It was midday by the time that Charles decided to go downstairs. The little room was irritatingly oppressive and reminded him of the sisters of quiet mercy.
The main hall of Thistle house was a mess. The Blossoms would have been horrified to discover what Cheryl had done. Baby toys littered the floor, empty beer cans lay on seats and pizza boxes lay discarded. Cheryl and Toni were sat on a couch holding a sleeping Dagwood, while Juniper was playing with Fangs, Sweet pea and Joaquin. Jughead was writing on his laptop on the corner of the room, as anti social as always.
The south side serpents had lost their edge. Without Fp, most of the older members had left, leaving the very small group here. The Whyte Wyrm wasn't usable any-more, so the serpemts had relocated to Cheryl's house and hung out, baby sitting and eating pizza, playing video games and skipping school.
Charles sat down next to Fangs and began tossing a baby toy. Juniper let out a delighted giggle and began trying to reach for it. Charles sits there and let's himself be drawn into his baby niece's games.
The peaceful silence is broken by a knock at the door.
"Who the hell would be knocking?" Toni asks, voicing the concern of all the group.
"TT, you go check. Tell us who it is before you let them in and then we'll decide what to do." Cheryl says.
Toni gets up and walks out of the room. A scend later she calls out "Its Hermione Lodge."
"Let her in TT." Cheryl says. The group is deathly silent, tense and all confused. Hermione Lodge has neither dealings with the serpents or dealings with the Blossom's.
A second later Hermione Lodge comes into the room, closely followed by Toni.
"What are you doing here?" Cheryl asked.
"I asked around and I heard that this was the new head quarters of the south side serpents. I need to speak to Fp. Is he here?" Hermione says, upset and urgency lacing her voice.
"No. My father is no longer a part of this gang. Any dealings you had with him, you can have with us." Jughead says.
"Shit." Hermione mutters under her breath.
"What deal where you going to propose. You want something from the serpents right? What did you expect in return?" Charles asks, judging by how Hermione was acting that that was what she wanted.
"I have nothing to offer that could be of any value to you." Hermione says softly.
"Really? What would you have offered FP? Jughead asks coldly.
"Do you remember when Veronica and I first moved here? I was in debt, thanks to Hiram, with the serpents. I couldn't pay up. Fp offered me a deal. I slept with him, he paid off my debts. I was hoping to persuade him to a similar deal now." Hermione says, shame filling her eyes.
"Holy Moly. Veronica said you weren't Fantine. And whatever you need is worth that? What do you need?" Cheryl asks, barely able to contain surprise.
"Protection. A few nights ago, Veronica was attacked by some men. They attempted to shoot her. Luckily Hermosa was there and saved her. But the men were there because Hiram is back to his old tricks. After that incident, Hermosa and Veronica asked for my help to bring down Hiram. We were nearly successful. I told him I planned to divorce him, Veronica and Hermosa stated their plans to run his company. But he turned violent, and started threatening us. We left, and I came here, hoping to ask the serpents to protect my daughter and I. However, with Fp no longer a part of this gang, I have nothing to offer. I apologize for the waste of time." Hermione turns to leave, sweeping out into the hall with as much dignity as she could muster.
"Wait. we'll protect you both. Veronica is my friend, and you are clearly desperate. You two can stay here." Cheryl says. "We've already picked up the Jones's strays, I don't see what difference a couple of Lodges make.
