MAKE IT NASTY ━ sweet pea

CHAPTER TEN

"hot dog the third?" jug asked rhetorically. "borderline ridiculous." he replied to himself shaking his head. rocky wondered how his hat always stayed on perfectly. "kind of like forsyth the third?" the group shared a quick chuckle before jughead drove off on his bike and rocky and toni headed to rocky's old truck to go to jugheads trailer.

+

the trio; which consisted of jughead, toni, and rocky sat around jugheads dinner table in the run down kitchen of the trailer. the two girls were helping him learn the six of the serpents. they listened as he listed almost all of them.

"a serpent never shows cowardice." jug head spoke while counting on his fingers. rocky was now leaned up against the counter eating a banana as she nodded he head, signaling for continuation.

"if a serpent's killed or imprisoned, their family will be taken care of." jug listed another as the two girls nodded again.

"serpents..." jughead began but soon lost his thought as the reminiscence of the law faded. he taped on the table with his knuckle and sighed as he tried to grab the memory.

"come on, focus. you need to take this seriously." toni encouraged him as rocky nodded agreeing with the multi colored haired girl. "this is very important for multiple people." rocky said as she looked at jug.

"i may of made a bet so i really need you to get this right." she added to her previous statement. jughead raised his eyebrows at what she jug said but shook it off with a low smile.

"okay i am, guys, i swear to god i am, just-" jughead sighed and got up, as he walked to the counter rocky followed him with her gaze full of concern. rocky could be nice to anyone she wanted but you had to earn it, and she knew jughead would be loyal and a good add in to the serpents.

he was caring, brave, he showed courage and confidence even when he thought he didn't have it, he also showed friendship; whether rocky would like to admit it when jughead talked them out of the pipe bomb plan she was thankful, to her it showed that jughead wasn't just looking out for his blonde girlfriend, he was also looking to keep the teen serpents out of trouble, potentially out of jail.

"are you scared?" rokki asked genuinely. "really it's not that scary, the gauntlet is just a tad bit scary but nothing to hold back on." rocky spoke softly and wisely.

"no, i'm not scared, it's just the beast and now these laws." jughead leaned on the counter as he contradicted himself.

"why back out now, why the change of heart?" rocky began her full imparted speech. "i mean look at it this way, you'll have a family that will always have your back. i know, they had mine when my mother left. they had my back when my father got arrested. i don't mean to be mean jug but our stories are very similar." rocky sighed as jughead began to speak.

"your dad helped cleanup a dead body?" he defensively said rolling his eyes. "cut the shit jughead, my dad went to jail because of a drug scandal that fucking snake charmer bitch tied him into."

"my dad and your dad both hit it hard with alcohol, both kicked us out, told us that they would get their lives together only to be thrown in jail, and then get pissed at us for saying i told you so, when mine got out he was a better person, look him now; leading us, taking of us for FP, i can only hope that your father can hold it together like mine did. cause it sucks jughead, you and me would know that." rocky said wiping the tear that fell from her eye.

"guess who had our backs through all of that? tell me jug." rocky pushed to get the answer he knew out of him.

"the serpents." jug admitted sitting back down in his chair. "good now i'm not telling you as some bitch who wants money, i'm telling you as a friend. you can do this, you and me can bring back the southside glory." rocky smiled at the jones boy who simply returned it.

"i've never ever seen rocky cry, listen to her, those tears are from her heart not her eyes." toni added into the conversation. "let's start from the top." she ordered.

+

everyone gathered around tall boy and jughead. talking, yelling, and quite rock music could be heard from everywhere in the bar. the distinctive scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke was fuming in the wyrm.

"what is the fourth law?" tall boy screamed in jugheads face. "no serpent is left for dead." jughead yelled back.

"what, is the fifth law?" tall boy yelled once more. toni and rocky shared a concerned look.
"a serpent never betrays its own." jughead showed no fear which made rocky proud.

"what is the sixth?" tall boy screamed for the final time. "in unity there is strength." as did jughead.

tall boy put his arms down and slightly open, signaling for the serpent call. rocky and toni shared a quick smirk-full glance before reciting the call.

tall boy now had his arms out in a line, signaling silence through the wicked bar. "you know the laws." he said lowering his arms while turning back to jughead. "now it's time for the next trial." he spoke looking amongst the people gathered around the scene.

rocky watched as her boyfriend got up moving to the side, to reveal a glass cage with two rattle snakes guarding a knife that was stabbed into a rock. rocky shuttered as the snakes hissed.

"retrieve the knife." tall boy said lowly starring jughead down. jug looked over at the cage and back to tall boy. "what?" jughead asked full of bewilderment.

"put your hand in there and grab the fucking knife, i have a hundred bucks sitting on the line that i do not even have, so don't give up on me now jughead." rocky yelled shaking her leg in anticipation.

"no encouragement you stupid bitch." rocky her her brother scream from the other side of the circle of people. rocky glanced over at sweet pea as she rolled her eyes with a smile. her stomach turned as he smiled and winked at her.

jug looked at the two girls who simply nodded for him to do it. rocky a bit more harder than toni.

+

"rattlesnake, rocky." jug said still full of questions as she wrapped his hand. on the other side of the bar sweet pea glanced over at rocky to see her wrapping jugheads hand. jealousy shot through his veins like a firecracker.

"it bit me and drew blood." he said highly concerned for his life. "you're such a baby." rocky teased. "one that had its venom glands removed." toni added watching rocky wrap his hand.

to rocky and jughead it was nothing but a friend helping a friend, both respecting the relationships they were in. but to sweet pea it was a warning sign. a sign to begin a meaningless payback that would soon bite him back.