* Author's Note at the end of the chapter is kind of important so read it. Thanks*

Mariah remained sitting in her chair as Sheriff Keller took Cheryl out of the classroom. For some reason, once again, all eyes were on her. It seemed that whenever something concerning Jason Blossom was mentioned, she or Cheryl were the center of attention. I mean, Cheryl she could understand. Jason was her twin brother. But Mariah didn't understand why people always looked at her the way they looked at Cheryl.

Maybe because, in a way, Mariah lost her brother too. Because Jason Blossom was her brother just like he was Cheryl's.

Mariah pushed her chair back and stood up, grabbing her backpack in the process. "Ms. Coleman. Where do you think you're going?" Her teacher asked, his voice in a tone she couldn't quite decipher but didn't care enough to try.

"I don't know," Mariah answered. And with that, she headed toward the door without another word and no one tried to stop her. As she walked down the hallway, more eyes were on her and she tried her best to ignore them. "Hey! Mariah, slow down!" A voice called. Recognizing the voice, she slowed to a stop and turned around. Veronica stood in front of her with a concerned look in her eyes.

"You know, you'll probably get into trouble for walking out of class like that," she said and Mariah blinked. "You know, you'll probably get into trouble for following me out of class," Mariah replied as she turned around and began walking again. Veronica followed after her.

"Maybe. But it's not like I really care," Veronica said with a sly smile. Mariah stopped walking abruptly and whipped her head around to face Veronica. "I'm fine V. You don't have to check on me. I just need to find out what's going on," Mariah said calmly. She was annoyed that Veronica was following her even though she appreciated the concern. But there was nothing to be concerned about.

"Are you sure? Because we can ditch the rest of the day and go get milkshakes at Pop's," Veronica said, a hint of hopefulness in her eyes. She really felt like ditching. Mariah laughed and shook her head. "As fun as that sounds, I'm not really in the mood to ditch. And if my mom found out she'd kill me. Besides, your mom works there, she'd kill us both the minute we walked through the door," Mariah answered.

"Yeah, you're probably right. But, I'll see you later?" Veronica said. Mariah smiled and nodded her head before continuing to walk. She assumed that Cheryl was in the principal's office and as she got closer to it, she saw Cheryl and her parents walking towards the doors leading out of the school. Before Mariah could reach them, they were already out the door.

Mariah sighed in aggravation and turned her head to the side where she noticed a ginger walking in the opposite direction of where Cheryl and her parents walked toward. She looked around the hallway before following Archie to wherever he was going. He stopped in front of a classroom door which Mariah realized was the music room when she heard what sounded like a cello being played.

She watched as Archie peered through the window on the door and watched whoever was playing the cello. "What are you doing? Besides being a total creep," Mariah said, confusion evident in her tone. Archie jumped when he heard her voice and quickly turned around. There stood Mariah, looking at him in a way that said 'I'm waiting'. Archie stumbled over his words, unable to form what to say.

"Wh-what are y-you doing? A-are you f-following m-me or s-something?" Archie stuttered, mentally face palming at his sudden nervousness around the blonde. Mariah narrowed her eyes. "Yes," she answered bluntly. Archie's eyes widened in shock at her words. "W-why?" He asked, wanting to punch himself in the face for being such a stuttering mess. Mariah shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, as if it were normal to follow people around, and walked towards the door of the music room. "Who are you watching?" She asked him.

Archie stepped in front of the door, blocking the window from her view. Mariah raised her eyebrows as he answered. "N-no one," he stuttered, yet again. Mariah narrowed her eyes at him again, pushing him away from the window, which proved to be easier than she thought. Archie was built, but too anxious to actually try and make sure she didn't somehow move him out of the way of the window.

Mariah looked through the window and saw Ms. Grundy sitting in a chair and playing the cello. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked back at Archie. "Why are you watching the music teacher?" She asked him. "Uh, why are you watching the music teacher?" He asked back.

Mariah glared so hard at him that he felt like shrinking away and crawling into a hole. She wanted to slap him, hard. He sounded like such an idiot in that moment that slapping him felt like the right thing to do. And she was growing more and more suspicious with every passing moment.

"I've gotta go," Archie said quickly, speed walking down the hallway. "Where are you going?" Mariah questioned, following after him. She grabbed his arm stopping him and gave him a pointed look. Archie sighed, "It's not important. Don't worry about it." He turned to walk away but Mariah grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

Archie looked down at their hands then back at Mariah but didn't pull his hand away. Mariah gave him an unconvinced look. "Seriously Arch, you can talk to me," she said. Archie was confused by her words and didn't hide it. "There's nothing to talk about. And if there was, why would I tell you?" He said. Mariah sighed at his words and then laughed a little. "Because we're friends," she answered in a 'duh' tone.

Archie looked taken aback. "We are?" He asked in shock. Mariah laughed, "I mean, I thought we were. After the pep rally and everything," she answered. "I didn't think you'd want to be friends with me," he said honestly.

"Of course I want to be friends with you," she said. Archie smiled softly at her and she smiled back. "Okay, yeah. We're friends. Of course we're friends," he said, the smile never leaving his face. "Okay good, and as your friend, I demand you to tell me what's going on," she replied seriously. Archie sighed softly. "There's something I have to take care of but I can't really tell you. Not yet anyway," he said quickly.

Mariah let go of his hand and took a small step back. "Why can't you tell me? Is it because you don't trust me or something?" She asked him in confusion. "No no no. It's not that. I just don't want you to get involved. You could get into trouble," he answered quickly. "Just please trust me on this," he added in a pleading tone.

The blonde nodded her head and let out a quiet 'okay'. Archie smiled widely, nodding his head. He stepped closer to her, leaned in, and quickly kissed Mariah on the cheek before hurrying off. Mariah stood in shock of what just happened. She reached her hand up to touch her cheek. A light blush began to form and she looked around the hallway hoping no one noticed before walking back to class.

As Archie walked to the principal's office, he stopped in his tracks as he registered what he had just done. "Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit!" He mumbled to himself. He had just kissed Mariah on the cheek. It just seemed so natural to do that he didn't even think twice about it. Heat rose to his cheeks as he touch his lips with his fingertips. He shook his head and continued walking to the principal's office.

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The day continued on but all Mariah could think about was Cheryl and how she was doing. She tried texting her earlier but didn't get a reply. When it reached her off period, Mariah walked to the student lounge where Betty had texted her to meet at.

When she entered the lounge, Betty, Kevin, Veronica, and Archie were all sitting around. She caught the beginning of what Kevin was saying. "My dad says we all are, including me," Kevin was saying. "We're all what?" Mariah asked, walking to sit in between Betty and Kevin. "Uh, suspects. We're all suspects in Jason's murder," Kevin answered quietly and Mariah nodded.

"Not me, girl. I don't know these people," Veronica said with a smile. "And it couldn't have been Mariah because she was in New York. Right?" Archie added. All eyes fell on the girl who was staring blankly ahead. Her mind was whirring with different thoughts and theories. Betty nudged the other blonde and looked at her in concern. Mariah was starting to hate that look. "You okay?" She asked her friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked back.

"Well because you--" Kevin started before Veronica cut him off. "No reason. I'm sure. Right, Betty?" She said and Betty nodded her head in agreement with a smile that was obviously fake. Kevin then changed the subject. "Guys, should we maybe re-binge Making a Murderer on Netflix tonight?" He asked them all. Mariah furrowed her eyebrows. She had no idea what that was and didn't really care.

"Sorry. Can't. Gotta stay late to work on the paper," Betty said. "Count me out too. I've gotta date tonight," Veronica added. Archie was the first to respond. "You do?" He asked. Mariah was next, "I thought there was no boy in the world that is truly 'worth your time'," she somewhat mocked. Veronica stuck her tongue out at the girl.

"Which Riverdale hottie made the cut?" Kevin asked and before Veronica could respond a voice was heard. "Hey Vee-Lo. I'll swing by the Pembrooke to pick you up at 8?" The boy, Chuck Clayton asked. "I'll be waiting," Veronica replied in a slightly flirtatious tone which made Mariah gag. "Cool," he replied before walking away with Reggie and Moose.

"Chuck Clayton?" Betty asked at the same time Kevin asked, "You're going on a date with Chuck?" Veronica smiled and nodded slightly. "He's kind of a player," Betty warned. "Who cares? He's the hottest of hot, and he's the varsity football coach's son. In Riverdale, that's like dating a Kennedy," Kevin said as Veronica took a sip of her coffee with a smirk on her face.

The bell rang and the group stood up to head to their next classes. Mariah walked out of the door and down the hall but stopped when she heard Archie calling her name. She turned to him with an expectant look as she waited for him to speak. "Can I, uh, walk you to class?" He asked nervously. "Won't you be late for your own?" She asked him.

"Not if I run," he said sheepishly. Mariah laughed which caused a smile to break out on his face. "Okay, Romeo. If you insist," she replied. Archie nodded his head and the two walked to Mariah's next class. Veronica watched them with a wide smile on her face before turning away and walking to her own class.

Mariah and Archie walked in silence before the ginger broke it. "I'm sorry. About earlier. I feel like I came off kinda rudely and I didn't mean to," he said quietly. "Well you did. Just a little," Mariah said, holding up her thumb and index finger in a pinching motion to represent 'a little'. "But it's okay Archie," she added smiling. The boy laughed a little before continuing, "I know I should probably explain things to you and--" He started before Mariah cut him off. "It's okay Arch, you can tell me when you're ready. Okay?" She said. "Okay," he replied. "Okay," Mariah said nodding.

"Maybe okay will be our always," Archie said, trying to contain his laughter. Mariah laughed loudly. "You did not just quote The Fault in Our Stars," she said still laughing. "Oh, but I did," Archie replied. He was laughing now too.

The two continued laughing until they reached Mariah's classroom. They stopped in front of the door and Mariah smiled. "Thanks for walking me to class," she said. Archie nodded, "Anytime." Mariah gave him one last smile before walking into her classroom. Archie smiled to himself before turning around and running to his next class so that he wouldn't be late.

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After school, for some reason, Mariah decided to go to the music room. She stood in front of the door and looked through the window. No one seemed to be in the room and Mariah took a look around the empty hallway. She took a deep breath and then walked into the music room. Mariah glanced around at the various instruments in the room.

She scanned the different instruments before her eyes landed on the one she came here for: the piano. She took timid steps toward it and sat down, placing her bag on the floor. The piano was a little old and seemed untouched. She pressed on all the keys to see if they were in tune. The sound of each key brought back so many memories.

She pressed on a few keys and then stopped. Then she started to play them again and before she knew it, she was playing a song on the piano. The song was River Flows in You by Yiruma. It's a song that she used to love. One that she used to play with her father. She was surprised that she even remembered it. She hasn't played the piano in a few years. The keys were slightly out of tune and she was a little rusty, but she could easily make out what the song was.

She remembered when Patrick Coleman first taught her this song. It took almost two months for her to perfect it seeing as back then, she was a pretty slow learner. Then again, she was only seven years old at the time. But still, the song reminded Mariah of a time when things were different, better even. Back then, she never would've guessed that things would be the way that they are now.

When she finished playing the song, she sighed sadly. She was surprised that she didn't start crying. Clapping coming from behind made Mariah jump and turn towards the source. She was surprised to see Ms. Grundy standing in the doorway. Mariah stood up and picked up her bag preparing to leave.

"No, you don't have to go," Ms. Grundy said quickly. Mariah shook her head and walked to the door. "I shouldn't even be here," she said and Ms. Grundy stopped her. "Wait! You're new here right? Your name's Mariah?" She asked. "Yeah, how did you know that?" Mariah asked slowly. She was growing uncomfortable.

"Well, I like to know about students with musical talent. And according to Principal Weatherbee, you're a very gifted student," she answered with a smile. Mariah narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "And how would Principal Weatherbee know that?" She asked, though she felt as though she already knew the answer. "Your mom," Ms. Grundy replied simply.

Mariah rolled her eyes, this definitely did not surprise her. Ms. Grundy cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Well, if you ever want to come in for music lessons, I'd be--" Ms. Grundy started. "Let me stop you right there. I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. Music isn't really my thing anymore," Mariah said.

Ms. Grundy shook her head, baffled. "But I've heard you play. You're incredible. You have real talent. Maybe you should think--"

"I said no!" Mariah exclaimed. She wanted no part in this conversation. Ms. Grundy sighed quietly and nodded her head. "If you ever change your mind, stop by my room," she said. "Thanks, but I won't change my mind." And with that, Mariah speed walked out of the music room. She walked out of the front doors of the school and began her journey home.

She figured with all this walking she was doing, that she would have a perfect body soon. Then again, with the amount of food that she ate, it would be nearly impossible to have a perfect one. So she settled for a fairly nice one. Not that she really cared about how she looked anyway.

When she got home, no one was there and once again, she was home alone. She trudged up the stairs to her room and dialed Cheryl's number. Once again, there was no answer. She decided to spam Cheryl with texts, hoping that she would reply. She didn't. Mariah contemplated on calling a cab to take her to Cheryl's house.

It was times like these that she really wished that she had a car. She was really annoyed at her mom for being so stubborn and not getting her one.

Deciding it was best to stay home and study, Mariah took out her history textbook. But before she opened it, she called Cheryl one more time and left a message on her voicemail. "Listen here you little shit. If you don't call me or text me back then the next time I see you, I'll rip your pretty little red locks out of your pretty little head. Understood? Good, now call me back. Love ya." And with that, she ended the call.

She studied for about five minutes before boredom took over and she went to get food. When she finished eating, she tried studying again and after two hours, she fell asleep.

°°°°

And this is chapter eight. It's the beginning of episode three. I really like this episode and it was fun to write this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed. Now, if any of you saw the 'I'm deleting this book' chapter, it was just an April Fools Day joke. I'm not deleting Capsize. Thank you to those who actually care about this book and who take the time to vote and comment. You guys are the greatest. And for those of you who don't do that, maybe you should start because it takes less than a minute to do and if you can take your time to read a new chapter, then you can take a little more time to comment and vote. That being said, don't forget to comment and vote. Also, please nominate Capsize for Best Archie Andrews Fanfiction for the Riverdale Awards on RiverdaleSociety's book. Have a great day!