Issues ▷ Reggie Mantle

FIVE

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FIVE; WHITE IN A FIELD OF BLACK

     KALANI LEARNED FIVE new things about Reggie. First thing — Reggie liked to buy flowers. She didn't yet learn the reason behind it, but there was always a fresh bouquet of roses at her door when she left for school in the morning. Her mother would have to keep buying vases at the local market just to keep them alive.

     Second thing — Reggie was probably the sweetest boy alive. Archie couldn't even compete with him. Reggie made sure that Kalani always knew how much she meant to him. During class, he would pass her notes that had small compliments in them. Although Kalani would roll her eyes and call him names, she truly adored them with all of her heart.

     Third thing — Reggie was defensive. A recent rumor about Kalani being the next person to be written down in the football players' book had spread. Reggie was quick to shut every single whisper down by spreading a new rumor that he would pummel anyone who spoke ill of his girlfriend.

     Fourth thing — Reggie was actually very funny. When he didn't have classes with Kalani, he kept thinking of brand new jokes to tell her the next time he saw her. She never knew humor was a trait she needed in a boyfriend, but Reggie opened new doors for characteristics she needed to look out for.

     And the last thing — Reggie had a daily routine. Get up in the morning, text Kalani to make sure the roses were delivered to her door, get to school, find Kalani, go to football practice, tutoring with Kalani, then go home.

     Kalani took pride in knowing that she was present in half of his daily routine.

     However, dating Reggie didn't stop her from reality. Jason Blossom was still dead, and Betty and Jughead were out for his killer. Luckily, Grundy had disappeared from Riverdale, so Betty didn't have as much on her mind. Kalani hasn't spoken a word to Archie since Grundy's leave, but she supposed he needed time to cool down. Reggie wasn't much of a help either — when they would walk down the hallways, he would announce to everyone that he and Kalani were dating, and that he was the luckiest student on campus.

     "This is how my dad had his Jason Blossom murder board before it was trashed," Kevin said, pinning another notecard to the board. After the night at the drive-in, Kevin came home to discover that his house was ransacked. There was currently an ongoing investigation since Kevin's dad was the town sheriff.

     "Any leads on who did that?" Jughead questioned. Currently, Kalani, Jughead, Betty, and Kevin were in the newsroom, sleuthing. "And what they were looking for?"

     "Definitely not Reggie," Kalani spat in horror, removing his notecard from the board. She didn't even know how it got up there. Jughead exchanged a glance with her. He wasn't very fond of her new beau. Jughead supposed Kalani tried to mend things, though. The best she'd gotten close to was Reggie shaking Jughead's hand.

     "Nope. No fingerprints. They stole a bunch of files, background checks, and all the video and audio tapes of police interviews," Kevin informed the group.

     They heard the click of a door, and Trev entered. "Hey, Betty," he smiled brightly.

     Kalani raised a curious eyebrow as Betty greeted him.

     "Sorry to interrupt."

     "Uh, no, it's okay," Betty said cheerily. "We're just working on-"