Valentina

I enter the room with Reggie by my side. Cheryl had the brilliant idea of asking one of the biggest players of the entire school to be my date for the dance.

Not that I'm complaining, I really didn't want to come alone and Cheryl is the best friend ever for remembering I have no one. And I truly mean that.

I have no one.

"How are you feeling tonight?" Reggie asks, taking my hand in his as he looks around, possibly trying to find his friends so he can ditch me and have a good time.

"I'm actually surprised you came with me." I smile up at him, already knowing the answer. Cheryl made him do it.

"Well..." He scratches the back of his neck and I smirk. "Cheryl asked me to take you this morning, and I told her I thought of that before she talked to me."

"Oh, really?" I don't like admitting this but Reggie surprised me.

"Yes." He doesn't say anything else as I see the lightest of blushes tinting up his cheeks.

I don't comment on the fact he possibly had something else to say, so I take his arm and guide him to the dance floor.

"Wanna dance?" I ask, guiding his hands to my waist.

"Yeah, why not?" He breathes on my cheek as we swirl around the students. "You look beautiful tonight."

And it's true. I don't want to brag but I look really hot tonight, all thanks to my mother. She can be old-fashioned and mean sometimes but she knows how to create the perfect look and make me look- and feel- like a superstar.

The tight black dress my mother picked for me has to huge slits on my thighs and it falls on my waist like a glove. My face is not caked-up with makeup, as I don't particularly enjoy heavy makeup. So I asked for something simple, and if there's something Susan Adams knows is to apply makeup. She always looks flawless, without a hair out of place and she gave me that look as well. Bright red lips, some mascara and eyeliner and my mother eyed me with pride. Leaving my hair down in soft waves, she ushered me out the door and into Reggie's arms.

Now, back go the dance. I'm in Reggie's arms, dancing to the sound of pop music. Despite the lively tune the dj decided to play, we slowly move about the space we can find, staring at each other's eyes as we dance.

"Valentina..." Reggie starts. "I didn't bring you here just because Cheryl asked me to, you know?"

"You said that already."

"But I didn't clarify. I have my reasons." He begins to lick his lips nervously and my eyes fall on his mouth. "I-I I've wanted to tell you this for a while now."

He lowers his head until his nose is touching mine. I close my eyes and let his nose trace small patterns on my cheeks. His lips find the corner of my lip and he plants small kisses up and down my cheeks, then does the same down my neck. 

I let myself go with the flow, not worried about the possible awkward silence we might face for the next few days. If we kiss, this could be the end of our friendship as we know it. It could get awkward and we could never speak to each other again.

I don't even have to stop whatever we are doing, because my dead Cheryl chose this exact moment to gather our attention and make yet another speech.

What's with this girl and her speeches?

Reggie takes his hands off my waist and puts some distance between our bodies. I sigh, desperation rising to my throat. Seems like I won't get my first kiss today.

"Good evening, friends. Are you all having a good time?" The crowd cheers and I clap my hands. "As honorary chairperson and de facto queen of tonight's semiformal, it is my great pleasure to introduce this evening's main entertainment. To know them is to be obsessed with them. Though they usually perform their own material, tonight, they're making an exception and debuting a cover of the song my parents claim they were listening to the night Jason and I were conceived. This one's for you, JJ. I give you Josie and the Pussycats!"

The students cheer once again, and I turn to face. But he's not there anymore. Jerk, I knew it. If only I had done something sooner. Like staying home and watching some random movies online.

With mellow rock music playing in the background, courtesy of Josie and the Pussycats, I rock my body to the rhythm of the song.

No one interrupts my moment, and I gladly spin around the couples cuddling and making out on the dance floor. As a free butterfly, I let my wings do their own pirouettes and let my head fall back, giggles erupting from the back of my throat.

Sweat starts tickling my neck, the intense lights illuminating a path towards the doors. In my fertile imagination, the light fell on the floor as a sing for me to follow it. "Follow your dreams". That's what I imagine the light would say, if only lights could speak.

I smile happily as I swirl towards the double doors, in a state of delirium, a blonde man standing by the doorway. He smiles at me, I smile back; he sticks his hand out in a very gentlemanly way and bows down. I giggle and take his outstretched hand, an electric bold running up my arm.

"Hello, Valentina."

"Hey." I whisper back, too surprised and intoxicated by the music filling my ears.

I let the blonde man's arms guide me around the school halls, his brilliant smile blinding me for a few seconds. The idea that a smile song could bring such vivid moments to me is exciting.

Extending my arm to reach for his arm, I grasp it with my hand and follow him towards the end of the hallway and inside one of the restrooms. It's a girl's restroom, probably not the best place to hide during a dance.

I can still hear the hypnotic sound of the song playing, the happy couples laughing and having a good time. While I'm here, alone.

No, I'm not alone. He's here with me. He is here.

"You came back." I spin around to meet his shiny blue eyes I've missed so much. He looks older, more mature, and his eyes hold some kind of darkness behind the warm colors.

"I've never left you, Valentina." He adds, reaching for a strand of my our and putting it behind my ear. "You've grown since the last time I saw you."

"It has been almost ten years..." I whisper and look up at his face, remembering every detail, every small imperfection. "Why now?"

"Because you're going to suffer. More than you're already suffering, so prepare yourself for pain and sorrow."

"Why are you here? I could feel the disaster coming from afar since Jason's disappearing."

"You know he didn't really disappear." He takes my hand in his and looks me deep in the eyes. "Beware of the dangers of Riverdale."

His soft lips land on my forehead and I sigh. I've missed this. I remember the times we used to talk for hours and never be bored, how he would wrap his protective arms around me and carry me home whenever I got hurt during one of our games.

He is my anchor, he is my other half. I need him in my life and I can't continue this without him. There's a hole inside my chest that won't go away.

Unless he's around. And it has been a while since I last saw him.

When the warmth irradiating from his body suddenly disappears, I look from left to right and even look under the sinks. But he's long gone. Again.

"No." I fall on my knees, the magic of the moment long gone, and as reality finally hits me in the face.

He's gone.

"Viktor!"

ΨΨΨ

Pop's Chock'lit Shop is one of the most popular spots for teenagers to hang out after school and during breaks. The girls and I usually stop by to have a smoothie and then go back to school for cheerleading practice.

At midnight, I check my phone before opening the door, the small bell signaling my entrance. My eyes roam the booths and I sigh when a familiar face hiding behind his fancy laptop appears in front of me.

My heels click on the flooring as I walk to him, Jughead's eyes never leaving the screen, his fingers furiously typing on the keyboard. I admire how a single strand of his jet-black hair falls in his forehead and he doesn't do a thing to move it away. His eyes travel around the screen, not paying me any attention.

"Mind if I take a seat?" I ask, my hands playing with my small bag.

"Do whatever you want to do." His answer comes out softly, but I can see the hidden message behind his words. "Isn't that what you do every single day? What you've always done?"

I don't answer his mean comment. There really is nothing I can say to erase the pain I made him go through. I can't really understand why he is being so hard on me. I apologized, I cried and begged on my knees for him not to abandon me.

What did he do? He left.

"I'm sorry for what I've said... I know it probably doesn't mean a thing right now but I can't forgive myself for what I did." I nod my head and bite my lower lip, feeling another wave of tears and sadness hit me. "I wasn't thinking and it just- it came out of my mouth before I could control myself. I didn't really mean it."

Not receiving any sign from Jughead that he heard my words, I lower my head and turn around, pausing only to let out my final words. I promise, right here and right now, that I will never speak to him again, I won't try to look at him while at school and I certainly won't ask Archie for him. Since Archie is now one of the cool kids for being selected for the football team,  he started hanging out with my crew as well. Sometimes I talked to him about our friends and Jughead was one of the topics.

"I'm sorry I bothered you. It won't happen again."

Pop's being the only place in town that is still open at midnight, I leave my frenemy behind and order a milkshake to drink while driving home. Taking the small cup and giving Pop the money, I smile politely and find my way out the door. I feel eyes on my back as I leave the restaurant. But I don't turn around.

No, I lift my head and look up at the sky as if nothing is bothering me. As someone once told me: lift your head up, princess, don't let the crown fall.

Where is my prince then? Why did he have to die?

I really don't want to go back home yet. I don't want to enter that house and feel like there's nothing there to keep me standing on my own two feet.

That's when an idea pops on my mind and I smile. Not a happy smile, just a "I'm going to be grounded for years after my parents find out what I'm about to do" kind of smile.

The path towards our special place is cold, dark and dangerous, yet I don't care about the eminent danger around every corner. I have to be there, I have to find some closer.

As I'm getting closer to the river's edge, I feel my eyes water yet another time today. I feel like a little girl who can't control her own emotions. My feet guide me as my mind is no longer capable of processing anything at all.

"Why am I even here?" I ask out loud, sitting on the rocks above the river.

The soothing sound of the waves hitting my feet and the hard rocks is like a sweet lullaby to my ears. I let my eyes shut and head rest ok my knees, bringing my legs closer to my body as possible.

"I miss you." I whisper to the wind, letting my words fly away from me. "At least you're in a better place now, that house was a prison to you."

A weird noise comes from under my feet. I open my eyes and look down, yet I see nothing out of ordinary. Just the water, swirling and making its way down the course. I sigh. Not letting the small voice at the back of my head win, I take my phone out of my purse and turn the flashlight on.

My mind is so confused and fuzzy that I don't register what I see until a scream is erupting from my mouth and two boys come crashing down the rocks to meet me.

Jason Blossom, my best friend. Dead. Shot on the forehead.

I sob violently as I crawl down the rocks, scratching the palm of my hands and my knees on my way down.

Looking at his frozen face, the hole in his forehead now more prominent on his face, I clasp my hands on his cheeks and bring his face closer to me.

"No!" I yell on top of my lungs. "No, Jason, no! Not you too, please no."

Strong arms wrap themselves around my waist and bring me close to a strong chest. I wrestle against the hold this person has on me but nothing positive comes out of it. My body hurts, my hands and knees are badly hurt, blood running down my arms and legs. I cry against the person's chest, feeling the weight of the world falling down on my shoulders.

I found my best friend dead. Jason isn't missing, not anymore. He's dead.

In fact, he was murdered.

ΨΨΨ

By morning, everyone would be talking, texting, and posting about it. We'd all be feeling it. That the world around us had changed, maybe forever. That Riverdale wasn't the same town as before. That it was a town of shadows and secrets now. On Monday, the autopsy on Jason's body would take place. And on Tuesday, halfway through fifth period, the first arrest would be made.

ΨΨΨ

Hello again guys! So the past two chapters were episode number one of Riverdale (aka the best tv series ever). Hope you liked this as much as I did, because I love writing this and I hope you love it too. I just had to keep the last paragraph by Jughead. It was epic and I adore it.
This chapter is dedicated to PromisedNostalgia
I'll see you next time (soon).

Rita