"You are the most beautiful girl in the world," Sweet Pea says as he moves into another kiss. I feel the eyes of the lounge on me. Even if we were tucked into the corner everyone wanted to get a peak of the girl with the dead boyfriend who moved on in what felt like overnight. As Sweet Pea moves enjoying the deep kiss I can't help but think about my boyfriend.

Jughead Jones is alive. So why is Sweet Pea's tongue down my throat? Why does everyone think Jughead is dead? 

Well after a attempted murder of Jughead by the Stonewall brats Betty had the idea to have Jughead fake his death so they can investigate why they tried to kill him and what the hell was going on at that school. 

Does that sound crazy? Yeah I thought so as well. What's worse they kept it hidden from me. They let me mourn him, go crazy in devastation for way too long. My closet friends watched me lose my mind. And they waited. Eventually they did tell me- granted it was because they needed my help to do something the others couldn't. 

Make everyone believe Jughead was dead.

You see if I moved on there was no way Jughead would be alive. I wouldn't walk away from the man I love, from my fiancee. So they brought Sweet Pea and I into the plan to pretend to date. Which lead us here. Back with Sweet Pea's tongue down my throat. 

As he laces his hand in my hair I start to pull back. I move smirking to cover the mistake of me pulling back. I move cupping his cheek. I feel eyes on us. Betty. She's watching us closely. Way too closely. She explained to Sweet Pea that now that he knows they could get back together. He told her no. Which made her go a little crazy. She lost her boyfriend because she was trying to help jughead and then now has to watch me make out with him. Fake or not it didn't matter. She was having a time dealing with it.

"I love you," Sweet Pea says as he kisses my temple. I smile lightly.

"I love you too," I say meeting his eyes.

He smiles.

Reggie breaks the moment as he moves to sit beside me. I've never been more grateful to see his stupid face.

"You guys are disgusting," He says as moves to snag some of my chips, "save it for the art room."

Sweet Pea chuckles. 

"I'll take her there after we fuck on your car," Pea says at once. Reggie smirks.

"Only if I can join," Reggie says cockily. I force a quick laugh at the joke. Normally I'd play along but I can't focus. My mind is somewhere else entirely today. "Yo everything okay over there Y/n?"

"Yeah," I say looking over at him, "just college stuff." He nods. He and Sweet Pea start in some lame conversation about football. I move taking my phone in my hand. 

James - I miss you

It's jughead. They made me save his burner phone with the name James just in case someone got my phone. I got it but I hated it.

Y/n - I miss you I just want all this to be over

James - I know n/n

I smile lightly. I hate this. I just want my boyfriend. I want this to all end. I want to announce my engagement and start on the wedding stuff. I wanna marry him. Not sit here with Sweet Pea. I love him but not like that. 

James - Today, it'll all be over. Just come to the bunker after lunch. Betty is gonna be there. Bring Sweet Pea.

Y/n - Yes sir.

"Hey Y/n wanna skip and get Pops?" Betty asks as she stands beside us with a soft smile, "a lunch with the three of us to clear the air?"

"That sounds great," I say smiling at her, "I'll drive." I look to Reggie and smile. "We'll catch you later for the quickie in your car." He chuckles. I move standing taking Sweet Pea's hand. She leads us out of the school and once in the car I let go of Sweet Pea's hand. 

"Jughead's got everything together?" Sweet Pea asks us. 

"He says he does," I tell him, "I'll trust that he's got this."

"He does we spent hours last night reviewing it," Betty tells us, "we've got this and we've got our guy whos coming with Charles and FP. We've got this." I nod. 

"I hope so," I say softly. The next stop is the bunker. Jughead climbs in quickly. He takes the seat in the back with Betty.

"Hey babe," He says softly as I look back to him. 

"Hey Juggie," I say smiling at him, "you got everything ready?" He nods.

"We are gonna blow Stonewall Prep out of the water," He says smiling widely.

And that was it. We move making our way to Stonewall. Marching in with fire in our eyes. We're taking them down. There is no other option. We'll take every single stonewall prep bastard down and make them rue the day they decided to drag Jughead into this.

The eyes on us as we move through the school were full of shock and horror. They were seeing the walking dead. Jughead Jones, the classmate they thought died on these very grounds. Was here alive in the flesh. They didn't dare approach him. They stayed out of the way. All the way until we reached our destination. 

"Crime and Punishment, a novel of murder and its psychological toll," I hear DuPont say on the  other side of the door, "Floor is open. Any thoughts regarding Dostoyevsky's take on morality?"

"Ready?" I ask the others. They nod. Sweet Pea and I move busting the doors open. Suddenly the entire room turns to look at us as we march in. Their eyes wide and full of terror. 

"Hey, guys," Jug says brightly. His arms wide as if he was welcoming them. They all stare harshly at us.  "What? Did you even miss me?"

"-You gotta be kidding me," Bret says jumping to his feet.

"-Mr. Jones," DuPont says, "I, uh-- I don't understand. We all thought-"

"That I was dead?" Jug asks, "Well... -actually for a minute there, I did, too.

"-Yeah," Betty says.

"Tell me about it," I say harshly from behind them. Sweet Pea and I camping out by the door.

"Hey, what's that, um, oft-used Mark Twain quote? 'Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.'" Jug says. A cocky smile on him. He has that classic I solved it face. 

"What is happening right now?" Joan asks.

"It is called getting your comeuppance, Joan," Betty says 

"The karma for all your bad deeds," I say with a wide smirk.

"Just listen I'm sure you'll love this," Sweet Pea says.

Their eyes dart back to us. Looking between the two in the gang jackets. The look on us like we were ready to kill. I can tell it's making them nervous.

"You guys are reading Crime and Punishment, huh?" Jug asks as he moves towards the blackboard, "How... apropos. You know, the one kind of crime story that we never touched upon in this seminar is the time-tested genre of a locked-room mystery. Where all the suspects are sequestered in a room, one or more of them could be the killer, but the door is not unlocked until the identity is revealed. Y/n, Sweet Pea could you two do the honor?"

We both move shutting the door quickly locking it. I feel the eyes of the Stonewall assholes on us. As we look back I can tell they are getting fed up with this.

"The next bell doesn't ring for half an hour," Betty says as she places her hands on Donna's shoulders, "so for the next 30 minutes, your asses belong to us."

"I knew you weren't really dead," Donna says looking to Jughead.

"Good job, Donna," Betty says, "Yet, since you failed to prove it or find Jughead, we had time to figure out all the twists and turns of this murder mystery that we've all been living for the past few months."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Donna says.

"Oh, look, don't worry. I'll take you through it step by step," Jug says smirking.

"No this is ridiculous Mr. DuPont, I'm calling security," Bret says at once. I move yanking his phone from his hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I say smirking, "you see cause Sweet Pea and I are tasked with keeping you in this damn room."

"And let's just say we are more than a little trigger happy," Pea says harshly.

"So give me your phones and maybe no one will get hurt," I demand.

"-Why the hell--?"

"-Joan, just do what she says," Donna says at once, "We have nothing to hide." Donna and Joan hand over their phones. I pocket them. No one can call now. That gives us our time. 

"I'd get comfortable if I were you. 'Cause I'm going to take you through it from the very beginning," Jug says as he moves sitting on the desk, "Starting with that very curious fact that both Moose Mason and myself were invited to Stonewall Prep during our senior year." Jug  looks over to DuPont. "Was it like that when you met my grandfather, Forsythe the First? He was asked to study at Stonewall, too. You were roommates with him, weren't you, Mr. DuPont?"

"Yes. And you're very much like him, Mr. Jones," DuPont says, "Your grandfather was an arrogant fool, too."

"Why do you say that? Huh? Because he had the gall to consider himself worthy of your inner circle?" Jug asks harshly. "The first iteration of Stonewall's Literary Society."

"What exactly is this proving?" DuPont asks at once.

"That this is not a story about a murder," Jug says, "This is a story about grandparents and their grandchildren. Of the sins from one generation being passed down to the next."

"Cycles of violence," I add, "begging to be uncovered."

"Which brings me to my next point: Halloween, when I was drugged by you psychos," Jug says looking across their faces. "Only to wake up in a coffin and be let out a day later... to return to my dorm. And find that Moose had vanished. So, naturally, I assumed he went outthe same way as the Stonewall Four,  that group of studentsthat mysteriously vanished1 while attending Stonewall Prepover a few decades."

"Oh, here we go again," Bret groans.

"Now, Moose's fate was more banal.He joined the Army," Jug says.

"But there's a twist," Pea says, "isn't there always with these things."

"Right you are Sweet Pea," I say and I move towards Bret, "Mr. Chipping was the onewho encouraged Moose to enlist. How crazy is that?"

"But it was more like force him to," Betty adds.

"So, what was the connectionbetween Moose and Chipping that would make him take his advice?" I ask Betty.

"Chipping had recruited Moosethe same way he had Jughead," Betty says, "and then ran him out of Stonewall Prep."

"Meaning what, exactly?" Bret asks harshly.

"Meaning, Chipping knewMoose was going to get murdered and was trying to save his life," Sweet Pea says, "funny how things like that work."

"And I would remember that next point.It's gonna be on the quiz," Jug says.

"Oh, Mr. Jon-"

"Shut up!" Jug yells firmly, "Mr. DuPont,as they say in Lord of the Flies:  'I have the conch.'" Jug moves towards me. A big cocky smirk on his face. Amusement in his aura. While the three sitting and the teacher all radiated anger and frustration. They are getting antsy. Just what we need. "Now, after Halloween iswhen things got really interesting. See, that's when you announcedthe writing competition.  And someone in this very room was goingto be anointed the next ghostwriter. You had already takena shine to me, Mr. DuPont. You were asking about my fatherand my grandfather. So, imagine my surprise...  when I found out my good-for-nothing,dropout grandfather  had actually writtenthe original Baxter Brothers novel.  Which a young Francis DuPontwould steal from him."

"It was a 100 percent legal transaction,a sale-- "

"It was highway robbery," I say harshly, "A measly 5 grand for an ideathat generated millions of dollars?"

"You exploited Forsythe, Mr. DuPont," Betty adds. 

"You took advantage of a kidfrom the wrong side of the tracks," Pea says, "And if that secret ever came out,  can you imagine the damage that would do to the very valuableBaxter Brothers brand?"

"Hell...  someone might kill to keep that secret," Jug says looking over to DuPont.

"Which is exactly what we thoughthappened with Mr. Chipping," Betty says.

"I told Chipping about my gramps," Jug says as he moves circling around them for a second. "Then he talked to you, Mr. DuPont.  And the very next day, well... I think we all rememberhis dive out the window.  I thought you had urged him to do it,that you had some leverage over Chipping. You guys were part of the samesecret society, Quill and Skull. But it was actually you guys. It was your... blank expressionsas you watched him jump."

"No one seemed bothered by the death of a teacher you all seemed so close with," I say looking across them, "it's sick."

"I just couldn't shake it. That's when I knewthere was a deeper game afoot," Jug says.

"No, Chipping suicided becausehe was messing around with Donna," Bret corrects, "She ended it and he short-circuited."

"Except... they never really hada physical relationship," Betty says, "Isn't that right, Donna?"

"We had an affair, and it got out of hand," Donna says sticking to her script. I move to sit beside her. A smirk across my face.

"I've had an affair with a teacher before- and I've been with one of those groomer types - she didn't have an affair," I tell them, "she would show the signs so would still be reeling. But thats not even the most damning piece- Maybe you did have a affair- an affair that went down exactly like the affair that you had with...Mr. Kotter."

"Except, I looked into it and... turns out there is no Mr. Kotter," Betty says moving towards Donna and I.

" -Rupert-- Rupert had demons," DuPont says quickly.

"Oh, he did.Mrs. Chipping filled us inon all of those," Betty tells them, "Yeah, she said that he had beendrinking more and having trouble sleeping. Complaining aboutthe Baxter Brothers books. Wishing he'd never gotten the contract."

"So, then we started to ask ourselves, what would turnthe opportunity of a lifetime, winning the Baxter Brothers contract,into a burden? An albatross?" Jug asks. His eyes scanning across the faces of our suspects.

" Any ideas?" Pea asks the group.

They stay silent. 

I move raising my hand he gestures towards me.

"The ghostwriter challenge wasto devise the perfect murder. What if the real challenge,the real price that someone had to pay, was to commit the perfect murder?" I say glaring over at them, "In order to prove that you could write it,first you had to do it."

"I mean, it kind of makesa twisted pathological sense, no?" Jug says as he moves towards them.

"And that's what was tormentingMr. Chipping," Betty says, "The guilt of what he had done, the blood that he had shedin order to win the contract."

" Mr. Chipping invited Mooseto Stonewall Prep to be the next victim, to be killed by the next ghostwriter,one of you," Jug says looking over the group.

"And Moose was the perfect candidate," I tell them, "He was a messed-up kid, he had no family.  He couldn't handle the stresses of life. No one would really notice if he disappeared. Hell I doubt they'd even give it much of an investigation." 

"Chipping ran Moose out of town. You said it yourself," Donna says thinking she's got us. I chuckle lightly.

"Good. You remembered. Okay," Betty says excitedly. She stands and moves towards Jughead. "We think Chipping couldn't gothrough with it and/or maybe he just wanted to atonefor what he had done. Whatever the reason, he ran Moosethe hell away from Stonewall Prep and then killed himself.It was his only escape."

"Pure demented conjecture," DuPont says.

"Well, yes and no," Betty says, "Chipping's behavior is hypothesis,but if proven, it shows a pattern of how the previousghostwriters won their contracts." She moves over to the blackboard and starts to write.

"The same year, the same monthas Chipping was awarded his contract, a Stonewall student disappeared. One of the so-called Stonewall Four," Jug explains.

"We believe this student was murderedby Mr. Chipping," Betty says, " Ryan Allan, the previous ghostwriterwho took up the mantle the same month another oneof the Stonewall Four disappeared. The sequence holds truefor every ghostwriter who preceded them. It's actually incredibly simple."

"But incredibly genius," I say giving the crowd a cocky look.

"Which brings us to a couple months agowhen I was awarded the contract. But why?" Jug asks.

"To put a big old target on his back," Sweet Pea says.

"Probably because I was circling the truth,so he gave you guys a new challenge To commit the perfect murder against me..." Jug says.

"Again good candidate," I tell them, "well on paper at least. Troubled kid from the wrong side of the tracks that seems like at any moment he'd explode. Too bad that's just on paper."

"So you awarded him the contract," Sweet Pea says smirking, "all ya had to do was kill him and it was yours."

"So, the million-dollar question is... who was going to kill Jughead, and how?" Betty asks them.

"So, which one of youheartless bastards killed me?" Jug asks harshly, "It was actually Mr. DuPontthat gave me a clue. When I asked who had rewrittenmy Baxter Brothers novel, you told me they all had a crack at it. And that suggested to me thateach one of you had a hand in my murder."

"This should be good."

"Donna, you kept Betty busy," I tell them, "lead her off.  Bret, you led Jug deeperinto the woods." 

"-where I took off the bunny maskI was wearing and put on my beanie. And was it that beanie that kept my headfrom being completely cracked open when Joan crept up behind me and hit me with a baseball-sized rock?" Jug says.

"What? How do you know it was me?Why couldn't it have been Jonathan?" Joan asks at once.

"Well, I don't recallJonathan wearing your perfume," Jug says.

"Yeah, where is Jonathan again?" Sweet Pea asks them, "Or did you kill him because he startedto develop a conscience? You can tell us. We won't judge."

"He had food poisoning. -He still has food poisoning."

"Where are these two biker bastards  in all of this?" Joan asks, "how do you know they didn't do it."

"Well we have a pretty solid alibi," I say as I look across them, "we were at the party by the snack bar. I hadn't taken my anxiety meds and I was freaking out all night. I barely made it five feet from the table the whole night. Sweet Pea was at my side. We have a couple pictures to prove it where I was texting my younger sister who was worried about me."

"We also left the party really early and well she has a tracker on her phone showing a straight path from the party to her house," Sweet Pea smirks.

" -So it wasn't them which leads us back to you- you had a foolproof plan,airtight alibis. It all should have worked so perfectly, but it didn't, Why?"

" -Because in all your plotting,  all of your lurid conspiringand your brilliance, you didn't kill me. Whose job was it to check my pulse?" Jug asks mocking them.

"Jonathan!" Joan shouts. The others look to her quickly.

"And the first one crumbles," I say excitedly, "you really have to be stronger than that if you wanna commit a murder."

"Oh, you Einsteins, all you had to dowas hit me in the back of the head34300:18:14,843 -->  hard enough with the rock," Jug mocks, "You failed, spectacularly."

"Yeah, meanwhile, Donna was blowingDevil's Breath in my face to set me up as the ultimate fall girl," Betty says.

"Devil's Breath? Really?"

"Yeah, the technical termbeing scopolamine," I but in, "which leaves a person highly suggestiveand in a drunken state, not a fun drug."

"Which is why I don't rememberwhen Donna led me into the clearing  where Jughead's body wasand placed the bloody rock in my hand,  leaving me literally red-handedwith the murder weapon. After which, the four of you returnedto the party, and ran into Archie and Veronica. And pointed themto where you knew they would find me... standing over Jughead's corpse."

"Then you guys found me and Y/n," Sweet Pea says, "you could of lead us to them but you didn't- I have my guess why but I'll let you take a crack at it."

"Oh oh I think it had something to do with what I said, 'I'm the one who gets to clean up my friends mistakes'" I say looking closely at them, "If you lead the two of us in the woods then I'd help cover this up. I'd help Betty get out of this. I'd help clean it all up. You didn't want that."

"So you let us go," Sweet Pea says, "and you figured she'd be so much more useful as a enemy to Betty. Smart move. The grieving girlfriend can be so powerful. And she was- her emotions alone really could make everyone look at her. Not really noticing the shifty shit happening underneath."

"But none of that really mattered because you didn't kill me!"

"Archie and I went into panic mode trying to bring him back," Betty says, "compressions and cpr anything to help him. It felt hopeless but we got him back. His only words 'no hospital' but he was alive."

"Though I didn't regain consciousness for another 36 hours," Jug says.

"The worst 36 hours of our lives," Betty says, "not only not knowing what was happening with Jug but us lying to everyone we cared about."

"And you didn't even think he was dead," I tell her, "they left me out of the loop for the first part- I learned eventually though. You don't leave the fiancé hanging for too long."

"Why would you say that, Jones? 'No hospital.' Why would a man on death's door say that?" Donna points out.

"I honestly don't know," Jug admits, "Maybe I had some small feeling that you were going to try and frame Betty,  and I wanted her to have a fighting chance."

"We carried Jug through the woodsto the old postal road," Betty adds, "where my brother Charles was waitingfor us with an FBI med van. And then we didwhat Charles asked. We went back to the clearing... threw the bloody rockin the swimming hole...  took off our clothes,and started a bonfire. And then... we went home.  And what happened nextwas a waking nightmare. Not knowing if or when Jugheadwas going to wake up. And wondering if I had actuallybeen responsible."

" Wait, but we saw Jughead's corpseat the coroner's office. Was he in on it?" Bret asks.

" -Who? Dr. Curdle Jr.?" Betty asks them, "Yeah. Mm-hm. Yeah. We go way back."

"You see, Bret,in a town like Riverdale, everybody's got a price," Jug tells them, "And that includes our friendlyneighborhood doctor of death. And then the girls both messed with your heads.  Betty was keeping you guys busywith a game of cat and mouse, and Y/n was the true star of it all. Her public grieving was more than enough to keep everyone's eyes on her. If she was reacting like that there was no way I wasn't dead. Sure she can act but no one can act true agony like that. They both took care of everything above ground. While I was in the underground bunkeruntangling this Gordian knot of a year.  And it is crazy how much untanglingyou can get done -when everyone thinks you're dead."

" -Which brings us basically to today," Sweet Pea says. 

"So, Mr. DuPont...  floor's open," Jug says finally, "What do you think?"

"Oh, Mr. Jones... A for effort," DuPont says, "If nothing else, this fictionis significantly more entertaining than anything you ever producedfor my class."

"Oh, did I forget to mentionthat Betty and I went and saw the Baxter Brothers ghostwriters? And when we told them our theory,they all asked for their lawyers," Jug adds.

"What if you did track them down? And even if you found onewho corroborated your wild theories in some vague way,then you will know that I never explicitly directed my studentsor mentees to do anything criminal," DuPont says firmly. 

"What a canny serial killer you are,Mr. DuPont," I say excitedly, "But we haven't even gottento the best part."

"Yeah baldie be a little more patient," Sweet Pea says, "cause we have more to talk about."

"Specifically, the three membersof your original Literary Society who you murdered," Betty says, "Jane Dallas Brown, Charles W. Chickens,Theodore Weisel. There it is."

"Mmm I love the looks in the room," I say to them, "but Let's loop back to the original sin,shall we?"

"When Mr. DuPont stole,and I do mean 'stole,' my grandfather's originalBaxter Brothers novel," Jug says.

"A fact known to you, Mr. DuPont,and of course Jughead's grandfather, but also to your inner circle,your classmates," Sweet Pea points out.

"The corrupt secretat the heart of an empire," I add.

"Well, there wasn'tan empire just yet. It was a house of cards that you builtover many decades," Jug says, "And the bigger it got,  the more worried you becamethat one little slip of the tongue would send the whole thing tumbling down. Your life's work would be revealedas a lie and you as a fraud and a thief,  a man of dishonor. So, you started going after peoplewho knew the truth  and started stagingtheir accidental deaths.  You cut brakes.You tampered with fuselages. You compromised oxygen tanks. Until there was only one living memberof your Literary Society left. Sweet Pea... I think it's time we let in our guest."

"With pleasure," Pea says. He unlocks the door and the B team sturts in. Charles, FP, and Forsythe the first.

"Forsythe?" DuPont asks.

" Live and in the flesh," I say looking over to DuPont. I lean towards Donna and smirk. "Isn't this exciting?"

"Hello, Francis," Forsythe says. 

"Why don't you tell himwhat you told us, Grandpa?" Jug asks his grandfather.

"Weisel came to see me before he died. He hadn't slept for days," Forsythe shares, "He told methat you killed Charles and Jane 'cause they were gonna spill the truthabout the damn Baxter Brothers. He said we knew too much,and you were gonna off us, too."

"You and I both knowTheodore was a paranoid drunk."

"But two days later, the expert diver drowned in shallow water," Forsythe says, "So, he was right. And I was next. So, I went out for a pack of cigarettes...and I never came back."

"What were you doing off-gridsince 2002 exactly?"

"Collecting evidencethat linked Francis here with the murders of Charlesand Jane and Theodore. I started by calling hotels and motelsnear the accident sites," Forsythe tells us.

"You know what the one thing I couldn'tfigure out at first was, Mr. DuPont? That if Moose was invitedto Stonewall Prep to be the next victim,  then why was I also invited?" Jug says, "I was bait. To lure my grandfather out of hiding, so you could finish the jobthat you started."

"Took off like a cowardafter Jughead found me."

"But to my old man's credit, when Charlesand I found him the second time and he heard what happenedto his grandson...," FP explains, "he figured it was finally timeto take your ass down."

"While you were in hereplaying Agatha Christie, my team was combing through DuPont's housefor the last hour," Charles says, "Given the trophies of your victimsthat we found in your hollowed-out OED and your ghostwriters lawyering up...  not to mention Forsythe's detective work,well...  Why don't you tell him?"

" It's over, Francis."

"You... call me a thief and a coward?" DuPont says harshly, "Well, I'm not. I'm a builder. I built the Baxter Brothers franchise, and with that money,I helped build this school. Without me, neither would exist."

"Francis DuPont,you have the right to remain silent," Charles says pulling out his handcuffs, "Anything you say can and will be usedagainst you in court."

"Never. A writer's power is in his words," DuPont says, "Only the meek and the timidchoose silence. I am... a man of honor. To the end."

No one would of guessed his next move. The man dives out the window in the same way chipping did. Landing on the hard stone. Ending his life on his terms. 

"Holy shit," I say softly.

Charles rounded up the other three. Then drags us all to his makeshift FBI headquarters. Betty went back to school due to her mothers request. Sweet Pea took her home. He said they needed to talk. Which left Jug and I together watching as Charles interrogates his classmates.

"Hey you okay?" Jug asks me, "you've been quiet."

"Am I okay? I should be asking you that," I say to him, "you just faked your death, you were almost murdered. Are you okay?"

"I've got you and thats all I really need," He says as he pulls my hand into his, "I love you. You know that?"

"I do," I say to him, "and I love you too." He moves pecking my temple. As he pulls back I notice Charles has Bret in his office now. I move walking towards them. 

"You have a known historyof antagonizing Jughead," Charles says plainly, "Witnesses saw you walking with himinto the woods the night he was attacked."

"Have I actually been charged with a crime?"

"You're facing hard timefor both attempted murder and the creation and possessionof illegally recorded sex tapes featuring your fellow students," Charles says, "including Jughead and Y/n. Now...  I'm willing to reduce your chargeto only attempted murder  if you turn over your collectionof videotapes."

"Here's my counteroffer: Reduce my charge to conspiracyafter the fact, which my lawyer will plead downto community service," Bret says, "or Y/n and Jughead's puerile sex tapewill be released to the World Wide Web."

"That disgusting pig," I say harshly, "he really never quits."

"Unfortunately for him neither do we," Jug says. He moves pulling the brass knuckles onto his head. "Might not want to watch what happens next." Charles steps out and FP moves towards him.

"I think he's ready to hear your offer," Charles says, "I'm going to get some coffee." He walks off and the two jones men step inside the room. Jug moves closing the blinds not letting anyone see. I turn to see Charles watching me.

"Not joining this?" I ask him.

"Legally can't," He says, "I need to be able to deny it."

"Got it," I tell him, "thanks for helping us."

"Yeah?" he says, "I thought you didn't like all this."

"Well I mean I was lied to and made to believe that my fiancé was dead which definitely messed me up more than before-"

"Fiancé?"

My eyes widen as I realize the slip. I chuckle lightly.

"Fiancé," I say lifting my hand to show him the small gold ring. He chuckles lightly.

"You guys are getting married?" He asks slightly amused, "freshly 18?"

"Why not?" I ask him, "we're anything but traditional and honestly I love him more than anyone else. And after the whole I thought he was dead thing I don't think I could live without him." Charles gives me a quick smile. "It's a secret though please don't tell anyone-"

"I'm a FBI agent I can keep a secret."

"Charles we're done," Jug calls.

Charles smirks at me then moves off. 

"Ready to go babe?" 

So we go home. Lily, who Mary had told after Archie told her, scolded Jughead for about 20 mintues for keeping me in the dark then forced him to sit with us in a family meal which had included Betty, JB, FP, Grandpa Forsythe, Charles, and Alice. With out entire family and then our original group all together I see Jug smirk at me. Then before I can stop him he gestures for the attention of everyone. The conversations stop as he stands.

"We've been through a lot these last couple years," He says to the group, "and I'm glad that everyone has adjusted to seeing the walking dead." Light laughter fills the air. "But I have something important to announce-"

"Maybe we shouldn't Jug-" I say softly.

"Y/n and I are engaged," He beams. 

"What?!" Lily shouts.

"What the hell do you mean boy?" FP says harshly.

"Engaged? You guys are 18 years old," Alice says, "are you really ready for that commitment?"

"I think we are," Jug says, "and Y/n does too. We love each other and we want this."

Lily looks over to me.

"Do you?" She asks me, "are you really ready for this?"

I stand taking Jug's hand.

"Yeah I wanna marry him," I tell the group, "I know this is shocking but we wanna get married. I know we're young but I'm not letting him go. Okay Lily you let Fred go, Alice you let FP. I'm not letting the love of my life slip through my fingers. Okay? So we're getting married. And I hope you guys can support us."

Silence covers the group. I see Lily sigh.

"Well you're gonna need help to plan a wedding," She caves, "I've got some money saved up that was gonna be for mine and Fred's wedding. We can use that."

"And I've always wanted a daughter to go dress shopping with," Mary says as she swirls her wine glass, "I know this cute shop where I got my wedding dress."

"I can help make the wedding cake," Alice offers.

"I'm good to help make decorations," JB says, "I've always wanted a sister like Y/n and this way kinda guarantees it."

I chuckle at the comment.

Jug looks at his dad. The only one who hasn't said anything. FP tenses.

"I'm not okay with this," FP says honestly, "you kids are way too young. You don't know what you want. So you're not getting married-"

"Dad we know we want this," Jug says.

"You guys are just kids you aren't getting married-"

"FP a word please," Lily says standing. She moves yanking him from the table out to the next room. I look awkwardly to Jughead.

"Congratulations guys," Charles says.

"Yeah congrats," Veronica says, "I'm definitely helping you plan."

"Yeah we'll make it great," Betty says. 

"Thanks guys," I say as I look over to Jug. I can tell his dad not being okay with this is really messing with him. We both move sitting back down. He starts to eat again as I pull my wine glass towards me.

"You aren't pregnant right?" Alice asks me, "that's not why you guys are getting married."

"God no," I tell her, "no baby. We just wanna get married."

"We will make sure you have a great wedding-"

"FP you are acting ridiculous!"

"He's not making the same mistakes as me!"

"They aren't us FP!" Lily screams, "maybe trust them for five fucking seconds!"

"I don't trust them! They don't know what they want! They are just kids!"

"They aren't kids anymore! They are adults! If they think this is the right choice then let them make that decision!"

"Why so he can be stuck here with a house full of kids with a dead end job and a pathetic marrige? I'm not letting my kid mess his entire life up for some girl!"

"It's not just some girl! It's Y/n!"

"Yeah she's Niaomi and Franks kid trust me Lily she'll be just like her parents-"

I feel my heart shatter. If it wasn't bad enough FP who's been there my entire life to know I've put every ounce of my energy into being able to make a life for myself out of this down said I would just be a deadbeat. To add the fact he said it in front of everyone else.

This was supposed to be a happy moment.

"Y/n," Betty says from beside me. 

"Dammit FP!" Mary screams jumping up from the table to go to the next room.

"Get the hell out of this house!" Lily screams harshly at FP. He shouts back. I can't listen anymore. I can't be here anymore. So I don't I move standing from my seat and towards the door. I hear people calling my name. But like the world around me I just can't stop. My legs take me away before I can stop. 

I move down the familiar path until I reach the old treehouse. It was falling apart but still there. I  pull myself up and settle inside. I find my corner where I carved mine and Jug's initals in the wood and pull my knees to my chest. Sobbing loudly. Letting everything I was holding back out at once.

Suddenly I feel arms around me.

"We're getting married," I hear Jug says. I look up from my knees to see him smiling softly. "You'll have a white dress and I'll have a nice tux. My dad is being dumb. You're my soulmate and I wanna marry you."

"I wanna marry you," I tell him, "are you sure about it though?"

"Of course I am," He says softly, "I proposed because I knew I was ready. And I still am." I chuckle moving into his arms.

"You all good up there?" I hear Archie yell.

"Yeah we'll be done in a second!" Jug yells as he pulls back. He looks down at me. "Archie, Betty, and Veronica came with me. They wanted to make sure you were okay. And we figured you could use a milkshake."

"Then come on," I tell him.

We climb down to meet the others who pull me into a hug. Then move piling into Archie's car. 

Once at pops we get our milkshakes and pile into our booth.

"All right, guys," Archie says at once, "Let's make a vow."

" -Ugh."

"I know. I know. The last time we made a vowto have a normal senior year, everything went to hell pretty quick," Archie says, "But we only have two, three months left. Let's end it on a high note."

"Are we gonna ignore the factthat Archie and I will probably not be graduatingwith you guys?" Jug asks.

"Do you really think us girls are going to sit idly by and not help our boys graduate?" I ask him, "don't be stupid."

"Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones,you will graduate," Veronica says, "even if it takes a thousand tutors,you will set aside everything,  no more mysteries, and make graduatingyour sole purpose in life."

"Why does that sound like a threat?" Jug asks.

"Because it is," Veronica says.

"We are all graduating together," I tell them, "or else."

"Exactly," Betty says, "I'll get a schedule for studying together and we can retake the SAT. We'll do everything we can."

"And even more," I say to them.

"To going out on top. Together," Veronica says.

We all cheers. Smiling brightly.

"Guys, guys, just a reminder," Kev says as he slides into the seat beside Archie, "I'm posting the sign-up sheetfor the variety show tomorrow. You all have to perform. Even you, Jughead. "

"Count us in," Betty says.

"Oh, no," Jug groans.

And we spend the next couple hours having fun and laughing. Just like everything was back together. For the most part it was.  We explained to everyone what actually happened. Told them Sweet Pea and I were only pretending to date. Jug reenrolled at Riverdale High. We're taking back our senior year.

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6,601 words guys look at me.

Anyways. I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Wash ya hands and be safe! If you guys need anything don't hesitate to message me.