𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓇

In a small trailer in Sunnyside Trailer Park, a young girl woke up into a nest of vipers. Blind for their true nature, she stepped into the ring with her eyes wide open. After all, the abandoned daughter still sought sunshine inside the creatures of the night.

+ + + +

As the sun brought a new day, Nellie woke up to the smell of burnt toast. She scrunched her nose as she stretched on the couch. Her elbow hit the armrest, awakening her enough to hear the scramble in the small adjacent kitchen.

"Goodmorning," she heard a hoarse voice mumble. Nellie immediately stirred and her eyes shot wide open. Clutching the blanket closer to her chest, she sat up. As her eyes grew accustomed to the new day, she vaguely made out a figure, hunched over the counter.

In the small kitchen, Jughead was drinking a glass of milk. He observed Nellie over the rim of his glass. His beanie perked proudly on top of his dark hair.

Before she could respond anything, Jughead left the counter and strolled towards her. "My dad is not here. He's looking for a place for you to stay."

He sat down in a worn leather couch in front of her. An awkward silence fell into the room when no one dared to speak.

"Thanks for letting me stay here," Nellie replied, fidgeting with the ruffled edges of the blanket.

"Don't thank us yet," Jughead mumbled, tearing his gaze away from Nellie. His expression didn't reveal anything that would clear his remark. 

Nellie frowned to his response. Upon her reaction, Jughead shook his head, a smile creeping in the corner of his lips.

"You have no idea in what kind of nest you are, do you?" Jughead said, lifting his glass of milk for another sip. At her silence, Jughead returned his eyes to her.

Observant, he watched the young, unknown girl. Her short hair was formed a misformed halo from her sleep. His father's t-shirt hung loosely over her frail figure. Her dark brown eyes were filled with questions and doubts.

"We are Serpents," Jughead explained "a gang that rules the streets of Riverdale's Southside. We are not the kind of people you want to meet in the dark." At his last remark, his face turned grim.

"You mean to tell me I shouldn't accept the help you guys are offering me?" Nellie replied, feeling a chill running over her bare arms. The revelation that the kind man of the diner was actually part of a gang, didn't bother her as much as it should. Perhaps living on the edge for the past few months had dulled her sense of danger.

"I mean, you should be careful since a gang doesn't offer you help without wanting something for it in return. A price needs to be paid," Jughead answered her, twirling the milk around in his hands.

"And what would a gang want from me?" Nellie scoffed. The revelation of being in a gang member's home, stirred her imagination to anything cruel she knew about gangs. As a child, she remembered watching old black and white movies with her mother, although she never really understood her mother's obsession with gangs and mobsters.

A poor girl from New York couldn't offer a gang anything of value, she thought.

"That's what I am asking myself since last night," Jughead confessed "That's why I need you to tell me exactly who you are."