The teens were sitting around the student lounge. "Thank god, Mr. Honey is gone so we can get prom!" Tomoko got everyone around her to cheer.
"While he did have psycho tendencies of wanting to take all the fun out of school. I am sad to see him leave." Abby confessed.
"Me too. He helped me get into college." Fangs nod. "A full-ride scholarship with it."
"He got three other serpents full-ride scholarships too. He was able to get so many of them on the right track to graduation when many didn't have enough credit to be considered a sophomore. They had to work their asses off but because of him they are going to graduate." Abby informs them.
"Did we make the wrong move?" Archie put his head in his hands.
"I don't know. I mean, we could have prom at La Bonne Nuit." Veronica realizes they may have hurt the same peers they thought they were helping.
"Hey!" She leaned forward to tap her brother's knee. "The good doesn't erase the bad. He made everyone think that the school was under attack. He made parents scared to send their kids to school. He made teens scared for their lives. For what? To take away prom, because he believes that any distraction would send a teen into a downward spiral. Good intention doesn't mean bad actions are justified."
"Yeah, that's true." He nods.
"And, he was homophobic." Nancy reminds them.
"Now that I think about it, he was probably looking for any reason to stop the Variety show." Abby realized.
"Oh, can you imagine pretending to be homophobic to stop kids from singing?" Kevin gasps. "I don't know what's worse?"
Cheryl walks in with Toni. "Hello, peers. The Prom Royalty is going to be voted on. Toni and I will be running as Prom Queens."
"Oh, Fangs wants to be Prom King." Kevin pats his date's shoulder.
"Oh, you don't understand. We are not running against each other. We're going to be both Prom Queens, get it?" She said it slowly like Kevin was stupid.
"I don't think you'll get votes with that attitude." Sweet Pea put his arm behind Abby.
Cheryl let out a Disney villain laugh. "No one will be running against us, so it doesn't matter if you vote." She does a hair flip before walking out with Toni.
"What was the point of that?" Dracula looks at the door they exited.
"Just Cheryl flexing as usual." Kevin looks at Fangs.
"Don't worry. It's not that important." He looks at Abby. "It's not." He gave her a pointed look.
"It didn't even cross my mind." She looks off to the side trying to ignore the stare of doubt from everyone in the room. "Okay, it did, but I'm not going to. I just stopped myself from getting to a verbal spar that could have turned physical."
"Oh baby, such good progress." Sweet Pea pinches her cheek.
Sweet Pea and Abby did their daily routine of picking up Tessie and going to the Center after school. Today, the Center was pitch dark. "What the hell? Archie, you were in charge of taking care of the bills this month. You volunteered." She grabbed her phone but stopped when she heard ruffling. She looks around in suspicion.
"Are some of you chilling in the dark? Be careful." She squinted when colors started to glow. There were spots of colors that she realized were handprints of different sizes. "Prom?"
The lights turned on and the kids were holding up the large banner. Her heart melted seeing their large smiles. "Do you want to go?" Sweet Pea smiles.
"Of course." She hugs him. He grabs her chin to tilt her head back to kiss her making the kids scream and pretend to barf.
"It is so sweet that you involved all of them." She squeezed his hand.
"Oh, they had already decided what to do when they came to me." Sweets laughs as he remembers how excited they were to make her promposal special.
"Thank you, guys." She ran over to do a group hug.
Abby walks into the Fred Andrews Community Center with her friends. Her brother was going to fight for a spot at the Naval Academy. He had been practicing nonstop all week. With his criminal record and barely graduating, this was his only chance at going to college. "Oh, that's my mom and her new girlfriend." She stops them to watch the couple interact from a distance. Archie had met her and liked her but she had yet to. She was either at the center or school. She only came home to sleep. "Oh, look at your mom getting with a boss bitch." Nancy could tell from a distance that Brooke was a woman who got things done.
"Okay, I'm ready to meet her." She was nervous to meet the blonde. "No, I'm not. What if she hates me and makes my mom kick me out?"
"They don't even live here." Sweet Pea reminds her that Mary lived in Chicago.
"And everyone loves you." Fangs pats her head.
"Dilton, Tadpole, Ethel, and I'm sure a lot of other people I can't think of." She thought of three people off the top of her head that didn't care for her.
"Abby," Her mom spotted her and they headed in her direction. "Abby, this is my girlfriend, Brooke Rivers. Brooke, this is my daughter Abby."
"Hi, nice to meet you." Brooke shook her hand.
"You too. This is my boyfriend, Sweet Pea. My friends Nancy, Trev, Tomoko, Greg, Fangs, Dracula, and Kraken." She went through her friends. She realized she should have gone with their real name when she saw her face at the last three.
"Interesting nicknames." She was used to guys giving themself cool nicknames in the army.
"Mine is real." Fangs pulls out his ID.
"Ah, look at that." She nods.
"Thank you for getting Archie this opportunity." She gave a small smile.
"Oh, it was no problem. Archie has been through a lot. He deserves it." She smiles. "Your mom told me a lot about you too. I think what you're doing for these kids is amazing."
"Thanks. It's a pleasure to help them." Her smile grows.
"Stop. Stop. Stop. Fight Over." The referee broke them up. They went to their corners to catch their breath.
"Oh god, it's so fricken close." Abby looks at the two bloody and bruised fighters.
"It can go either way." Sweets couldn't tell who landed more punches.
The referee waved for the teens to join him in the center of the ring. He held onto each of their wrists. "Ladies and gentlemen, the first judge has scored the fight in favor of K.O. Kelly." A few claps went around the room.
"Our Second Judge has scored the fight for Archie Andrews." The referee looks at him. The crowd cheered loudly for the hometown hero.
"And our third judge, the commandant, has scored the fight in favor of K.O. Kelly, your winner tonight." Archie hugged his opponent before exiting the ring.
"Oh, Archie." She knew he was frustrated at his future dissolving in front of him. She couldn't imagine what it was like to have it all mapped out for yourself to have a dark hallway of nothing.
Archie was sitting on the edge of the ring, leaning against the ropes. He was surrounded by his people. The commandant came over to talk to him. "You're a hell of a fighter, Archie. I'll tell you what, why don't we stay in touch, and come fall you reapply to the Academy, we'll see if we can't make it happen for you then."
"No, thanks. I'm good." He let out a bitter laugh.
"Archie, don't be disrespectful." His mother scolds him.
"Your blood still boils, I understand, Son." He nods.
"I'm not your son." He pops off the edge of the ring to get in his face. "I'm not applying to your school again." He walks off.
"We are so sorry." Abby bows her head. "We appreciate you giving him this opportunity. We hope that you do keep him in mind."
"I will, young lady." He shook off his shock to nod to her.
After Mary curled her daughter's hair, she pulled half of it back to put it in a small bun and held it in place with purple flower pins. "And, we're done. I'll help you get in your dress." She opened the dress and put it on the floor. Abby stepped in for her mom to pull and zip it up. She accessories with a diamond tennis bracelet, hoop earrings, and necklace.
She steps in front of the mirror to look at herself. She was in a purple satin dress with a high slit and a built-in push-up bra. Her eyeshadow was a pinkish purple. Her cheek brushed in pink blush and her lips were painted in the same color. "I feel like a bombshell." She turned around to appreciate the way the dress made her ass look.
"I was going to say beautiful but bombshell works too." Mary laughed.
"I can't wait for Sweets to see me." She ran for the door when her mom called her back. "Yes?"
"Are you forgetting something?" She held up the white high heels.
"Oh yeah?" She laughed.
"I got it." Mary kneels on the ground to put on the heels.
"Thanks, mom." She smiled.
"We've been through a lot this year. We deserve some normality." She took a picture. "Now, give me a minute to get downstairs. I want to take a picture of Sweet Pea's face when he sees you."
Abby counted to a hundred before leaving her room. She took a deep breath at the top of the stairs before walking down them. She smiles at Sweet's slack jaw and wide eyes when he sees her. "Holy shit, you look stunning."
"Thank you. You look handsome…. breathtaking." She took in his black and white suit. Whatever he used to slick back hair made it look lush. Even his smile and eyes seem brighter.
"You both look good." Tessie went in the middle of them, breaking their longing stares.
"Pictures." Mary held up her camera. They went through a few poses. "Okay, one more."
"Mom, you said one more three times already. Come on, I got to pick up Veronica. If you want pictures of us then we have to go." Archie put Sweets out of his misery.
"Okay, have fun." She kissed both of their cheeks before leaving with her son and granddaughter.
"I… what…" Sweets wasn't expecting that.
"Look at you catching all the Andrew women's hearts." She kissed him.
"Woah, I didn't have to bend down. How high are your heels?" He looks down. "Babe, can you walk in those?" It looked like she borrowed them from an exotic dancer.
"For one night I didn't want you to have to bend to kiss me so I've been practicing." She pecks his lips. She was delighted that it wasn't an obstacle.
"Practice? When? I'm with you all day: at school, the center, serpent meetings, and home." He wonders.
"I've been sneaking out of bed every night for a month and practicing walking around the house for half an hour." She walks around him to prove her gracefulness.
"Babe, that's the sweetest, craziest thing I've ever heard." He smiles. "I hope you know I'm only joking that my back gets sore from kissing you."
"I know, but I've always wanted to do this." She puts her hands on his shoulder and leans forward to kiss him. There was no tugging on his collar, pulling his face down, hopping up on counters or tables. If she wanted to initiate a kiss all she had to do was lean forward.
He pulled back slightly so when he talked she could feel his breath on her lips. "I do like you pulling and tugging on me. Makes it seem like you are in heat over me."
"I do have a heat going on." She put her arms around his neck without having to stretch. "You just got to find it."
"We can be late to prom, right?" He grabbed her leg which was revealed by the slit to hook it around his hip.
"What do you think the high slit is for?" She winks.
"We haven't been able to do it on the kitchen counter in a while." He grabbed her other thigh. She traces his neck tattoo with her tongue as he carries her there.
Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer was playing while Abby and Sweet Pea were dancing at proms. "I think we did prom backward." She smiles.
"I like to think of it as a preview for tonight." He slides his hands down to squeeze her ass before putting his hand on her waist before a teacher sees.
"If that's a preview I can't wait for the premiere." She kisses him. While Sweets missed the desperation of the tugging, he did like that she seemed to be kissing him every five minutes.
Principal Weatherbee stopped the music to talk to his students. "It is my honor to announce this year's prom king and queen." He opened the paper to correct himself. "Actually, make those prom queens. Congratulations to Miss Cheryl Blossom and Miss Antoinette Topaz. Your new prom queens, let's hear it!" They kiss before going on stage with the crowd cheering for them.
"She got it by bullying people." Sweet Pea rolled his eyes.
"I'm pretty sure that's how every prom queen gets her crown." Abby claps, wanting to keep the truce between them.
"Mr. Weatherbee, classmates, tonight Toni and I are being named Riverdale High's first openly gay royal couple. However, no queenship is complete without their court. So would Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones, Archie Andrew, Veronica Lodge…" She looks at Toni.
"Sweet Pea Cannon, Abby Andrews, Fang Fogarty, and Kevin Kelly." She names her people. "Please join us for the traditional promenade court dance."
A giggling Abby dragged a pouting Sweet Pea to the dance floor. She put her hands on his shoulders and swayed with him to Mazzy Star's Fade into You. "Do you think we'll be named prince and princess or duke and duchess?" She teases.
"I would prefer Lord and Lady." He playfully rolled his eyes. Their lips slowly gravity to one another when the music cuts off and the lights turn off.
"Stay close, babe." His grip went from loose to tight as he held her close while looking around for the danger.
"Fangs! Toni!" He yelled. His friends echo back to say they're okay.
The music came back on with a different song, Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads. The screen plays a video of people with masks dancing wildly. A lot of teens storm the floor to dance the same way. "Let's back up." He pulled her to the table they were at.
"What the hell is going on?" Greg stood up from the table.
"I don't know, but I don't like it." She watches the teen throw their limbs around not caring who they hit. The screen changes to a bunch of masked teens in a circle with someone sitting in the middle. The masks were cartoon versions of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Cheryl. The man in the chair is wearing an owl mask with a sign that reads David.
"Who's David?" Abby watches with wide eyes as the teens turn around to stab the man. The tape glitch to a limp bloody David in the chair with the teens dancing around him.
"Cut the damn tape!" Sweet Pea yells springing Betty and Jughead into action. Jughead went up to slam the projector into the ground while Betty turned on the light switch. Betty and Jughead ran out of the gym.
"Was that real?" She looks at her friends.
"I don't know, but prom was ruined." Sweet Pea was hoping for one event to go normally for them.
Sweet Pea and Abby came home to see a tape on their front porch. "Just what we need another tape of our house." She picked it up.
"I wonder what we're doing this time." He rolled his eyes.
They went in to put the tape in. It showed Pops. "You think they mixed up the tapes." She gasped when she saw a male wearing an Archie mask and a man wearing a black hood pointing a gun at his head. He turns the gun to a man wearing a mask that resembles her father.
"Babe." Sweet Pea tried to cover her face when she smacked his hand away. She lets out a piercing scream when a gunshot sounds off and the screen glitches. Fake Fred Andrew was bleeding from his chest with the Black Hood standing over him.
"What's wrong?" Archie came running in from outside.
Abby grabs the remote to turn the TV off. "Don't worry, Archie. I'll handle this." She wipes her tears.
"What's on the tape?" He reaches for the remote but she throws it to Sweet Pea.
"Archie, you've had a hard week. Please, you don't want to see it." She felt more tears coming.
"You don't want to, man. It's not another tape of the house… it's more like the prom." He explains.
"What… is it me killing that guy in the woods?" He huffs, wondering if his night could get worse.
"No… it's not that." Abby turned away from him when she couldn't hold the sob back. She was getting flashbacks of her father being shot and holding him while he was bleeding.
"You have to be fucking kidding me." He grabs the remote from Sweet Pea to turn on the TV. The tape was on a loop. When it was over, he went to his room. The loud banging of him hitting the punching bag sounds through the house.
"Who knew going from a trailer to a house would mean so much drama?" Sweet Pea went to comfort his crying girlfriend.
"What is the point of all this?" She hugs him tightly.
"Babe, we can't understand a psycho." If there was one thing Riverdale taught him, there was no understanding of the insane.