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Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones stormed out of Thistlehouse, knowing that FP's time was limited and the conversation with Cheryl and her mother had gotten them no closer to a solution.
"What do we do now that Cheryl's gone full Poison Ivy?" Betty asked in exasperation as she did her best to keep up with Jughead's fast pace.
"Blackmail," Jughead suggested with a wave of his hand. "Extortion." He continued, coming to a stop while turning to face Betty. "If they weren't literally an orphan and a widow, I would do it." Betty nodded in understanding before observing the ominous surroundings.
"Wait. Jug." Betty called out, making him pause while she did a light jog to catch up. "This might seem crazy, but what about your brother?"
"What about CJ?" He retorted with a frown.
"There's obviously something going on between him and Cheryl... maybe if we called and asked him to talk to her or something-"
"No, Betty."
"What? Why?" She questioned, desperate and confused. "This could be the only way to shorten your dad's sentence."
"Surely you've realised by now that CJ hates my dad!" Jughead whispered heatedly, trying to make her understand. "Hell, he joined my dad's rival gang out of spite. He's not been to see my dad once since he was arrested, Betty, and he'll probably celebrate when my dad gets locked up!"
"So he wouldn't help?" Betty said softly. "Not even for your sake?"
"I know my brother." Jughead stated, firmly emphasising his point. "By all means try it, call him tomorrow, I guarantee he will say 'absolutely not'. CJ's no help Betty... his relationship with my dad is like an infected wound that keeps on spreading, it's been untreated for so long that it's become impossible to completely heal. No matter how hard I try."
Driven by the downtrodden emotional state of her boyfriend, Betty contacted CJ Jones the next day. The guy in question was at the House of the Dead, frowning deeply as Betty explained the entire situation in a ridiculous amount of detail.
"Absolutely not." CJ said once she'd stopped for a breather, ending the phone call before her passionate motormouth could start back up again. He had no desire to help FP Jones. The experienced Serpent had made a dire mistake and was going to pay the price. There was no way he was going to ruin whatever unlabelled thing he had going on with the gorgeous Cheryl Blossom for the sake of his pathetic father.
"Yo, second!" Verne called out as he waved CJ over to some tables in the middle of the House of the Dead. CJ - dressed in ripped navy jeans and a studded leather jacket - approached the scene with disguised caution. "You gotta check this shit out man!"
"What's this?" CJ questioned, noticing the fellow gang members lingering around the tables. He observed the scene, noticing many forms of drugs, and presumed correctly that Verne had given at least one type a try out for size.
