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Jughead walked through the front door. He had finally returned to Riverdale after his little disappearing act from when he was high on maple mushrooms. He walked through the house and made his way to the kitchen to find Archie sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal.
"Jughead?" he said surprised "Thank god you're okay, I was worried about you" Archie rose from his seat walking towards him and placing his hand on his shoulder.
"Hey Archie, yeah I just returned to Riverdale actually" Jughead replied giving him a half smile.
“You hungry?” Archie asked grabbing another bowl.
“Well I’m always hungry” Jughead chuckled. Archie joined him and poured him a bowl of cereal. “Thanks” Jughead said taking the bowl and taking a large mouthful.
"So are you okay? Betty told me you disappeared after you went on some sort of trip on some drug called maple mushrooms?" Archie said looking concerned.
"She did? How did she know know that?" Jughead looked up from his cereal.
"Apparently Tabitha asked Betty to try to help find you"
"Tabitha did?" Jughead responded feeling a little bit nervous.
"Yeah, Tabitha was really worried about you, I think you really scared her when you disappeared" Archie replied. His words brought a warm feeling to Jughead, knowing someone had missed him while he was away and knowing that it was Tabitha who had been worried and missed him lingered in his mind.
"Yeah… I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare anyone. I just needed to figure things out, and sort my life out. I'm here now and I want to make things right. I want to get better, for myself. I've had this problem with drugs and alcohol for a long time now and I need help. I need to learn how to get my old self back.
"Well that's great Jug, I'm glad” Archie took a spoon of cereal “so erm, where did you go?"
"i went back to New York. I needed to figure out the source of my trauma, turns out the night of my book release i ended up drinking a lot and in a sinkhole passed out and ended up covered in rats.
"Oh my god, that's insane" archie said shocked.
"yeah, I’m gonna leave the graphic details out for now” Jughead chuckled. “But I'm gonna start going to meetings and get some help. I want to do it right this time," Jughead continued, looking more determined than ever. "And, there's someone I've been thinking about lately. Someone who I think I might have feelings for." Jughead looked down at the counter before looking back up at Archie.
"Really?" Archie said, a little surprised. "Is it Betty?" Archie asked.
"No, it's not Betty. I mean, I don't think I can go down that road again, considering..." Jughead trailed off, not wanting to bring up their past history. "It's someone who's been there for this entire year... only problem is I think she is too good for me"
"Tabitha?" Archie asked.
Jughead nodded "Yeah, She's been there for me, Archie. Even when I was at my worst, she was there, trying to help me, i mean she gave me a job even when I was terrible, she looked out for me, she helped me when everyone else hated me"
"So, what do you plan to do about it?" Archie asked, curious as to what Jughead's next move would be.
Jughead took a deep breath before responding. "I want to make myself good enough for her. I want to get my life together, be sober, I want to show her that I'm not the same guy I used to be. I want her to see that I'm worth it. I'm gonna work really hard to make sure that I can be the person she deserves," he said, a determined look in his eyes. "I'm going to do everything in my power to make her happy and make her see that I'm not just some loser who's gonna drag her down."
"That's a great plan, Jughead," Archie said, nodding. "I know Tabitha's a really good person, and she'd be lucky to have you in her life. I'm gonna be here to help you through this, man. Whatever you need, just ask."
“Thanks, man, i appreciate it”
“Speaking of Tabitha… does she know your back yet?” Archie asked raising his eyebrow curiously.
“No not yet” Jughead answered.
“You should probably go see her then, just to let her know that you are back and that okay” Archie nudged him lightly on the shoulder.
“Yeah… I’ll go to the diner later today” Jughead smiled. "so how are things with you?"
"Oh, you know, the same old same old," Archie shrugged. "I'm just trying to keep my head above water, you know? I guess I'm trying to deal with my own traumas, turns out I have a lot to deal with from my time in the war.
"That must be rough"
"Yeah, it's not easy," Archie said with a sigh. "But I'm working on it. Therapy helps, you know? Just talking to someone who understands can make all the difference"
"That's good to hear," Jughead said, trying to sound convincing. "I'm glad you're taking care of yourself." He paused for a moment, thinking about what else to say. "What about you and Veronica?"
"Ah, Veronica," Archie said with a small smile. "You know how it is, right?" He shrugged, trying to play it off. "Things are... complicated. We've been through a lot together, but sometimes I wonder if we're just too different and then there's this whole thing with her husband, she's trying to get a divorce but it's not going too well"
"I see... it must be tough," Jughead said, nodding slowly. He knew that Archie and Veronica's relationship had always been a bit of a rollercoaster, but he didn't want to pry too much.
"Yeah, it is," Archie admitted with a sigh "but I'll figure it out, and I'm sure you will too" he smiled.
"Well here's to us figuring out our lives" Jughead chuckled along with Archie as they both continued to eat their cereal.