1jesus: Thank you!
Boris Yeltsin: Here it is!
smkbaby123: Hehe me too I honestly can't wait for you all to see what I have planned for season 2.
BritishKerr: Good to hear :) Unfortunately my mile long schoolwork takes priority.
BugheadLuver: *Waves hand* Voila!
Hi! I'm alive! My laptop broke and I had to get a new one, and then exams popped up. But I am back, and I'm sleep deprived but here it is!
"You did what?"
As Elena listened to Veronica recount her and Betty's revenge scheme to her and her mother sat beside her, Elena couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Chuck had certainly crossed a line, but the whole scheme was a little overkill. They're lucky they didn't go after one of the white football players, or they'd be in a lot more trouble. Veronica had met them at the Pembrooke, with their mother immediately berating her for the drastic course of action. Elena had been sat for a while in the living room, stuck in place as she was uncertain as to whether or not she was supposed to stay or leave them to work things out.
Hermione rubbed stressfully at her temple, as Veronica finished her explanation. "We'll deal with it come Monday Ronnie," she sighed, urging Veronica to sit down.
Seemingly unaffected, Veronica brightened at her words and turned to Elena expectedly. "We have a raspberry pie in the kitchen." Veronica smiled tantalisingly, "I made sure it was ready." Crap! What day was it? Elena counted out the days in her head, grounding to a sudden halt as she realized what day it was. Friday, dinner, right. She'd completely forgotten the date in the whole mess with her mother.
Hermione turned to her, barely containing the hopeful look on her face. "Would you still want to? It's not a full course meal, or anything but..." She trailed off nervously, teeth biting lightly at her bottom lip.
"Sure." Elena nodded, a genuine smile forming on her lips. Both Veronica and Hermione's nervous states melted away at the sight, their respective casual masks slipping back on only a second after Elena spotted the change. As the two women urged her to stay at the dining table as they went to retrieve the food, Elena remembered Dr Clearwater's words, noting that the knot that had been residing in her chest all day had finally loosened.
"Here you go," Veronica grinned, setting down her plate for her as Hermione seated herself at the head of the dining table and Veronica plonked herself down on the seat beside her. Dork. Elena smiled fondly to herself, picking up the fork by her plate as Veronica and Hermione dove into a new topic of discussion. "Hey Lee," Veronica realised suddenly, "you've not yet shared how you came to work at Pop's!"
Oh. Right. A sharp burst of sadness took a hold of her, as the memory filled her mind. "My first day at Riverdale High, Jason was the person assigned to show me around the school. I mentioned in passing that I was looking for a job, and he mentioned that the nearby Diner was hiring." She shrugged, taking a mouthful of pie as she thought over her next few words. Poor Jason. He'd deserved so much better than what he'd got, especially with the parents that had been thrust upon him and Cheryl. Despite his footballer status, he'd been nothing short of nice to her on that first lonely day of school. He had sat next to her in the classes they shared, recommended she try out cheerleading, and had even introduced her to his sister. Though they hadn't been as tight knit as he and Cheryl had been, Elena knew without a shadow of doubt that she was going to miss him. "I think my compliments on Pop's pie got me the job." She joked, smiles erupting all around as she forced the thoughts of Jason to the back of her mind.
"Ah that would do it." Hermione noted, shaking her head to herself.
"What is it with you and Raspberry pies?" Wondered Veronica. "They're okay I guess, but I must say your love borders on obsession."
Elena arched a brow in response, forming her face into a playful glare. "Sacrilege! Do I question your freaky love for pearls? Someone has to say it Ronnie, but they just aren't that pretty. And they make your neck look fat."
"Bite me." Elena blew her sister a kiss, before the pair dissolved into a fit of giggles.
"You two have always had an odd way of showing your love for each other." Hermione commented, as the sisters continued to smirk to themselves. "Out of context you sound like you hate one another."
Elena shook her head in denial. "No way, I could never hate the Latina Breakfast at Tiffany's Mom!"
"Shut up!"
"I'm serious." Elena cackled, as she took another bite of her pie. "We'll get you a little black dress and an overly long cigarette and you'll fit the part trust me. Ooooh does your twelfth birthday dress still fit you?"
Veronica opened her mouth in protest. "That wasn't Breakfast at Tiffany's!"
"No it was funeral-chique."
"It was not!"
"Yes it was, you were mourning your dignity." Elena insisted.
"Mom!"
Hermione turned her eyes to Elena, thoroughly amused by the long held tradition held between Elena and Veronica. "Don't tease your sister mija." She chastised, looking as though she was trying to hold back a laugh. Elena's rapid fire insults to Veronica's dress sense had been going on for as long as she could remember, sparked by a stray comment where in which she's dutifully informed her sister that she dressed like a thirty year old.
Elena held up her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry Ron. The other Moms loved the outfit though if memory serves."
"You're terrible."
"Thank you. See Mom all love here!"
Days after the event occurred, Elena found herself reflecting on the family dinner she'd had with her Mom and sister after so long. It had been nice. Really, really, nice. They had talked about ordinary, juvenile things like an everyday family, and not the one they had evolved into back in New York. Elena had shared some of the worst horror stories from her time spent working at the Diner, consequently disgusting Hermione much to her amusement. Veronica had gone on to share her new girl woes at school, and had made Elena promise to meet her Monday morning in the student lounge.
"Elena!" Speak of the devil. Veronica flashed a happy smile Elena's way as she looked up from the book she had been reading, setting her purse in her lap as she pulled up a seat across from Elena. Elena snorted at the familiar sight of ''The Cape'', the ever dreaded item from Veronica's antique wardrobe. Frowning in confusion, Veronica looked down, rolling her eyes as she met Elena's once more in realisation. "Oh shut up."
Elena bit her lip as she held back a laugh. "I didn't say anything," she defended, forcing her eyes to look anywhere then at the item in question, "I think it's a lovely piece."
"You hate ''The Cape''." Veronica air quoted.
"I love the cape!" Elena defended, slipping a bookmark inside her book as she opened her mouth in outrage. "I missed that thing dearly, it's like an old friend to me."
"You said it made me look like Dracula."
"And it always gave your entrances an extra flair." Elena noted, as a snicker escaped her. "Oh my god I can't believe you still have it."
Veronica tugged on the cape, a sheepish smile overcoming her features. "Daddy always liked it." And with that one mention of him, Elena felt her mood sour. Right. Their father, who'd doted on Veronica and given her the cold shoulder after she'd denounced him after finding out how he made his money. When the bullying started they had stopped talking all together, and their last conversation had been a shouting match.
Why did she insist on upsetting her mother?
Why was he never home? Why did he love Veronica and not her?
Why was she causing a scene with the emancipation business?
Why was he acting like she was ever going to come back?
On and on, and the words were still seared to her memory. It had been hard not to resent her baby sister for all the love he'd showered upon her, but advice from her beloved Abuelita and lots and lots of time had given her the ability to set it aside. Veronica could no more help it then she could change her DNA. She was the perfect daughter in Hiram Lodge's eyes, and Elena was the trouble causing screw up. That was all there was to it. Screw him. Screw his shitty parenting and his inability to actually talk to someone without it ending in a threat.
And yet she still had the box. Hidden away under the spot of loose floorboards in her bedroom, was a box she had with all of her keepsakes in them. The box itself had been a treasure chest she'd had since she was five, gifted to her by her Grandparents to keep all of her valuable things in. She'd stored plenty of things inside once her emancipation papers had been delivered, some of which she's stolen without her family's knowledge. Admittedly there was a lot, but she was nothing if not nostalgic. Pictures of her family (even some with her Dad in), keepsakes, her art pads, an old saxophone she'd stolen from her cousin Harper that she didn't know how to play, some of her Mom's books, the ring Veronica had gotten her for her 13th birthday, and of course there were the pearls.
She would poke fun at Veronica's love for the things, but there had been a time when she had had her own necklace she would never take off. Hers were jet black pearls, a precise string of which that had fit perfectly around her neck from the moment she had put it on if memory served. She had picked it out herself, not realising it was intended to be a gift at a later date for that coming Christmas.
She had told her Dad she would sell it for money, hoping to hurt him the way he'd hurt her.
Yet she could never bring herself to do it. But she could never wear it again, not with the memories attached to it.
"Lee?"
Elena snapped back to reality from the swirl of her thoughts. "Yeah? Sorry." She apologised, forcing a smile upon her face. "Just got lost in thought." Kevin chose that moment to appear, abuzz with anticipation as he began to chat about the closing event at the Twilight Drive in. It was a shame that it was closing, Elena had often enjoyed taking Cheryl there, it was a nice escape for the both of them.
Noting Veronica's confusion at the significance of the event, Kevin launched into an explanation. "It's this quintessential right of passage, making out with your boy or girlfriend at the movies."
"Hear! Hear!" Elena agreed, suppressing a laugh at the thought of how one significant date of hers had ended at the movies...
"Why don't we all go together? I can't promise you any action -and I certainly hope you keep it out of my eyesight if you find any Elena- but maybe I'll bring you good luck."
"Make out in front of you? Got it." Elena noted, whipping out an imaginary pen to draw on the air.
Veronica was saved from any further teasing with the arrival of Cheryl, ponytail swinging wildly as she stormed into the lounge with a look of worry upon her face. Sensing something was clearly wrong, Elena gestured to her girlfriend to join them. "I wasn't prying, but I just happened to stumble across it!" Cheryl began, her explanation bursting out of her mouth suddenly as she sat down next to Elena.
"Huh?"
Cheryl rolled her eyes, pulling out her phone for Elena to inspect. "I saw your mother by an alley outside Pop's having an extremely heated discussion with a Southside Serpent. I didn't know what to think, but here it is." Cheryl pulled up a picture on her phone, holding it out for the two sisters and Kevin to see. What the fuck was she doing talking to the Serpent King? Aka FP Jones? Aka Jughead's father? Elena had only seen the guy in passing the few times she'd visited the Whyte Whyrm, only knowing the short bits of information Toni had passed on to her. He was the leader of their gang, and he was bad news if you got on the wrong side of him. Jughead had asked her not to spread it around, giving her the sense that the pair weren't all that close. And there was no mistaking that picture. There he was as clear as day, in the middle of a full blown argument with her mother.
Worry flared up within Elena. What had their Mom gotten herself into? Was it something she needed to talk to the other Serpents to solve? Looking about as shocked as she was, Veronica turned to them in confusion. "Who or what is a Southside Serpent?"
"They're these gang of bikers who pretty much stay on the Southside of town and thank god because they're sort of dangerous. Drug dealers, petty thieves-" Kevin listed, ignorant to some of their better qualities.
"They're not that bad, a few of them live in my building," Elena added, feeling the need to defend the friends that had helped her when she had first moved to town. "Northside kind of over exaggerates, they mostly sell weed and bet on illegal bike races." Elena snorted, shaking her head to herself at one particular memory. Her first birthday in Riverdale had come before she knew it, and the reality of being away from all of her family on the day had been hitting her hard. Thus Toni had dragged her to a race, Sweet Pea vs some cocky Ghoulie. The Ghoulie got trashed and Sweet Pea had won big, he'd ended up buying everyone a round of beers at the celebration party which had been a blast, before Toni had given her her birthday present. Keys to a car. They'd all pitched in as a thank you for letting them all crash at her place when they needed to. Elena hadn't cried happy tears like that in a long time. They had stuck by her, so be it little or small, no one got to trash talk them in her presence.
"But what was Mom doing talking to one of them?" Veronica wondered, a question Elena found herself unable to ponder without jumping to the worst case scenario. After all, their family wasn't known for its legitimate business practices. Especially where their father was concerned.
"Think she'll say anything?" Veronica wondered aloud, as the two sisters entered the apartment building to confront their mother. Elena shrugged as Veronica shut the door, uncertain as to what she would say. Elena knew without a shadow of doubt that Hermione was the better of their two parents, but even she had withheld the truth at times.
"I guess we just have to ask." She sighed, spotting her Mom on the couch with a glass of wine in hand. It looked like she had just got off from her Pop's shift, looking worn out after a hard day's work.
Veronica noticed her staring, and a brow rose in response. "What?"
"Nothing." Elena dismissed, shaking her head to herself. "It's just weird, seeing her at home after work. The most tired I ever saw her was after she'd dragged you and me to shop for gala dresses, and now she's working. It's kind of freaky." She admitted, keeping her voice hushed as the sisters hovered by the front door.
Veronica nodded in agreement, staring at Hermione who was still unaware that they were there. "Although there was that one time she ended up firing the maid..."
Elena brought a hand to her mouth in surprise, as Veronica grinned knowingly. "The great stress clean of '08!" Elena cried in remembrance, wagging her finger excitedly as the two sisters giggled covertly. "Everything was so clean, you could see your reflection out of the carpet."
"And the living room!" Veronica giggled. "It smelt like bleach for a week!"
"Hey don't laugh, those two bottles really cleaned up the apartment!" Elena snickered, before their laughter died down. That had been a good day, if not a not so great one for Hermione. The family maid had been fired after it had been discovered she'd been taking the silverware, and so the cleaning duties had fallen on Hermione whilst she searched for a new one. It was safe to say cleaning wasn't her strong suit, but Elena and Veronica had gotten a good laugh out of the incident. Their home had smelled like cleaning products for over a month, before their father decided that they should spend some time at the family lodge that Easter instead, affectionately nicknamed Lodge, Lodge by Elena to annoy Hiram.
"Oh god what if it's bad?" Veronica worried, biting down on her lip.
"Let's not make mountains out of mole hills," Elena decided, taking a hold of her sister's hand as she lead her over to her mother. "Let's just ask." The two girls made their way into the living room, finally attracting the attention of Hermione as she looked up to greet them.
"Hey girls," she greeted, smiling warmly as she took a sip of her wine. Taking note of the expression they were both wearing, Hermione set her glass aside in preparation for the conversation. "Alright what's wrong?"
Elena chose to begin. "Cheryl showed us a picture she took after she saw you outside Pop's. You were talking to a Southside Serpent." Elena fought to keep her voice calm and unaccusing, still hoping to believe the best in her Mom. They had finally made some progress after so long apart, and she didn't want to blow it over something that might not even be anything.
A look of realisation dawned on Hermione, as Elena kept her fingers mentally crossed. "Those guys are thugs, what were you doing?" Veronica asked. Not all of them.
"First off you two have nothing to worry about," Hermione responded, "Come here, sit." She urged, both Elena and Veronica complying as they sat themselves down in front of their mother to hear her explanation. Smiling in assurance, Hermione took a hold of both of her daughter's hands and placed them into her own. "Now remember girls, I grew up here. Southside Serpents may be from the wrong side of the tracks, but I went to high school with some of them. I was just being polite."
Okay that kind of makes sense. But that argument looked pretty heated...
"Cheryl said it looked like you were arguing." Elena pointed out.
"Arguing?" Hermione laughed, that confident sound ringing through Elena's ears as years of past memories flooded through her, all the while Hermione shook her head to herself. "Heh. Hardly. He made a lewd comment and I put him in his place."
"Mom if you're in some kind of trouble-"
"If you're caught in the middle of something-"
"I'm not!" Hermione protested. "Girls, when have I ever lied to you?"
Just now. Elena determined. Something had her running scared, and she was going to find out what it was.
Please review, I'm sleep deprived *holds out hands in prayer*
