Helpline ((Jughead Jones)) 2

12

That night, Jughead had invited Betty and Kevin around as well, much to Toni and I's distaste. Toni, similar to I, was worried that Jughead and Betty would become too close. She knew our history, after I told her everything that happened related to Jason's murder, and my sister and I's attempted suicide. She was also aware of how close Jughead and Betty had become. So, when we were all sat around in the living area, to say T and I felt out of place would have been an understatement. Jughead was lay reading a book about ciphers on the sofa; Betty was ranting about the symbols, swearing she had seen them before; and Kevin was just eating chinese take-out.

"I've seen them before. It's driving me crazy that I can't figure out where." She said. We had been working on this for 45 minutes already and no one had gotten any closer to figuring it out.

"Maybe if you loosened your ponytail." I stated, with slight attitude laced into my voice. She had come in and sat down next to Jug straight away, so I took a seat next to Toni, silently glaring and sending rude comments her way. I felt eyes stare at me. Looking up, I saw Jughead looking up from the book and stare at me in bewilderment, Betty and Kevin matching his look, while Toni looked pleased. "What? That was a joke guys." I was half joking.

"Betty's ponytail is iconic and beyond reproach, you know this." I was taken aback by Kevin defending Betty. I didn't mean it in a malicious way.

"Kev, it's fine. At this point, i'm willing to try anything." She said, taking out her hair. The minute she moved, Jughead looked straight to her.

"Per Mrs. Peroo's books, I've been looking for common-letter associations, like T-H, A-N, I-N-G." Jughead announced, trying to steer this code-breaking group back on course and away from his Girlfriend potentially arguing with one of his best friends.

"We've been looking for double letters, like double L." I replied, but Jughead didn't even look at me.

"Four letter words like 'Kill'." Toni added. Earning a statement of how morbid it is from Kevin. It was more than obvious that Kevin didn't like Toni, and Betty was moving in that direction. The group alone were always closer when I wasn't around, so it was no surprise that I got on better with my sister than the Northside girls, and better with Toni, who didn't have any girl friends that were a Serpent.

"We don't know if it's in English. This could be an anagram." Jughead through out. Betty made another comment of her knowing, or having seen, this code before.

Jughead, ever trying to keep the peace and keep us on track, asked us to list everything that we know about the guy.

"He's a white male, in his 40s. Like almost every serial killer ever." Toni answered.

"He means why. Why is he killing people? Or at least, why now?" Jughead, for the first time since everyone entered the trailer, looked at me and smiled, nodding to the group. He knew that I could read his brain better than anyone else.

"We know the Hood's obsessed with cleansing the town of sinners and hypocrites, right? And he seems to be attacking anyone with ties to the Northside." Betty's statement angered me. I knew exactly where she would be going with this, that it had to be someone from the Southside. After spending a week getting to know the Serpents, I could see why they hated the Northside so much.

"Here we go with the fake news again. You Northsiders and your privilege." Toni began. Before she could continue, however, I jumped in.

"All Northsiders do is demonize the Southside, so of course you think the Black Hood's from there." Toni smiled at me in thanks. If, someday, I wanted to be a Serpent, then I would prove that I had T's back, especially when I shared the same opinion. Betty hated the Southside as much as any Northsider. It made me glad that I left the discriminating side of Riverdale. Yes, the Southside had gangs and drugs and a lower employment rate and a fraction of the daily income of Northsiders, but the Serpents weren't a part of the hard drugs community. They were everyone's criminal because the Northside didn't know of the Ghoulies.