(     word count: 1348    )

CHAPTER FIVE:

↳AFTERMATH

     IT WAS GINNY'S DECISION TO GO TO WORK AT POP'S again so Jughead decided to go in and visit. Be there for moral support. Be there for his girl. 

However, when he got there, the parking lot was empty and trash littered the pavement. It was almost an eerie silence around Jughead as he stared in question. 

"What the hell?" Jughead mumbled as he stared at Pop's from afar. 

Death Diner.

"Pop?" Jughead called out as the front door closed behind him, the bell above him dinging to signal his arrival. 

Pop was behind the counter and Ginny popped out from the kitchen door at the sound of her boyfriend's voice. 

"Did you see? Did you see what they wrote on my Chock'lit Shoppe?" Pop asked Jughead, his voice broken and defeated. The diner was his life and now it was over. 

"We've been cleaning all morning," Ginny said sadly. It was a shame that this happened to the older man. He didn't deserve this. This town didn't deserve this.

"I'm so sorry, Pop. You don't deserve this." Jughead sighed as he approached the counter where Ginny held out her arms to him. He immediately hugged his girlfriend in comfort before turning to Pop, ready to talk.

He didn't want the town to give up on Pop...

º   º   º

      IT WAS THE NEXT DAY WHEN JUGHEAD spoke up about what had happened. 

"No one was there. His entire staff quit. He says he's not sure how long he'll be able to keep the doors open, maybe not even a week." Jughead told his friends as Ginny sat beside him in support. The past day had been tolling on him as another one of his favorite places to him was destroyed. 

"It's because of what happened to my dad. People are freaking out. And I gotta be honest, guys, I don't see myself going back any time soon." Archie admitted to his friends. Ginny sighed, she knew that going back to the diner was hard for her– she just didn't want to tell Jughead and have him worry about her. 

"Wait, I'm sorry, am I hearing acceptance? I'm not letting one psychopath with a gun dictate what happens to our place." Betty asked in a huff, ignoring what Archie just said. "Jug, you went crazy trying to save the drive-in."

"I can't take on any more social issues right now. My hands are full." Jughead looked plain exhausted as the emotional toll took him over.

"Betty, you need to realize why Archie is saying this." Ginny spoke up, always wishing she did– now she was. "His father was shot there, in front of him– Sorry Arch – and that memory will always be ingrained into his head and into mine." 

Betty stared blankly at Ginny while Archie gave the brunette a grateful smile. 

The blonde, however, turned back to Jughead. "Your hands are full with your dad, of course. And he should be your priority. I'll take point on helping Pop Tate."

"I'll help, too, Betty. Hey, anything to get me away from my parents, I'm in." Veronica added in, speaking up after being silent for so long– what a rare occurrence. 

"Another Bee and Vee team-up. They should really make a video game about you guys." Jughead turned to Ginny giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. "I gotta jet. I'm off to meet my dad's court-appointed joke of a lawyer at the sheriff's station."

"Want me to come too?" Ginny offered to him but he just smiled softly and shook his head.

"Gin, do you know how many absences you have?" Ginny pouted, realising that it was true, she did miss a lot of school. Fine, she would stay at school like a good academic student.

"I'm gonna come with you, Jug." Archie volunteered, getting up from the table they were seated at. "I gotta drop some flyers off for Sheriff Keller."

"Bye."

Jughead gave Ginny a lingering kiss before he left... glancing back at his girlfriend who pouted at the table, listening to Veronica rant about a new pair of shoes...

º   º   º

     JUGHEAD AND ARCHIE SPLIT UP, Archie going to talk to the Sheriff while Jughead went to the meeting. He wasn't necessarily nervous, more like terrified to hear what could happen to his father. 

"Let's talk about the damn deal." Jughead muttered to the defense attorney in front of him. 

"First, to review the charges you're facing, arson, destruction of evidence, making a false confession, obstructing justice, not to mention this whole nasty mess of dumping a dead kid in the river." The older man listed to the two Jones'. 

"I know what I did. What's the deal? What are they offering?" FP asked the attorney. He knew what he had done and knew he had to pay for those mistakes. 

"You're gonna want to take it. I'm telling you, I've been doing this a long time. It's a strong deal." The strangers eyes fleeted between the two, muttering to them. He was positive it wouldn't go well with the dangerous criminal and his son.

"How many damn years?"

º   º   º

     IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT WHEN ARCHIE HEARD A NOISE at his home while he was alone. Paranoid after what happened to his father though, he was prepared for anything. Armed with a bat, the redheaded teen moved slowly towards the noise. 

 "Whoa, whoa!" Jughead exclaimed loudly in surprise as his best friend appeared suddenly with a bat.

"Jughead," Archie sighed in relief but partly in disappointment, as if he wanted the disturbance to be from the man who shot his father. 

"Are you insane?" Jughead asked his best friend who lowered the bat slowly.

"Hey, you're the one that looks like a Dream Warrior from Nightmare on Elm Street 3." There was a moment of silence before Archie spoke up again, realising why Jughead would come over to his house at such a late hour. "What did the lawyer say?"

"I've been walking around all night trying to wrap my head around how bad it is. It's bad. My dad is facing 20 years, Arch." Jughead admitted, pacing around the room. 

"Crap, Jughead, I'm sorry. That sucks." Archie told his friend, unsure of what else to say. 

"The lawyer thinks he should take the deal. And that if he doesn't, and the case goes to trial, he could be facing 40 years. I'm just really, really scared."

Archie couldn't reassure him, neither knew what the results could be.

"Yeah, me, too." Archie said instead, referring to his father's incident. It was good for him to admit that to someone though, but maybe he wouldn't go into details yet, deferring his own craziness towards something else.

"About what?" Jughead asked. 

"I couldn't sleep last night, Jug. I kept thinking about your dad, and Pop's. And how maybe we can kill two birds with one stone." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Here, spend the night, we'll talk about it, we haven't had a proper sleepover in awhile."

º   º   º

      GINNY RESTED UP AGAINST HER LOCKER DOOR, waiting for Jughead to find her. She knew that he spent the night with Archie, which was good for them both. But, Ginny wanted to know what happened at the meeting yesterday, Jughead hadn't said much about it through text to her. 

Beside her was Reggie, the guy she made out with awhile ago. Both had moved on from said incident... especially since Ginny was with Jughead now.

"Midge Klump. The Klumpster." Ginny narrowed her eyes at Midge who appeared in front of the two. 

"Reggie, what do you know about jingle-jangle?" The young girl asked him loudly. 

"I know you shouldn't say it so loud while we're on school property." Reggie hissed quietly, looking towards Ginny who listened on. "And that I can score you some. Who's it for?"

"Me and Moose."

"Lemme see what I can do." Reggie smirked and Ginny shook her head and stepped away from the drug transaction.

She didn't want to partake. Now, to find Jughead....

º   º   º