New Girl In Town

Chapter 15

Two Months Later

I tucked my royal blue Riverdale shirt into my khaki pants as I heard the familiar rumble of a motorcycle engine outside. I hated these stupid uniforms, but we had to wear them or we could get suspended. And by we, I meant all Southside students. It was ridiculous; this asshole named Reggie spray painted the Serpent symbol on the Riverdale High seal and then framed us for it. Apparently, he plays football with Archie and hates the Serpents more than that redhead does. So now we had to wear these ugly uniforms to help us "fit in easier": orders from Principal Weatherbee.

I grabbed my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and began making my way downstairs. I then picked up the helmet that was resting on the table next to door; Sweet Pea told me to keep it since I was the one who would wear it. It made me nervous that he didn't wear one, but he wouldn't listen to me when I told him to, so I gave up on that. You have to pick and choose your battles with him; that's something I've learned after being with him the past two months.

When I opened the door, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my boyfriend. I still had a hard time believing he was mine sometimes. I lazily jogged across the lawn and was greeted by a soft peck on the lips once I reached him. It was the best way to start off my mornings every day.

"It's a shame that you have to cover this up" I sighed, pulling his turtleneck collar down to expose the Serpent tattoo that I've grown to love. Another order of Weatherbee's was that all things related to gangs were prohibited: no jackets, no tattoos, and no gang activity. This meant that the Serpents and Ghoulies were constantly on thin ice and that all Southsiders were required to wear uniforms, even if we weren't in a gang.

He playfully slapped my hand way and got onto his bike. He was still a little upset about the fact that he couldn't wear his jacket, but he also didn't want to cause any unneeded conflict, so he wore the uniform and covered his tattoo. And I'm not going to lie, he somehow managed to still look good in a turtleneck.

I put on my helmut and got onto the bike, wrapping my arms around his waist. And with that, he revved the engine twice, and quickly accelerated down the street, making his way past the train tracks and towards Riverdale High.

* * *

"Attention: all Southside students are to meet in the auditorium immediately. This is a mandatory meeting". Principal Weatherbee's voice could be heard echoing through the building as he made the announcement. Jughead and I exchanged confused looks before gathering our things and making our way out of English, leaving an equally confused Betty behind in Mrs. Berlin's class. I could feel the stares of the Northsiders boring into the back of my head as I exited the room, but I didn't let it bother me anymore.

The halls suddenly began to flood with students from the south side. Everyone was curious as to what the issue was this time. Now, anytime Weatherbee calls a "Mandatory Southside Meeting", it generally meant we were getting in trouble for something stupid. Half the time it was Northsiders doing something wrong and blaming us for it. It was beginning to get annoying.

"I wonder what they're going to do this time" Fangs wondered out loud. He, Toni, and Sweet Pea were now beside Jughead and I as we all continued moving toward the auditorium.

"Yeah, they've already taken our clothes and tattoos. What's next, our dignity?" Toni chirped in, earning a few laughs from those around us.

"Someone probably threw a recyclable in the garbage and now we're going to be blamed for global warming or some shit" Sweet Pea joked. Now everyone was joining in on guessing what ridiculous thing we were being scolded for now. I laughed and looked up at Sweet Pea, and he just smiled down at me, casually slinging his arm around my shoulder.

The Southside students finally reached the auditorium and we were beginning to funnel in. The Serpents and I were some of the last people seated, so we ended up towards the back of the large room. Mr. Weatherbee was standing before us, waiting until we were all seated to speak.

"Now, I don't want to keep you for too long, so I will just get to the point," he began. "It has suddenly become apparent to the staff that drugs are starting to make their way into this school." I felt Sweet Pea stiffen in annoyance next to me. Groans of anger and disbelief immediately erupted from the crowd of students, and Mr. Weatherbee was struggling to quiet us down.

"You've got to be kidding me" someone called out.

"Yeah, most of those drugs are from your snobby, privileged Northsiders!" another anonymous voice argued, earning multiple shouts of agreement.

"Everybody, quiet!" Weatherbee barked, and the room slowly became less rowdy. "Now listen up. If this drug issue does not subside immediately, I will not hesitate to stop fostering you students and sending you all to different schools." With that statement, everybody lost it. Almost all of the students were on their feet now, shouting things out like, "You can't expel all of us" and "This is profiling".

I looked over and saw Sweet Pea at a complete loss of words for once. He was usually the first one to voice his opinion when he disagreed with something, but now, he was completely silent. However, he didn't have to say anything to express how angry he was. He was fuming; I could literally see him trembling with fury as he stood beside me.

Mr. Weatherbee dismissed us, and an angry crowd of students were released back into the hall. Although we were told to go back to class, it didn't look like anyone was planning on doing that anytime soon.

It wasn't until we made it a ways down the hall that Sweet Pea's temper finally got the best of him. He violently punched the locker next to him, leaving a sizable dent where his knuckles had collided with it.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" he roared. I noticed that his hand was bleeding, and began walking towards him to comfort him, but Fangs grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Just let him cool off" he whispered in my ear, and I stood back as he suggested, remembering the warning Jughead had given me about Sweet Pea's temper months before.

"This is absolute bull shit!" Sweet Pea continued, pacing around angrily "All the drugs are going straight to the fucking Northsiders. They should be getting in just as much trouble as we are!" He angrily kicked the trash can next to him so hard that it flew across the hall, garbage going everywhere.

I couldn't stand seeing him like this. Intuition suddenly took over, leaving all voices of reason behind me as I ripped my arm out of Fang's grip and staggered towards Sweet Pea.

"Asher!" Fangs, Toni, and Jughead all cried out in unison, but it was too late, I was already standing in front of a fuming giant.

I took his bloody and bruised hand in mine, and his heavy stare instantly fell on me. I could see the fury gleaming in his ebony eyes. I'm not going to lie, I was scared; there's no way in telling what he was going to do. My fear subsided, however, when his face softened and his heavy breathing began to slow. It seemed as though he was suddenly aware of his surroundings and he looked around and saw the mess he made.

"Sorry" he murmured down at me, and I just gave him a small smile showing that it was okay.

"I need a cigarette" he stated, looking at the group of Serpents behind me. And with that, he turned away and started walking down the hall towards the exit.

It was deathly silent. I slowly looked back to see everyone staring at me with their mouths agape. Toni, Fangs, and Jughead looked particularly astonished. Everyone was gawking at me in disbelief.

"What?" I finally questioned, breaking the silence.

"I've never seen anyone calm him down when he was that angry before" Fangs replied softly, taking a step towards me "And I've literally known him my whole life".

It took me a moment to completely register what had happened. I'd never seen him that angry before. I mean, sure I've seen him annoyed with Northsider behavior or upset after someone beat him in a game of pool, but never that furious. How the hell had I managed to calm him down without even saying anything?

"I think I need a cigarette, too" I mumbled, and then I turned and started shuffling down the hall that Sweet Pea had just disappeared into.