Faithfully

119

During 8th period, Braxton walked into the Blue and Gold to see Betty scrolling on her laptop. "Studying?" She asked as she sat across from her and opened hers. "Yeah." Was all Betty replied with. The semi finals of the Quiz show were that weekend and Riverdale was a crowd favorite for the finals.

"Feeling confident?"

"You betcha." Braxton looked up and stared at Betty. "Did Jug tell you he got accepted into Yale?" She asked still looking at the laptop.

"He did." Braxtons response finally got Betty to look at her.  "What?"

"When did he tell you?"

"At dinner after the football game."

Betty was confused. "Where was I?"

"You were working on your article. Said you weren't hungry for dinner."

"Oh.."

"That's not to say he would have said anything with you around. He knew you were still waiting on your letter."

"Braxton."

She looked up at Betty and saw the look of someone with a crazy idea. "...yeah?"

"Would you go on a date with Brett?"

"He's not exactly my type.. I never really went for trust fund babies."

"No, Brax. What I meant was will you go on a date with him? For me? There has to be something that's not so perfect about him."

"Betty, I have a boyfriend, an angry one at that. The last thing I'm going to do is go on a date with anyone but him."

"I don't know why I even asked. Sweet Pea would kill him before you even showed up to dinner."

Braxton took in a deep breath and looked at her distant cousin. "Betty.." she sighed. "What's your obsession with Brett anyway?"

"It's not an obsession."

"Well then what is it? Is it because he got into Yale and you didn't?"

"I worked my ass off for four years, I put an extra time at the Blue and Gold, I maintained a 4.1 GPA, and I still didn't get in. Not knowing why is driving me crazy. He the son of a diplomat, brags about being untouchable. I can't help but feel that has something to do with it."

"Ask Charles. Working for the FBI and all, he may know something about Brett."

"That's not a bad idea.. thanks for that."

"Of course."

Sweet Pea was walking down the hall way and stuck his head into the room. "Hey babe, you ready to go?" He asked looking at Braxton. She looked towards Betty who shook her head. "Veronica, Cheryl, and Toni are probably on their way so we can practice. I'm fine, B."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes. Now go. Enjoy your weekend."

Braxton grabbed her laptop and slid it in her bag. "Let me know what you find out, okay? And let me know how the quiz show goes."

"You're not coming?"

"No, we are having dinner with my mother." Sweet Pea told her less enthused.

"Your mom? I didn't-"

"You wouldn't have."

"He's a closed book." Braxton smiled as she stood and walked over to her boyfriend who grabbed her hand. "I won't be there tomorrow, but I will be there Monday because I have full faith in you girls. I'll talk to you later."

As the two walked hand in hand down the hall, Braxton looked up at Sweet Pea and stopped in her tracks. "You're dreading tomorrow, aren't you?" She asked. "What?" He asked as he turned to look at her.

"Dinner with your mom."

"It just seems so forced."

"It was like that for me too. Then it got better. And now she and I hardly talk again."

"Maybe you should go see her. She probably thinks you want nothing to do with her."

The end of day bell rang and Braxton shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you should try with your mom."

"I am, Brax. I really just don't know what to say to her or what to talk about."

"I get that." She told him as she wrapped her arm around his waist and they headed for the doors. "It'll come to you eventually."

______

The two sat across from Jessica and Braxton could feel the awkward silence. She could tell that Jessica didn't find Pop's as appealing as they did. "So, you two come here often?" She asked looking around. "They have the best burgers in town." Sweet Pea replied.

"Oh, well maybe I'll order a burger then."

Braxton could see the mother and son were still struggling with what to say. "So Ms-"

"Please, call me Jessica."

"Okay, Jessica.. How is your stay at the Five Seasons?"

"Oh, it's lovely. Very nice hotel."

"Good, I'm glad."

"How long have you lived in your house?" Jessica asked her son.

"A couple months."

"It's beautiful. Is it a rental?"

"No."

She looked at Sweet Pea confused. "You bought it? But you're only 18?"

"No."

She turned her eyes to Braxton whose lips pressed together. "You two live together?"

"It's my dads house. He and my brother also live there."

"We all live together."

It was clear Jessica didn't approve of the two living in the same home at such a young age. Not that Sweet Pea cared what she thought. "We lived in an apartment at the Pembrooke before that."

"With my mom." Braxton added and looked to her boyfriend.

"I see.. Well it's a beautiful home."

"You should come for dinner on Sunday."

Sweet Pea shot his girlfriend a look of disbelief.

"Oh no. I would hate to intrude on your father and brother."

"You wouldn't. My dad has work and my brother will probably be at the Wrym."

"The.. Wrym?"

"It's a biker bar for the Serpents." Sweet Pea told her.

"And that's the gang that you joined?" The judgement was thick in Jessica's tone.

"It's the family that I became a member of." He corrected her.

"Okay, great. Say, dinner at 6:30?" Braxton intervened hoping to break the tension.

The rest of dinner went smoothly for the three. They all stayed clear of anything that would cause a rise in blood pressure. Sweet Pea even smiled a couple of times which Braxton could see warmed Jessica's heart.

They said their goodbyes in the parking lot and Jessica got into her car and drove off. Braxton walked for the car and Sweet Pea watched his mom, confused as to why she turned left when the Five Seasons was to the right. "Everything okay?" Braxton asked when she saw the confused look on his face. "Yeah." He told her. "I'm good."