Chapter Seven

The next day, Betty reported for detention like the good little girl she no longer was. Fangs waited in the hall, waving her closer.

"Hi." She looked around him, but Toni and Sweet Pea were MIA.

Fangs shot Betty a grin the devil himself would be jealous of. "Want to ditch this place? The others are waiting for us."

"I have detention."

"Same. Lucky for you, I also have a way out of it. You in?"

She turned to steel underneath his sharp gaze. He was testing her, seeing if he dared get attached. She hadn't disappointed Toni and Sweet Pea. She wouldn't disappoint Fangs, either.

Betty matched his stare. "Let's go."

He took her into the classroom, where some poor teacher graded an entire semester's worth of papers. "Ma'am?"

"Yes?" She glanced up for all of two seconds.

"Can Betty and I research our chemistry project in the library?"

The teacher's eyes softened upon flitting to Betty. "As long as you come back."

"Of course." His grin grew even more charming if possible. "I'd miss you otherwise."

She blushed. "Go on, then."

Fangs steered Betty to the hall while the other burnouts looked on, flames of jealousy raging in their eyes. "Pretty sweet, huh?"

"So, what, we're hanging out in the stacks all period?" It sounded much nicer than the alternative.

"Something like that."

Once in the library, he led her to the darkest corner. No sooner had she set down her backpack and withdrawn her notebook than he shoved open the closest window. Shelves surrounded it, rendering it invisible to the circulation desk.

Her eyes widened. "You said we'd come back."

"We will." He placed his books on the table. "It's a detour, nothing major."

She bit her lip. Alice had cut her a lot of slack, thanks to Jughead and Archie's negotiating skills. If Betty got caught up at school again, she'd deserve whatever her mother threw at her next.

It was one thing to become a bad girl. She'd prefer to do it responsibly and in a way that caused the minimal amount of damage, if possible.

"Hey, no pressure. I'll tell Toni you couldn't make it." Fangs gripped the windowsill, hauling himself toward the bright freedom beyond.

"Wait."

He dropped to the carpet, soft as a cat. "Yeah?"

Hope glinted in his eyes. Going back to her old self would let the Serpents down. More than that, Betty wanted to go. The stacks closed in on her, further darkening the library. After this, she and Kevin would have an hour at Pop's. Otherwise, her house was all that awaited her. An extra adventure couldn't hurt.

"Yeah," she said.

He cupped his hands for her to place her foot in, boosting her upward. She sat in the window until he'd hit the grass below. He lowered her to the ground by her waist, gentle as if she were made of glass. For a group with such a rough reputation, the Serpents treated her very well.

The rest of the gang stood by a cluster of motorcycles in the parking lot. They cheered upon the unlikely duo's arrival.

"I knew Fangs would spring you." Toni hugged Betty, balancing a backpack on her shoulder.

Betty glanced at the open library window. It remained empty—for now. "Yeah, but we can't stay."

"We have plenty of practice." Sweet Pea waved off her concern. "Nobody's ever gotten caught. Fangs is a natural."

"Except it means I have to get detention every time you guys do." Fangs slapped his friend's back.

"You know you love us, man."

Betty's eyebrows lifted. "You got in trouble for me?"

Fangs popped a shoulder. "I figured it'd give you a chance to prove yourself. Are you going to disappoint me?"

She sighed at the school. The mere thought of its warm, recycled air stifled her lungs. She'd spent her whole life doing what was expected of her. Detention wasn't much of reward. Time to offer herself a real one.

"I'm good," she said, holding his gaze a beat longer than necessary.

A smile split his features. "I can't wait to see."

"Hell, yeah." Toni unzipped her backpack. "I brought you something to celebrate with, if you're interested."

Betty's heart warmed. Of course her other friends did the same. But it was never a surprise when Veronica hit her with a gift certificate or some cupcakes. Presents were easy for people like her. The Serpents didn't have much to spread around, materially speaking. This meant a lot.

Betty reached into the bag, withdrawing a worn, leather jacket with pink racing stripes on the arms. "You shouldn't have, Toni."

"No worries. It's one of my old ones."

Betty slipped on the garment. It fit her perfectly, as if it'd been custom made. A second skin, so to speak. "It looks better broken in, anyway."

"That's the spirit." Sweet Pea winked.

Toni kept the bag aloft, eyes crackling with mischief. "It's a warm up for the real thing."

Betty's pulse skipped. "Does that mean..."

"There's one way to find out."

She unearthed the next prize, eager as a little girl on her birthday. Sure enough, it was a Southside Serpent jacket, complete with the green snake emblem and cracks in the leather. Sparks snapped across her palms. Not a single part of her wanted to let go.

"It belonged to your mom." Toni stroked an aged sleeve. "Legend has it, she chucked it at FP the day she chose domestic bliss. He's held onto it for all these years and agrees you deserve to wear it."

"First, you have to earn it," Sweet Pea warned her. "You up for that, Princess?"

Betty exhaled. She hadn't gone looking for the Serpents, but they'd found her. Unlike everyone else in her life, they had yet to judge her. Now they wanted her for real. Who was she to say no to fate.

She hugged the jacket to her chest, smiling at her new comrades. "Tell me what to do."

All three of them cheered and took turns hugging her. A sign if she'd ever seen one.

"Your initiation starts after detention." Toni retrieved the Serpent jacket from Betty, stowing it in the backpack. "You can ride to the quarry with me."

"Except my mom's forbidden me to go anywhere without Kevin at my side. My curfew's at five now, if you can believe that."

Toni and Sweet Pea winced.

Fangs, on the other hand, arched a dark eyebrow. "Kevin Keller?"

"Do you know another?"

"No, but I'd like to know that one a little better."

"Can you handle him?" Toni asked. "Betty can sneak out the bathroom window of Pop's while you distract Kevin."

"I'll have him in a puddle on the floor by the time you get back."

"My kind of man." Toni bumped fists with Fangs.

Betty's stomach jangled at the prospect of snatching the freedom she'd lost. A current of guilt ran underneath that. Kevin had no part of this. She hated the idea of lying to him, or putting him at risk of her parents' wrath. Sacrificing this afternoon was too much to bear, however. He'd have to understand.

"Sounds great," she said before hashing out a plan for her escape.

Afterward, Fangs boosted her back up to the library window. She gripped his hand while he climbed through, even though he could get inside alone. It was the thought that counted.

Her breath quickened as she journeyed to the school's front steps. Kevin waited with a huge grin. Together, they walked to Pop's, him telling her about everything that'd happened at wrestling practice that day.

"And I was like, 'Archie, swing your leg from your other left.'" Kevin shook his head. "Apparently, abs of steel aren't a substitute for actual training. It's a nice resting place for my eyes, though."

Betty agreed, remembering how she used to peek out her window for a glimpse of Archie taking his shirt off. Those days had ended, but the memories never would.

"How was detention?"

"Not too bad. I worked on a chemistry project the whole time."

"Which somehow resulted in you getting a leather jacket?"

"Oh, this old thing?" She traced a pink stripe. Not even the teacher had noticed the update to Betty's wardrobe. "It was in the lost in found. Nobody's claimed it, so I figured it was fair game."

"It looks good. Very gangbanger chic."

"Shut up." She slugged his arm as they approached Pop's. "Can you order for me? I'm going to the bathroom."

"Don't take too long." He plopped down in their favorite booth. "We don't have all night."

She held a hand over her face in mock embarrassment. "I'm having, um, cramps. I need a minute."

"Don't worry. I'll keep him company." Fangs swaggered in behind them. "Hey, Pop, bring us a double dark chocolate milkshake—with two straws."

Kevin blushed to his V-neck.

Betty waltzed into the bathroom. She had some time to kill, all right. For now, she shoved the window up, much as she and Fangs had done minutes before this, and leapt to the parking lot. She fell to her knees, soles slipping on the asphalt. If this became regular endeavor, she'd need shoes with better traction.

Toni helped her to her feet. "You okay?"

"I can handle a few scrapes."

"Good, because you'll have more by the end of this. Metaphorically speaking, anyway. You still in?"

Betty clutched her friend's hands. "You don't have to keep asking, Toni. I'm not going anywhere. You guys mean something to me. I want to be one of you, for real."

"You know that includes Jughead, right?" Sweet Pea sauntered up, biting his lip. "He's already at the quarry."

She shrugged. "He is my boyfriend."

"That doesn't guarantee he'll approve of this." Toni scoffed. "Not that he cared what anyone thought about him becoming a Serpent. There's no accounting for hypocrisy, I suppose."

Sweet Pea nodded. "You're all right, Betty, but relationship drama isn't. If this drives you two apart, you'll have to make a choice."

"Then let's go do that, before someone sees us." She grabbed her helmet from Toni.

The girls mounted the bike and zipped to the quarry. Sweet Pea followed. Further behind, Kevin Keller lost himself to a milkshake and a pair of dark, soulful eyes. Betty kept hers straight ahead, on the future that waited for her. Not one doubt racked her mind.

At last, she'd done something for herself and nobody else. If that wasn't a good thing, nothing ever could be.