Four of us sat out on the patio, sipping Pop Shoppe sodas my dad smuggled in from Montreal. It was Alice, Betty, my father, and me. A bunch of members of the Southside community came to ask questions and welcome Alice back. Some even asked if she was going to date my dad, who laughed and said he still considered himself to be very much so married to my mother even if she lived a whole state over. Alice wasn't thinking about dating my dad either so she wasn't offended by his answer.

Other than that, things were quiet. My dad didn't even ask questions, he just came over with a bunch of things the ladies might need. It was like those kids were saying the other day. Even though she abandoned them, southsiders take care of their own. They resented her for it as little as they resented me for not going to Southside High. As an aside, we really weren't creative when it came to coming up with school named in this town.

Eventually, dad suggested we leave. He didn't say it but I knew he meant that we should give them privacy to talk this out. I laid on my bed while dad started preparing a dinner in the first time in months. I guess this was a big occasion for him. For us. There was no food in their abandoned kitchen so they were going to come to ours. I don't know how we even had food in our kitchen that wasn't ready made, but somehow my dad did it.

Maybe tomorrow when things calmed down a bit we would have a neighbourhood BBQ. I was starting to grow comfortable with everyone here in the Southside community. Maybe I would take the jacket that was in my backpack after all. The whole school practically hated me by now anyways.

I was peering at it inside the opened backpack and FP glanced over. "The boys gave you that, right?" He went to the closet and grabbed his own, then sat across from me.

"Jughead, we're not bad people. We do what we need to in order to survive. I'm not gonna lie, I wanted better for you. I wanted a house and a white picket fence and maybe a college education so I enrolled you at RSS instead of the one here on Southside. Archie was there so I figured you'd be fine, but things aren't fine are they. Hell I'm pretty sure Chuck must have lit the drive in on fire with how much he seems to target you right now."

I started laughing. "I called him Charlie Brown the other day. He was already out to get me, but I called Chuck Clayton Charlie Brown."

"Not sure if that was brave or just stupid, Jug. But to get back to my main point, you're mature for your age and I know you don't always sleep at home so I'm trusting you to make your own decisions. I won't shield you anymore. If you want to join, then join. If you don't, then don't. No pressure. You'll Be the best son a guy could ask for either way. And that goes for transferring to Southside High if that's easier on you, too."

I guess Betty wasn't the only one having a heart to heart with a parent right then. I pulled it out of the bag. It was a cheesy moment but we agreed to both put on our jackets at the count of three. One, two, three. It looked good and felt even better. Almost like more of a home than these four walls, but not more of a home than the two arms of Betty Cooper.

We heard a knock on the door and dad went to let the two Coopers in. She saw me and froze near the doorway before I could even think to fling the jacket off. I felt like I had been caught doing something I should not have, and she looked flighty. This was all too much for her and I was instantly filled with regret. She bolted and I chased after her. I found her sitting against the chain link fence that separated the trailer park from the forest behind it.

"I get that my grandma used to be in a gang and my mom was in this gang for a while, but I didn't want you to be in a gang. We're still so new, Juggie, and I'm so afraid. I've been crushing on you since Archie started ditching me for Veronica. It's you, and I always go to you. Blue and Gold? I go to Jughead. Third wheel of a date? Jughead. I didn't think you liked girls but you've always shown an interest in me and I thought maybe I could be the exception but now I don't know. What if this breaks us?" Her makeup was all over her face and I pulled her into me and held her face in my hand, looking her right in her gorgeous but watery eyes.

"You are the exception, Betty. Never been interested in anyone else but you. Please don't cry, have faith in me. I won't let this tear us apart. This will be for the best. Being a snake offers protection. We take care of each other. We need people on our side. A civil war is breaking out and I will do anything to keep you safe. I almost lost you once, and I don't intend to again." I pressed a light kiss to her lips. A promise that I meant every word that I said. It was getting dark out now, though, and I saw her shivering. I handed her my new jacket.

There's this unspoken rule that having a girl wear your varsity jacket basically made her your girl officially. Now I didn't have a varsity jacket but I did have this, and damn did it ever look good on her. I was more than hot enough now to not need the thing on the walk back, anyways.

FP and Alice were awkwardly chewing on their chuck steak, mashed potatoes, and cream corn when we came in to join them. The two exchanged looks as Betty was still wearing my jacket and smiling at me. I gulped, hoping Mrs Cooper didn't want to kill me. She looked like she was fine with it but looks can be deceiving.

"I was thinking about checking out Southside High tomorrow. Might be best to lay low for a while," I said. Betty bit her lip.

"Mom, can I go check it out, too?"

Alice froze. "Is school unsafe for you?" Betty nodded.

"Someone vandalized my locker and suggested I should be hung or maybe burned at the stake... That's why Jughead came over after school, because I didn't want to be alone."

"I guess you can go, but keep Jughead with you. I may have been a Serpent once, and they still seem to treat me like one of their own, but it's okay to be a bit suspicious. My mother was in a gang, after all, and it turned out they were involved in the death of your great grandfather, of whom we got the last name Cooper from in his passing."

"The Serpents aren't the Scorpions, mom." She visibly paled.

"And grandma isn't as bad as you make her out to be."

"You mean wasn't."

"No, mom, Jughead accidentally found her and we went to talk to her. Dad said he betrayed his family by being with you before we left, but really you betrayed yours first. You know, all of a sudden I'm not very hungry. Did you want to show me your room, Jug?"

She grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the seething dragon left behind. I was a bit embarrassed. I think the last time I had somebody other than family in here, I was 7 and having a sleepover with Archie before our dads started fighting.

I had a poster of Spiderman on one wall and one of Batman on the other. I had a record player on a nightstand by my bed with a bunch of records in their sleeves scattered below it. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Monkees... Betty grabbed that last one and put it on. I'm a Believer played in the background and I sat on my bed with my back against the wall. Betty snuggled up on the bed with her head in my lap, calming down to the cheesy love song.

A/N: somehow this chapter got skipped, but it was in my queue. Explains the sudden jump in story.