Somewhere just Outside Grundy's Home:

Veronica, Betty, and Y/N once again rock dark clothing as they skulk down the street towards a certain teacher's car.  

"So much for letting this go." Veronica sarcastically remarks. Betty is technically the only one really convinced that Grundy is most likely the killer. Though if it is true, it's not exactly clear how she was able to take down two athletes. 

Y/N, being the guy who knows about break-ins, takes out his slim-jim from his bag and get to work on the driver seat door. "I can't believe I'm breaking into my teacher's car." He mutters to himself. 

"How do you know all this stuff about breaking and entering?" Veroncia asks the obvious question his friends have all been thinking.

"Well, before pops found my younger self, a boy had to resort to other measures to get the money to eat." Y/N mysteriously answers. He then finally gets the door open. "And here, that meant working for the unsavory types."

Betty enters and unlocks the doors for the other two, Veronica sits in the passenger seat while Y/N scoots in the back. "Okay, before going any further, if we're committing a felony, I need to at least ask the question." Veronica uncomfortably turns to Betty. "Are you doing this because you still have feelings for Archie, or..."

"No, Veronica." Betty swiftly denies. That ship sailed a long time ago. "We're doing this because Grundy has Archie under some kind of sexual spell, and he won't listen to reason."

"Yeah, or Grundy is that very obvious red herring and this whole thing will turn out to be a waste of time because now that we made her suspicious, the killer will put her on their list next." Y/N sarcastically quips, earning a glare from Betty and he puts his arms up in surrender. "But who cares about my opinion...."

"Look, we're looking for anything that proves Grundy isn't as clean as she says she is." Betty states, the two girls look through the glove box and all, but nothing incriminating.

"You girls looking for something like this?" Y/N pulls out a case that's been in the back the whole time. "Bobby pin, please." 

"Okay, Mr. Gyver." Veronica mutters as she pulls the one in her hair and hands it to him. Y/N goes into focus mode as he plays with the lock, trying to find the right spot to make it unlock.

Eventually, there's a click and the thing practically jumps open. Y/N once again smirks at the two, proud of his work. "The new Phantom Thief, I am." He boasts in his Yoda impression.

"Y/N, case." Veronica gets him back to the task, and he hands the case over to them. Inside is exactly the kind of things they were looking for. Betty pulls out what seems to be Geraldine's ID, but something is wrong with it.

"Oh my gosh..." Betty mutters, Veronica and Y/N then takes a look.

"Oh, my gosh." Veronica mutters as well, taking the card herself. " 'Jennifer Gibson' who the hell is Jennifer Gibson?"

"Ms. Grundy." Y/N gives the obvious answers, earning himself another glare. "You asked."

"That's not the only thing." Betty says in shock, the others turn to her as she pulls out a revolver from the case. 

The same possible gun that killed Jason Blossom?

____________________________

Andrews House:

Archie walks his way home where he finds Betty, Y/N and Veronica waiting for him. "Oh, gosh." Archie mutters, already able to tell what's coming.

"Okay, before we say anything, I'd like to note that I only went along with this to prove them wrong." Y/N quickly notes before getting softly elbowed. 

"Please don't tell me you're still on this crazy witch hunt." Archie pleads, despite already knowing the answer.

"It's not a witch hunt, and it's not crazy." Betty retorts. The other meanwhile, give antsy glances towards Betty, reminding her to tell him what they found. "We were just in Grundy's car..."

"What?!" Archie exclaims, looking at the three as if they were crazy. "You were in her car?!"

"Yeah, and thank gosh we did." Veronica remarks. "We found a gun."

"What?"

"And an ID with the name Jennifer Gibson." Betty adds, stunning Archie even more. "This is proof Ms. Grundy is not who she says she is." 

"Then who is she?" Archie questions.

"Obviously some sketch-queen named Jennifer Gibson." Veronica snarkily answers really unhelpfully.

"Archie, what if she had something to do with Jason's murder?" Betty theorizes, and Archie deniably shakes his head at the claim. "She taught him, she made you lie about him, we know she was at the river, she has a gun."

"Oh, come on, America has more guns than people, so that shouldn't really be a cause for concern unless it's someone our age." Y/N argues, knowing his county very well. "Heck, I think Jughead might've had one." 

"Exactly, Dilton Doiley had a gun and you never suspected him of being the killer." Archie agreeingly adds, giving the guy a grateful look. "Thanks, Y/N."

"Open your eyes, Archie. Jason was her student last year." Veronica brings up, another suspicious fact in Grundy's case. "Everything about her is a huge, boldfaced question mark."

"Okay, whatever her name is, she's not a killer." Archie defends her. 

"You didn't ask her, did you? About her name? And why there's no record of her before last year?" Betty then interrogates, and Archie sighs. "Why not?" 

"Alright, alright, you know what? I think we're done here." Y/N then butts in, walking over to the redhead and directing him to his house. "Let's head inside Arch." 

Archie nods, giving the two girls a glare before they walk inside, leaving them in a painful silence.

That didn't go so well.

_______________________________

A Dozen Minutes Later:

"I just don't get it." Archie vents to Y/N as they sit in his bedroom, watching a random movie. "I mean, I appreciate that they're concerned for me, but looking into Grundy's personal life, tricking her into an interrogation, breaking into her car? It's like Betty has turned into a yandere."

"Never thought I'd hear you making that reference..." Y/N humorously comments, in a attempt to lighten the moood, and it half works as Archie shrugs with a smile. "But in all seriousness, I believe you."

"Why?" Archie asks him, not suspiciously, but curious. "I mean, all everyone who's found out has told me she's trying to manipulate me, that's she's a psychopath. I'm not even that young, I'm old enough to.... do it." 

"Because from a perspective of a murder mystery slasher fan, it's obvious she's a red herring the protagonists are made to suspect first." Y/N answers, guess Archie should've suspected that. "It's like what I said back with Reggie, it's more about the why, not the who."

"So.... why did would someone kill Jason Blossom?" Archie queries, playing along to Y/N's horror rules. The guy takes a moment to consider his answer.

"Well, I think the key to that lies in the red herring, they're supposed motive could reflect on the killer's." Y/N knowledgably states, and Archie turns to him intently. "If Grundy's motive is supposed to be that she might've... also tuned Jason's flute, then maybe killer, is only doing this for sick pleasure. But that's just my theory."

Archie doesn't respond at first, processing that in his brain. "And, what usually happens to them at the end?" 

Y/N gives him a serious look, dead in the eye. This secretly tells the redhead this isn't gonna be what he wants to hear.

"Well, most of the time, they die."

_______________________________

Grundy's House: The Next Day

Archie stares at Ms. Grundy with his arms crossed, the new revelation of her identity as well as Y/N's talk about red herrings has left him disturbed. 

"Are you just gonna stand there?" Grundy questions with a giggle, only getting a stare in response. "Archie.... Talk to me, what is it?"

"Is your real name Jennifer Gibson?" Archie interrogates her, causing Geraldine to freeze. "Who are you? And what are you really doing here?"

"Archie..."

"Why the new identity? The moving place-to-place." Archie questions with a serious tone, now thinking that he might've actually been manipulated the whole time. "Tell me the truth, please."

Grundy looks down, takes off her glasses, and Archie notices that her eyes are already tearing up. "I.... was in a bad relationship. A relationship.... I was married who would come home from work every night, late, and drunk, and with a temper." She reveals, Archie's eyes widen, worried he knows where this is going. "One night, I ended up in the emergency room with b-broken ribs and a-a shattered collarbone. The next morning, he barely even remembered the fight, and he promised that it wouldn't happen again. But.... it did, again. So..... I left. And I.... got a divorce, changed my name... and I came here. And I.... well.... I met you."

She looks broken, and Archie can tell she's not lying. He looks at her, guilty for slightly raising his voice and steps over to hold her in a embrace as she lets out the painful memories. 

So that's why she had the fake name. That's why she, a teacher, was attracted to him, a high school student. Because she knew he wasn't as violent as her ex-husband, she knew he was raised right. 

She isn't who Betty says she is. 

______________________________

Keller House:

Kevin, cup of coffee in hand, walks up to his father's desk where sees that his dad has been tremendously busy. "Nice murder wall, true detective." He quips with a chuckle before setting the sheriff's joe on the desk. "Here's your High Point, dad."

"Thanks bud." Keller responds, but then he notices Kevin glancing around, shifting. "You need something?" 

"Can I borrow the truck for the drive-in?" Kevin requests, and the sheriff raises a brow. 

"You got a date?"

"No, I'm going with Veronica." Kevin answers with a little bit of insecurity, no one has ever.... noticed him like that yet. 

"Oh okay. I mean, is they not a nice gay kid at your school?" Mr. Keller inquires, he's fully aware of his son's sexuality and it hasn't changed anything about their relationship. 

"Yeah. There is. Me." Kevin remarks, causing his dad to chuckle.

"Alright, no cruising guys tonight." Mr. Keller instructs as he fetches the keys from his pocket. "We both know what goes on in those woods."

"Oh, my gosh, dad."

"No, I'm dead serious." Keller ensures, with a strong tone as he hands his son the keys. "All right, we got a murderer in a Halloween costume on the loose and a lot of unsavory characters in that part of town. So if you go, stay in the truck."

"All right." Kevin gives a salute as if to say he understands.

"Okay, git." Keller dismisses him and Kevin leaves with an amused smirk.

Then, suddenly, Ghostface emerges through the other side of the window overlooking the sheriff's room. He watches the man, ducking down when he turns their direction. 

Ghostface stalks Keller around the house, waiting....

___________________________________

Andrews House:

Fred gets a knock on his door and is surprised to see Mr. and Mrs. Cooper standing on his front porch. 

"We're sorry to come unannounced Fred." Hal apologizes on their behalf as Mr. Andrews sips his morning coffee. "It's been a rough couple months for us, but Alice and I..."

"We think that Archie and Betty should stop spending time together." Alice blunty states before her husband can say it in a nicer way. "Their relationship isn't good, for either of them, and their respective behavior reflects that."

Hal gives his wife a brief look before turning back to Fred. "All right, so if there is anything you can do on your end..."

"My son's a good kid." Fred assures the Coopers, having all the faith in the boy he raised. 

"I live next door, Fred. I see him sneaking out at night, slinking off into the darkness at all hours." Alice states to Fred, who seems very unfazed with this news. After all, he knows Archie too well.

"Alice... are you spying on us?" Fred asks with a teasing voice. The women takes that as her cue to leave. 

"Come on, Hal." Alice beckons him back down the street. "We came what we came to say, it's on him if he ignores us." 

'Good morning to you too.'

________________________________

Riverdale High: Parking lot

"Oh, my gosh." Betty exclaims after Archie tells her the story Grundy explained to him.

"Intense, right?" Archie comments, intense is honestly an understatement. "That's why she has a fake identity and keeps a gun."

"It still doesn't make what she did to you okay." Betty insists, causing Archie to mentally sighs. Before he can defend her though, Jughead appears out of nowhere and jogs up to them. 

"Guys, you have to come see this." Jughead tells them in a very serious tone. Betty and Archie glance at each other. "It's at the school."

"Why, what's up?" Archie queries, but Jughead just beckons towards the parking lot. 

"You have to see it for yourself." Jughead states, seemingly as a matter of fact. The three walk up to the lot of Riverdale High and what they see is haunting. 

Police cars cover half of the parking lot with police tape surrounding the entrance as officers block the doors, not letting anyone inside. Y/N is recording the whole scene on his camcorder, Keller and Weatherbee discusses with each other, paramedics carry a body bag inside their vehicle, and Cheryl observes it with her two hyenas, having a silent discussion. All the other onlookers watch the crime scene with either worriment, curiosity, or even excitement. Something bad happened here.

"Oh my gosh.... what happened?" Betty questions. Y/N hears the two and walks up to them, giving Archie a very sad look. 

"It's... Ms. Grundy."

__________________________________

Much Earlier that Morning:

Geraldine sets up her music class for today, setting up the chairs, the instruments, and everything else. She had it all almost down before getting a sudden call from her cell phone. She answers it since she's partly expected to. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Grundy?" Archie's voice emits from the end, and she feels slightly surprised.

"Archie?" Grundy double checks, glancing at the door. "What are you doing giving me a call?"

"Sorry, I know it's sudden and school is about to start." Archie apologizes with a chuckle. "But, I was wanting to tell you about this song I wrote."

"Song?" Grundy questions with a peaked eyebrow. 

"Yeah, it's a little gritty." Archie admits but seems slightly proud about that. "But I think it can really mean something. It touches on the topics of death and the living; I took inspiration from the Jason's murder."

The music teacher didn't really expect that. "Oh? Are you planning to sing to me later?" She asks, wondering if that's why he called her ahead of time.

"Right now, actually." Archie responds, perplexing Grundy. What does he mean right now? "You see, in the song, there's a bit about.... you and me."

"Us?" Grundy glances at the phone, making sure she heard that right. 

"Yeah...."

There's a click.

"And it's called.... Grundy gets skewered like a fucking pig!" Ghostface's voice aggressively finishes the sentence. Grundy drops the phone in fear, realizing it's the Riverdale Slasher. "You want to hear the outro.... Jennifer?" 

Before she can blink, one of the closets bursts open and the killer jumps out to grab her. Grundy screams and runs, and the killer instead charges into one of the Trombones, falling down on top of it. 

He immediately tries to get back on his feet as Geraldine runs to the door, but she sees the killer charging towards her in the reflection and dodges the knife which instead strikes the door. Grundy backs up, accidently into a chair as Ghostface pulls the knife out and turns to her.

Grundy stays back, and the two jog around the chairs, the teacher trying to avoid the killer's swinging knife. Realizing they could go on forever, Geraldine grabs a chair and tries throwing it and the killer, but Ghostface easily ducks. As she dashes a certain direction, Ghostface kicks the chair in her path, causing her to trip and fall.

She's about to force herself up, but the killer stabs in the back with their blade, causing Grundy to scream in pain. They then force her on her back, facing the killer as they reach into their coat and grabs something that Geraldine recognizes. 

Her gun. 

"No, no, no, no, please!" Grundy begs but the killer ignores her and cocks the weapon, and.....

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Without having to worry about fingerprints, Ghostface tosses the gun onto Grundy's corpse. However, he has to live up to his promise.

He takes his knife and gets to work on the body....

_________________________________________

"At least, that's how the cops are saying it." Y/N finishes telling them what the cops told him, only in a shorter version since he can't give every detail. "They.... found her violin skewered in her body."

Archie is now red, he leans onto a random car, not caring who it belongs to as he now comes to the realization that Geraldine Grundy is dead. Betty watches him with a somewhat guilty expression. 

"Archie..."

"Let me guess, you're sorry? You were wrong about Grundy?" Archie cuts her off, turning to her with eyes filled with fury. "Well too late for that! Grundy isn't the killer, she's dead, a red herring. Mystery solved!"

The redhead has never screamed at her like this, and it's terrifying to see. "I'm..."

"Don't." Archie stops her again, pointing at her as if he's met the devil himself. "Don't even bother talking to me! I'm tired of hearing your self-centered detective roleplay. I'm done with you!"

He stomps away. Jughead gives the deeply hurt Betty a sympathetic look. "He doesn't mean it, trust me." He assures her earnestly.

"What perplexes me the most is how the killer knew about Grundy's gun. I mean, I don't think anybody else knew except us." Y/N mentions, rubbing his chin in full-thought.

Betty feels the tears coming as she now feels even more horrible inside, not just because of Archie's hateful gaze, but because she realizes the killer knew of her and Veronica's suspicions, and took advantage. He no doubt took the gun from her room, somehow knowing it was there.

She played right into his little game.

_______________________________________

Keller's House: Nighttime

Sheriff Keller pulls up to his house the same time Kevin arrives as well. "How'd you like the movie?" He asks for the sake of it.

"Quite the twist ending." Kevin nods to himself, then he notices his dad's expression. "Did something happen at work?"

"Yeah...." He mutters with a mournful expression. "One of your teachers was murdered at your school, Kevin. It wasn't pretty." 

"Serious?" Kevin asks with a slightly shocked expression, and Keller nods. He's about to say something else when he notices the front door has been left open, even though he remembers locking it earlier today. 

The sheriff grabs and cocks his gun, kicking the door open so he can keep his gun trained. He scans the house, where he then finds that his office has turned into a mess. 

"Oh, my gosh." Kevin exclaims as he sees the scene in front of him. Papers litter the floor, the chair and lamp have been tipped over, drawls have been left open, and the board as all been torn apart. Not only that, but all the important case files are missing. 

Someone cleaned house.

_________________________________

Fred drives Archie home, to say the boy is broken would be putting it bluntly. His dad was confused until he told him of his relationship with Grundy, and he hasn't said another word until he's managed to park the car.

"I'm so sorry about what happened." Fred genuinely tells him, not questioning him on the girl he was seeing. "Whatever you're thinking.... it's not your fault." 

Archie doesn't say anything except step out of the car and fall into his dad's arms, turning into a crying mess.

Then, something cuts everyone's depression when a unnatural ringtone comes from Archie's phone. No, not just his, but Betty's while in her room, Veronica's while talking with her mother, Jughead's while at the drive-in, Y/N's while he's walking home. Every Riverdale Student's gets the ringtone. 

And what everyone sees causes them all to grow goosebumps. A poll in black and green, saying...

Another Disgusting Adult

OR

A Slutty Cheerleader

WHO DO YOU WANT TO SEE DIE NEXT?

________________________________

(A/N) And this ends Episode 4. Man, I was really excited to do this one because now we introduce more unique ideas coming from the Ghostface concept. 

Plz vote, and comment on any ideas you might have for the future episodes, and I'll see you in the next chapter!