Breaking Boundaries / Sweet Pea \

¦11¦

"Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night had I known how to save a life"

Lola was in the White Wyrm talking to Toni at the bar. It was the day after her fight with Jughead, and the day after the incident. She was distracted and Toni could tell. She had been talking to Lola for the past two minutes and only received slight nods or mumbles as an answer. Lola, however, only noticed one thing; the dark brown eyes boring into her from across the room.

"What is up with you tonight?" Toni asked, snapping her fingers in front of Lola's face. Lola looked at her confused for a minute. "Huh?" Toni rolled her eyes at her. "You've been out of it all night. What happened?" Lola shifted nervously in her seat, not wanting to admit what happened. "Nothing" she said but the lie was clear in her tone. Toni raised her eyebrows.

"Oh sure. I'm guessing this "nothing" has to do with a certain someone who's been staring at you all night" she stated. Lola stayed silent, not wanting to admit what happened. But she could still feel the same brown eyes watching her. She couldn't ignore it any longer; she was about to get up and approach the tall Serpent when the doors flew open.

Lola froze as her eyes met with familiar green ones. It was Jughead. A wave of sorrow crashed over her. She regretted what she said the night before but she was still hurt; her best friend blamed her for her dad's mistakes. They shared a moment of staring before Jughead tore his gaze away and spoke up over the hum of chatter.

"I have an announcement. My dad's getting out" he boomed. A chorus of cheers and shouts followed. Lola was conflicted. She was overjoyed that FP was coming home; Jughead needed his dad now more than ever and he was like a second dad to Lola. However, FP coming home meant that he would find out about Lola's dad. She didn't know if that was necessarily a good or bad thing.

"And when he does, I'll bring him up to speed about our plans with Mayor McCoy" Jughead continued. Lola could see the hope in his eyes that his dad's return would make everything better. "That's brilliant" Tall Boy spat sarcastically. Lola frowned at him. Why did he have such a big problem with Jughead? He was the one who gave him his jacket after all.

"Do you have a problem with that, Tall Boy?" Jughead questioned. He was clearly frustrated and a tangible tension descended over the room. "Your old man? No, I got no problem with him. But you want us to sit down with the mayor" Tall Boy stated with poison lacing his tone. Lola tensed up. She knew the two had never exactly gotten on, but this time it seemed different. More intense.

"I do. He's right. I think we can bring the Southside back, but it's going to take work and it's going to take compromise" Jughead said, now addressing the entire room. Lola smiled slightly at her former friend. She had always known he'd be a good leader for the Serpents; now he was just proving it.

Tall Boy began to laugh at Jughead, making Lola's blood begin to boil. "Bring the Southside back? You've been here for five minutes." Lola glared at him. She couldn't let him talk to Jughead like that, even if he had hurt her. Stepping forward so she was beside Jughead, Lola spoke up.

"That's enough Tall Boy. He may not have been here for long but he is more loyal than you will ever be" she began. She approached Tall Boy, her heels allowing her to glare at him in the eye. "The fifth law states that a Serpent never betrays his own, yet you ran to the Ghoulies at the first sign of trouble" Lola taunted calmly. She was smirking now, knowing that this would cause the Serpents to be on Jughead's side.

Jughead was a little surprised that she had stood up for him after what had happened the day before, but looked at her with gratitude none the less. "And I am sick of you acting like a little bitch, whispering behind my back that I'm half a Serpent or that I don't belong here" he spoke up, wanting to defend himself. "Why don't we put it to a vote? If you guys think what I'm doing is wrong, I'll step aside."