Jughead Jones. Leader of the Southside Serpents. Son of FP Jones. Cutthroat member of society. He wasn't the guy who you would bring home to meet your mother and he was perfectly fine with that. Enter Elizabeth Cooper, his best friend since childhood. The northside girl-next-door turned southside queen. Everything he did; every decision he made, came with him seeking her advice about it. And, they were impossibly close. Where one went, the other was sure to follow.
As Jughead was mulling this over, he felt eyes on him and glanced up, spotting Archie grinning at him. Archie Andrews had been his righthand man ever since he took over the Serpents when FP retired. Knowing exactly what Archie was thinking, Jughead rolled his eyes, smirking as he flipped him the bird. Then, Betty walked in and the meeting was called to order as soon as she took her place next to Jughead at the top of the table.
Looking around to make sure everyone was there, Jughead nodded his head. "Alright, Serpents. Some of you know why we're here and some of you do not. Let me clarify a few things for those who do not. Hiram Lodge is back in the drug selling business and is filling the streets with Fizzle Rocks."
He noticed Betty stiffen considerably out of his peripheral and nodded his head. "He's got his goon squad sweeping the streets and they're selling as they go along."
"Dammit," Betty muttered, closing her eyes. Jughead knew that she wanted Hiram Lodge off the streets as badly as Jughead. The man had been causing mayhem for years now. In fact, there was a point in Betty's life when her mother, whom Jughead hated with a passion, had decided she had enough of her daughter and shipped her off to Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Upon being one of them many victims there, they had drugged Betty while Jughead and Archie were working on a way to get her out. Archie had sworn he had never seen Jughead so mad and Jughead had sworn he had never wanted to kill so many people for the injustices brought against his best friend.
"Hey, we're going to get the streets clean," Jughead said, eyes focused on her. He watched as she nodded, steely expression locking in place. She was in fight mood and he couldn't be prouder. He smiled slightly at her before going back to the meeting. "We need to hit Lodge where it hurts."
"And, where is that?" Archie asked.
Jughead smirked. "He has a daughter I'm certain he'd hate to see anything happen to."
Archie smirked in turn. "What are you suggesting?"
"I think you know what he is suggesting, Arch," Betty piped up, own smirk toying at her lips. "Hiram likes taking the innocence of people on the streets; why shouldn't we take something that's valuable to him?"
"Cousin, I couldn't agree more," Cheryl spoke up just then, eyes alight with energy. Cheryl Blossom (now, Topaz), joined the Serpents when she was sixteen. Toni had found her outside the Whyte Wyrm, hesitant about coming inside. But, she had recognized the fear in her eyes and led her inside and to where Jughead had been in the back. A few sentences about an abusive father was all he needed to hear to be willing to let the vivacious redhead join. Five years later, and she was one of the best assets he had in the Serpents.
Toni Topaz, Cheryl's wife, nodded her head. "We need to sweat out Hiram, but we're not going to hurt the lodge girl, are we?"
It was Betty who answered. "Absolutely not. We're not trying to scare her any more than we already are by taking her."
Jughead followed up that statement with a firm and empathetic nod. "We're not known for being ruthless monsters."
"Well, not all of us," Sweet Pea said slyly, eyes on their leader.
"Can it, Pea," Jughead rolled his eyes.
"Back to the issue at hand," Betty interrupted them, shaking her head at them.
Jughead nodded. "Right, Lodge. We'll need to be stealthy in our take down of Hiram. I want the mission to take place at night, and I want it to be the main seven that usually runs the take downs."
He looked at each of the group he was referring to and then the rest of the Serpents, who all took the hint and left the meeting room. When it was just the seven of them, Jughead looked around at the table.
"Betty, Toni, and Cheryl; I'm going to need the three of you waiting in the van. We need the Lodge girl to see people who look safe," he stated, and the three of them nodded. "Arch, I want you in the room with me; Pea, you're driving the van, and Fangs, you're keeping an eye out for Hiram or any of his security. We all good on the plan?"
After a chorus of nods, Jughead dismissed them and everyone went off to do their own things. Everyone except Betty, who hung back. She made her way towards Jughead when there were no other Serpents in the room.
"You trust this plan to not fail?" Betty asked quietly, and Jughead nodded.
"Unconditionally," he replied, and she smiled.
"I trust you," she said.
"And, you have no idea how much that means to me, Betts," he said earnestly.
"I think I might," she replied, soft smile still adorning her face.
Jughead would never admit it out loud, least of all to Betty, but he often viewed her as his soulmate. They had known each other since they were practically born and they had shared every secret with one another. He knew of her darkness that she buried, and she knew of his fears of not being a good leader. But. But, he still had to watch her go on dates where he wasn't the man with her. He still had to watch her come home disappointed and angry from another lackluster date. He still even had to go as far as breaking one guy's kneecaps for trying to force his best friend into a position she didn't want to be in.
She had come back with a ripped dress and there was a fire ignited in his belly. After convincing her to tell him who did that to her, he recruited Archie, Pea, and Fangs to stalk down the man. Not much was said between catching up to him and breaking both of his kneecaps with a tire iron. He did remember saying that if the man even dared to think about coming near Betty, he would put a bullet in his skull. She hadn't had any problems since then.
"Where'd you go?" Betty queried, and Jughead shook his head.
"Nowhere," he promised. "We need to get ready to finalize the plans."
She nodded. "When do we leave?"
"Tonight, sundown," he replied.
XXX
When the group of seven had reached the Lodge estate, Jughead turned to look at them.
"Remember; Betty, you, Cheryl, and Toni will be waiting here. The girl needs to feel calm. Pea, you stay here with them and make sue no one sees the van. And, Fangs, scout the premises for anyone who looks suspicious, alright?"
The group all nodded their affirmative and Jughead slipped a ski mask on, looking at Archie, who did the same.
"Remember, don't scare the girl," he said, and he nodded.
"Got it, boss," came the reply.
Jughead jumped out of the van, with Archie following. He looked over his shoulder at Betty, who nodded her head and slid the door closed. Then, he and Archie were running into the night, towards the mansion-like estate. Once there, he headed straight to the left, where Jughead had known the girl would be. He looked at Archie, who nodded, and Jughead cut the wires of the alarm on the window. He knew they had an intensive security system but it was easy to navigate.
Once he had the wires cut, he slid the window open and climbed in quietly, helping Archie in after him. A quick look around the room told him that the girl wasn't in the room. Perfect. It gave them ample opportunity to hide. Jughead stood behind the door; Archie taking the closet. It wasn't long before they heard footsteps.
"Alright, daddy," came a feminine voice, and Jughead knew he had to be ready to get behind her.
The footsteps came into the room and a raven-haired girl came into view. Jughead saw the back of her head and quickly, but quietly, moved towards her and wrapped an arm around her stomach and clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp of surprise.
"Shh," he murmured, eyes taking in her trembling form. She nodded her head, and he slowly removed his hand.
"Please don't hurt me," she whispered, and he knew that she felt the bulge of his gun against his side.
Just then, Archie stepped out of the closet. "What's your name, love?"
"V-Veronica," she whispered, tears building in her eyes.
"I promise you, Veronica, we're not here to hurt you," he assured her. "We're here because we need to send a message to Hiram Lodge."
"My father?" Veronica asked in confusion, and Jughead nodded as he pulled out a zip tie. Archie came and rubbed a firm hand up and down her back when her breathing increased.
"Shh, I promise you, we're not going to hurt you," he murmured. Perhaps she believed him, Jughead thought, because she didn't put up a fight when Jughead tied her wrists together. Then again, perhaps she was just scared.
"Come on, we've got to go," Jughead said, and Archie nodded. He climbed out of the window first and held his arms open so Jughead could place Veronica inside of them. Once Veronica was passed through the window, Jughead climbed out, and slid it shut behind him. Then, they were running towards the van, leaving the estate behind them.
Author's note: Alright. I'm going on a huge deleting spree. I just don't have the desire to finish a lot of my stories. I have an idea for serpent Jughead, Betty, and Archie, so if you like that idea, stick around and find out what happens. Enjoy and feedback lovely, per usual. Also, Wonderland is almost done. I'll finish up that this week. Then down the rabbit hole. And I'm currently deciding on the season four AU.
Thanks! Xxx
