Redemption [Sweet Pea x OC]

Chapter 11

I knelt in the hallway, holding Hot Dog tightly.

"What the hell?" I heard Jughead exclaim.

"Your initiation begins now. WIth you assuming the guardianship of the beast," I heard Sweet Pea say, his voice slightly muffled by the snake masks they all wore.

Right on cue I let Hot Dog go, who ran straight into the room, and from the sounds of it, straight for my cousin. I stood, brushing the loose fur off me as the Serpents filed out, still wearing their masks.

"Those things are creepy," I said, watching them be tossed back into the box Toni had brought.

"Come on, it helps set the mood," Fangs whined.

"I found these after Halloween last year," Toni explained. "They've made initiations a little more fun."

I rolled my eyes. "I think I'll stick with holding back The Beast," I said.

"Even though you have fur all over you?" Sweet Pea asked, pulling a strand off my shoulder.

I looked down, seeing that my black jeans were covered in tan fur. "Yup, because that means whoever's taking care of Hot Dog will have fur on everything."

"Come on, let's get it off you at least," Sweet Pea said, leading me back to his trailer.

I followed Sweet Pea into the kitchen where he was digging through the drawers, looking for whatever it was that would get my jeans clean again. "Here it is," he said, holding something up triumphantly.

"Duct tape?" I questioned, hopping up to sit on the counter.

"What's wrong with duct tape? It'll get the job done."

Fangs let himself in, followed by Toni. "We're going to Pop's for breakfast. You wanna come with?"

"Why not," Sweet Pea replied before turning back to me. "So, what's wrong with duct tape?"

"It's just, I've never actually seen anyone use it for anything other than a cheap fix or when kidnapping someone." I took the tape from Sweet Pea and began rolling it across my shirt.

"And how many people have you kidnapped?" Toni asked, as Sweet Pea began getting the fur off my jeans.

"Just two," I replied. Everyone looked at me, not sure if I was joking or not. "We let them go eventually," I reassured them with a shrug. As much as you can reassure someone after telling them you've been involved in kidnappings. And they weren't really kids, they were both teenagers if you want to get technical about it.

"Remind me never to piss you off," Sweet Pea muttered, rolling the tape over my knee.

"I guess duct tape is good for something else after all," I said once we were done. "Are we ready to go?" Toni and Fangs nodded, heading to the door. "Thank you for helping," I told Sweet Pea, sliding off the counter.

"Of course," he replied, kissing me softly. "But do I need to hide the tape?"

I rolled my eyes, pulling Sweet Pea back towards me.

"Uh, should we just meet you there?" Fangs asked.

I threw the ball of furry tape in my hand at him before Sweet Pea and I followed him out the door.

It was still quiet when we got to Pop's, not many people were out this early and we quickly slid into a booth. Pop was there, just like always, and the waitresses still wore their old-school yellow uniforms.

"So what exactly did Jughead say last night?" I asked.

"Not much," Toni answered. "Just that he was done being half a Serpent and he wants to stand with us."