It had been going on for a few months now, the secret rendezvous' of Vixen hierarchy when Cheryl had decided to host a soirée at Thistlehouse to grieve the crumble of Southside High and celebrate their last weekend as the elite and segregated Northside. There had been quite the buzz in the inner circle when Jughead was banished off to Southside High to socialize and study with those miscreants on the other side of the tracks. But little could any one of them dream that he'd be back sooner than later, with a few pals in close pursuit.
Archie was the first to arrive at Thistlehouse with the rest of the basketball team, kegs in hand like the brute men they were trying to be. He had changed his shirt about four times as if a crewneck versus a v-neck under his letterman's jacket were really going to finally persuade Veronica to see him in a different light. Betty had followed soon after, hair in her signature pony per usual. She chatted with Archie who had handed her a red solo cup before tapping into the first keg and pouring her enough to keep her busy while she anxiously waited for Jughe-- Veronica.
Okay, so as much crap as she was done putting up with from Archie over Veronica, Betty was harboring a crush like no other on Jughead and she could identify completely with what her childhood best friend was going through. She just wasn't as blatantly obvious about it the way her male counterpart was. Either way, tonight would be the night she would make her move. Or at least make her move to get Jughead to make his move.
The deep bass of music pulsed through her ears as heeled Doc Martins crunched gravel beneath her, leading her towards an extravagant wooden door. How she even thought it was a good idea to let Jughead drag her not only to the Northside, but to the Thistlehouse none-the-less, was beyond Toni. Aside from Jughead, Toni and practically the entirety of the Southside Serpents hadn't had very many positive experiences involving the Northside community, let alone the testosterone driven apes and entitled, spoon-fed vixens of Riverdale High. Tension and drama was almost promised the moment they realized a refugee of the wrong side of the tracks was entering their domain.
"Jug, I get that we have to start intergrading with them now that Southside High is 'condemned' or whatever," Toni's small fingers dramatically throwing air quotes in for affect, "But I didn't grow up with Archie or get Betty to fall madly in love with me like you did."
The pink haired girl dragged her heels a little heavier, effectively slowing down their pace as she wanted to finish this conversation of doubt before they breached enemy territory. Unfortunately it only earned her a deep sigh of annoyance from the taller Serpent.
"Seriously, Topaz?" Jughead's incredulous look wasn't lost on Toni, even if he did just toss it over his shoulder at her before continuing to march towards the music. "Since when are you such a wuss?"
With that Toni scowled at Jughead's back and swung her heavy boot at his sneakers, clipping him in the heel and causing him to break his stride and stumble back upright, just to reaffirm that demeaning her sometimessoft reputation was unwarranted.
All her friend did in retaliation was roll his eyes, but his tone was softer when he addressed her again. "You don't even care what anyone thinks of you, Toni. Because we both know how amazing you are. I brought you because if anyone is going to be able to show the Northside that we're not all confined to the stigma of being a Southsider, it's you." His goofy grin allowed Toni to relax a little, giving him the opportunity to throw his arm around her shoulders and squeeze before nudging her forward a bit. "Besides, if I were looking for a brawl, I woulda brought just Sweet Pea and Fangs-- They're much tougher than you."
