"Archie is missing." Veronica says, walking into the dining room. "I had to tell him something important earlier. He didn't reply. I called his mother, and she says he went out on a walk last night and never returned home."

"Are you sure he's missing?" Cheryl asks."What did you need to tell him anyway?"

"I- I can't say. Not yet. But yeah, I'm sure. Archiekins would never just ignore me like this. He never ignores me. He tells me everything, even things that he didn't need to like the fact that he and Bett-" Veronica cuts off sharply, inhaling a trembling breath.

"Him and Betty what, Veronica? Honestly, Betty could be a suspect in this, you know. If you know something, you need to tell us. It could save his life." Charles finds himself saying firmly. He doesn't want to be a pain, but they really need to know every detail about Betty and Archie right now.

"I can't say." Veronica murmured to the floor.

"No. you can't. But I can." Hermione cuts in harshly. "Betty kissed Archie. Quite recently, while you were all singing in the musical. Archie told Veronica at the prom. I'm sorry Jughead, but Charles is right. We all need to know what we're up against."

"Honestly nothing that she does can surprise me anymore." Jughead says, his voice trembling just a little.

"It would sort of make sense if Betty kidnapped Archie. If she doesn't want to lose Jughead, then she needs Archie out of the way. I presume she still cares about you?" Cheryl says.

"I believe so. To some degree. I do not know if she is even capable of love. She has slowly begun slipping deeper into insanity, her actions getting worse and worse." Jughead says. "Charles, is it possible that the serial killer gene is taking over? Turning her into a monster?"

"I don't know." Charles replied. "I lied to Betty when I told her I had the gene, Hal Cooper was not my father, there was no way I could have had the gene save by extreme coincidence. I told her I had it too because I wanted her to feel less alone. I wanted her to trust me. A very see through and fragile lie, one that I am surprised she did not see through. The reality is, I know almost nothing about the gene. I have studied serial killers, and never before have I seen of a case where someone with no darkness in them found themselves becoming evil. I expect the cruelty inside of my sister has been rotting there for a very long time, and perhaps now she had grown the confidence to let the monster out."

"Jesus Christ." Sweet Pea mutters.

"Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go somewhere to think." Charles says, almost impressed by how well he was holding together, but also on the very brink of overwhelmed. He walks as calmly as possible into the room he was now sharing with Jughead. Sinking onto the soft bed, Charles carefully takes out the knife from the kitchen he had smuggled up here yesterday. Breathing slowly, trying to control the overwhelming despair, he brings the blade onto his upper arm.

One small cut. Not long. Not deep. Enough to pierce the skin, enough to cause precious drops of ruby red liquid to drip down his arm. Three drops, each one as perfect as diamonds.

There was a beauty in the pain, a beauty Charles had felt before in few other pass times. Love caused the beauty. Music caused the beauty. Art caused the beauty. Poetry caused the beauty. And pain caused the beauty.

The control that the knife gave him filled Charles with a strange kind of calm. A kind of peace. A little part of the gaping whole inside him was filled in, as ugly as mud being poured into a pot hole. Holding the knife against his arm, causing himself pain, that was one of precious few things Charles could control.

He couldn't control the fact he was abandoned at birth. He couldn't control how the sisters of quiet mercy treated him. He couldn't control his love for Chic, no matter what the aforementioned nuns believed. He couldn't control what Betty had done to him. He couldn't control what Alice had done to him. He couldn't control what Fp had done to him. He couldn't control the pain that was forced upon him.

But he could control adding more pain.