milkshake // archie andrews

Lucy

As Lucy Parker stood and surveyed the pile of rubble that used to be Southside High, she genuinely wondered where she had gone wrong. This building had practically been her kingdom, and here she was: standing in front of its remains and considering why she had even left Riverdale in the first place. Of course, she had forgotten. This town (Southside specifically) was a complete mess without her. 

A construction worker ambled across the destroyed school and she shouted for him to stop.

"Where the hell is the school?" she yelled, her voice echoing across what now seemed to be a desolate wasteland of crumbled concrete and squashed metal lockers. The man looked confused, squinting at her.

"The mayor tore it down months ago, miss! Where have you been?"

"Clearly not where I should've been," Lucy muttered under her breath.

"And where does everyone go to school now, exactly?"

"Riverdale High, miss!"

Of course they were. Lucy avoided going to the Northside as often as she could, because every time she was there, she couldn't help feeling like she was in a cesspool; a cesspool of privilege and suburbia. Everything from their pep rallies to their ridiculous 50's style diner felt like it was cut straight from a magazine to create a picture perfect town of happy, smiling families and a pristine, almost vintage, setting. Not to mention that they liked to pretend the Southside didn't exist. Of course not. The side of town crawling with crime and drugs and gangs was never to be mentioned, not unless Riverdale wanted to keep up their image of the perfect small town. Lucy hated everything about the Northside. And now all her friends were consorting with Northsiders: by going to school with them. She never should've left.

Without even a "thank you" to the construction man, Lucy turned on her heel and hopped onto her awaiting motorcycle, pushing her hair to the side so the back of her leather jacket was clearly visible: a green serpent with bright yellow eyes, fangs protruding out of a hissing mouth.

***

Lucy had never been inside of Riverdale High before, but if it meant finding her friends and discovering what the hell had happened in this town while she was gone, she was all for it. It's not like she was ever going to go back after this. She grimaced as she stared up at the building in all its 1950s glory. Inside, she could already see the trophy cases and posters supporting the Bulldogs (which she knew was the Northside's shining star football team), and she rolled her eyes, anticipating the absolute worst. 

Sneakers squeaked on linoleum floors, boys ran through the halls sporting blue and yellow varsity jackets, lockers slammed. There was a very different feeling in this school than at Southside High and Lucy couldn't quite place what it was, but she wasn't a fan. Not to mention that she couldn't find any of her friends, not a single Serpents jacket to be found. 

She paced the halls, and just as she was beginning to lose all hope, through a large window, she spotted some very familiar pink tresses. 

Grinning, Lucy sauntered to the door, heels clicking on the ground, and flung the door wide open.

"Lucy?" the pink haired girl said in astonishment, rising from the red-headed girl's lap that she had been perched on.

"In the flesh," Lucy replied, smiling and as the girl ran over to her, wrapping her in an embrace. 

"Hi, Toni."

"I missed you so much," Toni said.

"We all have." 

That was the first time that Lucy noticed Sweet Pea and Fangs, sitting with a bunch of unfamiliar kids, on the other side of the room. They were smiling too, and got up to greet her. 

"We didn't know-" Sweet Pea started, but was cut off by a quick glare from Toni, which didn't go unnoticed by Lucy. 

Lucy raised an eyebrow, glaring over at him.

"Well? Spit it out. You didn't know what?"

Sweet Pea looked down, his voice lowering. 

"We didn't know if you were even alive."

Lucy smirked.

"Well, I am. And I'm standing here in the middle of the scum that is the Northside."

(A few people in the room shifted uncomfortably.) 

"Would anyone care to tell me why that is?"

Toni bit her lip. 

"Not here," she whispered, gesturing back at the room full of people.

"Let's go somewhere private."

"Please, lead the way."

As Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs began to exit the room, Lucy followed them, but not before she noticed the apologetic shrug Toni gave to the Northsiders in the room. She scoffed. Not only were the Serpents consorting with Northsiders, they were becoming friends with them.

"Absolutely not." she muttered. Not over her dead body.

Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it. I'm really excited to start writing this fic because I have a lot of ideas and I think it has a lot of potential. Leave a comment letting me know what you think, and if you liked it, vote too!