//

Ricky sat next to Jughead on stage with the other people running for presidency a good distance away from them.

"Okay, now just a quick reminder, that this school hall is a PTA sponsored event," Alice spoke from the podium looking into the audience. "Oh, looks like we have our first question."

Sweet Pea stood up. "Yeah, no offense to the, uh, current administration, but it doesn't feel like anyone's looking out for the students who are being bussed in from the Southside. Is that gonna change?"

"Absolutely, Sweet Pea, that's our priority," Jughead spoke into his microphone. "And no one should feel marginalized or excluded here."

Ricky raised his microphone. "Jughead and I will be representing all students, North and Southside alike."

"Next question," Alice spoke as Midge stood up.

"My question is for Archie and Veronica," Midge spoke. "Rumor has it that your parents will soon be on opposite sides of the Mayoral election, won't that negatively affect your working relationship?"

"Archie and I adhere to the old maxim that 'politics are never discussed' at the dinner or the cafeteria table," Veronica stated.

"Veronica and I are on the same page about everything, including her family's plans for a prison on the Southside," Archie added.

Ricky booed into the microphone as did some of the crowd until Alice gave him a look. "Sorry. Couldn't keep it in."

"In the meantime, however, we're committed to improving the quality of life at Riverdale High, which means more extracurriculars-" Veronica added.

"Reggie and I agree. Except, add the fact that we can and will deliver results," Josie cut in.

"And we're chill, unlike these guys," Reggie added, making the crowd laugh.

Five minutes after the event, Ricky walked with Jughead. "So I'm thinking marketing is important, we need to get your name out there more, posters isn't enough. Buttons, pencils, anything to get the message across as why kids to need to vote for you."

Jughead was about to say something until Betty grabbed his arm. "Hey, sorry, I'm gonna steal Ricky from you for a second," she said, quickly walking off with her boyfriend.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"No, we have to go before my mom attacks us. She's a heat-seeking missile."

He sighed as they turned the corner. "You can't keep dodging her forever."

"Maybe not, but I can damn well try. Let's go."

She grabbed her hand to which he followed her out. "Your mom is gonna find you, you're literally right next door to her."

"No, she won't. I had McKenzie lie saying I was staying with her at her trailer and she has no idea where McKenzie lives."

"Jesus, you're smart."

***

The next day, Ricky sat in a booth at Pop's with Betty, FP and Alice as the car they pushed into the swamp had been found and it was all over the news.

"We should've known better. I should've known better," Ricky mumbled.  "We should've driven that fucking car further out of town."

"No, no. How could you have known that Junkyard Steve drags the swamp for people's castoffs? It was dumb luck," FP told him before looking at Alice. "Shouldn't Chic be here, considering he's the one that brained the guy?"

"Don't worry about Chic," Alice told him.

"Normally, I would disagree," Betty replied. "Definitely worry about Chic but he doesn't know anything about the car."

"At least when we got to the Swamp, we wiped the thing clean of fingerprints before we pushed it in," Ricky spoke.

"Wearing gloves?" FP asked.

"Of course."

The bell dinged to Pop's door opening as Sheriff Keller walked in, making the four tense up.

"If anybody comes around asking questions, we don't know anything," FP told them. "We don't talk to anyone. We act like everything's normal."

"Including, Betty, you coming home so you're not nesting with a bunch of Serpents," Alice told her daughter.

"No, you are not gonna use this to manipulate me, Mom. You know the deal. I come home when Chic leaves," Betty replied.

"Okay-"

"Everybody, be cool," FP cut in. "In the unlikely event that something happens, we batten down the hatches. Until then, life goes on, and nobody goes anywhere near that car."

***

Ricky was at school when Toni walked up to him, grabbing his arm. "Hey, have you heard anything from Cheryl?"

"No, I was just gonna ask you about that actually. I've been calling her and texting but I haven't been getting anything for days," Ricky answered.

She sighed. "Come on." She pulled him into the gym where Veronica and Josie were finishing up Vixen practice. "We all need to talk, Cheryl's missing."

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.

"Do you remember how paranoid Cheryl was at her slumber party?" Toni asked the girls. "Saying that her mom and uncle were out to get her?"

"Yeah, she told me that when her uncle came into town..." Ricky trailed off. "Do you think they....?"

Toni nodded. "I think they did something to her."

"What kind of something?" Josie asked.

"Her mom said they sent her off to some all-girls boarding school in Switzerland."

"Well, that's easy enough to check, there's only one, Surval Montreux," Veronica replied.

"Please. If Cheryl was in the Swiss Alps, she'd be posting parka selfies every hour, but her social media's been dead for days."

"That's an immediate red flag. Not to mention, any calls go straight to voicemail which never happened before."

"Wait, that's a sure sign of foul play," Veronica stated. "Whatever you need, I'm in."

"Me, too. Even if we have to storm Thistlehouse," Josie added.

"Me, three. Cheryl's my friend, I'll do anything to help," Ricky agreed.

***

Ricky sat in FP's trailer with Chic, Betty and FP as Alice paced in the trailer as that's where she called for the two.

"Have you two gone completely insane? Talking to the Sheriff's son about that car? You didn't think that that was going to raise any red flags?" Alice spoke.

"No. Kevin didn't suspect anything," Betty replied.

"And at least, we know what's going on now," Ricky added.

"Yeah. Which is that Chic's drug-dealer stole someone's car before he made his run to our house."

"Dwayne didn't have wheels. He was always borrowing his girlfriend's car," Chic stated.

"Someone called the Shady Man's phone while I had it. And she sounded like a crazy person, but not like there was a lot of love lost between her and Dwayne."

"That could be Darla, yeah."

"Is this Darla somebody that we need to be worried about?" Alice asked.

"Uh, I don't really know her."

"Shocker! Gee, Chic, have you ever actually been helpful in any way to anyone?" Betty remarked.

"Enough, Elizabeth," Alice quickly said.

"Right. Whoa, let's stick to the plan. This has nothing to do with us. Dwayne stole Darla's car, Darla got it back. Let's hope it ends there," FP added.

"And pack your things, Betty, because this honeymoon is over. O-ver," Alice said looking between Ricky and Betty. "You two playing house and running around town like loose cannons is beyond the pale. We don't want Hal finding out about this. The last thing we need is for him to stick his nose in it."

"I'll move out," Chic spoke up. "I'll get a place, Betty. It's your house, not mine."

"Fine," Betty said before looking at Alice. "I'll come back after Chic's gone. Oh, I'm done with your ultimatums, young lady. You're coming home now. And if you don't back me up on this, FP, I will tear this trailer apart with my bare hands."

Betty sighed, moving out of the trailer. "Fine, I'll get my stuff."

Ricky's phone buzzed, getting a text.

Toni
Meet us at at Thistlehouse in ten

He got up. "I gotta go anyway."

***

Ricky sat between Toni and Veronica as the three girls plus him were at Thistlehouse. "Now that you've barged your way in, go ahead, ask your questions," Penelope said.

"You said Cheryl was away at some boarding school," Ricky spoke. "And I'm curious, which one? Why?"

"Honestly. I'm not in the habit of explaining myself to school children," Penelope said about to walk away.

"Maybe not, but Mrs. Blossom, you may have heard that my mother is...dating Sheriff Keller," Josie replied. "If you won't tell us the truth, then maybe you'll tell him."

"All right, then," Penelope said. "The truth is that Cheryl started exhibiting strange, deviant behavior, so I've sent her abroad to a private wellness institute where they're trying to help her. You don't have to believe me..." she pulled out a small folded up picture, handing it Josie. "But here, let me show you something..."

It was a drawing Cheryl drew of herself and Josie. "Oh my God," Josie mumbled.

"She's drawn dozens like it."

"I don't understand," Veronica replied.

"No. But Josie does, don't you? Cheryl was obsessed with you. To the point where I was afraid she might hurt you, or herself, or both. So if you'd like me to tell that to your mother and her boyfriend, and show them and the town, Cheryl's drawings of you, I'd be happy to. But hopefully, you all have the decency to keep this matter private."

Josie quickly got up, rushing out of the house, Ricky and the girls following her. "Jo, wait. We need to talk."

Josie turned to them. "If what Mrs. Blossom said is even a tiny bit true, that means that Cheryl threatened me. Sent me a bloody pig's heart. I'm out, you guys. I'm done!"

As she walked away, Ricky looked to the other two. "We're gonna have to figure something out."

***

Ricky who at school, hung up his phone. He had just gotten a call from Betty who was told about the Shady man's girlfriend was there and so was another man.

Ricky pushed open the door to the Swords and Serpents meeting, knowing that's where they all were. "Hey, I have a giant favor to ask all of you."

"What's up?" Jughead asked.

"There's two invaders in the Cooper home. And they're threatening to hurt the family or get like a lot of money from them. It's really hard to explain to all of you but they need help."

"What kind of help?" Fangs asked.

"To maybe...I don't know, scare them away. If all of you went to the Cooper home-"

"Screw that. If it has to deal with Alice Cooper, forget it," Sweet Pea replied. "It's not our problem."

"I'm aware of that. I get your point of view but then do this for Betty. She's never trashed the Serpents or blamed any of you for anything. I may not be a Serpent but I am a friend who's always had everyone's backs in this room for a long time. I've never asked any of you for anything. Please."

McKenzie cleared her throat. "Despite Alice Cooper being a bitch and the enemy, she was still once a Serpent. And what's our fourth Serpent law?"

"No Serpent is left for dead," everyone said.

Jughead looked at him. "We'll go to the Cooper home."

"As soon as possible. Thank you," Ricky said, rushing out of the room.

He would help but he still had to help find Cheryl and go support his dad for his announcement.

***

Ricky stood in the student lounge as Toni had gotten a call from Nana Rose concerning Cheryl and they now might've had a slight idea where she was.

"Yes, it absolutely could be The Sisters of Quiet Mercy," Kevin told them. "It's one of the few places in the country that still does conversion therapy. Off the books, of course."

"What the hell decade is this?" Toni remarked.

"During Prohibition, the Sisters ran a distillery in the basement. They used to smuggle booze out to Sweetwater River via a tunnel that still exists today."

"Wait, a tunnel we could use to get to Cheryl?" Ricky asked.

"Potentially. Gay boys in the program use it to sneak out, to hook-up with perfectly nice young men like myself in Fox Forest."

"Wait, Kevin, can you lead us to this secret gay hook-up tunnel?" Veronica asked.

"I can probably find it," Kevin stated. "But we should go at night."

"Agreed. Let's call and figure out a time. I gotta go anyway, my dad's speech is in like an hour and I have to ride my bike all the way there." He quickly rushed out of the student lounge.

***

Ricky quickly climbed off his bike, putting on his Vote for Fred Andrews button as he rushed onto the side of the stage with his parents. "Hey, sorry, I'm here."

"You made it just in time," Fred told him.

"Have you seen Archie?" Mary asked.

"Uh, no. No, I didn't really see him at all today," Ricky answered.

Mary sighed, looking to Fred. "I think maybe we should just start."

Ricky felt bad, seeing the sad look in his dad's eyes as Fred said, "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"I'm sorry, Fred."

"It's okay. You know, he's busy. I get it. I'm glad you two here though," Fred said looking at Mary and Ricky.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Ricky replied.

Fred smiled slightly as the two stood beside Fred who walked up to the podium. "Good afternoon. My name is Fred Andrews. And I stand before you today, a humble resident of this town to announce my candidacy for Mayor."

Ricky grinned, clapping for him with the audience.

***

Later that night, Ricky followed Kevin with a Veronica and Toni to the tunnel leading to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

"According to my Intel, the tunnel that leads from the main residence comes out here," Kevin said.

Ricky moved to pry the door open with crow bar as Veronica said, "All right, Kevin, you stay here. If we're not back in minutes, call your dad."

"We're coming, Cheryl," Ricky mumbled, finally breaking the lock and pulling the door open. "Let's go."

The three rushed in through the tunnel, their flashlights raised as Veronica asked, "Okay. And when we get to the main building, what happens then?"

"We search each and every damn room until we find her," Toni answered.

"We're not leaving without her," Ricky agreed.

They moved past the tunnel and upstairs to which Toni said, "Okay, let's split up. We'll cover twice the ground."

"Okay."

"But be careful."

"You too," Ricky told her before moving down a different hall, calling out his redheaded friend's name, pushing open door after door.

When he didn't see her, he went Toni's direction to see she had found Cheryl as the two girls hugged each other before kissing.

"We found her," Ricky called to Veronica down the hall.

The sound of Ricky's voice made her pull back from Toni, walking over to him. "You came to look for me," she mumbled, hugging him tightly.

"Of course. I missed you," he mumbled, returning her hug tightly.

Veronica rushed over. "Guys, there are a bunch of nuns coming. We have to go, come on."

Ricky pulled back, looking at the girls. "Let's go."

They all quickly ran the opposite direction the nuns were coming from, heading down into the tunnel before quickly climbing up through the exit.

"Come on!" Ricky heard Kevin call out for them.

He let the girls go, a guard grabbing him but Ricky quickly shoved him back against the wall causing the man to let go before Ricky climbed up after the girls.

As soon as they were met with Kevin, Ricky helped Toni slam the door close and keep the door locked using the crow bar.

"Let's the get the fuck out of here."

They all ran blindly through the woods, the way all they came from.

***

The next day, Ricky was in the student lounge reading Firestarter by Stephen King when a bag of chips were dropped in his lap. He looked up at Kevin. "For me?"

"Yep," he answered.

"Not that I don't appreciate the act of kindness but it's random. What's up?" he asked, opening the chips as Kevin sat across from him.

"So as you know, I'm directing the next school play, Carrie the Musical." Ricky nodded. "And I noticed that you didn't sign up for auditions."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want me to?"

"Obviously, yes. The one guy in school can actually sing pretty damn well must be in the school play."

"All right. Who do you want me to audition for?"

"Well, actually, you don't need to audition cuz I've heard you sing. But I do have a roll for you in mind."

"Please be Carrie," he pleaded.

"As much as that would be entertaining, no. Cheryl said that role belongs to her."

"Damn. So I'm guessing the next roll to fit me would be...Tommy Ross."

"Fitting but no. You're already the good guy in a life, why not change it up? I want you to play the role of Billy Nolan."

"The bully and Chris's boyfriend?"

"Yes. It's completely different from you as a person and I'd think you'd do well with the character."

Ricky thought about it. "...Okay."

Kevin grinned. "Really?"

"Yeah, why the hell not. It could be fun."

***