Jughead POV

I think many of us, maybe the entire town, had been hoping against hope that somehow Jason Blossom hadn't drowned on July 4th. That we'd come to school Monday morning, and there Jason would be. Or that we'd see him and Cheryl in a booth at Pop's. But that was before the undeniable, irrevocable fact of his bloated, water-logged body, a corpse with a bullet hole in his forehead, and terrible secrets that could only be revealed by the cold, steel blade of a coroner's autopsy scalpel, or the telltale beating of a guilty heart.

I look across the table at Jitterbug and see her sketchbook closed and pushed off to the side. She's laying on her arms as they're folded on the table in front of her. She is one of the people who hoped Jason would come back. She's been crying since we saw him packed into a body bag and taken away from the river. She's emotionally exhausted, and I can't do anything to help her.

The next day at school

Jitterbug POV

Jughead and I walk into school and to our lockers. I look down the hall towards where Archie's locker is, and I notice a shrine is being formed in front of Jason's locker. The frown on my face doesn't budge as I feel a tear escape my eye. I quickly wipe it away as I open my sketchbook and flip to the first drawing I ever created of Jason. I look over to Jug and he looks back at me in confusion. I rip out the drawing and close my sketchbook before heading over to the shrine.

It's almost time for classes to start, so most of the students in the hallway had cleared out. Jug and I walk over to the shrine. I just stand in front of it, my hood hiding my face. I'm such an ugly crier. I crouch down and look at his school picture as Jughead starts talking to Archie.

"Hi." Jug says to Archie. "Do you think we could use Jason Blossom's death as an excuse to get out of PE?" He's only half joking. I didn't even want to come into school today, but Jug said I had to. I nestle my drawing in with all of the flowers and stand up, wiping at my face. "Sorry, Coach, we're just too depressed and freaked-out right now to do pull-ups." I glare at my brother.

"Don't joke about Jason Blossom." Archie tells him. "Can't you see how all this is affecting Jit?"

"What?" Jughead asks. "Sardonic humor is just my way of relating to the world. Jitterbug knows that." He looks to me and I nod my head that I'm fine. "It's the rich kids from The Goonies." He looks past me and I turn my head to see the jocks entering the hallway. "Alright, we're out." Jug then puts his arm around my shoulders and walks to my left as we walk by said jocks. Reggie bumps into Jughead's shoulder on purpose.

"Watch it, Wednesday Addams." Reggie says. "We wouldn't want your granny to get hurt now." Jug pulls his arm from around me and holds the shoulder that Reggie bumped into.

"You okay?" I ask him as we stop in the hallway.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answers. We walk around the hallways some more when we hear the intercom come to life.

"Good morning, students." Principal Weatherbee speaks. "This is your principal speaking. There have been many inquiries about the upcoming pep rally. So let me state clearly, it is happening, as scheduled." Fun, fun. "Now, on a less felicitous note, if you could give your attention to Sheriff Keller." His voice stops and another man's voice comes through the intercom.

"Most of you already know the details, but your classmate Jason Blossom's body was found late Saturday night." I take a deep breath and let it out as I look up at the nearest speaker. "So as of the weekend, Jason's death is now being treated as a homicide. It is an open and ongoing investigation."

"And may I interject?" Came Cheryl's voice. "Neither I nor my parents will rest until Jason's death is avenged, and his cold-hearted killer is walking the green mile to sit on Old Sparky and fry. I, for one, have my suspicions. Hashtag Riverdale strong." I roll my eyes at the last few words she said.

"If you know anything that could help us find and apprehend Jason's killer," Sheriff Keller comes back. "Or anything about what happened to him on July 4th, I strongly urge you to come forward immediately. You can speak with me or Principal Weatherbee." I feel Jug grab my hand as he walks down the hall past the display with all of Jason's athletic pictures and trophies. "A death like this wounds us all." He stops and looks towards the back of none other than Archie Andrews. "Let's not let Jason down." The announcement is over, but Jughead continues to follow Archie through the hallway, dragging me with him. We turn a corner and see Archie using a bubbler to splash water on his face.

"Archie." Jughead calls out to him. He stands up straight and looks to us. "Weirdest thing. This summer, we were supposed to go on a road trip over July 4th weekend..." See, that's part of the reason our friendships with Archie are a bit on the rocks. "Which you bailed on at the last minute." Jug walks forward, finally letting go of my hand, but I continue to walk towards Archie with him.

"Is there something you wanna tell us, Archie?" I ask him. He looks at us with a shocked expression before shaking his head and walking away. I let out a sigh of frustration. "You think he knows something about what happened to Jason?" I ask Jug.

"I don't know, Bug." He answers. "But he's not acting like someone with a clear conscience." I nod in agreement and we continue to head to our first class.

Fifth period, Biology, is the next time we see Archie. We sit at the lab table closest to the front. We're supposed to be dissecting a frog today. Lucky for me, my twin does not have a weak stomach. I'm barely going to be able to watch him to it. Archie enters and Jug and I both look at him, as a way to let him know that we know something's up with him, and he walks right by us. Cheryl was defusing an accusation from her two minions. I decide to tune all of that out.

"Seats, everyone." We hear the teacher say as he comes in. "Pair off, gloves on, scalpels up."

"Can I be with Cheryl?" Archie asks the teacher.

"And I wanna be with Betty." Veronica adds.

"Oh, uh, I was thinking I'd partner with Kevin." Betty responds.

"Actually, uh, Keller's with me." I hear Moose say. I look back at them, suddenly interested in the situation. "We, like, talked."

"Oh, God." Kevin reacts. No way. Since when are Kevin and Moose a thing? Doesn't Moose have a girlfriend? What is going on?

"Pay attention, Jit." Jughead says to call my attention back to the dead frog in front of us. Cheryl's two drones join Jughead and I at our lab table. They keep looking over at Cheryl. They think she did something sketchy. I mean, I don't really like her, but I don't think she did anything to Jason. A twin killing their own twin seems highly unlikely. No matter what Jug did, no matter how mad it made me, I never thought of killing him or wanting him dead in any way. He's like my other half. Suddenly, one of Cheryl's drones gasps. I look back and see that Cheryl has begun to dissect the frog. Is it creepy? Yes. But it just seems like Cheryl's trying to keep it together.

Around lunchtime, Jug and I walk through the hallway as we listen to our own music. He uses headphones while I use earbuds. As we walk by the music room I'm looking down at the floor, but I notice that Jughead has stopped and turned around to look into Ms. Grundy's room. I double back and take a look through the window in the door. What I see shocks me to the core. It's Ms. Grundy and...Archie. They're extremely close. Too close for a teacher/student relationship. What the hell? Jug and I take a closer look to make sure we're actually seeing what we're seeing. And, well, it's still creepy and creepy, and horribly illegal. I pull away from the door and drag Jughead away with me.

"What the hell was that?" I ask him. "What should we do? Should we tell Weatherbee?"

"Jit, calm down." He says as he grabs my shoulders with a hand on each one. "We should talk to him first."

"Why?" I ask. "It's clear what was going on in there. I can't just not tell some sort of authority figure."

"Trust me." He says. "We talk to him first, okay?" He asks. I think about it for a second before sighing and agreeing.

After school, we head to Archie's place. We knock on the door, but Mr. Andrews is the one who answers.

"Bug and Jug." he greets us with a smile. "It's been a long time since I've seen your faces." I smile at him. "Uh, if you're looking for Archie, he went to pick up our dinner at Pop's." He informs us. "He should be back soon if you wanna come inside." He steps aside and gestures that we can come in.

"Thanks, Mr. Andrews, but we'll be fine outside." Jughead tells him. "We just need to ask him something really quick." Archie's dad nods to us and steps back inside. We turn around and sit on the steps as the door is closed. It doesn't take Archie too long to show up with a Pop's bag in his hand. He looks at us and sighs.

"Jug, Jit. What's up?" He asks us before looking around nervous. Jug begins to stand, and I do the same.

"What's up is we saw you, Archie." Jug says.

"In the music room." I add.

"With Ms. Grundy." Jug finishes. Archie reacts, quickly walking to us as he points to his house.

"Keep your voices down, my dad's inside." He whispers.

"Yeah, we know." I say.

"We're trying to help you, dude." Jug tells him. "We're trying to be your friends here."

"Even though we're not anymore." I add.

"How long?" Jug asks him. "You and Grundy?"

"Since the summer." Archie answers reluctantly. "I like her." Jug and I both scoff at the same time.

"So I'm guessing she's the reason you've been acting weird since summer?" Jug asks.

"One of them." Archie answers.

"'One of them.' There's more?" I ask.

"We were at Sweetwater river on July 4th." Both of us look at him in shock at Archie's words. "We heard a gunshot. The gunshot."

"Holy shit." I react.

"Dude," Jug reacts. "You have to tell somebody."

"I can't." Archie rejects. "Neither can either of you. If people find out about Grundy-"

"A kid is dead, Archie!" Jug whisper shouts at him. "And you're worried about some..."

"Some cougar?" I finish his question. Archie turns to me.

"Don't call her that." He tells us. "Okay, she's not like that, she cares about me."

"Stab in the dark." Jug says. "I'm guessing she cares more about herself."

"She's the one who's telling you not to say anything, right?" I ask. He doesn't say anything, just looks towards the ground.

"Look, we saw you guys. She's messing with you, man." Jug tells him. "And she's messing with your mind."

"What the hell do you know about it, Jughead?" Archie asks. "Or about me, even?"

"Nothing." Jughead answers. "But we used to know this guy once."

"Archie Andrews." I continue. "He wasn't perfect but..." I sigh before Jug finishes my thought.

"He always tried to do the right thing, at least." Jug then starts to walk away only for Archie to grab his arm to stop him.

"Jug." He says. Jug sighs before stepping back a bit to look at him. "If you or Jit tell anyone about this..."

"What?" Jug asks. "What are you gonna do?" It sounded like a challenge. The door to the Andrews residence opens once again.

"Hey, Jug, Bug." Mr. Andrews greets us again. "You two change your mind about coming in?"

"They were just leaving." Archie says, not looking away from Jug. My twin grabs my hand and we walk off. We end up going to Pop's, and getting something to eat before ending our day at the drive-in.

The next day

Jitterbug POV

Somehow Jughead and I end up hanging out in the Student Lounge while everyone else is. I'm sitting up on a table by the vending machine with my sketchbook open on my lap. Jughead is leaning on the table between me and the vending machine. Right now, I'm trying to ignore the loudest person in the room, but it's hard.

"And Sheriff Keller's grilling me, Mantle the Magnificent." Reggie says. "'Cause I want Blossom dead. When he was, like, the only good quarterback we had. And speaking of offensive tight-ends, I should have sent the cops to you, Moose. Because here's another unsolved mystery. What exactly were you and Kevin doing at the river, huh?" I roll my eyes at his words. It's none of his business if Moose wanted to experiment with Kevin. "Or does being the sheriff's son give you a free pass? Keller?"

"Reggie's just being a blowhard, Kev." I hear Betty say to Kevin.

"I don't care what he says." Kevin responds.

"I mean, let's think about it." Reggie continues as Archie comes over to get something from the vending machine. "If a kid at Riverdale killed Jason, it's not gonna be a jock, right? Now let's be honest. Isn't it always some spooky, scrawny, pathetic internet troll, too busy writing his manifestos to get laid?" I stop sketching and look up at the jock insinuating that my brother could kill Jason. "Some smug, moody, serial killer fanboy freak, like Jughead." I am death glaring at the blockhead insulting my brother. "What was it like, Suicide Squad? When you shot Jason? Or was it your sister? No, it's more likely that both of you teamed up. You two didn't do stuff to the body, did you? Like...after?"

"It's called necrophilia, Reggie." Jughead tells him.

"Can you spell it?" I ask as I put my sketchbook to the side. Reggie jumps up from his seat and Jughead steps in front of me to protect me.

"Come here, you little..." Reggie says threateningly. But he doesn't even get to Jughead because Archie jumps in the way.

"Hey," Archie says as he pushes Reggie away. "Shut the hell up, Reggie." I grab onto a piece of the back of Jughead's jacket and hop off of the table.

"Boys." Veronica says from across the room.

"What do you care, Andrews?" Reggie asks him.

"Nothing, just leave them alone." Archie tells him.

"Holy crap." Reggie says, like he's figured something out. "Did you, Donnie Darko and Granny kill him together? Was it some pervy blood pact thing?" Archie pushes Reggie away again as he had walked closer to him. Jug and I look between the two jocks in shock. Reggie comes back at Archie and pushes him into the vending machine, breaking the glass. Jughead jumps into action and tries to pull Reggie off of Archie, but I pull him back. I can't have him getting hurt. The fight gets more physical, and Jughead pulls away from me. He gets his arms around Reggie and pulls him off of Archie with the help of one of the other jocks. When Reggie is finally pulled away, he's led away by the other jocks and I run over to Archie. He's unconscious on the floor.

"Archie?" I ask, kneeling next to him and petting his hair in a soothing manner. I look up at everyone else. "Someone get the nurse!" I shout as Jughead and I turn Archie onto his back. It looks like he's breathing, so that calms me a bit. I continue to pet his hair until the nurse runs in. That also happens to be the point where Archie woke up. He's a bit groggy, so I figure I can do one more thing before I let the nurse help him. I lean forward and kiss him on the forehead.

"Come on, Jit. Let's go." Jughead tells me as I stand up and take my bag and sketchbook from him. He then pulls my hood up. I didn't even know it had fallen down. The rest of the day all I do is worry about my ginger friend.

Archie POV

I spend the rest of the school day in the nurse's office with an icepack on my eye. Once I'm home I continue with the icepack and think about what happened. Reggie knocked me to the ground. I know that. Then I blacked out. When I came to, I felt someone petting my head. It felt nice. I open my eyes to see Jitterbug hovering over me. Her hood had fallen down, and I could see her beautiful hair. She looked relieved before leaning over and kissing my forehead. I then heard jughead call out to her and she was gone. I hear the front door open and my dad walks through. He sees me and looks a bit concerned.

"Ooh. I hate to ask this, but did you get that in a fight with Jughead?" He asks me.

"Nah." I answer truthfully. "No, it was with Reggie. It's a long story. Jughead and I, we were disagreeing about a girl."

"Hmm." He reacts. I sigh before continuing.

"Because there's this girl."

"There usually is." Dad almost interrupts me.

"But it's not about me and Jughead, it's about me and this girl." I tell him as vague as possible. "I think we should do something. And it's the right thing, Dad. but the girl says that if we do or if I do this thing, it'll ruin what we have." I think about what I just said. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

"You know, this is the most honest talk we've had in a while." He tells me as he comes a little closer to me. "And I'm glad that you want to do the right thing. I can see that. Even under the shiner. Archie, if you know it's the right thing to do, even though it's tough, even though it might...it might cost you. You gotta do it." He's right. This is weighing down on me. I can't focus on anything.

At Pep Rally

Jitterbug POV

Jug and I get to the field and stand next to the bleachers. I look around and see football players and cheerleaders wandering the field and talking to other people. I find the one football player I even remotely care about now. He's talking to Ms. Grundy. He looks over at us, ends his conversation with the music teacher, and walks over to us.

"Girl trouble?" I ask him.

"You?" Jug adds.

"Grundy and me." Archie starts. "We're telling Weatherbee." My twin and I both nod our heads. "At least, I am. And also, I didn't mean all that crap I said to you guys. I'm sorry."

"It's cool." Jughead says. Archie looks to me and I nod in agreement. Archie smiles before looking back to Jughead. "We're not gonna hug in front of this whole town." The three of us laugh. "So why don't we both just do that bro thing where we nod like douches and mutually suppress our emotions?"

"Yeah, but as friends, right?" Archie asks.

"To be discussed, over many burgers, and many days." Jughead agrees in his own way. Archie then turns to me. He reaches his hand out and knocks my hood down. Then he leans forward and kisses my forehead.

"Now we're even." He says. I feel my cheeks heat up as I smile and look to my feet. I look back up to see him smile at us and run over to the rest of the football team as they get ready for the pep rally.

"Look at you, Bug." Jughead says from my left. He lightly hits my shoulder. "You're glowing." he smiles and I playfully hit him back.

"Shut up." I laugh. I don't pay attention to the rest of the pep rally as I think about Archie kissing my forehead. He said we were even. Does that mean he was fully aware when I did the same thing to him earlier? That has to be it. The thought only makes me blush more as I pull my hood back up. It is raining after all. At this point I'm using the hood for the reason it was created. When the crowd goes silent I begin to pay attention.

"Woah." Jughead says.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Cheryl just ran off." He points to the figure running towards the school. I then see Veronica and Betty running after her. Just about everyone begins to leave after that. Archie comes running up to us.

"Hey, you guys wanna go to Pop's?" He asks us.

"Uh, yeah." I answer for the both of us. "We usually end up there every night anyway." Jughead nods his head, agreeing.

"Cool," Archie says. "I'll just go get changed and we can head over." We wait for Archie to go get changed, and the three of us head to Pop's. Somehow I end up getting a piggy back ride from Jughead as we walk into the diner. Archie walks ahead of us, holding the door for Jug and I. We laugh like we used to. The three of us then look over to a booth with Betty and Veronica in it.

"Do you guys wanna join us?" Betty asks. Neither of the boys speak, so I guess I'll answer.

"Yes." I say, kicking Jughead like a horse to make him move forward.

"But only if you're treating." Jug adds as he obeys and moves over to the booth. He drops me as we reach the booth and I almost fall to the floor, but I'm caught by Archie as he comes up behind us. We all laugh. Archie pulls down my hood as I sit in the booth on the outside of Veronica. Jughead goes around to sit on the window side of Veronica.

"Veronica Lodge." The raven-haired girl introduces herself to Jughead and I.

"Jughead Jones, the third." Jug says back.

"And I'm Jitterbug Jones, the first." I say.

"Are you two twins?" She asks us.

"Why yes we are." Jug answers. We all begin to laugh, and I can't believe how much fun I'm having. I look across the booth at Archie and our eyes meet. I smile and look down at the table before paying attention to Veronica.

Jughead POV

To someone on the outside, peering in, it would've looked like there were five people in that booth. But I was there, and I can tell you. Really, there were only four. A blonde girl, a raven-haired girl, a salt-and-pepper-haired girl, and the luckiest red-headed boy in the universe. For one shining moment, we were just kids. Those bright neon lights of Pop's keeping the darkness at bay. Giving way, as all nights must, to a morning of reckonings.

The next day

Jitterbug POV

Archie went to talk to Principal Weatherbee and the sheriff during our biology class.

"We're reviewing new systems of human biology starting with..." The teacher says, but when he cuts himself off we all look up to see the two people Archie was just about to go talk to standing in the door to the classroom. Jug and I are in the back row this time so i watch as Cheryl stands from her seat.

"You're here for me aren't you?" She asks. "Because of the autopsy?"

"We don't need to do this in front of your classmates, Cheryl." Principal Weatherbee says.

"That's alright, Principal Weatherbee." Cheryl says, offering up her wrists. "They'll find out soon enough."

"Now, that won't be necessary." Sheriff Keller tells her.

"Wait, Cheryl," Veronica says. "Find out what?" Cheryl looks to Veronica quickly before turning back to the authority figures in the classroom.

"That I'm guilty." What the heck is she talking about?

Jughead POV

As shocking as those three words were, they were nothing compared to the secrets that Jason's body had given up during it's autopsy. That Jason didn't die on July 4th, as we believed, but over a week later.