Blind Love

Lack of V

It felt like a flashback to the last time he was almost beaten to death. When his eyes fluttered open, the white hospital ceiling was the only view. Jughead remembered the first time he woke up, he thought he was in the afterlife.

Opening his eyes was easy, Jughead noted, it was the next part that was the hardest. Learning from his past mistakes, he did not try to jump up from the bed immediately like last time. That had caused a tube to detach from his hand and alert the doctors to rush in. The worst part? His quick and sudden movements had made him extremely dizzy and he had fainted right after he woke up.

This time, Jughead warmed up his body before moving. He tried to feel his arms and legs, and he wriggled  his fingers a little. After taking ample deep breaths, he tried sitting up slowly. Although his whole body hurt like he was thrown under a truck, he reached for the Help button slowly.

"Mr. Jones! You're awake! He's awake!" A nurse had rushed in in complete surprise and notified her coworkers at once.

A troop of doctors rushed in and ran tests on him, making sure he was okay.

He felt annoyed by these doctors. All he wanted to know was whether Veronica was alive, and he desperately needed to see her.

"V...V...Veronica Lodge!" It took him a few tries to say her name, as his throat was dry from the amount of time he was unconscious.

"Shh, it's fine, Mr. Jones, you can take a rest while we run these tests. We'll ask you questions to check your response later," A nurse reassured him.

"Need...see Veronica!"

While the core doctors performed their duties, a few of them understood him. "I think he wants to see Miss. Lodge."

Jughead nodded his head so vigorously at this, his head was pounding and he could see stars.

The doctors exchanged glances.

One finally formulated a ambiguous response. "You'll see her in due time."

"Alive?" He followed up anxiously.

"Alive," A doctor replied after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Alive and well?" Jughead was not reassured

"Alive," was all the doctor could tell him.

"How is she?" He immediately gripped the doctor's hand in shock. "You have to save her!"

"We're doing our best."

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"Talk to me Jughead!" Betty sat at Jughead's hospital bed thoroughly frustrated. "I've been worried sick for the past few days! I haven't eaten, I haven't slept! And this is the response you give me?"

Jughead stared into space, gripping the sheets tightly. "Veronica, I need to see her..."

At this, Betty burst in a rage. "Veronica's in the ICU, nobody can see her, ok? For God's sake! It's either no response or Veronica since you've woken up! I'm so done with...," she buried her face in her hands to stop the tears.

"Betty, why don't you go take a break in the canteen, get yourself a drink?" FP came in, gently laying a hand on the distraught girl's shoulder.

"Alright, thanks FP," Betty excused herself, practically running out of the hospital room.

"Son, how's it going?" He moved a chair next to his bed and looked expectantly at his tired son.

Jughead half smirked sarcastically. "Well, you see how it's going." He raised his finger a little, motioning to the door where his girlfriend had just walked out of.

FP sighed. "We can't blame anyone. This situation's pretty traumatising."

"It'd be less traumatising if I get to see Veronica," Jughead huffed.

"Haven't gotten used to not being with her after a month of being in the same room with her, eh?"

"A month? We've been stuck there for a month? Wow. I've lost count," Jughead was geniunely surprised. In the cell, he had no sense of time at all. It felt like an eternity and a blink of the eye at the same time.

Suddenly emotional, FP took his hand. "I'm just glad you're okay, son."

Jughead forced a smile, but did not say anything. How was he okay if he did not know whether Veronica would make it?

His dad was right though, Jughead realised. After spending every day with Veronica with him, it felt weird not being in the same room with her and not hearing nor seeing her. Indeed, Jughead had a lot of injuries, but suffering from lack of V was the worst pain of them all.

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Something was wrong with him, Jughead decided. Who would not want to see their own girlfriend? He was a weirdo, but this was just too weird, even for him.

Back in the cell, he would miss Betty at first, but as time passed, he started to forget about her. Getting through each day was what was on his mind, and Veronica Lodge was always there to make him feel better.

Holy crap! He was suffering from Lack of V!
What was the solution then? He needed to see her. But how? He could not even walk on his own yet.

Darn it.

"Hey Jughead," The core Serpents paraded into his room, bringing all kinds of junk food and pizza.

"Thanks," Jughead grabbed a slice of pizza as fast as his injured body would allow. "You're a lifesaver."

Well, this could be a temporary solution for Lack of V.