Quicksand ¤ Jughead Jones

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. I'd like to thank Mayor McCoy for inviting me to speak on this historic day. Seventy-five year of Riverdale..." 

That's when Lauren Davis and Jughead Jones showed up, hand in hand, the former's hair damp but nonetheless she made sure she would be there to support her friends, since she seemed to be the only one who always cared for her, Jughead's jacket was draped around Lauren, her eyes looking around before landing on the blonde speaker, sending a proud smile towards her. 

Betty smiled warmly, glancing at her group of her friends before continuing her speech. "But what is Riverdale? It's the people, right? You, me, our friends, our neighbors. Riverdale is Archie Andrews. Kevin Keller is Riverdale. Veronica Lodge she's Riverdale. But you know who else is Riverdale? F.P Jones, who we were so close to blame for Jason's murder. Lauren Davis is Riverdale, gosh, she's the very light or Riverdale despite whatever darkness follows her. Jughead Jones is Riverdale, the very soul of Riverdale, without him we may have never known what happened to Jason. And yet how do we thank him? By banishing him. Which is what we do when the truth gets too ugly in Riverdale. Truth being that Clifford Blossom was also Riverdale.

Riverdale is at a cross-roads. If we don't face the reality of who and what we are, if we keep lying to ourselves and keeping secrets from each other then what happened to Jason could happen again. Riverdale must do better. We must do better." 

The silence in the auditorium was deafening yet eerie, jaws dropped, eyes widened and murmurs didn't break out for once, like they usually did. Lauren's lips formed into a small smile, pride swelling in her hearts as her hands met and the beat led to an applause. Jughead joining in along with the rest of the audience as Betty broke out into a beam, lighting up the dark room like she always did. 

And with that last moment, The five friends, huddled together at a booth at Pop's, they were wrapped in each others arms, Jughead and Lauren were next to each other, Betty leaned into Lauren as the redhead and raven haired girl sat opposite the three, milkshakes stood in front of each one of them. Jughead's arm rested behind Lauren on the sofa that cushioned her back. 

"To Archie Andrews who saved the cheerleader and the town." Veronica chirped, her lips formed into a smile. 

Archie smiled, shaking his head in disagreement nonetheless. "Actually I think it was Betty's speech." 

"To Betty Cooper." Veronica cheered holding up her milkshake as everyone did the same sending smiles the blondes way. 

"And to Lauren," Veronica hummed suddenly clearing her throat as the atmosphere shifted. "Because Archie, Veronica and Betty are so very sorry for what they did and hope you can forgive them with your kind heart." 

The smile on Lauren's face said more than enough. 

****

"Betty and I broke up, Laur."  

Lauren felt a little bit of shock hit her, relief however washed over her, her heart fluttering in what seemed to be a tonne of weight, her nerves suddenly going crazy, her hand sweating up just like it always was. 

Lauren peeled off her coat and Jughead's jacket along with it, setting it on the arm of the small sofa before turning around with a sigh her voice quiet. "Why?" 

Jughead sighed a small grin playing on his lips as he took off his beanie. "We both realized it didn't feel right, you know? I realized that I just mistook my feelings for someone else." 

Lauren raised her eyebrows as Jughead took a step closer, his face now inches away from her own. "Really? Who?" 

Lauren's breathe hitched into her throat, her eyes roaming up all the way up to his eyes as she took a deep breathe, Jughead's eyes gleaming in a way she had never seen before. Lauren smiled lightly, a breathy chuckle leaving his lips as he glanced down at her small frame. "You're really bad at hiding what you feel." 

A smile graced Lauren's lips as she let out a hushed whisper. "Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah." 

The tension and nerves in the air could be felt heavily, it could be cut with the sharpest knife, with that the close proximity could no longer be taken as their lips met slowly, immediately it felt like the most weightless feeling to subside from all the sudden emotions that were intensifying, his hand went around her jaw, her's  making it's way into his hair. 

Lauren's lips tingled with every inch his lips moved, her mouth being ignited into a warm flame inside her, something about the foreign comfort he brought was the most assuring feeling Lauren could think of, her eyes shut close and her mind taking her to the best of places.  

The lip-lock lasted for just the right time, not too long and not too small, their hearts craving the touch of the other. Lauren was in a daze her heart hammered against her frail chest as she managed to pull away from him, her lips wanting to stay attached for longer. Breathing out in pants the two stared into each others eye, Lauren's twinkling with a certain happiness she hadn't felt in a while.

Like for once she would get the way she wanted, who she wanted for so long stood so close to her, feeling the same exact way she did. 

Lauren opened her mouth to say something but a knock on the door interrupted her from doing so, Jughead's eyebrows furrow in thought, the girl replicating his actions. "Who could that possibly be. 

The sound of a dog barking is what caught the attention of Lauren, her ears perking up at the sound. Lauren watched as Jughead's face contorted into a puzzled look, his eyebrows still furrowed as Lauren made her way towards him, his hand grabbing a hold of a black cloth. 

Jughead smirked pulling on the black leather jacket, finally showing Lauren the piece behind it, a grin breaking out onto her face as she moved to stand next to him, her head poking out through the cracked open door. 

"Have you made your decision yet, Davis?" 

Lauren's lips parted a ragged breathe leaving her mouth as she glanced at Jughead a confused frown replacing his otherwise blinding smile. She nodded proudly with pursed lips that were pulled into a tight smile.

"I'm in." 

****

What a damn ending hahahahah. Finally I uploaded the god damn epilogue, I am so so sorry about the long wait that you guys had to wait for  but it's 3:30 am, I have an exam tomorrow but Im updating. 

My math and Science exams went pretty good, thankfully which meant a pretty chill weekend, I just had to update. It was my last Science exam ever! So im celebrating, just pray I do well in my next few exams you guys, I need it bad. 

Thank you so very much for 3k reads I cant tell you guys how happy and proud I am for this journey, it's been filled with the most amazing things I can possibly think of. 

The amount of positivity I received in the making of this book has been over-whelming  and I will never stop appreciating you all for it. 

A sequel will come out eventually, however for now my focus is my studies and my end of year exams, I promise I will be back soon though. 

Thank you guys once again! And I will definitely let you all know when I upload the next book, so keep your eyes open for that.