1 | There's a Ghost [JUGHEAD JONES]

EIGHT

↳ CHAPTER EIGHT:

AND THE PLOT THICKENS ↵

AFTER VIRGINIA STARED AT THE SCATHING ARTICLE on her mother for an hour, Jughead dragged her to school. It was finally time to get a confession out of Doiley. It would be great for the school's newspaper and Jughead was itching in excitement.

"If you publish a story saying I fired that gun, my life will be ruined. I'll be banished from the Adventure Scouts, and charged with a misdemeanor." Doiley sat in the chair in the center of the room, as if Betty wanted to mimic a police interrogation. The trio sat against a table, arms crossed as they waited for Dilton Doiley to continue.

"So, what if I have a better story? If I tell you what I know, promise me the gunshot stays between us." He scrunched up his nose, adjusting his glasses with his forefinger.

"You have our word. As journalists." Betty promised Doiley, leaning forward with a genuine smile. Virginia didn't know why Betty said that, journalists tend to lie.

"I saw something at Sweetwater River. Something nobody else saw." Doiley gulped as he looked at the three teenagers in front of him. "Ms. Grundy's car, by the river's edge. She was there."

Virginia paled and she dared not turn to Jughead in that moment. She couldn't give away what she knew. Betty thanked Doiley for coming in and she walked him out, leaving Virginia with Jughead. Jughead had his eyes closed as he took in this information and the consequences that could come from this.

"Jug– we have to do something!" Virginia grabbed onto Jughead's arm, nervous. She looked towards the door, waiting for Betty to come back. She bit her lip harshly and Jughead's eyes narrowed in the small amount of fresh blood that poured from a small wound.

"We can't, Gin." Jughead said in frustration as he looked down at his best friend. "Betty wouldn't let this story die!"

"So, Archie's screwed then?" Virginia asked softly, glancing up at the tall boy she was falling for. She wiped her lips with the back of her pale hand, scrunching her nose at the sight of blood.

"It looks like it."

º º º

JUGHEAD, BETTY, KEVIN, AND VEROINCA RESTED in a booth at Pop's, waiting for Virginia to get off of work.

"The drive-in closing is one more nail in the coffin that is Riverdale. No, forget Riverdale– the coffin of the American dream. As the Godfather of indie cinema, Quentin Tarantino, likes to say–"