till we meet again ││ bughead ❀

chapter twenty-one

~ Jughead Jones ~

We burst through the doors and battle with all our might, the rhythmic sounds of gunshots and screams filling my ears. 

As I fight with the large man before me I think to myself, You're just a few minutes away from seeing her again.

The comforting thought is the only thing that keeps me going as I kick at the mans ankles, sending him crashing to the floor. I swiftly whip my gun out of my back pocket and shoot the man right in the centre of his chest.

Just because he's on the wrong side, it doesn't mean I'll let him suffer, I think to myself as I sheath my gun and run towards a corridor. 

I'm almost to the door when I hear a small whimper coming from beside me. 

I turn, and lying behind a large pot plant, her fiery hair now matted and her jeans stained a dark red, is Cheryl Blossom.

She smiles weakly, clutching both her hands to her thigh.

"Hey there, Jones" she says shakily. I run to her side instantly and take my shirt off, pressing it tightly to the bullet wound in her leg.

"What the hell happened?" I demand, my voice breaking slightly. I cough to clear my throat, but Cheryl heard my voice wobble and looked up.

"Don't worry about me, I saw FP go into a room down the hallway," Cheryl says, "I think its time to go and save your girl."

My breath hitches. This is the moment you've been waiting for, the moment you finally get to see her and hold her again.

"TOPAZ!" I yell. Seconds later, Toni comes running over to where I'm kneeling.

"Jones? What- Cheryl!" Toni yells as she screeches to a halt at my side. She is instantly on her knees beside me, taking Cheryl's hand in hers and squeezing it with all her might.

With a nod to the both of them, I silently slip through the door.

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As I edge closer to the door at the end of the hallway I flinch at the sound of every gunshot, hoping that none of those bullets were sinking themselves into Betty's silky white skin. 

I start jogging to the door. There's no time to waste!!! my conscience screams at me. 

My hand is resting on the doorknob when I hear a gunshot as a bloodcurdling scream rips through the silence and echoes down the hallway. A loud thud follows.

I freeze, listening for any sounds of life. After a few seconds of silence, I hear a female wailing on the other end of the door. 

My heart stutters and stops before picking up the pace in double time.

She's here.

Although impulse is telling me to burst through the door and save my damsel in distress, my gut tells me to wait and see if FP speaks up.

He would have killed her by now if he was actually going to do it, I think to myself. He doesn't want to kill her if I'm not there watching.

I shudder. I will never let that happen to Betty.

My train of thought is interrupted as I hear the sound of a chair scraping across the floor. The door is thick, and so I can only hear muffled voices on the other side. 

I open the door a little bit to hear better, hoping the door doesn't make a sound. It doesn't.

"That baby won't stand a chance in this life - Jughead would be as shitty as me at parenting," I hear FP say as he stands behind the chair, holding a gun to the head of the love of my life.

I take in her state, her skin shining under the dim light in the center of the room. Still as beautiful as she looked on the day I first met her.

Then my brain takes in the words that came out of FP's mouth. I stagger back a bit, my chest tight and heavy. 

Betty's pregnant? I think to myself.

The smoothness of her stomach tells me that she's only a few months along, meaning that the baby she's carrying is mine.

"Oh, baby," I whisper to myself.

I snap out of my trance as I see FP's finger inching closer and closer to the trigger. He's actually going to do it.

I burst through the door, screaming "Hey!" so that his attention is no longer on Betty.

I am now staring into the cold, bloodshot eyes of FP Jones, notorious gang leader and crappy father figure. 

He lifts his gun and aims it at me, but I duck and tackle him to the ground before he can shoot at me. I ignore the loud thud in the background as we struggle on the ground together. My anger only allows me to focus on this man. Finally, I am able to kick the gun just out of his reach and roll over so that I am now towering over him.

He shields his face as I rain punches down on him, blow after blow. The blood on my knuckles is a mixture of mine and his. A sharp, tangy aroma fills the room and after a while, the grunting from FP stops.

I get off of him and grab the gun, training it on his forehead. He looks dead into my eyes and smirks. 

"You won't do it, son," he snarls. I turn around a bit before swinging my arm towards him, hitting his jaw with the butt of the gun.

A well practiced maneuver I learned from the devil himself.

FP turns and spits out blood of the darkest color. I bend down beside him and whisper, "I will never be your son." I will it to be true as I stand up and level the gun so that the barrel is aimed at the skin between his eyes.

And I pull the trigger.

The adrenaline rush slowly wears off and fatigue begins to seep through my veins like a drug as I assess my injuries. Then a switch in my brain flips and I inhale sharply.

Betty had been sitting behind me the entire time.

She hasn't made a sound since I came in, and I'm assuming she's finally seen me for the monster that I am. She hates me, I think to myself. 

I turn around and mentally prepare to meet the bright, green eyes of the girl that I love so much.

But what I see isn't a welcome sight.

On the floor before me lies a bloody, bruised and unconscious Betty Cooper.

a/n:

hi guys! i know its been a year since i updated and for that i'm sorry :) as you have seen, covid has had a major impact on schooling and everything and since i got back to school i've been trying to catch up! however i will be trying to finish this book, please go and support @keilanizworld (my other account) as i'll probably write more on there than here! have a great rest of your week and follow to keep updated!! xx