Valentina

The morning after my mother's horrifying confession comes too soon. I stay in bed for most of the day, and no one tries to interrupt the sacred time I spent hiding from the world.

I receive a few text messages from Betty after not picking up any of her calls. Veronica and Archie tried reaching me as well, but I only silenced my phone. There's no way I'm capable of contacting another human being today.

Checking the numerous texts from Veronica and Archie, my eyes land on two critical ones and my heart almost jumps out of my body.

FP is in jail for killing Jason Blossom.

The other one is more reassuring that the first, and my breathing goes back to normal.

The gun they found on his trailer was planted by whoever killed Jason. We searched the entire place and found nothing. FP is being framed.

A knock on my door scares the living spirits out of my body, and I ease back into my covers as Viktor's head pops into my bedroom. The view is entertaining, a floating head smiling at me from the other side of my room.

As I said, entertaining.

"How are you feeling?" He asks, closing the door and moving towards my bed. "Mother wanted to come up and talk to you but I told her I would come."

"I'm good."

Viktor stares at my eyes before shaking his head. His ability to see right through me is unbelievable, but I'm glad he can do this. It means he knows me well enough to distinguish my many emotions.

"Are you going to forgive mother?"

"I have no idea what I'm going to do." I sigh, weighting my options. I can ignore my mother for the rest of my life or I can man up and try to understand why she did what she did. "The only thing I know for sure is that I want to meet my biological father."

"Just like that?" Viktor raises his eyebrows at me. "Are you sure? What makes you think you won't be instantly killed once you step in the Southside part of town?"

"If this person wanted to kill me, don't you think they would have done it already? It's not that hard to kill someone, not when the person is a teenager and a high school student. They could do it basically anywhere and blend in the background just as easily." I run out of breath after my long explanation, sure of my ideas. "And I don't want to me a prisoner inside my own house. I want to go back to school and live my life as I used to."

"There's no way you'll continue life where you left it. So many things have happened..."

"And you think I don't know that?" I raise my voice and take a deep breath. "I've been haunted by your fake death for years now, then Jason died and it happened all over again. The stares, the whispers and the pitiful looks I got from everyone. After that settled down, you decided to come back to life and shaken my world once again. I cannot find stability in my own family, I have to rely on a couple of friends to feel safe."

"Are you-"

"Yes!" I yell once again, this time not caring about my tone or who might hear me. "I'm saying that being here right now doesn't make me feel safe! This house is not a home, unfortunately for me. I am not afraid of dying, brother."

"Don't say that!" Viktor yells back, but I only smile sadly at the man looking st me.

"I've always wondered how I would die. Sometimes I wish I could die. Maybe in a horrible accident, maybe murderer. Just so I could see who really cares." Smiling at him, my heart breaks a little at the sight of his heartbroken eyes.

"Don't you dare say that again." Viktor hugs me to his side, and I close my eyes in silence.

There's nothing he can say to change my mind. Death is something I'm truly not afraid of.

I hear my phone ringing and almost push my brother out of the way to reach for it. Viktor gets to it first, as he is the one closest to the little table by my bed, where my phone rests.

"Is that Jughead?" I have a feeling he is calling me. Call it whatever you want -intuition, a feeling, spiritual guidance- but I can tell it's him calling.

"Yeah." He throws it at me and understands I need a moment to answer the call. "I'll be in the kitchen. Call me when you're done."

I answer the call with a soft grunt, and Jughead's voice blesses my ears as he speaks, worry lacing his words.

"Hey. You okay?" He asks, and I bite my lip to prevent the tears from falling down.

My eyes sting from holding the tears inside, but I can't cry. I've done enough of that.

"Not really." I say without moving from my same spot in bed. "Something happened last night..."

"What-"

"My mother told me the truth about myself." I silence Jughead with my words, and he listens carefully as I vent. "The man I grew up around -believing he was my father- is only a stranger."

"What do you mean?"

"My father is Michael Throne. A Southside Serpent." Viktor told me this piece of information last night, before leaving me to myself. "Besides that, I have a half-sister I never met and someone is trying to kill me."

"Someone is trying to kill you?" Jughead yells and I flinch. "Who?"

"I have no idea."

"Where are you right now?" He asks, as if knowing where I am can help him understand who's after me.

"I'm home, isolated from the world until I can think straight and find a positive side to all of this."

I suddenly remember his own situation, as complicated as mine and -if possible- even worse and more worrying.

"I want to meet you. I need to see you, be with you and make sure you're alright."

My heart jumps at his words. He has never -and I mean, never- given me a specific sign that he wants to meet me in person. Yes, we go to school together. Yes, we kissed a few times before. Yes, we went on numerous adventures growing up, but I always thought the feeling I had for him were one sided.

He's worried about me.

Then I remember the lies my mother fed me my entire life and the desire to be with Jughead only becomes stronger. I need him next to me, I need him to tell me everything is going to be alright. We are both drowning in scary situations, both of us lost in an ocean of lies and illusions.

"You know where I live." I whisper back after a few seconds.

"Are you sure you want me to go?" He asks, slightly unsure of himself.

"Please." A small tear rolls down my cheek and I hope with all my heart that he feels the desperation in my voice.

I need someone. And that someone is him.

"Then open the door. I'm right here."

I run downstairs, ignoring my mother's questioning eyes and the housemaids' yelps of surprise. The door is open when I get there, Viktor and Jughead having a little conversation outside. I only catch the end of it, and my brothers seems to be warning Jughead.

"Don't break my little sister's heart. She has had her fair share of disasters lately."

I can't hear Jughead's response, so I walk towards the pair and greet the mysterious boy. He smiles and grabs my hand. I take this as a good sign and take him upstairs to my room, hoping no one will follow us.

We both stand in the middle of my bedroom, not knowing where to start.

"Who's trying to kill you?" He asks, his hands quickly finding mine.

"I have no idea. But I want to find out." I look up at him, his clear eyes meeting mine. "How have you been?"

"Tired. And sad." He kisses my fingers and pulls me to his chest, embracing me.

Suddenly, all the pain and sadness I felt towards him disappear. It's like those moments never happened, because now I have him here with me. I feel warm and protected. Finally.

"I'm so sorry, Valentina." Jughead whispers near my ear, his heart beating under my ears. "I should have never said those horrible things to you. I just couldn't-"

"It's okay. I shouldn't have told you how I felt."

"No, no." He grabs my face with both hands, staring deeply into my eyes. "I am the one to blame. I couldn't understand how I felt about you, because I've never loved anyone this much and-"

"What?" I stare at his mouth, dumbfounded. I can't believe the words that just left his beautiful lips. "Yo-you love me?"

"Of course I do, Valentina." He lowers his head so our foreheads are touching. "Your birthday gift brought so many memories back. I don't want to lose them, and I certainly don't want to lose you."

We stand in silence for a while, just appreciating each other's company. I smile with my eyes closed, feeling so happy. I can't describe the way he makes me feel, just by standing near me.

"Can I do something?" Jughead asks and when I open my eyes, his are glued to my lips.

I nod, not trusting my voice. His face leans forward towards mine, and I smile happily once again. Meeting him halfway, our lips meet in a collision of feelings, warm and harsh feelings.

My heart accelerates inside my chest, and my hands find themselves wrapped around Jughead's shoulders. He pushes be backwards until my back hits the wall, his hands rushing to my waist. Our lips move together in a beautiful dance, just showing the other how much we can't live without this. Without the kisses, without the proximity.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you." He says after breaking the kiss. "And I love you."

"I love you too." 

ΨΨΨ

I finally convinced my mother to let me go to school. I've already missed enough days and I don't want to jeopardize my education because of a little death threat.

If someone wants to kill me, come and get me. After everything I've been through, death is something I'm not afraid of. If anything, I somehow welcome it.

Archie volunteered to pick me up from my house. On the way to school, he explains his plan to talk to Sheriff Keller about FP being framed. It's better if we solve this as soon as possible. We have time to spare before classes start, so Archie drives towards the police ration.

"Are you sure about this?" I ask, standing outside the building.

"Yes." Archie nods his head and the two of us open the heavy door, the smell of sweat and beer invading my nose.

"Excuse me, sir." Archie says to the officer at the front desk. "We need to see Sheriff Keller."

"Why?" He asks, not taking his eyes from the computer in front of him.

As if summoned by out anxiety, Sheriff Keller opens the door to his office and halts as his eyes land on us.

"What are you doing here?"

"There's been a huge mistake." I start, meeting him near the door. "Sheriff, we need to talk to you about FP Jones."

"What about him?" He sighs and motions for his office.

We don't have a chance to sit because Archie yells his response, the fear of having our friend's father in jail revealed by his tone.

"He's innocent. He's being framed."

Silence lingers in the air, the equivalent to bad news. No one stays silent for this long is good news follow their silence.

"Then why did he just confess?" Sheriff Keller drops the bomb on us and pats Archie in the back. "I'm sorry, kids, but there's nothing we can do for him."

Opening the door, he pushes us forward and leaves to deal with FP and some paperwork. We stand dumb folded in the entrance, surprised and in shock.

Without a warning, the ginger starts walking away from me, slamming the front door as hard as he can. The officer in the front desk jumps from the sudden sound.

"What now?" I ask, following Archie's retreating back to the car.

"Don't say a word about this to anyone." He says, opening the door for me. "We go to school, enjoy our time together and pray this situation is just a misunderstanding."

"Let's hope so."

The drive to school is filled with an awkward silence, both Archie and I hoping for a better outcome of this mess. We teach school in ten minutes, being immediately met by Betty and Veronica, the two girls bombarding us with questions.

I say my goodbyes to them, walking alone to my classes and smiling at people I know along the way. The one person I need to talk to is nowhere to be seen. Cheryl's window has been closed since last week. Her cellphone is unreachable and her mother won't let me in her house. The Blossoms' household became an unbreakable fortress, Cheryl being the lost princess.

Reaching the classroom, everyone's eyes land on me as I enter. Ignoring the whispers and stares, I walk to my desk and quietly sit and wait for the teacher to arrive. Classes are boring without my best friend.

At lunch, I gather my food and sit by Veronica. While Argue sits in silence, staring at his food, she and Betty were engaged in a conversation before I arrive, and quickly push me to the topic as soon as my tray hits the table.

"The police report said FP worked alone. No mention of your dad, Ronnie." Betty nods at Archie's words, supporting him.

"That's good news, right?" I say, smiling at the girl.

"I can't stop thinking that maybe my dad hired another Serpent to plant that gun." Veronica trembles from head to toe, and I place my hand on top of hers.

"Don't think about it. Everything is fine now, your father didn't do it." She nods and I smile at her scared figure.

"How's Jughead doing?"

"Not good." Betty replies, rubbing her hands on her face. "He's not coming in today. He's at the station."

"Being grilled by your dad." Veronica sends Kevin a look. I didn't even notice him next to Betty. He was silent he whole time.

"Who's just doing his job. I mean, of course he's gonna ask Jughead questions." Kevin defends himself. I feel sorry for him, having the town's Sheriff as his father can't be easy.

"Okay, well, he's wasting his time, Kevin." I smile sadly. I've been doing that a lot today. "Because FP didn't kill Jason."

"Valentina, he confessed."

"Or he was coerced." I reply, crossing my arms in front of my chest and resting them on the table, eyes fixated on him.

"Or he's protecting someone, maybe a Serpent." Kevin won't back down either, convinced of his ideas.

Betty steps forward to defend FP, clearing her throat before attacking. She has this vicious look in her eyes, sharp and intelligent.

"My mom saw him and Joaquin together."

"Don't! Do not drag my boyfriend into this." Kevin puts his hand in the air, stopping Betty from going any further.

My eyes travel around the cafeteria, searching the numerous faces for two familiar ones. Only one of them pops up, my red-haired bombshell friend smiling at me from her spot at the popular table. She didn't look me in the eyes, only looking at my face.

I gasp when a dark beanie appears from behind the famished crowd of students walking towards the food aisle. He slowly walks towards my best friend.

"What're you-" Betty looks back and noticed what caused my gasp.

"Oh, no." My hand flies to my mouth as I realize what he's about to do.

"What happened to him not coming in today?" Someone at our table asks, but I tune everything out.

Jughead approaches Cheryl, a sad expression on his face. He takes his beanie off and lowers his eyes to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Cheryl." He says to my sniffling friend.

The entire cafeteria is silent, anticipation filling the air around us. A cloud of curiosity and fear envolves my table.

Cheryl doesn't say a word. She only sobs and raises her hand. When it meets Jughead's cheek, I gasp and stand, ready to stop my best friend from doing anything she may regret in the future.

Her eyes land on me and her tears fall faster down her rosy cheeks. Walking towards them, I don't miss the punches Cheryl throws at Jughead. The boy doesn't move, accepting every single blow she throws at him, quietly apologizing.

"Cheryl." I say as I pull her to my arms, at the same time Principal Weatherbee enters the crowded cafeteria, the previous silence invaded by the booming voice.

"Enough!" Ignoring Cheryl's cries, he yells and moves towards Jughead. "Mr. Jones, you need to come with me. Right now."

Jughead follows the Principal, but not before squeezing my hand as he walks by. A small smile plays on my lips and I quickly turn to Cheryl, who's still silently sobbing.

"He was apologizing." I whisper to her, wrapping my arms around her thin figure and guiding her away from the curious faces of our classmates. "Cheryl?"

"I barely touched him." She sniffles and I stop walking, sitting my her side on one of the benches outside Principal Weatherbee's office. "It's not his fault, Cheryl. Even if his dad did do it, it's-"

"Everybody keeps coming up to me, and hugging me, and telling me that I must be so relieved that my brother's killer has finally been caught. That this nightmare is over." Cheryl whispers, her hands flying to her closes eyes, tears streaming down her face. "Then why doesn't it feel that way?"

"Oh, Cheryl." I embrace her with all I have, sharing a bit of my dying warmth with her. She seems to appreciate my gesture and wraps her arms around me.

We sit there, in each other's arms, for what feels like hours, endless seconds. But when Cheryl tells me she's feeling tired, I don't think twice before taking her home. Her red car is parked outside, right next to the entrance of the school.

I drive in silence, letting my best friend rest and think about everything that's happening. Her house is empty, the only audible sound being Polly's light snoring from the room next to hers.

Cheryl lays down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. I slowly and silently run circles on her hand, trying to distract her from the horrible thoughts that may be crossing her mind.

"Are you okay?" I dare to ask, my voice a whisper.

"I've been better." She closes her eyes. "How are you? I still think you should be with your real father right now, trying to get to know him and all that crap."

I told her about my "situation" a few minutes after my mother and brother left my room the night everything went down. She knows about everything, as I know everything about her life. That's who we are. Valentina and Cheryl, best friends for life. Or -as I like to say nowadays- till death do us part.

What I didn't tell her was that, after my small reunion with Jughead the other day, Viktor gave me my father's phone number. And I called him. Needless to say, he didn't pick up, but texted me a few hours later to get in touch with me. I guess my mother told him about our conversation.

He tried to get in touch with me a couple times since then, but I've been so busy and confused about everything that's happening... I just know we're supposed to meet tomorrow after dinner. Where? No idea. He will call me later to tell me the time and place.

"Don't think about it. Just sleep." I place my hand on her face and smile down at her. "You need to rest. I'll call you when your parents get home."

She nods and snuggles by my side. I can't sleep right now, but the least I can do is be there for my best friend.

ΨΨΨ

For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm doing the right thing. After Cheryl fell asleep, I received a text from Betty.

I need help. We need to get Polly out of that house, right now. I'll explain when I get there.

I'm not one to follow orders of another teenager, but she wouldn't text me if she really didn't need help. So, I gathered all my strength and entered Polly's room to warn her of her sister's plans.

Now, I stand outside the Blossom's mansion, staring at the confrontation between Blossoms and Coopers. Or should I say, Blossoms and Blossoms.

"Just get out of here." Cheryl says, defeated. Her body and mind can't take another blow. Finding out Polly and Jason were cousins broke her even more.

"Cheryl-" I walk towards her, but her mother blocks my path.

"Leave. We need to take care of this as a family. And you're not family."

Penelope's words shouldn't have bothered me this much, but they did. Adams and Blossoms were always united to the hip, always hand in hand in every situation.

"Alright." I nod and send Cheryl one last wave before walking towards my house.

Betty pulls me with her to her family's car. I don't even have time to breathe before she bombards me with questions.

"Have you seen anything suspicious in there?" She asks me, at the same time Polly stares out the window with an empty look in her eyes.

"The Blossoms were always a weird family, but I've never witnessed anything unusual."

"Are you sure, honey?" Alice turns in her seat and grabs my hand. "They seemed frightened after we confronted them with the facts, what if they did something to Jason?"

"Their own son?" I whisper, shaking my head. "I don't think so."

"Okay." Alice smiles and nods, leaving me to her daughter's annoying questions.

Betty's father takes a sharp turn and stops the car near the entrance to my house. What was that?

"Sorry, I got a bit distracted and forgot we had an extra person inside the car."

I bid everyone goodbye and exit the car. They wait until I'm safely inside the house before leaving. There's only one thought in my mind, as I wish to erase every trace of today from my head.

My bed never felt so warm.

ΨΨΨ

I'm late. I know I'm late. It's been five hours since Betty and her family left my at my house. Betty called me, saying she found a pen drive in Jason's jersey.

I drive like a maniac to Archie's house. Apparently, everyone is waiting for me so we can watch whatever is in that object together. I have no idea if I'll be able to handle another heartbreaking situation -if that's what's coming our way.

"I'm here." Yelling as I enter the basement, the group sitting on the couch stare at me with wide eyes. "Sorry."

"Let's get this over with." Betty places her hands on the computer, inserting the pen drive.

The rest of us hold our breaths as she presses play.

"Oh, no." I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth.

"Oh, my God."

Gasps and cries echo around me. Betty and Veronica cry with me, the three of us shocked with the images in front of us. The boys -Kevin, Archie and Jughead- hold their tears but close their eyes and run their fingers around their hair.

"Oh, my god." My hands quickly find my phone and my shaking fingers tap on Cheryl's number.

"Valentina, who are you calling?" Jughead asks, but I can't reply.

My throat is blocked by the shock and pain I'm feeling. When my best friend in the entire world answers the call, I whisper as quickly as I can.

"You have to get out of that house." I say, a sob rising to my mouth. "Listen to me, Cheryl. Your father, he-"

"What happened?" Cheryl asks from the other side, her voice just a bit louder than mine.

"He killed Jason." I sob louder this time, not bothering to cover my sadness with quiet words. "Your father killed Jason. We have a video that can prove it."

She takes a while to reply, and I feel her sigh on the other side of the call.

"I understand. Thank you." She end the call and I stare at the screen in front of me.

There lays Jason, one of the only friends I've had growing up, his expressionless eyes staring at the camera, as if he knew it was there. But he couldn't know, because there's a hole in his forehead.

A bullet hole. The gun wasn't shot my FP. His own father, Clifford Blossom, shot the gun against his son.

"No." I sob violently against my hands, and a pair of arms embrace me from behind.

Jughead.

At least I have him.

ΨΨΨ

That night, Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy saw what we watched in Archie's garage. Jason, tied to a chair, in the basement of a bar, on the Southside of Riverdale, while a Serpent, Mustang, taunted him. Then, the unthinkable.

Later, we would learn why my FP confessed. Because Clifford Blossom visited him on the night of his arrest, with a threat, that his son, Jughead Jones, would suffer the same fate as Jason Blossom, if FP didn't confess.

And though one question had been answered that night, that it was Clifford Blossom who killed Jason, a new mystery loomed over Riverdale. Why had he done it? It was a question only Clifford himself would be able to answer.

ΨΨΨ

The last chapter is almost here *cries* I really hope you guys liked this, don't forget to vote and comment if you did! I'm proud of this story and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Thank you so much for those of you who supported me, thank you to everyone who read the story and thank you again!!
See you soon! (: