THIRTY FOUR.
❛ PARTY GIRLS, PART II. ❜

              There was an amused expression on Lexi's face as she walked into the kitchen with the intent of going outside for a smoke, only to find her uncle and Joaquin leaning against the sink looking like two odd balls. "Way to blend in, boys."

          FP frowned at the sight of her red eyes. "Lex, you sure drinking is a good idea for you?"

          Lexi scrunched her nose up and scoffed at him. "I had a drug addiction, not a drink problem. Can't say the same for you, now can we, your majesty?"

          "How about you go get some fresh air and slow it down a little, huh?" FP suggested. Boy, would Diane kill him now if she could. Being at a underage party with her daughter who was clearly blind drunk. "Toby know where you are?"

"Yeah, he does so stop interrogating me." She shot back and downed the rest of her drink to prove she was still sober enough to hold her liquor. "Betty invite you?"

He nodded, trying to suppress the urge to tell her to go home while she could still stand. He certainly didn't need another thing to worry about tonight. But he didn't get the chance to voice any concerns as Cole came up behind her and glared at him. "Lex, what are you doing talking to two Serpents?"

Lexi sighed, knowing how naive and oblivious her brother was since Toby and her had decided it was best to keep him in the dark about their maternal family. Well, Toby decided it was best not to tell him. Lexi, however, was all for telling him ever since she realised how much of an obnoxious bulldog Cole was and with how many fights he picked with the Serpents. "Nothing, Cole. Leave it, would you?"

Cole glared at the two, letting her push him outside with her to keep him from starting another Northside versus Southside fight. "Hey, about Chuck—" he began in a serious tone for once.

"Don't worry about him," she shook her head. "He can't hurt me anymore. I don't care what he does with his life so you don't need to do anything." The older of the two cringed and rubbed the back of his neck at her words. She squinted her eyes at him in suspicion. "Cole."

"It might be too late for that. I punched him as soon as the party started."

Lexi made no effort to fight the grin on her face. "My hero big bro. You're going soft. Are you a bulldog or a big cuddly pup?"

Cole narrowed his gaze slightly as he shifted his eyes back down to her. "Don't fucking mention it to anyone."

She raised her eyebrows at him, taking again sip of her drink before she replied, "I'm sure it's already the gossip of the night, Cole."

He sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right but this doesn't change anything. I still hate you."

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes as she finally pulled out her pack of cigarettes and lit one up, "I hate you too."

He made a noise of disgust at the sight of the nicotine sticks and gave her an annoyed look. "I'm leaving before I catch second hand cancer."

She simply rolled her eyes at him and waited until she'd finished her cigarette to go back inside. When she did, she made it just in time for Cheryl (who had coincidentally been avoiding her all night) calling for the attention of the partygoers.

"Listen up, party people! Everyone has their secrets. And we've all done our fair share of sinning. That's one thing my dear brother's death has revealed. So let's play a little game to get those secrets out in the open." She didn't wait for any objections as she turned and locked the front door to prevent anyone from leaving.

Chuck and Cheryl shoo'd everyone into the living room and announced what game they would be partaking in for the evening.

"What the hell is 'Secrets and Sins'?" Jughead scoffed.

"It's a variation on Truth or Dare in which we own our truths by telling it like it is." She said spinning around in the centre of the room to look at all the players. "I'll start the game with Veronica Lodge."

"Naturally." Veronica mused dryly.

"Let's begin with the day you and your mob wife of a mother came to town for a so-called fresh start." Cheryl ignored her. "Tell us, Veronica, what's so fresh about defiling Archie Andrews in a closet?"

Lexi's eyes widened from where she sat beside her brother, remembering the recap she'd got from Betty after she'd missed that particular party.

"That was your doing." Veronica clarified.

"Moving on to dear Daddy Lodge. Isn't it true that your father, from prison, illegally purchased the drive-in land? Which makes me wonder, what else is he doing from behind bars?"

Jughead's eyes snapped towards Veronica in accusation.

"Well, I can't speak for my father, but I can think of someone with a very dirty secret..." Cheryl and Lexi both held their own breaths, afraid she'd found out about their secret relationship. But they were relieved of such worry when Veronica continued, "Specifically, Cheryl killing her very own brother."

Lexi scolded at the Lodge and scoffed in annoyance. "Did you have to bring Jason into this?"

Veronica ignored her, waiting for Cheryl to answer. Cheryl scoffed. "Everyone knows how much I loved my brother."

"Exactly." Veronica smirked coyly. "But did you love him, maybe, in ways that a sister shouldn't love a brother? And as you got older, Jason started to think it was strange, unnatural. So he chose Polly over you. So you shot him between the eyes with one of your father's many hunting rifles."

Lexi felt her blood fume at the accusation and clenched her hands into fists to keep from lunging at the girl. Veronica was just trying to get under Cheryl's skin after the redhead made it her night's mission to ruffle the Lodge's feathers. It was nothing personal against Jason himself, she tried reasoning with herself. But Veronica's words didn't sit well with Lexi and she couldnt' help but to feel it was disrespectful to even joke about Jason's death in such a way.

"This is riveting. I can't breathe." Kevin gushed in a hushed whisper to Joaquin.

"This game is sick. I wanna go next." Dilton stepped up.

"That's the spirit, Doiley." Chuck encouraged with a chaotic grin. "What secrets do you have to reveal to us?"

"I saw Ms. Grundy's car by Sweetwater River the day Jason went missing. I told Betty and Jughead and then Ms. Grundy quit her job and left Riverdale, like, two days later. And let's not forget Archie was also at Sweetwater that morning."

"Oh, my god," Cheryl gawked in a mocking tone, "colour me shocked. Archie Andrews, is that why you became a mediocre musician overnight? You and Ms. Four-Eyes were pulling a Mary Kay Letourneau?"

"Don't say anything, don't get in the gutter with them." Veronica advised, glaring up at them.

"Wait, what? Andrews was banging a teacher? Damn, I wish I would've known. I would've added you and Ms. Grundy to the book of conquests."

"Classy, Chuck." Lexi rolled her eyes, unable to stop herself butting in when he mentioned the book he'd wrote her in. She got a wink from him in return and quickly pulled Cole back down beside her when he rose from his seat, ready to punch Chuck yet again.

"Wait, a second. That also explains why Archie can't seem to keep a girlfriend to save his life. He's got serious mommy issues. Anything to say for yourself, Arch? Were you a victim or a perpetrator?"

"Dilton Doiley plays with guns." Betty stated, hoping to draw the attention off her neighbour.

"Big whoop, Betty. So Doiley's a psychopath. Everyone knows that." Cheryl mused, laughter laced between her words.

"Well, I guess it's my turn now." Chuck began, smirking darkly at Betty. "Boy, do I have a twisted secret to reveal, starring Betty Cooper."

"Leave her the hell alone, Chuck." Archie warned.

"Shut up, Andrews!" Chuck snapped before lowering his voice. "Look, you may get a free peep show every night, but you do not know her. Hell, Betty doesn't even know herself. Everybody knows why I got suspended but what you don't know — she dressed up like a hooker, in a God-awful black wig, drugged me, handcuffed me in the Jacuzzi, and well, I almost drowned until she got me to say what she wanted to hear. And then, she really lost it. She actually thought she was Polly. But, hey, you knew all about this, right, Jughead?"

Jughead didn't waste another second as he surged forward and punched Chuck straight in the face, aiming to hit the exact same spot where a bruise was forming from Cole's earlier punch. Chuck recovered quickly and punched Jughead back causing the smaller boy to crash into the glass cabinet.

Cole held Lexi back from getting involved as FP stepped in between Chuck and his son and quickly wrestled the former boy out of the house. While everyone followed them out, Lexi was quick to grab Cheryl's wrist and hold her back until everyone had left. "What was all that tonight?"

"It was me dethroning Veronica Lodge before she got the chance to wrap those slimy claws of hers around my crown." Cheryl answered honestly. "You said you would help me being her down but you were missing all day so I teamed up with—"

"My ex?" Lexi rose her eyebrows.

"The worst," Cheryl sighed dejectedly, her false grin and mocking glare now vacant from her face. "I'm sorry I did, it was almost worth it."

"Really?" Lexi asked incredulously. "Are you sure cause it sounded like she ripped into you more than you did her."

"I admit I didn't expect her to say that about me and Jason..." she confessed with a distant look, thinking about her actual relationship with Jason; normal and close as twins could be without it being creepy.

"That was sick," Lexi pulled a disgusted face before smirking, "If only she knew me and you were fucking."

"Lexi." The redhead scolded her for the language she used. "Don't say it like that."

Lexi's smirk only widened and wrapped her arm around Cheryl's waist and pulled her flush against her own body. Cheryl's breathing quickened at the sudden lack of distance between them. "Say it like what?" Lexi teased, "that we were fucking?"

Cheryl barely managed an answer, choosing to nod instead.

"Fine. I won't. But I thought you liked me telling you what I was going do to you all night long? And I could tell you what a bad girl you were today... But I won't."

"You're a tease, Lexi Hale." Cheryl pouted after the brunette pulled back.

"That's what you get for teaming up with my ex, darling." Lexi smirked at the sour look on the redhead's face, slowly walking backwards out to the doorway to return home, leaving Cheryl all hot and bothered for her sins.