I couldn't figure it out. How could a sweet, kind boy from a good neighborhood be the worst boyfriend option? It wasn't supposed to be like that. The bad boy wasn't supposed to be the knight that saves the princess from the castle surrounded by dragons. But he wasn't a knight. Because I didn't need one. The white horse had two wheels and an engine. The dragons were my pets. One of them lived on my body in a permanent mark.

Though he wasn't a fairy tale prince, he sure looked like one. Especially from this angle. Sitting on the bleacher just above him, his left shoulder leaning into my right thigh, my fingers absentmindedly combing through his black hair as I turned another page of my Biology textbook. The book sat open across my lap. I was supposed to be studying a bit before class so I could pass the pop quiz the entire class knew was going to happen today.

But my mind was elsewhere. It was stuck on the boy taking a pull from a cigarette and blowing the smoke, sitting beside me. All Sweet Pea knew was that I was studying, concentrating, and needed quiet. He didn't know I was analyzing every freckle on his face, the texture of his hair. At least, that's what I thought I knew. But, like every other scenario in my life when I think I know something, I was proven wrong when he spoke up.

"You're gonna fail that quiz," he stated.

I exhaled, "I don't care."

Huffing an airy chuckle, he twisted toward me, ditching the cigarette. I closed the stupid textbook and sat it beside me. Sweet Pea slung an arm around my waist and used the other hand to grip my hip farthest from him, then began pulling me toward him, off the edge of the bleacher. I grinned and climbed down beside him. I was met immediately by his lips against mine, and it was a welcomed gesture, reciprocated in a millisecond. This was yet another thing that surprised me.

Making out on the bleachers before school wasn't something Archie would do. If we kissed before class, it was in the school, at his locker or on the way to the classroom. There was no secret escape. No rendezvous out the back door. Nothing was private. But this was anything but public. It didn't matter because it was just for us. It was our secret. Something no one could take from us. The sound of bell ringing echoed faintly in my ear.

For a moment, I chose to ignore it, too caught up in the taste of his lips. But then I pulled away and sighed heavily. "That's me," I said, hushed, as though there were people around to hear if I spoke any louder. "Which means you're extremely late at your school."

He shrugged a little, smirking. "I'll survive. What time's your game tonight?"

"Four o'clock," I answered, before twisting to retrieve my forgotten Biology textbook. I faced forward again before continuing. "It takes at least two hours, so we had to schedule it kind of early to avoid conflict with the pep rally later tonight. Wait- does this inquiry mean you're going to be cheering me on in the stands?"

I was smiling, that Cheshire smile I could never seem to hide in his presence. He chuckled, smiling back at me. "I don't know about cheer leading, but I'll definitely be there," he answered. We'd shared one more quick kiss before I had to sprint inside the school like my butt was on fire. The only weird looks I got were when I slid into my seat so fast I nearly fell right off the other side. Jughead and I were lab partners, but we also usually sat together in Algebra.

He glanced over at me, his eyebrow furrowing as I righted myself and pulled my book out of my bag. "Nice of you to join us, Ms. Cassidy," our Algebra teacher, Mr. Rhys, said. I gave a closed-mouthed smile and singular nod before burying myself in the lesson. As the class got out, I stuffed my textbook into my bag and dug out my cell phone. I hadn't noticed Jughead hanging back enough to talk to me until I'd turned around, nearly bumping right into his front.

"Jug? What's up?" I asked, pulling my bag strap onto my shoulder.

We started for the door, leaving the classroom as he spoke. "What are you getting yourself into, Diana?" his voice was hushed, leaning in a bit as we walked. "A South Side Serpent? You couldn't have found someone a little less dangerous to be rebellious with?"

"What are you talking about, Jughead?"

I played dumb, even though I knew he'd see right through it. And he did. He titled his head in an expression. "Archie saw you at Pop's Monday night, with some guy in leather all over you. But it was mostly the big snake on the back of his jacket that ticked him off."

"That was three days ago, Jug, right after I told Archie off," I pointed out. "Are you sure he isn't just making this up so he can stay angry at me?"

Jughead stopped walking and so I did, too. "Diana, this isn't a joke. I saw you two together—with my own two eyes. Yesterday morning? Back parking lot?"

My shoulders relaxed as I exhaled deeply. This was quickly spiraling into something I didn't want to participate in. A hand resting on my bag strap, the other holding my phone at my side, I shrugged. "What do you want me say? It's not some evil plot to rebel against the machine. I like him—a lot."

"Yeah, he must like you, too, considering he couldn't take his hands off you for five seconds," Jughead was starting to sound more bitter about the topic by the second. But I didn't know what I could've said to make it better, or make it go away. He crossed his arms. "We tell each other everything. But, instead of just talking to me, you lied about it. Little hint? If you wanted your relationship with a Serpent secret, you shouldn't have brought him on school property."

"I'm sorry, Jughead! Okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But...I couldn't risk it. If I got you involved and something happened to you—I could never live with myself."

A certain guilt i'd kept tucked in my back pocket tainted everything and everyone in my life. The thought of losing Jughead brought a physical pain to my chest cavity. And I knew then that my words held too much merit. The slight watering of my eyes, my choice of words, caused his expression to ease out into a genuine worry. "Diana...what is going on with you? Talk to me, please. Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Sudden awareness caused me to glance around, but the hall was empty. This paranoia wasn't unnatural. It was a deep-seated instinct. An instinct to protect. "Not here," I shook my head, looking to Jughead. "Come to my house tomorrow. Okay? We'll talk."


Preparing for a Polo game was always nerve wracking. The adrenaline was at a fever pitch before even walking into the barn. But then you add the unsettling guilt and doubt gnawing on your bones from promising to tell your best friend that you've been lying to him your entire relationship, and it feels like your body is about to implode. Thoughts were running through my mind. Scenarios of terrible meetings between Sweet Pea and Jughead.

They were both going to the game. What would be the odds they'd just happen to bump into each other? Maybe Jughead would notice Sweet Pea was there and stage some kind of incident where they met just to tell him off? Sweet Pea had a temper. If Jughead did tell him off, you could bet your life on a fist fight. All of it was beginning to turn my stomach sour, hefting my saddle onto Indiana's back. I secured the girth and started getting her breastplate on.

That's when Jade walked over. She exhaled, alerting me to her presence with a small startle. "Hey, you almost tacked up?" she asked, unaware of my mental state. "I could get her wraps on if you're running behind?"

"Sure, thanks," I nodded quickly.

I was just finishing with the breastplate when Jade grabbed the Polo wraps off the hay bales in front of Indie's stall. She started wrapping the front legs. Once I was finished, I took the wraps for the back legs, then squatted to wrap them. "Are you okay? You look a little stressed," Jade observed, looking at me through Indiana's legs.

"I think I blew it, J," I admitted, shaking my head at myself, keeping my eyes on the Polo wrap I was securing. "Jug knows, so does Archie—sort of."

"Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"Yeah, I guess, but that's not what worries me."

Jade finished the front legs and came to Indie's other back leg to wrap it while we spoke. It was hard to hear over the sound of Jessie and Lewis doing their pregame ritual—rapping all the lyrics to Lose Yourself by Eminem while doing their stretches in the middle of the hallway. "What's worrying you?" Jade inquired.

"Sweet Pea. He's coming tonight—so is Jughead. I just keep seeing them running into each other and Sweet Pea breaking Jug's nose in my head. Now that's all I'm thinking about, instead of playing Polo, right before the first game of the season against Neptune. You know our standings with them, J! If we lose this game because I wasn't paying attention-"

"Okay. Calm down. You're gonna do great because that's who you are," Jade interrupted, as we stood upon finishing the wraps.

My shoulders tried to relax and I exhaled, giving a solid nod. "You're right. I'm being a girl again. Shut up and win the game, Diana!"

She laughed and I chuckled—somewhat anxiously. Then we were leading the horses out into the arena as a team for warm-up. We took turns using the mounting block, and then we were off. Walking the length of the large arena as those arriving to watch the game filed into the stands on the right side. Any sport was pressure. Pressure to perform under scrutinizing eyes of many. But there was something about an equestrian sport that beat all other levels of anxiety.

Not only were you pressured to perform in front of many, but you had to do it on the back of a thousand pound beast who didn't speak English. You had to convince that beast to bend to your will, doing your bidding, obeying without question. Many horses questioned their riders. Those horses were often the horses that lost the game. A spook could be as simple as a split second startle or as complex as a bucking spree across the entire length of the arena.

There weren't a lot of in betweens and they were impossible to predict. But, as Eye of The Tiger started playing in my mind, I cued Indie into a trot. This would not get the better of me, I decided. I would not bend. Not even when Neptune's team started warming up, showing their muscle. Our team had younger players but we were a force to be reckoned with. It was all in good fun. Even though we came to win. The first period of the match began.

It was a bit of a rocky start. Neptune had the ball, but a ride off from Lewis prevented them from scoring. I was able to get the ball, turn the game around, and start pushing us all back the other way. Jade rode up ahead and I waited. I waited for the right moment. It was cutting it close, but I sent the ball across the field to her, and she immediately lined up a shot. She sent the ball rocketing through the goal posts and the stands erupted in cheers.

I didn't have to look, but I assumed Jughead and Sweet Pea were cheering. Jughead always came to my games. It was a given that he would be there. I'd found him during warm-up, standing just to the left of the stands, opting out of the crowded bleacher seats. This was a four period game. Us players more commonly called them chukkers, but the formal term was periods. Either way, we scored three times in the second period.

The problem was that Neptune scored two, which supplemented the four they achieved in the first. Riverdale was falling behind by two in the start of the third period. But the crowd stayed ever positive, keeping up the cheering even when it looked like we weren't going to make the shot. The one time I had the ball and I was driving it in myself, a Neptune lackey pulled a hook and managed to get the ball. I didn't care what number it was.

Not when Jessie got the ball back three strides later. She had Jade and Lewis backing her up, and she scored us a goal. The crowd almost deafened me. There was a good handful of spectators from each team. But the Riverdale crew was the loudest. Riverdale goes hard with sports. Almost a little too hard. But the energy was dialed to eleven in the fourth and final period. We were tied going in, and the goal was to be higher coming out.

I couldn't help throwing a solid fist into the air when I was the first scorer in the period. It was a solid sprint from nearly the other end of the arena to our goal posts. It was electrifying. The thrill of it all. But the next sounds coming from the crowd weren't cheers. They were sounds of shock and concern—horror, more like. I hadn't seen it. I didn't know. But as soon as I rounded to double back, I knew something was wrong.

The other players had stopped in weird places, like they'd stopped mid-stride. All the riders were either getting off or already on their feet, moving to one singular position—Jade's empty horse. My heart raced into my throat, getting Indie to canter closer before practically diving off the saddle. I stumbled, but I caught myself, and kept running. I unclipped my helmet and tossed it somewhere along the way. I didn't really know. I didn't care.

When I got to the other side of Jade's horse, Jade was in the dirt with an agonized expression of obvious pain, a hand at her lower back in a half-sitting position. I slid to my knees beside her. "Jade! Are you okay? What happened?" I questioned, quickly, adrenaline and worry the only things in my veins at this point.

She audibly winced, keeping her eyes firmly closed. "It was Neptune's number four," she groaned. "I'm so dizzy—I can't open my eyes or I'm gonna throw up."

"It's okay, you don't have to. Just take deep breaths, okay?" I encouraged, gently rubbing my hand in a pattern across her shoulder blade.

The rest of the team was right behind me and Coach Daniels, along with the ref and Jade's parents, were running over to us from the barn entrance area. Jade was groaning, whimpering as she tried readjusting her position to relieve the pressure. "Lean on me," I said, dropping my butt onto the dirt, edging myself closer to her right hip. "You'll feel better."

She winced, but leaned into my front, just as the others were arriving. "Is she okay?" Daniels asked, kneeling on the other side of her. I promptly shook my head.

"It hurts...it hurts so bad," Jade mumbled, in another whimper.

"It's okay, Jade, we're going to get you to the hospital, alright?" Daniels assured, trying not to sound stressed. With Jade's parents breathing down her neck, I could understand her slight agitation. Worried parents often made it hard to get close and treat injuries or do what needed to be done. They got in the way—not knowing what to do with themselves. Jade's parents looked worried, but they moved back when asked to by Coach Daniels.

Daniels looked at each of us team members in turn as she spoke, "There's an ambulance on the way, it should be here momentarily. Everyone stay calm, okay? For Jade."

We all nodded, but I was already past panicking. The adrenaline had drained. It left behind the worry, but I could manage it enough to suppress it, holding a limp and in pain Jade Turner in my arms. She gripped tightly to my bare forearm with her glove clad hand. I thought for a second that she might stop the circulation to my hand. But as promised, the ambulance arrived not long later, and EMTs rushed in with a back board and first aid bag.

This was always difficult. Losing a teammate to injury, for however long, was difficult. But the most difficult thing when when you watched it happen, or you sat through the pain afterward. It was rattling. The EMTs got Jade on the back board with a neck brace and started taking her out to the ambulance. The coaches and the referee called off the rest of the period as Jade was carried away. Lewis and Jessie volunteered to take care of our horses.

I think they did it because they knew I cared more about Jade's well being in that moment than either of them did combined. Jade was one of my only true friends. The only true friend that was female—the only one I could talk to about literally anything. I can't get that specific with Jughead when it came to girl things. We'd secretly agreed to keep those kinds of things to ourselves early on. Jade loved girl talk—lived for it, more like.

I'd trailed not far behind Jade's parents, who were following the EMTs, when a hand caught my wrist just before I could enter the barn. I whirled, only to be met with a worried look from Jughead. "Hey- is she gonna be okay?" he asked.

My shoulders shrugged up, "I don't know for sure. Maybe."

I tried glancing over his shoulder at the bleachers. Anywhere near that side of the arena. Sweet Pea was nowhere in sight. My mind was already beyond stressed, but his absence only made it worse. Did he not come at all? Did he come, and slip out during the chaos? With a heavy sigh, I dug out my cell phone. "Walk me to the hospital?" I asked, looking up at Jug.

"Yeah, sure," he nodded.

We headed through the barn together, out the other side to the parking lot. I'd sent Sweet Pea a text. Something short, asking where he was. But he didn't reply. I kept my hopes up though, the whole walk to the hospital, even sending another one in case he just hadn't gotten the first one. Jughead and I sat in the waiting room.

Jade's parents were back in a room somewhere with her, so there was no way to ask how she was doing. So we waited. It was nice to have someone to wait with. But I had my heart set on another brooding loner that—apparently—didn't know how to use a cell phone. Or was just too busy to be bothered with me being silly. Sweet Pea was probably with the Serpents, doing something illegal. Where else would he be? Obviously I'm not important enough to even text back.

It was odd behavior, but I hadn't been with him long enough to know for sure what was normal. So I slouched back in my chair, my phone silent in my lap as I folded my arms. Jughead sat beside me, his forearms on his knees. He glanced over at me as I moved. "I'm sure she'll be fine," he tried to reassure me, thinking that was the reason I was agitated.

All I could do was nod, plaster on a fake closed-mouthed smile. "Yeah. You're right. I'm just a little jittery."

"Did you tell Ben you were here?" he inquired, sitting upright.

"I texted him. He said he was on his way here from the house."

Ben was supposed to be packing for an out of town trip on business. His flight was scheduled to leave early tomorrow morning, and then he would return in exactly six days. It was going to be a week of freedom and liberation. But I had a sick feeling in my gut that it had been ruined before it'd even begun. It didn't take long for Ben to show, carrying a limp Cash on his hip. "She fell asleep in the car," he explained, walking into the waiting room.

Instinctively, I stood and walked over to him. I carefully peeled my sister off his side and she clung to me in her unconsciousness. "Any word?" Ben asked, sounding a bit hopeful. Jughead stood as I shook my head, and he came to stand beside me, gently placing a hand on Cash's shoulder in an absentminded gesture. "We've only been here for ten minutes," Jughead reasoned. "I'm sure we'll hear something soon."

I wished I could be so optimistic—even if he was only saying it to make me calm down. Ben rested his hands on his hips with a bit of a sigh. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt as well," he told me. It was like he actually meant it. But the words held nothing for me. I sat down and positioned Cash in my lap. "I was supposed to leave tomorrow morning, but I can stay longer if-"

"No- that's okay. I'm fine," I shook my head, quick to speak.

He was reluctant, but agreed, taking a seat in the row of chairs opposite me. Jughead dropped into the chair beside me and I rested my head on his shoulder with a huff of a sigh. This was going to be a long night. Might as well get comfortable and prepare for a long wait. But I checked my phone one more time, just in case. Nothing. Where were you Sweet Pea?