To say FP was taken aback by the sudden human contact would be an understatement. To his knowledge Cooper women were not huggers. Hell, the only Cooper woman he knew very well could ultimately be called the opposite of warm, never mind showing affection. But where Alice was hard and cold as ice, Betty was warm and soft…not that he was thinking about how soft Betty Cooper was! Because he definitely was not.

Clearing his throat to shake off the awkwardness he felt Betty tense up and quickly extract her arms from around his neck. It wasn't his intention but maybe getting her off of his person was for the better. Giving her a sheepish grin, he went back to what he was actually there for: to be his prospects new president.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that Betty, but from the sounds of it, seems like you'll be better off out here on the South side," he forced out, in an attempt to alleviate his own feelings of awkwardness he felt like he may have stumbled into the territory of making Betty feel more uncomfortable, but it was better to get stuff like this off the table and quickly as possible.

She sniffled and rubbed her eyes quickly, smearing some mascara under her eyes.

"Thanks Mr. Jones, I appreciate you saying you guys would look out for me, feels like I'll be needing that for the first little while. I just hope Juggy doesn't take my being here the wrong way."

"What my son thinks about the whole situation isn't important, he doesn't know all the rules that go with being a part of this club and that's partly his ignorance and partly my own doing. My word is law as far as issues like this are concerned and he'll just have to live with that." He reached in to his jacket pocket and lit another cigarette, taking a quick drag before continuing, "Now, I'll introduce you around the club to the younger generation and get you set up with a small team to show you the ropes. One of them will escort you to your new trailer tonight."

(Betty)

I listened to FP attentively as he laid down the plan for the next couple of days.

"Tomorrow morning, once we're sure your parents have left for the Register, the boys will escort you to your house with a truck to get your things, then after lunch we'll get you enrolled in Southside High. Now it's not as glamourous as your old school, but it's an education and I expect you to still get one."

"I appreciate all of this Mr. Jones, thank you," I said, making eye contact and straightening my spine again, preparing myself to go back in and greet the masses.

"Oh, and one more thing Betts? Call me FP, no one in my crew calls me Mr. anything," he laughed.

I felt myself relax as i smiled and nodded my head. I could get used to being treated as more of an equal, whether I was titled an underling or not.

"Now, so they don't see you as a favourite, I'll be needing my jacket back, you'll get your jacket tomorrow, though it won't have a real patch until you make it past your prospecting period. Should be around the time you graduate if you prove yourself to be a worthy addition to this club." He smiled with all his teeth, like it was some sort of joke whether I'd make it in. He seemed to be brimming with the confidence I felt I was lacking.

"I won't let you down FP, I swear I'll make a good member, prospect or fully patched, I won't let you down," I said, staring straight ahead, determination causing me to lengthen my stride as we headed back towards the Wyrm.

"Oh, and Betty?," he said as an afterthought, " We all make mistakes, we're all human. I don't expect you to get the hang of all of this so quickly, and I definitely don't expect perfection, so you can take a deep breath darlin' cuz you're not going anywhere."

It made me feel better to know perfection wasn't expected of me, but I would be damned if I didn't give my all to this club and this life. I blew up my past life to have this and I wasn't going to let this club, my club, down.

Nodding my head sharply I made it known he was understood, but that I'd be giving it my all anyway. He shook his head and chuckled but opened the back down for me and followed me inside. Down into the snake pit.

(Sweet Pea)

I could tell by the way Jones booked it out of here with his girl's clothes that he was going to do something stupid. Trust the Serpent Prince to not know the rules about prospecting, whether it was his girl or not, Cooper had every right to be here, in this club, with her family.

And from the looks of Alice she was being just as ignorant about Club law as that beanie touting dick weed. You would think as a fully patched Serpent she would remember the legacy law, but I guess what can you expect from some traitor north side wannabe?

I made eye contact with Toni and we both rolled our eyes. I guess spending too much time in North side really addles the brain. She slung me a beer and then tossed a pool cue my way. Guess we were killing time before the Prez sorted this mess out. We both knew that he'd be sending blondie our way for Serpent training. We were the oldest members of the young serpents and legacies ourselves.

Now let me clarify something for you: being a legacy doesn't mean we got off easy, oh fuck no! Sure, it made our position as prospects guaranteed but everything after? That was fuckin' hard. We got worked harder and pushed farther, almost to kick the entitlement out of our systems so we could be real team players, real family. And I would do it all again to be a part of this. I scratched my shot and gave Toni a glare as she laughed.

"Pay attention Pea, nostalgia ain't gonna win you this game," she sing songed, looking smug as she sunk her shot.

"Shut your rat hole Toni, I'm just thinking about how we're gunna break in our new recruit," I lied, though based on her arched brow I could tell she didn't believe me.

"Speak of the devil," she said, tipping her chin behind me, "I think the new recruit is about ready for a night of fun! Hey Betty, feel like taking Sweet Pea's spot, I'm kicking his ass anyway."

(Betty)

I smiled at Toni and nodded my head at everyone else as they made eye contact. I could feel I'd gained a margin of respect as I greeted them all, refusing to shy away from a single look.

"Alright boys and girls, I leave Betty in your excellent care. Introduce yourselves around while I talk to Toni and Sweet for a minute, yeah?" FP said, crooking his fingers at Toni and the boy she was playing against. I could already tell tonight was only going to get more interesting.