Jughead's pov
Four of us now sat on the living room couch, Betty and I waiting to hear what explanation Juju and Preston had for themselves. I watched the two kids, Juju wringing her hands and Preston looking at the ground, his eyes flicking up guiltily to Betty and I every few seconds.
"Jules…" Betty says slowly. "What is going on?"
Juju bites her lip, looking extremely nervous. "I just wanted to help him," she tells us. "It's not his fault, please don't be mad at him."
Betty sighs, looking at me. "It's okay, Juju. I'm not mad at either of you," she says, setting her hand comfortable on Juju's shoulder.
I can't say the same about myself. "Juju, why were you hiding a boy in your room, for god knows how long?" I ask, trying not to raise my voice so as to not wake JB, Chelsea, Grayson, and Everett.
"His dad was making them stay in that motel at the edge of town, he asked if he could stay just until his mom got home, and you guys had just kicked them out, I thought you wouldn't want him back here, so I had to do this," Juju explains, anxiety swirling through her speech. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."
Betty takes a deep breath, resting her head in her hand, her fingers rubbing her temples.
Juju looks at Preston, who hasn't said a word this whole time, and then at her mother, and then me.
"Are you mad at me, dad?" she asks, very softly.
I struggle to find the words I want to say. "I… a little bit, Juju," I respond truthfully. "You know you can always come to us. We happily would have let Preston stay here, it was the two others we had a problem with."
"Please don't be mad with Juju," Preston says, finally speaking up. "I asked to stay, it's all my fault."
"No-" Juju protests.
"I can go back to my dad's now, I can just walk."
"It's one in the morning, you're not walking anywhere," Betty says. "Stay here for the night, we'll get you to your mom's tomorrow."
"I don't want to cause more issues that I already am," Preston says. "Really, it's no problem."
"No, Preston. God knows who's out there at one in the morning, you'll stay here and we will drop you off tomorrow," Betty says.
Preston's nod is laced with guilt. "Thank you," he whispers.
"Alright, it's late, Juju, Preston, back to your room," I say. "Jules, we'll discuss punishments in the morning."
Juju nods, and she and Preston stand up and walk silently back to Juju's room, leaving Betty and I alone on the couch.
"You know," Betty says once we hear their door shut, "I'm kind of impressed they managed to pull that off for so long."
I look at her and can't help but smile. "Great thing to put on a college resume," I reply, putting my arm around Betty's shoulders.
"Harvard would love that, I'm sure. Or whatever art school Julie chooses to go to," Betty replies, her voice tired.
"We should go to bed too," I whisper.
"Sounds good," Betty replies, and we walk together to our bedroom.
Betty's pov
The next morning went as we said it would. Jughead and I came to an agreement on how Julie should be punished, and we made breakfast for everyone, which was eaten silently by everyone except Grayson and Everett.
"Why is Preston here?" Grayson asks as he and Everett walk out to the table together.
"He's just here for a few hours before we drop him off at his mom's," I explain.
"Why are you dropping him off?" Everett questions, sitting down.
"Because he spent the night last night," Jughead answers.
"But he wasn't here at dinner last night, why'd he come so late?" Everett asks.
"He just needed somewhere to stay for the night," I say.
"But-"
I take a deep breath, trying to keep my cool. "Please, Everett, you don't have to worry about it," I say.
"Okay," he replies, pouting a little.
JB and Chelsea came out a few minutes after that.
"Pweston!" Chelsea called, clapping her hands together.
"Oh, I didn't know you were staying over," JB commented, looking slightly surprised.
"We didn't either," I whisper to her.
She gives me a confused look. "What?" she asks.
"I'll explain later," I say.
"Okay…"
JB and Chelsea were able to move into a new house within another few weeks, and soon enough it was only the five of us in the house again.
"It feels weird without her," I tell Jughead as we sit in the living room, preparing stuff for the school year that begins in two weeks.
"I know. I really got used to her in those weeks," Jughead replies.
"I'm glad she feels good enough to live on her own with Chelsea, though," I say.
"Speaking of Chelsea…" Jughead says, looking up at me.
"Yeah?" I ask, also looking up and meeting his eyes.
"The baby will be here rather soon."
"Three and a half months," I correct him.
"That's still soon."
"It's gonna feel like an eternity. We don't even know what's gonna happen between now and December tenth."
"Nothing could change at all," Jughead says.
"Julie is starting middle school. We're gonna have to prepare for a new baby. The boys will be asking if this baby is a boy every single day," I point out.
"Well, Gray and Rhett already do that, so no changes there," Jughead corrects me.
I chuckle, a smile spreading on my face. "That is true."
"Have any name ideas?" Jughead asks.
I shrug. "I don't know. There's a few I like, but nothing I'm really in love with," I reply.
"Well, what are they? I mean, we have to get around to names at some point, why not start here?" Jughead asks.
I shrug. "Alright. Let's see… Hudson… Ivy… Claire…" I say. "They're not my favorites, but they're fine."
"I like Hudson," Jughead says.
"You have any?" I ask.
"Um… Savannah… August, Jackson," Jughead says.
"Eh… I don't really like those," I say. "What about Hadley?"
"Mm, no. Neveah?"
"Definitely not. Here, why don't we look online?"
I pull up a website of baby names, which we scroll through together.
"Maya is cute," Jughead says.
"Not really my style," I reply. "What about Theodora?"
"Way too old fashioned. How about Dylan?"
"No, it doesn't feel right."
"You haven't even met the baby yet."
"I have them growing inside me, I know what name would suit them"
"Okay, what about Giselle?"
"Nah, I don't like the nickname Gigi," I reply. "Isabella?"
"I don't like the nickname Izzy or Bella," Jughead says.
"God, I don't remember is being this hard to settle on a name with the last three kids," I say, leaning back.
"We only named Rhett together, and even that was after your grandfather," Jughead points out.
I sigh, biting on my lip. "Right… this is so difficult," I tell him.
"We'll think of something. Besides, with Rhett, we knew he'd be a boy. We don't know the gender of this one," Jughead says.
"I know. I like the mystery, but it's definitely a challenge when it comes to… well, everything. Clothes, names, the room, planning anything whatsoever," I say.
"You can say that again," Jughead agrees. "But don't worry. The right name will come when it comes."
I nod slowly. "Yeah," I agree, smiling softly.
Juju's pov
Two short weeks later, the new school year was upon us. I went back to school shopping with Callie and our moms, and we were prepared to start middle school.
"I can't believe we're already here," Callie said the night before when the three of us were on facetime.
"I know. I remember when my sister was in middle school, I thought she was so old but now I'm here and I feel so young," Preston agrees.
"My parents are gonna be there," I say in disgust.
"Come on Jules, you'll be fine. No one cares," Preston says.
"Whatever," I reply.
I stand in front of the school, my backpack slung over my shoulders as I look forward. I had been there before, because both of my parents work there, but this was the first time I had looked at it as my school.
"Callie's here," Mom says, and I turn to see Callie walking up to us.
"Hey," I say, smiling nervously.
"Hi," Callie replies.
"Okay girls, why don't you go walk around a bit now, like you planned," Mom says.
"You do know where it is, right? Callie, what class do you have?" Dad asks.
"Science, also," Callie answers.
"Oh, that's lucky. Know what Preston has?" Mom replies.
"History," I answer.
"Ah. Well, you'll see him at lunch," Dad says.
"You girls know where everything is, right? You can always come to one of us if you need help," Mom says.
"We know," I tell her.
"Remember, at the end of the day come to one of our classrooms," Mom reminds me.
"I'll remember. You only mentioned it five times on the way here," I tell her, making her and Dad smile.
"Alright. We'll see you then, okay?"
"Okay," I reply, and hug both of my parents before Callie and I set off for our science class.
"I wonder how true the stories are," Callie says quietly as we walk through the halls. Not many children are there yet, because it's rather early, but Callie and I wanted a chance to explore a little beforehand.
"Pretty true, I think," I reply.
"Do you really think Mr. Matthews will assign that much homework?" Callie questions, worry in her eyes.
I shrug. "I think so. My parents say he's well known for his projects. I don't really know much about him, though. My parents are closer with the eighth grade teachers."
"Yeah. I can't wait to have Mrs. Brown, she's so nice," Callie tells me.
"I know," I agree. Mrs. Brown is an eighth grade art teacher, an older Southern lady who my parents are friends with. She's been around for dinner a few times, and Callie and Preston were there one of those times.
"Oh, hello," a man says to Callie and I as he walks towards the science classroom we stand near. He's tall and athletic, and his brown hair is cut rather close to his head, although nothing near a buzz cut. He looks at me, studying my face for a second. "You're Mr. Jones and Mrs. Cooper's daughter, right?" he asks.
I nod, slightly scared. "Juju," I say softly.
"I'm Mr. Matthews. Nice to meet you," he says, smiling.
"You too," I tell him. "Oh, this is my friend Callie," I add, remembering she's standing there.
"Callie, nice to meet you too," he says.
Callie smiles, fidgeting slightly with her hair.
I bite my lip a bit, and then decide to ask what I had in my head. "Is it true you once spent a whole class assigning projects?"
Mr. Matthews laughs, truly finding the question funny. "Ah, so the past students have spoken to you, have they?" he asked. Callie and I nod together. He tilts his head to the ground before looking at us through the top of his eyes, a mock evil grin on his face. "Of course not…" he responds, but his tone tells me that really means of course.
Callie and I smile nervously at each other.
"Well, I have to talk to Mr. Briggs if you'll excuse me," he says. "I look forward to seeing you in my class later today."
"See you then," I say as he walks away.
"He seems fun," Callie says.
"He does," I agree. "Should we tell Preston?"
"Nah, let's let him worry," Callie suggests.
"Okay," I say, grinning, and the two of us walk around the school for a little longer before the day starts.
"So how was it?" Mom asks me as she packs up her stuff while I wait in her classroom.
"It was nice," I reply.
"Do you like your teachers?"
I nod. "Yeah."
"Good. They're all very kind, whenever I run into them in the teacher's lounge," Mom says. "How are Callie and Preston feeling about it?"
"They like it. Preston was very excited about doing experiments in science finally," I answer. "Callie seems to like Mr. Quinn, but, I mean, it's math, she'd like the subject anyway."
Mom laughs, tucking a final folder into her bag before slinging it onto her shoulder. "I know Callie and her math."
"I just don't see the appeal of the subject," I say. "There's no room for creativity. I mean, you can make the numbers look fancy, but math teachers don't like that because it apparently makes it hard to read."
"Some people like that there's only one correct answer," Mom tells me as we walk to the car together.
"That's too… limited, for me," I explain.
"I know. Everyone's different, though, so what works for you doesn't always work for someone else."
"Yeah, I know," I reply.
"Get in the car, we'll wait for your dad and then go pick up your brothers," Mom instructs.
"Can I sit in the front?" I ask, knowing she'll say no because she and Dad are the ones that sit in the front.
"Mm… sure, why not," Mom agrees.
"What? Really?" I ask, startled that she said yes.
"Yeah. Your dad can sit with Gray and Rhett for a fifteen minute ride," Mom tells me, smiling.
"Okay," I respond, and climb into the passenger seat.
"We have some exciting news," Mom says that night as we sit down to eat dinner.
"Are we going to Disneyland again?" Everett asks excitedly, jumping up and down.
My parents meet eyes and laugh, my Dad shaking his head. "Nah, don't think we'll be back at Disneyland for a little while," he says.
"Awh," Everett whines, pouting.
"What is it, Mommy?" Grayson questions. "Ooh, is the baby gonna be a boy?" He gasps, his eyes widening. "What if it's twin boys?"
"Yeah, twin boys!" Everett agrees.
"It's not that either," Mom says, laughter in her eyes.
"How do you know it's not twins?" Grayson demands, his eyebrows raised.
"Believe me, Gray, we would be able to tell if it was twins," Dad tells him.
"So, what is happening?" I ask, ready to hear the news and not Grayson and Everett's insane predictions.
"So, do you remember how Aunt Polly and Uncle Matt were adopting a baby?" Mom asks.
Grayson, Everett and I nod.
"Well, the girl they're adopting from had the baby earlier today," Mom announces with a wide smile.
"Really?" I ask. "That's cool!"
"Is it a boy?" Grayson asks immediately.
"No, it's a girl," Dad says.
Grayson seems to deflate slightly, but then perks back up. "What's her name?"
"Chloe Madison," Mom replies.
"Oh, cute," I say.
"Can we go and see her?" Everett asks.
"Well…" Mom says, looking at Dad.
"We're kind of busy right now, because school just started," Dad says, "and then we're gonna have a baby… but maybe for Christmas they can come here."
"But Christmas is so far away," Everett whines.
"It'll be here before you know it. Don't worry, bud. Plus, you'll have a little brother or sister around then too," Dad reminds him.
"Oh yeah," Everett says.
"Did you forget?" I ask him, a faint smile on my lips.
"No," he replies defensively.
"You forgot!" I say.
"Daddy, Mama, Rhett forgot about the baby," Grayson tattles, as if they hadn't heard.
"Did not!" Everett protests.
"It's okay, Rhett," Mom says, smiling at the three of us.
"Also, we were sitting here the whole time, we heard," Dad says.
"I didn't forget about the baby," Everett mumbles.
"I know," Mom replies, smiling softly. "I know."
"Do you have a picture of Chloe?" I ask.
"Yeah, wanna see?" Mom asks. I nod, and she gets her phone from the counter and opens it to some pictures Polly had sent her.
"Aw, she's adorable," I say, looking at the chubby little baby wrapped in a blanket with a little pink and blue hat on.
"I know, she's so cute," Mom agrees.
For once, looking at that picture, I don't dread having another sibling. I mean, if they'll be this cute, it can't be that bad, right?