It always felt invigorating to ride my bike. It still does. But last night, when I wore my serpent jacket, I felt…alive. Like I could hear my heart for the first time. But now, riding home, not feeling the slight stiffness of the patch, the distant smell of alcohol and cigarettes—not from me, by the way—it felt…different. Wrong. I missed it so badly that when I had it, I didn't want to let it go. But now that it's gone…I'm not the same without it.
As I drove to Marybeth's house, I felt my phone ring in my pocket. But I was already late, so I ignored it, and kept driving. It rang again when I pulled up at the curb. I sighed, and then answered it as I made my way to the porch. "Hey, Arch, what's up?"
"Hey, Jughead, Dad, FP, and I are going to have dinner at Pop's tonight. Wanna come?" he asked, hopeful, but doubtful.
"No thanks, Arch. I'm actually going to study with some friends tonight. But maybe next time?" I asked, as I stepped up to the door. He sighed, clearly disappointed. I could tell he was perturbed by it, and the uncomfortable silence to ensue was deafening. "What?" I asked, confused.
"It's just…nothing. Never mind."
"No, no, please. Tell me," I persisted. He sighed, but replied.
"Is this because of Dad? What's going on between you two, anyway?"
"It's…complicated, Arch. you wouldn't under—" I tried to say, but he cut me off.
"I wouldn't understand? You're my twin. Do you think I wouldn't know when something is going on with you? And besides, I've had a lot of problems with Dad lately, and most of them have been resolved. What's so bad that you can't forgive him? What happened?"
"It's…different between you and Dad than Dad and me."
"So? What happened? You can tell me," he said, a little bit of pain in his voice. I sighed, knowing I couldn't. If I told him the real reason, he wouldn't ever look at me the same way again. But if I lied, and said something different, then I'd have to keep that lie. And if he ever found out, it would hurt him even more than if I had told him the truth.
"Archie, listen…there are some things in our lives that we can't tell everyone about. There are some things that…that I can't tell you about. But please understand that I would tell you if I could. I promise it's not that bad."
"Then why can't you tell me? I'm your brother. Since when can't we tell each other stuff?"
That hit me hard. I bit my lip to keep from crying, and said, "I'm sorry. I just can't right now."
"Uh-huh. Well, if you ever want to tell me the truth and stop lying, you know where to find me," he said, and ended the call. I sighed, and put the phone away. Right as I reached for the doorbell, the door flung open, revealing Marybeth, shrieking.
"What!?" I asked, as I stepped back. I looked around to see why she was shrieking.
"You're here!" she exclaimed, as she grabbed my arm, and pulled me in. I yelped, but followed. I rolled my eyes at her gesture, and then fixed my bag on my arm. "Come on. My room's this way," she said, as she walked up the stairs to the left. I smiled, and followed her up.
I walked in the room after Marybeth, and saw Skyler sitting on the bed, casually writing something down on his notepad. "Isn't Doug coming?" I asked, as I sat down on the bed.
"His family doesn't know he likes this stuff. So he has to sneak out once everyone's gone to bed," Marybeth explained, as she sat down next to Skyler. I nodded, almost understanding that on a spiritual level. Skyler had his legs bent in front of him, while Marybeth had one leg tucked under her with the other hanging off the bed. Her arm was wrapped around his arm, and her head was lying on his shoulder. Not a moment later, Doug burst into the room, causing everyone's attention to go straight to him.
"Sorry! Sorry, I'm late," he said, as he walked in, and sat next to me at the end of the bed.
"Yeah, no kidding," I sarcastically said, as I snuck a glance at him. He just rolled his eyes, and got his stuff ready. The night had been going pretty good, well, up until Doug got a phone call.
"Hello...at a friend's house. Where are you?" he asked, instantly concerned. "Wait, so Veronica, Kevin, Josie, and you all went clubbing tonight?" Doug asked, mainly so everyone else would know what was going on.
After a moment of listening, he smirked, and said, "Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes." Then he hung up, and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He got up and started to gather his things.
"So? What's up?" I asked, sitting on the edge of my seat.
"Reggie and a few others are at the club. Veronica was there, but then something happened with her card, and now…" he flung his arms out at his sides, and sighed. "I don't know. I need to go," he said, as he slung his backpack over his head.
"What?" Skyler asked, still confused.
"Can I come?" I asked, already getting off the bed. He eyed me a moment, but then nodded.
We pulled up at the club twenty minutes later, and he cut the engine. "So," I said, trying to figure out how to phrase the question. "Why did Reggie call you?" Doug looked over at me from the driver's seat and sighed, thinking.
"We're friends," he said, grasping at the certain way to say it, loosely using the word friend. I nodded, and headed inside with him. When I entered behind Doug, it was loud. But as the doors were opened and I went fully in, my ears were ringing. But I kept going, looking for Reggie and Josie.
"Go right, I'll go left. Meet up at the other side of the dance floor," Doug instructed, as he vanished into a sea of nameless faces. I sighed, and went right. I had to push and shove my way through, but I made it to the other side alive and in one piece. Somehow, I ended up at the bar. I huffed, and stepped up to the counter, looking over the sea of sweaty, gyrating bodies. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Then I had a thought. Where is the one place at a club that rich and famous people are usually at? The VIP section.
As I made my way to the other side of the dance floor, I spotted Doug talking to a guard, guarding the VIP section. Apparently he had the same idea. I walked over to him, and all the way there, I could hear Doug's raised voice. I rolled my eyes, and kept walking. As I walked closer, there was a man with a gold VIP card in his pocket. Each rich/famous person gets one when they first come in, and when they hand it to the guard, they get let in. So, I quickly walked past him and carefully pulled the card from his pocket. He didn't even notice, so I kept going.
"Hey," I said, coolly, as I draped my arm over Doug's broad shoulders. He looked at me in a surprised double-take. "What happened, sweetie?" I asked, smiling. Doug looked confused, but answered none-of-the-less.
"This guy won't let me in."
I casually chuckled, playing it off. Even though I was internally praying to whatever god was up there to help make this work. "That's because you forget to get this from me when you went ahead," I explained, as I handed the gold card out to the guard. He took it and huffed as he uncrossed his arms and opened the rope. I smiled my thanks, and then grabbed Doug's hand, and lead him inside.
I instantly let go when we were out of the guard's sight, and sighed. "How did you know how to do that?" he asked, confused, yet impressed.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, as I turned and walked deeper into the section. I heard his chuckle behind me, and then he was at my side in a second. I walked past a few corner couches, half-filled with drunken party-goers and women with questionable dresses. But I finally came across the second to last couch, and saw Veronica sitting there on her phone. I stopped, while Doug kept going. But I put a hand out, stopping him from going any farther. He looked at me, but when I gestured to Veronica, Josie, Reggie and Kevin, he stopped too.
"Reg?" Doug asked, as he stepped closer. Reggie instantly looked up at the person who was talking, a smug look plastered on his face. But the moment he saw Doug, his smirk dropped, and he scowled.
"Hey look, it's Doug: Defender of the Weak, Pooper of Parties. Here to ruin the fun," Reggie said, as he snorted and chuckled. He sat up a little straighter, mocking Doug. But Doug's face just hardened, and he stepped closer.
"Reggie, you're drunk. Okay? Let me take you home," Doug persisted, stepping closer. Reggie stopped drinking his glass, and looked up at Doug, glaring. You could almost see the drunken embarrassment that his friend would come to get him, plastered all over his face.
"Reggie, he's right. It's getting late," Veronica said, trying to get him to leave before it turned into a fist fight. It seemed Reggie was thinking for a moment, and then he nodded, and got up. Doug offered him a hand when Reggie lightly stumbled, but Reggie merely smacked his hand away and kept walking. Doug held his head high, like he had done this a thousand times before. But I could tell he was hurt by the way Reggie acted.
"I'll meet you outside," he said, as he followed Reggie outside, while I stayed behind.
"What are you guys doing here, anyway? You're underage," I stated, as I stepped closer so they could hear me over the booming music. Veronica only rolled her eyes, and reached for her glass again.
"Because, Alex. We want to have fun. Let loose. You should try it sometime," she said, and slowly took a sip of her beverage. As she sat it back down on the table, she gave me a drunken look of why are you still here. I took that as my cue, and gave Kevin a look of we'll talk later as I left. But he was too wasted to think about it twice.
When I made my way back out to Doug's truck, I saw Reggie was lying down in the back of the cab. I rolled my eyes, and climbed into the passenger's seat. All the way to Reggie's house, Doug was silent. When we pulled up at the curb, Doug shut the engine off, and sighed. "Okay, Doosle-Dorf, we're here," he said, as he wacked his hand on Reggie's shoulder. He groaned, but complied, and got out.
"Thanks, man," Reggie groaned out, as he walked past Doug's door. He nodded, and then watched as Reggie went inside. All of their actions toward each other were strange, but since they were, in fact, good friends, then I shouldn't think twice about it. Right?
"Thanks for coming along, Alex," Doug said, once we were officially alone.
"Yeah, of course. That's what friends are for, right?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
He lightly chuckled, and said, "Yeah, I suppose so. But in that case, I need new friends." We both chuckled at that. Given, I was the only one who came along, I'm guessing. "Want me to take you home?" he asked, after a few moments.
"Uh, no, thanks. It's just around the corner," I said, as I grabbed my bag.
"Are you sure? My house is a few blocks down, I have to go by yours to get to mine, anyway," he urged, sitting up.
"Sure, thanks," I said, as I put my bag back on the floor. He nodded, and started the truck back up again. He pulled up at my curb, and shut off the engine.
"So, are you going to head back to Marybeth's?" I asked, as we sat in momentary silence.
"Nah. I think I'll just go home. I have practice tomorrow, anyway, so…" he said, as he leaned back in his seat.
My eyebrows drew together, and I asked, "'Practice'?"
"Yeah, uh…my parents want me to try out for the football team," he said, as he grimaced. "But I can still meet with you guys after that. I mean, I-I don't even know if I'll make the team."
"Are you kidding me?" I asked, as I sat back in sarcastic disbelief. "You're strong, a fast runner, you can dodge like a pro from last year's basketball. You'll run circles around those idiots. Easily," I said, as I slightly leaned forward. His features softened under the crude light from the moon.
"Thanks, Alexandra," he said, as he lightly smirked down at me. A little flurry shot into my stomach at the sound of my name on his lips. But as the milliseconds ticked away, I realized just how close we were.
"Uh…I should go. I need to go have a conversation with my other half," I said, as I pulled my bag from the floor, and reached for the door.
"Alex," he rasped out, as he stopped me from going by grabbing my left forearm. I looked back at him, and my pulse increased at the sight of his eyes. "Really…thank you," he said it with such sincerity and a low rasp that I was speechless for a second. We were becoming quite close as friends, and he wasn't bad looking, or anything. His body was quite muscular, and you could get lost in his boyish smirk for days. But something stopped me from doing anything else. Yes, he was quite handsome, but that was also a good reminder of the promise I had made to myself when I first came here. No boyfriends.
I gulped and nodded, then quickly made my way out of the truck as I mumbled a little, "Good night." I walked into the house, and slumped against the door. I sighed, and rubbed my temple before I headed upstairs.
All the way up the stairs, I was trying to think of what to say. But when I came to his door, I didn't hesitate to walk in. "Hey," I said, as I came to stand by the end of the bed.
"Hey," he said, as he fiddled with a football in his hands. As he lay on the bed, on top of the covers, he didn't look at me. He would only look at the ceiling.
"Can we talk? About earlier?" I asked, as I sat at the end of the bed. He sat up, and crossed his legs in front of him, sitting two feet away.
"What's there to talk about? You think I can't be trusted with a secret. And besides, it's none of my business, anyway," he said, bitterly.
"Archie…that's not why I didn't tell you," I said, as I sat at the end of the bed.
"Then why?"
"Because…it's between Dad and I about something that happened when I was in Maine."
He sat up a little straighter at that, and asked, "What happened?"
"I did something he didn't like, so he sent me away to Maine a month early. It scared him. What I did. So, he sent me away early to protect me. But since I came back, I haven't forgiven him, yet."
"What did you do?" he asked, curious. That is the question, isn't it? What I did? I had been trying to reason with myself, to tell him I was a serpent ever since I got off the phone with him. I sighed, fidgeting with my fingers in my lap.
"I…"