Another Love~J.J. {1}

~36~

        "I would never forget something like that, Juggle." Lia shrugged, throwing on a silk cloth that covered her upper body from the harsh cold. Jughead was about to say something but there was a knock at the door and Archie poked his head in. 

        "You ready, Oph?" He asked.

        "Yeah. We'll see you later, Jug." Lia said before kissing his cheek and giving him a quick hug before joining Archie in walking downstairs and out of their house so they could use their dad's truck to drive to the Blossom's family mansion, Thornhill. 

* * *

        "We were tested this year. As a town, as a company, mainly as a family. And it may not have been Jason's hand that staked the maple this year, but it was the hand of hope." Clifford told everyone and they all applauding while he sat back down. 

        "Don't think they're being nice or genuine. They wanted me to fail at the tree-tapping. But you're going to help with all that." Cheryl whispered to Archie but Lia could hear since she was sitting on the other side of her.  

        "I'll do whatever I can." Archie had responded.

        "Archibald, have a word?" Mr. Blossom's voice asked from behind them and Lia turned to look up at him. 

        "I'll be right back." Archie responded while nodding at Mr. Blossom before the two walked off. 

        "So, Ophelia dear, you look absolutely stunning tonight." Mrs. Blossom said and Lia turned to look at her since she was also sitting beside her. 

        "Thank you, Mrs. Blossom. Cheryl lent me one of her dresses." Lia smiled at Cheryl who smiled back.  

        "And you can keep it." Cheryl replied, shocking Lia.

        "No I couldn't possibly-

        "I have plenty more." Cheryl cut her off and Lia sighed with a nod, knowing that, once again, she wouldn't win. So, Lia sat at the table while she ate the fancy food around her. She smiled and laughed at anything the Blossom's said, answering any questions they had as honest as possible and making sure to keep them all happy so the night would go smoothly. 

        A little while later she had finished dancing with one of the younger Blossom's who seemed about a year or two older than her when her phone began to vibrate in her small purse that she had been holding all night. She pulled it out to see Archie's name on the screen and she looked around with a confused look before noticing that he wasn't anywhere in site. 

        "Excuse me." Lia told the boy who she never got a name from before going off to the side and answering the phone. "Archie?"

        "We're leaving, get outside." Was all Archie said before he hung up the phone. 

        "Is everything alright, Ophelia?" Mrs. Blossom's voice asked as she appeared in front of her. 

        "Um, no, I uh, have to get home. My father needs Archie and I for something important. I am so sorry." Lia rushed out her lie, trying to get away from Mrs. Blossom quickly. She slid her hand against her arm in a form of an apology before holding up her dress and making her way outside.  

        The cold night air hit her like a brick and she shivered, goosebumps lining her skin as she saw the familiar red hair of her brother standing a few feet away. She made her way over, almost slipping on some snow on the sidewalk but right as she got there she saw Cheryl.

        "Archie Andrews, if you leave, the radiant sun that is the Blossom family stops shining on you. And everything we've given you, including Brandenburg and the School of Art for Lia, disappears. Are you sure you want to give that up? Are you sure you want to do that to your dad?" Cheryl questioned and Lia gritted her teeth. 

        "Cheryl, I came here as a favor to your mom, to help you." Archie replied, making Cheryl scoff. 

        "Oh, Archie, don't start lying now. You may not want anything from me, but you do from my mom and dad, that's why you're here. Which means, as much as I want you to be better than everyone else...You're not. You're just like the others." Cheryl shook her head and her eyes went to Lia as she finally decided to make her presence known by going over and standing beside her brother. "And you called your sister to join you? How rich." 

        "I'm sorry, Cheryl...But we can't do this anymore. Goodbye." Archie finished, grabbing hold of Lia's wrist and dragging her away from Cheryl and to their father's truck. The two got in, sighing as Lia turned the truck on. Lia had to drive because she was the actually in Driver's Ed and she knew that if they got pulled over the only thing they'd get would be a ticket. 

        "So...no more Blossoms?" Lia asked. 

        "No more Blossoms." Archie nodded and Lia smiled, a weight being lifted off her shoulders at his words. 

* * *

It seemed that, for Veronica, the sins of the father would remain simply that. While Archie Andrews returned from the brink with one more bit of news.

* * *

        "At the banquet, I heard Mr. and Mrs. Blossom talking. It sounded like Clifford Blossom was responsible for sending Veronica's dad to jail." Archie told Betty, Lia, and Jughead who all sat in the Blue and Gold room. 

        "Oh, my God." Betty gasped.

        "If Clifford sent Hiram Lodge to jail, tore apart his family, then maybe Hiram was trying to do the same thing to him?" Archie suggested and Lia understood what he was getting at. 

        "Yeah, by going after what the Blossoms value most, their family, their legacy." Jughead agreed, writing down Hiram Lodge's name on a note card and handing it to Lia who grabbed a pin. 

        "That's a motive." She finally said, pinning the card onto their murder board. 

* * *

Winter had come early to Riverdale. Brutal and unforgiving. But it would be nothing compared to the storm that was gathering. A storm of chaos named...Cheryl Blossom.