So I got this idea after getting annoyed with all the changes from the comics in the show. Basically my inspiration came from trying to explain the reason behind all the changes in the show, and explain that there IS a reason for all the changes. This takes place after 1x03, and partially includes scenes from the 1x04 trailer (though they may be a little different, because I don't have full context of the clips from the trailer).
Betty tapped her pen against the table, brainstorming ideas for the next issue of the school paper that she was preparing. So far she'd only been able to recruit Jughead to join her, so the two of them had to work a lot harder on the paper than they normally should have to. At the moment, the two of them were trying to come up with the next big story, that would shock their readers into thinking about something. The only problem was that neither of them had any idea what to write about.
Betty sighed. She couldn't focus on anything that might serve as a good story for the paper, she just kept thinking about everything weird that was going on in Riverdale.
"Does it ever seem like there's something wrong with Riverdale?" She asked, almost not realizing she was saying it aloud.
Jughead looked up from his laptop and eyed Betty warily. "I think there's something wrong with Riverdale every day."
Betty rolled her eyes. "No, I don't just mean, like, something wrong. I mean, does it ever feel like this isn't how Riverdale is supposed to be? I mean, everything used to be so happy and easy and… normal. Now Jason Blossom is dead, everyone is paranoid, you stopped making jokes all the time… I don't know. It just feels like there's something wrong with the town."
Jughead furrowed his brow, and Betty worried that he was about to tell her that she sounded crazy, but those words never came. Instead, Jughead replied, "you're right."
Betty blinked in surprise. "You actually agree with me?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I mean, Archie seems totally different this year, too. Remember, he used to be so awkward and dorky and… actually our friend. Now he's… well, you've seen how he is."
Betty lowered her gaze. She didn't like to think of the way Archie had been acting this year, but she always just attributed it to growing up. People grow up, and people grow apart. There didn't have to be any reason for it. But if she was right that there was something strange going on in Riverdale…
She shook her head. "It's just a stupid theory. I'm sure people have just changed. Maybe we've just grown up, and are starting to see the world as it is, instead of seeing everything as happy and joyful. Maybe it's just us."
Jughead looked like he wanted to disagree, but Betty stood up, gathered her things, and left. She didn't want to talk or think about her weird theory anymore.
And Jughead didn't bring it up again, at least, not for a week.
Jughead found Betty sitting at one of the lunch tables outside the school.
"Betty, there's something you need to see," Jughead announced, slamming a folder on the table in front of her.
Betty rolled her eyes as she eyed the front of the folder. "What is this, Jug?"
"It's not hard proof, but it's some evidence supporting your theory about Riverdale from last week."
Betty tilted her head. "What theory?" She paused for a minute, trying to recollect what he was talking about. "You mean that crazy thing I was talking about? It didn't mean anything, Jughead, I was just upset. I was just projecting my feelings about the year onto the entire town."
Jughead shook his head as he took the seat opposite Betty's. "Just look in the folder."
Betty opened the folder and pulled out a copy of a driver's license, as well as an old news article dated seven years ago. She eyed the driver's license, and almost dropped it when she saw the picture on it. "Why do you have Ms. Grundy's driver's license?" She whispered, worried someone would find them and arrest them for theft.
Jughead leaned in closer. "Look at the name on the license."
She looked once more at the license. "Jennifer Gibson," she read. She looked up at Jughead. "Why would Ms. Grundy have a fake I.D.?"
"Now look at the news article," Jughead replied, tilting his head.
Betty picked up the article and skimmed through it. It was an obituary talking about the death of Mrs. Geraldine Grundy, who died seven years ago. The article stated that the woman had no known living relatives. She glanced back up at Jughead. "But what does this mean?"
"It means the Ms. Grundy we know isn't really Ms. Grundy."
"Why did you even go searching for this? This is crazy!"
Jughead sighed. "Well, I was thinking. You said that this town isn't what it used to be, and I agree. Everything seems different, so I tried to place when exactly it started to feel different. I realized that the first two weeks of freshman year were normal, but after that, everything started to feel different. I have a hard time remembering the start of last year, or anything before it. I mean, I remember general things, but most specific memories are more of a blur. So then I tried to figure out what changed in the beginning of freshman year."
Betty looked away, trying to think of what had changed. She gasped. "Ms. Grundy showed up a few weeks into freshman year." She furrowed her brow, suddenly curious. "She just showed up out of the blue, and everyone seemed to act like it was perfectly normal. I don't remember thinking there was anything weird about it at the time. But now that I think of it…"
Jughead nodded slowly.
Betty's eyes widened. "We need to find out more information about Ms. Grundy."
Jughead nodded slowly, as though sarcastically. "I know, why do you think I showed all this to you?"
Betty shook her head. "I'm going to show this to Veronica. She can help me get into Ms. Grundy's office. Then we can see what else we can find."
Jughead nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Let me know what you find."
That night, Betty and Veronica stood once again in the silent, darkened halls of Riverdale High School.
"So what are we looking for again?" Veronica asked. While she appreciated being included in Betty's plans, she was wary of their purpose for breaking and entering into the school for the second time.
"We're looking for anything that proves that Ms. Grundy isn't who she says she is. Something that could show us why she just showed up in Riverdale all of a sudden last year," Betty explained, not for the first time that night.
The girls made their way over to Ms. Grundy's classroom and opened the door slowly. They went over to her desk and each took a side of drawers, searching the contents.
Veronica found nothing but common office supplies and paperwork in the top two drawers on her side, and considering Betty hadn't said anything, she wasn't finding anything, either. Veronica moved to open the third and final drawer on the bottom of her side of the desk, but it was locked.
She looked over to Betty. "It's locked," she explained.
Betty stared at her with wide eyes for a moment. "It could just be personal items that she doesn't want nosy students to find."
Veronica tilted her head and pursed her lips. "Or it could be part of her secret identity." Veronica pulled out a bobby pin from her hair and opened it up with her teeth. She jammed one side of the bobby pin into the lock and began picking it.
"Do I even want to know how you know how to pick a lock?" Betty asked.
Veronica smirked. "Probably not."
The drawer pulled open and Betty and Veronica peered over the side to look at its contents.
There was only a single comic book inside. Betty and Veronica shared a look before Betty reached in to pick up the comic book.
"Archie Comics?" She asked.
So I fully plan to continue writing this tonight and hopefully post the next chapter so I can better explain where I'm going with this story, but if you happen to read this when there's only one chapter posted, I hope you like it so far. Please let me know what you think!