"COPS!"
It was the only word needed to send the teens assembled at the drag race scrambling frantically to their vehicles. Gone was the exhilarated if tense atmosphere, charged with the uncertainty and anticipation of the race's outcome—now everyone's main concern was getting away before the police caught them.
Kevin sent a swift glance around him to check on his friends as he hurriedly dug in his pocket for his car keys. Archie and Jughead, speeding in with Reggie's car, quickly leapt out and handed his keys back to him. Once they did, Betty wasted no time in grabbing the two of them and Veronica and hauling all of them to the Cooper station wagon, which had looked woefully out of place among the surrounding motorcycles and muscle cars. Meanwhile, Toni swung onto her bike, revving the engine, and Cheryl didn't hesitate to hop on behind her. Surprise flashed across Toni's face, but she didn't question it, instead just shoving a helmet at her chest before the two of them roared off together.
"You got a ride?" Kevin asked Fangs as he flung open the door to his dad's truck and jumped inside.
Fangs grimaced. "My bike's in the shop."
"Get in. C'mon, hurry!" Kevin urged him, the police sirens growing louder in the distance.
He barely waited for Fangs to close the passenger door before slamming the gas pedal with his foot, dirt churning up from beneath the rear tires as the car rocketed forward. Fangs let out a curse as he was flung forth against the dashboard, but Kevin spared him no attention, instead scanning the cars and bikes speeding off around him. Most of them were going off toward the main road, and even though they were moving as fast as possible, traffic was still bottlenecking and creating a standstill.
Time to do some off-roading, then.
"Hang on," he ordered Fangs, whipping the truck around to go off the road onto the grass. There was a field before them, and if Kevin had his locations right, he could drive straight across it to get to a mostly forgotten back road on the other side, avoiding the cops entirely. The way would be mostly level, if a bit bumpy.
He signalled Betty to follow him before taking off, barrelling away from the paved lot into the grass with such speed that they were airborne for a moment, like the goddamn Duke brothers in the General Lee.
"Jesus Christ, Keller!" Fangs exclaimed when they landed and began bouncing around in their seats as they sped across the grass.
Kevin just chuckled and pressed harder down on the gas. He'd only met Fangs this afternoon in a hurried introduction by Jughead when they were all prepping Reggie's car together. He'd seen the unimpressed once-over Fangs had given him then, and now he couldn't help but enjoy the idea of proving to a Serpent that even though he was the sheriff's son, he wasn't always a goody two-shoes.
His assessment of the terrain proved correct; they reached the other road in no time flat, Betty's car following close behind. They end up going in opposite directions, though: she took the turn to go back to the Northside, while Kevin continued forward to the Southside.
When Kevin returned to the road, Fangs just shook his head, collapsing back against his seat. "Where the hell did you learn that?"
Kevin grinned at him, adrenaline still pumping through his veins. "I've been driving since I was fourteen. My parents taught me—you know my dad's in the police, and my mom's in the Navy, so they thought I needed to be prepared. Then I taught Betty, and we've been practicing together all this time."
Fangs snorted. "And here I thought the most exciting things you two would do together was go to Woolworth's to shop for sweaters. You can be pretty badass for a cop's kid, Keller."
A tingling sensation ran through Kevin at the compliment—this Serpent thought he was badass! —but he tried to keep casual. "Well, I like to think I'm full of surprises." He changed the subject. "Where should I drop you off?"
"The Wyrm will be fine," Fangs told him. "But stick to the roads. Can't say I really want another kamikaze wilderness adventure with you."
But he smiled when he spoke, and Kevin smiled back at him, a pleasant light fluttering filling his stomach. Even though he warned himself not to get any wild hopes, the feeling continued throughout the drive, and when he let Fangs off at the Whyte Wyrm, he was sorry to see him go.
"Thanks, Keller," Fangs said, opening the door to climb out. "You know, maybe . . . maybe we could do this again sometime. You should me some of your moves, so next time, I should show you some of mine."
Fangs wanted to see him again? A rush of happiness flooded through Kevin, and he grinned, hoping he didn't ruin the cool image he'd created by now looking like a total dork.
"I'd like that," he told Fangs sincerely.
"Glad to hear it." Fangs gave him a wave before shutting the door and turning to walk toward the Wyrm. Kevin waited until he disappeared inside the bar before turning around to back to the Northside, deciding to check in at Betty's house to see if everything was okay.
November changed to December, and then December changed to January, the new year bringing the Southside students to Riverdale High. All occurred without any contact between Fangs and Kevin beyond exchanging hellos on the few occasions when they now saw each other in the school halls , and Fangs seemed reluctant to do even that, never pausing to stop to speaking Kevin other than the briefest greeting.
"Maybe he just has a lot on his plate right now," Betty suggested one day at lunch. "He could just have a lot of things the Serpents need from him, so he doesn't have time to start anything with you. Whenever Jughead gets preoccupied with the Serpents, he always forgets about me."
"Hey!" Jughead protested. "I do not!"
"You do. But it's okay. I understand that you have a life you've got lead." Betty gave him a conciliatory pat on the shoulder before turning back to Kevin. "I think you should give Fangs another chance."
"I'm fresh out of giving chances to people who turn out to be flakes. Or giving them rides, for that matter." Kevin stabbed emphatically at his salad. "He can get busted by the cops next time for all I care."
But a few nights later, when he found himself driving back from the mall in Greendale (the clothing options in Riverdale for athletic gear sucked) on an isolated country road, his headlights landed on a figure walking along the road wearing a leather jacket with the Southside Serpents emblem.
Despite the dark and the poor visibility due to the surrounding trees blocking out any sliver of moonlight, with his given luck Kevin knew exactly who the Serpent would turn out to be. And with the night's temperature predicted to dip into the negatives, frigid even by New England standards, Kevin knew he couldn't leave anyone outside to freeze.
Sighing heavily as he rolled down the window, cold air blasting in, Kevin pulled up alongside the figure and was not at all surprised when it was Fangs.
"You want a ride?" he called, speaking louder than usual to be heard over the howling wind.
"Thanks," Fangs returned, already circling around the front of the truck, and Kevin unlocked the passenger side door to allow him inside.
"Nice of you to stop," Fangs said, rubbing his hands and placing them on top of the heater to warm them.
"I seem to be making a habit of it," Kevin replied dryly, cranking up the heater to its highest setting so Fangs could get warm. "Put on your seatbelt. We might hit black ice. Where's your bike?"
"The gas froze in the tank," Fangs said ruefully. "I had to leave it. I'll go back to get it tomorrow."
"Sure is cold enough for that," Kevin remarked, more to have something to say than anything else.
In spite of his attempt to continue the conversation, a silence fell between them. Kevin tried to tell himself he didn't care, trying to focus on the road instead, but within a few moments, he noticed that Fangs was watching him. At first he ignored it, but then he turned to look back at him, catching him in his staring.
"Problem?" he asked, not bothering to disguise the coolness in his voice.
"No," Fangs denied, shifting to instead look out the window.
But it wasn't thirty seconds later that Kevin noticed he was sneaking glances at him again, and he decided to forgo any further attempts to be polite.
"You know, it's flattering that you're paying so much attention to me right now," he told Fangs. "From the way you ignore me at school, I figured you couldn't stand the sight of me."
"I don't ignore you!" Fangs protested.
Kevin would have rolled his eyes, but they were approaching a tight curve, and he didn't want to take his gaze off of the road. "I can barely get you to say hello to me."
"That's not because I can't stand you, though!" Fangs insisted. "You helped me get away from the cops! I think you're really cool!"
"Then what's the problem?" Kevin asked pointedly.
Fangs slumped back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. "I wanted to get to know you, and I was planning on asking you out sometime, but . . ." he trailed off.
"Yes? Kevin prompted him.
Fangs gave an uncomfortable shrug. "But then I heard that you and DeSantos had a thing going on. I didn't want to horn in on a friend's territory, you know? Us Serpents have a code of honor, and we don't steal each other's women. I figured the same thing would go for dudes, so I decided to lay low and see what was going on, if the two of you were still together."
"We're not," Kevin said flatly. "Mainly because Joaquin is living on the other side of the country right now."
They'd split it up just before Joaquin had to run off to San Junipero, both agreeing that a long distance relationship was not in the cards for them. While Kevin would be lying if he said he didn't miss him, he also had to admit that he wasn't sure how their relationship would have gone, given the rising tensions between the Southside and the Northside.
"Yeah, and I eventually figured that out," Fangs rushed to explain. "But I'd been avoiding you beforehand, and I knew that if I suddenly asked you out after all that, you would think I was a total dickhead. So, I wanted to talk to you again but I couldn't, and then the longer I went without talking to you, the more I couldn't talk to you, and, well . . ." he sighed. "It just all turned into a mess."
At the revelation of Fangs's reasons for avoiding him, Kevin couldn't help but soften. He'd thought that Fangs thought he was some sort of loser, or that he didn't want to have to repay the favor Kevin had given to him. Fangs's admission of the truth made him seem maybe a touch indecisive, but at the same time, Kevin couldn't help but find his worry sweet.
"I'm glad it was just that," he said, unafraid to let his relief show. "I had fun with you last time. When you said you wanted to do that again sometime, I was looking forward to it. I . . ." he hesitated, wondering if it was worth the risk, but then he continued, his heart thumping wildly. "I believed you when you said you wanted to see me. I thought you meant it."
"I did," Fangs said adamantly. "And I still do. Listen, you had dinner yet? Why don't we go and grab something to eat at that diner all you Northsiders go wild for? I've never been there."
Kevin raised an eyebrow at him, trying to play it cool even as excitement and wild hope filled him. "Is this you asking me out on a date, Fangs?"
Fangs grinned at him. "Only if you accept."
Giddiness surged through Kevin, and he could barely believe that finally, finally , someone else was interested in him. Giving up on his pretense of being casual, he let a silly smile stretch across his face.
"I accept," he told Fangs happily, steering the truck toward town and making the turn toward the diner. "But only if we could go driving again together sometime."
"I'll drive with you anyplace," Fangs vowed, such conviction in his tone that a thrill zipped through Kevin at his agreement.
After parking the car, they hurried inside, spurred on by the biting cold. The bell above the door jangled as they walked in together, and Pop greeted them with his usual cheer.
"You boys getting a table together?" he asked with a friendly smile.
"We sure are," Fangs declared.
"And this is the first time Fangs has ever been here," Kevin added. "I wanted to personally bring you a new customer."
Pop laughed. "I appreciate you making sure to advertise for me." He handed them a couple of menus. "Pick any table you like, and be sure to enjoy your dinner together."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Fangs said, looping his arm over Kevin's shoulders.
The sudden familiarity of the gesture surprised Kevin; he wouldn't have expected Fangs to be so openly affectionate so quickly. But as they walked toward a table together, Kevin didn't push his arm away, content with their closeness.