Chapter Text
Jason, Reggie, Moose, and Archie walked into the Whyte Wyrm as if they didn’t stand out in their bright blue and yellow varsity jackets.
They walked past a row of Serpents lined up at the bar, earning snide comments and mean looks.
A hand on Jason’s shoulder is the only thing that stopped them from heading by the pool tables where Jughead said to meet.
“Where do you think you’re going, Blossom?” Tall Boy said, leering over Jason and his bulldogs.
“Just here to meet some friends” Jason answered, his confidence unwavering. It was both a blessing and a curse that the Blossoms seemed to believe they were untouchable. He shrugged Tall Boy’s hand off him.
Tall Boy laughed. “Friends? I really doubt that snakes and dogs mix”.
Jughead came bounding down the stairs then. “As usual Tall Boy, you’re wrong”.
“Keep running that mouth boy” Tall Boy stated, a fist forming.
“And what?” Jughead teased. “Give it up, Tall Boy. They’re here because I asked them to be and frankly, you should be happy they’re here. The bulldogs are going to help with something you’ve been wanting for a long time”.
“I don’t need any help from northsiders” Tall Boy said, squaring up to Reggie who now stood up straight, refusing to back down from a challenge.
Serpents at the bar came behind Tall Boy, and Jason, Archie, Moose, and Jughead stepped up next to Reggie. You could smell the testosterone in the air.
“Enough”. FP’s voice rang clear and loud from the top of the stairs. “Back down, everyone”.
Reggie barked in Tall Boy’s face, and Jason pulled him back. “Reg, for real, stop”.
“Everyone here?” FP asked Jughead.
“Still waiting on DeSantos, Sweet Pea, and Fangs. They’re almost here”.
“No Topaz?”
Jughead’s eyes went dark. “No, no Topaz. I’m pretty sure she played a part in what happened to Betty, but that’s a conversation for a different day”.
“If this is Serpent business, she has a right to be here” Tall Boy said.
Jughead looked at his dad. Tall Boy had a point there. Despite what Toni may or may not have done to Betty, at the moment, she was still a Serpent.
FP sighed, and Tall Boy smirked. “I’ll call her”.
“No need, boys. I’m right here” Toni called from the door, Joaquin, Sweet Pea and Fangs behind her. “Did you really think you could have a Serpent meeting without me?”
“I tried to stop her from coming in, Jones” Joaquin explained sympathetically.
“It’s all good. She can probably help fill in some blanks” Jughead retorted, a look of pure hatred on his face as he stared down Toni. She didn’t look away, but Jughead saw the slightest tremor on her lips.
“Alright, enough about baby Jones and Topaz’s love. What’s the deal with the northsiders?” Tall Boy asked, earning an eye roll from both Jughead and Toni.
“Are you leading this meeting Tall Boy?” FP shot back. “No, so shut the hell up and listen for once. Jason, explain what you know”.
Jason swallowed. He was about to openly admit to all the mistakes he had made getting involved with the Ghoulies, and he was scared of their reactions. But he also felt relieved. It would feel good to finally let go of everything he had been carrying around with him, the endless guilt, fear, and sadness that had been weighing him down.
So he did. He started from the beginning, admitting to his horrible family, his fucked up father, his love for Polly, his debt to the Serpents, and his bond with his sister, who was now in danger because she was trying to protect him. He apologized for all of it, for tipping off the ghoulies, for putting Betty in danger, for making the Serpents a target.
Jughead placed a hand on his shoulder, a sign of kindness and friendship that Jason felt he didn’t deserve and never expected. Jason wondered if he would have been so forgiving had Jughead gotten Polly kidnapped. But as anyone could see, it was the Serpent Prince who was the compassionate and kind old soul, not Riverdale’s golden boy.
Jason nodded at him, a sign of thanks. And Jughead nodded back. The bro code lived on.
“Sounds to me like you just wanna involve the Serpents to help you get revenge on daddy” Tall Boy spoke once Jason had finished.
“Sounds to me like we just gained some extra boys to help us fight” FP interjected.
“What do you mean?” Jughead asked.
“It seems to me like we have a common goal” his father explained. “We all want the Ghoulies out of the picture, whatever the reasons may be. I know I said before we should just lay low, but the Ghoulies are doing too much damage. Maybe Tall Boy is right about one thing. Maybe it’s time we fight back”.
Enthusiastic yells filled the bar as the Serpents became motivated by FP’s words.
“I owe you a lot, Mr. Jones” Jason spoke. “Whatever the plan is, I’m in”.
Sweet Pea hopped off of the stage and sauntered over, his face inches from Jason’s.
“How do we know you and your goons won’t bail the last second? Bulldogs bark, but snakes bite. You ready for that?”
Without hesitation, Jason answered, “Yes”. The rest of the football team made noises of agreement.
Sweet Pea nodded in approval. His eyes narrowed, and he was definitely still skeptical of Jason, but Jason had just earned Sweet Pea’s respect.
“Dad, do you really think we can win?”.
“I think we’ve got a shot, as long as we keep the bulldogs as our secret weapon”.
“Tall Boy, you good with this?” Jughead asked him.
“It’s what I’ve been wanting for years, boy. A chance to defend ourselves. Take back our home. Exorcise those damn ghouls”.
“I have an idea” Joaquin said. “We make a deal with the ghoulies. We tell them they can keep their half of the Southside, as long as they keep the jingle jangle out of the schools, both North and South”.
“That’s like 90% of their clients, they’ll never go for it” Jason chimed in.
“Exactly. But it’s better than us going guns blazing into Ghoulie territory. We say we want to make a deal with their leader in neutral territory, and he’ll probably be there with a few guys as backup. We show up with backup, AND the bulldogs in hiding, and there’s no way they beat us. We took down those Ghoulies when we went to save Betty, and I’m betting we can get them begging for mercy, and agreeing to our terms in minutes”.
“I want to add Cheryl’s freedom as a condition”, said Jason.
Joaquin nodded. Jughead smiled at his best friend. This whole situation made him nervous but of course Joaquin knew what to say to make Jug believe in the Serpents and their plan. His only remaining fear: telling Betty.
FP cleared his throat to quiet down the murmurs of excitement as everyone processed Joaquin’s plan.
“All those in favor of this plan, raise your hand”.
Every single hand in the room rose.
***
Everyone was getting ready to leave, and Jason and Jughead were mid-conversation when Toni walked up to Jughead.
“So, we’re really doing this huh?” she asked.
“WE’RE not doing anything” Jughead said. “I’m doing this with MY family, and MY friends, which after recent events, those categories don’t include you”.
“Come on Juggie, I was just trying to save myself! They asked me if I knew a Polly, and they knew she had blonde hair and green eyes! They must have just assumed Betty was Polly”.
“Or you told them she was”.
“Do you really think I would do that to you?”
“Toni, listen carefully” Jughead began, stepping closer and towering over her small frame. He was past the point of livid, that Jughead Jones was calm. His voice was slow and lethal.
“Never call me Juggie again. In fact, never call me anything again. There’s not a doubt in my mind you handed over Betty to the Ghoulies, and for that, you’re dead to me. We might be called the Serpents, but you’re actually a snake”.
“A snake who’s gonna go to bat for you, just like I always do. No matter how many times you push me away”.
“Read my fucking lips, Toni Topaz. As far as I’m concerned, you no longer exist”.
Jughead heard Jason call his name, and then turned and left, leaving Toni scorned and fuming, again.
***
Jughead and Jason were standing outside the Cooper house that night, preparing to tell their girlfriends they were going off to battle. A blue and yellow jacket on Jason’s shoulders, and a jet black one on Jughead’s would have one believe that they were on opposite sides of the war, but that assumption couldn’t be more wrong.
“You ring the bell” Jason said.
“Why me?” Jughead responded, “it was your idea to fight”.
“Actually, it was your father’s”.
“I’m still not ringing that bell. Betty is gonna flip shit when we tell her”.
“Polly too. They’ll probably want to help”
“No way” Jughead said firmly. “Betty goes nowhere near the Ghoulies”.
“Agreed. Neither does Polly. So, should we even tell them?”
“We definitely should”.
“Okay, you’re right”.
“Sooo…..are you gonna ring the bell?”
“Nope” Jason said, emphasizing the “p” with a pop.
“But we love them. We should tell them”.
“You love Betty? Does she know?”
“She said it first” Jughead answered with a smile.
“No shit. Congrats, dude”.
“Thanks, dude”, Jughead mocked.
“So have you guys like….”
“Okay, you know what, I’m ringing the bell” Jughead said quickly.
Jason chuckled as the doorbell chimed. “I’ll take that as a yes”.
“Shut up, Jason”.
Polly answered the door, her face immediately lighting up as she saw Jason, but quickly switching to one of confusion.
“What are you boys doing here?”
“Hey babe. Are your parents home?” Jason asked.
“No, late night at the Register. Why….what’s going on?”
“Who is it, Polly?” they all heard Betty call from inside.
“Our boyfriends”.
Betty practically sprinted to the door.
“Juggie! What are you guys doing here? Do you want some food? We stopped at Pop’s because it’s a rare night where Mom isn’t here force feeding us vegetables, but we could make you guys a sandwich or something?”
“I’m good” Jason started, as Jughead immediately responded with, “Absolutely”.
Jason rolled his eyes.
“What?” Jughead defended. “I’m always hungry”.
“I guess we can talk and eat at the same time” Jason sighed.
“Talk about what?” Betty asked innocently.
“It’s probably best we all go inside”.
***
The four of them made their way to the living room after Jughead scarfed down two turkey and cheese sandwiches. Betty and Polly sat on the couch while Jughead stood by the fireplace and Jason paced around the room.
“You gonna start?” Jason asked Jughead.
“Hey, I rang the doorbell. You can go first this time”.
“You rang the doorbell to avoid my question, not because you wanted to”.
“I still did it, didn’t I?”
Jason went to open his mouth to retort but Polly cut him off by practically screaming “Can one of you just please tell us what’s going on?”.
Jason took a deep breath, and told the Cooper sisters the plan.
In true Cooper fashion, the girls sat in silence and processed the information they were just given. They looked at each other, nodded, turned to the boys and said in perfect synchronization, “We want to help”.
“Called that one” Jason said tiredly.
Jughead made his way over to Betty and sat on the coffee table across from her and took her hands.
“Listen, Betts. I love you and your giant heart, and I love you for wanting to help. But we told you this so we wouldn’t be keeping things from you. I told you because I respect you, and I love how honest we are with each other. I didn’t tell you so you could get involved more than you already are. Your bruises are barely healed. Please, just let me handle this one, okay?”
“But Jug, it’s dangerous! I don’t like this plan at all, and if I’m not there, I’ll just be sitting at home conjuring up the worst possible scenarios”.
“Jason, just hear us out” Polly began. “We may not be able to physically over power the Ghoulies but we’re quick on our feet. Maybe we can actually get them to agree instead of this ending with blood, sweat, and tears”.
“Babe, there is no negotiating with the Ghoulies. We have to fight”.
“Can’t you at least, try?” Betty asked.
“Betts...I’m sorry. It’s a solid plan, and it will work. We’re doing it this way”.
“Then we want to be there” Polly said.
“No way in hell, Polly. I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not. They were gonna use you as leverage against me. What happens if they catch you? Or Betty again! If it means keeping you safe, I’m okay with you being angry with me. But you’re not going anywhere near that fight”.
“I agree with Jason, Betty. I’m not giving you anymore information until it’s over, and don’t even think about sleuthing with your sister. Everyone knows to keep their mouth shut on this”.
Polly and Betty shared a defeated look.
“Promise us. Promise us you’ll stay out of it” Jughead asked, searching Betty’s eyes.
Betty stared back, millions of emotions swimming in her tears.
“Baby, please don’t cry. I just want you to be safe”.
A tear fell down Betty’s cheek, and Jughead swiped it away.
She sighed. “FINE. I promise. But you better call me THE SECOND this plan is over, okay?”.
Jughead leaned across the table and kissed her softly. “Okay”.
Polly looked up at Jason, his eyes pleading with her to agree just like her sister had.
“Okay” Polly finally gave in. “I promise too”.
Jason visibly exhaled, and relief washed over him.
“You boys should probably get going before our parents get back” Polly said, getting up to wrap her arms around Jason. He kissed her on her cheek, and nodded in agreement. They walked towards the door to say their goodbyes and give Betty and Jughead some privacy to do the same.
Betty stood up and hugged Jughead tight.
“I don’t like this, Jug. But I trust you”.
Jughead stroked her hair, and kissed her forehead.
“Thank you, Betts. I promise I’ll be careful”.
“You better. Who’s gonna finish my food when I can’t, if you’re not around”.
Jughead laughed. “Really? That’s all I’m good for? Your human garbage disposal?”
“Trust me, Jughead Jones. You are good for so much more than that”.
Betty stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips to Jughead’s in a deep, slow kiss.
“Stay safe. I’d like to do that again sometime”.
“Betts, when this is finally behind us, we can do that and more….any time you want”.
He leaned down and kissed her again, only breaking apart when he heard “Jones, we gotta go” from Jason.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you” Jughead told Betty, with a final kiss to her lips.
“I love you too” Betty said, and watched him walk away.