Breaking Boundaries / Sweet Pea \

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"I've already hit the low, oh, oh, oh, oh. I've already felt the cold, oh, oh, oh, oh. So I'm never giving up, never gonna crack, never giving in, never going back. Already fell below, oh, oh, oh, oh. I fell deeper than the snow, oh, oh, oh, oh. So I'm never giving up, never gonna crack, oh. I'm never giving in, never going back"

To say Lola's life right now was a mess would largely be an understatement. She missed the days when her biggest problem was trying to dye her hair purple without staining her hands.

She was still struggling with Sweet Pea. Granted, the two were friends now and most of the awkwardness had disintegrated, however Lola couldn't deny her feelings for the Serpent Boy. They never left is she was being honest, but he had hurt her and it would take time for her to trust him again.

Of course, it didn't help that she had both Jughead and Reggie playing the protective brother. Any time they saw Sweet Pea in the halls, they would shoot daggers at him And they would take every opportunity to remind Lola of what he did so she wouldn't go back to him. She loved them for being so caring, but it was suffocating.

On top of all that, Jughead went and released an article revealing the truth about Pickens' Day. It had put Lola in a very awkward position; she believed the town needed to know the truth but she also had to stand with Toni as it was a complete violation of her grandfather's privacy and pride.

However, never did she imagine she would be standing in the park beside Sweet Pea with tape covering her mouth. The plan was completely crazy, but when was anything associated with the Serpents anything but crazy?  It was like they believed that the crazier the idea, the more likely it was to work.

As Veronica sang in the gazebo, the group of Serpents marched through the crowd relentlessly. People began to slowly notice them, sending them questioning gazes.

As Veronica attempted to keep singing, Lola saw Cheryl out of the corner of her eye. She smiled - or rather tried to with the tape over her mouth - as the girl joined them. She may not have liked the Serpents, bit she stood for justice and this day was far from that.

As they reached the front of the crowd, Veronica was forced to stop singing and aknowledge them. She looked at them with confusion before speaking into the microphone. "Toni, Jughead, Lola? What the hell is going on?" She was clearly agitated, but the Serpents would be silenced no more.

"We're here representing the dead and the silenced" Toni exclaimed into the megaphone. Lola raised her eyebrows in slight amusmant and shock. It was certainly an opening that would get everyone's attention.

"Pickens' Day is a lie. General Pickens' slaughtered the Uktena tribe, my grandfather's family, and this land, the land that we're standing on, that will soon give way to a new Southside, was stolen from them. And we can't bring them back" the pink haired girl announced.

Lola could feel her eyes begin to water up slightly. She knew that she wasn't about to cry, but the thought of all the innocent lives lost brought sadness to her. Years of aggression and hate, yet they were still here today, fighting the very same battle.

"But we can and we must honour them" Toni yelled. It was clear to the Serpents that they were gaining support. No one could stand there and deny that they were right. However, Hiram Lodge saw this too and was quick to take the microphone from his daughter.

"Hey folks, uh, hi" he said, tapping the microphone and effectively cutting off Toni. The Serpents glared up at him. How could he somehow manage to shut them down even now?

"I think we can all be proud to live in a Riverdale where young people stand up for justice" Hiram began, earning scoffs from some of the Serpents. "Where a young woman can defend the honour and legacy of her grandfather" he continued, gesturing to Toni.

Lola's anger began to flare now. This man was so manipulative that he managed to turn this away from himself. He used their protest for personal gain and it made her sick.

"And where we can celebrate the living legacy of the Uktena who contribute to the rock tapestry that is Riverdale, that is the Southside, and that will be SoDale. So let's hear a round of applause for that, am I right. That's right. What do you say people?" Hiram finished.

Hesitantly, people began clapping but soon everyone had joined in. The Serpents had been shut down once more. Jughead ripped off his tape and began to walk towards Hiram but was stopped by Toni's grandfather. "No" he simply said, knowing the consequences.

"He's right Jug. We can't win that way. Let's just go to Pop's" Lola said after taking off her tape and young the two. Jughead glared at Hiram for a moment longer but slowly turned his head to his best friend and nodded.

Lola, Jughead, Toni, Fangs and Sweet Pea all made their way to Pop's to enjoy a much needed burger and milkshake. At first, no one said much. They all felt a sense of defeat after the failure in the park. Each of them hated how Hiram seemed to charm his way put of everything, but no one knew what to do about it.

They sat in silence, eating, until Lola couldn't take it anymore. "Guys, come on. We can't let him do this" she said, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration. They each looked up at Lola, not expecting her to have spoken up so suddenly.

"Lo, he already got away with it" Jughead mumbled, staring down at his food. Lola looked at him and shook her head. She looked to each of her friends individually, sighing in frustration when she saw the same look on each of their faces.

"I'm not talking about the park. I'm talking about this" Lola continued, pointing between each of them. "Us. We're best friends but we're sitting here in silence. Hiram may have taken away our school but is he really gonna take our friendship too?" she ranted in frustration.

"Hiram isn't the one who took that" Jughead mumbled, glaring up at Sweet Pea while his head was still down. Lola was quick to elbow her best friend in the side in an attempt to get him to shut up, but it was too late.

"What's that supposed to mean Jones?" Swet Pea asked, glaring right back at the boy. Lola fell back into her seat while groaning. She knew what was coming and there was no stopping it. "You know what it means" Jughead said, not bothering to looks at him and returning to his food.

Lola could see Toni and Fangs squirming in their seats and sent them an apologetic look. "Why don't you just say it" Sweet Pea gritted, his eyes filled with fury. Jughead sighed, placing his fork down and looking up.

"Fine. You did. The second you fucked up and hurt Lola, you took away our friendship. Happy now?" he said in an eerily calm voice. Sweet Pea was about to retort but Jughead didn't give him the chance. As soon as he finished talking, he stood up and left, leaving some money on the table to pay for his food.

Lola burried her head in her hands, wishing she could change everything. It was like someone out there had it in for her and was determined to keep making her life worse and worse by the day. What could it possibly throw at her next?

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Y'all this week was a mess. I went on a school camping trip and badly sprained my ankle within the first hour because I'm an idiot.

But also, Jordan Connor got engaged and I'm so happy for him omg I had such a proud mom moment lmao.

I doubt anyone cares but hey ily <3