What makes a place feel like home? Is it warmth and familiarity? Some idealized make-believe version of the American Dream? Is it love and acceptance? Or is it simple safety? Or it's none of those things, and it's a place where the captain of the football team is murdered. Or maybe it's just a forgotten closet under a well-trod staircase, where it's just you and the mice and the spiders, like an extra in a Wes Craven movie.


Lydia sits with Betty, Veronica, Archie, Jughead and Kevin in the common room of Riverdale high. Betty's rambling about her sister Polly while Lydia sits in an armchair, leaning against Veronica who's sitting on the edge of the same seat.

"My mom and dad don't want to get the police involved. They don't want anyone to know that she ran away, or about her shameful condition." Betty rolls her eyes, throwing her head back.

"Please. What decade is this?" Veronica asks, leaning back against Lydia.

"Also, since she knew where Jason's getaway car was, they're afraid people might think that she burned it, and that if she did…" Betty's cut off by Jughead who looks down at his hands as he speaks.

"She could be the murderer, trying to cover her tracks."

"Well, who did burn the car then?" Archie asks, sitting up straighter. While everyone is chatting about Polly, Lydia's making connections in her head.

"Sheriff Keller says it's possible someone was following us." Betty says.

"Oh, my god," Veronica says, tensing up. As she does so, Lydia sits up. "Honestly, guys, we should just move." Betty sighs as Lydia finally speaks up.

"Keller's right though, Betty." She starts, the clockwork in her brain turning. "You were very likely being followed. Who do we know that has been awfully suspicious lately?" Lydia counts on her fingers as she speaks. "Penelope and Clifford Blossom, who truly wouldn't care if your sister was framed for their golden boy's murder?" Veronica nods, pointing her finger at Lydia as she takes a sip of her coffee.

"Guys… what if Polly's really hurt?" Betty asks, worried. "What if whoever killed Jason is coming after her next?"

"I don't think that'd be it, B," Lydia responds, trying to explain her thought process. "Whoever was following you had to be connected to Jason's murder in some way and didn't know that there was still evidence out there against them." Jughead wraps his arm around Betty, placing his hand on top of hers as Betty sighs again. Archie looks between the two of them, confused. Veronica does the same but directs her expression towards Lydia who responds in a shrug.

"Betty, even though your parents don't want to, maybe you should go to the police." Archie says, looking directly at her as he talks.

"Seconded. We can talk to my dad together about how he has to be discreet." Kevin leans forward in his seat.

"No offense, Kev, but your dad answers to a higher authority than god: the Blossoms." Jughead says, pulling a hand down his face. "They're the first person that he would tell."

"And if there's anyone to keep this a secret from, it's the Blossoms," Betty adds, leaning forward to look at Kevin. "They'd twist it around and go after Polly out of spite."

"He might, but that doesn't mean I do," Lydia says, smiling as she rubs her hands together, scheming. As she does this, she notices someone standing in the back typing on their phone. She slowly stands up and walks in the other girl's direction.

"How can we help?" Veronica asks. "Tell us, B, and we'll do it." Lydia snatches the phone out of the henchman's hands before she can press send.

"I see we have a little birdie sent from someone very sneaky." Lydia says, looking at the unsent message. "Care to tell me why you're in contact with Cheryl but I can't even get onto Thornhill property?" Lydia clenches the henchman's phone in her hand, contemplating what to do with this new information.

"Uh oh," Veronica says as the group spins around to see Lydia towering over the other girl.

"I…I don't…" The henchman begins, stuttering.

"I-I-I… Cut the shit. Where's Cheryl." Lydia slams the girl's phone down, pointing a finger in her face.

"Welcome to HBIC, Lydia Andrews," Jughead says, directed towards Veronica.

"It's been so long since I've seen her like this," Kevin says, practically searching for popcorn. Lydia backs the henchman up against the wall behind her, standing up taller.

"I thought we had an agreement, Tiffany," Lydia says. "I stepped down from my position and Cheryl leaves my friends alone." She practically talks through her teeth.

"Lydia just let her go," Veronica says, standing up. "You've made your point." Lydia snaps her head in Veronica's direction, angry at first before quickly realizing she's falling back into the person she no longer wanted to be. Tiffany tries to take off with her phone but Lydia stops her, grabbing her by the elbow without even looking.

"I didn't say I was done with you yet, T," Lydia says, her voice much softer than before. "You're taking me to see your queen."


Lydia arrives at the Sheriff's department within minutes, leaving Cheryl's henchman behind. Unfortunately, the information was somehow still relayed to Cheryl and she beat Lydia there. Lydia runs in, bike helmet still on her head, when she overhears Cheryl talking to Penelope.

"Speaking of breaks, what's a big one worth to you, Mother?" Cheryl asks, her heels clicking on the tile floor. "Letting me be a River Vixen again?"

"Cheryl, wait!" Lydia calls out, her helmet muffling her voice.

"What on earth are you talking about, Cheryl?" Penelope asks, neither of them hearing Lydia. Lydia rips off her helmet, jogging into the room.

"I have information you… both of you, would find interesting vis-à-vis my brother's case." Cheryl says, Lydia only coming closer.

"Cheryl Marjorie Blossom, don't you dare," Lydia snaps, finally appearing next to the smaller redhead. "I will stand down and give you the Vixens. Just don't do this." Lydia practically begs Cheryl, placing a hand on her shoulder. Cheryl quickly pulls away, glaring at her girlfriend with daggers for eyes, forcing a wave of confusion and frustration to wash over Lydia's face as she scoffs.

"Good lord, fine." Penelope says. Cheryl looks over at Lydia, second guessing her choice before continuing. She can't let Lydia know that Penelope had threatened her again, too.

"Merci, Maman," Cheryl says, swallowing hard. "So, Ginger texted me while I was in the ladies' room." Lydia throws her head back and groans.

"Cheryl, you're killing me with all these henchmen." Lydia goes to place a hand on Cheryl's waist but the smaller girl again shifts away from her. She glares at Penelope who just smiles at her with a venomous grin. Lydia starts to put two and two together; it seems their PDA on the day of Jason's memorial didn't bode well with mommy dearest. Lydia balls her fist, ready to yell in Penelope's face again but reminds herself not to make a scene.

"It seems that crazy bitch, Polly Cooper, escaped from some looney bin, the same night Jason's car was torched. So let me do the math for you. Polly escaping plus Polly torching Jason's car equals she's Jason's killer. Covering her tracks, trying to go underground, like the vicious, cold-hearted murdering mean girl that she is." Cheryl looks at Penelope and Sheriff Keller as she talks, meanwhile Lydia runs a hand down her face sighing. "Oh, and I just tweeted this out to all of my minions, so the pressure's on, Sheriff Keller." Lydia steps forward, pulling Sheriff Keller with her as she does so, making sure she's still within earshot of Cheryl and Penelope.

"Sir, there's much more to this than Cheryl is aware of. There really isn't much that I'm at liberty to discuss on my own, but Betty and Kevin were looking to discuss this situation with you in private." Lydia sighs, shaking her head. "I've been doing my own investigation on Polly's disappearance in order to help the Coopers. Jason was supposed to leave with Polly that night. There are specific details about the arrangement that I am not at liberty to discuss, but Betty is." Sheriff Keller nods, taking in the information presented before him.

"Well, thanks to Cheryl, we now need to deescalate the situation and find Polly before someone else does." Sheriff Keller says, stomping away into his office. Lydia takes this time to turn on her heels and pull Cheryl into the hallway, away from Penelope.

"What the fuck was that about, Cheryl?" Lydia asks, throwing her arms into the air, pointing in the direction of Penelope.

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Cheryl says, crossing her arms.

"We're not discussing the evident fall-out between us right now, I want to know why you're hell-bent on this Polly witch hunt when you know she would never hurt him. What has gotten into you?" Cheryl grinds her teeth before rolling her tongue around in her mouth.

"I know she did this, Deedee," Cheryl says, looking over to see her mother watching their interaction.

"Cheryl, I know you want justice for Jason, but this is NOT how you get it!" Lydia sighs, placing the backs of her hands on her hips before looking down at her biking boots.

"I… I don't know what you want me to say," Cheryl says, sighing, refusing to look at Lydia. Suddenly, Lydia receives a text from Betty, informing her about the sudden town-wide witch hunt for her sister.

"Fuck," Lydia spits out the word, an angry deep tone to her voice. "We'll talk about this later." Lydia throws on her helmet, storming out of the station. As she does so, Cheryl turns to watch her leave, tears forming in her eyes.


Lydia stands with Betty and Jughead as Betty begins to give the group directions on where to look for Polly.

"Okay, the Sisters of Quiet Mercy are due north. The getaway car was west, on the Old Route 40." Betty looks to Jughead on her right as he begins to talk.

"The closest bus station is east, headed towards Sweetwater. If Polly wanted to leave Riverdale without anyone seeing her, she probably would've left through—" Betty and Jughead say the next two words together. "Right here."

"Eversgreen Forest," Betty says, smirking at Jughead.

"Finally, if any of you see the Blossoms, you call me immediately. Jughead, Archie and I will handle them. You all have my number if I'm too far away for you to be able to just shout." Lydia says, nodding. The group breaks off, heading into the woods in search of Polly. Everyone is calling out for Polly. Their voices fill the forest as Veronica finds her way in between Kevin and Lydia.

"I thought you said you were going to handle Cheryl?" Veronica asks, confused.

"She was already at the station when I got there. She got to Penelope and Sheriff Keller before I could. Henchman number Two got to Cheryl before I could. I guess Tiffany let Ginger know what was going on while I was trying to get to the station." Lydia shakes her head, shoving her hands in her pockets as the people around them continue to call out for Betty's sister.

"What about her behavior towards you lately?" Veronica asks, looking down at her feet as she walks.

"We haven't talked about it yet, but she's definitely distancing herself and I think Penelope's to blame for that, too." Lydia says, shaking her head before cupping her hands in front of her mouth and calling out for Polly.

"You can't blame everything on her mom, you know that, right?" Veronica asks, looking up at Lydia.

"You'd understand if you knew the torment she put the twins through," Lydia runs a hand through her hair, before looking to her right and seeing the Blossoms marching through the woods in the direction of Betty's group. "Shit," Lydia says, making a b-line through the brush between them and climbing up the hill until she's in between Clifford and Cheryl. She looks to her right to see that they've brought the cadaver dogs that she works with at the Sheriff's department. Cheryl's wearing the spider broach that Lydia gifted her, giving her some hope. The two groups come face to face, and Penelope speaks up.

"Alice Cooper, where is she? Where's Polly?" Penelope asks, getting in Alice's face.

"You think if I knew that, I'd be out here with the mosquitoes?" Alice snaps back, stepping even closer to Penelope.

"Face facts, Mommie Dearest, Polly killed Jason," Cheryl says, raising an eyebrow.

"Woah, woah, we're all out here looking for Polly, Okay? Why don't we just… work together? Make sure she's safe and out of harm's way?" Lydia asks, stepping between Penelope and Alice, raising her hands.

"Zip it, Serpent Princess," Cheryl says, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Excuse me?" Lydia says, turning to face Cheryl, her head tilted and her shoulders squared. "You don't want to go down this road right now, baby." Lydia says, standing in front of Cheryl.

"Hold on now," Sheriff Keller speaks up, Betty and Veronica pushing through the group to stand behind Lydia.

"Awe, would you look at that, Lydia Rose Jones and her guard dogs." Cheryl says, stepping forward, smiling at the taller girl.

"Lydia, what is she talking about?" Archie asks from behind them. Betty and Veronica look at each other, confused.

"Shit," Jughead mumbles, placing a hand on his beanie, shaking his head.

"Cheryl, this is not the time for this," Lydia says with gritted teeth while Penelope and Alice bicker back and forth in the background. "If this is your form of foreplay you're terribly mistaken," Lydia whispers, glaring at the shorter redhead.

"Awe, has she not told any of you? Her unrelenting followers?" Cheryl asks, throwing her arms in the air. "Her parents aren't Fred and Mary Andrews," Cheryl laughs.

"Cheryl, shut the fuck up," Lydia says, towering over the other girl.

"Or what, Lily, you'll sick your big-bad-daddy FP Jones on me?" Cheryl snickers, Penelope nodding at her in approval. Lydia can see the tears in Cheryl's eyes, knowing this isn't truly her doing. Still, she pushes past Cheryl and storms off, letting the two rival families battle it out together. Cheryl turns and watches Lydia leave, sniffling back tears.

"You'll regret this later, Blossom." Lydia jumps on her bike and takes off, holding back her anger by taking a long ride on her motorcycle, heading to the Whyte Wyrm.


Lydia pushes through the saloon doors of the bar, immediately catching Toni's eye behind the counter.

"Oh boy, I know that look," Toni says. "What's going on with Cheryl now, Blue?" Toni grabs a glass, placing two ice cubes in before pouring a double shot of rum for the redhead. Lydia shakes her head, angry tears forming in her eyes. Toni looks her up and down, trying to figure her out by just her body language. "It's much worse than I think, isn't it." Lydia nods, her phone ringing repeatedly in her pocket. She takes it out and looks at it, seeing Cheryl's contact information before throwing it across the bar.

"Much, much worse than you think, Toni," Lydia says, sitting down at the bar and placing her palm against her forehead. She grabs the glass from Toni, sighing and shaking her head. She quickly downs the alcohol in the glass before placing it on the bar top.

"I haven't seen you like this since the last time your mom left without you, Lydia." Toni says, concern etched into her features. "What's going on in your head?" Toni hops up on the bar and pulls Lydia near her, running her hand through her hair.

"Cheryl decided that while everyone was searching for Betty's sister, and I mean everyone, that she would tell Betty, Veronica and Archie that Fred and Mary aren't my parents," Lydia says, breathing hard.

"Woah, she did what?" Toni asks, freezing. "Archie wasn't supposed to know that, you've been his big sister since the day he was born." Toni begins to become angry, shaking her head. "If she comes into this bar again she won't be walking out."

"Toni, don't say that," Lydia says, shaking her head.

"Girl troubles?" A familiar voice calls out from the back office. The woman was the same height as her, wearing a Serpent jacket and black skinny jeans. She donned a pair of bright red snakeskin heels and a tattered and torn The Clash t-shirt over a fishnet long sleeve shirt. Lydia lifts her head and her cobalt blue eyes match the ice blue ones of the older woman moving towards them. Her red, curly hair bounced up and down on her shoulders as she moved closer. Lydia smiles, realizing exactly who's there.

"Mom!" she calls out, jumping off of the bar stool and running towards Evelyn.

"There's my Princess," Evelyn says, enveloping Lydia in a tight hug. "Your little girlfriend got me in here early." Evelyn says, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Lydia, practically a spitting image of her mother, looks over at Toni with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, Toni and I broke up almost four years ago…" Lydia says, stepping back, looking up at her in confusion.

"I remember, Lily," Evelyn says, cupping Lydia's hand with her cheek, wiping her tears away. "So what's Penelope forcing your sweet Cherry Blossom to do now?"


Lydia sits in the common room with Veronica and Betty the next morning, still sour from her interaction the night before. She had asked the group not to talk about the fiasco from the witch hunt, and they obliged, not bringing it up again.

"I don't want Polly to run away." Betty says, talking to Lydia and Veronica. Lydia slouches in the sofa next to Veronica, playing with the zipper on her Serpent jacket. "But if she can't live at home, then… I don't know, I can rent her an apartment."

"Let me talk to my mom," Veronica responds, shaking her hand with her finger pointing as she talks.

'No, you have your own stuff you're dealing with right now, V." Betty says, shifting her weight in her chair.

"Betty, Polly needs doctors, she needs prenatal vitamins…" Veronica is cut off by Cheryl entering the room.

"She needs her family," Cheryl says, standing in the doorway. Lydia's eyes immediately snap up from her zipper, her expression hardening. Within seconds she sees Cheryl's wearing the spider broach, a silent apology for her manipulated behavior in the forest. Lydia sits up, narrowing her eyes as Cheryl looks around the room.

"Take that off," Lydia says pointing at Cheryl.

"Excuse me?" Cheryl responds, confused.

"The fucking broach Blossom, remove it," Lydia says, standing up from her seat, moving closer. "You do not get to behave the way you did yesterday and expect to just continue to wear my heart on your lapel." Lydia continues to move forward, crossing her arms when she stands in front of Cheryl.

"Lilly, it's not what you think," Cheryl says, placing her hand on Lydia's arm, her expression softened.

"Oh, so your mother didn't threaten me in some way and claim the only way she wouldn't do something was to shut me out and expose me to all of Riverdale?" Lydia cocks her head to the side, raising her eyebrows. Cheryl hangs her head, breathing in sharply. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I told you if you kept going with your search for mommy dearest's approval that you weren't going to like the outcome." Lydia pushes past Cheryl, storming out into the hallway and crossing over to her locker. She quickly grabs her history textbook before slamming her locker door closed, taking off.


Archie, Jughead and Lydia sit in Fred's construction trailer, waiting for FP and Fred to arrive. Archie bounces a tennis ball while Lydia spins around in an office chair. Fred and FP enter through the far door, chatting about rebar and cement.

"Oh, how was your first day back?" Jughead asks, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, it was great." Fred responds, hardhat still on. "Your dad is the hardest-working guy on the crew, as always." FP tosses his hardhat to Jughead as Lydia kicks her feet up on the desk in front of her.

"Oh, in that case, why don't we celebrate to mark the occasion?" Jughead asks, putting FP's hardhat on top of his head.

"Yeah, Lids, Juggy and I were thinking the five of us could have dinner or something." Archie says, holding the tennis ball in his right hand, palm up, while leaning forward and resting his left hand on his knee.

"Uh, tonight? I don't know…" Fred says, shifting his weight.

"I'm game if you're game," FP says, shrugging. "On me." Fred sighs and looks away as Archie flings the tennis ball in his direction. As he catches the ball in his left hand, Lydia finally speaks up.

"There's something we need to discuss as a group and it'd be much easier to talk about in a dinner setting," Lydia says, looking to FP and Fred. Both men look at her confused and she crosses her arms over her chest. "They know."


All five of them were squeezed into a booth at Pop's, FP telling a story about his time in high school with Fred.

"Anyway, we spent the whole summer fixing up that old VW bus." FP taps his hand down on the table top, smiling.

"Yeah," Fred responds, nodding.

"You remember what we called it, Fred?" FP asks, grinning from ear to ear. Archie smiles, leaning in and enjoying the story. Jughead and Lydia are slouched in their seats, bored out of their mind and awaiting the conversation about Lydia's lineage.

"The Shaggin' Wagon," FP and Fred say simultaneously. FP slams his fist down on the corner of the table.

"The Shaggin' Wagon!" FP repeats, slouched in a way that his left arm is holding him up, resting against the top of the booth seat. "This was before your dad had game." FP points to Lydia and Archie, causing Lydia to roll her eyes. "Senior Year, he started a band, and then the girls were all over him." Archie raises his eyebrows as Jughead proceeds to shove food in his face.

"We were awful," Fred says, chuckling.

"Yeah. Yeah, we were," FP responds, laughing. "But it was great. Best time of my life."

"That was right about the time you and Evelyn started seeing each other, wasn't it, FP?" Lydia asks, taking a sip from the coffee in front of her.

"Right. Right, we're here to talk about you, Lilly," FP says, waving his right hand in front of him.

"So Aunt Evie is Lydia's mom then, dad?" Archie asks, leaning back against his seat. Fred nods, sipping from his tiny coffee mug.

"Your Aunt Evelyn wasn't ready to raise a kid yet, wanting to pursue her dream career as an author, and your mom and I took Lydia in as a favor. It wasn't supposed to be forever, but my little sister kept coming up with excuses. FP and Evelyn had broken up and by the time Lydia was born, FP was already seeing Jughead's mom, Gladys." FP nods, a wave of sadness washing over him.

"I didn't know Evelyn had Lydia until you three started spending more and more time together." FP responds, sighing. Jughead, wanting a subject change, speaks up.

"I… want to know… more about… bands. What was that—what was the name of the, uh, band?" He says, looking between FP and Fred. FP laughs, throwing his head back.

"Ah, yeah," Fred says, shaking his head. "It—it was called The Fred Heads." The whole table lets out a chuckle before Archie speaks up.

"Wait, the what now?" Archie asks, leaning in on his forearms.

"Yeah, that's why it doesn't come up very often," Fred responds, laughing. Pop comes up to the table, handing the check to Fred. "Ah, thanks Pop." Fred reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet.

"Oh, come on, Fred. This was supposed to be my treat," FP says, upset.

"Hey, you get it next time," Fred says, handing Pop back the check, raising his eyebrows at FP. He shrugs as he closes his wallet, placing it back in his pocket. FP calls over his shoulder, causing Jughead and Lydia's eyes to go wide.

"Hey, excuse me. Pop?" FP calls out.

"Dad, really, you don't have to do this," Lydia says, reaching her arm out and placing her hand on top of FP's. Pop walks back towards the booth.

"We invited you guys out. Let me pay," Jughead says, digging through his pocket for his wallet.

"Put your damn money away," FP snaps at Jughead, causing Lydia to get angry.

"Dad, don't do this right now," Lydia says, glaring at him.

"FP, take it easy," Fred says, sighing. FP slams the checkbook down on the table, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

"You owe me this," he says, locking eyes with Fred.

"Yeah," Fred responds, nodding.

"Yeah."

"Go ahead. You get this one," Fred says, chuckling. "You know, if I'd have known, I would have gotten another milkshake." Fred points his wallet at Archie as he talks. Lydia checks the time and realizes if she doesn't leave now then she'll be late to meet with Veronica, Kevin, Josie and Reggie.

"Hey, I've gotta go," Lydia says, standing up and wiggling her way out of the booth. "I have plans tonight." She excuses herself and heads out the door to Pop's, jumping on her bike.


Lydia parks her bike outside of Roving Eye, watching the crowd and looking for her group of friends. She quickly realizes that they're already inside and walks up to the bouncer. The man at the door nods at her and waves her in and it isn't long before she finds Veronica, Josie, Reggie and Kevin. Veronica looks up and sees Lydia moving towards them and proceeds to squeal.

"The long lost Jones child has arrived!" Veronica yells, watching Lydia walk towards them. Lydia places her hands up in surrender.

"You got me!" She calls out, talking over the music. Josie glares at the redhead, still mad at her for leaving the Pussycats years ago. Immediately, Veronica begins to dance with Lydia, and as the songs change the group switches partners, eventually just dancing together as a group. Veronica gets close to Lydia, draping her arms around the redhead's shoulders, pulling her close and smiling. The girls dance together until the rest of the group circles around them and dances with them as well. The group laughs and smiles, forgetting their troubles for a moment. After a while, they all plop down on a long white couch. Veronica decides that even though there's more than enough space around them that her perfect seat is in Lydia's lap, her arm draped around her neck as she takes a sip from her cup. Josie sighs as she plops down. They all laugh, and Veronica begins playing with her hair.

"Uh-uh girl, you better hydrate," Josie says, leaning over and tipping Veronica's glass towards her face. "You practically left your body on the dance floor." Josie sighs again, taking a sip from her glass.

"I wish, Josie," Veronica says, leaning into Lydia as she speaks. "I wish. I wish I could leave my body sometimes. Leave Riverdale, leave everything." She leans forward as she talks, causing Lydia to have to hold her to support her.

"Is any of this helping?" Kevin asks as Veronica rocks backwards again, smiling at Lydia and laughing. "Going out, going Black Swan, any of it?" Veronica hands Lydia her glass to put on the table in front of them. When she does so, Veronica begins to speak.

"When my dad got arrested, the police, the lawyers, the judge, the courts, they took everything from us. Our houses, our cars, our club memberships, our yacht…" Josie rolls her eyes and Lydia scoffs. "Even, I'm not kidding, the clothes off our backs." Josie rolls her head towards Veronica, jaw dropped, and Lydia holds back her comments. Veronica sighs and smiles, leaning all of her weight backwards into Lydia's side. "Anyway, my mom sat me down on the edge of my canopy bed and she told me not to cry. Because there was one thing in this world that no one could ever take from me. Not ever." Reggie turns to face Veronica.

"Your trust fund?" He asks, earning a kick from Lydia. Veronica rolls her eyes at him.

"My name, Reggie. Which, after telling me no one would ever take it, that is exactly what she did." Veronica looks around as if she's piecing things together in her head. "Like it meant nothing. Like it was nothing…" She pauses for a moment, Lydia running a hand through her hair. "Like I was nothing." Veronica leans forward and grabs her glass, downing the rest of her drink as she leans back against Lydia again. She reaches up and places a hand on the side of Lydia's face, sighing. After a while, Veronica tries to pay the bill and leans back against Lydia's chest, her head resting on the redhead's shoulder as she scrolls through her phone.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lodge, but your card's been declined." The employee returns, holding Veronica's card up in his hand. Lydia furrows her eyebrows, confused.

"Really?" Veronica asks, picking her head up off of Lydia's shoulder. She locks her phone and places it down on Lydia's leg before continuing. "And let me guess, it's been reported stolen." She runs a hand through her hair before leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

"It has, in fact." The man replies. "We're supposed to call the cops."

"Yeah, sure, call the cops," Reggie starts, laying across the white sectional. "We'll be happy to tell them how old we are."

"Or I could call my mom, the mayor," Josie adds, resting her chin in her hand.

"This should cover it," Veronica says, standing up off of Lydia's lap and handing the man a wad of cash. He hands her back her card and she tilts her head, smirking at him. Josie laughs.

"Veronica, did your mom cut you off?" Kevin asks, grinning.

"She did," Veronica responds, sitting back down in Lydia's lap.

"And that's a good thing?" Reggie asks as Lydia helps Veronica put on her jacket.

"Oh, Reggie," Veronica says, shrugging on her jacket. "This is how we Lodge women roll. We feint, we parry, we approach, we retreat. We're like a cobra and a mongoose dancing." Veronica picks up her purse as the group looks at her in awe. "She blinked, which means, I suspect, that Hermione Lodge is ready to negotiate." Veronica stands up, taking Lydia's hand as she does so. "You're still taking me home, right, Blue?"

"Of course, V," Lydia responds, swallowing hard as she stands. Veronica leads her out of the club, still holding her hand, and they climb onto Lydia's bike. When they arrive in front of Veronica's building, they both remove their helmets and get up off of the bike.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you up?" Lydia asks, running her free hand through her hair as Veronica puts the spare helmet back in the saddlebag.

"I'll be fine, Lids." She says, stepping close to the taller girl and placing a hand on her cheek. "I appreciate you caring though," She continues before placing a kiss on Lydia's cheek. "Goodnight, Blue." Veronica steps back, moving towards the doors to her building.

"Goodnight, V," Lydia responds, leaning against her bike, making sure Veronica enters her building safely before putting her helmet back on and heading home.


"Cheryl, you've called Polly a party girl. Have you seen her take drugs? Firsthand?" Penelope asks, holding a book in her hand and pulling her glasses down the bridge of her nose. Cheryl sits awkwardly on her bed, visibly upset from her encounter with Lydia.

"Um… I'm not sure, why?" Cheryl asks, looking up fiddling with her fingers in her lap. Penelope shrugs, looking up from her book.

"Due diligence." She looks back down at her book, loosely holding her glasses in her opposite hand. "We wouldn't want an unfit mother raising our grandchild now, would we?" Cheryl sits there eyes wide before realizing that her mother's asking a real question and not being sarcastic. She closes her eyes, forcing a smile.

"No, of course not." She nods as Penelope closes her book, a soft knock on the door. She quickly looks over at the doorway, seeing Lydia standing there awkwardly.

"Mind if I come in?" She asks softly, taking a step forward. Cheryl shakes her head and Lydia moves towards the bed, looking over at Penelope. "Can Cheryl and I talk in private Mrs. Blossom?" Lydia asks as Penelope gets up and nods, heading towards the door. When Penelope leaves, Cheryl looks up at the taller girl, her tears flowing as if a dam had burst.

"Lilly, I'm so sorry I put you through all this. I shouldn't have been such a careless bitch." She places her hand on Lydia's arm who continues to stand next to her, her features unwavering.

"I understand, Cheryl." She says, nodding. "I just can't do this anymore, truly." Lydia swallows hard. "I love you, I truly do, but I can't stay in a relationship with someone who continues to do their mother's dirty work even after all the terrible shit she's done to them." She takes a seat next to the smaller redhead, placing her hand on the bed beside her.

"Lilly, I—" Cheryl chokes back her tears. Lydia forces herself not to wipe them away.

"Until you can learn to truly respect yourself and stand up for yourself, I think we need time away from each other." Lydia swallows hard, forcing herself to hold back her tears.

"Lilly," Cheryl chokes out. "I'm so sorry. We can get past this." Cheryl's eyes move quickly, her thoughts running rampant in her head. "I know we can, we always do."

"I don't think we can this time, Cheryl." Lydia finally breaks, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Not until you can learn to grow up." She takes a deep breath before standing up. She begins to lean down to place a kiss on top of Cheryl's head and the smaller redhead quickly places her hands on Lydia's cheeks. Cheryl places a kiss on Lydia's lips, sobbing as she does so. Lydia quickly kisses her back before stepping away, wiping her own tears. "I'm sorry, Cher-Bear." Lydia quickly leaves the room, passing Penelope who had been standing outside of the door listening. A devilish grin grows on the woman's face as she watches Lydia leave.


Lydia cries the entire way to Pop's. When she parks her bike, she sits there for a few moments just collecting herself. Jughead and Veronica notice her through the window and look at her, confused. She quickly takes off her helmet and goes inside, immediately noticing Polly.

"Polly fuckin' Cooper," Lydia says, grinning, her eyes red from sobbing.

"Lydia!" Polly cries out, standing up and moving towards the redhead. Lydia wraps her arms around the slightly taller blonde.

"I'm so sorry, Pol. I was supposed to be the one to help you get to Jason. You weren't supposed to be taken away to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy." Lydia says, shaking her head. "I'm a terrible friend."

"Wait, you knew?" Betty asked, standing up from the counter. "And you didn't say anything to anyone?"

"She wasn't supposed to, Betty." Polly says, stepping back after hugging Lydia. "She kept her promise, as a true best friend should." She smiles at Lydia, who smirks back. Their reunion is cut short when the bell to Pop's rings, signaling that someone has entered the establishment. Cheryl stands behind them, wiping her smeared mascara off of her face.

"Cheryl…" Polly says, stepping around Lydia. Lydia swallows hard, refusing to turn around. Instead she moves to the counter and sits down in between Veronica and Betty. Cheryl looks down at Polly's baby bump, gasping as she places her fingers against it gently. She quickly pulls her hand away and stands up straight.

"I'm so sorry about Jason," Polly starts, searching Cheryl's face for her reaction. "I know how much you loved him." Cheryl looks back and forth between Polly's face and her bump. Polly gently grabs her wrist and lifts her arm towards her. "And he always talked about how much he loved you." Cheryl looks back down at Polly's bump, her lip quivering.

"Cheryl, where are your mom and dad?" Betty asks.

"You have to leave. Now." Cheryl says, shocking Polly. "My parents, I don't think they want to help you." Lydia slowly turns around, finally looking at Cheryl's face.

"What are you talking about?" Betty asks, confused.

"They want you out of the picture, Polly." Cheryl says, frantically. "It's not safe for you with them. It's not safe for JJ's baby." Polly turns around and Lydia slowly stands, nodding at Cheryl in approval.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Polly asks, looking between the group. "I can't go back to the attic."

"No. You don't have to, Polly." Veronica leans towards Betty before continuing. "An-and don't worry about my mom, Betty, she'll want to help." Lydia moves towards Cheryl, stopping in front of her to place her hands in her own pockets.

"Thank you," she says, looking down at her feet. "I hope you can continue this."

"And I hope you keep your word." Cheryl responds, crossing her arms before looking down at her own feet. The group looks around at each other, confused.

Hope. A word so close to home, and as tricky. As much as we wanted Jason's killer caught, and the town, our home, to feel safe again, with every day that passed, our hopes dimmed more and more. There's that old clichéd saying, "It's darkest before the dawn." But sometimes… There's just darkness.