Mine (a Riverdale fanfiction)

A Room Full of Serpents

Betty was on the phone with Pop Tate, making plans for the party, when her mother barged in. Barged was a strong word, since the door was open, but walking in and immediately demanding to know what Betty had been talking about on the phone was vintage Alice Cooper, nose in everything.

Well, Betty wasn't going to be intimidated by her mother any longer. She faced the music head-on. "Juggy is throwing a retirement party for FP at the White Wyrm. And I'm helping him organize." Catching that familiar judgmental look on her mom's face, Betty continued, "Before you object, Mom, need I remind you—you were a Serpent?"

Her mother rolled her eyes and stalked out of the room, and Betty braced herself, sure that this wasn't the last she was going to hear about it.

Later, Jughead and Betty caught up with Archie and Veronica in the offices of The Blue and Gold.

"So the real story is in the sheriff's notebook," Archie said, looking his most earnest.

"There was a third child, Joseph Conway, who survived the massacre," Veronica added, dropping a stack of books on the table.

"They hid his identity, changed his name, so he could lead a normal life."

"According to Sheriff Howard's notes, he was adopted by another family in Riverdale and presumably enrolled at a local high school."

Archie picked up a photo and handed it to Betty.

"If we match that boy to one of the students at Riverdale High during the years he would have attended—"

"Then he might be able to tell us how the Conway murders are connected to the Black Hood," Betty finished.

Jughead studied the photo. "Or he is the Black Hood," he suggested. "Just go with me here: Let's say that our mystery kid did end up surviving the slaughter. Maybe he even saw it. It would have messed him up for life."

Betty, picking up easily on his thought process, continued, "Yeah, and somehow, for some reason, he could be blaming the town for what happened."

"And now he's punishing us for it."

"So basically we just have to go through all these yearbooks page by page and see if we find a match." Veronica frowned at the stack of books. "So, not quite a needle in a haystack."

Jughead and Betty looked at each other, and Veronica turned her frown on them.

"What?"

"We just have to get ready for this party that we're hosting."

"It's my dad's retirement party," Jughead explained.

Archie and Veronica looked blank—some combination of startled that they were being left with all the work again and surprised that Jughead and Betty were hosting a party they hadn't been told about.

"No, you guys should come!" Betty said immediately, feeling guilty.

They looked at each other, clearly not sure how to respond.

"If you don't want to, you really don't have to. Not a big deal," Jughead said, at the same time as Betty was saying brightly, "Yeah, no, I'm renting a karaoke machine."

"You should come, you guys," Betty finished.

Jughead couldn't resist a last bit of discouragement. "If you want."

Archie and Veronica looked at each other again, as if they were trying to decide what sounded like less fun—scouring old yearbooks for a picture of a serial killer, or a Serpent party.