Heyyy, how's life? It's summer!

*unedited and idk what I even wrote so enjoy I guess?*
————
A week went by since the fight. I had detention which meant, not working on my art after school. This is going to be my first day back at art, or I thought it would be.

"Y/N."

I immediately stop drawing. I know who this is, fucking Sweet Pea. I turn to the door, pursing my lips. "What?"

  He walks into the art room, throwing his bag on a chair. "Can we talk?"

  "Mmm maybe. Depends on what." I tell him.

  "Christmas Eve?"

I sigh, looking up at the ceiling, "Okay, what about Christmas Eve?" I ask, trying to look clueless. Maybe if I pretend it didn't happen, it would disappear? That's highly unlikely, but it's worth a shot.

"Y/N, you know."

"Fine, but before you say anything, I want you to know, I don't like you like that." I tell him quickly.

He laughs, "Obviously."

I roll my eyes at him, "Then what do you want to say about it? I'm sort of busy right now."

"Okay, I'll be fast then." Sweet Pea jumps up to sit on one of the tables across from me. "Can you not tell Betty? Not yet at least. I should be the one to tell her about this."

"Sure, whatever." I say.

"And," he smiles, "I want to be friends, strictly platonic between us. I like having someone to hang out with that's not Fangs."

I giggle a bit, "Fangs is a little different sometimes. He and Kevin should get on well."

"Probably." He chuckles, "But anyways, friends?" He holds his hand out for me to shake.

I walk over there and shake his hand, "Friends." I then look closer at his outfit. He had on a turtleneck with a Riverdale High sweatshirt over it. He looked very preppy, "So why are you wearing that?"

Pea groans, "Weatherbee gave these uniforms to the Serpents. He thought it would help us fit in. Fangs refused to wear it, and got suspended!"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." I tell him.

"Yeah tell me about it." He shakes his head and looks over at the clock, "Shit, it's 3:50."

I sit back down near my art work, "Is that bad?"

"No, Jughead wanted the Serpents to meet in an empty classroom. He said he had a plan?" He tells me while getting down from the table.

"Oh, fun. I'm sure he has a great plan." I say sarcastically, "All I've seen from him is some dumb shit."

Sweet Pea crosses his arms, "I thought you two were friends again?"

"We are, but we had another fight."

"Well, here's some bad news for you then," he grabs his bag from the nearby chair, "Jughead wanted you to go to the meeting, well before your last fight probably. You should still go, you could say I asked so..."

I sigh, "Fine I guess, but I'm not going because of him."

"Oh I'm sure your not."

"I'm not." I fake punch him, "I'm going because we are friends, and you asked me to go."

We walk out of the art room, my arms crossed the whole time. I'm not happy to see Jughead or at least the new version of him. I want my old friend back.

When we get to a random classroom, I open the door to see all of the teenage Serpents. I sit on a desk, while Sweet Pea takes the one next to me. I ask around, but none of the Serpents know what Jug is doing.

Jughead doesn't show up until 4. He looks around the room, spotting me after a bit. His eyebrows furrow telling me, 'why would you even be here?'

The boy quickly stands at the desk in the front, seeming to brush me off his mind. "Welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Swords and Serpents Club."

"Which is what, exactly?" Toni asks.

"Like I told Fogarty to lure him back to dear ol' Riverdale High, we are a gaming group. Sanctioned by Mr. Weatherbee, himself. Where like-minded students can meet and conduct world-building, role-playing scenarios." He smiles.

I jump off the desk, "So I'm here to pretend to be a dragon or some shit?"

Jughead shakes his head, "Not exactly. It's a club, for the Serpents and I guess you, Y/N. A safe haven where we can be Serpents, during school hours and under everyone's noses. We're not shedding our skins. We're lying low, in the tall grass."

The Serpents all nod, agreeing on this brilliant idea. One of them yells, "This is perfect!"

"I agree," I tell them, "But it seems a little weird for me to be in this club, without being a Serpent."

Jughead going behind the desk, "I've already thought of that. That's why I'm naming you an honorary Serpent." He walks over to me with a Serpent pin, "You in?"

"Why not? I mean half my friends are already in this club." I tell him, while he puts the pin on my jacket.

The rest of the Serpents begin to talk among themselves about the club. I look down at the pin, and it reminds me of my jacket. I know I hate the Serpents for kicking me out, but it's good to be back..with a somewhat family.

"So," Jughead says, "Does half your friends include me, or no?"

I shrug, "What happened a week ago, and even before it was a Jughead I didn't know. I didn't like it."

He nods, "I'll try to stop acting like that. I'm sorry, Y/N."His lips curl up, giving me a dopey smile, "Is that a good enough apology?"

"Not really, but I guess. Only this once it is though. Another time I except an apology milkshake." I joke with a small smirk on my face.

  He chuckles, nodding in agreement.

"So now that this club is officially real, when are we meeting again?"

"Everyday. 4 o'clock."

"I'll be there."

He lazily smiles at me, reminding me of how it was before our fights. It was nice to see a little of the old Jughead.

I soon realize my art is sitting out, waiting for prying eyes. I start to walk out the door, back to the art room, but Jughead yells after me.

"Where are you going?"

I turn around, while walking backwards, "Art room. I haven't been working because of someone." I joke.

"See you soon?"

"Obviously." I yell back happily.

————

Everything seemed the same from a week ago. The Serpents were still the misfits being pushed around by the Bulldogs. The Blue and Gold was happily writing. And sports continued on.

Basketball season was on the horizon meaning my brother was putting everything into it, getting ready for tryouts.

He did it every winter, but he was very different this year. This year, the FEDs were working with him to take down Hiram Lodge.

The FBI agent hasn't taken interest in me yet. I'm not sure if they have what they need, or Archie made them swear they wouldn't ask me. At least I won't get caught up in that mess.

Meanwhile, the town was preparing to honor its founding father, General Augustus Pickens. Every year, our town hosted a celebration to honor him.

And every year, I have to listen to Cheryl's stupid presentation on her great-great-great grandpa.

Jughead and I had made its habit to not listen to the girl, but our teacher didn't like that, "Eyes up front, Mr. Jones and Miss. L/N."

"Thank you, Mrs. Haggly." Cheryl says then steps closer to the students, "As I was saying, each year we honor the memory of General Pickens, yet few know the truth." She changes the picture on the screen to Pickens.

She smiles, "That it was my great-great-great-grandpappy Colonel Barnabas B. Blossom, who bankrolled General Pickens' settlement of," she changes the picture again, "...an Eden along the River of Sweetwater, where maple trees grow taller than the steeples of Europe's grandest cathedrals."

I roll my eyes and turn back to my drawing of the Swords and Serpent's logo. Jughead asked me to design something, so the Bulldogs thought we were actually meeting to role-play. It was stupid, but anything for the Serpents, I guess.

Cheryl keeps droning on about Pickens and her grandfather, "Which is why every year I petition the mayor's office to rename Pickens Day to-" the bell cuts her off, thank god.

I quickly gather up my things, ready to leave this class. The teacher thanks Cheryl for her shortened presentation and looks at Jughead, "Mr. Jones. We look forward to your oral history report next week."

This makes me chuckle. He has put that off for a while and apparently our teacher hasn't been the happiest about that.

Jughead nudges me with a frown to stop my giggles. I roll my eyes with a smile at him.

Good news for me. Jughead and I have been on good terms since I became the honorary Serpent. The Swords and Serpents club has been almost like a family gathering for me. It's the best.

Speaking of clubs, Betty has been sort of MIA when it comes to the Blue and Gold. Her and Alice found the missing Cooper at a sketchy hostel.

Long story short, he refused to go. Betty then brought him home a bit after that, and he lives there now. Everyday there seems to be some creepy update on him.

Today she finally showed us a picture of him. Veronica was thrilled to see him, "Well, he's very fetching for someone who was living on Skid Row."

"Yeah, he's a hottie," Kevin looks at him for a while, "who looks incredibly familiar to me, by the way."

"Your adventures in the woods?" Jug asks.

I shoot him a glance, not wanting to open old wounds with Kevin. He didn't seem too bothered by Jughead's comment, "I don't know but maybe if we were allowed to meet this hottie in person..." he looks at Betty with a small smile.

"Chic's still acclimating. And I'm trying to get him to trust me, but my mom and s treating him like he's a ten-year-old and my dad's acting like he's the devil's spawn."

I put my arm on Betty's shoulder, "That sucks, I'm sorry."

"Well, I have an amazing idea." Ronnie announces to us, "Bring him to Pickens Day and we can all meet him. Everyone's coming right?"

Jughead shakes his head, "No, because the Serpents weren't invited."

"I'm with Juggie on this one." I tell her.

"The Serpents were specifically asked to come." She fights back.

I cross my arms, "To provide security. There's a huge difference!"

Jughead does the same, leaning back into the couch, "Yeah, it's like we're all on the Snowpiercer train, but the Serpents happened to be the ones eating the cockroaches."

"You two don't have to work if you don't want to." Ronnie tells us.

He sighs, "The damage, as they say, has already been done. Talk to you guys later." Jughead pulls on my arm, "Come on Y/N, we have something to do."

"What?" I grab my stuff, "Um sure I guess," I follow him out of the lounge, "What's going on?"

"We are going to interview Toni's grandfather." He smiles at me, "For my oral history report."

I groan, "It's not a group project, Jug."

He rolls his eyes, "Thats not all it is Y/N. It's more like an article."

My eyes light up. This means only one thing, I think, and I hope I am right, "Your coming back to the Blue and Gold?"

"Maybe, if Betty and you will have me," he tells me.

"Oh thank god! Betty has written close to nothing because of Chic. We let Kevin write his own column because of that."

We walk out of the school, "Oh I know. It's very popular"

"That's good. I thought the gossip column would cause a lot of drama, but people really like it."

Toni meets us outside the school next to her beat up car. She said it belonged to her older brother, who is about 16 years older than her. It's been used so much that everybody, including her, is surprised it still works.

We drive to the Southside in comfortable silence. She parks next to a tiny trailer on the edge of town. It looks like there could only be a bedroom in it. When we walked in though, I was surprised to see a kitchen and a living room.

Toni introduced us, "Grandpa, these are my friends, Jughead Jones and Y/N L/N. You probably know their parents."

  "Yes." He grunts.

  I slightly frown thinking about the fact that he knows my dad. I hope he doesn't think I am like him, or anything close to him.

  Jughead sits down on the couch, while I stand, "Thanks again for meeting with me." He gets out a pencil to write down things in his notebook, "Toni told me that you're one of the founding members of the Serpents."

  "Yes. The snake, the laws, it's all based on Uktena tradition." He tells us.

  "Who were the Uktena?" Jughead writes word for word what he said on his paper.

  He raises his arm slightly looking contently at the floor, "Uktena is a serpent, a horned serpent, a water serpent. Before there was a Riverdale, all the land belonged to the Uktena."

  I look at Toni with a frown. If I paid attention in history class, I should know what happened. I bet the land was stolen from them, it's not fair.

  "How did the Uktena evolve into the Serpents?" He asks.

  He chuckles lowly, "The Uktena, we didn't evolve. We were all slaughtered."

  Here it comes, I bet I was right.

  "When my grandpa was a baby, there was a raid, and it was led by your hero over there, General Pickens." Toni's grandfather explains.

  I shake my head, "That's awful."

  "It was. The battle, if you call it that," he pauses for a second with a sigh, "only lasted for 12 minutes, but the slaughter was total and savage."

  "The General Pickens wholes statue stands proudly in Pickens Park?" Jughead asks in disbelief.

  He nods, "Yes, and every year the Northside honors this man who massacred children. When my grandpa died, we formed the Serpents as a way to keep the family together."

  Jughead stops writing down anything, and begins to focus more on the story. "How do people not know about this?"

  "Well, some do, but..." he waved off Jughead.

  Toni interiors, "It's called the whitewashing of history, Jones. What? Did you think Jason Blossom was the first person to be murdered in Riverdale?"

  Jughead looks at me then to Toni's grandfather, "Thank you for sharing this with us. Is there anything else you would like to share?"

  "No, I've said enough."

  "Okay, thank you for your time." Jughead stands up, grabbing everything he brought with.

  The man just nods, turning back to the window, staring out it. Probably staring at the land his family once owned. It isn't right, and for the Northside to be celebrating it? That's the worst part.

  I won't stand for it, and I can tell Jughead definitely won't. I guess it's time for another article that will cause chaos around town.

————

  I walk into the Blue and Gold the next morning. Betty had all the curtains open, making the room seem very bright. I didn't like it.

  Kevin was in there with Betty talking about Archie's recent difficulties with wrestling. He's honestly stupid for changing sports.

  "It fell so good! It's like, yeah, Archie you have the physique of a 1970's porn star, but it doesn't mean you can wrestle." Kevin tells us with excitement.

  I cringe, "I never want to hear about his porn star body again." I saying using air quotes around 'porn star'. Archie isn't even close to hot, well I guess for me at least.

  "Speaking of porn stars..." Betty starts.

  "Did you get lost down a webcam rabbit hole last night?"

  I look between the pair, internally freaking out, "What do you mean webcam, Betty? Did you make a tape?"

  She practically gasps, "No, Y/N! Of course not. It's just...fascinating. I brought Chic home to help my mom without knowing who he was, and now to find out he's actually multiple people, performing online. How do I broach that with him?"

  "I recommend not even mentioning it. Too many weird conversations." I say.

  Somebody knocks on the door, making Kevin jump. It never gets old when somebody does the slightest thing making him jump.

  I look over to see Jughead, "Oh hey." I slightly wave.

  "Hey, am I interrupting?"

  "I mean if you want to talk about porn star brothers-" Betty puts her hand over my mouth making me stop talking.

  "No." Betty says to Jughead, "What's up?"

  He leans on a desk across from me, "I just wanted to run some stuff by you, but I can come back."

  Kevin seems upset with Jughead interrupting on our conversation, "No..no, no, it's fine." He leaves the office with his head shaking.

  I think he's still trying to adjust to being here with us three. We do a lot of illegal stuff and his dads the sheriff, so he leaves once it seems it's time to investigate.

  "By the way, I'm really digging Kevin's new gossip column." He tells Betty, while she cleans up a couple of papers.

  "Readers love it." She smiles, "And I needed to fill the extra space when you.." she nods knowing we all know what she means. Betty was hurt by him leaving the Blue and Gold since he promised to do it. I can't believe she was the one hurt, and not me.

  He smiles, "Well, I'm actually working on a story right now. Here," The file containing his writing gets passed to Betty, "When I interviewed Toni's grandfather for history class, he had some pretty intense things to say about General Pickens."

  I lean back on the chair I'm sitting in, already bored. I know this shit already, no need to listen, but something catches my attention.

  "...General Pickens was hired by Barnabas B. Blossom to remove the Uktena by force."

  "What?" I ask, "He killed those innocent people?"

  "Yes."

  She frowns, "Oh, my god! That's horrible."

  Jughead gets more angry sounding, "And adding salt to the wound, the last remnants of the tribe, the Serpents, are being squeezed out of existence. Toni's grandfather lives in a trailer the size of a broom closet. And Hiram Lodge is honoring this murderer instead of trying to make amends."

  "It's a story we need to tell." I say, getting up from the chair, "We have to publish this."

  Betty nods, "Are you gonna try to get a quote from Hiram Lodge?"

  I smile, "I got this. Jug, if you want, I can ask him, and write it all down? I'm already in the dog house with him so why not make him hate me more?"

  "No, Y/N. You need Hiram to like you, let me remind you, you are in the foster care system still?"

  I groan, he always has to be looking out for me, doesn't he? I've wanted to try writing something for the paper for so long. My arts great, but it would help Betty a lot more. Nobody seems to believe I can do it though, "Fine, whatever. Get your dumb quote yourself then." I get up to leave.

  "Y/N, it's not that big of a deal-"

  "I know, Jughead." I grab my backpack, "I have other places to be at 4 pm, and so do you. Swords and whatever it's called?"

  He rolls his eyes, "Oh yeah, okay, whatever then." Betty hands him back his article, "I'll finish this as soon as I get the quote."

  "I'll be waiting." She turns away from us, moving to the file closet.

  Jughead and I gather up our things, and make our way to that classroom. Along the way, Jughead turns to me, "What was that about, Y/N?"

  "What do you mean?" I look around the halls, ignoring his eyes on me.

  "The quote?"

  I shrug, "You and Betty never let me help with the writing I guess."

  He stops walking, and turns himself to face me, "Yeah, you do art."

  I turn as well, "I know, and I love it. You and Betty just make it seem like I can't do it. I'm not even allowed to touch an article before print or Betty freaks out. I know I've never written anything article like before, but I never get a chance to even try."

  "You want to write?"

  "Duh, Jughead." I roll my eyes playfully, "You guys are always panicking about finishing articles on time, and I'm just sitting there. I've asked but Betty said no way. It's like you think I'm incapable of writing things. Need me to remind you I'm in Honors English?"

  He nods slowly, "Okay. You can write. Sorry I've been making you feel like that." It's crazy, he's turning back to old Jughead, "Honestly, I didn't know you liked that."

  "I wrote a whole book when I was younger on this app called Watt..notepad or something? I don't remember but anyways, I just want to fell like you acknowledge me for my other skills rather than just art."

  He agrees with a smile, "We will. I'm excited to read your article."

  "I'm excited to write it." I tell him, smiling back at him.

  Jughead stares at me for a minute longer, then awkwardly turns back to the hallway. "We should probably get to the Serpents."

  "Oh um, yeah!" I look down at the floor the whole time, while we walk to the classroom.

  All the Serpents are in there when we arrive. Most of them shake their heads at our tardiness. It's fine if we show up 20 minutes late.

   Sweet Pea raises his eyebrows, "Why were you two late?" He asks jokingly, "Found that old closet and decided to have some fun?"

  I immediately punch him on the arm while the Serpents laugh, "No!"

  Jughead pressed his tongue against his cheek, "Sweet Pea no just...not the time." He turns away from me and whispers something to himself. I wonder what he said.

  Sweet Pea and I may be friends now, but I will hate him forever for that comment. He begins to rub his arm where I hit him, he deserves it.

  The rest of the Serpents laugh. I'm not sure if it's about the joke or my punch. Hopefully it's the punch.

Jughead finally turns back to everybody immediately changing the subject. He tells everybody about the article for the millionth time. It's going to be a great article, but he won't stop with it.

I hope it will be some justice to the silenced. If not, at least it will be a good reminder for the Northside that they aren't perfect. I'm not perfect, I know that for sure. Why should they feel like that?

The whole rest of the meeting carried on as usual. These are honestly like hang outs instead of meetings. The only thing productive we've done is elected Jughead as president.

Sweet Pea left the meeting early, not saying anything more about his joke. He said Betty wanted to see him.

She has been calling him almost every second, asking where he is or if he wants to do something with her. I don't think I was that annoying with Jughead, at least I hope so.

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