Chapter 8: I Found a Way to be Everything I've Dreamed Of
A/N: Another sort-of camp-related chapter, at least in the beginning.
This took me forever because I wanted to post my Riverdale fic in tandem with my Supernatural fic, and that one took me five hundred years to get out. BTW, not watching s5 just yet until they sort out their mess with Bughead, so please – no spoilers. Thanks, guys.
The chapter title comes from the song Somethin' Special by Colbie Caillat.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Riverdale-related.
Aug 2008
Riverdale, NY
"Archie, we can't fit five footballs in here," Fred scolded his son, trying his best not to show his irritation. "We don't need five. Just take one and keep the rest at home."
"But, dad," Archie pouted, looking forlornly at the footballs he'd stacked haphazardly in the trunk of his mom's Jeep. "What if we lose the ball?"
"We'll just have to be extra careful with it," Fred countered.
"But…"
"And if we lose the ball, we'll just have to think of something else to do," Fred continued, giving his boy a pointed look.
With an exaggerated sigh, Archie grabbed two footballs, one in each hand. Jughead, a tiny little amused smile on his lips despite the concerned look on his face, grabbed the other two. Fred watched with a sigh as the two boys trudged back towards the house, Mary corralling them inside so they could return the footballs where they belonged. They should probably stop buying Archie footballs. He'd lose them, they'd buy him a new one, and he'd find the one he lost the next week. God, it was a vicious cycle.
"Are you sure you want to go?" Alice asked as she strapped Betty into the backseat of the Jeep, already knowing the answer.
Betty gave her mother an exasperated look. "Mom, I need to go," she stressed. "What if Juggie and Archie have fun without me?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'll survive," she said dryly. "Honey, it's just…Maybe it will be better if you went next time, when your dad can go, too."
"For what purpose?" FP asked, sneaking behind Alice. She jumped a little, straightening up to glare at him. "Hal's a dunce. He wouldn't know how to set up a tent if the Boy Scouts were there to guide him."
"What's a dunce?" Betty asked curiously.
"Nothing – don't repeat it, honey," Alice chided absentmindedly. Turning to FP, she said through gritted teeth, "Hal is more than capable."
"Oh, yeah?" he raised his eyebrows, smirking. "That why he bailed first chance he got when he heard the word 'camping'?"
"He has to go visit aunt," Alice defended, crossing her arms. "She's very sick – very old."
"Mm-hmm," FP narrowed his eyes, disbelieving, mocking.
"I don't have to explain myself or Hal to you, FP," Alice snapped, turning back to her daughter. "Elizabeth, I don't think this is a good idea."
FP's smirk flickered as he saw the panicked desolation on the little blonde girl's face. He knew without a doubt that Alice was seconds away from pulling Betty out of the car and cancelling the camping trip for her. And if Betty didn't go, Jughead wouldn't either. He'd choose to stay behind and keep Betty company – even if it meant sitting outside her house, waiting until Alice lets him see her.
Working quickly to save the camping trip for all three kids, FP took Alice by the elbow and gently guided her away, receiving several smacks on the arm and a death glare for his effort.
"FP, get off of me!" she sniped.
"Oh, get over yourself," he rolled his eyes. "Look, Betty will be safe with us."
"Oh, she will, will she?" Alice glowered at him, arms crossed over her chest. He had to force himself not to let his eyes drift further down than her chin – why did it have to be so warm today? Why did she have to wear that ridiculously tight tank top? "She'll be safe with the leader of a gang!? This is a mistake. I'm insane for even…"
"Hey," he said quietly, interrupting her. All inappropriate thoughts he was having for someone else's wife fled his mind at the idea that he could hurt Betty. "I'd never hurt her. I'd never let anything happen to her. You know that."
Alice paused, taking a deep breath as she read the sincerity in his eyes.
"You know I love her, Ali. Jug loves her," FP continued. "You may have turned your back on us, but I'd never turn my back on her – or you. We protect our own."
Suddenly, the hand he had on her wrist felt like a heavy weight, her skin burning hot underneath. "Okay," she agreed, her voice soft in a way he hadn't heard in years. "Okay. You take care of my baby, FP Jones."
"I will, I promise," he swore.
Jughead and Archie came running back out of the house then, and FP stepped away from Alice, greeting his son and the redheaded boy with an overly excited tone. "You guys ready?" he asked, grinning as he got two yes's from the bouncing boys in front of him and one from the little girl already strapped in the car.
As they always did whenever they rode together, Jughead and Archie got on either side of Betty in the backseat. Jughead stayed still and silent while FP buckled him in but Archie squirmed around, evading Fred as he tried to get him settled in. He could see Mary standing in the doorway of their house, looking over knowingly – maybe she had been right about not feeding their son powdered donuts for breakfast.
Finally, ten minutes of wrangling later, Fred slipped into the driver's seat. FP finished packing up everyone's things and shut the trunk, looking over inquisitively at Fred as he buckled up in the passenger's seat. Fred scowled, panting a little, feeling like he'd just wrestled a bear and won by a scrape.
"Bye, sweetheart!" Mary waved to her son as she stepped up next to Alice on the driveway. "Bye, Betty! Bye, Juggie! Have fun, you guys!"
"Betty, remember your sunscreen! And your insect repellent!" Alice called out, almost chasing after the Jeep as it pulled out of the Andrews' driveway. "Remember the buddy system! FP, call every morning and night!"
"Only if we get reception!" FP shouted out the window, grinning at the outraged yell he could hear as Fred sped down the road.
Fred turned up the radio, enduring the loud, Disney-pop music just so he could say to his friend, "She's gonna kill you when we get back."
"Eh," FP shrugged, grinning as he propped his elbow on the open window of the passenger's side of the Jeep. "It was worth it."
Fred shook his head, shooting a look at the backseat. The three kids were too busy giggling amongst themselves, playing a three-way thumb war game that was getting all three of them bent over in stitches. He grinned, turning back to face the road, not even protesting as FP reached over to turn the dial on the radio until they reached a rock station.
"Y'know, it's never too early to learn about good music," FP said as Led Zeppelin blared through the speakers.
It didn't take long to reach their campground at Fox Forest. They had to check in with the ranger station, getting their site information and signing in.
Setting up camp was chaos and a half. Archie kept getting distracted and bored, roping Jughead into playing tag through the trees. Fred was pretty sure the raven-haired boy only agreed to it out of fear that Archie would get lost in the trees and never be found again (FP's son had quite an imagination on him).
Betty, however, kept close to both Fred and FP, eyeing everything they did curiously. Fred ended up teaching her how to set up their tents, step by step. She even did most of the setting up for the kids' tent by herself after assisting him in setting up his and FP's shared tent. FP, having been raised to hunt by Michael, grabbed the rifle he'd brought along.
"Okay," he grinned, exhaling loudly. "Who wants to come shoot down dinner with me?"
Betty jumped up from her spot crouched next to the stove, where she had been helping Fred stir up the stew he was making. "Me!" she volunteered excitedly. Maybe they get to kill a bear, she wondered.
Archie looked a little green at the thought of shooting some poor, unsuspecting creature. Jughead, on the other hand, sprinted to Betty's side, his desire to get a third helping of stew forgotten.
"Me, too," he said, uncaring about hunting but wanting to be by Betty's side nonetheless.
"Great," FP grinned down at his two volunteers. "Archie, what about you, kid?"
"Uhm…" Archie looked wide-eyed at his dad.
Sensing his son was a little less enthused, Fred suggested, "Why don't you three go ahead and Archie and I will go on a little hike? We'll meet back here?"
Once it was decided, the five of them split into two groups. FP taught Betty and Jughead to trek quietly through the woods, teaching them about edible plants and poisonous ones to avoid, feeling just a tad satisfied at the way both of them seemed to be absorbing the knowledge. Even Jughead seemed interested in it, which FP was relieved about. Just as Michael had told him, there was just no telling when you'd ever need to know these things for survival.
Betty and Jughead stayed low, watching in wide-eyed wonder as FP shot a mid-sized deer. Neither of them cringed away as he did what he had to in order to get the deer in his meat hauler backpack, and he smiled at them once he was done, checking in.
"You both okay?" he asked.
Betty nodded. "Where did you learn how to do all that?" she wondered, sounding awed.
His mind flashing back to hunting trips with Michael, FP shrugged, "I had a good teacher."
"Are you gonna teach us someday?" Jughead asked, head tilted sideways as he regarded his father.
FP smiled, patting him on the back. "Maybe," he admitted. "We'll see how it goes. Now, come on. Let's go back to camp, huh? We'll cook 'er up, have something good to eat tonight."
As they headed back to the campsite, FP suggested, "Maybe tomorrow we can all go fishing."
Despite their little snag of who-wants-to-hunt-and-who-doesn't on the first day, they all had a pretty amazing dinner. Even Archie liked the wilder game they'd caught, once it was fully cooked and grilled up. Fred brought out marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate from the cooler, and they roasted s'mores for dessert while the kids taught Fred and FP campfire songs they'd learned during summer camp.
FP hadn't packed anything alcoholic for the trip – and neither had Fred, always wanting to discourage his friend from taking even a sip of wine if he could. FP knew he'd be a cranky bastard by the time their few days in the forest were up, but even he knew that it wasn't a wise idea to get drunk while handling guns and going out on kayaks.
They did go fishing the next day, though they still had enough deer meat to last a while, and even Archie participated for that, not as reluctant as he was to watch Bambi being shot down. They went white water rafting, which Betty enjoyed the most, and Fred and FP took the kids to the waterfalls, suntanning by the shore while the three Musketeers shrieked and splashed and giggled together in the water.
It was the most exciting couple of days Betty ever remembered having, and she smiled, watching the sun rise as they headed back to town once it was all over. Jughead and Archie were sleeping next to her, but Betty kept her eyes straight ahead, watching the horizon as FP drove, Fred conked out in the passenger's seat.
"Are we gonna do this again?" Betty asked quietly, meeting FP's eyes in the rearview mirror.
FP grinned, despite the itch he had under his skin to just drive straight to the Wyrm had down three glasses of his favorite whiskey. "If everyone wants to, sure," he agreed easily. "Maybe we can do this once a year, every summer before school starts up."
Betty smiled widely. "That sounds good," she told him, just as Jughead's head drooped down onto her shoulder in his sleep, his snores making her skin rumble a little. Betty giggled at the weird sound and sensation, snuggling back into her seat to get more comfortable, resting her head on top of Jughead's. She didn't close her eyes, however, not wanting to miss the sunrise.
Sep 2008
Riverdale, NY
Fred and Mary hosted Labor Day at their house, Fred keeping a watchful eye over the three kids as they played with firecrackers. As the sky darkened completely, he set up fireworks to go off, keeping them at a safe distance as they watched the sky explode into different shimmery colors.
The three of them had a sleepover at the Andrews' house, despite Alice's reluctance to allow Betty to do so with two boys ("You're starting to grow up, Betty. We're going to have to stop all this soon," Alice had warned as Betty packed for her sleepover). Snuggled into their sleeping bags in the blanket fort Mary had helped them build in the living room, Betty smiled at her two best friends.
"Are you guys excited?" she asked them eagerly. "Tomorrow we're officially in first grade!"
Archie matched her wide smile. "I can't wait!" he replied, curled up on his belly, head resting on his folded arms. "I wonder what it's going to be like."
"I don't know," Betty mused. "Polly won't tell me. She said we'll probably have the same classes, though."
"Probably?" Jughead asked quietly, anxious. He didn't want to be separated from his best friends.
Archie looked over at his best friend, reaching over to grasp Jughead's hand with his. "Don't worry, Juggie," he reassured him. "The three of us will always be together."
"Promise?" Jughead asked, eyeing them both worriedly. He didn't think he could survive on his own without Betty and Archie there. Riverdale was a small enough town that he already knew who his fellow first graders were going to be – the same kids he'd attended kindergarten with – but that only seemed to amp up his anxiety rather than diminish it.
"Promise," Betty and Archie said simultaneously, bursting into giggles at the echo, Jughead smiling slightly at their laughter, soothed by it.
"Guys," Jughead said, voice quiet, after a few moments of silence.
"Hmm?" Betty turned her head to look at him, green eyes watching him brightly.
"Will you promise not to tell anyone where I live?" he asked, feeling like a coward even as he said the words.
Betty's brows furrowed. "I think people know you live in the Southside," she told him, confused.
Jughead shook his head. "Not the Southside. Sunnyside," he corrected her. Her mouth formed an 'O' shape in understanding, though the confusion remained clear in her eyes.
Jughead hesitated. There had been another kid who had attended kindergarten with them, a girl named Billie. She hadn't hidden anything about her home life – the fact that she was a Southsider made her a joke and the fact that she lived in a trailer park made her a pariah. Kids could be cruel. Jughead still remembered the awful prank Chuck and his friends had pulled on her months ago. She'd been brought to the principal's office, crying uncontrollably. Jughead heard that she would be attending elementary school in the Southside, too traumatized to continue her education in the Northside.
Jughead was fine being teased and made fun of, but he didn't want to risk being put in the spotlight like that, a constant target until he couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want anything to separate him from Betty and Archie. He'd feel so lost if he had to go to school in the Southside – he barely knew anyone at all, barely even talked to his neighbors or his cousin. He wasn't so fond of the other kids in the Northside, either, but his best friends made everything worthwhile.
"I just…I just don't want them to know I live at Sunnyside," he repeated. "Okay?"
Betty's gaze softened. "Okay, Juggie," she reached out to hold his other hand, smiling gently. "I won't tell."
"Me, neither," Archie promised, more confused than their blonde friend, but vowing just the same.
Jughead's tense shoulders relaxed and he smiled as he closed his eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep.
Alice came to pick Betty up from the Andrews' house first thing in the morning. While Hal got Polly ready for her first day of second grade, Alice wrangled Betty back to their house next door, getting her to shower and dressed in a crisp white long-sleeved sweater with a plaid pinafore over it. Polly wanted chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Betty wanted to go back to Archie's house to have breakfast with Jughead and Archie.
"Betty, just eat a pancake," Alice sighed as Hal plated one for her. "We'll have to leave soon."
"Can I go with Jug and Archie?" Betty asked as she poked at her pancake, stomach churning at the thought of eating it. She could still hear her mother telling her earlier that she would need to watch what she ate since her pinafore was getting a little tight around her waist.
"No, sweetheart, your Mom and I will drop off you and Polly together," Hal told her, putting a glass of orange juice in front of her.
Betty drank half her juice and ate two pieces of strawberry before declaring herself full. Leaving her pancake untouched, she hopped off her chair and headed for her new backpack.
"Come on, let's go," she urged her family. "We have to get there early so I can pick my seat with Juggie and Archie."
Rolling her eyes, Alice shared a commiserating look with her husband as they got ready to leave.
Riverdale Elementary was bustling with people when they got there, school buses pulling into the lot, right alongside parents' cars, being directed by teachers and parent volunteers wearing neon orange vests. Hal pulled into a spot next to Mary's Jeep, Betty tugging at his hand to hurry along with the two boys the moment her feet touched concrete. Alice went with Polly to get her settled into her new class while Hal awkwardly followed along the other first graders' parents, getting the welcome speech and collecting Betty's schedule.
Betty was relieved to discover that her batch of fellow first graders were small enough that all of them were in the same class, recess and all. Happily linking her arms with Jughead and Archie, Betty almost forgot to wave goodbye to her dad as the teacher led them to their first class of the day.
First grade wasn't as scary as Jughead had thought it would be.
Chuck and Reggie weren't great to have around, and Jason Blossom was even worse, his sister pure evil incarnate.
But Betty and Archie were there, the food was pretty good and Jughead was doing well in all of his classes. His teachers were a little worried about him, with his English teacher even stopping FP one afternoon as he came by the school to pick up the three kids.
"Mr. Jones, may I have a word with you?" Mrs. Fennec jogged up to him.
FP, ushering Archie into the truck alongside Betty and Jughead, looked up at her as she neared him. "Is something wrong, Mrs., uh…" his mind blanked on her name, though he recognized her as one of his son's teachers.
"Mrs. Fennec," Betty supplied helpfully.
"Right," FP smiled, a little embarrassed, and stepped back from the truck to shut the door gently, walking further away from it so the kids couldn't overhear. "Mrs. Fennec. Is everything okay? With Jug?"
"Oh, yes, yes," Mrs. Fennec smiled at him reassuringly. "I didn't mean to worry you. He's a lovely little boy. Bit of a loner, perhaps, but he does just fine with Betty and Archie…He's doing very well here. And the teachers here have all acclimated to calling him 'Jughead' as opposed to 'Forsythe'."
FP smirked a little. Jughead had always been stubborn when it came to his name. It had been that way even when he was in daycare years ago – he'd refused to answer to anything but 'Jughead'. It had driven every teacher he'd ever had crazy.
"That's great," he answered sincerely.
Mrs. Fennec smiled slightly. "Yes, well, I just wanted to ask you if you'd given any thought to which extracurricular activity Jughead might like to participate in," she said. "So far he's the only one who hasn't signed on for anything."
"Um…Huh?" FP replied, eloquent as ever.
"Little Betty's chosen softball and Archie's chosen football," Mrs. Fennec continued. "I know Jughead isn't entirely athletic, but it's just a requirement for all students here to pick one sport to play. We believe being active helps with keeping the mind sharp, not to mention a great way to get the kids fit and healthy!"
He blinked at the overly cheerful woman. "Uh…Yeah, sounds great," he said lamely.
"I know it might be a little difficult to find a sport that Jughead is interested in," Mrs. Fennec said. "So, if you'd like, I could help you two go through the list of sports available here at Riverdale Elementary."
FP gave her a strained smile. "Yeah, no, it's okay. We'll figure it out," he waved off her concern.
"Alright, but please take note that the deadline to submit the consent form is the end of this week," Mrs. Fennec called out to him as he walked back towards the truck.
FP held up a hand to wave goodbye to the teacher. He drove Betty and Archie to Elm Street and, when Jughead wanted to scramble out of the truck after his friends, FP stopped him.
"Hold up, boy," he grabbed Jughead gently by the back of his flannel. "We've gotta talk."
Jughead settled back in his seat, looking warily at his dad. "We do?" he asked quietly.
"Where's the consent form?" FP asked.
Jughead's eyes grew round in shock before he tried lying, "What consent form?"
FP quirked an eyebrow. "Gotta lie better than that, boy," he warned.
Jughead sighed, reaching into his backpack to pull out a piece of paper, crumpled and with a ketchup stain on one edge. FP's eyes quickly scanned through the words printed on it.
"Why didn't you give this to me?" FP asked Jughead, already knowing the answer.
"I can't play softball," Jughead said quietly, looking down at his hands. "And everyone on the football team is mean. I just don't want to play anything without Betty or Archie."
FP sighed. "Look, I know you love your friends, Jug, but you've gotta do some things on your own, too," he chided gently. "You've gotta learn how to play with other kids."
Jughead made a face at FP's words. "Why?" he wondered, sounding close to whining even to his own ears. "They don't like me. And I don't like them."
"Jughead," FP scolded. "You gotta try."
"Why?" Jughead asked, genuinely wanting to know.
FP sighed. "Because…It's a good skill to have, learning how to get along with other people," he settled on a semi-satisfying answer. Jughead frowned, having no response to that. "Look, why don't you and me, we go through this list…See what sounds okay for you to try?"
Jughead shrugged half-heartedly. He didn't want to try any of it, but it didn't sound like he had much of a choice. FP clapped his son on the shoulder, ruffling his raven locks fondly. "I've got a couple minutes before I gotta head back to the site," he said, looking at his watch. "You wanna head inside Archie's house and we look at this together?"
"Okay," Jughead agreed on a sigh.
It took longer than a few minutes to decide, and Betty and Archie being 'helpful' as they suggested what Jughead could try was only making the boy more anxious. Betty caught on to it first and she quickly led Archie away from FP and Jughead, saying she needed some help to make some lemonade. Jughead watched them walk away longingly, wishing he could play with his friends rather than figure out a sport he had to endure.
Finally, it was narrowed down to two of the non-team sports the school offered – tennis and swimming. Jughead had terrible hand-eye coordination, but he was a fish in the water, so FP ticked the box next to 'swim team' and signed on the dotted line.
"I'm gonna make sure your teacher gets this tomorrow," FP said with a pointed look at Jughead, who tried not to look so sheepish (he had been planning on throwing the consent form away and lying to Mrs. Fennec tomorrow, after all. He wondered if his dad could somehow read his mind and found out his plan). "Be good for Mary, okay, boy? I gotta get back to work now."
Jughead nodded. "Okay, dad," he hugged his dad quickly, smiling when he felt FP press a kiss to the top of his head. "Bye! I'll see you later."
"See ya, boy," FP smiled, watching his son scamper off to join his friends, love heavy in his heart.
Mary came out of the kitchen, smiling amiably at him. "I made you and Fred some sandwiches," she said, holding up a Tupperware and handing it to him.
"Thanks, Mary," he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, watching as she blushed, waving him off. "And thanks for watching my boy."
She gave him a look. "You never have to thank me for that, FP, you know that," she said. "You and Jug…You're family."
Feeling lucky for having such good friends, FP headed back to the construction site, polishing off two sandwiches at a red light. Despite his increasing responsibilities with the Serpents, despite the arguments escalating between him and Gladys lately, he had it good in life. FP was well aware of that, thinking back to his beautiful son.
Knowing that Jughead was less than enthused about the sports requirement at school, FP vowed to make a pitstop at Pop's with him later to get him a milkshake as a treat on the way home.
This chapter isn't as long as the previous one, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Please leave a review even if you didn't.
Thanks for reading, everyone!
Love,
Lorelai.