Set after the Homecoming dance, episode 12, when Juggie is at the phone booth. Plot takes a turn… :3 Please enjoy
Jughead's eyes glowed with joy as he heard his mother through the payphone. It was the night of homecoming, after he had broken the police tape and destroyed his dad's trailer. Only ten minutes ago, he had been told that his friends went behind his back and that his father had been arrested for murder. In a sudden urge of desperation, Jughead had hurried to the bus station. He needed some comfort, he needed a sense of security, needed someone to turn to. He smiled through the phone, finally happy some good had come out of tonight. "Great, mom. I'll get a ticket to Toledo and meet you. I should be there in the morning. Yeah, love you too. Bye." Jughead hung up the phone and smiled to himself. He was going to see his mother again, after so long.
He picked up his bag and wandered quickly over to the ticket station. Pushing the open, there was still a ticket conductor at the counter. Thanking his good luck, he hurried to the counter.
"Uh, can I get the soonest single one way ticket to Toledo please?" The woman looked up and scanned him.
"Hmm, the soonest bus is in ten minutes, and it's the last bus for the night. That do?" Jughead buried his hand in his pocket, reaching for money.
"Yes, that'll be great," the woman sighed and typed into her computer.
"A one-way ticket to Toledo is twenty dollars, kid." Jughead pulled out what money he had and out it on the counter. The woman exchanged a twenty dollar bill for a ticket. "Have a nice night, kid." Jughead nodded to her and stepped outside, walking over to the bus shelter.
"Why are you here." FP crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Clifford Blossom was sitting across from him. Clifford leaned forward, hands folded on the table and said,
"I need you to confess." FP raised his eyebrows.
"No way in hell. I am not confessing to something that I didn't do. I'm cleaning up my act for my son and wife. I'm not ruining it now." Clifford inched closer to FP.
"FP you confess to this murder, or I will make sure Jughead will face a fate worse than Jason." FP glared at him. Clifford glared back.
"No, Mr Blossom. There's no way you would." Clifford kept his poker face. He stood up and left, leaving FP alone. He wasn't sure what would happen, but FP had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
He was about to sit down when he heard footsteps. Footsteps moving very quickly, almost as if someone was running. Immediately on high alert, Jughead looked up, only to see Betty and Archie, running in his direction, both looking relieved. Suddenly anxious, Jughead took a step back, his bus ticket and bag still in his hand. As if just noticing the bag, Archie slowed down, looking hurt. Betty however, kept running until she was in Jughead's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Jughead hesitated, then reciprocated the motion, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"God, Jug, you scared us! I'm so, so sorry for lying to you, I just," Jughead pulled away and looked at her hard.
"Betty, stop. It's okay. I just, need some time." Betty looked down at his feet, just noticing the bag he had dropped when she ran at him.
"What does that mean," she asked, nervous for the answer. Jughead seemed very interested in his hands at the moment, staring at them intently. "Jug?" Betty questioned. Jughead finally looked up at her, meeting her eyes before shifting his gaze past Betty, to look at Archie. He sighed, before looking at Betty's pained hazel greens.
"I was just on the phone with my mom. With everything that's going on, I just feel like I need some time to breathe, you know? Just, clear my head. I'm going to Toledo for a week. I'm going to visit her and Jellybean, but I'm coming back." Betty nodded and looked at her feet.
Bright lights appeared behind them; the bus was here. It came to a shuddering stop in front of them, squeaking horribly. The door opened. "Anyone of you kids getting on?" a man in his early fifty's asked in a monotonous voice. Jughead raised his hand. The bus driver nodded and pulled out a cigarette.
Betty was on the verge of tears. "Hey," Jughead whispered. He placed his hand under Betty's chin, gently raising her head to look at him. "I'll be back before you know it. I'll call you in the morning," Betty nodded, not fully comprehending anything going on at the moment until she felt Jughead's lips on hers. It was brief yet sweet. Betty wanted this moment to last longer. She didn't want her boyfriend to go.
But Jughead pulled away. He sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He waved at Archie before stepping onto the bus. He handed the driver his ticket before settling in on a seat near the front. The bus pulled away, leaving an uncomfortable Archie with an upset Betty.
"Oh, Arch. I feel so… low. I can't believe Jughead is leaving because of us." Archie looked at her hard.
"Betts, he's clearing his head. Taking a break. He'll be back and everything will be fine. Besides, he was almost as upset about leaving as you are. But he'll call you, and you guys will be fine. Come on." Betty and Archie made it to their respective houses, bidding each other goodnight.
When Betty was in her room, she sat on the ground and cried gently, hurt that Jughead left town because of her. She knew it wasn't entirely her fault. She knew that Jughead was upset about his father getting arrested too. But that didn't ease Betty's guilty conscience at all.
The bus shuddered and rattled as they pulled out of the station. Jughead pulled out his laptop and opened a document. He needed to forget everything for a while, get lost in the world that was writing. It was only him self and the driver, so the bus had an uncomfortable silence. It smelled of cigarette smoke and stale coffee.
After five minutes, Jughead heard the driver swear loudly before the bus swerved sharply, pushing Jughead against the window forcefully. The bus drove off the road. Jughead could just make out a red car on the highway facing the bus before he heard a shattering sound. Trees were everywhere, their strong, thick branches jutting out, shattering windows.
Jughead was on full panic mode. He wasn't safe. The bus kept driving, swerving to try and avoid trees. One branch broke Jughead's window. He was showered in glass, cutting his skin. He raised his hands to his face, protecting his eyes and mouth, when the bus hit a log.
It rolled over. All Jughead could feel was pain. It rained broken glass. The bus finally stopped. Jughead wanted to throw up. He felt nauseous and was desperate. He sat up, blinking away the spots that danced in his eyes. He heard footsteps behind him. Filled with fear, Jughead quickly whipped around only to be met with a sudden force, knocking him out cold.
Alice Cooper knocked on the door of Betty's room. "Come on Betty, rise and shine. Breakfast is on the table." Betty groaned, but sat up reluctantly. She checked her phone. It was seven a.m. She stretched, before padding downstairs. A large stack of pancakes was on the table. Betty sat down with her mother, grabbed a pancake and carefully picked up the bottle of maple syrup. "Betty, sweetheart, what's wrong? You seem awfully… gloomy today," Alice asked gently.
Ever since Polly told the Coopers she was staying at the Blossoms, Alice had been less rash than before; more careful. Betty took a shaky breath. "It's Jughead. He's gone to Toledo for a week to clear his head. I know he's hurting, and I know that it's because of me. His mom is in Toledo. What if… what if he decides he likes it there more? Where does that leave us? Me? He said he would call me, but I just…" Betty felt like crying again.
Alice took her daughter's hand, rubbing the top gently with her fingers. Alice sighed. "Betty, honey, Jughead just needs time to cool off. If he said he'd call you, he will call you. Or you can call him. Jughead has been on an emotional roller coaster and he needs to process it."
Betty badly wanted to snap at her mother that Alice had caused the 'emotional roller coaster', but she bit her tongue. It was no use arguing with her. So Betty just nodded. They finished their breakfast in silence, before Betty stood up and said,
"I'm going to get ready. I'm hanging with Veronica today." Alice just sighed and cleared the table.
Betty checked her phone for the fifteenth time that day. It was late at night and she and Veronica were at Veronica's penthouse. Veronica had no idea that Jughead had left town, or that Jughead had promised he would call Betty that morning, but didn't. "Okay B, what's up. You keep checking your phone as if it's your life source." Betty looked up at Veronica, and Veronica noticed the tears threatening to spill over Betty's water line.
"Oh, sweetie," Veronica wrapped Betty in a hug, which Betty returned immediately. Veronica could feel her shirt-covered shoulder getting damp, indicating Betty had let the waterworks win their battle. She rubbed her back, in a way she hoped was soothing. Veronica was really concerned. Last night was rough for all of them, especially Jughead and Betty.
Veronica saw Jughead's face when Betty told him that Alice inviting them for dinner was so she and Archie could break into FP's trailer. Jughead looked so betrayed. And then he said something about moving to Toledo, which Veronica was very confused about. Why would Jughead want to move to Toledo? And then, oh god, when they were told FP was arrested?
Veronica knew how it felt. She sympathized for Jughead. When her dad was arrested, Veronica was distraught. But her father was arrested for con, for being bad with money. Jughead's father was arrested for murder, which was totally different. But, Veronica knew that the lockbox in FP's trailer was placed there. But Veronica's dad had done business with the serpents, which Jughead's father was the leader of.
Veronica was brought back to reality when Betty pulled back and said, "It's Jughead. He hasn't called me yet." Veronica was confused. Jughead and Betty didn't really call each other, as far as she knew. And Betty shouldn't be so upset, should she?
"B, I'm gonna need more details here." Betty nodded and took a deep breath.
"After the dance, me and Arch went looking for Jughead," Veronica raised her eyebrows. They went without her? "And we found him. At the bus station." Betty looked at her hands. "He had bought a one-way ticket to Toledo." Veronica now understood why Betty was so upset.
"So, how long will he be in Toledo?" Veronica asked tentatively. Betty looked up, and smiled a small, watery smile.
"A week. He said he needed time to process everything, to just breathe. But he promised he would call be by the morning-"
"And he hasn't yet." Veronica finished. Betty nodded. Veronica was fuming. Why on earth would Jughead put Betty in such a state of worry like this? How could he do something so low? "I'm really scared, V. Jughead always calls when he promises, he's always there. What if something happened?" Veronica shook her head. "He's visiting his mom right? He's probably just so excited to see her again. He can't of seen her since at least summer." Betty nodded, but looked at her phone. "I'm calling him." Betty decided. Veronica grabbed her hand. "No. Call his mother. That'll make him guilty." Betty nodded and picked up her phone. She dialled, hoping against hope she got the right number.
"This is Gladys Jones, can I help you?" A feminine voice on the other side said. Betty smiled softly.
"Hi, this is Betty Cooper, I'm Jughead's girlfriend. Is Jughead there please?" Betty asked sweetly. Betty stood up and slowly paced around the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry honey. Jughead isn't here. He was meant to be here last night, but he never came. I thought he decided to stay in Riverdale."
Veronica watched Betty's face go pale. "Okay, thank you," and Betty hurriedly hung up the phone and slowly turned to Veronica.
"Betty..?" Veronica asked nervously. "What does that mean?" Betty turned to Veronica.
"Jughead definitely got on the bus. And if Jughead isn't there or here, that means-" Veronica cut her off.
"That means that Jughead is missing."
Thanks for reading guys, gals and non-binary pals :3