Toledo, Ohio With a stumble Lavender entered the bus and presented the driver with a small smile and a damp curled up ticket. She barely looked at Lavender, all of her attention on the ticket. It would certainly need it. It was a sad piece of yellow paper, it's text barely readable. Giving up on the ticket, the bus driver turned her attention onto the young woman standing before her. Well aware of what she looked like, Lavender's smile didn't falter one bit, if anything it reached her eyes even more. Drenched to the marrow and shaking in her boots. Finally the bus driver concluded that her newest passenger's appearance explained the state of the ticket. With a small nod from the older woman, Lavender moved on and found herself a seat.
Immediately removing her backpack once seated, Lavender found her leather folder. With a sigh of relief the dark haired girl's fears were laid to rest. Her sketches were dry. "Sprinting through the rain can do such murderous things to one's art", Lavender couldn't stop herself from snorting at the thought. "I haven't seen Jughead in so long i've begun thinking like him". Looking out into the rain soaked city passing by Lavender's thoughts returned to her older twin. She would be lying if she said he wasn't missed. By her and Jellybean alike. The latter had been fury personified, when it was revealed that Jughead wasn't moving to Toledo with them. Lavender understood though. Had she been given a choice, like Jughead, then she would be in Riverdale right now. It was her own fault, she understood that too.
Banishing her borderline depressive thoughts, Lavender repacked her bag. The bus had almost reached her stop. Rising from her seat and taking her place by the doors, Lavender psyched herself up for one last sprint in the pouring rain. "There's a nice hot cup of cocoa waiting for me at home," she muttered quietly to herself. The doors shot open, and Lavender was off. The rain was mercilessly attacking the poor youth from every possible direction, causing her to practically fall through the front door of the modest one-story house her mother was renting.
Standing, like an angel with an affinity for heavy rock, was Jellybean armed with a hot cup of cocoa and a large fluffy towel. Kicking the door shut, the ten year old looked at her sister lying on the floor, soaked and out of breath, and the younger girl instantly knew that she was by far way cooler than her older sister. With her cheek pressed to the carpet, Lavender managed a quick "Is that cocoa for me, Jellybelly?" "Only if you start calling me JB," She responded, amusement at her sister's antics colouring her words. Picking herself up, Lavender looked Jellybean straight in the eyes. Not a difficult feat. The two girls were almost the same height despite their 6 year age gap, and due to Lavender inheriting their mother's lack of height and Jellybean inheriting their father's unnecessary amount of height. "Never!" Lavender said in her most fake offended tone. "Well, guess that's your loss." Jellybean shrugged and left her sister standing alone in the hall. Freezing and robbed of her beloved hot cocoa. "That little devil." Lavender emptied her bag and left it to dry on a coat hanger. Postponing her much anticipated cup of cocoa, Lavender decided that taking a warm shower would be the smarter course of action. Upon Entering the house's only bathroom, the young girl finally got a proper look at herself. Long hair hanging in tangles and dripping water on the floor, mascara and eyeliner staining her cheeks, highlighting her pale-as-a-ghost complexion. "Eh, I've looked worse." And with that thought, Lavender went to work removing one wet layer after the other.
While the shower's warm water worked to banish the numbness from Lavender's frozen limbs, the girl thought of her mother. Or more specifically her mother's unusual behaviour. Gladys Jones had taken on the brave pursuit of finally getting her GED. A fact that filled both her daughters with pride. It was mostly through online courses, but once in awhile Gladys would have to go to an evening class or two, and these classes often coincided with her eldest daughter's art classes. The mother/daughter duo would drive to the community center together, and then Lavender would take the bus home since her classes ended first. These trips had become little moments of light for both women. They had been the first step in mending their torn-apart relationship and trust. Only this time Gladys had been quiet. Disturbingly so. Lavender had no trouble recalling the last time her mother had been so quiet. It had been right before Gladys told her daughters to pack their bags. After three days of silence, Gladys left her husband, her home and her eldest child. "But Dad is sober now, and he and Jughead are moving to Toledo." Lavender was at a complete loss. One thing was sure though, the silence had something to do with Forsythe Pendleton Jones II, and that something was bad news.
By 10 o'clock the rain had softened. The only light in the house came from the television and an old chain of fairy lights hanging in the window. Lavender had been waiting for her mother, since putting Jellybean to bed. She was determined to get answers the second her mother came through the front door. A sudden light from the front yard alerted Lavender of her mother's arrival.
Gladys found her eldest daughter curled up on the couch sporting a grim look on her face. Knowing that an ugly conversation was about to take place, Gladys lowered herself onto the couch with a tired sigh. "Dad and Jug aren't coming to Toledo are they." It was more of a statement than a question. Her mother's facial expression told Lavender, she was right. With tears in her eyes, she faced her mother. A clear indication that the young girl was expecting an explanation. Taking a deep breath the blonde woman admitted the truth, she had desperately been trying to save her daughter from. "Jason Blossom was found dead. Killed." She didn't stop to take in the look of shock on Lavender's face. "And FP and the Serpents were involved in his murder." Tears began rolling down the cheeks of both women. A look of confusion crossed Lavender's face. Her father, a murderer? It was impossible for Lavender to reconcile the man she knew with the information she was being given. Gladys continued. "Your brother is currently staying with Fred Andrews and Archie. We've decided it would be for the best that Jughead stays with them for the time being." Lavender felt like the world around her was crumpling. Nothing was making sense. Why would her mother let Jughead stay in the town where their father was being tried for murder? Had her mother forgotten, what the residents of Riverdale was like? It was unacceptable to Lavender. Her brother was being left behind, and she refused to allow it. Over her dead body. Lavender was going to Riverdale, and her mother couldn't stop her.