Riverdale

Jughead & Archie Friendship

Summary: Archie and Jughead are just walking by the pool, when Reggie has to show up and complicate things. Jughead has some malfunctions with his hearing aides and things are revealed!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and make no money off these stories.

Hearing Complications

It all happened so fast. One second, Jug was walking next to Archie and reaching for his hat, which Archie had yanked off his raven-colored hair. When suddenly, he was being shoved to the side and was being encompassed in cold water.

The last thing he heard was rushing water, before complete silence echoed in his ears.

He fought his way to the surface, gulping in fresh air and sputtering out water he had swallowed. He caught sight of Archie yelling and shoving at Reggie, who Jughead assumed had pushed him into the pool.

He quickly swam to the edge of the pool and drug his waterlogged body out. His breath caught in his chest as fear gripped him— he couldn't hear anything. Not Archie's yelling. Or Reggie's snarky comebacks and defensive arguments.

Jughead quickly reached up and felt for the power switch on his hearing aid, maybe the water didn't ruin it? Maybe it just needed to be dried off or new batteries inserted?

Frantically, he yanked it from his ear and fumbled for something to dry the device off with. His breath was becoming slightly more panicked every second.

He was focused so much on his thoughts that he didn't notice Archie and Reggie stop arguing and sharing a concerned glance in his direction. They moved over to his side, and Archie laid a comforting hand on Jughead's shoulder.

Jug flinched back and covered his hearing aid protectively in his wet palms. A panicked look filling his eyes.

He saw Archie say something to him, but he couldn't understand it. Jug just shook his head and motioned to his ears, hoping his red-headed friend would get the message. Frustrated tears sprung up in his eyes.

Reggie grabbed Archie's arm as the red-head started to move away—probably to go get their stuff and figure out what they were going to do next—and asked him a question. Confusion and irritation over not understanding what was happening were obvious across Reggie's features.

Jughead saw Archie roll his eyes and say something back to Reggie, before nodding in turn with whatever Reggie had said. The two of them moved toward Jughead, who was still sitting there, soaking wet, and now shivering.

Archie lent down and tried his best to sign to him.

"You okay?"

Jug shrugged and huffed in exasperation.

"Are they broken?"

He nodded and motioned to the swimming pool.

"Let's go to my house. You'll be fine."

Archie struggled to sign, before offering his hand to Jug.

Once he had gained his footing, they started in the direction of the exit, when Jughead was stopped by a soft grip on his elbow. His head whipped around only to see Reggie giving him a concerned and slightly apologetic glance.

Jug's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he tilted his head thinking. Why was Reggie acting like a…decent human being for once? Was he dead? Was this some kind of sick joke?

Reggie started to say something and then stopped, probably remembering that he couldn't hear him anyways, then nodded to Jug and edging him forward to walk with Archie.

The three of us made our way to Archie's house—why Reggie is tagging along is a mystery to me. Maybe he feels guilty? (I immediately crossed that idea off) Maybe he just wants to give me his spout of verbal abuse once I can hear it—yeah that's got to be it.

We took Reggie's car for some unknown reason. During the drive, Jughead fixed his gaze on the moving houses and buildings, thinking about what he going to do about his hearing aid. It's not like he can afford a replacement. Looks like he'll be brushing up on his lip-reading until he can find a way to pay for a new pair.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, once again, that he failed to notice the Reggie open his car door and Archie grabbing his and Jughead's bags from the seat next to him. A hand on his knee brought him back to reality, and he glanced up to meet Reggie's eyes again.

We made our way inside the Andrew's household and up the stairs to Archie's bedroom, a place I hadn't been since before the ordeal this summer.

Archie immediately went over to his desk drawer and pulled out a Ziploc bag, tossing it to Jughead along with his favorite black sweatshirt, a pair of gray sweatpants, and Jughead's signature hat. Gesturing for him to change in the bathroom.

Jug's brain must still foggy and numb from the sudden drop in noise, because he was having trouble comprehending what was happening. He was so confused and…ashamed. He just nodded solemnly and made his way to Archie's small bathroom.

He quickly peeled off his damp clothes and dried himself off, then tugged the soft sweatshirt over his head and the sweatpants. Next, he looked at the Ziploc bag Archie threw at him only to find out that it contained—spare hearing aids.

Why does Archie have these? I don't even have a spare pair! He cares this much…?

Whatever the reason, Jughead was thankful. He made sure his ears were dry before fitting them into his ears and switching them on.

The quiet voices of Archie and Reggie sounded through the bathroom door and his ragged breathing touched his ears. He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

The tension flowed out of his body before he yanked back on his cap and made his way back to Archie's room.

As soon as he came in he held all of Reggie and Archie's attention, their conversation stopping instantly.

He stood in the doorway, tugging on the ends of his sleeves and waiting for the questions to hit. (It didn't take long)

"What was—are you…deaf?" Reggie so eloquently voiced first.

Jughead met his eyes and lifted his chin. "Maybe. It's not really any of your business, is it?"

Reggie stiffened and some of the hardness came back into his eyes alongside the concern.

"Cut the crap, Jughead. I saw you and it is my business…now. I'm—sorry."

Jughead honestly thought that he broke his jaw on the floor. All he and Archie could do was gape at the jock in shock at his words. "What?"

Reggie almost looked shocked at his own words, "Uh—you heard me. I'm not repeating it. What I want to know now is what affects them."

Jughead shared a glance with an equally confused Archie, who was perched on the edge of his bed across from Reggie in his desk chair. "What—?"

It seems that the water did more than mess up his hearing, now it was making him delusional.

Reggie grunted in frustration, "Your hearing aids? What affects them and makes them act up? Besides water, obviously."

Jughead just shrugged and crossed his arms, "Lots of things. Loud noises, if they get hit or damaged somehow, sucky batteries, electric shockwaves, etc... Why do you care?"

"I don't," Reggie quipped back quickly, "I just—don't want to have to replace them during one of our rows. Not that I can't afford it, I just don't want to take the time…" He reassured them, but his eyes still radiating the concerned and guilty gleam in them.

Jughead just nodded in acceptance, before pushing off the wall and flopping down on the bed beside Archie.

They all sat there in silence for a few seconds, Jughead listening to the noises around him and relishing in the sounds.

"Soo—I didn't know you knew sign language Archikins." Reggie started, leaning back in his chair.

The red-head looked up in surprise, "Oh yeah. This is hardly the first time this has happened. And after the first time, I decided to learned some basic phrases just in case it happened again. Which it did, and also we used to use ASL as a way to commute in class." Archie shot a wink at Jughead, who had curled up on his side facing the two boys and smiling at his old best-friend.

"Could you teach me?"

The question stunned both Archie and Jughead, their heads shooting up to look at Reggie's blushing face.

"Sure—

Reggie smiled, "Awesom—

"With one condition."

Reggie just leaned forward and raised his eyebrows, "What's that?"

"You have to buy me food from Pops each lesson," Jughead answered smirking.

"Deal."

Jughead traded glances with a smirking Archie, before looking back at the jock. "Cool. When do you want to start?"

"How about now? There's no football practice today for once and I'm such you guys have nothing better to do." Reggie smirked, his confidence and attitude coming back.

Jughead clapped his hands together and sat up next to Archie, "I'm going to ignore that last comment until a later time. Let's get started."

Thanks for reading! This is one of the few stories iIve had finished for a while but forgot to upload. So, please leave a comment on your way out. (: