I'm Darkness || Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones [2]

The Strong One

Eleanor woke up to shouting downstairs, she should be used to it by now. She recognized Betty's voice screaming louder than the other and, while walking downstairs, Ellie managed to get a hold of the conversation's topic – it was that damn phone Betty brought home.

"What else is he lying about, huh?"

"Betty," Everyone turned to look at the new arrived blonde girl. "What is going on?"

"Chic here lied. Turns out there were texts of junkies looking for a fix." Betty explained. "One of them was from Chic, the night that happened."

"What?" Ellie turned to look at Chic. "Is it true?"

He didn't answer, instead he stayed silent. The tears were building up on his eyes, and it Betty who saw it first. She leaned forward, frowning. "Are you kidding me? No one is buying the waterworks! No one."

"Enough, Elizabeth." Alice grabbed her by the arm, and took her out of the dining room. "That's enough."

Eleanor looked down at her brother – or whoever he was – not with sorrow as she used to. He had wrecked her family, and even though he was part of it and Alice was trying to make up for everything that went down before, Chic was still just a stranger.

"I didn't lie, Ellie."

"Shut up." She swallowed. "Texts don't lie."

"You know what that's like, don't you?" Chic leaned forward under her confused gaze. "You try to let go but then your hands start shaking and... You promise is just one more, and when you look back you can't live without it. It's not that I want it, I need it, Ellie. Just like you."

"What are you talking about?" Eleanor's hands grabbed onto the dining chair. "You know nothing about me, Chic. I'm not like you."

"Guys, what's going on now?" Alice walked back to the table. "Can't we all eat in peace?"

"You're wrong, Ellie." Chic still told her. "I see what you keep on your third drawer."

Eleanor's features changed, it was like he was desesperated to find something in common with her. So he searched through her things, and made up his story. In his head it might have sounded all sentimental, but to Ellie it sounded like a threath.

"What is he talking about, Eleanor?"

"Ellie." Betty appeared behind their Mom. "You should go get dressed."

"Yeah. I have that thing at Southside." Ellie turned her back on them and headed for the stairs.

Betty wasn't sure what her sister was keeping inside her third drawer, but she knew a lot about secrets she didn't want out. So she would look after her sister's as well.

. . .

"Thank you for agreeing to sit down and discuss this misunderstanding."

The whole environment was awkward, Eleanor was having a lot of trouble breathing and it was only the beginning. She was sitting next to Veronica, but it didn't make her any calmer.

"There's no –."

FP sat down, interrupting his son. "There's no misunderstanding here. Tall Boy said you paid him to decapitate the Pickens Statue."

Jughead felt the anger building up. "Worse, you told him to start a riot against Ellie."

Eleanor wanted to speak up for herself, but she couldn't. Not when Veronica was holding onto her hand. The raiven-haired girl was scared, and Ellie was still too overwhelmed about the whole thing going on back at her house. What a tragedy.