Pearl Crowns

Chapter 8

Kent spent the majority of the night in Veronica's room but he was gone when she woke up. She didn't much mind. She only kept him around to get her rocks off and appease her mother. With him gone, she was able to finish the outline before school. She wanted her plan to make Jughead forgive her go smoothly and She had to make sure she could implement her plan before Jughead got to school.

Veronica watched Jughead walk up to his locker from down the hall. She ran up to him as he was putting in his locker combo. She watched intently as his fingers turned the dial. She tried to memorize his lock code, it being a crucial part of her plan. Without it, the rest of her plan was out the window. Once she thought she had it she looked up at Jughead who was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Morning, Jones." Veronica said so sickly sweet. She had her hands clasped behind her back and her chest out.

Jughead looked her up and down and shut his locker before walking away not saying a word.

"I'll get you to talk to me eventually, Jones." Veronica called out after him, determined. Jughead didn't even turn back around to look at her.

Veronica spent the rest of the day ignoring her friends and responsibilities and tried to figure out how she was going to write the letter she was going to put in Jughead's locker. She needed him to show up but she knew if he knew it was her he wouldn't go.

She decided to leave it anonymous. She wrote in big letters much different from her own.

Meet me at the abandoned house on the barrier between the north and south. Come alone.

XOXO

Everyone had left the school, she checked it four times just to make sure. She used the code she had found out earlier that day to open the locker and tape the note inside. She smiled to herself as she closed the locker door. Step one, done.

Back at the House of the Dead, she made it outside and to her truck without someone stopping her but as she was dropping the stuff into her backseat someone came up to her.

"Hey, babe what's going on?" Kent asked as Veronica slammed her door shut.

Veronica turned around and looked at her boyfriend. "Just going for a drive."

"Why don't I join you?"

"I'm just gonna go clear my head. Don't worry I'll be back for missions planning." Veronica said not waiting for him to answer before walking around the truck. She watched as Kent disappeared through her rearview mirror.

She spent hours at that house on the edge of territories. She wasn't just cleaning but she was spending time alone for a while. She was there at least once a week. No one ever wanted to go there, it was either too dirty and dingy or too scary. It was in the southside after all so no northsider would be caught dead in there. No one on the southside wanted to go in there because of the mess. It was a busted-up drug den from a gang that was no longer so equipment and supplies were littered everywhere. Veronica had cleaned it up some during the times she was there but it was still a mess.

Kent was not happy when she finally arrived back home.

"Where have you been?" He whispered angrily while one of the other Ghoulies talked about their ideas for the next mission.

"Out" Veronica didn't want Kent to know she hung out in that house because she knew he'd just ruin it.

"Be back in time next time." He said before turning his attention back to the group. Veronica rolled her eyes and sunk back into the chair to pretend to listen to what was going on.

*****

Veronica sat on the windowsill listening to the rain hit the house. Fall in Riverdale was cold and wet driving away the heat of the summer. Veronica loved to watch the rain. It was so peaceful and calming. She watched the rain soak the grass when she heard the front door open slowly. She stepped out of the windowsill and walked closer to the middle of the room next to the table full of food waiting for Jughead to walk in.

Jughead turned the corner with his switchblade open, looking ready to fight. Veronica wasn't really paying attention to it at first so she swept her arm around to the food table. "Tada..."

"Veronica!?" Toni and Sweetpea rounded the corner together with looks of confusion.

"What the hell? I thought I told you to come alone. And what's with the knives?" Veronica asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, when I receive a threatening letter in my locker I'm not just gonna come in unarmed."

"Oh please don't be so dramatic. It wasn't threatening."

"Oh yeah, an unsigned letter telling me to come to some abandoned building alone is definitely not threatening."

"Well, I'm sorry I was just trying to apologize for leaving you for dead the other day."

"Great apology making me think I was going to be ambushed by the drug dealer who tried to kill me." Veronica's whole demeanor changed with his words.

"Wait I thought you killed her?" She practically whispered.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? All our problems taken away by me." Jughead breathed a laugh and shook his head.

"Of course not. She's not my problem, she's Kent's and for all I care she can- You know what never mind. If you didn't kill Finn who did you kill?"

"Let's just say if she might be coming to the Ghoulies for some new muscle." Veronica looked at him wide-eyed.

"Oh, mierda you killed Aiden and Caden?"