(UPDATE: I've split this imagine into two parts)
Y/N = Your name
Y/N/N = Your nickname.
All song rights go to Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes, I have tweaked a few of the lyrics to suit characters
In which Archie starts treating you differently because of Jason's murder
Y/N's POV
"White lips, pale face, breathing in snowflakes. Burnt lungs, sour taste."
You had a perfect life before Jason came into your life, unravelling everything perfect and revealing your family's secrets. Every family had secrets, especially in Riverdale. You used to be popular, you used to have lots of friends and life couldn't have been better. It all started with your sister, Lily, who you are currently singing a song about. You are hidden away in one of Riverdale High's many music rooms, practising a song you had recently composed as you attempted to work through the pain of losing your only sibling.
"Light's gone, day's end, struggling to pay rent. Long nights, strange men."
Lily was the perfect girl and in your eyes, she still is. Straight A's, popular, beautiful, well-behaved, she was the perfect child, the centre of your parent's attention. You weren't angry or jealous though because Lily always gave you the family love you needed. She taught you how to do your makeup and how to deal with boys and she introduced you to most of your friends. She taught you your true passions, songwriting, singing and how to play the guitar. Over the years, as you two grew up together, she was the one person you could depend on most. She let you live your life the way you wanted and didn't allow your parents to paint your future for you. She gave you hope of escaping your controlling guardians. Then Jason started dating Lily and she began to rebel. She wouldn't show up to school, she would smoke and drink, she gave up on everything she loved most for a stupid jock. Her life went to complete shit when he cheated on her with her best friend, Polly Cooper and got her pregnant. Your sister turned to drugs to relieve the pain that Jason had caused and your parents, not wanting to scar your family's reputation, kicked her out and left her homeless. You lost your sister and Polly was soon sent away to a behaviour home for mentally ill teens. That event kicked off a domino effect that would leave your life spiralling.
"And they say, she's in the Class A Team, stuck in her daydream. Been this way since eighteen, but lately, her face seems."
You then lost your closest friends, Cheryl, Betty, Archie, Kevin, Veronica and your cousin, Jughead. Betty didn't like to say it out loud, but at the start, she partially blamed you for Polly being sent away. Cheryl didn't say it to her groupies, but she knew that you had nothing to do with Jason's death. Her friends, however, started telling her that they didn't trust you and that she should abandon you. You were soon kicked off the River Vixens for untold reasons and Cheryl stopped talking to you. You soon lost the Blue and Gold, cheerleading and your support system besides your lost sister.
"Slowly sinking wasting, crumbling like pastries and they scream, the worst things in life come free to us."
Jughead couldn't even look at you because he felt so guilty. His father and your uncle, Forsythe, was the one who gave Lily the drugs, meaning you not only lost Juggy, but you lost all ties with Jellybean and Gladys too. FP was now dead to you after what he did to your poor sister. Your parents refused to talk to the Jones'. Even your father, who was Gladys' older brother.
"Cause we're just under the upper hand, go mad for a couple grams. And she don't want to go outside tonight."
Archie was the only one who knew what really happened that day. You were at the lake that morning, capturing photos for the Blue and Gold. You were trudging through the muddy forest when you spotted Ms Grundy's car. You investigated further to find Ms Grundy and Archie making out. Archie had spotted you and said something to the Music teacher before running towards you. You ran the other way, not wanting to confront your friend after your heart just broke. You tripped and fell, only to hear a gunshot. Archie was catching up to you. You got up and started sprinting around the lake. You stopped suddenly when you saw a red-haired figure screaming and bobbing up and down in the water. You were the one that found her. You immediately recognised that scream and drop your stuff.
"In a pipe, she flies to the Motherland or sells love to another man. It's too cold outside for angels to fly. Angels to fly."
"Cheryl!" You shouted in panic as Archie finally caught up and stared at the poor girl in horror, frozen in shock. You pulled your shoes and socks off frantically as well as your shirt and jeans. You dive in and swam as quickly as you can. "Cheryl." You grabbed her as she sobbed and screamed. You pulled her to shore and hugged her as tight as you can. "Cheryl, what happened?" She looked at you and you could tell she was broken.
"Ripped gloves, raincoat. Tried to swim and stay afloat. Dry house, wet clothes."
"It's Jason. He's gone." All you could do was hug her, letting her sob into your shoulder. You felt your heart break as your best friend continued to let out strangled screams. Archie just stood and stared, looking at you with warning and anger yet desperation.
"Archie, call the cops!" You hissed at him, taking out your anger from what you had seen just before. Jason's body wasn't found until a week after school went back by Kevin and Moose, with a bullet hole straight through his head. Cheryl admitted that Jason was trying to run away with Polly, but he never made it to where he was trying to go. Cheryl didn't tell anyone that Archie was there, knowing of the love affair he was involved in. She told everyone that you were the one that found her and you were the only one there, making you a prime suspect.
"Loose change, bank notes. Weary-eyed, dry throat. Call girl, no phone."
All the jocks would bully you. Murderer, Druggie, Lost Cause. Your life was a mess. Archie didn't stick up for you like he used to. He watched you timidly walk down the halls, trying to avoid anyone. The jocks would yell at you, Cheryl would stare at you with a mixture of sadness and longing adjourned on her face, Jughead looked like he was trying not to punch them and the rest of your friends silently missed you. Archie watched you get pushed around and yelled at until you were nearly in tears and he wanted to do something. His heart and his conscience were both screaming for him to do anything. But he was a coward and he knew if he tried, he would reveal the revolting truth of what really happened that summer. You watched him as you were verbally abused and knocked to the ground, pleading silently that he would do something, but he just avoided eye contact. Not even a year ago, Archie would have beaten up someone for bullying you. You knew he loved you like a sister, but you cared about him more than that. You were in love with Archie Andrews and you thought he didn't care about you anymore.
"And they say, she's in the Class A Team, stuck in her daydream. Been this way since eighteen, but lately, her face seems slowly sinking wasting, crumbling like pastries. And they scream, the worst things in life come free to us. Cause we're just under the upper hand and go mad for a couple grams. And she don't want to go outside tonight. And in a pipe, she flies to the Motherland or sells love to another man, it's too cold outside. For angels to fly, an angel will die, covered in white. Closed eye and hoping for a better life. This time, we'll fade out tonight, straight down the line." You continue to strum, finally allowing tears to fall. You had held in your pain for so long. For your parents, for Cheryl, for your friends, for your bullies, for your teachers, for everyone around you because they expects you to be perfect. Well, you weren't and you are finally letting go.
"And they say, she's in the Class A Team, stuck in her daydream. Been this way since eighteen, but lately, her face seems slowly sinking wasting, crumbling like pastries. They scream, the worst things in life come free to us." Unbeknownst to you, before you had entered the Music Room, Archie had been strumming his own guitar and singing about you. His true feelings that he had been hiding for years, were now composed into a song. Archie had hidden after hearing footsteps. He saw you grab a sticker-covered guitar case and open it, revealing a beautiful dark red acoustic guitar. Archie is shocked. You know that he played and he wonders why you didn't tell him about your secret talent. As you start to strum and your voice echos around the room, goosebumps spread over his arms and his face began to heat up. Your voice is beautiful and angelic. He loves your singing and he feels that his life was empty before hearing you sing. He wants to duet with you and experiment with songwriting together. He watches you in awe as you continue to sing, tears streaming down your face and your heart aching. You are so passionate and he knows the song comes from your heart and soul.
"And we're all under the upper hand, go mad for a couple grams. And we don't want to go outside tonight." Archie shuffles around a bit since his foot is falling asleep and knocks over a cymbal causing it to go crashing to the floor. You stop abruptly, wiping your tears, standing up and turning around before freezing in fear. Archie's eyes met yours and you quickly place your guitar away in its case and back into its hidden spot behind one of the cupboards. You grab your bag and sprint out of the room.
"Y/N!" Archie tries to yell after you, but it was too late, you were gone. Archie sighs, standing up before walking towards a notebook you had left on the bench. Your songbook.
(Word Count including synopsis: 1785 words)