𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕪 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 (ℝ𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕕𝕒𝕝𝕖)

08.|| 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣, 𝕡𝕦𝕤𝕤𝕪𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕤! 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝! 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝!

FEAR. IT'S THE most basic, the most human emotion. As kids, we're afraid of everything. The boogeyman under the bed...And we pray for morning. For the monsters to go away. Though they never do. Not really. Just ask Jason Blossom.

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"OH, MOM, I forgot to mention. I invited Jughead over for breakfast." Betty told her Alice as she went to put clothes away in her dresser.

"Hmm."

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"SO, JUGHEAD...I suppose we have you to thank for Betty's ongoing obsession with this Jason Blossom ghoulishness?" Alice asked as he ate.

"Actually, Mom, I was the one who asked Jughead to help me writ for the Blue and Gold." Betty gestured to Jughead.

Alice let out a laugh, "Relax, Betty. I'm just making conversation."

"Do you guys have a bathroom I could use?" Jughead asked."

"Sure, I'll show you."

"No, no. I'll show him." Alice gave a fake smile as she stood up. "Follow me, Jughead.

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ANOTHER FUN FACT about fear. Sometimes it grows up with you. Or it curls up inside of you, tightens around your guts. Each fall, Riverdale high hosts a Variety Show. But this event is no mere student frolic.

"And what will you be auditioning with?" Kevin asked Archie as he stood on the stage in the Auditorium.

"Uh, an original song that I wrote called I'll Try." Archie spoke into the mic.

"Try harder!" Reggie called where him and the other football players sat, only coming so they could make fun of the ones that auditioned and failed at making it. "Maybe try not sucking so much."

"Ah, I think you're the one that sucks too much, Reg." Bryce called as her and Beau walked passed them, throwing the Asian-American a wink over her shoulder.

"Take your time, Archie. Though we do have people waiting." Kevin told him.

"Oh, my god." Veronica says, "What's happening?"

Josie leaned up a bit with a smirk, "He's choking."

"Archie? Clock's ticking."

"Excuse me. Sorry, I gotta go." Archie says, running off.

"Fucking hell." Bryce mumbled, pinching the brim of her nose.

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"THE SISTERS OF Quiet Mercy." Betty read from the picture she had taken that morning. "What is that?" She asked as Jughead typed it in. "Like a church? Or a charity?"

"No. It's a...Home for troubled youths. Where disenfranchised teens will learn such virtues as discipline and respect, enjoying lives of quiet reflection and servitude." Jughead read.

"Poor Polly."

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"IT'S BEEN MONTHS." Betty told Jughead as they all sat down for lunch, Bryce against her will since Beau wanted to eat with Archie and Valerie. "There's gotta be a reason my mom and dad don't want me to see Polly. But I don't care anymore."

"What are you guys talking about? Anything I can help with?" Archie asked.

"She's prying, as always." Beau held a straight face as he spoke.

"What we're attempting is a stealth operation, Archie." Jughead said, passing Bryce his bag of chips. "If we go in there with the entire Scooby gang, forget it, we're compromised."