Abby was walking to the Blue and Gold room. It was summer but they were working on a paper that would come out on the first day of school to let everyone know about clubs, sports try out, and other news.
"Hello, Ms. Andrews." Dilton bows to her as he crosses her in the hall.
"What's going on?" She looks at her rival before looking at the blonde teen standing next to him. When she meets his eyes, he bows his head too. "Are you being condescending again? How many times do I have to tell you I don't care about that stupid IQ test? I don't think I'm better than you, so stop being dumb."
"No, I was wrong. You are better than me. I didn't see before what you were but I do now. You're brilliant, kind, beautiful, everything a woman, no a person could only hope to be. I'm unworthy of even meeting your gaze." He stares at the ground in between them.
"Are you feeling alright?" She was concerned for the normally arrogant teen.
"Please forgive me, Goddess." He throws himself on the ground and kisses her shoes.
"Ahh...I forgive you, please stand up." She was embarrassed by the display even though no one was in the hall.
"You do?" He looks up with tears in his eyes.
"Yes, so can you stand up?" She understands he put his whole identity into being the smartest so he was destroyed when she scored higher than him.
"Of course, anything you want." He scrambled to his feet. "Anything you want, don't hesitate to ask." He bows again.
"Same for me." The blonde never moved from his bow.
"Who are you?" She asks.
"You want to know my name, such an honor to be acknowledged by you. I'm Ben Button." He looks up briefly before bowing even lower.
"Nice to meet you, Ben. Good talking to you Dilton." She backed away slowly.
"The pleasure was ours." Ben smiles while keeping his eyes on the floor. She turn the corner, hoping to hear them laugh to indicate they were messing with her.
"You're right it felt so much better now that I have her forgiveness." Dilton put a hand over his speeding heart.
"Now, you can enjoy the game again." Ben pats his shoulder. Abby stood against the wall, wondering what in the hell was going on.
Abby told Trev and Tomoko everything about Dilton and Ben at their Blue and Gold meeting. "He pulled another juvenile prank on you." Tomoko was mad that the idiot would go so far as to scare her friend because he was butt hurt about some test.
"You think so? Then why did they keep up the act when I left." She asks.
"Because the last time he tried to pull something like this he was too obvious and everyone told us that he was behind it." Trev wants to punch the boy scout in the face. The incident he spoke of was the day that Abby opened her locker to find a dead rabbit in there. People noticed Dilton was giggling gleefully.
He got suspended and punched in the face by Archie for that. "I hope so." She hugs her knees to her chest. She wanted to believe it was another stupid prank but the look of desperation when he was down on the floor seems so real. Ben looks ready to kiss her feet also when she asked for his name.
"Stay away from him." Trev wished she could get a restraining order on the guy.
"How much today?" Sweet Pea asked when Abby come home from work.
"A thousand." She pulled out her tips from her purse. "Things are getting so creepy."
"People are giving you money, how is that creepy?" Fangs ask.
"They keep calling me Goddess and praising me for everything I do. There are the oddest compliments. One girl told me that I have the grace of a noble when I put her plate down. We all know that's not true." As if fate wanted to prove her point, she stubs her toe on a leg of the coffee table. She curses as she throws herself down on the couch next to Fangs. "A coworker tried to give me their tips today. Not that anyone is sitting in anyone else's section. A group waited two hours to get to my section."
"Did you become the leader of a cult without telling us?" Sweet Pea jokes.
"Sweet Pea, this is serious." She slaps the cushion.
"A few serpents are at Pops every day guarding it against Hiram's people. We'll get you an escort. For now, we have to take advantage of the good fortune." He reminds her.
"You're right." She hands the money to Fangs. "Is that enough?" Fangs' mother's insurance was canceled recently. She wasn't going to be able to stay in the care home she was in. With her mental illness, she needs to be under constant supervision. He was scared that if she got out she would end up hurting someone or herself.
He pulled out the envelope from the money they had been saving up. He counted it. "Yeah, thank you. She'll be able to stay for a while longer now." He hugs her.
"Don't worry, if things keep going this way. We'll be able to cover it next month no problem." At least all the oddness was going to a good cause.
Abby was fanning herself in the hot courtroom. She was trying to stop from attacking the annoying blonde hag of a DA, who was trying to put her brother in jail for murder. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the evidence, and testimony that was presented in this court tell a dark story. That Mr. Andrews has a history of violent behavior. That he started not one, but two masked vigilante groups. That he assaulted an innocent boy who was helpless with two broken legs. That he went wilding in the Southside of town and threatened to shoot a young man in the face. That while partying with his friends in the town of Shadow Lake, Mr. Andrews ran into the woods and shot the victim, Cassidy Bullock, point-blank in the head. Now Mr. Andrews claims that it was his girlfriend's father's doorman who shot Mr. Bullock. A shot Mr. Andrews claims to have heard, but not seen. Who knows the truth of what happened that terrible night in the woods near Shadow Lake? I'll tell you who. That man. Archie Andrews may be a varsity athlete and he may be a sensitive musician. But he is also... A cold-blooded... Killer." She glared at him as she took a seat.
Her mother walks over to talk directly to the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen, we know, for a fact, that Archie Andrews constantly puts the needs of others ahead of his own. We know he helped to solve the murder of Jason Blossom. We know that he offered both friends and enemies shelter when they had nowhere else to stay. We know that he punched through a river of ice to save the life of his classmate Cheryl Blossom. Let me remind you that there were no witnesses to the actual killing. There was no murder weapon. There was no motive. At the end of the day, all the prosecution has is cloudy testimony from unreliable people. Now, it is my solemn duty as a mother to protect my son. But as an attorney, it's my duty to adhere to the facts, to the evidence. There is nothing here that proves that Archie Andrews is anything less than an innocent boy." She took a seat next to her son.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, the charge is first-degree murder. You may retire to begin your deliberations." The judge bangs his gavel.
The bailiff orders. "All rise." They stood up as the judge walked out.
Abby went outside to get some fresh air with Sweet Pea. She sat down on the stairs of the courthouse and put her head in her hands. "Hey, why are you crying? They could be talking about how innocent Archie is right now." He sat next to her when he heard her crying.
"Are they? Does it matter if they think he's innocent? If Hiram has the Sheriff in his pocket to get Archie arrested then who's to say he doesn't have the whole jury or even the Judge in his pocket." She let a sob rip through her body. He pulls her close to let her cry on his shoulder.
"Hey guys, the judge is calling us back into the courtroom… Is everything okay?" Tomoko gasped when she saw her friend crying.
"Yeah, just me jumping to conclusions and being dramatic." She got up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
"Don't worry, we're going to get great news when we go in there." She guides her back inside. Sweet Pea wasn't so sure, this wasn't his first court trial. Normally when the jury came back fast, it wasn't good news.
After everyone sat down, the judge spoke. "The jury is still deliberating, but I've dismissed them. They're sequestered and I've instructed them not to read anything about this case, nor to discuss it with anyone. We'll reconvene Tuesday morning after Labor Day." He spoke to the crowd before directly looking at Archie. "My advice to you, young man, is to spend this weekend with your family and your loved ones. That's all." His words didn't put Abby's suspicion to rest. Sweet Pea squeezed her hand.
Everyone got up to walk out of the courtroom. Abby walks behind her mother. Sweet Pea blocks the camera from getting too close. Hiram was waiting with the reporter outside. When Archie and Fred walked past him, he shouted. "Hey, Archie. Have a terrific weekend."
Fred turns around to punch him in the face. "Fred!" Mary screams.
"Dad, stop!" Archie and Sweet Pea pulled Fred off of him. A reporter held Hiram back. Abby smiled smugly at Hiram's nose bleeding.
Archie was getting a Serpents tattoo from FP in case he had to go to prison that way he would have an instant ally. "Abby, when I go away I need you to help dad move on. Don't let my room and the garage stay like some kind of shrine." He looks at his sister, who was sitting across from him.
"Can you stop saying when and asking me for favors?" She didn't want to think of life without Archie but it was the only thing he wanted to talk about.
"I just want to prepare for the worst, that way if I do go away I don't have to worry while I'm in there." He was trying to have fun this weekend but he couldn't stop worrying.
"Abby, this is important. When you're in there, you need to be aware of your surroundings and not worry about the outside." FP understood what Archie was going through.
"Archie, I'll take care of Vegas. I'll make sure Betty doesn't over-stress herself. I won't let Veronica fall back in with her dad. I'll make Jughead have some fun once in a while." She named every favor he asked for.
"And dad?" He stretched out his words.
"If you go away, I'll turn your room into Tessie's and turn the garage into a doggy daycare." She would give him what he wanted for the weekend.
"While I'm concerned that you came up with those ideas so fast, thank you." He laughed at her choice for the garage.
"Hey, boy, come to have a look. Might be my best one yet." FP called for Jughead.
"Well, how does it feel to be an honorary Serpent?" Jughead took a seat next to Abby.
"Feels pretty savage, Jug." He looks down at the tattoo that FP was touching up.
"Archie, the first thing I learned at Southside High was that you need to roll with a crew to survive. There are gonna be Serpents in juvenile detention. Find 'em. Sit with them. That tattoo is gonna get you in. But it's also gonna get you protected." He pointed at his shoulder that had the ink.
"Yeah, Jughead's right. Up to a point. That Serpent ink will help keep your body safe but you still gotta worry about protecting this, eh?" He taps his forehead. "I speak from experience. Your mind is the first thing that goes when you're locked up. If you can keep your head on straight, you can get through anything. You just... You gotta keep your wits about you, Red."
"Mommy. It's hot." Tessie came over to climb on top of her lap.
"So, you decided to give me your body heat." She grumbles to the warm body clinging onto her.
"The girls and I want to go swimming. Can you watch us?" She pouts.
"Fine, let's get you changed." She gently pushes her off her lap.
"She said yes," Tessie yelled, getting all the children excited.
"I'm going to regret this." She stretches to get ready to be a lifeguard.
Cheryl was throwing an end-of-the-summer pool party. Abby and her friends were hanging out by the pool. Abby was lounging in a blue marble print bikini. "I got your fruity drink." Sweet Pea hands her a Cheshire Cat tumbler cup that was filled with a tequila sunrise margarita cocktail.
"Thank you." She sips it. He lay down on the lounge chair next to hers. "Stop it." She said when she saw him staring at Josie and Fangs.
"He's going to get hurt. You hear the way he walks about her. She just talks about her music." He glares at the girl who was going to break his heart.
"In Josie's defense, she was clear with her intentions." Tomoko hums in happiness as Trev massages sunscreen into her back.
"He has made it clear that he wants more. If she doesn't then she should break it off already instead of letting him get his hope up." He argue that she wasn't innocent.
"Sweets, you have already voiced your concern. He politely told you to mind your business, so do it." Abby didn't want this to be a big blowup between them.
"So, you're fine with him getting his heartbroken." He raises an eyebrow.
"Of course not. He keeps choosing people who want meaningless flings and getting attached." She was tired of this pattern.
Jughead was walking over to them when he saw Dilton staring at Abby but he was intersected by Fangs. "Jughead! I've been looking for you." He grabbed his arm.
"What's up?" He looks over to see that Dilton was no longer there.
"It's the Ghoulies, Jughead. Those bastards have Hot Dog." He told him what he found out from spying.
They rounded up their friends that would be interested in this and took them into the pool house that was under construction. "Are you sure that this was Hot Dog?" He hadn't seen the dog but he assume it was somewhere with a Serpent.
"Hundred percent, man. They must have snatched him on Riot Night. He looked skinny. I don't think the Ghoulies are feeding him enough." He had the hardest time leaving the dog but he knew he was outnumbered.
"We're lucky those animals aren't slow-roasting him on a grill." Sweet Pea crosses his arm over his chest.
"We have to get him back." Abby agrees with Sweet Pea. They were lucky that Hot Dog was still alive if the Ghoulie had him.
"And we will. What's the plan, Jughead?" Toni looked at their new leader.
"We'd be going behind enemy lines, outnumbered, open to attack from all directions and risking another gang-war. But, no Serpent left behind, right? That includes our spirit animal. Okay, we're gonna deploy after dark. It's gonna be a stealth mission. It's gonna be quick." He nod that he was in to get the dog.
"Jug, last time you went into Ghoulie territory, you were beaten to within an inch of your life." Betty didn't know if a dog was worth it.
"He'll have backup this time." Cheryl knew what that dog meant to Toni and Abby.
"And we're gonna be quick, Betty. They won't even know we were there." He reassured her.
"Well, then I'm coming with you." She wasn't going to let him go without her.
"No." He shook his head.
"No. Don't you dare tell me that it's too dangerous, Jug. The Serpent Queen is a warrior queen. If you're on the frontlines, so am I." She held her head high. Abby looked over at Sweet Pea in question that she was the Queen of the gang when she wasn't an active member. He wave his hand to say he would explain the privilege that came with being the other half of the leader later.
"Okay." Jughead nods to her before looking over the group. "Let's bring Hot Dog home, shall we?"
"I can't listen to him whining anymore." Abby's heartache at Hot Dog being chained up.
"It's been an hour and no sign of anyone. What? Are we waiting for someone to show up?" Toni looks at Jughead.
"You ready, Abby?" He asks.
"Since we got here." She nods. It was agreed that she be the one to grab Hot Dog since he listen to her best. Two people were against it but ended up reluctantly agreeing.
"Alright. Sweet Pea, keep a lookout." He hands her the bolt cutters.
He nods, not completely comfortable with her going in. Abby walks with the bolt cutters. She opens the fence. Hot Dog starts letting out excited barks. "Hush Hot Dog. I'm going get you out of here." When she clips half of the chain, a bunch of work lights came on. Jughead ran to her side.
"Hiya, Jonesy. Welcome back to the Southside." Penny walks out with Malachi and the Ghoulies to surround them. "I thought this mangey mutt might get you to show up."
"Bitch, the only mangey around here is that shit on your head and if I'm guessing between your legs." Abby seething after seeing Hot Dog. He was so thin she could see his ribs and hips. He had an embedded collar and was covered in fleas and ticks
"You need to learn to control bitches, Joney." Malachai looks over the prize that should be his.
"Funny, because Penny seems to be giving all the orders, which means you're being controlled by a bitch." She put her hand on her hip and cocks her head. Malachai was getting excited with the idea of taming her.
"Crap, she's out for blood." Sweet Pea knew that stance well.
"I told you she wouldn't be able to handle seeing him like that." Fangs glare at the girls in the bed of the truck.
"I got her." Cheryl stood up with her bow and arrow ready.
Jughead covers her mouth and pulls her to his side. "We are not here for trouble, Penny. We're here for the dog."
"If you didn't want trouble, why have you been sending spies all summer, trying to get into our business? Back off. Unless you want a replay of Riot Night." She would be happy to do it.
"Yeah, I've been sending scouts. I was looking for Hot Dog. Now that I've got him, we're good." He grabbed the bolt cutters from her.
"Not so fast. Your jacket... Southside isn't yours anymore. That means you're no longer the Southside Serpents." She wanted to take his pride.
"Really, Penny? A jacket?" Jughead glares. Hadn't she taken enough from him?
"We could always just take it off your limp dead body. Oh, I also heard Ponytail a Serpent now, your Northside queen. Maybe we'll go after her next." She took a threatening step towards them.
"God, under these lights, you look terrible. You're wearing too much makeup, it ages you. I bet you're early 40 but you're looking late, like pushing 50." Abby grimaced at getting a closer look at the blonde.
"I'm in my early thirties, you annoying fat brat." She looked back at Malachai. "Are you sure you want this one?"
"Oh, definitely." He bites his bottom lip.
"Thirties? She said she's in her thirties, Jughead, do you believe that?" She looks at him.
Jughead clenched his jaw, he wanted to laugh but it wasn't the time or place. "Look, you can have the jacket as long as you and the Ghoulies stay out of the Northside." He went to shrug it off.
"Oh, you don't get to make demands." Malachi was in the middle of marching over to them when a red arrow hit him in his shoulder.
"Cheryl!" Jughead looks back to yell at her for not waiting for his signal.
"I promise Abby blood for what they did to Hot Dog." She shrugged like it was no big deal.
Abby smiled and waved as a thank you. "That's it. Just kill 'em all." Penny orders her army.
"Cheryl, aim your next arrow right between Penny's eyes." Jughead orders. Penny put her hand up to stop them. "You and your Ghoulies take one more step, she's gonna release that arrow. Cheryl doesn't miss."
"Congratulations. You've just made the Northside fair game." She let him know this wasn't over.
"Fuck off, hag. You were always going to come for the Northside." Abby grabs the bolt cutters. "So fucking pathetic, you could be making good money as a lawyer but instead you're wasting your college degree kidnapping a dog and threatening an innocent girl. All for a man, who is using you so he doesn't have to get his hand dirty." She grumbles loudly while walking over to cut him loose. She exploded from the dumb petty bullshit that Penny wanted to dish out. She had real shit to worry about like Archie's case and the weird behavior she had been getting from a lot of her peers.
After Hot Dog was free, he put his front paws on her stomach to get pets from her."Enough, Abby." Jughead yelled. "We're getting Hot Dog back."
"Come on." She pats her leg as she walks to the truck. Hot Dog ran to be at her heels. Jughead follows them while keeping an eye on the Ghoulies. They got into the bed of the truck and Sweet Pea took off.
"See you soon, Jonesy." Penny waved when the car drove off so Cheryl had to sit down.
Monday came along and they were back in the courtroom. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" The judge turns to the jury.
"Your Honor, we haven't. We're deadlocked. Six-to-six." A jury member announced making chatter go through the courtroom. "And it's not gonna change."
"So be it. The jury is dismissed. Thank you for your service." He nods to them. They walk out.
"Now, we have to go through this again." Abby wanted to pull her hair out.
"At least this gives you guys more time to prove Archie innocent." Trev tried to make her feel better.
"How? The real killer got murdered himself. Hiram is not going confess and I'm sure he got rid of the gun a long time ago." She was tired of everyone telling her that he was going to get off. This whole case was circumstantial, it all fell on 12 people's opinions on her brother.
The DA stood up. "Your Honor, in lieu of another trial, the State is prepared to offer a deal for a lesser sentence. Instead of prison, time served plus two years in juvenile detention, if Mr. Andrews will plead guilty to the crime of manslaughter."
"Your honor." Mary stood up to reject it.
"I'll take the deal." Archie shot out of his seat.
"Archie, no." His friends and family shouted at him.
"We have to discuss this." His lawyer's advice.
"Mom, I can't put you and everyone else through this again." He turns to the judge. "Your Honor, I accept the deal."
"Son, just so I have it straight, though it's legally within your rights, you're ignoring the advice of your counsel, your mother." He didn't believe this. He wasn't sure if the boy did it either.
"Yes, Your Honor. I'm guilty." He nods.
"Mr. Andrews, the court accepts your plea of guilt. You'll be taken directly from the courthouse to the Leopold and Loeb Juvenile Detention Center, where you will serve out your sentence beginning immediately. This court is adjourned." He bangs his gavel.
"I'm sorry, Mom." He was sorry that she wasted so much time on his case when she could have been making money on another.
Mary didn't care about any of that. She hugs her son tightly, not knowing the next time she will be able to. "I love you so much." She let him go when the officers came to handcuff him.
"Look, we're gonna get you out of there, bud." Fred was doing everything he can not to cry.
"I love you, Veronica." He said as he was being escorted past her.
"No, no, no. You can't take him away! He's innocent. He didn't do anything!" She tried to run after him. Betty pulled her into a hug.
Abby stepped in front of them. "He's my brother, can I please give him a hug." She had tears in her eyes as she begged the officer.
He looked back at the judge, who nodded his head. "Okay, but I'm not letting him go." The officer gave her the best he could.
Abby took it without hesitance. She hug him tightly as she cried into his chest. "I'll do everything you ask Archie I promise."
"I know you will, I love you." He kisses the top of her head before the officer yanks him away to take him beyond the doors.
Mary was on the way back to Chicago ready to write up an appeal. FP and Mr. Keller were staying over to keep an eye on Fred. "You don't have to do that right now." Fred watches his daughter put a leash on Vegas. Tessie was next to her.
"Don't worry, Mr. Andrews, I'm going with them." Sweet Pea thought his worries were about it being nighttime.
"Abby, don't overwork yourself." Fred knew his daughter well. Whenever she was stressed she kept herself busy until she drop of exhaustion. When Mary left she gave the house a make-over. She painted, rearrange furniture, and redecorated. He finally put his foot down when he found her sleeping in the garden.
"I promise Archie I would take over the ranges for him. So, when I get back I'll be making noise in my room, depside the fact that the garage is soundproof." She walks out the door with Tessie and Sweet Pea.
Tessie put on soundproof headphones so she could listen to the soundtrack of Frozen. "It's funny, I was mad at him a few months ago for standing next to the Lodge. I wanted to laugh in his face when they stabbed him in the back. Now I feel empty." She cried all the tears that were in her. She was ready to take on the roles he wanted her to.
"He knows he was wrong and you guys work it out. You don't have to feel bad about that…I just can't believe Archie did that." He grabs Vegas's leash when he tugs towards the park.
"I can. I would probably do the same if I was in his situation." Abby was the only one not yelling at him in the courtroom.
"What? You would give away your freedom when you know you're innocent." Sweet Pea turns sharply to look at her.
"I wouldn't want everyone to go through the stress for something that is not guaranteed. Two years is better than life, which he could have got for murder. He'll be out before he can even drink legally. He can get his GED there or even get a trade." She couldn't see this as the end of the world.
"How can you be so positive?" He thought she'd be freaking out.
"Because what choice do I have? Appeals take forever, hell they can sometimes take years. All I can do now is wait for him to get out and help him get back on his feet when he does." She needs to hold down the fort for him.
"You Andrews are martyrs." He let out a big sigh.