There's nothing better to forget an awful day than having a drink with your friends. That is until other news makes the day even worse.

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Still a bit shaken from her run-in with Mr. Kowalski, Nellie returned to the laundry room to check out. It had been a long and tiring day but Sweet Pea's promise at least brought her something to look forward to. A night out to clear her mind was exactly what Nellie needed.

The pink haired girl waiting for her in the laundry room however, came as a surprise.

"Toni?" Nellie said, her hand freezing over the hoodie she was about to pull over her head.

The Serpent girl turned around with a bright smile on her face.

"Thank god, you're here. I was starting to worry that you had already left!" Toni let out in visible relief.

Nellie eyed the girl carefully. In her almost entire black outfit, the Serpent seemed so out of place in the pale green interior of the laundry room.

"What are you doing here?" she finally asked to which Toni kicked the sports bag that had been sitting next to her, in Nellie's direction.

"Well, you can't go the Wyrm dressed like that," Toni replied. Her pale brown eyes scanned over Nellie's wrinkled uniform.

"Is a pub full of gang members going to judge me?" Nellie retorted, picking up the bag and unzipping it either way.

"It's your night out," Toni replied, inching closer to help Nellie sort through the pieces of clothing she had brought. "You should treat it like one."

The Serpent held a dangerous smile as she picked out an outfit that showed a lot of skin. Nellie shook her head, a giggle barely passing through her pursed lips.

"I spilled something on that one," Toni pointed out to a shirt Nellie held up "but no worries, you can't see the stain in the Whyte Wyrm. It's quite dark inside."

"Thank you," Nellie suddenly said placing the top back onto the bag. "It really means a lot to me that you're doing this." She gave the Serpent a shy smile.

"No problem, a girl's got to help a girl out, am I right?" The Serpent wiped away her gratitude with a simple smirk.

"Now, you're a bit taller than I am, so perhaps no trousers of mine? Here, this will look great on you!" Toni said, shoving a simple black T-shirt dress in Nellie's arms.

Nellie turned around and started getting out of her uniform. She heard Toni's cough but ignored it, not seeing a problem with changing in front of the girl. In P.E. she had done so multiple times and even in this very room she had often changed with the other housemaids. Pulling the dress over her simple black underwear, she straightened the folds until it fitted neatly against her figure.

"Amazing," Toni gasped, letting her eyes roam over Nellie's figure. "You look great," she continued "However, a Serpent is nothing without his flanel," Toni said and picked up a simple red flannel shirt. The girl bend over to Nellie and tied it firmly around her waist.

"Now, put your sneakers on and we're off," Toni said, pointing at Nellie's shoes she had brought along.

After shoving her uniform in one of the laundry baskets and grabbing her sweater, Nellie followed the pink haired girl outside.

The girl strutted towards a small black motorcycle. There was barely enough room for the two of them.

"Don't worry," Toni said as she eyed Nellie's reaction "It's not for long. Here," she shove a helmet in Nellie's arms. As she rose it to her head, the smell of Sweet Pea's cheap shampoo immediately told her it was his helmet. Not wanting to think more of it, Nellie shove it over her short black hair and scooted as close as possible to the female Serpent.

The ride wasn't long indeed and before Nellie could fully register the road they'd taken to the Wyrm, Toni parked the motorcycle next to several others. Apparently, it was a busy night out on a Monday.

Hugging her arms closer from the cold breeze that had come as soon as the sun had started its way down, Nellie followed the tiny girl inside the bar. Warmth washed over her as soon as the doors opened and the duo strutted down the steep stairways into the basement.

She immediately glanced around looking for the familiar face of Sweet Pea.

It wasn't until he stood straight from his hunched position over the pool table that Nellie recognized her roommate. In the dimmed light he looked handsome in a rough way. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt and worn jeans jacket. The tattoo in his neck was barely visible behind his collar that was standing up straight.

Without giving Nellie any attention, Toni darted towards the table, easily dodging people crossing her path. Nellie followed at a slower space, careful not to spill any of the drinks on her borrowed dress and not to anger any of the gang members.

"You came alone or what?" she heard Sweet Pea hiss to his friend when she broke through the crowd to face the rest of the gang.

"Speaking of the devil," Toni muttered, casting a playful glance at the other Serpents as Sweet Pea drank in the sight of Nellie. She looked shy and timid, fiddling with the sleeves of the shirt tied around her waist.

However, dressed in Toni's clothing, she looked like she belonged.

A lump formed in his throat and for the first time, Sweet Pea had no idea what to do. So, he awkwardly reached out for her and pulled Nellie into the group by draping his arm carefully around her shoulders.

"Guys, this is Nellie. Nellie, this is... everyone," he said, cursing himself for struggling with his words.

"Fangs,"

"Byrdie,"

"Azure,"

Nevertheless, the three guys almost simultaneously introduced themselves. Toni simply waved at her, since they had already met. Nellie looked at the tough looking gang members not really knowing what to say.

"Get your girl a drink, Sweets," one of the guys, the one who called himself Azure, mocked Sweet Pea who glared him down in response followed by a line of curses directed to his friend. However, the meaning of the words dawned on the fiery Serpent.

He replaced his gaze from Azure to Nellie who looked up to him. "Would you like something?" Sweet pea asked, his tone much softer than the one he used on Azure.

"Sure, after all, we need to celebrate I get to keep my job," she said, beaming towards the tall boy. A grin broke out on his face as he headed straight to the bar. The other members easily made place for him as he searched his way through the crowd.

"So, our sincerest apologies for having to share a trailer with that pig," the guy named Fangs said, before taking a sip of his beer. The others chuckled.

"It's not that bad," Nellie admitted, her hand running up and down the skin of her arm.

Suddenly Toni stood next to her, placing a hand between her shoulders. "You don't need to be uncomfortable, Hearst. Let's play a game of pool," the girl said, squeezing Nellie's shoulder slightly before reaching for a pool stick and handing it over to the girl.

Nellie had played pool before but it had been a long time since she had. She remembered the rules vaguely as the game continued. She was surprised to feel a hand on her lower back just when she was about to hit the ball. She jumped up, missing it entirely as the stick shoved over the round surface.

When she turned around, Sweet Pea apologetically grinned, holding out a glass of whiskey. Nellie smiled and shook her head as she accepted the glass.

"To job security!" Sweet Pea grinned, raising his glass before taking a large gulp.

Nellie followed suit, feeling the amber liquid burn in her throat. She squinted her eyes slightly from the strong taste and felt her ears immediately heat up. A chuckle escaped the Serpent next to her.

The mood was cozy and all until Fangs brought up the previous evening. After Veronica's confirmation ceremony, Sweet Pea and Nellie had returned to their trailer, not really caring if anything happened in the Whyte Wyrm. But all hell had broken loose when a Serpent called Tall Boy had admitted to be the one decapitating the Pickens' statue.

When Sweet Pea heard the news, his fist clenched around the pool stick. The carefree look in his eyes disappeared and was replaced by a dark anger. The fury waved off him as his muscles tensed and his jaw clenched.

Toni and Nellie carefully observed the boy as Azure and Fangs explained what had happened in the bar. Jughead and his girlfriend Betty had interrupted the vote of what was supposed to happen to Jughead after he had broken the Serpent rules. They had found the statue's head at the dump. The owner of the dump had given them a description of the man who had brought it along. It had unmistakably been the older Serpent. His punishment was being exiled from the Southside Serpents.

"But why?" Sweet Pea interrupted the two other Serpents.

They looked up to him in surprise, noticing how the boy layered his disappointment beneath anger.

"He thought the Serpents were growing soft. He wanted to get rid off Jughead and F.P." Azure said, his pale blue eyes diverted to the remaining balls on the pool table.

"Then why decapitate Pickens' statue?" Sweet Pea continued. His expression showed confusion and betrayal.

"He knew it would get us into trouble. Trouble he was about to blame on Jughead and F.P. Hiram Lodge set him up to it,"

At the mention of her father's name, Nellie couldn't help but look up. Her reaction went unnoticed by the others, but her heart was suddenly speeding up. Why would her father get involved in a clearly unstable gang?

"And why would the bastard do that?" Sweet Pea shot back, anger rolling of him as he moved around the table. Nellie flinched at his choice of words. F.P. had called her father a bastard as well, but at least that man knew the truth about Nellie's identity.

"It's no secret Lodge wants the Serpents gone," Toni remarked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Apparently, he's working together with Mayor McCoy," Fangs added.

"Hence, the eviction notices," Toni cleared out.

With a sudden force, Sweet Pea smashed the pool stick onto the table. "If I ever get to lay my hands on that man," he gritted "I assure you there won't be a Mr. Lodge left to talk about,"

"I'm going home," the tall Serpent declared, his cheerful mood clearly tainted by the news. "Nellie?" he looked at her expectantly. He didn't give her much of a choice anyway as he almost immediately headed for the exit of the Wyrm.

Nellie turned around and waved goodbye to the others. "It was really nice to meet you, but I guess I'll follow if I want to get home," she added. The others simply said goodbye and returned to their conversation.

When Nellie went outside, Sweet Pea was already straddling his motorcycle, holding his helmet in one hand. As Nellie approached, he held it out to her and she silently accepted it.

No sooner had she draped her arms around his waist, or the motorcycle took off at high speed. Anger was rolling of off Sweet Pea. She could feel it in the way his muscles tensed and his eyes were strained onto the road. Their speed was increasing. She hated to admit it, but her adrenaline was being replaced by fear as she held onto the Serpent.

It wasn't until they skidded in front of their trailer that she dared to loosen grip on the boy.

Without saying a word, Sweet Pea strode towards the trailer, leaving the door open as he entered. Nellie silently followed.

When she came in, the gang member was seated on his bed, his fists pressed against his eyes in frustration.

Not knowing what to say or do, Nellie simply sat down on the bench the closest to Sweet Pea's bed, not wanting to leave him alone as he was obviously struggling with something.

"You okay?" she finally broke the silence. Sweet Pea let his head hang down in response.

"I just never thought it would be Tall Boy to betray us," he let out. The anger was visibly leaving his body as his shoulders slumped and his hands fall down between his legs. "He was our leader when F.P. was in jail. How could he do this to us?" he asked but Nellie could almost sense Sweet Pea's true question: how could he do this to him?

She stood up and sat down next to Sweet Pea onto the bed. Her bare thigh touched the rough material of his jeans as she leaned closer to him. Her hand slowly went up and down his back.

"Betrayal hurts the most because it never comes from your enemies," she said, her voice soft and delicate. Sweet Pea let out a huff.

"The man was like a father to me," he admitted.

Not knowing what to respond Nellie simply placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. Sweet Pea let out a sigh.

"I just never thought he would pick his own vendetta over the Serpents. It's nothing like him," he admitted in the darkness of the trailer.

"I don't know how but Hiram Lodge made him betray us," he continued, the softness in his voice gone and replaced by a sharp edge.

"And I will never forgive the man for it,"