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Despite Mariah's attempts, she hadn't been able to avoid the Serpents forever. Because not only was Sweet Pea now in her first period, but so was Toni. Mariah had hoped that she wouldn't have class with either of them. But as soon as she entered the classroom, there they were, along with Jughead, sitting in the back of the classroom and chatting amongst themselves.

She froze near the door once she spotted them. She knew she couldn't backtrack and leave nor could she skip class so she took a breath and walked further into the classroom. "Well if it isn't the Northside Princess. We thought you were dead," Sweet Pea said with a chuckle upon spotting her. Mariah forced a smile, "Nope, not dead."

"Nah, she's just been avoiding us," Toni said with an eye roll. Mariah bit her lip underneath Toni's stare. The girl could be intimidating if she wanted to be. "I wasn't avoiding. I was just busy," Mariah lied. "If that were true, why didn't you text any of us back and say that?" Toni was quick to retort. "Ease up, Toni. I'm sure she had her reasons," Jughead tried.

"Doubt it," Toni replied. Mariah cleared her throat uncomfortably and looked over at Jughead who shrugged. "Anyway, a bunch of us are gonna hang out after school if you wanna come," Sweet Pea said in attempts to ease the obvious tension. "I'm sure the princess has better things to do. Since she's always busy. Right, Mariah?" Toni said.

Mariah sighed, "Look, Toni-" She was interrupted by her name being called. The four turned to the sound of the voice to see Cheryl. The redhead gave Mariah a questioning look and the silver haired girl sighed. "I'll uh, see you guys later," Mariah said before turning around and walking to the front of the classroom where her usual seat was.

Cheryl was giving her a look. "Don't start with me, Cheryl. I'm not in the mood," Mariah muttered. "You cannot be seen talking to them, Mariah. Us original Riverdale High goers have to look like a united front. We cannot succumb to the pressures of being nice to drug dealers and gangbangers," Cheryl said.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'Don't judge a book by its cover'?" Mariah asked and Cheryl rolled her eyes. "I already told you that they're not all bad. Seriously Cheryl, can't you just try to be nice to them? Like you said you would," Mariah said. "I said if you were to get in a relationship with that girl you kissed, I'd try to be cordial," Cheryl corrected.

"Well that girl is in the back of the classroom and now hates my guts so you won't have to worry about doing that," Mariah said. Cheryl turned her head to the back of the classroom before looking back at Mariah. "The girl with the pink hair?" The redhead questioned and Mariah nodded. "Well, if she hated you she wouldn't be making heart eyes at the back of your head while we speak," she said, rolling her eyes.

Mariah reluctantly turned her head to see that Toni was in fact staring at her. The pink haired girl didn't look away when realizing she was caught, their eyes locking in an intense stare. Mariah felt her stomach twist in butterflies and looked away. "God. I do not want to watch you shooting googly eyes at that Serpent girl for the entire class," Cheryl groaned.

"Don't worry, you won't," Mariah muttered.

••••

The girl's bathroom was sort of like a safe haven for Mariah. She had a better chance at avoiding Toni there than in the hallways or in class. She had had her next class with the girl and Sweet Pea as well as Jughead and Fangs. And then she had the class after that with just Fangs who had been annoyed with her for not calling or texting him back but quickly got over it, filling her in on what's been happening in his life.

Being around him and Sweet Pea wasn't awkward, not that she thought it would be. But being around Toni was nearly unbearable. The pink haired girl had taken to ignoring Mariah after their brief conversation in first period. This didn't go unnoticed by Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Jughead though they were too afraid to ask the girls the cause of the tension.

Mariah still hadn't told Jughead what had happened like she said she would, it had completely slipped her mind. She was surprised that he hadn't just asked Toni. Maybe he had and she just didn't tell him.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, fixing her hair and retouching her lipstick. She paid no mind to the sound of the bathroom door opening nor did she turn toward the approaching footsteps. However, Mariah froze when she heard the familiar voice speak. "Just my luck, I guess." Mariah pressed her lips together and closed her tube of lipstick.

She placed it in the pocket of her bag and turned to face Toni. What are the odds? So much for safe haven. "Hi," Mariah muttered. "Hey," Toni said. There was no malice in her tone, no anger, no annoyance. She was calm, collected. Unbothered.

"Okay yes, I was ignoring your calls and texts and yes I have been avoiding you guys and the Southside. And I know that that was so uncool and stupid and I'm sorry. I was just confused and had a lot to figure out and I was scared to face you after what happened and I know that that's not an excuse or anything. I just didn't know what to say or what to think and I'm realizing now that I sound like an idiot. Like seriously, ignoring you was so immature and dumb and I'm sorry. Again," Mariah rushed out.

Toni nodded her head. "Okay." Mariah's mouth opened and closed. "O-okay? That's all you have to say?" Mariah questioned. Toni chuckled and shrugged, "What do you want me to say?" Mariah shrugged dramatically, "I don't know. Yell. Scream. Tell me off. Do something."

"Why would I do any of that?" Toni asked. "Because you're mad and people usually do those things when they're mad," Mariah replied. "And what makes you think I'm mad?" Toni asked next. Mariah rolled her eyes at all the questions. "Because of the attitude you were giving me first period. And then the ignoring me after that," she answered.

"I guess I was a little mad. But I get it. I kissed you and caught you off guard. I honestly thought you were aware of your sexuality, whatever that may be, and out. Guess I was wrong," Toni said. Mariah looked down at her hands, wringing them together. "Is that why you kissed me? Because you thought I was 'aware of my sexuality and out'?"

"I kissed you because I like you. And I thought that we had a connection. And I thought, that maybe you felt it too. But then you reacted the way you did..." Toni trailed off. "You caught me off guard," Mariah said. "Was that before or after you kissed me back?" Toni questioned. Mariah gave her a look that said, 'Really?' Toni bit back a smile, "Sorry."

She walked closer to where Mariah was stood, her heeled boots clicking against the floor as she walked. "So, why did you? Kiss me back I mean. If you didn't want to, you wouldn't have," Toni said. Mariah pressed her lips together and shrugged. "Maybe I wanted to," Mariah said. The two held eye contact for a moment. "I've been thinking so much these past weeks and I like you. And I don't know if that makes me bisexual or whatever and I don't really care. I like you. Like like you not like in a friend way but more than that," she went on.

"Why didn't you tell me that instead of ghosting me?" Toni asked. "Because, saying it out loud was terrifying. That was honestly the first time I said it out loud," Mariah answered. Toni smiled slightly at the confession. "I just, don't wanna jump into another relationship. I mean, my last one ended pretty badly," she continued. Toni felt her smile drop and she nodded. "I get it," she said.

"Really?" The silver haired girl asked to which Toni nodded again. "So, friends?" Mariah questioned. "Yeah, friends," Toni confirmed. Mariah released a relieved breath. "Good." The warning bell rang and Mariah looked up. "I should probably get to class. Do you need help finding your next one?" She said, looking over at Toni. "Sure."

The two exited the bathroom and Toni handed Mariah her schedule. She read it over before nodding and lead the girl in the direction of her next class. Once they arrived at the entrance, the two stopped. "Here you go," Mariah said. "Thanks," Toni replied. "Yeah no problem. I'll see you later." Mariah turned around and briskly began walking to her next class so that she wasn't late.

••••

Once lunch had rolled around, Mariah sat in the student lounge with Fangs, Jughead, Toni, and Sweet Pea. Jughead had decided to eat lunch there to avoid the inevitable stares that their classmates would throw the Serpents' way. Mariah couldn't blame him but isolating yourself from the rest of the school wasn't the way to go.

She picked up a package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups from the table, opening it up and pulling one out. "Hey, that's mine," Jughead said. Mariah took off the wrapping before taking a bite. "It's mine now." Jughead reached for it and she moved it away from his grasp. "You always eat my food, asshole. And you know I love these," she said, giving him a pointed look. Jughead huffed and sat back into his seat.

Fangs was giving Mariah a look of disgust as he pointed at the chocolate in her hands. "You like those?" He questioned. "Yes." He gagged at her answer and Sweet Pea laughed. "They're good," she said. Fangs gave her another disgusted look and she looked to Toni for backup. "Come on, Toni, back me up." The pink haired girl made a face, "Peanut butter and chocolate's not my favorite combination."

"She has sense," Fangs said and Mariah glared at him. "But they're not bad," Toni continued. Mariah smirked at Fangs, "Ha." He threw food at her, "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Mariah continued to grin whilst she happily took another bite of the chocolate. Toni watched her with a small smile, looking away when Fangs nudged her side. The pink haired girl looked over at him and he raised his eyebrows. She merely rolled her eyes and continued eating.

Kevin walked into the lounge with Josie, greeting Mariah and Jughead and awkwardly waving at the three Serpents whom he didn't know all too well. Jughead grabbed Mariah's potato chips, opening the bag and beginning to eat from it. Mariah looked over at him. "For my Reese's," he said. She rolled her eyes and looked at Sweet Pea. "You see what I mean?" He rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

Veronica walked into the lounge then. The raven haired girl approached the group, a wide smile on her face. She went up to Toni first. "I don't think we've properly met. Veronica Lodge," she introduced, holding out a hand. "Of the Park Avenue Lodges," Jughead said in a joking manner.

"Yeah? Mariah told us about you," Toni said, pursing her lips as she looked Veronica up and down. Veronica looked over at Mariah who was now eating french fries. The silver haired girl sent her a fake smile. Jughead met Toni's eyes and gave her a look. Toni sighed and reluctantly took Veronica's outstretched hand, giving it a shake.

"Toni. Topaz," she finally introduced. "Oh, like the purple-colored gemstone. Love it," Veronica said. Mariah rolled her eyes, shoving another french fry into her mouth. "And I'm Josie McCoy. Formerly of the Pussycats, now just Josie," Josie introduced to the group before looking down sadly. "And this is Kevin."

"What's your name?" Kevin asked Fangs who was sat on the couch across from him. "Fogarty. Or you can call me Fangs," he answered before asking, "Your last name's Keller, right?"

"How did you know that?" Kevin asked. "Joaquin and I used to hang out. He talked about you all the time," Fangs responded. Mariah rolled her eyes at the way the two were looking at each other. An angry Principal Weatherbee stormed into the lounge then. "You guys!" He bellowed. They all turned to him. "Yes, you, come with me. Now!"

Mariah and Jughead locked eyes, confusion lacing their features as they all stood and followed the man out of the student lounge. When he came to a stop in front of the school's seal that was painted on the ground, they all stopped. Mariah's eyes widened as she looked at the seal, a green snake now painted on top of it.

"Which of you defaced our school seal with this graffiti?" Principal Weatherbee questioned angrily. Mariah looked at her friends, all of whom held matching looks of surprise and confusion. "This is what they do, Principal Weatherbee. They tag their turf," Reggie said. Mariah's eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.

"My God, Reggie, could you be anymore transparent?" Veronica asked. "Effective immediately, no gang behavior of any kind will be tolerated at my school. As of this moment, no more Serpent jackets," Principal Weatherbee said. There was a collective, "What?" from the four Serpents. "No more Serpent jackets!" Principal Weather exclaimed firmly.

"All tattoos are gonna be covered. Possession of any gang paraphernalia whatsoever will lead to immediate suspension. Are we clear?" He continued. "You don't even have proof that any of them did it. I mean doesn't this school have cameras? Just go back and watch the footage to see who really did it," Mariah spoke up. Reggie scoffed, "I think it's obvious who did it. I mean, who else would paint a snake on the ground?"

"You seem a little scared, Reginald. Afraid that that camera footage will show that it was actually you who defaced school property?" She shot back. "That's a bold accusation Miss Coleman. Do you have proof?" Principal Weatherbee said. "Do you?" She questioned. He gave her a hard look before looking back at the Serpents. "That's all." He turned on his heel and walked away.

"Seriously, Principal Weatherbee? Are you even gonna look at the cameras?" She called after him. He turned back, "That's enough out of you, Miss Coleman. One more outburst like that and I'll suspend you," he said. Mariah scoffed, "I don't care." Toni placed a gentle hand on her arm and Mariah turned to her. "Don't," she stated. Mariah released a heavy breath and looked back at Principal Weatherbee. A look of satisfaction crossed his face and he continued on his way back to his office.

Reggie looked as smug as ever as he and his friends began walking away. Mariah balled her hands into fists as she watched him walk away. "Fucking asshole."

°°°°

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