Chapter 5: You might get careless, but you'll never be safe

"HAIYAA!"

"KIAI!"

"HAIYAA!"

Dante decided to dedicate the night to training. He was practicing techniques in his room while listening to the song Push It To The Limit by Paul Engemann. As he practiced the attacks, going through his mind at each punch and kick that he gives at the bag is Jason's funeral. He heard that his body was finally released and that his parents are making last minute arrangements for the funeral. He was thinking about that while throwing high roundhouse kicks at the bag.

Suddenly, he makes a stop to drink water and decided to check his phone. As soon as he picked up, he saw a message from Betty.

Betty: We need to talk.

Dante: Something wrong?

Betty: Meet me at the Blue and Gold tomorrow and I'll explain.

Dante: Ok.

Dante: Good night.

Betty: Good night to you too.

Dante then put down his phone and went back to practice. He was wondering what did Betty wanted to talk about and if it was something bad. Dante threw spinning heel kicks at the bag several times with that thought in mind.

The next day came in a heartbeat and Dante got dressed. Today he put on a black long shirt, baggy hip-hop black jeans and black basketball sneakers. He quickly got to school to meet up with Betty. When he got there, he found out that someone actually broke into Kevin's home and stole his father's murder board. Dante, Betty, and Kevin carefully tried reconstruct.

"This is how my dad had his Jason Blossom murder board before it was trashed." Kevin told Dante and Betty.

"Is there any leads on who did that? Or what exactly they were looking for?" Dante asked him while sitting on the table.

"Nope. No fingerprints." Kevin answered. "But they stole a bunch of files, background checks, and all the video and audiotapes of police interviews."

"Hey, Betty..." Their conversation was interrupted by someone entering. "Hey Dante." It was Trev Brown, Valerie's brother. Dante was nothing but an acquaintance with him, mostly because he and Jason used to be a part of the water polo team.

"Hi Trev." Dante greeted him back.

"Sorry to interrupt..." Trev apologized.

"Oh, no... Uh, it's okay." Betty responded. "We're just, uh, working on..."

"Our murder board." Dante bluntly said.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure we're still on for tomorrow?"

"Absolutely, it's a date."

Both Dante and Kevin made very confused looks after hearing what she just said.

"I mean, I'll... I'll see you there. Bye."

"So, I'll see you. Bye."

"So… Bye."

Trev then turns around and leaves the room.

"Going on a date with Trev?" Kevin asked Betty. "Does Mama Cooper know about that?"

"Kev, I'm not on house arrest." She said that but neither Kevin or Dante are convinced. "Okay, she's out of town at a Women in Journalism spa retreat." Now they understood. "Anyway, it's not a "date" date."

"You literally just called it a date." Dante said with his arms crossed.

"That's just my cover." Betty explained. "Really, it's an intelligence gathering mission." Dante just looked at her. "We should focus on the one thing we have access to that your dad doesn't." She told Kevin. "The kids at Riverdale High." She then looks at Dante. "You know, maybe Trev knows something about Jason you don't know."

"Betty, you really think that Jason would tell something to a guy that he did water polo with but not his best friend?" Kevin asked her while pointing at Dante.

"I was about to ask that exact same question." Dante added.

"There were things he didn't tell Cheryl, so there were probably things he didn't tell you, too." Betty explained to him.

"Of that I'm sure, but I don't think he would tell someone like Trev about it either." Dante clarified.

"Maybe not, but it's worth a shot." Betty told him.

"If you say so." Dante said to her. "So tell me, what happened after your mother took you from the Drive-in?"

"She made a exceptionally exaggerated speech about how you and Jason put Polly on a bad path and how you were a terrible influence to her." Betty told him.

"Yeah, encouraging someone to speak their mind and stand up for themselves is a terrible influence indeed." Dante sarcastically said while smiling. "What about you Kev? You didn't mention what exactly happened after I left you alone with the biker."

"Well... It's still new so..." Kevin paused way too much while speaking.

"You hooked up with him didn't you?" Dante quickly spoke.

"Wait, seriously?" Betty asked him. "What's his name?"

"It's Joaquin, and yes we... did hook up." Kevin admitted to them. "Thanks for taking Veronica home by the way." In the end, Dante was the one who had to drive Veronica home since Kevin was nowhere to be seem after the movie ended.

Ring, Ring, Ring

Their conversation is interrupted by the bell.

The class passed by quickly and it wasn't long before the three meet again but this time they were accompanied by Veronica. They all sat down on the bleachers of the football field while eating French fries.

"Betty, you're positively radiating Nicholas Sparks." Veronica said to Betty as they all sit down. "Tell me everything about this Trev."

"Oh, there's nothing to tell." Kevin quickly added. "Just one of Betty's sources, there's nothing romantic in the offing."

"Why is everything weird here?" Veronica asked. "Why can't a date just be a date?"

"This is more of a undercover mission overall." Dante spoke up. "And Trev is probably not her type."

"How do you know what my type is?" Betty asked in a joking matter.

"I used to hang out with your sister a lot, remember." Dante explained. "She mentioned what type of guys you like, or the type of guy you like to be more precise."

Betty's face became a bit sad when he said that.

"Sorry, but would you mind telling me how was he like?" Dante asked. "I keep hearing small details about him but not much."

"About who?" Veronica asked.

"Archie Andrews, he was her neighbor." Dante told Veronica.

"And secret crush since she was four years old." Kevin added.

"Four? I hope that he's at least Latin lover level of attractive to make up for crushing on someone for that long." Veronica quickly spoke in a joking matter.

Dante chuckled a bit before asking. "What was he like?"

"Well... He was a ginger an-" Betty started to say but was quickly interrupted by Dante.

"What?! Is liking ginger's a Cooper trait?" Dante quickly asked. It wasn't even a joke.

"I was asking myself the same thing." Kevin said.

Whatever Betty was going to say next, was interrupted by Cheryl Blossom.

"Sorry to interrupt Sad Breakfast Club, but I'm here to formally invite you to Jason's memorial at Thornhill this weekend." Cheryl announced while delivering invites. "To my surprise and chagrin, mother added you to the guest-list. In case you're tempted to steal our silver candlesticks, don't. We'll be searching bags." She said to Veronica as soon as she gave her invite. Cheryl turns around and walks away.

"Hey, try to remember, she is burying her brother." Betty told her.

But in response Veronica stood up and went after her. Betty just looked as she walked but then she turned her gaze towards Dante who looked sad as he read the invite. "And you're burying your best friend," She told him while putting her hand on his shoulder. "You OK?" She asked him.

Dante takes a deep breath before speaking. "No... No, I'm not." Dante looks down sad.

Betty in response pulls him into a hug. "It's okay." She said into his ear while he rested his head on her shoulder.

Not long after, class was over and Dante decided to make his way home. There wasn't much to do but wait for Betty to call him. He was hoping that Trev did knew something but it was unlikely.

Dante just sat down and decided to play some video games, he put on the game Halo 4 on his Xbox 360.

He played the game while he waited, he couldn't stop thinking about the funeral. He was frustrated that Polly wasn't there for it and the fact that their son will grow up without a father. Dante could only think of one thing.

"Who did this... and why?"

Dante ended up falling asleep while he played, the first thing he did when he opened his eyes was check his phone. He saw several messages from Betty.

Betty: I got it.

Betty: Hey, you there?

Betty: Dante?

Dante quickly decided to answer the message.

Dante: Sorry, fell asleep. Let's meet at school.

"Drugs?!"

As soon as Dante got to school and saw Betty. He received the most shocking news about his best friend.

"Why the hell would he sell drugs?" Dante asked in confusion.

"He was running away from his parents." Betty answered.

Dante didn't answered and just stood there thinking about it. Until he came to a conclusion. "What if the person he got the drugs from... Did that to him?"

"Oh my god, is that possible?" Betty asked.

"It makes sense." Dante pointed out. "Fucking hell Jason, what the fuck did you get yourself into?" He walked and sat on the couch besides Betty. "Did you find out anything about Polly?" He asked her.

"I tried to speak with my dad, in a passive way." She explained. "He invented a story about her trying to commit suicide and that it was Jason's fault."

"You know, mama and papa Cooper just keep adding things to the list of what I hate about them." Dante joked which got a chuckle from Betty. "Tomorrow it's Jason's funeral, maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe... We could check, I mean his room." Dante started to speak. "Maybe there's something there that could tell us, who's the drug dealer or whoever gave those drugs to him." He told her.

Ring, Ring, Ring

"I swear to god that someone is watching us through some camera around here and ringing that bell at the most inconvenient time on purpose." Dante sarcastically said.

"It wouldn't surprise me if that was true." Betty spoke as she stood up from her seat. "See you later."

Dante was walking towards the Coach's office. He wanted to get something there.

"Excuse me, Coach Clayton." Dante called as he walked in.

The Coach was writing something on a notepad.

"Dante? What are you doing here?" The Coach asked.

"Well... You see, I was wondering if you still got Jason's jersey?" Dante asked him. "I want to give it to his parents at the funeral."

"Oh... Yes, the funeral is tomorrow." The Coach then went to his desk and grabbed the jersey. "I was going to give to his sister... but I know that you two were close, so I'm gonna trust you to give this to his parents." The Coach then handed Dante the jersey. "If you excuse me, I have to talk to with the principal about something." The Coach spoke before walking out of the office in a hurry.

Dante though that whatever he had to talk to the principal it must have been important. He stays there for a little while, staring at the jersey that his best friend used to wear not too long ago. Dante's hand gripped the jersey's hard in anger, he couldn't stop thinking about the whole idea that Jason could have been killed by a drug dealer. The thought that a scum like that hurt his best friend filled him with rage. He then turned around and walk out of the Coach's office. He decides to pass through the locker room, since it was the quickest way to the exit.

As he entered the locker room and walked pass most of the jocks, some of them were staring at him. No doubt remembering the entire event that was his fight against Chuck Clayton.

"Parker, did you miss the smell of the locker room." Reggie Mantle spoke while Dante just ignored him. "I suppose I should thank you, now I got a shot at being captain." He kept speaking but Dante didn't listen. "With both Chuck and Jason gone, it's my time to shine."

"Cool, Reggie Second Best can finally shine at something." Dante rebuffed as he walked. He was in no mood to deal with Reggie.

"The hell did you just say!" Reggie then grabbed Dante's shoulder and turned him around after he said that.

"Oh right sorry, that's not what I meant." Dante answered as his anger just kept boiling inside. "I meant Reggie third- or rather fourth best finally can shine at something that doesn't involve getting beat up by Daddy."

After saying that. Reggie sucker-punched Dante in the eye, nearly knocking him out. But Dante while still a little stunted by the punch, he closed his hand into a very tight fist before delivering an uppercut to Reggie's jaw. As soon as the punch landed, several of the football players held the two of them in order to stop the fight.

The Football players threw Dante out of the locker room. The first thing he did was get a can of soda from a vending machine to put it on the bruise that he got from Reggie's punch. He sat down a bit while he pressed the cold can on his eye but as he does it, he hears someone approaching him.

It was Veronica.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Reggie and I had a little argument." He replied.

Veronica then takes the can off his eye to see the damage. "Come on Danticho, your eyes are your best features."

"I though it was my magnetic personality." Dante spoke with a smile.

"That's not exactly a physical feature." She said as she pressed the can back on his eye. "You wanna tell me, what this 'Argument' was about?"

Dante takes a deep breath before speaking. "I found out something about Jason and I got angry and... I ended up saying something to Reggie that made him really angry."

"What was that?"

"Reggie fourth best finally can shine at something that doesn't involve getting beat up by Daddy." Dante spoke while looking down.

"Jesus Dante." Veronica spoke in a slightly disappointed tone.

"I know sorry." Dante apologized.

"Listen, I know you're heartbroken for losing you're best friend but lashing out on people won't help you heart heal." Veronica explained.

"I'm not lashing out Veronica, I'm just... I can't accept the fact that someone murdered him and that whoever did it, still out there." Dante said while looking at Veronica's eyes. "And every time I think about it...this rage just comes into me."

Veronica then grabbed Dante's hand and held it tight. "It's alright to be angry, hell you have every single right in the world to be." Veronica started to say to him. "But don't let that rage change you, I never met Jason but I don't think he would want you feeling like that because of him."

"You're probably right." Dante actually thought that she was completely right.

"Of course I'm probably right." She said with a smile before removing the can from his eye and kissing his bruised eye. "No more getting punched in the face, pretty boy." Veronica then stood up. "See you later Danticho." Then she walked away, probably back to practice with the Vixens.

Dante just sat there watching her walk away with a smile.

As soon as school was done, Dante went for a walk. A very long and nearly endless walk until it was late at night. He was trying to understand what was this whole mess about. Jason selling drugs, Dante knew that he wanted to run away but this is fucked up in so many levels. What really bothered Dante in this situation was that whatever Jason was worried, neither him and Polly told him what it was. He keeps having awful feeling that if he knew what it was wrong, he could have helped in some way. Maybe he could have delivered the drugs for him or anything.

This long walk led him to Pop's where he couldn't help but notice Mr. Andrews arriving in there with his truck. "What is he doing there? The dinner is closed." Dante asked himself and decided to go check to see if he needed any help.

"Mr. Andrews?" Dante called him.

"Dante? What are you doing here?" He asked Dante.

"I was going for a walk and lost the notion of time." Dante told him. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

Before he could answer. Veronica's mother comes out of the dinner. "Thank god you're here." She said to Fred. But the she notices Dante. "Dante?"

"What is going on?" Dante asked in confusion.

She just signalled them to come in. The two did right away and the moment they did, they saw the problem.

"What the?" Dante spoke as he saw a snake in the middle of the shoppe.

Fred and Dante got rid of the Snake and then went back to Pop's for a explanation to how that thing got there.

"I am here for you, whenever. But why didn't you call the cops or animal control services?" Mr. Andrews asked her.

"It was a message...for me from the Serpents." She spoke. "I didn't call the police because I don't trust them." She said while sitting down. "I don't trust half the people in this damn town." She then looked at Mr. Andrews. "Just you." Then she looked at Dante. "And maybe you now, Danticho."

Dante chuckled a bit. "Veronica told you about that nickname?"

"No, I helped her pick." Hermione said with a smile. "Ummm.. What happened to your eye anyway."

"Reggie Mantle and I got into a little argument but nothing to worry about." Dante assured her. "Ms. Lodge, that man you were speaking at the drive-in, he was a Serpent wasn't he?" Dante decided to ask.

"Yes." She said while nodding.

"Hermione, you gotta tell me why the Serpents..." Mr. Andrews told her.

"It's Hiram." She said her husband and Veronica's father name. "He owes them money."

"How much money?" Mr. Andrews asked.

"Fred. That's between Hiram and the Serpents."

"They're sending venomous animals to you, I don't think it's about just your husband and them anymore." Dante pointed out.

"Listen, thank you two so much for coming here tonight." She thanks them. "But I don't want to get you guys any more involved than you already are."

"Okay, just answer me one last question and I'll stop." Dante spoke. "Who was that Serpent guy at the Drive-in?"

Hermione exhales a bit before speaking. "FP Jones."

Dante instantly recognized that name, Sheriff Keller mentioned that the two were always in bad terms. He also noticed that Fred looked frustrated after hearing that name. "You know him?" Dante asked.

"Him and I were very close friends and he used to work at the Construction as a foreman, before I fired him." Mr. Andrews explained. "Actually, I think you know his son. Jughead Jones."

Dante then realized that this FP was the drunk dad that made Jughead's mom take him and his sister to their grandparents house. That makes sense to Dante now. So Jughead's dad is a Serpent. There was just one more thing that Dante wanted to know. "Sheriff Keller mentioned that him and my Dad were always on bad terms or something like that, do you guys know why?"

Fred and Hermione looked at each other before answering. "You're father used to date a girl and she cheated on him with FP."

"Oh." That was all that Dante said in response. Though it did made sense, his father was a proud person and I don't think he would take someone putting horns on him lightly. "Who was the girl?" He asked in curiosity.

"Alice Cooper." Hermione spoke.

...

...

...

...

...

"WHAT?!" Dante yelled in confusion.

The rest of the night was awkward to say the least. He just a got a shocking revelation that his father and Betty's mother used to date in school. The entire idea was disturbing to him. Mr. Andrews took him back home after that revelation, Dante went to bed quickly after that but he didn't sleep much.

Soon after, the next day arrived and before Dante knew it. It was time for the Funeral. He got a text from Betty, telling her to meet her at her house.

Dante put on a formal button up shirt, black slacks, black oxford shoes and a black tie. He didn't have a blazer or suit jacket so this will have to be enough. After he finished, he picked up Jason's jersey to give it to his parents.

He got to Betty's house quickly, door was open and her father wasn't around so he made his way to her room. As he got in, he noticed that Betty was just finishing getting dressed.

"Ready to enter the haunted house?" Dante spoke.

She turned around to look at him and smiled when she saw his outfit. "You look nice."

"Best I could do." Dante rebuffed. "I found something out yesterday that shocked me."

She chucked a bit. "What?"

"Did you know your mother used to date my dad?"

...

"WHAT?"

After a awkward conversation with Betty about their parents' past relationship. The two made their way to Thornhill. Dante has only been there a few times, Jason didn't like to bring him or Polly in his home. He never told them the reason but Dante couldn't help but get a haunted house vibe every time he was there. The coffin was closed, Dante heard someone saying that his body was just too deformed because of the water. Hearing that made him feel sick.

Him, Betty, Veronica and Kevin all sat close to each other while they waited for the rest of the guests to appear. Soon enough, the place was full. Veronica went to check on Cheryl because apparently the two were friends now and she had a sleepover there last night.

Dante saw Jason's mother passing and decided to deliver the jersey.

"Excuse me?" He called her.

She turned around to look at him. "Hello Dante."

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, it's just... I thought you might wanna have this." Dante said while handing her the jersey.

"You were never a bother." She quickly spoke. "What happened to your eye?" She asked while touching his bruise.

Everyone started to look at them while she did that. It was always a bit awkward when he was around Mrs. Blossom, it always felt like she was eyeing him or something. He remembered the shocked expression she made when Jason introduced him to her.

"A boy named Reggie punched me, it was my fault, I said something I shouldn't." He explained to her.

"I see." She took the jersey off his hands. "Thank you Dante."

Dante then turned around and went back to his sit besides Betty and Kevin.

"Did she just touch your face?" Kevin asked.

"That was really sweet, what you did." Betty quickly interrupted Kevin's question while touching Dante's shoulder. Dante in response just looked at her and gave a weak smile.

Not long after, Veronica shows up and sits at her sit again. "Days like today really put things in perspective, huh?" She tells them. "I mean, at least we're here. At least we're alive"

"There are fates worse than death Veronica." Dante rebuffed.

"Don't talk like that." Betty said to him.

"You'll get through this." Veronica spoke while holding his hand.

Right after that. Cheryl enters the memorial, wearing the very same white dress that she wore at Sweetwater the same day that Jason supposedly drowned. Cheryl passes her parents, reaching the podium. "Welcome to Thornhill. Thank you all for coming. If you'll kindly take your seats..." She asks everyone to sit so that the eulogy may begin. Everyone does what she says.

"I'd like to start the memorial...with a few words about Jason."

Cheryl's mother was visibly angry and trying to get up but her husband held her. "You're only going to make things worse." Dante heard Veronica say to her.

"The last time I saw Jason, I was wearing this dress. I know it's impossible, but I swear...when I put it on, it feels like he's in the room with me. Though we were twins, I used to demand I have my own birthday one year...out of the blue, Jason convinced me we had to combine them into one. It wasn't until years later I found out it was because no one wanted to come to mine and Jason wanted to protect me every single day. I wish, that day at the river, I had protected him." She starts to sob and walks towards Jason's coffin. "I'm so sorry, Jay-Jay." She puts her hand on the coffin. "We failed you."

Dante couldn't take it anymore and stood up from his seat and walked there. Veronica followed behind him. He puts his hand on Cheryl's shoulder and said. "All of us did." Cheryl then wrapped her Dante into a hug. He was surprised but also returned the hug, Veronica joined seconds later.

With all being said and done, Mrs. Blossom approaches the podium to adjourn the eulogy. Dante left Cheryl with Veronica and decided to find Betty. He quickly did and the two made their way to Jason's room.

"Is this one?" Betty asked.

"Yeah."

Dante opened the door and the two walked in.

"Is it me, or did the temperature just drop like it does in horror movies?" Betty commented.

"Maybe his ghost is trying to give us a sign." Dante rebuffed the comment which earned him a small smack in the arm from Betty.

Dante then started to look around a bit.

"He was your friend, where do you think he would hide something?" Betty asked.

"Jason would have chosen the most cliché and predicable place possible." Dante explained. "He never had anything serious to hide so he never really had the chance to learn how to get creative at it." Dante checked the drawers. "Under the mattress, maybe in the drawers, behind the headboard or in the closet."

The two then started to search the room but didn't have any luck.

"Hello." They hear someone greet them, which scared them a bit. They take a look and see someone hiding in the shadows. But Dante recognized who it was.

"Mrs. Rose." Dante spoke. "It's Jason's grandmother." He whispered in Betty's ear.

She comes out of the shadows in her wheelchair. "Oh, Dante." She said to him. "How lovely to see you again."

Dante got closer and kneeled down. "I'm sorry, I was just checking if..."

"Oh, since you're here, Jason left something for you." She told him. "Under the bed."

Dante looked at Betty, who in response went to check under Jason's bed to see what it was. She finds a small package in there.

"He asked me to tell you if you ever came back here." She spoke gently. "I told him that my head wasn't what it used to be, but he insisted that I should remember because he couldn't trust Cheryl with that."

Dante walked towards Betty and picked up the package. He put it on top of the bed and open it.

To his shock, there was a jacket inside. A varsity jacket that looked similar to the one that Jason used to wear but this one was different. It was completely black. Dante then saw a note on top of it and decided to open it.

Dear Dante:

If you're reading this, it means that you came back to Thornhill.

I just have one question for you.

Why the hell would you come back here?

But since you did.

Happy Birthday!

Or

Happy Almost Birthday!

Whatever it is, I got this for you.

A completely custom Varsity Jacket with your signature color.

I give this to you as a thank you for being the best friend a guy could ask for.

I hope we see each other again soon, or at least talk again.

But if we don't.

Just know this.

It was a honor meeting you

Dark Gentleman.

As soon as Dante finished reading that letter. He tried to resist but the tears just kept coming out of his eyes. It wasn't long before he started to cry. Betty saw and quickly hugged him. Dante rested his head on Betty's shoulder and his tears started to wet her jacket.

"Oh, you're here as well Polly." Jason's grandmother said as she saw Betty hugging Dante.

"She... She's not Polly, this is her sister Betty." Dante explained as he separated from Betty and wiped the tears off his eyes.

"Oh... So you and Jason decided to look for love in the same place."

"Wha-" Dante choked a bit after hearing that.

Betty looked at him awkwardly. "No...No, no. We're just friends."

"Oh... What a shame." She told the two of them. "Polly lost the love of her young life and you can't seem to find yours." She spoke about Polly and then about Dante.

Dante picks up the jacket and the letter. Then she told Jason's grandmother. "It was nice seeing you, but we have to go now."

The rest of the day passed like a bullet. Dante just lay on his bed since he read that letter. There was no clue in the room, or maybe there was and he was too much of a damn idiot to pay attention. There was only one way to get to the bottom of this mess.

"Dan... I feel like I don't even know who my mom and dad are anymore."

The moment Dante met Betty the next day. She told him a story that her father told her as soon as they left the funeral. That the Blossom clan came fairly close to destroying their family. Cheryl's great-grandfather murdered Betty's great-grandfather out of greed and hate. They were business partners in selling and trading maple syrup, but one day, Cheryl's great-grandfather decided that he no longer wanted to share the profits, so he murdered Betty's great-grandfather. The Blossoms stole their livelihood.

The moment Dante heard that story. He was angry. So this entire mess was due to some bullshit that happened god knows how long ago? Dante founded the entire story to be ridiculous. Unfortunately that made Dante think something, and he was hoping to be wrong.

"Your dad said he would do anything to protect Polly." Dante mentioned to her. "Betty...how far would he go to protect her?"

"Dante... whoever broke into Sheriff Keller's house and stole all his evidence wasn't at the drive-in." Dante just looked at her in response. "My dad wasn't at the drive-in." She then writes on a sticky note and put the name of her family on the murder board.

"Betty... We need to find Polly."