Born Crazy || Sweet Pea [1] [COMPLETED]

||THIRTEEN - HEROES AND CIPHERS||

Jayda's POV

Jughead and I walked over to the Serpent table, where everyone was gathered around Sweet Pea's laptop.

"Hey, guess we're not watching funny cat videos." Jughead commented.

"We will find you..." the person on the screen said. 

"Check this out." Sweet Pea said, and he turned the laptop around. It was Archie, and a group of shirtless teenage boys wearing red ski masks. "Some sick-in-the-head Northsider posted a crazy ass video, and we were just talking."

"About what?" Jughead asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Fogarty wants to earn his Serpent stripes." Sweet Pea answered, putting a hand on Fangs' back. "I say, bring us the head of that Northsider, and you're in."

"I'm down with that." Fangs said. They started laughing, and banging the table.

"No, guys. No--" Jughead tried to argue.

"What, Jones?" Sweet Pea asked.

"All right, I know this guy. He's a milquetoast. He's a football player." Jughead responded. "It's kind of a lame target, is all I'm saying. You wanna prove something? Why don't you go after the Black Hood?"

Sweet Pea scoffed. "And why would we do that? The Black Hood's targeting Northsiders, who do nothing but blame the Southside for everything that's wrong with this town. And we're sick of it. Black Hood's doing our work for us. He's a hero."

"I wouldn't go that far." I snapped. I turned on my heel, and walked away.

"Jay, wait!" I heard Sweet Pea call after me. I ignored him, and carried on walking out the Cafetorium, and out the front door of the school. I went over to my bike, and sat there.

I saw Sweet Pea run out of the school, and spot me in the parking area. I turned away, and faced the opposite direction of where he was coming from.

"Jay." he said, and placed a hand on my arm. I turned to him.

"What?!" I snapped. He kneeled down next to me.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away." he replied, stroking my arm. 

"You called a serial killer, a hero." I stated, and I looked up at him.

"I didn't mean it, I'm sorry." he responded, looking at me in the eye. "Can you forgive me?"

Sweet Pea gave me puppy dog eyes, and I crossed my arms.

"I can't say no to that face." I concluded. We both smiled, and he leant forward and kissed my lips. 

"You want to go back inside?" he asked me. I nodded, and we walked, hand-in-hand, back into the school.

-----

"So, what are you reading?" Toni asked Jug, as we both came into the Red and Black room. He took his headphones off, and sighed. He closed the book, and turned it around for us to see.

"Ah. Beware the Zodiac." I said, reading the title aloud.

"It's decent, though I prefer Robert Graysmith's definitive books on the subject." Toni said, making her way around the desk to where Jughead was sitting. Suddenly, his phone started to ring, and the name Betty popped up on the screen.

"You need to get that?" Toni asked him. 

"I'll call her back later." Jughead replied, and put his phone face down on the desk.

"Jones, Jones, Jones. You disappoint me." Toni said, sighing. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "If serial killers are your jam, might I suggest Ted Bundy, Albert Fish, Aileen Wuornos."

"They don't fit the profile." Jughead replied.

"Right." I spoke up. "Unlike most serial killers, our guys wears a mask. Well, a hood when he kills."

"Most likely, someone consumed with self-loathing." Jughead responded.

"Conversely, he sends letters and cryptos to the press." Toni said, and dumped a copy of the Riverdale Register on the table.

"You think he's narcissistic, or a Batman villian?" Jug asked, and he and Toni chuckled.

"I'm a true crime junkie." Toni said, and we sat opposite Jughead.

"True crime is my crack." he replied.

"I figured, and that's why I'm seeking you out." Toni said.

"I just tagged along because I was bored, as hell." I commented, leaning back on my chair, and putting my feet on the desk.

"The Register took a break from bashing the Southside to post the Black Hood cipher." Toni continued. "You wanna help crack it?"

"Sure." Jughead responded.

-----

The next morning, I was woken up early by a knock on the door. I rolled out of bed, and came out the room as Jughead opened the door.

"Betty? What time is it?" he asked Betty at the door, rubbing his eyes. I sighed, and grabbed myself a cup of coffee before sitting at the table.

"Seven-fifteen. I wanted to catch you on before school." Betty answered, and quickly kissed Jughead on the lips.

"Sorry, I have morning breath." he said, and Betty came in the door. "You want coffee or something?"

"That's my coffee." I argued.

"No, I'm actually on my way to the library." Betty answered. "I asked Ms. Paroo to set aside all the books she has about cryptograms and ciphers. I thought I might help us crack the Black Hood's code, which I'm hoping is something we can do together, Jug."

Uh oh, good luck explaining this one, Forsythe.

"Uh... Actually..." he stuttered, pouring himself some cereal. "Funny enough, Toni, of all people and I, we-- We started working on that yesterday at the Red and Black. I can show you what we've got of far, if you want." 

Jughead then came and sat next to me.

"Toni. Because, let me guess, she loves serial killers." Betty said, a tang of jealousy in her voice. She sat down the opposite side of Jughead.

"She does have an affinity for the darker side of things, yeah." Jughead agreed.

"Mm." Betty murmured. "In that case, why don't we all work on it together? You, me, Jayda, Toni, Kevin."

"Kevin?" Jughead questioned.

"Yeah, it'll be like a little code-breaking party. So fun." Betty said, and hit Jughead on the arm. "You can host. Jayda. Would you like to come?"

"I would love to, but I have plans with the boys tonight." I replied, finishing my coffee. They looked at me.

"Boys?" Jughead asked. 

"Oh my god." I said, sighing. "Boys. As in Sweet Pea and Fangs. Gees don't be like Dad."

I put my cup in the sink, and left to get changed.