* GOLDEN / GIRL

She was hisbreath of fresh air. It didn’t matter what the situation was or where he was,he’d always be excited to see her. Now, when he was missing her every day, the excitementwas stronger, he’d never thought he’d be so happy to see someone. “ Don’t youalways?” It wasn’t important whether or not his classmates were around, hewould have gotten away with her or kicked Bret out of their shared room. Thepeople around here couldn’t understand what he and Betty had, for it seemed asif the only thing of importance to them was the prizes.  But he already had Betty Cooper in his armswhich meant he was the one true winner. “ The onlything I need to concentrate on is you.” His confession was sincere, they’velost too many hours they could have spent together already. All of his homeworkcould wait, all of the mysteries he had to solve could be put on hold. When sheentered the room, everything else disappeared. Everything else was a simple inconvenience.“ Do not even think that I would do homework while you are here. I am so gladyou came.” He repeated again as he placed another gentle kiss on her lips. His armswere still securely wrapped around her waist, eyes drinking her in as if she’ddisappear if he blinked. “ Then I shall take you there, Juliet. We can dowhatever you want.” As long as she was here to keep him company, they couldjust lay on the small bed and listening to the silence of the room and herheartbeat would be enough for him. “ I already found a place. It has yourfavorite pizza.”

     A  WEEKEND  WITH  EACH  OTHER  WAS  PRECISELY  WHAT  THEY  BOTH  NEEDED  .  the pressure of everything else could simply fade into the background, at least for a little while. being around him again, she felt like she could breathe a little easier. being at the cooper jones house without him was odd and uncomfortable if she was completely honest so an escape from it and into his arms was more than welcome to her. his confession causes a smile to bloom on her lips. 

she knows he must have plenty of work to do for his classes or writing to get to so she appreciated that he was able to set it aside for a while. after all, they rarely got to see one another since he had been at stonewall prep. they were fortunate if they were able to spend the weekend together. initially it had been a little easier but as circumstances got more intense and as work piled on, it became more difficult to get to each other. she understood, of course, it counted for the both of them but it certainly wasn’t the best situation. 

In the months following the Farm’s disappearance from the bastille formerly owned by the Sisters ( a mass exodus, save for lonely emissary Kevin Keller, abandoned in the heart of his overlord’s fearsome citadel ), things had somewhat returned to a state of unnatural quiet. A costly facade of peace, beneath which there resided an enduring storm of unrest, nightmares, uncertainty for the little known fate of everyone else who’d vanished on the eve of Edgar’s portended ascension.

Alongside Jason, his still, pallid form still sitting where she’d left him the morning before, Cheryl had more than once quietly found herself ruminating over every tenuous hypothesis, out loud ——- if Polly had regained any shred of her sanity, with the help of her mother. If Evelyn had, in some indistinct fashion, gotten what she’d deserved in recompense for the pain she’d inflicted, and the torture she’d enabled. 

( If anyone had survived at all. )

At Betty’s news, Cheryl felt herself slacken against the bathroom door, and her head loll back against the lacquered cherry oak; Sighed, like the weight of her worry had shifted from the midpoint of her chest. Like someone had finally removed the dagger the Evernevers had twisted into her back. “ I pray you’re right, Betty Cooper, ” she whispered, a harrowed hush, weighted by her steadfast guilt. “ And… truth be told, despite my valiant escape the night my banshee-esque mother hunted you and our chums at Thornhill… I truly regret not coming to your aid sooner. ” 

@jrnalst·

     THE  SIGH  CHERYL  EMITS  ,  THE  BLONDE  CAN’T  HELP  BUT  SHARE  .  there’s a relief in passing on this news, lifting this burden in what she hoped was finally the end. betty prayed cheryl was right too. evelyn was surely still out there but . . .  how much trouble could she truly cause without edgar and from her position ?  surely it was alright, it was at least the last thing on betty’s mind right now.

that relief she had felt a brief moment ago vanished and her body stiffened. chery’s words were surprising, unsuspecting, catching the blonde off guard. although, to be fair, cheryl and betty had come a long way from where they used to be. the recollection of that night, of her time at the farm causes her to feel as though her blood runs cold. shaky breaths escape her lips and there’s a pressure on her chest that makes her want to scream. unsteady fingers lift to clutch the kitchen counter near her as if it would cause the emotions, the memory, to stop. 

from her mother almost dying, abandoning her, selling their home, making her think those awful things, to living at the farm, to having sessions, to almost being harvested, to that night of being hunted, and everything inbetween.

“ Are you sure?” the question was ready on his lips the moment she spoke, her answer was truthful but he didn’t know if someone hadn’t already placed the seeds of doubt inside of Betty’s mind. They had less free time, the nights they’ve spent together during the past month were not many – he could count them on his fingers and for them being away from each other was an anachronism.  What if she believed that he was capable of changing in order to fit into his school’s new standards. His brows furrowed, he didn’t realize that Bret’s words and his cruelty had affected her that much – she was strong enough on her own but together? They were an unstoppable force. His tongue wetted his dry lips as he immediately shook his head. “ Do you think I would let him?” he whispered as his hands gently held into her shoulder. “ Betty.. I would never let Bret hurt you, only over my dead body. Do you understand that? I will never let him realize the tape. He won’t do that. You might be scared of what he is capable of but I promise he would fear me before he even has the thought of realizing it.”

     HIS  QUESTION  DOESN’T  MISS  A  BEAT  .  ❝    yes, of course i’m sure.    ❞  her response is just as ready as his. she doesn’t want him to have a reason to doubt her or her love for him. even though the two of them didn’t have as much time together anymore, that hadn’t changed their feelings. sure, being apart from him was agonizing; however, that didn’t change her thoughts of him. she knew jughead, she knew the two of them together.

lips press themselves together as she listens to him, her signature pink perfection color is smudged in her disheveled state. his reassurances surround her and as hands rest on her shoulders, her gaze finds him. her head feels heavy yet she forces herself to keep it up, to keep him in her sights, to really hear him. betty knows the kind of things jughead is capable of, she’s seen it firsthand. shaky breath exhales through her mouth as hands clasp together in her lap tightly, almost pinching. 

                     ❛ You are really something, ❜ he said, almost like a whispered confession, amazed that she existed and even more that she existed in his life. She made him feel so brave about the things he felt and the things he wanted out of life. He had spent so much time watching her in his own quiet way that he almost felt like he knew her, and yet not at all, like a mystery he wanted to chase after. Find every answer, as much as she’d share with him, at her own pace and his own — together. It felt like such a magical thing.

It was no time at all when they pulled up to the dirt road that led them towards the lookout point, and even less when he found his favorite spot open ( but it was always open when he came here, luckily ). He knew teens came here all the time to share time together ( a polite way of saying make out ) but he always found the right hour when everyone had gone home for the night. That’s how he liked Riverdale — quiet, empty, as though he were the only one living there. Until now, of course, when he wanted to share that solitude with Betty.

The car engine cut with the turn of his key, and he looked over at her, that smile still on his face with eyes soft, thankful.

                    ❛ Ready ? ❜

     HER  HEART  FEELS  AS  IF  IT’S  BEEN  CAUGHT  IN  HER  THROAT  AT  HIS  STATEMENT  .  there’s a light smile on her lips, brows furrowing in amused disbelief. her  ?  really something  ?  she should be saying that to him, she wasn’t all that much. she was a waitress and a dreamer and she was letting herself fall into this possibility with him, something she wanted, something she dreamed of. but there was an endearing quality in his voice, in his expression that told her he meant it. there’s a bit of a stammering before her response.    ❝    thank you.    ❞  her words are soft, accompanied by a light flush in her cheeks, caught off guard.

soon enough, they were there, her eyes taking in their surroundings. if she was honest, she didn’t get out to see the sights too much and as they approached the location, her expression filled with awe.  ❝    oh wow.    ❞ soft remark is made under her breath, it’s gorgeous even from inside the car. surprisingly enough, it was quite quiet, rather empty as if the lookout point had reserved itself especially for them that evening, like it was somehow theirs.

In for thelong haul, he remembered the worst he had whispered to her but he forgot thathe had to ask who was the one defining the duration of the haul itself and whodefined what long meant? When he got admitted to Stonewall, he remembered herbeing happy – she was the one who gave him the courage to stay, he wasconfident it wouldn’t affect their relationship in any way – they’ve been throughworse than long distance. However, it seemed as if he had underestimatedStonewall and its importance, how it could swallow him whole along with hertrust in him.  Heswallowed, eyes trying to find hers. “  Stonewall is not my priority Please don’t use it as an excuse. .” He explained as hisfocus changed, attention given to her clasped hands. She was away from him,both physically mentally and even though they were in the same room, it felt asif they were in two different cities, two different continents and there wasalways some inconvenience on their way to a common understanding – the timezones, the fact Jughead often forgot and the fact she was slipping away fromhim. Maybe it was his fault that she felt less important than whatever wasgoing on in that preppy hell. He didn’t want that?  “ Of what?Do you think I would betray you?” he questioned, both waiting for an honestanswer and not wanting to hear it. Maybe she did. Maybe Bret finally managed toget in the way of their relationship, maybe that’s why he wanted since thestart. 

     SO  MUCH  HAD  CHANGED  ,  SO  MUCH  HAD  HAPPENED  SINCE  JUG  HAD  FIRST  BEEN  ACCEPTED  TO  STONEWALL  .  that wasn’t to say she didn’t still support him. he had her complete and utter trust. however, things at stonewall seemed as though they were becoming more complex, more dangerous and for a while there, it seemed like he was getting too involved, too implicated.  there was so much to that place, so much that they were still unraveling. 

❝    i know it’s not.    ❞  she responds softly. admittedly, she did believe that for a period of time yet his recent actions at the chess match proved otherwise. she allows her gaze to shift to him, trying to bridge the physical gap she was unconsciously putting between them.

her expression twists and she shakes her head. ❝    no, no, of course i don’t think that.    ❞  quick to respond, quick to clear up his questioning. ❝    i’m scared of what could happen if he has a tape of us, jug. what if he releases that ?     ❞  she’s fighting the habit to let her thoughts consume her, fighting her body’s plead to let that agony out. ❝    that’s why i was so desperate to find it without waiting for you and i didn’t want to tell you because you shouldn’t have to deal with that.    ❞

In an instant, a long awaited rush of emotion that had seemed like nothing but an unreachable, impossible conclusion to one of the worst chapters in her life, Cheryl felt a surge of relief ——— a startling, nauseating alleviation in the ache that had settled in her chest ever since the night she’d watched Toni flee for her life. 

A twinge in the pit of her stomach that almost made her want to turn back, to retreat through the bathroom door just to reassure herself of her chérie’s safety. A certain breathlessness that she could have attributed solely to her exhaustion, the relentlessness of her struggle with demons that had thrived amongst the Blossom estate’s maple groves for years, if only the sickness Edgar had awoken in her hadn’t returned with her.

Fingertips skittering along the edge of the sink, where the curvature of its porcelain veneer met the base of the faucet, Cheryl retracted. 

Drew back, once she’d found the strength to react; An almost restful sigh, chased by the first loathsome name, tethered to the geriatric whelk responsible for just as much pain as the man she’d followed over countless allegorical cliff faces, that had instantly come to mind. 

“ What of Evelyn and the others? ” she breathed, and gripped the phone in her trembling hand just a fraction tighter. “ Fangs…. Pollykins… every last one of them were just as enraptured as T.T and I. ”

@jrnalst·

     BETTY  IS  SILENT  ,  FOR  CHERYL  AND  FOR  HERSELF  .  she waits patiently for a reaction, an inquiry, anything.  ❝    evelyn is in prison, all the others like her are with her and everyone else, all of those innocents, they were let go.    ❞  she started before drawing a deep breath. polly. 

her stomach turns, her heart drops, and she feels hot, uncomfortable.  ❝    polly . . .    ❞ her brows draw together. she’s thinking about that day polly was sent to her, that bomb strapped to her chest. the terror, the adrenaline, the desperation as she tried to save her sisters life.  ❝    polly is at shady grove treatment center.    ❞  there’s a slight pain in her heart. her sister had been through so much and it never seemed to end for her. well, technically, it never seemed to end for any of them. as much as betty wished her sister was home, she knew polly was where she needed to be.