Chughead pairing story

Summary: Cheryl x Jughead pairing story starts at the end of episode 2; focus lies mainly on Cheryl x Jughead romance, the mystery plot stays the same as in show.

Disclaimer: I don't own Riverdale or any of its characters.


All emotion drains from Cheryl's usually composed face as she sees Archie Andrews run through the entry banner for the Bulldogs. The way he looked wearing her brothers uniform with his ginger hair, almost the same color as her own hair makes her remember her last moments with his brother and the realizations hits her: Jason is never coming back, he can't keep his promise to her anymore.

She wordlessly storms off the stage, running towards the girls' locker room as fast as her feet can carry her. Many people present see this but only two bother to go after the distraught redhead, Veronica Lodge, a new face in this town as well as a new member on the Cheerleading squad and Jughead Jones a generally introverted person who usually keeps to himself and his two best friends Betty and Archie but feels like he should try and support Cheryl, remembering his own breakdown after his mother and sister left him alone with his father.

The two of them enter the building together, wordlessly despite not knowing each other and make their way to the locker rooms ignoring their soaking wet clothes. It doesn't take them long to arrive in front of the girls' locker room, sobbing is already hearable from across the room and they look upon the hunched over form of Cheryl Blossom sitting on a bench crying to herself.

"Cheryl? What is it, what happened?" Veronica asks carefully as she goes over to the crying redhead slowly with Jughead following her with a few steps between them.

"Jason, he's gone." Cheryl replies in between sobs as Veronica sits down behind the redhead while Jughead squats down next to Cheryl.

"I know, I know he is." Veronica says.

"You don't, you don't understand he was supposed to come back." Cheryl tells her breaking out into more tears making Veronica stroke Cheryl over her shoulders gently while Jughead squeezes her hand supportively, surprised that Cheryl didn't kill him but chalking it up to Cheryl not being in control right now.

"I'm all alone." Cheryl sobs before letting go of Jugheads hand and hugging her fellow Cheerleader.

"You're not alone. It will take some time, but you'll see you have people all around you. heck, look at me you despise me and I'm still here for you, aren't I?" Jughead tells the redhead.

Cheryl continues to hug the brunette for some time until they hear a horn signaling the end of the pep rally, meaning Veronica has to go out one last time.

Jughead, who's sitting on the floor next to them by now sees the girl's reaction to the horn and tells her "go on I'll stay with Cheryl, if she'll let me that is."

Veronica then hurries out of the room and back to the Cheerleaders as soon as Cheryl breaks her hug.

"Thank you." Cheryl mumbles starting to wipe away a few more tears.

"Don't mention it." Jughead replies leaning back against the locker he's propped against.

"Why did you come though? Veronica I understand. She knows what my life is like and maybe wants to earn some nice girl points. But we don't really get along." Cheryl asks trying to compose herself.

"I guess I can relate to some degree, my sister and mother left. They just moved across the country, but I haven't seen or heard from either of them for years now and for a while there I lost all hope and was really depressed. I always wished that someone had helped me during that time I guess I don't want you to feel the same as I did." Jughead tells her.

"I see." Cheryl says thoughtfully when her parents barge into the room ordering the girl "Cheryl, you're coming with us right now!"

Cheryl gets up wordlessly, glancing one last time at Jughead who looks back at her surprised that her parents treat her like this but decides to keep his mouth shut, knowing from experience that talking back to domineering parents isn't the best idea.

Deciding he should get out of there as well since it's the girls' locker room after all Jughead leaves the building as soon as the Blossoms are out of sight and meets up with his only real guy-friend Archie. The two decide to get something to at Pop's, where a few minutes earlier Veronica and Betty have sat down and made up with Betty telling her that she saw her and Jughead helping Cheryl and promising not to fight over boys again. The two ask Jughead and Archie to join them, which they gladly accept and Jughead introduces himself formally to the new girl in town.


|Morning 2 days later|

During the last two days the only thing people were talking about was Cheryl getting pulled out of class and telling the sheriff she is guilty in front of the whole class, the next day it became a rumor that Cheryl lied about her brother tipping the boar over but in reality they rowed to the opposite shore save and sound and her brother intended to fake his own death and disappear forever, fleeing from their parents.

"Dude you have to tell the Sheriff, Cheryl is still the focus of the Sheriff since no one can collaborate her story, you have to tell him about the shot you heard, or I will." Jughead presses Archie.

"I know, I know I'm going to see him right now." Archie agrees and gathers his nerves, going into the principal's office, where he is currently talking to the Sheriff and informs them of what happened on July 4th, leaving out his rendezvous with their music teacher.

After Archie's confession Jughead meets up with Betty Cooper, who asks him to join her newspaper club and since he's investigating and writing a book on Jason's death anyways, he agrees. Later that day Veronica goes out with the football captain.


|The next morning|

Veronica discovers that she's being cyber shamed curtesy of Chuck the football captain and together with Betty she starts to make plans to get her revenge and uncover the list the football player keeps on who is the most popular with the ladies. During one of their classes Cheryl thanks Archie for him informing the sheriff about the gunshot.

"Arch. Thanks to you Archie I'm not the girl who cried gunshot. You believed me when not even my parents did." Cheryl says quietly, since they're still in class.

"I just told the truth." Archie replies.

"Which is why I want to repay your kindness." Cheryl tells him.

"Cheryl, truly that is not why I came forward, also you might rather thank Jughead then me. He pushed me to inform the Sheriff, especially after you told him about the shot." Archie says.

"Jughead huh? Anyways save the aw-shucks for Betty. I'm granting you one wish Archie, nothing is off the table, except for my body. Jason would want you to be rewarded." She replies.

After a quick moment Archie gets an idea and asks her to put in a word with the pussycats to help him with his music since Mrs. Grundy decided to stop their lessons.

Archie gets to help the pussycats with a song they have to practice for a event Josie's mother, the mayor is throwing. Archie decides to take the chance and sneaks out of the house since he's been grounded for lying to his father about the 4th of July where he initially wanted to take a road trip with Jughead. While this is going on Jughead investigates the scouts who found Cheryl on the 4th of July and asks one of them at pops in the evening, having seen him react when he questioned Doyle that morning and learns that Doyle is the one who shot on 4th of July since he's a hard-core survivalist. That evening Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, ethel and Kevin find the Jock's scorebook and take a picture of it.


|The next evening|

Betty and Veronica lure Chuck to ethels' home and force him to confess to keeping score on women and degrading them, during which Betty, who's wearing a black wig loses control, calls herself Polly and douses him with syrup while Chuck is drugged and cuffed in a hot tub.

Jughead, who is at the mayor's event alongside most of the town finds Doyle and tells him to come to the blue and gold, which is the school's newspaper and make his confession to them rather than the sheriff.

The next day Doyle does as he's told but offers up another story instead of them going to the sheriff. Jughead and Betty agree, and Doyle tells them that he saw Mrs. Grundy's car at the river. Afterwards they bear witness to the headmaster suspending everyone on the list and thereby clearing out half of the varsity football team.


AN: I only know the characters through the tv show not the archie comics, so it'll be a tv show related fic only. review and fav. if you like it :)