Our story is about a town. A town called Riverdale. There lived the heroes of our story, Betty Cooper: The girl next door, Jughead Jones: The weird kid from the wrong side of the tracks, The Andrews boys: John and Archie who were both as good as people get and finally Veronica Lodge: The rich girl whose world had been torn down after the downfall of her father Hiram. One day they would all be united by a lifetime of hardships and triumph but as of right now, they were only loosely linked. The same could be said about the population of our funny little town after what the Blossom twins did this summer. On the fourth of July Jason and Cheryl Blossom drove out to Sweetwater river for an early morning boat ride.
The next thing that we know happened for sure was that Dilton Doiley, who was out on a bird watching expedition, came upon Cheryl by the rivers edge mumbling only one word.
"Jason"
The Riverdale police dragged Sweetwater river for Jason's body but never found it. So, a week later the Blossom family buried an empty coffin and Jason's death was deemed an accident after Cheryl's story made the rounds. That Cheryl dropped a glove in the water and Jason reached down to get it. Accidentally tipping the boat, causing him to fall into the river, panic and drown. As for the rest of Riverdale, we were still talking about the July 4th tragedy when on the last day of summer vacation, a new mystery rolled into town in the form of the Lodges...
*Veronica's POV*
The car pulled up to a large building with an even larger driveway. Veronica stepped out of the car and stared up at the name embossed onto the front doorway in big gold letters
The Pembrooke
"Now brace yourself" Her mother said "The apartment's small, a pied-a-terre but quality always"
Veronica repeated those last words with her mother, it wasn't the first time she'd heard them.
"Plus" She mustered "It's the only piece of property in my name and not your father's"
Her mother began to walk into the apartment and Veronica reluctantly followed her.
"Miss Hermione" An old man called out as he jogged into the hallway at the front of the Pembrooke "Welcome home"
"Smithers! You are a sight for sore eyes" her mother said rushing forwards to embrace the man. He was wearing a doorman's outfit but seemed far too old for the job nevertheless he seemed nice and her mother's reaction certainly helped her immediate judgement.
"How was the ride?" Smithers asked as the embrace broke
"No traffic, thank god" replied her mother "Smithers, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Veronica"
Her mother stood aside so that Smithers could see Veronica. He smiled at her and extended an arm out
"It's a pleasure miss "Smithers said warmly as he shook her hand
"Hi" Veronica replied
"I'll get the bags" he said, turning his attention back to her mother.
"Would you?" She asked appreciatively.
Smithers began to walk away then turned around again "Oh and would you like some menus ma'am, so you can order in?"
"Oh no, I have been craving one of Pop Tate's cheeseburgers since noon! Is his Chock'lit Shoppe still open?"
"What is a Chock'lit Shoppe "Veronica interrupted "And why does it sell burgers?"
Her mother stared at her before looking back at Smithers apologetically.
This was going to be an interesting change indeed.
*Betty's POV*
"Are you excited? Nervous?"
Betty turned to face Kevin Keller, a smile forming on her face.
"Both" she laughed
They were both in Betty's room. She was getting ready to meet her best friend Archie Andrews, she hadn't seen him all summer but she still had a huge crush on him. Kevin wanted her to ask him out tonight but she wasn't sure if she could do it.
"I haven't seen him all summer"
"Which is why nerves are acceptable but we agreed Betty. It's time." Kevin repeated for the fifty millionth time "You like him, he likes you"
"Well then why, Kevin, hasn't he done anything about it?" She said interrupting his routine.
"Because" He began "Archie's swell but like most millennial straight guys, he needs to be told what he wants, so tell him"
She sighed, turning away from him "Well it depends"
"Oh my god" Kevin shouted "Game Changer, Archie got hot. You've lucked out by picking him over John"
"Kev, come on" She chided, pushing him out of the way of the window so she could see
"He's got abs now!" Kevin argued
"That doesn't make him better" she said although the more she looked the more she began to doubt that.
Archie walked out of her view to reveal John standing beside him looking right at her. She shot away from the window and saw Kevin do the same.
"Please don't see me" She whispered as she quickly checked again only to see John staring back at her smiling widely. She saw him wave his phone at her before he walked out of Archie's room. She sighed with relief before closing her curtains and grabbing her own phone to call him.
"Hello" he said, picking up instantly "You know you really would make a terrible spy"
"I promise I wasn't doing anything weird" She said quickly
"Chill, you told me about your undying love for my brother remember? I'm not going to say anything"
Betty breathed a sigh of relief "Are you coming tonight? Archie didn't say"
"No but I am going to Pops to meet Jughead so I'll be monitoring the progress, Kevin told me you're asking him tonight?"
She turned to Kevin and scowled at him, he held up his hands.
"He wasn't supposed to say anything" She growled
"Well he did" John laughed "Have a good time and good luck Betty"
Betty hung up the phone and continued to get ready, whatever happened, nothing was going to stop her from asking him tonight!
*John's POV*
"Sorry about the road trip Jug, I know you were really looking forward to it" John said apologetically.
"Yeah well things happen I guess" he said shooting a look over to Betty and Archie's table.
They were in a booth in Pop's. Betty was finally going to ask Archie out and John had finally gotten up the guts to apologise to Jughead. It seemed like the summer was finally wrapping up. John, Jughead, Betty and John's little brother Archie had been friends for a long time. This year they'd kind of grown apart but John had never wanted to push Jug away, he knew life was hard enough already for him. No, Archie had been the cause, something had happened to him this summer and whatever it was had caused a rift between him and Jughead. People often mistook Archie for John. They had the same red hair and they were nearly the same height (John was a little taller) but Jughead had always been able to tell the difference. That was probably why the two had always been better friends than the rest of them. The fact that Archie was shutting even Jughead out, meant he was dealing with something serious.
"I'm sure she's already asked him" Jughead said, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Nah you know, Betty. She'll wait till the end of time and even then, she'll be reluctant"
"Well look out because I think she's about to get a fresh dose of nerves" Jughead pointed at a raven-haired girl who had started talking to Archie. She looked posh, and exactly the kind of girl that Archie would fall for.
"Would you excuse me a minute while I go be a matchmaking hero?"
Jughead laughed "No problem, I'll just work on my book"
"Cheers man" John said before walking nonchalantly over to Betty and Archie's booth.
"Do you guys go to Riverdale?" The Raven-haired girl asked Archie.
"Unless there's another school on the Northside, in which case sign me up. Hi I'm John Andrews, this is my brother Archie and my friend Betty Cooper" He shot a look at Betty but she was just staring at the girl and then back at Archie as if making the connection.
"Veronica Lodge" The girl said, looking at him with mild interest " I can see the resemblance"
"Everyone does" John said nervously.
Veronica turned back towards the booth and looked at Betty.
"wait Betty Cooper... are you my..."
"I'm your peer mentor, I'm supposed to give you your tour tomorrow" Betty said in a tortured tone.
"Do you want to join us?" Archie asked "Maybe we can unfill you with dread?"
Betty and John both shook their heads in unison.
"My mom's waiting for me but to be continued" Veronica said before walking away.
Archie's head followed her as she left.
"What were you saying" Archie asked as Betty struggled to form words and John buried his head in his hands...
*Betty's POV*
"Betty this coming year is critical for colleges" Her mom said reminding her again.
Today was the first day back at school and as usual her mom was in her room giving her the pressure filled pep talk.
"Grades are important, extracurriculars, athletics, maintaining a decent character is hugely important, they do look at that"
"Mom" She said in a vague attempt to calm her down "I'm a sophomore"
"You've accomplished so much, I just don't want anything jeopardizing that"
Betty knew what was coming next.
"I mean just think of your poor sister"
There it is.
"She was such a shining star before she let that Blossom boy ruin her"
Betty sighed "Mom I'm not Polly"
"You missed curfew last night" She countered.
"By seven minutes" she said incredulously "I was with Archie and John who are redheaded but nothing like Jason Blossom"
Her mom took her arm "Sweetie all boys are like Jason Blossom, I love you so much Elizabeth, I just need you to be smart okay?"
Betty's fake smile melted from her lips.
Her mom pushed a small orange bottle into her hands "I refilled your Adderall, seems you forgot to pick up your prescription"
Knock Knock Knock
"That'll be John" Betty says, running past her mother and down the stairs to the door.
*Veronica's POV*
This place was weird, but it certainly wasn't as bad as she had expected. Neither was this Betty girl. She was pretty friendly, definitely the type of person the new Veronica wanted to surround herself with.
"So I usually start off my tours with some history and context"
Veronica nodded.
"Riverdale High first opened it's doors in 1941"
"And hasn't been redecorated since apparently" Veronica joked "Honestly I feel like I'm wandering through the lost epilogue of Our Town"
Betty didn't seem amused. She quickly changed the subject.
"So, what's the social scene like here? Any nightclubs?"
A tall boy with dark hair appeared alongside her "A strip club called the Ho Zone and a tragic gay bar called Innuendo. Friday nights, football games. Tailgate parties at the Mal-Mart parking lot. Saturday night is movie night regardless of what's playing at the Bijou and you better get there early because we don't have reserved seating in Riverdale and on Sunday nights? Well thank god for HBO"
Betty sighed "Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller. Veronica's new here and Kevin is..."
"Gay" Veronica finished "Thank god, let's be best friends"
"Funny, that's not what I first said about him" Another voice from behind her said.
"Don't tease him John" Betty laughed.
Veronica spun round to see John Andrews, the boy who seemed to just appear whenever she was in the vicinity.
"Hello again" She said "Does that mean you and Kevin are..."
"Oh no" John said laughing "No that was just a joke because that's exactly what Kevin wishes"
"Shut up John" Kevin said although he didn't sound angry.
"Well it seems like I've come across quite the group of friends" Veronica said.
"Well you're quite impressive as well Veronica, what with everything that's being said about your dad"
Veronica knew he was joking but she couldn't help but shoot him an angry look.
"That he's the devil incarnate? I stand by my father" she said coldly "does everyone here know?"
Betty betrayed the answer by refusing to meet her eyes.
"Wonderful" Veronica exclaimed "Ten minutes in and I'm already the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High"
"Veronica I'm sorry, he didn't mean anything by it" Betty said as Veronica walked off.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry. Can we just start over?"
John held his arm out.
Veronica smiled "Hi, I'm Veronica Lodge"
"John Andrews" he said returning her smile.
They started walking again, turning the corner to see Archie Andrews at his locker.
"There's the hottie you were with last night. The red headed Ansel Elgort"
"What exactly does that make me" John said, offended.
Veronica shot him a pity look before turning his attention back to Archie.
"Is he your boyfriend?" she asked Betty.
"No, we're just friends" she replied.
"In that case, mind putting in a word for me? I've tried every flavour of boy but orange"
"Actually, to clarify, Betty and Archie aren't dating but they are endgame" Kevin said firmly.
"You should ask him to that semi-formal dance then" Veronica offered.
"She should but I heard it might be cancelled" Kevin said solemnly "Because of what happened to Jason"
*Archie's POV*
"Each and every one of you meant the world to Jason, I loved my brother" Cheryl's words echoed across the sports hall but Archie wasn't listening. There was too much on his mind. He'd lied to his dad about football, His plan about asking Josie for help with his music had crumbled and of course there was that most painful of subjects: Geraldine Grundy. The teacher that he'd fallen for that summer, the reason he hadn't seen any of his friends and the heartbreak that he pumped into his music. He looked down to see her in the crowd and the memories washed over him like a wave. Meeting her for the first time in the street and their first night together in the back of her small car.
Cheryl's announcement was drowned out by his memories and when the crowd eventually started to clap and cheer even that was dull and muffled. Geraldine looked back towards him and their eyes locked. Just for a moment he felt that connection between the two of them again until she turned her back on him again and everything was lost.
People started filtering out of the hall and Archie had to push and shove his way through the crowd to keep up with her. He followed her to the foot of the stairs leading to the first-floor labs before shouting for her.
"Miss Grundy!" he called her name but she ignored him, maybe she didn't hear him?
"Miss Grundy!" This time he was certain that she'd heard him, he took a risk.
"Geraldine" he yelled as he grabbed her arm.
She turned reluctantly to face him, her face full of strained composure.
"What can I do for you Mr Andrews"
"Can we talk, Miss Grundy? Please?"
"That depends" She smiled nervously "About what?"
"Music" he blurted "You're the music teacher can we talk about music?"
"Of course," She said, looking relived "Make an appointment, during my office hours...My official office hours"
With that she walked away. He wanted to say something, anything but the words wouldn't come out. Frustrated he turned away only to see his brother John stood at the foot of the stairs.
"That was tense" he said.
"Was it?" Archie asked walking towards him.
"Anything going on that you want to tell me about?" John's eyebrows were raised the way they always were when he knew that Archie was hiding something.
"Nothing at all" Archie mumbled as he pushed past his brother and walked away down a corridor.
*John's POV*
John had special dispensation twice a week to go help his father out at the construction site and thankfully today was one of those days. Trying to second guess his brother was stressing him out and there was no better way of relieving that than some good honest work. The one thing he didn't expect to see when he arrived at his dads on site office was a woman. She was tall with raven hair and she seemed to be hesitant to enter the trailer.
"Hey, can I help you" John called to her as he approached.
"Oh, hi you must be one of Fred's boys, right?"
"What gave it away" John asked
"Well the red hair is always a sign. You're either Mary and Fred's kid or a Blossom and I don't think Riverdale has changed so much that I'd see one of those on this construction site"
"Very acute, I assume you're here for my dad?"
"Yes, I knocked but there was no answer?"
John laughed "You don't know him well then, he's down on site with the lads. Come in and I'll give him a bell for you"
He stepped past her and opened the door, letting her into the messy office. He whipped out his phone and dropped his dad a text, within ten minutes he was walking through the trailer door.
"Hemione Lodge" His dad chuckled "My day just got a lot more interesting"
"Hello Fred, how are you?"
"Surprised"
A silence passed between the two.
"Uh can we get you anything" John asked
"A job" Hermione asked hopefully "I saw on your website that you're looking for a seasonal hire, someone to help with the books?"
"Yeah my guys on paternity leave" his father said, leaning back in his chair.
"You know I think my daughters going to school with your sons?"
"Probably, you've met one obviously" his dad pointed behind him at John. John for his part stayed silent.
"Isn't that funny though? We'll have to tell them that we knew each other, that we even dated for a little while. At least until I..."
"Chose the rich kid?" Dad offered.
"Now a reversal of fortune" Hermione said, clearly amused "How's Mary doing?"
Dad sighed "She's in Chicago, we split up but we're civil. How about you? How are you holding up really?"
Hermione laughed "I have a little money saved, I was praying that someone in Riverdale, maybe an old friend would be willing to give me the benefit of the doubt?"
My dad stood up and sighed heavily "If it were up to me..."
Hermione frowned in confusion "Isn't it up to you? It's your company"
"Well I have clients, I can't very well have Hermione Lodge, the wife of Hiram Lodge who is on trial for fraud and embezzlement, balancing my books for me, can I?"
Hermione looked at the ground and chuckled "No, I suppose you can't"
John watched her sympathetically as she stood and walked out of the trailer.
"Dad come on, we can help her"
"You don't understand son, she's an old friend yeah but she's also a Lodge and at the moment that name doesn't bode well for anyone involved with it. I've got to protect my company, things are changing around here"
John just nodded his head in agreement, they certainly were...