Thank you all, as usual, to my awesome-sauce reviewers: Boris Yeltsin, top story, Guest, and CassandraofTroy17!
Song for this chapter is the American Horror Story Theme, because I've had it stuck in my head basically a week for no reason whatsoever.
Cheryl collected herself as she walked away from the group of bright and happy teens. For them, they could just move on from this exchange, or have times when they weren't thinking of Jason. It was not so of Cheryl. Jason, and her anxiety about how to fix this, was always on her mind.
She was going to go mad if she didn't figure this out.
"Cheryl, wait!" Veronica called out to her. Because Cheryl recalled how Veronica had comforted her the night of the pep rally, she gave pause, "You're in pain. This is a horrible week for you. I'm sure it's why you're being particularly obnoxious."
Cheryl narrowed her eyes, "Maybe. What's your point?" She tried to sound as collected as possible. Inside, she was screaming.
"Look, I don't want to be locked in a cat-fight-to-the-death with you. That only ends in one way."
"Mutual annihilation," Cheryl wasn't stupid. She'd grown up with Penelope Blossom for god's sake.
"Agreed. So can't we just...be friends? Or, at least, frenemies?" Veronica asked, shuffling her feet a bit.
At first, Cheryl wanted to say 'no bitch'. Then, she remembered something. A little factoid about the Lodges and their, well, unique diet and such.
Cheryl gave a cat-like grin, "If you really want to extend an olive branch, come to a sleepover I'm having."
"Fine." Veronica agreed, looking a little uneasy.
On the inside, Cheryl gave a sigh of relief. Jason would be back before they could even settle his coffin into the ground.
XXxxXX
"Can you believe that bitch? I'm still salty I didn't get an invitation…" Sweet Pea was still going on about it after school, after practice and magic lessons. Betty had eventually told him that if he didn't shut the hell up about it, she'd hex him. And, since she'd never hexed anyone before, she might accidentally give him a pair of antlers or something that couldn't be reversed. So, Sweet Pea promptly shut up about it, until he was back home. He'd tried to steal Jughead's invitation, with little success.
"You're upset you didn't get an invitation to a wake?" Vade was throwing a ball against the side of a trailer, and gave him a strange look, "Yeah, sounds like a real party."
"It's the principal of the matter!" Sweet Pea argued, catching his bouncy-ball mid air, "Plus, well, when would I ever get a chance again to go to Thornhill?"
"Sweet Pea, use that head of yours." Deni snapped finally. Sweet Pea swiveled his head.
"Huh?"
Deni and Toni shared exasperated looks.
"And they say sometimes you're intelligent," Toni said, smacking his arm, "No, Sweet Pea...this is great!"
"Uhh…?" He frowned.
"I'm dying to get on their property too and figure out what the hell is going on with that family. This will be the perfect time to sneak around! Everyone else will be preoccupied, so two extra people there won't even be noticed." She said.
Sweet Pea blinked, feeling really stupid for not realizing it sooner.
"By George," he said in an overly-ridiculous voice, causing Deni to roll her eyes, "You're a genius, Topaz. Get yer sexiest black ninja clothes, we're going a'snooping!"
XXxxXX
"Jason's memorial will be held in this room, before he's laid to rest in the cemetery on Thornhill's grounds," Penelope stated, turning to Sheriff Keller with a sad smile. Tom Keller couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling, the one that had seemed to clung to him since he stepped foot on the grounds. Not even the house, but the grounds specifically. It was a feeling his grandpa had taught him to always be aware of. Frankly, he couldn't recall many times he'd been out to this land, the Blossoms always came to the station if there was a need.
"We've invited everyone on our list," Penelope continued.
Tom tilted his head, foring his attention back, "List?"
"List of suspects, of course," Penelope said as though it was obvious, "People with grudges against us, many of them members of Riverdale's families, I'm sorry to say. Someone in this town killed Jason."
Tom gave a long sigh, "You know, that's our thought too. Since whoever broke into my house…" Tom trailed off. Out of the corner of the eye, he saw something. He wasn't sure what it was, not until he turned. On a table that looked like it was being boxed up to put Jason's photos, there was a symbol made of sticks, weaved with dead flowers.
And Tom Keller, who had spent his entire life knowing far too much about the town's secrets, knew this wasn't just a bad Pinterest craft.
"This," He said as he looked back at Penelope, shock coloring his voice, "This is a spirit circle." That, along with the eerie feeling in his bones, made him look at the Blossoms in a whole new way. It was Penelope's narrowed eyes that confirmed it, however.
"Cheryl," She snapped, "That was supposed to be gone before the good Sheriff arrived," She said to her daughter, who lurked near the long staircase. Cheryl stalked forward, snatching it away.
"So sorry, mother," She sneered, "Can't have anyone knowing anything, can we?" Her voice was highly acerbic.
"You'll understand one day that we do this to protect us," Penelope said sternly. Tom was still fumbling for words. His fingers reached for his gun on instinct. Penelope save the movement and gave a long sigh.
"Let's not do that," She said, going into the box and pulling out a small satchel. Before Tom could even move, she blew a handful of a fine dust into his face.
Everything felt groggy, like he'd had far too much to drink.
After a second, he looked down. Why was his hand on his gun? Where was he?
"-we've invited everyone on our list, as I said."
He looked up at Penelope Blossom, trying to reel in any reaction of surprise.
"Sorry, I'm not sure where my mind went." He didn't want to admit he had no idea how long he'd been here, or what they'd been talking about previously.
"No problem, I know you have a lot on your mind," Penelope said with a smile that seemed a little off, "Now, as I was saying…"
XXxxXX
"So, let me get this straight," Jughead said, leaning forward and pressing his fingers together as he examined Betty, "Jason was running drugs and Polly had tried to kill herself?"
"Yeah," Betty slouched her shoulders, settling back against Sweet Pea's couch. She hadn't actually ever been here, and probably wouldn't have had reason to until Jughead took up residence. Sweet Pea's trailer looked a lot like FP's, maybe with less stuff. And, she supposed if she looked at it with a detective eye, she could obviously tell it belonged to a teenager over an adult, "That's what Trev and my dad said, at least."
"God, I'm sorry," Jughead said, his voice softening, "About Polly."
"I mean, my grandmother of all people would for sure knock some sense into her," Betty played with her hairband, "And that...that I get. Or, I'm not a suicidal person, but Polly has always been ruled by her emotions. What I don't get this...why's a rich kid sell drugs? His parents are loaded."
"Well, he was running away from his parents, and if he stole the family heirlooms, his parents could be really angry. You know, call the cops on him."
"Running away gets the cops called on you. Drug dealing gets the cops called on you." Betty pointed out.
"Or," Jughead held up a finger, "Running away from drug dealers. Got a bad deal, something went down, who knows?"
Betty playfully hit his shoulder, "You watch too many noir films." She teased. Then, she quieted, "But why run away from the Blossoms at all?"
"They're monsters," Jughead said without missing a beat.
"Okay, but specifically." Betty pressed.
"Well, we can't ask them," Jughead snorted. Then a conspiratorial look came over his face, "So, we'll have to ask Jason."
Betty's heart leapt a little, "What? A seance?" She tried to ask it as sarcastically as possible, but in all reality her mind was flipping through how to make that happen, and also wondering how she'd never thought of it. Could she do that?
"No," Jughead laughed, "Dead men tell no tales...but their bedrooms? Their houses?" He grabbed his invite to the memorial from inside his shirt, "Uh, Sweet Pea keeps trying to knick it," He added when Betty gave him a strange look. She couldn't help but laugh a little, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Sweet Pea was determined, she'll give him that, "I'm nearly tempted to just give him the damn thing, but I sort of like giving him the proverbial middle finger. Plus, now we have a reason to go."
Betty hummed, reaching over to take a drink from her glass of water.
When she looked back, Jughead was very close to her. Close enough so that she could see the light freckles across his nose. She swallowed, her heart thumping.
His fingers ghosted over her jaw, and he leaned in-
"If you're about to do what I think you're about to do," A voice came from the doorway, "Don't."
Jughead jumped away from Betty, glaring Sweet Pea down with a look that border-lined on murderous.
"I have one rule in this house, don't look at me like that. I don't want your kissy germs on my furniture." Sweet Pea argued.
"It's fine, it's fine," Betty grabbed Jughead's wrist, "We were just talking about maybe trying to see if Jason had something in his room to answer some of our questions. Use the memorial to our advantage."
"Oh, yes, talking in each other's mouths," Sweet Pea replied. Toni shoved past Sweet Pea.
"How interesting!" She said, ignoring him and sitting next to Betty with a wicked grin, "Apparently, great minds think alike!"
XXxxXX
The next day at school, and all the way through it, Veronica had been trying to figure out who else was going to Cheryl's little sleepover. Well, Ginger, Tina and Nancy, probably, and maybe some other Vixens? Except, it wasn't like anyone was talking about it, making plans about who was going to bring Clueless and who was going to bring the chocolate. Veronica really did want to mend, or make some minor effort to the redheaded girl, but she needed to know what items to bring. What was appropriate? This wasn't a regular slumber party, this was a sleepover before a girl buried her brother. Did she act more cheerful than a regular sleepover? Less? Was her job to console Cheryl while she cried or try to take the girl's mind off it completely?
As she walked through the halls, intending on hopefully catching Cheryl alone before they changed for practice, she spotted Archie sitting on a bench, carefully wrapping his fingers.
"Isn't that your playing hand?" She asked, sitting next to him. Archie looked up at her, biting his lip, but didn't answer. That, in itself, was answer enough.
"Archie," She groaned, "This hand is your instrument. You need to take better care of it." She said, her fingers rubbing over the swollen knuckles, "And, you know, stop punishing yourself while you're at it."
She could almost feel the anger bubbling under the surface, anger about everything. About Reggie and football, about his music, about Grundy. Veronica wanted to sooth him, but wasn't sure how.
"I'm not." He replied in a tight voice.
"You sure?" She raised her eyebrow.
"I got slammed because I didn't now the play. I didn't know the play because, like an idiot, instead of memorizing my plays I was up late last night. Working on some of my songs with Valerie."
"Valerie, huh?" A sigh settled over Veronica, one of relief. Thank god he wasn't under Grundy's strange spell anymore, not as much, it seemed. When Sweet Pea had mouthed 'siren', yeah, Veronica had thought that was an appropriate comparison. She really was like a siren, but like, not in a good way.
"You jealous, Ronnie?" Archie asked. A tiny flutter pitter-pattered. No one called her Ronnie. It was so delicate, so personal. Perhaps right in that moment, Veronica went from just seeing Archie as an attractive person, to having a crush on him.
She gathered herself, "Please. I had my seven minutes in heaven with Archie Andrews."
She stared at his hand a moment longer, then raised a finger. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small capsule, holding it out to him.
"I already took advil," Archie said dumly, though it didn't look like Advil at all.
"It's, uhm, a different pain medication. My mom gives it to me, for emergencies. Do you trust me?" Veronica asked. Archie snorted, but picked up the small reddish-brown pill. He seemed to weigh it in his hand, literally and metaphorically.
"What is it?"
"I can't remember the name. Something long and scientific, I believe," Veronica frowned. Archie shrugged, popping it in is mouth. Immediately, after swallowing, he coughed.
"Ugg, that tasted like cooper. Gross!" He said, reaching for his water bottle. Veronica gave a light laugh, but a genuine one.
"Yeah, it's supposed to faintly taste like strawberries, but I never got that. My mom and I used to joke when I was a kid that it was penny flavored."
Archie was in the middle of trying to wash the taste from his mouth when he sat up completely straight, flexing his fingers.
"Oh my god," he breathed. Veronica beamed.
"Told you. Good as new." She said, standing.
"Like, you're not joking. Ronnie, it's like I never even got it crushed. I...woah." Archie said, just staring at his hand in awe. Veronica had been explicitly told not to give those pills out to others, but Archie always looked like a sad puppy, and part of her couldn't have resisted helping if she tried.
"Try to take better care of it," She knew she couldn't afford to give more away, "That hand is going to be worth millions one day."
XXxxXX
Sweet Pea insists on calling a meeting about the plans, even though Betty believes it to be rather self-explanatory. Really, what happens is not so much a 'meeting' as much as he starts talking about it in the trailer. Jughead, who lives there, cannot escape. Betty is there to hang out with Jughead, so she's roped into it. Toni was already milling about, half-heartedly watching something on her phone, and just rolled her eyes when Sweet Pea began up again.
It's far too late in the night to be discussing this, Betty thinks. Especially considering it's not that complicated.
Tomorrow, Betty and Jughead will sneak away during the memorial and look in Jason's bedroom, where there's likely to be something hidden away. Betty has been practicing a locator spell, but it's worked fewer times than it's succeeded and she's not sure what to look for anyway. Plus, Jughead will be there, which means she'll have to attempt it on the DL.
During this time, Toni and Sweet Pea will look around the perimeter directly close to the house. Sweet Pea has roped Vade and Fangs into helping, and those two will survey the land surrounding the house. Then, they'll all meet back in Sweet Pea's trailer, where Betty has already offered to buy a pizza, and they'll swap knowledge. Hopefully, one of them will have something worth talking about.
"I just want us to be all on the same page, guys," Sweet Pea finally sighs, realizing no one is truly listening.
"What do you think will happen?" Jughead lifts his head, quirking an eyebrow, "She'll curse us?" His tone is entirely teasing, but it still causes Betty to stiffen. Luckily, Toni laughs, throwing back her head.
"You have to admit, if she did, no one would be surprised."
XXxxXX
To say that Cheryl's family was intense would be an understatement. Frankly, Veronica felt like she'd walked on the set of an old Gothic horror movie, one where a heroine in billowing white would be attacked by a monster who 'just didn't know how to love' but was eventually killed, or something. Even Cheryl's room had a musty tinge to it, like she was living in a room meant for someone else. There were attempts to make it modern on the wall; a couple posters, the laptop in the corner, the string of pictures on clothespins on a fine piece of string. It was pictures, mostly, of her and Jason. A couple with Nancy or Ginger or Tina.
Not for the first time, Veronica wondered why one of these girls were not here? She wasn't dumb enough to think that the Blossoms didn't have some weird animosity toward her family, which was clear enough from that horribly awkward dinner with far too many invasive questions about her father, but Veronica was still trying to figure out Cheryl's motives.
Despite it all, Veronica still felt sorry for her. Her mother treated Cheryl like a less-than, and the guilt they were trying to lay on her was just ridiculous. Sure, Cheryl might not be squeaky clean, but it wasn't like Cheryl was the one to pull the trigger on Jason.
"Jason deserved a better family than what he got," Cheryl said to the empty air around them. Veronica hugged a pillow to her chest.
"I'm sure he knows how much you loved him, and that matters," She tried to comfort her. At the rally, the words had come so easily. Now? Not so much, "I'll do whatever you need me to do." She added with a genuine smile. She could not deny Cheryl the chance to get closure, whatever that might entail.
"We'll let Clifford and Penelope do their worst," Veronica added, a little more sure when she saw the broad grin on Cheryl's face. At Veronica's words, Cheryl laughed a bit.
"Oh, they will. They'd kill me if I weren't so valuable to them," She said with absolute sincerity. Before Veronica could pick apart the seriousness of her tone, Cheryl continued, "If that's true, I'll need you to help me with something...tonight, at around 3:33 AM."
Veronica frowned. That was an oddly specific time. There was an old wives tale she was pretty sure she associated with that time, but it was on the tip of her tongue, just from her reach.
"Why then?" She settled to ask.
"Some say the worst of things happen then," Cheryl said, seeming all too serene for the entirety of the night, "I'd argue only the best things do."
XXxxXX
The next morning, Veronica would wake up feeling a little dizzy, a little out of it. She'd recall the feeling that the dinner was awkward, that maybe they'd asked some prying questions about her father, but she wouldn't be able to say anything else. She'd recall that Cheryl had asked something of her, and she could faintly bring forth a time had been linked to it, but she couldn't think of it. And, if that had already passed her by, she couldn't tell you what happened during then. If she didn't know better, she'd say she had too much to drink, but Veronica wouldn't have been drinking here...would she?
No, she decided, even if Cheryl was drinking, that would be in bad form.
As she woke up and went to get ready for the memorial, she noticed Cheryl was particularly mopey. Of course, this could be chalked up to having to bury Jason, but there was a defeat in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
In the bathroom, as Veronica yawned, she looked at her palm.
There, as though it was a few weeks old, was a scar. A scar that Veronica knew for certain had not been there before, but was much too old looking to have come about last night. When she ran her finger over it, she got a jolt of something happening, something eerie and uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but it was gone in an instant.
In Cheryl's room, the redhead sat, watching Veronica talk her dob kit into the bathroom. She had been wrong. Veronica couldn't help her, she was just a human and nothing more right now. And, because of that, she had once again failed Jason again.
XXxxXX
Hermione Lodge clutched the envelope as she stepped out of the car, handing her keys off to someone valeting the event. She watched the mourners, dressed in black, make their way to the house. Many were former classmates she had gone to school with. As much as she heartily despised the Blossoms, having to bury a son that was hardly seventeen was a burden no parent should face.
Although she herself had wished for an early death, Hermione knew she'd fight to keep Veronica human as long as possible. She couldn't imagine if this was the flip side, if mourners were coming to the Pembrooke to give their sympathies for her own child. If something awful happened and Veronica never made it to their family's heritage, if Veronica died human and never lived again. This very thought was enough to make Hermione nearly cry, that is, if she could still do that. It did leave a strange feeling deep in her throat, one she recognized as that near sob feeling.
As she approached the edge of the front door, she felt the humming and warmth of magic, but she always felt this when approaching an abode, so this was not out of place. If anyone else noticed it, they didn't say so, which made Hermione assume it was a part of a vampire's own special hell.
Penelope was at the front of the line, collecting invitations like a backwards guest list, and she smirked when she saw Hermione. All of Hermione's 'sorries' die on her lips as she watches the way Penelope regards her with a cold tone.
She cannot move forward, not another inch right now, and Penelope damn well knows that.
It would be more embarrassing if more people knew what Hermione Lodge was, but as it is, Penelope will only have the high ground for a couple more moments.
"Penelope, you're going to have to make a choice soon," Hermione said when there were a couple seconds of silence, and Penelope just looked at Hermione with a 'why don't you come in, oh yes, you can't' sort of way, "Would you rather have me around to play whatever game you think you're doing, or would you rather keep Thornhill free of me? Once you give me permission, you know you cannot take it back."
Not even a strong witch could re-set a boundary spell.
Penelope seems to argue with herself for a couple moments, before she gives Hermione the most gracious smile she can summon.
"Hermione Lodge, why don't you come in?" She asks, her smile tight. Immediately, the pressure and heat lessens and Hermione feels like a weight has been lifted from her chest. She takes a step so she is right up next to Penelope.
"I do what to truly offer my condolences," She added before she steps all the way into Thornhill, knowing with a minor glee that Penelope couldn't keep her away from here if she ever wished to return.
It's not the call Hermione would have made, but then again, Penelope's distrustful ways were bound to be her downfall.
XXxxXX
"Oh, I'm getting a bad feeling," Betty whispered to Jughead as the pair arrived to Cheryl's house. The same sort of bad feeling that appeared right before the shrieks appeared. The same foreboding that hadn't yet steered her wrong, magically.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Jughead agreed, although she doubted he was feeling the same.
As they approached the house, Betty felt a shiver run up her spine and stay there, the same darkness that made her nearly kill Chuck. This entire house was just saturated with it, like the entire land was dunked in a vat of just evil.
Also entirely strange? As they approached the front doors, there was a resistance. One that Betty would only think of later, after a couple key moments occur. At this time, it doesn't bother her entirely. She's too preoccupied with the feeling of Jughead's large palms on her hands and the feeling of wanting to barf that's rising in her stomach.
Ahead of her, Midge is frowning and seems like she cannot go past a certain point, not until Mrs. Blossom plucks the invite from her hand. Betty is right behind her and marches up next to her to hand the invite. She sees Midge's eyes rise in surprise, but the girl has vanished into the house with Moose before Betty can think about it.
Mrs. Blossom's eyes rove over Betty, in a way that makes Betty not want to stay here a second longer than she has to. Sh feels like she's in danger, though she can't imagine why. Everything in her body is telling her to get the hell out of there.
She swallows hard.
Jughead is still a foot away, and until Mrs. Blossom takes the invite from his hands, he does not move. He blinked, seeming a little weirded out, but the pair hurry inside.
"It was like my legs were made of lead," He whispers, rubbing the tops of his legs.
"You okay now?"
"Uh-huh, I think," Jughead squints.
"Oh, there's V." Betty says, grabbing his palm and taking him to her friend. Veronica is sitting, running her fingers over her palms, looking a little lost in her own thoughts.
"Hey," Betty gives her a side-hug, "You ok?"
"How was spending the night in this horror house?" Jughead raises an eyebrow at her.
"You ever get a cut and don't know how you got it?" Veronic asks, which answers neither of their questions. She turns up her palm to show a scar that looks a couple weeks old, but Betty doesn't recall it there. When Betty touches it, she almost jumps back. It was like she'd been shocked. Not a tiny 'socks on carpet' sort of shock, but like lightning. Like power, a power that transferred from her palm to Betty's hand. It felt, interrupted, however.
It also felt like magic, from the little Betty knows that it feels like.
They're in the middle of the service when she gets the message from Sweet Pea. She usually would have her phone completely turned off for a moment like this, and as awful as it is to admit, her reasons for being here are not just for Jason. This plan halfway hinges on being able to communicate about weird shit, and Betty's had half a mind already tot tell Sweet Pea how she's been feeling.
She covertly looks at her screen to see one message;
SWEET PEA to BETTY COOPER: SOS! Come to outside of house. RIGHT NOW
Betty and Jughead had chosen a place near the back of the room for this very purpose. In between switching from Mrs. Blossom's few words (after Cheryl's very dramatic one) to Coach Clayton, Betty slips outside, offering a promise to Jughead she'd be back in just a moment.
XXxxXX
Sweet Pea was thrown back into the grass. He stood up again, rolled up his sleeves, and ran face-first into the open air of nothingness between where he stood and the inner areas of the Blossom residence. But, it wasn't nothing, for immediately he was repelled back like he'd thrown himself against a trampoline, rolling in the dirt.
"Yeah, throw yourself at it again, eight time should do it," Toni said dryly, watching Sweet Pea's efforts, "Or, maybe punch it again." She added with wide, faux innocent eyes. Sweet Pea licked over his knuckles, cussing as he shook his hand out.
"I thought maybe it's a blood ward," He said in his defense, "Or that I could punch through it, I dunno."
"Clearly, not. We're here, not over there."
"Thank you Captain Obvious," Sweet Pea snarled, crossing his arms, more frustrated with himself than with Toni.
Toni approached the wall less aggressively than Sweet Pea, and reached a hand out. She wasn't thrown back, but her arm was for sure pushed away from the area. She dropped to the ground, sighing. There was literally no indication of where the ward started and ended, no lines in the ground or burnt grass.
"It means that it's a ward that allows certain people to pass through, right," Toni asked, coming to the same conclusion as Sweet Pea, "Instead of one that disallows all?"
"Who is the question though." Sweet Pea licked his hand again, encouraging the skin to stitch back together.
"What are you two doing?" Betty had caught their attention, waving her arms as she stalked through the perfectly manicured hedges and rose bushes, "What's the big issue?"
"Uh, we can't get through," Sweet Pea said.
"What?" Betty squinted. She started walking toward them. Both Toni and Sweet Pea tried to protest, but before they finished, she was back on their side.
"Great, awesome." Toni sighed, "you just walked through a ward. Usually it's a one-way ticket or something. You're stuck on this side now."
Betty's face went white.
"Why didn't you tell me that before I came through?" She demanded to Sweet Pea.
"We tried!"
Betty turned back, "I don't see it. Am I supposed to?"
"No."
"How do you know it's there, then?" She asked, walking up to it...and then right back through it,, "Am I getting close?"
"You, ah, just passed through it." Toni said, her jaw hanging open.
"So what's the big SOS?" Betty asked with irritation, "If you can just go through it." At both Sweet Pea's and Toni's expressions, she stalked back through, grabbing Sweet Pea's arm.
"Betty, hey, this is a really bad-," He braced to be thrown back again, "Idea…" He said slowly, coming through fine on the other side.
"Maybe it's on a timer?" Toni asked. She put her hand out, but it was pushed back. Betty hesitantly offered her hand out to the female wolf. Toni took it, and was pulled through with no problem.
"Okay, what the fudge," Betty said, tapping her foot, "What is this?"
"An invisible barrier set up to keep people out." Toni replied, "Or, it was. Hey, Sweets, look." She pushed back a couple of fronds of grass to reveal slightly glowing markings in the ground, hidden with flora and fauna but right at the edge of where the barrier would be, burned into the earth.
Both Betty and Toni looked at Sweet Pea expectantly.
"Woah now. I know a lot, but I don't know ancient runic inscriptions of the top of my head. However, we are living in the 21st century." He said, taking out his phone and snapping a couple pictures.
"Witches put up wards, right?" Betty played with her hair.
"Yeah." Sweet Pea scratched his head, "At this point, I think it's entirely safe to say that the Blossoms at least know of the magic community. This just doesn't happen by accident."
"It also smells faintly of burnt marshmallows," Betty realized after a second, scrambling back. Toni raised her eyebrows, but this wasn't the time to explain about the suppressants and all.
"Okay, so maybe something's been set up to like, have an all day pass through the wards?" Sweet Pea was pacing. He snapped his fingers in an 'ah-ha' moment, "The invites." He said, "Duh! I mean, Cheryl was so clear about handing them out, the way they were addressed…"
"Mrs. Blossom was standing at the doorway, carefully collecting them." Betty agreed, "But...I never gave her one."
"What?" Sweet Pea turned, still a little high off his realization.
"I didn't have mine. My parents did, and they weren't even on the grounds when I came with Jughead. I went in first, then he gave Mrs. Blossom the card."
"Maybe you're just a fluke, or something. Magic like that, even if we don't want it to be, is random and uncontrollable. A variable or two was bound to run off the tracks." Toni gave a non-concerned shrug, "But, I think Sweet Pea is on to something about those invites."
"What else do you think they know?" Betty asked, wrapping her arms around her waist, "If they know about wards and runes and that?"
"Only one way to find out." Sweet Pea said, taking his phone out, ready to take photographic proof. He sniffed, then recoiled, "Ugg, this entire place just smells like bad magic."
Toni took a deep inhale too, pinching her nose.
"I can't smell it, but I feel really off here, like my stomach is doing somersaults." Betty agreed. She lingered, checking her phone, but not going back inside yet.
"This way." Sweet Pea said, following...well, not his instincts, but the magic. The way it pulsed and hung on every branch. Sometimes, quite literally. There wasn't much talk, just the sound of both he and Toni snapping pictures of the trinkets hanging from the trees, the occasional bone set up very specifically, the path even on the ground and the way the leaves scuttered across their feet. Not all of it might have been indicative of magic or such, but it was hard to tell just right now. Sweet Pea would have to go home and research, but they all got the vibe that these people knew far more than they were letting on, but not all of it good. In fact, he'd say, most of it was bad. Very bad.
No one talked, but Betty just followed, her eyes wide.
The magic more or less brought them up to the personal cemetary. Jason's headstone was gleaming in the late afternoon light, a hole dug in front of it. It was very sad, in a way. Sweet Pea could even admit that burying a kid had to suck.
However, even as he stepped foot into the cemetery, he could tell it was a bad idea.
"Sweet Pea?" Betty asked hesitantly. Toni, who had followed him into the cemetery, was clutching her stomach and panting hard. Sweet Pea spun, and saw Betty just outside the gates, her hands resting cautiously on the wrought iron.
And fuck, the way she was standing there, the way the sun was shining on her hair, the softness of her lips, the way she hopped on on foot to another...Sweet Pea wanted to grab her across the border and kiss her until she forgot her own name. He wanted to make her forget everything about Jughead, make her never look back. His thoughts were far from PG, and if Betty could read his mind she might be horrified with the dirty things he was thinking of doing to her.
"Dark magic, stay back," Sweet Pea managed to snap out. He turned to Toni, who was mid-morph, groaning and making low keening sounds in the back of her throat.
"I know. I feel it." Betty said, leaning over the fence, "I shove this feeling back on a daily basis, Sweet Pea. I'm fine." She emphasized. She reached for Toni, but Toni swung at her, her claws swiping across Betty's arm. Betty hissed, jumping back, staring in horror at the blood welling across her arm.
"Oh my god!" Toni seemed to come out from her haze, "Betty, I-,"
Sweet Pea shoved Toni from the cemetery. Especially, now that she was off the ground, she just quivered, her lower lip trembling as she looked at Betty's pale face.
"I know, I know, you didn't mean to, weren't in your right mind," Betty said through gritted teeth, "But this really hurts." She said, "But we should also get Sweet Pea out of there."
"I'm fine," Sweet Pea said. He was not fine, but he fought through the haze to try to soak in everything in the cemetery. Dark magic like this did not just appear. It was bred into darkness after years and years of misusing magic, taking nature from nature's course. A cemetery should theoretically be one of the most natural places, with the cycle of rebirth and all, but this one was just breathed the exact opposite. It was like this entire land had been twisted from the law of Mother Nature time and time and time again.
Before he could think much else, there was another presence. He turned back to see Betty had come into the cemetery. Her arm was half-bandaged.
How long had he been in this fugue state?
"Come out. I'll take videos of whatever you want me to," Betty inisted, "I can shove this off. It's clearly getting to you."
Her voice was soft, full of concern. Sweet Pea looked away, unwilling to answer, scared of what he'd say or do. Not hurt her; never hurt her, but there were other things that would scare her off completely.
She's with Jughead, she's with Jughead, she's with Jughead.
Betty tugged hard, and his feet lost its place on the muddy ground. She pulled the two of them out, onto the soft green grass surrounding the gates. Sweet Pea stumbled, coming chest to chest with Betty. He didn't draw away, as the lingering wisps of dark magic clung to him, little devils encouraging him to surge forward and kiss her. He breathed hard, like he'd just run a marathon. Betty too seemed suspended in time, surprised or unwilling to stray, he wasn't sure.
Toni yanked him back.
"Right, what do you all need videos of?" Betty asked, rubbing her forehead.
"Anything, everything. I mean, you know what feels off, don't you?" Toni encouraged. Betty gave a hard nod and then jumped the fence into the Blossom graveyard.
Toni fished a water bottle out of her bag and screwed the cap up, holding it out to Sweet Pea. He reached for it, but before he could grasp bit, Toni squeezed it onto his face.
Dark magic, completely gone now, fleeing away as he was assaulted by the spray.
He sputtered, wiping his eyes.
"What the hell's that for?"
"Oh, I saw how you were looking at her," Toni said in a disapproving tone. Shame flooded Sweet Pea.
"I wasn't going to do anything," He hissed back, glancing up. Betty's ponytail bobbed between the graves.
"You hadn't done anything yet," Toni corrected.
"Well, you did do something." Sweet Pea argued back. Toni's whole face fell, "The dark magic, I know, I fucking know." He sighed.
Betty reappeared after about half an hour. Her face was ashen.
"I can't explain it all now, Jughead's wondering where I am. I'll send you videos." She said, her voice quivering.
"Betty, hey-," Sweet Pea tried to catch her, but she practically ran back up to the house.
"We might as well see what Fangs has." Toni said, tearing Sweet Pea's gaze away and pulling him into the forests, "I don't think we need to linger here longer."
XXxxXX
Betty had a splitting headache. She rubbed her forehead, scowling.
This wasn't a normal headache. It was like something in the way back of her mind was pounding to get out, to be known.
What, though?
"So wild about Polly and Jason." Jughead blew out, shoving his hands into his pockets, kicking up a rock. Betty blinked.
She was walking home, with Jughead. They were wearing black.
They'd been at Jason's memorial.
"Yeah, wild," Betty agreed, hoping to get more info.
She'd felt this before, this sense of confusion, this forgetfulness. It was when she'd been trying to text Polly at her house. It was terrifyingly similar, which more than anything told Betty she was missing gaps.
She remembered going to the graveyard with Sweet Pea. She remembered the way the dark magic seemed to lap at her mind, but how she'd been able to push it back. She wanted nothing to do with that temptation, and she'd been dealing with it since she nearly killed Chuck.
This darkness was like a wave, a tsunami. It was darker and more powerful than anything she'd ever felt, like it had been poured into this area for years and years and years. It would be like constantly trying to keep her head above water, always holding her breath before diving back under for a moment, but she was in better shape than Toni and Sweet Pea.
She recalled pulling Sweet Pea away, his eyes turning gold and bleeding into his pupils. How close he was, how warm his whole body was. How it just vibrated with magic, the good and bad.
She remembered going into the graveyard, taking videos and then…
Nothing.
Well, not nothing. It was like she recalling a movie she'd seen as a child, one she knew existed but couldn't think of specifically.
She felt along her cardigan. She was still cut underneath her sweater. Had Jughead seen?
"Married," Jughead shook his head, "At 17...your parents would have freaked. The Blossoms would have freaked. No wonder Jason was hawking things for money."
Thank you Juggie, for thinking out loud.
"Poor Polly." Betty whispered out loud.
"Are you going to ask your parents about it?"
"I mean, I think I have to." Betty whispered, voice soft, "They couldn't have known, right?"
Jughead looked unsure, "I think, whatever they say...we need to talk to Polly directly."
First and foremost, RIP Luke Perry. I'm unbelievably sad about it, and anytime I had Fred written in, now makes me teary-eyed everytime that I edit :( He truly was multi-generational. My mom and I talked about how his poster was the first celeb she had up in her room, and my high school sister and I knew him mostly through Riverdale. He also just seemed like such a nice guy and I am heartbroken to imagine the show without him.
Second, 3:33am is a reference to Haunting of Hill House, which is a show I couldn't even get through but is so good but so terrifying.
Lastly, I changed why Veronica was there for the sleepover to be magical, because like, why would Veronica even be there? If Cheryl hated her? Why would she be there alone if not for something sneaky? I just...god the writing in this show sometimes XD