CHAPTER SIX

INVESTIGATIONS

"What makes you think that I'll help you?" Katherine asked over the phone.

"Damn it, Kat, you owe me!" A voice hissed on the other line.

"I'll think about it, Jason." The brunette murmured and hung up.

Katherine Parker hated doing favors, especially the ones that got her in trouble. But, just as Jason said, she owed it to him. The brunette put a sweatshirt over her pajama top, tiptoed to the door and left.

"What exactly am I doing here?" Katherine sighed, making her presence known.

"Kat?" Cheryl frowned as soon as she saw the girl. The Blossom twins were standing beside the river.

"Wait here." Her brother replied as he and Kat went away to walk through the woods.

Just as they reached a place where Cheryl wouldn't hear them, Jason roughly grabbed the brunette's arm,
"Me and Polly are leaving, alright?! The blackmailing and the threats stop, is that clear?!"

"I'll have to think about it, JJ." Katherine smirked, making the red headed boy scold,
"Just kidding... "

"Good." He spat,
"Because if anybody finds out about me and Polly--"

"My lips are sealed," the brunette interrupted,
"Goodbye, Jason."

And with that, she left, thinking that nobody saw her and Jason...

♢♢♢

"So, how was your date with Chuck?" Katherine played with Veronica's hair as the raven haired girl took out some books for her next lesson.

"Chuck has muscles for days, but his conversation is not the stuff of Oscar Wilde, or even Diablo Cody." She laughed, closing her locker. Betty and Kevin stood right beside the brunette.

"Hey, Veronica." One of Cheryl's so-called friends smirked,
"How was the Sticky Maple you had last night?"

"The what now?" The raven haired girl scoffed. Katherine and Betty shared a glance.

"The Sticky Maple Chuck gave you? How was it?"

"We had a brownie sundae, if that's what you hyenas mean." Veronica raised her eyebrow as the two girls left.

"Oh, my God!" Kevin exclaimed as he looked down at his phone.

"What?" The raven haired girl questioned as she snatched the phone from Kevin,
"What the hell is a Sticky Maple?!"

"It's kind of what it sounds like." Katherine gulped, looking at the frustrated girl who scrolled through Kevin's phone.

"It's a Riverdale thing."

"No, Kevin, it's a slut-shaming thing." Veronica yelled, gaining attention from the students around her,
"And I'm neither a slut, nor am I going to be shamed by someone named, excuse me, Chuck Clayton."

"Ronnie--" Betty tried to calm her down, but was cut off.

"Does he really think he can get away with this? Does he not know who I am? I will cut the brakes on his souped-up phallic symbol!" Veronica frowned as she looked at her friends for moral support.

"Or we can go to Principal Weatherbee." Betty suggested, making the brunette shoot her a glare.

"About the coach's son? Who is captain of the football team, and Riverdale High's resident golden boy?" Katherine scoffed.

"Or I can expose him in the pages of the Blue and Gold." The blonde suggested again,
"Yeah, I can do that!"

"Spoken like a true good girl who always follows the rules. Well, I don't follow rules, I make them, and when necessary, I break them." Veronica angrily shoved Kevin against the locker and was on her way to the boys' locker room as Betty and Katherine tried to keep up with her,
"You wanna help me get revenge on Chuck, Betty, awesome, but you better be willing to go full dark, no stars. What do you say, in or out?"

♢♢♢

"Move," Veronica exclaimed as her and the girls entered the changing room,
"Excuse me."

"Veronica?" Archie questioned as the raven haired girl accidentally bumped into him, almost making the towel hanging around his torso fall off,
"Betty? Kat? What are you guys doing here?"

"Don't worry about it." Veronica was about to walk away, but Archie stood in her way,
"I mean it, Andrews! Hit the showers and stay out of my way."

The raven haired girl cleared her throat, gaining Chuck's attention, who was talking to Moose,
"Huh, B and V. And Kitty-Kat. Menage a right on. Ladies."

"This is disgusting." Veronica exclaimed, showing the picture to Chuck,
"Take it down."

"Whoa, whoa." The boy put raised his arms in defense,
"Why are you so wound up? It's a badge of honor, and you're not exactly virgin territory after your closet date with Andrews."

"You're an ass." Katherine hissed, making some of the guys around her laugh.

"Okay, that's beyond irrelevant, Chuck," Betty frowned,
"You're not allowed to go around humiliating girls, for any reason, under any circumstances, you-- you jerk!"

"Look, I get you're not a closet kind of girl, but hey, if you wanna ride the Chuck Wagon, that can be arranged." Chuck replied, making Betty cringe.

"Let's keep this simple, so that your preppy-murderer half-brain can grasp it." Veronica scoffed, earning a glare from Chuck himself,
"Take. This. The hell. Down."

"That high-toned bitch attitude may have worked on the betas you dated in New York, but you're in Bulldog territory." Chuck smirked. The boys around him started barking and laughing, which made Veronica gulp,
"But please, fight back. You'll only make it harder on yourself."

♢♢♢

The next day, Betty gathered some girls around, who claimed they were also humiliated by Chuck or the other team players. Katherine decided to join too.

"This story is bigger than we thought." Betty said as soon as Veronica entered the room,
"I started asking around, to see if what happened to you happened to anyone else, and if anyone would go on record."

"I will." Ethel nodded,
"One hundred percent."

"Okay." The blonde smiled,
"It's five guys on the football team: Chuck and his posse. Ethel was about to tell us."

"One day last year, Chuck and I talked in the library for 10 minutes. I helped him with a Pre-Cal problem, and nothing happened," Ethel explained,
"But the next day, he started telling people that I let him do stuff to me. Like, sex stuff. And then, he or one of his goons wrote 'Sloppy seconds' on my locker."

"Yes, yes, we've all heard your tragic origin story." Ethel's story was interrupted by Cheryl, who had just entered the room.

"I'm so, so sorry, Ethel." Betty tried to comfort the poor girl,
"That's horrible."

"Those morons had already crossed 'horrible'. They're manipulating, selfish, and... They're just assholes!" Katherine rambled.

"Well, it's not as horrible as being a suspect in your own brother's torture-murder case, but we all have our crosses." Cheryl put her two cents in,
"In the meantime, River Vixen practice starts in five minutes, sluts."

"They're ruining our lives, and to them it's just a game!" Ethel sobbed,
"They keep score and--"

"Wait, what do you mean by 'keep score?'" Veronica questioned.

"Each conquest earns them points." Ethel explained,
"They keep track in some secret playbook."

"Okay, we have to talk to Weatherbee." Betty suggested.

"I already tried." Ethel exclaimed as the blonde girl hugged her,
"Weatherbee said that he didn't find anything."

"Okay, we need undeniable proof."

"Proof of what, Nancy Drew?" Cheryl scoffed,
"That boys will be boys? And that playbook reeks of suburban legend."

"How would you know, Cheryl?"

"Because, Frida Shallow, before he died, my brother was co-captain of the football team with Chuck, and Jason never mentioned it, and he never would've allowed it."

"Your brother wasn't Jesus Christ, Cheryl!" The brunette exclaimed, earning a glare from the red head,
"He wasn't an innocent kid, that's all I'm saying..."

"Okay, well, I never met your brother, but I'm not lying about what happened to me. And Ethel's not lying either. Proof or no proof, book or no book, I am going scorched earth on these privileged, despicable miscreants." Veronica spat, trying to intimidate the red head,
"You wanna get caught in that backdraft, Cheryl? Call me, or any of these beautiful, young, strong, intelligent women "slut" one more time..."

♢♢♢

Just before school ended, Betty was told where the boys kept the book. When everyone was gone from the school building, Betty, Veronica, Kevin decided to find that book no matter what it takes. Of course, Katherine joined too...

"Football players behaving badly, what else is new? Steubenville, Glen Ridge. The coach's son being the ringleader." Veronica grumbled as the four students walked around the dark halls with flashlights,
"I mean, just how depraved is this town?"

"Color me impressed." Cheryl Blossom appeared out of nowhere, making them all gasp as they turned around,
"a B and E with B and V. Oh, and Kat."

"You scared the crap out of us!" Katherine exclaimed in displeasure.

"What would your holy roller mother say about this, Betty?" The red head ignored Kat's comment.

"What are you doing here, Cheryl?" Betty asked in confusion, clearly not wanting the red headed girl to bother her.

"And where did you get those thigh-high boots? They're amazing!" Kevin whispered, almost making the brunette snort.

"Trev told Valerie, who told Josie, who told Ginger, who told Tina, who told me," Cheryl explained,
"And I thought I would help out."

"Help? Or derail our investigation?" Betty crossed her arms over her chest.

"Get over yourself, Betty." The red head shone her flashlight at the blonde, making her eyes squint from the light.

"Hey guys, get in here." The argument was interrupted by Ethel, who held the book in her hands as she opened the last page,
"Trev was right. They didn't even bother to hide it."

"New girl? Is that what I'm reduced to?" Veronica complained as she found her name written,
"Nine points?"

"Better than 'Big Girl'" Ethel sighed,
"Seven point five."

As they all looked through the names of poor girls who had been humiliated, Katherine spotted the name that was familiar,
"Polly's in this book," She pointed out,
"Next to Jason's name."

"I'm so sorry, Betty." Veronica put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"This isn't-- Jason would never--"

"It's right there, Cheryl! Your brother hurt my sister!" Betty exclaimed on the verge of tears,
"This is what guys like Jason and Chuck think about women. We're objects for them to abuse. And when they're done with us, they shame us into silence. They have zero remorse for the lives they destroy!"

Katherine spotted her own name, it was also next to Jason's,
"Katherine: rejected, but came out as asexual. One point..." The brunette scoffed as she read,
"This is disgusting."

"You and Jason...?" Veronica questioned.

"It's a long story."

"Maybe I don't know Jason." Cheryl quietly mumbled, feeing guilty for her brother's actions.

"I'll take a picture. We'll show it to Weatherbee." Veronica said as she took multiple pictures of the book,
"It'll be the perfect cover for your exposé, Betty."

"Yeah, but..." Betty huffed,
"These girls deserve justice, don't you think, Cheryl? You want vengeance? You wanna go full dark, no stars, Veronica? I'm with you. And I have a plan."

♢♢♢

Betty told Katherine about her "genius" plan, to which the brunette laughed, thinking that Betty wouldn't go that far.

Fiona Parker thought that it would be good for both herself and her daughter to go to the Taste of Riverdale.

"Welcome all, to the first annual Taste of Riverdale." Mayor McCoy greeted the guest,
"As a lead-up to our 75th anniversary jubilee, this event proves that Riverdale truly is a town that, when tragedy knocks us down, we get right back up!"

The audience cheered for Mayor McCoy and continued doing whatever it is they were doing: eating, chatting or just waiting in the crowd.

Katherine was told to not leave her mother's side, but as soon as Fiona Parker was too busy having a conversation with Veronica's mother, the brunette ran over to the crowd, so that Fiona wouldn't find her anytime soon.

"Hey, Kat." Katherine was caught off guard. She let out a gasp and turned around, only to see Cheryl.

"What do you want, Cheryl?" The girl raised her eyebrows. The red head was still mad at Katherine, but deep down Cheryl knew that the brunette was the only real friend she had.

"I need to know what happened between you and Jason."

"Oh," the brunette playfully looked at her former friend,
"What makes you think I'll tell you?"

"Because I told Sheriff Keller that you were with us on the 4th of July," Cheryl said in a serious tone,
"So, either way, you're gonna have to confess."

Katherine felt a sudden pain in her chest. She started breathing heavily as her eyes started to sting, tears ready to be spilled. The brunette held it in for just a few more seconds, shot a quick smile at Cheryl and ran away, tears running down her face. Just as she was about to exit the building, she bumped into somebody, almost falling down, but the person held her in place.

"Whoa--" Katherine looked up at her savior, realizing that it was Jughead Jones,
"Kat? Is everything alright?"

"Does it look like I'm alright, Jones?!" She screamed and ran over to the doors, slamming them on her way out...

♢♢♢

The next morning, Katherine felt unwell. She remembered certain flashback of the previous night.

As soon as the brunette was in her room, she slid down the door. The girl was crying hysterically, slowly realizing what a horrible person she was.

"You're guilty!" The voices rushed through her mind,
"It's all your fault!"

"I didn't mean to..." Katherine let out a shaky whisper.

Fiona Parker was an understanding mother. She let her daughter stay in and told the teachers that Katherine was not feeing well. Fiona cried too. When she came back from the Taste of Riverdale, she was about to lecture her daughter for leaving. However, as soon as Fiona entered Kat's bedroom, she saw her daughter lying on the floor in tears. The poor girl was already asleep, so all her mother could do was pick the girl up and put her to bed...

♢♢♢

In the meantime, Jughead and Betty had to hear what Dilton Doiley had to say about firing the gun on July 4th.

"If you publish a story saying I fired that gun, my life will be ruined. I'll be banished from the Adventure Scouts, and charged with a misdemeanor." He pointed out, looking at the two with a pleading look,
"So, what if I have a better story? If I tell you what I know, promise me the gunshot stays between us."

"You have our word." Betty said as Jughead and she shared a glance,
"As journalists."

"I saw something at Sweetwater River. Something nobody else saw." Dilton started,
"Ms Grundy's car. By the river's edge. She was there..."

"Huh?" Betty questioned, while Jughead had thought of his own.

"And that's not all..." He continued,
"I also saw Katherine Parker. I saw her arguing with Jason and then, she left with some guy. Katherine Parker was probably the last person to see Jason, except for Cheryl."

Dilton Doiley's words snapped Jughead out of his worries about Archie.
Katherine Parker - the girl that intrigued him could be the prime suspect in the murder of Jason Blossom...