*— ghostwritten

(¸.• ♛ → “So, what do you say?” She asked now looking at Jughead with almost a small smile. “To break this story we need to dig a bit into this whole mess so maybe we can  do this and find out who is responsible for Jason Blossom’s death.” It was a dangerous ideas maybe and reckless one as well but she couldn’t help it, that was a good story for them and to help to finish Jughead’s story too.

‘ Sounds like it runs a high chance of failure and could go horribly, terribly wrong, ‘ he stated, though there was a smirk on his face as the words left his lips. He leaned forward a little, almost curiously, as he looked at the blonde across from him. Always one for the dramatic, that was Jughead Jones. ‘ I’m in. ‘

Showing up to work without being fully on top of things wasn’t a good look. Then again, Olivia had become an expert at fighting off fatigue and working on only a few hours of sleep. Even though eight hours was the recommended time, she typically only got three to five. And even then, those hours weren’t always restful. “Wonderful. Creamer? Sugar?” she asked, making her way to the coffee pot on the other side of her office. “What brings you into my office today?”

' Just black is fine, ' he said, offering a smile. Perhaps straight black coffee was a little unusual for a teenager, but Jughead had never actually understood the want for all the sugars and creamers. He believed people who used all of that might as well just take caffeine pills, since they weren't properly appreciating the drink that was coffee. And ah, yes, the actual reason he was there. ' I was wondering whether you could answer some questions for me ? ' he asked, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. ' About the ever elusive case of Jason Blossom ? '

Piper laughed a little, reaching into her pocket to pull another cigarette from the box stashed in her jacket, placing it between her lips as she looked at him. ❝ If I was a registered psychologist, do you think I’d still be living here? ❞ She hummed, bringing her lighter to the cigarette, cupping her hand around it to stop the wind from blowing the flame out. Once she was done, she shoved the lighter back in her pocket, breathing in the smoke and looking back at Jughead.

❝ I’m getting my tan ready for the summer, ❞ she sarcastically spoke, rolling her eyes with a smile. ❝ My summer body isn’t ready just yet. ❞

Jughead shrugged, stretching his legs out and crossing them at the ankles as he considered her words. ' You'd probably get a lot of work here. Riverdale is the town of mentally deranged parents who birth slightly less deranged children. ' He was, of course, including himself in that. Though he disliked comparing himself to his own father, there was no doubt that he had a few similar tendencies.

Jughead fought the need to roll his eyes, letting out a small laugh. ' Attractiveness is temporary, anyways. We're all gonna get old and ugly eventually. '

“Listen, whatever you’re about to tell me will have to wait. I need at least two more cups of coffee before I can process anything,” Olivia admitted, almost embarrassed that she was in such a state. She hadn’t gotten much sleep over the past few days. There wasn’t a reason for it… not really. But it seemed that every time she rested her head on her pillow, her mind would light up with a thousand different thoughts at once. She sighed, trying to get the last of her fatigue out of her system. “Actually, do you want any? I feel like it’d be rude to get a cup just for myself.”

Jughead felt a wave of annoyance wash over him before sympathy quickly followed. Despite himself and his need ( or perhaps hunger ) for information he could absolutely understand where the woman sitting across the desk from him was coming from. Ever since the death of Jason Blossom, Jughead's sleep schedule had been all kinds of messed up. Not that it had been healthy and regular before, but it had definitely gotten much worse. ' I'd love a cup, actually, ' he stated once he got over himself, laying the pencil he had been planning on using to jot anything down that he found of interest down on the notebook in his lap.

ℙ — Standing behind the bleachers at the football field, Piper held a cigarette between her fingers as she leaned against the metal pole. She didn’t really care if anyone saw, since the worst that would happen is they’d ask her to leave for the day or she’d be suspended. It wasn’t the first time it had happened. And it probably won’t be the last time.

Her head didn’t move when she saw another pair of shoes near her. She just brought the cigarette to her lips, finishing it off before flicking it to the ground and stepping on it to put it out. ❝ Can I help you? ❞ She asked, raising a brow as she finally looked up.  

‘ Are you a registered psychologist ? ‘ He questioned, raising an eyebrow back to the pink haired girl standing in front of him. ‘ Because, if not ? Then I doubt it. ‘ There was a light smile resting gently on his lips as Jughead spoke the words, sitting on the concrete underneath the bleachers as he slipped his bag off from his shoulders. He pulled out a bag of chips  — the packaging oddly similar to that of the bags in the currently out of order vending machine which sat in the student lounge  — before glancing back up to her. ‘ What are you doing out here ? ’

Lottie let out a rather surprised sound as she ran into someone, her books dropping to the hallway floor with an embarrassingly loud thud. ❝ Oh my God, I’m so sorry. ❞ Lottie spoke softly, a small laugh coming from her lips as she knelt down to gather her books up from the possibly dirty floor. ❝ Are you alright? ❞

‘ Yeah, I’m fine, ‘ He said easily, fixing his headphones before leaning down to help her gather her books. He was antisocial and brooding, but he wasn’t a bad person. And the two of them running into eachother had definitely been partially his fault. ‘ Are you ? I wasn’t watching where i was going. Foul of the tormented kid, I just didn’t want them to look. ‘ He nodded in the direction of the jocks.

The small blonde had been making her way towards the library, planning on using her free period to get whatever assignments she had left finished. A takeaway cup of black coffee from Pop’s in her hand that she had snuck out and gotten — without being caught out for leaving school grounds thank god. Her books were shoved into her bag and she also had her earplugs pushed into her ears, Joy Divison’s ‘Substance’ album had been on repeat since last night.

Her eyes focused on the book that was in her hand, even though she had read ‘To The Lighthouse’ at least a hundred times now. It was her favourite book. But when she crashed into another body, she was particularly startled. ❝ Are you a dumbass? ❞ She questioned, finally looking up and seeing it was Jughead. ❝ Oh— nevermind. You are. ❞ She offered him a small smile to show she was teasing.

Jughead felt insulted for a moment, not really recognizing the voice that had just spoken to him. He genuinely had no idea who he had run into until he looked up, recognizing the girl with the fading pink hair, the same which had sat next to him in their biology class, which had subsequently interrupted his writing. Though he had ended up not minding much, considering the philosophical conversation which followed.

‘ You know, I actually consider myself well-adept in the non-dumbass aspect of life, ‘ he said, the smell of coffee suddenly hitting his nose, glancing down to her hand that held a warm cup of the dark, bitter substance. ‘ Did you sneak out just to get coffee and then you came back ? ‘ He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. He found it sort of funny, honestly.

(¸.• ♛ → A small smile was on her lips when he said that, the blonde just shrugged. “Yes but my mom needs to understand that I’m in a very important meeting.” Using the same words he did as well. in a joking tone. “Juggie…i think it will be the perfect fit. I know you’ve been writting about the recent events that happened here, even the best writters can start with something small and I will grant you complete freedom, this is your story, I will help and do some editting and all of that but is yours and I would love to work with you there, I think the paper needs someone like you.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke, though he didn't let the small smile fall from his face. Jughead wasn't exactly close to Betty — though he wasn't exactly close to anyone — but he knew her well enough ( courtesy of Archie Andrews ) to know that he didn't want the blonde to think he was upset at her words. He considered for a moment, tilting his head from side to side. ' That doesn't really sound like complete freedom, ' he said, his words pausing for a moment, to let them settle around them. ' But sure, I'm in, ' he gave her a smile, ' as long as you don't change any of my words around when you edit. I have a style, I don't want to change it. '

(¸.• ♛ → A small sigh escaped from her lips now looking down at her phone. “Not again…” Her mom was calling her but she didn’t want to answer and go home now so she decided to just turn her phone off and then turned to the person that was with her. “I’m sorry, uhm, what you were saying?”

' This is an important meeting, Betty Cooper, ' Jughead joked, the only giveaway that he was joking was the small smile adorning his lips. ' I've heard moms don't like that. ' He stated, eyes darting to her phone. He had gotten a glance of the contact screen and it wasn't hard to guess in the first place. ' I was saying that I don't think a school news paper is the best fit for my voice. '

Riverdale High was certainly… something to say the least. Jasmine wasn’t entirely sure how thrilled she was coming across about being here, that was for certain. Everything seemed to be so dismal with Southside High now closed. But she wasn’t going to let it bother her too much. She was luckily very capable of minding her own business and hanging low with just the Serpents around her. However, this was the one time that they weren’t. It didn’t make the girl nervous, more so just agitated. While the students of Riverdale High that resided in the Northside had a lot to say to the faces of the Southsiders, Jasmine wasn’t blind to the wolf-whistling that occurred as she walked down the hall. Disgusting. Men were pigs. Those thoughts were distracting her from the impending collision with someone and she let out a grunt as she stumbled back and managed to catch her balance with easy ( not able to say the same thing about his headphones ) “Shit, I’m sorry.” she muttered. “There’s something very distracting about a disgusting group of jocks whistling at you - you good though? No lasting damaged done by my incredible physique?”

Once Jughead looked up to see whoever he had run into, he knit his eyebrows together, trying to think of where he had seen the girl before. Of course, he had seen most people in Riverdale around before, being the small town that it was. He relaxed his facial features once she spoke, the words actually making him smile ever so slightly. ‘ No worries, ‘ he shrugged it off, reaching to lift his headphones in front of his face, inspecting them just to make sure they were okay. His technology were the most expensive things he owned, so he tried his best to take care of them. He glanced over to the group of jocks, his nose wrinkling slightly. ‘ Yeah, the testosterone filled atheltes here are probably the worst part of this school, and thats saying a lot. ‘

Moose was walking through the halls with Reggie and some of the other football players. It was after class and they were headed to lunch, his favorite subject of the day besides football. The clan was walking somewhat quickly. Moose was joking around with his friends laughing and shoving them around playfully, but was interrupted when Jughead Jones walked straight into him.

“What the fuck?” Moose replied almost condescendingly. “You’re the one who walked right into me, freak Jones. Watch where you’re going the next time, yeah?” He asked rolling his eyes at the other boy. Moose had always found Jughead to be irritating, pretentious and weird.

‘ Yeah, alright, ‘ he mumbled, not caring if he could be heard over the hustle and bustle of the hallway or not. ‘ You’re just so hard to miss, ‘ he said a little louder, sardonic tone seeping deep into his words as he snuck a quick glance at the much taller jock. Which he knew was likely a mistake, and would probably only get him hurt in the long run, but sometimes he didn’t take the time to fully think things through.

Josie’s nose was buried in her phone as she made her way down the halls. She was too busy texting away to pay attention her loud and annoying surroundings. She fought back the urge to roll her eyes when she saw a paper airplane fly by in her peripheral vision. Whoever threw it was just lucky it didn’t manage to get anywhere near her. Josie had almost dropped her phone when she had bumped into someone all of a sudden. If the collision wasn’t half her fault, she would have gone off on this person for sure. “Excuse me ??”  Josie said when she heard Jughead’s tone. “Calm it down Jones. I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t watching where they were going.”

Jughead blinked a couple times, regaining his balance. He didn’t have to look to realize who he had run into. The voice of Riverdale’s own Josephine McCoy was an unmistakable one. His automatic response to running into someone was fight or flight, despite what feelings he made have towards said person. But he didn’t have much of a problem with the pussycat. ‘ Sorry, McCoy, ‘ he said, giving her a look that was hard to describe but could really only be considered apologetic. He gripped his headphones, ready to put them over his ears, before giving her a look of consideration. ‘ Hey, what do you know about the Blossom family? ‘

Cheryl let out a scoff, rolling her eyes for a moment. She had opened her mouth for a moment to insult the girls but decided against it. If they were talking to Jughead, what’s stopping him from going back to them and exposing her. She didn’t want to deal with any more drama right now.

❝ Whatever. Anyway ! I heard you were writing a novel about this darling little town. ❞ She raised a brow, leaning back in the booth a little.  ❝ What piqued your interest ? What makes you think Riverdale will make you money ? ❞

Jughead gave her an unimpressed look at her reaction. Truthfully, he had asked them some questions about Cheryl, but they hadn’t been much help. He knew he needed to talk to the HBIC herself, but had never found the time to do so. Or maybe he just hadn’t wanted to have to deal with her.

‘ Who said anything about money, Cheryl? ‘  he questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.  ‘  I’m not looking to gain anything from this. There’s something murky about the whole situation, and its not just the water. ‘ He thought for a moment, before giving her a slight smile. ‘ Does that bother you? Do you have something to hide? ‘

“Well for once I’m actually not.” The old Veronica loved being the centre of attention and loved the conversation flowing about her, but the new Veronica needed to learn how to let other people have a chance in the spotlight, even if boy with the beanie didn’t seem like the type to talk about himself. Noticing her chocolate milkshake left on the counter, she took a sip. “Mm, this is really good. Is all the food here this good?”

Jughead was making an attempt to push down his want to judge the raven-haired girl, but he couldn’t really help himself. It was something he liked to do, write a backstory in his head for strangers. He was making assumptions that the girl was rich, which was mostly based on facts, since the pearls she had around her neck didn’t look cheap. ‘ You must be really new here, ‘ he said, giving her a curious look. ‘ Pop’s is the best place in this truck-stop town. ‘ He thought for a moment. ‘ Well, next to the Drive-In. ‘

Making her way into Pop’s, Cheryl had her eyes open for a certain beanie clad boy. She knew that her minions had been involved with him a little too much for her liking. It’s not like the two girls knew her fears or insecurities, but with the events that had happened on the fourth of July, Cheryl was just… cautious. She couldn’t be anything but. Spotting the brooding teenager, Cheryl slipped into the booth, her posture perfect.  ❝ Donnie Darko, ❞ Cheryl hummed, her arms crossed over the linoleum tabletop.  ❝ Care to tell me what Ginger and Tina were talking to you about today ? ❞ She was straight to the point. There was no beating around the bush. No small talk. She was straight to it.

Jughead had his head resting against his hand, his eyes almost half shut as he slouched over his laptop, watching the text marker blink over and over again. He was at a bit of a standstill, though he wasn’t sure if it was due to writer’s block or due to how tired he was. Maybe the one and only Cheryl Blossom was enough to wake him up.

Though he didn’t even realize she had sat down until she spoke, too drowned in his own thoughts to. Her words made him raise an eyebrow, blinking at her a couple times. ❛  Do you want me to say it was about you? ❜  He asked, carefully tilting his laptop screen down a bit. ❛  Because it wasn’t. All they said is that they were worried about you. ❜  

Waiting in Pop’s for her first order, as her mother had suggested this place, she was surprised to see that the place was clean, and chic. Whilst scrolling through Instagram, she received a call from one of her obnoxious New York friends. “No I won’t be able to make it - I told you, I’ve moved,” Veronica scoffed, before repeating herself loudly, “I said NO, I won’t be going!” After quickly ending the call, she turned around at the person waiting behind her, “Sorry, was I being too loud?”

Jughead couldn’t help his curiosity as he noticed the unfamiliar face walk into the diner, a curiosity that only grew as he listened to her shout into her phone. Riverdale was the type of town where everybody knew everybody ( other than the divide between North and South ) so a new face tended to draw eyes. He was sure he wasn’t the only one looking, just the one who happened to be noticed. ❛  If you’re trying to not draw attention to yourself? Then yes, you were most definitely being too loud. ❜