1.21 | Encouragment
❝ SEASON ONE, EPISODE NINE ❞
💐 La Grande Illusion 💐
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Thicker than blood, more precious than oil...
Riverdale's big business is maple syrup.
Since the town's founding, one family has controlled its lucrative syrup trade, The Blossoms.
They were a part of the fabric of our daily lives...
Rich or poor, old or young, we consumed Blossom syrup by the bucket.
That sickly, sweet smell was inescapable.
The death of Jason Blossom precipitated a crisis.
With their heir apparent gone, who would inherit the family business one day?
Certainly not Cheryl.
It was a question that brought the wolves to Riverdale.
And now, the Blossoms were circling the wagons against possible attack,
From within their own ranks.
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Isabella woke up slowly to warmth surrounding her, she blinked her eyes and moved to turn around only to be stopped by an arm around her waist. She huffed as she remembered Jughead staying over, she melted into his hold and closed her eyes. Jughead had been awake through the whole moment, he smiled to himself as she snuggled in closer to him; so he tightened his arm around her. A light tap on the door pulled Jughead out of his thoughts but he noticed that Isabella barely moved as she spoke, "Yes, Dad?" Jughead raised a brow waiting for the man to walk in and shoot him; he didn't want to move alerting he was awake.
"Breakfast is downstairs for you and Jughead. I'm taking your mom to Greendale, we'll be back later tonight so have a good day at school," Christian spoke through the door before grinning to himself, "And please use protection. While I look forward to becoming a grandfather one day, this day is too soon." Isabella whined into her pillow as Christian walked away from the door laughing, Jughead tried to hold back a laugh but failed. "It's not funny, Jones," Isabella told him as she turned to him, "And you suck at pretending to be asleep." Jughead shrugged trying to remain cool as he leaned over her slightly.
"I will admit, your dad's pretty funny," Jughead told her as he brushed her messy hair out of her view. "Don't tell him that, he'll never let you leave," Isabella warned him with a shake of her head, though she was smiling. "Maybe I will so you can never get rid of me," Jughead replied with a sly smirk on his face. Isabella smiled innocently before she pushed him and leaned over him, "Whatever doubt you have in your head, it needs to disappear. I'm never going anywhere if I can help it. I meant it when I said you were stuck with me." Jughead, who had been momentarily frozen by the situation, smirked at her fighting the urge to kiss her.
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Isabella leaned against the desk in the Blue and Gold office while Betty paced back and forth in front of her. "My parents are unbelievable, Bella. Polly is locked up in that house like a character out of Jane Eyre and what are they doing? Changing each other's login accounts and throwing bricks through windows," Betty explained to Isabella. "I wish I'd seen that," Isabella said with an impressed smirk that dropped seeing Betty's defeated expression, "Okay, I'm sorry, that's not funny." Betty's eyes became watery and the sight made Isabella's heart ache sharply, she didn't like seeing the usually cheery blonde so hurt.
"It's like, you know how in a time of crisis, people either come together or fall apart? It feels like we're falling apart," Betty's watery eyes began to spill over, "And the way things are going, pretty soon, the Coopers, we're not gonna exist anymore. And there's nothing I can do to stop that." Isabella stood up and placed her hands on her shoulders, "Betty, don't do that. Don't go giving up. Your family is definitely splintering right now, but it won't fall apart, because of you. Because you're holding them together. You're so much stronger than all of the white noise. You're stronger than your mother, you're stronger than your father."
Betty sniffled as Isabella spoke, "You're holding this family together. So don't... Don't let go." Isabella pulled Betty into her arms, she tightened her hold on the blonde and let the girl cry into her shoulder. This is what Betty needed right now, she was beyond grateful for the brunette who definitely had her own struggles but didn't hesitate to help others. "Thank you," Betty muttered out to Isabella who simply squeezed her gently as reassurance. Betty excused herself needing to be alone for a little while, Isabella swallowed carefully as she wiped the lone tear from her own face. She leaned back against the desk as she questioned why their lives couldn't be easier.
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"I keep screwing up in some way and I don't know what else to do..." Archie told Isabella, he dropped onto the bed and sighed as Isabella sat listening to him rant about the Blossom situation and Valerie breaking up with him. "I know it's rough at the moment but you need to stand your ground now and accept responsibility, Archie. You knew what the Blossoms were capable of but you ignored that and now it's gonna have a ripple effect," Isabella explained as she looked at her cousin. "And stupid mistakes are meant to be made by us teenagers," Isabella added as Fred knocked and walked in.
"Belle is right, Archie. Teenagers make mistakes but as long as you learn from it, that's what matters," Fred added as he smiled at them, Jughead standing in the doorway with a smile. "Now, if your free therapy session is over. Dinner is ready," Fred told them making the teens laugh, they all made their way downstairs to sit at the table. They all spoke about random topics and just enjoyed the family-like dinner as they laughed about Fred's school days or Archie's failed relationships; Isabella smiled fondly as she watched Archie and Jughead tease each other, moments like these were when she felt truly at peace.
Later in the night, Isabella got home and headed inside finding her father passed out on the couch and the sound of her mother's humming coming from upstairs. Isabella, feeling good from her time at the Andrews house, made her way upstairs and into her mother's room where the woman was sitting up and knitting; it was one of her better days. "Hey mom," Isabella greeted with a smile the woman hadn't seen in a very long time. "It seems we're both having a good day," Annélise told her daughter with a smirk, the brunette teen nodded as she climbed into the bed next to her mother.
"Despite all of the chaos happening, I feel like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel," Isabella expressed to her mother without doubt. "Well, I do hope that light surrounds you. I'll always be watching over you," Annélise replied to Isabella reminding her of the fact that her mother was dying but she didn't let it ruin her mind, it only encourages her to be happy around her mother. "Goodbyes are too hard..." Isabella muttered as she moved to lay her head on her mother's lap once she put the scarf she was knitting aside. "Goodbyes are never easy, Bells. They aren't meant to be easy but... there is always something deeper about a goodbye and it's about finding it," Annélise expressed.
Isabella knew her mother was right, she knew that Annélise's final days will come and the teenager had to be prepared to say goodbye to the woman that bought her into the world and loved her every second. Isabella wrapped her arms around her mother's frail waist and for the first time since her mother had been diagnosed with cancer, Isabella cried in her mother's arms. The woman held her, running her fingers through her daughter's hair while singing softly to her knowing she needed this. Annélise knew what her daughter had been up to, the fight club was once her own place of solitude; she just hoped her daughter was as lucky as she was and she gets out safe.
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Winter had come early to Riverdale.
Brutal and Unforgiving.
But it would be nothing compared to the storm that was gathering.
A storm of chaos named... Cheryl Blossom.
And on the other side of the tracks...
A fighter learns that not everything is kept secret.
She faces her own untamed storm known as the Serpent King.
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Rosemary Here!
So this episode literally had one chapter in this book because it's all about the Blossoms and not a lot of moments for Isabella to be involved so I used it as a filler chapter. The calm before the storm. What do you think will happen next?
See you next chapter!
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