Abby got up to close the door in hopes of drowning out Archie hitting the punching bag. "I know he's your brother but I could watch him hit that punching bag all day." Tomoko looks down at her phone playing the video she secretly took of him on her way to the bathroom.
"He is getting in shape for football." She informed her pervy friend.
"So, he's staying on the team?" Trev asks.
"Yeah, he wants to get a football scholarship to a college with a good music program. I wish he would take the punching bag to the soundproof garage." She sighs.
"He must be bummed that Ms. Grundy left. I know I am, I was going to do a work-study with her." Tomoko sighs. She played the cello, the same instrument that the teacher played.
"I'm sure the next music teacher will do one with you." Abby was bitter about the teacher skipping town. She was out of her brother's life, but she was preying on some other young boys now.
"I hope they have as much talent as her." She was learning to write her own music.
"I'm sure they'll be better." She looks down at her phone when it dings.
"Is that him?" Tomoko sang.
"Yeah." She unlocked it to reply that her favorite cartoon as a kid was Scooby-Doo.
"You guys text all day. That's a lot of flirting." Trev teased.
"We don't flirt that much. It's just random conversation." She locked her phone and put it down on her desk. At first, she worried if he was trying to friendzone her, but when he showed up to pick her up for tutoring and kept his arm around her the whole time she was at the bar she knew they were on the right track.
"I have good news and I hope you guys will be happy for me," Trev said.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Abby swung open the door to the Blue and Gold. An equal as angry Tomoko came in after and an embarrassed Trev closed the door, so no one outside would hear. Betty and Kevin stared at her in shock, never hearing the girl shout before.
"What's going on Abby?" Jughead knew that the redhead had a wicked temper.
"Why did you ask Trevor out on a date?" She glares at Betty.
"I thought we would have a nice evening together." She stutters.
"Don't bullshit me. What do you want?" She snaps.
"She wants information on Jason. That's why they got his murder board up." Tomoko points at the board. She knew what it was when she saw it, but it took her a second to figure out who it was for.
"If that's true Betty, then you can just ask me. You don't have to make up some date." Trev told her.
"She was going to use your feelings to manipulate you." Abby turns her glare at Trev.
"I know that, but the police aren't any closer to finding Jason's murderer. If she thinks she can do that then I want to help." Trev was good friends with Jason. They grew up playing little league football together.
"I did want to talk about Jason, I'm sorry." Betty did feel bad about using Trev, but it wasn't like she was going to let it go too far.
Trev sat down on a chair. "I've been feeling guilty lately because a few months ago Jason was acting weird and secretive."
"Do you know why?" Betty grabbed her notepad and sat across from him.
"I thought it was about your sister, to be honest. They'd been dating a few weeks when he changed." He looks down at his lap, knowing that Polly was a sore subject for her.
"Changed in what way?" She asks.
"We stopped hanging out, he wouldn't call me back, and then... Then he started selling off all his stuff. Anything he could sell for cash, he was hawking. Then I heard he was dealing drugs... " Trev told her. Everyone in the room was surprised by that information. Why would a rich kid be that desperate for money?
"What drugs?" She couldn't believe her sister went out with a drug dealer.
"Weed, pills, whatever. I don't know for sure, because by then he stopped talking to me." Trev never mentioned it to anyone, because he wasn't sure and he didn't want to contribute to the rumors going around.
"And all this started after Jason and Polly got together?" Everyone in the room knew this was a personal question for Betty. Trev frowns as he nods.
Abby walks out of the class and has to stop abruptly to not run into Reggie. "Can I eat lunch with you?" He asks.
"Umm… I don't know if that's a good idea." She didn't want to ruin things with Sweet Pea by being too nice to someone who didn't deserve it.
"I promise it will be a civil conservation. " He had time to calm down and he wanted to clear the air between them.
"Alright, but if you raise your voice I'm out." She walks around him and to the cafe. She grabs the chicken burger, wedge fries, apple slices, and milk. She paid for it before Reggie could offer and they walked over to a table.
"I'm sorry. I read the article. When I read your quote from it about how you felt degraded and like an object, I felt horrible." He explains.
"I'm glad that you learn something from all this." She hoped that he wouldn't treat the next girl the way he treated her.
"I imagine you as being this perfect girl that likes everything I liked and agrees with me always." He told her.
"There's no such girl, but I'm sure you'll find someone close." She gave him a weak smile.
"I know you're with that guy you went to the drive-in with, but if it doesn't work out I wouldn't mind another chance." He reaches over to grab one of her fries.
"Like you're going to be on the market for long." She playfully rolled her eyes.
"Hello fellow redhead," Cheryl stood next to Abby who was waiting by the curb for Sweet Pea. "I wanted to invite you to a sleepover at my house."
"Sure, when?" She asked.
"The night before my brother's funeral." She told her.
"I'll be there." She nods.
The motorcycle pulled up. "Who's this?" She watched the tall teen take off his helmet.
"Hey Sweet Pea, this is my friend Cheryl. Cheryl this is my guy, Sweet Pea." She didn't want to be presumptuous and say boyfriend, but it would be insulting to say, friend.
"Your guy, like a boyfriend." She looks him up and down with judgmental eyes.
"That's me." He smirks at the thin redhead. Abby smiled widely at him claiming the title proudly.
"How old are you? What school are you going to?" She glares.
"I'm sixteen and I go to Southside High." He matched her glare.
"Alright Cheryl, I'll see you later." She reached down to grab the spare helmet out of the saddlebag. She put it on and swung her leg over to straddle the bike. Sweet Pea put his back on.
"You better keep her safe." Cheryl left the threat hanging in the air.
"All she has to do is hold on tight." He grabs Abby's hands to wrap them around his waist. He took off down the road.
He parked in front of the Whyte Wyrm. "Come on, I'll teach you how to play pool. Still can't believe you spent your childhood here and you never learned." He grabbed her hand after they put their helmets back.
"I wasn't tall enough to learn. I know how to throw darts." She let him lead her into the bar.
"Are you the reason that there is a nail lower on the wall by the dartboard?" He ordered two sodas.
"Yeah, FP lowered it for me when I fell off the chair I was standing on to play darts." She told him.
He laughed and grabbed the Pepsi bottle. She grabbed the Mountain Dew Bottle. He wraps an arm around her shoulders as they walk over to the pool table. "So, you've been wrapping Serpents around your fingers all your life. I thought I was special." He teased.
"I'm sorry, you had to find out like this." She grabbed a pool stick.
"As long as I'm on the only one sticking my fork tongue down your throat then you're fine." He used his pool stick to tap her ass.
She giggled and moved out of his reach. "Come on, you said you were going to teach me how to handle the stick." She spun the pool stick in her hands.
"Damn tease." He grabbed the rack and started putting the balls into the triangle. He organizes it before pulling the rack up and putting it on the side. He nudged his head for her to follow him to the front of the table. "Okay, so you use your dominant hand to hold the end of the cue. You lower your body so you're staring down the cue." He crouched over so that he had a better view of his shot. "It's going to help you see where your ball is going and hit the ball better."
"The view is nice." She stares at his butt.
"Woman, if you don't pay attention then I'm going to wipe the floor with you." His tone was scolding but he had a smile on. She stuck her tongue out. "This part can be done in various ways." He showed her how to do an open bridge, closed bridge, rail bridge, and elevate bridge. "Make sure to keep the pool stick level. Don't have the back end high in the air because then you'll hit the table more than the ball."
"Can I break it?" She asked.
"Sure." He shrugs. He grabs the cue ball and lines it up for her. She put her stick on the table, lowered her body, and used an open bridge because it seemed the easiest to her. She watched the ball completely miss the rest of the balls.
"Aw." She pouts.
"It's fine, no one is good at pool in the beginning." He laughed at her as she stuck her lower lip out. "I'll help you." He put the cue ball back in position. He went behind her as she lowered herself and made the bridge. "You gotta put your hand more back, you don't want it right at the end of the stick." He moved her hand so it was about eight inches away from the ball. "You wanted to raise your thumb. And, you don't want to tap it softly or use all your force." He put his hand over hers and guided her to use the right amount of force.
Abby cheered when the cue ball cracked the balls apart. None of the balls went in, but she was happy with her progress. The game went with him showing off on his turns and helping her out on hers.
Fangs and Toni went over when they saw them at the pool table. "Damn, Sweet Pea you couldn't even give her a chance." Fangs look at half the stripe balls on the table with only one solid.
"I am, you know how long ago I could have beaten her." He wraps an arm around her waist to pull her close and give her a big wet kiss on the cheek.
"I want to play darts next." She wanted to show him that she was good at something.
"Okay, I'll end this now." He did a trick shot where the cue ball went around the table before hitting his ball in. Then he called the right side pocket and hit the eight ball in.
Abby walked over to the dartboard with the group following her. "Do we need to lower it for you?" Sweet Pea teased.
"No, I've learned to aim higher and play well. The one at the student lounge and at my house is the same height." She picks up a dart and throws a bullseye.
"Oh, Sweet Pea about to get schooled." Toni oohed.
"I don't mind getting dominated by a woman." He winks at Abby before throwing his dart. It hit the outside number ring.
"How do you hang out here all the time and you're not good at this?" She tilts her head.
"Don't get too cocky before I put you over my knee." He teases.
She threw another dart and put it next to the bullseye. "I'd say it's confidence, not cockiness." She looks back to smirk at him.
"Thank you for having us," Veronica said for her and Abby. They were sitting around the Blossom's dining table.
"Cheryl invited you. I have no idea why you're here." Penelope Blossom glares at the two teenagers.
"We're here to support our friend, nothing would stop us from that." Abby put a hand on Cheryl's tense shoulder as she smiled at the rude older woman.
"Nana Rose, would you like some more ham?" Clifford Blossom stabs a piece of ham to offer it to his mother. The elderly woman stared off into space. "Veronica, Abby, would you like some more maple ham?" He offers.
"No thank you." Abby bows her head. She didn't mind the awkward silence, it was the evil energy coming from Cheryl's parents that made her want to run back home.
"I'm good. It's delicious, though. You can really taste the maple." Veronica fought through the uncomfortableness.
"You do know that Riverdale was founded on the maple syrup industry," Clifford told the new girl in town.
"I didn't, actually. Fascinating." She hopes he stops talking to her.
"That's where Sweetwater River got its name. Perhaps you should ask your father about it, sometime. How is he, by the way?" He asks. All the women including his wife gave him a look that said, way to be subtle.
"He's okay." She wanted to say that's none of your business.
"There are worse things than prison," Penelope commented.
"Like this dinner party," Cheryl whispers.
"What did you say?" Penelope leaned in and spoke loudly. Abby got the impression that if they weren't here she would be screaming at her. After it was clear that Cheryl wasn't going to answer, she went back to eating.
"It must have been hard for you. Watching your father being handcuffed and dragged out of your home in front of you and your neighbors. All those reporters." Clifford spoke like his wife didn't have an outburst. Cheryl gave Veronica a sympathetic look, wishing she didn't force her to come.
"The worst part is how fast it happened. He was just gone. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. That's why I think it's so great. You're all getting a chance to say goodbye to Jason tomorrow... " Veronica was saying when Cheryl cut her off.
"Not all of us." She took a sip of her water.
"That's because some people already got to say goodbye to Jason. While rowing him across the river to his death. " Penelope stood up and took her plate into the kitchen.
Cheryl, Veronica, and Abby were sitting on Cheryl's bed looking through photo albums. "I hope this isn't weird, but Jason was crazy handsome," Veronica said.
"The handsomest. Something tells me he would've liked you." Cheryl smiled. They look down at the yearbook picture he took.
"Why did you invite us tonight? Why not Tina? Or Ginger? They're your best friends." Abby asked.
"And yet, that night at the pep rally, after I had my panic attack, you guy helped me. Not them." Her brother's death showed her that she didn't have any friends.
"Cheryl. You're allowed to say goodbye to your brother. But, why does it have to be..." Veronica wonders why she was so upset about not speaking at the funeral. She could say goodbye privately. Veronica would have been happy with that for her dad.
"In front of people? Yeah. Everything with Jason's been so... Public. Everyone has an opinion. Has been gossiping. Saying he got what he deserved, or that he didn't. I just... I want everyone to know that I'm... I'm sorry. And that Jason deserved a... A better family than what he got." She wanted to set the record straight for her sanity.
"Then do it. I'll help you. And let Penelope and Clifford Blossom do their worst." Veronica offers.
"Oh, they will. They'll kill me." She said with such little emotions that it shook the girls.
"Then let's come up with a plan, so it will be worth it." Abby wanted to make sure that she got to execute and not just attempt it.
"You ready?" Veronica asks Cheryl.
"Just about. You guys go ahead. I'll be down." She told them.
"We have to run interference for her if needed." Abby reminds Veronica. They walk down to see Penelope rubbing the back of her hand on Archie's face. She took Jason's jersey from him.
They walk over to their classmates. "Days like today really put things in perspective, huh? I mean, at least we're here. At least we're alive." Veronica said before they took their seats.
Cheryl came down wearing the same white outfit she wore when she last saw Jason. "Oh, my God." Veronica gasp.
"Yes." Kevin smiles at the redhead who never failed to make things interesting.
"This is not what I signed up for." Abby nonetheless was ready to get up and stop them from dragging her away if she needed too.
She walks behind the podium. "Welcome to Thornhill. Thank you all for coming. If you'll kindly take your seats. I'd like to start the memorial with a few words about Jason." Cheryl spoke to the room.
Clifford kept a hand on his wife's shoulder to keep her in her seat, knowing that it will be worse if they drag Cheryl away. Penelope was thinking more bitterly as she struggled to stand up. "You are only going to make things worse." Veronica mouths at her.
"Alice Cooper is here." Abby reminds her of the owner of the paper being present. Penelope glares at them as she stops trying to stand. She focused her death stare on her daughter.
"The last time I saw Jason, I was wearing this dress. I know it's impossible. But I swear, when I put it on, it... It feels like he's in the room with me. Even though we were twins, I used to demand I have my own birthday party. Until one year, out of the blue, Jason convinced me we had to combine them into one. It wasn't until years later, I found out why. It was because no one wanted to come to mine. And Jason didn't want me to know. He protected me. Every single day. I wish, that day at the river, I had protected him." Cheryl turned to the casket and spoke directionally to him. "I'm so sorry, Jay-Jay. We failed you. All of us."
Abby grabbed Veronica's hand and they went up to hug her. "I think we'll adjourn now to the Winter Salon for a light supper." Penelope came up to tell the crowd. Veronica walks with Kevin to the other room. Abby stayed by Cheryl's side so her mother couldn't drag her away.
"Come here," Penelope whispers.
"No, she's fine here." Abby grabs Cheryl's hand.
"This is family business." She sneers.
"Then how about you act like it. It became very clear why Jason was trying to run away." She stood in front of Cheryl.
"You're only delaying the inevitable." She glares at her daughter from over the teen's shoulder. She walks away knowing she could get her revenge later.
"If you ever need somewhere to stay, you can come to my house." Abby turns to the other redhead. Cheryl hugs her tightly.