"We're all on the edge of madness; deep down, darkness is within all of us and we're on guard constantly trying to avoid losing control."
In which Mickey Lodge has a few skeletons in her closet.
{COMPLETED WITH ALL SEASONS + epilogue}
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"That way."
✿
Firsts usually intimidate people. Not Mickey. Especially not the first day of school. She's a social butterfly, able to talk with anyone and impress all the teachers.
This year is different though. She is under a lot of pressure to find a club or extracurricular to put on her college application or she'd just be average.
"Veronica, I need you to take my shifts this week at Pop's."
Amusement flickers in Veronica's brown eyes until she realizes her sister's being serious. The little light dims. "Mickey, I have to work my own shifts and keep things in tact for Archie when he comes back home."
"Please, Vee?" Mickey pleads. "Look, I'm not like you. I don't have the Vixens or singing on my resume. All I have is a history of drinking. I need this week to find something that will make me memorable."
Veronica stares at her sister for a moment before sighing. She agrees, "Okay. Fine. But that was the last time you use the drinking card for sympathy."
Mickey grins, "It worked, didn't it?"
✿
There's a little extra time before the first bell signals everyone to get to their first class and Mickey decides to go find Jughead.
She stands in between the doorframe of the Blue & Gold's office, watching him stand there, lost in his thoughts. "I thought I'd find you in here." She walks into the room and stands in front of him. Instantly, she can tell something's bugging him. "Jug? What's wrong?"
"Dilton Doiley died," he says hollowly. His gaze remains unfocused. "I found him and Ben from the drive-in in the middle of the woods."
"Oh, my God, Dilton is dead?" She covers her mouth in disbelief.
"Yeah. And Ben—he's barely hanging on. Doctors don't know when or if he's even gonna wake up. Sheriff Minetta asked me to keep the whole thing hush-hush for the family's sake. But, Mickey, what I saw was—" he sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "It was like a ritual site. Their lips were blue," Jughead recalls. "There were these chalices that were filled with poison or something. Animal bones were in a circle. The tree had markings on it. There was a winged totem with a skull and branches." He was using his hands to make animated gestures.
Mickey scratches her chin as she mulls over the details. "So, was it a murder or a suicide-pact gone wrong?"
Jughead snatches his beanie off and throws it on the table behind him. He rakes his fingers through his hair. "I have no idea. I saw Ben and Dilton. They were playing this weird game at Pop's. Dilton was raving about someone called the Gargoyle King." He locks his arms over his chest. "I was also thinking that maybe I could investigate this, for old times' sake. Or at least until there's a new lead with Archie's case."
