Jade Jones was a girl that grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. She was separated from her younger brother, partly by choice and partly not, when she left her old life behind and transferred to junior high on the Southside. She left everyone beh...
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word count: 593 slightly edited
"Veronica, are you trying to manage me right now?" Jughead asked as they all sat in the student lounge
"Define 'manage'." Veronica said.
"People are gonna lose their homes."
"Jughead, why don't you come over with Jade and your dad and sit down with my dad, and hash this out like civilized humans, face to face?" Veronica said making Jade look up from her binder, not really wanting to be in the middle of this right now.
"Okay, one condition. Your dad comes to Sunnyside Trailer Park. I want him to see the people that he's gonna be displacing."
"Fine, and trust me, no one is being displaced."
"Oh my god, did you guys hear? My dad's scanner is blowing up." Kevin said walking into the student lounge. "The police found another dead body this morning, there's blood everywhere."
"Could the Black Hood have risen from the grave?" Jughead said.
"Did they say whose body?" Archie asked.
"Where did they find it?" Betty asked.
"The investigation's ongoing but apparently, it was a gruesome, gang-land style execution at the motel, with blood and brains splattered all over the duvet."
"Okay, Kev, we get it." Archie said.
"I gotta go." Betty said getting up and walking out of the student lounge.
☆
"Betty, are you okay?" Jade said as she walked into the bathroom, seeing Betty sitting on the floor near a toilet.
"I'm fine, Jade."
"Let me get you a towel."
"I said I'm fine."
"Betty.."
"Jade, just leave me alone."
Jade sighed before walking out of the school bathroom.
☆
Jughead, Jade and Fp sat on the couch in their trailer. Hiram Lodge sat in a seat across from the three, Veronica in a chair to the left of her father.
"Thank you for agreeing to sit down and discuss this misunderstanding." Hiram started.
"There's no—"
"There's no misunderstanding here." Jade caught of her younger brother. "Tall Boy said you paid him to decapitate the Pickens statue as an excuse to turn up the heat on the serpents."
"You got a lot of nervous people scared they're gonna lose their homes." Fp said.
"I heard about that." Hiram said, "And though it has nothing whatsoever to do with me, I've spoken to Mayor McCoy.. and as a gesture of goodwill to the southside community. I'd like to settle any back rent you or your neighbors owe the town."
"And what do you want in return?" Jughead asked.
"Peace in the land."
"Hmm." Fp said. "It's a deal."
Fp stood, everyone else standing as well. Hiram and Fp shook hands right before Hiram spoke again.
"There is one thing.. Mayor McCoy tells me you have some kind of exposé you're working on, Jughead. So in exchange for my generous offer, I'd appreciated if you just kept my name out of it. Sound fair?"
Jughead scoffed, "That sounds a lot like a bribe." Hiram let out a dry laugh, "No deal."
"See you in the funny pages." Jade said as Fp put his arms around his two kids.
☆
"Betty.. what's going on? What are you doing out here?" Jade said as she got of her motorcycle and walked over Betty who at on the steps of the sidewalk to her house.
"I think I'm going crazy." Betty looked up at her Jade with glossed eyes. "Jade, my mom's acting like everything's normal when.. it's not. Everything is falling apart.. everything is falling apart."
Jade let out a breath before her blonde friend spoke again, "I need to tell you something."
