Hope to get back on a regular update schedule now that school has started back up again. I start my first day of graduate school tomorrow!

Thanks to all of my reviewers: brighteyescoldhearts, Boris Yeltsin, Guest, and Guest!

Guest: In the original show, Dilton didn't see Grundy/Archie having sex, he just saw the car, same as here. Jughead just made the connection that's why she was there. And, gosh, have I really not brought up Grundy before? She's alive in this story. So, more on that later XD And, ah, it would be fun to wish for that, huh?

Guest: If you like Supernatural AUs, you have come to the right place!

Things got quiet after that. For awhile, it's as though the investigations had hit a standstill. For most of the town, everyone just held their breaths, waiting for the new news to shake the town, as it had been doing weekly and consistently before.

For Betty, this meant more time to focus on her two skills; journalism and witchcraft.

She threw herself into the Blue and Gold, churning out anything worth printing. Even if it was just that the soccer team had won a match against their rivals or that the Robotics club made a robot that would slice bread, Betty was writing about it. As invigorating as it was to have hard-hitting articles like Chuck, or Jason, the school existed in other forms too. Plus, it was good to remember the small things Riverdale High took pride in last year and all the years before. Betty knew when a story would hit, she'd be on top of it, but for the moment she spread herself out to churn out a couple articles every three days or so.

After Dilton's confession, there hadn't been a lot of talking about what he'd said. Betty had taken down in detail what he'd claimed to have seen, before Cheryl shoved it into the water (apparently, but with Dilton, who knew what it really was) and they'd told him they appreciated his honesty. Once alone, Jughead had quickly offered to take the Grundy side of the story, and Betty had just been about to suggest she take Cheryl's.

Dilton might have seen what he said. He was right about the wolves, that was for sure, so it wasn't unbelievable. There were just things Jughead didn't know yet. But, his quickness to offer to take the Grundy side, just as Betty had been already jumping to cover the 'blood sacrifice' made Betty wonder if he had secrets too?

Whatever they were, it was, ultimately...high school problems. And, even if it transcended that (because, frankly, it was illegal what Archie and Grundy might be doing) it was still just a human concern, whereas Cheryl's could be otherworldly.

And...Betty had thought that would be it. At least, in terms of her and Jughead's interactions with the Blue and Gold, since she'd only ever asked him to investigate Jason. In her mind, Jughead would go off, scouting his story, and come back when he had something new. However, despite his resistance to the idea, he was spending increasingly more time in the office with Betty. He'd ghostwritten a couple of the fluff pieces, proofed some of Betty's work, offered up possible articles for her to do, wrangled an interview or two, even supplied coffee and companionship when Betty spent late hours working on all the kinks and little things, either at school or via text at their separate abodes.

Betty hadn't been so close in friendship to Jughead in a long time. And, she seemed doomed to always fall for her friends, because by just a week of Jughead's constant presence...Betty had a crush.

She'd never seen Jughead as a potential romantic partner, not until now. Maybe now that her head was clear of Archie, she could see other people. Maybe it was that Jughead was different now than when they were younger. Maybe it was a lot of things that Betty didn't know, but she did know a couple of facts; her heart sped up when he was near, she'd begun to associate his smell of old books and black coffee with a happy feeling, and whenever he was around she could feel her magic start to thump deep in her chest. She wasn't sure if he reciprocated; he might be moody, but Jughead was always kind. He might be doing these things because he was a generally decent person.

And, after the whole Archie debacle, Betty was afraid to confirm or deny otherwise.

So, she was content (mostly) with the two of them hunched over spreads of articles, Jughead with some kind of food (he was always eating) as they worked in modestly silence, their elbows almost touching.

It made her feel really normal, which was a strange feeling these days. It was only when Jughead mentioned that Sheriff's Keller's knocking on doors, near frantic searches, and frustrated questions felt like the Salem Witch trials, a witch hunt, that Betty was so very much reminded of the rest of her life, the one that was so much bigger than a high school newspaper.

Oh, if only Jughead knew.

With this surplus of time, Sweet Pea had insisted on more studying, more lessons. Betty was pleased to oblige, because as much as she enjoyed the intermissions with Jughead, she was also a witch. She could not change that. And, of late, she reveled in it.

Right after Dilton's interview, she'd taken her little pad of paper to Sweet Pea.

"Are you 1000% sure that the Blossoms aren't...like succubus or something?" Betty asked.

"This again?" Sweet Pea sighed, "Yes." He said, "What this time."

Betty flipped open her pad, explaining the little backstory that she had. "-Dilton apparently saw Cheryl with 'a little bowl of blood, a pentagram thing drawn on a rock, something that might have been Jason's left shoe, and she was chanting in a language'." She flipped the book close, staring down Sweet Pea.

"Well, yeah, it does sound like a blood ritual of some sort. Those are super intense." Sweet Pea frowned, "But, I don't recognize the mixture of those specifics. I don't know what she's doing." He said.

"Could she, as a human, be doing it?" Betty asked.

"Mayyybeeee?" Sweet Pea drew it out, "It's unlikely to work, but if she was in a place that was magic itself, like a circle of power, it could work. But, I can't answer until I know what she was doing. I'll research that. In the meantime, don't do anything with Cheryl. Don't go shaking her down, don't question it. This isn't a stupid news story, if she's a magical something, it's something we've been in the dark about and it could get you killed." He said sharply.

"I promise." Betty said, fully intending to do exactly the opposite.

"Yeah, likely. Make it a wizard's promise. Er, witch's promise." He said, crossing his arms.

"What's that?" Betty frowned.

"Exactly what it sounds like. We shake on it, use a little of our DNA, and if you break it, bad things happen."

"What sort of bad things?"

"Well, all the way down from warts and illness all the way up to death. I'd set it at you'd turn into a bat for 42 hours." He said.

"What? No, I'm not doing that." Betty said, giving him a 'what the hell' look.

"You promised." Sweet Pea said, "Wanna be a liar?"

He spit in his hand, holding it out. At Betty's disgusted face, he took out his switchblade, "We could do it with blood too."

"No, no. Ugg." Betty spit in her hand, "What now."

"Elizabeth Cooper, do you make a wizard's promise to not go bugging Cheryl Blossom about a possible blood ritual until I figure shit out. No sneaky interviews, no digging through her things, no contact with her regarding magic at all. Do you agree?" he asked. Betty tried to think of a way around his wording, but it was airtight. She glared.

"I, Elizabeth Cooper, agree," She said, mumbled and sour. She felt the bond click and that was done.

So, because Betty did not want to turn into a bat, she was unable to go research on that end of the interview. But, as said before, it left her with much time to practice magic in other ways.

Unfortunately, since there was little news to be reported that was juicy enough to print, her parents were home much more than usual, making it near impossible for Sweet Pea and Betty to spend long hours in the portrait portal.

Thus, this lead to weird magic meetings in the woods, totally shady, like two people up to no good.

"Hey, so," Betty said one day after they vacated the house, moments before her mother walked through the door, "When am I going to meet the Pack?"

"What?" Sweet Pea asked inelegantly, not expecting that at all.

"Yeah, you know, the wolves." Betty waved a hand, though the explanation was likely unneeded, "Now that Toni's decided I'm cool…" She trailed off. Toni had found her on facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat and their 'friendship' had commenced. Through Toni, she saw pictures of the other young wolves frequently, which made her wonder, "You also rarely talk about them."

"Uhm," Sweet Pea frowned, shoving his hands in his leather jacket, "I dunno. Never thought about it. It's weird, because like, my life is so…" He struggled for the right word, "Split in two. There's the Northside, where I'm a football player and your magic tutor, and then there's the Southside where I'm part of a werewolf pack."

"They're not dissimilar sides, you're just making a distinction," Betty said.

Sweet Pea gave her a shrug, clearly uncomfortable.

"Do I...embarrass you?" Betty guessed, biting her nail.

"What? No...no." Sweet Pea said, spinning to face her, "I guess, I'm worried that they'll embarrass you. Or that they'll think less of you and I'll have to fight one of them in your honor. Or shit. It's stupid. It's hard to explain."

"You think if I brought them gifts it would go over better?" Betty leaned against a tree, scratching her neck and shuddering as a cool breeze passed through, "I get it. I'm a Northsider, and I'm not a wolf. But, I am a witch."

"Gifts?" Sweet Pea echoed.

"Uh-huh. Like…" She put down her backpack, fishing out a little wrapped tin, "I just perfected this, I think. It's for you. An 'I'm sorry' for nearly killing you and that whole thing."

Sweet Pea opened the tin to find a little jar of some sort of cream.

"There was a cosmetics section in the grimoire. You skimmed it, but I just made some modifications to one. It's so you don't have to wear turtlenecks at school anymore. It's uh, like concealer on steroids. I've made like eight or nine brews but I think this one is the best. Try it." She said, reaching forward and taking a small dollop, swiping her fingers over his neck.

It was lightweight and comfortable, she'd made sure of that. And, a little went a very long way. Unlike traditional concealers, in which it was like putting paint over areas, this was like erasing-temporarily-any colors on skin so that it became what was originally underneath. She took a picture, showing him it with a sense of pride.

"You did this?" Sweet Pea touched his neck, "Holy shit. This is...wow." He breathed, grinning, "Yeah, gifts would help." He chuckled, "But, on a similar note...why haven't I ever met Polly, or why do we never talk about her? I meant to ask you back at the house, but it slipped my mind."

"I hardly talk to her anymore," Betty swallowed down a tear, "And, I don't know...I'm so busy, I mean to text her, to try to get answers of of her and I just always...well, it's not until I"m out the door and then I'm in school or detention or cheer practice and then I get home and I somehow never get around to doing it again."

Betty, who had been walking to the place they usually practiced, noticed Sweet Pea had stopped. She turned, "What?"

"Say that again."

"Say...what?" Betty asked, unsure.

"About Polly. That you mean to text her at home and then always forget until you're out the door." Sweet Pea's face was clearly thinking through something.

"Ah, yeah. About exactly what you just said." Betty agreed.

"We're going back to your house. Now." Sweet Pea said, "If I'm right about this…"

"Right about what!" Betty asked, jogging to keep up with Sweet Pea's fast pace.

"You'll see. Now, when we go inside, think about texting Polly. Nothing else. Really fucking focus." He instructed. He went into Betty's backpack, despite her sounds of protest, and fished out a sharpe. With a lack of precision, but it go the job done, he wrote 'POLLY' on his palm in big block letters.

"What in the world is going on?" Betty asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Your mom's not set to be home for another twenty-five minutes, if her last text was accurate. We'll have enough time to see if I'm right. Now, think of Polly. Think of wanting to talk to her, to text her. Okay?"

"You're not going to tell me." Betty said, watching him walk into the house, "Sweet Pea!" However he was already gone. She followed him in. She was silent, but working through her thoughts.

Polly, Polly...gotta text…

What was I doing? I'm in the kitchen, maybe I wanted food?

Huh.

No! I was going to text someone. Veronica? Archie? Juggie? Sweet Pea...no Sweet Pea's with me. What's that on his hand...Polly? Why does it say…

Oh! Text Polly!

Why do I have my phone out...check my mail maybe? Hmm, no just looked at it two minutes ago. Erm, recent calls? Instagram? Poshmark?

Clothes...selling clothes...Polly introduced me to Poshmark!
Text Polly, yes!

Why do I have my phone app open? Did Jughead text me? Maybe I should text him. I-

In the middle of her internal monologue, Sweet Pea hauled her out of the house.

They stood in her backyard for a second, and then Betty blinked.

"Oh, I was going to text Polly! Why couldn't I…" She patted her head, like it was swimming with water.

"Yeah, same with me. My mind just basically jumped whenever I went to ask her about you, and I never got to do it. And, focusing on it was super difficult. Same for you?"

"Yes. Arg, my head." Betty moaned, "So, what?" She asked.

Sweet Pea sniffed the air, which, had circumstances been different would have looked hilarious.

"Come here," Sweet Pea said, walking back into the house. He led Betty into an area near her parent's office, "This here is the exact center of the house. And If I'm right...aha!" He said, climbing on a piece of furniture and pointing to something small, something on the ceiling.

"Isn't that...just like...a smoke detector?"

"Hardly. This, Betty Cooper, is a masking device. Inherently, super-duper magic." He motioned for her to go back outside. Once back in the grass, he nodded to himself, "So, I'm not going to take it down, because someone would absolutely notice, but someone in your house put that up and made it so your mind is scrambled when you think of Polly. Someone doesn't want you contacting her, texting her, thinking about her at all. However, it only works in the house, which is why as soon as you get far enough away, you're able to think about texting her again. But once in the house, anyone who enters and has any thought about Polly will be distracted. It's called a 'Notice-Me-Not', and it's not a dollar store charm."

"So, whoever made it, it's powerful?"

"Yep." Sweet Pea agreed, "To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if it's interfering with text messages too. Let's stand over here. Look at Polly's messages. Look at them hard."

Betty pulled out her phone, off the edge of her property. While it just looked at a lot of messages never responded to, something like a piece of paper of the screen shifted. Betty focused on it, her eyes went fuzzy for a second, and when they rigtened out again...all of her messages had the little warning triangle saying that they were not delivered and there were no incoming messages from Polly, not since she'd gone to their grandmother's house.

"What the heck?" Betty asked, shaking her head, "No...no...you mean this entire time...my god, what if Polly's dead, Sweet Pea?" Betty asked, her voice slightly hysterical.

"Call her." Sweet Pea instructed.

Betty anxiously rang her, her stomach churning.

"Hello?" Her sister's voice echoed from the otherside, "Bet?"

"Oh, Polly, thank god!" Betty broke down, her legs falling out underneath her, "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm at grandma's. Mom and dad thought it would be best. Didn't they tell you?" Polly's voice was quizzical, "i'm just taking a break from life. I'm...fine. Sorta. But are you okay? You haven't called or texted at all!"

"I'm fine, I am. Oh, gosh, I thought you were getting my messages! I've been trying to text you for weeks." Betty said.

"I should be coming home next weekend, don't worry. Hey, it's good to hear your voice." Polly said, and Betty could hear the love in her sister's tone.

"Me too. Me too. I'll see you then. God, I love you Polls." She said.

"Yeah, love you too. Gotta go, I said I'd take grandma to the store. I'll try to text you later!" The line disconnected.

"Something weird is going on." Sweet Pea said, narrowing his eyes, "Something doesn't add up at all.
Betty saw her mom's car in the driveway. She pulled Sweet Pea into the forest, shaking her head.
"Not at all."

XXxxXX

"...nail in the coffin that is Riverdale. No, forget Riverdale, the coffin of the American Dream!" Jughead proclaimed loudly. Betty looked up at his frenzied pitch, frowning. She'd been dazed out since they got their milkshakes, because really, she had a lot to worry about. Her sister. Archie and Grundy. Cheryl (who she could not bother, damn you Sweet Pea). Her parents. Sweet Pea and the Wolves. Jughead too, on a way. About how she could juggle the supernatural life and her normal life. Could she, if Jughead never triggered his curse, have a normal relationship with him?

Granted, they had to start a relationship of some sort first, but it was still a question that kept her up at night.

Right now, Betty was almost too aware of how she was seated in the booth with Jughead. With his legs almost pressing close to hers, just sometimes brushing and lingering for a second. About how his fingers tapped on the table top right near her knuckles. She thought about how she wanted to kiss him, and she was highly considering it. However, putting herself out a limb with Archie had worked so well…

But of late, it was harder to ignore. Liking Archie had felt easy. Liking Jughead felt difficult, which told her maybe it was deeper. And the way her heart thumped around him was nothing like how it felt with Archie. It was like she was drowning when she was around him.

"Right Betts?"

Betty looked up, realizing that everyone was looking at her. She blinked, trying to gauge what sort of response they were looking for. Well, she had a fifty-fifty chance…

"Totally."

Apparently, an affirmative was the correct response, because Jughead shone and threw his hands out to Kevin and Veronica in a 'see' sort of motion.

Betty tried to keep one ear in the conversation after that, but she found it hard to focus. They were going back and forth about movies to watch, if they were going to do one last hurrah.

From behind Betty, her neck tickled with the breeze of magic. Betty turned around, trying not to be obvious. The diner was moderately packed for a Friday night, which did not help her trying to figure out where it was coming from. There was Cheryl, with her minions. There was Hermione Lodge as the waitress. Pop Tate. A couple of other patrons. No one that she knew of to be magical, but it had to come from somewhere. Where was it coming from? Would Sweet Pea be able to figure it out? Did he already know?

And, what sort of magic was someone doing?

God, how she wanted to go question Cheryl about the whole blood ritual thing. Maybe, if she just-

"Betty, your choices?"

"Hmm?" Well, it was probably better her friends brought her back. She really didn't want to be a bat. That sounded sucky. Movies to watch, right. She thought of traditional horror movies first, since that's some of her favorite memories from the drive-in as a younger child. Was there a good werewolf movie out there, a classic? Maybe that would be too on the nose.

"Rebel without a Cause?" She offered up after a second of contemplation. Nixing the horror movies was probably the best idea. Plus, it had been ages since she'd watched that.

"Betty Cooper, you are a genius," Jughead said, grinning ear to ear. Kevin nodded in agreement. Veronica, however, watched Jughead watching Betty and raised her eyebrow in thought.

"Now that's an odd combo of people," Kevin said, and Veronica who nodded in quiet surprise. For Kevin and Veronica to say that, it was saying something. Kevin, who thought about werewolves and witches on a daily basis. Veronica, who thought there was no stranger pair than Betty and Sweet Pea. Betty had to see who they were talking about.
She whipped her head around to see Mr. Andrews, Archie, and...Ms. Grundy.

Something that felt like a pound of lead settled in her chest. She saw Jughead swallow hard too, but look back down at his burger like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Betty was already climbing out of her seat before she noticed the movement.

"No, Betty," Jughead said, tugging on her sleeve.

Sweet Pea had told Betty that someone's best and worst qualities were usually highlighted when you had magic running through your veins. For him, it was his quickness to anger that was multiplied like someone was stabbing him. For Toni, her sweetness and willingness to do anything for her friends made her the Pack Mother, usually only deferring to Sweet Pea. For FP, it made him wiser.

Betty knew many would say her absolute stubbornness and sense of curiosity were bad things, but Betty would say it's what made her a good writer, a good journalist. Still, she knew in instances like this, she was probably sticking her nose in places it should not be, but Betty would be damned if Archie's entire life was ruined over something stupid, so bone-headed as boning their teacher. If she wasn't sure before, the way that Archie looked at their young music teacher confirmed it.

"Hi Betty," Fred said, ever pleasant to the girl that had grown up next door to them.

"Hi, Mr. Andrews, Ms. Grundy. Archie, can I talk to you?" Betty said, moving specifically so that her view blocked Archie's of Ms. Grundy's.

"Sure, I'll call you later," Archie said, dismissing her in a tone that would have upset her once. Now, stronger and more sure of herself, she just smiled back at him, hauling him up and out of the booth before he could protest.

"Now, actually. Just school stuff," She said, sending Mr. Andrews a nod, "Outside?"

For good measure- not because Betty was jealous that Archie had picked a teacher of her, mind you, but because Ms. Grundy was a predator and it was the least she could do- Betty might have accidentally-but-on-purpose spilled Ms. Grundy's chocolate milkshake all over her skirt, tilting her head and willing the glass mug to slide just over the edge of the table.

XXxxXX
"Get in the car, Betty. Now."

Betty turned to see her mother and breathed in deeply. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Archie was so stubborn, and he was completely human. She shuddered to think of how he'd be if he were magical. He was unbelievable and Betty knew, somewhere, she couldn't try to save a man who didn't know he was drowning.

This didn't mean she was going to give up, no, far from it. She just had to make him see another way that he was far from shore without a lifeboat.

"What have I told you about those two?" Her mother continued before Betty had even clicked her seat belt together.

"Yes, I've heard it all before," Betty murmured, "Why?"

"What?" Her mother almost seemed to be caught off-guard.

"Why." Betty repeated, shaking her head with her eyes closed, "They did stupid things. Teens do that. I've done stupid things to them too, hurt others feelings. I mean, I just don't understand mom. Who would you have me hang out with?"

"That Keller boy is nice." Alice Cooper replied, "Though I'm not sure I like you around the Jones kid either." She said, spying Kevin through the glass pane.

"Oh, so gays are dandy, but everyone else is right out?" Betty asked sarcastically.

"Boys who are respectful are 'dandy', boys who understand."

"What? Understand what?" Betty sighed, watching the darkness of Riverdale roll by.

"Elizabeth," Her mother said, trying to sound soft, "You...you're changing. You're going a place where a boy like Archie can never understand. He will only keep you down, because he will never be a part of the world you're entering."

"What? The world of womanhood? Of tampons, hormones, and the urge to get it on?" Frankly, her mother was talking nonsense and Betty wasn't up for it tonight. It was like a riddle with her mom, everytime.

"Elizabeth!" Her mother scolded sharply, "You know that's not it. As for Veronica and Forsythe-,"

"Jughead," Betty corrected, though it seemed to fall deaf on her mother's ears.

"-They're like are just...not who you should be associating with either."

"Rich kids and poor kids?" Betty guessed, truly unsure of what she meant.

"Dangerous bloodlines," Her mother said cryptically, "One's that, even if you think are your friend, will always be bound to another calling first, and this- dear- might cost you your life."

XXxxXX
"Hermione Lodge," FP gave a low wolf whistle, "Didn't think you'd actually show up."

"I'm good on my word, FP," Hermione said, turning.

"Andrews would disagree. Water on the bridge, though." FP shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets and sniffing the air. He chuckled, "I'm honored you thought to wear perfume to meet me. Covers up that stench almost enough."

Hermione's lips quirked into a smile, "I see you didn't. When they said wolves smell like a wet dog..." She pinched her nose, shaking her hand like she was swatting away the scent.

"Hey, I ran here, darlin'." FP pointed out, "It's been too long. Think the last time I saw you was...high school graduation? Of course, a lot has changed since then."

"Quite." Hermione agreed, almost laughing, thinking back to the day.

There was a long pause.

"How'd you do it?" FP asked.

"What?"

"Choose to die. Remember when we'd all hang out at the swimming hole and we'd laugh and be all morbid and discuss how we'd want to go out? Long before any of us knew anything about vampires or werewolves or witches? When we were all human?"

"Except Hiram." Hermione pointed out, "But you guessed it first."

"I never thought I'd be right." FP let out a long breath, "It was more of a joke. But you always wanted him. And more than that, you wanted immortality. I suppose none of us were really surprised when word got back to us." He nodded, "So, how'd you do it?"

"Pill overdose. No fuss, no muss. Fell asleep, woke up like this." She said softly, "You?"

"I'm still alive."

"No, who did you...kill? To trigger the curse?"

FP sighed, "I'll never know. Who it was, I mean. Drinking, hit and run." He got quiet, "Not the highlight of my life. I should probably be in jail." He admitted, then winced. It was long past the time they were all friends, all young, "As it is, this isn't a social call."

"I felt this would come," Hermione crossed her arms, "No one's turned up dead, Jones. I'm careful. I have blood bags in worst case, and even so, I honed my ability to drink carefully very early. Should I mention back in return that there shouldn't be any suspicious bear mauling?"

FP bristled, "My pack would never," He spit, "We're civil, thank you very much."

"So you're saying you having nothing to do with the death of that Blossom boy?" Hermione gave a laugh, like it was unbelievable.

"You're saying you don't?" FP asked in return, standing up straight, towering over her.

"Clifford Blossom and Penelope might have been the most insufferable rich kids around when were young, but I would never in a million years harm a child!" Hermione gaped at him, "The young do not deserve it."

"Oh, so you're kind doesn't kill their darlings hardly out of highschool?" FP chuckled, "Hiram was changed before he turned eighteen, Veronica's not too far off."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but snapped her jaw close again, "You're different than the man I used to know, FP." She said quietly, "No wonder Fred doesn't talk to you anymore."

FP spun, almost ready to fight Hermione or start something, but instead he just chuckled darkly, "I'll see your his weekend, Hermione. Have the money then, and then let's go back to never talking again. I'll give you one chance because of the friendship we once hand. However, step out of line, and I will not stop my wolves from tearing you apart."

Hermione patted his cheek as she passed him, back into the diner, "I'd like to see you try."

XXxxXX

"Betty, Betty, hey." Jughead caught Betty in between classes.

"Yes?"

"Archie is...concerned," Jughead began softly, "That you're going to...uh…"

"Print a takedown of Ms. Grundy in the 'Blue and Gold'?" Betty guessed dryly. She held her notes she'd just taken from a very interesting interview, with Ms. Grundy, close to her chest.

"Well, yes." Jughead blinked.

"Look, I just don't trust her." Betty said, "But doing that would only get Archie in trouble too. I don't want that." Betty admitted with a sigh, "I just want Archie to see that she's using him and this won't end well."

"Yeah, er, I told him as much." Jughead said. He turned to leave.

"Hey, wait. These posters are great." Betty said, wanting to stick around with him longer, pulling out the leaflet from her notebook, "It'll be great."

"It would be better if Mayer McCoy actually did a damn about it," He hissed, "Sorry, right. Not your problem."

"We can talk about it, if you'd like." Betty offered. Jughead looked up, shrugging.

"No, I'm just...well, you know me. Moody." He said, half joking.

"Ah."

"Hey, so, ah. Would you consider maybe going to the Drive-In?" Jughead asked.

"Well, of course. I was already planning on it." Betty blinked, tilting her head.

"I mean, maybe, with me…?" He rubbed the back of his neck, face turning a bright scarlet.

"I-,"

"Or, not. That's cool too. You probably already talked about going with Veronica, and that's fine. I mean, you can find me during it, since I'll be manning the camera, but you don't have to come with me. Or you can, just as a friend, while I set up or-,"

"Hey, Juggie," Betty said, feeling giddy and over the moon inside, "It's a date." She said rather meaningfully.

Jughead continued on for a second before he gave a quiet laugh.

"It's a date. Sure, yeah." He agreed, nodding to Betty, "I'll uh, see you then?"

"Well, I'd imagine we'll see each other before the movie, you know, in class." Betty pointed out.

"I mean, that too. Obviously." Jughead said, backing up. He awkwardly backed into a row of lockers. He turned, wincing, before looking back. Betty hid her goofy smile behind her notebook, watching Jughead walk away, his shoulders a little straighter and his step a little bit more confident.

XXxxXX

"It's the quintessential rite of passage, making out with your boy or girlfriend at the movies," Kevin was pacing more than usual. Kevin was a pacer, so this was not strange, but he was really riled up today. He needed a good gay boyfriend, but, as it seemed, they were few and far inbetween at Riverdale.

Covertly, Sweet Pea took a picture of Kevin and sent it to Joaquin with the text tag 'cute? Yes? No?', because frankly, there weren't good gay guys at Southside either. Gays, yes, but good ones? Few. And he liked Joaquin, on average, but he also knew that Joaquin's Greendale boyfriend had just dumped him for another man, so maybe he could use a rebound.

Joaquin replied back instantly.

JOA: For you? Not your type.

SP: Idiot. For you.

JOA: Oh.

JOA: He's pretty hot. Straight?

SP: As straight as a serpent tattoo lol

SP: Which means he's gay

SP: Totally gay

JOA: Thank you, Sweet Pea. I got that.

Sweet Pea stowed his phone away, glancing up.

"Why don't we just go together?" Veronica offered up, sending him a warm and friendly smile. Kevin sighed, jumping the sofa to sit by her.

"I can't promise you any action, but maybe I'll bring you good luck." He sighed glumly. Sweet Pea tried not to smirk. The Serpents, of course, would be there. The Drive-In was one of their main hangouts, but Sweet Pea couldn't trace back to when they started milling there in rowdy groups. He usually wasn't around, since the young serpents had other places to congregate. He knew that a lot of the older wolves had been encouraged by FP to make this place their own, and from what sweet Pea heard of it, they had.

"You going to be bringing a girl, Sweet Pea?" Ginger asked, batting her eyes at him.

"Yes." Sweet Pea said dully, feeling a little pleasured as her face fell. Ginger was frankly, a little insufferable. A lot insufferable, ever since Chuck was suspended, leaving Sweet Pea and a handful of others the only Bulldogs left.

"Like, as a girlfriend," Ginger tried again.

"Yes." Sweet Pea replied back in the exact same tone. Of course, he was 'bringing' Toni, as much as Toni was going to attend and he was going to be there too. And Toni was a girl that was a friend, so, technically also true.

Veronica gazed up at him over the sofa, eyes narrowed. He knew she was just looking out for Betty, and probably worried, but as soon as she saw Ginger practically trying to wriggle her way into his lap, she rolled her eyes and looked away. She seemed to get Sweet Pea's game immediately.

"But, is it like, serious or…"

"Faux carrot-top, go salivate over some other dirty biker rat." Cheryl said, curling her lip in disgust as she walked into the room.

"I'm deeply offended. I shower once a week like any other good little hillbilly!" Sweet Pea said, clutching his chest. He'd learned quickly the easiest way to not tear Cheryl Blossom in two was just to have fun bothering her.

She just shook her head, "Whatever." She turned to Veronica and Veronica sat up, eyes narrowed in preparation for whatever Cheryl had to say, "Actually, you," She turned back to Sweet Pea, "Maybe you can shed some light on a very interesting picture?"

"If it's one of me listening to Nickleback, I have a perfectly good explanation to why-,"

"Ugg, do you ever shut up?" Cheryl sighed, flashing her phone, "I mean, you can explain to all of us- but mostly Veronica- why a Southside Serpent was having a heated discussion with Blair Waldorf's mother behind a dirty dumpster at Pop's."

"You say Blair Waldorf like it's a bad thing," Kevin snickered, nudging Veronica, who gave a grateful smile.

Sweet Pea got up, snatching the phone from her.

"So, yeah, that's my," He'd nearly said alpha, "Boss, leader. FP Jones."

"As in, Jughead Jones?" Veronica questioned. Cheryl hadn't known this, and looked positively thrilled.

"Uh-huh. But, look, they knew each other back in the day," Sweet Pea tried to play it off casually, "And, if I know what I've heard, they had a big falling about a mutual friend or something."

"Oh, it seemed much more than a decade or two old fight," Cheryl insisted.

"Then it was probably territory shit." Sweet Pea snapped. Kevin's eyebrows went up to his hairline, realizing he was missing something importantly supernatural. Cheryl tilted her head. Veronica just looked totally confused.

"Territory? Like Northside vs Southside?"

Sweet Pea crossed his arms. They had never brought up the elephant in the room, but now he was wondering she even knew an elephant existed. He'd just always thought it wasn't worth truly talking about, since Betty hadn't said anything about her powers, or that Veronica was just enjoying behind human and knowing her inevitable future. However, as good of a liar as Veronica was...this look couldn't be faked.

"Erm, something like that," Kevin ran his hands through his hair, "I guess you could say that they're natural enemies."

Sweet Pea had to hand it to Kevin; he picked up on things quick.

"My mom just moved back. Why would FP be talking to her about territory stuff?" Veronica said, still struggling to understand, "Someone please fill me in."

"Uhm, well," Sweet Pea rubbed the back of his neck. He was absolutely sure, at this point, she had no idea and that made things much more complicated.

"Drugs, probably. We've all heard the stories," Cheryl laughed, sipping her soda through a straw. Ugg, so pretentious.

"We're not the drug dealers." Sweet Pea said with an edge, staring her down. The Serpents, they weren't Gandhis. They did bad things. But dealing? They didn't cross that bullshit.

"Are you insinuating what I think you are, worm?" Cheryl spat.

Sweet Pea shrugged, falling back on his armchair, crossing his hands behind his head. Cheryl didn't scare him, "Dunno, Sherry? Am I?" He asked. Ginger giggled behind her hand.

"Cut it out! I'm serious! What does this mean." Veronica said, looking imploringly at Sweet Pea.

"Probably nothing. Not drugs," Kevin broke in, "But like, I don't know. Nothing for us to worry about."

Cheryl stashed her phone, looking properly pleased now that she'd stirred the pot, and motioned for Ginger to follow her. Ginger sent one last pleading look at Sweet Pea, who was very interested in a text message from Fangs all of a sudden.

Veronica was about to disagree with Kevin when the lights in the room suddenly got really bright, as though they were on a dimmer and someone had smashed it all the way up.

Not a moment later, Betty entered the area, her grin as radiant as the lightbulbs on the table. If anyone else noticed the correlation, no one said anything. Sweet Pea felt a sigh of relief; at least Betty's mood was encouraging lighter magic, not the dark stuff she'd been in before.

"Betty, you're practically glowing," Kevin said, prenteind to shield his eyes, but he wasn't too far off. Sweet Pea saw him tilt his head toward one of the lamps.

Oh, yeah. Joaquin needed to meet this kid. He was better than the usual meth heads that Joaquin was drawn too, and Sweet Pea, like the protective older brother, totally approved.

Betty looked around, giggling behind her hand. Her efforts to dim the lights seemed to have no effect.

"I'm just happy, I guess! Guess who got asked to go to the drive in?" She asked, plopping in the space between Veronica and Kevin.

"I'm guessing you?" Veronica nudged her.

"By the one and only Jughead Jones?" Kevin added.

"Well, maybe."

Sweet Pea stood. He didn't understand why, all of a sudden, he felt like his fur had been rubbed the wrong way. It was possible his hatred toward Jughead really did extend so far down, he considered. Could the kid even smile, or did it just look awkward?

Ah, that was mean, he decided. Still, a bit of it might be true.

He felt Betty's eyes on him as he left, but she was overcome with her two friends badgering her for more details.

Cheryl was leaning on the outside of the threshold to the commons area.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" She asked, a wicked smile on her lips.

"Blossom, I don't know what you're talking about."

Not a ton of notes.

Just, that I'm trying to give Polly a bigger role, but the problem is especially in the start of the show Polly's not important until she is, so her appearances are sporadic at best. This changes later on, as I more concretely figured out what I wanted to do with her.

And lol as I'm watching the new episodes, like the one that came out on the 16th, my first thought is 'what the actual fuck is this plot' and then my second thought is either 'lol, yep that's gunna be changed' or '...I don't even know how I would make this make sense in any variation'. So luckily I have some time to figure out the fuckery of plotlines that is season 3 XD Anyone else feel like that?
Haha, as always, remember to pretty please review : )