NINE
august 25th, 7:25am
Even though he didn't admit it, Jughead Jones had plenty of secrets. Though, if you asked, his excuse for that was that he didn't have many people to tell them to. Some things, however, were meant to be kept just that: a secret. Much like the one that involved the boy living at the Twilight Drive-In, a near abandoned drive-in theatre on the Southside of town.
Lea never intended to find out about it, and she could only imagine that she was never supposed to, given the look on Jughead's face that morning when he found her on the other side of his front door.
"Lea!" He was confused. "W-what, how? What are you doing here?"
Lea gave him an incredulous look. "What are you doing here?"
"I-I sleep here, what does it look like?" He pulled his hat on top of his messy hair.
She was quiet for a minute. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think you'd care. How did you even find out?"
Lea started twisting the toe of her shoe into the gravel, and looked down. "Last night, we were both at the diner. I wanted to come over and speak to you properly, but I was with Cheryl, and you were with Mystery Inc., so I never got the chance." She took a breath. "So, then, I went to catch you as you were leaving but you left too soon, so I just... followed you, here."
She looked up after a minute, expecting to see him furious, except, he was bemused.
"You know, most people would call that stalking." He said, fighting against the smile that threatened to cross his face.
"Me too." She sighed.
"But," He interjected. "I appreciate the effort. Even if it is a little... creepy."
Jughead eventually smiled, and she punched his arm lightly.
"I just, mostly came to say sorry." Lea changed the tone of the conversation. "I've been thinking about it all night and, honestly, the only conclusion I came to was that what I did was truly rotten."
He leant against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "Go on."
She sighed. "And, you're right. If we're friends, we're friends all the way. Not only when people can't see us."
Jughead smiled lightly.
"So, Sir Forsythe," She joked, he playfully winced at the mention of his first name. "Will you accept my apology and be my full-time friend? I kind of need them."
Jughead looked at her, the girl he had known since kindergarten. She was holding out her fist, awaiting a fist-bump, something they used to do as kids. He figured, he might as well give her a chance, if she was truly going to try.
He pushed off of the doorframe, meeting her fist with his. "Yeah, me too."
The two smiled fondly at the other. Lea felt as though another piece to her puzzle had just fallen into place. Jughead was glad the blonde seemed to be finally back on his side. He'd never admit it, but he had missed her. Freshman year just wasn't the same without her attached to his shoulder, the way they used to be.
"I'll drive you to school, if you want." Lea offered. "At this rate, we're both gonna be late anyway."
Jughead feigned shock. "And you're not having a heart attack over it?"
She rolled her eyes. "I figured that this was more important than me missing the first ten minutes of Spanish."
As Jughead went back inside the small hut-like building to grab his things, he heard her mumble something about being no good at Spanish, anyway. Within minutes, he was in the passenger seat of her car, and they were both on the way to school. Some part within him almost expected Lea to drop him off outside the school gates, so they could walk in separately. Once again, she proved him wrong, as she drove through the open gates of the parking lot, with him still firmly planted in the seat.
They pulled into a space and Lea cut the engine. Before they could get out, she turned to the boy next to her.
"You know, if you need somewhere to stay... we have a guest room." She said.
Jughead smiled, almost sadly. "Thanks, but - what would your mom say about having me under your roof?"
Lea sighed, knowing he, was once again, correct. Andrea would never allow Jughead to stay. As awful as it sounded, she'd probably prefer him on the streets. It wasn't hard to see where Lea's prejudices came from. Jughead only hoped that soon, she'd grow out of them.
"I'm all good for now, Lea." He said. "Promise. I actually kinda like it. All the classic movies at my fingertips - it's a dream, honestly."
Lea snorted. "Weirdo." And got out of the car.
They walked in together, laughing, having a great time. Lea didn't notice the stares of some of her peers, wondering why someone like her would be hanging around with someone like Jughead - as if it were a bad thing. Jughead noticed, because he seemed to be cursed with noticing everything.
"I'll see you later?" She asked, ready to walk in late to Spanish. Her first time being late in the past year.
"Sure thing. I'll save you a seat." He smiled, and then walked away, heading to his own class.
And save her a seat he did. Lea walked into her biology class with a spring in her step, even though she knew the contents of the class wouldn't be exciting. She saw Jughead sitting at the back, and headed over to him, only to be stopped as someone gripped her arm.
She looked down to see Cheryl, in her seat at the front.
"Where're you going?" She asked.
Lea sighed. "I'm sitting with Jughead."
"Lea, he probably has worms." Cheryl whispered.
"Cheryl, I don't care." She whispered back, pulling her arm from her grip.
Lea loved Cheryl, she did, but sometimes the redhead was just far too possessive. She sat down next to the boy with a gentle smile, rolling her eyes how Cheryl obnoxiously called Veronica over to sit next to her instead. Lea knew Cheryl was only being dramatic, she didn't think she was that replaceable, at least not to her.
The class continued, in any usual fashion. There was nothing strange, nothing eerie. No one was on edge. For, no one knew that halfway through their lesson, Sheriff Keller would interrupt their teaching.
Everyone's head shot up in wonder at the sight of him and Principle Weatherbee standing at the door. There was confusion as the lively class dulled into silence. They didn't have a chance to say anything, before Cheryl was already rising from her seat.
"You're here for me, aren't you?" She asked. "Because of the autopsy?"
"We don't need to do this in front of your classmates, Cheryl." Weatherbee said.
Lea couldn't help but think it was already a little late for that.
"It's alright, Principle Weatherbee. They'll find out soon enough." She held out her arms, waiting to be cuffed.
She and Jughead shared a look of confusion.
"Now, that won't be necessary." The Sheriff said.
"Wait, find out what?" Veronica asked. In any normal circumstances, her voice wouldn't be heard, but the room was deadly silent as they watched the exchange.
"That, I'm guilty."
Lea felt as though she had forgotten how to breathe. There was absolutely no chance on this Earth that Cheryl Blossom was guilty in anything to do with her brother's case. Why was she doing this? Lea wondered.
The entire class watched as Cheryl was escorted from the room, guided gently by Weatherbee and Keller. Even after they had left, you could've heard a pin drop, for everyone was afraid to move. The mood of the room had drastically changed from just mere moments before, though, they were ushered back to work quickly. Small conversations began to pop up, and soon enough, everyone was talking, albeit, much quieter.
"What the hell was that?" Jughead asked her, quietly.
Lea shook her head. "I have no idea."
"Did she say anything to you, or -"
"Jug, there's a bigger chance that I killed Jason than there is Cheryl did." Lea said, maybe a bit too loudly, as the pair in front of her looked over their shoulder at her. She squinted her eyes at them. "Turn around."
They did.
The two left fifth period just in time to see Cheryl be escorted from the building by her parents, who were a lot harsher than even the Sheriff. Lea sighed, knowing exactly how Cheryl felt. She knew all she wanted from her parents was something that she'd never receive back: kindness, love, acceptance.
Jughead was on his phone, reading, when he pulled Lea to the side, away from the crowd.
"Jason's autopsy was released." He said, scrolling furiously. "The Register just published it."
"And?" She asked.
He looked at her with wide eyes. "He didn't die on July fourth. He died the week after."
"What?" Lea felt a chill run through her body. "There was a whole week?"
Jughead nodded as he continued to scroll on his phone.
"What date does that put us at?" She asked, starting to think, but Jughead already had the answer.
"July eleventh."
She recognised the date instantly. "That was they day they had his funeral. I know, I was there."
"We need to make a list of everyone at that funeral." Jughead said. "That way we can find out who was or wasn't there."
Lea tried to rack her head for answers, coming up with nothing. Cheryl was there. Clifford Blossom was there. Penelope, their Nana - hell, it was practically a crowd of redheads. Even close friends such as Luke and herself -
"Luke." She near whispered. Her thoughts stopped running. "Luke left early."
"Lea, are you sure - " Jughead started, but never got his chance to finish.
"Jug, I am not going through this again, okay?" She held up her hand. "Over my dead body are we labelling him as a suspect."
"We need to look at everything, here - "
"Jughead!" Out of nowhere, like usual, Betty Cooper's perfect little face popped into frame.
Both of them must've looked like madmen, talking quietly in the corner of the hallway, amongst a loud and nosy crowd.
"Betty!" Jughead replied, with matching feign enthusiasm.
"Would you be able to meet me in the old room next to the geography classrooms on the first floor?" She asked, a little giddy. "The one with all of the old computers in?"
The boy seemed as though he'd do whatever he asked. Lea looked between the two, putting two and two together.
"Y-yeah, sure." He stuttered.
"Great!" She beamed. "Meet me after last period?"
He nodded, and she walked away after throwing a kind smile towards Lea, who returned it. Jughead watched her walk away and turn the corner. He turned back to the girl in front of him, who wore an expectant smirk.
"What?" He asked, resorting back to his moody self.
She shrugged. "Nothing."
Jughead seemed to know what she was thinking, and merely shook his head. He shoved her shoulder lightly. "Weirdo."
august 26th, 2:36pm
Just as Lea had suspected when she had seen the two together, Veronica's date Wednesday night with Chuck ended in shambles. She had walked into the lounge Thursday afternoon to see the man of the hour crowded by footballers. Lea found herself unwillingly listening to his probable fake recount of the date he had with the girl, as she sat next to Luke.
The dramatic retelling of Chuck's crude story ended in him posting a photo to his Instagram, branding Veronica with Riverdale's infamous 'Sticky Maple'. It was a disgusting, misogynistic trend that had come around the last few years. Lea had never thought herself dumb enough to go near someone like Chuck Clayton, but often did wonder if Luke ever had similar intentions when they first started dating. Sometimes she hated herself for even thinking that.
Lea couldn't help the smirk that made its way on to her face as she walked through the hallway, past Veronica, after that. She didn't say a word, for, she didn't need to. The posse of Vixens that followed behind her was enough to provoke the Lodge into battle mode. Of course, she never expected her to march into the boys' locker room after their practice. Luke recounted the entire story of how she marched in, Betty in tow, and confronted Chuck straight-up.
Lea had to give her props for that, at the very least. She'd never admit it to her, but Veronica had done exactly what herself and many other girls at the school had wanted to do for the past year. Alas, her efforts were for naught, as he never removed the picture.
Now, Thursday afternoon, and cheerleading practice was minutes away from starting - except for the fact that half of the team weren't there. Unable to begin with next to no Vixens, Cheryl and Lea were stalking around the school corridors, looking for any members of their team. They found members of their team, and more, in an empty classroom with none other than Betty and Veronica.
They leaned against the doorframe, listening to loner, Ethel Muggs recount her own experience with Chuck. How he spoke to her in the library for mere minutes, but she was immediately denounced to nothing but a sexual experience by lunchtime the next day. Lea remembered the day well. She remembered getting into an argument with Luke, not believing that he wasn't apart of those who scrawled out 'Sloppy Seconds' across Ethel's locker. She never did find out the truth or not.
"Yes, yes, we've all heard your tragic origin story." Cheryl deadpanned, alerting everyone in the room to their presence.
Betty ignored her. "I'm so, so sorry, Ethel. That must've been horrible."
Cheryl interrupted again. "Not as horrible as being a suspect in your own brother's torture-murder case, but we all have our crosses. In the meantime, River Vixen practice starts in five minutes, sluts, so..."
Lea winced at the use of Cheryl's poor word choice, but didn't say a word as she continued to lean on the door. She expected some of the girls to get up and rush to the locker room, but none moved.
"They're ruining our lives," Ethel continued, as if Cheryl had said nothing. "And to them, it's just a game. They keep score, and -"
"Wait." Veronica cut in. "What do you mean, keep score?"
"Each conquest earns them points." Ethel explained. "They keep track in some secret playbook."
Lea rolled her eyes as Betty raised the suggestion of telling Principle Weatherbee, who Ethel claimed had never found any playbook of the sort.
"That's because it doesn't exist." Lea said. Heads turned to look at her. "Do you guys seriously believe that those boys, one of which you're very close friends with," She looked at Betty. "would be bothered to keep a tally chart of all the girls in the school?"
"How would you know, Lea?" Veronica asked. "You don't know what goes on in those locker rooms."
"Neither do you." The blonde said, pushing herself off of the doorframe. "I have friends on that team. I have a boyfriend on that team. Jason was co-captain. All of whom would've never allowed something like that to happen. I can't say the same for your choice in men, though."
"Okay, well, I never met Jason." Veronica shrugged. "I don't speak to your friends, or Luke, but I'm not lying about what happened to me. And Ethel's not lying."
Lea scoffed. "I never said you were ly-"
"And proof or no proof, book or no book, I am going scorched earth on these privileged, despicable miscreants." Veronica continued, getting riled up. "You wanna get caught in that back draft, Lea, that's your choice. Carry on befriending them, hell, carry on crawling in and out of their bed for all I care. But you don't get to decide what these beautiful, young, strong, intelligent women have experienced, just because it hasn't happened to you."
They were practically nose to nose, and while it seemed as though steam was coming out of Veronica's ears, Lea remained scarily calm. She was taking in every word she said, and Veronica felt like maybe she actually got through to her. Until Lea smirked.
"I don't know who exactly you think you are, Veronica Lodge," Lea spoke deeply and quietly. "But you don't go around this school telling us what to do when you've been here all of two minutes. I don't care who you used to be, back in your fancy New York high school, but here, you're starting from the bottom. By all means, go on a wild goose chase for something that doesn't exist, be my guest. But don't you ever start barking orders in my face."
You could've heard a pin drop.
Lea turned to address the rest of the room. "River Vixen practice is in 5 minutes. If you're not there, you're off the team."
With a final daring look at Veronica, she turned away, making sure to flick her ponytail extra-aggressive. As Lea left the room she felt Cheryl link her arm with her own. They walked side by side back to the gym.
"I'm impressed, L." Cheryl said. "You're becoming more and more like me everyday."
Lea sighed. "I'm not becoming you, Cher. She just sends shivers up my spine."
"Agreed." Cheryl nodded. "Who knew the Wicked Witch of the East Coast would land her broom in Riverdale?"
august 27th, 12:02pm
No Vixens were kicked off the team, for they all made it to practice, but there were a particular two that Lea considered to be on very thin ice. It wasn't that she didn't believe the girls when they claimed to have been mistreated by boys at the school, but she found it highly unlikely that there was a playbook circulating the football team.
Or, at least that's what she thought until midday Friday.
Lea was leaving her English Language class, and was on her way to the student lounge when she was approached by none other than Betty or Veronica. They walked up to her in the hallway, stopping Lea in her tracks.
"We need to talk." Veronica said, arms crossed.
"You approach me like the twins from The Shining and you expect me to not be a little creeped out?" Lea asked, adjusting the strap on her bag.
Veronica rolled her eyes. "Get off your high horse for five minutes and come with us."
The two girls led Lea into a nearby, empty classroom, in which the blonde sat on the edge of a desk with her arms crossed. Betty and Veronica stood in front of her, the former was shifting the weight between both her feet.
"Are you two just going to stand there in silence or am I getting back on my horse?" Lea asked.
Betty sighed. "Lea, last night, we broke into the school, and -"
"Illegal," Lea butted in. "but continue."
Betty continued, yet strained. "We found the playbook."
Lea started to laugh, until she noticed what Veronica was holding in her hands. A faux leather notebook, a little beaten up and covered in scratches. On the front, it was untitled.
She shrugged. "Okay, great. You solved the mystery, Nancy Drew. Do you want me to go and yell at them like I'm their mother, or...?"
Veronica finally cut in. "Look, Lea, we're telling you because not even you deserve this." She flicked the book open, before turning to a particular page. She handed the book to Lea, who took it reluctantly.
Her eyes scanned across the pages in front of her. The names of the guys on the football team were written in the margin, all with numbers ranging from one to ten scattered around. Next to them, were the names of girls - their conquests, as Ethel had put it. Each girl had a varying point; Stephanie had a 9, Tanya was a 7, Veronica was an 8 with an added new girl bonus, making her a 9.
Despite her words from the day before, Lea wasn't surprised to see names like Reggie, or Chuck, or maybe even Moose. She didn't see Luke's name once.
"Go to Freshman year." Veronica said, softly, almost as if she had just unlocked a time bomb.
The scores were split up by times of the year. There was summer break, first semester, Halloween, winter break - Lea had to admit they were organised and dedicated. She turned the page to find what would've been their Freshman year at Riverdale High. That's were she found it.
All of a sudden, the margin started to include Luke.
Alice, 8. Lisa: shy girl, 6. Vanessa, 8.5. The names appeared one after the other, in between the likes of people like Reggie. Fiona: got to 3rd base oooooo, 8. Lea was disheartened to say the least, until it got around to the time when they began speaking - November.
Luke was still gathering points for other girls, even as time continued and they made it into the new year, in which Lea saw the very thing that made her heart drop.
Lea: good girl, +1 she's a good tutor, 9.
Veronica and Betty watched and noticed the exact moment that Lea found her own name in the playbook, right next to Luke's. They watched as the girl in front of them froze, and just stared.
"W-we thought you deserved to know." Betty near whispered, breaking the silence that fell upon them.
"I know it sucks, but we've got a plan, Lea." Veronica said when Lea didn't respond. "B and V are on it, we're gonna to to Weatherbee, we're gonna expose them, the whole works."
By the time Lea had looked up, her eyes were bloodshot, and starting to turn glassy.
"Can I take this page?" She asked, scarily chipper, not waiting for an answer. "Thanks." She ripped the page out of the playbook and shoved it back into their hands before storming past the two girls.
They shared a look, before quickly running after the girl, who was now storming down the hallway, a crumpled up piece of paper in her hand. Student's parted like the red sea as they heard her heels click on the floor. Even Jughead caught sight of the blonde, and watched her with furrowed brows. Lea knew exactly where she was heading.
The student lounge was bustling with people, but at this moment in time, all Lea could see was red. As well as the occasional blur as she fought to hold back the tears threatening to fall. Out of anger or sadness, she wasn't sure, yet.
Luke was standing, leaning a top the back of the couch where Reggie sat. Him and the rest of the football team were laughing about something stupid. By now, Veronica and Betty had caught up, and just missed grabbing the end of Lea's arm, before she was stalking forward.
A few people had took note of her furious gaze and watched as she stormed up to Luke before tapping his shoulder. He turned around with a grin on his face, unbeknown to what was about to hit him.
It was Lea. Lea hit him.
The sound of Lea smacking her palm against Luke's cheek echoed throughout the busy room. His friends 'ooh'-ed and some of them started to laugh. Other people gasped, and some people just fell quiet. Everyone held their breath as they watched the perfect couple fight.
"What the hell, Lea!" Luke held his cheek, turning back to face her.
"Explain this. Right now." Lea held up the crumpled paper, her hands shaking with adrenaline.
Luke was confused, before he caught sight of the words on the page, recognising them instantly.
"Lea, I-"
She slapped the other side of his face, not giving him a chance to explain.
"Do you think I'm just a number?" She seethed. "Did you think I was a goody-two-shoes, and that I was just a new challenge for you?"
Luke was speechless, his cheeks beginning to turn red.
"I don't know at what point you stopped seeing me as a number, and started seeing me as your girlfriend, or even if you ever did. But this is a joke. And you should be ashamed of yourself." She jabbed her finger into his chest.
She could hear the team behind him starting to chuckle.
"And that goes for all of you." Lea turned to target them, and their smiles were wiped off their faces. "All of you, thinking because your daddies are rich and because you're all getting football scholarships, it puts you on a pedestal. I don't know what you think gives you all the right to go around treating the girls at this school like they're just a scoring system to you, but this is a small, small town. And I can guarantee when everyone finds out about this stupid, little book of yours, they'll be disgusted."
Veronica and Betty watched on in amazement.
"Grow up." She turned back towards Luke. "And maybe find a new girlfriend while you're at it."
Lea turned on her heel, pushing in between Betty and Veronica, and marched out of the room. No one dared speak a word upon her exit, and the room was left in an uneasy silence. Luke was glued to the spot as he watched her leave. His bones were screaming to run after her, but his cowardliness took over.
For the first time in her life, Lea couldn't care less about the remaining classes she had that day, or the cheer practice after school. She left through the front doors, without even grabbing her jacket or homework from her locker.
She stormed across the parking lot to reach her car. Only when she sat inside and slammed the door shut, sitting silently for a moment, did Lea realise how badly her hands were hurting. Placing the back of them on her steering wheel, she unclenched them from the fist form they had adopted. They were red, and her palms were scattered with indents from her fingernails.
The piece of paper in her hand still haunted her, so she threw it into the backseat of her car, along with her bag. She didn't cry. She didn't dare. She just turned on her engine, backed out of the parking space, and out of the school parking lot.
She didn't know where she was driving until the moment she got there.
It was a place where she used to spend a lot of time with Jughead. Lea was unsure if he even came here anymore. She knew herself that the last time she was here, was the last day of summer before Freshman year.
Not many people knew about it, but if you took a different road when going to Sweetwater River, you went higher, above the treetops. It required you to not care too much about the branches that could potentially scrape your car, but when you got to the top, it was all worth it.
It was a small cliff, one that overlooked the river, and by consequence, the entirety of Riverdale. Lea thought it looked different in the daytime, for she had only ever been in the evenings onward.
She pulled into the small bay that they had ended up making for themselves, just by parking there so many times. Her tyre's fell into the small divots in the mossy ground, and she turned off the engine.
Lea sat there for a few moments, or maybe minutes, she couldn't tell, before opening the door and getting out. The autumn air engulfed her as she stepped outside. Due to the covering of the nearby trees, it wasn't really any stronger than it would've been downtown.
Just like she had always done, this time without company, she sat on the bonnet of her car. She pulled up her legs, leaning backwards onto her windshield. It was then, looking up at the cloudless sky, that Lea finally allowed herself to cry. And once she started, she couldn't seem to stop.
How had she ended up in a situation where she wasn't even sure who her own boyfriend was? Did this skew the entirety of his past intentions? Have all the 'I-love-you-s' been genuine? This wasn't how Lea had planned her first relationship to go. She had been so picky, and, at least she thought, so careful.
Anyone who knew Lea knew she was a perfectionist and knew she liked plans and a clear direction. All of a sudden, her picture-perfect relationship was anything but. But, deep down, Lea thought she knew that her relationship with Luke was never perfect.
They argued more than any couple she knew. Sometimes, Lea would want to be anywhere else but his bedroom, and she just knew that Luke felt the same. It was only sometimes, but sometimes still counts for something. At the same time, Lea loved Luke. She couldn't help but love him. He was the only one who seemed to put up with her. But, by the looks of things, Luke had a long line of girls waiting for him, and suddenly, Lea found herself feeling very disposable.
By the time Lea had pulled herself from her racing, and frankly, painful, thoughts, the sun was setting. She had sat there all afternoon, just thinking, creating a million different scenarios in her head of how the future is going to go, and how the past could've gone.
She looked down at the town, seeing a small glimmer of street lamps and bedroom lights. From here, you could just about see the distant, pink, neon glow from Pop's. Despite it getting late, Lea couldn't bring herself to move from the hood of her car. She had left her phone on the passenger seat, not daring to look at the screen for the fear of the number of missed phone calls from her mom. She was frozen, watching the small town in front of her, and wondering what had happened after she left.
Eventually, it wasn't the cool breeze that sent shivers down her arm, it was the nearby sound of a motorbike coming up the path behind her.