On the first day of December, the snow in Riverdale had almost melted away.
Several members of the community had chosen to brave the weather in nothing warmer than jeans or sweatpants; another snow storm before the year ended was a definitive guarantee, so this likely would be one of their last opportunities to do so until Spring.
Jughead was one of these people. He ditched a heavy sherpa-lined jacket in favour of his usual sweater vest and dress shirt combination, but when he walked Jordan up to his classroom and felt the biting chill of the Winter air teasing his exposed forearms, he considered stopping back home on his way to the high school to grab it anyway.
Thankfully, his classroom was slightly warmer than the parking lot, and he managed to warm himself up with his second mug of coffee for the day.
By the time he'd finished explaining to one of his students why the classics were absolutely an important element of their literature education, and no, he wouldn't be giving them critical essay tasks on the Percy Jackson series because they were in their junior year not in junior high, unless said student was ready to dive headfirst into unpacking early twenty-first century contexts despite complaining two weeks ago that 'anything created after nineteen eighty is trash fiction', Jughead was well and truly ready to escape back into the staff room and obtain a third mug of coffee. Or a shot of Hennessy - though Weatherbee might frown on him for that.
Thankfully, the bell rang shortly after their conversation, and Jughead gratefully drifted into the staff room. Inside, the gym teacher was tearing into a sandwich with one hand, and had his phone up to his ear in the other - the glare on his face, and the hushed tones with which he was talking led Jughead to believe he was probably fighting with his wife again.
Deciding it was best to avoid getting anywhere near that, Jughead placed his bag on a nearby table and pulled his container of leftovers out of the fridge to place it in the microwave. His stomach rumbled as he pushed the start button - leftover spaghetti and meatballs, of his own creation, certainly looked just as good on day two of their life as they did on day one. Betty had told him it was his best ever attempt at cooking, and later that night had spent the better part of an hour showing him her appreciation…
His watch buzzed against his wrist, and he looked down at the cracked screen (Betty tried to convince him to let her buy him a new one, but this one had cost him two hundred dollars and it still worked). He smiled as he saw a message from his wife, asking him how his day was.
He moved to pull his phone out of his bag so he could reply to her. Just spent fifteen minutes arguing with a seventeen year old about Jane Austen. Would not recommend it. He smirked as he typed another message: The sophomores are starting on Toni Morrison next period, thank God. How's your day going?
Betty's reply was typically enthusiastic about Toni Morrison, and she told him how she'd had to travel to Seaside to look into a lead on 'HL' and she would likely miss dinner. Jughead wondered if the lead had anything to do with the names Juniper had handed over, but decided it would be best to ask her when she got home.
The microwave beeped, so he left his belongings to retrieve the container - and a fork - before returning to his table. The scent of spaghetti sauce filled his senses, but he successfully managed to hold in a groan of delight as he lifted the lid of his container and stared down into the closest thing to culinary perfection he'd ever created.
Kevin and Toni walked into the staff room, greeted him, and set to work on organising their own lunches. Midway through Jughead's third bite, his watch buzzed again, so he picked his phone up to read the notification.
It was Betty again. I looked into a psychologist for Jordan. There's a good one in Greendale named Jenna Dawson. She's going to call you sometime in the next day or so to get more information about him. She followed up with: She's a leading expert in her field, and is published in psych journals. I'll send you some links. My therapist recommended her. The message ended with two links to what would no doubt be thoroughly researched journal articles.
Thanks Betts. I'll keep my phone nearby. He replied, then was almost immediately drawn into a conversation with Toni about Blossom's latest kindergarten escapades.
…
Jordan was all smiles as Jughead made his way up to his classroom at the end of the school day. His teacher was leaning against the closed door, nodding along to whatever Jordan was telling her. She spotted Jughead and lifted her hand in his direction, then Jordan's head whipped around to face him - his smile widened, and he lifted up a large green… thing.
As Jughead got closer, he realised that the object was a broccoli plush toy. "Hey, Bud. What's that you've got?" He asked curiously.
Jordan bounced on his feet. "It's Benny Broccoli! He's our class friend."
"Oh…" Jughead replied, bemused.
The teacher took pity on him. "Sorry, I told your wife about it last Thursday…"
Last Thursday, when Betty was still preoccupied with the stress of the documentary's release, Jughead realised. He could see why a plush toy might've slipped her mind.
The teacher continued. "Um, Benny Broccoli is our project for the school year. The second graders take turns looking after him for the week." She explained, amused by the confusion on Jughead's face. "Jordan has a log book in his backpack - they just need to write a little bit about Benny's adventures with their family. Have a look through the previous entries if you guys need any ideas, but there are no wrong ways to go about adding to the logbook."
Jordan spoke before Jughead could respond. "Dad, can we take Benny to the park? And Grandma and Grandpa's? And New York?" Jordan asked in rapid succession. "And can he play the X-Box with us? And sit in Bethy's stroller?"
The teacher gave Jughead an apologetic look as he led Jordan out of the school and into the car. Jordan was significantly more talkative than usual as he relayed stories to Jughead about what the other children in his class had done with Benny Broccoli over the semester, and smiled as he made the short drive to Alice and FP's house to collect his daughters.
Emma became instantly excited about Benny Broccoli's presence in their family for the week (once Jordan had explained it to her). Jordan near-forced Jughead to take a photo of Benny on the old swing set in the backyard, and asked him to print it out for the logbook later. Bethany was her typically happy self, and Jughead was happy to hear Alice's report that the girls had been 'such little angels' for her that day.
Back at home, Jughead set Bethany up on her tummy on a blanket, and she seemed content to grab at pieces of the fabric while Jughead entertained his older children. The kids were on their best behaviour when Jughead let them go into the office to retrieve the print-out photo of Benny on the swing, and returned to the living room looking exhilarated.
There was still some spaghetti left from the previous evening, so Jughead heated it up for dinner and settled the kids at the table. He half-listened to Emma and Jordan's conversation about… whether or not broccoli was a fruit or a vegetable (he thought might be the topic? Maybe?). He probably should have chimed in on that one for educational purposes, but he was preoccupied with making sure Bethany didn't choke on the meatballs he broke into smaller pieces for her. She grabbed them off the tray on her high chair and stuffed them hungrily into her mouth.
He probably wasn't as efficient with going through the afternoon routine with three kids alone as his wife would have been, but he was reasonably impressed that he managed to keep Jordan busy with video games while he bathed the girls.
Betty looked exhausted when she got home, but she joined the family on the couch for their nightly reading session. It was Jughead's favourite part of their routine - watching Jordan become more fluent with reading out loud filled him with fatherly pride.
Jughead's phone rang just before their book was finished. He pulled it out of his back pocket and looked at the private number. "That must be…" He said quietly, and gave Betty a knowing look.
Betty shuffled closer to Jordan. "Okay, Mom's taking over. What part were we up to?" She asked quickly, and the kids pointed to different parts of the pages as Jughead stood up and excused himself from the room.
Once he'd closed the office door behind him, he swiped open the call and held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"
A voice that was slightly robotic and slightly melodious answered. "Hello. This is an automated priority message. Please state your full name to identify yourself."
Jughead frowned. It was slightly late for scammers to be calling… Maybe the psychologist had an automatic calling system? "Forsythe Pendleton Jones." He said quickly.
There was a pause, and then a new, marginally more human sounding voice came through. "Good evening Forsythe, this is an automated message from Victim Information and Notification Everyday."
Jughead's stomach clenched and his heart thudded sharp in his chest.
"You are receiving this call because you are registered with VINE's phone call notification system. Inmate Number 6-7-3-4, Cora Carter, will be appearing before the parole board at Blyton-Butchart Correctional Facility on the Eighth of March, Twenty Thirty Five. Please enter your PIN number to acknowledge you understand and have received this message."
With shaking hands, Jughead pulled his phone away from his ear and dialled the four digit code. His fingers slipped on the last number, and the voice asked him to try again. He did so successfully the second time, and swallowed as he waited for the voice to continue.
"Thank you. Your message has been noted as received. For resources and information on victim's services please visit our website, VINELink dot com…"
Jughead hung the phone up before he heard the rest.
He shouldn't have been this surprised. After all, he'd known Cora would be eligible for parole after five years. He did the numbers in his head, and it had been over five years since her conviction… even so, he hadn't been prepared for the reality of it. The possibility that his ex-wife could be released, and be allowed to roam freely on the streets… it left him feeling unsettled.
He was too rattled, and stressed, and filled with sickening anxiety to return to the living room and pretend to be happy. He couldn't put on an act for his children… not yet. He needed a moment to collect himself. Just to calm down enough to hide the panic from his expression…
He sat down at his desk chair and leaned forward on his elbows. His face landed in his hands almost reflexively, and he started to take in some slow, steadying breaths…
He had no idea how long he'd been sitting there, spiralling at his desk, but eventually he heard the door opening. Betty's voice broke through his thoughts. "I told the kids that you'd come kiss them goodnight, but they're both fast asleep already, so I'm sure they won't hold you to it." She said, her voice sounding amused. When he didn't answer her, she continued, a note of caution in her voice. "Did you… make an appointment with the psychologist?"
Jughead swallowed and sat back against the chair. He twisted sideways so he could look over his shoulder at her. She stood in the doorway, Bethany in her arms, and a look of concern etched into her face. He said simply: "No." It was all he could manage for the time being.
Betty's eyebrows furrowed. "Did you not like her? I mean, we can keep looking for another one if you'd prefer, but I just thought—"
"Betty." Jughead choked out. He cleared his throat and stood up. "That wasn't the psychologist." He said, trying to force the fear out of his voice. Her eyebrows furrowed, but before she could ask for clarification, he continued: "Cora… is getting out of prison."
Betty's eyes widened, and she unconsciously rubbed Bethany's back. The baby's head now laid on her mother's shoulder, though she wasn't asleep - her fingers curled and circled around long strands of Betty's blonde hair.
Betty moved closer to Jughead, and he reached out for her hand as she stood before him. "When does she get out?"
Jughead looked down at their joined hands and shrugged. "Her parole hearing is on the eighth of March…"
Betty squeezed his hand. "Hey, there's a hearing. That doesn't mean she's definitely going to be released."
"But what if she is, Betts?" Jughead's voice was barely louder than a raspy whisper. "What if she gets out and then comes looking for Jordan…?"
"Then she'll end up right back behind bars for breaking her restraining order." Betty said confidently. She moved her hand from his and placed it on the side of his arm.
Jughead sighed. "I… just really didn't expect this. We've got so much else happening right now, I didn't… I just wish…"
"I know, Juggie." Betty squeezed his arm. "I know."
…
Jughead stopped at Pop's before dropping Jordan at school the next morning. It was a particularly cold day, and Jordan made the suggestion that they get take away hot chocolates to warm themselves up.
Jughead was still shaken from the phone call, and couldn't refuse the prospect of Pop's. He even praised Jordan for having such a smart idea.
Jordan was particularly pleased with himself as he sat up on the barstool with Jughead and they awaited Tabitha's completion of their order. Jordan enthusiastically told Tabitha about Benny Broccoli, and Tabitha made a great effort of holding in the laughter Jughead could see in her eyes.
It was as Jughead picked up his take away cup and helped Jordan down from the stool that he noticed a new frame on the wall bedside the row of cakes. It was an old newspaper article from the Riverdale Register that depicted a ghastly, deformed image in the center. Jughead squinted, wishing he hadn't left his glasses in the car.
Tabitha followed his line of sight, then laughed as she realised what he was looking at. "Noticed my new addition to the retro wall?"
"Yeah… but what is that?" Jughead asked, still squinting to make out the words.
Tabitha grinned as she pulled the frame off the wall and handed it to Jughead. "I found it in an old box of Pop's. He had it in his basement, along with a lot of Vietnam war cuttings. I saw it and couldn't stop laughing, honestly, and he said I could hang it up in here."
Jughead tilted his head and read the page. "Beware the Mothman?" He read aloud, and only now realised the deformed figure was a creepy-gremlin like man with wings and giant eyes.
Tabitha grinned. "An old hoax, according to Pop. Though he said his own father swore it was real. Apparently it was a big town conspiracy back in the sixties."
"A giant moth was a town conspiracy?"
Tabitha shook her head. "No… a red eyed, humanoid demon who lived in the forest and preyed on the people who dared enter during the dangerous night hours was a town conspiracy."
Jughead gasped out a laugh. "That's hilarious. People actually believed this?"
"People believed the Gargoyle King was real." Tabitha shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe somebody was bored and decided to dress up and scare some local teenagers who snuck out to hook up in the forest."
Jughead was still chuckling as he handed back the frame.
…
"Are you doing something illegal?"
Betty jolted in her desk chair and looked up at Director Lincoln. She kept her face neutral as she raised her eyebrows. "Illegal? Why would you think that?"
Lincoln crossed his arms over his chest. "Just the general shiftiness of your body language. And you keep changing to a different web page tab whenever someone walks by."
Betty shrugged one shoulder and looked away, keeping her face blank as she focused on the computer screen. "I'm just looking into… an old case."
"Does it have anything to do with Lodge?"
"No, nothing to do with him." Betty assured him, and looked back up at his face. "Completely different case. This ones from… six years ago, roughly."
Lincoln let out a long breath. "Fine. As long as it isn't going to jeopardise the case against Lodge, I'll ignore whatever it is you're doing." He shook his head. "We can not afford to step out of line in the slightest. Lodge's lawyers have submitted appeals and case dismissals based on loopholes like nothing I've ever seen."
Betty sighed. "At least his request for a delayed trial benefits us as well."
"For sure. Especially with that anonymous tip you received… plenty of more time to look into more leads." Lincoln placed his hands on his hips. "Although I'm positive we have enough for a conviction, which conviction remains to be seen…" He trailed off as he turned around and started to walk towards his office.
With roaming eyes off of her, Betty switched back to the tab she'd been searching through. Technically what she was doing wasn't illegal… but it was frowned upon in the FBI to search for files for cases that were no longer active if there wasn't a reason to do so. Betty was pretty sure 'my husband's ex might get parole' wasn't a good enough reason for her to be searching through subpoenaed evidence, but better to beg forgiveness after the fact than risk being told 'no'.
She scrolled through the database. It had been relatively simple to bring up everything the FBI had on Cora. Through their database she could access most of the police records in the country, and Cora had plenty of material to go through.
Her convictions were easily accessible, but her prison records were convoluted. There were pages and pages of notes that seemed of little import, but Betty wanted to find something substantial to back herself up tonight if Jughead was still stressed about the potential for her to be released early.
One interesting piece of information she found was a psychiatrist's report from her attempted murder trial. Betty hadn't been in attendance, though she wished to be - it was a closed court due to Jordan's age, and the FBI-gathered evidence Betty collated hadn't required her physical presence.
The report was difficult to unpack, and seemed to sway between Cora being a distressed mother who just wanted her child back and had done nothing wrong in her life, and an emotional manipulator trying to convince the psychiatrist she was perfectly sane and whose words could not be trusted. But that's not what Betty fixated on - it was the minor note that only appeared on the physical, handwritten copy of the psychiatrist's notes (not the formal typed up version sent in to the judge), in tiny cursive in the margins discussing Cora's childhood.
Diagnosed with Conduct Disorder at age nine.
Betty was both surprised… and not. She'd long suspected, and had even discussed with Charles, the possibility that Cora had Antisocial Personality Disorder. From her time studying psychology, Betty knew getting a Conduct Disorder diagnosis as a child was often a precursor to an ASPD diagnosis in adulthood.
The psychiatrist hadn't made an ASPD diagnosis of Cora… but ASPD could be difficult to officiate. Betty hadn't actually been in the room with Cora during her psychiatrist's appointment, so she couldn't make accurate assumptions based on the out-of-context notes she was reading. She could, however, speculate based on some of the other handwritten notes.
Is fixated on husband's betrayal.
Reports husband is physically abusive (no elaboration).
Believes/reports that husband stole son.
Repeatedly mentions son's accident.
Asserts it's not her fault.
It was frustrating to read through the notes without knowing the actual words that had come from Cora's mouth. What was the 'accident' she kept mentioning? Was it when she tried to drown Jordan in Sweetwater River? Or when she kicked him down the night Jughead left her?
What was Jughead's supposed betrayal of her? Taking Jordan? Or reporting her to the police for breaking his arm?
And what was the insinuation of 'believes/reports'? Was the psychiatrist uncertain if Cora genuinely thought Jughead 'stole' Jordan?
Below those notes were several things Cora had mentioned about Jughead that made Betty keenly aware of why the psychiatrist had noted in her official report that she believed Cora made untrustworthy statements.
Believes husband is excessively emotional and aggressive.
Reports that they fight a lot but asserts the husband starts it. States that they get physical with each other (pushing, throwing objects, slapping) but husband is worse (also stated she never does anything to hurt husband physically - contradiction?). Husband makes her angry and forces her to lash out (refused to define 'lash out').
Believes husband 'too obsessed' with baby. Thinks husband will turn baby against her.
Interestingly, it was the final notes in that paragraph that sealed the deal for Betty.
Cora did not respond well to questions about her feelings. She deflected and distracted by changing the subject or fixating on the husband's wrongdoings. Became frustrated when asked to elaborate, and made several contradictions. Blames husband for her arrest, doesn't understand why he got so 'offended'. Claims husband is making everything up. Became irritated when pressed for details. Says it's the husband's fault that he got hurt. Husband 'likes pain' and asked her to choke him - now he's backtracking to make her look bad. All part of his 'agenda' against her.
Cora became confrontational when prompted to talk about her emotions - claimed I am just trying to get her locked up, asked if husband paid me.
From this, Betty could make the postulation that not only would Cora not take responsibility for her own actions, but she became irritated and possibly aggressive whenever the conversation stopped going her way. She blamed Jughead for events when asked about them, refused to discuss her feelings, and was seemingly obsessed with how Jughead had wronged her.
It was a troubling note to come across. Betty could understand Jughead's fear of his ex-wife - after all, he'd lived with her for two years and had seen her true colors after her 'loving wife' facade collapsed.
The psychiatrist had noted Cora was charming and persuasive, and while the report had made several 'suggestions' that she was a manipulative liar, this wasn't technically 'proof' that she couldn't be trusted in the regular world.
Betty scrolled through Cora's prison records, but there wasn't much to gather from them. She'd gotten into three fights with fellow prisoners during her first year inside, but hadn't gotten up to anything major in the past few years. She was still required to see a psychiatrist, though…
Betty huffed and closed down the database when it became apparent she wasn't going to be able to access the prison psychiatrist's notes. She'd just have to wait and see whether Cora said anything disturbing enough on the inside to justify being kept locked up for the full ten years… but at least she could assure Jughead that the psychiatrist in her trial found her untrustworthy, and surely the one she saw regularly in prison would notice her sociopathic behaviour…
…
By the end of the week, Jughead appeared to have blocked the majority of his Cora-related worries from his mind in favour of dealing with the hype of Get Creative's official release.
Several hundred people had finished the book by now, and so Jughead spent his afternoon watching the kids play in their backyard while he scrolled through Twitter and Tumblr and did something he rarely engaged in.
He responded to fans.
He started simple; Dean had dutifully shared the book's official release post from Visionary Publishers and added the caption: " FPJ3Official you should have called your book 'Get Horny' because that's what everyone is doing right now". When Jughead shared it, the resulting comments section was riveting to say the least, hilarious to say the most.
He commented on a few Tumblr analysis with different variations of 'love your thoughts', and smiled to himself when one fan replied with: "I'm gagging right now, omg! Thanks for reading my post!"
#GetCreative was trending, as was #FPJ3sexbook, and while ordinarily he would have cringed, today he found himself embracing it. Most people's thoughts were positive, several were scandalised, and very few were critical of his move from Young Adult fiction to what was deemed 'pure erotica'.
But while the book was clearly popular (Sam had been ecstatic as he informed Jughead they were running reprints) it hadn't exactly made national mainstream headlines.
Not the way the TBK Documentary did.
Jughead sighed and locked his phone. He leaned back and focused on Bethany for a moment. The little girl was on her hands and knees, wobbling back and forth on her blanket as she watched the older two kids in the sandpit. With the sheer puffiness of her jacket, she looked like an inflatable pool toy that'd accidentally ended up on land. She lifted one hand up and out towards her siblings, then promptly lost her balance and rolled onto her back.
Jughead cringed and leaned forward, expecting her to cry. But she merely stared wide-eyed up at the cloudy sky, then kicked her legs out as she grinned. Jughead snickered.
Betty arrived home from work earlier than Jughead expected, and seemed to mostly be in good spirits when she leaned down to kiss Jughead in greeting. Jughead hoped that meant she hadn't been bombarded with TBK information that day. Jordan and Emma both abandoned their sandcastle monsters and ran over to her, and Jughead didn't miss the smile of joy that enveloped Betty's face as she crouched down to hug them both.
Dinner that night included the presence of Archie, Veronica and Linda. Jughead and Archie were quick to launch into a discussion of Get Creative - or more accurately, Archie started playfully ribbing Jughead for all the publicity - while Betty picked Linda up and gave her a hug.
As always, Veronica seemed particularly overwhelmed with the often unruly behaviour of Emma, but smiled as the child took her hand (or dragged her to the coffee table the second she walked in the door) and showed off a drawing she'd created. Veronica noted the bright colours and praised Emma, then laughed and raised her eyebrows at Betty when Emma quickly changed speed to convince Linda to follow her into her bedroom.
"She's just… full of energy, isn't she?" Veronica mused as she watched the little girls parade into the hallway.
Betty smiled affectionately as she moved to pull Veronica into a hug. "Yeah, she has no off switch, I'll say that." She pulled back and grinned. "So… did you find out the gender?"
Veronica rolled her eyes. "Do you know that's the first question I've been asked by literally the last four people I've spoken to? My mother has already given me a list of no less than seven names she thinks would be 'absolutely adorable'."
Betty chuckled. "I'd apologise for contributing to the social norm that is reducing expectant mothers to the topic of their impending birth, but I'm too curious."
Veronica smiled as she placed a hand on her slightly protruding abdomen. "It's a boy."
"Aww, Vee!" Betty's voice raised in pitch as she reached out to hug Veronica again.
"Yes, yes, I know, it's all very exciting." Veronica said, amused. "Archie actually cried in the doctor's office. And not just a few tears, I'm talking red eyes, gasps, the whole works." She patted Betty on the shoulder then disentangled herself from her embrace. "I really don't see the point in getting so worked up about it all. As long as the baby's healthy, that's what matters, right?"
"Of course!" Betty smiled. "I think it's just fun to imagine what your baby might be like. I guess knowing the gender adds to it all."
"Perhaps." Veronica nodded. "Although, I have no expectations for him. I'm not forcing him to play with trucks, or wear blue, or hold in his emotions so much that he learns to express himself using his fists." She shook her head and frowned. "Not even an iota of toxic masculinity will be supported in our house."
Betty led Veronica to sit down with her on the couch, and settled against the cushions. "I like that philosophy, Vee. And Jughead will passionately agree with you - it does no good to condition children to like certain toys just because they're boys toys or girls toys." She studied Veronica's face for a moment, searching for signs of stress. "How are you feeling now that everything's looking more 'real' with the pregnancy?"
Veronica pursed her lips, then her focus drifted over to pack and play set up in the corner of the living room. "Honestly, if the new baby is half as good as your little one, I think I'll be fine."
Bethany chewed on the end of her teether, oblivious to the adoring looks both women were giving her.
In the yard, Archie and Jughead huddled before the barbecue. Jordan had joined them for ten minutes, then claimed it was too cold to be outside before promptly returning to the house.
When Jughead poured oil onto the stovetop, Archie asked him: "Why are we doing this outside, again? I think my toes might fall off."
Jughead smirked. "I promised Betty I'd cook tonight, and trust me, you don't want to see what a disaster I'd have made in the kitchen… This is our best option." He said solemnly as he placed several pieces of meet onto the barbecue.
Archie laughed.
Their conversation moved glacially away from Jughead's book release to Archie's latest work exploits. The Community Center was the only place in Riverdale that homeless people could find any sort of help since Hiram Lodge had disbanded the soup kitchen's volunteer organisation and closed down the social workers' building. Betty and Jughead had recently run an article about it in the Register, but while Hiram was 'innocent until proven guilty' and not legally required to step down as mayor, there wasn't much the community could do to stop his apparent mission to destroy Riverdale for a profit.
"No offence, Arch," Jughead stated, "but my father-in-law was a serial killer and I still think you got the short hand of the stick in that regards."
Archie groaned. "God, don't remind me. Things with the Lodges are…" He paused to consider the right word, and settled on: "Explosive."
Jughead nodded sympathetically. "How does Veronica feel about her best friend arresting her dad?"
Archie looked down at his hands. "Well, I don't really think she knows how to feel, especially since he's very obviously guilty of everything he's been accused of. She won't talk about it… just throws herself into helping me at the Community Center… but with the baby coming soon, I worry about her, you know? This kind of stress isn't good."
Jughead agreed.
"We had a major setback at the Community Center this week. One of our biggest sponsors cut ties with us - which, I understand, I don't expect him to keep funding us. But, it was just so out of the blue, and he's really passionate about our cause since he was homeless as a teen… it's just really come at a bad time. Polly is convinced Hiram threatened him, but we can't exactly know for sure…" He sighed. "She's furious. We have to prioritise the kids that come through, obviously, but we've been helping out some of the sex workers too, and that's had to slow down… everything costs money, and Veronica's apartment complex is barely breaking even, but of course she isn't going to kick any of her tenants out. They have families, you know?"
"Yeah, I understand. That's… rough, Arch." Jughead frowned. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"No, no, you guys do enough." Archie said solemnly. "You always promote us in the Register - and I know for a fact that at least a quarter of our donations from the last year have come from your readers." He brushed his foot against a rock, and lightly kicked it away. "Hiram's determined to get us shut down. We're trying to keep everyone from panicking, but if some of these people have nowhere to turn to… they're going to end up joining the Ghoulies, or turning to crime just to eat. It's already happening. People are scared." He squared his shoulders. "We've just got to hope Hiram doesn't run the South Side into the ground before he gets kicked out of office and thrown in prison. There'll be a new mayor soon… hopefully soon enough that we can save Riverdale."
Jughead paused mid-turning of the steaks he had sizzling away as an idea formed in his head. "So… the Community Center needs money for… food and shelter, yes?"
"I wish that was all. We have to still pay land rent to the town's real estate, even though I own the building. And then there's things like medical supplies, and paying our permanent workers. Water, electricity. That's just the bare minimum, and is what we're focusing our efforts on."
"But what would you want to do with the Center, in an ideal world?" Jughead asked curiously.
Archie studied his expression before answering. "Well, I guess keep doing what we've been trying to do: give the kids that come through school assistance - tutoring and homework help, that sort of thing - and relieve their parents' lunch debts, cover the cost of doctor's appointments… but Polly's been trialing things with the sex workers, things like getting them on birth control, counselling them, trying to get them working in safer environments and away from dangerous areas. It's difficult, especially when most of them have no alternative work choices. We had a pregnant fifteen year old come in not long ago who tried to… Well, let's just say I'm glad Polly talked to her when she did. But again, getting her medical help was expensive, and there's only so far our assistance can stretch…" A frustrated look came over Archie's face. "I know people will tell me you can't save them all, but you know what? Screw that. If we had the means, we could help more people."
Jughead's ideas were solidifying. "What if we had… a fundraiser?" He suggested.
Archie raised his eyebrows. "I'd love to, but nobody in Riverdale has money. Except Hiram, but I can't see him digging into his blood money to keep us from going broke."
Jughead shook his head. "No. People from Riverdale wouldn't be able to be generous with donations at the moment… we'd need to draw the attention of people out of town, get them invested in something that'll excite them. Make them want to participate…"
Archie cocked his head to the side. "Then… what are you thinking?"
"What do you say we help each other out, Arch? I've been trying to distract the general populace from certain… speculations, and you want to raise money for the Community Center. I think we could join forces and come up with something that'll achieve both."
Archie nodded. "Alright, I'm interested. What's the grand plan, Jug?"
Jughead grinned as he looked into Archie's confused eyes. "Have you ever heard of the Mothman?"