Fear. It's the most basic, the most human emotion. As kids, we're afraid of everything. The dark… The boogeyman under the bed… And we pray for morning. For those monsters to go away. Though they never do. Not really. Just ask Jason Blossom. Another fun fact about fear: sometimes it grows up with you. Or it curls up inside of you, tightens around your guts. Each fall, Riverdale High hosts a Variety Show. But thus event is no mere student frolic.
Spitting Venom stands on stage, making sure their instruments are tuned and ready to go. Toni sets up her bass as Lydia sets up her electric guitar. Fangs sits at the drums, looking around the auditorium, as Sweet Pea stands at the keyboard. Lydia looks out into the auditorium, locking eyes with Cheryl before looking at Veronica, her gaze moving to Josie and the Pussycats seated behind her.
"Spitting…Venom?" Kevin asks, looking up at the group. "And what will you be auditioning with?"
"We're Spitting Venom. I'm Lydia, that's Toni on bass, Fangs on drums and Sweet Pea on rhythm guitar and keyboard. We'll be performing an original song titled Horns." Lydia smiles at Cheryl before nodding to the group that surrounds her on stage. The song opens with guitar and drums. Just before the chorus begins, bass comes in. Lydia spins the guitar behind her back as Sweet Pea picks up the lead guitar notes.
"Hey! In her heart, there's a hole." Lydia places both hands on the microphone in front of her, singing directly towards Josie. "There's a black mark on her soul. In her hands is my heart, and she won't let go 'till it's scarred. Ha!" Lydia looks at Veronica, continuing.
"Tried to breathe but I can't, cause the air she feeds me is damned. Got a touch like a thorn, cause the girl she's hiding horns." Lydia removes the microphone from the stand in front of her, moving down the stage in Cheryl's direction.
"She's got blood cold as ice and a heart made of stone but she keeps me alive. She's the beast in my bones." Lydia leaps off the stage, making sure her guitar doesn't get damaged in the process. She grabs Cheryl's hand, singing directly to her. "She gets everything she wants when she gets me alone like it's nothin'. She got two little horns and they get me a little bit." There's a short instrumental break where Lydia hands Cheryl her microphone as she pulls her guitar back out in front of her. When the instrumental is over, Lydia takes off her amp pack and trades Cheryl her guitar for the mic.
"Oh-ho. She's the fire in the sin, and I burn breathin' her in. Now is love suicide? And I sell my soul for the high. Truth be told, I don't mind cause her hell's my paradise. She can crush every hope, got her heels stompin' down my throat." Lydia puts on the same full theatrics that she would while performing at the Whyte Wyrm, throwing everything she has into the song.
"She's got blood cold as ice and a heart made of stone but she keeps me alive. She's the beast in my bones. She gets everything she wants when she gets me alone like it's nothin'. She got two little horns and they get me a little bit." She sits herself up on the edge of the stage during the second instrumental break.
"She's got horns like a devil pointed at me and there's nowhere to run from the fire she breathes. She's got horns like a devil pointed at me and there's nowhere to run from the fire she breathes. She's got horns like a devil pointed at me and there's nowhere to run from the fire she breathes. Horns like a devil. Pointed at me. She got two little horns, and they give me a little bit." As she jumps back onto the stage for the third instrumental break, Cheryl hands her back her lead guitar and amp pack, blowing Lydia a kiss as she does so. Lydia makes her way back to the center of the stage, placing the mic back on the stand.
"She got two little horns, and they give me a little bit." As the song ends, the auditorium erupts in cheers. Lydia looks over at Josie who rolls her eyes and slouches into her seat. Veronica's jaw has dropped, and Cheryl is grinning from ear to ear. Lydia turns and hugs Toni before giving a high-five to both Fangs and Sweet Pea. She lets her group pack up their instruments as she takes a leap off of the front portion of the stage, moving over to sit with Cheryl. Cheryl's no longer smiling, her arms crossed in front of her chest after seeing Toni and Lydia interact. Lydia sits down next to Cheryl, kissing her on the lips after she places her electric guitar into its hard case.
"Is someone a little jealous?" Lydia whispers to Cheryl, who rolls her eyes in response. Lydia drapes her arm over Cheryl's shoulder, knowing Archie will be on stage next.
"Archie Andrews?" Kevin calls out. "And what will you be auditioning with?"
"Uh, an original song that I wrote called I'll Try." Feedback comes through the microphone as Archie drops his hand. Lydia cringes slightly knowing that this is Archie's first real public performance.
"Try harder!" Reggie calls out from the audience. "Maybe try not sucking so much." The crowd of football players laugh as Archie's hands shake.
"Take your time, Archie. Though we do have people waiting." Kevin says, trying to get him to start on his own. Archie stands there, frozen, his hands shaking.
"Oh, my god, what's happening?" Veronica whispers.
"He's choking," Josie whispers to her. At the same time Josie says this, Lydia starts talking to Cheryl.
"Shit, Cher, he's going to make a run for it," She says, placing a hand on Cheryl's thigh.
"Poor little Archiekins can't live up to the performance his sister put out for everyone to see." Cheryl responds.
"Archie? Clock's ticking." Kevin says, fiddling with his pencil. The mic gives off feedback once more.
"Excuse me. Sorry, I gotta go." Archie says before taking off. The football team laughs and begins applauding until they see Lydia glaring them down. They look to their right and see the other three Serpents standing by the emergency exit door, their arms crossed over their chests, glaring at them.
Lydia's lost in thought, leaning against the lockers as she receives a text, making her jump.
Evie: Baby Blue, I'll be there for your talent show. Can't wait to see the band in action again!
Lydia smiles slightly, which grabs Cheryl's attention.
"What's got you so chipper, Lilly?" The smaller redhead has a bounce in her step as she moves closer to the taller girl. She places a hand on Lydia's hip and pulls her closer.
"Mom will be here for the talent show," She says quietly, smiling as she puts her phone in her pocket.
"Mom? Or Mrs. Andrews?" Cheryl asks, raising her eyebrows.
"Mom," Lydia says, a shine in her eyes.
"Lilly! That's so exciting!" Cheryl cheers, jumping up and down. Lydia nods before leaning down and kissing Cheryl, smiling through their kisses.
"Not to be that girl, Archie, but I didn't get the memo we were adding another voice to the mix." Veronica says, walking into the common room. Lydia closes her locker, overhearing the conversation, and turns around, following her into the room.
"Ronnie, hey. Great news! Valerie quit the Pussycats." Archie says, completely oblivious. Veronica stops in her tracks half way into the room.
"So, that makes me what, then? Backup?" Veronica asks, throwing her sheet music onto the table in front of them.
"No. I mean, you were just doing it as a favor to me, right?" Archie asks, causing Lydia to step forward, standing next to Veronica.
"Oh boy," she says, running her hand through her hair.
"You are unbelievable, Archie," Veronica says, throwing her head back. "You literally have zero loyalty, you ginger Judas!"
"Hey, V, What's wrong?" Lydia asks, placing her hand on Veronica's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" She asks, moving away from Lydia's hand. "Besides the fact that Archie has no integrity whatsoever, is that your father kissed my mother."
"Um…" Valerie says, looking around the room quickly. "Maybe I should leave."
"No, hold on. Hold on," Archie says, trying to diffuse the situation.
"This is all on you, baby brother," Lydia says, throwing her hands up in surrender.
"When my dad told me how he felt, it seemed like they were both really into each other." Archie says, calmly.
"They're married to other people," Veronica says, talking with her hands. Lydia takes this as her window to slowly back away, but Veronica grabs her wrist and pulls her back towards them.
"Hey, our mom and dad are separated and your dad is…" Archie starts, looking between Lydia and Veronica.
"Do I really need to be a part of this?" Lydia asks, looking around frantically.
"My dad is what?" Veronica asks, eyes wide. She tightens her grip on Lydia's wrist.
"He's… he's incarcerated, right?" Archie asks, digging himself an even deeper hole.
"That is so not the point, Archie!" Veronica yells, letting go of Lydia's wrist to emphasize her words with her hands.
"Of course not. Of course not. I'm sorry. You're right," Archie says, backpedaling. "Do you want to talk about it? We can go somewhere and talk." Archie says, stretching his arms out next to him. Veronica sighs, leaning down to pick up the papers she had previously thrown onto the table. "Or do you want your part back?" Archie asks, trying to do anything to fix this.
"Oh, don't do me any favors, Archie." Veronica spins around and leaves the room, Lydia calling after her.
"Veronica!" She turns to Archie before leaving. "You really fucked this one up, Arch." She says, quickly leaving the common area.
"Back down, Andrews," Veronica snaps, still walking away. "You can't be everyone's knight in shining armor." Lydia steps back, confused, before picking up her pace and placing a hand on Veronica's shoulder.
"What was that ab—" Lydia's cut off by the pure anger in Veronica's eyes.
"Don't you have a little redhead to follow around like a lost puppy?" Veronica asks, folding her arms around her chest.
"Woah," Lydia starts, throwing her hands up in surrender. "I don't know what that was for, but I'll leave you alone." Lydia backs away from her, and Veronica spins on her heels before turning into the music room.
The next time Lydia sees Veronica, she's standing in the hall talking to Archie and Valerie. She looks over to her left to see Veronica walking with the Pussycats, donning her own pair of cat ears.
Archie and Lydia sit in the McCoy home with Fred, Hermione, Josie, Mayor McCoy and Myles McCoy. Fred is discussing Myles's profession over dinner.
"So, Myles, you being a professional jazz man, you must be livin' your dream, right?" He asks, cutting into the food on the plate in front of him.
"Well, yes and no. The real struggle is always art versus commerce." He responds, talking with his fork and knife.
"You know, I've never really been about the big paycheck," Fred says, shrugging.
"But if we're talking about the future and long-term security, it can't always be about following your bliss." Mayor McCoy says, picking up her glass of wine.
"Personally, I'm just excited to see my daughter perform with the Pussycats at the Variety Show." Hermione says, grabbing Myles's attention.
"Oh, yeah," Josie states, as if she had forgot.
"I beg your pardon?" Myles asks, confused. "When were you gonna tell me about this?"
"It just happened, Dad, and she's… She's really, really good." Josie says, defending Veronica. "And Val quit." She continues. "Or should I say we were Yoko Ono'd?" Her gaze immediately flips to Archie.
"Really?" Myles asks.
"Yeah."
"That's unfortunate. She was the real deal. Gave your act some much-needed integrity. Besides, you've already had to replace one pianist in the Pussycats." He glares at Lydia. Josie's face falls as she listens to her father talk.
"Well, figure as long as the kids are havin' fun, that's the point, right?" Fred asks, looking directly at Myles.
"Except it's more than just being fun for us," Myles states, looking down at the table before redirecting his attention to Fred. "Isn't it, Josephine?"
"Josephine?" Archie asks, looking up. "I didn't know that was your real name."
"After Josephine Baker." Myles says, looking next to him at Archie. "You have no idea who that is, do you?"
"Fred? You wanna get started on that presentation?" Hermione asks, breaking up the tension at the table.
"Yeah." As Fred stands up, Lydia's phone begins to ring.
"If you'll excuse me," She states, getting up from the table. "I have to go, It's work." She gets up and walks out the door, making sure she grabs her helmet on her way out. "You're a life saver, Toni," Lydia says, answering her phone once she's seated on her bike.
"I don't know how much of a life saver I can be right now." Toni says, cautiously. "Your mom's at the Whyte Wyrm." Lydia hangs up immediately, throwing on her helmet before taking off and heading to the Southside.
"This is going to be a long night…" Lydia sighs as she speeds in the direction of the Whyte Wyrm.
"Hello, Riverdale High, and welcome to the 75th annual Variety Show!" Kevin speaks into a mic on stage. The crowd cheers and applauds. Lydia stands in the dressing room, pacing back and forth while Josie and the girls are up on stage.
"What's got you so worked up, Princess?" Toni asks, placing a hand on Lydia's cheek, stopping her in her tracks.
"I haven't seen or heard from Cheryl since my mom was at the Whyte Wyrm. She would never just blatantly shut me out like this," Lydia's voice shakes as she closes her eyes.
"That was Josie and the Pussycats; long tails and ears for hats!" Kevin says, about to introduce the next act.
"Fuck, we're up after Archie and he's next," Lydia says, sitting down on the ledge of the greenroom mirror. Toni places a hand on Lydia's leg, trying to calm her. As the band nears the stage, Veronica stops Lydia.
"Okay, so this is my mea culpa moment. I was angry at my mom and I took it out on you and Archie." Veronica says, looking at her hands.
"And I shouldn't have chased after you when you stormed off. You needed the space to breathe and I overstepped." Lydia says, placing a hand on Veronica's elbow.
"Truer words could not have been spoken." Veronica says, causing them both to laugh.
"You holding up?" Lydia asks, her hand lingering on Veronica's cheetah-print sleeve.
"Honestly… I'm hanging on by my whiskers." Veronica sighs, shaking her head. "You?"
"The idea that two people I really care about could just not be in that audience tonight is terrifying and devastating and I'm not too sure how to handle it." Lydia says, pulling her hand back to her side.
"Want some company out there?" Veronica asks, swaying side to side with her fingers intertwined behind her back. Lydia smiles and shakes her head.
"As much as I'd love having you up there with me, I have to do this on my own with the band." Lydia says, sighing harshly.
"Well, if you freeze out there, Princess, just focus on something that makes you feel safe." Veronica adjusts the collar on Lydia's Serpent jacket, their faces dangerously close together. Archie finishes his song, and Kevin calls Spitting Venom on stage to close out the show. "Come on. Go," Veronica nudges Lydia towards the stage. She nods to the brunette as they smirk at each other. The group plays Horns, following through with the way they played it on audition night. The crowd gives the band a standing ovation as Lydia searches the audience looking for Cheryl and Evelyn. When Lydia can't find either of them, she follows the Serpents, who all walk off stage with large grins plastered on their faces. Lydia leads the group out into the hallways, pulling her phone out of her pocket to call Cheryl for the 5th time that day. When Lydia didn't get an answer she jumped on her bike in the pouring rain, speeding to Thornhill. Cheryl never answered the door, instead watching Lydia from her bedroom window, a tear rolling down her cheek. Lydia jumps back on her bike, taking off, holding back her tears and speeding down the wet asphalt.
Here's the thing about fear. It's always there. Fear of the unknown, fear of facing it alone… Fear that those closest to you are the monsters. Fear that as soon as you slay one, there's another monster waiting to take its place. Fear that there's one more boogeyman waiting at the end of the dark hall. Lydia and Polly were out there. Both Alone, bereft, unmoored… Where were they going? And what would they do next?
SONGS IN THIS CHAPTER: HORNS – BRYCE FOX