Cinderella PT 2 - Jughead Jones
Okay so Cinderella went down REALLY well and I’m pretty sure I would be skinned alive if I didn’t do a part 2 so HERE YA GO. THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG SERIES WITH SOME CHEEKY CLIFFHANGERS!!! Feel free to send me feedback/suggestions!
Warnings: Description of cuts (not self inflicted) and violence / Swearing galore
Jagged cuts, twisting like vines up your arms from shards of bottle glass. Red eyes, dried up from fallen tears. You looked like a mess.
Last night had been the most free night of your life since your Mother died. You’d danced with a boy who made your insides flutter and for the first time in forever you finally felt as if you were worth something. Of course, that feeling couldn’t last forever. It had taken the strike of a clock at midnight to remind you of your fate, awaiting you at home. A reminder that you weren’t free, and probably never would be.
The second you had stepped in the front door, you’d felt a rough fist grab you, pulling you by the hair, as you screamed, into the kitchen. Your step-mum, in all her drunken glory, shouting swears and profanities at you. She wouldn’t stop throwing stuff either, carelessly, not really worried if whatever she was throwing hit you or didn’t hit you. You managed to escape, with a palette of bruises, small scars and a deep gash on your leg from where your step-mum had picked up a whole box of empty bottles and smashed them at your feet. Anna and Drew had decided to stay at Cheryl’s house, so you didn’t see them for the rest of the night.
Once the assault had finally ended, you had used the little energy you had left to go upstairs and tend to your wounds in the bathroom. You liked to think of them as battle scars. That’s what your Mother would say…
“(Y/N)! What on earth have you done you silly goose,” Your Mother, in all her radiant beauty, picked a tearful 5 year old you off the gravel pavement of your driveway and sat you down on a bench. She wiped away your tears, seating you on her lap as she brushed down your dress affectionately.
“I fell over,” You pouted, pointing to your knee. A barely visisble red cut had formed and your Mother chuckled under her breath, before leaning down and kissing it gently.
“Oh no darling, how did you manage that?” She played along with your exaggeration, putting on a fake frown.
“I was playing princesses, because I’ve always wanted to be a princess! We were being attacked by trolls, so I was leading my kingdom into battle, but I tripped! I’m an awful princess,” You shook your head, wiping away any stray tears with your clenched fists. Your mother took your hands and uncurled your fingers from their tight ball, one by one. She held them close to her heart before bending down so she was on eye level with you. She smiled at you, her eyes filled with love.
“You are a beautiful princess. A princess doesn’t have to be graceful, she has to be strong, and that’s just what you showed by braving a deadly fight with the trolls! But perhaps, maybe nobody would have to get hurt if you would talk to the trolls. Make a peace. Where there is kindness, there is goodness and where there is goodness, there is magic. Have courage my little princess, and be kind.”
Memories of your mother consumed you for the rest of the night, as you curled up tight, crying softly to yourself as nobody else could listen.
You wanted to be the princess that she always wanted you to be.
But it was so hard to be kind when people spat at your feet and showered you in hate.
You woke up in the morning, feeling tired and weighed down by the events of last night. Your mind drifted towards Jughead. What did he think of you after what you did? He probably thought you were some kind of selfish bitch, although you were used to that opinion. The thought of someone you really liked thinking about you that way bothered you. Was this the name you would make for yourself?
You had to pick yourself up and carry on. The likely situation, would be that Jughead and his friends would never speak to you again, and you would spend the rest of your high school days alone as you did before.
You were such a wallflower that you couldn’t even be bothered to make an effort with your appearance. You threw on a comfy, oversized grey sweater, black leggings and matching converse. You tied your hair up in a messy bun and only touched up with light makeup, especially around the eyes to conceal their puffy and red exterior.
The house was quiet and you didn’t dare make a sound. Your step-mother was probably crashed on the couch. She wouldn’t be as angry as yesterday if you woke her up but it would give her enough reason to scream profanities and you didn’t have the energy to deal with her this early in the morning.
You slung your backpack over your shoulder, preparing to leave for the walk to school, considering your bike had been vandalised. Something caught your eye on the way out your bedroom though, and you turned around to look at the hook on the back of the door. Your mask from last night, still in perfect condition along with a zipped bag that contained your dress. A haunting reminder of Cheryl’s party. You were of course, missing some components of your outfit, including the bejewelled necklace and shoes. The shoes were probably back in Veronica’s closet but you couldn’t imagine the look on her face if you told her that you’d thrown away the necklace. Another hit-list you would be added to.
You shook your head, leaving the outfit untouched as you managed to creep your way downstairs and out the front door, heading for school.
The school hallways were the same as ever. Jocks pressing cheerleaders up against the lockers for impromptu make-out sessions, public arguments, people who were too loud for their own good, people who wanted to get out of the crowded hallway as soon as possible, popular kids, non-popular kids, normal kids. And then you, so bland to an outsider that you couldn’t be placed in a category. Too naive and pretty, the perfect girl next door with good looks and good grades.
You were so much more. If only people knew.
“Chin up princess or your crown will slip”
Your mother would say to you. Don’t let people put you down. Those who put you down only feel bad about themselves, and you should try and reach out to them.
Your thoughts clouded your head, so you didn’t realise when an arm reached out to grab you. You let out a tiny yelp, that was drowned by the noise of the hallway, as the person latched onto your arm, pulling you into the Janitor’s closet. You managed to push them off of you before stepping back to look at your kidnapper. Kidnappers.
Betty and Veronica, arms crossed, staring at you so intensely they could start a fire. They stepped to the side, to reveal that behind them was the boy you’d danced with the night before. You felt your face flush crimson as he stared at you with a similar intensity before stepping forward.
“(Y/N)…” he began but you cut him off quick.
“I’m so sorry, I’ll work days on end to pay for the necklace, and anything else I damaged. I didn’t mean to leave like that it’s just, my step-mo-” It was now Jughead’s turn to interrupt you as he pulled you in to a warm embrace, wrapping his arms around your waist and rubbing soothing circles where his hands lay. You were stiff with surprise, before melting into his arms and letting out a small sob. It was so relieving to finally have someone to lean on. You couldn’t help but feel weak though.
When the two of you finally broke apart, Veronica and Betty went in for a reassuring hug, before linking arms and leaving the tight closet, so you two could spend the time alone together.
“Bets and Ronnie told me about your home life,” He confessed and you hung your head in shame. “You should have told someone,” His voice was now a whisper, and when you looked up to meet his eyes, they were drowning in concern and that one helpless look that you knew too well.
“I couldn’t. She’d kill me,” You bit your lip, trying to stop the tear dam from overflowing for the 80th time since last night. You couldn’t help but cling to him again, desperately searching for something to hold onto. He let you, soothingly rubbing your back as you buried your head in his shoulder. He froze, and you realised the sleeves of your sweater had rode up during the hug. You tried to play it off but he had already seen the bottle cuts.
“Were these…did you?” Jughead was speechless and you shook your head rapidly.
“No no no. They’re from bottles that she threw at me when I got home late,” You sounded like you were reassuring him but this really wasn’t any better than what he thought you had done in the first place.
“My god (Y/N)” He traced his fingers up them at a slow pace, causing you to feel waves of shivers. “We have to tell someone, anyone.”
You shook your head, a bitter laugh escaping you. “Please Jug, don’t you think I’ve tried to reach out once or twice? Nobody will listen to me. I’m not worth people’s time. Especially with Anna and Drew now on Cheryl’s side and no proof of what they do to me. If I tried to reach out, I would be labelled as an attention seeking whore,” You choked out, your voice raw from the sobbing. You were so done with tears. You made to leave but Jughead grasped your wrist, pulling you so hard that you stumbled into him, hands pushing into his chest. You felt embarrassed all over again, and when you looked up at him he was smirking and wiggling his eyebrows teasingly. You jumped back, hiding your face in your baggy sweater so he couldn’t see your overwhelming tomato blush.
“Seriously though, don’t go, not yet,” He whispered. “Stay.”
He sounded so genuine and vulnerable. You sighed, before pulling up a small stool that the Janitor used to reach higher windows on tall walls and sitting down, waiting for what Jughead had to say.
“What if I told you I did have proof?”
“I would say you’re lying to me and this is some kind of sick joke but I guess that gives you an insight in to how low my expectations have fallen at this point.”
He rolled his eyes and you chuckled in response.
“Me and Betty were at the party to interrogate certain people on Jason Blossom’s murder for the Blue and Gold, we carried around a voice recorder. I couldn’t stand how sociable it was, being an antisocial myself, so I gave Betty the recorder and sulked off for the rest of the party until you found me. Long story short, she recorded your sisters recording me and you but they ended up saying shitty things about you and how they were going to expose you so Bob’s your uncle, there’s your proof! This could change everything,” Jughead paced back and forth, pausing every now and then so you could take things in. He looked excited at the end for your reaction, but you looked deadly pale.
“Anna and Drew know I was at the party?” You whispered, eyes widening in fear. This clearly wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for and he bent down so he was eye level for you, resting his warm hands over your shaking ones.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. We have weapon on our side here, we could use this to our advantage!” He rubbed your hands together. You hated how he talked about this as if it were some kind of huge game or war.
“And they have huge dirt on me. They could show my step-mum. She’d skin me alive. Find a way to frame me for stealing the outfit, beat me to death no matter what counter evidence you have,” You picture her face, her rage. Your whole body was violently shaking now.
“We could gather more against your step-mum overtime, this will just stop your sisters in the mean time. They’ve built themselves a reputation over the past couple of weeks and they wouldn’t dare spoilt it,” He pulled you off of the stool and into another tight hug. Your head rested on his lap as you tried to calm yourself. Think happy thoughts.
Princess. Scars. Record. Necklace. Shoes. Advantage. Proof. Don’t go. Please. Stay.
Words that wouldn’t stop repeating and ringing in your ear.
You’d left the closet, Jughead at your side. He’d tried to reassure you and although you felt better than before, you still doubted this whole muddle that you were caught up in. You wished that the ground would open up, devouring you into the darkness below.
You made it through most of the day without an issue. Sadly, just after lunch you ended up running into the people you wanted to avoid the most. You were walking down the hall towards the water fountain, throat parched from the outdoor heat.
“(Y/N) is it?” A voice called your name and you froze. You were never acknowledged in these halls. You turned around and met face to face with the demon queen of high school herself, Cheryl Blossom.
You nodded your head as a response, over analysing all of her movements and gestures in your head. Why was she talking to you? Why did she care? “Honey, you can speak. I don’t bite,” She giggled sickeningly, before linking her arm in yours. The two of you continued to walk down the corridors, not really going anywhere, you just let Cheryl lead you.
“Umm Cheryl, what… what do you want?” You asked, fearing the worst.
“I just wanted to walk and talk. According to your sisters, my newest henchmen, you were killing it at my party last night. They showed me a picture,” Cheryl’s overly sweet voice made you feel sick to your stomach, as you just tried to go along with what she was saying.
“Thank you,” You mumbled and Cheryl flipped back her long, ruby locks.
“Honestly I don’t know why you don’t come to my parties more often when you strut around wearing dresses like this,” She stopped, pulling out her phone and showing you a screenshot. It was a screenshot of the video. Did Anna and Drew send this to her? You were holding Jughead’s hands, your dress exposed to the moonlight, basking in it’s intricate and elegant design with pride. You couldn’t help but think you actually looked beautiful. When you looked back to Cheryl with a soft smile on your face, your mood was shattered by her sudden cold, piercing eyes. “Where did you get it?” Her tone sounded mocking and you instantly ripped your arm away from hers.
Cheryl tilted her head in feign hurt and bewilderment as you backed away from her. She was giving you disturbing vibes and you didn’t want to be alone with her in this hallway anymore. You rushed down the stairs, merging in with the now crowded ground floor hallways now that lunch was over. You thought you were safe, leaning against your locker and taking in deep breaths.
Two arms slammed down at either side of your head, but they were from different people. You were trapped once again, the sense of freedom flying even further away. You suddenly missed not mattering at all, to anyone. You shouldn’t have gone to that stupid party.
Anna and Drew loomed over you and although they weren’t that taller than you, you couldn’t feel any more small. Drew dug her nails into your wrist, so different to how Jughead had handled you. She dragged you into an empty classroom before slamming you up against a whiteboard, Anna hot on her tail.
“Listen fat freak,” Drew hissed and you winced. “Did you really think you could just skip back into school like nothing happened? Did you not get wasted as you grinded on that boy last night?” She spat the words, spewing lava that burned you.
The way she twisted the romance, the happiness that you had felt made everything so much worse. As if they were taking away your safe haven.
“I didn-” You began but your step-sisters simultaneously slammed their hands down at your sides again and you jolted, stopping dead in your tracks.
“We have video evidence of everything that happened. Imagine if we were to leak this to a certain someone. We could twist the story, innocent girl gone rogue,” Drew continued to jeer. Anna didn’t say much, she just nodded every now and then.
“My-my friends.. they have audio evidence of you. It could ruin you,” You mustered up your confidence, chin help up in defiance.
Keep your head up Princess.
“Your friends? Pfft! Anyone can be bribed princess,” Drew mocked. “They’re not your friends. Besides, what will it do? What we said about you, Mummy would agree with and you know it. Us being a bit bitchy won’t stop her from beating you to a bloody pulp.”
You closed your eyes, trying to block out the images that were forming in your mind. The bottles. The boxes of empty bottles.
“What do you want from me?” Your voice cracked, head down, tears spilling.
“A lot, but you’ll learn soon enough. You have a debt to pay if you want to keep this under lock and key (Y/N)” She toyed with her phone, the video tauntingly paused on the screen.
“D, that’s enough, she gets the point,” Anna sighed, grabbing her sisters hand and pulling her off of you and out of the room. Drew wouldn’t stop glaring at you.
“The game has begun bitch,” Was the last thing you heard, and you slumped down, head in your hands.
Loving wife of Thomas (Y/L/N)
And Mother of (Y/N) (Y/L/N)
A Queen in other’s eyes, she will be missed.
You read the epitaph over and over again every time you visited her grave. Beside it, you lay down another bouquet of white lilies. You just stood there, staring. You would look like a creep to a bystander but you didn’t care. You found comfort in talking to your Mother. She would always listen.
“I can’t do it Mum,” You shook your head, kicking the ground with frustration, accidentally shovelling earth with the heels of your feet. “My whole life I’ve dedicated to kindness, to tolerance and to resilience and to patience and all the values you taught me. You taught me to keep my head up strong and to believe in myself. You taught me that kindness is the route of all good magic. How am I supposed to believe in myself when nobody else does?”
You would always let everything go here, this was your time away from home, from school, from the drama to scream out loud and just let it all go.
“I want to Mother, I want to be the princess that you want me to be. But how can I be graceful if I just keep falling down. How can I be pretty when I’m decorated in scars. These aren’t battle scars, these are just reminders that I’M WEAK, THAT’S ALL I AM. I’M WEAK AND I’M ALONE AND…. and… I’m afraid,” You felt yourself crumple into a pile on the floor sobbing into the mud. You didn’t care how crazy or dirty you looked. The only time people noticed you is when you were flawed. You did good things for others all the time but people only cared about when you fucked up.
You felt so fake. Like a Barbie doll. Other people were pulling the puppet strings and you felt so weak and vulnerable. So fake.
“I can’t believe you’ve never had a burger before,” Jughead’s mouth was full of food as he talked and you almost choked with laughter. He had invited you to study at Pop’s after school. When he found out you had never tried a burger before in your life, her forgot about studying and made it his mission to get you to try one of Pop’s very own. ‘Why not start with the best’ he’d said and you had to admit, it was pretty damn delicious.
“I don’t know, I guess I’m just the queen of microwave dinners,” You laughed and he smirked, shaking his head. It had been a week since the incident with Drew and Anna. You had confided in Betty and Veronica about what happened. You told Jughead about Cheryl, but not about your stepsisters because you really didn’t want to worry him. Especially now that you were spending time together like this, times where you felt happy. You couldn’t dream of ruining that.
Besides, it didn’t prove to be that much of an issue. It had been a week and their threats had not fallen through, which gave you some hope that this would all be over before you knew it. Juggie and Betty had accepted you into the Blue & Gold, so you had an excuse to spend a lot of time at Betty’s house. You could also focus your mind on something else and it was really helping your fragile mental state.
You’d gained confidence through hanging out with the SBC and you were beginning to finally see the positive outcome of that fateful night at the party.
But when something is going right for you, it’s just not allowed to last for long is it?
You were currently having a “Pop’s Fries Scoffing Competition” with Jughead and were winning by a mile when Jughead’s phone began to buzz, violently. As in, it wouldn’t stop buzzing. It wasn’t a phone call though, just someone who seemed very eager to text him. He ended up getting so distracted that he had to stop ‘scoffing’ and check his notifications, a look of clear annoyance plastered on his face.
You were busy gloating about your glory, doing a victory dance. Jughead’s eyes were wide, with fear and shock as he dropped his phone on the table, the loud bang stirring you from your imaginary victory parade.
“What’s wrong sourpuss? Sad you lost?” You smirked, reaching over to steal his food, the prize of the bet. Another reason the two of you got on so well was your shared love of food, specifically trashy junk food which did not in any way treat your body like a temple.
“The voice recording,” He slowly rose from his side of the booth. You tensed, putting a fry which was on it’s way to your mouth back down again.
“What about it?” You were afraid to ask, because judging by his expression, it wasn’t positive news.
Loving wife of Thomas (Y/L/N)
The only remaining evidence left of the now destroyed gravestone.
IT’S ABOUT TO GET FULL PLL UP IN HERE FOLKS? WHO DELETED THE RECORDING? WHO SMASHED THE GRAVE UP? OH SNAP FOLKS IT’S ALL GOING DOWN NOW eheuheuheu! Anyways here’s part 2 :3 Let me know if you want part3!
DISCLAIMER: I spell Mum as Mum because I’m British and it’s just a habit, although i did use the word ‘candy’ in a fic once rather than ‘sweets’. I apologise for my inconsistency :3