Daphne had beaten Juliet and Electra home. By the time the two girls had walked through the door, the Jones family was already sitting at the dinner table.
It was chili night, not Juliet's favorite dinner but she was fine with it as she casually took her seat and Electra awkwardly sat in the chair beside her. "Jules, who's your friend?" Jughead asked, too focused on the food to get a good look at the new girl.
"This is Electra. Electra, this my dad, Jughead." Juliet introduced before snatching cornbread off her brother's plate.
Cylus whacked his sister and she giggled. "Get your own cornbread." Cylus scowled.
"But it's more fun to take it from you." Juliet bit into the bread and Cylus grabbed her glass of milk and drank it.
"Hey!" Juliet protested.
"Now we're even." He replied simply.
Electra snickered, but stopped as she felt Betty's eyes on her. "I hope it's not any trouble that I stay for a while." She said sheepishly.
"You're fine, especially since it's chili night, help yourself." Juliet interjected.
Electra glanced from Juliet to Betty for the okay, but Betty seemed intent on making Electra squirm. "Go right ahead. There's plenty." Betty smiled tightly.
"Hi Electra! I'm Cylus." Cylus introduced himself from down the table.
Electra served herself a helping of dinner and smiled at the perky boy. "Hi Cylus, nice to meet you. How old are you?"
"Twelve. How old are you?"
Daphne snorted and Cylus glared at her. "I'm nineteen. Same as Juliet." Electra answered sweetly.
"Where are you from?" He asked curiously.
"Cylus, chill out." Juliet scolded.
"No, let her answer. I'm curious." Betty spoke and a chill shot down Electra's spine.
Debating whether or not she should lie, she decided against it. "I'm from Greendale, I moved here a few weeks ago." She challenged Betty's stare.
"Oh, interesting." Betty then stirred her chili and said nothing more.
"Mom." Juliet hissed, "what is your problem?"
"Me?" Betty said innocently, "I don't have a problem."
"Dad. Do something." Juliet turned to him.
Jughead looked up from his chili, "do what?"
"Make her stop. You guys are really being great hosts." Juliet said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, sorry. You'll have to excuse my wife, she doesn't usually act like this." Jughead apologized making Betty grumble to herself.
"It's ok." Electra answered like she wasn't a ball of nerves.
"What brought you to Riverdale?" Jughead asked.
"Family situation, I got kicked out. Figured I'd go somewhere to be away from them but I could still check in on my dad." Electra answered, playing with her chili bowl.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Is your dad sick?" Daphne looked at her sympathetically.
"No, just likes the drink."
"That's nice of you to want to check in on him even after he kicked you out. I wouldn't do that if mom or dad did that to me." Cylus lightened the mood making all the girls laugh.
"You wouldn't check in on us, Cy?" Betty pretended to be hurt.
"Nah, if you kicked me out of the house, I'd be so pissed at you."
"Some kid this one is." Betty teased him and everyone chuckled.
"So, can we all go to the football game tonight? Logan, Jules, Electra and I?" Daphne asked.
Jughead and Betty exchanged looks. "I don't know. With this murderer out there I don't want you girls to go alone at night." Jughead answered.
"Oh come on. You know we won't be alone. We'll use the buddy system." Juliet added.
"I don't know." Betty sighed.
"Come on, you two snuck out in the middle of the night when The Black-Hood was around. Mom, you lived in the same house as him. We are going to be fine. We will come home straight after the game. Promise." Daphne hadn't meant to bring up Betty's dad but this was a similar situation.
Betty buried her sensitivity with the subject deep down, making sure not express her weak spot to their suspicious new guest. "Fine. Don't go anywhere alone. And I only want you guys going to the game, then right home. Understand?"
"Yes mom." Daphne and Juliet said in unison.
"What about me?" Cylus whined.
"You're seeing your friends tomorrow remember you nut? You're going hiking with Cade's family and Maxon at eight a.m., you need your rest." Betty reminded.
"Oh yeah, but I still wanna stay up late."
"When's the last time you made it past 11:00?" Daphne countered.
"Last weekend. At Cade's."
"Not at a sleepover." Daphne emphasized.
Cylus opened his mouth but whatever would come out of it would be a lie. "I rest my case. Let's get going Jules." Daphne stood up, ready to go.
"Ok, c'mon Electra. Ready to watch your first Riverdale Bulldogs game ever?" Juliet feigned excitement.
"Tingling with excitement." She answered sarcastically.
"That's the spirit! Bye mom, bye dad! See you later Cy!" Juliet grabbed Electra's hand and dragged her out of the dining room.
"Thanks for dinner Mr. and Mrs Jones!" Electra called out before the door slam silenced her.
Jughead and Betty made eye contact and Cylus announced. "I'm gonna watch YouTube in my room. Goodnight!" He stood up and took his dish to the sink.
"Close family we are." Jughead murmured.
"We were so much worse at their ages though." Betty mentioned.
"Ha! Yeah we were."
"What did you think of her?" Betty lowered her voice.
"Electra?" Jughead paused to think for a moment. "I think she's fine. But there's something familiar about her."
"Jug," Betty stood up and sat beside him at the table. "You don't think she looks exactly like Scarlett Matiez?"
Jughead froze, "those eyes." His face paled, "now it makes sense."
"She's a spy. I know it."
"We haven't ever met Matiez's daughter. How do we know she looks like this?"
"Hello? The only thing she got from Matiez is his skin tone. The rest, the hair, eyes, body, it's all Scarlett."
"Scarlett's been dead for five years. She died of overdose." Jughead said.
"She never mentioned a mother. Just that her dad's an alcoholic. You know Matiez has a drinking problem." Betty informed.
"Shit. I'll bet the Ghoulies are behind this whole thing. Their kind are the only ones sick enough to pull a murder like that. Look at the crime scenes, one person couldn't do all that without being seen." Jughead stood up.
Betty met his wild eyes. "I'm gonna look at those photos again. I know the phrases are quotes from the Bible but I can't figure out what the symbol is."
"You mean we know those are quotes from the Bible. Let's take another look, you know we always work better on these things together." Jughead smirked.
Betty rolled her eyes, "shut up." She playfully shoved him, "it's been a while since we've had something this big. Think we still got it?" She asked.
"We're Betty and Jughead, you and I know we can solve anything together." He kissed her lips and Betty smiled into him.
"Let's get started." Betty wrapped her arms around his waist and they began to leave the dining room.
Little did they know that Cylus had been pressed against the wall, listening and as soon as they began to walk away, he scrambled up the stairs and into his room. Already formulating the text to send Juliet.
—-
Juliet and Daphne had parted ways at the high school. As soon as the three of them had met up with Logan, Juliet and Electra were off to the library.
"So," Juliet parked her bike in the library parking lot. "We need to look for recent or unsolved cases, whatever one is associated with the next thing "The Lord hates" will be the next target."
"So we are just gonna ignore your freaky parents?"
"Thought you weren't scared of them." Juliet winked and pushed open the doors.
"I was uncomfortable."
"Oh really? I couldn't tell."
"Fuck off Juliet." Electra hissed as they made it to the public records section on the second story of the library.
"No really though," Juliet met her gaze, "I'm sorry about them. Mom gets all weird when a case pops up. I'm sure she's just on edge cause I'm talking to someone new and bringing a stranger into our house. I was surprised that you didn't lie when you said you're from Greendale."
"I think if I lied, it would've been worse for your parents. What's their deal with Greendale?" Electra pulled a box off the shelf and they began to sift through the files.
"They're the Serpent king and queen. They've always had some weird attitude about Greendale and the Ghoulies."
"Do you?" She asked with curiosity.
Juliet paused, "no. I just don't get the rivalry you know? If both sides would just sit in a room and listen instead of screaming at each other like a bunch of toddlers something might actually get done."
"You think?"
"Yeah, the Serpents help with the reformatory system. We help keep kids off the streets and provide a safe home for people who don't live the luxurious life. We also do lots of things to help the city like fundraising, and yeah, there's some drug deals but somehow, that profit goes to the city. I don't know how, but it does. And the Ghoulies control the drug trade, that's lucrative as hell. They also know all the ins and outs of their county's economic holes, if we can work together, we can unite the towns and become twice as strong. And the Ghoulies aren't all bad, they just come from an environment where they weren't encouraged to follow their dreams and positively change their situation. They had to live with the cards they were dealt and are tougher and more stubborn cause they have to be, it's how they survive. If Serpents trusted the Ghoulies and the Ghoulies want to change their ways, the two gangs could be unstoppable. We could help so many people if they would just listen and find a fair compromise. Not try and plot moves and counter moves." Juliet finished and Electra didn't know what else to say to Juliet.
So, instead of talking, both of the girls were silent as they sifted through file after file until the darkness overtook the evening sky above.
—-
"Let's go!!" Daphne shrieked as the Bulldogs scored another touchdown.
Logan cheered and Daphne high fived a student beside her. "There's no way we won't win." She grinned, "come on Alec!"
Logan watched his older brother take his position on the field as the lineup prepared for the next play. There was one minute left in the game, Logan nudged Daphne and yelled, "text Jules. There's five minutes left."
Daphne nodded, and texted her sister before gluing her eyes to the game. The players ran into each other and Alec made a breakaway, leaving him open. Seizing the opportunity, Jax threw the ball and Alec caught it, who sprinted down the field as if his life depended on it.
The crowd roared as the final timer went off just as Alec made to the end zone. His team jumped him and celebrated their victory over Greendale.
"Yeah!!" Daphne and Logan cheered, both facing their peers and celebrating the team's biggest win of the season.
The student body began to exit the bleachers, pushing and shoving one another and the crowds were at a standstill for a minute as people funneled out and returned to their cars.
While in the crowd of people, Daphne surveyed the scene, watching everyone and trying to find anyone or anything acting out of the ordinary.
"Daph," Logan got her attention as he hinted towards the bleachers were two boys slinked into the shadows, clearly looking for some privacy.
"C'mon." She grabbed his wrist and dragged him through the crowd and towards the boys who'd disappeared around the corner.
Neither of them said anything as they tried to quietly follow the two boys past the bleachers and towards the woods on the outskirts of the field.
With Daphne leading the way, she carefully stepped over the sticks and rocks. Logan stepped where she did, careful not to make any noise. She halted and Logan nearly crashed into her when she stopped behind a tree, concealing them from the stadium lights.
"Is it done?" One of the boys said in a low undertone.
"Yes, I've got what you need." The other boy sounded more scarce, he was clearly the follower.
Daphne couldn't make out who they were, she didn't even recognize their voices. Pressing her hands onto the trunk of the tree for stability, she actively focused on keeping her breathing as quiet as possible.
"Give it here, then." The boy sounded annoyed.
The other boy fumbled with the zipper on his jacket and pulled out paper or something similar of the sort. Daphne could hear the crinkling of it being unfolded.
"This is good. You actually did something for once." The boy sounded satisfied.
"So, what happens next?"
"You don't get to hear my plan of action. All you do is snoop around, and give me what I want, when I want it." The boy was irritated.
Damn. Daphne thought, if only it was that easy.
"I thought you cared about her." The other boy sounded hurt.
"Hmph, that's hilarious. That bitch got what she deserved." The boy kicked a stick.
"You don't think the way she died was inhumane?"
"When did you get so sentimental, Mooney." The boy chuckled.
The other boy, Mooney—a name Juliet still didn't recognize—got defensive. "Of course not."
The boy advanced and Mooney fell on to the ground. Leaves and sticks crunching with his fall. "Don't. Lie. To me."
"I'm not lying. You better watch yourself, Luce, you know how much I know about you? One slip from me, and you're ruined." Mooney attempted a half ass threat.
"Ha! Like anyone would believe you. Just wait Mooney, The Morning Star would love to have his way with you. He trusts me more, and you can be erased from the narrative with a snap of his fingers. You are nothing, you're nothing without me, I suggest you remember that." Luce threatened.
"Your power is only skin deep. Don't act like some kind of god." Mooney growled.
"Now listen here you little—"
"Daphne! Logan! Where are you guys? We've gotta go!" Alec's voice called out and Daphne wanted to punch him.
The two boys froze, "shit. Someone's here." Mooney panicked.
"Go!" Luce shoved him into the woods and Daphne and Logan scrambled up the hill from behind the tree and found Alec shouting their names on the field.
"You asshole!" Daphne punched his shoulder.
"What did I do?" Alec rubbed his bruise.
"You almost exposed us. We overheard two guys in the woods talking. They mentioned The Morning Star." Logan whisper shouted at him.
Alex's face dropped. "Shit. My bad."
"No shit, Sherlock." Daphne hit him again.
"Who were they?"
"We didn't see their faces, but their names were Luce and Mooney. Luce is the ringleader and has connections with The Morning Star. Appartenly Mooney gives Luce info. We don't know what kind though." Daphne informed as they walked back to the car.
"I don't recognize the names at all." Logan crawled into the passenger seat and Daphne took the backseat.
"I don't either." Alec started the car.
"They've gotta be code names. But they obviously go to our school so at least we've got a lead." Daphne mentioned.
"At least we're getting somewhere. Do you think Jules found anything?" Alec asked as they left the vacant parking lot.
"I hope so, but you know my sister." Daphne stared out the window, "she won't stop till she figures everything out."
A/N: oh my god, I am so sorry for such a late update. I've been so busy with school lately and I'm have serious writer's block. What made me think I could write two books at once! Ah! I promise another update will happen soon!