Today was the day where everything changed.
From now on, it was a whole new ball game... but no one realized it yet.
No one knew what was coming. No one knew how much the actions of this day would change the course of everything.
Lexy was in the midst of handing out fliers for a fundraiser at La Bonne Nuit. The night before, Archie's boxing opponent died in the ring during the fight. Apparently his family weren't well off and got most of their money from Randy's boxing prizes. In order to ease his conscience, Archie decided to raise as much money as possible for the Ronsons.
"Very clever." Cheryl said from behind Lexy. "Hand out fliers when everyone's in line for the meningitis vaccinations, that way no one can pretend they're in a rush."
"Hey Cheryl. Why aren't you in line?" Lexy asked.
"It's against the farm's rules to put foreign substances in one's body. So here I am!"
Lexy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How could Cheryl Blossom, the most independent, remiss girl in Riverdale, be conned into joining the local cult? And the worst part? She somehow convinced Toni to join her. Lexy had lost two of her closest friends to the weird, happy, smiley people who practically skip around town.
Cheryl snatched a flier from Lexy's hands.
"A fundraiser? How extravagant is the dress code?" She asked enthusiastically.
Lexy didn't want the farm showing up and ruining the fundraiser by making everyone feel uncomfortable, but it was for a good cause. And they needed all the money they could get. Hopefully Cheryl was feeling particularly generous today.
***
"You told Sweetpea about Sydney?" Reggie asked in shock, taking another slurp from his milkshake.
"Yes, weren't you listening to my story at all?" Lexy scolded him.
"I was, I'm just surprised."
For as long as Reggie could remember, Lexy had never once spoke about what happened the day Sydney died. Not what happened, not what she saw, not what she felt. In fact, this was probably the first time in nine years he had heard Sydney's name come out of her mouth.
"That's a big step. So I'm guessing you two are-"
"No, we're not. Definitely not. I guess he thought I was sending him signals or something, so I shut him down, but when he was leaving I got the impression that he'll probably never speak to me again... in my life."
"In your life?"
"In my life."
He thought for a moment. "Why didn't you stop him before he left?"
"Because," she sighed, "me and him, we can't be together right now. And besides... he wouldn't have turned around."
Truth be told, she missed Sweetpea. She knew they couldn't be together, but that didn't stop her from missing the feeling of knowing that he was always right next to her. And that was only in the space of one day. But they were just so used to each other that being apart was this... strange feeling.
Just then, the man himself walked through the door of Pop's, the bell ringing as he did so. Had he come to talk to her? Maybe apologize for being so hostile the night before?
All of her questions were quickly answered when a short blonde girl followed him inside, the two of them smiling together.
He definitely wasn't here for Lexy.
Narrowing her eyes, she realized that the blonde girl was Harriet, one of the people she had played G&G with before she went crazy. Harriet hated Lexy for some reason.
"What is he doing with Harriet?" Lexy acted unbothered, swirling her straw around her milkshake.
"Getting burgers apparently." Reggie shrugged.
"Thanks for the insight Mr. Einstein, now how about you tell me what color is the table?"
"Sarcasm is an ugly trait to have."
Lexy rolled her eyes and continued to peer over Reggie's shoulder, where Sweetpea and Harriet were now sat in a booth. He was laughing like madman. Sweetpea never laughed this much around new people. And as far as Lexy knew, he and Harriet had never had so much as one conversation before.
She sighed. "He's trying time make me jealous."
"What tipped you off?" Reggie asked with an amused grin as he leaned over to steal one of her fries.
Lexy was quick to smack his hand away. "I'm always at Pop's at this time. He knew I'd be here, so he brought a girl along with him and is now putting on a great show."
Reggie glanced over his shoulder to see Sweetpea grinning from ear to ear at whatever Harriet was saying.
"He looks creepy when he smiles like that." He remarked.
"That's because it's a fake smile." Lexy scoffed.
Reggie narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you jealous?"
"No, because I know that he's doing this for me, not himself."
"So... you want him to do this for himself? Like, you want him to be in a real relationship, with someone that isn't you?"
There was a long silence between the two before Lexy conjured up an answer. "I can't be with him. But I want him to be happy. If another girl does that, I'd never stand in the way."
Reggie never thought he'd see the day where Lexy gave up on a relationship so fast. Especially one like her and Sweetpea's. Why was she pushing him away? Something about it just didn't add up.
Lexy watched as Harriet whispered something into Sweetpea's ear.
"Hey, how about we get out of here?" She suggested with a smile. "Maybe... go see an old friend?"
Reggie looked up from the table. "Sydney?"
She nodded. "About time the three of us got to talking again."
***
Reggie and Lexy ended up spending two hours at Sydney's grave. Neither of them realized just how much they'd have to reminisce on. It made sense though, they hadn't talked about any of those things in years. For almost a decade, Sydney wasn't allowed to be acknowledged as real.
In her dream at the hospital, Sydney said she wanted Lexy to talk to her. It made her happy knowing that she was fulfilling Sydney's wishes.
She made her way up the stairs, ready to pass out on her bed. It had been a long day.
But unfortunately, it wasn't over...
She expected to find her bedroom exactly the way she left it, like any normal person would. But it wasn't. She opened the door, to one whole wall covered from top to bottom in newspaper articles. Articles about the crimes she had committed while playing the game. On top of the papers, painted in large red writing, was one word.
"Control."
"Archie..." Lexy tried to call his name, but only managed to muster up a whisper.
The gargoyle had been in her room. He broke into her house. Sure, he had been stalking her and sending her letters and taking pictures of her but he had never actually invaded her personal space.
"Archie." She said, louder this time, but still not loud enough.
And those newspaper articles. He went to the trouble of collecting them all and then photocopying them a million times to cover he entire wall.
"Archie, I need your help!" She called, hopefully loud enough this time.
There were some shuffling sounds coming from the end of the hallway before his door opened and he made his way to her room, where Lexy was still stood in the doorway.
"What is it?" He asked.
She simply shook her head, and pointed in front of her. Archie furrowed his brows and joined her in the doorway only to jump slightly at the sight in her bedroom.
"Lex... this is where we get help." He said after a moment of silence, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You know we can't do that." She was quick to reply.
"But-"
"Let's just... clean it up before dad gets home."
She went to tear down the papers from the wall, but Archie held her back. "Wait, Lex."
"Why are you doing? Come on, we have to take everything down!" She demanded, struggling in his arms. "Let me go, Arch!"
He did as she said but still stood in front of her, holding her shoulders and leaning down so he was at eye level with her.
"Please, please just take a minute. Process this." He whispered desperately.
She raised a brow. "What do you mean? I know what's going on, I know why it's happening, there's nothing for me to process-"
"Think of it from my perspective. For years I watched you go through bad things, and instead of taking the time to process them, you distracted yourself. I don't want you to end up back there. I can't let you be that person again."
She hadn't even realized what she was doing. It was just a habit. When things got hard, she'd keep on moving. But if she didn't try change her ways, she'd hurt her brother.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, dummy." He laughed lightly, pulling her into a bear hug. "Just... take some time. I'll handle this."
A sob almost escaped Lexy's mouth while her forehead rested under Archie's chin, but she managed to keep it together. For him more than her.
"I don't really want to sleep here." She admitted.
"That's okay. Sleep in my room. I'll take the floor, or the couch."
She pulled out of the hug. "No. Don't do that. I think I might have to get out of here all together. I mean, this guy always expects me to be here so... I should probably find somewhere else to stay while this settles down. Maybe the Cooper's?"
"They have a pretty full house already with the Joneses moving in. But, I think I know someone else who could help. It's probably the safest place in all of Riverdale."
She didn't need to ask, Lexy already knew who he was referring to. And although she wasn't all that fond of the person, at this point beggars couldn't be choosers. "I'll start packing a bag."
She got all of her essentials and stuffed them into a suitcase while Archie made the sleeping arrangements. Right now would be the perfect time to have a knife hidden under her clothes, but since coming out of the hospital, she wasn't allowed be in possession of weapons.
"Okay, a taxi should be here in a few minutes." Archie informed her.
Lexy nodded from the couch, but he could see the hurt in her face. She was taking the time to process, but still was trying to be strong.
"Lexy?" He asked, walking into the sitting room.
She stared at him, a face made of stone for about thirty seconds, but then she cracked. A few small tears rolled down her cheeks and she covered her face with her hands. Archie knelt down and wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey, it's okay. I promise, everything will be okay." He consoled her.
She managed to keep her sobbing under control, but her voice was shaky. "Should I be scared?"
"No. This guy's not going to hurt you, I'll make sure of that. And when we find out who it is, I swear to God I'm gonna-"
The sound of a car horn honking outside interrupted Archie's threat. Lexy wiped away any tears before her brother could see them, and picked up her suitcase.
"That's the taxi then. What are we gonna tell dad?" She asked.
"I'll figure it out. You just... don't worry."
She nodded with a smile and opened the door. She sometimes forgot how lucky she was to have Archie. Especially after the amount of times she had almost lost him.
"I'll call Sweetpea and Reggie to help clean up your room. We'll decide what to do about this afterwards." He called as she walked down the driveway.
"Not Sweetpea." She spun around. "He's probably busy."
Too busy for Lexy? That would be a first. Archie wanted to ask more questions but decided against it.
"I love you, Arch." She said.
"I love you too."
And with that, she was in the taxi and heading towards the most unlikely place she could think of. He'd find out. He was always watching. By the next day he would probably already be coming up with new ways to torment her, but for now, it was all she could do.
The taxi pulled to a stop, and she sighed as she looked up at the Pembrooke. So this was her new safe place for... well, she didn't know how long. Hopefully not any more than a couple of days. She made her way into the large building and up the stairs, knocking on the familiar white door.
Veronica Lodge must have been waiting for her, as she was quick to open the door and welcome her in. After the bare minimum of conversation, Lexy went to set up the couch, but Veronica stopped her.
"Oh, you can stay in my room. It's big enough for the two of us."She said.
"Okay." Lexy responded awkwardly.
Why was she being so nice? So helpful? The two of them both knew that they were never the closest of friends. She was probably just taking pity on her.
***
The next morning, Lexy woke to find a full breakfast buffet displayed neatly on the dining room table. She never thought she'd see the day where she shared a meal with Hiram Lodge, but thankfully Veronica and Hermione did most of talking, making polite conversation with their guest.
After a breakfast big enough to last her three days, she and Veronica were chauffeured to school in a shiny black car. It felt like a fever dream. Like she just had too many pills and woke up in a parallel universe where she didn't eat cereal in the morning and didn't walk to school with her brother.
"Sorry if this is all too extravagant." Veronica apologized as they walked from the parking lot to the school.
"It's fine, Veronica. You're doing me a huge favour, so thank you." Lexy said sincerely.
The Lodge girl smiled and they walked through the doors of the school. Lexy was about to ask about the fundraiser at the speakeasy that evening, but before any more conversation could be exchanged between the two, Lexy was pulled away.
Why was it always Sweetpea?
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" She asked, attempting to yank her arm out of his grip.
"Taking you somewhere." He replied shortly.
"And you couldn't have just told me that?"
Sweetpea glared at her, before letting go of her arm and continuing down the hallway, not making it easy for her to keep up with him.
Well at least now Lexy knew where his head was at.
She bumped into people in the hallway trying to follow the tall boy who was easily barging through the crowds. Eventually she found herself following him into a classroom.
"What is this?" Lexy asked when she saw Archie and Reggie awaiting her arrival.
"After last night-" Archie started to explain.
"Woah last night? You guys told him about last night?" She pointed to Sweetpea who was now leaning against a wall at the back of the classroom.
"We had to. It was taking too long to clean up your room." Reggie admitted.
Lexy sighed and rubbed her palm on her forehead.
"Believe me, I wasn't jumping for joy about it either." Sweetpea said bluntly.
Archie ignored his snarky comment and continued to explain himself. "After last night, we know that we can't just protect you anymore. That's not going to stop anything."
"And considering the fact this guy can get into your bedroom, we know that if he wanted to hurt you, he would've done it by now. He's had opportunity after opportunity." Reggie explained.
Lexy nodded but with a confused look all the same. "Where are you guys going with this?"
Archie and Reggie glanced at each other.
"We figure out who he is." Archie said. "The only way we can even begin to think about stopping this is by knowing who we're dealing with."
"Swell but how are we supposed to do that?"
Did they really think that she hadn't tried to figure this out before? Every single time her suspect list came out empty. Whoever this was, was doing an immaculate job at keeping their identity a secret.
"What do you mean "we"? The three of us are just the SWAT team." Sweetpea reminded her, still with attitude to his tone.
"As much as he's being a dick about it, Sweetpea's right. You'd know a lot more about this guy than we would." Reggie said.
"That's fair but he still hasn't given anything away. All I know is that he plays G&G, he's part of the gargoyle gang and... that's it." Lexy insisted.
"Well that narrows it down to about fifty people." Archie sighed.
The room went silent, as Reggie and Archie wracked their brains for information that wasn't there, and Lexy slumped down in the windowsill feeling defeated. And then Sweetpea groaned loudly.
"Do I seriously have to do everything?" He asked rhetorically.
"Huh?" Archie asked in shock.
"You know more than that, you're just being lazy." Sweetpea said pointedly to Lexy.
"Huh?" She asked, also in shock.
"If you wanna figure out who this is you're gonna have to do more than just scratch the surface on this guy."
"How do you want me to do that? Write him a letter?"
"Funny. Ask yourself questions. Any questions. Random things that you wouldn't usually think of."
She raised her eyebrows. Since when was he a detective? "Like what?"
"Like when did this all start?" He asked obviously.
"A few months ago, when Archie was in jail."
"Don't scratch the surface, be specific! What day was it? What were you doing? Who did you speak to? When did the letter arrive?"
"How am I supposed to remember?"
"You were there!" He yelled. "Think!"
"This isn't going to work!" Reggie complained.
"It'll work if she'd just let it work!"
Lexy huffed as she tried to remember the day she received her first letter. "It was a school day. I wasn't speaking to any of you guys. I came home to find a letter on the porch."
"What did it say?"
"It had quest cards in it. To play off board."
"That's nice, but what did it say?"
She rolled her eyes at Sweetpea's bluntness. She'd like to see him in her shoes. Just a few weeks ago she couldn't remember any of this because of the ventilator. It wasn't like figuring out where's Wally. "It said that I should keep playing G&G. Even if other people didn't want me to."
"Other people like who?"
It all started about a week after Archie broke out of prison. A week after she cut all her friends off. So none of them knew about her playing the game. The only people who knew were...
"Oh my God." She whispered in realisation, gaining everyone's interest.
"What?" He asked.
"Oh. My. God." She simply repeated.
"What?" He asked more harshly this time.
"I'm so stupid how did I not think of this sooner!?"
"Think of what, Andrews!?"
"Four people. There are four possible people it could be. And lucky for us, they're all within a close perimeter."
***
Lexy paced around the music room, growing impatient. Archie told her to wait until after school to do this, but she couldn't wait that long. She had to find out who was behind all of this now. Where were they?
As if they knew what she was thinking, Dana came through the door, followed by Greg and then Jamie. Her former G&G friends. They all gave her confused looks.
"What's going on? Why did you want to see all of us?" Dana was first to ask.
"Where's Harriet?" Lexy asked instead.
"I don't know. She'll probably be here any minute."
She rolled her eyes and continued to pace around more.
"What is this, Lexy?" Greg asked.
"This is a confrontation, to whoever is stalking me and taking pictures of me and writing me letters and breaking into my room!" She told them.
"Wait, what? Someone's stalking you?" Dana asked.
"Yes, one of you!"
"Why do you think it's one of us?" Greg asked with his usual bored look on his face.
"Because whoever it is, is trying to get me to play the game again and you four are the only ones who knew I was playing it when I first started getting letters."
The three of them looked at each other expectantly, waiting for someone to say something. Maybe Lexy hadn't fully thought this through. She forgot that whoever this was wasn't just going to openly admit it was them. So she needed to catch them out.
"Alibis. Give me your alibis." She demanded.
"Alibis for what?" Greg sighed.
"For last night, when my room was vandalized. Each of you need to tell me where you were between 8:00pm and 10:00pm."
She looked to Dana first who gave her an incredulous look. "You can't be serious, Lexy."
"I've never been more serious in my life, so if you have nothing to hide, stop making yourself look suspicious and tell me where you were."
"Tutor sessions! Once a month a big group of students stay in school late and cram for tests together. I'm one of the tutors." She admitted. "And that can be proved easily. Ask Theo Wilkins, Shanon Bates, Harley Griffith, they were all there."
She looked her up and down. She had an alibi and proof of it. She'd definitely be looking into it but as of right now, Dana was innocent.
"And you?" She turned to Greg.
"I was at tutor sessions too. Ask all the same people, they all saw me there. Spent most of the night being tutored by Shanon."
Shanon was a tutor? Lexy didn't even know she did well in school. Not much of a surprise since she never liked the girl and avoided her like the plague. All of her true feelings towards her came out when she was brainwashed by G&G and started a physical fight with her in the middle of the hallway.
"Okay, what's all the commotion?" The door was thrown open by Harriet who had an indifferent look on her face.
"Where were you last night?" Lexy immediately asked.
Harriet furrowed her brows but her expression then softened into a smile. "Is someone a little jealous about seeing their ex with another girl? Not my problem."
"No, this is about the stalker who broke into my house, now tell me where you were between 8:00pm and 10:00pm last night?"
Harriet looked around at the others questioningly. When none of them said anything, she looked back at Lexy, her grin growing even wider. "I was with Sweetpea. My parents were away so I invited him over."
So Sweetpea was already having sex with another girl? And with Harriet of all people? Classy. She could tell Harriet intended to make her feel bad, but she wouldn't even give her that satisfaction.
"Jamie, alibi?" She asked the blonde boy.
He hesitated for a moment. "I was at home all evening."
"Can anyone prove that?"
"No. My mom works night shifts at the hospital so we didn't see each other at all."
"Then you have no alibi!"
He gave her a hopeless look. "I didn't break into your house! I'm not stalking you!"
"Stalking you? Someone's stalking you?" Harriet asked with an amused look.
"Funny enough, yes, someone's stalking me. Writing me letters, sending me polaroids of myself-"
Harriet's eyes widened and she cackled. "Then you should definitely be looking at Jamie, seeing as he's Riverdale's award winning young photographer!"
"What?" Lexy asked.
"Yeah, and I've been to his house. He's got cameras to last for days. Pretty sure some of them are polaroids too. And not to mention he's always had a bit of a crush on you..."
"Shut up, Harriet!" Dana interjected.
"What? You know it's true. When she started playing Gryphons and Gargoyles with us we all knew he was head over heels-"
"Don't make this personal!" Dana defended her friend.
"This got personal as soon as he decided to break into his crush's house and take creepy pictures of her."
"I didn't do it! Lexy, I didn't do this, you have to trust me!" He insisted.
"You did do this!" Harriet argued.
"Oh what do you know Harriet? You hated her since day one, and you seem determined to point the blame at anyone but yourself!" Greg jumped in. "Wouldn't be at all surprised if it was you."
"Whoever did this obviously has serious mental issues. I might be a bitch but I'm completely sane. But I know if my brother committed suicide less than a year ago I might not be-"
"Harriet!" Dana scolded her.
The room fell uncomfortably silent as Greg, Harriet and Dana all turned to look at Jamie who was now sitting down with his head buried in his hands.
"What is she talking about?" Lexy asked.
Harriet looked around. "Well if I say it I'm gonna get in trouble so I'll leave to one of you."
Dana glared at her and pulled Lexy to the side. "Jamie Button. That's his full name."
"Button?" And then it hit her. "You mean-"
"Jamie's brother was Ben Button, who killed himself at the start of the year when G&G first came to town."
"Oh my God... that's... rough."
"Rough enough to make someone want to become a serial stalker!" Harriet butted in from the other side of the room.
That's when Greg jumped up from the piano bench. "Keep talking Harriet, I dare you!" He warned.
She scoffed. "Heck, it was probably you. Mr. Brooding outcast loner who relishes in his reputation because it hides the fact that he's probably depressed and insane after a whole childhood of being neglected and ignored by none other than your own mother."
"And you wonder why nobody likes you!" Dana shot. That was the first time Lexy had ever heard Dana raise her voice.
"Dana, how could I forget about you? When looking for insane people you should definitely take anyone who wants to join a cult into consideration." Harriet revealed.
"Hold on, you're joining the farm?" Greg questioned.
Dana looked from Greg to Lexy to Harriet.
"YOU ARE A BITCH!" She screamed before running towards her and slamming her body into the wall.
To give her credit, for a small girl, Harriet could definitely hold her own in a fight as she simultaneously clawed at Dana's face and kicked her legs. Jamie continued to cry in the corner as Greg got in between them and broke up the fight with ease. He pulled Dana off of the blonde girl and then restrained Harriet before she could go after Dana. He was a tall and slightly muscular guy who looked like he had probably thrown a punch or two before.
"Well there you go Lexy. We all have motives or reasons for hurting you, but we also all have alibis for last night. Well, besides Jamie. Hope this hasn't screwed with your head at all." Harriet said calmly. She then smoothened out her bangs and left them room, winking at Dana as she did so which almost resulted in another brawl.
After Harriet was gone and Lexy had nothing else to say, everyone else went their desperate ways, not wanting to speak to each other anymore. That could've went a lot better.
***
"You're so stupid, Little A. You should've stuck to the plan and waited until we were there to protect you. You don't know what could've happened on your own. One of them could've felt threatened and lashed out!" Reggie scolded Lexy for her reckless actions as the two sat in one of the fancy booths in La Bonne Nuit.
"I'm here, well and alive, Reg. You don't need to tell me it was dangerous now." She said dryly.
He sighed in frustration and stood up to go get a drink. "So all of them are shady, but all of them have alibis?"
"All of them except Jamie, but that could just be a coincidence." Lexy followed him to the bar.
"What were they all doing last night?"
"Dana and Greg were both at tutor sessions at the school, Jamie claims he was at home all night and Harriet was... at her house with Sweetpea."
Reggie gave a sorrowful look.
"I heard my name."
The pair looked beside them to see Sweetpea standing on the other side of the bar.
"Since when do you work here?" Lexy asked curiously.
"Since last time a certain someone was here, she got roofied by the bartender. And with a creepy gargoyle stalker on the loose and undoubtedly in the room, it's probably a good idea for one of us to have eyes and ears on every conversation that goes down at the bar tonight."
Lexy gave him a grateful look and opened her mouth to thank him but he stopped her.
"Don't thank me, it was Archie's idea. Anyway, why were you guys talking about me?"
Lexy glanced at Reggie, hoping he wouldn't let Sweetpea know she was upset about him and Harriet.
"You were Harriet's alibi for where she was last night." Reggie said simply.
"Wait what?" Sweetpea sounded suddenly more intrigued.
Lexy rolled her eyes. "I asked the four of them where they were when my bedroom was vandalized and Harriet said she was with you at her house."
Sweetpea looked around, as if to make sure no one was within earshot before saying, "Then she lied."
"What?" Lexy asked.
"I never went to Harriet's house last night. I dropped her home at about 8:45pm. Which means..."
"She was lying about her alibi." Reggie realized. "The only reason someone would lie about something like that is to-"
"To cover their tracks. To throw us off their scent." Lexy finished.
Reggie considered it all for a moment before shaking his head. "But it can't be Harriet, you said it was a guy wearing the gargoyle mask."
"That doesn't mean anything. Fangs told me that girls weren't able to be part of the gargoyle gang. She could be just using some guy as her pawn while she controls everything behind the scenes."
"Lexy!" A voice suddenly called from a distance.
She turned around to see Archie running down the stairs of the speakeasy with a frantic look on his face.
"Archie, where have you been?" Lexy asked, going to meet him.
"Getting money from Elio. It doesn't matter. What does matter is this." He pulled an envelope out of his jacket, an envelope that had already been opened, so Archie must've already read it.
Lexy,
Don't try figure out who I am. You find out my identity on my own terms. I come to you, you don't come to me. I would hate to see you, or somebody else, get hurt as a result of your curiosity.
Her stomach dropped. "Get hurt"? He or she or whoever was threatening her? They had never threatened her before. But in order to protect their identity, they would apparently be willing to put their money where their mouth is.
"You pissed him off." Archie said, referring to her confrontation earlier.
Lexy walked back to the bar where Sweetpea was still waiting. "Will Harriet be here tonight?"
Staring over her shoulder, he replied, "She's already here."
In the middle of the floor, barely visible through the thick crowd, was Harriet, dancing around like she was drunk but Lexy could tell that she was in fact sober, just a really bad dancer.
"I'm gonna go talk to her." Sweetpea said, putting his rag down and coming out from behind the bar.
"I'll fill in for you." Reggie said, taking his place effortlessly.
Lexy went to stand in front of Sweetpea but he was quick to dodge her, which frustrated her. "She could be dangerous! What is talking to her going to do?"
"It'll distract her from you."
"But..." She tried to come up with something that would make him change his mind. Something that would make him see that this wasn't a plan. But he was too stubborn. Especially with her, and especially right now.
As the song changed and the music got louder, he took her arm and pulled her closer, breaking the boundary of personal space.
"Don't do anything stupid tonight." He whispered.
His breath was warm on her ear and she got an overwhelming feeling to just pull him back to the bar and keep him trapped there. Anything to keep him away from that possibly unhinged girl. But he was already gone.
***
The night was going smoothly. People were making charitable donations, the farmies were keeping to themselves and everyone seemed to be enjoying the night. Everyone but Lexy, who was sat in a booth with her brother, her mind racing a million miles an hour.
"You don't think she suspects anything do you?" She asked, watching from afar as Sweetpea chatted up Harriet, rather convincingly if Lexy had anything to say about it.
"If she thought anything was weird, Sweetpea would've realized by now and be back behind the bar." Archie assured her.
"What is Reggie doing behind the bar?" Veronica asked accusingly at Archie as she marched to their table.
"Sweetpea has other things on his mind." He pointed towards Sweetpea on the dance floor.
"Well that's not what I'm paying him to do!" Veronica stomped her foot. And then it sunk in that Sweetpea was dancing with another girl. She spun back around to face Lexy. "You and Sweetpea...."
Lexy shook her head. "No more."
The black haired girl pouted. "Wow, if there's no hope for you two then there might as well no hope for any of us."
The statement unintentionally made the conversation extremely awkward as Lexy looked between Archie and Veronica, formerly know as Varchie as Veronica labelled them. Archie scratched the back of his neck.
"Well... I'm gonna go yell at Reggie. I'll see you guys later." Veronica removed herself from the equation.
As soon as she was out of sight, Lexy slammed her hands on the table. "You two are totally getting back together!"
"Don't even go there." Archie laughed awkwardly.
"You've already got your foot in the door! I saw those eyes you were making at her."
"I don't make eyes at anyone."
"Don't pee in my ear and tell me it's hot rain." She leaned back in the booth with a knowing grin.
"Ew." He hated when she said stuff like that.
She laughed evilly at his embarrassment. The sibling banter was short lived however when a text came through in Lexy's phone. From an unfamiliar number.
Back road outside Pop's. Meet me there.
She initially ignored the message. There was no way she was even entertaining the idea of meeting up with this person on a sketchy back road with no witnesses. Apparently that was a predictable option.
I don't want to hurt any of your friends. But I will if that's the price you want to pay.
It took all of her strength not to react, not when Archie was sitting right across from her. He'd know something was wrong instantly. She couldn't let him get hurt. Or Sweetpea for that matter. She looked to the dance floor to see Harriet glancing at her phone as Sweetpea looked around obliviously.
I'll be out in two minutes.
No company. I'll know if you've brought anyone with you.
"I've gotta go to the toilet." Lexy informed her brother with a casual smile.
"I'll come with you." Archie went to slide out of the booth.
"Ew, there is no way my brother is escorting me to the bathroom!"
"But Harriet is-"
"Being distracted by Sweetpea. Besides, there'll be about fifteen other girls in there at least. I don't think she'd try anything in front of all those witnesses."
He still looked uncertain but Lexy smiled and rolled her eyes as if nothing could go wrong. She then slid out of the booth and told her brother she'd be back in a minute. A lie, but a price she was willing to pay.
She hurried up the stairs of the speakeasy, but noticed Harriet still dancing with Sweetpea, sending her a suggestive smirk. Before anyone else noticed anything, she walked into the neon lit diner. The fact that the place was practically empty didn't surprise her what with the crowds downstairs.
Wishing she had brought a coat with her tonight, she rubbed her arms as she rushed through the parking lot to the dimly lit back road.
So it was official. Harriet was the gargoyle. And she was forcing Lexy to come out here because... who knew why. Maybe she was planning on killing her? Or maybe just beating her up so badly she didn't remember anything.
Waiting like this was a nightmare. She felt like a sitting duck. A lamb waiting to get slaughtered. When the waiting became unbearable, she took out her phone to text Harriet.
"Well, well, well. Look who's just chilling out here all on her own." Harriet's high voice called from a distance. "You know, some people might call this dangerous."
Lexy crossed her arms. "Funny."
"Aren't I? You're boy toy thinks he's smart, trying to distract me all night, hoping my hormones would just go flying through the roof at his masculinity and make me completely forget what I'm here to do."
"Which is what, exactly?"
Harriet scrunched her nose but shook her head. "We'll get to that later." She then began to stroll around Lexy. "You just had to rat me out to Sweetpea, didn't you?"
This girl had to be insane. She had been tormenting her for weeks and this was her most gripping subject choice?
"He was your alibi. You knew I was going to look into it."
"I assumed that was an empty threat. You seem like an empty threat sort of girl. But anyway, it doesn't matter. Everything will still turn out the same."
How had she managed to come across so caring in the letters? It was a creepy and obsessive sort of caring, but caring all the same. Harriet must've been a master of manipulation and weaving words together.
Lexy couldn't help herself, she needed to know. "Why are you doing this to me? These past few months, my life has been a living hell and you have never done anything to slow that down. I almost died-"
"Save the pity vote for someone who cares." Harriet waved her off.
Now Lexy was just downright confused. This was Harriet's way of exposing herself as the gargoyle? Saying that she didn't care about what happened to Lexy? Clearly she did, otherwise she wouldn't have orchestrated it.
The blonde girl crossed her arms and sighed. "I can see I've confused you enough. So let me be the first person to tell you some actual information. I hate you. I hate you more than I've ever hated anyone in my entire life, and that's saying something. Those days you were practically dead on the ventilator, were some of the happiest of my life."
"Believe me, I know!" Lexy exclaimed, not wanting to hear Harriet talk so carelessly about the ventilator she put her on as a result of the quest cards and drugs she sent to her.
"No, you don't know. Because I know what you're thinking, but I'm not the gargoyle."
Lexy waited. Waited for her to say... something. Anything that would make what she just said make any sort of sense.
"That's your story? You're not the gargoyle?"
"It's not a story, it's the truth. I want to slam you through a window every time I see you, I'll admit that, but I'm not the gargoyle."
"And you just expect me to believe you?"
"You don't have to. And I don't care if you do. But just know that the gargoyle has their reasons for doing what they're doing to you. Reasons that are different to mine. I'm not the gargoyle, because I would never waste months of my life preparing to kill you. If I wanted to, I would just do it and have it be over."
How was Lexy supposed to take any of this in? This girl was practically telling her that she wanted her dead, but also saying that she wasn't her psychotic stalker.
What the hell was she supposed to believe? She could feel her brain burning.
"You know who the gargoyle is?" Lexy asked skeptically.
Harriet gave her a sadistic smile and nodded. "Of course I do."
This could've just been a trap. A way to get Lexy to let her guard down long enough for Harriet to whip out a knife and shove it through her stomach. But at this point that was where this conversation was heading already. There was no way Harriet was revealing all of this to Lexy and then letting her off scotch free. She might as well get as much information as possible before hopefully figuring a way out of this.
"Assuming you're telling the truth, who is it? Who is the gargoyle?" She dared to ask.
And just when she thought this entire situation wasn't messed up enough, she was proven wrong.
A car that she had heard coming, but assumed was in the distance on some other road, was suddenly racing towards them at full speed, with no signs of stopping. The two girls only noticed when it was about thirty metres away, giving them barely any time to save themselves.
It got closer and closer, the headlights turning on as it did so. It was moving so fast, there wasn't even time to think. Was she about to die? Could she be saved? Who would find her? Those were the only thoughts she remembered thinking in those three seconds of watching the car speed towards her.
And then it swerved, missing her completely and crashing straight into Harriet. The impact sent her flying about five metres sideways. She didn't make a sound. In that split second beforehand, Lexy expected her to scream, but as soon as she was hit, she was out.
That was when Lexy screamed. A bloodcurdling scream that sounded like the scream of many lost souls possessing one body.
This was no accident. That driver meant to hit Harriet. He wouldn't have swerved like that for any other reason.
Lexy looked at the vehicle. A dirty, black truck. Vaguely familiar. And then she saw the gargoyle sitting in the front seat. They looked at her briefly before making a sharp U-turn and speeding away just as fast as they came.
Lexy didn't have time to wonder. She didn't have time to ask herself how this gargoyle timed it so perfectly to hit Harriet as soon as she was about to reveal the truth. Instead, she ran to Harriet's side and screamed over and over again for help.
Harriet's eyes were closed, and her pulse was faint. Blood dripped from her forehead and there were shards of glass not only in her clothes and hair, but surrounding them. Her body was completely limp.
And suddenly Lexy was finding it difficult to remain present in the moment, getting vivid flashbacks to a similar time of her life. A time where she was sitting next to a pale, blonde girl, screaming for help, watching as all signs of life left her body.
"HELP!"
A/N: Apologies for the extremeleyyyy long chapter!!!! Didn't want to make it two or three separate parts. Hopefully it wasn't too dragged out or anything. Byeeeeeee!