As the weather warmed, and the birds flittered about, prom season came upon us. JB was a senior this year which meant it was her last time to really engage in the high school experience. She stayed up late studying the works of Shakespeare with a calculus book open to her right. She drank almost a full pot of coffee almost every night, pulling all-nighters much to the other Sepent's chagrin. Cherry stayed up with her most nights helping her with her homework. I noticed dark circles forming under JBs eyes in the morning, but when I asked about it, she just shrugged it off. She hardly ate anymore, either. Finally, I pulled her aside and asked for some answers.

"It's nothing," she shrugged. "I just have a lot more homework than the rest."

"But why?" I piled some eggs and bacon on her plate. I'd never seen anybody look as tired as her.

"Because I have to pass if I want to go to prom and for some reason the teachers think that giving me extra homework will increase my comprehension. Apparently Principal Donahue is worried about my academic standing. I can't even go to prom because it would 'be a distraction.'" She admitted.

"Wait," I set my coffee down and looked at her. "What do you mean you can't go to prom. You haven't been suspended, or expelled, and your grades are damn near perfect."

"Apparently that's not enough. I already turned in my Vixens uniform." She shrugged. "I really wanted to go to prom, even though it sounds lame. Pyro asked me and I had already started looking for a dress."

"Then you'll go." I said. "I'll talk to the principal. She has no standing."

"Good luck," JB yawned. She picked at her eggs and downed her coffee before grabbing her bag, adjusting her uniform and heading out the door.

Betty was already looking better. She didn't need the crutches anymore and her limp was almost gone. She almost seemed normal, but she wore a permanent frown on her face. The events and murders had taken their toll on her, especially because she couldn't figure it out. Since we re-did the board, Betty took it upon herself to search for Polly but she was nowhere to be found. The murders had paused, too, which made me suspect an impending bombshell.

Betty joined me at the table, kissing me on the cheek before taking a seat. I poured her a cup of coffee and watched as she piled breakfast food on her plate. How she ate like me and managed not to gain a pound I had no idea, but it wouldn't matter if she gained or lost weight. Betty was perfect in my eyes and had barely aged since we got together at the ripe young age of fifteen. Part of that, I was sure was because of the rigorous workouts she had partaken in as part of the FBI training. Apart from the scraping of utensils, the room was silence. Finally I broke it.

"How do you feel about going to see Cindy for your infamous 'girl-talk?'"

"Oh, I'm ready." She stood up. "Lemme shower and I'll go see her."

"Wear one of your pins. Just not the Serpent's one. You're just now getting your strength back and the last thing we need is for her to fly into a rage."

Betty laughed and ruffled my hair.

"Please. I can take her. But I'll wear something else. Just for you."

With that, she left me at the table and headed up stairs. About an hour later she emerged, wearing her trademark pink sweater, hair up in a ponytail and dark jeans. Clipped to the front of her top she wore an antique looking broach. To complete the look, she donned a black and white lettermen's jacket. It almost reminded me of back in high school.

"I haven't seen this side of you in a while," I smiled. "Kinda missed it."

"Well, if I look innocent, maybe she'll let her guard down." She wrote down the serial number of the broach and handed it to me. "input this and you'll see a live feed."

"I'll get popcorn," I stood up. "This is going to be interesting. Just don't bring up the fact that we know it's her…unless you think it'll get us what we want."

"Trust me Jug," She adjusted her ponytail. "I've got this."

"Okay…see you in about fifteen,"

As soon as Betty left, I set up the computer, ready to watch and listen in on the conversation. Watching her walk through the halls gave me motion sickness but as soon as she took her seat, the show began. The best part of Betty being in the FBI was the video analyst footage that determined mood and detected lies. I kept my eyes on Cindy and Betty leaned back giving a wider view.

"So, Miss Cooper, what can I do for you today?" She feigned innocence.

"Yeah, I'm just wondering why you're barring Jellybean Jones from attending prom and graduation."

"Because, Miss Cooper. Not that it's any of your business, but those are school sanctioned events which all Serpents who refuse to comply to our dress-code are barred from. I made it very clear."

"Hmm, interesting." Betty leaned forward, giving me a closer view. "Because as far as I know…if a student maintains her grades, which based on the report card hanging on our fridge, she has, and does not get suspended or expelled, she's allowed to go."

"Maybe that's how it was before. But not now."

"What changed?" Betty asked.

"I did." She answered.

"Let's talk about why you hate the Serpents."

Oh good job Betty! Even mentioning the name caused Cindy to tense up. We had her, and I knew it. I shoved a fist full of popcorn in my mouth and popped open a bottle of root beer.

"I don't tolerate any gang activity at this school." Cindy crossed her arms. Her knuckles tightened, turning white.

"No, that's not it," Betty said. "It's because of your past. Because of your brother."

With that Cindy was on her feet. If this was a cartoon, steam would have been coming from her ears, but at least she had the beet red face.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I do." Betty stood up and rounded the table. The visuals only provided a view of Cindy's chest they were so close. "See, I did some research on you. It was on accident, but somebody sent my boyfriend a threatening message. It threatened me, too. So I plugged the number into the FBI database, and what a surprise. It was your number. I also found out that you are related to Kurtz, the former leader of the Goulies." Betty stepped back and went back to her seat. "So the question I have is…what do you have to do with Penny Peabody."

"Who?" She feigned innocence

"Don't play dumb with me." Betty crossed her arms, blocking the audio, but then lowered them. "See, I know you're not as innocent as you want me to believe. Do you remember a night in New Haven. Remember having a gun to the back of your head as you beat Cherry nearly to death. I didn't call the cops, but I have pictures. And as far as I know, there is no statute of limitations on assault…or in your case attempted murder."

"You're the bitch that split Cherry and me up."

Good, she was getting angry. If we could make her slip up then we could nail her. I felt around the bowl of popcorn only to find kernels. This was the most entertainment I'd had in weeks. I stood up and went into the kitchen to pop another bag. Though I couldn't see what was going on, I was still able to hear.

"I think you did that." Betty said. I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was smiling. "I mean, I wouldn't wanna stick around after getting beaten to death. I mean what did you expect from the leader of the Serpents? That she would just drop everything to be with you? That if you got angry enough she would be scared and leave. Do you not know who we are?"

"We?" She arched her eyebrow. I had reclaimed my spot at the table, fist in the bowl. I stood up and went into the pantry grabbing every kind of chocolate we had and pouring it over the steaming puffs. "There's no way that you're a member of that group of degenerates."

"I'm the queen of the degenerates." Betty said. "And I'm here to tell you that if you don't stop persecuting Jellybean Jones, or any of the other Serpents, and if you try to keep them from entering college by baring them from school activities…I will go to the police, and your ass will be thrown in jail."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Me?" Betty chuckled. "No. As far as anybody is concerned, I just came to ask you to change your mind about your treatment of Jellybean." She stood up and went to the door. "I'll be around."

I closed the laptop just in time for Veronica to walk in.

"Hey, can you talk?" She asked.

"Well I'm glad you're alive," I crossed my arms. "What happened to letting me know you got home safe?"

"Sorry Jug," She shrugged and sat next to me, reaching into my chocolate popcorn concoction and popping a couple kernels into her mouth. "I told Archie," She admitted. "He was thrilled. I have an appointment next week."

"I'm glad you told him," I stood up and went to the fridge. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Just water for now," Veronica smiled.

"You know that you have to tell Betty, right?"

"I will." She swore. "But not right now. She's still healing."

"Actually, she should be home shortly."

As I said it, Betty walked through the door, wearing a triumphant grin on her face.

"We did it," Betty said. "I think we got under her skin, and JB should be able to attend prom, and have less homework."

I picked her up and kissed her.

"My genius girlfriend." I beamed. "And Veronica has some news for you, too."

She shot me a dirty look, but I didn't care. Veronica needed to tell her best friend and before me although I had kind of already shot myself in the foot with that. Betty glanced back and forth between us wearing a puzzled expression.

"Well Bee," Veronica grabbed her hand. "I'm…pregnant."

Betty pulled her best friend into a hug and didn't let go for what felt like a lifetime.

"Oh my God, Vee, are you serious?"

"Yep." She pulled out her phone and showed Betty pictures of the several pregnancy tests, all with a faint pink second line. "First appointment is next week if you wanna come."

"Of course, I do." Betty smiled. "This calls for celebration. Let's make milkshakes."

And so, for a few hours it was a normal day. We decided to order in from Pops and as I picked up my order, I couldn't help but think about the kind of world Veronica's child would enter into. I had put a target on her back, just like everybody else, and I almost felt guilty. I returned about thirty minutes later where the three of us, soon to be four, as Archie joined us, sat around the kitchen table, much like we would have at a booth at pops. Archie and Veronica discussed names and plans and places to live, while Betty and I waited to see if Principal Donahue changed her mind.

Jellybean walked in a few hours later, wearing a grin on her face. She told us all about the teacher and Principal's change of heart and hugged me, and Betty before rushing upstairs chattering about what she was going to wear and how she was going to wear her hair. Betty and Veronica shared looks and followed her, leaving me alone. I went over the footage again and I knew that my next step would be to figure out what connected Penny and Cindy. And who Cindy was talking to on the phone. We knew she was giving orders, but we didn't know to where, or who.

Now that Betty was better I figured it was time to check out the warehouses where we initially suspected. I also thought about the cashier I had met a few weeks earlier, and checked the videos. At a first glance, as soon as Penny was disposed of, life became simpler. Serpents shopped in the store with no problem and received the service any other customer would. It seemed that by eliminating Penny from the equation everybody got back to normal.

But what was normal for us? Evading serial killers? Faking deaths? Revealing injustices towards multiple groups of people? The answer, was yes, on all fronts. I clutched the ring box in my jacket pocket, and when Veronica came down, I pulled her aside. We decided that graduation was going to be the perfect time. We would pass off the engagement party as a graduation party and announce Veronica's pregnancy. We were so young, but I knew that it was the right time. Betty was off her pain medication, Jellybean would be graduating in a few short weeks, and prom was the following weekend. I just wanted time to stand still. But I knew that if it did we would never get down to the bottom of it.

Normalcy wasn't an option for us and the sooner we accepted it, the better off we would be. So instead of striving for it for ourselves, we focused on Jellybean and the rest of the Serpents. Prom was coming up fast, and I had a feeling that something big was going to go down. Cindy was the vindictive type and she would be the type to cause a scene. So as soon as Veronica left, Betty and I came up with a game plan. Alice and my dad joined as well. They were ready to get back into action after their romantic getaway which they made last weeks. So, we stayed up, plotting, planning, and falling back into old habits.