( word count: 1,373 )

not edited

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE:

GETTING AWAY

    GINNY HOPKINS HELD HER BREATH, ripping her hand away from Jughead's. He had pulled away from her but it was Ginny who broke the contact between them, feeling the warmth that was there disappear.

"Oh hell no," Ginny spat. "Do you want to know where I went? I was with Evie. We had tried finding my father." She had been at Pop's working and afterwards, went with Evie to the library to look at records of their high school– finding any connection between her mother and her unknown father.

Jughead's mouth fell open to speak to Ginny but Betty interrupted, stepping forward. Jughead's eyes moved from Ginny to Betty wishing he had left everyone alone.

"No, Ginny didn't know and I didn't know what they were doing. But yes, that is why she invited you guys." Betty concluded to Jughead, about the dinner that occurred.

"To think I was gonna pass on moving to Toledo with my family for you." Jughead spat out with a shake of his head. Jughead didn't want to believe Betty– he knew that Ginny was the only one speaking the truth, why would everyone lie to him?

"What?" Archie asked in disbelief, stepping forward to talk to his best friend.

"When we went to my dad's trailer, you asked me if I believed him." Jughead turned to Betty with a frown, thinking of their previous adventure. He ignored the red headed teen's question, rather wanting to get to the bottom of this drama. Jughead wasn't one for drama and he wanted to have it end.

"I said I did." Betty told Jughead, wishing she could touch him– to somehow get him to believe her.

"Wasn't that good enough for you?" His voice was filled with heartbreak and Ginny desperately wished they had stayed at the dance instead of leaving early.

"It was. It was good enough. I didn't– I tried to stop her." Betty tried to explain but Ginny shook her head in disappointment, her brunette hair flying around.

"You could've told me, you could've warned me about this." Jughead said with a frown.

"You were so excited, Jug, I didn't want to disappoint you." Betty breathed out as tears threatened to spill, wishing that she hadn't screwed things up– wishing no one had.

"So instead you lied? You all lied to me?" Jughead tried his best to keep his composure but he was hurt over his friends betrayal.

Before anyone else could say another word, a group approached them from the other end of the hallway.

Kevin was the first to join them, panting. "There they are."

"Betty. Thank God–" Alice Cooper breathed out as the group approached them. Betty stepped forward, annoyed with her mother.

"Mom, don't–" Betty began but was interrupted by her mother.

"No, you have to listen. All of you." Alice snapped quickly and everyone shut up.

"My dad just told Mayor McCoy about your dad, Jughead." Kevin told the group but his gaze was on Jughead, concerned.

"What about my dad?" Jughead asked and Ginny felt her heart drop at what was said next.

"He was just arrested. For the murder of Jason Blossom."

Jughead immediately bolted from the hallway and Ginny was the first to react and follow behind him, leaving the misfit group behind.

Jughead made it to the football field and was successful on losing everyone besides his faithful girlfriend, whose feet pounded the pavement despite wearing four inch heels.

"Jughead!" Ginny yelled loudly and the boy halted in his tracks, allowing the young brunette to catch up to him. She was sick of running and just wanted to take her shoes off.

Jughead turned slightly to watch Ginny approach him, an apprehensive look on his face. Ginny sighed, knowing the drama that Jughead was dealing with. He had stuck by her through hers, now it was her turn to do the same. She stepped forward, her arms wrapping around his body in comfort. Jughead sighed as the young girl embraced him lovingly.

"I'm sorry for not believing you." Jughead said as his chin nestled into her neck. "I should have never doubted you."

"It's okay, Jug. You're going through hell right now."

º   º   º

     JUGHEAD JONES HAD NO IDEA what he was going to do. His father was in jail. He hated all of this drama– how everyone lied to him. He needed an escape. Then, an idea came to mind and he dragged Ginny along– who was stubborn enough not to leave him alone.

"Hi, Mom. Hey, guess what? I got a bus ticket to Toledo. Yeah. I thought I'd come see you and Jellybean for a while. I could crash on the couch. Also  Ginny's with me, I'm not sure if you remember her..." Jughead held the phone to his ear, nervously awaiting a response.

There was a prolonged pause as Jughead listened to the other line and Ginny rubbed his back as she leaned up against the glass.

"Yeah. Mmm-hmm. No. I No, I understand." There was a crack in his voice and Ginny paused her movements to look closely at Jughead's expression. He looked broken. "Look, forget I said anything, okay? All right. Bye."

Ginny stayed quiet as Jughead hung up the phone, waiting for him to speak or at least turn around. The young girl jumped as Jughead punched the wall in frustration but immediately wrapped her arms around the teenage boy when she heard him crying.

His mom told him not to come.

"I changed my mind about Toledo." Jughead announced to the woman behind the desk. "Can you just put us on whatever the next bus out of town is? I don't even care where it's going."

"Citrusville, Florida. Leaves tomorrow morning at 6:00." The older woman replied, pointing to the sign.

"Great." Jughead said, looking around the lobby.

"Lobby closes in fifteen minutes, reopens at 5:30." The woman told him, as if she knew he wanted to stay there. Jughead didn't want to go to his father's trailer– that's the first place that anyone would look for him.

"We can go to mine?" Ginny suggested, intertwining their fingers together, pulling him towards the door. "Or Pops?"

Jughead sighed, following his best friend. He needed a burger to cheer him up.

º   º   º

     GINNY AND JUGHEAD SAT IN THEIR USUAL BOOTH at Pop's. Jughead's arm was wrapped around the booth and over Ginny's shoulder, pulling her closer to him. Ginny's hand rested on Jughead's knee, tapping it to the beat of the music as she munched on her French fries. It was quiet between the two as they sat there, eating. Jughead's mind was reeling from hearing his father was arrested for the murder of Jason Blossom and Ginny was letting him grieve in peace.

The bell above the door chimed and Veronica, Betty, and Archie entered Pop's. "Told you," the dark haired girl told the others, looking over her shoulder with a knowing look.

Jughead sighed, removing his arm around Ginny to grab at his coffee, busying himself from looking his friends in the eyes.

"Jug. Jug, we're so sorry—About everything." Betty told him, sitting in the booth across from the teenage boy.

"You guys should leave," Ginny started, glaring at their friends, noticing that Jughead wasn't looking them in the eye, rather staring outside at nothing. 

"Juggy, we screwed up." Archie told his best friend as he sat besides Betty.  "We all did. Breaking into your dad's trailer was wrong, but at least some good came out of it."

"Pretty sure my dad was just arrested for murder." Jughead mumbled, wondering where the 'good' was. His hand grasped at Ginny's, clutching it tightly, wishing this night could end already.

"That gun wasn't there when we searched his trailer. Someone put it there after we left." Veronica spoke up, staring at Jughead in sympathy. Ginny turned her head to glance behind her at Veronica who was in the booth beside theirs.

Jughead turned to face Veronica, a confused look on his face. All that Jughead could manage to speak was a whisper: 

"What are you talking about?"

º º º

i know how i'm ending season one y'all gonna k i l l me for what i do omg.

keep on commenting for a double update :)

i love all of your comments they make my day <3