Keep It

Two

"So we have a lot to discuss..." Jughead starts, slurping the last of his milkshake. Betty is seated right across from me and Derek is to my left. I set down my hands in front of me and give him a nod to continue.

"First off, Cheryl told the cops new info on that day at Sweetwater River. She helped Jason run away... They staged the entire thing. He didn't drown. He was shot..." Jughead said, trying to keep his voice down. "They don't know how long it was until he died but they are doing the autopsy today..."

I felt my face pale and I could swear I was going to hurl. I straightened and looked down at my hands. I was about to speak before Betty spoke up.

"There's something else... Veronica, you know the new girl, and I found something. Something pretty terrible..." Betty looked to me with a glimpse of guilt and sorrow before looking down at her hands. "The football players. Chuck, Moose.... Reg..." She paused and looked at me once more. "They have a book. A book of all of their 'conquests' so to speak. Veronica is in it. That's how she found out... They keep scores."

I felt my stomach drop. Why would Reggie be apart of this? He has always been so good to everyone... What was he thinking?

"A-are you sure? Reggie?" I asked. She slowly nodded and looked towards Derek for help. Help to calm me down since he is the only other person who can do it. "Don't..." I say curtly, looking at Derek. I stand up and make my way out of Pop's. I was almost to my car when a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, turning me back around. Sure enough, it was Derek...

"Why are you leaving?" He asks.

"Why do you always do that?" I throw back. He gives me a confused look.

"Do what?" He furrows his brows. I look down at my arm and his hand wrapped around it.

"That..." I almost whisper. He instantly lets go of my arm and takes a step back. I turn to get in my car.

"Jason's funeral is tomorrow. Betty wanted me to remind you." He spit before walking back into Pop's. I roll my eyes and put the keys into the ignition.

•

Jason's funeral is today. It's Saturday. I find it strange to have a funeral on a Saturday rather than a Sunday but it isn't up to me. Betty is picking up Derek and Jughead before they come to get me.

I curled my hair and pinned one side up with a bobby-pin. I put in my contacts that I almost never wear and applied some light blush and some mascara to define my lashes and green eyes. I slip into my black dress. It's a mid-thigh strapless dress. It's very simple and elegant. I put on some black flags before walking down stairs.

"You look nice." Reggie says. He is wearing a nice tux and is staring at me in a strange way. I feel sick looking at him. My brother, the player... The user... I still can't believe that he was apart of that book. I nod my head and grab my phone off the counter.

I was just about to call Betty when I hear them walk through the door. Derek steps into view first. He is wearing black slacks with a nice black button down shirt. His hair is messy in a nice way and he is wearing nicely shined shoes. I pull my eyes away from him and down to my feet.

Derek stops dead in his tracks when he sees me. I can't make out his emotion but it's something between shock and lust? I've never worn a dress before because it's not my thing.

"Woah..." He chokes out. He blinks rapidly as if trying to see if I'm real. I smile at him before turning to see Jughead and Betty. They are both laughing at each other not noticing Derek's little... Reaction.

Reggie leaves the house just as Betty closed the door. I let out a deep breath and looked at my friends. They all had their eyes on me.

"What?"

"Did you say anything to him? About... Ya know..." Jughead attempts to ask. I shake my head before turning around to grab my purse.

"Let's go to a funeral..." I mutter before walking past them and out the door.

•

"Thank you all for joining us today on this tragic occasion..." Mr. Blossom starts. He was at the door to greet us when we walked in. The whole school is here. Hell the whole damn town is here. Cheryl and Mrs. Blossom are seated in the front.

"Jason....." He drifted off. I wasn't paying attention. I couldn't. My mind was still stuck on Reggie and the book, and Derek and the way he's been acting recently.

Why would Reggie be apart of something so juvenile and disgusting...? Why would he agree to have it documented? Who came up with this game? Reggie? Moose? Chuck?

Why does Derek keep grabbing my arm when I walk away from him? Why does he always stare at me? Is there something wrong with me? Does he like me? Do I like him?

"Hey... Hey! Its over... Everyone is heading to the reception." Betty says yanking me away from my thoughts. Her and Jughead follow Derek into the next room. I get up and bump into an older guy with a long beard and a black, messy beanie.

"Oh. I-I'm sorry. I didn't see where I was going..." I stutter, utterly terrified. He grunted and fixed his jacket before looking at me.

"You northsiders really don't know your place..." He growled. Now, I'm usually very quiet but I am also a very confrontational person so his tone was irritating me.

"Excuse me? It was an accident and I apologized you pompous ass... What the hell is your problem?" I press, slightly nervous. He stepped closer to me. I held my breath and as face got closer to mine. His large hand grabbed my wrist and squeezed. Hard.

"Listen to me you little bitch... You may think you're higher than me, but I assure you... You're not. So find your ground otherwise you'll end up six feet under it..." He threatened as he squeezed harder. I let out a small whimper and tried desperately to pull away. He step closer and yanked down on my arm causing me to let out a light scream.

"That's enough Mustang!" I heard a familiar voice shout.

Derek...

Mustang backed off but still held a hard grip on my wrist. As he turned to face Derek I noticed he was wearing a serpent jacket. He walked closer to Mustang and stopped a few feet in front of us. His gaze moved from Mustang's face, filled with anger to his hand around my wrist and finally to me, as i bit my lip trying hard not to let out a scream from the pain of his grip.

"Let her go, Mustang. She isn't worth anything to you." Derek said his voice low. He took another step towards us.

"Maybe, but she is worth something to you... And let me remind you that you are just a little serpent." Mustang smirked at him. His grip tightened once more and I feared that my wrist would fall off. I let a single tear fall and bit down on my lip even harder. I felt a sharp pain and something inside my mouth.

I'm bleeding...

Blood trickled down my throat as well as down the front of my lip. Derek noticed this and made his way towards me. He tried tanking Mustang's grip from me but it only willed him to hold on tighter.

Finally I let out a loud shrill which then sent in Jughead and Betty. Derek had heard and seen enough. He hit Mustang on the side of the head causing him to fall over, taking me with him. I fell backwards and hit my head on the stairs.

I began to see stars as I slowly sat up. Mustang was on the ground rubbing his head and Derek was at my side examining my lip.

"Your lip looks fine but we need to get your head looked at..." He murmurs. He helps me up and him, Betty, Jughead, and I headed to the hospital.

Damn, Never a dull moment.