Sage later found out that FP was looking for people to work for Andrew's Construction. Fred Andrews had come into some rough times as of late. He had no crew and no crew meant no work. No work meant no money. FP gathered a group of volunteers to work to get their latest job off the ground.
FP also extended the offer for volunteers for the weekends. Sweet Pea, Joaquin, and Fangs had already signed up for the following weekend. With the promise of a little extra money on the horizon, Sage reluctantly searched out FP to talk him about jumping on board.
He was downstairs, for a rare change, already talking to a group about the logistics of the job; when they needed to be at the job site and anything they might need to bring with them or be aware of. Sage stood in the back, trying to make herself blend in, listening. FP happened to catch her eye and for a brief moment, he met her glance with a stale look of his own.
Butterflies stirred in the pit of her stomach.
He dismissed the group suddenly and they dispersed in different directions. Sweet Pea, who was at the front of the crowd, happened to walk by. He gave her a quick nod.
"Gonna go sneak into a movie with Fangs and Topaz, you in?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Yeah sounds good," she smiled. She still felt FP's eyes boring in her. The butterflies became angry bees, buzzing around. She shifted uncomfortably.
"Movie is in an hour," Sweet Pea added over his shoulder. "I'll see you then."
"Sounds good!"
She lost her nerve and turned hastily to slink upstairs, but FP was already on the move.
He caught her by the elbow.
"Where are you going, girl? We need to talk."
She snapped her arm back out of his grip. "About?"
He quirked an eyebrow, her curt reply throwing him off him.
"You ain't helping with this SoDale project" he stated plainly.
"Why the hell not?" she spat.
"You might want to drop the attitude there," he warned lowly. "Because of the shit you pulled with Mustang the other day and your grades. You've been barely scraping by in school. We had a deal, remember?"
"How the hell did you see my grades? And if you don't keep any of your damn promises, why should I?" she snapped.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, just go grab another drink from the bar. That's what your best at, isn't it?" she sneered.
"Girl, so help me god..." FP shook his head, his teeth gritted. He leaned in close to her face, gripping the collar of her leather jacket in a tight fist. "First, I'm an adult and the leader of this club, I make the damn rules! Secondly, I give you a place to live based on our agreement. Make no mistake, I will put you on your ass if you don't adhere to our original agreement. Third, if you ever speak to me like that ever again, I'll have you washing the Whyte Wyrm's toilets now and until the day your hands are old, wrinkled and incapable of holding a goddamn toilet brush. You won't see the light of day or have anything to do with club business!"
She glared at him angrily, lips set in a thin line.
He released her, none too gently. "Get the hell outta my sight."
"Gladly," she countered, coolly.
"And get your sorry ass to upstairs and pull up those grades. And make sure your back here after school on Monday. Mustang said you're on scut, so that's what you're doing, till I say so!"
From that moment on, she was pretty much on lockdown. She imagined if she had real parents and home like a normal teenager, it would be the equivalent to being grounded. But she didn't have a choice. She couldn't be kicked out of the Serpents and she couldn't live out on the streets.
Not again.
Not only was she cut off from helping out on weekends with the SoDale project, but she also couldn't help with any drops or other club business. She was on scut at the bar and confined to extra tutoring at school.
She felt suffocated.
She wished that school came easily to her, she just didn't have the interest. Letters often jumbled themselves on the pages and she couldn't spell for beans. And the last time she had been good at math was in her early elementary years, where it was as simple as adding and subtracting and numbers and letters of the alphabet didn't mix.
She knew she was more street smart than book smart, and Sage was proud of that.
Time stood still while she continued her monotonous routine day after day. One week bled into another.
She lay in bed, already dreading the following day as the chatter from the bar quieted down on the floor below her. Even though it wasn't that late, her body was exhausted from unloading about fifty boxes of liquor from the truck to the cellar. But she couldn't fall asleep.
She huffed, annoyed. She felt a craving for some spontaneity in her life. So she did something that she never usually did.
She texted Jughead.
Sage really didn't care for texting or technology for that matter. In fact, she was a sorry excuse for her millennial generation. Perhaps it was because she had a prehistoric version of an iPhone that she mostly used her phone for staying connected with the Serpents or music.
She lay back against her pillows, impatiently checking her phone every few minutes for a response until she felt it buzzing in her hands.
She saw the response and grinned, throwing off her covers, pulling on a pair of jeans that was no doubt, probably dirty. She pocketed her phone, grabbed a few dollars and the gift she had for him, complete with newspaper wrapping and left for Pop's, sneaking out the back door eagerly.
When she arrived, she was more than happy to see Jughead nestled in his normal booth, laptop open and naturally, a cup of coffee pushed to the side.
"Hey," she greeted him, sliding into the booth on the opposite side.
He looked up from his computer and smiled. "Hey, yourself. I was surprised to see your text, I'm glad you texted me," he admitted.
She smiled back sheepishly, "Well," she started, "I'm afraid I was a real shit friend to you,"
Confusion colored his face. "What do you mean?"
She revealed her hand-wrapped gift from under the table and presented it to him. "I know you hate your birthday, but that doesn't give me an excuse to forget it. Happy Belated Birthday Jug."
He shook his head. "Really?" He took the present, putting it down in front of him, analyzing it carefully. "Boy, this birthday really won't end."
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"Betty decided to throw me a surprise party," he started.
"Oh, no."
"Yeah and Archie knew and did nothing to stop her. And then all of Riverdale High School caught wind and it turned into a kegger."
"Oh, no," she repeated, her arms folded down on the table in front of her.
"And then I may have gotten into a fistfight with some jock."
Sage rendered speechless for a moment, noticing the small almost-healed cut on his cheek.
"So, yea, if I didn't like it, to begin with, I really loathe it now."
"Well, ignore all that for a minute and just open it," she urged excitedly, nudging the gift impatiently.
He peeled off the newspaper, crumpling it as a grin spreading across his face. "First edition? How did you even find this?" He held up the book, flipping it over, before peeking inside the covers.
"A shop in Glendale actually. Just need to know where to look," she smiled, a warm feeling spreading over her body. She was elated that he was so excited about her gift.
"I remember that was your favorite author, so I thought even if you had the book, you wouldn't have this edition."
"I don't. Wow, this is great. Thank you, Sage."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."
"I love it."
He flipped through the book briefly, his eyes roaming over the glossy ink as his nimble fingers feathered through the pages.
"So, no more birthday parties for you?" she teased. His eyes left his newest possession and met hers, distracted.
"No, Betty and I had a long talk about that one. I mean, her intentions were good, I suppose. She invited my dad and even he came."
The grin wiped clear off her face. "Really?"
"Yeah, I was surprised too. He's really trying, Sage. He's been going to work every day, and he cleaned the trailer completely. It's spotless. And he stopped drinking, cold turkey. He's been sober for a few weeks. Man, he's even shaved his face!"
She exhaled deeply, ignoring the churning of her stomach. "Whoa," she breathed. "That is something." Her mind reeled. She hadn't seen him since the last time they shared words. All the orders as of late had been coming from either Mustang or Tall Boy.
"Do you think it will it last?" she questioned cautiously.
"I had my doubts, but he's different, Sage, I swear. I gave him my manuscript to read over. He actually read it and even asking me questions about it. He gave a shit."
"That's incredible."
"Yeah, so, I'm thinking I might move back home."
"Really?"
He stopped for a moment. "You seem surprised by all this. Why?"
Sage licked her bottom lip before chewing on it. "I honestly haven't seen him much."
"Why not?" he pressed.
"I may have had a slight rebellious streak in me," she admitted.
Jughead laughed, surprising her. "Not you, never!" he teased.
Her face softened.
"So you two got into it, huh?" he guessed, sobering the tone of the conversation.
"I just got really mad at him. And then he's getting down on me 'cause of my grades."
"You always hated school," he remembered.
"Still do. It's so pointless. I can break into a house in 23 different ways, but I'm failing at life cause I can't remember PEMDAS?"
"Technically one could argue that knowing 23 different ways to break into a house is failing at life..."
She grinned.
"Why does my dad care if you're failing at school?"
"It's part of my deal with him," she answered. "A big reason why I became a Serpent. When I joined, I had no place to live and I wasn't about to go back to the Sister's or into the system. He gave me a room upstairs in the Whyte Wyrm and instead of 'rent', I pay with grades and the promise that I'll graduate high school. I'm not sure why it matters so much to him."
Jughead was thoughtful for a moment. "My dad did that for you?"
Sage nodded.
Jughead smiled softly. She couldn't tell what he was thinking but it seemed like he was content with whatever was passing through his thoughts.
"Well," he began, "at least I know where to find you now."
"Indeed," she agreed. She liked the thought.
"And hey, if you need help in school, Betty is a great tutor. She helped Archie countless times and I'm sure if I asked her to, she would be happy to help you out."
The thought put a sour taste in her mouth and she tried not to let her face give anything away. "Thanks, Jug, but I've got the finest of the Southside Sludge already helping me three days a week for the next few weeks."
"Just let me know if that doesn't work out."
"I will," she promised.
"So, I'm pretty sure that being a good student means going to bed on time and not sneaking out late at night," he pointed out.
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, screw that."
"Couldn't sleep?"
She shrugged.
"Maybe you should fix whatever has you so angry with FP," he suggested casually.
"That's ripe coming from the guy who lived in the movie booth and a closet for nearly a year," she pointed out.
"Exactly why I'm saying it. I've had a lot of time to think about this. I wasted over a year thinking my anger was justified and that I was punishing my dad by staying mad at him. But I wasn't only hurting him, but I was hurting myself too. Imagine if instead of trying to punish him, I tried to be more patient or understanding. My dad may not have struggled so much."
"Wow, so Betty has really rubbed off on you," she stated blandly, rolling her eyes.
"It's true," he defended.
"It may have not made a difference at all."
"Even so, it was wasted energy. Just look at you and I. I held a grudge against you for an entire year. I lost an entire year with you."
She grew silent.
"It became more about me than you. If I just said something, I would have known how much you were struggling. I may have been able to help you. I would have been there for you. You wouldn't have had the weight of both my anger and yours on your shoulders."
Swallowing felt hard at that moment, but she tried to nonetheless, still staying quiet.
"I'm just saying, if I've learned anything from Jason Blossom, is that life is too short to stay angry and bitter at someone."
She looked down at her hands, playing with the silver rings that decorated her fingers.
"You know how I know I've gotten through to you?" Jughead joked, attempting to lighten the mood. "You get really, really, really quiet."
She smiled tightly letting the words marinate. "Thanks, Jug."
"Now, if you really want to make up for missing my birthday, you can buy me a chocolate milkshake," he grinned.
She laughed, her spirits lifted immediately. "Fine, you've got a deal."
Finally finished updating and re-editing all previous chapters. I'll be posting some new content soon! Really excited to share! See you soon!