TEN
august 27th, 6:17pm
Lea didn't move from her place on the hood on her car. Even when the bike pulled up mere metres away. She kept up her guard, but stared forward with little emotion, looking out at the small town.
The figure on the bike took off their helmet, placing it on the handlebars, their dark hair falling into their face. If Lea would've taken the time to look, she would've seen the presence belonged to that of the Serpent from a few weeks ago. The same one who left a smart-ass comment on a napkin at the diner. The same guy who followed her home after Jason's funeral.
The Serpent looked at her for a few moments, trying to make out where he remembered her from. It was more difficult see in the light of golden hour, and with the fact that her face was covered in dried tears. Eventually, it hit him, and he sighed deeply, widening his eyes then looking away.
For a few minutes, the two just sat in silence. The boy on the bike had swung over one of his legs, and was now looking out at the sun setting over the forest. It was almost completely dark when he couldn't take the quiet anymore.
"I take it you didn't look at the paper I gave you." He said.
From the sudden sound of his voice, Lea immediately knew who it was. She looked at him, seeing how his dark hair hung slightly on his forehead, and how the snake tattoo on his neck could barely be seen in the approaching darkness.
"Why would I?" Lea scoffed. She turned to look back at the lake.
"I would've thought you wanted to know where your boyfriend was on the fourth." He shrugged.
Any other time, Lea would've dove for that information. She had found herself believing that Luke had been lying about a lot of things - why not add his unknown whereabouts to the list?
"He's not my boyfriend." She said, almost monotone.
The boy raised his brows. "Trouble in paradise?"
"One more word and you'll be the second person I hit today." She grumbled. She pulled her legs towards her before crossing them.
He chuckled, allowing himself to fall into silence. They stayed like that, and the boy was ready to make another smart-ass comment, until he heard the sound of sniffles from his left. Lea was starting to cry again. She didn't want to, she just couldn't stop. At this point, she wasn't even sure what she was crying over.
"Aren't they pretty?" He said. "The lights?"
Lea wiped her tears on her hand, before turning to look at him. "What?"
"Like, Riverdale is small, but from here, it almost looks like a city." He was looking at the glow from the town, now, one of the only things illuminating his face.
Lea was bewildered. Here she was, crying, and he wanted to talk about lights.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
He looked at her. "Talking about lights."
She looked at him as though he had three heads. "Why?"
"To be quite honest, I don't want to talk about why you're crying." He deadpanned. "And I don't think you do, either."
He was right. The last thing Lea wanted to do at the moment was think or talk about what was upsetting here. They'd be here all night. The moments she was spending in the Serpent's presence was already enough for her.
"Why are you up here?" She asked.
"My friends get annoying sometimes." He shrugged.
Lea wrapped her arms around herself. "I didn't realise many people knew about it."
"They don't." He said. "That's why I'm here."
Lea didn't respond. When she didn't the boy took that as an opportunity to ask a question he'd been itching to hear the answer to since he saw her face.
"Do you think we did it?" He asked, furrowed brows.
Lea looked at him, confused. "Did what?"
"Kill Jason." He said it so plainly, like it was obvious.
All of a sudden, she was opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. It was a theory she had gone back and forth between. Some part of her believed that the Serpents were nothing but petty criminals. The other part believed everything she had ever been told, by people like Luke and her mom; the Serpents were dangerous and untrustworthy.
It pained Lea to admit it, but through all of her recent encounters with Serpents, they'd never shown any kind of hostility. The irritation and spiteful comments always came from her end.
Lea bit the inside of her cheek before shrugging. "I don't know."
That's progress, he thought.
"Why? Got something to confess?" She asked, not expecting an answer. There was the unprovoked bitterness. "Sorry. It's a habit."
He tilted his head slightly, making a noise of uncertainty. "I don't think you can go through life disguising prejudice as habit."
Lea sighed. "Any suggestions on how to stop?"
"Don't hang round with enablers." He said it as if it were so simple.
Lea felt as though her social status was all she had, and she only had that through the people who were her friends. Before she knew Cheryl, she was a nobody who could barely read (her self-given title). Now, she feels like somebody, who still struggles to read.
Darkness had officially fallen upon the two, emphasising the continuous returning silence. Lea hadn't spoken to any of her friends in hours, and was sure that her phone would be blowing up with messages.
She was correct.
She had hopped off the hood of her car, opening her driver-side door and leaning across the console to grab her phone. The bright screen light illuminated her phase as she squinted. She took her time to read the enlarged letters in her hand.
Phone: Mom (6) Missed Call
Phone: Dad (1) Voicemail
Phone: Luke (2) Missed Call
Twitter: cherylbombshell: #hehaditcoming
iMessage: Betty Cooper (3): You have a new message.
iMessage: Jug (5): You have a new message.
Lea sighed, knowing the world she'd have to face when she got home. She hardly ever got into trouble with her parents, for she never did anything receive such a response. She knew she could ignore the messages from Betty, and she likely would. Jughead would probably receive a response sometime soon.
Opening the message app, pulled up the chat with her mom. She tapped the speech-to-text button, saying 'I'm on my way home', before closing the app. The boy on the bike watched from the corner of his eye the whole time.
Lea was sitting sideways on her seat, legs hanging out the side of the open door. She threw her phone back onto the passenger seat before looking at the boy.
"Well, thanks for the company." She said.
He puffed a short breath of air from his nose, but didn't say anything.
Lea got in her car fully and started the engine. The headlights shone into the seemingly never-ending darkness atop of the cliffs edge. She didn't know what made her do it, or even had her remotely interested, but as she backed out of her space, she wound down her window.
"Hey," She called softly to the boy. He looked up from where he was looking at his hands. "What's your name?"
He thought for a moment, seeming to consider his options. He gave a curt head nod. "Sweet Pea."
"What did you just call me?" Lea furrowed her brows, taken aback.
"No," He sighed. "My name is Sweet Pea."
"Oh."
They two looked back at the other.
"Aren't you gonna ask my name?" Lea asked.
Sweet Pea smirked. "I already know your name, Lea."
Lea was ready to lose her mind. She was ready to call him every name under the sun, and perhaps pull into the Sheriff's station on the way home to report him for stalking, until he spoke again.
"All the Serpents know the names of people who are out to get them." He shrugged, as though it was common knowledge.
Lea was a little... upset, by his statement. But, she supposed she did bring it on herself. Like most things. She gave the boy a curt nod, before winding her window back up, and driving back down the hill that she came up.
The drive home was silent. There was no radio, or music playing. All Lea could hear was the sound of her engine. Usually, this is when she would start thinking over every possibility that her parents could throw at her, and what her response would be. She always felt the need to be prepared, so that no one, not even her own mother, could trip her up.
Yet, as she drove, Lea's mind was blank. It felt as though she had done enough overthinking for an entire month. All she could do was watch the road in front of her, and soon enough, that road turned into her street, and that street turned into her driveway.
Let's get this over with, Lea thought, pulling herself out of the car. She had her phone in one hand, and her bag pulled over her shoulder. The scolding started almost as soon as she walked through the front door.
"Lea!" Andrea shouted, leaping up from her place on the couch. "We were ready to call the police!"
"Don't drag me into this." Liam called from the kitchen, where Lea could smell he was cooking dinner.
Lea never said a word, just returned her gaze to her mom.
"Where on Earth have you been?" Her mom asked, arms crossed.
"I just - had to leave." Lea shrugged, feeling small. She felt almost five again, hadn't been the target of this sort of heat from her parents in a long time.
"Lea, you walked out of school!"
"Yeah," Lea shrugged. "I did. Okay, you would've, too. I'm sorry, I'm not going to do it again."
"You're not throwing your grades away." Andrea continued as though Lea had spoken to a brick wall. "You work too hard for them, I know that."
"I do work hard." Lea nodded. "Sometimes, working hard means you get to have a break."
"Not," Her mom practically cracked the word like a whip. "when there is potentially a murderer on the loose."
"You're right, I should've told you." The blonde nodded, again. "I'll be more careful."
It seemed as though all Lea could do was agree with her mom. All Andrea seemed to care about was the fact that Lea missed classes, not the reason why. All Lea wanted to do was go to bed, evident in the way she was slowly edging up the stairs, a step at a time.
Almost as though he heard her internal plea, Liam called from the kitchen. "Andrea, I think I've burnt it!"
Her mom sighed. She pointed a finger at Lea. "Don't do this again. I mean it." She scurried into the kitchen.
Lea walked up the stairs to the sound of their fire alarm going off. She could hear her mom and dad opening the windows and fanning the air with tea towels. By the time she had gotten into her room and flung herself onto her bed, the alarm had stopped and she was left in an eerie, lonely silence.
It wasn't the same kind of silence from the cliff. On the cliff, you could hear the trees, cars honking in the distance, the river splashing, you could feel the wind. In Lea's bedroom, she could merely hear the sound of her own breathing. She lay there for a while, with her eyes closed. She couldn't tell if her mind was racing or still.
That's how she fell asleep. Not to the sound of someone else's breathing, like usual. Not to the presence of another body next to hers, like usual. But, with the feeling of dread at the thought of the next day. But with the feeling of an empty space in her bed. And, to the sound of her own breathing.
And eventually, to the fire alarm that went off again.
august 28th, 5:46pm
Lea slept in late the next day, she woke with all of her clothes from the day before still on, even her shoes.
Today was the day of Riverdale's 75th-anniversary jubilee: The Taste of Riverdale. Her mom was a member on Mayor McCoy's team, and it was pretty much expected for her entire family to attend. Of course, Lea had the option of a plus one, which was... Luke. She had asked him before she knew about any sort of playbook in the works, and was almost tempted to call him up to cancel. She never got the chance to, as it was nearing six o'clock, and Luke was on her front doorstep.
At this present moment, her parents weren't aware of any bad blood between the two. So Lea reluctantly opened the door wider, and led the boy up to her bedroom. They didn't exchange any words as they both sat on the edge of Lea's bed. She was wearing a pale pink dress for the jubilee that started at 6:30pm.
Luke was the first one to break the silence. "I don't know what made me do it." He said. "I think it was just-"
Lea interrupted. "I don't want to sit here and listen to how it was peer pressure, or how it was fun, or only a joke. If you're going to do that, you can just get out now."
Luke felt his breath hitch in his throat. "What do you want me to say?"
Lea thought about it. Her brain had entered overthinking mode again, and was scurrying through every possibility, every excuse that could've been made. She settled on one, for at the end of the day, she really didn't want to see Luke walk away.
"I want you to say that you do actually love me." Lea spoke quietly, turning to face him. "What made you think it was okay to start a relationship based on a score?"
Luke started to chew his bottom lip. "Do you want me to be honest with you?"
Lea felt her stomach drop, but nodded anyway. "Always."
He sighed. "When we started dating, I didn't think it was gonna last. That score was from our first date, but now that I look back, I don't even consider that our first date. I think that was just me trying to get the boys off of my back."
"You're not going to use boys will be boys as an excuse." Lea said, playing with her hands.
Luke took notice of this and reached out to grab hold of one. Lea didn't pull away, and she almost felt calmed by his sudden touch.
"I'm not." He shook his head. "After that date, we started spending more and more time together, and then I realised, I actually really did like you. I'm sorry, Lea. Looking back now, I don't agree with it at all."
"Good." That was all she had the strength to say, as her throat was beginning to close.
Luke gently reached up to hold her chin, pulling her a little closer. She allowed it. "You know I love you."
It was the three words that made her heart flutter, and as he pulled her even closer, their lips touching, the past day seemed to disappear. Lea let go of his hand and grabbed both sides of his face in desperation, pulling him even closer. They'd been here before, and they knew it. It was how they dealt with their problems - they didn't. Everything was swept under the rug, and this was just another skeleton to hide in the closet.
Luke grabbed ahold of her waist, making Lea jump. He noticed this and started to smile, mid-kiss.
"Stop it." Lea mumbled onto his lips.
Luke started to take control, and lowered Lea back onto the bed, slowly leaning over her. He detached his lips from hers, moving onto her jawline, and slowly leaving a trail of wet kisses down her neck. Lea was so lost in the moment, that the second that Luke started putting more pressure on her sides, tickling her, she jolted forward.
Their heads collided in her sudden movement, and they simultaneously reached up to hold their foreheads. Luke rolled off of her to the other empty side of the bed.
"Oh, my god." He groaned.
Lea held her head, starting to giggle. "You idiot."
"Me?" Luke exclaimed. "You've got a mean head-but."
Lea hummed in appreciation, she pushed his shoulder before getting up from the bed.
They spent the next fifteen minutes in a comfortable sort of silence. Small comments were passed between the two as Lea continued to get ready for the jubilee. She didn't tell him about how she had spent yesterday evening, and he didn't ask. They had moved on, and this wouldn't be mentioned again.
Soon enough, Lea, Luke and Lea's parents were getting into the back of Andrea's company car. It was expensive and shiny, with leather seats and more cup holders than a family of three would ever need. It was just one of the many luxuries in Lea's life, one that she most certainly took for granted.
Luke wasn't dressed as formal as the rest of the family, but instead was dressed in dark jeans and a white polo shirt. Liam wore a suit without a tie, and Andrea was dressed in a very stereotypical sleeveless midi dress. If you looked up middle-class, they'd be the definition.
The jubilee was busy with families similar to Lea's. Founding families such as the Blossoms and Coopers were present, although Lea did notice the absence of both Cheryl and Betty. Her parents caught sight of people they knew, leaving Lea and Luke to their own devices.
They placed their belongings like bags or jackets at the table that was specifically reserved for them. Taking sight of the food stand that Pop's had along the edge of the room, Lea practically dragged Luke over. As they marvelled over the treats they had to choose from, a familiar face made their way over from the other side of the table.
"Lea!"
The blonde looked up to the sound of her name, to see Hermione Lodge, Veronica's mom. She looked a lot more put together than she did at the diner.
"Oh, hi." Lea smiled softly, her grip around Luke's waist tightening slightly. He didn't notice, as he continued to look over the food on the table in front of them.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Hermione smiled. "Veronica was invited, but she said she was busy. Who's this?"
Lea saw her glance at Luke. "Oh, this is Luke. My boyfriend."
Hermione furrowed her brows, almost in confusion, but the look was quickly wiped off her face. Luke finally looked up, offering a closed lip smile to the older woman.
"Luke Summers." He held out his hand, the other held onto Lea's waist.
Hermione shook it. "Summers? As in Joseph Summers? Are you his son?"
Luke gritted his teeth at the mention of his dad. They were never close and hardly ever saw each other. "Yeah, him."
"Is he here tonight?" Hermione asked. "I'd love to meet with some old friends."
"Actually, Mrs Lodge," Lea cut in, feeling Luke tense up. "My parents dropped us both off."
By the warning look that Lea wore, Hermione took the hint. "Ah, well, never mind then. Hopefully, I see Liam and Andrea."
Hermione helped Luke and Lea to fill their paper plates with the appetisers from the table. As she placed a handful of fries onto Lea's plate, she couldn't help herself from asking.
"So, how is Veronica getting on in school?" She placed some fries onto Luke's plate. "I take it you're both friends?"
Next to her, Lea felt Luke snort. She elbowed him in his side with the arm that was no longer wrapped around her waist. She turned back to Hermione with a somewhat strained smile.
"She's getting on fine. She's, uh, she's a good cheerleader."
Hermione smiled. "Oh, that's good! Yes, she told me you were on the team. She's said you were quite assertive, knew what you wanted from the girls."
Lea had nothing to say, but just smile and nod. Anything else Hermione was going to say was interrupted by the person who came and stood next to Lea, Fred Andrews.
"Well, well, well. Hermione Lodge." He had a glass of wine in his hands. He turned to look at the two teens. "Hey, guys."
"Hi, Mr Andrews. We were just finishing up." Lea said, moving back, pulling Luke with her.
"Try the cheese sliders, sir. They're great." Luke told him, his mouth half full.
Lea made a quiet comment about him being a pig as they both walked away and back to their table. Josie and the band were setting up for their set on the stage, and Lea waved as they walked past. Valerie and Melody smiled, but furrowed their brows as they saw who she was walking with. It was no news to anyone at Riverdale High about what happened the day before. Lea ignored their questioning glances and looked away.
The two finished their plates pretty quickly, so they set down the paper plates at the table where they were sat. As they did, a great, resounding smack sounded throughout the room. Lea's head whipped round to see Betty's mom, Alice Cooper being shielded by Sheriff Keller. It seemed as though the culprit of the slap was Cheryl's mom, Penelope.
"How dare you, Alice Cooper." Penelope was near crying, being pulled back by her husband, Clifford.
Everyone had turned to watch the scene unfold. Lea wasn't sure if she could blame Penelope, for Alice had leaked the autopsy report of Jason. Not only that, written a full-fledged report, theorising around his death. It wasn't pretty.
She couldn't hear what else was said, as Josie had suddenly ran up to the microphone, in a bid to distract everyone.
"Hey, Riverdale!" She called. "We are Josie and the Pussycats. Are you ready to rock?"
They received an underwhelming response, until Luke whooped wildly from Lea's side. She elbowed him again as they started the song.
'Paintings on her skin, colours in her hair. Come around the corner, make you stop and stare.'
Lea looked behind her at the bustling room, mainly to see where Penelope and Alice had went to. She caught a glimpse of ginger hair atop of the balcony at the back of the room before it disappeared. Not even moments later, did the faces of Jughead and Archie appear, looking over the top, down at the scene below. Lea rolled her eyes at their antics.
Jughead caught sight of her near the front of the stage. He waved slightly, before turning and telling something to Archie. When he turned back to look at her, he gestured for her to come up and join them. She sighed and leaned towards Luke.
"I'm just going the bathroom." She said.
He nodded, continuing to watch Josie perform.
Lea weaved her way through the crowd, catching a small glimpse of Alice Cooper talking to Hermione Lodge. She started to believe the older blonde was just there to antagonise people the entire night, as the conversation didn't exactly look pleasant. Lea climbed the stairs, a look of confusion washing over her face when she reached the top and saw Jughead and Archie crouched down, hiding behind the balcony wall.
"What are you two doing?" She asked.
Archie jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, as he initially had his back to her.
"Don't worry about it, we have an evil Adventure Scout to shake down." Jughead said, leaving his position on the floor.
"Uh, okay." Lea followed behind him as they walked through the fancy corridors. "Who are we shaking down?"
"Dilton Doiley." Jughead said. "While you were all caught up in your coming-of-age movie, I did some digging for an article I'm writing for the Blue and Gold."
Lea scoffed. "I thought the Blue and Gold was pretty much dead."
Jughead's voice went a few tones higher. "Don't be mean. Betty and I are reviving it."
Lea said nothing, only raised her eyebrows in knowing. They went down the stairs together, and Jughead shoved her shoulder lightly.
"Anyway, I talked to one of his scouts." He said. "He said it was Doiley who fired the gun on July 4th. They were having target practice."
She could hardly believe it. "Dilton Doiley? Next, you're going to tell me he shot Jason."
Jughead raised his brows and his eyes widened in some sort of a 'I-wouldn't-test-the-theory' look. They turned another corner, the one leading down to the lobby, and saw the Scout himself, leaning against a wall on the staircase. The duo made a beeline for him.
"I talked to one of your scouts." Jughead said upon approaching Dilton, not bothering with hellos. "We know you fired the gun, which makes you both a liar and a public menace."
Dilton seemed almost intimidated by Jughead. After all, he knew vital information that could assist the police and potentially land the boy as a suspect in a murder case. His walls immediately shot up.
"So what if I did?" Doiley said. "I was doing the Adventure Scouts a favour. Somebody has to teach them how to stand their ground, the way this town is going."
"Save it for your statement." Jughead scoffed. "Which you can make to Sheriff Keller, or to us."
Lea piped up from next to Jughead. "Can I suggest the latter?"
Doiley was practically shaking on the spot.
"Blue and Gold offices, tomorrow." Jughead said, walking away, down the stairs.
Lea, feeling a little awkward being left behind with Dilton (who was close to tears), quickly followed after Jughead. She barely reached the bottom of the stairs before he turned back around to face her.
"And you," He pointed at her, although this time, much less threatening than how he approached Dilton. "you're rubbing shoulders with the same guy who reduced you down to nine points?"
Lea sighed, folding her arms. "Yes, Jughead, I am. He said he was sorry."
"Lea, Jason's killer could show up tomorrow and say they're sorry. That doesn't make what they did ok." He argued.
She squinted. "That's a little bit of an extreme comparison."
"You know what I mean."
"You won't get it, Jug." Lea tried to dismiss the topic. "He's fine, I'm fine. We've both let it go, so, for my sake, can you?"
Jughead looked as though he thought about it for a second. "Hm, nice try, but no."
Lea sighed. "Fine, whatever. I have to get back in there, anyway."
He shook his head in disapproval, but didn't comment any further on it. "I'm gonna do some more digging. I'll see you, probably Monday." He held out his fist.
She smiled, meeting his fist with hers. "See you Monday."
Then, they parted ways, into their polar opposite lives. Lea entered the busy room to the sound of Josie still singing. Jughead stalked out of the front doors and onto the darkened street, ready to come up with a plan good enough to expose their latest suspect.
august 30th, 8:23am
By the time Monday morning came around, Lea felt a newfound responsibility. This didn't involve babysitting her boyfriend, or looking for a possible murder - it was perhaps one of the simplest things in her life at the moment. Rekindling friendships - even those that maybe didn't exist beforehand.
Lea found the exact two people she wanted to speak to, talking next to a row of lockers near the front entrance of the school. In true Lea fashion, she walked over with her head held high. Although, she felt so small when the two girls turned to face her as she caught their attention. Betty and Veronica looked at the girl in surprise and anticipation.
"Hey." Lea breathed.
"Hey, Lea." Betty said softly, almost as though she was talking to an upset child.
Veronica dived straight in. "Are you okay? Where did you go the other day?"
Lea pressed her lips into a straight line. "Uh, it doesn't matter." It was time to swallow her pride. "What does matter is that you two came straight to me after you found out about... it."
Betty and Veronica shared a small look, which Lea never caught, as she was trying to look everywhere but at either of them.
"I really, really appreciate it. And I still can't believe that either of you decided to come to me, especially when I had been so awful to the both of you." Lea adjusted the strap of her bag. "That's something I wouldn't have been able to do. But, I'm gonna try and work on it. So, thank you, truly, for telling me. And, I'm sorry."
Betty jumped in straight away. "Oh, no, it's okay -"
Veronica held up her hand. "Carry on, Lea."
Lea sighed. "Veronica, I'm sorry I've been treating you like you're some sort of pariah. When I started to think about it, you've actually done... nothing, to deserve that. It was unfair. And, Betty," She looked at the girl who was everything she wanted to be. "I - I'll admit I'm a little... jealous of you."
Betty was stunned.
Lea continued. "I won't get into it because this isn't an insecurity pageant, but, from this moment forward, I'm on your side. I don't know what else I can really say, other than I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this."
It was like a massive weight had been lifted off of Lea's chest. One that she had wanted to get off for a while. There was silence between the three as she awaited the duo's response. Never in her life did Betty Cooper think she'd see Lea Lawson standing in front of her, telling her she's jealous of her. Maybe this was a good time for a fresh start. No more Betty chasing after Lea. No more Lea pushing Betty around. They'd be equals to the other - maybe even friends.
Betty smiled softly. "I'm all for starting over."
Veronica joined in. "Me too. As long as I can borrow your shoes at some point in the near, near future."
Lea was relieved, and felt her shoulders relax at their words. She started to grin. "Thanks."
Veronica changed the conversation from the sappy one they seemed to be entering. "So, you and Luke - is that over?"
Lea shrugged. "Oh, no. We're fine."
They were shocked.
Betty's brows knitted together. "What? Lea, the book -"
"We talked it through. Honestly, we're fine." Lea felt as though she was going to be doing this a lot.
Veronica sighed, unconvinced. "Okay, well. If you're sure, that you're fine with it."
"I am." Lea nodded. She weaved her way between the two and linked their arms. They walked down the hallway together. "Now, when you said you had a plan, what exactly was -"
They came to a sudden halt in the hallway when they saw Chuck coming towards them. Except, he didn't seem to be too concerned with their presence. The three girls watched as he walked forward, followed by a few members of the football team. Chuck stuck out like a sore thumb amongst them when he wasn't wearing his letterman jacket.
"Weatherbee kicked him off." Veronica said, wearing a smirk as he walked past, glancing at them. "Coach needed someone to blame. Who better than his own son?"
It was the hot topic for the moment. The playbook. Betty had told Lea about heir plans to burn it - eradicate any evidence that it ever existed. Lea agreed. There was too much pain present in that book, and besides, the team had already had its exposure. Thanks to Betty, she had exposed the footballers who took part in the scoring system by publishing it in the newly revived school newspaper, the Blue and Gold. Luckily, she had chosen a recent page, void of Luke's name. Even though, word had already gotten around the school about their fight. But again, would anyone ever dare to question Luke and Lea's antics?
"Now that we can roam the halls without fear of a judging panel," Veronica said, unlinking her arm from Lea's. "I'm off to math."
She bid the two blonde's goodbye, and they watched her turn the corner. Not a second later, did Betty's phone alert her to a message. As Betty pulled out her phone, Lea felt her own vibrate in her pocket. She pulled out her phone, noticing it was a notification from Jughead.
"I gotta go, Jughead needs me." Betty said, unlinking her arm.
"Me too." Lea furrowed her brows.
The two girls shared a look of confusion, before quickly coming to the realisation that they were both in on the case of Jason Blossom. Lea was unaware of Betty's involvement, and vice versa. So, on their free period, they walked to where Jughead had told them both to meet - the empty classroom that housed the Blue and Gold. It's safe to say the boy was surprised to see them both turn up together.
"Oh, you're together." He raised his brow in uncertainty.
"Yeah..." Lea droned off, seeing a nervous Dilton Doiley sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. "Is it statement time?" She asked Jughead.
He nodded. Soon enough, Betty, Lea and Jughead were all sat in front of Dilton Doiley, as he told them about his involvement, or lack of, on July 4th. He was training scouts. He shot the gun. He saw Cheryl at the river bank. The trio listened intently, waiting for him to slip up on his recount.
"If you publish a story saying I fired that gun," Doiley looked at them, panic evident on his face. "my life will be ruined. I'll be banished from the Adventure Scouts and charged with a misdemeanour."
Lea narrowed her eyes at him. "Dilton you have a gun. One that you're clearly comfortable with shooting. You were willing to train the rest of your scouts how to do the same. Why would we not tell someone about this?"
"Because you don't know what I know." He said.
The three looked at him in confusion.
"If I tell you what I know, promise me the gunshot stays between us."
Jughead and Lea were clearly apprehensive of the situation. At this current moment, police were trying to draw a clear link between whoever shot the gun on July 4th and Jason's death. They had the information they needed, and he was right in front of them. It was a hard bargain. But, Betty, noticing that it was the best they were going to get, smiled kindly at Dilton.
"You have our word." She said, leaning forward. "As journalists."
Lea raised her brow at the word journalist. She thought back to all the times she had struggled to simply write the date in her notebooks when she was younger, wondering if that qualified as journalism...
Dilton looked between them all, searching for any signs of betrayal. He sighed. "I saw something at Sweetwater River. Something nobody else saw. Ms. Grundy's car, by the river's edge. She was there."
Lea and Betty furrowed their brows in a similar way, turning to glance at each other. Grundy's car? Jughead's shoulders seem to slump forward and he hung his head low, staring at the floor.
"I promise you, that's all I know." Doiley said, thinking they were looking for more information.
"Did you see Grundy herself?" Lea asked, to which Dilton shook his head. She sighed before saying the right words to calm his fears. "Your secret is safe with us, Doiley."
Dilton seemed to visibly relax, and was eager to get out of the hot seat he had found himself in. "Great. Can I go now? I'm missing first period."
They let him go, and the room was left in a thoughtful silence the moment he walked out of the door.
"Grundy's car?" Lea questioned again, this time aloud. "Out of all of the teachers - someone like Coach Clayton, I'd understand. But a music teacher?" She rose from her seat.
Betty made a noise of agreement. "And if he never actually saw her, that means she could've been off doing God knows what."
Even though she wasn't fully convinced, Lea entertained the idea. "Does Ms. Grundy have a violent past?"
"She hasn't been here too long, maybe a year? I don't take music so I don't know too much about her." Betty shrugged.
Lea hummed, glancing at Jughead. He remained in the same position as when Dilton left, looking at the floor in deep thought.
"You're being awfully quiet." She pointed out. Betty looked at him too.
Jughead sighed, then looked up. "I think I know why she was there."
Lea looked at him expectantly. "Well, go on."
He stood up from his position at the edge of the desk. "A couple weeks ago... Archie told me about him and Ms. Grundy. They were both at the river on July 4th."
Lea's mouth dropped open.
"I told him to tell someone - I think he told Weatherbee or Sheriff Keller that only he was at the river that morning. He confirmed the gunshot. But, apparently they've been seeing each other all summer."
Betty looked like she was somewhere between confused, angry, and sick. Lea was just confused.
"So, what you're saying is... not only is Grundy a possible murderer, she's also a predator?" Lea scoffed.
Jughead sighed. "Plainly put, yeah."
Lea shook her head, muttering something about Archie being an idiot, before running her hands through her hair. She didn't intend to get this far into the mystery of Jason's death - hell, she thought the police would've found who they needed to by now. But at this rate, this was going to drag on for a long, long time.