[In The Way Of] Life and Death • Sweet Pea [1]

A Night To Remember

"Is this seriously what he does all day?" I raised my eyebrow at Toni, who was working behind the bar in the Whyte Wyrm, glancing over at Sweet Pea who was now starting his fifth game of pool of the day.

"You bet." Toni smirked as she cleaned off a shot glass. I had promised to keep her company during her shift after she had practically begged me, not wanting to deal with rando creeps and Byrdie, who felt the need to put in her opinion every two seconds.

Which led to now, me sitting on a bar stool with my leg crossed over the other watching Sweet Pea and Fangs on my right repeat their cycle as I chatted with Topaz.

On my left were two girls on stage, performing the Serpent dance to slow and seductive music. For some reason, nobody seemed to mind the two half naked females swaying their bodies around the poles. I guess it was just something they were used to by now.

I turned back to Toni, crossing my arms on top of the counter, "What made you become a Serpent?"

A smile creeped on the girl's face, her eyes drifting to the girls on stage knowing I had been watching in curiosity. She was somewhat taken aback at my question, "What do you mean?"

I bit my lip nervously before elaborating, "I mean, you said it yourself, the dance is sexist and you hate it don't you? So, what made you get over it?"

Toni served a Serpent just a few seats down from me with a vodka lemonade before slinging a white towel over her shoulder and leaning forward with her arms crossed as well, "Other than the fact that I've been around these guys my entire life and every member of my family was one.. I knew that this is where I belonged. This is the place I can do what I want, wear what I want, and not be judged for it. These guys were here for me when no one else was." She shrugged, "You can't get that anywhere else."

I nodded at her reasoning, knowing it was true just from the past few months I've been hanging with them. A lot of Serpents were still reluctant towards me because I was a Northsider who they saw as privileged and ungrateful. Though a lot of them accepted me because of who my mother was.

But I was in awe of how they treated one another, not believing that I previously couldn't even stand the thought of the crew. They were so bonded and welcoming with one another, it was another side to the Serpents I hadn't seen before.

"Why do you ask?" She squinted her eyes at me with a knowing smile.

I shrugged, "I don't know."

Toni placed her folded hands underneath her chin, studying me, "You're not thinking about becoming a Serpent, are you?"

"Would that be so bad?" I chewed my lip softly. It had been a crazy thought in the back of my mind for a few weeks now. I knew, of course, it came with many ultimatums. Not only would I disappoint my father mortally, it would also mean balancing my life between the North and the South side. Including making time for my friends, whom I loved dearly and never wanted to lose, and hanging around down here. Not to mention the high expectations set by Cora, who had made history in the snake's den.

I wasn't even sure if I was cut out for the job. Sure, I knew how to handle myself and could be tough when I needed to be, but was I tough enough to carry a switchblade in my pocket and be ready for a fight at any given moment? Was I tough enough to fight alongside the Serpents if the Ghoulies came back around? Was I tough enough to even face my father to break the news?

However, I knew where I stood with the Serpents. I admired them. I had seen their perspective of the rivalry, understanding just why they hated the Northside so much, or more so our decisions to pin any event that went wrong in the slightest on the Serpents. I had also become best friends with Fangs and Toni.