Secrets

Bella Vasquez | Argonaut

Sweetpea | Kol.

Riverdale High the words rang in her ears as she discovered that Southside was being closed and she along with most of the other Serpents were being shipped off to a different and better school on the Northside. She was excited and upset all at the same time. Poppy truly did love to learn and knowing she was getting the chance to go to a new school that had much better academics made her a little happy. But going to a new school on the Northside now when there was so much tension going on for God knew what reason really, upset her. This was only going to make things worse, she knew that there was nothing she could do to stop it though.

“Well, Juggie it looks like you’re going back to your Northside friends,” Poppy said to the dark haired boy next to her as she flung her Serpent jacket over her shoulder. Honestly, Poppy had a bad feeling that this was going to go so wrong. Which how could it not really? Most of the Serpents were being shipped off to this nice school that hated them on the other of this town that also hated them. People in Riverdale had skewed opinions that didn’t really have any substance. Everyone blamed the Serpents for anything bad that happened, and nine times out of ten it wasn’t them. So the odds of this going over well we’re not in their favor.

---

Sweetpea couldn’t believe this was happening. He was being sent to Riverdale High. A much better school that wasn’t infested with drugs and violence. This was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him. Did he know that this going to be a disaster? Yes, that he did. It was pretty obvious to all of them that sending a bunch of Serpents to a school on the Northside that hated them probably wasn’t the smartest idea. Especially given all the tension. However Sweetpea planning on making the absolute best out of this because he wanted this to be a blessing in disguise. Sweetpea did want to go to school to learn after all. He wanted to prove to people that he wasn’t stupid like people on the Northside likely thought of him.

“Aw you two are just precious,” Sweetpea said walking up to Poppy and Jughead and resting his hand on Jugheads shoulder. “You excited Poppy? We’re finally getting out of this hell hole,” he said smiling at the girl he’d known most of his life. She understood him though, differently than everyone else, and he could be totally himself around her. Sweetpea wasn’t exactly happy to see her and Jughead getting so close because Sweets wasn’t sure if he fully trusted Jughead or not, but he wasn’t going to say anything to her either because he knew she wouldn’t take that well.

[ hope this is okay! ]

(It’s perfect! )

Jughead sighed heavily as he nodded. Good ole Riverdale High. He couldn’t really agree that he was happy to be going back there, even though it seemed like Poppy and Sweetpea sure were happy. At Southside High they had a home. They belonged. Going back to Riverdale with all of those stuck up Northsiders where anything that bad happened they blamed the Serpents, wasn’t going to well. He could feel it. “Something fishy is going on though,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I get it, Southside High is probably one of the worst places to go to school. But it was our school,” he said with a shake of his head. He knew that no matter what he said though the two of them would agree differently.

Jughead looked over at Poppy, biting his lower lip. As long as he had her by his side he knew that all would be okay. A lot of the time she kept him grounded, a little sane in the head. For that he was greatful, especially with all of the shit that’s been happening. Jughead looked up at Sweetpea as he approached them, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Jughead knee that Sweetpea wasn’t exactly his and Poppy’s number one supported, but he’d have to get over it. There wasn’t anything anyone could do or say to make them change how they felt about one another. Well, maybe Sweetpea could since they’ve known one another since the dawn of time, but Jughead could easily stop that.

---

Bella examined her nails as she waited for her breakfast to be served to her. She wasn’t the slightest bit excited to be attentding her new school or for even being in this hell hole town. It was dangerous and full of idiotic people. She much rather be back home in New York. Bella looked up when her breakfast was set in front of her, a smile spreading across her face. If it was one thing in the world that truly made her happy, it was food. “Thank you, Carla,” she said to her maid, wiggling in her seat. She took a sip of her orange juice before digging in, almost moaning from how good her food was. Bella had to make sure that she ate up and had plenty of energy for the day, especially since she had plans of taking over Riverdale High and making it her own. She knew that she had her own secret motives from her parents of course, which she’d carry out eventually. Right now she just wanted to live the life of a somewhat normal teenager.

“Oh, Bella!” A familiar voice sang as they came through the front door. Veronica Lodge was who it was. “I’m in the dining room, Veronica, Darling!” Bella called out, shoving some bacon in her mouth. “Are you super stoked for today? I bet you are,” Veronica said as she sat down across from her. Bella just gave the other girl a not so pleasing look before shoveling some scrambled eggs into her mouth. “I wouldnt Be here if I didn’t have to be, V,” she said with a groan. She quickly finished up her breakfast before standing up and grabbing her purse off the counter. “Let’s get this show on the road,” she told her friend of many years, putting her sunglasses on before they walked out the door.

"While I agree that it is strange for the mayor to just decide out of nowhere to close down an entire school now, we can consider this a win you know. Do I think it's going to go pretty? No, not at all. But at least we're all going together. Plus Jug this place is a hell hole and we're all happy to go somewhere a lot nicer. So we're going to take it one day at a time and hopefully eventually it won't that bad," Poppy said smiling at Jughead before reaching down to take his hand and holding back her own eye roll towards Sweetpea. She knew Sweets was just trying to be annoying because he still wasn't a huge fan of her and Jug. But it wasn't his decision to make, and it never would be. Eventually, excited he'd come to terms with that hopefully.

Poppy nodded her head towards her friend at the mention of excited though. "Of course, I'm excited Sweets. We're getting the hell out of this place once and for all. No more metal detectors every morning, no more jingle jangle infested halls, no more random as hell police raids, just no more shitty school. If that isn't a blessing I don't know what is," she said knowing that there were some people who were never going to truly understand how happy she was to be going to a school like Riverdale. But when you've gone somewhere like Southside your whole life it's places like Riverdale that you long for. "And we can't forget to mention all the extracurriculars you can do. Going to this school is how we're going to finally be able to do better for ourselves," Poppy told Sweets feeling a little better about the whole idea as she was just reminded that at least she wasn't going alone. And whatever one of them faced, they all faced.

---

Sweetpea nodded his head in response to Poppy's whole speech about this new school. And she was totally right. They weren't going to go to a shitty school anymore. They were about to head to a school people were happy to send their kids to. A school that also had a flushing toliets, and that alone really was enough to make Sweetpea pretty happy. "I guess we better get going then so we're not late on our first day," he said actually hoping to make somewhat of a decent impression, at least on the teachers. He knew half the students already hated him, but the feeling was pretty mutual there really.

"Poppy I think you're the only one I know of who's excited about all the extracurriculars they have to offer. You'll have to keep an eye on this one. Otherwise we might lose her to Northsiders and there extracurricualrs," Sweetpea joked, he knew that his friend would likely do her best to be involved in some kind of club at this new school because Poppy enjoyed just doing things really. "Just promise not to join the cheer squad, okay? I'd rather not see you being all peppy and shit," he told her not knowing anything at all about the Riverdale Vixens. He knew it was a squad of girls who were fully of something, and he didn't know if he could handle his best friend being one. Plus she didn't exactly seem like the cheerleading type, and he'd known her for a long time.

Jughead chuckled a bit. Poppy was always so determined and passionate about thing and he loved it. “Yeah, don’t let the Vixens grab a hold of you, Poppy. They’re some kind of mean,” Jughead said with a shake of his head. When Sweetpea suggested that they get on to school, Jug had to agree. They definitely didn’t want to be late on their first day. “Gotta make a good first impression. Hopefully you’ll make a good one on the right girl,” Jughead teased, knudging Sweetpea in the side. He wrapped his arm around Poppy, sighing contently as they made their way to school.

When they finally arrived, Jughead took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. There were a lot of memories in this place. He wasn’t sure if he were ready for this. He glanced back at his fellow Serpents, giving them a small nod before making their way into the school. Instantly they were being stared at, recieving glares. Automatically he knew that they were in for one hell of a ride.

“Hey, Jughead, over here you guys,” a familiar voice called. Jughead raised a brow and turned his head, seeing Veronica Lodge and a few other familiar faces standing at a table. “What’s all this, Veronica?” He asked as he approached the table.

“Consider us your welcome party. We have brochures and maps of the school, as well as a contact list Incase you need help.” Jughead grabbed one of the papers, scanning over it. He looked back up and nodded before setting the paper back down. “Thanks but I think we got it from here,” he told her, before walking away. He couldn’t help but notice a girl standing next to Veronica that he’s never seen before, he just hoped that she didn’t cause anymore drama.

---

It wasn’t anything like the school back home, but Bella was impressed. At least it was clean and seemed to have some well rounded students. The first thing that she had to do this morning was help Veronica welcome the pests that were going to invade the school not that theirs was shut down. “I still don’t see the point of this, you and I both know that they won’t give a damn. Besides, your little sports friends are going to give them a hard time regardless,” she said as she looked around. Bella blew a bubble and popped her gum, organizing some of the stuff that they had on the table.

“We have to help, Bell,” Veronica said, reshuffling the papers that Bella just fixed. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Veronica was definitely more into the whole “family business” thing than she was. Bella just occasionally did what she was told or what was expected of her, but she much rather just move her own life, which was definitely better said than done. Bella heard the doors opened and she looked up, seeing their new classmates come through the doors. She listened as Veronica greeted them, obviously pretty familiar with one of them. Bella though couldn’t keep her eyes off of the tallest of the group, tilting her head to the side and biting down on her lower lip. She’d love to show him around. He was gorgeous and Bella definitely had her sights set on him.

Poppy wrapped her own arm around Jughead happy to walk with him anywhere. "You don't have to worry about me," she said as they headed off to their first-day ar Riverdale. "Preppy and peppy cheerleaders have never been my thing," she added pretty sure things would end horrifically if she had to willingly put up with Chyerl Blossom. Poppy knew all about the red-head who declared herself head bitch in charge and felt like the world owed her something and it was just best the two weren't on the same team for anything.

She let Jughead lead the way once they'd walked inside, given he already knew his way around the place pretty well. Plus she trusted him, and she didn't exactly trust the 'welcoming party' they'd been greeted with. Sure they may be trying to be genuine but Poppy wouldn't trust them or believe any of them wanted the Serpents there until she had proof which was going to need to be a lot more than handing out brochures.

"I heard you and your scumbag friends were arriving today. I hope you don't plan on making yourself comfortable because we all see the truth here. And we all know what kind of people you really are," Cheryl said as she walked down the steps with her vixens and the football team right behind her.

Poppy rolled her eyes and knew someone would end up holding her back, but she hoped they didn't. "Why don't you come and say that to my face? You privileged spoiled brat," Poppy said ready to attack before she was being grabbed by Sweetpea and held back.

---

"Poppy you need to calm down," Sweetpea said as he stepped in front of his best friend. "It's our first day and we don't need your attitude," he told her turning her around and shooing her off towards Jughead who he truly did hope could keep her in check. At least for one day. "And you," he said turning to face Cheryl and her clan of attack dogs. "You need to stay the hell away, from all of us," he said scoffing at her before he turned to walk away.

"Thanks for trying to be a welcoming party and all but we know none of you really want us here. And contrary to everyone's beliefs we didn't choose to come here. But we would all like to make it through high school and some of us really do want to try and learn. So just leave us be and maybe everything will run smoothly," he told the little welcoming party as he walked past them all to catch up with the rest of his crew.

Honestly, so far the first day was going just as he'd thought it would, to hell in a handbasket. And they'd only been at the school for all of five minutes. Hopefully, nothing else would go wrong, because if so then this day wouldn't be that awful. But he knew that with all of their luck, and the fact that no one really wanted them there something else would likely go wrong. Especially given the long-standing feud between Poppy Clayton and Cheryl Blossom not to mention both of their for lack of a better word fire. There was no way this was going to end well.

Jughead was about ready to snap Cheryl's neck in half when she decided to come over and start shit. Before he could even step forward, Poppy was rasing hell. Jug smirked, shaking his head. He knew that he needed to stop Poppy but honestly, he loved seeing her all riled up. He caught Poppy when Sweetpea pushed her towards him, taking her hand. "Calm down, Tiger. You'll get your chance," he told her softly, kissing her cheek before turning in the opposite direction down the hall. They needed to at least get to their first class on time. "Let's just try to stay positive and get through our first day without any screw ups," he told them.

"Hey! You guys forgot your class schedules," he heard an airy voice say, raising a brow and turning around. It was the new girl that was standng by Veronica before."Why do you have our schedules?" he asked, taking it from her. He thought he had to go to the office to get anything. He couldn't help but notice how she was looking at Sweetpea, chuckling and shaking his head before he turned away and began looking at his schedule, not waiting for an answer from this girl. If she were anything like Veronica then she meant trouble for them.

"Let me see your schedule," he told Poppy, taking her schedule from her and comparing theirs together. He wanted to see if they were going to have any classes together. Thankfully they had almost every class together except for one, so Jughead was alright with that. "Looks like the odds were in our favor this time around."

---

Bella bit down on her bottom lip as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. "So that's Cheryl Blossom," she murmured to Veronica, stifling a laugh. She wasn't really all that Veronica cracked her up to be. If Bella wanted to she could do worse damage and take over this school in an instant. But she wasn't here for that. She watched as the little gang of Serpents walked away, her eyes widening as she grabbed the pile of class schedules. "Hey! You guys forgot your class schedules," she said as she ran up to them, hanging each of them a schedule. She saved the cute tall one for last, which she now figured out his name was Sweetpea. She wasn't sure if that were unique or just hippyfied. Either way she kind of liked it. She raised a brow when Jughead asked her why she had their schedules, about to answer when he just turned and walked away. Bella huffed, shaking her head.

"Looks like we have some classes together," she told Sweetpea with a smirk. "I'll be seeing you around, cutie," she told him with a wink, turning and walking back towards Veronica so she could get her purse. She knew that she was playing with fire here but she didn't care. She always had a soft spot for bad boys. "Bella," Veronica said in a warning tone as she came up to her. Bella just gave her an innocent look and shrugged, picking up her purse.

"I'm gonna be late for class V, we'll talk later. Tootles," she said, heading towards class with a bounce in her step.

Poppy pushed her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. “I cannot stand her,” she told him before she heard some one calling them back about picking up their class schedules. She let Jughead grab hers for her and honestly tried to hold back a laugh when she noticed some privileged looking girl totally checking Sweetpea out. Oh was their first day already eventful. “At least something went right then,” she said smiling and kissing him this time around. Poppy was fine spending most of her time here with Jughead. They honestly hardly saw one another at all when they’d been at southside, so this was a plus. It meant she’d know at least one person in every class which would make transitioning here a lot easier.

“Walk me to class?” She asked jokingly before resting her head on his shoulder as they walked down the halls towards their first class. “Do your friends here know we’re a thing? I mean I know you haven’t really seen them a lot lately but I assume you still talk to them occasionally,” she asked him. And either way it wasn’t a big deal if he’d told people or not but Poppy did kind of want to know where she stood with his Northside friends. Like did they know about her, would there be any weird tension or someone she needed to avoid as to not cause issues. After all, Poppy had told Jug all about her fling with some random Northsider from forever ago. Obviously things hadn’t worked out, point was she’d had past relationships and wouldn’t want anything weird to surprise him.

---

“Uh yea I guess I’ll see you around, thanks,” Sweetpea replied to the girl who’d handed out everyone’s schedule. It was a little weird for him. He was obviously new to this school, and it was quite clear that being there was already causing some issues with certain students and this girl looked like one of those privileged girls he totally made fun of back at Southside. She’d totally just hit on him though. Girls like that never paid any attention to him. They were usually more like Cheryl and totally bitchy towards him as if it were his fault he’d been born on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’.

Sweetpea figured Jughead would know a thing or two about this girl, so he ran to catch up to him and Poppy. “Don’t laugh at me. But that was so awkward. Who is that girl anyways? What can you tell me about her?” He said sending them both a look knowing they’d probably wanted to laugh. He really was confused though. Sweetpea was totally all for girls, and he wouldn’t mind giving a Northside girl a go if she was actually interested. However, he’d like to know as much about her as possible before deciding if he was going to do anything about it.

Jughead sighed as Poppy asked if his friends knew about her. Of course, Archie knew about Poppy, he told him everything. As for everyone else, they knew Jughead was dating someone but they just weren't sure who. He'd gotten to the point of not really discussing his personal life with any of his Northside friends, they just were too judgemental and blamed the serpents for everything. "They... know about you, like they know I'm dating someone," he said with a sheepish smile. "I guess they just don't really know your name yet. But that's alright, that'll change soon enough," he told her. "I want them all to know exactly who you are."

Jug slowed down a bit as Sweetpea approached them, laughing as he asked about that girl. "Interested, are we?" he teased. "I'm not sure, she looks new. I can ask Veronica for you later," he told him with a wink, patting his shoulder before heading into the classroom with Poppy. He quickly got them two seats in the back corner, wanting to be as far enough away from everyone as he possibly could be. Everyone in the classroom was giving anyone with a Serpent jacket a look of disgust and Jughead knew that eventually, he was going to knock some teeth out.

---

Bella checked herself in her little compact mirror, grinning at her appearance. She sighed softly as she put it back in her purse, walking into the classroom and scanning around for a seat. She didn't really want to sit near anyone that looked stuck up and annoyed with just anything that breathed, A.K.A. the Vixens or anyone associated with Cheryl Blossom. Bella may be "privileged", but she didn't act like a majority of these little shits. She did like to wear jeans and a tee shirt to school like a normal teenager and be pretty laid back. Veronica was more stuck up than she was at times.

Bella took a seat in the back, putting a piece of gum in her mouth. She flipped through her books, pulling out her notebook and scribbling in it. This class was a bit behind compared to the ones at her old school, so she had already mastered the content that the teacher was teaching. Which really sucked for her, she felt like it was time wasted.

"Alright, class. I want all of our new students to stand up and introduce themselves," the teacher said as he entered the room. Bella raised a brow and slowly stood up, sighing heavily as she looked around at all of the Southsiders.

"And they will. I'll even do my best to befriend them. After all, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't at least try to get along with your old friends?" Poppy said kissing Jughead's cheek before they walked into the classroom and took their seats. Poppy couldn't help but want to roll her eyes at how everyone was just looking at them like they were. It bothered her that the students here were so full of themselves. None of the Serpents had asked to be on Southside or sent to a shitty school that couldn't care less about them. It's just how things had panned out. It also bothered her that no one really took the time to figure out what the Serpents were all about. People assumed they were just into violence, sex, and drugs, all because most of them rode motorcycles and had leather jackets and tattoos. But none of that was what they were. The Serpents didn't get involved with Ghoulie business, or at least they hadn't always and as far as Poppy knew none of the younger recruits were really involved. And they really only attacked if they were feeling threatened or attacked first. Poppy was happy to be at a new school that actually had enough desks and books for everyone, but she knew this wasn't going to be an easy transition. For anyone.

Poppy sighed, "he's kidding right?" She whispered to Jughead wondering why the hell their teacher would want them to introduce themselves really. It wasn't like the Northsiders even cared what her name was. She could tell by the look the teacher was giving them all though that he was not kidding. So Poppy rolled her eyes and stood up figuring she'd play along, after all, she wanted to try and make a good first impression on the teachers.

"I'm Poppy Clayton, obviously I'm a transfer from Southside," She said pushing her fingers through her hair as she looked around and trying not to lose her cool. This was the most awkward thing she'd ever done. And she wasn't really bothered by large crowds looking towards her usually, but this did make her a little uncomfortable, probably because she knew half of them couldn't care less about her so why did even have to do this, and some of them were probably cronies of Cheryl and would love to dig up dirt or something crazy. Either way though, Poppy was fully ready to defend herself if need be at any point.

---

Sweetpea wasn't sure if he was interested or not. He had to admit it was interesting that someone who looked like her was interested in even talking to him given the reputation the serpents had around here already after all of five minutes. Though finding out that she was also new shined a little bit of light onto that. Clearly, she either didn't know about them or she did and didn't care. Though both were kind of a relief if he were being honest. It was extremely good to know that they weren't the only new students starting all of a sudden and that some people from this side of town could look past the fact that he was a serpent just enough to show a little bit of interest.

He took everything into account when he was picking out a seat and finally decided on sliding right behind the other new girl who he knew nothing about. Of course, before he could get a word in the teacher was walking in and asking all the new students to stand up and introduce themselves which was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard, but he went along. Only because new girl stood up, and he saw Poppy get up which of course led everyone else into getting up also. He really didn't want to introduce himself to this class or any other class for that matter. No one really cared, and the important people in his life already knew who he was, but he also knew he should just go along with what was asked of everyone because it would make things easier on him. Plus he knew letting the teachers know that he could listen and wasn't going to be a distraction was a good idea.

"Obviously I'm also a transfer from Southside, and the name is Sweet Pea," he said hoping at least this wouldn't go south like everything else seemed to be doing this morning already.

Jughead frowned a little when Poppy asked if this guy was serious. He knew what she was thinking, no one in this class or school, in general, cared to hear what they had to say. None of them wanted them there and Jughead felt like the more he had to talk and socialize with them, the more they were going to stir shit up. Everything they said could be used against them, even if it were just his name. Jughead sighed and stood up, since technically he was a new student now, even though he'd gone here before. He was only gone for a matter of like four days.

After Sweetpea finished introducing himself, Jughead took the initiative to do the same. "I'm Jughead, as most of you know. I'm from the southside and i'm also a serpent," he said with a small smirk. "Watch your back folks, we hide in the tall grass waiting to strike." Jughead saw the guy in front of him give him an odd look, making him chuckle. Jughead wasn't really the fighting type most times, but he knew when and where the time was appropriate and he would definitely fight for those he cared about. Especially Poppy. If Poppy were to get hurt or harassed by one of this scumbags, he was surely going to take action. No one messed with his girl. He'd certainly kick some ass.

Once Jughead had finished introducing himself, he sat right back down. He wasn't going to stand up longer than he needed to be.

---

Bella examined her nails as everyone introduced themselves, patiently waiting her turn. The last thing she wanted to do was be one of the first once to speak. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side ever so slightly as she listened. She smirked as she listened to Sweetpea, biting her lower lip. She liked that he had sat behind her. Bella was determined to get to know this Southsider and get on his good side. She felt like it would definitely benefit her in the long run, but also he was really hot and she wouldn't mind getting a piece of him.

"My name is Bella Vasquez, I don't think you need to know anything else about me." Bella sat back down, sighing heavily. Hopefully, the class would end quickly and she could maybe just skip the rest of the day. She didn't really care if this was her first day or not, she already knew it all and she didn't want to be bothered with rehearing it. Bella definitely had better things to do than to waste her time.

When class ended, she turned around in her seat and grabbed Sweetpea's pen, then his hand. She knew she was definitely shooting for the stars with this one but she didn't care. "Give me a call or a text sometime," she told him as she wrote her number on his hand, giving him a wink. She stood up and grabbed her purse, walking out of the classroom and towards her locker to switch books out. She may have just met Sweetpea today, but she felt like she could never move to quickly with giving someone her number.

Poppy thought it was stupid for them to all have to stand and introduce themselves, but she'd gone along nonetheless because she didn't want to cause a ruckus on her first day. Though she felt like she was hanging some kind of target on her back because now people knew her name. Or at least if they'd been paying attention they did, and the more they knew about her the worse things could be. Honestly, she just wanted to make it through this school year and keep her hopes high that maybe as time went on things would get better. So rather than spending the entire class worrying about things she had no control over Poppy turned her attention to the front of the class and did her best to actually pay attention. She vaguely remembered going over how they were going to learn about this same thing back at Southside at the start of the year though at Southside that meant very little given the teacher never really took the time to teach much. Here at Riverdale though Poppy could just tell they actually taught what they said they were going to.

Once the class had ended and she'd gathered her things Poppy turned to Jughead with a huge smile. "How interesting was that? I mean I know this just math class and that may not be a big deal to other people but do you know how many math classes I sat through at Southside and got nothing from them? Jug we were supposed to learn about this shit last year and we never did. I mean I kind of already knew some of what he was talking about today but my mind was just blown away by everything else. Oh, this is amazing, what's next on our class list?" She asked as she linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder again.

Poppy was well aware that people here may find it weird how much she loved learning, but she always had. She use to check books out of the library just to teach herself things growing up. Though someone had to teach her, and if it wasn't going to be her teachers then it fell on her because she knew her parents wouldn't help. And she wouldn't ask them for help anyways. So Poppy had taken it upon herself to figure things out on her own. Of course, she'd roped in some of the other Serpents over the years, though when you all practically live at the same place and you start doing life together, or you've been friends with someone most of your life you just did things together. Even learning. And really Poppy wouldn't change a single thing about her life up to this point. She was quite happy with it how it was.

---

Sweetpea had at least figured out her name, and that she was indeed new. That was probably the only good thing that came from all the new students introducing themselves. Though her name didn't really give him much to go on. He supposed he also knew that she was apparently friendly with someone name Veronica who Sweets knew Jughead knew. And well at least he had something to go on. He had her name, her friends' name, and he knew Jughead who might be able to get him more intel on her.

Honestly, Sweetpea spent a good majority of the class paying attention once their teacher had actually started class. And he was forever thankful that he had Poppy as a best friend. Because suddenly all of her insane late night study sessions over things they weren't even actually learning about were paying off, and he didn't feel as behind as he knew that he could. Sweetpea knew all the way really that he could've been behind in all of his classes really which wouldn't start this new school off well for him, but maybe that wouldn't be the case at all.

"Wh- Yea. Yes. I will do that," Sweetpea said in response to Bella as she scribbled her number onto his palm. He mentally slapped himself as he probably sounded like some kind of an idiot who couldn't talk to girls. And that just wasn't true. Sweetpea knew he had game, he did, but there was something about this girl that totally just caught him off guard. He wasn't sure what it was though. Maybe it was the fact that she looked extra privileged and not like the girls he was used to seeing or even the type of girl he was used to showing any interest in him. But he didn't mind it. Change like this was always a good thing right? Really he didn't know if this was a good thing or not. He could kind of see it going either way really. Sweetpea wasn't exactly the type of guy that typical girls like her brought home to meet the parents, and he knew that. Typical Northside families weren't accepting of their children talking to known Serpents let alone 'dating' them. But at the same time if she was new then she hadn't had time to be poisoned against them like everyone else in town had which could actually end up playing into his favor. He supposed he'd just have to see what happened.

Jughead was so glad when class was finally over. He stood up and wrapped his arm around Poppy, who was just ecstatic about how well class went. He always found it adorable and admirable how much Poppy just loved school. She loved to learn and did everything that she could to make sure her knowledge grew. “You’re so cute, you know that?” He simply said, kissing her temple. “You May love it now, but just wait until the end of the semester. They load you up with so much homework you won’t be able to breathe.” Jughead laughed, pulling out their schedule and seeing what classes they had next.

“Looks like it’s Chemistry. Hopefully you’re my partner.” He nudged her a bit, making his way down the hall and towards the Chemistry lab. “Man I hope we have lunch soon, I’m starving.” Jughead pouted a bit and rubbed his stomach. He was always hungry though so there was nothing new there. He could eat about fifteen burgers from Pop’s. He actually could seriously use a burger from there right about now.

Jughead lead Poppy into the classroom, quickly grabbing the last empty table in the back. “Looks like we got lucky,” he told her with a smirk. “What do you say we round up the gang and go to Pop’s tonight for dinner? Unless you want to skip and we can just go for lunch,” he asked her innocently, really wanting to go. He knew that it was a long shot askingher about lunch, but maybe if he just gave her enough of his famous puppy-eyes she’d give in and they could go.

---

Bella smirked at Sweetpea’s reaction. She hadn’t been expecting that at all, him being all flustered. She thought he was some big tough guy who was smooth with the ladies. Bella stood at her locker, looking around and contemplating on if she should stay or ditch. She didn’t really feel like staying around here any longer, especially since it was just a repeat of everting she already learned. Bella put her books away, grabbing her jacket before closing her locker. She was definitely blowing the rest of the day.

Bella made her way down the hallway, towards the side exit doors. She looked behind her to make sure no teachers or anything were watching. She did however catch a glimpse of Sweetpea about to enter his classroom. Bella winked at him and waved before she left, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. She hated being cooped up in school all day. If she could she would be outside 24/7. There was just something about the fresh, crisp air that just smelled so good and made her feel great.

Bella noticed the Vixens practicing over where the guys were playing football, twisting her lips to the side as she crossed her arms in thought. She was contemplating on auditioning, just so she could knock Cheryl Blossom down and give her a reality check. Bella had been her captain at her last school, she was almost positive she could claim that title here as well.

Poppy was very content. Maybe by the end of the year she would indeed be tired of all the homework and tests but really she wouldn’t even know what that was like because Southside rarely even gave homework or tests. Honestly, Poppy wasn’t even sure how anyone ever actually passed a class at all in that school. “Well I guess I’ll just deal with drowning in homework when the time comes,” she told him willing to do that really if it truly did mean she’d be getting a good education that would help her out in so many ways in the future.

“Babe you’re always hungry,” Poppy said not knowing a time when Jughead wasn’t starving or couldn’t go for a burger at Pop’s. Honestly, when the day came that he wasn’t hungry or didn’t want a burger Poppy would be worried really. The hunger and obsession with burgers was just part of who Jughead was.

Poppy has of course taken a seat right next to Jug happy to have him as a lab partner, but she glanced over at him giving her his adorable little puppy eyes as he’d mentioned just skipping class to go get burgers. “Jones, are you trying to convince me to skip class on my first day? And here I thought I was supposed to be the bad influence on you,” she joked before biting her lip as she thought about it for a moment. “If we’re gonna go we should do it now so we don’t get caught. So lead the way you rebel,” she whispered to him before pressing her lips to his for a quick kiss. Jughead Jones and his stupid puppy dog eyes were clearly a weakness for her, and he totally knew that.

---

Sweetpea hadn’t even walked into his next class before he spotted Bella again, only she wasn’t walking into the classroom she was leaving. And seeing that truly sparked his interest about he more. After all, it was always pretty bold to just walk out of school, and especially on your first day. Clearly she didn’t care though. And now Sweetpea was slightly conflicted. Did he play it safe and just go to class and keep trying his best to make a good impression on the people here, or did he follow this Bella girl and show that he was a Serpent, and a totally didn’t care to get into trouble.

Now he wasn’t one to just sit back and follow rules all the time like some goody two shoes. But he did actually want to get a good education, especially after all the years he’d kind of been denied that at Southside. This was his chance though. He had to show Bella that he was a bad boy, and that he wore his jacket for a reason. Because he was a Serpent and didn’t let anyone tell him what to do. He had a reputation to uphold, and he couldn’t have some new girl not only upstaging him but making him all flustered like she had. That just wasn’t him, she’d simply caught him slightly off guard.

“So where are we going?” Sweetpea asked Bella, when he’d caught up to her outside, as he put his arm over her shoulder. “I mean after all, if we’re going to skip the rest of the day we should have some kind of idea on where we’re going,” he said knowing that if she didn’t have an idea then he’d take it upon himself to just show her around.

Jughead was super excited when Poppy agreed to skip with him. "We're going to have so much fun," he told her with a smirk. He stood up, motioning for her to follow him so that they could get out of here before the teacher got there. Jug looked around to make sure no one was following them or had seen them before he took Poppy's hand and made his way out the side exit, where he knew no one would be at this time. Well, at least he thought so. Jughead furrowed his brow when he saw Sweetpea standing there with his arm wrapped around some girl. From the back, it kind of looked like that new extra privileged girl from earlier today.

"Well, would you look at that. It's only the first day and Sweetpea has himself a girl," Jughead murmured to Poppy. "Should we see if they want to go to Pop's with us for some grub, or just let them be?" he asked her, looking over at her. It was totally Poppy's call whether or not she wanted them to join them. Jughead thought that maybe it would be a little bit of fun having them tag along, make it a double date of the sorts. Of course though maybe they wouldn't want to come either.

Jughead started approaching them, wanting to see what was up anyways, even if they didn't go to Pop's with them. He wanted to make sure that this little-spoiled brat wasn't trying to brainwash one of his friends. Southside Serpents and privileged little girls like her never really got along.

---

Bella smirked as she heard a door open up behind her and then an arm wrap around her. "Where are we going?" she repeated, laughing. "Who says you can tag along?" Bella teased him, nudging his side a bit. So the bad boy was bad after all. Of course Bella would have understood if he hadn't followed her and decided to keep making a good first impression of the teachers, but honestly, she didn't see the point in trying when regardless of what you do, they're going to keep the same opinion about you. She learned that for herself.

"I'm a bit hungry so I was thinking about getting a bite to eat, then maybe to a little bit of exploring, yunno get to know the town a bit," she said, continuing to watch The Vixens practice. The more she watched them, the more she kind of wanted to join them. She knew that that little clique were complete bitches and they had formed a clan, but she still wanted to try and join and show them what she was made of.

Bella raised a brow when she heard more footsteps, pulling away from Sweetpea and looking behind them. She furrowed her brow as she saw Jughead and Poppy, putting her hands on her hips. "Everyone is skipping today, I see."

Poppy went right along with Jughead letting him lead the way out of the school, and she wouldn't be surprised at all if he'd went the way he had because he knew it was the best exit to use if you were skipping. She was surprised though to walk out and see Sweetpea standing with his arm around some girl. "I guess we can see if they'd like to tag along. It might actually be nice. Plus then maybe we can get some intel on this girl. After all, we can't have just anyone walking into our lives," she said knowing how it might've sounded to someone who didn't know them well. Plus Sweetpea was Poppy's best friend and if any girl Serpent or not thought they'd get a chance with him without Poppy at least giving her advice they had another thing coming. Sweetpea was the same way though, and she'd heard his opinion about Jughead and really every other boy who'd ever been in her life so many times. It's just how things worked them.

"It would seem they are," Poppy said once they'd approached Sweetpea and Bella. "Wasn't expecting to see you out here," Poppy said looking to Sweets not upset that he was there. After all, she was also there so it'd be little hypocritical of her to judge him or any of them really given she was doing the same thing. She was shocked to see him out there though because she just hadn't expected it. "So do you guys have plans together? Or would you like to join Jug and I on our adventure?" Poppy asked tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling at the pair in front of her.

---

Sweetpea would've loved to respond to Bella, but before he had the chance to they were being approached by Poppy and Jughead. Two people, he hadn't been expecting to see. "I could say the same thing to you," Sweetpea said raising his brow. This whole situation was a little weird to him. "It's good to see that this new school isn't going to change you, at least not too much," he joked with her. Honestly, skipping class because they didn't feel like going or rather didn't see the point in going, or just because was totally something they did rather often actually their freshman year. And it was kind of nice to know they were both still willing to be 'bold' and just have fun.

"Where are you guys going anyways? Because no offense but I'd like to have a few more details about this adventure the two of you are embarking on before I decide to tag along or not. Ya know just because I don't want a repeat of last time I just decided to tag along after you invited me," Sweetpea said knowing that it could be a few different things when it came to those two. They could just be going to Pops for burgers and milkshakes with nothing else planned, or they could have an actual adventure planned which God only knew what that would entail. He'd learned that not many things were really off limits when it came to those two. Honestly, even if they did tag along Sweets wouldn't be at all surprised if they had other motives, just like he wouldn't be shocked if after a bit Poppy and Jughead bailed to be alone somewhere private. Which, Sweets totally understood, he was a dude after all. Plus what teenage couples are going to skip school and not want to have some kind of action?

Poppy was right, they really couldn't just let anyone waltz right into their lives. They had to be careful. Jughead knew that it was especially that way with Sweetpea, since they both had grown up with one another. He remembers the time that Sweetpea drilled him for hours when he first started taking interest in Poppy. That kid could seriously be scary when he wanted to be. "Let's go see, shall we?" he told her, leading her over to where Sweetpea and that girl were. Jughead chuckled as he listened to the two banter as they approached, shaking his head. Things never changed. "Just because we go to a new school now doesnt mean that we're never going to skip class again, the first day or not," Jughead said, crossing his arms over his chest.

It was true what Sweetpea said, though. Every time they skipped to go on an adventure something completely ridiculous happened, so he didn't blame him at all for not wanting to go. "Where ever and whatever Poppy wants to do," he said with a shrug. Jughead went where ever Poppy went, he let her decide on what they wanted to do. Unless it came to Jughead being hungry and wanting food, then usaully it was his turn to decide things. "We were going to go to Pops and grab some burgers and shakes unless she decided differently," he said, raising a brow and looking down at Poppy. That probably was still her plan, but most likely she had something else up her sleeve afterward.

---

Bella raised a brow as she listened to all of them, not sure if she really wanted to get into any shady business. Although, she really wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt here. SHe wanted to see what they were all about instead of going off of everyone else's word. "I'm in," she said with a smirk. "I'm pretty hungry anyway and I have yet to go to Pop's. I hear his milkshakes are amazing," she said, getting excited just thinking about it. Bella wanted to try every milkshake there was on the menu. She'd probably be in a sugar coma by the time they were finished.

"Well, if you all are done conversating about pointless things, let's get going? I don't know about you guys but I'm starving," she said, rubbing her aching belly. Bella turned around and began to walk towards the parking lot, stopping once she realized something. She didn't have her car. Sighing heavily, she turned to face them once again. "Do any of you have a car, or are we walking?" she asks, biting her lower lip. The last thing she wanted to do was walk since that was the easiest way to get spotted, but she guessed that she really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"What could I possibly pick that would be better than Pops?" Poppy asked smiling at Jughead. There weren't really that many places to get food in Riverdale, and Poppy wouldn't pick any of them over Pops. He just had the best burgers, the best milkshakes, and her personal favorite the best cheesy bacon tots. So really she'd be an idiot to go somewhere else. She would've promised that nothing out there would happen today, but she knew that she couldn't make that promise and actually keep it. Who knew if something insane would happen today or not, but Poppy didn't like to make promises that she knew she couldn't keep.

Poppy pushed her fingers through her hair and turned to Bella when she'd spoken up again, "well we're not walking that's for sure," she said biting her lip. "But we don't exactly have cars, so I hope you're okay riding on a motorcycle," she added trying not to laugh really. There they were on their first day at this new school not only skipping but doing it with some preppy also new girl none of them knew. This was not at all how she'd imagined her day going, but it was fine. They were just making memories after all, and what was high school really without making some memories for later. "Let's go get you a burger babe," Poppy said turning to smile at Jughead before lacing their fingers together and pulling him away towards his bike. "Well see you guys at Pops," she called to Sweets and Bella ready to see what this girl was actually made of.

---

Sweetpea was fine with Pops, and he was fine being there with his friends, he was also fine introducing Bella to the wonderful place since apparently, she'd never been. Not that he was really shocked by that since she wasn't from Riverdale, but he did wonder how long she'd been in town. Because if it had been over a few days and no one had gotten her anything from there he felt kind of bad for her. Pops was actually the best place to get food in town. "Oh his shakes are really amazing, you're going to love them," he told her pretty excited himself really. It had actually been awhile since he'd been to Pops himself. Honestly, most of the Serpents didn't cross into the Northside very often so they didn't really visit pops a lot. And if they did it was usually during the school day when everyone was still at school so there wasn't any trouble caused. Which it looked like that apparently hadn't changed.

"You don't have any problems taking my bike do you?" Sweetpea asked as he'd started walking towards his bike given he'd figured that's how they were getting there. After all, it only made sense to drive there somehow as to get there faster. Plus people might find it odd if their bikes were all still at school but they weren't there at the end of the day to grab them which could possibly then give them away. And the last thing he wanted today was to get caught skipping, especially over not being able to hide his tracks well enough.

Jughead chuckled when Poppy said she wouldn’t really go anywhere else to get food. Pop’s reallg was the place to go, no matter what. He had the best food in town. It was a shame to think that not long ago Pop’s was going to shut down. Jughead always thought something shady was off about that, but he tried not to push it. He raised a brow at the look on that little preppy girl’s face when Poppy mentioned taking a motorcycle, chuckling. It was definitely going to be a sight for everyone seeing some privledged, kind of classy girl riding on the back of Sweetpea’s bike. That was definitely a sight you didn’t see everyday. Honestly, Jughead wasn’t sure if Sweetpea had ever had a girl on the back of his bike. A little weird and mysterious, but it was none of Jughead’s business.

“Alright, babe, lets go,” he said, wrapping his arm around Poppy’s shoulders. “I’m dying for that burger.” He lead her over to his bike, grabbing both helmets and getting on. He handed Poppy hers before he put his own on, getting situated. When she was on the back of the bike and her arms were wrapped around him, he roared the engine to life. Jughead adored his motorcycle, the sound of it and the way it just purred like a lion really made him happy. His double checked to make sure that Poppy was secure before he took off out of the parking lot. If the school staff hadn’t figured out that they had skipped by now, then they sure knew it now by the sounds of their motorcycles.

---

Bella wasn’t sure what she was really getting herself into. This could be s huge mistake on her part, for all she knew they could be planning some sort of crazy attack on her because of who she was and her background. But she needed to stop being so paranoid. Not everyone was out to get her here like at her other school. She was still safe for now at least. When they found out who her father was and what he did to earn a living, their opinion might change. That was okay with her though, because the ones who’s opinions didn’t change she’d know they were real friends. Bella only had one true friend back at her other school, but unfortunately she had passed away thanks to some freak accident that she was almost certain her father had something to do with.

Bella cleared her throat, looking down at her skirt before looking back at them. “Well this should be interesting,” she said with a small laugh. She followed Sweets towards his bike, actually a bit nervous. She’s never been on a motorcycle before. “Yeah, I’m totally okay with it,” she said with a nod. Bella began to bite on her finger nails as she finally approached the bike, shaking her head. Of course there was only one helmet, but Bella was okay with that. He could wear his helmet if she wanted to, she’d go without. Once Sweet pea was on his bike, she threw her leg over and got on herself. She wasn’t really sure where to put her hands.

Other than in bed curled up close to one another, or resting her head on his shoulder in their booth at Pop’s Poppy’s favorite place to be was on the back of Jughead’s motorcycle with her arms around him like so. That may have sounded weird to other people but it felt right and normal for her. Of course, Poppy just loved motorcycles. She had one of her own but ever since she’d gotten with Jughead and they’d started spending so much time together she hadn’t really needed to ride her own because Jughead drove them both everywhere. And she was fine with that. There was something actually rather freeing about being on the back of a bike.

“Shouldn’t you two be in school?” Poppy heard Pop Tate ask them as they walked into Pops Chocolate Shop and of course headed right towards their normal booth. “I assume you’re having your regulars?” He asked smiling at them as shaking his head.

Poppy smiled up at Pop and nodded. “Yes we’ll be having our regular orders. And you’re not going to rat us out are you Pop? I mean it was such a rough morning we really needed a break. We are at a new school where people don’t exactly like us,” she said knowing full well that Pop Tate wouldn’t tell anyone they were there if anyone came asking. Not that she thought people would, after all they were just skipping school not off off doing anything super illegal.

---

Sweetpea showed Bella to his bike before he took out his helmet and decided to offer it to her. After all, he’d much rather protect her head this his own. “There’s nothing to be nervous about,” he told her before he climbed on and waited for her to follow his lead. “You’re going to want to hold on tight,” he told her as he didn’t want her to end up falling off and hurting herself. He’d seen way to many people get hurt on these things because they couldn’t listen or just chose not to. If he could prevent something from happening though he would do his best.

Yes he may have been part of a biker gang but that didn’t mean he had no respect for life or for other humans. Because he did, and Bella had done nothing wrong to him or people he cared about so he would be nice to her unless she gave him a reason not to be. Sure, Sweetpea may have disliked the Northside a lot but it was mostly the people who wrote him off and caused shit just because they make assumptions about him. Like the damn bulldogs football team. He really couldn’t stand any of those assholes. This girl was new as well though and maybe she just needed some friend who knew. Either way unless he had a logical reason to blow her off he didn’t plan on it.