PROLOGUE

july 4th, 7:49am.

It was quiet in the pristine kitchen of the Lawson household, with only the scratching sound of a pencil frantically scraping across paper filling the room. On one of the bar stools sat Lea Lawson, only child to Liam and Andrea Lawson. Her blonde curls hung loosely in a ponytail as her eyes flickered frantically from textbook to paper.

The pencil in her hand paused as her eyes refused to leave a specific word on the textbook page.

Trcauheoes.

The letters jumped across each other, flickering like the start of an old film roll. They were taunting her with their acrobatic leaps. Lea's concentration was broken when a sigh was heard from the doorway that connected the kitchen to the hallway. She looked up.

In a white shirt and plaid pyjama pants, stood Lea's father, Liam. With tired eyes, he leant against the door frame.

"It's eight in the morning, Lea." He commented. "School can wait till lunch." His back turned to face his daughter as he strolled towards the coffee machine, stretching out his arms as he walked.

"So can your unhelpful comments." The girl muttered, returning back to her work.

The whirling sound of machinery filled the once silent room, and Liam shuffled over to his daughter. Leaning across the counter top, he folded his arms. He watched as Lea's pencil didn't touch the paper, instead, choosing to hover. Her eyes were squinted through concentration.

"Which word?" He asked. His eyes tried to follow where hers looked.

"That." Lea pointed towards the word she was struggling on the most, turning the book towards her dad.

"Treacherous." Liam answered. His effortless reading caused Lea to sigh, turning the book back towards her. She scribbled the word down on a sticky note before pasting the note into the textbook, next to the word; her special trick. Lea muttered a 'thanks' before returning to her work.

"So," Liam began. "I can only assume you're going for the big bucks again this year?"

"Obviously." She chuckled lightly, looking up at him.

"And I can assume that you'll still be doing cheerleading?"

She nodded. "And all of my other extras."

Lea placed the end of her pencil in the corner of her mouth as she heaved the book off of the counter. She flipped through the pages, trying to find the relevant chapter.

Hesitantly, Liam replied. "Don't you think it'll all be a bit... much?" He moved once a 'ding' sounded across the room; the coffee was done. "Sophomore year is a big one, sweetheart. I don't want your grades slipping, and I certainty don't want your mom on either of our backs a-"

"Dad." Lea cut him off, her eyes finally leaving her textbook, and resting on her tired father. "I'm sure I can handle it. I was fine last year, what's another one?" She shrugged.

"I just don't want you stressed over everything, that's all." He walked to sit down next to her on the bar stool. "I know you're all about being independent, and all sure of yourself." He lightheartedly mocked words she had previously said to her parents.

Lea smiled and rolled her eyes, nudging him with her elbow as he chuckled.

"We just wanna make sure you're getting along fine, sweetheart. That's all. You don't need to struggle thinking you have to do it on your own." Liam sipped his coffee as he leaned over to reach the remote for the kitchen tv.

"I'm dyslexic. I'm not dying." Lea said as he scrolled through the channels. "It just means I have to work harder - that's all." She shrugged. "Even so, I'm getting a lot better with it all now. Bigger words will always be harder."

As she began to place pencil back to paper, she heard her dad place his coffee cup onto the marble surface.

"Yeah, well," He began. "Get ready for a bit of a tougher year." His eyes never left the tv screen.

Overhead and ground views of Riverdale's own Sweetwater River plastered itself over the screen. Police cars, boats, and crowds of people could be seen. Lea looked up from her page and her eyes found the tv. The moving words across the bottom of the screen seemed foreign to her.

"What's happened?" She asked, slowly lowering her pencil.

"One of the Blossom kids has been reported dead, just now." He solemnly told his daughter. For a split second, Lea thought that her heart had stopped, before he continued. "It's Jason."

Her eyes widened as she watched the crime scene unfold before her.

"Did you know him?" He asked.

She sighed before moving to grab her phone. "Not as much as Luke did." As she pressed the home button, large letters filled the screen - ones that she could read with minimum difficulty.

A few moments later, she was tiptoeing on the backyard porch, already on the phone with her boyfriend, Luke Summers.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Lea." Luke sighed.

"Well, are you okay? Do you need anything? Have you spoken to Cheryl? Or Reggie? What do you think ha-" Lea's train of thought was cut off by Luke interrupting.

"Lea, babe - I promise you. I'm fine. It's just a shock is all." His voice poured through the phone speaker, muffled and drifting away from the phone.

"Fine?" Lea scoffed. "I find it hard to believe that you're fine after your best friend has been found dead."

"Reported." Luke corrected. "He's been reported dead. They haven't found a body." His voice gradually became quiet, almost a whisper. Lea could hear the sound of shuffling and snapping through the other end of the phone.

Ignoring it, the blonde continued speaking. "And what? Do you think that the boy is just hiding under his bed in his mansion of a room? I don't think so."

"I don't know, Lea!" Luke whispered harshly down the phone, causing the girl to scoff. "Sorry, I don't know. Just let this run its course and see what happens."

"Okay, fine." Lea sighed. "As long as you're okay." She picked at the cracked golden nail polish on her thumb.

"Yeah, I am." He grunted, and silence filled the two before he spoke again. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay." Lea muttered.

"And don't work yourself into the ground." Luke chucked, causing her to smile.

"I'll try my best." She swapped the phone to her other ear as she brushed her curls out of her face. "Love you, see you later."

"See you, babe."

With a beep, Luke dropped the call and Lea was left with the sounds of birds chirping and trees rustling in the breeze.

If it weren't for the crushing news of Jason, today would look no different. However, July 4th was a significant day to many in the town of Riverdale. It was the day that the whole town simultaneously came to a halt and likewise, crashed into chaos. The death of Jason Blossom was merely a burnt out star in the black hole that was Riverdale.