VIPER→ s. pea [1]

CHAPTER ELEVEN ✔️

Another thing Harley had devoted her attention to was cheerleading. As Cheryl had previously stated, being a Rivervixen was a full time job, literally. The Blossom girl made everyone on the squad work their asses off, and anyone who slacked would either hear it from Cheryl, or they would be cut from the team. Harley was happy to be in the center front with Betty, Veronica, and now Josie. And, last but certainly not least, Cheryl herself.

Harley worked as hard as she could to perfect her choreography, putting blood, sweat and tears into it all, and her moves was almost better then both Ronnie's and Cheryl's now. Almost.

Her shifts at Pop's was growing fewer, but that was simply because she had agreed with Pop Tate that her position there wasn't full time, but more like a step in type position. Serving milkshakes and making burgers wasn't exactly what Harley saw herself doing full time her entire life. Or any of her life, for that sake. And now, with her dad doing better and her mom at home, she didn't need an excuse anymore to avoid the Byers house.

Currently, Harley was seated in the students lounge along with Reggie, Joise, Archie, Veronica, Cheryl, Betty and Kevin. They were all doing this secret santa thing, which was a pretty normal thing to do. The only odd thing being that Riverdale wasn't normal.

     Harley had pulled Cheryl's name out of the hat, which she was eternally grateful for. Cheryl was ridiculously easy to pick a gift for. The Blossom girl was beaming at the fresh pair of red thigh high boots in her hands, continuously thanking Harley and complimenting her for her fabulous taste.

     Now, it was Veronica's turn to receive a gift from Joise. She awkwardly stared down at the couples message coupon, her previous smile faltering a bit. "A certificate for a couple's massage. Thanks, Josie." Josie offered an apologetic smile, having picked out the gift before Veronica and Archie had broken up.

     "You can go with Betty, or your mom?" Josie suggested in an attempt to cheer the Lodge girl up. It was now saving the teens of the room from the awkward tension.

"Or I can go with you mom." Reggie joked, successfully lifting the mood. Harley gagged from beside him, causing him to send her a cheeky wink. She was still unsure what her and Reggie had going on. She had promised herself ( and Midge ) that she would have that conversation with him about. She needed to know if they were at a state where kissing others, or almost kissing others, was off limits or not. She didn't want this to end up with someone getting hurt.

     To be fair, Harley and Reggie hadn't really been spending time together lately. The last 'booty call' was from before any of this serpent drama, but no for the lack of Reggie trying. He had been texting her occasionally to check up on her, and to call her over, but something had always been in her way.

"Betty you're next, and mercifully last." Kevin said, the attention switching over to the mentioned girl. Betty looked down at the very poorly wrapped gift, immediately knowing who it was from.

"I think I know who picked my name based off of these wrapping skills, Archie?" Betty shared a knowing look with the boy. Archie grinned widely, his cheek tinted a light pink color in embarrassment.

Betty gasped as she ripped the wrapping paper away to reveal the gift. Harley leaned closer, peering to see what it was. "Swiss family Robinson?" She asked, nose scrunched slightly up. Betty smiled widely, nodding.

"Yeah, it's this old read-a-long record we used to listen to when we were like five." Betty explained, inspecting the gift, still in shock. She beamed at Archie, pulling him into a warm embrace. "Gosh, thank you so much Arch!" Harley's brows furrowed at the pair's closeness.