nine
southside trash.

"YOU AND MS.GRUNDY?" Josie scowls in disbelief. She's known Archie for a long time now, and he's done a lot of questionable things. This, however, makes everything else he's done look like nothing.

"We are..." Archie trails off, searching for a word that doesn't sound bad. "Together. Look, I know that sounds bad, but-"

"Bad?" Veronica echoes, her chocolate eyes the size of saucers. "It sounds scandalous."

"It sounds like jail time to me!" Betty exclaims, pointing out the obvious. If her and Ms.Grundy were to be caught, the cops would have to be involved. "Illegal!"

"Yeah, Arch!" Josie hisses, completely agreeing with Betty. "Do you want to go to jail? Do you want her to go to jail?"

"Guys, don't go there," Archie shakes his head, not wanting them to even think about such a thing.

"Oh, I'm already there," Betty informs, as Josie crosses her arms.

"Me, too. I mean, seriously, Arch? A teacher?"

"Ronnie, a little help here?" Archie turns to Veronica for help.

Veronica is caught off guard as the trio stares at her, waiting for her answer. She racks her mind for a response, and when she comes up with one, she's stuttering. "I-I mean, technically, they're right. And ethically, well, what is Grundy to you, anyway, your girlfriend? Your booty tutor?"

Josie stifles a giggle at the last one, but Archie doesn't seem to think it's that funny, because he frowns. "I don't know, I don't know what to call her."

"You said you were at the river alone," Betty reminds him, talking about the fact that he'd told Sheriff Keller that he heard a gunshot at Sweetwater River on July 4th. However, he said he was with his dog when apparently, he was with Ms.Grundy. "You lies to Sheriff Keller, to all of us. Why? To protect her?"

"She believed in me when no one else did," Archie states in an attempt to defend the teacher. Josie bites down on her lip, knowing she can't exactly judge him since she has a secret worse than that.

"Okay, we get it," Veronica informs awkwardly.

"Betty, say something," Archie begs the blonde, needing his best friend to understand.

Betty shakes her head, not knowing what to say just as a car pulls up, the driver honking the horn. Josie cranes her neck to get a better view of the driver, and when she does, she realizes it's Betty's mom, Alice Cooper. She scowls at the group. "Get in the car, Betty. Now."

Betty shrugs at them before she climbs into the car and drives away. Josie and Veronica then turn to Archie. Josie simply shakes her head at him. "Arch, I don't know what to do about Grundy, but you need to fix things with Betty."

She smiles sadly at him before walking back into Pop's, and returning to the booth with Kevin and Jughead. Veronica then frowns at Archie. "Oh, Archiekins, you're in it deep this time."
--

The next evening, Josie sits in the back of Kevin's truck with him and Veronica watching Rebel Without a Cause. She's sharing a blanket and snacks with them as a red convertible she knows all to well drives up and parks in front of the truck. Cheryl then climbs out of it, smiling at them. "Make some room, outcasts, Jo."

Cheryl then climbs into the back of the pickup, motioning for Josie to move over. Josie does as told, letting Cheryl have some of the blanket. The redhead rests her head on Josie's shoulder, finding the familiarity of it comforting. She heaves a sigh. "Jason always loved the drive-in."

Josie looks at her sympathetically as Kevin and Veronica exchange annoyed glances, clearly not very happy Cheryl invited herself to sit with them. But they grow even more annoyed when the group of Serpents behind them lets out yet another series of hoots and hollers.

"Southside trash," Kevin scoffs, but Josie stays silent. She had once been close friends with a serpent, and unlike most of the north side, she doesn't fear the gang.

"They've been doing that since the opening credits," Veronica points out, just as Kevin turns around and hisses for them to be quiet. They gasp at him, and Josie turns her head to see the group. Her eyes, however, widen once she lays eyes on a girl that's sitting with them, one that she once knew very well. She pales, turning her head back around before the girl with pink hair can recognize her. The group continues to disrupt the movie, and after a while, Veronica gets mad.

"Hey!" she yells, jumping to her feet so that the gang can see her. "You know what happens to a snake when a Louis Vuitton heel steps on it? Shut the hell up, or you'll find out!"

The Northsiders applaud her, happy somebody finally had the guts to say something. Josie then smirks at her. "That was badass, Ron."

"Thank you," Veronica bows dramatically before sitting back down.

"I cannot believe you just threatened a gang-banger," Kevin exhales sharply, nearly as pale as Josie. Seeing Toni had really surprised her.

"I've dealt with worse in the East Village," Veronica remarks, going back to watching the movie. "I just hate when people disrespect my cinematic experience." She then notices the nearly empty popcorn bucket, and hands it to Cheryl, wanting to get rid of her. "How about a refill?"

Cheryl takes it from her, a smirk finding its way to her lips. "Yeah, Kev, how about a refill? Cherry cola, as always."

"I've got it," Josie grabs the bucket from her and basically jumps out of the back of the truck. Veronica watches her go in confusion, wondering why she seems so desperate to get away. Josie is practically speed walking as she heads to the concession stand. Once she gets there, she smiles at the boy working the stand and sets her popcorn bucket on the counter. "Hi, can I get a refill? And a lot of butter, please. The more, the better, actually. And some M&M's and a cherry cola."

He gives her an odd look, wondering how she can eat all of that and still be so skinny. But she simply shrugs, not wanting to explain to him how she does yoga three times a week. He gets her the cola and refill before looking in the back for the candy. He then shrugs. "We're out of M&M's."

"Of course you are," she nods, annoyed that they're out of her favorite candy. She pulls two dollars out of her pocket to pay for the cola and hands it to him. "Thanks, anyways."

She then turns around to return to the truck, and when she does, she sees that a serpent is standing in front of her. When she looks up, she realizes it's the girl she had spent so many endless summer nights with when she was a child-Antionette Topaz. The girl has grown into her features since the last time Josie saw her, and her once dark hair is now pink. It's pulled into French braids, and she has a serpent jacket resting snugly on her shoulders. "Hey, Josie. It's been a long time."

"Yeah, it has. Hi, Toni."

UNEDITED