Chapter Four

Have volleyball tryouts today. Wish me luck. xGabby.

I'll be there! Break a leg! -Dad.

Gabby gently shook her head, only to cry out when it was painfully yanked back seconds later by a sharp grip from her so-called best friend. "Ow!" She squealed and looked up at Cheryl, who stool above her. Cheryl tsk'd, planting a hand on her hip. She pursed her red-painted lips.

"Well, I wouldn't have to be so rough with you if you'd just sit still," Cheryl reminded her.

Gabby reached up, sliding her hand over Cheryl's in a loving manner, ignoring the stares that came their way. Didn't ignore it, reveled in it. "Baby, don't you know by now I like it rough?" She made a show of winking, struggling to keep her laughter inside lest she ruin the joke.

Cheryl fluttered her eyelashes in response and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Anything for you, my darling."

They two then burst out into hysterical laughter.

All eyes were on her and Cheryl as they always were to be. They weren't the most popular girls in school for nothing. Everywhere they went they had an audience, and it was fun, too. Gabby had the most fun she ever did with Cheryl, Jason, the River Vixens, and the rest of the football team. Everyone else should be jealous of the fun they had when they were together. How many times had she tried out something for fun; a new hairstyle, a new clothing style, only to see copycats of it by the end of the day? Within the next hour at the quickest?

Enough times to know the power she held. And Gabby felt more than powerful—invincible—when she knew the girls getting ready for their team tryouts that day where milling about, watching her and Cheryl as they got ready for their own respective teams. And as they always were under public scrutiny; they were calm, cool, and collected. Cheryl was the co-captain of the River Vixens, having been appointed to the spot by Polly the year before, she had no need to tryout. Her fate was signed, sealed, delivered.

Gabby, a player on the middle school volleyball team had to try out for the high school team. She wasn't worried, per say, but knew it was going to be tough. The Lady Bulldogs—Gabby always rolled her eyes at that, why would she want to routinely be called a bitch?—had won the championship the year before and they'd never won twice in a row. Gabby helped lead the Middle School team to the finals the year before, losing in the last round. She wanted to be on a winning team for a sport she loved. And that year was definitely the one to do it.

So much so that Cheryl insisted upon giving Gabby her 'perfect ponytail'. High on the crown of her head with a giant bow placed around it. 'Eye-catching' Cheryl explained. "You want all eyes on you." She leaned forward, resting her chin on Gabby's shoulder, and the two shared a quiet giggle. "You're going to be amazing, I know it."

"You swear?" Gabby teased. But she could see in Cheryl's eyes on sincere she was. Didn't have to wonder, knew from the way Cheryl gently and carefully brushed her hair before twisting it up into the scrunchie for the ponytail.

Cheryl cleared her throat dramatically. She threw her hair over her shoulders and said, raising her right hand, "I, Cheryl Marjorie Blossom, swear on my precious baby dog Sugar's life, that you're going to be one hundred percent, absolutely amazing."

That was serious. Cheryl loved her Pomeranian, Sugar, more than life itself. Loved animals more than life itself. Every weekend she volunteered at shelters to take care of those that were dropped off, but always doted on her puppy the most. Gabby swore she'd seen Cheryl kiss her own dog on the mouth once, though wouldn't let most of the guys in Riverdale even feel her up. She flited up a storm and left the debris of broken hearts in her wake.

Gabby smiled and gave Cheryl a quick hug before replacing her spot on the bench, standing behind her to run a brush through Cheryl's hair, pulling it back into a ponytail. The brush glided through Cheryl's hair with ease, making Gabby feel a slight sense of envy for her friend. She remembered when she was a very little girl how she wished she were white rather than black, how she wished she had the straight hair that didn't take hours to style, hours for a comb to be ripped through, hours for it to be perfectly relaxed to be stick straight. Gabby got over it, loved being black, loved being different, but sometimes she still envied Cheryl.

Especially for her ways to feel know she was going to get everything she wanted. How she was always so sure of herself. Gabby's hands shook as she finished Cheryl's ponytail. She turned her back to those in the locker room, secretly shook them out.

Never let them see you sweat, she thought. Then, turning back around, she plastered a smile to her face, looped her arm through Cheryl's and the two marched out of the locker room, shoving past some of the other girls that got in their way.

Cheryl waved her hand, fluttering her fingers as she went. "Step aside, peasants!" She declared. "Royalty coming through."

"A royal pain in the ass more like it."

Gabby sighed, releasing her grasp from Cheryl's. She knew that voice and would know it anywhere. Turning around, Gabby spotted Nancy Woods coming up beside her, also dressed in her gym clothes, ready for volleyball try-outs.

Nancy glared back at her, her arms folded, chin lifted. "And how you today, Black Cherry?" Nancy drawled.

If it was supposed to be something that made Gabby annoyed, Nancy wasn't doing a good job of it. Black Cherry, a nickname placed on Gabby and Cheryl by one of their teachers in elementary school from their constant appearance around each other, rolled off Nancy's tongue with nothing short of annoyance. But the nickname, however, gave Gabby strength. Made her feel like something, really made her feel she had something real.

"Are you ready to lose the captain position again?" Gabby asked Nancy. She then stepped forward, leaning into Nancy's face, looking her directly in the eye. "Or are you afraid to lose Chuck...again?" Nancy's face reddened; the undertone of her otherwise cocoa skin made her face appear darker. "I can't help it if he gets bored of you. There's only so long he can date a prude. You think you'd get the hint and find someone else to go out with." Gabby feigned a shocked gasp, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth, which she let dramatically drop open. "Oh, I forgot. You're devoted to him."

Nancy scowled and stormed off into the gym. Cheryl giggled with glee, clasping her hands together. "I can't wait to tell Jason that one," she said. "He'll be sorry he missed it."

"Knowing Jason, he'll try to go after her himself," Gabby mused.

"Please. My brother would never taint the Blossom blood with someone like Nancy Woods. Not that he wouldn't try, but you hit the nail on the head. She's too much of a prude. And you know Jason really only likes to date rich girls."

"What about Polly?"

"…That's a special case. You know how womanizing he can be sometimes, I'll be surprised if those two make it through high school." Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Do you know what he said to me? That I'll 'never understand' because he's two minutes older. Do you believe that?"

Gabby laughed. "Unfortunately, I do." She'd seen Cheryl pout many times Jason pointed out how much older he was than her. Even when two minutes wasn't really that much. The two walked out to the gym. In one side of the court, the River Vixens were getting ready for their practice. Gabby could see Polly standing with Midge, arms folded over her chest, hip cocked as the two giggled and laughed with each other. Their faculty advisor, Patti Pacer, stood nearby, twirling a whistle around her neck. If she noticed any of the boys that had flocked in to the gym to watch the Vixens' practice, she didn't show it.

Chances were, they were there to watch Miss. Pacer as well. Patty Pacer—Patty Pastie to her and Cheryl from her youth and attractiveness compared to the older female teachers in the school–made sure the River Vixens practiced, rather than stood around gossiping. Cheryl complained about her nearly every day, how she worked them too hard and held grueling practices, but they won their competitions when they went to them and Gabby had seen Cheryl improve over the summer because of it.

Compared to her own coach, Gabby wished she had Miss. Pacer. Eyes sweeping over the gym, Gabby looked at her own coaches; Coach Kleats and Coach Grappler. Coach Grappler was the exact opposite of Miss. Pacer, while Miss. Pacer was young, attractive, and probably had every male in the student body and on the faculty and staff lusting after her, Coach Grappler certainly did not. She was tough and aggressive, bulky, and muscular. Everything they needed in a volleyball coach. But nothing other men were attracted to, she and Cheryl saw her at the drive-in by herself nearly every weekend.

Pathetic, they noted, as they watched her chomp on handfuls of popcorn, jaw moving like that of a cow's. Then there was Coach Kleats; not only was he the volleyball coach, but he was also Riverdale's PE teacher. And probably, only PE teacher if his aggression and disdain towards the students was anything to go off of. He routinely lost his temper with the students; shouting at them when they wouldn't stop talking and he didn't get his way, making the fat in his neck and arms jiggle, thus making the students talk and laugh even more. A vicious cycle. But he knew what he was doing; often the volleyball team won their games and tournaments.

If only he could help them win without the threat of going to the hospital every day for high blood pressure, Gabby thought, smiling to herself. His face sure could turn a nasty shade of red.

"How long do you think it'll be before Coach Grapple has us doing suicide dives?" Nancy asked, leaning over to stretch her sides.

Gabby looked at her. It wasn't a surprise that Nancy was suddenly civil to her. It was the way they worked; they snarked at each other when outside of volleyball, but when they were on the court, they worked together to get the team to win. Team mates on the court, at each other's throats when off.

"Not very long, I think," Tina Patel commented from Nancy's other side. She placed her hands on her ankles and stretched all the way over. "I heard he had to be put on blood thinners recently. One more blow up and he'll be headed to the hospital. But I've heard they've got some hot orderlies there, I wouldn't mind taking a trip myself."

"We could always stage a fight, I could get on top of you and strangle you," Gabby joked. She tossed her head toward the filling bleachers. "Give the guys a bit of a show."

"There's an idea!" Tina laughed, and the girls slapped a high-five. Gabby already forgot how easily Tina had shunned her when Cheryl wanted to punish her for upsetting Jason, laughing at her as she sat alone in the lunchroom. "But we all know Grapple would…" Tina drew her finger across her neck.

A crass joke, really. But there were only so many times Coach Grapple would shout at them to 'knock off' their opponent's heads when they were in the middle of a heated bout before it became an inside joke between them all.

A sharp blast of a whistle caught the girls' attention. Coach Kleats and Coach Grapple waved the team over, ready for them to start try-outs. The same thing they'd always did; watched their setting, watched how they paced the ball to each other, their spikes, their dives, their endurance as they ran around the court. Push-ups, sit-ups, wanted to weigh them to see how fit they were, and, finally, had them play a scrimmage.

Throughout the try-out, Gabby's eyes continuously moved to the bleachers. About every five minutes or so. They darted toward the doors to the gym when they creaked open and slammed shut. Looked around when she heard a new voice talk. Waited for her dad.

She saw Jason in the crowd; sitting at the top of the bleachers with a text book held above his face. Enough to cover most of his face, but not enough to cover the rare sight of him in his glasses; black-rimmed like a hipster, of course. She couldn't quite see where he was looking, though no doubt he was watching Polly.

No. Gabby's eyebrows furrowed when she looked closer. He was watching Cheryl. And she was looking right back at him. Weird.

Gabby continued to look around the gym before finding herself getting yelled at by Coach Grapple to pay attention and do a suicide dive. Gabby nodded and got herself into position, throwing herself onto her stomach when a ball came flying toward the floor.

She extended her hands and batted the ball up as hard as she could, to keep it from hitting the floor.

"Great work, Rush!"

The words normally would've made Gabby beam with pride, but that day it was snuffed out by two very surprising things. Both of them made her stop and stare. One; Archie stood at the top of the bleachers, on the complete other end with Jughead and Betty by his sides. (Jughead lazily stretched out along the bleachers, his crown style hat resting over his face while Betty conversed animatedly with Archie about something as he seemed to only be half paying attention).

The other thing that made her stop and stare, body filling with nothing short of disappointment, was that her father never showed up.

"Come on, baby, come on!" Gabby cried out when her pleas fell on deaf ears.

She growled, twisting her key in the ignition of her car. The engine sputtered and died, the same as it had been doing the last fifteen times she tried. Her baby, her Corvette, was dead. It would not come back to life. It would not become enamored with Gabby and mow down anyone who tried to get between them. It would not pass GO. Gabby would not collect $200.

Mark the time of death; seven fifteen on the Southside.

"Agggh!" Gabby let out an unladylike growl, glad Cheryl wasn't there to remind her to always be prepared for an audience. Like she needed another lecture when her baby was slowly drowning with the rain continuously falling around her. A perfect way to end her otherwise miserable day.

Why did she think it was a good idea to ride with the top down? Why did she think it was a good idea to delude herself into think her fantasy of running away and going on a road trip out of Riverdale was a good idea? Why did she think her father would've actually gotten around to taking her car into the shop when he hadn't been around for more than five seconds within the last two weeks? Why did she have to have such a temper tantrum when she saw her father wasn't there at her volleyball try-outs he promised he'd go to when he'd broken so many promises within the last few months?

Why did she think he'd be able to actually keep his promise this time?

Most importantly. Why did she not listen to him when he said she needed to put down her protective seat linings to keep the leather fresh? Oh yeah, "Daddy, my car was born for leather seats. I can't taint it with that cheap sheep stuff. At least when it's below 100 thread count."

Already soaked to the bone and feeling a chill coming on, Gabby slid out her car and yanked her purse over her shoulder. She huddled by the car, deciding what to do. She should've changed after try-outs ended and she was named to be on the team. She should've taken Cheryl's and Jasons's offer to celebrate at Pops'. But she couldn't handle it. Couldn't handle how happy the rest of them were, couldn't handle how perfect their lives seemed to be. Jason was the quarterback on the football team with his arm around his cheerleader girlfriend, and twin sister standing by his side, her arm looped possessively around her brother's other side.

No. She had to be a sore loser and run away. Couldn't let anyone see her cry her eyes out in the shocking disappointment she felt with her dad not showing up. Couldn't even cry to her mother as she was unable to be reached when all she wanted was her mother's comfort.

So she drove. And, in response, her baby decided to warn itself of its driver. Gabby could call her dad to have Douglas pick her up, but then she'd be on the receiving end of a lecture for years on end. She wasn't supposed to go to the Southside, shouldn't get herself mixed up with 'those types of people'. Her mother had insisted upon it numerous times. "I want you to make the best of yourself and to do that, you need to put yourself around the right kinds of people."

But where else was she supposed to go when she was 'running away'? The Southside was the only place no one would look for her. And for good reason, too. No one wanted to be caught in the Southside. Even when they were playing truth or dare at their parties and egged each other on to spend a night in that part of the town, no one ever did it.

It was Gabby's blind anger and sadness that led her there. Some sort of a homing beacon if she were to really think about it. She could feel the tension within the Southside, the sort of tension the Northside constantly tried to hide under their perfect veneer. Maybe she really did belong over there. Sighing, Gabby hugged her arms tighter to herself. Her clothes stuck to her body, making a low 'schlepping' sound when she pulled it away from her stomach. Ugh. Silk never did well when it got wet. She at least found that dress shirt in the trunk, a small cover amongst her otherwise ill-prepared body. Gabby pushed her hair back from her face, wincing as the buildup of the hairspray and hair product Cheryl had put in to keep her lucky ponytail from falling, stung her eyes.

Wincing, Gabby looked through the sheets of rain that fell to find a neon sign hanging nearby.

The Whyte Wyrm.

Gabby hesitated. She talked a big game but was no fool. Just looking at the Serpents that stood outside the bar was enough to make her want to flee back to her car, no matter how much water was currently drowning her seats. Their motorcycles stood menacingly in front with the owners standing nearby, talking quietly to each other. Gabby sucked in a deep breath and headed over.

You can do this, she thought with each step forward. You're strong, smart, tough, you can handle yourself. Mom prepared you in case anything happened. Dad prepared you in case anything happened. She'd learned self-defense at a young age and her mother told her time and time again what to do if she were ever grabbed from behind or cornered. She could do this.

Gabby stepped inside the bar and was immediately hit in the face by a cloud of smoke. Low, cruel laughter beside her came from the men that stood by their motorcycles. They smiled smugly at her. She only just noticed the smoldering end of the cigarettes they held between their fingers.

"You like what you see?" The man closest to her asked. He took in a drag, leaned close to her, and blew the smoke into her face once more.

Gabby simply ignored him, pulling her purse higher up her shoulder and stepped further into the bar. Neon lights advertising the Serpents logo—stitched onto the back of every jacket—beer, drinks, food, and pool shone around every wall. Pool tables were stacked near each other were surrounding by people of all ages; young, teens, and older. Some played pool, others sat around their tables, eating and laughing. All eyes seemed to turn her way when Gabby walked through the door.

Gabby lifted her chin, glared at every look that turned her way. She wasn't going to let them scar her.

"Looking for someone?"

Gabby turned to the counter, finding the pink-haired teen girl she saw at Pops' running a dishtowel over the counter. Funny how juxtaposed it was; Pops in a crisp, white, clean uniform and a bright smile, helping everyone who came by while this girl scowled suspiciously at Gabby, in a uniform of her serpent jacket and the darkest colors to match the darkness of her jacket and the hellish atmosphere around her.

The red neon lights sitting around the bar didn't help much, either.

"Yeah," Gabby ventured closer to the girl. "What does it take to get some service around here?" She made a show of wiping off a stained stool top before sitting down.

The girl's smirk grew wider though she didn't stop her movements to clean. "Did you lose your dog?" She set the glass aside and rested her hands on the counter, leaning toward Gabby. "Oh, sorry, a girl like you has a horse, right?"

"A girl like me?" Gabby repeated, using the exact same snotty tone the girl was using.

The shrugged and leaned back from the counter. This time, she picked up a glass a customer slapped to the table and ran it under a tap before drying it with her dishtowel. "You're right, Riverdale isn't the best place for horses." She nodded out the windows of the bar to Gabby's Corvette. "But that horsepower though…"

Gabby snorted, unable to hide her disdain. "Not so much horsepower anymore."

Now the girl looked interested, looking over the large droplets that dripped to the floor. "You break down?"

"No, I decided to come in here to see how the other half lives," Gabby said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes. "You gotta phone?"

The girl looked pointedly at the one that sat on the wall behind her. Then she deflated Gabby's hopes by saying, "Yeah, but it doesn't work."

"Not for your kind, anyway."

Gabby looked to her left and right, noticing the presence that suddenly flanked her sides. Her mother would've been so disappointed in her.

You need to be aware of your surroundings.

Sorry, mom.

Two tall teenaged boys, one with a serpent tattoo on his neck, the other's hidden. Nevertheless, both of their dark eyes trained on Gabby with less than friendly looks. "Is she bothering you, Toni? You know it's hard to get that Northside stench off when you come too close," the taller one said.

Toni waved her hand. "Nah, she's fine. Perfectly harmless as Northsiders go." She pointed out the window with her thumb. "Car broke down."

"Don't you have, like, five more waiting to be used?" The second boy asked. "Collecting dust as they're too precious to be driven?"

"Hardly." Gabby stuck her nose in the air, tossed her hair over her shoulders. "My corvette's my baby."

The taller teen snorted. He elbowed his friend in the side, the tow sharing inappropriate grins. "Would probably be the only thing to stick it's dick in you."

At that, Toni rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Sweet Pea, the misogynistic route is tired these days. If you want to insult a Northsider, take some pointers from Fangs." She jerked her head as Sweet Pea rolled his eyes and Fangs smiled smugly. "Either that, or let your fists do the talking. It's what you're good at."

Sweet Pea and Fangs laughed at Toni's playful jabs at them. Gabby, on the other hand, laughed for an entirely different reason. "Your names are Sweet Pea and Fangs?" She cut her laughter short with a snort. She curled her upper lip. "What's next? String Bean and Mandible? Your parents must really love you."

Not that she had any room to talk.

Sweet Pea stepped forward, his eyes roving over Gabby's shorter stature. Taller than Toni but certainly much shorter than the other teenagers that stood around her. Gabby reached into the pocket of her pants, squeezing her palm around the dog tags that sat nestled inside. Just as she did whenever she needed her mother's strength. "You talk tough for someone who's on the wrong side of town," he said. "What? Did you think a little field trip over here was going to make you realize how good you have it over there?"

"Not like you don't flaunt it every chance you get," Fangs added. He tilted his head, looking at her dripping clothes. "Everyone knows silk doesn't do well when it gets wet." Sweet Pea and Toni exchanged glances while Fangs shrugged unapologetically. "But you can always buy more, can't you?"

"Yeah, yeah." Gabby put her hands on her hips, looked at the three in turn. "So, are you going to help me or not?" Gabby asked.

Sweet Pea pretended to mull it over. He didn't last a second before snapping a pool stick back into his hands. "Not," He replied. To emphasize his statement, he leaned over the pool table and smacked the cue ball into the triangle formed balls, shooting one straight into the corner pocket.

"Sorry, princess," Toni added with a not-so-sorry shrug and even not sorrier smirk. "But we don't do charity as much as you Northsiders don't. Then again," her eyes turned flinty. "We're just trailer trash, right?" With that, she turned her back on Gabby, pointedly ignoring her.

"You got lucky, Northsider," Sweet Pea said. "Real lucky."

Gabby sighed once more, she was doing that a lot lately. She picked up her purse and moved to go back to her car, preferring to drown than deal with any more of the Southsiders. She didn't want to know what would happen if any of those guys leering at her decided to become emboldened to talk to her.

She started to turn away, ready to run at a moment's notice, when a familiar face caught her attention. Eyes narrowing, Gabby watched the man. Watched as he smiled and laughed with another man nearby, waving a beer bottle back and forth as he did so. The man across from him—middle aged, very tall, big build with long, straight brown hair and blonde highlights. A trimmed beard with some gray in it. A hoop earring on one side, and a nose ring along the same—grinned and held out his hand toward the first man.

The two men shook hands and nodded, as if finishing some sort of a transaction.

Gabby finally found her voice. "Daddy?"

Stephen Rush whipped around at his daughter's voice. His eyes widened when he saw her before he composed himself, by her side in a second. "Gabriella, what are you doing here?" He asked. His voice was low, hand tight on her arm. Gabby gulped. Gabriella. She was in trouble. "Why are you all wet?"

"My car broke down," She said.

"Are you okay?"

Stephen pulled her closer to him and looked around the Whyte Wyrm, glaring at any man that looked their way as if ready to rip their throat out. Gabby felt a warm rush of protection from her father. Though she was still mad at him.

"I'm fine," Gabby said quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not important right now."

"You missed try-outs."

Stephen paused. His face fell. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry." He put his arm around her shoulders. "Let's go home."

Gabby wanted to kick and scream, throw a temper tantrum, demand to know why he was at the Whyte Wyrm, who the guy was that he was talking to, why he had to be there to miss her practice, why he was always gone. Wanted some answers.

But she couldn't. Because, at that moment, nothing was better than being able to snuggle up to her father's side, happy to be spending even a little time with him

A/N: Finally getting more into the ArchiexGabby stuff in the next chapter as well are more appearances from the other main Riverdale characters. Thanks for all of the support and response so far. It's been really motivating. I know a lot of people just want to read about the Serpents so I'm glad you're giving the story a chance.

Cheers,

-Riley