Polaroid // Reggie Mantle (2)

Chapter Fourty-Six

Caia couldn't take it anymore. She took one last look at Fangs and bolted away from the scene. She sprinted out of the Police Station parking lot, her legs pumping and her stomach churning. As soon as she felt she was far enough away, she stopped and emptied her stomach into a few bushes.

She wanted to stay where she was. She never wanted to see that riot again. But, she also knew that Fangs would need her help. The serpents would need her help.

Reggie would need her help.

So Caia took a deep breath and sprinted back to the Police Station. Rioters still surrounded it, but Fangs and the serpents were gone. She noticed a car speeding out of the lot and figured it was them.

Caia knew she needed to find Reggie. No matter what he had done, she knew he wasn't the shooter. She could vouch for at least that much.

The small girl combed through the crowd, searching for the dark haired jock. After a few minutes, she almost gave up hope. Walking away from the scene, she pulled out her phone to call him when an arm pulled her behind a dumpster.

She was about to scream when a hand covered her mouth. Caia looked up to face Reggie. Once he knew she realized it was him, he pulled his hand back.

"Caia, before you say anything, I didn't do it! I know I had a gun but I wasn't really going to-" Reggie started, stumbling over a few of his words.

Caia shut him up by grabbing his fave with her hands. "Shh," she calmed. "I know you didn't do it. I saw you. I believe you."

Reggie started to calm down. He lost the crazed look in his eyes and began to breathe at a more normal rate.

Caia looked around. "I gotta go. I know the Serpents are going to be looking for you. Can you get to Pop's? We'll be able to talk more there." Reggie nodded. "I'll bring Archie and the other boys. Lay low, alright?"

Caia kissed Reggie's cheek and go up before rushing off to find her friends.

*

As Sweet Pea walked past a poster of the exterior of Riverdale High, he popped out his blade and sliced through the canvas. All around him, serpents were trashing and breaking things in anger.

Sweet Pea kicked a trash can as three silhouettes walked down the hallway. "Serpents, stop!" Archie cried.

Sweet Pea grinned. He turned around and addressed the Serpents as he talked. "Well, fellas, looks like we found some bulldogs to put down," he exclaimed, turning back around to face Archie and his friends.

Archie saw the angry expression on Sweet Pea's face and tried to appeal to him. "Sweet Pea, I swear, Reggie didn't shoot fangs. It was Mrs. Klump."

"Bull," Sweet Pea called. "I saw Mantle with a gun," he shot.

"And you also saw me tackle him before he got a shot off." Sweet Pea glared at Archie's argument. "It was Midge's mom. She's down at the station."

"Yeah?" Sweet Pea began. "And Fangs is still clinging to life," he explained bitterly. "And whether it was Reggie or Mrs. Klump who pulled the trigger, a Northsider put him there!" He finished with a shout. "You took our friend, our land, and you'll take everything if we give you the chance." He looked to his left and picked up a trash can sitting next to the wall. "So now you get to watch as we burn your school to the ground." Sweet Pea turned the trash can over and dumped the papers out onto the ground. He then let out a scream and he chucked the can into the glass trophy case, shattering it.

The bulldogs backed up at the loud crash. However, then they got into a fighting stancr, coming closer to the Serpents.

Sweet Pea flipped out his blade, the metal sound meaning business. Archie raised his bat, his expression turning mean. The tension had just reached it's climax, when the doors burst open to reveal Caia Sinclair, her hair windblown while she breathed heavily.