Polaroid // Reggie Mantle (2)

Chapter Fourteen

Caia sat across from Archie in a booth at Pop's with her had on the table as Jughead paced back and forth next to the table.

"Jughead, calm down!" Archie exclaimed.

"Calm down? Archie, Riverdale just became a police state!" Jughead yelled.

"McCoy's convinced the Serpents are the ones dealing the Jingle Jangle," Archie observed.

Caia lifted her head. "Wow, Archie, that's not obvious at all," she snarled.

"Serpents don't deal that stuff," Jughead explained, using his hand to exaggerate his point. "The Ghoulies do."

"So then tell Mayor McCoy that!" Archie stated as if it was the most obvious thing to do in the world.

Caia rolled her eyes. "Oh, Mayor McCoy. Do you mean the McCoy that just arrested me and Jug's friends for no reason?" She questioned, her dad's becoming more and more evident as the conversation continued.

"Yeah," Jughead agreed, sitting down next to Caia. " What do you care, anyway, man? I thought you and Betty wanted nothing to do with me. Right?"

"Look, I'm sorry," Archie replied. "About what happened. And how it happened. And as for Betty, you should maybe talk to her." Jughead didn't reply, instead staring at Archie. His phone beeped, a message coming in.

Jug picked it up and read it. "I gotta go," he started, getting up out of the booth. "Tallboy wants to parlay."

He started to walk away and Caia scrambled up after a moment of thinking. "Wait up, Jug, I'm coming." She cringed in the moment of silence, wondering if Jug would let her come.

Jug stopped. "Well come on then." He stated. Caia let out a breath and scurried after her friend.

*

Jughead and Caia descended the stairs of the address Tallboy had sent Jughead. The lighting was dark and eerie and the air smelled of sweat and cigarette smoke. Music blasted from a speaker somewhere in the room. Caia was nervous and a bit confused, but she followed behind Jughead nonetheless.

The pair mad their way to the middle of the room. Tallboy spotted Jughead. "Sit down, kid," he commanded, sitting down in a chair of his own. "Business to discuss."

"Tallboy, what the hell is this place?" Jughead questioned sharply. "Where are we?"

Caia jumped as she felt a hand graze the outside of her leg. She followed the fingers and traced them to a passing boy. The curly headed guy was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, an open flowy robe type shirt, and a long gold necklace. He looked up and down Caia's body and smirked. "You're in my house," he stated. He gave a little giggle as he surveyed Jughead. "It's the house of the dead." As he finished, he squatted down and plopped himself on a couch.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jughead began. "Who the hell are you?" He spat.

"Take it easy, Jughead. Malachai speaks for the Ghoulies," Tallboy explained. "Now, who is that?" He questioned, pointing to Caia, who was standing slightly behind Jughead.

"Yeah, who's the bitch?" Malachai added.

Caia recoiled. "Excuse me?" She questioned offended. "My name is not bitch its-"

Jughead turned halfway to Caia, then back to Tallboy. "Caia Sinclair. A Northside allie, so to speak." He cut her off. Caia nodded, catching the eye of Malachai. He smirked again and bit his lip, winking at her. "Now what the hell is going on here?" Jughead demanded.

"The heat on us and our ranks dipleated, our tribes need to unite and that's going to be easier to do if you endorse this partnership." Caia furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head skeptically. This did not sound like a good idea to her.

"Me?" Jughead asked, clearly confused.

"You're FP's son, that carries weight. Especially with our younger members. And if that girl is who you say she is, she's Jack Sinclair's daughter, which is another name that would be influential to get on this deal." Tallboy explained. Caia's eyes grew wide. She hadn't known her dad had had that much power with the Serpents.

Jughead did not like this idea at all. "Tallboy, they're the reason Southside high was even raided. Them and their Jingle Jangle," he spit, adamant.

"Chaos is how we thrive," Malachai stated. "You better get used to it." The boy said it so egotistically, it made Caia's blood boil. She glared at him, which only amused the Ghoulie.

"Are you seriously going to do this my dad?" Jughead questioned. "You're supposed to be his right hand," Jug stated, pointing for effect.

"The Northside declared war today. In fact, the only thing protecting your little friend over there is her connections to the Serpents." Tallboy stood out of his chair. "Your old man ain't here to call the shots. And yeah, I'm his right hand. That makes me de facto leader here and now so," he paused. Caia's eyes flirted to Malachai he was smiling as he took a swig of a bottle of alcohol. "Things are changing, Jones. Either you change with them, or suffer the consequences."

"Evolve or die, baby. Evolve or die."

*

Caia sat in Jughead's trailer with her head in her hands, thinking. Once again, Jughead was pacing back and forth, ranting.

"This isn't an alliance, it's a hostile takeover!" He yelled. Sighing, he continued. "God, who knows how long Tallboy has been planning on betraying us. Maybe I stall, just until Sweet Pea and Toni get out. I just hope they'd rather go to war with the Ghoulies than start-" he cut off, not able to say what he was thinking. "Selling Jingle Jangle," he finished under his breath as Archie began to talk.

"Jughead, you joined the Serpents to keep the peace."

"My dad would never sit back and let this happen, so neither will I." He brought his hand up and rubbed his temple. Suddenly, and idea hit him. "Caia-" he began, causing Caia's head to snap up. "Tallboy said something about your dad's influence having power. Do you think you could maybe get him to help us in some way?"

"No." Caia and Archie answered at the same time. They gave each other a look as Jughead furrowed his brows at the two of them.

"Is there something I'm missing here?" He questioned worriedly.

Archie shook his head. "No. It's just, what you just said. Before Caia's dad." It took a moment, but Jughead finally got what Archie was insinuating. His dad. He might be able to help.

*

With Archie and Jughead headed off to the prison, Caia headed off to take care of some business of her own.

"So you wanna be a serpent," the old serpent who sat across from Caia observed, leaning back in her chair.

Caia nodded. "Yes. I've been considering it for a while now, but I'm completely sure."

Byrdie, one of the oldest Serpent women in the entire gang, cracked a smile. She chuckled. "What?" Caia questioned. "Do you need proof or something? My dad was a serpent and he-"

"I know who your dad is," Byrdie interrupted. "Knew your mom, too. You're a lot like her, you know." Caia looked away. She didn't want to talk about her mom. "Nah, I don't need proof. It's just- this is kind of a strange time to want to be a serpent, girl." She motioned around to the mostly empty Whyte Wyrm, evidence of the morning's events.

"I know. But I want to do it. I already have all the laws memorized and I can take the dog tonight. The snake is no problem, either." Caia explained.

Byrdie smirked. "Seems you got it all figured out, huh?" Caia nodded. "Hate to break it to ya, sweet cheeks, but if you wanna be a serpent, you're gonna have to do the dance."

Caia furrowed her eyebrows. "The dance?"

Byrdie motioned towards the stage at the front of the bar. Caia turned in her seat. She noticed the pole and immediately knew what Byrdie was talking about. She turned back around in her seat. "I'll do it," she stated finally. "I'll do it."

Byrdie raised her eyebrows. "You sure, kid?"

Caia nodded. "Positive."