Ali overheard some of the students talking about the Southside in class. Her curiosity for danger was peaked and she made up a plan. After school she pulled out her phone and figured out how she was going to get to this mysterious place that, apparently, was home to gangs, drugs and violence. All the characteristics of a place an individual should stay away from, but all the characteristics of a place that intrigues the likes of Alita Dubois.

With her hands pushed deep into the pockets of her leather jacket, Alita stepped off the bus and onto the street. It seemed like Ali was dropped off to a completely different world. It almost seemed as if the clouds gathered above the Southside on purpose. The road was cleared and there was no one in sight. The surrounding buildings seemed run down. The bricks and wood had faded, windows weren't cleaned, alleys weren't swept and the sounds of motorcycles roared. Ali's head turned to the right and she saw a group of individuals on their motorcycles driving towards her. She eyed them as they past her in a swift motion. However, one stuck out to her, the driver looked as if they had turned their head towards her, under their helmet, as they drove by. The exchanged seemed longer than a few seconds, but it stayed in the back of Ali's head as they continued to drive away. Ali's eyes scanned over the snake embroidered back that said Southside Serpents. She shook her head as she shrugged her shoulders and began to walk in the direction of the motorcyclists.

As Ali walked around she viewed her surroundings. The Southside definitely had a different feel compared to where she lived. The Southside almost seemed more comfortable to her though. Even though she walked down the road alone, she felt at home and not out of place. Footsteps stopped Ali in front of an interesting little pub. Whyte Wyrm. She looked over and saw the motorcycles from earlier all parked in the parking lot. Her curiosity continued to grow, so she opened up the door and walked inside.

The lights were dimmed throughout the pub. There were pool tables off to the left – probably three or four, Ali wasn't too sure. The bar was to the right of Ali, with wooden stools tucked underneath it. Right in front of Ali was a stage placed on the other side of the bar, but a flight of stairs that lead to an upper level came before the stage. The ambiance in the pub changed as the members of the Southside Serpents all turned to look at the fresh piece of meat that had just walked into the door. Ali didn't recognize this change yet.

With her resting bitch face intact, Ali walked over to the bar and waited for the bartender to walk over to her. The bartenders face was small and held delicate features. She wore lip-gloss on her lips and light pink eye shadow on her eyelids. Her hair was pulled out of her face because her hair sat in a ponytail on the top of her head. Pink highlights ran all throughout it and it complimented her chocolate coloured complexion.

"Are you lost?" The bartender looked at Ali with a playful smile as she took in the new patron in front of her. She was attractive, but the bartender was still trying to figure out whether or not she had a chance.

"Nope." Ali answered. She took another look of her surroundings before looking back at the pink haired girl and resting her arms on the bar, so she could lean forward and say,"I think I found exactly what I wanted." Ali noticed how the bartenders' eyes widened at the sound of her voice. With a smile she stuck out her hand for Ali to shake,

"My name's Toni." Ali shook her hand and introduced herself,

"I'm Ali."

"So, Ali, what's your poison?" Toni asked the attractive girl in front of her. Once Toni heard her accent, she knew she wanted to keep hearing her speak.

"You got bottled beer?" Ali asked Toni.

"I think I'm going to need to see ID." Ali raised an eyebrow and smirked at Toni. Toni felt her heart begin to race.

"Really?" Toni laughed as she leaned underneath the counter of the bar.

"No, I'm joking." Toni placed it on counter in front of Ali.

"It's on me."

"I should pay." Ali insisted, but Toni raised her hand,

"No. You're new. Let me welcome you properly." Toni smiled at Ali and she smiled back,

"Thanks."

"Who's this, Toni?" A males voice was heard from behind Ali as she took a swig from her glass. Ali looked to her right to see that she was met with a guy who had a tanned complexion, black hair that was spiked at the front and shaved at the sides and a smile to match. Ali looked to her left and was met with a man that she needed to look up at. His hair was longer and flopped over to one side – slightly falling onto his forehead in the process. He, however, did not have a smile.

"This is Ali. She's new." Toni introduced the new girl to her friends. "Ali, this is Fangz and Sweet Pea." Toni pointed to the boy on Ali's right first and then to the boy on her left.

"Interesting choice of names." Ali commented as she took another sip of her drink.

"You got something to say about our names?" Ali looked at Sweet Pea through the corner of her eye before taking another sip of her drink. Afterwards, she turned her head to look up at him as she spoke,

"I just said that they're interesting. I didn't say anything else, but since you're getting so defensive…is there something you want to say?" Toni watched the glaring match begin and was worried for Ali's safety. Why was she trying to pick a fight with the tallest guy here? Fangz, on the other hand, was happily watching this display because hearing Ali talk was a major turn on for him. "I think you should leave, Brit." Sweet Pea said to Ali as he emphasized the 't' at the end of the name.

"I'll finish my drink first." Ali calmly said before turning back to Toni and sipping her drink again. Toni realized she needed to deescalate the situation before it got any worse. She noticed that the other Serpents were already looking over at the four of them, so she needed to fix this.

"So, Ali, what brings you to the Southside?" Toni asked.

"I overheard some kids talking about it in class and thought I'd come see for it myself. This place sure has a reputation." Ali explained.

"Class? Where do you go to school?" Fangz asked the new girl beside him.

"Riverdale High." Ali calmly answered.

"Great, the Brit's also one of them." Sweet Pea groaned as he leaned against the bar. She was the girl that he saw while he was riding here after school. He mentally slapped himself for even looking at her now.

"I'm not a part of any side." Sweet Pea looked at Ali as she continued to talk. "I'm not from here, don't know if that was apparent to you or not, but I could care less about whatever rivalry you all have with each other. I'm just trying to find a place to hangout." Ali looked over at Sweet Pea and ended with, "If that's okay with you."

"Well, you're welcome here as much as you want." Ali looked at Toni.

"As long as you keep that accent, you can come near me any time." Fangz began to raise and lower his eyebrows in a seductive way, but Ali just slightly laughed to herself.

"Thank you. I'm glad not everyone here is a prick." With that comment, Sweet Pea walked away from the group and towards the pool tables. Toni and Fangz watched him as Ali didn't care at all. The two Serpents exchanged looks before Toni sighed and rested her elbow on the counter, so she could cradle her chin in her palm.

"Sweet Pea doesn't like new people." Toni explained.

"I gathered as much." Ali said. "He's great! I love him to pieces, but he's just careful about who he talks to, you know?" Ali looked over her shoulder and looked at his broad back. Southside Serpents. Ali began to look all around her and saw that the serpent was everywhere and placed on every leather jacket in this bar.

"Southside Serpents. Is that your gang?" Fangz was taken aback by Ali's bold question. Did she already figure out that this was Serpent territory?

"The one and only. Why? Are you afraid of getting bit?" Fangz teased the new girl as he leaned in closer to her.

"Oh please. Like I would be afraid of you guys." Ali finished her bottle and Toni took it away from her.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Toni asked.

"Let's just say, you're not the first gang I've crossed paths with." Ali smirked at Toni. The pink haired girl could've sworn she saw something glisten in Ali's eyes. There was something intriguing with this new girl and Toni was completely swallowed into her. Ali knew that she needed to get Sweet Pea on side with her. She needed to assert her dominance and make a name for herself. With that, Ali swivelled around on her stool and looked right at Sweet Pea's back. "Hey, Sweet Pea!" Sweet Pea stopped talking and turned around to look at the new girl that he was beginning to detest with every passing moment. "Let's play a game of pool." Ali jumped off her stool and began to walk over to the giant in front of her. "If I win, you have to stop being a dick."

"And if I win?" Sweet Pea asked.

"You get whatever you want."

"You leave and you never come back." Tension brewed between the two and Ali felt something spark in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. She was excited and thrilled with this proposition.

"Deal."

A pool table match has never been so fun and so intense for the viewers and the players. Ali was solids and Sweet Pea was stripes. Even though everyone in the pub cheered for Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangz silently cheered for Ali. The serpents watched with amusement as they enjoyed Ali's snarky comebacks and the way she bent over to use her pool stick. Sweet Pea noticed as well, he would never admit that he enjoyed watching her bend over, so he would just keep these mental images for himself.

"Come on, Sweet Pea, hit the ball, already." Ali sighed as she waited for him use his stick and hit the striped ball into the side of the pool table – again.

"Stop nagging me, Brit." Sweet Pea said as he pushed the stick and watched the ball hit the side of the pool table. "Fuck." Ali smiled as she bent over and got her stick ready.

"I think you're letting me win." She hit the ball and watched it go into a socket. "I think you want me to stay." Ali hit another ball, but it bounced back after hitting the side of the pool table. She stood up and smirked at Sweet Pea as she said, "Maybe it's because you want to watch me bend over." She winked at him. Sweet Pea looked away and walked past her, so he could try to salvage this game. Ali felt her adrenaline pump and her heart pounding against her chest. That beer had loosened Ali up enough for her to remember just how much fun she can have in life.

"Watch this." Ali announced as she placed the stick behind her back and hit the black ball. Everyone held their breath as they watched it make its way to the corner pocket in the top right of the table. Once it fell in, cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd. Ali yelled as she placed her stick on the table. Serpents were asking to buy her a drink and patted her on the back for her victory. "I would love to stay, but I need to get going." Ali told the new group of people she had just spent a good two hours with.

"Why?" Fangz asked.

"It's getting late and the buses will stop eventually." Ali pointed out.

"One of us can drive you home. Especially with the black hood running around." Fangz offered the new girl a ride, but he really just wanted to feel her holding him from behind.

"I'm an independent woman, I think I can made my way home. Besides, when I get my motorcycle then I won't need to take the bus anymore." Ali pointed out.

"You ride a motorcycle?" Toni asked the girl in front of her.

"Of course! Anyways, I had a lot of fun. You'll definitely be seeing me around." With that, Ali walked out of the Whyte Wyrm and noticed that the sun had begun to set. The sky was covered in orange, pink and purple hues. Ali was a badass, but she always enjoyed a good sunset. "Looks like you'll be coming back again." Ali looked to the right side and saw Sweet Pea leaning up against the wall of the pub. Ali walked over to the tall man. Ali noticed that when Sweet Pea was in a well light area then he was actually very attractive. His hair looked very soft and fluffy. Ali mentally shook her brain; maybe that beer had something else in it? "You wanted me to come back, don't lie." Sweet Pea looked up at the sky as he heard Ali's voice.

"I don't have a choice anymore." Ali leaned against the wall beside him and said,

"You have to be nice to me now, so change the attitude." Ali smirked as she remembered that she won the pool table match.

"You're pretty cocky, aren't you?" Sweet Pea noticed this trait.

"I'm just confident." Ali pushed herself off the wall. "Anyways, this was fun, but I need to get going. I'll see you around." Ali waved her hand as she walked away from Sweet Pea. She never looked back, so she never noticed that Sweet Pea was smirking as he watched her walk away. Now that he was alone, he gladly watched her walk away, but all her words continued to ring in his head even when he decided to walk back into the Whyte Wyrm.

Got ourselves some Sweet Pea showing up now! What do you guys think?