Anarchist | Riverdale

The Wrestler

One week after Riverdale High's absorption of its Southside counterpart, and everything was the same. And nothing was the same. Take Archie Andrews. On the surface, he's getting ready for basketball tryouts, as he does every winter. But underneath, he was churning. His life in chaos after an unexpected visit from the feds. Meanwhile, the town was preparing to honor its founding father, General Augustus Pickens.

"How was basketball?" Ellie asks her boyfriend once he comes out of the changing rooms, still in his gym gear..
"Good, gimmie a hug." Sweet Pea says, reaching out.
"Ew, you're sweaty." Ellie pulls a disgusted face, looking at his top.
"Please?" Sweets pouts.
"Fine, quick hug." Ellie rolls her eyes as Sweet Pea wraps his warm and sweaty arms around the girl. "Okay that's enough."
"Sorry. Let me go get changed and I'll walk you to your class?"
"I'm a big girl, I can walk myself. But don't be late to yours. I love you." Ellie blows a kiss before walking off. Sweet Pea catches the 'kiss' and the chuckles, heading back in the changing rooms.

"Well, he is very fetching for someone who was living on skid row." Veronica comments about Chic, Betty's brother.
"Yeah, he's a hottie who looks incredibly familiar to me, by the way." Kevin says, taking the phone.
"Your adventures in the woods?" Ellie asks.
"Maybe if we were allowed to meet this hottie in person--." Kevin continues.
"Chic is still acclimating." Betty tells him. "And I'm trying to get him to trust me but my mom is treating him like he's a 10-year-old, and my dad's acting like he's the devil's spawn."
"Well, I have an amazing idea. Bring the omen to Picken's day and we can all meet him." Veronica proposes. "Everyone's coming right?"
"No. Because the Serpents weren't invited." Jug replies.
"Serpents were specifically asked to come." Ronnie backs herself up.
"Yeah, to provide security. It's like we're all on the Snowpiercer train, but the Serpents happen to be the ones eating the cockroaches." Ellie defends.
"You don't have to work if you don't want to." Veronica says directly to Ellie.
"The damage as they say, has already been done." Jug says, getting his bag to stand up. "I'll talk to you guys later."
"Plans with Toni?" Betty asks, spotting the girl from the doorway.
"Yeah. I'm interviewing her grandfather for my oral history project. Oldest living Serpent" Jug explains
"Don't worry about it B." Ellie offers a comforting smile to her sister.

Ellie had somehow been dragged into having breakfast at Betty's house the next day, to meet Chic. She had been told that Alice still sees her as her daughter but she just had a hard time dealing with the fact that she moved away and became a Serpent.
"Hi, I'm Ellie, Betty's big sister. Nice to meet you." Ellie plasters on a smile for Chic.
"And my little one I'm guessing, nice to meet you too." Chic smiles as Ellie takes a seat at the table, the one she used to have.
Alice serves out scrambled eggs, sausages and pancakes. Ellie digs straight into the pancakes, as she always does. But Alice places Chic's food on his plate herself which Ellie makes a face at, understanding what Betty was talking about. Hal hasn't said a word to Ellie since she walked through the door.
"Do you know who used to sit there?" Hal says after a while, pointing at Chic.
"Dad." Betty warns.
"Our daughter, Polly." Hal continues and Ellie can already tell this is going to be a long meal.
"You sit in her chair, you sleep in her bed. You're filling a void. That's the reason you're here. The only reason. And I don't know what you were thinking when you let this hoodlum back into our house Alice." Hal directs the second half of his sentence right at Ellie. She just looks down and continues eating, not wanting to cause a scene.
"It's okay, it doesn't bother me." Chic speaks up just as the older blond is about to say something. "Everyone needs something right. And I don't expect to stay here for free. I never have."
The meal is quiet after that, apart from the small talk Alice is trying to make with Ellie. Ellie can see she is really trying and she is genuinely sorry for everything, so she agrees to speak with her after breakfast.

"Look, Ellie, I want to start off with, I'm sorry." Alice says once the two are alone on the couch.
"I'm sorry too. After I moved to the Southside, became a Serpent, changed my name, I went off the rails. Everything happened so fast and I didn't know how to handle it. I was angry at you, at Hal, at everyone that has anything to do with the Northside. I apologise for all the nasty things I said." Ellie sighs.
"I forgive you. I understand the move must've been hard. It is a complete different life on that side of the tracks. I just knew you'd be better there. I knew that's where you belonged from day one. You're a Serpent by blood, you belong there. I never did, so I came here. But you, you have always had something different." Alice smiles, taking Ellie's hand. "Now, I would love it if you would come round often, come and see us. Not move back in if you don't want to, but be a part of this family again. We will accept you and Sweet Pea into this household always. I promise."
"I would love that. But I need to ask you something kinda strange." Ellie tries not to tear up.
"What is it sweetheart."
"Will you be my mom again? Something happened to Penny and I don't know if she's dead or alive and I found out that she is a drug-dealing, lying, manipulative piece of shit." Ellie lets her tears fall.
"Oh, baby." Alice pulls Ellie in close to her which feels like for the first time in forever. "Of course I will."