The next thing Corey felt with cold against her face. She was leaned over the sink in the small employee bathroom, her face half submerged in ice cold water, her face being held back by Deb. When Deb pulled her back up, Corey stared blankly at her pale face in the little mirror, while Betty dabbed her with a clean washcloth.
"So I guess nobody has it all together," Deb said sadly, staring at Corey's face while Betty cleaned it. "I feel like I should welcome you to the neighborhood or something," she finished with an eye roll and a slight head shake. A tiny smile quirked up on the edges of Corey's lips at that, and even Betty formed a bright smile at the words.
"So anyway, did you really imagine that your first time would be in the store room with Archie Andrews?" Deb asked in a curious tone, as Betty finished dabbing Corey's face. "Pumping against the safe? Among the boxes of receipts and extra labels? Oh Archie, you're sooo sexy!" Deb mimicked in a teasing voice, which got chuckles from both Betty and Corey.
Corey's covered her face briefly to end her laughter, looking up to give Deb a curious glance. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Corey asked, tilting her head to the left.
Deb pushed off the wall and gave Corey a knowing stare. "Let's save the Hallmark moment," she quipped, winking at her and Betty before exiting the bathroom, leaving the girls to roll their eyes at her usual quirkiness.
In the back room, which had cleared out after the fight and the meltdown, Mark sat on the table eating his brownies. Gwar's "Sadam A-Go-Go" music video was playing on television, and Mark was riveted. He was shaking his head vigorously, in between bites of brownie, eyes glued to the television.
To his left, on the couch, sat Jughead, cross legged with his laptop open. Jughead was hunched over the types, eyes low and locked on Mark. Every once in a while, Jughead would look down and type intently, writing Mark's experience right onto the pages.
"Hey Mark!" the lead singer yelled at him, startling Mark so much he nearly choked on the brownie. "Why don't you join the band?" he yelled at Mark. Stunned, Mark blinked rapidly and looked over to Jughead for confirmation, but Jughead was busy writing. Looking back at the screen, Mark saw himself playing guitar amongst the costume wearing band members in the video, a big smile on his face, and having the time of his life.
"You're really good at guitar, Mark," he yelled again. "Too bad, you have to die!" Suddenly Mark was pulled from his feet and deposited into the mouth of a large, green monster who had appeared behind him on stage, while the rest of the band cheered.
Back on the table, Mark's smile dropped and his jaw shut quickly. Mark closed his eyes, before opening them slowly, avoiding looking at his death. Next to him, Jughead was grinning devilishly, very aware he was witnessing something special, her fingers flying across the keys.
Mark looked back at the screen, to see himself continue being eaten and giggled once again. He bit into another brownie and continued watching the television as though nothing had happened.
Back in his office, Joe was on the phone on hold, when there was a knock on his office door, which was open. He looked up and met the eyes of Veronica Lodge, as she shot him a smile. "You need a new night manager?" she teased. "What are you doing later?" she asked, obviously hitting on him.
Joe sighed but provided a gentle smile. "Either jail or hell, I can't decide," he answered honesty.
"Well, whatever you're doing, you want to have dinner with me first?" Veronica quipped, looking at Joe knowingly.
"Sure," Joe answered, not looking away from her, as he dropped the phone.
A.J. sat dejectedly at the top of the staircase in the back room, which led up to the rooftop. He didn't look up when he heard boots behind him, of the swish of leather as the person sat down on the step just above him.
"Hey A.J., do you know where Harvard is?" Jughead asked, inquisitively.
A.J. sighed deeply, not in the mood to talk. "It's near Boston," he muttered.
"No, it's on another planet, man. Completely unlike the world we know, right now," Jughead spoke adamantly. "It's filled with stuffy intellectuals, horrible accents, and guys who could outsmart you with words at every corner," Jughead continued, leaning in.
"That's why you need to make things right with Corey now, man. Or she will be gone forever and you will never know," Jughead spoke intently.
"Yeah, what do you know about it?" A.J. asked in a bored tone. Jughead sighed and quickly decided not to launch into the long version of the story.
"Betty has been in love with Archie Andrews for years. One day, after being her friends all her life, I climbed in her bedroom window and I kissed her," Jughead spoke in a light tone, happiness filling his features at the memory. "I never told her my speech about being in love with her my whole life, I just kissed her," he paused to take a breath. "And that was everything." He finished with a proud tone.
A.J. sat as still as a statue on the stairs, and without looking back at Jughead he got up and walked away.
Meanwhile, at the drawing table in the back room, Betty, Corey and Lucas sat with their heads together, drawing on some pieces of black paper. Corey smoothed out the paper and folded it like a card. Betty quickly uncapped a silver marker and slide the card over in front of her to draw a gravestone, complete with some flowers.
Betty passed the marker back to Corey, who wrote "RIP DEB" on the headstone with a focused look in her eye.
"A funeral?" Lucas quipped with a slight tone of interest, crossing his arms and leaning in to see the card better. "Is Debra not with us anymore?" he asked in a curious tone.
"If Deb wants to die, let's show her what a real funeral would be like," Corey stated evenly.
"Let's get planning!" Betty quipped in excited, leaving the other two to continue staring at the card.
Later, Corey adjusted the makeshift cross on the table and light the extra white candles in the store room to set the mood. Betty was busy laying out a white sheet with a comfortable pillow for Deb's head.
After they were done, everyone trickled into the room, Corey having convinced Deb to lay on the table and pretend to be dead. Corey stood at the head, standing over Deb, with Lucas, Betty, Jughead, Eric, Joe and Birko standing in a circle around the table.
"We're gathered here today to pay our last respects to Debra. She left us and never said why. But I'm really going to miss her," Corey spoke first, a sincere tone lacing her words as Deb tried to keep her eyes closed.
"Dog shit," Deb spoke quickly, not opening her eyes.
"Hey, dead people aren't supposed to talk," Betty said gently.
"Deb, I just-, I just want you to stay," Birko spoke softly, his voice hesitant, the vulnerability in his voice sounding foreign to his ears. Deb opened her eyes and rolled them visibly, rather annoyed.
"Well is it better to know, or not to know?" A.J. spoke cryptically, Jughead smothering his smirk at A.J.'s question with his hand over his mouth. "See, I want to go to art school, but I'm afraid," A.J. continued honestly, his mind still on Jughead's words.
"Uh, I hate this funeral," Deb sighed out, more to herself than everyone else.
Back out on the floor, Mark was swamped with customers on the main floor, struggling to keep up with the volume of customers, and answering the constantly ringing phone. Fed up and feeling the pressure from the angry waiting customers, he hit the intercom button and his plea for help was heard throughout the store. A.J. sighed and offered to go help him out.
"I really miss Gina," Corey offered in the silence of A.J.'s departure.
"Aren't we supposed to be talking about me?" Deb quipped sarcastically, looking up at her with a glare.
"I just can't stop thinking about her. She's just so full of life, and she's not afraid to be herself, and I wish I could be like that," Corey continued, not realizing Gina had edged into the room.
Gina walked fully into the space, coming to stand next to Corey. "You're not like me. You're getting out of here," Gina explained confidently. "I want to sing in a band, but I don't have the guts, you know?" she continued. "I should. I know if I don't do something I'll end up like my mother and be stuck here," she finished quietly.
"You'll never be like your mother if you don't want to me like your mother," Corey nearly whispered in response. "You'll be fine," she finished, shooting Gina a small smile.
"That is so sweet I'm going to barf," Deb announced flatly, trying to get up but Betty and Corey pushed her back down.
Lucas cleared his throat, "I wet my bed until I was 10," he spoke clearly. "My mom also gave me up when I was 10. Three years later, Joe came. And he took me in and I became the person I am today," he finished proudly, looking over at Joe, and then to Veronica who was hovering by the door.
Deb had finally had enough. "Look, I tried to kill myself," she revealed quietly, showing the scars on her wrist to everyone, although Jughead was the only one who visibly stiffened. Betty grabbed his hand under the table and stroked it reassuringly. "I used a pink plastic razors with daisies on it. It took me forever just to get through my skin," she explained, her eyes more shocked than annoyed. "I was just really tired of being invisible," Deb whispered, not making eye contact.
"We love you Debra," Corey replied, kissing the top of her forehead. After a few beats of silence, Deb sighed again.
"This funeral sucked, by the way," Deb snarked, trying to lighten the mood as always.
"Be glad it's not real because you weren't even talked about but once," Jughead spoke in a dry tone. Deb laughed audibly and got up from the table, leaving the funeral in much better spirits than she expected.