Chapter 4: A Touch of Evil

For a few minutes, Cheryl sobbed and whimpered as Archie hugged her tightly, holding her in her arms. He was protecting her, encircling her, showing her some form of affection or love during the worst time of her life. Archie didn't know what to say that could make her situation any better. He never was really able to witness a lot of death. Archie's grandfather, Artie, died before he was even born, during Fred's junior year. Archie was only three years old when his paternal uncle and Fred's older brother, Oscar Andrews, died in a car accident. Archie's grandmother, Virginia Andrews, died of cancer one year before Archie was born.

If something fatal would happen to Fred, Archie couldn't fathom what he would be able to do. He would probably not be able to eat or think properly for a few business days. But at least Archie would be able to talk to his mother, Mary, or Jughead. Betty lived right next door to Archie, so he could express his sorrow over that predicament. But Cheryl had no one to turn to. She was popular, rich, and on the honor roll. But she had no true friends, no one to trust and depend on. Archie didn't know how he would react if he was in her situation. He never had any siblings himself, so the experience of having a sister to trust and love was completely new to him. Archie knew that if he was in Cheryl's place, he would have lost his mind. Cheryl's parents looked down upon her and seemed to be the last people in the world that would offer comfort to their daughter. Clearly Cheryl would have traded all of her wealth just to have some love and compassion. Archie wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and made mistakes, but he was capable of showing empathy and sympathy. He may not have been perfect at it, but he had to be given some credit. At least he was willing to be there for Cheryl.

Archie stroked Cheryl's hair, trying to think of the proper sentence to utter without looking like an insensitive idiot. He sometimes didn't know the right thing to say in a proper situation. But he would try his best.

"It just doesn't feel real", Cheryl said, with tears still dropping onto Archie's shirt.

"Cheryl, I don't know what to say", Archie said. "There's nothing I can do that would instantly heal the pain you are experiencing. I was never a counselor or advisor, and I am the least qualified for that job. No one should have to experience the pain and suffering you are going through right now. But I want to help you. I want to be there for you. I'll always be there for you. This world is just too cruel."

Cheryl kissed Archie's cheek. He continued holding her as she sobbed. He didn't know what else to do. He couldn't revive Jason from the dead. He couldn't hunt down the killer in an attempt to attain justice because he didn't have a clue in the slightest about who would do such a thing to an innocent teenager. Jason wasn't perfect. Archie knew this from personal experience, as the Riverdale Bulldogs sometimes acted obnoxious. But Jason didn't seem to care much about the amount of money he had.

Archie suddenly felt anger against the unknown killer, whoever he was. He had no right to murder Jason and cause Cheryl this pain she was feeling. Death was not something Archie would wish upon anyone, not even his worst enemy. But Archie would have loved to make an example out of the person who caused this problem.

"You don't deserve this, Cheryl", Archie said. "I'll do everything I can to help, whatever it takes."

"Thank you", Cheryl said as she slowly started to calm down, relaxing in Archie's arms.

"Cheryl, I have to get ready for the pep rally, okay? Sorry to have to rush things", Archie said.

He then kissed Cheryl's cheek.

"I'll be seeing you", she said, managing a tiny smile.

As Archie left the Blossom estate and headed back to his home, he had to wonder how he would find Jason's killer, whoever it was. A lot of people in Riverdale disliked the Blossom family, including his father. Anyone could have murdered him.

Archie was no detective, but he could easily try to rule out suspects. Reggie and Miss Grundy couldn't have been involved because they were together, even though they were at Sweetwater River. Hal Cooper could not have been responsible because even though he disliked the Blossoms, Archie had seen him in the backyard of the Cooper residence on July 4th. Archie wasn't so sure about Alice, but perhaps not even she would do something that low. Of course, he could never suspect Fred.

Archie walked back into his house and sighed. His basic investigating was getting himself nowhere.

What about the Kellers? Archie deduced it couldn't have been Kevin. The poor guy had been traumatized by the mere sight of Jason's body. He couldn't even attempt to murder someone. Archie wasn't so sure about Tom Keller, however. To be fair, Mr. Keller had nothing against the Blossoms, but that didn't mean there wasn't some old grudge or wound that had been inflicted.

Archie then thought about Marty Mantle, Reggie's father. Mr. Mantle was not exactly a pleasant person. That was putting it lightly. Mr. Mantle loved to yell and scream when things didn't go his way. Archie remembered back in fourth grade when he and Reggie were playing on the Riverdale Little League baseball team. Their team had lost the championship game by one run, even though they truly tried their best. It didn't matter to Mr. Mantle. He had screamed at the entire team for the loss and never even gave any of them any credit for their respective performances. Even though Reggie had gotten a home run during his first at-bat and a double during his second at-bat, Mr. Mantle still yelled at him for grounding out during his third at-bat. When Archie had flied out to center field in the fifth inning, Mr. Mantle had chewed him out for not hitting the ball properly.

Archie had always viewed Mr. Mantle with distaste. He couldn't help but wonder if Marty had somehow killed Jason so that Reggie could end up taking Jason's place as the starting quarterback on the Riverdale High School football team. It seemed like a wild theory, but anything was possible in this terrible situation.

Archie decided to concentrate on the game that would be taking place in a few hours. He only hoped that he could pull off a win.

"Hey, buddy", Fred said when he arrived home.

"Dad, I need to talk to you about something", Archie said.

"Sure, Archie", Fred said. "What is it?"

Archie looked at his father straight in the eyes and said, "Dad, do you know who killed Jason Blossom?"

Fred looked at the ground.

"I don't know for sure, Archie. It could have been anyone. None of the citizens of this town are innocent angels by any means, but I'm not going to accuse people without proper evidence."

"I was just asking because I'm worried about Cheryl", Archie said.

"It makes sense", Fred said. "I can understand your concern for her well-being. But we can't try to confront this murderer, whoever he is. It's too risky."

Archie nodded. "I understand, Dad."

"Looking forward to the game tonight?", Fred asked.

"Yes, Dad", Archie said. He suddenly seemed eager to change the subject and discuss something else.

A few hours later, Archie arrived at the Riverdale High School football field with the rest of the team. He knew he had to get his mind off of Jason's murder and focus on the game.

Meanwhile…

Cheryl Blossom was with the other cheerleaders, looking determined to make sure this pep rally went well. Baxter High School from Greendale had their own decent football team, but Cheryl was sure that Archie and the other Bulldogs could finish them off.

When no one was looking, Archie waved at Cheryl. She blew him a kiss, making sure no one was around to witness that.

For a while, everything seemed normal. Cheryl and the other cheerleaders did their routines, trying to concentrate on supporting the football team.

But when the Riverdale Bulldogs arrived on the field and Archie led the way, Cheryl thought she was seeing Jason for a minute.

It made her tear up. Broke her heart all over again.

Cheryl broke down in tears and ran towards the locker room, trying to hide her sorrows from the world.

Meanwhile…

"Guys, I'll be right back", Archie said.

"Andrews, where are you going?!", Coach Clayton exclaimed.

"I need to take care of something", Archie said as he headed to the locker room.

Meanwhile…

Cheryl was sobbing, wondering if she would ever feel happy again.

Just then she heard someone run in.

Cheryl was about to yell at the person and tell them to scram. But then she saw that it was Archie.

Archie hugged Cheryl tightly as she sobbed as hard as she could onto his uniform.

"He was supposed to come back", she said with sorrow. "He was supposed to return safely."

Archie patted Cheryl's hair, wishing he could do something to make her feel better. How could he possibly extinguish this pain she was holding inside of her?

"Cheryl, I'll always be there for you", he said. "You can count on me. You don't deserve this."

Just then Archie heard footsteps. He quickly pulled himself away from Cheryl.

"Archie, is everything all right?", Reggie asked.

"Yeah, I was just offering comfort to Cheryl", the redhead said.

Reggie looked confused for a brief second. But then he quickly changed his facial expressions.

"Fine", he said. "Let's just get back to the field. The game's about to start."

Archie looked at Cheryl with a loving glance before quickly heading back to the game.

The Riverdale Bulldogs won the game, 21-0. Archie had scored one of those touchdowns and played excellent offense to assist Reggie in scoring the other two touchdowns.

After the game, Archie texted Cheryl.

Sorry I had to leave the locker room so abruptly, he wrote. I had to make sure that our romance remained a secret.

I understand, Cheryl texted back. We can keep this a secret however as long as you need it to.

Archie's cell phone then rang. It was from his best buddy, Jughead Jones.

"Hey, pal", Jughead said. "So how are you feeling? You know, after winning the game?"

"Uh, I feel great", Archie lied. He knew the truth about how he was genuinely feeling, however. He still felt terrible that he couldn't help Cheryl properly.

"You think I could use Jason's death as an excuse to get out of gym class?", Jughead asked. "I could probably say, 'Sorry Coach, I'm just too freaked out and depressed right now to do pull ups.'"

Archie knew Jughead was being sarcastic, but he really didn't enjoy the joke that much.

"Dude, I wouldn't joke about Jason's death", Archie said. "Think about Cheryl. She seems so devastated and heartbroken."

"Since when do you care about Cheryl?", Jughead asked.

"I'm just trying to put things into perspective", Archie said. "She doesn't deserve this."

"Well, I have to go to bed. See you, Arch."

Archie turned his phone off and sighed as he went to bed.

The next day was far from harmonious.

Several members of the Riverdale High School football team were in the lounge.

Chuck was looking smug. "So, do any of you have a clue about who may have killed Jason?"

"No clue", Reggie said.

"What about you, Moose? What was it like finding the body?"

"Dude, I don't want to talk about it", Moose said. "It's bad enough for Midge and I, and it's even worse for Kevin."

"Let's think about it", Chuck said. "If a kid from Riverdale killed Jason, it's not going to be a jock right? No let's be honest. It's always some spooky, scrawny, pathetic internet troll too busy writing his manifestos to get laid. Some smug, moody, serial killer, fanboy freak…like Jughead, maybe?"

Jughead was only a few feet away from them and was listening to the conversation. Archie could tell when Jughead was angry or incensed. This certainly seemed to be one of those moments.

"What was it like, suicide squad?", Chuck asked. "When you killed Jason? Did you do stuff to the body afterwards?"

"That's enough, Chuck", Archie said sharply. "Leave him alone."

Chuck said, "Relax, Andrews. I was only joking."

Later, Archie was sitting in Biology with Cheryl. Just then someone knocked on the door. Archie was horrified to see that it was Tom Keller and the principal, Waldo Weatherbee.

"You're here for me, aren't you?", Cheryl asked. "Because of the autopsy?"

"We don't need to do this in front of your classmates, Cheryl", Mr. Weatherbee.

"It's all right, Principal Weatherbee", Cheryl said. "They'll find out soon enough."

Cheryl held up her wrists.

"That won't be necessary", Sheriff Keller said.

"Wait, Cheryl", Archie said. "Find out what?"

"That it's my fault", Cheryl said. "That I'm guilty."

Archie suddenly felt sick. He didn't know what he was going to do.