moondust - sweet pea

{f o u r}

In Riverdale, everyone wears a mask, not just the Black Hood. But every so often, the mask slips and our true selves are laid bare, for all the world to see.

"Hey TJ, are you okay?" His sister, Josie asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied as he laid in his bed writing in his notebook. "Okay, if there's anything going on, you know where I am," she said as she closed the door.

I can feel.
I can feel my knuckles bruise as I punch. As I punch that predators face, as only four girls witness. I feel like the world is watching, booing at me. I became from a soft boy to a nigga.

A nigger, a nigger is someone that beats up a white person if they - oh so - dare to say that word. A nigga is a black boy who lost control of his emotions and let go of his anger. A nigga is someone in the hood of Chicago or something.

But I'm not from Chicago. I'm Tyler Jordon McCoy from Riverdale.

I'm the Riverdale nigga.

He wrote in his notebook a tear slipping down his cheek. He brushes it away. TJ knows that racism doesn't really happen in Riverdale, but he always thought how it could happen out of his town or on his phone. He's not afraid of racism, he's just concerned that he will be what everyone will see outside Riverdale. He never talked to someone else about it, not even Eden, because then he'll feel like he worries about something that's actually none of his concern. That he thinks about these things with the things he's labeled at. Racism and homophobia. This causes him mental breakdowns sometimes and he doesn't know how to deal with it, other then writing and music.

So we scramble to put it back on, like a kid in a cheap Halloween costume, but it's too late. People have already seen what's underneath... And it's terrifying.

"TJ, come, we're going to Alice's house," his mother exclaims. "Okay, give me a minute," he shouts back as exchange his basketball shorts for normal pants, washed his face with cold water and put on shoes, he runs to the living room. "I'm ready, " he says as he sees his mother and sister, they walk towards the car. "How do you get changed so fast?" His sister asked. "Practice, sis," he simply says smirking.
~
"Riverdale's best and brightest, huh?" Alice asks so sweetly, TJ almost gagged. "Alice, thank you for hosting," Mayor McCoy says with a smile. "Of course, Mayor McCoy. When I heard what happened at Nick's party, I decided that we should come together to deal with this motley crew of liars, dope-fiends, and fornicators. Except for my Betty, who was smart enough to leave the party before it descended into a bacchanalian free for all," Alice says and TJ furrows his eyebrows. "And my son, TJ who didn't show up there at all," Mayor McCoy says and while Betty mumbles to his mom to stop TJ mouths to his mother from the couch 'if that's the case, why am I here?' but his mother just makes a sign with her hand to tell him to shut up and he just lays back lazily. As mumbles go on on the couch, he doesn't join in and Alice clears her throat and they discuss who brought the Jingle Jangle and TJ couldn't care less until he hears Hiram Lodge say. "Once again, Mayor, the Southside is the source of all our problems," the older man says and TJ raises his eyebrow in suspiciousness.

'Why would he blame the Southside so fast?'

And from the Southside it comes to Serpents and the curly haired boy mentally groans.

'Not this again. Wait, isn't Jughead at that school? Oh, my God.'

"Josie, you took that drug? You put that poison in your system knowing that your father's struggled with addiction?" He hears his mother so sternly, it's scary and Josie nods. "I see," his mother says standing up.