𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

𝒻𝒾𝒻𝓉𝓎-𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓇

"Cheryl, come with me," Jughead suddenly said. He had just left the phone booth and started dashing up the stairs. Sweet Pea followed, curious as to why Jones was leaving.

"What's going on?" he heard Cheryl ask before they went outside on the parking lot.

"Penny's got Toni." Jughead explained, already seated on his bike. "We're going over there to make a deal. I need you to be my back up."

Sweet Pea already shook his head. "I should come with you. This is no fight for a girl." He was already making his way towards his own motorcycle when Jughead stopped him. 

Jughead held up his hand as he indicated Cheryl to take a seat behind him. "This is not a fight at all, Sweet Pea. This is a negotiation. I need Cheryl because she's one devil with her bow and arrow. That will be enough to intimidate Penny and Malachai."

"Malachai?" Sweet Pea breathed out. As if it wasn't enough that Penny had betrayed the Serpents the first time, she had now decided to team up with their arch enemy. Even worse, that meant that Toni was currently under the mercy of the Ghoulies. Sweet Pea balled his fists at the thought. 

"Yes, now, I honestly don't care about all this background information. If Toni's kidnapped, we need to get her now." Cheryl insisted, her helmet already covering her vibrant red hair. Jughead put on his own helmet and revved the engine, eager to leave. 

Before driving onto the deserted road, he took one last glance at the tall Serpent "You wanted leadership? Take care of the Serpents while we're gone. Don't do anything stupid, Sweet Pea!"

+ + + + 

The night kept on going for an eternity, Nellie thought as she watched another victim drag himself and his bloody nose to the front desk of the hospital. It had felt like hours since she was forced to stay here and watch over Fangs but the clock on the wall told her it was only 4 in the morning. 

Four hours had passed since Sweet Pea had left the trailer in a rush to release Fangs. Four hours since the Serpent had been shot. Nellie started pacing the cramped waiting room. Four hours for any kind of operation was a long time. She wondered what the hell they were doing in there. She'd heard Fangs had gotten shot in the stomach, but could that truly cause so much damage that an operation of over three hours was needed? 

A familiar voice echoed through the hallways. 

"I don't care how busy it is tonight, my friend needs help right now," a firm voice boomed. Curious, Nellie looked around the corner only to see a familiar blonde haired housemaid reprimanding a very tired nurse. 

"Waverly?" 

Her former colleague looked up in annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

"Probably the same as you. Taking care of a friend," Nellie said, hugging herself as she made her way over to the blondine. She had never forgotten how the girl had once saved her from Kowalski's grip. Although they weren't exactly friends, Nellie would be forever grateful for her intervention. 

"Those riots outside are killing me," Waverly let out in a breath, relieved that her friend was being helped once another nurse came to fetch the boy. She ran a shaky hand through her bright blonde curls. 

"What happened?" Nellie asked, sticking her chin in the direction of the leaving patient. 

"Some Serpent douche kicked his ass." Waverly said, shrugging. Unease fell over Nellie. She was now a part of the Serpents. Her boyfriend was a Serpent. Somehow the gang was responsible for many injuries tonight. Was there anything she could say to make it up to Waverly and her friend?

"Are you certain it was a Serpent?" Nellie asked, looking at her fingers to avoid eye contact. 

"Of course I am. They spray-painted a snake on the garage. Those thugs should've stayed on their side of town."

"It's not all their fault really," Nellie said, trying to make Waverly see their side of the story. "One of the Serpents was shot tonight. By a Northsider." 

Waverly shrugged. "Does that give them the right to destroy the town?" Nellie uneasily shook her head. Her former colleague was right to a point. Nellie bit her lip and averted her gaze. In the corner of her eye, an intimidating figure dashed through the hallway, dodging patients and nurses with ease. 

Her eyes fixed on the brown uniform of Sheriff Minetta as he passed her without noticing her and headed straight to the back of the hallway. She couldn't help but feel suspicious when he paused and glanced around before entering an office. Nellie bit her lip in thought. Her gut told her something was awfully wrong. 

"Do you want some water?" She suddenly asked Waverly who was now viciously biting her nails and reading some crumpled poster on the announcement board. 

The blonde girl looked weary but nodded nonetheless, "Sure."

Without second thoughts, Nellie turned on her heel and followed the Sheriff's footsteps all the way to the back of the hallway. The door to Doctor Martens' office was closed but she could see the faint figure of Minetta's silhouette drawn against the pale lights inside. 

Pressing her ears closer to the door, she urged her heartbeat to steady. As if that wasn't a task like taming a lion, the noise of the riots made it impossible to hear anything from the inside of the office. 

Suddenly the door swung open. Nellie was frozen in place as she felt the Sheriff's burning gaze scan over her. 

"Well, I see you're spending your last day in Riverdale awfully well," the Sheriff muttered, looking down on her. Her head backed away at his remark. One week. It had been one week since her father had send the Sheriff to make sure she'd leave Riverdale behind. 

"Trying to get as much out of it as I can," she replied, fighting the urge to scratch the man's haughty smile from his face. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked, sticking her chin in the direction of the doctor's office. "Shouldn't you be solving the crimes happening out there?" Her voice was tired but the edge was violent. 

The Sheriff's eyes shimmered with an emotion unknown to Nellie. He sighed as if he was talking to a little kid. Nellie squinted as he lowered his head so that he was eye to eye to her. The strong scent of pinewood and aftershave penetrated the air and violently pushed away the hospital smell that had by now settled in the fabric of her sweatshirt. 

"The Serpent died." 

The words thundered through her, rattling Nellie to the bone. She saw the Sheriff continuing to speak but no words made it through the ringing sirens in her head. 

"Fangs?" she couldn't help her voice for breaking. The Sheriff frowned and only nodded. 

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I don't have the time to explain the workings of a murder investigation to a minor," he said before he walked off, the sway in his stance too satisfied for the man to be really shocked about the sudden death of a Southside Serpent.