Riverdale: What no one saw coming...

Chapter fourteen

Betty and Jughead raced down the long, cracked pathway down from the Keller house hold. Turning onto the great green abyss, heading directly for Riverdale High.

"Wait.. stop." Jughead stopped Betty in her tracks, giving her chance to refill her lungs with oxygen.

"What?" Betty asked, what could possibly be more important than escaping this situation all together.

"We cant go back to the school, not now. We have missed the first two periods and the last thing we want to do is draw attention to ourselves the day the sheriffs house was broken into."

"Your right."  Betty ran her slender fingers through the roots of her hair, stressed. "Then where to now?"

"I know some where.." He pondered after a brief moment of silence ."Follow me .." Jughead strutted down the viridescent field , west from the school. Still Betty had no idea where they were headed, but she trusted him. She knew where they were going they would be safe. So in turn, she caught up to the raven haired boy, taking in all his features whilst she had the chance. She knew soon they would have no time to admire one another, they had a story to write.

The pair passed Pop's on the journey, the smell of pancakes and bacon lingering in the air from breakfast. Jugheads mouth watered at the scent, and despite his mortal hankering for something fried and unhealthy he forged onwards passing the local corner shop and heading some what close to the south side of town.

Betty's heart raced, she had never been to the south side, and didn't want to. Not today anyway. Lucky for her, Jughead steered himself east heading for the local drive in.

Within days the drive in will be nothing but rubble, teared down by forklifts and trailers. Archie's dad had been given the drive in by a pair of anonymous buyers. From what Betty remembered , Jughead took the closing of the drive in pretty hard.

Heading through the back door , Jughead grabbed her arm pulling her sideways through a thin gap.

"Short cut , employee privilege." He called out, forcing Betty to stifle a laugh. Under any other circumstances, it would feel like two young lovers skipped school to go on an adventure and spend the day together. That feeling slightly shone through, lifting Betty off her feet. Then the memory of what they were actually doing re surfaced, making Betty fall down flat on her ass (figuratively not literally).

They reached the mid section of the large , oblong room. It resembled almost an office, unrecognisable as a form of ticket booth. They bypassed straight through the empty room, heading straight for a storage door, it reminded Betty of the bedroom from Harry Potter.

 Jughead reached down, slipping his hand behind the heel of his foot, revealing a short shiny key. Bettys mouth hung open, astonished. Unlocking the room, he held the door open allowing Betty to enter first. It was the projection room. Betty slowly spun on heels, taking in everything from the abandoned shoes to the old , springy mattress with thin, cotton covers laying on the floor in the corner. 

Connecting the dots, Betty came to a clear assumption leaving her eyes wide.

" Juggie.." She turned, careful how she worded what was to be said. " Were you ... living here before you moved in with Archie?"

He turned facing away from her, looking out to the empty drive in. Betty reached out, placing her hand tenderly upon his shoulder. He turned to face her. His face tender.

"Yeh, I did ..." He answered awkwardly looking down away from her.

"I thought you lived with your dad ..."

"No it was just easy to explain than my emergency contact being the local run down drive in!" He laughed a dry chuckle - full of emotion and pain.

"Hey..." She pushed his chin up , forcing eye contact between them. " Its okay..."

Jughead shook his head, expelling all the negativity in his mind.

"I'm fine.. lets just focus on the evidence." He said pulling out a small foldable desk. Sensing his discomfort , Betty dropped the subject. Seeing his sensitive side, reminded Betty that he was only human going through his own personal problems as well as taking on hers. A warm, fuzzy feeling appeared  below her ribs.

"So any idea's on what Joaquin would be doing at the sheriffs house? What would a south side serpent possibly doing at the place he is most likely to get in trouble, so unlike a verified crime henchman."

"Mabey he was the person who Kevin was talking too that night in the school! Mabey how was an accomplice to the murder. He helped Kevin kill Jason because he fell in love with ..." Bettys jaw fell wide and her piercing blue eyes grew to an indescribable  size.

"Oh god...." Betty said standing up from her uncomfortable position on the floor and began to pace the small enclosed room. She laced her hands around her hips, them moving her left hand to rest harshly on her fore head.

" Betty what is it?" Jughead jumped up ecstatic, worried about her. His main concern.

Betty was still vastly pacing, and beginning to hyperventilate.

"Betty calm down, tell me what's wrong." His words soothed her, tapping into something, calming her. It was almost magical.

She released a deep breath and looked him stern in the eyes.

"If Kevin was willing to kill the man he loved because he didn't return the affection... what would he do to the woman who broke them apart?"

Jugheads eyes felt wide. " Polly..."

"We have to go to her.. Now!"