"How can either of you even think that's a possibility?"
"I didn't think it was possible that Cheryl would start a gang and take all the girls from us," Jughead cried out. "This wouldn't really be pushing it."
"I'm sorry, but that's my gang you're referring to," Toni snapped.
"Your gang that Cheryl created and made the initial recruitments for," I said, watching the growing crowd down the hall. "Your gang that I will most definitely not be joining."
Toni sighed. "Look, I know Cheryl still is holding onto her grudge against you, but this is my call. You know you want to do more than you are with the Serpents right now, and the Pretty Poisons can give you that."
I shook my head, ignoring the look on Jughead's face. "I had that before, but things have changed since then. I've had the leadership position and look how that turned out."
"Abigail," Toni said softly, placing a hand on my arm. "That wasn't because–"
"Hey, what the hell's going on over there?" Jughead asked, grabbing a kid running past.
He glanced back towards the crowd before answering. "The Gargoyles are mixing it up with the Poisons and the Farmies."
The three of us looked at one another before taking off down the hall, pushing through the people struggling to see in the classroom. "Is this a high school or a Roger Corman movie?" I heard Jughead wonder aloud.
The scene in the room was worse than any of us expected. A few Farmies pushed past us out of the room as soon as we entered, leaving the mob in the center of the room, desks shoved aside.
"Hey! Hey, back down! Poisons, stand down!" we ordered. The black and purple blur in front of us ignored us for the most part, only a few people stepping away. Those from the Farm ran out the whichever door was closest. Unless she was somewhere in the middle of the crowd, I didn't see Evelyn Evernever, their leader. Or Cheryl Blossom, now that I thought about it. We began grabbing whoever we could, shoving them away from the mess.
"Enough!" Weatherbee shouted from the doorway. Everyone froze before slowly releasing their hold on others. As Weatherbee's glare swept over the room, I noticed that the crowd watching from the hall had disappeared. "One week's detention for everyone in this room. You three, my office, now," Weatherbee ordered, pointing to Jughead, Toni, and I.
For the second time that day, I found myself in front of Weatherbee's desk, this time though, I stood in a line between Toni and Jughead. "What do you three have to say for yourselves?" Weatherbee demanded, taking a seat.
"The fight had already started when we got there, sir," Toni answered.
"We were trying to break up the fight," I added, Jughead nodding in agreement.
Weatherbee sighed. "Mr Jones, Ms Sullivan, Ms Topaz, you're the leaders of your respective gangs."
"Actually, Mr Wea–" Jughead began before I cut him off.
"Not the time, Jones," I snapped, glaring at him.
"Today's brawl is only the most recent incident of gang activity here at Riverdale High," Weatherbee continued, not acknowledging Jughead and I. "Someone robbed the Chemistry lab last night."
I raised an eyebrow. We were back to this were we? Anything that goes wrong will be blamed on the gangs, proof or not.
"Someone robbed the lab?" Jughead asked.
"Thousands of dollars of equipment was taken," Weatherbee answered. "All of which could be used to cook drugs."
"The Serpents do cook, or steal," Jughead and I said at the same time.
"Neither do the Pretty Poisons," Toni said.
Weatherbee stood slowly, not taking his eyes off us. "One more strike," he said slowly. "One more strike! And you're done in my school."
We filed out of the office into the empty hall. "What are we gonna do?" Toni asked. "The school's only so big, we can't keep the Poisons, the Serpents, and the Gargoyles apart all day long."
"If only we could get rid of the Gargoyles," Jughead said. "But like my mom said, sometimes beggars can't be choosers. We need the numbers."
"Didn't you say your mom had a bunch of kids working for her in Toledo?" Toni asked. "Could she convince any of them to come here? They're already Serpents, right?"
I shook my head. "Gladys said she wanted those kids to, how did she put it? She wanted them 'to have a real chance at life,' so she kept the Serpents and her business separate."
Jughead sighed, leaning back against the lockers next to me.
"I'm out of ideas right now," Toni said. "I need to go talk to Cheryl and check on the Poisons but I'll let you know if I come up with something."
My thoughts raced as she walked off. "Wait, maybe that's our issue right now," I said after a moment. "We're still the Serpents and the Gargoyles. We're still making that division clear when we're supposed to have brought the Gargoyles into our gang."
Jughead nodded slowly. "We need to teach them our laws. Can you be here if I call a meeting tomorrow?"
"Yes, but why?" I asked. "We all know the laws, you don't need me there to go over them."
"I know, but can you please just be there, Abigail?" Jughead asked. "As a show of strength. Show them that everyone knows and follows the laws."
Alright, I'll be there," I sighed, pushing myself off the lockers.
"Hey, uh, what were you doing here anyways?" Jughead called after me as I started down the hall.
I turned back around, checking my pocket to be sure the papers were still there. "I had a meeting with Weatherbee," I answered. "I just happened to run into you and Toni afterwards." I began walking down the hall again as the bell rang, people spilling out of classrooms on either side.
Once home, I laid back on my bed, trying to balance the ice pack so I wouldn't have to keep holding it as I thought. I should have been like the Farmies, keeping back from the fighting earlier, but maybe Toni was right. Did I want more?
Jughead had made it clear more than once that he wasn't interested in sharing control of the Serpents, but I'd done my part to help them find jobs and a real place to live when Jughead didn't make a move. And I'd been there for the Serpents when Hiram Lodge quarantined the town while Jughead skipped town with Archie. Should I be the one taming the Gargoyles?
But then there was the other option. I unfolded the paper, looking at my SAT scores again. They weren't perfect scores, but close to it. Close enough to be in the top scores in the country according to Weatherbee. He'd already said he'd be looking into helping me get my GED and with that, I could apply to any college I wanted. But were college classes really as different as everyone said they were? And even if I did go, what would I study?
I dropped the paper back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell had happened to me. I'd come back to Riverdale the first time able to pass myself off as totally confident and in control, even when I didn't feel it. I didn't let anything stop me, doing what I felt was right at the moment, rarely caring about the possible consequences.
Now though, it felt like there was so little I could do. I had almost no real say when it came to the Serpents, I was a highschool dropout, and I was living in the house of a man who also employed me. Not to mention how limited I was physically after what Malachai had done.
I must have fallen asleep at some point as my thoughts wandered because the next thing I knew, Sweet Pea was sitting on the edge of the bed replacing the now-thawed ice pack with a frozen one.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he said. "I thought you might need another."
"Thank you," I said, taking hold of his hand. "So I'm guessing you heard about what happened?"
Sweet Pea nodded, playing with my fingers. "A fight between the Pretty Poisons, the Gargoyles, and the Farmies? The whole school heard about it."
"Most of the Farmies had already run off by the time we got there, but they were part of it. But of course it was only Toni, Jughead, and I who got pulled into Weatherbee's office," I said. "Cheryl was nowhere to be seen. Same for that Evelyn chick with the Farm."
"It's starting to feel like we're back on the Southside, Northsiders blaming everything on us," Sweet Pea sighed. "What are we gonna do, Abigail?"
"You should be asking Jughead that," I said. "You know as well as I do that I have no say anymore. Hell, even Toni knows and tried using that to convince me to join her gang earlier."
"Did she forget who you are?" Sweet Pea asked, looking shocked. "There's no way you'd leave the Serpents."
"At least someone around here knows that," I said with a small smile, sitting up next to him. My thoughts from earlier came rushing back but I did my best to ignore them for now. "Speaking of knowing things, did Jughead tell you we're going to teach the Gargoyles the laws tomorrow?"
Sweet Pea shook his head. "He just said we all needed to be there. How's teaching them the laws supposed to help?"
"It's not just about learning the laws, it's more about blurring the line between Serpents and Gargoyles," I said. "They need to really become a part of the Serpents, and since they're not making any moves to integrate, we'll have to force them."
"Why does this sound more like something you'd come with and not Jones?" Sweet Pea asked with a smile.
"Because it is," I replied. "And for once, he's actually listening to my suggestions instead of dismissing me without a second thought."
"It's about time," he said, pulling me into a kiss. "Are you still feeling up for our date tonight?" he asked, pulling back a few minutes later.
I nodded, going to the closet. "I just need to change, then I'll be ready."
"Can I watch?"
I looked over my shoulder to see him smirking at me from where he was still sitting on the bed. "Sweet Pea, you and I both know–"
"Abigail, Sweet Pea, I need your help with something," Archie said, knocking on the bedroom door.
I turned back to the closet, pulling a few things out as Sweet Pea opened the door. "What do you need?" he asked with a sigh.
"Right now, I just need you guys to bring any spare blankets and pillows you can find down to the garage for me," Archie said. "I'll explain after."
I shrugged at Sweet Pea's look, changing and fixing my makeup quickly before helping. Taking two of the blankets he managed to find, I led the way to the garage. "I hope you're not expecting us to help you build a blanket fort, Andrews," I called out as I opened the door. "Sweet Pea and I have plans already."
"I don't know, that could be fun though," Sweet Pea protested, bumping into me as I stopped in the doorway. "Uh, who's the kid?"
"Guys, this is Ricky," Archie said, gesturing to the boy on the couch. "Josie and I found him holing up in a cubby at the gym. Said he's been there a few weeks. Ricky, these are my friends, Abigail and Sweet Pea. They live here too."
Ricky looked at us suspiciously as I moved forward to pass the blankets to Archie before turning his attention back to Archie. "What are you gonna tell your parents?"
"It's just us and my dad. He's at work most of the time and the garage is kinda my space, so you probably won't see him," Archie explained. "Tomorrow morning, I'm gonna take you to Pop's and get you set up in a booth. After school, I'm gonna take you to the gym. Sweet Pea, can you be there?"
Sweet Pea nodded. "We can teach you some moves. Some combos."
"It wouldn't hurt for you to be able to defend yourself," I added. If he'd been hiding out there, he was obviously running from something, and it wasn't good considering he seemed momentarily afraid when he saw Sweet Pea's Serpent jacket.
"Why are you helping me?" Ricky asked, looking at us each in turn.
Archie looked down at his shoes, considering how to answer. "Because, Ricky," I sighed, "we've all been in your shoes. Alone, on the run. And we were lucky enough to have friends who helped us get through those times."
Ricky nodded, visibly relaxing. "Just...you swear you won't call Social Services? Any of you?"
"We swear," Sweet Pea said quickly, answering for us all. "And there's soda and food in the fridge if you need it."
We walked out of the garage, waiting for Archie. "Look guys, it's just a temporary thing," he said, joining us by the back door to the house. "Please, don't tell my dad about this."
"Okay, but you still owe us an explanation," I said. "There's more to it than you just finding some random kid hiding out in a closet."
Archie glanced back over at the closed garage door before speaking quietly. "Guys, he's got the same brand on his arm that I got at Leopold and Loeb. Says some guys gave it to him when he was staying at the shelter. I couldn't just leave him there at the gym to be hunted down by the Gargoyles."
"You're already marked for sacrifice yourself man," Sweet Pea snapped, stepping closer to Archie. "Do you realize you're putting your dad and Abigail at risk bringing him here?"
I placed a hand on Sweet Pea's arm, tugging him back. "Hey, we'll be okay," I said. "If Hiram Lodge was still interested in going after Archie, he'd have done something by now. Ricky's probably just another kid the foster system dropped the ball on, making him an easy target for the Gargoyles." I could feel Sweet Pea relaxing under my hand as I spoke. "Archie, I can talk to him tomorrow if you want, see if I can get anything else from him."
"Yeah, that'd be great," Archie said. "But why not tonight? I mean, the sooner we know something, the sooner we can help him, right?"
I shook my head. "For one, could you not see that the kid's exhausted? That couch is probably the softest thing he's slept on in who knows how long. He'll be more open to talking once he's slept. And two, Sweet Pea and I have plans already."
Archie grudgingly agreed, letting himself into the house. I looked up at Sweet Pea who was watching the garage. "I still don't like it, Abigail," he said. "There's something familiar about Ricky, like I've met him before. I don't think you should be alone with him."
"Would it make you feel better if I talked to him at Pop's? Then I wouldn't be alone, and what's the worst that he could do to me in a public place like that?"
"A lot of things," he replied.
I sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You're right, but there's no point in worrying about it right now. So can we please just go get something to eat?"
"Anything you want."