THE next day after school, Becca found herself wanting to face Sheriff Minetta again rather than facing what was behind Riverdale High's library doors.
Her and Sweet Pea had decided to meet up again to work on their mid-semester project. As Ms. Lincoln had so kindly put it after the Sheriff's 'PSA': some teen criminal wasn't going to stop them from schoolwork.
As she entered the library, the dark-haired girl sent a friendly wave to Mrs. Paroo before finding a spot in the back near the stacks of books. Just as she leaned over to dig out her world history textbook, she heard someone sit down at the table.
"Okay, Sweet Pea, so I was thinking for the next part-"
"What?" Reggie's voice suddenly asked.
Becca was so surprised to hear her brother that she shot straight up in her seat...only to bang her head against the plastic table a moment later. She let out a groan of pain, rubbing at the tender skin with a gasp.
"Reggie?" Her dark eyebrows shot up in confusion as she re-oriented herself in her chair and looked over at her brother, rather than Sweet Pea, who sat across from her, "What the hell are you doing here?"
He crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing, "Well, for your information, I came into the library to check out some book I'm supposed to read for Dr. Beaker's class and I thought maybe we could talk G&G but-"
"Becca? Reggie?" Sweet Pea's voice asked from behind her brother and the dark-haired girl turned to see the tall Serpent looking between them with a mixture of confusion and apprehension.
Reggie instantly bristled at him but turned his angry gaze towards her instead and finished his sentence, "I can see you're rather pre-occupied though."
After Riot Night, Reggie had managed to piece together everything that had happened to Becca during those long, fateful hours. Including Sweet Pea's break-up with her. Needless to say, if he'd ever been a fan of Sweet Pea, he certainly wasn't now.
Becca sighed, rolling her eyes, "Reggie, it's not what you think. Sweet Pea and I are working on a history project together. That's all."
An unknown emotion flashed across Sweet Pea's features, but it was gone before Becca noticed.
"Well," Reggie said in a short, bitter tone as he stood up, "History is an interesting subject, but it also has a funny way of repeating itself."
His gaze locked with the tall Serpent's as he threatened in a low voice, "And if you cause any more damage, Sweet Tart, I'll be happy to repeat some history for you. Just because the Bulldogs and Serpents are friends now doesn't mean we're cool bro. Got it?"
Sweet Pea looked less than intimidated by her brother but instead of arguing, simply arched an eyebrow and replied in a sarcastic voice, "Got it, 'bro'."
"Reggie," Becca warned sharply, "Leave, now. We can talk about G&G later."
Reggie stood there for a moment, not moving from his spot in front of Sweet Pea, before reluctantly backing away. He cast one last glare in the Serpent's direction though as he passed by him.
"See you later Becs," He nodded towards her before finally leaving.
Sweet Pea said nothing as he sat down, and Becca wondered for a moment if he was going to make some snide remark about her brother like he usually did. This time though, he was surprisingly quiet on the matter. Instead, he just took out his notebook and their world history textbook, opening both to a random page.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Becca decided to speak up.
"So, I was thinking for the next part of the presentation," She began rather awkwardly, "That we could add in an example myth, to explain some of the motifs in Greek mythology-"
"So, you're playing G&G now?" Sweet Pea's own rough voice cut off Becca's rambling.
The dark-haired girl was stunned into silence at his question, but before she could open her mouth to explain, he beat her to it.
"Josie told me about playing with you guys," He commented, finally lifting his eyes from his textbook to meet hers.
There was no use in lying, especially since Reggie had just mentioned it in front of Sweet Pea.
"Yeah," She answered, bitterness seeping into her tone, "And now thanks to it, both Reggie and I are grounded. Betty accidentally spilled the beans to our parents."
The Serpent nodded slowly, arching an eyebrow at this. Becca studied him out of the corner of her eyes. He seemed weirdly quiet today, a melancholic look to his eyes. Another uncomfortable silence stretched between them for a few moments.
"How is Josie?" Becca asked tentatively. Perhaps that was the source of his downcast mood.
To her surprise, Sweet Pea shrugged, the frown on his face deepening.
"I don't know," He answered truthfully, a sadness to his voice as he looked down at the table, "She doesn't really talk to me that much anymore."
Becca couldn't keep her dark eyebrows from shooting up at this. That was an interesting revelation, but she could tell that wasn't what was bothering him.
"Is everything alright, Sweet Pea?" She asked finally, growing slightly concerned as their conversation had carried on.
She half expected him to lash out at her, to reply something witty in a sarcastic voice. At least, it's what she would've done. But instead, he kept quiet for a moment, as if he was contemplating her question.
"I'm alright," The Serpent sighed heavily, clearing his throat and speaking in an unsteady voice, "It's just...the other day Fangs and I were coming back to Sunnyside when..."
He trailed off, his jaw clenching tightly as he managed to get out, "We, uh...found Joaquin dead."
Becca put a hand to her mouth in shock, gasping slightly at his words. She wondered if Kevin knew already.
"Oh my god, Sweet Pea," She managed to get out despite her disbelief, "How did he...?"
"We found him with blue lips and that same symbol branded on Archie's hip carved into his forehead. According to Joaquin, it means sacrifice," He explained, swallowing thickly, "The last time I saw him, Jughead had us interrogating him for being a part of a new gang called the Gargoyles."
Sweet Pea's voice got soft and his eyes suddenly held a far-off look, "He said he was forced to do awful things, including stabbing Archie, by the Warden. I know he left the Serpents but...he just seemed so...sad."
How terrible it must be, Becca thought to herself, for him to have to watch one of his own go through all that pain. For once, she put her anger towards him to the back of her mind and instead offered a sincere apology, "I'm so sorry Sweet Pea, that's horrible."
He nodded once, still not meeting her gaze. The Serpent sniffed slightly, swiping hastily at his eyes before letting out a deep breath.
"I don't really want to talk about it anymore," Sweet Pea's voice was hardened now, dropping their previous conversation immediately, "You said we need some example myth for the presentation?"
Becca's eyes remained on him, her cautious stare searching his features. But it was like most of the emotion had left his face, like he'd flipped some switch inside of him. It reminded her too much of her own situation.
"Yeah," She replied slowly as he finally looked up from the table and at her.
A sad, sympathetic smile grew on her lips as she continued lightly, "I figured I'd ask you first, since you are the expert after all."
A similar expression appeared on his face, some of the light returning to his eyes, "Yeah, I think I have one that fits perfectly."
Becca nodded for him to continue as his smile grew a little.
"How about Hades and Persephone?" He suggested, a playful glint crossing his eyes for only a second.
In that moment though, it almost felt like before. When they would banter back and forth all day, their voices filled with affection. When he climbed her balcony and kissed her for the first time, his lips warm and soft. When he offered her a pomegranate and asked her to stay with him, the taste of the fruit lingering in her mouth. When things were different, and they had each other to escape the darkness of Riverdale.
But they were different people now, especially after Riot Night. And no matter what, they couldn't change the past.
The smile slowly left Becca's features at his answer and she tore her eyes away from him.
"Whatever you think would be best," She managed to say in a nonchalant tone, though anyone could hear her faking it from a mile away, including Sweet Pea.
His dark gaze lingered on her as she began working on the next part of their project before he too went back to his own work.
---
That night, Becca was busy working on part of her calculus homework when she got a call from Kevin.
"Becs, you're not gonna believe the day I just had," He started, sounding extremely tired over the phone.
"Why, what happened, Kev?" She asked curiously, putting down her pencil to listen.
"So, Archie's stab wound got infected right? I took him to see this shady guy that Betty knows at the coroner's office, and he gave us some antibiotics and treated the wound," Kevin continued as Becca raised an eyebrow, "And then Archie wanted to go down to Shadow Lake because apparently Cassidy Bullock's friends who lied and got Archie arrested were hiding out in the mines there."
"I don't like where this is going," The dark-haired girl muttered, face-palming herself. She loved Kevin, but he and Archie put together? That was a recipe for disaster.
"But when we got there, they were all dead except for one," Her best friend ignored her comment, his voice growing quieter, "We took the guy to the hospital...but he didn't make it."
"I'm sorry Kev," Becca replied with sympathy, "I know that must've been hard."
"Yeah...I'm just...really worried about Archie now," Kevin sighed, "He's falling apart, Becs. Blames himself for their deaths and everything that's gone wrong. He even said if somehow he's proven innocent, he doesn't know if he'll come back to Riverdale."
She ran her fingers through her dark locks, letting out a tired breath at his words. Archie was way too hard on himself to begin with, but Becca couldn't blame him. After all, she did the exact same thing, blaming herself for things that were out of her control. It was a nasty habit, but so far one that she hadn't been able quit yet.
"Once Archie is proved innocent, he might feel differently," Becca replied, shaking her head, "We'll just have to see. But I'm glad you guys are okay, Kev."
"Yeah, me too. We're hiding out in the hospital right now waiting for my dad, so I'll call you later, okay?" She heard him say just as there was a knock at her bedroom door.
"Yeah of course. Be careful and I'll talk to you later," Becca's gaze snapped towards the source of the noise as she bid Kevin good-bye.
Quickly, she ended the call just as her mother turned the doorknob and opened her door a crack.
"Hi sweetie," Melinda stood in the doorway, dressed in a nightgown and silk robe, "Who was that?"
"Just Kevin asking about some homework," Becca replied stiffly, still a bit angry at her mother for grounding her and Reggie earlier this week.
Her mother nodded hesitantly, crossing her arms around her small frame and looking down at the ground for a moment.
"I know you and your brother are still mad at your father and I for grounding you, but I hope you know it's for your own good," She looked up from Becca's carpet towards her daughter, though her voice wasn't filled with malice or contempt. Just genuine concern.
"If you wanted to do what's best for us, maybe you should explain you and dad's involvement with the game," Becca shot back, "Enough of these secrets, mom."
Melinda's jaw clenched tightly, and she opened her mouth to reply. Before she could say anything though, the lights in the house suddenly went out. The low rumbling of their air conditioner died as well, leaving the two Mantle women bathed in darkness and silence. Her father was working late tonight at Mantle's Automotives and Reggie was helping him fill in orders as part of his punishment, leaving Becca and her mother alone in the house.
Blindly, Becca searched for her phone, before finding it and turning on its flashlight. Her mother did the same, muttering to herself about old circuit breakers and loose wires.
"Stay here Becca, I'm going to check the back-up generator. I'm sure it's nothing," Melinda nodded towards her before the white light of her mother's phone disappeared from the doorway and down the hallway.
Becca's room was still softly lit, moonlight filtering in from her glass sliding doors and illuminating part of the space. She sighed quietly, both irritated at the power outage and at her current situation with her mother. How was she going to get her to talk about G&G? And what happened between her and FP? The dark-haired girl put her head in her hands, breathing deeply against the skin of her palms.
Suddenly, there was a sharp knocking on the balcony doors and a shadow crossed the moonlight. Becca whipped her head around towards the balcony just as a dark figure vanished from sight.
She arched a dark eyebrow at the glass doors, getting up from her desk slowly.
"Mom? Is that you?" She approached them cautiously, her heart starting to beat a little faster.
When there was no answer, Becca stopped her advance, her eyes narrowing at the windows. All she saw in the moonlight was her stone balcony and their empty backyard beyond. Perhaps it had been a trick of the light.
She sighed once more, shaking her head and turning back around towards her bed.
Except standing between her and the now open doorway of her bedroom, was the Gargoyle King.
Becca's eyes widened as she took a few involuntary steps back, her hazel orbs traveling all the way up to the Gargoyle King's skull-like face and antlers. Time seemed to slow for a moment as the tall figure slowly raised its skeletal hands.
All at once, the dangerous situation came crashing down on her and she blinked harshly before whipping around and sprinting towards the balcony. Just as she opened her glass sliding doors though and ventured out into the cool night air, someone dressed in a grotesque gargoyle mask leapt out from behind her brother's own doors on the opposite side of the stone structure, effectively cutting off her escape.
"Mom!" She screamed loudly, hoping that wherever her mother was in the house that she could hear her.
The gargoyle advanced on her, and even though he looked much stronger and taller than her, Becca squared her shoulders to prepare and fight. Her dark eyebrows pulled downwards as she drew one of her fists back and hurled it at the gargoyle mask. The man ducked, missing her swing by only an inch, before lunging at her arms. She leaped backwards just out of his reach and tried to punch him again. This time, her fist connected with the mask with a hard crunch. Becca felt white-hot pain shoot up her arm, but she had no time to react as the gargoyle took the opportunity to grab her.
"Mom, help!" She yelled out again as the gargoyle wrapped his hands around her wrists and bound them together with a piece of cloth.
The dark-haired girl struggled against his grasp, shoving her elbow into his side as he tied the ends together into a knot. She felt the air leave his lungs for a moment and his grip loosen on her hands. She ripped her bound fists free from his grasp and raced towards Reggie's room across the balcony.
Just as she reached it though and prepared to go inside, the glass sliding doors opened to reveal four more of the people in gargoyle masks.
"No! Let me go you freaks!" Becca screamed as they surrounded her and grabbed at her arms roughly.
The dark-haired girl continued to struggle hopelessly as they practically dragged her back towards her room, kicking and screaming all the way. Eventually, one of them pulled out another strip of cloth and they shoved it into her mouth, effectively gagging her and muffling her voice.
They took her down their winding staircase where the Gargoyle King stood at the bottom of it, looking up at them expectantly. As she was brought before him, one of the gargoyles kicked her feet out from under her and she fell to the ground on her knees with a sharp smack. Becca groaned in pain, the sound muted by the piece of cloth in her mouth.
"My king," Everyone in gargoyle masks bowed low to him as one of them spoke, "The High Priestess."
They gestured towards the now kneeling Becca who looked up at the Gargoyle King with defiance in her eyes. The dark figure, dressed in a course, black gown, looked down on her. He stared for a moment at the dark-haired girl before finally nodded. Becca was suddenly lifted back up to her feet, nearly tripping over people's legs in the process.
"Take her back to the castle," The same one as before ordered the others, "But try not to hurt her. The King doesn't want his bride damaged."
Bride?
Becca began to scream and kick louder, realizing that they intended to kidnap her. Where was her mother? Despite their recent fight, she hoped she was okay.
Just as the group of Gargoyles were about to lead her out the door though, a gunshot suddenly split the night air. Everyone whipped around to see Melinda Mantle standing at the top of the stairs, a smoking pistol in her right hand as she fired another round straight into the air again.
"Get your fucking hands off my daughter," She threatened in a cold voice as she pointed the weapon at them, "Or I'll kill you!"
Immediately, all five of them jumped in front of the Gargoyle King as if they were some human shield for the creature. They let go of Becca, who stumbled forwards towards the stairs, before running out the open front door and into the night.
Once she knew they were gone, Melinda lowered the gun to her side, suddenly taking several rapid breaths as if she was having some sort of panic attack. However, Becca's muffled screams snapped the woman out of it, and she hurried down the staircase towards her tied-up daughter. Melinda threw the weapon on the ground beside her with disgust before untying Becca's gag and taking it out.
Instantly, the girl took a deep breath, gulping air into her lungs.
"Mom, how did you...where did they...I-I don't understand-" Becca's voice cracked harshly as panicked tears formed in her hazel orbs.
Despite her shocked and traumatized state, Becca noticed the multiple injuries across her mother's face and body. There was a giant cut up and down her arm that was bleeding profusely and bruises littering her face and hands.
The last thing the dark-haired girl heard before she went unconscious was her mother's frantic voice as she called 911.
( history's needs chart 😂😂 )
A/N: wowie that was a ride, the plot only thickens...👀👀👀
And that Sweet Bee content whew, there's more to come!!💘
As always, please comment and vote if you enjoyed and I'll see you next chapter!