"So Polly decided to live with the Blossoms? But why?" Dot asked Betty.

The blonde sat on Dot's bed, slouched over. These last few days beat her down. She simply shrugged. "I don't even know anymore. My mom has completely shut herself in and won't even let me mention Polly anymore."

"I mean, to her, it must feel like Polly has betrayed her," Dot said.

"I just don't understand why Polly would just leave us and live with them. What my dad did was horrible, but we were there for her when the Blossoms would have literally rather cut her out of her own baby's life," Betty said.

"Who knows? Maybe she's there for a completely different reason," Dot said.

"Maybe," Betty said.

"Come on. School starts soon, we should head out. Jug and Archie are coming with us," Dot said, rubbing her friend's arm a little.

"Yeah, okay, let's go," Betty said.

At school, Kippi immediately flagged down her best friend. "Dot! Hey, I am so sorry I couldn't make it to the shower yesterday. I was doing something."

"With Reggie?" Dot asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Kippi smiled lightly. "No. I was, well, I was talking to my mom over the phone. But I had to deal with some things that day."

"Oh, Kippi. Is everything okay?" Dot asked. She still didn't know what to think of Rebecca. Had she ever really changed? Was she just a cold-blooded murderer?

"I'm good. I just wasn't really ready for this right now," Kippi explained.

Dot rubbed over her best friend's arm in a soothing motion. "Of course, it must have been hard on you."

"Well, I'm back and better than ever now. And nothing is stopping me from doing my thing," she declared.

"Good. It shouldn't be any other way," Dot said.

Kippi laughed. "How was the shower anyway?"

"Um, it was rather short-lived, I'd say," Dot replied, thinking back to the dramatic evening.

"Oh, God. What now?" Kippi asked.

"I'll explain on the way to the office," Dot said.

"So Archie is at that maple tapping thing right now?" Dot asked Jug. The two were lying on her bed. The last two days had passed by quickly. Archie had filled them in that the Blossoms were offering to ensure him a spot in some renowned music academy. Dot was wary of it, and so were Jug and Veronica.

"Yeah, and I don't like that. The Blossoms are not being honest," Jug said.

"Are they ever? They're playing him for sure. But I think he'll come around and see what they're doing," Dot said.

Jug sighed. "I doubt it. But we'll see."

Dot turned to her side to look at her boyfriend.Boyfriend -that was still weird to think about. "Do you ever just think of running away?" she asked into the room. More like thought out loud.

"You wanna leave Riverdale? Now?" Jug asked back.

Dot laughed. "No, not now. After high school, I mean."

"I mean, yeah of course. All I want to do is leave this town. But I have no idea how. I have no money, like at all," Jug explained.

"Well, neither do I. But there are jobs. Even if it's just like, delivering Pizza or something. I just want to get out. Not get stuck here like our parents did," Dot said.

"I'm sure we can do that. One day," Jug said, grabbing her hand.

She smiled at him. "I sure hope we do," she said. She started kissing him when her mom rushed into the room.

"Oh, I am so sorry," she said when she noticed the two. "Well, even though I shouldn't be. You shouldn't be doing this. I think that's what I'm supposed to say."

"It's okay. We weren't doing anything, Mom. I swear," Dot said.

"I'm sure you didn't. I actually just wanted to tell you, that I'm getting take-out. I need to get out of the house a little," she explained.

"That's great. I'm starving," Dot said.

"Okay, see you later," Octavia said, then closed the door.

Jug laughed. "What?" Dot asked, nudging him in the side.

"Oh no Mom, we weren't doing anything," he repeated mockingly.

"Stop!" she exclaimed with a laugh, slightly hitting him in the arm.

"Actually, it's getting late. I think I should head over to Archies place," Jug said.

"You can eat dinner here if you want," Dot offered, not quite ready to let him go yet.

"No, this is about finding out what he found out. You get it," he said as he got off the bed.

"I do," she said, laughing a little as she gave him a wave. "Bye-bye."

"See you tomorrow," he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. When he was gone Dot fell back onto the bed, sighing.

About an hour later, just as Dot and her mom were cleaning up the dishes, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Dot said, putting the last plates back into the cabinet. At the door was Archie who was looking to talk to Dot. "Sure. Come in," she said, closing the door when Archie had stepped in. She led him into the living room. "Sit down. Get comfortable."

"Thanks," he said, sitting down on the nearby couch.

"Alright, what can I do for you?" Dot asked, sitting down on the chair next to the couch.

"Well, Cheryl was just at my house and she gave me this guitar. And now my dad and Jug want me to return it to her immediately. They think the Blossoms are pimping me out," Archie explained.

Dot could just about imagine where this conversation was headed. He wanted her to tell him that he was right about everything and that he should go to that dinner with Cheryl. But Dot wasn't going to make it that easy. "And why are you talking with me about all of this? Why not Veronica or Betty?"

Archie sighed. "I know Veronica wouldn't want me to go. And she's busy anyway. Betty wants me to go for sure, but just because she wants to know more about Polly and because her mom wants to take down the Blossoms. You, on the other hand, haven't talked to me about this at all. I think you're sort of neutral, so I wanted to get your opinion on it."

Dot leaned back in their old armchair, sighing. She had no idea what advice to give him on this one. Her mind about the Blossoms was made up. "Oh, Archie. I don't know what to tell you. The Blossoms seem untrustworthy to me and Cheryl might be nice here and there, but she might turn on you just like that. I think the Blossoms might be buying you, but Cheryl might need someone familiar to be there. What I'm saying is, in the end, this is your decision and you need to know if you want to go through with this."

Dot was aware that this wasn't gonna help him much, but she couldn't take that decision from him. Maybe it was to finally make him realize that not everyone can be trusted. Especially the Blossoms.

Friday night arrived much faster than Dot thought. Archie had decided to go to the dinner with Cheryl. Dot didn't know what to think. Archie was far too trusting and opportunities seemed to fall in his lap at every turn. He was making the best of things but not seeing the obvious manipulation going on.

But it seemed as if she had another friend to take care of. When Betty stood in front of her door, bawling her eyes out, Dot knew the pressure of trying to keep her family together was getting to her.

"Sit down, honey. Do you want something to drink?" Dot asked.

Betty shook her head as she sat down on the couch. "No thanks. I just need to talk."

"Of course. Tell me what's wrong," Dot said, sitting down next to her.

"I just feel like my family is falling apart. Polly turned her back on us and is locked up in that house and my mom and dad are playing childish games," Betty explained.

"Maybe they just need to let their anger out," Dot suggested.

"Yeah, but at what cost? Pollys? Mine? Their marriage? This is just all so messed up and I can't seem to get behind any of it or help at least," Betty said. She broke down once more, letting her head fall onto Dot's shoulder as she sobbed.

"You're not supposed to mend their relationship. They're adults and your parents, they should do that on their own. Now, of course, you can try to work a little magic but in the end, they have to get back together by themselves. You are not to blame if that doesn't work out and if you do feel like your family is falling apart, then that's not your fault either. You are doing so well dealing with all of this. A lot of other people would have broken down completely already," Dot assured her, gently stroking her hair.

"I still just want Polly to come back to us. And my mom and dad to stop playing games," Betty said, untangling herself from Dot. She leaned back on the couch with a heavy sigh.

"And that's completely acceptable. And it shouldn't be any other way. Okay?" Dot asked. Betty nodded, and Dot handed her a tissue.

Betty's phone rang and she answered almost immediately. "Archie! How did it go?" Betty asked. She nodded as Archie explained to her what had happened. "Okay, thank you. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye," she said, then hung up the phone.

"So?" Dot asked.

Betty smiled as she put her phone on her lap. "Polly. She's just there to spy on the Blossoms. Nothing else."

Dot shot her a smile. "See! Things are looking up!"

"I have to tell my mom, right now!" Betty said.

"Yes! Go, woman. And if your dad still won't budge about giving her her job back, offer her to write with us. Sounds a little weird, but at least she'd be a little distracted from throwing bricks into people's windows."

"That's a great idea. Thank you so much, Dot. You're such a good friend," Betty said, hugging the other girl.

"My door is always open. I'm glad I could help. Now, go!" Dot said, laughing a little as she watched Betty run out the door.

"At the banquet, I heard Mr. And Mrs. Blossom talking. It sounded like Clifford Blossom was responsible for sending Veronica's dad to jail," Archie told the Blue & Gold crew the next Monday.

"Oh, my God. If Clifford sent Hiram Lodge to jail and tore apart his family, then maybe Hiram was trying to do the same thing to him?" Betty said.

"Yeah, by going after what the Blossoms value most, their family, their legacy. That's a motive," Jug added while pinning a card that had Hiram Lodge written on it on the murder board.

"Well okay, that adds another suspect but we still have no idea who killed Jason. This is just getting deeper and deeper into some shady business that we should probably stay out of," Kippi said.

"Well, no one ever said a murder investigation was easy," Dot told her. And in the next few weeks, she would find out just how true that was.