"How did the campaign go?" Toni asked. They were waiting for Jughead to start the Swords and Serpents Club meeting.
"Horrible. One guy even said he's voting for Hiram Lodge." Abby let out a big sigh. She and her brother went door to door campaigning for their father. "Archie was making things awkward by staring into every men's eyes."
"Why is he trying to find a new sugar daddy, since he and Hiram are on the rocks?" Sweets chuckle with Fangs and Toni following.
"He's for sure the Black Hood is back." She said, making the laughter stop.
"Okay, guys," Jughead called for everyone's attention. "War Baby called my father and me from Shankshaw. Our old adversaries, the Ghoulies, had been released. Word on the street is that they want Serpent blood. They're gunning for a re-match. They want war."
The Serpent was letting that sink in when the door was slammed open and in came a pack of angry bulldogs. "Which one of you reptiles was screwing Midge Klump?" Reggie was leading them.
"What the hell is going on? This is a private meeting." Jughead walks to stand in front of the Serpents.
"I'm guessing it was you, Sweet Pea." He pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Reggie, that's enough," Archie whispers to him.
Abby grabbed Sweet's arm to be brushed off as he went over to confront the bulldog. "You ass, I didn't even know Midge. But yeah, I get why she wouldn't want fleas from you mangy Bulldogs!"
"Reggie, no!" Archie yelled. Reggie charged him, Sweet Pea fought back. Toni rolled her eyes as Archie and Jughead pulled them apart.
Abby grabbed Fang's shaking hand. "Can you not act like an animal, Reggie." She glares at the teen.
"I'm an animal? He was sleeping with Midge behind your back and killed her so you wouldn't find out." He went on with his crazy theory.
"He was sitting next to me for the whole play." She didn't understand his grudge against Sweet Pea. They went on two dates. She called it off before she knew that Sweet Pea was interested in her.
"They're a gang, right? I'm sure one of his pals did it for him." He looks at Fangs.
"Get your bulldogs out of here, Archie." She hisses.
"You know what we will get out of here, but you better remember you're a Northsider. You're a vixen, you're meant to be with a bulldog." He leads his teammates out of the room.
"I'm a human who can be with whoever I please." She yelled at his back.
"There is no talking sense to that idiot." Jughead let go of Sweet Pea.
"So, now we have Ghoulies and Bulldogs to worry about." Toni sighes.
"We'll get through this together," Jughead reassured the room.
After the meeting, Fangs asked Abby and Sweet Pea to stay back. "Jughead has me and Midge on film."
"What?" She shouted.
He hushes her. "He came in when we were in the middle of fooling around. We pulled away from each other. Jughead didn't notice at the time but I think it was obvious."
"Shit." Sweet Pea curses.
"You have to get Jughead to delete the footage." She tells him.
"Do you think we can trust Jones to not go to the cops?" Sweet Pea was never sure about Jughead. Sometimes he wanted to do things by the book and other times he was willing to get his hands dirty.
"This is Hiram's Sheriff, there is no way he would risk Fangs coming clean to that guy. He knows they would love to pin this on a Serpent." Now that Lodge was the police Abby didn't think Jughead would be so willing to work with them.
"I don't know, Jones is unpredictable." He wasn't sold.
"Going to Jughead is the only option we got." Fangs didn't see why they were arguing about this.
"We could always break into his place and steal the film." Sweet Pea gave another option.
"Yeah cause that's not suspicious." Abby rolled her eyes.
"We'll call that plan B." Fangs pat his shoulder.
Abby walks down the stairs with an overnight bag over her shoulder to see her dad taking a note off the door. "What's that?"
"Nothing." He tried to hide it behind his back but she grabbed it from him.
"You're Next, Sinner. Dad, this is from the Black Hood." She tried to slow down her breathing.
"Maybe. It might be some prankster." He tried to convince himself and her.
"I don't think that something you risk. We need to call the cops." She didn't know why he wasn't willing to protect himself.
"I will now go to your sleepover." He nods to her bag.
"I'll cancel." She reached into her back pocket for her phone.
"There is no need for that. Now go." He pushed her out the door.
"So, what's up with the emergency sleepover?" Abby asked Fangs. They were in the kitchen along with Sweet Pea. Tessie was playing outside with the other kids.
"I talk to Jughead. He already gave the film to the cops. He tried to get it back but they wouldn't give it to him. They are going to go through it frame by frame. I want to spend as much time with all of you before I have to go." He tried to hold back the tears.
"Fangs, you don't know if they going to arrest you off of that." Abby knew she was only convincing herself.
"They'll arrest you. They'll try to make it stick but we will do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen." Sweet Pea assured him.
"What are we going to tell Tessie?" He asked.
"Tell me what?" They turn to see the little girl.
"That you have to bathe before you can make the pizza." Abby made that up on the spot.
She pouted. "I can't just wash my hands."
Sweet Pea nudge Fangs. "She can bath while we wait for the pizza to cook. She's going to get dirty making it anyway."
"Alright, let's wash our hands and we can get started." She pretends to give in. After everyone washed their hands they made their pizzas. Tessie insisted on making a dessert pizza. It was made of chocolate sauce and cookie crumbs. She was calling it the cookie monster pizza. Sweet Pea made a meat lover. Fangs made a supreme. Abby made an alfredo chicken mushroom pizza. While it baked they took turns taking baths. They had a Scooby-Doo marathon while eating their pizzas. "Tonight, was so fun. I like watching your guy's old cartoons." Tessie smiled.
"It's not that old." Sweet got defensive. He was only in his teens, he wasn't old.
"Sure thing." She smiles, tilting her head.
"Don't mock me." He gasps at her sass.
"Tonight has been great." Fangs laughed.
Abby was shaking as she watched the video of Fangs and Midge separating as Jughead open the door to film them for the documentary of the play. "What the hell? What kind of new Sheriff do we have?" She knew it had to be an officer who leaked it.
"We have to get you out of here." Sweet Pea looked around at everyone glaring at his friend.
"Attention, students. This is Principal Weatherbee. I need Fangs Fogarty to come to my office immediately." The intercom announced.
"Shit." Fangs curse. As they walk towards the exit, they bumped into Jughead. "What the hell? That video's everywhere! How did it get out?"
"We have to get you out of here." Jughead couldn't let the bulldogs find him.
But, he was too late, they were charging towards them. "You're dead, Vixen killer!" Reggie yelled.
When they turn to head in the opposite direction, they were faced with the new Sheriff and a few cops. "Mr. Fogarty! We need you to come with us."
"I didn't do anything." Fang looks over his shoulder to see the bulldogs. Realizing he was cornered, he tried to run. Sheriff Minetta caught and threw him against the lockers. As they tried to get him in handcuffs, his switchblade fell out of his pocket. When the police saw that, they threw him to the ground.
Abby cried and screamed for them not to hurt him. Toni held her to stop her from running to them. Jughead was barely able to hold Sweet Pea back from helping his friend.
The police picked Fangs up and dragged him out of the school. "What are you going do, Jones?" Sweet Pea glares at the teen who swore he couldn't let anything happen to Fangs.
"We have to get him a lawyer." Abby wipes her tears.
"We burn that bridge with the snake charmer." He never felt regrets like this before.
"We don't need her." Jughead didn't regret anything. "I'll get Mayor McCoy to help us."
"I hope he uses his right to remain silent until you can get her there." Abby hoped it was soon because Fangs must think he's alone in this right now.
Abby walks into the garage to grab a soda from the fridge. She frowned when she saw her brother and the bulldogs. "What is this the part where you guys circle jerk to vandalizing small businesses?" She opens the can as she glares at the unwelcome guests.
"We were celebrating Fangs' arrest." Reggie shrugs.
"That's not something to celebrate, you idiot! He didn't do it." Archie yelled before his sister could which surprise her.
"Archie, he had a knife on him." Kevin pointed out.
"If you pull over anyone on the Southside, you're going to find some type of weapon. It's a dangerous place to live. I got a can of mace, so if someone gets sprayed, should I be arrested?" Abby still had the can of mace she got from the Ghoulie on her first day of tutoring at the Southside.
"He was caught being intimate with her just before she died." He tried to give Fangs a motive.
"If intimacy is a motive Kevin then maybe you should be in that jail cell." She gritted her teeth.
"Okay, we're not having this argument." Archie put his arm out to stop her from getting closer to Kevin. "The Circle is officially disbanded."
Reggie stood up to get in Archie's face. "That's not your decision to make, dude. You're not the one paying us. Hiram is."
Abby let out a bitter laugh at Hiram being behind this. Kevin shook his head at Reggie spilling the beans so easily. "Wait... Mr. Lodge is paying you?" Archie was shocked. He couldn't figure out why he would want the bar to be trashed.
"Yeah. He's the one that suggested we go out and have a little fun. Said you might've started the Dark Circle, but it was mine now." He pointed at his chest.
"Alright, everyone with a letterman jacket and ignorant opinions can get the fuck out." Abby opens the garage door.
All of them had the decency to walk out without meeting her eyes, except for one. "Why? Is your snake boyfriend coming over?" Reggie stops in front of her.
"Yeah, I'm going to let him take all the aggression he wants to take out on your face, on my pussy." In his shock state, she was able to push him out and slam the door.
Abby and Archie were standing off to the side of the stage of her father's debate with Hermione Lodge. "Welcome, one and all, to tonight's Mayoral Debate." Alice was the moderator. After the applause calmed down she went on. "Jumping right in. Fear and unrest rule the streets. Hermione Lodge, how would you restore safety to the town?"
"Well, we're already making strides, Alice. My husband and I personally recruited Sheriff Minetta from Centerville after Tom Keller resigned. Not one week on the job, and he's apprehended Midge Klump's murderer." Hermione answers. Abby scoffed loudly, although it was drowned out by everyone's hooting and howling.
"Fred? Rebuttal?" Alice turns to him.
"We don't know if he's the killer." The crowd booed him. "All I'm saying is let's not call for blood until we've had a trial. What does that say about us, about Riverdale?"
"You talk about not calling for blood, Fred? Are you aware of a group called the Dark Circle?" Hermoine asked.
"No, I'm not." He answers.
"Then let me enlighten you. The Dark Circle is a dangerous, radical group that traffics in terror, violence, and street warfare. It's a group... started by your son, Archie." Abby glares at Archie for once again letting the Lodge use him to hurt their father. "Now I ask you, Citizens of Riverdale... How can we trust a man to run a town when he can't even keep his own house in order?" She fired the cheapest shot she could.
"Oh, my God! It's the Black Hood!" Veronica pointed at the balcony. Archie shove his sister, so she was on the ground behind the curtains before tackling his father to the ground.
There were gunshots, screams, and loud footsteps echoing throughout the room. "Shit, Sweet Pea, Tessie!" She got up to get off stage to where they were sitting in the front row.
"Are you crazy? Get your ass down." He grabs her arm and shoves her to the ground with him and Tessie. He felt like his heart was going to leave his chest when he saw her standing in shooting range. He held them close, shielding them from any bullets that could come their way. Abby felt stupid for inviting them, for believing the police had the place secured.
"I'm so sorry this happen." She hugs Tessie.
"Why would someone want to hurt Grandpa?" She looks up with tears in her eyes.
"You know better than most that some people are twisted. They believe their morph version of reality is right." Even though some words were too complicated for the little girl to understand, she got the meaning. The Black Hood was like the Nuns.
Sweet Pea watch from the couch as Abby had to read three books to get her to go to sleep. They went into the bedroom, so they wouldn't wake her. "Do you think this means they'll release Fangs?"
"Unless the Sheriff can make something stick in an hour they have to let him out." Abby had been keeping a count down on her phone.
"There already protestors outside, so I'm gonna go down there with the Serpents. You stay here with Tessie, in case she has a nightmare." He gave the game plan.
"Okay, be safe." She squeezes him tightly.
Abby was in the kitchen making the shrimp gumbo and biscuits that Fangs always got thirds of. She glances at Tessie sleeping soundly in bed. She sighs, happy that someone could get some sleep tonight. She grabbed her phone when it rang, not wanting to wake her. "Abby, Fangs got shot," Toni told her.
"What?" She croaked out.
"Reggie shot him in the stomach. You have to get to the hospital." She cried.
"I'll be there." She felt like she was floating as her body moved on autopilot. She cleaned up the kitchen. She carefully carried a sleeping Tessie over to Ms. Shapely before going to the hospital.