CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FORGIVE AND FORGET
"got my thigh highs on feel like wonder woman"
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For the second time that day, Harley was seated in the principle's office for no reason at all. She seemed to have the 'wrong place at the wrong time' thing working for her. Not only was she there for no apparent reason at all, but she was also receiving news that she was going to have a weeks worth of detention as well.
"You all earned yourself a weeks worth of detention for fighting." Mr. Wheatherbee informed, sparing a extra look at the Serpents in the room. Jughead was leaned up against the wall, shooting the principle an unimpressed look.
Harley shot him a suprised one. "What? You're giving me detention for trying to break up a fight? That makes literally no sense!" She complained, hands firmly planted on her hips.
"Ms. Byers I'd watch my mouth if I was you." He warned. The stern look on his face let Harley know that she either obliged or she would suffer even worse then she already was. So, with a scoff, she retreated, leaning against the wall with an annoyed look on her face.
Mr. Wheatherbee directed his attention back over to the only Serpent in the room still wearing his jacket. "Mr. Jones, I made myself very clear about those jackets. You take them off, or you'll be suspended."
Veronica took notice in the cold look of determination in Jughead's eyes, dipping into the conversation. "Look, Jug just—" She didn't have time to finish before Jughead interrupted her.
"Then I guess I'm suspended." He spat, tugging the jacket closer to his body. Harley stared at him in disbelief. She got that the jacket meant a lot to him, but was it really that important that he was willing to dent his high school career? Cause that was exactly what the Jones boy was doing. All the other Serpents, ones that had been far longer then the beanie wearing boy, took them off, so why wouldn't he?
No more words were exchanged, and they were all dismissed. Harley watched Jughead speed down the school corridor, deciding not to follow. Last time she had followed after an angry Jughead-- last time being earlier today-- he had ended up kissing her. She didn't feel like hitting the repeat button.
So, she watched her best friend rush down the hallway, shoulders slumped, and she could do nothing but watch as he disappeared.
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The last class of the day was finally here, and Harley was more then ready to get it all over with.
It was history, which Harley actually enjoyed quite a bit. The class often had a lot of projects where they'd group up and work. Harley only hoped that if that was the case, she wouldn't end up with Reggie. Her thoughts slipped to Sweet Pea as he entered the room. With everything that had happened, she had managed to forget all about him. She wasn't sure how. The day had started out good, fantastic even, because of him. She'd had the time for her life the previous day. Honestly it was surprising that anything could possibly tear down her good mood, but Reggie and Mr. Wheatherbee had certainly found a way to.
Harley flashed the Serpent a small smile from across the room, adding a shy wave. The Byers girl wasn't usually shy. She was more outgoing, loud, maybe even obnoxious at times, but something about his powerful stare and the Serpents surrounding her made her nervous.
"Okay, today we're starting on a new topic surrounding the Second World War. I will be dividing you into pairs, and each pair will be handed a topic." Sweet Pea's eyes immediately slipped towards Harley, silently hoping that he would be paired up with her. "I'll be reading the pairs up first, then you will each be given a topic. You can spend my classes working on the presentation the next two or so weeks. The pairs are Fang Fogarty and Kevin Keller, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge—" Harley tuned him out, patiently waiting for her name to be called. "— and lastly, Antoinette Topaz and Harley Byers."
Harley glanced around the classroom, her eyes landing on the pink haired girl seated between Fangs and Sweet Pea. Judging by the wave and beaming smile she was receiving from the Serpent, she was her partner. It could've been worse, Harley thought as she smiled back, it could've been Reggie. Maybe being paired up with a Serpent wasn't all bad. It would give Harley an opportunity to show the girl that not at the Northsiders were bad. Maybe even make the transition between schools run by a little smoother for her.
Harley jogged up to the teacher's desk, waiting for him to hand her the topic they would be working on. He handed her a paper, the words Holocaust printed in bold letters at the top. What they were supposed to put in the presentation was scattered underneath. The pink haired girl, or Antoinette as the teacher referred to her as, followed Harley as she exited the classroom.
"I'm you're partner, Harley right?" Harley nodded. "You can call me Toni." Harley grinned widely, at least my partner is polite.
"We got the Holocaust, which is a pretty easy topic. There a bunch of info in the library about it. We can work on it there if you want." Harley suggested, tugging her bag over her shoulder. Toni nodded.
"Yeah, sure." The two walked in silence from there on. When they reached the library, they immediately found an available spot at a table. Harley put her stuff down, preparing to scavenge the shelves for any books that could help them. "You're a friend of Sweet Pea, right?" Harley's eyes snapped over to Toni at the mention of the boy.
"I guess. . ?" The Byers girl replied, awkwardly scratching her neck. How did Toni know that they hung out?
"Yeah, Sweet Pea talks a lot about you." Toni continued. Harley arched a brow.
"He does?"
"He does." The Topaz girl confirmed with a smirk. Sweet Pea hadn't really talked about her a whole lot, he wasn't the type to gush about the girl he liked to his friends, but Toni could recall him mentioning the curly headed brunette a few times over the course of the last few weeks. Taking a stab in the dark, Toni sensed that the tall Serpent had a small thing for the Northside Princess. The loving looks spared on her whenever he got the chances, and the way he seemed to perk up at the mention of her. And the fact that Jughead Jones wasn't the only one who grew protective over her when there was a threat.
"You've got a boyfriend?" Toni asked. Harley shrugged the denim jacket that she had borrowed from Jughead a long time ago off. He didn't really need it seeing as it had been replaced by a leather one. Harley figured she would give it back sooner or later, preferably after they had talked about that kiss.
Harley shook her head at the question. "Nope. Well, at least not as far as I know." She joked. Toni chuckled, appreciating the small gesture to break the ice.
"Jones seems to be fond of you. You guys hooking up or something?" Toni wasn't just asking for Sweet Pea, she was asking for herself too. The girl was ridiculously attractive and being completely honest, Toni wouldn't mind having a piece of her cake.
Harley let out a very forced, and awkward laughter, the kiss plaguing her mind as she answered. "Nooo, no way in hell. No, we're just friends." Toni nodded slowly, eyeing her in suspicion. "How about you?"
"Not at the moment, but between the two of us, I find the other team a little more interesting lately." Harley nodded. Toni was a cute girl, Harley would gladly admit that, but the Byers girl hadn't really thought of anyone without a dick that way. Maybe the Topaz girl was here to change that.
"Well, we should get going with the project, don't you think?" Harley said, desperately wanting to talk about anything not romantic.
Yeah. . ." Toni nodded, her eyes lingering on Harley for a moment. "Yeah we should."
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When the school day finally ended, Harley happily made her way home. She noticed the parking lot was packed with motorcycle that no doubt belonged to the new students there. Harley passed by Sweet Pea, Fangs and Toni as she walked past them, offering them a small wave.
Toni was intimidating, that was for sure. Harley had yet to decide if her constant stares was the thing that irked her the most, or if it was the way she kept prying into Harley's like throughout the remaining forty five minutes of class. But she was incredibly nice too. Toni was far from shy, and handed Harley several compliments whenever she got the chance. As well as that, the Topaz girl was easy to talk to. The conversation seemed to flow freely between the two. Sure, it was a little awkward at the start, but when they got a little more comfortable with one another there was no holding back the stupid jokes and happy chatter.
Sweet Pea, on the other side, was a smudge bit harder to make conversation with. Harley figured that he might've just been shy, or that he usually didn't expand his circle of friends. It had been very awkward between the two to say least. He struggled with the right words to say. The tall boy never did. Usually he did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted to, without giving a single fuck what anyone thought about it or him. But for some odd reason, Sweet Pea had a hard time being his complete self around Harley. Maybe he was just afraid that if she got to know him, she wouldn't like him.
Then there was Fangs. Harley had only spoken to the boy on one occasion. That was when he had shamelessly flirted with her at Pop's. Harley made a wild guess, assuming that he was the flirt in the golden trio. He spent the night sending her cheeky winks, and whenever the opportunity proposed itself, he would throw in a cheesy pickup line. Harley figured he probably was much more down to earth when you got to know him. In fact, when he flirted, he reminded her a little of Reggie. Harley was sure if the Southsider caught word that she was comparing him to 'Mantle the Magnificent' he'd throw a bitch fit, so she made a mental note to keep the comparison to herself.
They all flashed her smiles when she passed by them. Toni grinned, nodding slightly towards the girl as a way of acknowledging her. Sweet Pea genuinely smiled, watching her continue down her journey to her home. Fangs smirked, eyes fanning over the rather skimpy cheerleading uniform clinging to her body.
Another Serpent also spotted the Byers girl walking through the parking lot. He abounded his helmet ontop of his bike, jogging over to her. When Harley noticed, she quickened her pace. "Har! Hey, Harley wait up!" Jughead called, picking up his own pace to catch up with her. His fingers circled around her upper arm, halting her steps. "Harley."
She spun around, wearing a deep frown as she stared at him. "What, Jughead? I have to get home before dinner. I promised my mom." She excused. It wasn't a complete lie. She had made a promise to her mother that they would all eat dinner together after school. But she was using it as an excuse to get out of talking with Jughead. She knew that they needed to, but Harley wanted to bench the conversation about their make out session for now.
"You mother's at home?" Jughead asked, surprise evident in his voice. Harley nodded. She had yet to inform the Jones boy, or anyone really, that her family was making an effort to become whole again. Harley didn't want to tell anyone in case it went the wrong way. "That amazing, Harley, why didn't you say anything?"
"I was going to! But you were too busy ranting about discrimination and shoving your tongue down my throat for me to even try!" She snapped. Jughead's head dropped, his eyes connecting with some pebbles resting ontop of the asphalt.
"Look, that's what I came here to say. I'm sorry, Har, I really am. I was confused about Betty, and angry about the whole jacket thing, I wasn't thinking clearly." He sighed.
"Yeah, well, next time you can't control your feelings, or hormones, find some girl that hasn't been your best friend since, like, forever." Jughead chuckled lightly at her sass.
"Will do. . ." He paused. His eyes found hers again as he spoke his next words with hope. "Can you forgive me?"
Harley pretended to think about if for a second, but soon enough a wide grin broke out on her face. "Of course, dumbass. You're not that bad of a kisser, so I guess I'll make an exception this time." Jughead laughed, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Come on, lets go." He pulled away from her, his legs taking long strides towards his bike.
Harley scratched her head in confusion. "Where are we going?" She asked, hesitatingly accepting the helmet he handed to her. A crown was carved at the front of it.
"I'm taking you home." He simply answered, swinging one leg over the bike.
"Hah! No, you are not, Jughead Jones." Harley laughed as if he had told her a joke. He hadn't, he was completely serious.
"Why not?" The bike purred in consent when he revived the engine, the motor humming loudly. "I know how to drive, it's safe." He assured. Harley dramatically rolled her at him.
"Yeah, I don't think so. Do you even have your license?" Harley questioned, arms neatly folded. She was using this as an excuse as to not have him driving her, the reality being that she needed the walk home to clear her mind. His lack of answer was answer enough. "See ya later, Jones." She handed back the helmet, throwing him a lazy smile and a small wave before turning on her heels, heading in the other direction.
Harley practically jogged home, eager to get into a warm house and eat food. Her stomach grumbled in agreement. The front door swung open, Harley marching inside. She kicked her shoes off, making a beeline for the kitchen where her mother sat on the kitchen table alone.
Harley opened the fridge, pulling a water bottle out. "Where's dad?" She asked, unscrewing the cap.
"He, uhm, went out with some friends." Harley furrowed her brows, taking a long sip from the cold water.
"What? Since when does he have friends?" She laughed. Alcohol usually had the habit of cutting people off from society and stopped them from making friends in the first place when misused. Alan Byers was no exception.
Her mother didn't answer, her dull eyes glued to the kitchen table. Harley left the water bottle ontop of the counter, slowly making her way towards the woman. "Mom, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yes, I'm fine. Just that I was planning in making dinner, and your father bailed, nothing new." Addison bitterly said. Harley felt her stomach drop. It was obvious that the woman held a strong distaste towards her husband. It was nothing new to Harley, but she couldn't deny that she had been holding onto hope that the two would work it out. "How was school? Those Southside good for nothings aren't causing any trouble, are they?"
Harley rolled her eyes. "No, mom, everything's alright at school. And they aren't good for nothing's"
Addison snapped her head to Harley. "Harleen Byers! Listen to me! Those teens are nothing more then scum on this earth, trying to tear you down in every way possible. You will under no circumstances associated with them, is that clear?"
Harley stared back at the woman, nose flaring in anger. "You can't force me, mother. I'm going to school with them, and despite what you think, they're nice!"
Harley's decision to fight back was a big mistake.
"I will not stand in this kitchen listening to you defending those-those thugs! They are trash, and I will not let them ruin your future! Do I make myself clear, Harley? Do not disappoint me."
Harley glared at her mother, anger blossoming inside of her. But, she swallowed her rage.
"Yes, mother."
word count; 2833
a/n
at this pace, this entire book will be finished in no time. who's ur favorite character (and least favorite) in the show btw? i would love to know, so feel free to leave a comment. also, i know harley's been really caught up in anyone but sweet pea, but i promise it'll change soon! stay tuned.
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