Chapter Three: Forsythe "Jughead" Jones and Zorya
A young, dark-haired man and his Daemon was currently seated at Pop's Choc'Lit Shoppe, trying to type the beginning of a mystery novel.
"It was a cold, stormy night…"
"A man with fear, guilt, and sorrow sat in the living room…"
"Waiting for a miracle to change his life…"
"Waiting for his friend to come by and say hi…"
Forsythe Jones, better know as Jughead thanks to his weird head ornament, stared incredulously at his Settled Daemon. If he knew Zorya would stay as a capuchin monkey forever, he would've tried to sell her and purchase someone else's Daemon. Alas, it wasn't going to happen.
"Oops, did I say something?" Zorya chirped.
"Yes, you frigging did," Jughead growled at the monkey Daemon.
"You've stopped being his best buddy for, what, three months now?"
"Four."
Ignoring her comments, Jughead returned to his novel, but suddenly felt like he lost all sense of creativity. Bah, it must've been Z's fault, he thought bitterly. Why bother talking about Archie right now…?
Just then, Pop Tate delivered his order, a glass of banana milkshake with some vanilla ice cream on top. He thanked the diner's owner and sipped the beverage, keeping Zorya from drinking it out of spite.
Maybe, just maybe, he really did miss him. After all, they were both very close friends, always spending summer vacations doing fun things like camping, bicycling, finding new comic books to read. But then they stopped talking to each other, and his Daemon grew more noisy as time passed by.
"Alright, Z, since you're so damn clever, why don't you tell me the first paragraph?"
"One day, our intrepid protagonist examined a beautiful trinket."
"Okay, and…?"
"And then his heart becomes full of love and regret."
"Because?" The dark-haired boy felt he knew where it was going.
"The protagonist longs for the good ol' days when he and his best buddy were still hanging out together."
For some reason, despite him not believing where his capuchin monkey Daemon was leading him, Jughead decided to write what she told him. He'd probably delete the whole draft and try to start over. Archie's not here, the dark-haired boy thought, he wouldn't read this damn story anyway.
"One day, when they are visiting the best diner in the town…"
"Mhm," the boy played along, writing what his monkey Daemon told him.
"The boys hear a very sad news on TV…"
"Oookay," Jughead didn't want to hear it, but he typed Zorya's idea regardless.
"A fellow student from Riverdale High was found dead in the nearby river!"
Another death glare from Jughead, this time genuinely wondering if Zorya really was joking or not. He did want to write a mystery novel, but revealing the death of a character that early was kind of too contrived, or was it? His Daemon smiled innocently, as if her story idea was the best thing ever.
The boy stretched his arms and yawned. Taking another sip from the milkshake, Jughead planned to just scrap the monkey Daemon's suggestions when the diner's door opened. He expected a fat, ugly-looking trucker to step in and be an inspiration for his story. What he didn't expect was for Archie Andrews himself to enter the diner, accompanied by a fluffy wolf. There was something special about that wolf, though…
"Oh, so today is Bailey's Settling Day, am I correct?"
Zorya jumped keenly at the sight of the wolf Daemon, attracting the attention of the red-haired boy. For a moment, his eyes and Jughead's met each other, before Archie smiled and waved. Looking for forgiveness, or simply pretending like the past four months didn't happen?
He looked like he wanted to talk so badly, Jughead surmised, so he saved the novel's draft and waited until Archie brought with him a glass of chocolate milkshake and some delicious hamburger. Ugh, the damn brunette knew his weakness, Jughead admitted as the hamburgers were laid in front of him.