A couple of days passed since Harley had moved into her new apartment. Luckily for her, FP was on his way out when she went to pick her stuff up.
"So, we're throwing a party, aye?" - Toni said, sorting the groceries into the fridge and kitchen cabinets.
"It's just a get-together with our closest friends. My apartment doesn't really allow a party." - she chuckled.
"Are you inviting the Northsiders?" - Fangs asked.
"Well..." - she shrugged. - "Betty is Jug's girlfriend and Andrews is his childhood best friend." - she mumbled.
"So it's not just closest friends." - Sweet Pea rolled his eyes.
"Oh, c'mon, Pea." - Harley looked at him. - "It won't last too long. If you guys get bored, I'll just end the party and we'll head to the Wyrm. They sure won't follow us there." - she smiled. - "Plus, I bought alcohol." - she grinned.
"Okay, you're onto something there, Novak." - Sweet Pea smirked.
"We could even invite Cheryl, I bet Toni would love that." - Harley smirked.
"Shut up, Harley." - Toni's cheeks changed their colour to a light pink.
"Anywho," - Harley sat on the couch after everything was in its rightful place. - "have you guys seen or spoken to Juggie lately?" - she asked.
The Serpent friends glanced at each other, but Harley didn't notice. - "Why?" - Toni asked.
"Well, it's just that, I haven't really seen him around at all, since I left the trailer." - she huffed. - "And he won't answer my calls, or texts. I didn't want to ask Betty, since she is my last resort, so I'm asking you guys."
"How should we know what Jones is up to?" - Sweet Pea asked.
"I didn't think you would, since you hate his guts, for some reason." - Harley rolled her eyes. - "But I thought that Toni definitely, or even Fangs would know."
"Why are you asking, tho?" - Fangs spoke up.
"Cause, he's my friend too, Fogarty. I really bonded with him, during the time I spent at his place. And he was the first person to befriend me here. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been talking to you guys right now." - she smiled. - "And, there was something that has been really bugging me since a couple of days ago."
"What?" - Sweet Pea asked.
"Well, the day that I left the trailer I went to Pop's and I saw him there and there was something, obviously, bothering him. He didn't want to tell me what it was and he usually always tells me if he has a problem, whether it's girlfriend or gang related. And at one point his phone rings and he grabs it right away, before the caller ID even showed on the screen. He seemed really worried and hurried out. Plus, FP thought he was with Betty, since that was what he had told him and when I asked him where she was, he was confused as hell."
The three friends exchanged looks again.
"What was that?" - Harley asked, this time acknowledging what was happening in front of her.
"What was what?" - Sweet Pea asked.
"Don't act stupid." - she frowned. - "That glance, that look you gave each other, I saw that. I saw it earlier, but I didn't think much of it, but now, I assume that you guys know exactly what's going on with Jughead and you don't want to tell me."
"It's for your own good." - Toni mumbled.
"Toni!" - Fangs warned.
"Dude, can't you keep your mouth shut for once?" - Sweet Pea glared at her.
"But she's right, guys. She is friends with him, as much as we are. She is obviously worried. We can't keep her in the dark, she has a right to know."
"But we can't risk anyone else knowing. We're enough people already." - Sweet Pea said.
"What if us telling her puts her life in jeopardy?" - Fangs added.
"Um, hello, guys? I'm right here!" - Harley frowned. - "What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's time we tell her." - Toni said.
"It's not our place to." - Sweet Pea rolled his eyes.
"If you three keep ignoring me, I'm gonna kick your asses out."
"Alright, alright." - Fangs calmed her down. - "Toni's right, Pea."
Sweet Pea groaned. - "Alright." - he sighed.
"Okay, so.." - Toni spoke up after a short moment of silence and they all sat down on the sofa. - "The thing is, before you came here there was a murder-"
"Jason Blossom? I know about that, FP told me. His dad shot him in the head."
"Okay, see? She knows something." - Fangs looked at Sweet Pea.
"I still think that this is a stupid idea." - he mumbled.
"Shush." - Toni glared at them. - "Well, before it was found out that Clifford killed him, everyone blamed FP for the crime."
"Why?!" - Harley asked shocked.
"Because we're the easiest target for the Northsiders." - Sweet Pea frowned. - "They always blame everything on us."
"That and... well, circumstances." - Toni sighed. - "So during that time, they put FP in jail."
"What?!" - Harley widened her eyes. - "When was this?!"
"A really short while before you came to town." - Fangs answered.
"So during that time, all the weight fell on Jug's shoulders. He needed to keep everything in place, while his dad was locked up. He became a serpent for that cause. And he led us during some tough times."
"And that damn Snake charmer saw her time to poison everything."
"Huh?" - Harley asked confused.
"There's this woman, Penny, who was a former Serpent, but she betrayed us and FP kinda kicked her out. She's in charge of some of the biggest deals in Riverdale." - Toni explained.
"Drugs?" - Harley asked, already knowing the answer.
Toni nodded. - "She's a really powerful woman and she has plenty of connections, so Jug had asked for her help to get his dad out of prison."
"And she stringed him along?"
"Yup." - Fangs nodded. - "She doesn't just help you out when you're in need-"
"She wants something in return." - Harley nodded. - "Favours."
"He's into some really deep shit right now. Things that not even FP is fully aware of." - Sweet Pea said.
"So that's why he's been on his toes lately? She's been asking him to do her dirty work?"
"More like blackmailing him."
"So what are we gonna do about this?" - Harley asked.
"You are not gonna do anything." - Sweet Pea said, while standing up. - "This is upon us, you have no reason to stick your nose into it and risk your life. Penny is a real bitch, she could end you if she wanted to."
"So I'm just supposed to sit here and watch my friends, knowingly, risk theirs?" - she crossed her arms. - "Nuh-uh, I'm not doing that!" - she shook her head.
"Harls, you're not a serpent, you have no reason to do anything. And we get it, it's alright." - Fangs said. - "We'll work things out ourselves."
"Hell you are!" - she stood up, angrily. - "Just because I don't have a tattoo, doesn't mean I'm not one of you! My father-"
"Would have forbid you to do anything." - Sweet Pea said.
"Bullshit." - she rolled her eyes.
"We take care of our own." - Toni put her hand on Harley's shoulder and smiled.
"Exactly, I'm glad you mentioned that." - Harley grinned. - "So, what's the plan?"
"What plan?" - Jughead asked, while shutting the door behind him.
The three friends looked uneasy, while Harley walked up to him and punched his arm. - "Saving your ass."
"What?" - he asked confused, holding the spot his friend had punched him in.
"We kinda told her about Penny."
"What the hell, Fangs?"
"I pushed them into telling me, it's not their fault." - Harley said. - "Please, Jug, let me help." - she said and hugged him.
"How can you possibly help, Harley? My dad knows about what I've done!" - he said stressed out and brushed past her. - "He knows about Penny and he's pissed at me!"
"I'm willing to do anything to save you guys, Jug. And I'm sure everyone else is too." - she smiled sympathetically.
"She's right, Jughead." - Toni stepped closer to him.
"Five of us won't be enough." - he sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.
"Then we'll ask for help. More serpents. I don't know about the older ones, but the people our age will stand behind you, we'll walk with you, we'll fight with you." - Harley said.
"It's not that easy, Harley."
"Believe it or not, I think it is. We will come clean, you will call them and organize a meeting, get them all together and tell them the truth about what's going on with her."
"Harley, it's not that simple, how would you know?" - he looked at her.
"You don't know everything about me, Jughead." - was all Harley said, before taking her phone out of her back pocket. - "Here," - she gave him the phone. - "call them. I swear this will work, just trust me."
"Okay, but then what?" - Fangs asked.
"Yeah, what happens when we get them in on this?" - Sweet Pea spoke up after a while of being quiet.
"We take her down. For good."
"Are you suggesting to kill her?!" - Toni asked shocked.
"Whatever it takes to get rid of her." - she nodded. - "I doubt that she will be missed if we exterminate her."
"Harley, you're letting this go to your head a bit, don't you think?" - Sweet Pea mumbled. - "You're talking about murdering someone."
"Just think about it." - she said. - "From what you've told me, she doesn't really sound like the person who thinks about how she's ruining other people's lives. How many of your people has she killed?"
They were all quiet for a moment.
"But she has helped some of us before."
"And how many favours did she have you do, Sweet Pea? I'm certain that she'll string some along till the rest of their lives."
"She's right." - Jughead said.
"Are you two out of your damn minds?!" - Toni asked.
"She'll kill my dad, Toni. And then she'll most probably come after me, as well."
"And with all this Black Hood drama, it won't be so suspicious." - Harley said. - "Going after sinners? She's the biggest one there is."
"Wait, you know about that, as well?"
"Guys, I'm not living under a rock. People may not have been killed this past month, but I've been hearing what the kids at school are saying and I do read the newspapers."
Jughead nodded and stood up. - "Let's get everyone together."
Toni looked at Fangs and Sweet Pea, as both of the boys nodded.
"All for one and one for all." - Harley said and took the keys of her apartment and bike. - "Let's go."
"So this means no get-together?" - Toni whispered to Harley and received a glare from her friend. - "I was just asking, jeesh."
Once Jughead got ahold of his fellow serpents, they all met up.
Harley was standing next to him, supporting him, the whole time he was explaining the plan to everyone.
"We think that this is the best way to let everyone off her hook." - Harley spoke up.
"Why does she have a say in this? She's not one of us!" - said Steve, the boy who had hit on her the first day she walked in the Wyrm. - "She could be leading us to death."
"She most certainly is not." - Sweet Pea glared at him and stood up, walking towards her. - "What she is, is family." - he smiled at her.
"Look, Steve, I know that you and I have our differences," - she started talking, but frowned once he chuckled sarcastically, cutting her off. - "I am a smart girl you can never get a chance with, because I'm not an easy skank and you are a stupid asshole, that can't keep his dick in his pants," - everyone started laughing and there was a loud roar of applause, mainly coming from the girls. Harley smiled and continued talking. - "but that doesn't mean that we should work against each other and it's most definitely not the time for cocky comments. At this point we're all in this together and we are one." - she looked at everyone who was seated around her. - "I am not trying to boss any of you around, I've made not only a lot of friends, but I also, as Sweets said, found a new family here, thanks to the Serpents. I won't let anything bad happen to you, not on my watch and not while I'm still here. I'm gonna do whatever I can to help you guys. The Jones men took me in, as one of their own and so did you guys. I'm not asking for any serpent privileges," - she glared at Steve, but swiftly turned her gaze to the rest of their crew. - "I'm just offering you my help. And I know for a fact that none of you would want to see FP hurting again. A man like him, should go down in history as the king he is, and even tho he heroically wants to step up and protect his son, we will not let that happen. Even kings need help from their people." - she smiled. - "I'm not so sure that my father would have approved of me doing this, if he were alive," - she chuckled. - "letting his only child, his little girl, go off to something that could put her life at risk, but he sure as hell would have appreciated it once our mission was successfully completed. And I know it will be. None of you will be hurt, I promise."
"If we don't stop Penny, she is going to get every single on of us in on this." - Jughead said. - "What we're asking is, are you willing to risk your necks to save my dad's life?"
"What is the first law?" - Toni stood up from her bike.
"No Serpent Stands Alone!" - Steve said.
"You guys know we're in." - Sweet Pea said, referring to the five friends.
"So am I!" - a girl stood up.
Slowly, every single person that was there stood up.
"Let's do this, then!" - Harley nodded.
"So, what's the plan?" - someone asked.
"She's made my dad make a deal tomorrow night. Instead of him, we're the ones that will show up. Much earlier, than supposed. She will be alone and all her guards will be down, literally."
"She won't be expecting anyone, never the less all of us." - Harley finished off Jughead's sentence.
"We'll be wearing our snake initiation masks." - Sweet Pea spoke up.
"What the hell, why?"
"Because, if someone is going to be seen, it will be just the two of us." - Harley said, looking at Jughead.
"And afterwards?"
"We kidnap her." - Fangs said nonchalantly.
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"We'll put a bag over her head and Sweet Pea, being the skyscraper he is, will carry her out." - Toni explained.
"But where will we take her?" - Steve asked.
"To Greendale." - Jughead said. - "The further, the better."
"And then?" - a younger girl asked.
"We end her." - Harley answered her question.
They all stayed a little longer, going over the plan once again and preparing for the following day. It was going to be one hell of a busy and stressful day.
"Everyone go home now! Don't go off drinking!" - Jughead commanded.
"You will all be better off with a good night's sleep." - Harley smiled.
"We'll meet here, tomorrow at 5 pm. You better not be late." -he said.
"Do we need to bring something with us?" - someone asked.
"Just yourselves and your switchblades."
"Those are always with us."
"Even better."
"What about the masks?"
"I have those at my trailer." - said Sweet Pea.
"Everyone remember everything?" - Toni asked.
"If not, you have our numbers, call us up." - Fangs said.
"Nope, everything is crystal clear." - a girl said.
"See you guys tomorrow." - another boy spoke up.
Once the rest got on their way to the trailer park to get some sleep, the five friends sat on each of their bikes.
"We can't fuck up tomorrow." - Jughead mumbled.
"We won't, Juggie." - Harley reassured him.
After a short moment of silence, Toni spoke up. - "Your speech was everything, tho, Harls." - she chuckled.
"We stan a queen!" - Fangs grinned, while clapping his hands.
"It was actually really inspirational." - Sweet Pea smiled.
"Aw, thanks guys." - Harley giggled. - "I was just being honest and I talked straight from my heart."
"Thank you for sticking by my side." - Jughead smiled at her.
"Of course! I love you guys! I wasn't lying, you really are like family to me." - she smiled at them.
"Wanna go and celebrate now?" - Sweet Pea grinned.
"I do, but we seriously need some rest." - Harley sighed. - "But, we will tomorrow. I promise." - she smiled.
They all nodded.
"If you guys want to you can come over tomorrow morning for breakfast, tho?" - she offered.
"Will do!" - they all agreed.
Harley nodded. - "See you guys in the morning, then." - she said, put her helmet on and drove off into the night.
~*~
Ok, I'm such a bad person and I hate myself for not publishing for such a long time ugh.
But, school is over, summer vacation has started and I have a bunch of free time on my hands, that I will use for writing,
PS: KINDA IMPORTANT!
Have in mind that I'm basing my fiction on Riverdale's fiction, so some things may not add up just like they were in the series, but it's all because of my story line.
Hope you guys are still gonna read, next chapter will be hella interesting!
Love you all and take care! xx