"I love Betty like a sister, that's for sure, but I think this whole thing might be getting out of hand. I mean, first, we find out that Polly is pregnant with Jason's baby and that he was selling drugs to start a new life with her and now Jason's car was torched and Polly escaped from the home." Dot explained to her mom.
Octavia nodded. "I understand that, and maybe you guys have to take a step back. I think this might be getting too dangerous for four fifteen-year-olds to handle."
"Yeah, I mean clearly whoever torched the car was there when Betty and Jug were. Otherwise, they would've just left the car hidden. They must have been watching them. And the rest of the town finds out about Polly's escape she'll be the first to get blamed for this." Dot said, sighing as she realized how deep they were in it now. "We have to find her before anyone else does."
"And now you have to go to school, you're running late again," Octavia said, nodding towards the clock as she took a sip from her coffee.
Dot looked up. "Shit!" she mumbled, grabbing her keys as she rushed for the door.
"Language, Dorothy!" Octavia warned.
"Sorry, Mom. See you later, I love you!" Dot shouted back as the door slammed shut behind her.
"Love you too," the blonde woman mumbled to herself. She sighed. "If only you would stop putting yourself in danger."
"My mom and dad don't want to get the police involved. They don't want anyone to know that she ran away, or about her shameful condition," Betty explained. The group met up in the student lounge, trying to plan their next steps.
"Please. What decade is this?" Veronica asked.
"Also, since she knew where Jason's getaway car was, they're afraid people might think that she burned it and that if she did-" Betty said.
"She could be the murderer, trying to cover her tracks," Jug finished.
"Who did burn the car, then?" Archie asked.
"Sheriff Keller says it's possible someone was following us," Betty answered.
"Oh, my God. Honestly, guys, we should just move," V joked. Dot rolled her eyes, she loved Veronica, but she wasn't up for jokes right now.
"Guys, what if Polly's really hurt? What if whoever killed Jason is coming after her next?" Betty asked worried.
"Betty, even though your parents don't want to, maybe you should go to the police," Archie told his best friend.
Dot nodded. "Yeah Betty, Polly's pregnant and running around town. What if the Blossoms get their hands on her?"
"We can talk to my dad together about how he has to be discreet," Kevin offered.
"No offense, Kev, but your dad answers to a higher authority than God, the Blossoms. They're the first people that he would tell," Jug said.
"And if there's anyone to keep this a secret from, it's the Blossoms. They'd twist it around and go after Polly out of spite," Betty agreed.
"How can we help? Tell us, B, and we'll do it," Veronica said.
"Yeah, there's gotta be something we can do. I mean, where would Polly go?" Kippi asked.
Betty bit her lip. The next class would start in a few minutes. "Thank you guys for your help. We'll figure something out," she said, grabbing her bag.
"Betty! Oh my God!" Dot said as she and Kippi ran to the blonde, Veronica, and Kevin. They had just seen Cheryl's tweet.
"I know. We need to find Polly before the Blossoms do," Betty said.
"Agreed. Maybe we can do a search party. Ask some of our classmates to help...the ones we can trust, of course," Dot suggested.
Betty nodded. "That's a great idea. We'll start in Eversgreen Forest."
"Who do we trust enough to recruit?" Kevin asked.
"Well, us, Josie, Valerie, Melody, maybe Reggie - even though I think he won't be much of a help, and your parents, Betty," Kippi suggested. "I know they're a touchy subject and that we should probably keep them out of this, but they're gonna wanna know where Polly is."
Betty sighed. "I know. Let's ask some more people first. I'll talk to my parents. We'll do it after school. As soon as possible."
"Okay, theSisters of Quiet Mercyare due north. The getaway car was west, on the Old Route 40. The closest bus station is east, headed towards Sweetwater. If Polly wanted to leave Riverdale without anyone seeing her, she probably would've left through right here," Betty explained to everyone who volunteered to help.
"Eversgreen Forest," Jug added.
And so the search for the older Cooper was on. Dot and Kippi had teamed up, naturally, and shouted her name out in six-second intervals.
Suddenly, they came across Reggie. "Dude, are you seriously taking selfies right now? What's the hashtag going to be,#searchparty?" Kippi asked, shaking her head. Reggie chuckled, winking at her. Kippi smirked as he kept walking.
Dot's eyes narrowed. "Did I miss something? Since when do you and Mr. Hunk exchange sexy looks?"
Kippi bit her lip. "So far we've just texted," she admitted.
"Kip! He's an ass," Dot reminded her.
Kippi sighed. "Not towards me."
Dot rolled her eyes. How a girl like Kippi could hang out with Reggie was beyond her. "What if he's playing you? He was friends with Chuck after all."
"Dot, he's cute but other than that - he's a bit of an idiot. And didn't participate in that slut-shaming book, like Chuck," Kippi reminded her.
Dot sighed. "If you say so. But remember, if he does something bad - I'm here for you," the brunette told her, linking their arms.
Kippi smiled at her, looking ahead at her grandma and Octavia walking side-by-side. She chuckled under her breath. "They're a match made in heaven," Kippi nodded at the two women.
Dot quietly laughed. "Did you know they play Bowling with their woman's league?"
"Yeah. How do you think I got to hang out with Reggie last Saturday?"
Dot nudged her. "You said texting, Kip!"
The other girls' eyes widened. "I think we have another problem," she said, pointing behind Dot.
The girl turned around. "Uh oh," she mumbled, looking at the rival search party next to them. The Blossom's search party. The two girls ran after the rest of the group, trying to catch up with the Coopers at the front.
"Alice Cooper, where is she? Where's Polly?" Penelope Blossom asked.
Alice laughed. "You think if I knew that, I'd be out here with the mosquitoes?"
"Face facts, Mommie Dearest, Polly killed Jason," Cheryl chimed in.
"She escaped from the asylum once, who's to say she didn't before, say, the day Jason got murdered?" Clifford Blossom added.
"The noose is tightening around your murdering daughter's neck. I know it, Sheriff Keller knows it," Penelope told her sternly.
"Hold on now," Sheriff Keller interjected. Though it was fairly obvious to Dot that he was trying to save face with the Coopers.
"And I promise you when we find her, and we will find her, the entire town of Riverdale will know, too," Penelope added, her tone snippy as you may expect from a mother who outlived one of her children.
"I guess the search party is over," Dot mumbled.
"So first, the Coopers refuse to call the police so they could help find Polly and now they're calling an entire press conference to find her?" Kippi asked as the group of four arrived at the church.
"They gotta keep their faces in front of the public. Couldn't let the town know that there are more problems at home than they'd ever admit," Dot explained.
"We're already pretty screwed. We had the momentum of silence that could help us find Polly. Now the Blossoms know and we're running out of time," Jug said. Dot nodded.
"Poor Polly. I mean, the girl can't catch a break," Kippi said as the Coopers got out of the church.
"There's been a swirl of rumors today about our daughter, Polly. And we're standing here to tell you that they're all false. Yes, Polly was seeking treatment in a private care facility, and she was under strict observation even at the time of Jason Blossom's death. When she found out about the murder, she was beside herself with grief," Alice explained. "You see, my daughter, Polly, is pregnant with Jason Blossom's baby," she added. Everyone around started muttering. The Blossoms pushed through the crowd in order to get away. "Polly wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone the father of her unborn child. Polly, darling, if you're watching this, please come home."
The crowd dispersed as the Coopers went back inside the church. "Well, that was quick. I gotta get home," Kippi said.
"I'll come with you. It's on my way anyway," Archie said, walking after his friend.
"Bye, guys. See you later!" Dot yelled after them. They gave her a quick wave and walked off together. "Walk me home?" Dot asked Jug.
He nodded. "Sure. Couldn't we have walked with the others then?"
Dot bit her lip. "I wanted to talk to you privately for a second."
"Okay, what's up?" he asked as they walked off.
"What's up with you? You seem somewhat absent-minded recently."
Jug sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "I didn't want to tell you. I've been having some problems."
"You said we're friends again. Best friends, like we used to be. So talk to me, what's going on?"
The raven-haired teen went silent for a few seconds. "I've been living at school."
Dot looked at him, confused. "What happened with the Lamberts?"
He sighed. "I had a blowout with Beth. I hope to mend it soon but that won't happen when we're constantly sitting on top of each other. So I vacate the house for now," he explained. "I know. I didn't want to be a burden to you guys."
Dot rolled her eyes, groaning in response. "You know damn well that you're not a burden to us. My mom loves you. She'd have you move in with us if necessary."
"I didn't want it to be weird with us."
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, confused.
"Nevermind. Forget it," Jug said.
"No, what do you mean?" Dot asked.
"I mean..." he trailed off.
Dot was about to ask again when, suddenly, Jug's lips met hers. It was weird, she had never seen him that way. Or maybe she did. No matter what it was, she didn't pull back. She just kissed him back. "What was that?" she asked when they broke apart.
"That was what I meant," he replied. "I used to have the biggest crush on you and then you moved away. When you came back, I thought I had gotten over it but when you first walked into Pop's after all these years, it all came back to me. I wanted to tell you and then you told me about your boyfriend, so I just left it."
"So what does this mean, exactly?" Dot asked, smiling up at him. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Jug seemed so against this boys-like-girls thing and now this.
"I don't know. I know you're still dealing with everything that happened and I don't want to rush you into things..."
Dot shook her head, taking Jug's hands. "I think, I think I might need to move on. I came here for a fresh start and maybe this is part of it," she told him. He smiled at her. She smiled back at him "There it is. That's how I like it," she mused. She took his hand as they started walking. "Now, let's go. My mom's making dinner. And tonight that basically means she's getting take-out from Pop's."
The next day during one of their free periods, the couple nearly stumbled into Kippi and Reggie, swapping spit by her locker. Dot made a face, watching the entire thing unfold. From everything she'd known about Reggie her whole life, he was an ass, so she didn't trust him with her best friend.
"Um, are my eyes deceiving me or is our best friend making out with Reggie Mantle right now?" Jug asked.
"Oh God. I didn't think she'd actually do this."
Jug squeezed her hand. "Hey, Reggie's an ass but she'll be fine. And who knows, maybe he'll change."
Dot snorted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You don't really think that, do you?"
Jug laughed. "Nah. I just know that she'll kick his ass if he hurts her."
"True," Dot said. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, letting her best friend know she was there.
She seemed to notice the two holding hands. Her eyes widened. She grabbed Reggie by the hand and dragged him off to her friends. "Guys. Oh, my God, am I hallucinating, or are you two sweethearts holding hands?"
Dot laughed. "Maybe. I see you two are pretty close too. Are you guys, like, dating or something?"
"Are you guys?" Reggie asked back, a tint of mocking in his voice.
"Reg!" Kippi hissed, nudging him.
"What if we were? Would that be so weird?" Jug asked.
Reggie shook his head. "Nah. I guess not."
"I think we should head off to class, right hun?" Kippi asked Reggie, sensing tensions boiling up.
"Math doesn't start for another half hour," Reggie mumbled, confused.
Kippi sighed. "Well, that's another half hour we get to spend doing other things."
"Oh," he said, a stupid grin spreading on his face. "Okay, let's go then."
Kippi looked back at Dot, rolling her eyes.
Dot chuckled. "I'll see you after school," she shouted after the couple.
Kippi waved as they walked out of the building.
"Oh, God." Dot sighed. "These two will be the death of me. And they haven't even been dating for twenty-four hours," she added. Jug laughed under his breath. "Hey, we're having a movie marathon after school. Wanna come?"
"I'd love to, but, I'm going to hang out with Archie. We wanna see how my dad does at work today," Jug explained.
Dot nodded. On their walk to her house, he had explained a lot of things to her. "I get it. You have yourself a guys' night out. I'll have a girls' night out with Kip."
Expect, it never happened that way. Because when Dot opened the front door, Kippi was there with Reggie, much to Octavia's chagrin.
"She brought Reggie?" Jug asked as they walked to the Blue & Gold office the next day.
Dot nodded. "She did. And it was awkward. Well, sort of. I thought he'd cause trouble, you know? But he didn't really. They were at my place until both left to go clubbing with Ronnie."
Jug nodded. "Okay, well next time I'll be there. In case Kip brings Reggie again."
Dot laughed a little. "Thank you. It really was awkward," she said, taking his hand. "How were things with your dad, by the way?"
He looked away. "Uh, the night didn't end so well."
"Aw. Wanna talk about it?" Dot asked as they entered the office.
There, Principal Weatherbee and Sheriff Keller were already waiting. "What is going on?" Dot asked.
"Hey," Sheriff Keller greeted.
"Uh, what's up?" Jug asked, squeezing Dot's hand a little tighter.
"I'm going to need you to come down to the station with me," Sheriff Keller said, getting up from the desk he'd been leaning on.
"Wait, what? What is happening?" Dot asked, turning to Jug, a frantic look on her face. She couldn't image what he could have possibly done wrong.
"It's okay. Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about it." Jug said as he followed Sheriff Keller out.
"Don't worry about it?" Dot mumbled. "How in the hell am I supposed to do that?" she added, running out into the hallway. She saw Betty and Archie, just as confused as her. "What is happening?" Dot asked them.
"I don't know, Dot. I gotta go call Jug's dad," Archie said as he walked off, fishing his phone out of his pocket.
Dot defeatedly raised her arms at Betty. "Let's go," the blonde said, pulling Dot with her.
"He just took him to the station? No warning, no nothing?" Octavia asked as the three girls walked into the station.
"Nothing. I don't get it. What did Jug do?" Dot asked confused.
"Hey," Betty said, putting her arm around Dot's shoulder. "No matter what Sheriff Keller says - Jug did not do anything," she reassured her best friend. Dot sighed, nodding.
"Fred! Sheriff! What is going on?" Octavia asked as she saw the two, accompanied by Archie, discussing something.
Fred raised his hands in a negotiating way. "Everything's okay. We'll find a solution for this."
"Can I see Jug?" Dot asked Sheriff Keller.
"Of course," Sheriff Keller nodded, walking off with Dot to show her where Jug was.
He opened the door to the interrogation room. Jug looked up, probably expecting to have to make another statement.
"Jug, oh, my God," Dot gasped, sitting on the opposite chair to Jug.
He looked defeated, his eyes went up to meet Dot's. "I didn't do it, Dot, you have to believe me."
Dot nodded eagerly. "Of course not. Why would you kill Jason Blossom and then write a novel about it? That makes absolutely no sense. Sheriff Keller is just grasping for straws at this point. And Betty was with you when you were inspecting the getaway car so there's no fucking chance that you torched it," Dot explained frantically.
"ThoseParadise Lostkids went to death row because they wore black and they listened toMetallica. I don't wanna become a scapegoat," Jug said.
Dot grabbed his hand. "There is no chance in hell that I, or Betty, Kippi, Archie, Mr. Andrews, my mom, and so many other people will let that happen. Trust me, you have more than enough people to protect you from this. They can't prove anything."
He nodded. "Is my dad here yet?" he asked, sniffling.
Dot shook her head. "No, sorry. Archie couldn't reach him. But I'm sure he'll be here."
It took a lot of convincing, but Fred eventually sold his story of Jug working for him the day that Jason died. He was free to go. They were leaving the station when Jug's dad ran into them outside.
"Jughead!" he yelled as he approached the group. "I'm sorry. I came as soon as I got your messages. My phone, the friggin' battery. I forgot to plug it in last night," he explained. It wasn't hard to see that he was lying.
"Nothing. It's fine now. Mr. Andrews took care of it." Jug said semi-angrily.
"What jacked-up crap did they accuse you of in there, huh? Those bastards trying to throw you in jail like they did your old man? Well, screw that. I will rip Keller a new one for trying to pull that-" FP exclaimed angrily.
"FP, settle down," Fred warned.
Octavia pulled Dot and Betty back a little. She didn't want them in the way if a fight between those two would break out.
"Hey! Hey! This is my son, he is my son, Fred!" FP said, shoving the other man out of the way. "You'd do the same for your boy," he added, trying to go into the station when Jug held him back.
"Dad. Don't make things worse. Please," the raven-haired teen pleaded, lightly holding his father by his collar.
"Yeah. Yeah, all right, then," the man said. "You, uh, coming home with me?" he asked, ready to leave.
"He can stay with us, Mr. Jones. We already offered," Archie said.
"Is that what you want?" FP asked. Jug stayed silent. "Maybe that's for the best. If you don't mind, Fred."
"Whatever you want, FP. It's between the two of you." Fred said.
"I'll go with you, Dad," Jug said reluctantly. He walked towards his dad. He said something inaudible for Dot to hear. Then Jug hugged him and he left.
Dot went over to him, putting her arm around his waist. "Come on," she whispered.
"How are you doing?" Dot asked Jug in the evening. They were sitting on her bed, waiting for Betty to call and tell them when they'd meet at Pop's.
Jug shook his head. "I don't know."
Dot lightly grabbed his arms. "Sheriff Keller has nothing on you."
Jug sighed. "It's not just that," he said. What he was referring to was obvious.
"Do you really think he'll get it together?" Dot asked.
The boy shrugged. "I hope."
"He can't do it alone. That's the problem, Jug." Dot said when suddenly her door was violently opened.
A very pissed Kippi walked into the room, basically radiating anger. "I am so mad at you guys!"
"What did we do?" Dot asked, confused.
"Jug gets arrested and you just let me hang out with Reggie all day and don't call me at all. I am great at emotional support and thought I was part of our team."
"Sorry?" Jug asked, shrugging.
Kippi realized she was a lot more angry than she needed to be. She loosened up. "Okay, fine sorry. What happened? What's the plan?"
"The plan is to meet up with Betty and Polly later. So they can meet the Blossoms and discuss if Polly can live with them," Dot explained.
"Polly?! When did we find her?" Kippi asked, outraged at having missed yet another big milestone.
"We didn't, obviously. She was hiding in the Cooper's attic," Dot replied.
"And when do we meet up with them?" the blonde asked her best friends as their phones rang.
"Right now," Dot replied, grinning widely.
Betty sighed. "The Blossoms should be here soon. Once we've talked things through with them, we'll call Mom and Dad. Are you nervous?" she asked her sister.
"I'm thankful. At the home, the Sisters said each of us had a guardian angel. You're mine, Betty," Polly explained. Dot couldn't help but smile at the two. Just then, Cheryl walked into the Diner. Polly stood up from her stool to meet the redhead. Cherly looked at Polly's belly, almost touching it when she pulled back. "Cheryl," Polly greeted. She sighed. "I'm so sorry about Jason, I know how much you loved him. And he always talked about how much he loved you."
"Cheryl, where are your mom and dad?" Betty asked, noticing the other Blossoms missing.
"You have to leave. Now. My parents, I don't think they want to help you," Cheryl demanded, her face showing concern that Dot had never seen before on the girl.
"How did we not see that one coming?" Kippi whispered to Dot. The girl shrugged.
"What are you talking about?" Betty asked Cheryl.
"They want you out of the picture, Polly. It's not safe for you with them. It's not safe for JayJay's baby," Cheryl explained.
"Where am I supposed to go? I can't go back to the attic," Polly said, turning back to the group.
"No. You don't have to, Polly," Veronica demanded. "And don't worry about my mom, Betty, she'll want to help," she said, turning to her best friend.
"Okay. Then let's go," Betty said after a few seconds.