Chapter 1

As a child, games of "treasure hunt" used to be my favourite engagement. On sweltering summer days, I would sneak out of my house, run past the orchard, and make a dash to Sweetwater river. I would drag the boat chained at the bank, let it loose, and row to the other side to find the markings left by my friend. On the shoddy hand drawn map, I would make notes in the most illegible handwriting and row back to find the next location.

On other occasions, I would cross the tracks, walk along Lubberts Lane and trudge into Fox Forest, map and flashlight in hand, with only a ham sandwich and a bottle of water in my bright red satchel to last me through the day.

Looking back, I have often wondered how my mother never bothered to look for me during lunch time. Or how my papa never said he missed me in the evenings when all other kids would be at home. Now I know, those were the days that pushed me onto a roller-coaster ride that would crash land me where I am today.

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"Come dressed in red and no, you cannot say no!" Cheryl announces as she drops a bunch of, what seems to be pamphlets, on the table in the seniors' common room.

"Red to allude to our hypothetical murder scenario of Mr. Honey?" Jughead appears doubtful, although he is the first to respond. He soon finds company in an equally baffled Betty. "Come where, Cheryl?", she asks, scrunching up her face as she does so often.

"Learn to read, peasants!" Cheryl is the face of contempt as she picks up one of the pamphlets and dangles it before the gang. She notes with disappointment that only after her disdain, Kevin and Veronica bother enough to pick up her precious red pamphlets. Archie, however, does not and tries to get a peek over Veronica's shoulder.

The pamphlets are about an invite, to what is claimed to be the most successful and unforgettable party of their high school life, scheduled the evening after their school leaving prom. Although by the tone of the invite, it seems more like a summon. That, however, surprises none.

"Branding a social event as a success beforehand, Blossom?" Jughead smirks kindly, as he shuts his laptop. He has come a long way from Cheryl's earlier observation of having a vocabulary of a baked potato. To give him credit, he always had a rich vocabulary. What he did not have was an inclination to flaunt it verbally, being far more comfortable in exploring the world of writing, than engaging in apparently inconsequential conversation. But that was a different time. That was a different him. That was a different Cheryl.

"This seems fun, Cheryl." Veronica is already excited, but she is a little concerned as well. "But would your mother be okay? With so many of us high-schoolers in her den?" She does not envy Penelope's situation and cannot help feeling pity for the woman who is virtually imprisoned in Maple Club. Being under the watchful scrutiny of Cheryl Blossom cannot be comforting, she wonders.

"Mumzie would be ecstatic". Cheryl's reply is sweet, short, and lethal.

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Jughead beams with joy as he finds a positive response from University of Iowa. His writing sample of "Killing Mr. Honey" has received generous appreciation from the admissions committee. The writing, albeit with the title changed, along with the surprisingly glowing recommendation from Mr. Honey, has given him a shot at earning a place at the university for the writing course. Although the final word is not out yet, Jughead is cautiously optimistic that an acceptance letter might be on its way. His years of writing is finally paying off, in more ways than one. Although, this particular sample is not just his, he realises. It is theirs. It is his and Betty's.

It is in unsuspecting moments as these that Jughead often realises how lucky he is to have Betty. Not that he does not realise at other times, but these are the times when he realises how intertwined his life has become with Betty's and how utterly thankful for that he is. It is realisations such as these that push him to work harder and avoid distractions while studying, something that he is struggling with right now. He has chapters of geometry to catch up on, followed by preparing lab reports of previous chemistry experiments. But he is also tempted to inspect the latest tape they had discovered at the cabin.

With a sigh he refocuses on understanding the geometry of cone and cylinder. With shudder he realises, he is yet to master the chapters on parabola and hyperbola. No wonder Betty was furious the last time she found him distracted from coursework. It is partly the fear of being at the receiving end of Betty's outburst, and partly the memory of an upset Betty when he visited her later, that steadies his resolve of figuring out geometry before leaving Dilton's bunker for the day.

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"Earth to, Archiekins?" Veronica waves her pen at a disoriented Archie. He has been a little inattentive lately, she realises. Between the death of his father and anxiety regarding his still uncertain future, that a mountain of assignments would be of little interest to him is understandable. But assignments do not write themselves and texts do not read themselves. So, she pushes him to focus and waits patiently as he tries to reorient himself. He has the decency to look sheepish, like a child caught stealing candy, and pores over the algebra book and internally curses unnamed mathematicians who came up with the monstrosity that is integral calculus.

He is grateful that Ronnie is taking the pains of doing assignments with him, although it slows her down immensely. Which she denies obviously. But he knows. At times, he is in awe of Veronica. How she manages to compartmentalise everything and do well in every sphere. There are setbacks obviously and sometimes too often and created by near and dear ones, but she never gives up. Not on her projects, her dreams, her family, or the two of them. Despite all this, he feels Veronica is a stellar student but not as good a teacher. Objectively, Betty is a better teacher than all his close friends. But he wonders if he can, with all honesty, say anything about Betty just objectively anymore. He has been racking his brain incessantly over the past few weeks to figure out when and how things started to change for him and realises that starting on this path of thought would mess up his calculus lessons even more.

"I've decided to go to the naval academy" is the announcement he makes instead. Veronica is expectedly surprised, but she is jubilant as well. If, deep down, she feels a pang of worry regarding the future of their relationship during his long absence, she does not display it. Because this moment is not about her, it is about him and she is going to support him, even if it breaks her heart. She gives him a warm hug, which she realises, stems partly from her own sense of relief that Archie has finally figured out what he wants to do with his life.

"When did you finally decide? Have you prepared your application? Do you want me to take a look at it?" Veronica launches a series of questions. She is simply too excited, perhaps even more than what she had been on receiving her own acceptance from Barnard. Her childlike ecstasy brings a warm smile to Archie's face. But instead of telling her truthfully that he had sent his application several weeks back, he says that he has just sent it this morning. He does this so that Ronnie does not feel hurt for being kept out of loop for so long. At least that is what he tells himself. But a part of him knows, this is just an attempt to dissociate himself from that day's events at the bunker. As he finds his mind wandering down the familiar path of Betty and the bunker, he leans forward and catches Veronica's lips with his, with a vigour he did not know he possessed. She responds with a surprised giggle and immediately weaves her arms through his hair. As she climbs atop him and shifts in his lap, he moans loudly and fervently hopes he has put to rest his straying mind. And perhaps his straying heart.

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Betty massages her sore shoulder for what would probably be the fifth time in an hour. Keeping up with senior year assignments along with regular study schedule is challenging in itself. But she is Betty Cooper and she has a voyeur mystery on her plate as well, because why not? These days she finds herself in Charles's office every evening after school. While he works on his other cases, she does her schoolwork. This is followed by working on figuring out the tapes once Charles takes his recess. The schedule is punishing, and it would eventually wear her down. She knows this. But at least this is better than spending her evenings in the bunker, as she had been doing until recently. Betty shakes herself and resolutely focusses on the page in front of her. Organic Chemistry is any day more important than Dilton's bunker and what she had been doing there. But Dilton's bunker is where Jughead is right now, most likely writing his long overdue lab reports. Betty is relieved that Jug is now actively committed to finishing his pending assignments and improving his grades so that they graduate together. While she knows he still itches to view the tapes once in a while, she has made him promise that any tape he comes across must be handed over to her first. She does not want him to get distracted from his studies at this crucial juncture, however intriguing those damned tapes might be. But she also wonders, if it is because she is afraid that one of these days, Jug would be delivered a tape that shows her moments with Archie. Or their kiss.

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As Alice backs her car into the garage, a wave of exhaustion washes over her. Work has been hectic for the past few weeks, with a trip to New York thrown in between. The trip had been nothing but a wild goose chase and she felt relieved to be back at Riverdale by dinner time. A relaxed dinner with Betty, FP, Jug and JellyBean, followed by an early night is her only wish at this point. But as she walks up the front path, stepping out of the garage, she feels her heart sink. There, lying at the doorstep is a shiny new tape, waiting to be watched. Waiting to wreak havoc.