(Sweet Pea)

As Toni and I walked over to the King Serpent himself, I could see him watching Blondie with concern. Concern over what, I was just about to find out.

"Alright Sweet, Toni, Betty is part of your team now. I need you two to show her the ropes, teach her what it is to be a Serpent, and watch her back as she transitions. It's going to be a bigger undertaking than I think she understands, but we need her. It's your job to make sure she pulls through this," he said, while tipping his chin in Blondie's direction, "Her mom wigged out and Bett's is moving to Southside so it's your job to get her to her place tomorrow, get her shit and get out. I want this done with minimal Serpent sightings so leave your jackets in the truck."

I arched my eyebrow at him, a silent plea to let us know what kind of shit we were walking in to, but he just shook his head.

"It's not dangerous, well, as dangerous as crossing Alice Cooper can sometimes be, so I want this done when she's not home. Scope the place out first, and don't leave Betty alone in there. She has a trailer here in the park, you two will take her there tonight. Toni, lend her something…suitable…for tomorrow. She needs transfer papers from Riverdale and then she should start at Southside tomorrow afternoon. You two are her defacto body guards until she settles in. Keep the Ghoulies from fucking with her and keep those preppy shits from berating her…that includes my son."

With those last parting words and self-deprecating grin, FP walked off.

We took a minute to absorb the info and then started fabricating a plan, well, Toni started planning and I zoned out while staring at the Legacy. She seemed to be fitting in alright already, not taking anyone's shit and slinging sarcasm like it was second nature. Tonight must have sucked a little but she didn't seem to be letting it bother her all that much. I mean, your mom wigs out, you have to move out pronto, your boyfriend dumps you(I mean, I'm assuming, since the little shit is no where to be found) and you have to transfer to the joke of an educational institute in the slums of Riverdale, who wouldn't be taking all that shit badly, but there she was, fitting in like the Southside Princess she should have been…

A sharp jab to my arm brought my musings to an abrupt halt, clearly Toni had figured out I wasn't listening as well as I should have been…which is to say, not at all.

"Did you hear a god damned word I said, dipshit?" she hissed at me, a low fury kindling in her eyes.

"Jesus Toni, just give me the overview, yeah?" I said, quirking my brow at her.

She gave me a hard glare, then relented, "I said, let's let her cool off for a bit, relax here, then take her to her place so we know where it is, if it's not up to code she can stay at mine, if it is I'll just bring her clothes in the morning, comprende?"

I nodded in understanding and then headed over to the rest of the group. I had a feeling that it was going to be real interesting getting to know Cooper. Little did I know, it was going to be a whole lot more than a little interesting.

(Betty)

As I got to know our little group of younger Serpents, I felt myself starting to relax. This wasn't the group of upper middle-class snobs I'd been forced to grow up with, and this definitely wasn't the upper-upper class socialite I'd had barely anything in common with…this felt more real, more down to earth and it was definitely more my speed.

Fangs took up most of my attention, asking me random questions, challenging me to pool. It seemed like he was trying to take my mind off tonight, and I appreciated him for it. It was easy to throw sarcastic remarks back and forth, chirping each other for missed shots, and it was amazing to make him fork over the ten bucks he bet me on this game.

"Oh look, Fang the wonder dog has to cough up some cash, got enough fleas to cover that big boy?" I taunted him, smirking and laughing as he pretended to scratch his ear, only to flip me the bird.

"Alright Fangs pay the girl, I have next game!" Toni jeered, smacking him upside the head for good measure.

"Ouch Toni, you wound me," he drawled, rubbing the back of his head in mock pain.

She shot me a wink and then snatched the pool cue from the table, "Alright girl, unlike the Hotdog wanna be over there, I won't let you win."

"Oh Toni, " I mocked, "You wound me." I clutched my heart and feigned a swoon, causing all the men to laugh and jostle Fogarty away from the table. "Loser buys a girl a drink."

Toni smiled and laughed. "It's been too long since there was some estrogen in this place, no offense to your mom, Fangs."

I couldn't help but laugh at the poor boy, seems like he was always getting picked on, but that's what you get when you're literally all talk.

"Enough talk, ladies, let's see you play." The guy I now knew as Sweet Pea said, leaning up against a pole nearby.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of laughter and drinks. Toni bought my first shot and I bought her one next game. So no one got a hangover everyone switched to pop pretty soon after. Soon enough though, the night seemed to wind down and Toni was dragging me off to a comfy chair to chat.

"Alright, so Sweet Pea and I got our marching orders, we're gunna stick to you like glue for the next little while, baby girl. You got any questions or concerns, you come to us. Sweet can be a little intimidating but I promise he's got your back." She started, leaning in to me she whispered, "now I don't know nothing about your living situation but if you don't wanna go back to your trailer tonight you're welcome to come to mine until we get yours sorted, yeah?"

The thought was so sweet that I just wanted to reach over and hug her, but I settled on a nod and a smile, "I appreciate you offering but I got it last week and it seems to be up to snuff. Water and stuff's running and I brought over sheets and things a few days ago just in case. I don't have much in the way of clothes though, so a small shopping trip to the thrift store tomorrow would be appreciated."

She nodded in understanding and then leaned back away. "Sure, we can do that, it'll drive Sweet Pea crazy so I'm all for it."

We both laughed until we heard a voice behind us.

"Alright, ladies, stop planning my demise and let's get out of here, Hogeye is trying to shoo the youngins out."

I turned around to see Sweet Pea leaning against the wall, I'd never heard him walk up, though I guess that isn't unusual with music going and voices everywhere.

"Okay, you guys ready to escort me home?" I said sweetly, hoping to ignore the nerves that had suddenly come upon me. It was time to show these people just how far Betty Cooper had fallen…