Summary: Jughead/Sweet Pea/Reader Your mom lives with you on the southside, as far into the forest as you can get. You train/work with the Ghoulies as a runner, you don’t realize this until she decides to move, you return to your childhood home, next door to the Andrews, shocked to find your dad and older brother living there still, you have to hide your connection to the Ghoulies; Jughead agrees to help; but Sweet Pea takes it the wrong way
You keep your mouth shut as your mother packs. You’re watching her, sitting on the couch, silent and half noticed as always. She glares at you, nodding as you stand shuffling over to her.
“You’ll have to go up to the Northside; couple of things left in old house, think you can grab them? The people who live there aren’t home Thursday’s so get going.” She doesn’t look at you before nodding.
You sigh pulling on your running shoes and a hoodie before throwing the hood over your face.
“What do I need?” You mom hands a crumbled piece of paper to you. You tuck the list into your pocket and start towards your old house. You’d grown up in it, with your brother and father, when they had moved out your mother and you were forced to move to the Southside. Still the neighborhood feels both like home and a stranger’s land as you walk the streets.
You watch the house for a moment, noticing the neighbors haven’t changed. You smile fondly at the faint memories, you were five, Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper had been spending the summer at your house, the inflatable pool your brother had convinced your parents to buy had been the highlight of that summer. Before your mother and you had moved as far on the Southside as possible; after your father had taken your brother and fled to some other state. Your mother told you how he was seeing another woman, how she had convinced him to move away, without you.
You step from the shadows, freezing as you hear a voice.
“Y/N? Is that you?” You turn jerking as Mr. Andrews stands in his driveway, he waves you over.
“H-hey Mr. Andrews, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare key for my old house yeah? My mom and I are moving and we needed to grab some things before we leave.” You smile hopeful, holding your hand out. He nods turning to his house and jogging up the steps, he opens the door pulling a key off the hooks he has in the entrance way.
“Here ya’ go. I didn’t know you and your mom were in town.” You furrow your brow.
“Yeah? We live on the Southside, since my dad and brother left.” He frowns, turning as a car pulls into the driveway of your old house; you duck your head shuffling over.
“I’ll just ask if they-“ You freeze again, your father stepping out of his truck, your brother from the passenger side, it’s been years, but you’d know him anywhere, you step back looking nervously to Mr. Andrews.
“My mom said-“ You quiet turning from Mr. Andrews, you re-take a step forward the key cutting into your palm.
“James?” Your voice is quiet, as you step forward again, your brother doesn’t turn, closing the door and walking towards the house.
“Hey!” You duck slightly when Mr. Andrews shouts over, both James and your father turning towards him, eyes trained on you.
“Hey uh, I used to live here and-“ You don’t finish, James pulling you into a hug.
“Y/N, you’re back in town!?!” Your father rushes over at James’ shout. You hesitate as he pulls you into a hug, after James releases you.
“Hey sweetheart, what’re you doing back? You and your mom need something?” You frown at him.
“You still live here?” Both he and James nod looking worried.
“Mom said you moved and left with some other woman, we’ve been living on the Southside since you, uh we I guess, since we moved.” He nods, gesturing towards the door of the front of the house. You step over the threshold with them, your father’s arm not leaving your shoulders.
He offers you a glass of water; you sip at it sitting on the couch as your father paces in front of the coffee table. James sits next to you eyes tracing your father as he continues walking.
“I’m fine, just, where is your mother planning on going?” He stills sitting in the chair across from the couch. You shrug.
“She didn’t tell me just that, crap. I have to be back in like ten minutes, she’ll leave without me. I should-“ You stand turning back to look at them frozen in the chairs.
“I mean I can’t stay here can I?” Your father pulls you into a hug, spinning you slightly so he now rests in between the door and you.
“Your room is still the same as when you left; so maybe some redecorating?” You shrug.
“I haven’t changed much, not really a need to redecorate.” You follow your father and brother up to your room.
“What about mom?” Your father nods, pulling his phone out and stepping back into the hall as your brother opens the door to your room. You half pay attention to the conversation, waiting for them to finish.
“So we’ll have to enroll you at Riverdale which shouldn’t be too hard to get you settled.” You nod hands unclenching from your palms. You smile at them.
“Your mom’s dropping your things off.” You nod sitting on the front steps as she pulls up, shoving a box towards you.
“There. You good?” You nod and she doesn’t respond, not even turning around as she restarts the car and drives off.
“What do you want to do? You have to do something, since James plays football so it’ll make sense for you to get up and go to school with him for practice. You should pick something to-“
“Track?” James quirks an eyebrow at you.
“I wanna run.” You nod to him and he shrugs.
“Alright. We’ll do track, you ready to get up at five am tomorrow?” You nod smiling as he shoves you from the steps, picking up the box and smiling.
“This all you got Y/N?” You nod and he sets the box on the bed. You can tell something upsets him but he seems to let it go for now.
“We’ll probably get pizza later if you want?”
“Cheese.” You nod hovering over the box your mother had left. You wait until he steps from the room. You pull the lid fully off glaring at the three pairs of jeans and shirts your mother left, under that rests two journals, and a folded backpack. You don’t need to open the bag to know your mother put cash in it.
“Y/N! Pizza sweetheart!” You nod walking down the stairs and standing in the kitchen, plates stacked and your father and brother leaning against the counter. You pull a slice over and eat half before your father sets his plate down.
“Y/N, you need any clothes? Other things?” You nod.
“I can get them this weekend, there’s a store nearby, yeah?” Your father nods, pulling another slice over.
Your brother lets you sleep in till half five, you know this because you wake at two am, silently crying, more nightmares. You shake your head from them, and stretch against your floor. You return back to bed, lying awake until you hear your brother’s alarm going off. You pretend to wake, shuffling to the bathroom and letting him curse as you silently move from the bathroom to his room, waiting for him.
You pull your hoodie’s hood up, curling behind your brother as he walks up.
“Don’t worry Y/N. I’ll protect you, you’ll love my friends. They’re all really welcoming. Well besides Cheryl.”
“There are Snakes.” You comment as he directs you towards one of the student lounges.
“Yeah the serpents are here for now. Don’t worry they’re friendly.” You nod sitting down as your brother gestures to the couch. You notice a redhead boy watching you; he extends his hand a smile on his face.
“Hey I’m Archie, Archie Andrews. Pleasure to meet you.” You nod extending your hand and smiling back.
“Y/N, James’ sister.” He nods, you watch as your brother nods at the group at have walked through the door, making a beeline for Archie and all smiling.
“Hey, you must be Y/N! I’m Betty Cooper. This is Jughead Jones, and Kevin Keller.” You watch a dark haired girl walk up.
“I’m Veronica. Veronica Lodge.” You watch a group of boys walk in, dark jackets standing out for the fact they match. You watch them hover, until Jughead tilts his head slightly. They move forward as one.
“Who’s the new face?” One of them asks eyebrows furrowing.
“James’ sister. Y/N.” You nod towards them keeping your face down. You know they’re not the enemy, not since the Ghoulies scattered, but you can help but pray none of them recognize you from your home near the trailer park.
“Where you been then? We transferred here a while ago didn’t see you here.” You look to Sweet Pea, as you’ve learned his name.
“Lived on the southside.”
“How come we never seen you at Southside?” You let Fangs circle you, smirk on his face.
“I was home schooled.” You counter and he arches an eyebrow.
“Your mother a teacher then?” You shake your head.
“Learned a bit differently from you.”
The man keeps his chokehold around your neck as he walks you through the bar. He tosses you to the ground, before you can respond with more than a snarl, another man has pulled you up and is tying you to a chair.
“Small, mousey, skittish. That’s how I’d describe you, certainly not Serpent material, Ghoulie’s must’ve been desperate to use you.” One of the older Serpent’s chime in. You wait trying to even your breathing, you know the Ghoulie’s won’t come for you, they know enough to leave you for dead. You’re a Northdsider now, beyond how far they care to test their reach.
“What do you think happens to mice then?” One of the men questions the other.
“They get eaten by snakes.” One of the serpents laugh, you don’t flinch turning to watch him. Despite being tied to a chair, despite your lip bleeding and the cut and swollen bruising around your eye, you know they can’t do anything until whoever their boss is gets in.
You watch a man walking down, his serpent jacket well worn, the flannel he has on under it dulled by age as well. You see another figure walking next to him, younger, even his clothes reflect this, brighter, less worn.
“The fuck you doing to that girl.”
“Nothing yet, caught her sneakin’ around, she’s a ghoulie apparently. That’s what the other one we caught said.” The older man looks you up and down.
“She doesn’t look like she could fight hot dog, let alone a serpent.” The group laugh and you agree he must be the leader.
“What about the other one you got? Where’s he?”
“Basement. For safe keeping.”
“Jugs what you wanna do with her?” You don’t make a sound, you don’t give away you recognize him from school.
You shake your head, and he nods.
“Untie her. Let her go. She got caught in the wrong crowd.”
“You just said she wasn’t a threat, what’s the point in keeping her then.” The rest of the serpents nod one of them untying you, you flex your wrists, rolling your shoulders. You lick your lips turning at staring at each of the serpents.
“Memorizing your faces.” You smirk, before you feel a hand on your shoulder. You duck your head cringing.
“Come on Y/N not here.” You snarl, you pull your head back as Jughead looks at you.
“Come on, lets get you home yeah?” You shake your head.
