The Southside was the last place that Mariah had ever expected to be. But here she was, sitting in her car outside of a bar called the Whyte Wyrm. She stared up at the little building before pulling out her phone. She skimmed through the missed calls and unanswered text messages. Some were from Archie and Veronica, some from Cheryl, but the majority were from her mom.

She was so dead.

Mariah sent Jughead a text, asking him to meet her there. His reply came a few minutes later.

Jughead🧠: the whyte wyrm? mariah what the hell are you doing there?

She sighed in annoyance at the text before replying.

Just meet me here, please.

His response came a minute later.

Jughead🧠: alright, fine

Mariah let out a sigh before turning off the ignition of her car and unbuckling her seatbelt. Mariah opened the car door and stepped out into the crisp night air. She looked up at the building again. Yeah, she was dead.

The blonde walked forward and toward the bar's entrance. She opened the door and stepped inside. Immediately all eyes turned to her and she pulled her jacket closer to herself. It was obvious that she didn't belong there. She stuck out like a sore thumb in her designer boots and her designer backpack. Her attire practically screamed rich Northsider.

Mariah glanced around the dimly lit bar. She ignored the stares and walked over to the bar. She sat down in a stool and looked up at the bartender. "Can I have a beer?" She questioned. The bartender looked her up and down before scoffing. "You lost?" He asked. "No, I'm right where I want to be. Can you change that beer to vodka. Vodka is strong, right?" She replied.

The bartender looked her over again. "ID," he stated. Mariah looked at him in annoyance before taking out her wallet and pulling out a fifty dollar bill. "I'm fifty," she said, placing the money on the bar and sliding it over to him. The man chuckled, "Looking a little young to be a fifty year old."

"What can I say, I aged well," she replied smoothly. He scoffed and looked down at the money on the bar top. He shook his head and looked at her, squinting his eyes.

Mariah scowled, "You gonna get me a drink or not?" The bartender looked down at the fifty again before finally snatching it off the bar top. "Vodka?" He questioned. "If it's your strongest drink then yeah," she replied. The man looked at her for a moment before nodding and getting a glass before pouring her a drink. When he was done, he slid it across the bar and to her. She picked up the glass, "Thanks."

"Whatever," he muttered before beginning to wipe down the bar. Mariah took a sip of the drink. She coughed when the liquid slithered down her throat. A gag left her lips and she set the drink down. She coughed a couple more times before sighing. She took another sip and began coughing again. "What the hell did you put in this?" She asked him. "You wanted it strong, I made it strong," was his reply.

The door to the bar opened behind her and she could hear rowdy teenagers entering. Mariah paid them no mind as she contemplated taking another sip of the alcohol. She didn't hear the footsteps coming toward her and didn't know that anyone was behind her until a voice spoke up. "What the hell are you doing here?" A deep voice questioned from behind her.

Mariah turned around and looked up at the source of the voice. Her eyes scanned the boy's face, taking note of the bruise that was forming underneath his left eye and the tattoo of a snake on his neck, before they trailed down his body, where she noticed his Serpent jacket. She turned back around in her stool.  "Having a drink," she replied simply. She picked up the drink and took another sip.

She attempted to hold in her cough but failed, eliciting laughs from the two teens behind the boy. She turned to the two and glared at the boy and girl, who had pinkish purple streaks running through her hair. She realized that it was Toni.

"Northsiders aren't welcome here," the boy said. "Oh lay off her, Sweet Pea. She just came for a drink," Toni said in a teasing tone. "Your name is Sweet Pea?" Mariah asked. She tried not to laugh at the ridiculous name. A smile managed to slip onto her face and she failed at concealing it. "Is that funny to you?" Sweet Pea asked. He was clearly angry.

"No, it's cute," Mariah said. Toni and the other boy laughed. "Cute?" Sweet Pea questioned. "That's what I said," Mariah replied. Before Sweet Pea could say anything, the other boy was talking. "What's your name, Northside?" He asked. Toni was the one to answer, "That's Mariah."

The blonde took another sip of her drink. This time, she didn't cough as the liquid burned down her throat. "Jughead's friend, Mariah?" The boy asked. Sweet Pea rolled his eyes and Mariah nodded. "The one and only," the blonde responded. Toni smiled and took a seat on a stool next to Mariah. "That's Fangs," Toni said pointing to the other boy. "And you've already met Sweet Pea."

"Unfortunately," Sweet Pea said. Mariah rolled her eyes and finished off her drink. "Can I have another one?" She asked the bartender. "That depends, you got more money?" He replied. Mariah pulled bills out of her wallet and threw it on the bar. "Make it two drinks," she said. He nodded, taking the money off of the bar top and pouring her drinks.

"Maybe you should cool it on the drinks," Toni said. "I've only had one. Not a big deal," Mariah said. When the drinks were set in front of her, she picked up one of the glasses and took a sip. It burned less than before as it slid down her throat. "So what are you doing over here, Northside? Besides having a drink," Fangs said, sitting on Mariah's other side.

Mariah shrugged slightly, taking another sip of her drink. "I'm waiting for Jughead to show up. So we can talk," she answered. "What about?" Fangs continued. "She's probably here to get him to stop hanging out with us. Don't want him going down the same path as us, is that it? Or do you not want him to get into a fight with one of his Northside buddies like we did?" Sweet Pea said, taking on a proud almost bragging tone.

The blonde released an aggravated sigh before looking at him. "Is that how you got that black eye? If you're gonna start a fight, at least don't get your ass kicked," she said. Toni laughed loudly and the two boys gave her a look. "What makes you think we started it?" Fangs asked, turning to Mariah. "Do you even have to ask? Of course she'd assume we started it," Sweet Pea said.

"The way you said you got into a fight implied that you started it. You sounded like you were bragging. I was just being perceptive," she said with a shrug. "Pretty and smart," Toni said. Mariah rested her head on the palm of her hand and looked at Toni. "Aw, you're pretty too," she said before finishing off her second glass of the alcohol, beginning to feel a buzz. Toni chuckled slightly. "I think you're pretty too, don't you think she's pretty Sweet Pea?" Fangs said.

Sweet Pea glared at his friend and didn't respond. "I think you're all pretty. Even you Ice Cream," Mariah said, pointing at Sweet Pea. "It's Sweet Pea. Not even remotely close to ice cream," Sweet Pea said, his glare turning to her. "Whatever," she retorted before chuckling to herself. Her body was starting to feel warm and numb and she sighed contently. The alcohol was working and soon, she'd forget all about this horrible night. She took a sip from her third glass.

"You gonna be done here anytime soon? You're hogging up the bar," Sweet Pea was saying. Mariah looked at the empty stools surrounding the bar before looking over at him. "There are plenty of places for you to sit if you want," she said, gesturing at the empty stools. "Well I like to sit in the center. So move," he said.

"What the hell is your problem? I get that you might not like Northsiders but you don't have to be a dick. I didn't do shit to you." Her words slurred slightly and she turned back around to face the bar. "My problem is stuck up, rich Nothsiders coming in here like they own the place," the boy retorted.

"Sweet Pea, chill. She's cool," Toni defended. The boy scoffed. "I'm sure she is. Nice boots," he said sarcastically. Mariah looked down at the expensive boots and smiled falsely. "Thanks, I used my rich girl credit card to buy it. Nice jacket." Sweet Pea's smirk fell and he stepped closer. The bar door opened then, and Jughead walked through.

"Mariah," Jughead called as he approached. "What took you so long?" She questioned, grabbing her drink and standing from the stool, having to be steadied by Toni when she swayed. Jughead looked at the three around the blonde. "Hey guys, what're you doing?" He said. "Just keeping your Northside friend some company. Didn't want anything bad to happen to her," Sweet Pea said, causing Toni to roll her eyes.

Jughead looked at Mariah. "Are you okay?" He asked. "What, you think we did something to her?" Sweet Pea got defensive. "Not everything is about you," Mariah snapped, her anger rising. Sweet Pea looked slightly taken aback by her aggressive tone. She turned back to Jughead. "And no, I'm not okay." Jughead took her by the arm and led her to a table away from the three. The two sat down and Mariah sighed.

"What are you doing here? What's going on?" Jughead asked. Mariah sighed again and took a sip of her drink. Jughead gave her an incredulous look and took the glass from her hand. "And you're drinking? What the hell, Mariah?" He continued. Mariah gave him a look and went to grab the glass back but he pulled it out of her reach. "Give it back."

"No. Tell me what the hell is going on," he shot back. She sighed, "I broke up with Archie tonight." Jughead looked taken aback as he blinked a few times. "Why?" He finally asked. "Because, I caught him cheating on me. With Veronica." Jughead was stunned into silence. He just stared at her, unsure of what to say. A laugh bubbled out of her mouth and she shook her head.

"He cheated on me! With one of my best friends." Mariah was laughing hysterically now, the alcohol hitting her full force. "M, I'm so sorry," he said. She took the glass back from Jughead, who had set it on the table. "Why are you sorry? You didn't cheat on me," she said. She lifted the glass to her lips but stopped, a gasp leaving her lips. "Did you?"

Jughead shook his head and she laughed, finishing off her drink. "This is really disgusting," Mariah told him, holding up the glass. "I'm gonna kill him," Jughead muttered to himself. He was angrily shaking his head as he clenched his fists. "Can I watch?" She asked.

Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea having heard a bit of the exchange l, walked over to the two. "Jones, if you're done with the Northsider, we're gonna play pool," Sweet Pea said. Mariah looked up at boy in awe. "You're really hot," she said, eyes wide like a child in a candy store. The surprise was evident on Sweet Pea's face and Toni laughed whilst Fangs snickered. Sweet Pea's mouth opened and closed as he tried to formulate a comeback. "And, you're really drunk," Jughead state. Mariah giggled like a school girl, "Yeah."

Jughead stood up and walked around the table to her. "Alright, let's get you home," he said. His arms went under her armpits and he lifted her to a standing position, holding onto her so she wouldn't topple over. "But I wanna stay and talk to my new friends," Mariah whined. Jughead sighed, "If I don't get you home, your mom will kill me."

"She'll probably kill you anyway for bringing me home drunk," Mariah slurred. Jughead thought over her words as she's nodding her head. He shook his head before gently gripping her arm. "Come on, let's go." He pulled her up and she stumbled. Both Jughead and Toni went to steady her whilst Mariah is laughing maniacally. Fangs began to laugh as well.

"Damn, Northside. You really can't hold your alcohol," Fangs said. "My name is not Northside, mister. It's..." Mariah trailed off, trying to think of an answer. "Mariah," Jughead stated. The blonde pointed at him and nodded. "What he said." Jughead grabbed her backpack off of the table and pulled out her car keys, making sure her phone was in the bag, before leading her to the exit. "Need help, Jones?" Toni called after him. "No I got it," he replied.

He continued to pull Mariah toward the exit and she waved at the three they were leaving behind. "Bye!" Mariah called as she continued to wave. Toni and Fangs waved back whilst Sweet Pea stood with his arms crossed, a look of annoyance on his face.

The two exited the bar, with Jughead practically carrying Mariah out. He quickly unlocked her car and helped her into the passenger seat. He put her seatbelt on her whilst she giggled to herself before closing the door and getting into the driver's seat.

····

Mariah hadn't sobered up one bit by the time Jughead pulled up in front of her house. He could see the lights on through the curtains in the living room, silently cursing to himself. Amara Coleman was awake and waiting up for her daughter and Jughead guessed that she would not be happy.

And he was right.

As soon as Jughead unlocked the door, the woman was immediately on her feet. "Oh, you are in so much trouble!" She exclaimed, taking note of Jughead causing her eyebrows to furrow. One of Mariah's arms was draped around the boy's shoulder. "What is going on?" Amara questioned. "Hi mom," Mariah slurred slightly.

Amara looked at the girl before looking at Jughead. She then looked back at the blonde, taking a sniff of the air. "Are you drunk?" She asked, turning to Jughead, "Is she drunk?" The boy couldn't tell if she was concerned or angry. Probably just the latter. "I tried to stop her Ms. C. But she was persistent," he said.

Amara walked over to Mariah. "Why? Why would you drink alcohol? Who even gave you the alcohol? I'm gonna kill them. You're sixteen years old!" The woman was saying. "Mom, it's all good. I'm fifty!" Mariah said. "No it's not 'all good.' And you are not fifty!" Ms. Coleman said. "I was just trying to feel better," Mariah defended.

"Oh and you think alcohol will make you feel better?" Amara asked. "I heard that it helps you when you're sad. And look, it worked. I feel happy," Mariah said, smiling widely. Amara looked at Jughead, the confusion evident on her face. "Sad?"

"Yeah sad. I saw Archie and Veronica making out in his room so I went to the bar to get drunk and be happy because I was sad," Mariah explained. Amara's mouth dropped open in shock. She looked at Jughead again who nodded slightly. "I'm actually going to kill that boy. I'm gonna murder him!" The woman gritted out. Mariah smiled drunkenly, "You can't do that silly goose. You'll go to prison."

Amara stared at the blonde before gripping onto her arm, placing it around her shoulder. "Alright, let's get you to bed. Thank you for bringing her home safely, Jughead," Amara said. "No problem Ms. C.," Jughead said with a nod. "Let me get her to bed and then I'll drive you home, ok?" The woman continued.

"That's alright. I can walk." Amara scoffed, "Like I'm gonna let you walk home when there's a killer on the loose. Sit down on the couch. If you're hungry, there's snacks in the cupboard and some food in the fridge. Help yourself." Amara practically carried Mariah up the stairs.

After Mariah threw up in the bathroom, Amara helped her into pajamas and put her to bed. When she walked back down the stairs, Jughead was asleep on the couch. Amara sighed, getting a blanket and putting it over his sleeping form before turning off the light.

°°°°

Sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't really been in the writing or updating mood. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Please let me know what you thought of it and don't forget to vote.