The inside of Endless Grounds was cosy and quaint, smelling of different assortments of teas and coffees. What Cheryl loved the most about it – besides the fact that she helped design the interior and the décor – was the fact that it had an area of sofas and armchairs where patrons could sit and relax while enjoying their beverage, as well as quick pick-up area, so if customers were in a hurry, they didn't have to hang around. It was functional and it was comfortable and it was one of Cheryl's favourite places to be. It helped that one of her best friends worked behind the counter.

It was behind the counter that she found Kevin Keller, a black apron over his red sweater, his dark green eyes immediately latching onto her when the bell overhead jingled her arrival. The smile that was on his face quickly dropped, and Cheryl was sure it had everything to do in response to the glower on her own face. In Kevin-fashion, already adept at her mood-swings and the constant storm she wrought wherever she went, he was already putting together her favourite beverage, hands moving expertly.

Cheryl wasn't entirely sure how Kevin Keller of all people had become one of her closest friends. She was the queen of Riverdale high, with her own little group of minions who followed her every move. But that was only at school. They were nowhere to be seen outside of school, so Cheryl had somehow befriended the nerdiest guy in her class, after finding comfort in the small coffee shop opposite Pops. One thing lead to another after he'd managed to spill steamed milk all over her, and instead of freaking out, Cheryl had laughed. She'd laughed so hard that he'd joined in. Which was the start of a wonderful friendship.

Kevin happened to also provide her with free coffee in her times of distress, if his manager wasn't around. So that was also a plus.

"A triple venti, half-sweet, non-fat, caramel macchiato is on the way," Kevin said, motioning to a cushioned stool at one side of the counter. In no time at all, her drink was sitting before her. He made himself one too. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"My hag of a mother," Cheryl responded, slowly twirling the long straw around in her drink, her bright red nails looking almost like talons.

Before Kevin could question or say anything else, Cheryl slammed down a piece of paper hard enough for the sound to reverberate throughout the shop. Several patrons that were still inside jumped and turned to look at her, but her hard scowl was enough to get them to turn away and mind their own business. Furrowing his brow, Kevin slid the slip of paper out from under Cheryl's hand and took a look:

BABYSITTER NEEDED!

We are four single mothers looking for a responsible babysitter to care for our four exceptionally bright six-year-old children! No experience is required, but it is preferable! Please contact Alice Cooper (Cell) on: 678-564-5121, and we'll discuss further. Please bring identification, and there is a no phone rule. We want your attention to be 100% be on the safety and well being on the children.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Please, no time wasters. You must have a genuine passion for children.

"Huh," Kevin hummed, and Cheryl narrowed her hazel eyes at him. That was certainly not the reaction she was expecting from someone who was supposed to be as affronted as she was currently. She took a dainty sip of her drink, cream fraying her upper lip.

"Huh? What do you mean, huh?" Cheryl demanded, feeling her anger grow all the more.

Kevin raised his hands in a sign of surrender before pressing his hip against the counter. He was far too calm for someone about to get his head ripped off. "Calm down and uncurl that talon," Kevin said, eyeing her fists. She hadn't even realised she was clenching them.

"I'm assuming there is some backstory here. What did your mother do and why do you have this ad?" he scrunched his face up. "Babysitting?" he choked out a laugh. "No offence, this comes from a place of love, truly. But I wouldn't let a little kid near you. You'd probably stuff it in an oven and bake it into a pie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cheryl demanded, curling her lip.

He rolled his eyes. "Cheryl, you hate kids."

"I do not!" she bit back, and he nodded slowly. "Right. So I'll just ignore the time when you yelled at a group of toddlers for pressing the buttons in the elevator in the museum when we went on a class trip."

"They were annoying me," she defended. "The little shits deserved it."

"You told them they'll never amount to anything."

She glared at him. "Pick your next words carefully, Keller."

The boy sighed and sat back, his gaze going back to the ad. "So go on then. Why do you have a sudden urge to babysit kids?" he peered closer to the paper, his lip curling. "Four of them? Cheryl, do you have a death wish? They're unstoppable in groups."

"Don't you think I know that?" she groaned, taking another haphazard sip of her mocha, It burned her tongue, but she relished in it. "According to that she-witch, I'm an irresponsible, selfish disappointment, who is doing nothing but mooching off of the family fortune," Cheryl said, feeling her temper increase. She could picture the pinched, uptight look on her mother's face now, could hear the disdain grated at her eardrums. "She took my credit cards."

Kevin gasped. "She didn't!"

"She did," Cheryl said, nodding solemnly. "Penelope isn't going to give them back until I 'show her I'm responsible and accountable to earn the privilege'. I'm a Blossom by blood! I've already earned the right!" Her fist banged against the counter once more, causing a few disgruntled murmurs. "I need the new Summer collection, Kev! I need my goddamn Louie Vuitton bags! How the hell am I supposed to get them with no platinum cards?"

Kevin nodded in understanding, his eyes widening. "So this is why you've decided to randomly take up child care." when she caught his eye, he was smirking. "Hey, it can't be that hard, right? My cousin is six, and is admittedly a nightmare," at Cheryl's expression, he cleared his throat, "But Robin is sweet, honestly. When she's not having a breakdown when my aunt refuses to let her watch Pingu, she's actually kinda adorable."

Cheryl narrowed her eyes. "Six year olds have breakdowns?" she whispered, nursing her drink. He nodded, unable to suppress a grin. "Cheryl, six year olds are a whole new species. If they don't get what they want, they freak out until you either surrender or they fall asleep. They are a force against nature, man's new enemy." when she scoffed, he straightened up.

"Cheryl, they are the apex predators. They sense your weakness and exploit it. When I looked after Robin for a weekend, I had strong urges to throw myself out of my bedroom window. She screamed the entire day." He leaned forward, quirking a brow. "Do you want to guess why she committed first degree murder in my ears?"

"She fell over?"

"Nope, guess again."

"I'm not psychic, Keller!"

The boy didn't lose his smile. Though it was more of a grimace. Clearly, Robin had affected him. "She dropped a Popsicle." he said, with a low whistle. "My cousin screamed for nearly five hours, because she dropped her damn cherry ice pop."

Cheryl swallowed a groan. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Kevin spluttered. "My god, I wish I was." he stabbed the ad with his index. "It's your choice, Cheryl. But I'd advise against it. Six year olds are menaces to society."

After a long look at the ad, Cheryl had made her mind up. She pulled out her phone with a sigh. "Kevin, if watching a couple of snivelling brats means I get my Summer collection, then I'm willing to forfeit my sanity, as well as my weeknights."

The boy hummed, finishing his drink quickly. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he murmured, licking cream from his lips. "And when they inevitably sacrifice you to the pagan gods for a life time supply of Slurpee pops, do not expect me to save your ass."

Cheryl squinted at the number, dialling it quickly and pressing her phone to her ear. Her heart was in her throat. This was her potential first real job, the perfect opportunity to show her mother that she was a responsible adult. She tapped her nails in a frenzied beat on the edge of the counter. The dial tone sounded for a few seconds, before someone picked up. Cheryl straightened up, pasting a smile on her face. A woman answered, sounding out of breath. "This is Dr Cooper of Riverdale University."

"Hi!" Cheryl swallowed hard. Be professional. "My name is Cheryl Blossom, and I'm- uh, I'm calling about the babysitting ad you put in the town's newspaper?"

"Oh, hello there!" Alice Cooper's tone changed exponentially, switching from business woman to soccer mom in seconds flat. She let out a breathy laugh. "My goodness, we weren't expecting someone so soon! How old are you, sweetie?"

Cheryl bit her lip. "I'm seventeen. I'm going into my Senior year in September." By now her heart was trying to catapult out of her chest. Kevin was silent in front of her.

"Right! And is it Riverdale High you go to?"

"Uh- huh!" Cheryl swallowed the urge to say, "Duh!" which wouldn't set a great impression. She bit her tongue.

"Awesome. And what experience do you have with children?" Alice asked. She sounded nice enough, but her tone was strict. The lady wasn't messing about. Cheryl looked at Kevin for help, but he just shrugged helplessly. "Experience?" she cringed when her voice went up in octaves until it was practically falsetto. "I, uh- I have cousins I look after every weekend," she spat out. But it was the perfect lie, gushing from her mouth like word vomit. "My aunt and uncle work away a lot, so I look after..." she trailed off, glancing at Kevin. "Robin." she continued, raking for another name. Her gaze landed on her coffee, "And Caramel." Kevin's eyes widened, his lips stretching into a mute laugh, and she reached across the counter and shoved him. "My sweet cousins are just absolute delights to care for!" at Alice's sudden silence, she chewed her lip. "Carmel and Robin are the, uh- the favourite part of my weekend. They're like my own little sisters."

"Caramel?" Kevin hissed, his hand over his mouth. Cheryl shot him the dagger eyes. Suddenly she wanted to take back everything she'd just said. As if a grown woman would believe her made up story about her imaginary cousins, "Robin and Caramel".

Kevin, however, looked fairly entertained. He'd grabbed some M&M's and was watching her with a huge grin on his face, depositing each M&M with exaggerated slowness. She had the overwhelming urge to pick up her half empty drink and slosh it in his face.

Unbelievably, Alice fell for it. "Oh, they're original names! It's wonderful that you enjoy looking after your cousins so much, sweetie. You sound like the perfect candidate!" She expressed, and Cheryl couldn't resist a smug smile. Alice paused. "Okay, so I have to tell you this Cheryl, just so you know exactly what's going on. Our children are incredibly intelligent for their age, and are not like other six year olds. They act, shall we say, quite different to other kids their age. Are you okay with that?"

"Uh- yes." Cheryl had already dug herself a huge hole, she might as well keep going until she'd dug her way to China. She wasn't a rocket scientist, far from one. But Alice Cooper sounded like she was sugar-coating the fact that her kids were little shits, and would most likely drive her round the bend. They'd driven their last sitter away. Cheryl hoped to god the poor soul hadn't lost her mind. She tightened her clammy grip on her phone.

"Yes, of course I am!"

"Great! So I suppose I'll give you a little background. I currently reside with my colleagues Mary, Gladys and Hermione, with my six year old daughter Elizabeth and their three kids. We live just on the outskirts of Riverdale, I'll text you the address. We're professors at the University, and we do spend most days working, away from the kids. Until a few days ago, we had a sitter. But due to circumstances out of our control, we had to let her go," Alice sighed. "The children, even if they are mature for their age, they still need round the clock supervision due to a health problem they've had since birth, so all four of them have to be watched like a hawk, do you understand me?"

"Yes Miss Cooper." Cheryl said it like she was in a daze, like the words were being dragged from her tongue before she could snap them back. Alice's tone of voice didn't exactly sound like it was giving her a choice.

"Fantastic! I'm glad you're on board. Now Cheryl, the job will entail looking after them from 6PM to 11PM. Which will include playing with them, cooking them dinner, making sure they're not getting into bother, and of course; giving them their pills at the allocated time," the woman paused. "Do you think you'll be able to do that?"

"Yes." Cheryl squeezed her eyes shut. What was she doing? Was she really subjecting herself to mental torture for the chance to snatch up a Louie Vuitton bag?

Kevin, with a mouthful of M&M's was miming drawing his index across his throat. "Don't do it!" he was mouthing, and she swatted him again. "Wonderful!" Alice said. "In terms of payment, it'll be five hundred dollars per night. Is that okay?"

Cheryl nearly dropped her phone. "Five hundred dollars per night?" she managed to choke out, losing her professional demeanour. Kevin perked up, leaning against the counter. "Wait, seriously?" he hissed. "My aunt paid me twenty dollars! Jesus, are you sure you're not babysitting the president's kids?"

Zip it! She mouthed at the boy, who shot her a smirk.

Alice hummed, the line crackling. "Yes. That's what we paid our last sitter. Will that be a problem? We're willing to go higher if need be."

Cheryl nearly punched the air in excitement. If this job worked out she'd have more than enough for her Summer wardrobe.

And she'd throw every note in her mother's witchy face, loving every damn second.

"No, that's fine!" she squeaked. "There's no need, that's a-" she was babbling, but she couldn't stop herself. "- the...the perfect amount!"

Kevin's head hit the counter. He was laughing his ass off.

"Okay, that's cool," Alice said. "Cheryl, you must understand that this is an incredibly important job. Our children are our world, and we can't always be there for them, so we need a responsible individual willing to take our place. The price is high, yes. But when you meet them, you'll understand why. They're exceptionally gifted kids."

Cheryl nodded. The words were flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. She decided to ignore the latter of what Alice had said. So these kids were bratty smart asses? Cheryl pursed her lips. Piece of cake. As long as she made it clear that she was in charge, it was easy money. Besides, how brainy could they be? Alice was probably over-exaggerating. They were most likely at advanced reading level, and she thought they were the next Einstein. "Miss Cooper, it would be my pleasure to look after your children."

Another scoff from Kevin. Reaching across the counter and choking him with M&M's was suddenly appealing. Ignoring the boy, Cheryl stared down at her lap, anticipating Alice's next words. "That's good to know, Cheryl. You sound like a lovely girl!" Alice said brightly after a moment. "Is 6PM okay? Like I said, I'll text you our address. We live quite far out, so it might be a good idea to set off as early as you can."

Her chest tightened, a coil of unease unravelling in her gut. "Tonight?"

"Tonight?!" Kevin parroted, with wide eyes.

"Yes, tonight." Alice said. "Will that be a problem?"

"No, no, of course not!" she said quickly. "I'll be there. Thank you for the opportunity!"

"It's a pleasure. I'm positive we've picked the right person. See you at six!"

The call ended, and Cheryl let out a shaky breath before slamming her phone down. "I just agreed to babysit four bratty braniacs."

"Braniacs?" Kevin cocked a brow. "Is that why Alice Cooper is paying you enough money to buy a small apartment?"

Cheryl groaned. "I'm dead." she whispered, her head falling into her hands. "I don't know the first thing about looking after kids! What if they don't like me?"

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Since when have you cared about people liking you? Cheryl, they're six. Just assert your dominance. The worst thing they can do is have a breakdown over a melted Popsicle. And if they do, be strict. Give them another one. And if they still don't stop? Timeout. Sit them down, separating them from the others." the boy folded his arms. "If the timeout doesn't work, I can only suggest one thing."

Cheryl lifted her head, squinting at him. "What's that?"

His lip curled. "Surrender."

Cheryl fidgeted with her phone, turning it off and on again, tapping the screen nervously. "You're not funny, Keller."

"I'm being deadly serious, Cheryl. When Robin realised I was on the edge of tears myself, she stopped crying and fell asleep on my knee. I would have thought it was adorable, but I had a migraine and felt like someone was smashing a brick into the back of my head."

Staring down at her lock-screen, Cheryl chewed her lip. "I can look after four brats," she muttered. "How hard could it be? They're little nerds, they'll probably sit and read or watch cartoons all night," she said. Feeling slightly more confident, she gulped down the rest of her drink and set the cup on the counter. "Refill." she ordered, shooing away patron's who had gathered at the counter, with a glare. This was her crisis, and Kevin Keller and a fuck load of coffee was the only thing keeping her from screaming.

"I'm going to need caffeine, and a lot of it."

Kevin grabbed her cup with a laugh. "I'll make you a Kevin Keller special." - The "Kevin Keller Special" was a chocolate mocha with god knows how many shots of espresso and enough sugar to rot her teeth. It was sickly and smooth, the perfect treat. Cheryl downed her drink and listened to Kevin talk about his date life, or lack there of, her stomach twisting itself into a frenzy of nerves. Kevin was halfway through chatting animatedly about a guy he'd met on Grindr. Cheryl had ended up chewing her nail to a stub by the time her phone flashed with a notification. Kevin stopped talking, following her gaze to her phone's screen. "Did she say she was a Doctor?" Kevin murmured, leaning on his elbow. "My mom works at the University too, maybe she knows her." he was talking to himself, Cheryl realised. "I don't know," she grouched, reaching to pick up her phone. "She just said she was a Doctor, Kevin. I didn't ask for her life story."

Kevin said something back, but she wasn't concentrating on exactly what, as her green eyes flickered over the message.

Now: 678-564-5121: Hi sweetie, it's Alice. Are you okay to set off now? We live at 31, Mulberry Street. You can't miss us. Just stop at the gate, and we'll let you in. I'm excited for you to meet the kids! Don't be late!

Kevin peered at the message when she showed him, frowning. "She's eager."

"Too eager." Cheryl muttered. She jumped up and grabbed her bag, shoving her phone in her pocket. "I should go," she said quickly. "If I mysteriously disappear, blame the little shits."

"Will do." Kevin gave her a two fingered salute. "Remember what I said, okay? You're the alpha, and they're your little bitches. If they make you their bitch, you're screwed."

Cheryl scoffed, but she was smiling. "As if, I'm the queen of Riverdale High. My presence turns heads. They'll listen to me." she flashed him a smile, turning to go.

"Hey, Cheryl?" the boy was leaning over the counter, a wicked smile on his lips.

"Yeah?"

"Try not to kill them, okay?"

Her red Corvette pulled up to the supposed address, and Cheryl had to take a moment to make sure her address led her to the right location. The house looked more like a building that was renovated into a home with its tall windows and spotlights. Even though the sun was only setting, the spotlights were on, shining bright lights at all corners. The place was in the middle of nowhere, sitting right next to Sweet Water river.

Rolling down the window, Cheryl leaned out and hit the buzzer. Almost immediately, a camera flickered on and she blinked at a woman peering back at her. She was a small brunette with pinched features and dark eyes. The woman didn't say anything and she certainly didn't look like she would anytime soon, which was infuriating. "Umm ... my name is Cheryl Blossom, I talked to someone on the phone. I'm supposed to babysit?"

The woman seemed to perk up some, but she looked to have a permanent scowl on her face. She looked off somewhere to her right. "Alice, the babysitter is here. Could you have picked someone who doesn't look like an airhead? Damn, she looks like she just walked off the set of Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

"For the love of God, Gladys, the intercom is on," another voice sounded. The woman with the scowl and another appeared. This one looked and sounded familiar.

"Are you Alice?" Cheryl asked through gritted teeth. The last thing she'd expected was getting insulted two seconds into arriving.

"Yes, sorry about that. Come on through." A buzzer sounded, the camera turned off, and the gate opened.

Trying to calm her breathing, Cheryl waited until the gates opened all the way before driving through. She hadn't noticed the high fences when she'd pulled up, and that was in part due to the trees that littered the property. The fencing stood at least nine feet tall, and Cheryl felt a sudden chill sweep through her. The place vaguely reminded her of a prison.

She parked quickly, hopping out of her car and hurrying to a huge mahogany door which didn't look the least bit welcoming. There was an electronic keypad on the front, numbers glaring at her in writhing electric blue. Catching a sight of herself in the reflection in the door, she looked a million dollars. She could totally do this. She was a Blossom, Riverdale High's very own Princess. Cheryl had made sure to make a good impression, tying her hair long red hair into a ponytail and wearing a blouse.

She considered knocking, but managed to stop herself when there was a clicking noise, and the door swung open.

"Elizabeth, for goodness sake! Must we have this every single time it's time to take your pill?"

The knot in Cheryl's stomach loosened slightly when a tall blonde woman around her own mother's age with a high ponytail bound into view. She wore a floral dress, a baby pink cardigan slung over the top. In her arms was a smaller version of her; a little girl with golden curls held in two pigtails in a matching princess dress. The little girl was straining in her mother's arms, squirming and struggling, a frenzied look in her wide blue eyes. And then Cheryl saw why. Alice was holding a small white pill bottle.

"Elizabeth- stop!" Alice said sternly. But the girl only struggled more, her bottom lip trembling. Alice settled Cheryl with a wide smile. "Cheryl! Thank you so much for coming!" she shifted the girl on her hip. "Sweetie, your new sitter's here! Why don't you say hi?"

"No." the girl said softly. From the tone of her voice, she sounded on the edge of a Robin- style breakdown, like Kevin had described.

Cheryl couldn't resist a giggle, however. The blonde girl was adorable. Alice chuckled. "This little nuisance is my daughter Elizabeth. It's currently pill time, so she's not in the greatest of moods."

Cheryl nodded, smiling. "Hi Elizabeth!" she said brightly, and when she couldn't think of anything to say; "I love your dress! Are you Elsa today?"

Elizabeth didn't smile and nod like she expected the girl to. But she did fix Cheryl with an annoyed look. "Elsa has a blue dress," she said matter-of-factly, and Cheryl swore the little shit rolled her eyes. "This is Pink." Cheryl was sort-of shocked by the girl's words. She understood the kids were smart for their age, but she could almost mistake the little girls' tone for condescending. Elizabeth was looking at her, waiting for her to reply, and she really felt like trying to one-up the girl on her Disney Princess knowledge, because Cheryl had been on the earth far longer than her- but she managed to swallow her poison and shrugged. "Well I love it," she said. "It's very pretty."

"Thanks." the girl said. But she still wasn't smiling. It felt like Elizabeth was studying her, squinting blue eyes burning into her own. Alice cleared her throat. "Okay! Cheryl, why don't you come inside? The other children are in the lounge."

"Let her go."

A small voice made Cheryl jump, and when she looked down, there was a little boy standing on his tiptoes, straining to reach the woman, his small hands fisting the material of Alice's cardigan. He had olive skin and dark brown curls sticking from under a small knitted beanie and wore a Spider-man shirt and shorts. His determined eyes were bright green, glaring up at Alice, who sighed. It sounded like they'd had this interaction before, judging by Alice's eye roll. "Jughead, I'm just giving Elizabeth her pill. You don't have to follow me around."

The boy shook his head, a stray curl falling in his eyes.

"Let her go," he repeated in a squeak, tugging Alice's cardigan harder. "Let Wizzy go."

Alice sent her an apologetic look. "Meet Jughead I guess! He's Gladys's boy. He and Elizabeth are very close." she chuckled, shaking her head at the boy. "Aren't you, Jug?"

Jughead's glare sharpened. "Let Wizzy- Wizza- Ewizza-" the boy curled his lip with frustration, and Cheryl suddenly had the overwhelming urge to pull him into a hug.

Alice cleared her throat. "Jughead is still working on his pronunciation of Elizabeth," she explained, turning her attention to the small boy, her lips stretching into a wide smile. "Sweetie, Elizabeth is fine. I'm just giving her medicine, okay?"

"She doesn't want to." He said softly. And Elizabeth nodded her affirmation, straining to get away. Alice frowned at the children, before her blue eyes hardened. Though neither of them seem fazed. "Alright, let's get Cheryl settled, and then I'll give you your pill." she let Elizabeth down, and once the blonde was free, she grabbed Jughead's hand and the two of them sped off back into the house.

Alice watched them go before straightening up.

"Sorry about that. Honestly, it's every single night," she laughed. "You'd think they'd get used to it, right?"

Cheryl nodded. It was all she could do.

"Alright, enough dillydallying. Come on in!"

Cheryl was lead into a huge foyer with a high ceiling and marble flooring. There was a sparkling chandelier hanging above and vibrant blue walls. It was homey, definitely. Thistle House was more of an antique castle, but this place was an interior designers dream. She couldn't help notice there were no photo's of the kids on the walls, instead there were paintings of brightly coloured fruit. She followed Alice into a ridiculously modern kitchen that was constructed mostly of glass and metal. Compared to her own prehistoric home, Cheryl was in awe. The kitchen was massive; glass counters lining the circumference, an oven, faucet and dish washer built in. Alice wandered over to the refrigerator, pulling it open. Cheryl got a glimpse of fruit and veg stuffed into compartments and multi-packs of water. But there was no sign of anything unhealthy. She inwardly groaned. Hopefully there was candy somewhere. She needed her sugar.

"Every cupboard in the kitchen is child locked," Alice handed her an electronic card. "Use this to get in and out of everything. And please do not feed the kids anything that isn't on the list I left in the lounge. That includes fizzy drinks, candy or chocolate. They may have fruit juice, but only after bed time. If given to them before then, they get hyper and are a nightmare to calm down. Though that's all in the guide. I compiled a step-by-step list of their routine, and if followed correctly, they'll be fine."

As appose to what? The thought struck her. The amount of rules was giving Cheryl a headache but she nodded at the correct times, showing she understood. She smiled her best smile, watching Alice flit around the kitchen like a frenzied butterfly.

"Feel free to use the kitchen as much as you'd like!" the woman got to work and fixed her a lemonade with ice and set it on the granite island sitting in the middle of the room.

Cheryl nodded her thanks and took a sip. The lemonade was refreshing, soothing her parched throat. Alice gave her a quick tour of the kitchen, showing her where everything was. "I've fixed the children some ready-made meals in the refrigerator, so all you need to do is microwave them," Alice explained. "They may act up and ask for pizza, but I've strictly told them that it's a no-no. If they refuse to eat, they do not eat at all."

"Oh." Cheryl nodded politely. She must have looked confused, because Alice fixed her with a steely look. "The kids suffer from an illness that makes them susceptible to disease. That's what the pill was for that I was trying to give my daughter. If they don't take their pills, they'll break out with a rash and their lips will turn blue." Damn, this woman wasn't holding anything back. Cheryl thought. "To prevent putting our kids at risk, since they're allergic to quite of lot of things, we only give them food with no artificial colours or gluten. When they're well behaved they're allowed pizza every year."

Every year?! Cheryl struggled to respond, and Alice nodded. "Home made of course." she finished. Cheryl took another gulp of lemonade to stop herself from questioning Alice. Part of her wondered if she was an Ant-vaxer. God, she hoped not.

Alice waited for her to finish her drink, and from the look on the woman's face, she figured she should hurry up. Draining the glass, the lemonade stung her throat this time.
Alice glanced at her watch. "Okay, we've got to get going in twenty, so I'll quickly introduce you to Archie and Veronica and then I guess we'll leave you to it!"

The room Cheryl found herself walking into was large, sectioned off by a huge sofa that was positioned in front of an even large TV. A football game was being played on the screen, and Cheryl took note of a little boy with bright red hair and freckles splashed across his cheeks watching it with rapt attention. Propped up against his side, her attention on a tablet in her lap, was a little girl with raven coloured hair. Neither even looked up when Cheryl walked in with Alice, Elizabeth, and Jughead joining them, the latter of which who was still jerking at Alice's jacket, a scowl on his face. He still had hold of Elizabeth's hand, who had the same dark look on her face as she glared at her mother. Cheryl might have questioned it, but the kids lived under a strict regime and had probably never heard of a Popsicle. She'd make it her mission to introduce them.

"Get your feet off the coffee table, Archie. It's glass for God's sake. It'll scuff!" Alice scolded, causing the redheaded boy to jump in surprise, his eyes - brown, from what Cheryl could see - widening as his head swivelled in their direction. "And what did I tell you about football? Baby, you know you're not allowed to watch it." Alice strode forwards and snatched the remote from his lap, pointing it at the TV. The picture changed from a bright green field to what looked like Pingu. Archie whined in protest, before he finally noticed Cheryl, and whatever he looked like he was going to say, he swallowed.

Tugging at his crimson locks before rubbing his eyes, Archie's lip trembled. Cheryl stiffened. Was she that scary looking? Oh god, Kevin was right. These kids were going to eat her alive, and she was total dead meat. Archie didn't spend too much attention on her however. Instead he pouted at Alice. His eyes darkened. "I was watching that!"

Alice sighed. She didn't seem to be bothered by the boy's tone of voice, which was almost a growl. "We have a guest, Archie. Meet your new sitter, Cheryl."

The redhead's gaze slid to her. "Hi." he said. Once again, Cheryl detected something in his tone- sarcasm? Before he turned back around, folding his arms across his chest with a huff. The little raven head looked up from her tablet, and sent her a small smile. "Hi!"

Cheryl smiled back. "Hi there! Are you Veronica?"

The girl cocked her head, her lip curling. "Duh." she giggled. Next to her, Archie stopped pouting and joined in with a snort. Cheryl felt her cheeks go crimson. Veronica, amazingly, was enjoying her embarrassment, her green eyes sparkling. The girl seemed to size her up, reminding Cheryl of the way she herself got ready to rip into some poor soul at school. But this was a goddamn six year old. "She's funny," she murmured to Archie.

He nodded with his own smile.

"That's enough, you two." Alice reprimanded. "What have I told you about being rude?"

"Sorry Alice." they chorused, exchanging secret smiles.

Alice left her with the kids, and Cheryl stood there feeling more awkward than ever. Archie went back to watching Pingu, but from the look on his face, he'd completely zoned out. Jughead joined Veronica, trying to grab the tablet off her- and Elizabeth to her surprise, came over to her clutching a huge book to her chest.

Looking down at the cover, Cheryl pulled her lips into a grin. "Oh, Tangled! I love this film!"

Elizabeth nodded and dropped the book on her lap, before stabbing the cover with her index finger. "Her mommy locked her in a tower." she said softly.

Cheryl nodded. "Yes, but the prince saved her!" she said brightly. She doubted the pop up illustrated book involved Flynn Ryder's literal death. "Look, you've got her hair!"

The girl didn't smile. She only held Cheryl's gaze, her blue eyes piercing.

"Her mommy locked her in a tower." she repeated, with another stab.

Cheryl's smile grew strained. "Yes, but she got her happily ever after didn't she? Hey, look how pretty her hair is!" Cheryl pointed to the princess with the biggest smile she could muster and Elizabeth gave her a long, withering look, before stamping her foot. "Her. Mommy. Locked. Her. In. A. Tower!" she yelled in Cheryl's face, and it took all of her self control not to scream back at the blonde. Elizabeth's eyes were suddenly brimming with tears, and she was stabbing the cover repeatedly. "Her mommy locked her in a tower!"

"I-" Cheryl struggled to speak, staring at the girl's burning eyes. The other kids had noticed Elizabeth's tantrum, and were watching, silently.

"Elizabeth, sweetie, you know Tangled scares you." Alice swept back into the room, pulling the book from the girl's hands. But the blonde didn't cry or scream. She stared hard at the floor, clenching her fists tightly. Cheryl wanted to say something to her, but what would she say? Except she didn't have chance. The other mom's appeared; a woman with short, vibrant red hair and a kind smile, and another who Cheryl knew was Veronica's mother the second she hurried into the room. She had her daughter's silk dark hair cascading down her back. They were introduced as Mary Andrews and Hermione Lodge, both of them also Doctor's. Though something was bugging Cheryl. These women looked- old- ish. They were at least in their late forties. How late had they had their kids?

"Alright, you little shits. Time for your pills." Gladys joined them, while Alice and the others hurried around, getting ready. This time she had the pill bottle. "Line up."

Reluctantly, they did. Gladys made them swallow a small blue capsule before downing a glass of water. When it came to Jughead, he shook his head, and his mother's smile was strained. "Baby," she gripped his shoulders, and the boy winced. "You need to take your pill. You know that. If you don't, you'll get sick. Do you want that?"

Jughead didn't move. Elizabeth hovered near him, her eyes wide. While Archie and Veronica made a huge deal of the pill tasting bad. Cheryl had noticed a pattern. All four weren't the greatest fans of their parents. When Mary wrapped her arms around Archie, he flinched away. She watched Jughead take the pill before drinking the water and opening his mouth wide. Gladys nodded before striding over to Cheryl, dumping the pills in her hands.

"9PM exactly, honey." the woman murmured. "Understand?"

"Yes, of course." Cheryl said, a little breathlessly. Gladys nodded. "Look after my boy, alright?"

She nodded again. The woman was goddamn terrifying."

"Gladys, stop scaring the sitter," Alice came to stand in front of Cheryl. She pulled on a bleached white lab-coat. "Okay! We'll be back around eleven. Remember, refer to the guide I left you if you're unsure what to do, and have fun!"

Cheryl was pretty sure her cheeks were going to split open from smiling so much. "Yep!" she followed the mom's to the door and watched them leave, before shutting the door behind her and leaning against it with a staggered breath. When there was a soft whimper, Elizabeth was back, peering up at her. Cheryl swallowed a groan and smiled down at her.

"Hey sweetie, what is it?"

The blonde opened her mouth to speak, before seemingly deciding against it, and turning and hurrying back to the others. When Cheryl wandered back into the lounge, Jughead was already grabbing her hand and pulling her to the coffee table where a piece of paper and pile of crayons were. Cheryl bit back a squeak when the boy's fingernails dug into the flesh of her hand.

"Help me draw?" the boy looked up at her, and how could she no say to those eyes? The others were quiet, so she might as well.

She knelt next to the boy. "Of course! What do you want to draw? Maybe an - uh...a dragon?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, what do you want to draw?"

Jughead didn't answer. She watched him grab a red crayon and begin to write something, scrawling it across the page in huge letters. Cheryl decided to praise him, since he was clearly showing off. With every word he shakily wrote, she sounded it out.

H E L P

Cheryl laughed. "I am helping you!" she giggled. But Jughead didn't seem to find the funny side. Instead, he wrote it again. And wow, his writing was pretty damn good for a six year old. Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Juggie, what do you need help with?"

The boy let out a frustrated hiss and jumped up, grabbing the drawing and screwed it up before storming out of the room.

Her heart leapt in her chest, but before she could speak, she noticed the TV had been switched over. Elizabeth was curled up on the sofa with the remote clutched in her small hands, blue eyes glued to the screen. The TV show wasn't a colourful kids show. It wasn't Pingu. In fact, she recognised it. Kevin had been obsessed with it a few years ago. The TV show was Criminal Minds. She could tell from the intro. Hissing out a breath, Cheryl rushed to grab the remote off the blonde.

"Elizabeth, that's not very appropriate!" she managed to choke out. Which was true. The scene the girl was watching was graphic. There was far too much blood. But Elizabeth didn't look scared. If anything, she looked intrigued. Cheryl swiped for the remote, but the girl shook her head, pulling it back. "Mommy let's me watch it." she whispered.

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Sure." she said. "Come on Elizabeth, just let me turn it over, okay? This is a grown up programme."

But the girl didn't hold up. "Look in the guide," she said. And Cheryl, after hoping the girl magically listened to her through the power of her amazing babysitting skills, she gave up. "I will." she muttered, grabbing the guide from the kitchen. After flipping through pages and pages of allergies that the kids had, Cheryl reached the TV section, heavily underlined with red marker pen.

1. Archie is not allowed to watch football under any circumstances.

2. Elizabeth may watch 2 episodes of Criminal Minds. No more than 2.

3. If Jughead asks to watch a film you do not know the name of, do not put it on. (I.e.: "Rebel without A Cause.")

Cheryl stopped reading. She must be seeing things. But- no. It was written out right in front of her.

Alice Cooper, who let her daughter have pizza every year for a so-called "treat" let her six year old watch a show like Criminal Minds?

In the end, she was powerless to stop Elizabeth watching it. So Cheryl busied herself, making the kids meals. Though there were little things that were starting to get to her. The Tangled book and Criminal Minds stood out, until Cheryl hurried into the lounge and caught Archie, and the unmistakable flash of fire. The boy's eyes were lit up orange in the glow of the flame, and he was staring down at a piece of paper he'd set alight. Cheryl, trying to swallow a scream, managed to put it out. "Where did you get matches?!" she searched the boy, but he just smiled brightly, running out of the room. The little shit! Cheryl had to bite back the urge to yell at him. After searching everywhere, she gave up and set the boy where she could watch him. To Cheryl's disdain, he joined in watching Criminal Minds.

Veronica, despite being the brattiest out of them, was quiet. When Cheryl peeked at what the girl was doing on her tablet, she blinked at the screen, confused.

The girl was on the H&M website, scrolling through brightly coloured dresses. She let out a startled laugh, and the girl turned to look at her, green eyes narrowing.

"What?"

"Nothing," Cheryl shook her head. "It's just, Ronnie- wouldn't you rather look at the kids section?"

The girl suddenly looked incredibly sad, and Cheryl regretted her words. Veronica's eyes filled with tears but instead of crying, she turned with a stifled sob, back to her tablet.

"Don't make her cry." Archie's voice startled her, and she looked up to see the boy was looking at her thoughtfully. "If you make her cry, things start shaking."

"Shaking?" Cheryl repeated. Before something hit her like a lightning strike. "Jughead." she said softly. "Where's Jughead?"

Neither of them answered, and after searching almost every room on the ground floor, Cheryl finally found him in the downstairs bathroom. "Jug, are you okay?" her stomach turned at sight of the small brunette bent over the faucet. When he didn't reply, she rushed forwards. "What are you-" and then she stopped, her gaze settling on four pills in the faucet. Cheryl held her breath. Shit. The pills they'd been forced to take, had the kids spat them out? "Jug, why did you do that?" she asked softly, her heart in her throat. She felt around in her pocket for the pill bottle, Alice's words echoing in her mind. She'd said the kids would get sick if they didn't take the pill, but Jughead looked fine. The others downstairs, if they'd followed suite, were also okay. So why the hell were the parents so insistent on them taking it?

"Jughead." Cheryl forced her voice to be stern. "Sweetie, you have to take your medicine."

"No." he said, turning around. His green eyes were ablaze with anger, his lip curled.

"No I don't," he spat. His fists were clenched at his sides.

"Why not?" Cheryl flinched when the boy jerked his head slightly, and the door slammed shut behind her. Wind. She told herself. It was the wind. "Because..." the boy chewed his lip. "They stop me from being big."

"What?" Before she could question him further, there was a scream from downstairs. But weirdly, it felt- closer. As if the girl was right next to her, screaming into her ear at the same time.

Elizabeth.

"Jug, stay there." Cheryl managed to get out, before rushing downstairs. She knew she should have turned off that damn show. But when she skidded into the lounge, the girl was still sitting there watching TV. The blonde turned to look at her with questioning eyes, and maybe a little irritated because Cheryl had interrupted Criminal Minds. After double checking things were okay, Cheryl rushed back to Jughead.

"Jug!" When she tried to pull open the door, it was locked, and a grunt sounded from the other side. A much older grunt.

"Don't- don't come in!" The voice was unmistakably a teenage boy, and her veins flooded with ice. "Hey!" Cheryl pounded on the mahogany. "Who the hell are you?" her voice was shaking. "I'm calling the cops." but she didn't move. The little boy was still in there with the stranger, and if the boy was kidnapped or goddamn killed, it was on her ass. Plus she was pretty sure Gladys Jones would skin her alive.

"Jughead, honey, are you okay? Who's in there with you?"

An older brother she didn't know about, perhaps? Maybe a cousin?

Finally, the door slid open and Cheryl bound in, ready to attack some creep who had their hands on little Jughead. But instead her eyes found a tall boy with olive skin, tousled brown hair and wide green eyes. The same beanie nestling over curls. There was nobody else.

But it was a much older face than she was expecting, like someone her own age. The boy wore the same Spider-Man shirt and shorts. His teeth were gritted, and when she managed to find her voice, he cut her off with a frustrated hiss. He jerked his head violently, but this time the door stayed ajar. A slow trickle of blood seeped from his nose, and he swiped it away. Cheryl swallowed hard. "You've got ten seconds to explain yourself before I call the police," she whispered. Her eyes were frantic, searching for the six year old. But her gaze kept landing on the older boy in the exact clothes the little kid had been wearing. Her head swam. "Tell me who the hell you are, or I swear to god-"

The boy cocked his head. "Isn't it obvious?" he stepped forward and pulled something out of his pocket, unravelling it.

Her chest tightened. Jughead's drawing. The boy's eyes were hard.

"Why didn't you listen to my goddamn drawing?!"