Back In Black

Chapter Eight: The Last Picture Show

// Archie POV//

Sitting at a booth in Pops I'm trying to keep calm. Betty and Veronica are sitting across from me while Betty starts to lecture about me and Grundy.
"Ms. Grundy showed up in Riverdale a year ago, out of thin air. There's no record of her before that. Her Facebook, her LinkedIn account, they were all created one year ago. Before that, she's a ghost. She doesn't exist" Betty pulls out a folder with all of the information she was trying to tell me. "The only Geraldine Grundy I could find was a woman who died seven years ago." Betty slides an obituary across the table.
"How... Where did you find all this?" Betty had gone crazy over this whole thing.
"The deep web. The dark internet." Veronica jokes "Jk, it's all online. Simple googling." she finishes.
"And did you cyber-stalk Ms. Grundy before or after you interviewed her for a fake article?" I ask getting pissed. Kat is going to kill be but I honestly don't care at this point. "Why are you doing this, Betty?" What Kathleen said was stuck on repeat in my head. Only part of me believe her, Betty would obsess over this if she did still have feelings for me. "I'm not in any danger"
"You don't know that." she says softly
"Yeah, I do, I'm with her. I know what we have, and you don't" She looked hurt for a split second and then
"She taught Jason Blossom. Did you know that?"
"She's taught lost of people Betty. What's your point?"
"My point is, you don't know anything about her, Archie. Doesn't that worry you?"
"Betty, let this go." I start
"Archie, please..." She leans back talking with me.
"If you're really my friend," She stops "you'll let this go" I stare her down for a few seconds.
"Okay.I'm sorry. I'm done." She sighs closing the folder. "I'll stop digging"

*************

//Kathleen POV//

"YOU DID WHAT?" I'm pacing around my room while on the phone with Betty as she describes what her and Veronica did. "Why the hell did you break into Grundy's car?"
"We were trying to find something that proved she wasn't who she says she is."
"And?"
"Can you find anything on a woman named Jenifer Gibson?"
"No Betty, I will not take part in you trying to do, what ever it is you are doing, to Archie. Drop this Betty, before you lose a friend." I click the end call button and throw my phone on the bed.

I walk around the room until Des walks in "Get out!"
"What?" I look at her scared
"If this pacing goes on any longer i'm gonna blow, go. Be with Jughead or something just get out." She shakes her head. I text Jughead.
Me-Des wants me to leave the trailer for awhile. Pops?
Jugs<3- sure meet you in our booth

I grab my sketch book and camera before leaving the trailer I shout Des a goodbye before walking out. I don't sit at Pops for long but it was long enough to get quite a bit done on the drawing of Jughead.
"Hey Kat" The raven haired boy slides across from me.
"Hey Jug" I flip the page
"Its too late I already saw it." He chuckles. I sigh and through the book on the table.
"Here, look through it" I had finished his birthday present and had it stashed in my room. He flips through the pages silently as Pop Tate brings me my milkshake.
"These are really good Kat."
"Thanks, the self portrait ones suck ."
"Those are my favorite actually." he looks up at me smiling. My stomach does flips. "This one of you an Betty is cute"
"Thanks, I copied a selfie we took before the semiformal... It is technically missing a person but at the time Betty and Veronica were at war so." I shrug. Jughead continues looking through my book, smirking every so often. I'm guessing at a picture of him. Then is face drops, he looks up at me with almost a hatred in his eyes.
"Who is this one?" He turns the book around to show me the picture of Sweet Pea. I had drawn him after the first time I met him, though some changes were made to the image after the whole shower situation happened.
"A friend"
"I know your friends Kat" Jug says trying not to snap.
"Jug," I reach out and hold his hand "You have noticed that you are the person with the most pictures in this book right? But I could understand if you got jealous."
"Why isn't he wearing a shirt? With only a towel around his waist?"
"He stayed on the couch one night. Got in a fight and Des brought him over... The next morning he showered and left his shirt or pants, I can't remember, out by the couch. I was cooking breakfast."
"Right okay"
"Jug what the hell has gotten into you? Come on its a picture it doesn't mean anything"
"Like hell, you say him half naked and you want me to just accept that nothing happened?" I was tired of trying to cover my ass. I honestly love Jughead and I can tell this is coming from a place of jealousy but it hurt.
"You know what" I snatch the book from the table and put it in my bag. "We aren't together Jughead, it maybe hard for you to see that because we are always together and flirting but I'm not yours. And if you can't believe me when I say nothing happened between me at that boy then you don't know me at all." I grab my bag and storm out of pops.