It was like any other Friday night. Archie Andrews sat along with the other cronies at the bar, nursing a half empty beer bottle. His ginger hair was pushed back in a way that screamed, "I'm trying too hard to make it seem like I'm not trying at all." His hand was on the knee of the leggy brunette beside him, their heads bent together in a private conversation. The woman threw her head back and laughed, and the man in the beanie at the corner booth wondered what was so incredibly funny.

Red hot anger coursed through Jughead Jones' veins as he watched the scene unfold before him. He wanted to take the ginger out then and there in the Starlight Bar, but he had to hold himself back. 'Just a few more hours' he would remind himself. Jughead made sure the waiter kept the glasses of coke and the fry baskets coming. This was a stake out unlike any other he'd been on before.

Usually Jughead would never let himself be caught dead in the Starlight. His domain was the Whyte Wyrm, back in their home town of Riverdale. But he had more important things to do than toss back a few beers and play some pool. He had only one thing on his mind and it was getting Archie alone.

Jughead took a break from staring sulkily at Archie and went to the bathroom. Three cokes later and he couldn't hold it any longer. He held his head low, staring at his shoes as he walked past the ginger hoping Archie wouldn't notice him. Just when he thought he'd cleared customs Archie called over his back, "Jughead! What are you doing out here?" His voice was higher than normal and he quickly removed his hand from the brunette's leg.

"Hey Arch." He started out, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I just decided it was time for a change of scenery." Jughead's eyes flickered to the brunette in the tiny black dress. "I guess that makes two of us, huh?" He turned on his heel and continued for the restroom, not bothering to hear Archie's reply.

"Wait Jughead, I can explain!" Jughead ignored his old friend and kept on walking.

When he returned from taking a piss Archie and the nameless girl were gone. Swearing under his breath he left more than enough cash on the table to cover his bill and headed outside, hoping he could catch them before they left.

Thanking his lucky stars Jughead watched with livid eyes as Archie held the door open for the woman, giving her ass a tight squeeze before shutting the door behind her. Jughead snuck around the building to his beat up old Cadillac and hopped in, waiting a few minutes and following them into the night.

They parked outside an old brick house and let the car idle. Jughead was careful to park one street over, attempting to stay undetected by the pair. He imagined what they were doing; probably tangled up in each other's arms as they fucked on the curb outside her house. It figured she'd be a cheating whore. And to think Jughead thought opposites attracted. Definitely not in this twisted storyline.

He tore his thoughts away from Archie and pulled a book out from his glove box, wondering how much longer he'd have to wait. His fingers started to shake and he reached for the pack of smokes wasting away in the pocket of his leather jacket. He couldn't risk the jitters. Not now when literally everything was on the line. After tonight there would be no going back to the life he lived before. But it was worth every promise that was yet to come. Jughead would finally have a chance to be happy. He took a few relaxing puffs from his and threw his head forward on his steering wheel, trying to steady his racing heart.

The squealing of tires on the asphalt pulled Jughead back to reality. "Fuck." He muttered, turning the key in the ignition and racing after Archie, desperately trying to catch up. He couldn't have gotten far, but the sooner the dirty deed was done, the better.

Familiar taillights of Archie's mustang soon appeared in Jughead's windshield and he breathed a sigh of relief. His heart was hammering away in his chest, refusing to let up. He could hear the blood flow in his ears and his fingers began to throb. In need of a distraction he turned the volume up on the radio, anything to drown out his thoughts.

Was he really about commit the worst felony known to mankind? To take the life of another living, breathing human being? His world was spinning, turning upside down and his stomach clenched in thousands of tiny little knots. He cursed himself for eating two baskets of fries. Ketchup was not going to taste very good when it undoubtedly came back up.

Jughead sped up to Achie's vehicle, the brake lights gleaming like rubies under the dark night sky. He took a deep breath and grabbed the police light he'd nicked from Kevin Keller down at the sheriff's office. Opening his window, Jughead stuck it to the roof of his car, igniting the surrounding trees in shimmering flashes of red, white and blue. He found the irony of the entire situation hilarious and threw his head back laughing. There was no turning back now.

Archie pulled off to the side of the road and Jughead followed, leaving a few feet between their bumpers. He flipped the switch on the light of justice and stepped out of the car.

Jughead grabbed a pair of black leather gloves from the back pocket of his jeans and slid them on over his fingers, surprised to find the shaking had stopped. He walked over to Archie's driver side window with a smile on his face as he reached for the handle. "What the fuck?" Archie said, Jughead surprised to find the door unlocked. "You're not the cops."

A deep chuckle escaped from the back of Jughead's throat. "Obviously. But you were speeding." Jughead sniffed the air. "And drinking and driving too. Not so smart Old Sport."

Annoyance gleamed over the curves of Archie's face. "Can I go now?" he asked. He tried to close the car door but Jughead forced it open wider.

"Not so fast. Who was the girl?"

Archie's eyebrows shot up and he choked on his next words. "J-Just a friend from work. We met up for a couple of drinks. What's with the third degree?"

"No degree. Just natural curiosity, its human nature to be curious Arch," Jughead paused and inhaled deeply. "So tell me, does your fiancé know about your friend in the little black dress?" Jughead swore he could see Archie pale before his eyes. He was already of a ghostly complexion, but now he was almost transparent.

Archie gripped the door handle tighter, trying harder to force it closed but Jughead refused to budge. "No. And from one friend to another, I'd really like to keep it that way Jug. Please. I promise that woman means nothing to me. Don't tell Betty."

He didn't know what came over him but at the sound of Betty's name Jughead absolutely lost it. He lunged for Archie, desperate to twist his fingers around his neck. If he was going to kill Archie, he was going to make him suffer.

Jughead had his knee bent into Archie's groin. His hands were clamped around his throat and he could see the light draining from Archie's eyes. He was doing it. He was going to kill him. "Any last words, Archiekins?"

Archie opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He was flailing under Jughead's hold, trying to force and shove him away but the alcohol in his veins slowed down his reaction time. Finally he got in a punch to Jughead's jaw, creating stars behind his eyes. It took every ounce of strength in him but Jughead refused to let go, tightening the grip around Archie's neck. His arms began to shake as he forced all his weight upon his old friend. He thought Archie would've put up a better fight than this. It was pitiful on the brink of pathetic.

"Do you want to die? Fight me Archie! Punch me! Hit me!" Archie writhed underneath him, trying to squirm out of Jughead's grasp but to no avail. It wasn't supposed to be this easy. Tears spilled from the corners of Archie's eyes and rolled slowly down his hollowed cheeks. He threw a punch into Jughead's stomach and the brunette sputtered, loosening his grip only slightly. "That the best you got?" He spit in Archie's face. Jughead was going to be sick. In a million years he never would've guessed this side of him existed. Sure he'd been a rather angry kid growing up, but he never imagined he'd be capable of murder. His stomach coiled, rolling over itself but Jughead forced the feeling away. He was going to finish this.

A few more seconds dragged on and Archie's attempts to break free slowed. The strength in his body was depleting. His eyes rolled back into his head, his limp body falling back against the leather interior.

Jughead removed his hands from around his neck. Archie's throat was bruised and beaten but Jughead didn't care. He needed to get the fuck out of there. Carefully, he set Archie's leg back into the car and Jughead closed the door, running back to his car. Thank God they lived in a small town, not a single car had driven by to witness the horrifying scene.

Once back inside his Caddy, Jughead tossed the gloves into this back seat. His palms were clammy and his forehead was dripping with sweat. He reached for the beanie on top of his head and threw it up on the dash. Starting his car he drove away, his hands slipping over the wheel as he did.

About a mile or so down the road Jughead stopped and pulled over. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Running into the trees he emptied the contents of his stomach into the grass, gripping the nearest tree trunk for support. His legs were quivering and his heart felt like a ticking time bomb, reminding him of an old poem by Edgar Allen Poe. The events of the evening would surely haunt him for the rest of his life.

His throat burned and ached and he ran the back of his hand across his mouth to remove any excess throw up from his lips. He stood up tall, desperately straining to slow down the beating of his heart.

With shaky hands he reached into the front pocket of his jeans and flipped open his phone. He pressed number one for speed dial and waited as the shrilling ring echoed in his ear. His breath hitched when the phone on the other line picked up. Everything was silent.

Jughead breathed into the receiver. "It's done," he whispered, and the line clicked dead.