ѕerpenт qυeen - Jughead Jones

III.

"Guilt, innocence. Good, evil. Life, death. As the shadowsaround Riverdale deepened the lines that separated these polar oppositesblurred and distorted. "I'm guilty," Cheryl said in biology class. But of what?"

Ava and Jughead went to the room where the blue and gold was written. Ava crossed her arms and looked at Betty. "If print journalism is dead,what am I... we doing here?" Ava asked Betty. "The Blue and Gold isn't dead, Juggy... Avie. It's just dormant." Betty said. Ava looked at Jughead. "Juggy, huh?" She said smirking. "Oh shut it, Avie." Jughead said smiling at her. "But waking up." Betty said wiping the dust of the typewriter. "You're writing a novel, right?About Jason Blossom's murder?" Betty asked Jughead. "I am. Riverdale's very own In Cold Blood." Jughead said looking at Betty. "Which started out as a series of articles." Ava said running her fingers across the typewriter. She loved writing but stopped when her mother left Riverdale with her older brother. "I'm hoping you'll come writefor the Blue and Gold.. Any of you or both." Betty said hoping. Ava sighed softly, Betty knew she wrote in the past but didn't know why she stopped. "I just don't think the school paper's the right fitfor my voice." Jughead said honestly. "It's good for Ava's voice though." He mumbled. Ava threw a pen at him and it missed. "Come on, Juggy. Write with me and Betty for the Blue and Gold." She said smiling a bit. Betty and Jughead continued to talk and argue till he finally agreed. 

Jughead got his first assignment with Ava, their assignment was about Dilton Doiley and his scouts. Jughead decided he could go alone to investigate while Ava stays at school. Ava really didn't like the idea that popped in her head but she had to do it. She called her mother... Like always she never answers. "Hey mom... Um.. I just, um wanted to tell you I joined the Blue and Gold today... I'm going to try to write again and maybe even play the guitar again. Hope you are having a good day and tell Mason I love him and miss him. Bye.." She said before hanging up the phone. She needed to go to FP Jones, she needed to talk. She left the school and walked to the Southside to see Sunnyside trailer park. She found FP's and walked inside. "FP?" She called out before seeing him. "Hey kiddo. What are you doing?" He asked. "Stop drinking... Remember how you decided the Serpent Queen and King will rule the Southside Serpents when time came... and how they know each other... I don't want that. You can't tell Jughead I'm the Queen and I won't say he is the Queen." She explained. FP nodded and looked at her. She hugged him softly before leaving the trailer park. 

After that, she got a call from Betty. "Hello?" She asked picking the phone up. "Come to the school. I need help with a story." Betty said before hanging up. Ava rolled her eyes before riding her motorcycle to school. She walked into the lounge with Veronica. "Care to fill me in?" She asked sitting down with her journal. "I asked around to see if what happenedto you happened to anyone else and if anyone would go on record." Betty said. "I will. One hundred percent." A girl said. Betty nodded. "It's five guys on the football team,Chuck and his posse. Ethel was just about to tell us." Betty said. Ava sat up with her fists clenched. "One day last year,Chuck and I talked in the library for 10 minutes. I helped him with a pre-calc problem,and nothing happened. But the next day, he started telling people that I let him do stuff to me. Like, sex stuff. And then he or one of his goonswrote "Sloppy Seconds" on my locker." Ethel said before Cheryl ruined it. "They're ruining our lives,and to them, it's just a game." Ethel said. "They keep score in a book..." Ava mumbled. "Wait..What do you mean, keep score?" Veronica said looking at Ava. "Each conquest earns them points. They keep track in some secret playbook." Ava said looking at the girls. "But you didn't hear it from me." She said sitting back. Cheryl and Veronica started talking about Jason. 

Betty and Ava was in the room writing in their own journal till they heard a knock. "Betty, Aveline, you know Trev Brown, right? Valerie's brother?" Ethel said. "Hey, what's up?" Trev said. Ava looked at him. "Hey. Heh." Betty said. "He used to be on the football team." Ethel said. "But I quit when I saw Chuck's playbook. And I may know where it is." Trev said. Ava nodded and looked at Betty. So, when night came around Betty, Veronica, Ava, Kevin, and Ethel went into the school. "Football players behaving badly?What else is new? Steubenville, Glen Ridge... But the coach's son being the ringleader? Just how depraved is this town?" Veronica said. "Color me impressed." Cheryl said. They all gasp and turn around. "A B and E with B and V. What would your Holy Roller mother sayabout this, Betty?" Cheryl asked. "What are you doing here?" Ava asked. "And where did you get those thigh-high boots?They're amazing." Kevin said which earned a glare from Ava. "Trev told Valerie, who told Josie,who told Ginger, who told Tina, who told me. And I thought I would help out." Cheryl said. "Help? Or derail our investigation?" Betty asked. 

"Get over yourself, Betty." Cheryl said. "Hey, guys. Get in here." Ethel said before everyone went to her. "Trev was right.They didn't even bother to hide it." Ethel said flipping through the pages. "New girl"? Is that what I'm reduced to?Nine points?" Veronica said seeing her column. "Better than "big girl." Seven-point-five." Ethel said. Ava saw Polly's name and right above was her name. "Polly's in this book." Betty said then saw Ava's name. "Next to Jason's name... Same as Aveline's..." Cheryl said seeing it. "I'm so sorry, Betty." Veronica said. "This isn't.... Jason would never.." Cheryl said. "It's right there, Cheryl!" Ava snapped. "God, your brother hurt my sister. This is what guys like Jasonand Chuck think about women. We're objects for them to abuse. And when they're done,they shame us into silence. They have zero remorsefor the lives they destroy." Betty said. Veronica took a picture of the playbook and Ava sighed softly. She hated that this secret was out in the world. Ava looked at Cheryl and hugged her softly. "Sometimes, the people we always knew turns out to be someone we never knew." She said.