Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, except this particular story.

Hiram Lodge is many things, but a babysitter is not one of them. So how one petulant child has become such a huge thorn in his side is still confusing to him. You see, Jughead Jones is a problem and Hiram doesn't have time for problems. It's a crucial time for him. His plans are all coming to fruition. Hermione has stepped up, Veronica has fallen in line, and Archie has proven to be quite useful. Even the Southside is seemingly dropping their issues with him. All except for one, that is. And technically he has tried to reason with Jughead. He showed him a good hand. He has been a nice guy to him. He gave him and all of his little snake friends their disgusting trailers back when he could have just left them homeless. Still, that didn't appease him. The boy is relentless.

Sighing, Hiram tapped his fingers on his desk and considered his options. Jughead needs to be dealt with. He needs to go away. He's in the way, standing between Hiram and his legacy. He can't have that. There are, however, complications. His daughter, for example, has expressed affection towards the boy. Archie has tried to stay out of his issues with Jughead, but he knows their history. Hermione wouldn't be fond of the idea but she would fall in line. Maybe it would get everyone in the Southside to back off, but maybe it would create a war.

"Hiram?" Hermione knocked once before stepping in. Veronica was quick to follow. His girls. He would have smiled at the sight were it not for the look on their faces. "Hiram, we have a problem-"

"Not a big problem, by any means," Veronica was quick to interject. She looked nervous. "A small one. Minuscule, if you will," she cast an anxious glance at her mother.

Hermione didn't return the look. "Hiram, it's Jughead. He and his serpent buddies have chained themselves to Southside High. He plans on getting town wide attention for it tomorrow. Apparently Mr. Jones is on a hunger strike as well. Isn't that right, Veronica?" Hermione finally looked at her daughter.

Veronica pressed her lips together before she spoke. "Jughead loves food. Ask Archie, he'll tell you. There's no way Jughead will keep it up. He's probably sneaking burgers as we speak."

"And chaining himself to the school? Will he keep that up, Veronica?" Hiram faced her.

Veronica took a sharp breath and fold her hands in front of her, meeting her father's gaze. "Jughead loves crime and injustice. We need to find something else to occupy his mind. He needs to be directed elsewhere-"

"We tried that Veronica. He's persistent-"

"Only if we allow him to be!" Veronica stopped her father. "Lets create a distraction. Lets get his focus elsewhere."

Hiram watched his daughter. His pride and joy. He had wanted a son but Veronica proved to be everything he ever needed her to be. Except for her heart. Her big, caring heart that would never be able to do what needed to be done. She would always protect the ones she loves, and while admirable, it's stupid in this business. "You're right, Mija," Hiram grinned. "Lets find something else for Jughead to do. Lets create a new mystery for him to solve."

Veronica's smile was genuine. "Good idea, Daddy," she kissed his cheek and walked out, a new bounce to her step.

Hermione closed the door behind her and took a seat in front of Hiram's desk. When their eyes met there was an unspoken truth that passed between them. An understanding. "Jughead needs to be removed from the situation," Hermione's voice was stoic. "Veronica and Archie must never know. And their little blonde friend we will need to keep preoccupied. He has pushed us too much Hiram. This isn't how things were suppose to go."

Hiram leaned back in his chair. He would always admire his wife. She wasn't like Veronica. Her heart had been buried behind her loyalty a long time ago. "I will go approach Jughead and offer him an out. If he refuses to take it, then we will take it for him." He reached to his side and opened his drawer, taking a gun out and placing it on the desk between them. "It's been a long time since I've had to really use this. I didn't miss it."

Hermione leaned forward and put her hand on his. "We have a job to do Hiram. I didn't want it to come down to this but it's more than the news articles or a statue getting beheaded or chaining himself to the school. This is the beginning, Hiram, and already we have had so many problems with him. Back when we were younger people who stood in the way were taken out of the picture. Jughead must make a decision. Perhaps his father should too. The Jones family needs to back off or they need to be taken care of," she removed her hand from his and stood. "I will keep an eye on Veronica and Archie. You take care of the situation," she kissed his cheek, opposite of where Veronica had, and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Hiram looked at the gun on his desk. If it's a war he wants, it's a war he will get.

"I expected to find more people here, rallying for your cause, Mr. Jones," Hiram's breath smoked in the cold night air. Jughead's glare was immediate. "Yet here you are, all alone. Sometimes even our best ideas fall through."

Jughead's narrowed eyes followed Hiram as he moved closer. "Yeah well, my group will be back. And tomorrow we're expecting this whole thing to go viral, so... say what you need to say but I'm not letting you get away with this. I'm not going to just sit around like everyone else while you destroy the Southside," Jughead straightened up.

Hiram eyed him. If he did have a son he would have wanted him to be like Jughead. Passionate about the things that mattered to him. However, he would want that passion to be in his own best interests. Jughead is wasted potential, standing there with his dirty hat, dirty jacket, trashy hair, chains wrapped around his wrists and torso. What a waste. Clean him up, give him some nice clothes, a nice lifestyle, some guidance... he would have been more useful to him that Archie has ever or will ever be to him.

"Here's the thing Jughead. This prison is going to happen. This school is going away. The Southside will belong to me. There is nothing you can do to stop me. So I'm making you a peace offering, right here right now. Stop this stupid behavior. Stop being an idiot. Stay out of my way and I promise, nothing will happen to you or your family," Hiram met his eyes. "You have my word. If you don't stop this then you do not have my word."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Yes."

Jughead huffed. "I don't appreciate you going Tony Soprano on me. As long as I have a voice people will hear it. As long as I can stand people will see me. And even if I can't do either of those things, you will not take this town from me. From us. We are not things for you to throw away. This is my home. This is my friend's homes-"

"Who? Archie? Veronica? Betty?" Hiram stepped closer. "This isn't their home."

"Archie? Veronica?" Jughead shook his head. "I don't know if they're my friends anymore, thanks to you. Ever since you got into town everything has been crap. You're destroying this town and the people in it."

Hiram grinned. "I'm making this town better, Jughead. And I want you to be a part of that. Stop fighting me and join me!" Hiram grabbed the front of Jughead's jacket and gave him a gentle shake to emphasize his point. "Work with me not against me!"

Jughead tried pushing Hiram off him but the chains stopped him. "I will never be like you, Lodge. I hope Veronica manages to dodge your influence. God only knows what damage you have done to her. To Archie now. Just stop and go back to New York."

Hiram shoved Jughead back. "I tried working with you. I really did," he took his gun out. "You make things so difficult."

Jughead lifted his chained wrists, hands reaching out towards Hiram. Hiram met his eyes. He could see the panic in Jughead's eyes, in his face, in the way his hands shook just slightly. "Okay, wait. Wait. You don't want to do this," Jughead backed up until he hit the wall. "You're taking this too far. You're not a murderer."

"I am, actually," Hiram took the safety off. "A murderer. Not taking this too far. I honestly feel this has been a long time coming." He aimed the gun at Jughead.

Jughead's breathing picked up as fear started to unnerve him. "I'm sorry. I'll stop-"

"I... I don't believe you, Jughead. I don't think you'll ever stop. You see, here's what I think will happen. You'll run and tell your dad-"

"I won't-"

"Or maybe the Sheriff-"

"I promise-"

"Or maybe the whole damn town!" Jughead swallowed. His eyes were shining. Were they tears or was Hiram imagining things? He couldn't be sure. "I gave you a chance and you didn't take it."

"I'll take it now. You can have the school-"

"You're just saying that-"

"I'm not!"

"Even if you can't speak-"

"Please-"

"Even if you can't walk-"

"Please don't-"

"You'll always find a way."

It felt like hours passed between them when it had only been a few seconds. Jughead was looking for a way out while still pleading. For a second he considered letting him go. Maybe he scared the boy enough that he would back away. Maybe he didn't have to do this. But if he told the whole town? The sheriff? His father? More problems. More issues. More things in the way.

"I'm really sorry I have to do this Jughead."

"But you don't," his voice shook. "You don't have to do this."

"I do... because of you. This is on you Jughead. I'm sorry it had to come to this. I really am. You had a lot of potential. I could have used you. I'll keep Archie safe."

"Don't-"

The shot rang through the cold dark night. The sounds of owls and leaves blowing in the wind faded away as the echo of that one shot vibrated in his ears. Hiram didn't look, but he heard. He heard the body hit the pavement. He heard the gasp, the shock. He didn't have to look. He knew.

"I'm sorry, Jughead. My men will be back for you. Perhaps Archie can prove himself-" Hiram's head jerked to the side when he heard footsteps. Shit. He put his gun away and ran as fast as he could away from the school, towards his car. Shit, shit, shit!

FP whistled as he walked towards Southside High. The steam trapped in the burger bag kept his hand warm. Ever since he was kid, Jughead loved to eat. Naturally, anyone who really knew him knew this wouldn't last. So he bought the kid a burger, or two, or three. He still felt that guilt buried deep inside of him, permanent. Jughead, homeless. Where did he get food? How did he sleep at night? Had he been scared? He kept those questions away from the surface but they were always there, lingering-

A gunshot.

FP stopped in his tracks. The warm bag of burgers slipped from his grip. "Jug," he whispered. Panic set in and he started to run towards where he heard the gunshot. When he came around the corner there was no one there. There was nothing but loose chains. Relief flooded through him, the kids' bark was bigger than their bite, but it quickly left him when he saw a body on the ground. He rushed forward, but stopped when he got closer.

"Oh, God... Jug?" he stepped closer, dropping to his knees beside him. There was a pool of blood under him. There was blood everywhere. "Jug?" his hands shook as he pulled at Jughead's shirt, lifting it to find the wound. Right there, smack dab in the middle of his stomach, was a bloody bullet hole. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to run away. He wanted a lot of things. He reached for the keys in Jughead's pocket and unwrapped the chains from around his wrists and torso. His eyes found Jughead's. He's awake. "Hey bud," his voice broke. He put his hand on Jughead's cheek. "What happened?"

Jughead part his bloody lips, looking up at his dad. "Hiram Lodge shot me," his voice sounded weaker than it felt. He felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. It was like everything just suddenly stopped hurting. Maybe shock was finally setting in? Maybe he's dying?

With his hand still on Jughead's cheek, he stared at him. "Hiram Lodge did this to you?" he asked. Jughead gave a short nod. The amount of anger that course through FP in that moment was unprecedented. He had never felt anything like this. A huge part of him, the serpent part of him, wanted to get up and go kill Hiram. But for once, the father part of him won. The father in him wanted to hold his son's hand, tell him it would all be okay, save him. He reached for his phone and with bloody fingers dialed 9-1-1.

"An ambulance will be here soon, Jug. Just hang on," FP gripped Jughead's hand once he was off the phone. There was a tense moment of silence. FP didn't know what to say. He felt his eyes burning. "You're... you're going to be okay, Jug," the burning intensified. "We'll have to have Jellybean come stay with us. She always wanted to be a Doctor. You can be her first patient," FP's chuckle turned into a dry sob.

Jughead just watched his father. It was getting harder to breathe and his vision was darkening around the edges. "I called Mom when you went to jail," his voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "I told her I was coming out. She didn't want me to. I think about that a lot," he said softly.

FP swallowed. He had tried to keep the tension between him and his wife from the children, but his wife has always seen him in Jughead. There was resentment because of it. He'd tried to shield him, protect him from it, but he'd never done a good job. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to know there was no chance of our family reuniting."

"Oh, kiddo," FP paused. Jughead was shivering. He carefully situated them so he had Jughead in his arms, his jacket off and over Jughead. The last time he had held Jughead like this he had been 2 and sick with an ear infection. FP had rocked him to sleep. "I'm sorry that was your burden, Jug," he looked around. Where was the ambulance?

Another minute of silence passed before Jughead coughed, specs of blood flying from his mouth. FP held him tighter. "They'll be here any minute-"

"Dad, I'm dying," Jughead's voice was weak, but broke even more. FP looked down at his son. "He won, Dad. Hiram won."

FP shook his head. "No, no he didn't win. He's dead. And you? You're gonna be fine buddy. You're going to be fine. We're going to get you to the hospital-"

"I'm bleeding out, Dad-"

"Stop it! You're going to be fine! Stop being so damn negative all the damn time, Jughead! You're going to be okay! You're..." FP stopped. He was the one shaking now. His son. His first born. His pride and joy. He never told him enough how much he loved him.

"I love you, Dad..." Jughead whispered.

FP had barely heard it. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears. He opened them and swallowed hard. Where the hell is that god damn ambulance?! "I am so proud of you. I love you, Juggy. I couldn't have asked for a better son." He wasn't ashamed of the tears that fell now. "I love you, Jug. I'm sorry I've been such a shitty dad. That changes now. I'm going to carry you to the hospital myself. I'm going to give you my blood. You're not going to die. You can't die. I'm going to bring you to the hospital now. Hold tight okay, Juggy? Can you do that?" But when he looked down at Jughead, his eyes were closed.

"Jug...?" his fingers felt for a pulse. Nothing. He laid him back down and put his cheek against his chest. Nothing. He put his ear by his mouth. Nothing. "Juggy...?" He sat back and looked at him. His fingers brushed over his cheek, cold. "Take me," FP whispered to the night, tears trailing down his cheeks. "Take me. Not him," he shook Jughead by his jacket. "Take me! Not my son!" he sobbed, bending over so his face pressed against Jughead's chest. He was just a kid.

"What the hell happened here?! Jughead?!" Toni came running over with the others. "Oh my God," she breathed. They had just gone for food and drinks and to get warm. They were gone for half an hour. "Jughead? How... how could this happen?"

Sweet Pea pushed past Toni and went to FP's side, gripping his shoulder. FP slowly lift his head from his son and met Toni's eyes. "Hiram Lodge. We're going to kill Hiram Lodge."