LAST SUMMER [ARCHIE ANDREWS] - DISCONTINUED

eight

"SO, YOU'RE a suspect now?" Veronica asked Archie, right after he returned from telling Weatherbee and Sheriff Keller about the gunshot he heard. Kevin leaned forward, sucking on his licorice. "My dad says we all are."

"Not me, girl," Veronica said contentedly, "I don't know these people." Kara nodded in agreement from her perch on the side of Archie's chair. "Same here."

Kevin's eyes lit up. "Guys, should we maybe re-binge Making A Murderer tonight on Netflix?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrows. Betty shook her head. "Can't. Gotta stay late to work on the paper," she said, reaching forward to grab a piece of fruit from the tray on the coffee table.

Veronica nodded as well. "Count me out, too," she said, smiling to herself, "I've got a date." Kara raised an eyebrow and Archie looked at her. "You do?"

"Which Riverdale hottie made the cut?" Kevin asked, not at all enticed.

Just then, Chuck Clayton walked up, a smirk on his perfectly chiseled face. "Hey, Vee-Lo," he grinned, "I'll swing by the Pembrooke to pick you up at 8:00?"

Veronica bit her apricot lips, beaming. "I'll be waiting." He winked at her, shrugging on his jacket. "Cool."

"Chuck Clayton?"

"You're going on a date with Chuck?" Kevin asked incredulously. Veronica stared at them. Kara watched the interaction, looking to see Archie's reaction.

"He's kind of a player," Betty told her. Kevin glared at her. "Who cares? He's the hottest of hot, and he's the varsity coach's son, which," he said excitedly, "In Riverdale, that's like dating a Kennedy."

Veronica smiled.

-/-

"If print journalism is dead, what am I doing here?"

Betty and Kara turned to see Jughead leaning against the doorframe of the newspaper room, a dusty old classroom with dinosaur computers and a few cat posters. Not ideal.

"The Blue and Gold isn't dead, Juggy," Betty smiled at him, rubbing one of the old computers fondly. She wiped the dust onto her pants. "It's just dormant."

"But, waking up," Kara grinned, straightening up her papers. "You're writing a novel, right? About Jason Blossom?"

Jughead nodded, stepping further into the room. "Riverdale's own, In Cold Blood." Betty's ponytail bounced as she nodded fervently. "Which started out as a series of articles. I'm hoping you'd come write for the Blue and Gold."