#juryl

She was putting on her lipstick as she walked out the locker room only to come full face with Jughead Jones. They both pause and he watches her finish her lipstick before putting it away.

“What are you doing here, Addams?” Cheryl glances up, noticing his hair was slightly wet. So He had been the one taking a shower.

“Using the finest water in Riverdale of course.” He rolls his eyes. His tone a mix of sarcasm and defense. 

The Red head crosses her arms with a bored look on her face. “I'm not in the mood for a snark fest, Jones.”

That's how Cheryl Blossom found out that Jughead Jones was sleeping under the stairs.

“So Riverdale has its very own Harry Potter?” She turns to look at him, slightly amused. “Can you talk to snakes?”

He leans against the doorframe, giving her a look. “Well I'm talking to you aren't I?”

“Ouch. That hurt, Potter.” She fakes a pout.

He shakes his head before changing the subject. “You can't tell anyone Cheryl. I'm serious.”

She looks at him then at the bundle of blankets on the floor. “On one condition. You’re come home with me.” Cheryl may be the resident ice queen but she wasn’t heartless.

Jughead blinks at her. “What?”

Cheryl shrugs, throwing her red curls off her shoulder. “You need an actual bed, idiot. Not a bunch of dirty blankets. I have a bunch of empty rooms at Thornhill. I know it's not ideal but it's better than... this.” She makes a disgusted face at the amount of dirt and dust in the closet. She could barely stand 5 minutes in here.

Jughead nods slowly. “And what do you get out of it, oh Ice Queen?” He crosses his arms.

“You and the rest of the Scooby gang are the only ones actually going anywhere on JayJay’s case. Figure out who did this and consider it repaid.” With that, She left the closet.

That night Cheryl snuck Jughead to one of the guest rooms, carefully making sure her parents didn’t see anything.

“It's not much but it's more than that dusty old closet.” She gestures to the room as she leads him inside.

Jughead shakes his head. Of course Cheryl would think this was nothing. “It's bigger than at least two trailers.”

Cheryl rolls her eyes at him. “Bathroom is through that door. Don't let my parents see you. Good night.” She didn’t bother waiting for a response as she fled the scene.

Jughead didn't see or hear anything abnormal until his second week there. He had been sleuthing around when he heard yelling.

He found the yelling coming from one of the rooms and slightly opens the door to see Cheryl and her mother.

“What did I tell you?!” He wasn't sure what Mrs Blossom was yelling about but Cheryl's reaction to it made him think it was bad.

Cheryl had tears streaming down her face as she flinches away from her mother. “Mommy, it was just..”

“Cheryl, you know the rules and you know what happens when you break them.” Mr Blossom appears from the other door, a frown on his face.

Cheryl shakes her head. “Please..” her mother grabs her face to stop her from talking only the shove her back into her seat on the bed.

“You're lucky I'm tired, Cheryl. No dinner for you tonight or tomorrow.” Her parents leave her sobbing on her bed.

Jughead ducks out of sight as her parents leave the room and slides into her room once they are gone. What parent would tell their child they couldn't eat?

“Cheryl?” He says softly.

“What do you want, Jones?” The redhead shakes her head before wiping her tear stained face. “You aren’t supposed to be in here.”

He walks over, taking a seat next to her. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Jughead knew what it was like to have a parent mistreat him but nothing like this.

“It doesn’t matter.” Cheryl runs a hand through her red curls before tugging at her wrinkled dress. She wished Jason was there to protect her.

Jughead Jones does the unthinkable. He offers a hand to the fiery redhead who let him stay with her and gives her an uncertain smile. “Why don’t you come home with me?” He didn’t have a home but he’d offer what she gave to him. Maybe they didn’t have to be alone in the strange walls of Thornhill.