Another week seemed to come and go.

Another test was flunked.

Homework was skipped.

Several drops were made on top of the ones that had to be postponed.

There was some big deal moving forward for the Southside Serpents that had everyone buzzing excitedly.

The Twilight Drive-In was officially being shut down and sold. Saturday would be its final showing and then a large payday was coming to the Serpents. Payday made everyone happy.

"Let's go out with a bang!" someone roared, raising a drink up in the air.

He was answered by the jubilant cheering of the bar. They were in celebration mode already.

"God, I need to go outside," Sage grumbled to herself, pushing up from her seat and retreating out the back door away from the cluster of people.

Sweet Pea followed her out.

"You've been in a foul mood all week. What is going on?" he asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and delicately selecting one with nimble fingers. It hung out of the corner of his mouth as he lit it and inhaled deeply.

"Nothing."

"Bullshit," he exhaled a cloud of grey smoke toward her. "You haven't been right since the night we found Blossom's Bloated Body."

"Ugh, shut up, Sweet Pea!"

"See! That right there! Come on, what's up?" He perched himself on the banister beside her, nudging her with his elbow.

"I got into it with Jughead."

"Ah," he concluded sourly. "That explains it."

"He's so ridiculous and-and just so... stubborn!" she growled. "He's blaming the wrong people and he won't even stop to listen."

Sweet Pea passed the cigarette over to her, plucking a new one out for himself. "Well, you know how I feel about dear ol' Lughead there."

"He just... doesn't understand where I'm coming from at all. It's so frustrating. Whatever, it's fine," she bristled. "It's not just that. I flunked another test and FP's gonna be up my ass about it and I haven't been sleeping since we stumbled into Blossom. I'm just overtired."

"Yea, that was pretty messed up, even for me," he admitted.

"Yea..." she trailed off, pursing her lips around the cigarette and inhaling slowly. She was eager to feel the slow burn of smoke in her lungs to distract her from her rampant thoughts.

"Buck up. Tomorrow, we'll go to the Twilight for one more encore show and shut that shit down!" He grinned, nudging her again. "Eh? Eh? Sound likes fun, huh?"

She managed a smile and watched as the end of the cigarette gave off little wisps of blue-grey smoke. "Yea sounds like fun."

He took one more long drag of his cigarette before flicking it to the ground. "Let's go grab some shots, on me. I'll make sure you go out like a baby tonight, I promise."

She gave him a toothy grin. "Lead the way."

There was a group of twenty-five or so Serpents all hanging out in the back lot, drinking, smoking and occasionally sneaking off to make a quick deal. They made no effort to hide their rambunctiousness, even as Sheriff Keller occasionally drove by.

Fangs, Toni, Sage, Sweet Pea all sat together in a little circle, on a striped wool blanket with another member who was a just year older than them, Joaquin. With his slicked-back licorice hair and his baby blue eyes, he was mesmerizing to look at. At least Sage thought so.

"Truth," Toni said confidently, flipping a lock of her bubble gum highlighted hair over her shoulder and reaching to take Fang's drink from his hand.

He pulled it away at and took a hurried sip only passing it to her afterward. "Why did you join the Serpents?"

She licked her lips before she spoke. "My uncle really, really didn't like that I dated girls."

"I didn't realize that was still an issue nowadays," Sage criticizes.

Toni shrugged half-heartedly. "It is, but it doesn't matter anymore, I found a new family that accepts me. So, here I am." She raised the beer bottle and took a delicate sip with a small smile.

"I'm happy to have you here... even though I can't get you to sleep with me." grinned Sweet Pea, earning him a high-five from Fangs.

Toni rolled her eyes. "Thanks... I think?"

Suddenly, a young girl with bold lipstick and a seemingly large sense of entitlement popped up from the back of a nearby pickup truck "Hey!" she sneered. "Do you know what happens to a snake when a Louis Vuitton heel steps on it? Shut the hell up or you'll find out!"

"She'd be hotter if she wasn't trying to be intimidating," Toni smirked when the girl snapped back around and sat.

Sage and Sweet Pea both grinned.

"Fangs, Truth or Dare." Joaquin piped up, paying no attention to the girl's threat.

"Dare."

Joaquin mulled over an idea for a moment. "I dare you to take Tall Boy's drink, and finish it in front of him."

While everyone fell into a fit of laughter, Fangs paled. "Son of a bitch," he murmured standing up, slowly to accept his fate.

Although Tall Boy was apart of the Serpent family and technically next in the chain of command, he wasn't particularly liked by everyone. Known for his love of fighting, and his particularly short fuse, Sage got the gut feeling that his intentions only revolved around himself. She also got the feeling, that he didn't particularly like her.

The group watched wide-eyed as he reluctantly shuffled over to Tall Boy, who leaned up against the building causally. Fangs reached out, took the beer from his hand and tipped his head back, guzzling it down.

It took Tall Boy a moment to register what happened, his face bewildered. As soon as he did, he straightened up, pushing off the wall in one swift movement, cocked his fist back and slammed it into Fang's face.

The group all collectively groaned in pain.

Fangs dropped down to the ground in a heap. Tall Boy took a leggy step over him to retrieve a new drink, muttering, "Damn kids."

Fangs was slow to rise, but he picked himself back up and walked back to the group, holding his face. "Well, that sucked," he said as he sat back down.

Sweet Pea had tears rolling down his cheeks as he held his stomach with a burst of boisterous laughter. "Oh my, GOD! That was awesome!"

"Shut up Sweets," sulked Fangs.

Somewhere between the exchange of words between Fangs and Sweet Pea, there was another exchange going on. Joaquin was watching someone, a playful glimmer in his eyes. Sage recognized the boy he was staring at immediately from the night at Sweetwater River. He was the boy who "found" Jason.

Always perceptive, Toni also noticed Joaquin's attention was directed elsewhere.

"Joaquin, truth or dare."

His bright baby blues shifted back to her, unblinking. "Dare."

She smiled like the Cheshire cat, curling her delicate fingers under her chin "Go talk to that boy you're ogling. Double dare you to get his number."

Joaquin's mouth hung open for a moment before he stood up, squaring up his shoulders and sauntered fearlessly over to the snack bar. There he waited for the right opportunity to talk to the boy, who was climbing out of the bed of the truck to refill his snacks.

Sage all but missed it though, because now it was her turn to be distracted. FP had snuck away from the rest of the group, slipping into the shadows behind a building.

She cocked her head, curiously. A woman, thin, leggy and surely too overdressed for a night at the drive-in appeared just a few moments after and followed him behind the building. In her hand, was a small black bag.

They were gone for more than five minutes but less than ten. FP emerged, now, with the bag in his hand and strolled over to rejoined the group, passing it off to Mustang, who looked disgruntled for some reason.

"Boys, let's move out!"

The gang cheered and whooped. They dropped their half drank beers right there on the ground, grabbed their helmets, and climbed on their bikes. Motorcycle engines roared to life, and one by one.

"I guess we're calling it a night," sighed Toni, disappointed.

Sweet Pea grinned. "Nah, we're just moving back to the club. Means we got paid. Let's roll."

"What about Joaquin?" Sage asked, looking around.

"I think he's occupied currently." smiled Toni, pointing. Joaquin and the sheriff's son were deep in conversation, inching away slowly to a more secluded area.

As they were polishing off their drinks and gathering up their things, FP made his way over to them. He nodded toward the group and motioned for Sage.

She stepped forward and he tugged on her arm to pull her away from the rest of them.

"I have a job for you to do," he whispered in her ear.

She nodded once and he patted her on the shoulder.

"Good. We'll discuss details tomorrow," he said over his shoulder.

It wasn't till then, she noticed that despite hoping for it, she didn't see Jughead once that night. A wave of disappointment washed over her as she packed up her things and made her way back to the bar with the others.