Pleather || A Sweet Pea Romance (Riverdale)

chapter 5|| initiation (1)

"Furthering my distance from you"

 "Realistically I can't leave now"

"Reagan!" someone calls as I walk past the student lounge of Riverdale High.

I take out a headphone and look to my left to see Betty and Veronica sitting on one of the couches. I walk into the room and take out my other headphone.

We still have a few minutes before the bell rings for our first class.

"We wanted to know if you wanted to come over to V's this weekend for a sleepover," Betty asks.

I'm caught off guard. I didn't think Veronica thought of me that much as a friend. I wonder if Betty is the mastermind behind this invite, but when Veronica smile and nods in agreement I'm a little more inclined to accept the invitation.

"Oh, um. I'd really like to, but I don't know when my initiation is going to start. I might be busy," I answer.

In the corner I see Jughead and Sweet Pea. I hadn't noticed them when I walked into the room. Sweet Pea is talking to Jughead and he looks annoyed. I'm starting to wonder if this is his constant emotion - annoyed. As Sweet Pea talks I can't hear because his voice is too low, but Jughead shakes his head and puts his hands up as though he's saying 'it's out of my hands'.

"Oh right. Is that something you're still thinking about doing?" Veronica asks.

"Yeah," I answer. I'm a little confused. I thought I made myself pretty clear last weekend.

With my answer Sweet Pea walks out of the room, his hands in fists. On his way out he glances at me and I can feel the anger that he's shooting at me with his eyes.

"I know you've given it a lot of thought, but are you 100% sure you want to?" Betty asks. Her voice is calm and I can see the worry on her face. Jughead walks over and takes a seat next to her.

"Yeah I do. I even talked to my dad about it. He told me he didn't want me to, but he understands why I want to."

"Are you sure you don't just want to do the dance?" Betty asks. "It'll be safer and it's a little embarrassing, but the embarrassment only lasts for a little bit."

I haven't told anyone, but there is a few reasons I don't want to do the dance. And I don't think that it's such a crazy idea that I'd rather get the crap beat out of me than to dance half naked in front of a bunch of Serpents. 

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Jughead looks down. "Look, Reagan, the guys initiation is pretty brutal. And if you can't make it through the four tests then you don't get to join. That might be as humiliating as doing the dance. At least you're guaranteed to be initiated by doing the dance."

"I know myself. I think I can make it through the tests."

"You think you can take on a rattlesnake?" Veronica chimes in.

I nod.

"You think you can survive a punch from all the Serpents?" Betty asks, her voice is a little more sympathetic than Veronica's was.

I nod.

"It's not just a punch," Jughead adds. "They're going to punch you to try to get you to quit. Some of them will even has brass knuckles. And they won't go easy on you."

I think about it, but eventually nod.

"We had a girl try to do the guy's initiation a few years ago. My dad told me about it. She didn't make it through and she actually had to go to the hospital. She had a few broken ribs."

I hadn't heard about this before.

"If you go to the hospital, you're automatically revoked of the Serpent title," Jughead adds.

I look off to the side. "I understand your guys' concern, but I'm not just doing this for shits and giggles. My dad wasn't the only Serpent in my family. My mom was too. And I don't want to go into too much detail, but a big part of me wanting to join is to be closer to her."

They all stare. None of them have lost a parent, at least not the same way I have. If they can't support my decision, they can at least respect it.

"Alright then. Get ready because the first test is coming," Jughead says.

 ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° 

I'm in the forest. It looks similar to where the bonfire was, but it's different some how. I look around, but I'm alone. I start walking, but no matter were I go I can't seem to find my way back home. My legs are tired, but I keep going. I start to panic because through the trees I can see the sky turn pink and I know the sun is setting. It's getting colder by the second.

As the sun sets completely, I suddenly feel a rush of warmth. I look down and see I'm wearing a jacket. But it's not just a jacket, it's leather. I suddenly feel a little safer. 

I'm jolted awake from my dream. Someone has slammed a door shut which startles me awake. I jump once more and move backwards in my bed so I'm in a sitting position when I notice there are people in my room wearing masks.

I don't say anything, I can't, I'm frozen.

"Your initiation begins now. With you assuming guardianship of The Beast," one of them speaks. I don't recognize the voice.

Without any warning something jumps on my bed and I realize as it starts licking my arm that it's a dog. My heart begins steadying as I realize I'm not about to be murdered.

The masked people leave my room leaving me alone with my new dog.

 ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° 

I'm sitting in the student lounge after school. Tomorrow night I'll be completing the second trial of my initiation. I'm reading over the Serpent laws. I can already recite them by heart, but I'm picturing myself reciting them in the Whyte Wyrm. I need to make sure my quiet voice is heard and strong. Just like my dad's was.

I'm in such deep thought that I don't notice someone else enter the student lounge. It's not until they're sitting next to me on the couch that I realize.

I look over and see it's Sweet Pea.

He looks straight ahead, not at me and says, "it's not too late. You can still choose the other initiation."

I open my mouth to talk, but no words come out. I don't know how to react. After a few moments I find the words, "why do you even care?" When he doesn't respond I add, "I thought you'd like to see Greendale scum get the shit beat out of them."

He finally looks at me. Even though most the time I can read his face without problem, I can't now. He's not showing either of his normal two moods: anger or annoyance.

He grabs my hand for a second and then looks down at our hands together before saying, "I guess I do care."

And before I can react, he let's go of my hand and walks out of the room.