Chapter 32: Monster In The Night!
*Aria's POV*
It was another day in Riverdale, nearing the end of July, and it was a bright, warm, sunny day. I was working at the Chock'lit Shoppe and, let me tell ya, it's busy today. I have a date with Dilton but with how busy it is today I might have to work extra hours to help out meaning I'd have to reschedule. Either way it was super busy here. I skated over to a booth and started cleaning it.
"Aria!" I heard a young voice as I looked over and nearly fell over from the sudden hug.
"Wah!" I yelped out as I tossed the tray of plates and cups onto the table and barely caught myself as I looked down at Clarice, Collin's younger sister, as she hugged me tightly.
"Hi Clarice." I greeted her as I patted her head. I didn't know Pops saw this little event.
"I miss you! I don't get to see you much!" She told me as she then looked up at me with a wide smile.
"Clarice!" I heard Betty's voice before suddenly
"Aria!" I heard two more voices before ending up on the ground.
"Eek!" I screeched as I fell over. Luke and Duke had ran at us full force and knocked all of us over.
"Hi boys." I greeted as I looked at the ceiling.
"We miss you!" Luke shouted out.
"Yeah! You don't see us much anymore!" Duke pouted out loudly as I just laid there.
"Luke, Duke, Clarice! Aria's working right now so please don't bother her." I heard an all to familiar voice as the kids got off me.
"Thanks Betty." I groaned out as she helped me up.
"Let me finish cleaning up." I told her as I picked up the tray and re-cleaned the table before seating them.
"Drinks?" I asked as they told me what I wanted. I then skated off to drop the dishes off and give them they're drinks.
"I'll be back in 5." I said as I skated over to the other tables and cleaned them up, got refills, and managed to get back to them quickly.
"Alright. What would you like?" I asked as I took in a few deep breaths.
"Wow, this place is busy today." Clarice gasped out.
"Yeah." I muttered out. I got their orders and went over to Pops to let him know. Once they got their food the place calmed down a bit. I looked over at the clock and smiled.
"Pops, Jughead should be here shortly." I told him as he smiled at me.
"Those kids sure do love you, huh?" He asked me as I looked over at all three of the kids Betty was watching.
"Yeah." I said gently. I then looked at Pops.
"Hey Pops, can you get me three small sundaes? As my treat?" I asked him as he smiled.
"Sure thing." He told me as I then noticed Jughead walking outside. I greeted him at the door with a hug and sat him down.
"How are you Jughead?" I asked him.
"I'm fine. How's your day so far?" He asked me.
"Busy but good. Anyways I'll get your food. Milkshake?" I asked him as he nodded.
"Yes. A-"
"chocolate with extra whipped cream with a cherry and a vanilla with extra whipped cream and cherry for after the first round but before the second round and save the strawberry one with extra whipped cream and a cherry for after the food." I said, interrupting him, as I jotted it all down. I was met with silence so I looked up a him. He looked stunned.
"If your not careful, your face'll freeze." I joked as he just looked at me.
"Jughead, you come in here every day. I think I know your daily routine and what you tend to get every day by now." I told him as he shook his head.
"It's not that. It's just I never knew you actually paid attention to what I order every day!" He exasperated as I giggled.
"Your my boyfriend, I'm supposed to try and remember these things silly." I said with a smile.
"I'll be back in a few." I told him as I skated off. I gave Pops Jughead's order and took the sundaes over to the kids.
"Oh wow!" The three said in unison as they soon started digging in.
"Don't worry, it's on me." I told Betty as I gave her the bill and skated off. After cleaning, serving Jughead his food, Betty and the kids thanking me and all that I was tired. Jughead was almost done as I sat at the bar.
"Well I think you've earned your break." Pops told me with a smile as he handed me a drink.
"Thanks Pops. I'm just glad you didn't have to do this alone." I told him before I gulped down some of my drink. Pops went into the back as I relaxed a bit. That changed quickly.
"Hey babe." I heard as my good mood suddenly turned sour.
*No!~ Why!~ Why~ can't he just leave me alone!~* I thought to myself as I felt him put his arm around my shoulders.
"I didn't know you worked here. Maybe you can buy and serve me some food now." He told me as I took his arm off me and pushed him away.
"Go away. Leave me alone already!" I scolded him.
"You know better babe." He told me as I glared at him.
"I was having a good day until you showed up. Do you not understand that, not only I hate you, but you make me sick?" I asked him as he scowled.
"Your mine so you should-" He started but I cut him off.
"No you listen. I'm not yours, I'll never be yours, I hate you and that's saying a lot since I don't hate anyone, your sleazy, abusive, obnoxious, primeval, sickening, short tempered, thieving bully!" I said to him. He grabbed my wrist and my face as he pulled me a bit closer to him.
"You really need to learn when to shut up." He told me as he got close to my face.
"Hey! Let my girlfriend go!" Jughead shouted as he ripped Vinnie away from me.
"Watch it weirdo." Vinnie scolded him.
"Then stop harassing my girlfriend." Jughead said with anger in his voice. I don't usually see Jughead get angry so this was new to me in a way.
"Then she needs to serve me food." Vinnie suddenly said like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"She's on break and you won't pay either way you freeloader." Jughead told him.
"Look who's talking!" Vinnie yelled at him.
"Well hey now, what's going on?" Pops suddenly asked as he appeared.
"You waitress won't serve me." Vinnie told him bluntly.
"He's harassing her and I don't like it!" Jughead scolded out as Vinnie glared at him.
"Well she's on break and if you are harassing her then I need you to stop or leave." Pops told him as he tried to resolve this peacefully. Problem was, with Vinnie Wells around, things wouldn't end peacefully. Usually. Lucky for me he went and sat down at a booth while Pops took his order.
"Thanks Jughead." I said with a smile as he came over to me to see if I was bruised.
"No problem." He said. Once he saw no bruises he kissed me on the cheek. My work day soon ended and Jughead waited for me.
"Hey there's an action monster movie playing tonight. Wanna go?" He asked me.
"Jughead, you know this is Dilton's night with me." I told him as he smiled and looked at me.
"Doesn't mean I can't try to woo you away from him." He told me as I lightly shook my head.
"Nice try Jughead. Archie will go with you though. He's been wanting to see it and Betty and Veronica won't go with him." I told him to comfort him.
"Alright. But he's not you." Jughead pouted as I giggled.
"I'm glad. I don't want you kissing him instead of me." I joked as we rounded a corner. He then pulled my close to him and kissed me on the lips.
"Mmm?" I muffled out in shock before I wrapped my arms lightly around his neck and kissed back. After a minute or two he pulled back.
"Like that?" He told me as I blushed furiously.
"Yeah." I muttered out. Man he's good. He was nice enough to walk me home and when I got there Archie walked outside.
"Hey, you're home." Archie said to me.
"Yeah, Jughead walked me home." I said as Jughead pulled me close to him.
"Vinnie started up again. I wasn't going to let her go home alone." Jughead pointed out while he held me protectively.
"Well glad you're back. Allegro's been waiting for you." Archie said as I awed. I kissed Jughead and said goodbye and than you as I went inside. As soon as I walked in I got jumped by Allegro and covered in kissed.
"Gah! Allegro! I love you too but down boy!" I said loudly as he then got off me. I was still in my uniform as I was now covered in dog hair.
"Guess I need to wash it now." I muttered as I looked at Allegro. He was laying down and looking up at me with big puppy eyes. Dang it how could I be mad?
"It's alright. Let's go boy." I said as he bounced right up and followed me upstairs. I got dressed and ran downstairs. Archie was getting his car back tomorrow morning. Why so soon? The auto shop was smart enough to realize Archie's car keeps getting wrecked so they kept all the parts in stock and quickly rebuilt it. I'd say lucky Archie except his allowance was cut. Normally he'd still be grounded but Uncle Fred lightened up this time. I paid for the garage door so my grounding was only two days. Lucky me. I counted my tips, $40, and put the half of it away and put the other half in my pocket. I quickly got in the shower before I got dressed in the outfit I first arrived in, called original, and did the usual make up, boots, gloves, purple earrings, and started to head downstairs.
"Allegro. Time for walkies! Where's your leash?" I talked to Allegro and asked him as he ran to grab his leash and met me at the end of the stairs.
"Good boy." I told him as I decided against skates today.
"You've been doing a good job with him." I heard Uncle Fred say as Allegro showed a smile to him.
"Yeah. He listens well to me." I said as I rubbed Allegro's head.
"Just be careful today alright." He told me as I nodded my head.
"Not a problem." I said with a smile as I then headed out the door. After our walk I brought Allegro home and left to go to Dilton's for our date. I made it to his house and rang the bell. I saw an older gentleman answer the door. To be honest, he looked like a mid 40's Dilton of sorts.
"May I help you?" He suddenly asked me.
"Hi. My name's Aria Andrews. Is Dilton home?" I introduced myself and then asked about Dilton.
"Oh? You're Aria?" He asked me curiously as I gently nodded my head.
"Yes sir." I said politely.
"So you are dating my son?" He asked me seriously.
"Yes sir." I said as I started to get worried.
"And I've heard you're also dating Jughead Jones. Is that true as well?" He asked me in a serious tone. Yup. I'm worried now. I swallowed hard as I decided I had enough and would try to brave out my explanation.
"It's true. It's just hard to choose between two wonderful guys. Both know of each other and accept this. I don't expect to choose until further down the road but, as long as Dilton cares for me as well as Jughead then, in the end I'll care for them no matter the outcome." I told him as I tried to swallow down my fear, doubt and worry. He was just looking at me sternly as I tried to stand my ground.
"Well he has been happier since you first arrived in town." He confessed as he sighed in frustration.
"I'm just looking out for my son. Wouldn't your father be the same way?" He suddenly asked me as my eyes grew wide. My father would care less and would most likely let mom beat me black and blue. Heck, he might even join in. I lightly shook my head no.
"I wouldn't know. My uncle knows about this though. He trusts the three of us." I told him in honesty. He then looked at me skeptically.
"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" He asked me before Dilton showed up.
"Dad, it's fine. She's a nice person. She's not like most of the other girls at school, she doesn't use me for good grades." He explained to his father. His dad sighed and opened the door all the way.
"If you're sure." His dad said as Dilton smiled.
"I'll be back soon." Dilton told him as his dad lightly smiled. Dilton grabbed my hand and started to guide me away.
"It was nice to meet you Mr. Doiley." I said kindly with a small smile as I noticed he frowned again. Once we left I sighed and looked at Dilton.
"I don't think your dad likes me very much." I said as I looked down at the ground.
"He's a little old fashion. He also knows that the girls at school take advantage of me being smart. I talk highly of you a lot but when I mentioned the relationship he didn't like it much." Dilton confessed as I looked down. I was then pulled close to him as he kissed my cheek. I lightly eeped as I looked at him.
"Don't think that he sees you as a 'slut' or anything like that. I know you're kind and sweet. I know the real you and he'll see that soon enough." He told me, comforting me, as I smiled lightly.
"I'm sure you're right. Thanks." I told him as I kissed his cheek. We went off to the lab, where he surprised me with a secret romantic dinner but using the Bunsen burners instead of candles, as we talked about many things. He was talking about a few inventions he was stuck on and I offered to help. Somehow we ended up working on the projects until late at night.
"Oh shoot! My curfew! Oh Uncle Fred's gonna ground me again!" I shouted as Dilton shot up quickly.
"Then we need to get you home fast." He told me as we started heading down the way to our houses.
"Let's get you home 1st. I can defend myself." I told him. He was about to argue when I took him by the hand and ran down the road to his house. I dropped him off at his house and kissed his cheek and was soon on my way home. I then heard a car horn honk.
"Aria!" I heard Betty shout as I stopped and looked at her. She was driving her parent's car, probably done babysitting or running an errand for them, as she looked at me.
"You heading home?" She asked me.
"Yeah. Running late." I told her.
"Hop in. I'm heading home and we are neighbors." She told me as I smiled brightly.
"Thanks Betty!" I said ecstatically as I hopped in the car quickly.
"So why are you running late?" She asked me as I blushed lightly and explained my date with Dilton.
"Aw.~ That's sweet." She commented as she pulled up to her driveway.
"Thanks again for the ride Betty." I thanked her again as she smiled at me.
"No problem." She told me as I jogged to the front door and got inside. As soon as I opened the door Allegro jumped on me.
"Ack!" I shrieked out as I fell and hit my head on the floor. Allegro was hopping all over the place, including on me, as he kept licking my face.
"Aria, you okay?" I heard Aunt Mary ask as she then saw me on the ground.
"I'm fine. Just hit my head is all." I said to her as I sat up, only to have Allegro sit on my lap and rub himself against me as he continued licking my face.
"I love you too, you clingy overactive baby." I said as he looked at me with those light blue puppy eyes.
"You need to teach him to stop jumping on you deary. You're going to get seriously hurt one of these days." She told me as I sighed.
"Allegro! Off!" I said sternly as he then scrunched up and crawled off me.
"Stop jumping. I'm not mad but jumping on me when I walk in needs to stop." I told him as he laid dawn and did the puppy eyes again.
"I guess that's his secret weapon." My aunt said as we chuckled a bit.
"Where's Archie?" I asked her.
"He's upstairs. He said something about being chased by a monster." She said as I then bolted up the stairs.
"Thanks Aunt Mary!" I shouted as I made it to Archie's room, with Allegro following me, and looked at Archie.
"Archie! You okay? Are you hurt? What happened? What kind of monster was it? Is Jughead hurt?" I asked these questions quickly as I then clung onto him and shook him repeatedly.
"Tell me tell me tell me!" I nearly shouted as Archie got dizzy.
"Alright alright! We're both fine! I won't be if you keep this up!" He shouted as I let go of him. He held his hand with one hand and, in fact, looked dizzy as I blushed lightly and got nervous.
"Sorry." I muttered out. Archie soon explained all of this to me as we decided to, after getting his car, tell the gang when we meet at Pop's tomorrow. I had to work a bit but they would meet around the end of my shift.
*Next day Aria's POV*
I was finishing up my shift as the gang, minus Veronica, sat there and chatted.
"I can't believe this! This should be page one news and it doesn't even get a lousy mention." I heard Archie yell out as I shook my head lightly and brought them their drinks.
"Well of course it won't get mentioned. People around here are getting tired of the weirdness. Plus, as far as I know, only you and Jughead saw the monster." I pointed out as Archie gave me a grumpy look.
"News flash! The world does not revolve around Archie Andrews and his over active imagination." Reggie teased while using his hands to make it look like he's looking at a camera screen.
"Reggie! Stop teasing him! I'm sure he didn't make this up." I told Reggie in a scolding manner.
"You only believe me because Jughead confirmed it." Archie pouted as I shrugged.
"Wouldn't matter either way. After all we've seen most things are believable if any of us saw them." I said as I skated off to get there food. Jughead already had his so I needed to get the gangs and Jughead's seconds. I came back to see Archie on the table.
"I'll prove I'm right about this monster, and everyone will know my name as 'The Boy Who Saved Riverdale'!" He nearly shouted in glory.
"Archibald Andrews!" I shouted as he shrunk and gulped. I skated over to him.
"First off Aunt Mary raised you not to stand on the table! Second you know better than that! Third I'm the one cleaning the tables so get down before Pops kicks you out! It's going to take me longer to clean the table now!" I shouted at him. Honestly, he knew better.
"Hehehe." He chuckled nervously as he slowly got down from the table. I just started at him while holding two trays of food. If I could I'd have my arms crossed.
"Sorry?" He said in a form of a question.
"Don't you say sorry in a form of a question." I said. I don't know why I went motherly of sorts but I kinda did. Reggie then started laughing.
"Boy did she make you look like a fool." Reggie said as he laughed.
"You shouldn't be talking. You're no better." I said as I put Jughead's new tray of food over his empty one, right in front of him, as I pulled out a cloth and cleaned the table quickly before setting the food down in front of them all.
"Thanks sweetie." Jughead suddenly said as I smiled at him.
"No problem." I said as I kissed his cheek and then skated off to finish my work. After another 30 minutes the bill was paid, I was off work, Reggie left, and now the four of us were on our way home to look through all the papers Archie had in the garage and look on the Internet for clues. Archie and I used our computers to search for legends while Betty and Jughead looked through the papers to see in anything could link to this beast or monster of whatever the boys saw.
"I really appreciate you helping us out Betty." Archie said to her. She didn't have to but she was.
"Anything for our local community crusader." She said.
"Thank Aria as well. She didn't have to do this with us and is." Jughead pointed out.
"It's okay. Unlike Archie, I don't really need nor deserve credit for it. It just peaked my interest. Also I'm gonna kick that monster's butt for scaring my boyfriend." I said, adding in the last part for my personal reason, as Jughead gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I don't eep as much when it happens except when unexpected.
"Yes and thank you too Aria." Betty added in as Allegro came upstairs and laid down next to me. I scratched his ears while continuing my search.
"Any luck on the internet research you two?" Betty asked us. Archie sighed.
"No. There haven't been any useful monster information. No similar monster sightings, local legends, nothing." Archie said as he continued typing away.
"I haven't found much either. Ghouls aren't like what you two described, we're too far north for chupacabra, and you two would be dead if it was a windigo." I pointed out as I closed my laptop and sighed. Normally I'd say Archie imagined it but Jughead saw it too. He had no reason to lie to me about the creature. He'd tell me if Archie did this for attention or not, unless he didn't know either.
"Hey alright!" I heard Jughead say as I looked at him.
"Did you find something?" Archie asked.
"You bet." He said as he tore off a piece of the paper.
"A two for one game coupon for the local arcade! I know what we're doing for date night!" Jughead showed us the coupon before aiming the last sentence towards me. I awed. What? He might be saving money but at least he was taking me out. Also a change of pace from the movies. Archie sighed while going over to his bed.
"Aw forget it." He moped as he just stood in front of his bed.
"We didn't find any clues in the ally, And there appears to be no record of any other sightings." He said sadly as he turned and sat down on his bed, fists on cheeks, just looking disappointed. I felt bad but most monster cases usually ended like this.
"Unless that monster shows up again, we've got nothing." He said. Betty sat next to me and opened up the paper.
"Maybe not. Look." Betty said as Jughead and I looked at her and then the paper.
"New bottling company will boost up economy in Riverdale." Jughead read out. Huh?
"No below that, in the goofy news section. Local man, Louis Stevenson, kicked out of health club after making a scene, claiming to be a monster." Betty said as she put the paper down.
"Sounds like a crank." Jughead said as I thought about it.
"But it's the only lead we have. It's not uncommon for people to turn into monsters." I said as we remembered the werewolf incident and Veronica becoming large.
"She's right. I think Betty found us a hot lead." Archie said as I stretched. I put my laptop next to Archie's and looked at them.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said in an enthusiastic way as we began to leave. Allegro licked my hand and I rubbed his head before we left to see Mr. Stevenson. We arrived and rang the doorbell. When he answered Archie explained why we were there and he immediately let us in to start interviewing him. All I could say was he was a total health nut.
"You can not believe how much it means to finally have someone believe me. Not just sit there and stare at me like I'm nuts." He said while jogging in place and lifting dumbbells. I was trying hard not to look at him like he's nuts. He's like what 80? Why is he doing this to himself? Too much exercise and not enough food.
"Um, we can do this later when your work out is finished if you like?" I questioned him. I hope he doesn't do this all the time.
"Oh nonsense. I never finish working out." He said as he started to jog in circles. My jaw nearly dropped. Yup. He's nuts. He then stopped and put the dumbbells down and reached for a yellow bottle to drink.
"If you ask me, all is an exercise in health. Care for a bottle of Zoom?" He asked as he showed us the bottle.
"Zoom?" Betty asked as she voiced my thoughts.
"An energy drink. Helps keep you going." He told us simply.
"Not allowed too. I get insanely hyper when I drink coffee or energy drinks." I said simply.
"Uh no thanks. We're fine." Betty said as he put the bottle down.
"So back to the monster bit. Why do you think you're turning into a primal beast?" Archie asked him. I was curious about that.
"I don't know. At first I had no memory, no control." He said as he walked over to us and sat in front of us before continuing.
"But now I'm starting to remember who I am when I become the monster. Last night I looked in the mirror and recognized the horror I had become." He said as I gasped in shock.
"I think it's a government conspiracy or even aliens performing experiments on me." He said as I tried not to laugh.
"I doubt it's aliens. Government maybe." I said as I held back more laughter.
"Aliens?" Jughead asked him.
"Oh yes. Since I'm in such great shape, I'd be the perfect specimen." He said proudly as I nearly lost it.
*Keep calm. Don't laugh.* I thought as I took a couple deep breaths. We asked a few more questions like if he had ran into two teens last night. He couldn't fully remember and our interview was over. We thanked him and left. Once in the car and drove off I busted out into laughter.
"Alien experiment? Bwahahaha. That's hilarious! Perfect specimen? I can't stop!" I shouted out and laughed super hard.
"Aria! That's not nice!" Betty scolded me.
"At least she held back when we were there." Archie said as I doubled over in a fit of laughter and pain.
"We'd have better luck at the mall." I said after calming down a bit.
"Great idea! We can go on our date!" Jughead said as I smiled. Archie sighed but agreed. Now at the mall we just walked inside. Archie was sulking while the four of us wondered around a bit to get to the arcade area. Archie sighed.
"So much for the boy who saved Riverdale. That monster is still out there and my hottest lead turns out to be a dead end." Archie said as he was filled with disappointment.
"No kidding. That guy was two nuts in one shell. A health nut and just a plain nutty nut." Jughead said as I started laughing.
"Not again! I'm gonna laugh to death." I said through small fits of laughter. "That's not nice." Betty scolded as I tried to stop.
"Can't help it." I said as I took in a huge gasp of air and finally calmed down.
"I wonder how I can make you laugh like that more often." Jughead said as I took a couple more deep breathes.
"It's not easy to make her go into a laughing fit like that." Archie commented.
"That's true." I agreed.
"Anyways Aria and I are gonna hit the arcade." Jughead said as he pulled me close to him.
"I've still got tickets from the last time and I plan on using them." I said as I held my bag close to me. In reality I never really leave without my bag. I don't like purses and it's my lucky bag.
"I'm going to sit down for a bit." Archie stated as Betty lightly huffed. I just shrugged and walked with Jughead to the arcade. When we went into the arcade we immediately started playing some games. I earned a few tickets and was getting closer to the prize I wanted. It was a big one so it cost a lot more. After that Jughead and I played a two player racing game. He was winning.
"Oh no you don't!" I said with a determined smile.
"Aw yeah!~ I'm winning! You can't pass me! You can't pass me! Yo can't pa-you passed me. You passed me?! How did you pass me?!" Jughead had been cheering and chanting until I found a speed boost and passed him. I lightly laughed as I gained another speed boost.
"Aw yeah!" I said as I got close to the finish line. So close!
"Jughead! Aria!" I heard Betty say. I ignored her.
"Hey! I'm playing a game here!" I heard Jughead say before he crashed. Right when I was about to win.
"Come on!" I heard Betty scold before I was yanked away and my car crashed.
"No!~ I was winning!~ Why!~" I whined as she dragged the both of us out of the arcade.
"Betty! This better be good!" I said in a huff. She turned us around and looked at us.
"Where's Archie?" She asked us.
"I don't know." Jughead said to her.
"He said he was going to sit down. Why?" I asked her. Suddenly a woman in a green skirt suit and brown hair in an up do ran past the arcade entrance in a hurry.
"Monster!~" She screamed in fright.
"Monster?" I questioned.
"The monster! We've gotta find Archie!" Jughead exclaimed as we started running the opposite way the people were going. We went to where Archie was sitting but he wasn't there. Jughead figured he was already following the monster so we decided to try and help anyway we could. We saw Archie's back go through the door leading to the emergency stairs as we soon followed. I bolted as fast as I could down the steps as I saw my cousin laying on the ground, unconscious.
"Archie!" I shrieked as I got to him and checked on him.
"Archie! Speak to me! Wake up!" I shouted loudly as Betty and Jughead made it to us. Archie then came to.
"What am I doing in the stairwell?" He mumbled lightly.
"Oh thank goodness, you had me worried." I said as I hugged min close to me.
"You got to be more careful Archie. You must've got knocked out while chasing the monster." Betty said to him. I pulled away from him and saw his shirt was ripped. I began checking him for injuries.
"I guess. Um, Aria, what are you doing?" He asked me.
"Your shirt's ripped. I'm seeing if you got hurt anywhere else. It doesn't look like it. That's good." I told him as I muttered the last two sentences. I helped him up when I noticed he had a bottle of Zoom on him. We decided to take him to the car. On the way out, as Jughead took over letting Archie lean on him, I took one of the free samples of Zoom. Could it have something to do with the monster? Maybe. Since it was still early and the paper was running late today that means the paper would be out later in the afternoon to evening. That also means the monster story would be out then. Maybe. Once we got to the car Archie insisted he was fine. I had thought about the monster, what the health nut said, and this Zoom stuff. He said he had no memory, like Archie just experienced, and he, too, had a bottle of Zoom like Archie did. Could there be a connection? Then why aren't more people affected. I had so many thoughts run through my head at that moment. We headed back to the house, after dropping Jughead at Pop's, as the three of us went inside. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred weren't home right now so Betty decided to make sure Archie was fine. I had to see Dilton about this.
"I need to walk Allegro." I said suddenly as I grabbed my skates. Allegro heard me say that and grabbed his leash immediately. I smiled and rubbed his head.
"Good boy." I told him as I latched it on.
"I'll meet up with you two later." I yelled out as I ran out the door. I put my skates on and we were off quickly. I told Allegro to go to the school and we both headed there. He remembered where it was. On the way I decided to drink some Zoom so if it did affect me then Dilton would see me transform and figure it out. We made it there as I took my skates off and ran into the building. Just as I thought. He's in the lab.
"Dilton!" I said loudly.
"Ah!" He shouted out in a fright.
"Aria?" He questioned me as I ran up to him.
"I need help." I told him as I explained everything. I felt a huge burst of energy. Dilton was testing as I was getting the jitters. I didn't transform but now I was hyper beyond all reason.
"Aria. Can you sit still for 5 minutes?" He asked me a bit annoyed.
"I'm sorry. It'sJustSoHardToSitStillWhenIFeelExcitedAndHyperAndSoMuchMore!" I said quickly as I started bouncing around. Literally. I know I was getting annoying but that's what happens when I drink energy drinks. I presume coffee would do the same thing, since it did once when I was smaller, and yet soda and a certain amount of sugar didn't.
"Why did you drink it if this was the result?" He asked me.
"Well IthoughtItWould, What's the word, morph me into TheMonsterSortToSpeak." I said as I was speaking quickly.
"MaybeIShouldGetThePaperQuickly." I said as I started to dash off.
"Stay Allegro!" I shouted as I darted off to the nearest metal news stand holder thing and found today's paper. I saw an article about two monsters. Wait two? The one at the mall and at the health club at the same time. So health nut was one. Does that mean Archie could be another? The Zoom! Uh oh. I dashed back to the lab. I showed Dilton the paper and explained how both of them had the Zoom. He told me about the small mutated side affect that affects certain genes and how, even though Archie and I are cousins, it didn't affect me.
"But why exactly?" I asked him.
"Perhaps your female genetics cancel it out." Dilton told me as I looked at him. I was now calmed down from the rush.
"So, basically, because I'm a female the Zoom has an even more rare side affect than with males?" I asked to confirm.
"Yes, that's correct." He confirmed.
"Interesting." I mumbled out. I then thought about it.
"I have to find Archie! I have to warn him." I said as I hugged Dilton and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you so~ much! You're so smart!" I told him as he blushed.
"You are too for figuring this out." Dilton told me as I had a very light blush on my cheeks. I then let him go and put Allegro on his leash. We left and managed to run into Jughead and Betty. I told them about the Zoom and They told me about what happened.
"I hope he didn't sleep in the lion's den." I thought as I began to worry. We decided to get Archie's car, drop Jughead off at his house, and with Uncle Fred's permission I spent the night at Betty's. I didn't have to work in the morning so that was convenient. I brought Allegro home and grabbed my stuff before sleeping at Betty's.
*Morning Aria's POV*
Betty showed me how to drive as we went to the zoo to get Archie. We found the security guard and I explained that he was sleepwalking due to an energy drink that made him crash. They agreed not to press charges nor arrest him because no damage was done. The guard guided us to the Orangutan area. Oh good gravy.
"Archie!" I scolded lightly. He stirred but didn't wake up.
"Archie! Wake up!" I scolded again.
"Leave me alone Aria. I'm tired." Archie mumbled.
"Archie! Wake up now. You're in the Orangutan cage at the zoo!" I scolded as he woke up and saw he was, indeed, with the Orangutans.
"Huh? What? How did I get in here?" He asked, more to himself then to us, as he looked around. After we safely got him out I thanked the guard again for not having Archie arrested or anything like that. We got to his car, picked up Jughead, and headed over to see Dilton. I told him it would all be explained when we got there. When we arrived Dilton smiled up at me.
"Salutations Aria. Everyone." He greeted as I gave him a hug.
"Alright so what is so important that you had Dilton meet us here?" Archie asked me.
"It's about the monsters." I stated simply.
"Really?" He asked me as I nodded.
"It's a good thing she came over here yesterday. I spent last night testing her bottle of Zoom." Dilton told him. "Her Zoom?" Archie questioned. "You dropped yours last night when you went monster man on us It was empty though." Jughead told him.
"Aria saw you have it when we left the mall and grabbed an extra bottle on the way out. She figured out, before we saw you transform, that both you and Mr. Stevenson had a bottle of Zoom on you when this happened and thought of a very small connection." Betty said as I smiled.
"Really?" Archie asked in wonder.
"You forget how smart she can be. This Zoom stuff is dynamite. It's designed to excite the adrenaline glands to produce extra energy in the consumer. Something Aria demonstrated last night." Dilton said as I blushed.
"Aria! You know you're banned from energy drinks and coffee!" Archie scolded me.
"Don't blame her. She figured that since you two shared the same DNA of sorts that if she morphed she would have proof and a witness. It didn't work. There's a freak isotope split on the matrix that can actually activate a primal mutation code in the subjects DNA." Dilton explained.
"It's what made Archie and health nut go monster. It's a rare effect that only happens to 1 in 10,000 because of it's uniqueness. Also found out males are more prone to it than females are so only 1 in 60,000 would be females that are affected. Never the less it's only temporary, as proven, so we now need to figure out a plan to get this stuff off the market before more people transform. Either that or see if the company can improve it so it doesn't happen at all." I explained as I then pointed out a couple ideas on what needed to be done.
"Here! There's a number for the customer service area." Betty pointed out as she then pulled a large cell phone out of her purse and handed it to him.
"They're going to think it's some kind of crank call." Jughead said to us.
"If they don't keep us on hold for hours." I pointed out. Archie moved away from us to talk but soon came back.
"I don't believe it! They thought it was some kind of crank call!" Archie said in disbelief. We then decided to go see health nut to tell him why he's been morphing. I was starting to leave but then stopped. I had a small flashback.
*Flashback*
"The reason why I want to win the Nobel prize is to become rich. Then maybe people would visit me more often. I mean I know you do and that's nice but I mean others."
"Well. It's back to the lab."
*End Flashback*
I remember Dilton saying these things when we got turned into ghosts. All Dilton wanted was to be noticed instead of just being used.
*Maybe they can do this without me for a couple hours.* I thought.
"Hey Archie. I'll catch up with you later." I told him nicely.
"Huh? Your not coming?" He asked me. I went over to him.
"I don't want to feel like I'm using Dilton. After all everyone usually sees him when they need something. I don't want to do that." I whispered in his ear as he smiled.
"Alright." He said as Jughead came over and kissed my cheek goodbye. I looked over at Dilton to see he wasn't paying to us and only his beakers and other things. I snuck over and wrapped my arms around his shoulders from behind before kissing his cheek.
"Huh?" Dilton questioned in shock.
"How about we go to Pop's for a burger? Just the two of us?" I asked him as he seemed shock.
"But the mystery-"
"Can wait. Archie and the others have it covered. Besides, I don't want to leave you alone nor feel like I'm like everyone else. I only find you when I need you and then just leave." I interrupted him as he smiled.
"So? My treat? After all you did help out a lot." I said with a smile.
"Sure. Sounds nice." He told me as I let him go only to hold his hand as we walked out of the school and over to Pop's. I know I had a mystery to help solve but it could wait. Archie can handle it. Besides, this is a big company so they might've paid the health nut off and, maybe, fix the formula they used. Who knows. We arrived at the Chock'lit Shoppe and Pops seated us.
"Are you sure you shouldn't help them?" Dilton asked me as I shook my head.
"No. There's not much we can do actually. Besides, Archie's a big boy, he can figure this out. Also I'd like to spend a little time with you today." I told him as we smiled. We enjoyed a few burgers and fries than, once finished eating, we walked around for a while. I walked him home and saw his dad was outside washing the car.
"Um, Dilton. I don't think it's a good ide-ah!" I started saying before Dilton pulled me close to him in a hug.
"Don't worry about him." He told me as I looked him in the eyes.
"Only focus on me." He told me right before he lightly kissed me on the lips. I blushed before closing my eyes and kissed him back. After a minute we parted.
"The sun's going down." I told him.
"You should get home before then." He told me as I looked at him.
"I need you to let me go first." I said to him.
"Oh! Sorry!" He told me while letting me go and fumbling a bit. I giggled as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I'll see you later." I told him as I walked of with a wave. He waved back before going up to his house. It took a while but when I got home I noticed Archie was home but another car was here. It wasn't familiar to me. I cautiously enter the house as I heard a crash and scream. Next thing I knew I saw a monster in front of me. I froze in fear as it glared at me. I noticed he had orange hair and was in Archie's clothes.
"A-Archie-e?" I stuttered out before he nodded and then ran past me to who knows where. I then saw a man running down. He looked at me and I glared at him.
"Where's he going? Who are you?" I asked him.
"I have to stop him before he ruins the chance for many people." He said as he started towards the car.
"You own Zoom Co. Do you realize what you did?" I yelled at him.
"We fixed the problem. I swear it. We took back and destroyed the old ones. We modified it so nothing like that would happen." He said as he then drove off. I tried to stop him but couldn't. I ran to Betty's house and knocked quickly.
"Aria? What's wrong?" She asked me.
"We gotta get to the Zoom factory. Call Jughead. I'll start the car." I told her as she did as she was told. I got the keys and started Archie's car right up. Betty than hopped in the car and off we were. I wasn't good at driving but we had to hurry. We got Jughead and than went off to the factory. I parked the car and we got out. We found Archie by the dumpsters.
"Archie!" I shouted out as he saw us.
"I drove us here as fast as I could. The guy said he fixed the problem." I explained just as the guy called out his name and ran over to us.
"Not you again." Archie said to him.
"Let me buy the bottle, please." He said to Archie.
"Archie listen to what he says. If he really did fix the problem than that's a good thing." I told him.
"How do we know he's telling the truth though?" Archie asked skeptically.
"We did fix the problem. All previous batches no longer exist. Do you really want to tell them? If you do the bad press will assure Zoom Co. will close, taking hundreds of Riverdale jobs with it." He said as I looked at the press and frowned. Hundreds?
"Archie. If you drink that in front of them then you prove the monsters exist but people who desperately need jobs won't get them. It might also mean Riverdale could plunge into bankruptcy or worse." I commented as Archie thought about it. Archie soon had the cameras and lights in front of him and myself.
"We're here with some of the locals, as guests, here tonight. Excuse me young man, what do you think of Zoom Co. and there energy drink Zoom?" A reporter asked Archie.. Archie smiled
"It's not what I expected at all." He replied as I saw him dump the last bit of the drink behind his back.
"And you young lady?" He suddenly asked me.
"I think this company will help many who need jobs. As for the drink, well, it changes things." I said with a smile.
"And there you have it. It looks like this factory is off to a great start." The reporter said before he scurried off. Archie and I looked at each other before we chuckled.
"Well it seems my job here is done." The head guy said. I grabbed his sleeve just as he started walking away.
"Blabadada. No you don't! This wasn't free." I told him as he sighed and looked at me.
"Aria!" Archie started but I stopped him.
"That check you wrote Mr. Stevenson, We want double that." I told him as he went wide eyed at me.
"What?" He asked me.
"Double the check you gave him, than donate it to the community health center in case this happens again. And a side check to replace anything broken in the house of course." I told him. He was gawking before he straightened up.
"Very well. A price worth paying." He said as he then lightly smiled. What? I might need money but I'm not desperate. Better it be put to something well needed. The community health center really needed help anyways. After writing the checks he gave me one and then went on to the reporters. We went home and I put the check in an envelope to send to the community health center. After I did that we started the article.
"And that was the end of the monsters. ~Archie. I am so proud of Archie. He finally had a chance to be famous for cracking a weird mystery and didn't. Not publicly anyways. ~Aria. It's true. Only then did I realize it was more important to save Riverdale than to be famous for saving Riverdale. I guess sometimes you have to sacrifice your dreams, for the greater good. Although I'm not the only one who made a sacrifice that day. ~Archie. That's right. I made Fiske, the company owner, write an even bigger check, double actually, than he made out to Stevenson. A check, which I had just mailed out before writing this, that's going towards the community health center so they can help those without who are in desperate need of help for free. Also made him write another check to replace the broken property. ~Aria. Now we're living monster free. ~Archie. …..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie & Aria!"
We finished writing the article just in tome too.
"Archibald Andrews! Aria Andrews!" Uncle Fred yelled out. Oh boy. We went downstairs to see him looking upset. I pulled out the check and handed it to him.
"For the damage. This company came by and a drink made Archie a monster and, well, I got him to give us a check for it." I explained awkwardly. Uncle Fred just looked at us before he sighed.
"Normally I wouldn't believe this. But after some of the things I've seen and heard." He said as he sighed. I too it as a free to go so I went to my room with Allegro and went to bed.