They didn't believe him.
They didn't believe him.
Not Kusho. Not Robbie. Not Lars. The only people he could tell and they called bullshit.
He hadn't brought the letters with him, which in hindsight was probably a mistake but Kusho said even with them she wouldn't believe him. The small rational part of him knew they were just in denial, after all who wouldn't be after seeing your friend murdered? But without them he didn't have anyone to tell. Anyone to relieve this weight that was crushing his soul.
Poet hadn't slept last night. After Kusho's and getting mad and cursing them out, he'd gone back to Derek's. He'd snuck into his room through the broken window on the second floor and didn't sleep a wink.
So, to recap, Poet was sleep deprived, depressed, scared, and alone. He still had Jughead and Toni along with a few other Serpents but they weren't the same as his best friends. The ones he'd known since he was young, while he bounced around from house to house. Robbie who taught him how to drive and let loose. Kusho who was the closest thing he had to a mom and Lars who was stilling young and starry eyed and didn't deserve to watch this go down. They were Poet's family. And they turned on him.
School was not helping any of this either. With the lack of sleep, he couldn't focus on his classes or make conversation with anyone. All he could do was grunt and nod. He was minutes away from snapping. One small thing and he'd break.
And that one small thing just happened to be the dumbass he had a crush on.
In all honesty, Poet had no problem with not wearing his jacket. Yes, it showed his pride, his gang, his family but it was just an object. One he could not wear for eight hours and still survive. Toni, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and literally every other Serpent seemed to understand that too. If anything it gave them a chance to express themselves with outfits. The jackets were comfy but there was only so many things it could go with.
The exact moment Poet snapped was 1:47 in the student lounge. Jughead had been an idiot and worn his Serpent jacket to school when he was specifically told not to. Then he instigated those dumb jocks (who kind of had it coming but that's not the point) and Jughead and the other Serpents fought and got detention except for Jughead who still continued to be stubborn and was suspended.
Now, Poet sat in the student lounge with Toni, Fangs, Sweet Pea, and a ranting Jughead. Jug had fifteen minutes before he had to leave school and his dad picked him up.
"This is insane! He can't do this!" Jughead threw his arms up in the air as he paced back and forth, shouting about 'the principle of the thing' and what not. Toni and the rest were sharing looks while Poet stared at the ground, his fists clenching at his side.
"It's our right!" That. That was the moment when Poet broke. It wasn't the sentence itself, maybe it was Jughead's rant he'd already heard twice or the tension in the room or literally everything else in his life. But that was the moment Poet snapped.
Poet jumped up from his seat, walking over to Jughead and grabbing his collar. He pulled Jughead slightly closer, holding him by the shirt. Everything in his body shouted at him to not do this because there was no doubt Jughead would hate him after this but, just...everything.
"Look, Jughead. I know that the Serpents mean a lot to you and I know how important to you this is but you need to let. It. Go. You're only going to make things worse. The rest of us aren't going to jeopardize the only chance we have of getting out of this shit town and going off to collage for something as stupid as not having our logo on. We're okay with not being able to wear our jackets and following their rules if it means we can actually learn and grow and have a fucking decent high school experience so you need to stop acting like a fucking child before this gets worse."
The room went quiet and Poet dropped Jughead's collar before turning on his heel and stomping out of school. There wasn't much time left anyway and anyone who tried to stop him he could just punch.
Three streets away from the school is when everything hit. All the pain and the emotion slammed into him like a brick wall. Poet let out a loud sob, dropping to the ground with his knees bent. He gripped his face in his hands, crying out into them, warm salty tears running down his face onto his neck and clothes.
His throat burned with every sob and hiccup, becoming more raw by the minute. His hands trembled and started to grow cold.
After what felt like eternity but was only really a few minutes, the tears slowed and his breathing steadied. And, realizing he was in a road and not wanting to get run over, he crawled over to the sidewalk and sat down on the concrete.
Poet closed his eyes, letting the birds and nature fill his ears instead of his feelings.
A small voice cleared it's throat and Poet looked up through tear stained eyes at a soft smiling Veronica who looked down at him.
"You look like you need a mimosa."
⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢ ⇠⇢
The Pembrooke was fucking huge. His whole bedroom, no, whole house could fit in just the lobby. He knew the Lodge's were rich but holy shit.
Veronica gently guided him around a corner and through a hallway and double doors into a huge living room with a roaring fireplace. She sat him down on one of the pristine couches, plopping down next to him and bringing him into a hug.
She placed her chin on his head, gently stroking his hair and holding him tight. "It's going to be okay, Poet. Whatever it is, you're going to be okay." Poet disagreed immensely with that but kept quiet and just gave a solemn nod.
After a few minutes she pulled away, wiping a few stray tears off his face. She placed her hands in her lap with a soft smile. "Now. Tell me what's wrong."
Poet sighed and thought for a moment before telling her. "I just...everything I guess." He said.
Veronica nodded. "Like what?"
"My friends and the Serpents and Jughead. Me and my friends aren't... talking right now. They're mad at me and I don't know what to do to make it better and the whole moving to the Northside School thing has been really hard and Jughead's starting to not listen to anyone and I just don't know what to do. Plus everything's feeling like it's getting darker. Like I can't see the light, you know. I just feel so...tired. And angry. Angry too," Poet ranted, careful not to reveal to much. He didn't mention Enoch but he couldn't bring himself too.
Veronica nodded and though for a moment before placing a hand on his. "It'll be okay. It sounds like you're going through a lot, I'm sorry." Poet gave her a quiet thanks, focused on the fur carpet.
"I have an idea." Poet lifted his head and watched as Veronica got up and went to a desk few feet away. She dug through a few shelves for a second before taking out a piece of paper and bringing it over to them. She sat down, handing it to him. "It's a card for a therapist. My parents gave it to me just in case but I haven't used it so they're won't be any overlap. Just take it in case, okay?"
Poet gaped, shaking his head, giving the card back to her. "No, no I can't. Thank you but I can't even afford this."
Veronica shook her head and pushed his arm back, the card resting against his chest. "I'll cover it for you and before you say anything no buts about it. We're friends and you have intention of having romantic relations with Jughead which means we're even closer. And my parents won't hate the idea of helping out a Serpent who both a Serpent and a Ghoulie. It looks good on them. We won't use you though!" She rushed out the last part quickly and Poet smiled.
He looked down at the card then up at her. He kissed her forehead and gave her a hug. "Thank you." She nodded, hugging him back. "Of course. Now. Let's get you that mimosa. There's some Disney movies calling our names."
- - - - - - - - - - -
Sorry for not updating for so long. I've had a bunch of stuff going on and when it comes to writing, my brain just hates me. Also, I've been working on my My Hero Academia story and hopefully that will be ready to go soon.
Thank you all for your love and support, you all give me inspiration to keep writing and I couldn't do it without you! So comment, vote, follow, thanks! Love you guys!