CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MEMORIAL
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The sky was gloomy as Chris sat inside his Mustang. His leg bouncing anxiously as he took a puff off his cigarette before exhaling. Glancing at the Blossom's house and feeling his stomach churn at the sight.

He hadn't been there in almost 8 months and that was when Jason was alive. They had spent the day raiding Jason's parent's alcohol cabinet and drinking out by Sweet Water River. It was a highlight of Chris's time spent with Jason cause the next day they showed up to class still a bit drunk. Laughing the entire class and making hassle for their teachers.

Now that Jason was gone, it felt dark. The house didn't seem to have the same liveliness to it when Jason was still alive.  It just didn't feel right, and knowing that Jason's body was going to be there, it made Chris feel sick.

All he wanted to do was just leave the place and hear about it from Veronica or Betty, but he knew he needed to be there. Penelope would've wanted him to be there since him and Jason were best friends. It was the least he could do before putting a nail into the coffin and trying to forget everything.

"Fuck it." Chris muttered as he took one more puff off his cigarette before sticking it in a bottle of water in a cup holder. Shutting his car off and placing the keys in his slacks before stepping out. Adjusting his suit as he let out a breath before making his way to the house. Rubbing his wrist since he took the bandage of to try and look like everything was perfectly fine when nothing was okay.

Surprisingly, Chris had found a suit from a year ago at one of the dances he attended with Jason. It still fit perfectly and he was thankful he hadn't needed to go shopping for one.

As he went up the steps of the house, his eyes found Penelope greeting people. A sad smile on her face as she hugged a married couple until she saw Chris. Extending her arms out, snapping her fingers as she held back the tears as the boy hugged her. The snapping of her fingers causing the boy to blink rapidly as it brought him back to all the times she's done it with him. Sorta like Penelope was ringing a bell and beckoning him to her. "I'm happy you are here." She whispered in a hushed tone.

Chris pursed his lips as he nodded pulling away. "Jason would be there for me so, I knew I should've come." He stated as he ran a hand through his stlyed hair. "He thought of you as his brother, CJ. We all love you and welcome you here. If you ever need to stay here, our doors are open. Jason would've wanted that." She told him and Chris smiled before hugging the woman again before making his way inside with a slight pain in his chest at the woman's last sentence.

That was the thing about the Blossoms. Yes, they were heartless and snarky when they wanted to be, but something about the older Jones made them act differently. He was the boy that usually came by the house to pick Jason up and would be the one to take him home when he was drunk. Maybe it was just the fact that Chris kept Jason safe, or they truly liked the kid. Either way, Chris was just another Southside piece of trash.

It didn't make sense as to why they accepted him like there own, but he cared about the family. They knew how he acted by suppressing his emotions since Jason usually talked about him at diner. Sometimes, it would come off annoying to Penelope and Clifford, but they knew how much Chris meant to Jason and never banned the friendship from happening.

Once Chris stepped inside the house, he saw the multiple line up of black folded out chairs. Scanning the room before spotting his brother's familiar beanie he never seemed to remove.

Making his way over, Chris waved at Hermione Lodge before noticing her sitting by herself. Glancing at his group of friends before seeing Riley, Valerie, Olivia, and Kaitlyn sitting in their own little group with Betty and Jughead as additions. So, he decided that he would sit with the older woman since his friends probably wouldn't notice he was gone.

So, carefully shuffling through the chairs with people, Chris took a seat beside the woman. "Thought you should have some company." He stated with a polite smile as he rubbed his sweaty hands on his thighs.

Hermione smiled gratefully as she watched the boy sigh nervously. "Is something wrong?" She asked Chris to glanced at her before staring at Veronica. Feeling his nerves lessen at the sight of the girl. "No, I'm fine now." He muttered as Hermione followed his gaze.

Finding her daughter being the source of his attention made her smile. Chris hadn't talked to Veronica about his outburst and to be completely honest, he didn't want to. That was a bit of his feeling coming out and he wasn't comfortable with some of it coming out. What he had said was too much for him to express.

"Well, if you're going to ask if you can date my daughter, you've proven yourself to be worthy," Hermione stated and Chris looked at her in shock. "No! No, I like her, sure, I just haven't gotten around to telling her yet." He stated as he looked back at Veronica.

His eyes slowly drifting to the picture by the podium of Jason. Feeling like his eyes were him right there and then. Absorbing his soul right where he sat. Which was making it hard for Chris to remove his eyes until he heard the shuffling from everyone turning around.

Doing the same, Chris nearly cursed loudly when he saw Cheryl. She walked calmly down the aisle in the white dress she wore when the police found her the same day Jason went missing. Chris was speechless and didn't have the words to express his discomfort since he didn't want to not only piss Cheryl off but Penelope and Clifford as well.

Once Cheryl was situated at the podium, she smiled softly as she looked out at the crowd. "Welcome to Thornhill." She welcomed. "Thank you all for coming. If you'll kindly take your seats I'd like to start the memorial with a few words about Jason." Cheryl told them, pulling her white gloves off.

"The last time I saw Jason, I was wearing this dress." She began. Chris leaned back in his seat as his leg began bouncing anxiously. His hand holding his bearded chin and covering his mouth. "I know it's impossible, but I swear when I put it on, it feels like he's in the room with me." She explained as she looked at the picture of Jason beside her.

Chris couldn't help but find himself staring at the black cascett behind the redhead. Inside, his best friend laid dead from a gunshot to the head. Just that thought had Chris feeling queasy as he propped his elbows onto his knees and head hunglow. Closing his eyes as he listened to Cheryl continue.

"Even though we were twins, I used to demand I have my own birthday party. Until one year out of the blue, Jason convinced me we had to combine them into one." A sad smile forming on Chris's lips as he remembered the birthday. It didn't have alcohol or anything Chris was used to, just people actually bonding and having fun. "It wasn't until years later I found out why. It was because no one wanted to come to mine. And Jason didn't want me to know."

"He protected me. Every single day." Cheryl's voice cracked and it took everything in Chris not to walk up there and hug the girl. Sometimes, Chris considered Cheryl like his little sister. Weird yeah, but they had gotten along a lot more then people would like to admit. But that didn't stop the rare argument between them to happen and Jason would repair it and they would be friends again.

"I wish that day at the river, I had protected him." She stated as she let out a sob. Turning to the casket and placing a hand on it. "I'm so sorry, Jay-Jay. We failed you. All of us." Veronica was up at the podium hugging the girl while Penelope was up to speak.

"I think we'll adjourn now, to the white salon for a light supper."