𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐏𝐄𝐏!
( 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 )
━━━HAVE YOU DANCING WITH THE DEVIL.
★彡.∘ଂ.*࿐ ཾ

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!" Veronica Lodge crumpled into the arms of her best friend, Betty Cooper, whose tear filled eyes were staring at the screen in shock. Her heart had dropped at the sight.

"That night, Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy saw what we watched in Archie's garage. . ."

Veronica was sobbing in disbelief and despair while the boys were all staring at the screen, frozen. Betty gestured to Archie to hold onto Veronica. He came forward, wrapping his arms around her to comfort her as Betty stood up and grabbed her phone from her pocket.

"Betty. . ." Jughead called out in concern. Archie looked up at her, eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Betty who are you calling?"

She ignored them and began to pace. When the other line picked up, she was quick to deliver the message.

"You have to get out of that house. Listen to me."

"Jason, tied to a chair, in the basement of a bar, on the Southside of Riverdale, while a Serpent, Mustang, taunted him. Then, the unthinkable. . ."

The growl of a vintage red Jaguar could be heard from miles away. A blur of crimson was passing through the quiet streets of Riverdale. The driver, Xavier Blossom, was speeding down the streets, his knuckles white from his harsh grip.

The rain was pounding against his windshield reflecting the war raging inside of his head.

"Fuck!" He screamed. His fingers were combing through his tresses, gripping them out of his anger that was lethal. "FUCK!"

He yanked his hand from his hair and slammed it against the wheel. His sister's voicemail kept replaying in his head, his phone having yet to stop ringing.

"How could you do this to me, Xavy? How could you and daddy do such a thing?!"

Xavier pulled up to the front of the mansion and got out, the rain soaking his hair. With narrowed eyes, he walked to where his sister and Penelope stood.

Cheryl looked at him with disgust. She went up to him. He held his breath as she broke down right before him.

He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she screamed and pounded her fists against his chest. She was sobbing while yanking at his shirt that clung to his figure like second skin.

Penelope watched from the door, her expression unreadable. She raised her chin at him, eyes malevolent. Xavier's nose twitched in irritation. In that moment he gripped Cheryl's wrists harshly.

"Where is he?" He yelled, lowering his head to her level. Cheryl pinched her eyes closed, still trying to punch him as the rain mixed in with her tears. "Cheryl, where the fuck is he?!"

"He's in the barn!"

She screamed, eyes snapping open. The fire was burning in her eyes, hatred seeping through them as she glared daggers at her brother she thought she knew and loved. But the man who stood before her was anything, but that because Xavier Blossom was a monster like his father.

"Later, we would learn why my father confessed. Because Clifford Blossom visited him on the night of his arrest, with a threat, that I, Jughead Jones, would suffer the same fate as Jason Blossom, if my father didn't confess. My dad was protecting me from a monster, and the nightmare was far from over."

Thunder clapped above Xavier's head just as the rain came down harder. He stumbled towards the barn, shielding his eyes with his hand to see clearly. He saw the barn doors were a crack open where the light shown through.

"Dad!" Xavier yelled as he came closer. What was his father doing inside? Was it him that was texting him? He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. "Fuck."

Veronica and Betty had blasted his phone with missed calls and texts. They knew.

"FUCK!"

He saw one missed call from his father who left a voicemail, but he ignored it and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He didn't care about everyone else; he just needed to see his dad.

Their secret was out he needed to know what the next move was. Xavier swung open the barn doors and nearly yelled out in horror at the sight before him.

He shook his head in horror as he made his way closer to the middle. "No, no, no!" He screamed, his hand was shaky as he raised it to his mouth in shock. His lips trembled at the sight before him.

Clifford Blossom had hung himself.

"No, no, no, not you too, DAD!"

"And our families, far from repaired. . ."

Xavier's lips twisted into a venomous sneer. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but it quickly transformed into his explosive anger. His eyes narrowed as the tears streamed down his cheeks uncontrollably.

Xavier stumbled his way towards his father who was hanging lifeless by a rope to his neck. Xavier looked up at him, his viridian eyes hollow. The Blossom boy felt numb as time in itself began to drown itself out in the silence that was deafening.

He couldn't do this anymore. His knees buckled. Xavier fell to his knees staring up at his father with puffy eyes that had yet to stop crying. He never once broke eye contact with his father's body.

Xavier fished into his inner coat pocket and pulled out his flask. He unscrewed the lid and brought the rim of metal to his mouth where he took a long swing. The whiskey burned a fire down his throat, reminding him that he could still feel even if he felt as though he lost all of his senses.

His lips twisted into a sickly sweet smile and to his surprise a laugh escaped his throat. It was raspy and gritty. He laughed again, surprised from the first and then the second and third. . . soon it turned into a laughing fit that left him sobbing.

"Mommy, please wake up! Mommy,"

Small hands shaking with fear cupped the face of his mother who lay limp. Her eyes were staring up at Xavier, but she wasn't looking directly at him. Her eyes were vacant of life, as death took her kind hearted soul.

He stared at her in horror, trying to piece together what had happened. His eyes frantically scanned his surroundings. Her body was sprawled inside of the bathtub, the shower still running.

It was splashing them both, drenching them in it's heat. Xavier ignored it and shook his mother's face again hoping that she'd wake up. He saw the gun in her hand, but his mother couldn't have done this. She couldn't have done this to herself, right?

She wouldn't intentionally leave him all alone because she loved him. So why wasn't she waking up?

The water was turning pink as the wound behind her head continued to weep a crimson trail from the bullet that ate through her flesh and skull. Xavier refused to believe that his mother had done this to herself. Youthful hands shook his mother's face with a bit of force, the desperation for her to wake up becoming eager.

"Mommy? Mommy!"

The shot rang in his ears again, snapping him out of his early childhood memories. Only this time, he was faced with yet another parent who he thought he could depend on. Who he thought loved him enough to be willing to stay.

But he was wrong.

"FREEZE!" The cocking of a gun alerted Xavier of the Sheriff's presence. Xavier chuckled dryly, taking another swing from his flask, unbothered. "Don't you make any sudden movements or I will be forced to shoot."

Xavier smiled at the threat. He sniffled, and took another swing. The Sheriff gripped his gun tighter, fingers hovering over the trigger.

"Raise your hands and put them behind your head," Keller ordered. Xavier, having nothing left to lose, obliged. He dropped his flask letting the metal clash to the floor and the liquor to run free. "Now get up slowly."

Xavier did as told with his hands laced together behind his head. He heard shuffling and slowly craned his neck over his shoulder to see a woman clasp the handcuffs around his wrists.

He smiled at her and winked finding amusement in everything. For he would always be the scapegoat for his family even after death.

"And though one question had been answered that night, that it was Clifford and Xavier Blossom who killed Jason, a new mystery loomed over Riverdale."

Xavier was dragged out of the barn in handcuffs. The blue and red flashing lights highlighted his features that seemed smug of his arrest. In the distance he saw his sister and Penelope watching.

His attention shifted to Cheryl whose lips were poised into a revolted sneer. He smiled at the sight and blew her a kiss. Cheryl inhaled, trying her best not to cry in front of the monster who had deceived her and everyone in Riverdale for months.

"Why had they done it? It was a question only Clifford himself would be able to answer. All while Xavier Blossom would remain keeping his silence towards Sheriff Keller at the station."

ଂ.*࿐

"BETTY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS." Brown eyes filled with worry we're staring into the eyes of the blonde ponytailed princess of Riverdale. She disregarded his concern, and shook her head in disagreement. "Archie, I have to. It's the only way we'll find out the truth to everything."

Archie Andrews stood in front of his best friend seeming torn. He knew she was right; Xavier wasn't talking and after his visit from Veronica who left crying as she walked past them both, he knew that she would be their best bet. He just didn't like the thought of Betty alone with him too.

"Arch, he's going to be in handcuffs. He can't hurt me," Betty promised with a weak smile. Archie looked less than convinced. She squeezed his forearm. "I'll be okay. Just go check on Veronica, please?"

Archie remained silent. Betty frowned.

"Archie?" He was staring at her intensely, his thoughts running a mile a minute. "Okay. But if he tries anything, and I mean anything, don't hesitate to call the Sheriff. . . or me. Okay?"

Betty nodded and smiled.

"Okay." Releasing his forearm, she followed the Sheriff who stood patiently waiting from a distance. The walk was silent between the two, yet the tension spoke volumes. The two stopped in front of the door to the interrogation room where he stayed. "I'll be on the other side listening okay? If you need anything, you just let me know and we'll get you out of there."

"Okay. Thank you, Sheriff Keller." He tipped his hat and opened the door. Betty walked in, palms clenching at her sides in nerves. The door shut behind her making her jump. She heard a raspy chuckle. "We'll if it isn't Riverdale's princess herself."

Betty was taken aback by his appearance. His clothes were still damp from earlier and clinging onto his body like second skin. His hair, burning auburn through the hickory dye was disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it. Rebellious strands fell forward, shielding his eyes that were masking his pain with mischief.

She saw the dark circles painting his skin just below his eyes and how his lips that tilted into a smirk would fall just the slightest before picking back up. Betty knew that Xavier Blossom was a monster, but she couldn't help, but wonder what made him to be this way. She knew nobody was born evil, so what authored him to be so despicable?

"You wanted to talk to me?" She cleared her throat, standing talk from her position. Xavier chuckled, finding the whole bravery act to be cute. He raised his hand, the chains hissing, reminding them of their situation. "Go ahead and take a seat, Betty."

"I'd much rather stand." She nodded her head as if to agree with herself. Xavier nodded, leaning back in his seat. His smirk turned cold and suddenly it was as if the temperature in the room dropped. Betty shifted from her spot. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I'd much rather talk to you alone." Betty ran her tongue over her teeth. "You are. It's just you and I alone in this room."

"Oh, Betty," Xavier chuckled, it sounded deadly. It reminded her of the severity of his crime. "I'm a lot of things, but don't insult my intelligence. I'm aware of the audience we have."

"Then you would also be aware that it's out of my control," Xavier tsks through his teeth. He leaned in, tilting his head. "You underestimate the power you have in this situation. I'll talk, but only with you and you only."

"It's either now or never, Xavier," Betty gambled. She knew the Sheriff was listening. It was his call more than it was hers. So what would he say? Xavier nodded. "True, but I guess it'll be never if my requirements aren't met."

"You aren't in a position to be demanding things," Betty argued. Xavier smiled, it was anything, but sweet. "I know. I'm only doing this for your best interest."

"Which is?"

"Like I said, take a seat and let's talk. Alone." He gestured to the chair once more. Betty shook her head. "I don't have time for this."

Betty turned in her heels to walk out, but was stopped by his voice.

"You sure you want to do that, Princess?" He was toying with her now and she didn't like it. "Don't you want to know the truth about them?"

"'Them?'" And just like that, he had her once more. Xavier smiled. Betty swiveled on her heels to face him. "Who's them?"

"Our story begins with Jason and Polly." Betty took a step closer, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Only this time, you'll hear the truth. Like I said, Betty, it's in your best interest that we speak alone as this is family business. So go and tell the Sheriff you want to be alone with me. Only then will I talk and you'll learn the truth you so desperately want."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you just lost out on everything. I've put all my cards on the table. Believe it or not, I want to tell my truth, but only to you, miss Cooper."

   Xavier raised his hands in mock defense just as the chains pulled at his wrists. Troublesome viridian met innocent blue, challenging the other to break first. Betty got a feeling of de ja vu.

    "So, what do you say?" Xavier questioned with a devilish gleam in his eyes that matched his wicked grin. "Feel like making a deal with the Devil, sweetheart?"