Another Love~J.J. {1}

~21~

Heart of Darkness

* * *

Every town has one. The spooky house that all the kids avoid. Ours was Thornhill, the Blossom family's mansion, with its very own graveyard. And, trapped within its walls like some gothic heroine, was Cheryl Blossom. Still grieving for her beloved brother, Jason. Linked in death even as they were in life.

* * *

        "This is how my dad had his Jason Blossom murder board before it was trashed." Kevin said after he pinned the last thing onto the makeshift murder board. Lia leaned against the table as she gazed at it, trying to connect any dots to try and find Jason's killer. 

        "Any leads on who did that? Or what they were looking for?" Jughead asked.

        "Nope. No fingerprints." Kevin answered. "But they stole a bunch of files, background checks, and all the video and audiotapes of police interviews."

        "Hey, Betty..." A voice said and Lia looked to the door to see Trev peaking inside. 

        "Trev, hi!" Betty exclaimed happily. 

        "Sorry to interrupt." Trev said. 

        "Oh, no... Uh, it's okay. We're just, uh, working on-

        "Our murder board." Jughead answered for Betty, not beating around the bush like she was. 

        "Well, I just wanted to make sure we're still on for tomorrow?" Trev asked Betty and Lia looked at Kevin in confusion who just shrugged, not knowing anything either. 

        "Absolutely, it's a date. I mean, I'll... I'll see you there. Bye." Betty replied. 

        "So, I'll see you. Bye." Trev said before he left. 

        "Going on a date with Trev? Does Mama Cooper know about that?" Kevin asked Betty and she smiled. 

        "Kev, I'm not on house arrest. Okay, she's out of town at a Women in Journalism spa retreat. Anyway, it's not a "date" date." She answered, not meeting anyone's eyes.

        "Don't go getting all shy on us now, Cooper." Lia smirked. 

        "Besides, you literally just called it a date. You literally said, "It's a date." Jughead stated. 

        "That's just my cover." Betty brushed him off. "Really, it's an intelligence gathering mission. We should focus on the one thing we have access to that your dad doesn't. The kids at Riverdale High. You know, maybe Trev knows something about Jason he didn't think was important."

* * *

        "Betty, you're positively radiating Nicholas Sparks. Tell me everything about this Trev." Veronica said. She, Betty, Kevin, Jughead, and Lia were all making their way to the stands where Archie sat to eat lunch with him. 

        "Oh, there's nothing to tell. Just one of Betty's sources, there's nothing romantic in the offing." Kevin replied for Betty, making Lia breath out a laugh. 

        "Why is everything weird here? Why can't a date just be a date?" Veronica questioned as the group sat around Archie, Betty beside him, Veronica behind Betty, Lia behind Archie and Kevin and Jughead sitting behidn them. "What about you, Archie? How's life in a PG world? PG. Post-Grundy. What, too soon?"

        "Coach Clayton says I have a shot at being varsity captain. So I'm not thinking about anything else right now." Archie responded while Lia snickered at Veronica's Post-Grundy joke. 

        "And you're back to being boring." Veronica sighed. 

        "Are you, maybe, throwing yourself into football as a way to avoid your feelings." Betty suggested to Archie and Lia knew it was 100% true. 

        "I'm not avoiding anything, Betty, I'm trying to get my life back on track." Archie replied. 

        "I can help with that." Val, from the Pussycats, said as she sat down beside Archie. "I know Ms. Grundy was tutoring you." 

        "Understatement of the year." Veronica muttered, eating a french fry and Lia nodded as she took a french fry as well. 

        "But there's this amazing songwriter from New York, who's an adjunct at Carson College? Incredible mentor. He does some coaching on the side and I told him about you. You wanna meet him?" Val asked. 

        "Yeah, yeah I'd love to, but football-

        "No, Archie can. And he will." Betty cut Archie off, rubbing his shoulder. Val nodded, slipping a note card into Archie's shirt pocket. 

        "Call him if you want, but do it soon. His spots fill up fast." She said. 

        "Thank you, Val." Archie called as Val walked off. 

        "Hey, now you have zero excuse for avoiding music." Betty smiled just before the infamous Cheryl Blossom appeared in front of them. 

        "Sorry to interrupt Sad Breakfast Club, but I'm here to formally invite you to Jason's memorial at Thornhill this weekend." She said, handing everyone black invitations before finally handing one to Veronica. "To my surprise and chagrin, mother added you to the guest-list. In case you're tempted to steal our silver candlesticks, don't. We'll be searching bags."

        Cheryl walked off, leaving Lia to read over the invitation, ignoring the talking happening around her and the movement.