I'm Darkness || Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones [2]

Real Serpent

Eleanor woke up that morning and, unlike most mornings, the Black Hood wasn't the first thing coming to her head, which was weird, considering the previous dawn at Pop's. But no. She woke up that morning wondering if she had made any mistakes, you know. Like if Ellie could go back and look over every choice she had ever made, would she choose differently? Would things be better or worse?

Eleanor looked at herself in the mirror, finally, and decided against it; against those thoughts, cause they always left her feeling awfully empty inside.

"Hunny," Alice knocked on the already opened door, "can I talk to you?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just heading to go meet Jughead." She grabbed her bag, "FP may be getting out."

"Really?" Her Mom crossed her arms, the look on her face changing, "Well good thing that's not your business."

"It is, Mom." Ellie replied, tired of always fighting to make her understand, "You know it is. FP is my business as long as Jughead is."

"That boy is going down and he's taking you down with him," Alice warned, "and you're just standing by, watching him do it to Betty too."

"Elizabeth is a big girl, she doesn't need me to protect her." She sighed, "She never did."

Eleanor passed right by her mother, giving her a bump on the shoulder.

Alice Cooper turned around, watching her daughter leave her behind. Childrens are knives, she remembers hearing once, they don't mean to but they cut. And yet, mothers still cling to them – Alice still held on to her daughters, all three of them.

When Ellie arrived to school, she quickly made her way to the Blue and Gold, Jughead had texted her to meet them there, he was giving everyone the news about his Dad's release. After all, the trouble with the drugs, it had been worth it. Well, almost.

"Hey,"

Ellie looked up at the boy who had just stopped her, the big figure standing right in front of her, a big smile opening. Reggie Mantle, and it seemed like he had been missing her by the way his eyes shone at her sight.

"Mantle, hey there." She smiled at him too.

"So how has it been?" Reggie wondered, "Serpent is a full time job, I see."

"Why?" Eleanor rolled her eyes, playfully, "Don't tell me you miss me."

"Nah," He shrugged, looking away from her green eyes, "just wondering if the Black Swan is still out playing dirty or the old Ellie Cutie is back already."

"I thought you liked me more this way." She recalled his words.

"I like you better without Archie that's for sure." Mantle replied, the biterness showing on his voice, even tho he tried to hide it.