Collateral Damage ▻ Riverdale [1]

2.27

THE AFTERMATH
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

After trying to sneak into the Blossom's bedroom failed, Queenie stood in front of the window in her bedroom at Thornhill. She dialed Sweet Pea's number and after a few rings, he answered, "Queenie, thank God. It feels like I haven't spoken to you in days. You've barely been at school in the past week. And I heard from Joaquin, who heard from his boyfriend, that you're running for Co-queens with Cheryl Blossom? What's with that?" He asked her curiously.

Queenie sighed, "To keep her distracted. I think I'm close to finding something." She informed him.

"Remember the deal with we made," Sweet Pea reminded Queenie, "If you don't find anything by the night of the Northsider's homecoming, you come back and live with me."

"I just have to get into their bedroom, Sweet Pea," She whispered softly, "Polly hasn't been much help, she's too busy trying to figure out how she's going to spill the beans about you know what."

"Wait, you're not putting yourself in any danger when trying to get into their bedroom, right?" Sweet Pea asked her protectively.

"I made a promise to you leaving if there's any danger, Sweet Pea. Remember?" She replied calmly. The doorknob turned and Queenie immediately noticed, "I got to go, Pea. Talk to you after."

"Wait--" Sweet Pea started, but Queenie hung up on him.

Queenie quickly threw her phone on the bed as Penelope entered with a smile on her face. She held a tray with a strawberry milkshake placed on it, "Your daily milkshake. You must be famished."

"Mhmm." Queenie hummed in response as she grabbed the milkshake and took a small sip.

"What with all the exploring you and Polly have been doing." Penelope told her with a smile, causing Queenie to look up, "The east wing, where Clifford and I have out sleep quarters, is out of bounds. Clifford values his privacy. You understand, right, honey?"

Queenie nodded her head, "Yeah, it won't happen again."

____

The next day, Queenie and Polly began getting ready for homecoming. The two teenage girls wore silk robes as Cheryl did Queenie's make up, "Oh, Queenie, how I've missed being friends with you. And I'm glad we're honoring Jason's legacy together." Cheryl explained as she apply some eyeshadow to Queenie's eyelids, "Wow, this color totally brings out your eyes."

Queenie let out a sigh, thinking about how she could convince Cheryl to bring her to the east wing, "So, I was thinking, the theme of the dance is a blast from the past, right?" She asked and Cheryl nodded, "So I say, we sneak into your mom's wardrobe and borrow some retro crap of some sort. Maybe...some jewelry?" She suggested with a smile.

"Mmm, I like that idea. Count me in." Cheryl smiled back at her.

Just a few moments later, the two girls were in Penelope and Clifford's walk-in closet, snooping around for some jewelry to where.

"My mom and dad would freak if they found out we were in here," Cheryl informed her, "So, let's take our sweet time, will we?"

Queenie frowned when she saw all of the wigs Clifford had on mannequins, "Geez. How many wigs does your father own?" Queenie asked curiously.

"One for every single mood," Cheryl replied as she opened up at ring case and Queenie began to snoop without Cheryl's knowledge, "Legend has it that Clifford's hair turned grey overnight. Supposedly, he saw the ghost of grandpappy Blossom with his throat slit. Now me, I love a silver fox. But we Blossoms live and die by our red girls." Cheryl opened up another drawer and took out another red ring case, "By father tried dying it once, but--" Queenie looked up when she saw that Cheryl didn't finish her sentence.

"What is it?" She asked concerned as she walked over to Cheryl. Cheryl slowly took out the ring and examined it. Queenie's eyes widened when she saw that it was the ring Jason had given to her. It was the one she supposedly lost, too. How did it get in Penelope Blossom's hands?

"It's your ring, Queenie. The one Jason proposed to you with." Cheryl spoke up shocked.

"Why the hell does your mother have it?" Queenie asked angrily, "I had it around my neck when..." Before Queenie could finish her sentence, she suddenly closed her eyes and became overcome by memories.

Jason and her were tied to chairs in an unknown place. They were trying to escape when someone entered. She couldn't tell who the person was, but they walked over to Queenie and ripped the necklace from her neck.

A tear fell down Queenie's face as she opened her eyes. Cheryl sighed as she placed the ring in Queenie's hand, "Hide it. I don't know why my mother has it, but it belongs to you, not her. Hide it from my parents, they'll go ballistic if they know you have it."

Queenie nodded as she placed the ring in her pocket before exiting the room with Cheryl following close behind.

____

Queenie sat on her bed, wearing her homecoming dress as Penelope gave her the story about why she had the ring in the first place. She knew the story was a lie, but she wondered who was responsible for making it up. Clifford? Or Penelope?

"You wanted an explanation, the last time Clifford saw Jason, was the day my son washed his hands of my family. Jason wanted nothing more to do with the Blossom name, nor our lineage, including the ring, in which he threw in Clifford's face as his final rebuke." Penelope explained to her, "Clifford then gave the ring to me for safe keeping."

Queenie decided to go along with this whole story and sound clueless, And seeing as she was such a skilled liar from years of doing it, Penelope immediately believed it, "I-I thought the ring was lost." Queenie replied sadly.

"Nothing's lost forever," Penelope told her, on the verge of crying, "Everything comes back." Penelope quickly wiped her tears before speaking up, "Now, unless you have any more questions, I'll leave you be to finish getting ready for the dance."

Queenie frowned slightly when Penelope handed her the milkshake. For some odd reason, her gut told her not to drink it, that it could be drugged. After all, she was rebelling against all their wishes, "Drink up, dear. Before it melts." Penelope insisted.

  Queenie shook her head, "I'm not that thirsty." She replied and Penelope sighed.

"Please, I insist, they're really good for the baby." Queenie just smiled at her request and began to drink some of it.

Once Penelope had left, Queenie ran to the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom She lifted the lid to the toilet before making herself throw up. The way Penelope kept on insisting, she knew that it was drugged for her.

Once throwing it all up, Queenie made her way over to the window. She opened it before she climbed out and stepped onto the roof. It was hard for her to do this, seeing as she was six months pregnant with twins and also wearing a homecoming dress.

Queenie took a deep breath before she jumped off the roof that was about fifteen feet. Luckily, she landed on both feet with no problem. She sighed in relief before she headed to the high school on foot.

AN: Queenie will be getting her memories back really soon. FP and Queenie moment will be coming up. And his arrest sadly...