That weekend, Dad and Archie were going to a music thing-y at the park to see Miss Grundy and a few others perform. Dad asked if I wanted to tag along, but I said I wouldn't be caught dead there. So now, here I sit in a booth at Pop's, next to Jughead, as he vents about the drive-in closing.
"The drive-in closing, is just another nail in the coffin that is Riverdale…no, forget Riverdale, in the coffin that is the American dream. As the god-father of-of-of Indie cinema Quentin Tarantino likes to say…"
"Please, Jug, no more Quentin Tarantino references," I said, and sighed once he stopped talking.
"What? I'm angry—and not just about losing my job. The Twilight Drive-In should mean something to us. People should be trying to save it."
Then Veronica spoke up, and asked, "In this age of Netflix and VOD, do people really want to watch a movie in a car? I mean, who even goes there?"
"People who want to buy crack," I said, as I stared at her from across the table.
"And cinephiles, and car enthusiasts. Right, Bets?" he looked to Betty.
At that, she looked up from her smoothie and said, "Totally."
"Anyway, it's closing because the town owns it, but didn't invest in it. So when an 'anonymous buyer' made Mayor McCoy an offer, she couldn't refuse…" Jughead said, as he stared out the window.
"'Anonymous buyer'? What do they have to hide? No one cares," Veronica said, with a confused and utterly bewildered look.
Jughead instantly looked at her with an annoyed squint of his eyes, and said, "I do! Also, you guys should all come to closing night. I'm thinking…American Graffiti. Or is that too obvious?"
"I vote for anything starring Audrey Hepburn. Or cate Blanchet," Veronica said, smiling.
Then Kevin said "…Or, The talented Mr. Ripley. Betty, your choices?" I looked at her, and she seemed to be zoning out, staring at her smoothie.
"Everything okay, B?" I asked, uncertain.
She nodded at me, and said, "Yeah, I'm just thinking. Um…maybe Rebel Without a Cause?" she suggested. Jughead gave her a look and they both snickered. Then Mrs. Lodge came to our table and handed out our orders.
"Here you go, kids."
"Thanks, mom," Veronica smiled, and then Mrs. Lodge smiled and walked away.
Mrs. Lodge went to Cheryl's table to take their check. But as she reached for it, Cheryl put her hand on the check, stopping her, and said, "Make sure you put all of that cash in the register. You are a Lodge, after all, and Lodges are known to have sticky fingers." Then veronica shot out of her seat, and walked over to them.
"Cheryl..." Veronica warned, standing by her mother's side.
"Honey, I got this. Cheryl, I went to school with your mother. She didn't know the difference between having money and having class, either," Mrs. Lodge said. Then she took the bill and headed to the register. Veronica came back to our table with a smug look on her face after Cheryl rolled her eyes.
After a few seconds, Kevin looked over our shoulders, and said, "Now, that's an odd combo of people." I looked behind us, and saw Dad, Archie, and Miss Grundy walk in.
"Yeah, my dad wanted to thank her for doing such a fine job with Archie," I said, and gave Jughead a look. He sighed, and slumped back in his seat.
"I'll be right back," Betty said, standing up.
I panicked at that, and said, "No, Betty." I tried to stop her, but she got up and went to their table and talked to Archie for a minute. Then they got up, left the shop, and went outside.
"Wait, what's happening?" Kevin asked, and I sighed. Then Jughead and I swiveled in our seat, and looked outside.
"What's happening out there? Do we know? Is it about me?" Veronica asked, sitting up.
"I have a strong inkling. And, no," Jughead said, yet again annoyed.
"Also, I'd let it go," I added. Then I peeked outside and saw Betty talking to Archie.
"Yes, but you're you, and I'm me. You do you, girl, I'll be back," Veronica said. Then she got up, and made her way out there, too.
"What was it like before she got here? I honestly cannot remember," Kevin stated. I sighed, slipping deeper and deeper into my seat. Once Veronica appeared by their sides, Archie became even more annoyed as he was trying to pacify them both. A few minutes later, I saw Alice Cooper pull up in her car, then Betty got in, and they drove off.
I walked into the student lounge the next day, and saw Veronica and Kevin talking. I went to the vending machine, and heard Kevin say, "It's this quintessential rite of passage, making out with your boy or girlfriend at the movies."
"Why don't we go together? I can't promise you action, but maybe I'll bring you good luck."
"Great, another night, another hag."
Veronica chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. I sat next to Kevin on the couch and ate my peanuts. Not a moment later, Cheryl walked in and said to Veronica, "Speaking of hags…" I had tuned her out, but once I heard her say, "…it's just that I saw her talking to a Southside Serpent last night, in the alley behind Pop's," I nearly choked on my nut, looked up at them, and listened to the rest of their conversation.
"They were having an extremely heated, intimate discussion." Cheryl pulled up a picture of Mrs. Lodge and the serpent they were talking about on her phone, and said, "See for yourself."
I got up and looked at it. It was a picture of Mrs. Lodge and an older, scruffy, tall serpent. The second I saw it, I knew who it was. I sighed, and then Cheryl put it away, smiling, and walked away.
"Who or what, is a Southside Serpent?" Veronica asked it like she had just tasted soap for the first time.
Then Kevin spoke up, and said, "They're this gang of bikers who pretty much stay on the Southside of town. And thank goodness, because they're kind of dangerous—drug dealers and petty thieves."
I rolled my eyes, and said, "I wouldn't worry about it." Then when they looked at me, I added, "I mean, she grew up here, and went to school with some of them. She was probably just being friendly." I tried to reassure her, but she still wasn't convinced when I left them.
After school, I drove to the Southside, and went to the Whyte Wyrm. The second I walked in, it felt like everyone's eyes were on me. Some of the older Serpents seemed to remember me, but the younger ones had no clue who I was. But I kept walking, looking for FP. I stepped up to the bar, and asked the petite brunette behind the bar, "Hey, is FP here, by any chance?"
She raised her eyebrows at me, and asked, "Who's asking?"
"Can I please just talk to him?" I asked, annoyed. She sighed, and whispered something to another Serpent, and he disappeared up a flight of stairs.
"Why do you need to talk to him?" she asked, with an award-winning monotone voice. I looked around before exposing my tattoo, and once she saw it, she smirked. Then she walked away, farther down the bar, to fill another beer.
"Alexandra?" I heard behind me. I turned around, and saw FP standing feet behind me, with a confused expression.
"FP Jones. I never thought I'd see you again," I said, smirking.
"Yeah, me neither, kid. Why are you here? You in some kind of danger?" he asked, with his hands in his back pockets. I sighed, and got right to the point.
"Cheryl Blossom showed me a picture today at school," I started, hesitantly. His face grew even more confused, so I went on. "It showed you talking to Mrs. Lodge behind a dumpster at Pop's. What were you talking about?" He scoffed at my words, and stepped away. But once he turned back to me, he stared at me for a few seconds.
"Come with me." He led me back up the stairs, and into his office. It was a pitiful excuse for one, if I ever did say so. The room in total was probably only the size of my kitchen. It was just big enough to fit a bookcase or two, and his desk with two chairs in front of it.
He didn't say anything until the door was closed, and he was sufficiently leaning his butt into the side of the desk. "Hiram and I had some business." It looked almost like it pained him to say anything at all, and maybe it did.
Confused, I asked, "So what? Now that he's in jail, you went to Hermione to do what? Shake her down for some cash?" My arms were crossed over my chest as I asked it, and then he, uncomfortable, mimicked my position with a heavy sigh.
"Basically. That all?"
"You know? Usually when you say 'basically', it means you're hiding something," I said, slowly. If he gets mad at me, he isn't going to tell me squat, and kick me out.
But he did the opposite of it, and said, "He paid the Serpents for a job. But he didn't pay up before he went to jail. We were merely discussing price." I eyed him a moment, trying to detect any traces of bull or lying, but I didn't find any. So I nodded, and then left without another word.
When I got home, it was nearly midnight, and I had to go in through my bedroom window because, like an idiot, I forgot my house keys. I climbed up the trellis, and walked across the roof until I got to my window, and then slowly opened it. I climbed in, but then my foot got caught on the window sill, and I fell to the floor with a thud. I rolled onto my back, and said, "Well, that was an overreaction."
I got up, and dusted off my pant leg when Archie flew in the room not a second later. He stopped at my presence, and asked, "What was that noise?"
"My shirt fell," I said, matter of fact.
"That sounded too loud to be a shirt."
"I was in it." I stared at him sheepishly.
He instantly became worried, and asked, "Are you okay?
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Why are you up so late?"
"Uh, I was about to go to a friend's house to watch some movies. Why are you up so late?"
"Research."
"Uh-huh." He nodded, and then he left, and I sighed. Crisis averted. Then I heard the front door close, and I went to the window, and looked. Sure enough, Archie was walking down the driveway, away from the house.
"Shoot," I said, as I ran to my dresser, grabbed my phone, and texted Betty. I know she knows about Grundy, so I told her Archie was likely going to her house tonight, and that if she was going to do anything drastic, this would be the time. She replied after a moment, and said…
Betty
12:14 a.m….
okay. We need more proof to convince Archie than hear-say.
Me
12:15 a.m….
I agree. And I have a plan. Meat me outside in ten.
Betty a.m….
okay.
I sighed, dropped my phone onto my bed, and changed. It was colder tonight than I thought it would be, so I changed into jeans, a black turtleneck and my sneakers. I walked outside, and saw Betty waiting by the end of her porch. "Ready to go?" I asked, as I approached her. She nodded, and then we were on our way.
I didn't know exactly where Miss Grundy lived, but I had the street name, so I just looked for the green bug outside of a house. As we turned the corner, I saw the car parked outside of a house. The lights were on in the living room, so we crept up to the car, backs bent down, and cautious. Betty went to the driver's side, as I went to the passenger's side.
"The door is locked," Betty commented, as she pulled out a long and slender rod from her purse.
"Wait—what in the inferno ring of despair is that ungodly thing?" I asked, while she shoved it in between the glass and the door.
"My dad had a few extras in the garage."
"So much for letting this go," I mumbled, and she shot me a glare over the hood of the car. "How do you even know how to do that?" I asked, in disbelief.
"My dad and I fix cars together. Thank goodness she drives an old..." she said, right as we heard a loud click. She snuck a devilish smile my way, and I gave a roll of my eyes as she got in. She leaned over the console in the middle, and opened my door for me. I quickly snuck an aerial view of houses behind me before I got in, heart racing.
"Okay, before going any further, if I'm committing a felony, I need to at least ask the question. Are you doing this because you still have feelings for Archie, or…?"
"No, Alex. We're doing this because Grundy has Archie under some kind of sexual spell, and he won't listen to reason. We're looking for anything that proves Grundy is not as clean as she says she is." I sighed at her words, but started to look around anyway. I checked under the mat, in the console between us, and in the cubbies and compartments under the dashboard.
Everything was clear, so I turned to see what Betty had just pulled out of the back seat. She held a small metal box in her hands as an obvious light bulb popped in her brain. She then reached her hand out, and said, "Bobby pin."
"Okay, Ms. Gyver," I said, as I handed her a bobby pin that held the loose hair at the back of my braid. Once she had it, she instantly bent it in half with her teeth, and went to work on the lock. A minute later the box popped open, and she smiled at me.
"I learned that from the Nancy Drew Detective Handbook." I ushered her on, given the light in the living room had just gone off. She quickly said, "Okay," and then opened the lid, and started to look through it. A moment later, she pulled out a driver's license.
"Jennifer Gibson?" she asked in disbelief, as she handed it to me. I took it, and eyed it. It had her picture, and right next to it held the name 'Jennifer Gibson.'
"Jennifer Gibson? Who the inferno is Jennifer Gibson?" I asked, confused.
"That's not the only thing," Betty said, cautiously. I looked over, and saw she was pulling out something else from the box. As it emerged from the tin box, I gasped in disbelief. It was a gun.
After our scavenger hunt in her car, we walked back to my house, staying by the road. We had just gotten to my mailbox when we heard, "Oh, gosh." I turned around, and saw Archie walking to us. Once he got to us, he asked, "Please, tell me you're not still on this crazy witch hunt."
"It's not a witch hunt, and it's not crazy. We were just in Grundy's car…" Betty tried to explain.
He cut her off, and asked "What? You were in her car?"
"Yeah, and thank goodness we did…we found a gun," I said, staring at him for a reaction.
Instantly, his eyes grew wide, and he asked, "What?"
"…And an ID with the name Jennifer Gibson. This is proof Grundy is not who she said she is," Betty said, with an exasperated use of her hands to emphasize her point.
"Then who is she?"
"Obviously some sketch-queen named Jennifer Gibson," I said, and Archie glared at me.
"Archie, what if she had something to do with Jason's murder? She taught him, she made you lie about him, we know she was at the river on July 4th, she has a gun," Betty tried to convince him, but I knew he was nowhere near budging.
"So does Dilton Doiley, but you never thought he killed Jason," Archie said, as he tried to walk away.
"Open your eyes, Archie. Jason was her student last year. Everything about her is a huge, boldfaced question mark," I said, pleading to him with my eyes to open his own.
"Okay, well whatever her name is, she's not a killer." He turned to leave, but Betty stopped him.
"You didn't ask her, did you? About her name, and why there's no record of her before last year?" Betty asked. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Why not?" she asked, and he looked at her, making her feel like she was an inch big. Then he just shook his head, and went back inside.
The next morning, I walked downstairs, and someone knocked on the door. I opened it to reveal Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. "Oh uh, hi. What can I do for you two?"
"We were hoping to speak with your father before he left for work, is he around, Alex?" Alice asked, smiling.
I smiled back, and said, "Yeah, he's uh, he's in the kitchen. One second." I held up my finger, and then slammed the door back in their faces, yelling, "Dad! The Cooper's are at the door! They want to talk to you!"
"Okay. Uh, thanks, Alex," Dad said, as he made his way to the door. Then he opened it as I shimmied back to the kitchen. Archie sat at the island, eating a piece of toast when I walked in.
"Hey."
"Hey," he said, his voice flat, nerve-ridden. "Hey uh, can we take a walk? I need to tell you something." He came to stand by my side at the fridge, and I simply nodded.
"Wow, Arch," I said, in shock as we slowly walked down the street. He had just finished telling me Grundy's back story. And it was awful. Apparently, she had an abusive husband. When she ended up in the emergency room, she left him and moved to Riverdale last year.
"Intense, right? That's why she has a fake identity and keeps a gun."
"It still doesn't make what she did to you ok, Arch," I turned to him, concern lacing every word.
"She didn't do anything to me, ok? Alex, you have to accept that. And I'm all she has right now."
"You're in over your head, Arch," I said, shaking my head with obvious dread. "You're in this relationship with this person who is cutting you off from everyone else in your life. Just think about what you're doing, Arch. Not only for your sake, but…for Miss Grundy's…is this really what's best for her?" I asked, as we stopped.
He gave me a look that said he just dropped a mental brick in his proverbial shorts. All the way back home was complete and utter silence.
That night, I was up in my room trying to figure out what to wear. Fangs texted, and asked if I wanted to go to the drive-in with him and a few 'friends' as he put it. It isn't like I'm trying to find something to make him like me, even the thought of that almost made me puke. Fangs is like the little brother I never had. I'd be lost without him, and he'd be lost without me.
After another ten minutes of punching myself, I decided on my fish nets, black leather skater skirt, and then my black, long sleeved shirt with roses on the chest and a rose mesh for a left arm, and right collar bone. I grabbed my leather jacket, and ankle boots, and went to the drive-in.
I pulled up by the other bikes ten minutes later, and cut the engine. As I got off, I heard my name being hollered from behind me. I turned, and instantly smiled. Fangs was turned in his chair, waving me down from where he sat with the Serpents.
I felt a pang of something hit my chest as I started walking to them. Maybe it was just the fact that I wore something that slightly showed my Serpent tattoo. Or, maybe it was the pride I felt every time I thought of the Serpents. Knowing I got to call myself one of them made a surge of power rush through me like no other. I knew, deep down while I saw them laughing at each other, that this, these people, were my true family.
As I approached, Fangs got up, making a gesture to the others, and said, "This lovely lady is Toni," pointing to a smaller teen with brown and pink streaked hair. "And then we have Joaquin and Piper," he listed, pointing to the two Serpents to the right of Toni.
"And then my overall bestie, as you know," he finally said, stepping toward the biggest teen, closest to my chair, "Sweet Pea." The man named Sweet Pea just snorted a laugh, and adjusted in his chair. Then Fangs sat back down, and I sat down, in between him and Sweet Pea as the movie got underway.
About halfway through, Veronica felt like she had enough of the Serpents through their popcorn, and shouting, so she did something that made me chuckle.
Veronica got up from Kevin's truck then, and shouted, "Hey! You know what happens to a snake when a Luis Vuitton heel steps on it? Shut the heek up or you'll find out!" Then everyone applauded her, and she bowed, and said, "Thank you." She sat back down, and I rolled my eyes.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but when I was with them, I felt pure, whole. Like I could be myself for the first time. I could laugh until my heart's content at Fangs' stupid jokes, or the way Toni would playfully push his face out of her way. How Sweet Pea and Fangs would arm wrestle and Sweet Pea would instantly win, or just being around them in general. And I never wanted it to end.
When the movie was over, Toni got up, and instinctually took everyone's trash, and put it all in the recycler. She always seems to act like a mother to them, picking up the trash they leave behind, or when they would disagree, she would find a common ground and make them stick with it. It impressed me to some degree, but all that was happening, I'm sure, was just that she didn't want a huge mess left behind.
"Hey," Fangs said, as he walked me to my bike. "Want to come back to The Wyrm with us?" he sounded hopeful, but doubted my acceptance.
"I would love nothing more than that. But…my dad—"
"Say no more. I got it. But hey," he playfully smacked my arm, and said, "maybe next time?"
"Definitely," I said, as I nodded. He nodded himself, and then said goodbye as he joined the others. I looked to the left where they were talking, and waved the others goodbye. Toni, Piper, and Joaquin waved, but Sweet Pea just stared at me. When I met his eyes, he didn't look away. It was like he was holding me in some kind of trance; I couldn't look away no matter how hard I tried. After a moment, he smirked, and raised his beer when I pulled out of the parking spot. I was so shocked; all I did was nod as I drove away.
All the way home, I couldn't get the look he gave me out of my mind. The way his lips curved as he smirked, the way his brown eyes melted into mine. Every time I even thought of anything to do with the Serpents now, all I did was think of HIM, and my stomach flip-flopped at the action.
When I got home, I saw Archie and Dad hugging in the drive way, while Archie cried into his shoulder. Later, I learned that Alice and Betty drug Dad to the music room at school, and showed him that Archie was with Grundy. Then, she was forced to leave to keep the piece with the Coopers. I feel for Archie's pain, but I warned him this was coming, so…joke's on him. I walked into my room and collapsed onto my bed, and stayed there until morning.
I didn't know it then, but the weight I felt on my shoulders, would never compare to the weight yet to be felt in the weeks to come.
