I never thought I could feel so good walking into a North side high school. Or walking into any high school, ever. But it felt like I was springing from step to step, swaying a little as I reached my locker. It was almost directly across the hall from Archie's. But it didn't bother me. Not right then. How could it? I woke up this morning feeling like I'd been given a shot of something. Though I wasn't dressed in pastels, it felt like I might as well have been.

I'd come downstairs only to receive a text from my snake emoji contact, asking if I wanted a lift to school. Originally I thought it was a bad idea. But when I began to reply, stepping out the front door, I found my favorite South Side Serpent on his motorcycle at the end of the driveway, waiting for me. And I haven't stopped smiling since. I didn't notice when Jughead arrived beside me at my locker. But his voice pulled me from whatever dreamland I'd created.

"Hey, Diana," he greeted, in his usual not-a-morning-person-tone. But then it changed to one of confusion as he added, "What did you pour into your Cheerios this morning? You look like a walking Drew Barrymore movie."

My eyes shifted to his face as I gave him a look, sliding my English textbook into the locker. "I didn't take anything."

"Well, then, someone slipped you something, because the only time I've ever seen you smile like that was at your cousin's sixth birthday party. When we were nine."

"I met someone," I admitted, turning to my locker.

Jughead was quiet for a short pause. "Didn't you just break up with Archie?"

"Jug, really? Come on. You're gonna slut-shame me now? Archie didn't even love me," I pointed out, glancing at him again.

"And I take it this new one does?" he exhaled after his rhetorical question, then crossed his arms as he dropped his back against the next locker over. "Who is it? Honestly, I really don't care as long it's not Reggie. Or Chuck." I finished with my books and paused. Telling Jughead just yet who I was setting my eyes on wasn't the best of ideas, given all of the horrible ways it could go wrong. FP would be furious. So I held that information to myself.

I shook my head. "Not saying. Can't jinx it."

"What? He at least goes to this school, doesn't he?"

It was another rhetorical question. Because he 'knew' I was going to say yes. But when I didn't, and instead folded my lips into my mouth in an almost guilty expression, his features moved more and more into a look of disbelief. Saying my name as though I'd secretly eaten the forbidden fruit. "Diana."

I hiked up my shoulders, shutting the locker door, and turned to face him. "What do you want me to say, Jug?"

"I don't know. I mean...where did you even meet this guy if not at school?" he questioned, interrogatively. "He is in high school, right?"

A smile spread across my lips as I realized the emotion on his face. We began walking down the hall as I replied. "Awe, you're like one of those dads on an eighties sitcom," I patronized, teasing in a mock sweet tone. He rolled his eyes, making a pfft, but he smiled a little, too. "We met at Pop's. Don't worry, Juggie. You'll get to meet him eventually and you'll see he's not as bad as the version of him you're creating in your head right now. I promise."

"And you're sure you can't give me his name?" he tried again, narrowing one eye in a hopeful expression.

I snatched the beanie off his head. "You're just gonna have to do something no other heterosexual, white male in this country can seem to do, and take 'no' for an answer."

My hands pulled the beanie on my head at an odd angle and I made a face. He laughed at that, but I could tell he was still unsettled. Our smiles and laughter ended too soon. And the only reason was because of Veronica Lodge. She suddenly walked up to us, right in the way of our path to Algebra, and my happiness almost completely flew out the window. But I kept my chin up, shoulders squared, and pretended like I didn't care where she was standing.

"Veronica," I said, with disinterest. "What's causing you to breathe my oxygen this morning?"

I could feel Jughead's eyes on me as he took back his beanie, situating it atop his head. But I didn't care. I folded my arms over the notebook I pressed to my chest, waiting for Veronica to grow a back bone and tell me what I already knew. "Diana, I want to...apologize, for what happened at Cheryl's party," she said. She looked regretful. Did I care? Not as much as I know I should have.

"Archie made his choice a long time ago," I resigned, exhaling. "You were just a new piece of meat with a nice flavor."

"Whoa, okay, dial it back a notch, will you?" Jughead said, looking only at me.

He was chuckling a bit nervously with his words, a failed attempt at making it light-hearted. My eyes were on Veronica. Then I rolled them after seeing her pathetic excuse for a sad and apologetic expression just as the bell rang. "If you'll excuse me, I have better things to do with my time," I concluded, nodding once. I walked around her, my shoulder nudging hers as I passed, and I kept going toward the Algebra classroom.

I didn't care that day what my words would do. All that had mattered to me was how I felt. This was the South side Diana. I welcomed her with open arms over night, like an absent friend i'd been saving a seat for, and it was already starting to take effect. This was what I wanted. Everyone else just had to stay out of my way. In Algebra, the only open seat was right next to Archie. I took it but I didn't dare look in his direction. Not after testing out what I was capable of on Veronica.

"Good morning students, this is your principal speaking," Principal Weatherbee's voice came over the PA, and my eyes shifted skyward. "There have been many inquiries about the upcoming pep rally. So let me state clearly, it is happening as scheduled. Now, on a less felicitous note, if you could give your attention to Sheriff Keller."

"Most of you already know the details, but your classmate Jason Blossom's body was found late Saturday night. So as of the weekend, Jason's death is being treated as a homicide. It is an open and on-going investigation," Sheriff Keller spoke next.

Then, as abruptly as a bull in a China closet, Cheryl's voice blasted over the PA. "And if I may interject, neither I nor my parents will rest until Jason's death is avenged, and his cold-hearted killer is walking the green mile to sit in Old Sparky and fry," she said. That was about the point where my forehead hit my palms. "I, for one, have my suspicions. Hashtag Riverdale strong."

After a short pause, Sheriff Keller returned. "If you know anything that could help us find and apprehend Jason's killer, or anything about what happened to him on July fourth, I strongly urge you to come forward immediately. You can speak with me or Principal Weatherbee. A death like this wounds us all. Let's not let Jason down."

As class started, that's all I could think about. That last sentence from Sheriff Keller. Let's not let Jason down. That's all I did. That's all I'm doing. Cheryl and I already made a pact to keep it a secret for as long as possible. To cover over the ugly truth about what really happened on July fourth. How we were both there. How Jason walked away. How we never heard from him again.

Pulling back on the reins with my left, I readjusted my stick in my right. "That was good, you guys," Coach Daniels said, from the side of the arena. It seemed that those words were spoken too soon. Lewis crossed the wrong stride. I felt Indiana tense beneath me before it happened but I didn't have time to brace for it. She put on her proverbial brakes and slid like a reining champion, causing my chest to slam into her neck as her back half slid slightly beneath her—all of this to miss running into Lewis.

With one hand available to fix this situation, I nearly tumbled right out of the saddle. My foot slipped from the stirrup as Indie kicked up her back hooves to regain her standing position after the slide. "Diana! You okay?" Jessie called, not far off behind me.

"I'm good," I assured, breathless when Indie finally came to a stand.

"Lewis, what did I tell you about crossing the inside line?" Coach Daniels spoke loudly enough to be heard across the arena. "Diana, are you sure you're alright?"

I nodded quickly, just as Jade was slowing from a trot to my left. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'll walk it off."

"Sorry, Diana!" Lewis hollered.

Exhaling, readjusting my position in the saddle, I slid my foot back up into the stirrup. "I think that was the gnarliest parkour I've ever seen you do," Jade commented, chuckling a bit. "You're gonna feel that in the morning, for sure." I nodded in agreement and cued Indie into a walk. She was breathing a bit fast, too. A walk was probably the best thing for both of us.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Everyone take a break, cool down the ponies, and get them in the stalls," Daniels instructed.

We were all relieved when she said practice was over. Jessie and Lewis looped their cool down tracks in time with mine and Jade's after a moment, and we were quick to learn why. They had ulterior motives. "Hey, guys. We should all go to Pop's tonight," Jessie suggested, sounding bubbly from just behind me and to the right. "You know, like a Polo team group hang out. Who's in?"

Jade and Lewis agreed, saying they both had pretty much nothing better to do. But, if we were all being honest here, none of us really did. And then I remembered I had plans. Plans to go to Pop's tonight at seven with Sweet Pea. I told Ben that I was going to a study group tonight and he extended my curfew to eleven. "I'm sorry, guys, but I can't. I have a date tonight," I apologized.

"A date? With who?!" Jessie practically shrieked in excitement.

What can I say? She was a freshman. Jade only looked over at me with a sly smirk and a pair of knowing eyes, eyebrows risen on her forehead a bit. "Is it with Mt. Biker McDreamy?" she asked, rhetorically. The only person on the team I'd told about Sweet Pea was Jade. And when I say told, I mean gossiped to her until at least three hours past curfew every night since he first walked me home.

Jade knew everything. Probably a lot of things she shouldn't have known. I could hear Lewis make a loud pfft as all four of us made an awkward scramble out of the turn back toward the barn. "A biker? You can do so much better, Diana," he said, with a light-hearted tone. Twisting in my saddle, I smiled at him with a closed-mouth.

"Thanks, Lewis. But he's actually not that bad," I said, before facing forward in my saddle again. "We were supposed to go to Pop's at seven."

"That's perfect. You can just hang out with us until he gets there," Jessie proposed.

"We're only going to show up at, like, six-thirty, so you'll only have us for roughly thirty minutes," Jade assured, jokingly.

There was no way this went my definition of well. But I agreed to it. After getting Indie to the barn and tying her to the hook just outside her stall, I took a second to send Sweet Pea a text explaining the change in plans. That I would meet him at Pop's at the agreed upon time because I had a school group going on at six thirty. Except, I used much less formal words. Then I slid my phone away, and started taking the tack off of Indie.

I had time to shower—thankfully—and change into a clean pair of jeans and a batman t-shirt before heading to Pop's at six-thirty. I'd looked longingly at my Serpent jacket, the poor thing once again forgotten on the back of my chair. But I knew I couldn't wear it no matter how badly I wanted to. Not now, and I don't know if ever in the future. Instead I put on a light cloth jacket and hit the road. The walk was nice for the first thirty seconds.

And then the Ginger Bread Man attacked. He came down from his driveway onto the sidewalk as I was passing and I died a little inside. "Hey, Diana," he called, running over and then falling into step with me. "Where are you headed?"

"Away from you," I answered, simply.

He sighed, "Look, Diana, I know we broke up. But I'm still worried about you. Jughead mentioned something about you acting weirdly at school today? Is everything okay?"

"I appreciate the attempt, wannabe Troy Bolton. But I'm fine. Better than fine, actually. I'm going on a date."

"A date?" Archie's expression cork screwed into one of confusion. "With who?"

"Not your business, Andrews," I shook my head slowly, keeping my eyes forward.

"Diana, I'm sorry-"

My head snapped left so fast I thought it would snap right off. "You broke my heart, Archie. You don't get to say that. Especially not with the reason we broke up. Just go back to writing songs about how terrible your little jock life is and stay away from me."

He exhaled, but kept his eyes forward and his mouth shut. We walked up the street for a little while in silence. Then he said a pathetic 'good luck' and jumped this sinking ship of a conversation to turn back and go home. He was smart that way. Archie always knew when to drop it when I was angry at him or refusing to give him the time of day.

But this was more than that. This was me specifically tell him to get lost. I'd never felt so empowered than I had after he left. I slid my hands in my pockets and carried on in my quest to make it to Pop's alive. Thankfully for me, I made it just after six-thirty. The gang was talking outside when I arrived. Jade waved me down and I hopped into a jog to get to them faster. "Hey," I greeted, joining the group. "Sorry I'm late."

"No worries, we just got here," Jessie shook her head. "Let's go inside, guys!"

She practically bounced up to the door, pulling it open and holding it for the rest of us as we filed into the diner. The topic of conversation was on Whisper—Lewis's Polo pony—and the problem he was having keeping weight on him as we slid into the first booth available, on the right side of the aisle. With the Polo team, we were responsible for a lot of decisions and provisions involving our mounts. One of our responsibilities was feeding after practice.

Jade and Lewis sat opposite of me and Jessie, and I made sure to get a seat where I could see the door. Though I still had twenty-five minutes, I was almost shaking in anticipation of his arrival. Honestly, I just wanted to see him again. A whole school day without seeing his face made me feel restless, and I didn't like it. After a short moment, a waitress came to our booth. Her name tag said Hermione and I knew with a touch of dread that it was Hermione Lodge—Veronica's mother.

When your legal guardian is close friends with Hal Cooper, you hear things walking around that big empty house. It didn't matter to me whose mother she was. Veronica's mother didn't hurt me and my relationship—Veronica did. So I smiled brightly at her and held out my hand. "Hi, I'm Diana Cassidy," I greeted, introducing myself. "Welcome back to Riverdale."

She smiled back, her expression one of slight surprise, shaking my hand. "Oh, thank you. I can't say I've gotten such warm receptions from other residents. Ones a lot older than you."

"Yeah, well, Diana's a kiss-up, so," Lewis shrugged across the table.

Jade smacked his upper arm with her unused menu and he grabbed his arm as if it hurt. Hermione only chuckled at our interactions. "Well, either way, I appreciate it," she said, mostly to me. Then she looked to everyone together. "Now, what can I get for you four tonight?"

The three others all ordered the same thing, Jade ordering last. She and Lewis were still glaring at each other a bit, but we all knew it was just play. I didn't order anything yet. There wasn't a need to. Hermione wrote down on her notepad, then looked up to see me. "Are you not eating, sweetie?"

"I'm just waiting for someone else," I shook my head a little. "I've got ten minutes of slumming it until my date gets here, then I'll be eating."

I chuckled a little, and so did she, and she went to the front counter. Once she was gone, I forced myself to make a frown. If anything, just to prove to myself that I could still do it. That South side Diana hadn't left me yet. Being that nice to a stranger was North side Diana's favorite thing to do. Because that's what good girls do. I relaxed my features and glanced up at the door. "Someone's anxious," Jessie teased.

Making a pfft, I looked away from the door, and instead looked at the group. "When was the last time you got asked out?" Lewis asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. I had to think about that question for a moment. Archie and I never really did anything like this. We didn't go to Pop's on an actual date type of dinner. We usually only did it so that he, Jughead, and I could all hang out after school or on weekends. I shrugged up one shoulder, "A year, maybe?"

"A whole year?" his jaw dropped, along with his menu, slapping the plastic onto the table top with a loud smack. "What were you and Archie doing for the last year and a half of your relationship?!"

"School, work, separate summer plans," I shrugged bother shoulders this time.

Just then, right when Lewis was about to speak again, the bell above the door chimed like a sound from heaven. My heart lurched into my throat and my eyes instantly flickered up. It was him. His eyes found mine and his lips curved into their signature smirk. He was wearing his leather Serpent jacket this time. I'd decided then it was my favorite look. I glanced around at my friends in the booth. "Sorry, my date's here," I apologized, speaking quickly, moving to get up. "Gotta boogie."

As I slid out of the booth, I heard Lewis whisper to Jade, "Did she just say 'boogie'?"

I ignored it. Mostly because Sweet Pea was almost to me during prime comeback time. So I walked the four steps it took to meet him, sliding my hands onto his cheeks as he leaned in for a kiss, reciprocating the gesture without hesitation. It hadn't crossed my mind that my Polo team was getting an eye full. It hadn't mattered. All that mattered was that I could feel his skin again and he was holding me against him with his strong arms around me.

He tasted like cigarettes and spearmint—a combination that sounds fairly odd, but was steadily becoming my favorite flavor. When we parted, I was smiling like an idiot. "I missed you," I tilted my head, speaking sweetly, like a love-struck puppy.

"I missed you, too."

Sweet Pea placed another quick kiss on my lips before we fully parted. We sat in a booth closer to the back to allow for some privacy from my nosy Polo teammates. I slid into the booth seat facing away from the door and he slid in next to me. He put his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him. "I didn't know you ride horses," he said, an air of surprise to his tone. "How long have you been riding?"

"Ever since I moved to the North side—so about two years, give or take," I answered.

He readjusted his position, leaning back a bit more in the booth. "I've never really been a sports fan. But I might have to drag myself to the North side sometime, watch you play." That was the first thing that surprised me, caught me off guard. Archie was always too busy for things like Arena Polo. Either that, or he secretly wasn't interested and didn't want to go.

I smiled, tilting my head back against his shoulder to look up at him. "I'd like that," I agreed.

He tipped his head an inch, took my lips between his softly. Not a second after, a feminine voice interrupted, causing us to part. "Can I get anything for you love birds?" Hermione asked. Her smile seemed strained to me. I hadn't been around this woman enough to know for sure at the time. But it was true. Her eyes remained mostly on me when they weren't on her notepad. And the times her gaze flickered toward Sweet Pea were brief.

When she left with our order, I twisted a bit to look up at Sweet Pea. He didn't seem bothered by her obvious gestures of disapproval. I supposed if you lived as a Serpent long enough, you became accustomed to the disapproval of the masses. After a second of me staring, his eyes shifted left and caught mine.

His lips broke into a smile as he chuckled once, "What?"

I shook my head, smiling back at him, "Just admiring the view."