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TWO; JEALOUSY LACED WITH GUILT

     "DID YOU HOOK UP with Reggie Mantle last night?"

     Kalani closed her locker door, coming face to face with Lucas. His eyes were filled with wonder and curiosity, but Kalani was more interested in figuring out where he heard such a rumor.

     "No, he walked me and Betty home after we left Cheryl's party. Why?"

     Lucas smirked, walking alongside her in the hallway. "Spreading around school. Needed to see if it was actually true since I haven't climbed that sweet piece of-"

     "Lucas!" Kalani stopped him, throwing her arm across his chest. Her cousin chuckled lowly to himself, stopping in the middle of the hallway. Kalani's cheeks grew a bright red. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

     Lucas shrugged. "Define 'boyfriend.'"

     Kalani rolled her eyes at him. "Plus, I think people are more interested in Kevin finding Jason's body than me and Reggie being together." It was only the night before when Kevin and Moose stumbled upon Jason's corpse, and solved the mystery of where his body had went. However, the Blossom family had not only received their son in a body bag, but with a bullet through his forehead.

     Unfortunately for Kalani, she heard Reggie's booming voice echoing throughout the hallway. "Watch it, Wednesday Addams!"

     Her shoulders stiffened when she realized Reggie was speaking to Jughead. She always hated him the most when he acted like a bully. The situation worsened when Archie was caught staring at her, and his feet moved faster than his mind did.

     Lucas was gone in a millisecond.

     "Kal."

     "I need to get to class, Archie."

     The redhead intercepted her way, stepping in front of her. She glanced up at him, his eyes gazing at her expectedly. "Just listen to me, Kal. I want to apologize. Over the summer, I neglected-"

     "Beautiful rose!" It was the first time Kalani was grateful that Reggie Mantle wanted to speak with her. His arm draped around her shoulder and he pulled her away from her former beau. Kalani checked behind her to see Archie look defeated and guilty.

     Serves him right.

     "Tutoring session after school?"

     Chuck Clayton and Moose laughed from Reggie's side, and Kalani carefully threw his arm off of her. "Yes, Reggie, I'm tutoring you, and that's all." Chuck and Moose continued their chuckles, but she dismissed their ignorance.

     "Don't be so hostile, beautiful rose. A gorgeous face like yours shouldn't be tainted with so many worry lines," Reggie said, running his thumb over Kalani's forehead gently. She saw a brief flicker of adoration in his eyes before it quickly disappeared. His loving persona was replaced with the same cocky jock Kalani hated.

     "See you later, beautiful rose." He winked and walked away with his two sidekicks. Kalani changed directions before Archie could catch up with her.

     Maybe Archie was right. Being friends was too difficult after all they've been through. She would have to settle for bitter conversations and pretending to care.

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     "Veronica, I'm begging you to be my partner before Cheryl gets to me."

     "Sorry, Kal, I've already committed to being with Betty."

     Kalani slumped in defeat as she watched the dark-haired girl take a seat next to the blonde. Her hopes raised when she saw Kevin was available, but Moose was quick to replace Betty's spot. Lucas was already flirting with a girl next to him, paying no attention to his deserted cousin. Her last two choices, Archie and Cheryl, paired together.

     Kalani suddenly felt utterly alone.

     However, the feeling didn't last for long. "Beautiful rose! In a rush to start tutoring sessions early, aren't you?" Reggie slid into the seat next to her, and she pursed her lips. This was definitely not how she pictured her day to go. "Alright, you can dissect the frog and I'll give you comical commentary."

     Kalani raised her hand. The teacher called on her and she spat out the question menacingly. "Can I be alone for this lab?"

     "I'm afraid you must be partnered, Miss Rose. Would you like me to choose a partner for you?"

     "That's alright!" Reggie spoke for her. "She's perfectly fine with me, Mr. Phylum."

     Her teeth clenched and she groaned, dropping her head onto the table. She heard a clatter of metal before Reggie emitted a disgusting sound. She raised her head to see him slowly stabbing the dead frog from the bottom of its mouth to the beginning of its legs. Kalani snatched the small knife from him before he could mess up the lab any more than he already has.

     Reggie cradled his chin in the palm of his hand and watched her work. A smile spread across his face. "Beautiful rose, have I ever mentioned how pretty you look when you're concentrating on something?"

     "Was it you who spread the rumor of us going on a date?"

     Reggie chuckled dryly. "I might've mentioned something to Chuck."

     Kalani glared at him. "Well, I don't know if you fail to remember, Reggie, but I never took a step inside of Cheryl's closet. You walked me and Betty home after the party, and that's that."

     "So you weren't upset about Archie?"

     Kalani shrugged. She found her ex-boyfriend's figure from across the room. He was discussing something private with Cheryl, and the awkward conversation with Kalani in the morning was long forgotten. "Why would I be? We broke up, and our relationship is history." Reggie seemed to be pleased by the answer, for a wide smirk replaced the smile on his face. Kalani twitched, growing more irritated by the second. She didn't understand how he had the power to crawl under her skin so quickly.

     She allowed Reggie to talk her ear off for the remainder of the period. He was chatting about football and continued to compliment her endlessly. She had to admit — some of his pick-up lines made her blush, but others made her scowl in horror. He obviously knew what he was doing, his grin appearing every time Kalani's cheeks grew a bright red.

     She found Jughead during lunch, where he was wandering around aimlessly. She had been close friends with Jughead before her and Archie's breakup, but Jughead thought that Archie and Kalani were a package deal. When he lost Archie to other friends, he assumed Kalani had fallen out with him as well.

     "I'm starting a campaign to expel Reggie from school. Want to sign my petition?"

     Jughead raised an eyebrow. "Is he bugging you again? What is it this time — thoughtful compliments or constant teasing about Archie?"

     Kalani could sense his condescending tone. She didn't have a right to be whining about anything. As far as anyone else was concerned, Reggie bugging her endlessly was a rumor brushed off in a second. Jason's dead body was more important than any high school flirtation.

     "I'm so upset with him," Kalani sighed. Her and Jughead walked side by side as they roamed the halls of the school. "Archie, I mean. I'm so angry at him but at the same time, I want to forgive him and become friends again. God, I sound like another teen drama movie."

     "To be fair, you've always sounded like that, Kalani."

     She glared at the boy, but he took no notice of her darkened mood. They passed by the music room, and suddenly, Jughead stopped in his tracks. Kalani's eyebrows furrowed.

     "What?"

     Her line of vision answered the question. She took a step back when she saw Archie and Ms. Grundy in the music room together. The two were locked in a heated stare, and she averted her gaze before she could see them kiss. Her chest started feeling heavy, and her breath was caught in her throat.

     Jughead's voice came into range. "Kalani, breathe. We need to leave before they see us."

     Her eyes widened. Her thumb flicked backwards, orbs filled with shock. "Grundy and Archie! My Archie and Grundy! She's a teacher, Jughead. Archie's a sophomore and Grundy's a teacher and they're together and-"

     Jughead pulled Kalani down the hall when he heard the click of the door. Archie exited the music room, not realizing his former girlfriend and best friend had just discovered a deep, hidden secret of his. Kalani was still mumbling to herself when Jughead led them around the corner. "I can't believe Archie would do this to himself. We need to report her! We need to get her arrested and taken far away from him!"

     He rested his hands on her shoulders, observing her worried features. "Kalani, I'll talk to Archie later. Let me deal with this, alright?"

     "No!" She refused immediately. "Jughead, I have to speak with him. Knock some sense into that clueless asshole." Kalani started to rush down the hallway but before she could call out Archie's name, Jughead brought her back to him.

     "Kalani, listen to me! Archie won't listen to you. He'll think you're jealous or seeking revenge. I promise you, Kal, I'll talk to him as soon as possible."

     "Can I at least beat the crap out of Grundy?"

     "Pretty sure you'd get expelled for that."

     "Not if I get Reggie to do it for me."

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     Kalani, breathless, took her seat and threw her bag on the table. She didn't miss Reggie's smug face staring right at her exhausted expression. Cheryl, out of grief and ambition to make her brother proud, had been pushing the River Vixens harder during practice. Kalani didn't know how much more she could take of Cheryl's changing mood swings, but she supposed it wasn't just Cheryl. Betty and Veronica were fighting again because of the whole incident with Veronica kissing Archie, and they took their fights into cheerleading practice. Kalani couldn't be bothered by either of them. She was still furious with Archie for being so reckless with his life by kissing Ms. Grundy.

     She took out the elastic in her hair and her ponytail fell into smooth waves. She was determined to avoid all eye contact with Reggie for their session, so she pulled out her books from her bag and began searching for the right page.

     "Beautiful rose," he hummed. Kalani kept her lips sealed shut. A dark red rose appeared on the pages of her book, concealing her vision from the second chapter of her math text. "Saw it on the football field today. Reminded me of you."

     "Reggie, don't you remember the rules I established? No flirting," she emphasized her words.

     Her heart started beating faster when she felt Reggie's fingers graze her ear. He had placed the rose on the left side of her face, where she would usually wear her Hawaiian flower. She gulped down the contents of her lunch. "It's on the wrong side," she managed to blurt out. She didn't enjoy being intimate with someone. The little actions Reggie was pulling were distracting, and Kalani felt like she was betraying someone.

     Like she was betraying Archie.

     "You wear it on the left if you're dating someone, right?" Reggie muttered, pulling her hair behind her ear.

     "Yes, and you wear it on your right to indicate that you're single. Luckily, this isn't a Hawaiian flower."

     He was whispering as if he had a long kept secret and Kalani would be the first to know. "No, it's a beautiful rose. A perfect symbol of the girl sitting next to me."

     "Reggie," her voice warned softly. "We need to study if you want to pass."

     "I'm sure you can understand that it's not my number one priority at the moment."

     He was leaning closer until their lips were inches away from meeting. Kalani jerked back. She felt like she was becoming trapped, and she gathered all of her items before shoving them into her bag. "I have to go home, Reggie. Maybe we can actually study tomorrow."

     "Wait, Kalani-"

     The girl was already out the door, and Reggie couldn't help but wonder that if he was a nicer person, Kalani might've had a better opinion of him.

     On her way home, she found herself in front of Archie's house. She couldn't avoid what she saw in the music room, no matter if Jughead already talked to him. She knocked on the door and heard the loud bark of Vegas, the family dog. The door swung wide open and Fred Andrews stood there, surprised by Kalani's presence.

     "Kalani! It's nice to see your face again."

     Her lips remained in a thin line. "Is Archie home?"

     "In his room."

     He let the girl inside, and she wasted no time finding Archie. As soon as she stepped inside and closed the bedroom door, her mind started speaking for itself. "I saw you with Ms. Grundy. I saw you being close and intimate with her. Archie, she's deceiving you! She's a teacher and you're a student. How could you let it go this far, Archie?"

     "And why do you give a crap, Kalani?"

      Archie ceased the making of his bed to stare up at her. His tone was cold and harsh, and Kalani felt like a blizzard had just swept through the room.

      "What, you suddenly pay attention to me now that I've found someone else? I don't know what you want, Kalani! One day, you're yelling at me for ignoring you all summer. Then, when I try to apologize, you refuse to hear any of it! Now, you're coming into my house and telling me how I should live my life and who I should be with. How is any of that okay, Kalani?"

     Kalani scoffed. "Do you think what you and Grundy are doing is completely normal? She's abusing you, Archie. She's practically preying on an innocent teenager!"

      "She's not like that!" Archie argued, jumping to her defense. "You don't know a damn thing about us."

     She couldn't believe what she was hearing. If the roles were reversed and she was attracted to an older teacher, Archie would report him before she could stop him. "Maybe I don't. Maybe you've completely changed over the summer because at this moment in time, you're defending a woman who thinks it's okay to kiss sophomore boys! If I wanted to be with a teacher at our school, wouldn't you do whatever you possibly could to stop me? To end the relationship?"

     She swung open his bedroom door again. Her eyes bore into his, and her bottom lip trembled. "I care about you, Archie. Always. Don't let her take advantage of you."

     When he heard the slam of his front door, his hands balled into fists. He collapsed on top of his bed, lip curling in anger.

     He whispered into the darkness of his small room. "I care about you too, Kal. Always."

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     "Lucas, do I look like some sort of drama magnet to you?"

     Lucas chuckled at the obsessive nature of his cousin. "Most definitely. You've had more drama in these past few months than I've ever had in my whole life."

     "Says the guy who changes dating partners everyday."

     "Did you want advice or are we suddenly roasting each other?" He questioned, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Is this about Reggie almost kissing you yesterday?"

     Kalani mumbled under her breath how that was only one of her growing problems, but nodded her head at Lucas. "I have no clue on what to do. I've been avoiding him all day, but I know he'll catch up with me eventually."

     Lucas laughed. "Kalani, the answer's pretty obvious. Reggie's one of the hottest guys around and he's into you. Take your shot before someone else snatches him up." He coughed indiscreetly and pointed at himself. Kalani glared at him, and he winked.

     The two walked into the lounge room of the school, and Kalani's blood ran cold when she heard Reggie's voice. As usual, he greeted her as loud as humanly possible.

     "Beautiful rose, tell me something. If a kid at Riverdale killed Jason, it's not going to be a jock, right? No, let's be honest. Isn't it always some spooky, scrawny, pathetic internet troll too busy writing his manifestos to get laid? Some smug, moody, serial killer fanboy freak. Like Jughead."

     "Reggie Mantle, that's enough," Kalani boomed, stepping forward.

     The jock refused to listen. "What was it like, Suicide Squad, when you shot Jason? You didn't do stuff to the body, did you, like after?"

     "It's called necrophilia, Reggie. Can you spell it?" Jughead shot back.

     The idiot was angered by Jughead's words, and stood up to defend himself. Kalani was now yelling at him, but her words were going through one ear and out the other.

     "Hey, shut the hell up, Reggie," Archie interfered in the dispute, pushing Reggie backwards.

     "Boys," Veronica warned. Everyone was on their feet, prepared to witness the chaos about to ensue.

     "What do you care, Andrews?" Reggie said bitterly. Deep down, he was envious towards the redhead. There was a reason Kalani chose to date him, and it was because Archie was the hero and Reggie would forever be painted the villain. For example, he was currently acting like a narcissistic bonehead because he didn't know how to behave any other way. In front of his friends, Reggie needed to be that inconsiderate football player.

     "Nothing. Just leave him alone."

     Kalani's eyes narrowed, still upset with Archie over their discussion the previous night.

     "Holy crap, did you and Donnie Darko kill him together?" Kalani rolled her eyes. She didn't even know where Reggie got all these references for Jughead from. "Was it some sort of pervy blood brother thing?"

     The hairs on Kalani's neck stood straight when Reggie knocked Archie against the vending machine, shattering the glass. The two ended up on the floor and she dropped everything, rushing to break the both of them up.

     She shrieked Reggie's name when his fist collided against Archie's face. Moose and Chuck pulled him off, and Kalani balanced Archie's bleeding face on her lap.

     Her face hovered over his. "Archie? Archie, can you hear me?" She looked up and directed for Lucas to inform the nurse of the fight.

     "Kalani," he said breathlessly, a hint of a smile on his face.

     Reggie watched in jealousy as Kalani continued to soothe Archie until the nurse showed up. The boys helped him to the office so he could get patched up. Kalani's eyes flew to Reggie's angrily.

     "How dare you, Reggie Mantle! Do not ever lay a hand on him or insult Jughead again, do you hear me?"

     Reggie shrugged off the touch of his two friends. He left the scene to speak with Weatherbee about the fight. Kalani stared after him, out of words to say.

     Some kind of spark had ignited between the two, and she didn't know how to extinguish the flame.

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     "I'm telling Weatherbee tomorrow."

     Kalani glanced to her side. Archie was standing there, bruise visible on the right side of his face. Veronica informed him that Kalani took care of him when Reggie got violent, and Archie didn't know how to respond. Just the day before, he was yelling at her for sticking her nose into his business.

     "About you and Grundy?"

     Archie shook his head, and Kalani's heart dropped. "About hearing the gunshot on the Fourth of July."

     She sighed in exasperation. "Archie, you can't just expect me to keep this a secret."

     "I do. I expect you to trust me until I can sort out the situation myself. I expect this of you because we're friends." The statement made her head dart up. "Because we've always been the best of friends, Kal. Dating each other will not change that. I need you to trust me. I'll take care of it."

     "You promise?"

     "Always."

     "Kalani!" Cheryl's shrill voice called out on the field. The girl sighed, looking around at the crowd of people gathered just to see the memorial game for Jason. Archie was already decked out in his football uniform, and Kalani had been wearing her cheerleading outfit all day. Cheryl had gone through extreme measures so Jason would forever be lodged into everyone's memory.

     Kalani stepped closer to him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Archie." She raced off to join the other River Vixens, unaware that Reggie was watching the whole interaction between her and Archie, his hope fading with each word spoken.

     The rally began, and Josie's mother, the mayor of Riverdale, began speaking. "It is heartening to see so many of you here even in weather like this. But a lack of heart and school spirit has never been the Riverdale way. Tonight's pep rally isn't like the others we've had in the past, and we shouldn't pretend that it is — which is why I would like to dedicate this evening to the memory of one of our brightest, Jason Blossom. We're with him tonight. Now, please join me in welcoming to the field our very own River Vixens and their special guest stars, my daughter, Josie, and her Pussycats!"

     The routine Cheryl had choreographed went exactly as planned. Kalani was less enthused than most of the others, but she planted a fake smile upon her face and tried her best to act as if she was having fun.

      When the song ended, Kalani rushed to hold up the banner for the football players to run under. Once the banner broke and Archie ran through first, Cheryl froze in her place. Eventually, seeing Archie in her brother's old uniform was too much and she took off down the field. Veronica and Betty rushed to help her but Kalani stayed to assure the crowd that the rally would continue. After all, Cheryl made Kalani promise that if there was ever a disaster, she would step in and fix it.

     After some consoling, Cheryl returned with both Betty and Veronica. Her cheeks were stained with tears but no one spoke a word about it.

     Kalani felt like the rally lasted for decades. A hand landed on her shoulder when it finally ended. Betty was smiling down at her. "Do you want to join me and Veronica at Pop's? I know we haven't exactly been speaking that much lately."

     She looked at Betty's kind features. She was tired of fighting with everyone and surrounding herself with unnecessary drama. She nodded and looped her arm through Betty's.

     "I'd love to, B."

     The trio found themselves at Pop's, drinking milkshakes together. Veronica sipped through her straw and smiled at the two girls in front of her. "Girls, can we make a vow?"

     Betty and Kalani chorused their agreements in unison.

     "That no matter what, no boy will ever come between us again."

     Kalani had lifted her cup high in the air. "Yes, please. Hormonal boys are the end of friendships and I never want to go through that again."

     Veronica smirked. "Deal?"

     "Deal."

     They clinked their milkshake cups together. The door of the shop rang, signaling someone had entered. Veronica's eyes were locked on a figure, and Betty and Kalani turned around to see who it was.

     Jughead and Archie were laughing with one another, but stopped when they spotted the girls. Kalani remembered the promise they just made, and Betty seemed to be debating over it herself.

     "Do you guys want to join us?"

     Jughead made the first move. "Yes, but only if you're treating."

     The two boys joined the three girls, and for the first time in a long while, Kalani's smile was genuine. She was actually beaming while sitting in that booth at Pop's with the people she would call her best friends.

     No one could prepare them for what would happen the next day. During biology class, both Principal Weatherbee and Sheriff Keller interrupted their lesson to call for Cheryl.

     Kalani, who was experiencing the cold shoulder from Reggie, was taken aback when Cheryl stood up and announced herself guilty to the whole class. The news of Cheryl giving herself away was only one thing discovered on that day.

     The autopsy on Jason's body reported that Jason had not died on the Fourth of July, but over a week later.

i wonder if reggie stays up at night and comes up with nicknames for jughead and memorizes them for the next day