is ignoring the question at hand "You fucking made me believe you were dead all of this time" FP said. He's livid "My own boy" he adds.

"I'm sorry dad. I thought taking myself out of the equation would make everyone safe." Jughead said as he looked around. "Like I said, I tried taking care of Penny after she sent you to jail. It backfired and it pissed her off" he adds. "I get it. I fucked up and I'm now paying for my actions" he adds.

Fp studies his face for a minute. He feels he didn't do this on his own. "Who else knew?" FP asked as he looked at Pea and Toni.

"I did this on my own." Jughead said.

"Mhhmm." FP said he knows there's more to this.

The whole bar is watching. Jughead is shaking. Veronica comes over and takes his hand and holds it.

"This is so fucked up, I can't believe this." Fp said. He then sighed. They need privacy."Follow me" he said as he started towards the back of the bar, where the office is.

Veronica, Toni and Pea follow behind them. Archie and Cheryl stayed out in the bar. Fp opens the door and they all follow in.

"Dad, let me explain," Jughead said.

"Why didn't you come to me, Jug. We could have figured this out" FP sighed. "Together." he adds.

It almost looks like he wants to cry. Something that's completely understandable considering he just found out his son is alive. Fp thinks about that day. The day that haunted him. That day he remembers it so clearly, That's the day his whole world changed. He got word that his only son was killed in a motorcycle accident, which was blamed on The Black Hood. He lost it. Then he turned to alcohol, it was his coping mechanism. He may not have been a good father, but it was still his son. Then one day Hal Cooper was arrested, it turned out he was the Black hood. The news of this made him furious. He tried to burn down the jail. He couldn't believe it, his oldest friend's husband killed his son. He wanted to die, he almost did. He then got thrown into rehab. It took a long time to get to a place in his life where he didn't hate everything. Fred Andrews was the biggest contributor to that. Years passed and he was happy. It took time but he was himself again. Now he's looking at his son, the one that took years to overcome, so many emotions are overwhelming him. He's not sure what to do next.