Family || Sweet Pea [1]

18

Chapter 18 || Dinner Date

Riding alongside my dad was something I'd never done before. Until now, his excuse was that he didn't want the Serpents to see me as a potential member. Now, he was too late; I was a full fledged member of the Southside Serpents.

But riding with him was great. It was something I savored greatly because it was the first time, and quite possibly the last time, we'd ride together as Southside Serpents. Dad, Jughead, and I pulled off on an overlook, parking the bikes and looking out to the water.

"Things got ugly when you were away." Jughead started. "I asked myself everyday what you would do, if you were here."

"Has Penny bothered you?" Dad asked. I looked to Jughead with a sigh. "Figured she's the one who greased my wheels."

"I did a job for her." Jughead admits.

"What kind of job?" Dad questioned.

"It's a one-time thing." Jughead stated defensively. "Figured it best not to ask too many questions. We're squared away. For good."

"You know, when I was 16, my old man kicked me out and told me to go to hell." Dad recalled. "Instead, I joined the Serpents. And then the Army, and then back again. I don't want that life for you, Jug. You or Kitty. I want you to go to college, get out of this godforsaken town."

"I ran the gauntlet." Jughead said. "I fought with the Serpents. And for them, I have to stay. I wanna stay. And I want your blessing."

"Just promise me you'll keep writing." Dad sighed.

"I will. I do every day." Jughead agreed.

"What about you, Kitty?" Dad said, turning to me. "What can I do to get you away from the Serpents?"

"You'll have to kill me." I stated dramatically. Dad laughed and shook his head at me.

"Thought so. Unlike your brother, you were destined for this life." Dad smiled. "I remember the second you saw my jacket. You wanted to wear it everywhere, all the time."

"But now I have my own jacket, daddy." I smiled, proud of myself.

"I know, kiddo. I love you." He laughed, sliding his sunglasses down onto his face.

"Love you too. Race you home!" I called, starting my bike and speeding home. I heard Dad laughing behind me, easily catching up to me.

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Toni and I were working our bartending shift at the Wyrm. Well, I was tending the bar, Toni was cleaning glasses and talking to Betty Cooper about my dad's upcoming retirement party.

"You have a stage, would you be open to me bringing in a karaoke machine?" Betty asked, eyeing the Wyrm's interior.

"For FP's retirement?" Toni asked, shaking her head with a slight smile. "Sure, why not."

"Also, Toni, one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you, beyond the party-planning..." Betty sighed. "I've been walking the razor's edge since Jughead joined the Serpents and all I've been thinking is..."

I handed a Serpent a shot of tequila and turned to Betty.

"You know, as soon as FP gets home, everything will get better because he'll be there to protect Jughead and make sure he doesn't get hurt." Betty continued. I mixed myself a Shirley Temple and sipped it as I listened.

"Yeah, I'm following you." Toni nodded. "I mean, with FP out of the picture..."

"But that's my whole point." Betty cut Toni off. "I do worry. So, I wanna keep an eye on Jughead, myself. Make sure that as deep into these snake-infested waters as he goes, he doesn't do something that... you know, puts him in danger."

"So, what?" Toni asked. "You wanna be a Serpent?"

"Let's say Serpent-adjacent." Betty clarifies. "But, yeah. Part of his world, this world."

Before I could laugh, Byrdie started.

"Shut it, Byrdie!" Toni snapped.

"Sorry, Sweet Valley High," Byrdie laughed, glancing at Betty. "If you wanna join the club, you gotta do the dance... The Serpent dance."

"Excuse me, Serpent dance?" Betty asked.

"It's an outdated, sexist Serpent tradition." I spoke up, trying to convince her not to pursue this any further.

"Tried to get it outlawed, but misogyny dies hard." Toni added.

"You don't wanna know." I stated. Betty looked between Toni and I and nodded her head.

"Uh, yeah, I do. I wanna know everything." Betty corrected, turning to Toni. I tuned out their conversation, wanting nothing to do with Betty learning about old Serpent traditions or how to join.

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"Come on." I whined, trying to pull Sweet Pea into my dad's trailer.

"Kitty, what if he tells me to stop dating you?" He asked, looking nervous.

"Sweets, I'm happy. You make me happy." That made him smile. "And my dad knows that. You trust me right?"

"Of course I do." Sweet Pea scoffed.

"Then trust him to not break us up." I said, holding my hand out to him. He grabbed it with a sigh, and willingly followed behind me into the trailer.

"Hey, Kitty." Dad greeted, pulling out some Chinese food from a bag. "Jughead just ran off somewhere."

"Daddy, please be nice." I said, pulling Sweet Pea into the kitchen. Dad glanced up and regarded Sweet Pea with a stone face.

"Hi, Mr. Jones." Sweet Pea greeted awkwardly. Dad didn't respond, but he looked down at our hands. Sweet Pea tightened his hold on my hand, making me laugh softly.

"Daddy, stop scaring him." I laughed, pulling Sweet Pea to a chair. He sat beside me, avoiding eye contact with my father.

"Ease up, kid." Dad said, cracking a smile. "And don't call me Mr. Jones."

"Sorry." Sweet Pea muttered.

"Take a breath, kid." Dad laughed, patting his shoulder. Sweet Pea let out a nervous chuckle, clinging to my hand like it was a life preserver.

"Stop being nervous, babe." I whispered to him, putting some food on both our plates.

"I'm sorry, I just want him to like me."

"Sweet Pea, he likes you. Now he just wants to make sure you're good enough for me." I said, handing him a fork.

"I'm not good enough for you." He muttered.

"That's a lie." Dad stated, handing me a water bottle. "If you weren't good enough for her you wouldn't have even been friends with her."

"What?" I asked.

"I didn't want any of the Serpents who think they can date you to get in good with me to be around you, so I weeded them out of the picture. It only left me with Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea. And they became your best friends." Dad shrugged.

"My family." I corrected. "They became my family."

"Right. So don't worry, son. As long as you treat my little girl with the respect she deserves, you're more than welcome into our actual family." Dad laughed at Sweet Pea's shocked expression.

"You're sweet, daddy." I smiled, picking up an egg roll.

"I just like to see you happy, kiddo." He smiled, offering Sweet Pea a water bottle.