The Serpent Queen

Chapter Thirty Five

Jughead had decided that he was going on a hunger strike to protest against Southside High being shut down, and whilst I thought the entire idea was hilarious, I was also proud of Jughead for standing up for what he believed in His friends were less than supportive though which made me furious with them. I kept telling him to leave them and stick with the Serpents more but he didn't like that.

He tried to convince some of us to run for office as well but Toni was busy joining the River Vixens cheerleading team and there was no way the rest of us were lame enough to do something as ridiculous as school council. It was almost as ridiculous as Toni telling me she was on the cheerleading squad and part of Cheryl Blossoms 'inner circle' Vixens which meant she was invited to a sleepover at the Blossom Mansion.

'You heard about Jugheads hunger strike?' I asked FP later that afternoon as we laid in bed together having made the most of having the trailer to ourselves.

'Yeah, he's been going on and on about it. He's a little nutso' FP chuckled.

'Wonder where he got that from?' I teased.

'Oh don't start Crystal!' he groaned playfully.

Our amazing alone time got rudely interrupted by Jughead barging into the trailer. We quickly made ourselves presentable and went to the living room where Jughead decided to pace. Again. Archie Andrews had told him that Southside High was going to be closed within a week. He was furious as apparently we were supposed to be given six weeks notice for this kind of thing. So he had decided that the Serpents were going to help him to make a stand since his fasting wasn't making enough of an impact. He now wanted us to chain ourselves up outside of the school. Apparently the others had already agreed to it as well, it would be fun at any rate if nothing else.

'Let me get changed Jug and we'll go down' I suggested.

'Nah, we'll go in the morning. I need one final night to put some things in place' Jughead told me.

'In that case, I'm taking Crystal back to bed' FP chuckled, pulling me back to his room and laughing at Jugheads disgusted face.

In school the next day, Jughead spent the morning ranting on and on to the Serpents about his plan for Southside High even though we had all agreed to help him with it already and then at break we all headed down to the Southside. We were in our leather jackets and fully kitted out in typical Southside outfits as we chained ourselves up outside the school. FP and a few of the other older Serpents were watching over us incase anyone started anything. I was stood close to Fangs and Sweet Pea in an attempt to steal their warmth as we gained a small crowd of watchers.

The rain had started to fall as the night went on and Archie Andrews arrived on his bike to confront us.

'Well, well, well, cavalry's finally here. Guess that means we got Hirams attention' Jughead said.

'Are you nuts?' Archie asked, 'Chaining yourself to this place? They're gonna tear it down in two days dude'

I scoffed and stepped forward so that I was stood next to Jughead.

'Not unless Hiram wants the blood of eight young Serpents on his hands' I replied with a smirk, 'We're not going anywhere little Red'

'Go and tell your boss what we said' Jughead dismissed him with a smirk.

Sweet Pea opened his arms up, inviting me in for a nice warm hug which I gladly accepted - I was slowly getting colder by the minute.

'You okay Queen?' he asked me softly.

'Cold' I replied, moving my hands under a few layers of his clothing.

'You're very warm kiddo'

'Thanks Crystal. I think.' he replied with a laugh.

'It's a good thing, I promise'

FP and the older Serpents switched shifts around 11pm and my dad came with drinks and food for us. We ate and drank furiously with the exception of Jughead who was still on his hunger strike. I curled up with Sweet Pea and Fangs as we were all frozen and wanted to try and share our body heat as we slept for a little while.

Betty turned up the next morning and totally ruined the already dull mood that we had going. The older Serpents had switched shifts again so FP and I had a small make out session - much to Jugheads disgust - which really helped to warm me up. I stood snuggled into him, exhausted and still half frozen as he spoke to the other Serpents.

'Hey FP?' I asked, raising my head off his chest to look at his face.

'Yes Crystal?'

'Your kid is bat shit crazy and I hate you both for this' I told him with a small smile on my face.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Serpents bailed on Jughead and I that night to go to Pop's and warm up and eat inside but I didn't want to leave Jughead alone. I must've fallen asleep at some point as I woke up to hear FP and Jughead talking as they sat on the wall above me.

'...all of us. Your mom, Jellybean' I heard FP say as I zoned in on the conversation.

I decided to stay quiet and continue listening to them talk even though I knew I shouldn't.

'You've always wanted us to be a family again'

'That was before dad'

'Before what?'

'Before I became a Serpent, before I saw you with Crystal. Would you really leave Crystal?' Jughead asked and I held my breath as I waited for the answer.

'I wouldn't want to leave her Jug, but if your mom and sister could come back, and you could be happy then I'd have to consider it'

'Dad, you can't leave Crystal'

'I don't want to leave her but she knows you're my priority' FP argued.

'I'm not gonna stand between you and Crystal dad. I like her. A lot. I gave up on us being a family ages ago. I'm rooting for you and Crystal all the way' Jughead told FP and it made me want to cheer.

'You sure kid?'

'I'm sure'

'Good. Cos I've been thinking a lot about my future with her. I really love her kid'

Hearing FP say that made me smile. I loved him too but hearing him say that while I was supposed to be asleep made me love him even more.