A/N: This is taking place in freshman year, but Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Kevin are all friends. This fanfic is about Jughead being homeless, how he copes with it, and how he attempts to hide it from his friends.
Betty's p.o.v.
It all started when we came back from Christmas break. To put it lightly Jughead looked like hell, but we didn't notice that right away. The first day back Jughead didn't buy lunch, and for someone who loves food as much as he did it felt like we were in an apocalypse. I remember that being the first time I really questioned him about… well anything.
"You're not eating?" I questioned lightly, tearing my lovesick gaze from Archie in the lunch line.
"Not hungry." He answered gruffly.
"Pop's afterschool?' Archie asked plopping down, breaking the awkward tension.
"You bet." Jughead supplied with a trademark grin, leaving the previous conversation forgotten.
"No can do…I have plans." Kevin admitted looking suggestively towards the jock table.
"Let me guess… another closeted hottie?" I asked teasingly.
"It's moose hunting season." He answered with a wink, causing me to erupt into giggles.
"So just us 3 then." Archie asked throwing his arms around me and Jughead.
"Sure." I replied blushing at Archie's close proximity to me.
Jughead opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by his phone ringing.
"I have to take this, but I'll see you guys there." We nodded our acknowledgement and like that he was gone. Looking back it was pretty strange how quickly he left, but Jughead was always a little strange.
Archie and I arrived at Pop's together since we shared our final periods together. There we found Jughead typing away at that laptop of his sipping a coffee.
"Hey Juggy." I greeted smiling. He smiled back, closing his laptop.
"Hey jugs, football workouts start next week and if you start early you could totally-
"Archie, I don't want to play football". Jughead replied exasperated. "Guys like me….well we don't make the team." He states gesturing at him lean body.
"Well that's no problem, Hey Pop's a round of milkshakes over here!" Archie exclaimed. "Don't worry I'm paying."
"Arch, I'm just so busy…." Jughead started.
"With what…writing? Archie said judgingly.
"Archie!" I scolded hitting his arm. "Be nice."
He sighed putting his hands up in a surrendering motion. "I'm sorry Jughead, I just really want to do something with you, and all the guys on my team are douches."
"No harm, no foul and you're a douche too Arch." Jug answered jokingly.
"Hey!" Archie said before joining in on our laughter and swatting his arm in retaliation.
We were on our 3rd rounds of shakes before I checked my phone and almost had a heart attack.
"Shit, 10:30 already?!" I exclaimed "I got to go it's a school night and my mom is going to freak!"
"Oh the joys of being the daughter of Alice cooper's daughter." Jughead said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes, "You guys coming?"
"Yeah, my dad's been really chill lately but I don't want to push my luck." Archie said standing up.
"You coming Jughead."
"Nah, I should stay here and finish this" he said gesturing at his laptop, "but I'll see you guys tomorrow."
Narrator's p.o.v.
What they didn't know is that Jughead never left. He sat there with a dollar coffee that comes with free refills watching the company come and go. Especially a few serpents that looked all too familiar to Jughead. They served as a reminder that his dad picked them over him, and continues to do so every day. So he immersed himself in his homework and more importantly his writing. Jughead had a knack for writing what he knows and that night a story was created about a teenager with a pocketful of money and no place to call home.
That was a very short first chapter, but it felt like a good stopping point. Please read and review! Tell me if I should continue.