Night 3 was supposed to be the highlight of Veronica and Reggie's new life in Columbus. The apartment was packed with people, music blaring, and laughter echoing through the rooms. It was their official apartment-warming party, and about 60 people had shown up. Everyone from Betty, Jughead, Archie, Kevin, Tabitha, and Toni, to Fangs, Cheryl, Moose, and even Hermione Lodge and Alice Cooper, had made the trip from Riverdale to celebrate with them.
The energy was electric. Red and gold streamers hung from the ceiling, and Reggie had made sure there was plenty of food and drinks. The whole apartment buzzed with life, but beneath it all, Veronica couldn't shake the slight chill that lingered in the air. Something about the apartment still felt... off. But she brushed it off, hoping the excitement of the party would keep the strange occurrences at bay.
As the evening rolled on, Cheryl wandered into Veronica's office, looking for a quieter bathroom. While washing her hands, she glanced out of the window. Her brow furrowed. Just outside, someone was walking past the window. But... that didn't make sense. The apartment was on the third floor, and the window sat at least seven feet off the ground.
Cheryl's face paled. She quickly dried her hands and rushed back to the party. But before she could tell anyone what she'd seen, the revelry pulled her back into the moment, and the bizarre sight outside the window was buried in the back of her mind—until later.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Jughead was standing by the bar, grabbing a drink. He had just finished a conversation with Archie when, without warning, a wine glass flew off the counter, crashing violently into the wall behind him. The sound of shattering glass froze everyone in the room.
Jughead turned around, his face pale with shock. "Did anyone else see that? The glass just—"
Everyone looked at him, confused, but no one had touched the glass. Veronica exchanged a concerned glance with Reggie, but the party resumed. Jughead, still unnerved, wandered over to Betty to talk about it.
Later in the night, as the guests began to trickle out, Veronica, Reggie, and their closest friends—Betty, Jughead, Archie, Kevin, Tabitha, and Toni—stayed behind to help clean up. As they were picking up the discarded cups and plates, Toni mentioned, "Cheryl told me she saw someone walking outside your office window earlier. She said it freaked her out because it didn't make sense."
Veronica paused, wiping down a counter. "The office window? But... we're on the third floor. That's impossible."
Reggie's brow furrowed. "This place is starting to get weirder and weirder."
Jughead chimed in, "First, the glass flies off the bar, now this? You sure this apartment isn't haunted?"
Veronica laughed nervously. "Haunted? No. Just... maybe it's old wiring or something. I don't know."
Betty, ever the skeptic, added, "Whatever it is, you two might want to get someone in here to take a look. I mean, Columbus may be new to you guys, but every place has its history."
After the clean-up, everyone said their goodbyes and headed off to the hotel, leaving Betty to crash at the apartment with Veronica and Reggie.
It was late when Betty, still a little tipsy from the night, curled up on the couch in the living room. She was just starting to drift off when she heard the sound of Veronica's office door creaking open. Assuming it was Veronica or Reggie checking in on her, she rolled over, ready to say goodnight.
But what she saw wasn't her best friend.
Standing in the doorway was a woman, her face half-shrouded in shadow. She wore a vintage dress, something from another time, and her dark eyes locked with Betty's, cold and hollow. Betty froze. The woman didn't move—she just stood there, staring.
Heart pounding, Betty fumbled for her iPhone on the bar. She didn't dare look away, but as she turned back to the doorway, the woman was gone.
Breathless, Betty shot up from the couch and rushed down the hall to Veronica and Reggie's bedroom, knocking frantically on the door.
Veronica, disoriented from sleep, opened the door, her hair messy and eyes bleary. "Betty, what's wrong?"
Betty's voice trembled. "There was a woman… she was standing in the doorway to your office. I don't know who she was, but she was just there, staring at me."
Veronica's blood ran cold. She grabbed Betty by the arm and pulled her into the room, shutting the door behind her. "You're serious? A woman? Did you recognize her?"
Betty shook her head. "No. She looked... like she didn't belong here. Her clothes, her face—it wasn't right, Veronica."
Reggie, now fully awake, stood by the bed. "Maybe it was just someone from the party who got lost or something?"
Betty shot him a look. "No, Reggie. She wasn't... alive. I mean, she didn't seem like she was."
Veronica paced the room, her mind racing. "First Cheryl sees someone outside the window, then the glass flies off the bar, and now this? What is going on in this place?"
Reggie scratched his head. "I don't know, Ronnie, but I don't like it. We need to figure this out before it gets worse."
They spent the rest of the night talking, trying to make sense of what had happened. Betty was too shaken to sleep in the living room again, so she bunked with Veronica and Reggie in their room. But no matter how much they tried to rationalize the events, they couldn't shake the feeling that something—or someone—was lurking in the apartment with them.
The next morning, as the sunlight filtered through the blinds, Veronica couldn't help but feel a deepening sense of dread. What had they gotten themselves into by moving to Columbus? What secrets did this apartment hold?
She looked over at Betty, who was still pale from the night before, and then at Reggie, whose usual carefree demeanor was replaced by worry.
"Whatever this is," Veronica whispered to herself, "it's not over."