Thank you, as always, to my lovely awesome reviewers: Boris Yeltsin, Guest27, brighteyescoldheart, David12leca, and guest!
Guest27: Oh, there is, Betty just isn't in the mindset of looking for that yet. Magic is sorta new to her :)
Guest: Happy to hear that! I hope to get on a much more regular schedule here on out. Hope you continue to enjoy it!
"Hey, nice heels."
Cheryl spun around, and Toni couldn't help but laugh at her dead expression. When she saw Toni leaning near the fence, Cheryl examined her up and down.
"I suppose a compliment, even coming from a snake, is still a compliment," Cheryl sniffed, paying for her red licorice. God, was everything this girl consumed red?
"Actually, your whole outfit is...interesting." Toni said, which was the honest to god truth.
"Okay, what do you want?" Cheryl crossed her arms, "I invented faux compliments, sweetie."
"Just a comment, god." Toni held up her hands, "But, honestly, that necklace...it's pretty sweet."
Toni leaned forward, fishing a necklace that was partially obscured under Cheryl's shirt, something on a very long chain, "Is this real bone?"
Cheryl hesitated.
Toni examined it a moment longer, gauging the magic that radiated off it, "Jason's?"
Cheryl looked ready to dismiss her, or slap her hand away, but Toni continued.
"You know, my brother's gone too. Except, I never knew what happened to him. One day here, next...poof. At least you don't have to wonder anymore. I can't make up my mind if I think he's still alive or not." Toni said.
This did seem to make Cheryl make up her mind. She stepped back, snatching her necklace away and tucking it far beneath her layers.
"God, I didn't ask for your sob story, Nagini." She said, but Toni could see the way she couldn't help but seem a little sorry.
"I guess I just wish I had something of him, as you do." Toni shrugged, "It happened a long time ago. So." She truly wasn't as plagued by it as she made it sound, she figured. People vanish often when you had to turn to shady ways to pay the bills, 'So, Jason's bone or just a random cat bone or something?" From the stiffness in Cheryl's shoulders, though she did a good job of hiding it, Toni knew exactly how special it was.
"Why's it matter?"
"Guess it doesn't. Just curious," Toni played it off casually.
"And you just thought you'd interrogate moi? Don't you know who I am?" Cheryl said, sneering at her.
"Duh. Cheryl Blossom. I'm just not intimidated." Toni laughed, "Unless, of course, there's a reason to be? Something…different about you? Maybe, otherworldly?"
Cheryl blinked twice, "I have no clue what you're going on about. You should be afraid of me because my family could own yours. You should be afraid of me because I can make your life a living hell, just with a snap of my fingers. You should be afraid because you don't want to see me angry."
Toni thought about it, "Actually, I think maybe I do." She said, reaching forward and snatching away a licorice piece, "By the way, that blood ritual you were doing at the river? Dilton totally saw. He didn't know what it was, but oh, we do."
And then, Toni walked away.
From the paleness in Cheryl's face, Toni knew she'd gotten under the girl's skin. Now, just time to wait before peeling it back to reveal the girl's secrets.
XXxxXX
"You looked through my diary?" Betty thundered in the car, "Mom, on so many levels, that is such an invasion of privacy!"
"When your daughter has pictures of a gun on her lap crumpled in her trashcan and her entire browser history wiped clean, I have that right," Her mother snapped back, "And, boy oh boy...this is exactly why I didn't want you hanging out with that Andrews boy." She looked at her daughter, "And what are you wearing? You look ridiculous."
"He doesn't get it. Mom, please," Betty begged, "He's not a bad kid."
"He's sleeping with a teacher, Betty! I can't believe you're defending him." She laughed darkly, "When the school board hears about this, that Ms. Grundy will never be able to work anywhere near kids again. And Archie-,"
"Mom, no. It's not his fault! We can't punish him."
"Oh, he'll be lucky to show his face around Riverdale High ever again." Her mother seethed.
"Mom, please," She begged as they parked at the school. Her mother didn't hear, but went into the school like a woman looking for war.
She ran after her mom in the halls, where her mother had thrown open the door to the music room.
"Well, well, well. There they are. What did I tell you?" Alice said triumphantly.
"Can someone tell me what's going on here?" Ms. Grundy asked nervously, patting down her skirt.
"Of course. Archie, would you like to share with us what you and Ms. Robinson have been doing during your 'music lessons'? And please, don't leave out any of the lurid details, because Betty here keeps a very meticulous diary, and I'm more than happy to fill in the missing details," Alice said, her lips curling.
The look Archie sent Betty was one of sheer betrayal. Just hurt, outpouring, like a faucet. Betty couldn't hold in her sobs, feeling so beaten-down. How she'd gone from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, she didn't know.
"I'm so sorry," She breathed to him, her throat unable to form actual words.
Archie just looked away, hurt written all over his face.
XXxxXX
JOAQUIN TO SWEET PEA: I think you left out a few very important details
JOAQUIN: about that kid
SP: ? like what?
JOA: Oh, don't play dumb
JOA: His last name woulda been a start
JOA: A fucking Keller. Good things he's hot, or you'd be so dead
SP: ;) I guess it meant it went well? And you know, if I'd never pointed him out...
JOA: I'm not going to thank you, if that's what your after
JOA: He won't tell if I don't
JOA: A human and a wolf are usually bad but-
SP: Dude, just enjoy it
SP: Don't worry about all of it
SP: I gotta go now. Dealing with a new shifter.
XXxxXX
"Wait, this is what this is all about? Your crazy grudge against my teenage son?" Fred turned to Alice, and Betty could feel the tensions just waiting to break in the room.
God, she had to fix this. She was a witch, there had to be something she could do. Her mind flipped through the grimoire in her room. Was there a time spell? Some way she could rewind the clock? Could she make more of the memory potion? No, it needed to be ready now, not in three hours. She should just carry that on her at all times.
Okay, no, she needed a spell.
But right now she just needed time.
"Alice, I swear to God-," Fred was threatening.
"Publish one word about this, Mom, and I will tell everyone that I broke into Ms. Grundy's car." Betty said darkly, finding her voice.
"Betty," Her mother turned, scowling.
"That I robbed her and made up the story of the affair. It will be like, I finally...snapped. Like Polly." Betty said, knowing that she'd hit a sore point, "It will prove what everyone already things about us. Crazy runs in that family. Like mother, like daughter," She threw down her gamble, examining her mother.
"You wouldn't dare." Her mother was fuming.
Betty summoned any confidence she had and grinned, "Try me."
XXxxXX
As soon as Betty had banished her mother from her room, she practically threw herself into the portal room. She had sent Sweet Pea about eight messages, but he hadn't gotten any of them. It wasn't until she had gone through the whole book that her phone buzzed.
A single message from him.
SWEET PEA: I'm on my way.
She didn't want to know how he managed to get into her room with her mother in the house, or even just into her house in general.
"Betty…" He sighed, taking in her tear-streaked face and her hair half thrown up in a ponytail, "Is it Jughead? I will tear his throat out, just say the words."
"No, it's not that," Betty hiccuped, "I...I made things so much worse. I need to turn time back. Sweet Pea, I need to fix all this." Betty said incoherently, still flipping through the overly large book.
"Betty, you're not making a ton of sense." Sweet Pea said uncertainty.
Tearfully, Betty explained her mother finding her diary and the showdown at the school. About how hurt Archie was, and even if he didn't blame her, the way he looked at her…
"I never wanted to hurt him. And now I know my mom reads my diary and who knows what else she's seen and I can't trust her and Archie's going to be in so much trouble and-,"
"Hey, hey. You're gunna give yourself a stroke if you keep on like that."
"Just tell me the spell or the potion and I'll make it. I will." Betty pleaded.
Sweet Pea knelt by her, "Betty, there isn't one."
"But- magic…"
"Isn't a fixall. It's a tool to use in life, but not a magic answer to everything."
"We used it with Chuck, though, that fixed everything." Betty argued, angry.
"We managed it. We put a bandaid over it." He explained gently, "Time magic isn't anything we should be dealing with even if you were powerful enough to do it. And maybe it's not so bad to let things lie where they are." He offered weakly.
"How could you say that?" Betty snarled.
"Ms. Grundy was a predator, Betty. She deserves more than what she got. And Archie? He'll bounce back. Humans like him are surprisingly pliant. And you've learned a lesson too." He said.
"This isn't some fable with a moral at the end of it, Sweet Pea! This is my life. This is my friend. And the way he looks at me...I ruined his life."
"You ruined one good lay," Sweet Pea snorted, "And if he can't realize that, then he doesn't deserve you as a friend."
"I just feel like I tried to make things better and I just made things worse." Betty whispered finally, slumping back on her haunches.
"Yeah, I know." Sweet Pea plopped next to her. He leaned against a tree, sighing and opening his arms to her. Without thinking, Betty curled into his side. She cried a little, just feeling so utterly mortal. Worse than that. To be a witch but to be able to do absolutely nothing at all, which Sweet Pea said she'd have to learn to deal with. Great power could only do so much sometimes, better to learn it early.
"I think I do have one solution, though, going forward," Sweet Pea said, his voice muffled into Betty's hair.
"Yeah?" She asked, feeling a little better after her whole cry.
Sweet Pea slid the book around to Betty, to a page he'd been casually looking for.
On it, instructions on how to do locking spells. Specifically, an example on how to ward books to close and open only for specific people. Which, all things considered, Betty thought she should have been doing from the beginning.
It didn't fix things, but Sweet Pea was right...all she could do now was make safe guards so that things were better. Instead of being a reactive witch, she needed to be proactive. Sweet Pea seemed to read this on her face, and he gave her a gentle hit on her shoulder.
"It's all about what learning to be a witch is about, Cooper."
XXxxXX
Sweet Pea returned to the drive-in land at dawn, after what seemed like a whole-night bacchanalia of sorts the wolves had participated in. He was pleased to see the new wolf with Fangs, after he'd dumped her with the younger pack, and only minorly felt bad about leaving her after such a terrifying night for Ginny.
Well, Betty had texted him.
And, as that thought hit him, he cussed.
Fucking damn it. Everyone else was right.
So, okay, he he'd a little bit of a light for the blonde witch. It's not like he was actively trying to get in her pants. Plus, she liked Jughead, and frankly Sweet Pea didn't have time for dating or otherwise. His life was complicated already.
And besides all that...he enjoyed her friendship. That, in itself, was more valuable than any fleeting crush he might have on her.
Whenever he was going to think of her in a weird way, he'd remind himself of this. Betty Cooper as a friend was better than Betty Cooper as a girlfriend and then (inevitably) as an ex.
He spotted Toni raiding the rest of the snacks counter.
"Did you do it?" He asked, shaking out his thoughts.
"With Cheryl? It's being done." She replied.
"Being done...what?" Sweet Pea narrowed his eyes, "It was a one-day thing, Toni. This isn't some secret mission shit or whatever."
"Well, I know she has more secrets. They need to be coaxed out. Can't be too suspicious." Toni said, "But she does have them. Secrets."
"No shit."
"The magical kind," Toni rolled her eyes, "She keeps a piece of Jason's bones on a necklace strand. That says a lot in itself." She said knowingly.
"The blood ritual makes even less sense with that in mind," Sweet Pea groaned, "Fine, whatever. Just don't...do something stupid." He said. A semi-seasoned werewolf was much more likely to be able to deal with Cheryl Blossom than a newbie witch.
Over by the projection room, Sweet Pea saw a familiar crown hat out of the corner of his eyes.
What the fuck was Jughead still doing, hanging around? He hated the Serpents. The Serpents, well, they didn't hate him but they didn't go out of their way to be welcoming. The whole triggered vs untriggered curse thing, and all.
He crept close, but saw FP walking up to his son. Sweet Pea hung around, just far enough away to not look suspicious but close enough to hear.
"They'll tear that booth down too. Raze the whole acre. Send it to the junkyard, and us with it." FP said as Jughead tagged one of the structures.
"Yeah, maybe they'll save it. All the pieces. Store it in the town hall attic and rebuild it in a 100 years. Wonder who the hell we were." Jughead said, and for a second, there was a smile. FP and Jughead had a weird relationship, Sweet Pea decided.
"Hmm. So where you gunna live now?" FP asked. Sweet Pea tried not to make a sound of surprise. FP had known where Jughead was sleeping this whole time? In the Drive-In? And he'd done nothing?
Sweet Pea had been under the assumption that Jughead was either in somewhere certifiably safe or FP didn't truly know where he was spending his nights. Secrets be damned, this was no place for a kid to be living.
And, Sweet Pea felt a little torn.
He respected FP, of course, but a part of him felt a little sickened. That kid could have easily been him, hiding out in public places, but it wasn't. FP had taken him in under his wing. The only difference between a life like Jughead's and a life like his was killing a man and that was pretty fucked up.
Jughead didn't seem ruffled his father seemed aware of his situation nor did he offer any help, "I'll figure it out, dad. I always do."
Really, Sweet Pea didn't like Jughead most of the time, but something about the whole situation didn't' seem...right.
He'd tell himself he did it for Betty, later. Because Jughead living anywhere he could crawl into could have gotten him killed or arrested and that would have been tragic. He'll tell himself he did it because Betty would be horrified to find out and yeah, despite not actively trying to date her, Sweet Pea is sorta whipped.
But, deep down, Sweet Pea knows it's because he's not as big as an asshole as he plays himself up to be.
"Jughead," he said, catching up to his classmate outside the fences.
"Sweet Pea," Jughead greeted darkly, "Here to gloat? I bet you wouldn't know good movies anyway."
Sweet Pea tried not to internalize Jughead's comment. The kid didn't just have his job and his favorite location taken away, he had his home demolished. Who knew how long he'd been hiding out in here?
"Not like you did," Sweet Pea admitted, offering the olive branch. Jughead blinked in surprise at his kindness. He looked creeped out. Fair, "So, uh, I heard you don't really have a place to live now…"
"Don't lord it over me," Jughead mumbled, "And don't tell anyone at school. I don't want them to worry."
"Come live with me," Sweet Pea said before he convinced himself out of it, "Not in a creepy way, or shit. I have an extra bedroom. My old room and all. I live alone, have ever since my mother croaked…" Okay, now he was rambling. Dammit.
Jughead was just staring at him. Trying to suss out the claim, Sweet Pea was sure.
"Why?"
"Because it's shitty you have to find a place, gotit? And, well, I have one." Sweet Pea said, crossing his arms, "This offer is going to expire in about ten seconds, bud." He added, not wanting Jughead to think that he was a charity case or Sweet Pea was suddenly a kind person.
"Sure, why not?" Jughead said, laughing dryly.
"Seriously?"
"Were you...not serious?" Jughead replied, looking a little embarrassed.
"No, I mean, I was," Sweet Pea winced, "I just didn't think…"
"I'm not stupid. If I don't have to break into a closet in some forgotten part of town for my next bed, I'm not going to say no." Jughead crossed his arms, "Plus, we both go to Riverdale. It's not the worst idea you've ever had, all things considered."
"Don't get sappy on me," Sweet Pea said, rolling his shoulders, "Got all your stuff?" He asked, "Now, c'mon. And really, don't mention this." Don't mention it because I didn't really consider how difficult it would all be with all of us as wolves and you not finding out and FP might skin my hide for doing this, but fuck it, I am.
"Don't worry," Jughead rolled his eyes, "Your self-created image of a ne'er-do-well is safe with me."
XXxxXX
BETTY to SWEET PEA: Just remembered something in all the crazy
BETTY: Grundy? We sure? Even a sucky one?
BETTY: Guess it doesn't matter now, she'll be long gone.
SWEET PEA: Pretty damn sure. But like, she's a sucky one, maybe. One that can only get teenage boys, because their brains haven't developed yet. It's why she has to use musical instruments, she can't user her voice alone
BETTY: 0.0
SP: Look at this YT vid of her
BETTY: She doesn't even sound that good
SP: Yeah, but look at all the comments
BETTY: Woah, it's all boys and they just seem to think she's like a god or something
SP: A good siren just needs to use their voice
BETTY: Are all musicians sirens?
SP: Nah. It's like that square rectangle thingy. Not all musicians are sirens, but all sirens are musicians. Or orators. Something with lips, if ya know what I mean...
XXxxXX
JUGHEAD to BETTY: Betty, you ok?
JUGHEAD: I heard it all from Archie btw
JUGHEAD: He's not upset with you
BETTY: Oh my god, Juggie. I'm so sorry! With everything, I didn't mean to totally ghost you after all that
JUGHEAD: Hey, it's fine. Your mom probably would have killed me or something if I tried to stop her from grabbing you away
BETTY: Well, we'll just have to finish that date another time, I guess
JUGHEAD: I'd like that :)
XXxxXX
Sweet Pea bringing Jughead back to his trailer was awkward, to say the least. Jughead had looked over at the trailer he'd grown up in with a forlorn expression before stalking into Sweet Pea's. Sweet Pea had pointed out where the extra bedroom was and Jughead had vanished into it, without so much of another word.
He was just so goddamn moody.
However, perhaps if Sweet Pea put himself in his shoes, he'd be acting the same way.
The news got around quickly. Even if Sweet Pea was decent enough with pointedly not thinking of things when in wolf mode, Fang's mind was like a constant radio show of literally everything happening. Sweet Pea knew that he couldn't keep this a secret, duh, but he would have liked to have been able to tell FP personally.
Instead, he got an angry alpha all but shoving him up against the trailer when he phased back.
A part of Sweet Pea definitely should have been more afraid. Another part, though, was just angry.
"You better know what the hell you're doing," FP had snarled.
It had been a spur of the moment thing, so, no.
"Doing more than you're doing for your son, that's for sure." Sweet Pea had snapped back, only having the courage to use that tone because he was right. FP looked murderous, but that probably said that Sweet Pea's words had hit a nerve.
"You mess this up, he find out, there will be repercussions, boy." FP had finally relented, because he couldn't kick Jughead out of Sweet Pea's own place.
Plus, other non-wolves (untriggered) lived in Sunnyside. There was a rule that you had to be in the woods to phase, or that was the hope. Fangs had managed to live here up until he killed that girl without ever finding out, so it wasn't impossible.
Unfortunately, Jughead had this really fucking annoying trait of not knowing when to just keep his nose in his own shit. Even still, Sweet Pea wasn't regretting this decision. Much.
Betty had been a mixture of proud and shocked when she found out. Apparently, Jughead had kept his insults about Sweet Pea to a minimum, and admitted that 'he wasn't the worst'. He was giving Jughead a place to live, hell yeah he was a pretty decent dude. Betty had pretty much asked the same thing FP had, but in a much kinder tone.
Sweet Pea was much more willing to be honest with Betty.
"I'm not sure," Sweet Pea had said, scratching his neck, "But I couldn't just not do something, okay? Okay. It's done. I mean, he eats his cereal weird and he's up at strange hours, but he's not a bad roommate of yet. I guess it's been only a weekend, though."
"He's glad to be there, deep down, but he'll never say it to your face," Betty assured.
"I just have one rule; I come in and you're making out on my couch or something, first you're paying to have that cleaned, and second you're out in the door. I just don't need to see that."
Betty's blush was almost adorable, and her laugh was even more so, "I don't think that's gunna happen, but deal."
XXxxXX
Cheryl held the candlesticks aloft. Carefully, she crept down the stairs.
Time was running out.
In front of her was Jason's coffin; sleek, expensive, cold. She set the candelabra down, gathering her courage. Jason hadn't been in his room. He wasn't out in the backyard, working on his catches, and he wasn't in the basement, playing piano.
Her fingers ran over the smoothness of the lid. He had to be here, didn't he?
The coffin was empty. Just, empty. Looking as perfect as the day that it left the mortician's, waiting for the person who would lay to rest in it forever.
Her brother.
There was a hand on her shoulder.
She gasped, jumping around.
"Cheryl," Jason murmured, standing behind her. It was like he was speaking from underwater, his voice hard to hear, "I'm cold, I'm so cold." He was shivering, despite wearing his Bulldog's varsity jacket. He looked just as vibrant and alive as the day she last saw him, though, maybe just a little ruffled. His hair, usually perfectly combed down, was mussed.
Cheryl threw her arms around him, sobbing, "Jay-Jay...I'm sorry." She begged, burying her nose into his shoulder.
"It's cold and I can't breathe," Jason said again, "It's dark too. Cheryl…" He broke off, shaking his head, sounding disoriented, "And my head hurts…" He rubbed his forehead, wincing hard.
"Jason, listen to me. Just hold on. I am trying. I'm going to try until the last second, you have to believe me." She said, grasping his fingers. They were like ice-cubes, "Just a little longer."
"Please, hurry." Jason's voice broke, and for a second he seemed to have a moment of understanding, one he hadn't in the moments before. Then, he blinked and shivered again.
He opened his mouth to add something, but before Cheryl's eyes, his eyes glazed over and his hands fell from hers. His skin grew sallow and pale and his forehead began to bleed. His legs collapsed underneath him. Before he hit the ground, Cheryl woke up screaming.
She shot upright, shaking off the feeling from The Other Side, holding her fingers over her own heart to make sure that, yes, she was still breathing.
She hadn't thought she'd be able to cross over. She hadn't thought she'd been able to find him. Even if both of these pursuits had been a success, a cold grip squeezed on her heart.
It was a warning. Cheryl was running out of time.
She flopped back down on Jason's bed, pulling his sweatshirt close to her nose, inhaling. She'd been holding onto it so much lately that it almost didn't smell like him anymore.
There was movement to her left and she realized there'd been someone in the doorway the whole time.
"You seemed gone from this world and for a moment I wondered if we'd be needing another coffin," Her mother said. However, it wasn't concern or fear in her voice, but disinterest and near disappointment, "No more coming in here, Cheryl. Jason cannot be reached."
Cheryl wasn't going to give her mother the satisfaction of knowing she had, even if this was one time out of hundreds of attempts.
"I was working on his eulogy and feel asleep," She lied easily. She had been, so that wasn't entirely a lie.
"Don't bother. You won't be speaking at his memorial. Failures don't get to stand up and mourn the person they should have saved." Her mother said with a cool tone.
"I tried-," Cheryl broke in, her own guilt pressing on her shoulders.
"Apparently, not well enough." Her mother picked up the paper and tore in in a handful of confetti, "It is because of your lack of success that I am putting my baby boy in the ground."
"Oh, kettle black mother," Cheryl spat, "You ask me to do all your dirty work because you wish you could be as powerful as me."
"If I had even a quarter of the power in your blood," Penelope's voice had dropped to a dangerous tone, "I would have been able to save Jason from a long, endless sleep. It makes me wonder if you even wanted to. Just remember, Cheryl, if you weren't already a disgrace to this family, your inability to do the only thing that's ever mattered has cemented it."
She was gone before Cheryl could find a rebuttal. And, despite how much she hated her mother, a part of her knew she spoke some truth...she hadn't been able to save him.
But she still had time. She just needed the right battery power.
XXxxXX
"This is how my dad had his Jason Blossom murder board before it was trashed," Kevin said, pinning up the last thumbtack, "No fingerprints, but they took all of this down, plus files, background checks, and all the tapes of police interviews. Very suspicious."
"What's the stars mean?" Jughead asked, coming up and tapping his finger next to little yellow post it note stars near a handful of names.
"Err," Kevin blinked, "Means that my dad had more questions for them."
Kevin side-glanced Betty. What it really meant was that this was a supernatural being, because Sheriff Keller wasn't unconvinced someone in the magic community didn't have a hand somewhere. It was also not something they could announce here, so stars it was.
Before Jughead could add, the door opened.
"Hey, uh, Betty?"
She turned, putting on a bright smile, "Hi Trev!"
"Sorry to interrupt." He said, looking at the gathered people, especially Betty with two boys. Even if one was totally gay.
"We're just working on our murder board!" Betty realized she'd said that a smidge too brightly.
"I just wanted to make sure we were still on, you know, tomorrow." Trev said.
"Oh, yeah. Of course. See you at 8?"
Trev nodded, but made himself scarce. Murder boards weren't for everyone, Betty realized.
"What is that?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Really, Nothing. Just an intelligence gathering mission. I mean, maybe Trev knows something about Jason. Nothing more."
"Does he know that?" Jughead asked, a little bitterly, crossing his arms.
"Of course he knows that," Betty said, "I asked him if he had any info about Jason and he said that it might be better to talk about it over something nice, like milkshakes."
"That sounds like a date," Jughead said, tension thick in his voice. Betty shot him a look, a raised eyebrow with nearly a smile. His jealousy was almost cute.
"Oh my god. You two?" Kevin gaped, staring between the two, "Oh, tell me all of it!"
"Juggle, it's not a date. Speaking of which, though" She gave a soft smile, "We need to finish ours."
"Get that, girl." Kevin whispered.
Jughead finally let out a tiny smile, looking at both of them, "Classy, as always, Kevin."
XXxxXX
Sweet Pea balanced as he walked on the bleachers, following Betty and her group to sit to eat lunch.
"Betty, you're positively radiating Nicholas Sparks. Tell me everything about this Trev," Veronica said. What the fuck did that even mean? Sweet Pea sent a look Betty's way, a raised eyebrow. He noticed Jughead looked sulkier than usual, if even possible.
"Oh, there's nothing to tell," Kevin teased, "Just one of Betty's sources. There's nothing romantic in the office. At least, not with him." He said. Immediately, Veronica's first instinct was to swivel toward Sweet Pea. Jughead definitely noticed, from the way he clenched his teeth. Sweet Pea gave his most innocent look. Betty looked a little red.
"It's true, I swear. Not a date. We're just going to be chatting about murder and drinking milkshakes." Betty insisted.
"Take out the murder, and that sounds like a date." Sweet Pea said as they sat next to the intended target- Archie, who was deep in football maneuvers. Of course, Sweet Pea had watched that whole captain thing go down. He was just a minor bit relieved coach hadn't looked to him, even if he'd only been the team a couple weeks.
"Thank you," Jughead said, startling everyone, "God, I never thought I'd say I'm glad to agree with you on something," he was looking at Sweet Pea.
Maybe their shared cohabitation meant they were rubbing off on each other? Yuck.
"Why is everything weird here? Why can't a date just be a date?" Veronica sighed.
"It's not a date." Betty was quick to correct again.
"What about you Archie? How's life in a PG world...PG. Post-Grundy? Too soon?" Veronica turned to Archie. Sweet Pea snickered under his breath.
"Coach Clayton says I have a shot at being varsity captain. So, I'm not thinking much of anything else."
Sweet Pea could see that totally wasn't true. He could hear the ginger's heart thumping, he could see the way his pupils were dilated. He was thinking a lot of Ms. Grundy. Being separated from a siren, even a shitty one, was like going through withdrawal if you got too used to it. The kid was sorta an idiot, but Sweet Pea felt bad for him.
"Hey, I'd be willing to run some plays with you," Sweet Pea offered, because it majorly sucked that Archie- totally helpless human- got caught up in that. Plus, he really didn't want Reggie getting captain. Reggie would make his life hell, or try to.
"Really?" Archie jumped a bit. They didn't interact much, sure, but Sweet Pea was in this strange little group, for better or worse.
Sweet Pea shrugged, opening his bag of chips.
Then, he sorta checked out when one of the cat lady singers came up to Archie. He couldn't remember her name, or if he'd ever heard it, and his cheese-flavored corn bits were just far more interesting. That, and that he was contemplating that somehow he missed a siren right under his nose. Was it worth it to tell FP? Probably, because she was after kids and that was fucked up.
The next time Sweet Pea checked back in, and he wasn't sure how much had passed, was when Cheryl Blossom was standing in front of the group.
"Sorry to interrupt the Sad Breakfast Club, but I'm here to formally invite you to Jason's memorial at Thornhill this weekend." She announced, flourishing a stack of black envelopes with perfect calligraphy and red wax seals. Totally gothic and over the top. Sweet Pea sorta dug it.
She passed it out to Betty, Kevin, Archie, Jughead, and Veronica, adding to the raven-haired girl, "To my chagrin and surprise, mother added you to the guest-list. In case you're tempted to steal our silver candlesticks, don't. We'll be searching bags." She narrowed her eyes and turned on her heels.
"Wait! I feel left out! Where's my invite?" Sweet Pea called after her, half joking and half entirely serious, "Damn, I'm hurt." He gave an over-dramatic pout.
"You didn't even know Jason." Archie pointed out.
"Neither did I?" Veronica held the card like it was a bug, "And god, how rude-,"
"Hey, she is burying her brother." Betty put hand on Veronica's arm.
"She maybe gets two more bitch passes," Kevin nodded in agreement as he broke the seal on his, "Oh my god, there's gold leafing and dead rose petals in this invite."
"I'm still angry I didn't get one," Sweet Pea humphed, crossing his arms.
So, obviously, the BIGGEST change is that instead of going to live with Archie, Jughead will be living with Sweet Pea. Predictions to how you think that's going to change things?
And, just another note, Jason actually talks here. When I heard that Trevor Stines was going to be in the flashback episode as Young!Clifford I was stoaked because I thought they were going to give him lines. Go look up his voice. It's dreamy. But they didn't. let jason speak yoU COWARDS.
I've also decided I'm going to start playlists so all of you can listen to the song titles. I have Spotify, 8Tracks, Youtube, Last. FM, and Playlist Net down...any other playlist sharing/creating sites I'm missing?
Lastly, Boris Yeltsin, if you want a drabble, you've reached one! Just read on my profile and send it in a PM or review if that's something you want to claim.
Enjoy all!