FIRE AND ICE , c. blossom

chapter eleven

i'm with some friends.
i'll be 'home' soon
just don't worry about me ok?
i promise you i'm fine.

gracie.
[SEEN]

~♛~

"well, good news is, my sister is fine." jughead explained, picking up his mug of coffee.

"well, that's great." betty smiled, taking jughead's hand. "where is she?—"

"excusez-moi? so she hasn't replied to my messages on purpose." veronica frowned, getting out her phone.

"i don't know. i don't think she meant it personally, veronica. she said she'll be back soon. there's no point of being pushy. she's stubborn; she won't say. she always comes and goes whenever she wants, but she normally tells me when she does..."

archie quickly slipped into the booth, sliding in next to veronica. "jug, moose and i are going to the southside to find those serpents. you in?"

"juggy told us all about those guys that trashed your dad's construction site yesterday and beat up moose in the process." betty said to archie. "i hope he's okay."

"his name is moose. he'll be okay." jughead chuckled.

"although, i spaced out at the words 'construction' and 'site'." veronica said.

"anyway, jughead: are you in or not?"

"woah— the serpents beat him up?" betty frowned.

"we don't know that for sure." jug defended.

"well, it's still worth a shot if it might help my dad. kevin's boyfriend can get us in."

"get you in where?" ronnie asked.

"—some bar where the serpents hang out. if moose spots them, we can call sheriff keller and get those goons arrested."

"archie, the serpents are dangerous. they're drug dealers." betty sighed.

"what?" jug interjected. "says who?" defensive for reasons they didn't know.

"polly... remember? trev told us that jason was dealing drugs. it was for the serpents."

"you heard my dad, jughead. clifford blossom is trying to torpedo him. sheriff keller basically blew him off right in front of us. somebody has to do something." archie encouraged.

jughead sighed and and took a sip of his coffee. he couldn't let archie go there. he might see fp and— he would find out everything.

"thanks for having my back, jughead." archie said sarcastically, standing up from his seat and scoffing.

~♛~

"i can't believe it. what made you come back?" sweetpea asked, levelling up his cue with the snooker balls.

gracie shrugged. "i don't know. i just needed a break. and of course, to come and visit you guys."

"what about jughead? is he coming too?—" toni asked.

"no" gracie shook my head. "highly unlikely."

"well, you are welcome anytime, gray. we all missed you." fangs, sweetpea and toni all dapped her up.

"i missed you morons, too." gracie grinned. "is my dad here by any chance? he doesn't know i'm here and i'd like to keep it that way—"

"hey." a voice said loudly, echoing across the whyte worm. they all turned to see who it was, and their eyes landed on a red-haired boy, tapping mustang's back.

"what you got? a death wish?" mustang snarled at him.

"archie, back off." joaquin warned.

"you like beating up teenagers?" archie ignored joaquin, stepping closer to mustang and pointing at moose's black eye.

"archie..." gracie murmured under my breath, making her way towards him.

"you know him?" fangs asked.

gracie nodded. "my best friend from the north side."

"this ain't the first time you bulldogs have come in here lookin' for trouble." mustang shoved him.

the jones girl quickened her pace, boots clacking against the floor. she reached them just as mustang was about to shove archie again. "mustang, cool it." she yelled.

archie's brave eyes flickered to me. "gracie?—"

he was interrupted by mustang throwing him onto the pool table, raising his fist ready to deliver a powerful strike into the andrews boy's face.

"hey, alright. alright— that's enough! let him go." fp jones walked down the stairs, and finally mustang released archie from his grip. "i'll take care of this." he looked between archie and his daughter.

so much for not letting him see her...

archie looked at my gracie and her father in perplexity. or was it anger? maybe both.

~♛~

"get outta here!" fp shoved moose, kevin and archie out of the doors of the whyte wyrm. gracie tried to slink off, but he grabbed her jacket sleeve. "not you two." he beckoned archie back.
"we'll start with you, red. what the hell are you doing here?!"

"looking for the thugs that trashed my dad's equipment. we figured it was a serpent, angry for getting kicked off their land. now that i know you're a serpent, and gracie?? are yo—"

i shook my head. "no."

"—i think this is personal, fp. i think you're going after my dad and his company for payback. because of when he fired you."

fp scoffed. "you've got a bigger imagination than jughead, and that's saying somethin'."

"my dad could lose everything."

"and you think i'm responsible? that i've been waiting all these years to get back at your old man? no. no, kid. life's too short. you don't know that now, but you will."
archie's dad pulled up behind them in his truck, his face plastered with a permanent frown. "i called him the second you stepped into the bar."

"get in the truck, archie." fred ordered.

archie shot his friend a look of disappointment before getting in the truck and rolling up the windows.

"and you—" fp said sternly, turning to his daughter. "what the fuck do you think you're doing in these parts of town? we're you lookin' for me? getting into drugs?"

gracie chuckled bitterly, rolling her eyes at him. "don't flatter yourself, dad. and no, i'm not doing drugs. i just wanted to see toni and the boys again."

he scanned bee for a moment, as if he was trying to detect a lie. "a'ight." he huffed, finally convinced. "i'm taking you home— to fred's." he chucked her his motorbike helmet and she reluctantly put it on, getting onto the back of the bike. "i don't wanna see you over here again, gracie."

"don't look then." she shrugged.

~♛~