"Why did I have to get chained up next to you two?" Fangs groaned.
"Because we're the coolest people out here," I said with a smile, pulling away from Sweet Pea slightly.
"But do you have to do...that?" he whined.
"Blame Jones," Sweet Pea said, nodding to Jughead who was doing his best to ignore us all. "If it weren't for him and this crazy-ass plan, we'd be doing this at home."
"Come on, man," Brett said. "You do this at the Wyrm all the time, you don't save it for home."
Sweet Pea smirked. "Like you and Lexxie are any better?"
"Speaking of," I said, "where is Lexxie?"
"Said it was too cold to stay out here all night," he answered. "She'll be here in the morning." The other Serpents muttered similar excuses from their girls.
I smiled up at Sweet Pea. "Looks like you're the lucky one around here," I said.
"I already knew that," he said, pressing me back against the wall as he resumed kissing me.
"Seriously, would you two cool it?" Jughead snapped. "We're supposed to be protesting here."
I sighed. "How exactly are we protesting right now?" I asked. "It's the middle of the night and there's no in sight."
"It, we're, it's still a protest, us being out here all night," Jughead stuttered. "The fact that we're not leaving this place, not until Lodge changes his mind about tearing it down."
We all turned as Andrews appeared before us, letting his bicycle fall to the ground as he came to a stop. "Well, well, well," Jughead said, walking towards him. "The cavalry's finally here. Guess that means we've got Hiram's attention."
"Are you nuts? Chaining yourselves to this place?" Andrews shouted. "They're gonna tear it down in two days, dude."
"Not unless Hiram wants the blood of nine young Serpents on his hands," Jughead replied coldly. "We're not going anywhere. Go and tell your boss we said that."
Andrews glared at all of us before taking off again.
"That's one way to kill the mood," Sweet Pea whispered.
"Come on, it's going to be a long few days and nights," I said, pulling him down to sit next to me. "We should try to get some sleep while we can."
Fangs looked down at me like I was crazy. "How are we supposed to sleep out here?" he asked. "It's freezing out and we're on the sidewalk, which doesn't exactly provide any warmth."
I sighed, having had experience sleeping in the open before. "Huddle up when you can, and protect your toes and fingers. They're some of the last places your body is worried about keeping warm. And try not to think about the cold, think about something warm, like a fire."
"We can do this," Jughead said. "My dad and the others are coming by with coffee in the morning. Remember, we're here to protect the Southside, our home."
I curled into Sweet Pea's side as the others muttered amongst themselves. It was going to be a long night, but sleep would make the time go by faster.
Hours later, I woke up, unable to move. Sweet Pea was still on one side of me, while Fangs was on my other side, sandwiching me between them. I stayed as I was, glad of the warmth the two provided, watching the sun begin to rise over the trees.
True to his word, FP pulled up in his truck, bringing several large thermoses of coffee with him. "You doing okay, Babygirl?" he asked quietly, handing me a cup.
I wrapped my hands around the styrofoam cup, nodding. "These two are surprisingly warm."
"Good. Some of the guys are getting breakfast from Pop's for y'all, but I figured I'd bring some coffee to get everyone going."
"Thank you,"I said. "Any news during the night?"
FP shook his head. "All quiet on the Western front. I'm gonna get some coffee in these boys, let me know if you need anything."
I sipped my coffee as FP made his rounds, the Serpents waking up one by one. Eventually Fangs woke up, shortly followed by Sweet Pea.
"Damn, it's cold out here," Sweet Pea muttered.
"Drink this, it'll help," I said, handing him my cup. He made a face as he took a drink of the bitter black coffee. "Fangs, help me up?" I asked, holding out a hand. He pulled me up, my muscles protesting after having been folded up under me all night.
Sweet Pea stood as well, wrapping his arms around me. "So this is all we have to look forward to?"
I nodded folding my arms over his. "Yup, all day and all night."
"I guess it could be worse," he said. "It could be raining."
"Don't jinx it," I warned.
Three of us took FP up on his offer of more coffee and hot food, watching as more Serpents joined us for the day. Even Betty showed up, heading straight to Jughead.
"Why didn't you call me last night, Jug?" she asked, taking a seat on the curb next to him. "I would have brought you and your crew blankets."
"You would have tried to stay the night," he replied.
"Are you sure you're not gonna get arrested for trespassing or protesting without a permit?" Betty asked, sounding worried. Whether that worry extended to all of us or just Jughead was undetermined, but it was a question many of the Serpents had raised.
"Oh, that's the beauty of all this, Betty," Jughead answered. "See, if Sheriff Keller and his goons try and manhandle a bunch of teens peacefully trying to save their former school, it's just gonna look ugly. Not to mention, probably go viral, which...at this point, it is publicity I would welcome. Also, no one's gonna mess with those guys over there," he added, pointing towards FP and some of the older Serpents.
Betty nodded. "Good point. I have some Student Council obligations with Veronica, but I'll be back later tonight, okay?"
"Go get 'em, Tracy Flick," Jughead said, watching her leave.
"Who's Tracy Flick?" Sweet Pea asked me quietly.
I thought for a moment, trying to figure out why the name was so familiar. "I think it was a character from some mystery series they were obsessed with when we were kids," I replied. "Personally, I preferred Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark."
Sweet Pea smiled. "That does sound more like you," he said, kissing the side of my head.
The day passed slowly, though the additional Serpents helped the time pass. But as the sun began to set and the temperature dropped, many of them headed home.
"Jughead, please," I said, shivering. Let's just go for the night and come back early morning. It's not like anything's gonna happen between now and then."
Jughead shook his head stubbornly, refusing to meet my eye. I sighed walking back to Sweet Pea.
"Come on man, we're gonna end up with frostbite sitting out here," Fangs said.
"What's your call, Babygirl?" Jinxx asked. "Are we staying out here to freeze all night again or are we going home for the night."
I looked at the boys huddled up in front of me and glanced up at the sky, the incoming clouds hiding the stars. It was going to be colder than last night, and I didn't know if any of us could take it. For all her talk this morning, Betty never did come back with blankets for any of us. "Go warm up, but be back by sunup," I ordered. "Tomorrow's the day and I expect Hiram Lodge will want an early start."
We unchained ourselves with some difficulty, or fingers stuff with cold. Jughead stayed behind, glaring at us as we walked away.
I plugged my phone in when we got home, waiting for it to charge enough to turn on again before sending a text to FP begging him to get Jughead to end his hunger strike. "I'm going to take a hot shower," I told Sweet Pea.
"Take your time, I'll make us something to eat," he said.
I kissed him quickly before going to thaw out. When I came out of the bathroom, thoroughly warmed, Sweet Pea was just entering the bedroom.
"Feel better?" he asked.
"Much better," I answered. "And I didn't use up all the hot water so you can get in if you want too."
He smiled, nodding. "Sounds good, thanks. Food's on the stove if you're hungry, I already ate. And Fangs is passed out on the couch."
"Thank you. I'm gonna eat and try to get some real sleep before we have to get back."
I set several alarms before getting in the bed, knowing it would be a struggle to not only get myself up, but both boys as well. That time came too quickly, and we dragged ourselves back to Southside High, chaining ourselves up once again. Jughead seemed in a better mood as more Serpents joined us. FP nodded to me, silently letting me know he'd gotten some food in his son.
A crowd formed before us as the morning progressed, Northsiders and Southsiders alike. Even Pop Tate had left the restaurant to pour coffee out of thermoses for those in the crowd. The older Serpents stood between us and the crowd, seeing how Sheriff Keller and his men didn't seem to care what happened.
I stepped closer to Sweet Pea as we watched the crowd parting, unsure of who was coming. There'd been no sign of Hiram Lodge yet. FP stepped forward, stopping whoever it was from getting any closer.
"Cops may have let you by, Red, but you come in here acting like a big man and I will knock you down," we heard FP say.
"No surprise that Andrews is here, but who else?" I asked Sweet Pea. This was one of those moments I really hated how short I was.
"Looks like the whole wrestling team," he said, looking past FP. "Lodge sent them all with bolt cutters."
Jughead pulled his father back slightly. "Dad, don't! They'll throw you in jail. Don't give him an excuse."
"I'm sorry, Jughead," Andrews said, looking at his friend. Former friend? I wasn't sure, it was hard to keep up with those two.
"Me too. I'm not gonna fight you Archie. Look around," Jughead said. "It may have taken a couple of days, but now people know what Hiram's doing, what's happening here. This fight is not gonna go away. So go on, cut us down." He held his arms out to Andrews. "I want them to see you do it."
Andrews didn't hesitate to break the chains. He led Jughead by the shoulder through the crowd as the others stepped forward to cut us all free. I watched as the Serpents were cut free and pushed roughly away from the school.
"Why don't you wait around while we cut the rest of these Serpents free, let me warm you up a bit?" the jock in front of me leered.
"Back off, Bulldog," Sweet Pea warned. "Don't even think about touching my girl."
Fangs caught me as I was shoved forward, tripping off the curb. "Leave him for now," I called back to Sweet Pea. "We'll deal with him another time."
He continued to glare at the Northsider in front of him until he too was pushed after us. Sweet Pea and Fangs stood on either side of me as we made our way through the still-chanting crowd and back home. Fangs took his place on the couch again, Sweet Pea and I in the bed once more, the three of us sleeping the day away.
Author's Note: Thank you to those of you who have voted on the story. Keep them coming, along with the comments.