Author's Note:
Just for reference, Cain is the name I gave to the unnamed Serpent who was hanging out with Tall Boy for the first two episodes of Season Two. He's a little bit older in this fic and out of high school. He has a wiki page under the name of "Young Serpent".
Severine is the name I gave to the unnamed Serpent girl who was sitting beside Joaquin at the drive-in in Episode 1.04. If you watch that scene closely, you can see that she takes some of Joaquin's popcorn.
After a long night of running shipments for Penny, the very last thing FP wanted to have to deal with was a squad of Serpents looking to him for leadership. Nevertheless, that was what he found when he stumbled through the door of the Whyte Wyrm and collapsed onto a barstool, his body weary and aching. Birdie, Cain, Tall Boy, and War Baby were assembled there as well, distinct tension hanging in the air between them.
"Something I can do for you people?" FP growled out, motioning for Hog Eye to give him a beer.
Cain was the first to speak. "It's Ashton."
"Yeah, about that." FP glanced around and found Severine standing by the window, keeping watch. She tossed him a wave; he waved back. "Who's guarding him if all of you are here?"
"Dollface and Ruger are keeping an eye on him," Tall Boy replied. He shot an irritated look at Cain. "We got this under control."
"Do we?" Cain retorted. He turned to FP. "Ashton tried to make a break for it earlier today. He made it halfway up the stairs before Birdie kicked him in the face on her way down."
"Thanks, Birdie," FP told her sincerely.
"Happy to oblige," she replied with a dark smile.
"Yes, yes, it's all well and good until next he tries to escape and actually makes it out," Cain informed them impatiently. "Imprisoning an officer of the law is a serious crime. So is assaulting one. We're all going down if he gets out."
"He's not gonna get out," Tall Boy argued. "We caught him this time, didn't we? We can catch him again."
"That's right," War Baby agreed.
"He's a liability," Cain countered. "I hate to cut this party short, but we need to cut him before all of this reaches full boil and fucks us over."
A headache was beginning to form at the base of FP's skull, and he found himself considering Cain's words moreso out of desperation to get a moment's peace than actual conviction. But Cain was right, he realized once he had the chance to think on it. Ashton was a risk to all of them where he was. The sooner they put an end to him, the better.
FP sighed. "What the hell. We were gonna waste him anyway, right? Let's do it tomorrow night. There's that big dance at the high school, so that'll keep all the cops busy. They'll be out on the lookout for drunk drivers, and they're getting extra security at the school because of the merge. Now that our kids go there, they don't trust us not to raise hell." A humorless smile tugged on his lips. "Little do they know we're actually going to be burying someone down in the swamps."
The football flew through the air, a magnificent pass thrown by Chuck, and Moose just barely managed to catch it hardly a second before crossing into the endzone. It was a successful touchdown, and Riverdale High's section of the bleachers roared its approval. All around Kevin, Riverdale fans leapt to their feet, stomping and clapping and cheering as Moose victoriously lifted up the ball for all to see.
Betty was getting into it as well, throwing her arms around Kevin in excitement as she bounced up and down in her seat. "We're only three points down, and there's two minutes left on the clock! We could win this!"
"We could," Kevin agreed with a smile, but while he was proud of Moose and eager for him to win, he was far more excited to have reunited with Betty and be spending the night with his friends. Things were getting back to normal, and he was immensely glad for it.
Taking comfort in Betty's enthusiastic embrace, Kevin put an arm around her shoulders in turn, leaning closer to her as he did. In doing so, he caught a hint of her perfume and was surprised by the fragrance. Instead of the standard vanilla body spray she normally wore (a low-effort gift she'd received from her parents for every birthday and Christmas that Kevin could remember), a dark, rich, and seductive aroma clung to her skin.
Tossing a grin in Jughead's direction where he sat on Betty's other side, Kevin raised an eyebrow at Betty. "New perfume?"
Betty laughed self-consciously and scooched closer to give Kevin a clandestine whisper. "Veronica gave it to me. It's Black Orchid by Tom Ford."
Rather than the rush of jealousy he'd come to expect whenever Betty or Veronica alluded to their friendship, Kevin just felt a swell of contentment. He gave Betty another squeeze and then turned to Veronica, who was sitting next to him as well.
"Good choice," he complimented her, ready and willing to be happy and let go of any insecurities if he had the slightest chance.
"Thank you," Veronica said warmly in return. Mischief sparkled in her dark eyes. "And if you like, I can see if I can find you a cologne that would entrance a certain football player." She glanced down at the field and then looked back at Kevin slyly. "One would that would drive Moose absolutely wild. "
"Well—" Kevin could feel his face heating at what Veronica was implying, but he was spared from answering when another roar swelled up from the crowd, the volume steadily rising as Moose dashed toward the end zone, his hands outstretched as Archie aimed a perfect spiral in his direction. Time seemed to slow down as the football soared across the field, its flight spanning yards, while Moose dodged around the Centerville defensive linemen to catch it in time.
At first Kevin didn't think he would make it; while the crowd's cheers urged Moose on, it simply didn't seem like Moose's speed was enough to get the catch. But then, with a final burst of momentum, he seemed to pluck the ball out of the sky just before he sprinted across the goal line, earning Riverdale High the final points of the game.
The crowd went berserk with shrieks and shouts of victory, their enthusiasm at Riverdale winning its first match of the season almost uncontainable. Even Jughead stood and obligingly clapped for a few seconds before slouching back into his seat.
Kevin stood and cheered as well, letting the crowd's happy frenzy wash over him, but as he did, he couldn't ignore a feeling of wrongness , that this moment in his life didn't actually belong there. Like there had been some mistake. Like he shouldn't be happy.
As much as Kevin tried to ignore the feeling, push it away so he could enjoy this time with his friends, it remained, pestering at him as he longed to just give in and share the crowd's energy and elation. Veronica turned to him, a jubilant smile on her face, obviously finding the crowd's glee infectious as well, but her smile faded as soon as she made eye contact and registered the expression on his face.
"Are you all right?" she asked quietly, her words barely audible over the raucous cheers.
"Fine," Kevin hurried to assured her, pasting a smile on his face.
But even nearly thirty minutes later, the uneasy feeling was still nagging at him. And he was finally able to place it as he said goodbye to Betty and Jughead and found himself accompanying Veronica to wait for the football team by Reggie's Chevrolet Chevelle in the emptying parking lot.
He felt like he didn't belong. These moments in his life, when he was just relaxing with his friends or happy and having fun, seemed like something from a movie, not something that was real. It felt like these events weren't actually happening actually to him, that he was just an imposter pretending, that he'd been given the wrong life by mistake.
When Wes had been around, he'd felt similarly, like he was trapped in a nightmare, like nothing could be real. Except it had been.
And now his situation had changed so quickly, going from nightmare to daydream, that there had been no chance to adjust. He'd gone from one extreme to the other, and his head was still spinning from the whiplash.
But if that was his greatest problem, Kevin tried to convince himself as Archie, Reggie, Moose, and Josie walked over to the two of them, then he really didn't have to worry about much at all. Nothing was actually stopping him from going back to a normal life, not now, not with Wes gone.
Nothing but himself.
As Kevin watched, Veronica threw herself in Archie's arms without the slightest bit of hesitation.
"You were magnificent ," she breathed, before pulling him into a kiss.
Archie looked momentarily taken aback but didn't hesitate to reciprocate, much to Reggie's disgust.
"PDA. How déclassé," he remarked with a roll of his eyes.
Kevin found himself willing to stick up for them. "Well, it was a spectacular game. You can't blame them for being proud and wanting to celebrate. I mean, you must know the feeling."
Reggie's chest puffed out. "True enough," he agreed readily.
"Careful, Kevin. You'll just end up inflating his ego even more," Josie remarked playfully. She glanced at Moose. "Hey, do all of you know the plan for tomorrow night?"
"Oh, I don't think Kevin's heard the full thing yet," Moose told her as he sidled up beside Kevin, tossing him a smile.
Kevin smiled at him in return, but as Moose stood next to him, he couldn't help but suddenly be very aware of their near proximity to each. He could smell the minty scent of Moose's shower gel and the fresh, clean scent that came from washing only a few moments ago. Maybe he was imagining it, but he thought he could feel the heat emanating from his body, and he knew that he was close enough that if he were to turn around, he could kiss Moose with little trouble.
And he realized, his face heating slightly with self-consciousness, that he was eager to try.
"Then I'd better fill you in." Josie pointed at Kevin. "The limo driver is coming to your house first. He's going to pick you up at five. But Moose is going to meet you at your house for pictures before that. Right, Moose?"
"That's the plan," Moose said, sending a fond look Kevin's way.
Kevin tried to play it cool, but he could feel his face heating further at the way Moose looked at him. It was just so . . . warm, so welcoming. It just made him happy to know Moose felt that way.
"Then the limo will take you two over to my house, where Reggie and I will be getting pictures. My mom will probably insist on getting pictures of all four of us, and it will probably take forever— we just redid our gazebo, and she can't resist showing it off as much as possible. But our dinner reservations are for six, so she'll have to let us go before then. And then the dance is at seven—we'll probably get there at seven-fifteen or seven-thirty. And then Melody is throwing this bomb-ass after-party. Everyone's going to be there, so we should be there, too," Josie concluded.
"Sounds like my kind of night," Reggie said with a grin.
"Speaking of nights, we're going to call it one," Veronica announced, finally detaching herself from Archie and leading him away toward his jalopy. "See you at the dance!"
"Be sure to use protection!" Reggie called after them.
She sent a scowl his way and pointedly did not say any kind of goodbye to him. "See you, Kevin! Later, Josie and Moose!"
Archie, too, exchanged goodbyes with all of them, and it was only after he watched them climb into the jalopy and drive away that Kevin realized he was feeling awfully drained as well.
"I should be getting home, too, especially if I'm going to be out partying tomorrow night," he told Moose, Josie, and Reggie, even as a part of him was urging him to try to stay with Moose a little longer. "But thanks, Josie, everything sounds fantastic. I'm really looking forward to it," he told her sincerely.
Josie beamed at him. "Glad to hear it, Keller."
Kevin turned to Moose and Reggie. "Brilliant game tonight," he told them, wishing he could give Moose more a more meaningful goodbye, but he felt too shy to do so with Josie and Reggie right there.
Reggie, though, clearly wasn't feeling shy. At first he preened at the praise, but then with an, "Aw, c'mere," he wasted no time in drawing Kevin into a tight hug, antagonizing his bruises somewhat.
Not expecting the embrace and wincing from the pain, Kevin stiffened but was able to recover in time to hug Reggie back slightly before they separated.
Reggie clapped him on the shoulder, not seeming to have noticed his initial discomfort. "All right, man. See you tomorrow."
"See you," Kevin echoed, waving goodbye to them as he started off to his truck, still surprised at Reggie's hug but somewhat touched by it all the same. He'd seen Reggie do the same thing before for football teammates or his other guy friends, and he couldn't deny that it felt nice to be included.
Moose didn't hesitate before falling into step beside him. "I'll walk you to your truck," he offered.
"Oh, you don't have to," Kevin said hastily, even as a part of him shouted at him to simply accept the gesture. "I parked all the way on the other side of the lot. It'll be a pain to walk to, and you're probably tired from the game . . ."
"I don't mind," Moose told him, sincerity in his voice.
Kevin could feel his face warming again, but he managed to give Moose a small smile, hoping his shyness wasn't too obvious. "Thank you."
They didn't speak on their walk, which was almost five hundred yards across the parking lot and around the corner to the spaces on the other side of the football field. Still, Kevin found it to be a comfortable silence, not awkward or disappointing. The stars and moon were out in full force above them, and the cicadas were humming in the nearby trees, and he found himself quite content to simply be walking alongside Moose and enjoying the night together.
When they reached his truck, Kevin was almost sorry, even though he could feel the day wearing on him, urging him to go home and get some rest. He turned to Moose to thank him for walking with him, but he found Moose standing so close that his heart began hammering in his chest.
"Kevin," Moose said, his voice rough and low, his burning in his brown eyes. "Can I kiss you?"
Not trusting himself to speak and too stunned by the request to form a response if he wanted to, Kevin simply nodded, barely able to believe that Moose still wanted him even after the breakdown he'd had in front of him a few days ago.
But evidently Moose did, because he leaned in, pressing his lips against Kevin's, softly at first, but then with growing intensity, his passion increasing.
Kevin loved the feeling. He loved having Moose's solid body against his, he loved the sensation of Moose's warm mouth, loved his rising insistence and aggression.
And yet . . .
He didn't think of Wes. Not really. But he couldn't help but think of all the times that he'd fantasized about Moose grabbing him and kissing him. And then he couldn't help but forcibly remember how he'd once fantasized about Wes kissing him, of taking control of him, only for that fantasy to grow into reality and quickly turn into a nightmare.
Maybe Kevin's fantasies were better off left to his imagination.
Before he realized what he was doing, he'd ripped himself away from the kiss and stumbled back from Moose, thwacking against the side of his truck in his haste to escape, bringing the bruises Wes had left him with to start smarting again simultaneously. Pain lacing through him and muddying his thoughts, for a moment he couldn't adequately reason why or how he'd reacted like he had, and he wondered wildly for several seconds if he was still in control of himself or his body. He could only stare blankly at Moose, who had paused and pulled back when Kevin had broken away, and was now looking at him with an expression that was both startled and confused.
Embarrassment flooded through Kevin as he realized he'd made himself look like a freak in front of Moose yet again and he hurried to try to explain.
"Sorry," he said, struggling to keep his tone light. "Just . . . tired." He inwardly cringed at how lame the excuse sounded. "I wasn't really thinking, and . . ."
Too weary and defeated to come up with a halfway decent excuse, Kevin found himself lamely trailing off into obnoxiously loud silence.
Jesus, no wonder he'd felt like the fun he'd had with Betty, Veronica, and Jughead hadn't belonged to him. These were the kind of moments that were his: uneasy and uncomfortable, made so by his own missteps and fumbling and exacerbated by his painfully awkward floundering.
"I should just get home," Kevin admitted.
"Okay," Moose replied, his eyes searching Kevin's face. And maybe it was just Kevin being unduly optimistic, but he thought that instead of seeming impatient or annoyed, the look on Moose's face was concerned. "See you at your house, then. Tomorrow at four-thirty still good with you?"
"It's wonderful," Kevin replied sincerely, counting himself lucky that Moose even still wanted anything to do with him at all. "I'm looking forward to it."
Moose smiled at him. "I'm glad." Moving forward again and approaching Kevin cautiously, he put a hand to his lips, kissing his fingers. Then he very gently laid that hand on Kevin's cheek, holding it there for a few seconds before pulling away. "Goodnight, Kev."
"Goodnight," Kevin echoed, smiling slightly as Moose waved and then turned away, touching his face where Moose's fingers had been only seconds before. His skin still tingled from the caress, and even in spite of his embarrassment, a giddy feeling flared through him. Moose seemed to genuinely like him even though Kevin kept on acting like a total weirdo around him. It was a small favor after everything that had happened, but Kevin couldn't help but feel grateful for it all the same.
Unlocking his truck, Kevin settled himself in the driver's seat, making a promise to himself as he started the engine.
This night would be the last one Wes would ruin. No more Wes, no more worrying about him and what he had or hadn't done. Tomorrow night would be just about himself and Moose, with no one to bother them.
"What do you think?" Veronica asked Jughead over the phone as she settled onto the chaise lounge in her bedroom with a stifled groan.
She was tired and wanted to rest; cheerleading practice had been so grueling this week that both of their flyers had ended up with injuries from overuse. As a last-minute attempt at saving her squad from exhaustion, Cheryl had let them have the night off from cheering for the game, though judging by the throbbing in every one of her limbs, Veronica wasn't sure if the brief respite would be enough.
Still, she knew that if she didn't have this conversation before going to sleep, she would never be able to rest.
"I thought he seemed pretty happy. Judging from what I've seen of him, anyway," Veronica continued. It was one of the downfalls of trying to evaluate one of her classmate's behavior as a new student; she had no idea what was the base level of "normal" for Kevin.
"He was," Jughead agreed. There was a faint clatter of a keyboard over on his end of the line. He must have been typing as he talked. "But then, I don't think it's any coincidence that Deputy Ashton is gone from our school and then suddenly Kevin goes from walking around looking like someone shot his dog to dancing on a cloud."
"Me neither," Veronica admitted. She twirled a lock of black hair around her finger anxiously. "Jug, you don't think that . . . I don't know, that Kevin had anything to do with Deputy Ashton suddenly not being around? I mean, when I asked at the school office, they said he'd been summoned out of town for a family matter. But if he's supposed to be out of town, that means no one's been seeing him around Riverdale. If no one has seen him, then no one can verify if he's still alive. Could Kevin have—?"
"Yeah, I've wondered the same thing," Jughead replied slowly. "I guess it depends on what exactly Kevin was mixed up in with him, though. We still haven't figured that out. But . . . I don't know . . . something . . ."
He was hesitating, wanting to tell her something but unwilling to go through with it, and Veronica was intrigued by what it could be.
"Yes?" she inquired. "C'mon, Jughead, spill."
There was extreme reluctance in Jughead's voice when he answered her. "There's another set of events that also has suspicious timing," he told her. "I don't know—it might be nothing—but it's bothering me about what it might mean."
"Maybe I can help you be less bothered," Veronica encouraged him.
Jughead sighed. "Fine. It's like this: one night my dad sees Ashton with the Kevin, the next night I ask about Ashton and he gets all bent out of shape about it, the night after that, my dad tells me to stay away from the Southside, and then Ashton suddenly has to leave town. Logically, what kind of conclusion do you get from that?"
Unsure what what to say, Veronica didn't reply for several moments. She related all too well to the idea of a father being a different person than his child had thought he was, and Jughead's worry that his father was involved in serious criminal activity hit so close to home that it thoroughly discomfited her.
"You don't think it's a coincidence, then?" she asked finally.
Jughead's tone was defeated. "I'd like it to be. I mean . . . he's my dad. But . . . I don't know."
After sleeping in hours later than usual on Saturday morning, FP finally pulled himself out of bed around noon, grimacing when he saw the time. He somehow always managed to forget how pulling late nights screwed up his internal clock.
Reasoning he'd need his energy for the day, he took the time to prepare himself a generous breakfast, making a mental note to thank Jughead for going grocery shopping earlier in the week. Jug was staying at the Andrews house for the weekend, and FP was just glad he'd be safely away from any potential messiness with Ashton.
Speaking of Ashton, he needed to get his supplies ready.
The revolver was a spare he'd kept for years after picking it up at a pawn shop in Toledo. The serial numbers had long ago been filed off; it couldn't be proven to be his. The tarp was actually one he'd bought years ago, back when they'd briefly lived on the Northside, for some house painting work that he'd never gotten around to starting. It was a standard type from a common brand, one that sold a million of its kind a year, and still new in the package.
None of it would be traced back to him or any of the other Serpents.
With his plan laid out and this whole damn business set to be put to rest in only a matter of hours, FP was feeling fairly confident in himself. Later that afternoon, he even took the time to mosey on over to the swamps in his truck, making sure that none of the roads were closed and that they'd be able to stay out of sight as they carried the body over to where they could hide it. And since it all looked good, FP was holding onto the cautious belief that they'd get away with their revenge with no consequence.
That was, until he got a panicked call from Cain right around four-thirty, just as he had started to head back.
"Ashton escaped," Cain said without wasting any time, obviously trying to be calm but alarm clear in his voice anyway. "And there's a fire at the trailer park—we think he's the one who set it."
"Oh, fuck. " FP's blood froze in his veins as he realized the danger both Jughead and Kevin were in. "How long has he been out?"
"Don't know," Cain admitted. "Guard duty got screwed up, and a couple of the younger Serpents ended up in the basement without anyone to warn them away. Wes overpowered them and got out. They got locked in, and it was a while before anyone found them."
FP's mind raced as he realized what needed to be done. He was desperate to rush to Jughead and make sure he was safe, but he knew that there was one person in particular that Wes would want to go after first.
"Listen to me," he commanded. "I need you to send out a group of Serpents to Keller's house."
"Sheriff Keller?" Cain asked, stunned.
"Yeah. Send one group there, and I'll meet them there and explain. Then send another group over to Fred Andrews's house. Have them stay and protect everyone there. Keep the younger Serpents at the Wyrm with an older group there to protect them." A sick feeling churned in FP's stomach as he realized he might have signed Kevin's death warrant by capturing and torturing Ashton like they had. "We need to find Ashton. Or else people are going to die."
From the moment Kevin woke up on Saturday morning, he was filled with anticipation for the dance that night. After being unable to sleep past seven o'clock, he rose, dressed, and made a breakfast for himself and his father of a frittata and rosemary potatoes. The frittata had just finished setting when his father came downstairs, already in uniform.
"Morning, Kev," Tom said, walking over to him and pulling him into a brief hug. "Breakfast looks phenomenal, thank you! You didn't have to do all of that."
"I wanted to," Kevin told him, fighting not to cry out when his father unknowingly pressed against his injuries. A brief spike of hatred shot through him at Wes for so thoroughly polluting his life that he couldn't so much as get a hug from his father without thinking of him, but he pushed the emotion away. Today wasn't about Wes. It was about having a nice night with Moose. "Big night tonight," he added, a grin creeping onto his features.
"So it is," Tom agreed, spooning potatoes onto his plate. "I'll be home at three-thirty so I can help you get ready, meet your date, and get a few pictures. Do you need me to get anything on my way home?"
Kevin shook his head and sawed off a large slice of the frittata to give to his father. "No, I'm good. I've got everything I need. I'm entirely ready for tonight," he said with a swell of happiness.
His father departed for the station shortly afterward, giving Kevin a kiss on the forehead before he went, and Kevin was left to his own devices. After putting away the leftovers and rinsing off the dishes, he decided to get started on his weekend homework and makeup work from his absence from school on Wednesday. Both too anxious and too excited to concentrate, the process took him much longer than it normally would, and it was almost noon by the time he was completely finished with all of his academics.
At odds with himself, Kevin decided to use the time he had to spare to iron the black pants of his suit and the white dress shirt he'd be wearing. He'd ironed them both on Wednesday night after his father had come to his rescue by giving him the vest, but Kevin figured one more time couldn't hurt.
In the remaining few hours, he tried to occupy himself the best he could with housework, taking care of the laundry, vacuuming, and general organization of the downstairs rooms that he'd been too preoccupied to take care of during the week. While he was tempted to go outdoors and work on some of their lawn projects just to kill time, Kevin was too nervous that he'd somehow grievously injure himself and be unable to go to the dance, so he stuck to the indoors.
Finally, finally, three o'clock arrived, and Kevin shed his clothes and popped into the shower, determinedly not thinking about the bruises from Wes dotting his torso and instead concentrating on thoroughly cleaning himself with the bar of soap and his favorite woodsy-smelling shower gel.
Since he'd focused more on his body than his hair in the shower, he could get away with towel-drying it, and styling it again didn't take very long. He made himself look neat, but with a playful tousle to show that he wasn't entirely straight-laced, and while he wasn't completely happy with it at the end, he reasoned that it would look better once it dried.
Once he finished with his hair, Kevin double-checked to make sure that he was thoroughly dried off, and then he began dressing. He glanced at the time as he buttoned his trousers: three-twenty-seven. His father would be home soon, then.
After buttoning his shirt and making sure his cuffs were straight, Kevin sat on his bed and pulled on a pair of black socks and his black dress shoes that he'd polished just last night before the football game. He'd done a good job with them; he could practically see his reflection. Of course, if tonight went the way he wanted it to, they'd probably be covered with dust and dirt from dancing across the gym floor by the end of the evening and then be subject to God knows what at Melody's after-party. Still, Kevin thought it was important to make an effort, especially since this time was his first time having an actual date for the dance.
Next, he carefully donned the tie and then the vest, taking pains to only use the gentlest handling on each button for the latter, not wanting to ruin the garment his father had given to him. Once finished, Kevin couldn't help but admire his image in the mirror once more, proud of the way he looked, that even in spite of the recent chaos in his life, he still managed to look collected and composed in his dance outfit.
With some time left to spare, Kevin returned to the bathroom to give hairstyling another try; this time much more satisfied with the end result now that his hair was dry. He couldn't help but notice, though, as he compulsively checked the time, never wanting to fall a minute behind schedule, that his father was late getting home, which was a rarity.
He probably just got caught up with security detail for the dance, Kevin told himself. And yet, a prickle of unease still ran through him.
Just as the clock turned four, his phone rang, the display showing his father's name and a photo of the two of them on a sunny hillside, one they'd taken during a day of hiking.
Kevin couldn't help a flash of anxiety as he answered. "Hello, Dad?"
"It's me," Tom confirmed. "Hey, Kev. Listen, I hate to do this to you, but I'm not going to be able to make it to photos with you and Moose. I'm really sorry, but a fire started down at the trailer park, and since most of the force is off right now so they can be on duty for later tonight, I need to help out over here."
"Fire?" Kevin repeated. His thoughts immediately went to Jughead, FP, and all of the other Serpents who lived in the trailer park. "Oh my God, is everyone okay?"
"The fire company was able to get it under control quickly, and only minor injuries are reported so far," Tom told him. "We might have gotten lucky on this one. It doesn't seem like anyone was seriously injured. Still, I need to oversee the clean-up and make sure everyone is safe before I can come home."
"I understand," Kevin replied, ignoring the twinge of disappointment he felt that his father wouldn't be there to see him off to the dance. The work his father was doing was more important. "I'll make sure Mayor McCoy gives you pictures of me and Moose."
"Thanks for understanding, sweetheart," Tom said kindly. "Have fun tonight, but remember the Cinderella curfew—be home by midnight. Love you."
"Will do, Dad. Love you, too." Kevin ended the call, and, his heart thrumming nervously, started making his final preparations for the dance. A surge of anxiety shot through him as he realized he'd be doing his first official dance completely on his own, without even his dad there to give him a pep talk beforehand.
The minutes seemed to crawl by as Kevin checked and double-checked to make certain that he was completely ready. As four-thirty arrived at long last, he was scrutinizing his reflection in the mirror for the umpteenth time and happened to glance out the window. With a smile, he spotted the familiar forest green Dodge Dart Swinger pulling up in front of the house before the angle of the bedroom window caused the car to slide out of view.
Anticipation flowing through him, Kevin gave himself one last quick once-over in the mirror before making his way toward the stairs. He was careful to descend slowly; he had already made a fool of himself in front of Moose twice, and he didn't want to augment that by tripping over himself and falling on his face right in front of him.
The doorbell rang just as Kevin was walking to the entrance, and it was with a welcoming smile and an anxious fluttering in the pit of his stomach that he pulled open the heavy wooden door, ready to greet Moose.
But beyond his car, there was no sign of Moose.
Instead, Wes stood there like a figure from a nightmare, his unshaven face bruised and bloodied, his hair matted, his clothing torn and reeking. His expression was one of absolute hatred, fierce and unnerving in its intensity.
"You told people about me, Kev," he snarled, his voice rasping out of his throat. "I warned you not to do that. And now, you're gonna pay for that."
Kevin could only stand there, frozen in horror, as Wes began to move toward him.
Author's Note:
All right, the big confrontation is next chapter! Will FP and the Serpents get there in time? What's Wes going to do to Kevin? And what did he do to poor Moose?