#itpoj

“I’ll have a large popcorn please, oh, and a coke.” Midge smiled, fingering a $10 note anxiously as she approached the snack stand, taking another opportunity to look around the movie theatre’s lobby.

The cinema attendant gave her a small nod, turning away from her as she filled up her coke. “No Moose tonight?” she called over her shoulder.

Midge’s stomach churned, a momentary pang of guilty coursing through her veins- she thought she recognised the concession attendant, but she hadn’t been sure. Her grip tightened on the bill in her hands, before quickly loosening, her well-trained smile regaining its place on her face as if she hadn’t had a moment of panic.  

“No, he’s got a test in the morning so couldn’t make it out tonight,” Midge shrugged, a small but convincing pout taking over her face. “I’ve wanted to see this movie for ages though, so I couldn’t wait- I’ll end up seeing spoilers and then I’ll get annoyed. It’s not weird to see movies by yourself, is it?”

The attendant gave a hearty laugh as she scooped popcorn into a large bag, setting it carefully on the side before she took the bill from Midge. “Oh god no,” she laughed, shooting Midge a quick grin. “Compared to some of the shit I’ve seen in here, seeing a movie by yourself is totally normal.”

Midge let out a sigh of relief and the girls exchanged a laugh as she dropped her change into her purse. She scooped up her popcorn and coke, rolling her eyes as she accidentally dropped a handful sized amount of popcorn onto the floor. “I’m not sure I want to know what kind of stuff you’ve seen here, but deep down, a weird part of me really wants to know now. You’ll have to tell me next time I decide to see a movie by myself.”

“Next time,” the girl nodded in agreement, a grin taking over her face as she scrunched her nose. “Enjoy your movie- it’s a good one!”

Midge kicked the door of the theatre open, using her bum to hold it as she manoeuvred her way in, trying her hardest to not drop any more of her popcorn on the floor. She eyed the rows of seats, instinctively making her way to the back, shimmying her way along the row until she was tucked away in the back corner. She set her popcorn and drink down, shrugging her coat off with ease and throwing it onto the back of the seat in front of hers. Being at the last showing on a weeknight meant no one else was in the theatre and she could take up as much space as she wanted without feeling guilty.  

The lights dimmed and previews for upcoming movies started rolling. Midge sat comfortably eating her popcorn, engrossed by the trailers, barely registering a shadowy figure taking the seat next to her.

“You made it then,” he whispered, taking a handful of popcorn from her bag with a grin on his face.

Midge jumped out of her skin, her hand coming over her heart in shock as she looked towards the voice, her arms prickling with goose bumps.

“God, Fangs, don’t do that,” she giggled breathlessly, bumping shoulders with him. “I think I just had a heart attack; you could have killed me.”

“I would never,” he laughed quietly as the trailers continued to play, taking more popcorn. He chucked a piece up and caught it in his mouth, a smug grin weaving its way across all of his features as he wiggled his eyebrows at Midge. “You know, I didn’t think you would come tonight.”

Midge quirked her brows, taking a sip of her coke. “Really? Why?”

Fangs was taken aback by her question, and the look on his face clearly conveyed that. He thought the answer was obvious, but maybe he was overthinking it. “Uh, Moose? Your boyfriend?”

Midge let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head at the blush that crept onto Fangs’ face. “Well we’re not doing anything bad. Moose wouldn’t mind- he knows I want to see this film, and plus people see movies together all the time, right? It’s only a movie.”

It’s only a movie, Fangs thought. If it was only a movie, why were they sneaking around after dark? Why did they arrive separately? Why didn’t Moose know? He knew it wasn’t as black and white as Midge said it was, but something about the sneaking around and being secretive was as exciting to him as it was to Midge. He hadn’t felt a thrill like it before, and he wasn’t sure whether it was the thrill of being covert, or whether it was the thrill of being around Midge. But he liked it either way.

Any negative thoughts were quickly expelled as the film started rolling in front of them. It was a romance, a classic forbidden romance. It wasn’t something Fangs would usually watch, or rather admit that he’d watched, but when Midge had texted him asking if he wanted to see it, he couldn’t say no. She was so sweet, and he didn’t want to disappoint her. He wanted to be someone who she enjoyed being around, even if it meant he had to watch the film with a synopsis that was eerily similar to the situation he found himself in.

Fangs kicked his feet up onto the seat in front of him, crossing his legs as he relaxed into his seat, letting out a content sigh as he did so. Almost instinctively, Midge dipped her head and settled it on his shoulder gently.

Fangs could feel his pulse racing. Her head was rested so daintily against his shoulder and she looked so peaceful with the movie reflecting in her glossy eyes. The light and shadows cast on her face from the screen made her look angelic and more beautiful than he’d ever admitted to himself. Now that Fangs had stopped to look at her properly and up close, he felt something unfamiliar creaking in his chest.

The Serpent tugged his lip between his teeth as he shifted position, holding his breath as he inched his arm around Midge, settling it cautiously across her shoulders. She looked up at him, a hint of a smile adorning her pretty face, before she turned her attention back towards the film and moved a little closer to her companion for the night. Fangs let out a breath of relief and pulled her even closer, the pair exchanging an excited giggle as their legs tangled together on the seats in front of them, spending the rest of the film wrapped up in each other’s company.

-

The 21 days of freedom Fangs had between his arraignment hearing and the first day of his trial seemed like the longest and also simultaneously shortest 21 days of his life.

At first, he was excited to get back to normality. This was quickly hampered by Principle Weatherbee, who put him on leave from school until after his trial, justifying it as a means to protect Fangs’ personal safety. Deep down he knew that Weatherbee just didn’t want to deal with any potential flak from concerned parents for allowing an accused murderer to remain on school premises. Fangs received his assignments via email and Sweet Pea began to make a real effort in his classes to make sure that his best friend had access to the best notes. He even went as far as to stay behind to ask questions and discuss material with the teachers, the thought of which previously repulsed him. He went the extra mile for his brother- he didn’t want him to fall behind in case he was found not guilty and got to come back to school.

On the first night of his freedom, Fangs, Toni, Sweet Pea and Jughead found themselves lounging in a leather booth at Pop’s, getting milkshakes and burgers in celebration of having 21 days of familiarity back. It was almost like being in the eye of a hurricane; everything would be momentarily calm for the next 21 days before the chaos started again. Or so they hoped. But Fangs, with his status as an accused murderer, was infamous, and his face had been on news outlets across the state which made him instantly recognisable. A simple trip to the town’s diner, which previously would have been an enjoyable outing, was tinged with smoke in the air. Whispers and dirty looks, although subtle, did not go unnoticed, and from that night onwards the Serpents did home deliveries to Fangs’ trailer.  

For the next 20 days Fangs spent his time with Maria and Hot Dog, along with the other Serpents when they weren’t at school without him. It dawned on him quickly that this wasn’t the freedom he’d thought it might be and hoped for. Around him, everyone else’s worlds seemed to carry on turning, whereas his felt like it was on a collision course with an asteroid. Although he was in a self-imposed exile from the rest of the town, he knew that if he ventured outside of the confines of Sunnyside Trailer Park that he was putting a target on his back. Some nights when he was lonely and felt like this was the reality of his life forever, he thought about going out into the deep, dark streets of Riverdale, hoping that the Black Hood would sweep in and put him out of his misery.

The start date of his trial couldn’t come quick enough.

On the afternoon before his trial Fangs had become restless. The inside of his trailer felt more like prison more the cold cell he’d spent his time in inside the Sheriff’s Office. He’d become agitated, pacing around the trailer like he was trying to wear a hole in the carpet, straightening and tidying things that didn’t need to be straightened or tidied and trying and failing to do his school work. It took one glance at his worn leather skin before he slung it over his shoulders and trudged outside into the spring sun.

It was fresh outside. It felt especially fresh to Fangs who hadn’t stepped foot out of his trailer for the last 20 days, even to sit on the deck chairs outside with Sweet Pea to have a beer by the fire. Fangs had become so traumatised by the mob and the news articles and the looks that he couldn’t bear to be outside. But at that moment, being inside his trailer seemed less appealing than being heckled or attacked by strangers in the town.

Fangs’ doc martens crunched against the gravel of the trailer park as he exited its confines, his hands firmly planted in his pockets as he trudged his way towards the Northern side of town. He passed Pop’s- it had had a lick of paint since the riots. He could see Pop Tate in the window and as much as he wanted to go in, grab a milkshake and try again to pretend like everything was normal, he carried on walking. Next, he passed the Riverdale Register and he suddenly felt overwhelmed- maybe if the video of him with Midge hadn’t been posted by Alice Cooper then he would never have been arrested, but then again, maybe this was all inevitable.

Finally, he caught site of what he was looking for. Out on a green slightly set back from the main streets of Riverdale, a church stood by itself, untainted by the riots. Fangs started up the path, eyeing the cross at the top of the steeple carefully. Although his family had placed somewhat of an importance on God, this had never quite translated or resonated within himself. He hadn’t been to church since he was a young boy, aside from when he attended family weddings or christenings, and yet this was the only place he felt he could go where he didn’t feel like he’d be shunned.

He nervously stepped through the front door, looking around for a sign that someone was here, but the church was silent. He took a few more steps in, wandering towards the nave. His fingertips touched the pews as he walked down the aisle and finally, he reached the front of the rows, taking a seat and dipping his head down as his hands instinctively clasped together in his lap. He didn’t know whether he was meant to say anything, or whether he was just meant to sit there in silence, but the words he was thinking just spilled out into a string of consciousness.

“God, man, I know I don’t come here often but I really am screwed. I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say screwed in church, but I can’t think of another way to express how messed up this situation is and I didn’t know where else to go. I, just…” he paused, blinking back the tears that were glossing his eyes. “I didn’t kill her. I really didn’t and yet here I am with my court date tomorrow where-“

“Can I help you, son?” A voice called from the back of the nave, interrupting and startling Fangs. He whipped his head around and his eyes settled on a middle-aged man who he recognised as Pastor Boyd, the father of Midge’s best friend, Lydia Boyd, a fellow student in his classes.

“Pastor Boyd, hi, I didn’t mean to come in uninvited- I couldn’t see anyone around when I got here. I can go if you want me to- I know your daughter was Midge’s best friend, so I don’t want to overstay my welcome given the situation,” Fangs spoke frantically, an underlying stress lacing his voice. He should have known coming to church would have been a less than ideal situation given the Boyd’s connection to the Klump’s, but Fangs had been so flustered when he’d left that he didn’t even stop to think about the implications.

“Don’t be a fool,” Pastor Boyd replied calmly with a chuckle, taking a seat next to Fangs on the pew. “My daughter may well have been friends with Midge, but this church is for everyone. What kind of man, let alone what kind of Pastor, would I be to turn you away in a time of need?”

“Thank you, Pastor Boyd,” Fangs glanced to the side, sending him a barely-there smile. The teen looked up at the stained-glass windows that towered above them, the light shining through to illuminate a scene of Jesus on the cross. It instantly sent him back to the moment he saw Midge crucified on stage and he flinched, shaking the thoughts from his head as quickly as they’d entered it. Fangs’ gaze dropped down to his hands as he fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket, pursing his lips together. “You probably already know, but my trial starts tomorrow,” he stopped for a moment, before allowing himself to carry on. “I’m terrified. I’m just hoping to get some guidance or luck, or just a sign that everything will be okay. But I know everyone already thinks I did it, that I killed Midge, so actually maybe what I’m hoping for is a miracle.”

Pastor Boyd set his hand on Fangs’ shoulder, giving him a small, encouraging shake and a fatherly smile. He could see that the boy was hurting deeply. “I’ll say two prayers tonight- one for Midge, and one for you. I don’t know what happened on that night, and it’s not my job to pass judgement on it, but I hope the outcome of the trial, whatever it is, is the right one.”

-

The court house had never been as busy as it was the morning that Fangs’ trial officially started. Media outlets from Riverdale, the neighbouring towns and even across the state gathered outside to catch a glimpse of the teenager, who had been branded The Southside Slayer, in the flesh. They wanted to see what kind of person could be capable of using a young girl as a human pin cushion, and who could leave her like a sacrifice and a warning to an entire town. The reporters were rabid and feral and wouldn’t be satiated until they got their ‘scoop’. The scenes outside of the court were reminiscent of the night of Fangs’ release from the Station, and it made his skin crawl.

As he made his way up the marbled steps alongside Robin and Maria, the press heckled them and threw hundreds of questions their way, including one that made Fangs physically recoil in discomfort.

“Mr Fogarty, what do you think of the name the public has given your crime? The Carrie Crucifixion?”

Fangs’ eyes shut instinctively, stress settling into the lines of his face. His grasp on his Mum’s hand tightened immensely to an almost bone crushing vice-like grip. Robin stopped instantaneously, turning to face the reporters and dropping her head to the side in a look of disbelief.

“Which one of you said that?” She asked shortly, looking over the media group before her eyes settled on a blonde news anchor who slowly raised her hand. Robin’s eyes narrowed, her lips flattening into a straight line and her eyebrows knitting together angrily. “My client won’t be answering any questions. The trial will speak for itself. Let’s not forget that he is innocent until proven guilty and that Midge Klump’s death is not his crime. You should know better than that, you vultures.”

The trio continued up the stairs until they were safely within the confines of the court’s walls and everything for a moment seemed normal, calm. Robin spoke to the court clerk, leaving Fangs and his Mother together. Maria was still clutching his hand, and the pad of her thumb ran back and forth over it as a small gesture to comfort him. She pulled him into an embrace, squeezing him gently before pulling away and straightening his tie.

“You’ve got to look good for the judge and jury, mi hijo,” Maria gave a breathless laugh, her hands quivering barely as she fiddled with the tie. “I love you and I’ll support you always, you know that right? You’re my baby, and I know you couldn’t do what they did to that poor girl. The jury will see it too, I know it.”

“I love you too, Mum,” Fangs replied softly, a fond smile caressing his face as he looked down on his Mother. She was everything to him, and even at his lowest points she’d only ever shown him unconditional love.

Part of him realised then that that was why he adored Midge so much- the way she cared for people reminded him of the way Maria cared for anyone she encountered, and Midge had shown him the closest thing to unconditional love he’d ever felt from someone who wasn’t family, blood or extended. Maria and Midge would have loved each other, had they ever met.

Robin returned to the pair, nodding for them to follow her, dragging Fangs from his day dreams about Midge.

“We’re in court room five again today, it’ll be the room we’re in throughout the rest of your trial,” Robin spoke quietly to the pair as they scaled a flight of stairs and she tried to concentrate on her movements, her pencil skirt restricting her steps. Fangs breathed a sigh of relief; the room was familiar and so it made him feel a little less alien to the situation. “Today Ms White and I will select the jury. My job is to try to ‘stack’, so to speak, the jury in your favour as much as I can. The jury will, by law, need to contain a mixture of people, but I want to make sure we have as many people who will sympathise with your case on that panel as I can. Men who will think rationally about the case rather than emotionally, people of colour who are, statistically, more likely to distrust the police, people from lower social-economic backgrounds. People like you.”

“That makes sense,” Fangs replied, nodding at Robin as she glanced back with a small smile.

Fangs was appreciative to have gotten an attorney like Robin. She seemed to always look out for him, whether it be simply asking how he was feeling, or publicly putting people who wanted to besmirch him in their place. He didn’t know if she had to do it, or whether it was her choice, but he felt lucky to have been put with her in this situation. Had it been anyone else he was sure he would have crumbled by now and he knew he would have taken the plea deal offered to him. She believed in him and she wanted to go to the ends of the Earth to make sure he walked free, and he just hoped it would be enough.

Inside the court room, bodies were squeezed together shoulder to shoulder and the heat radiating off of everyone made the room uncomfortably warm. Both Robin and Fangs didn’t like to think what it would be like in the height of summer.

Maria squeezed Fangs’ hand as she took her seat in the front row next to Sweet Pea. Fangs and Sweet Pea shared a small nod between them and a knowing look. It meant a lot to the accused teen that his best friend and extended family in the Serpents would come to watch the trial despite how out of place they all seemed. His fellow Serpents Toni Topaz, Joaquin DeSantos and the trio of Jones’- FP, Jughead and Jubilee, all sat further down the aisle and sent encouraging looks Fangs’ way as he took his place next to Robin at the defendant’s table. The Serpents were not strangers to seeing their kind encounter the law, but this time they were scared. When FP had gone down for his involvement in Jason Blossom’s murder, they knew he would be okay- he’d done time before and so could hold his own, but with Fangs, they knew he would be bait and seriously at risk as soon as he got into that prison.

On the other side of the room sat Midge’s Mum and Dad, holding on to each other like if they let go their worlds would end. Moose Mason and Lydia Boyd sat with them, being the closest people they had to Midge that were left. The rest of the court was filled with familiar faces from school and around town, along with a few unfamiliar faces.

Whilst this caused an explosion of nerves deep in the pit of Fangs’ stomach, it filled Robin with adrenaline. She loved performing in court, but if there was one thing she loved more, it was performing in court in front of an audience. Her hair was slung in a neat bun, with her bangs hanging just out of her eyes, and her black blazer had been accented with a small snake pin, in solidarity with Fangs.

Once the court had settled and everything was in order, the Clerk formally began the trial.

“All rise,” the Court Clerk announced, causing the room to rise from their seats as the Judge entered and sat in her throne at the head of the court. “The court of Midvale is now in session, Judge R Vines is presiding, please be seated.”

“Good morning everyone, please be seated,” Judge Vines smiled graciously, glancing around the court. “Hello again Ms White, Miss Allard and Mr Fogarty. Before we begin, are the State and Defendant both ready for trial?”

“Yes, Your Honour,” both women replied in unison, pleasing Judge Vines as she made a note of the readiness of both parties to the case.

“Good. Now, Mr Fogarty, what will happen today is that we will choose twelve jury members to preside over your case. Both the State and the Defence will then have the opportunity to ask questions to those jury members to determine whether they can act impartially, and once jury selection is complete, if we have time, we will then proceed to opening statements.”

There was a collective mumble from the court before the names of twelve jurors were called and one by one, they took their seats in the wooden jury box. The twelve looked nervous, each knowing Fangs Fogarty’s fate could be in their hands if they survived jury selection. Ms White stood from her chair and readied herself to examine the jurors.

“Good morning all, my name is Margaret White and I am acting on behalf of the State today and throughout this trial. Now this is the only occasion that myself and Miss Allard will have to talk to you one on one in this case, and the aim of this discussion is to determine whether this is the kind of case that you can sit on as a fair and impartial juror. There are no right or wrong answers to our questions, we just ask that you are truthful in your responses. Does that make sense to everyone?” Nods came from all twelve jury members and a smile crept onto Ms White’s face. “Perfect. Now before I begin with the more niche questions, has anyone been following this case in the news, or maybe you’ve heard about it on the television or seen something online?”

A few hands raised and Ms White gave each juror a careful, critical look. “And which of you have been actively following the case?”

One juror’s hand remained, a woman in her 50’s who sat at the back of the box with a nonchalant look on her face.

“Mrs Willowson, you’ve been regularly keeping up to date with the murder?”

Willowson gave a nod and took a deep breath. “I’ve been reading about it in the paper and watching the news stories about it. It was a terrible crime so I was interested to see whether the police would make an arrest- I was relieved when they did, it was nice to know that a killer was off the streets.”

Ms White looked towards Judge Vines and clasped her hands together neatly. “On that basis Your Honour, the State would like to move towards excusing this juror for cause on the basis that we feel she would not be able to impartially preside over the case.”

“This court accepts that Ms White,” Judge Vines nodded, directing her attention towards the excused juror. “Thank you for your time Mrs Willowson, you are free to go. You may be called again at a later time but for now you are excused from your duties.”

In Willowson’s place sat then a young Latino gentleman who was sworn in as the new juror. Robin grinned in her seat, putting a small mark in the tally on her notepad. A man like this would be able to empathise with Fangs more so than the previous juror would have been able to- that juror could be the difference between Fangs walking free or never stepping outside of a prison ever again.

“Now I am going to read you the list of witnesses that you will be hearing from and if any of you recognise the name of any of these people, please raise your hand. We will be hearing from the Defendant- Mr Fangs Fogarty; along with Dr Vince Curdle, Michael Minetta, Thomas Keller, Sarah Price, Marmaduke Mason, Reginald Mantle, Forsythe Pendleton ‘Jughead’ Jones III and Nathaniel ‘Sweet Pea’ Mantle. Do any of you recognise any of these names?”

The jurors sat still, a few heads turning to see if anyone had raised their hands. White gave a curt nod to the twelve, a strained smile spreading across her face, crow’s feet settling either side of her eyes.

“Have any of you ever been the victim of a crime, similar to the nature of the one we will be examining here today?”

One hand raised, a middle-aged man at the back who looked nervous. White nodded towards him, prompting him to speak.

“When I was about 28, I was robbed at knifepoint. Obviously, that’s nowhere near the calibre of this matter, but the knife connection is there so I thought I should mention it.”

“Thank you, Mr Barnard, that’s exactly the kind of thing I meant. Anyone else?” White asked, surveying the jury and continuing when no one else volunteered. “Sir, how do you feel about knives and knife crime now?”

Barnard let out an awkward, anxious laugh as he crossed and uncrossed his legs under the desk. “I mean, no one likes knife crime, do they? But to respond to your question, I don’t look at knife-based crime any worse than I do any other kind. It happened and it wasn’t a nice situation to be part of, but it hasn’t affected my judgement in any way.”

“So, you believe you could preside over this case fairly and impartially?”

“I absolutely do,” Barnard nodded in response, sternly and full of integrity.

White’s questioning continued for another hour, resulting in three more jurors being excused from their role. She was subtly ruthless, and Robin realised very quickly that the two women were playing the same game with the jury. White had been asking questions that, although seemingly broad and impartial to anyone else, had a bias against jurors who may rule in Fangs’ favour, that Robin picked up on almost immediately.

As the jury currently stood, it was in favour of the State by three jurors at least and so Robin had her work cut out for her to get things back on track for Fangs. She was nervous- she knew finding a basis to exclude more jurors would be hard, given that they’d already been through White’s gruelling examination, but she had to keep the faith in herself that Fangs and his family had in her. She couldn’t afford to drop the ball so early on.

Robin stood, smoothing her skirt out before ambling out in front of the defence table and standing comfortably in front of the jury.

“Good morning Jurors, my name is Robin Allard and, as you know, I will be acting as the defence attorney for Mr Fogarty. Thank you for your honesty so far, I just have a few more questions for you before we can progress with the trial. I’ll start with an easy one- have any of you heard of the Southside Serpents?”

Almost instantaneously a tattooed hand on the front row of the jury was raised proudly, belonging to a burly man with a shaven head whose shirt pulled against his biceps and chest.

“Mr Garland, how is it that you are familiar with the Southside Serpents?”

Garland unbuttoned the four top buttons of his shirt and pulled it apart, revealing a dark double-headed snake winding over his chest, the heads angry and tongue spitting venom. It was old and faded, a tattoo that had seen better days. “I was a Serpent.”

Behind Robin, the public gallery shuffled uncomfortably. Fangs’ head whipped around, his eyes meeting FP’s, eyebrows knitted together in a bewildered look that FP understood perfectly. The king Serpent nodded shortly, the juniors around him tensing in response. Jubilee looked towards Jughead with the same look that Fangs had displayed moments earlier, eliciting a shrug from her twin who also clearly didn’t recognise the ophidian in front of them. The Serpents were a tight knit community and so it was unusual for the teens to not recognise a fellow snake by their face, and even more so by their name.

Robin faltered slightly. “How is it can you be a Serpent and yet not know the Defendant?”

A brittle smile flickered at the ends of Garland’s lips as he caught FP’s gaze, a hard stare coming from the monarch in return. “I was a Serpent when I was a teen, but I got into some drug trouble in my 20s and I got sent away for the safety of the gang. I grew up with FP Jones, before he was King, but after I got sent away to San Junipero, I never had any more contact with the Serpents. They effectively exiled me, forgot about little old Joe Garland,” he shrugged with a small shake of the head and narrowed eyes. His gaze travelled over the Serpents, once again hanging on FP, before moving back to Robin. “I only moved back to the state last year. The Defendant wasn’t even born when I left, so I never had any contact with him or knew he existed until now.”

The Serpents around FP tensed and recoiled, Joaquin finding it particularly hard to listen to. He’d never really understood why FP sent him away to San Junipero after his involvement with Jason Blossom’s death, despite begging him for an explanation, but finally he understood that it was learned behaviour. FP had seen his friend sent away under another king, and in his Blossom-induced panic, that was the only solution he could think of. It had fixed a situation once, saved the Serpents and Joe Garland from trouble, but it didn’t save them from the personal struggles of dealing with the loss of a brother. Joaquin wished the FP had taken a moment to think of another solution for him rather than just sending him away without a second thought. In the pit of his stomach he knew that the only reason he was back in Riverdale was to smuggle Fangs out of the area if things looked bad, and that if FP didn’t need something from him, he’d still be in San Junipero alone. But he’d take what he could get because he needed the Serpents more than they needed him, and it had been months since he’d seen those who had sworn to stand alongside him for better or for worse.

It was lonely in San Junipero and coming back to Riverdale, even if only for a week, was the only thing he’d looked forward to since he’d been exiled from the snake pit.

FP’s stare didn’t falter, even with the Serpents around him becoming unsettled and Jubilee reaching across his lap to give Joaquin a gentle squeeze on his knee. Joaquin was the second brother she never had and his departure from the gang had been a particularly sore point for her. For a while she resented her father for sending him away, and she, like Joaquin, had never managed to work out why it was that the Serpent King disposed of members when times got tough. She wanted better for Joaquin and she knew that for this to come out in court rather than behind closed doors man to man would be something he would struggle with. For him, this would not be closure, it would be reopening an old wound.

Whilst the Serpents behind her found themselves rattled, Robin stood front and centre with a decision to make. She could keep Garland as a juror and hope that he favoured Fangs’ case, or she could excuse him. In the back of her mind, the angel and devil on her shoulders were bickering, and she picked at the skin around her thumbs out of stress.

“Your honour,” she sucked in a deep breath, holding it in her lungs before she made a snap decision. “I’d like to move to excuse Mr Garland on the basis that I am not sure that he can act impartially due to his connection with the Defendant’s gang.”

A nasty scowl enveloped Fangs’ face and his eyes glazed over with a mixture fury and despair. Arms crossed tightly over his chest, his teeth clenched together around his bottom lip, drawing blood. Putting the pieces together about Joaquin had been bad enough, and now it seemed like Robin wasn’t even on his side. Having a Serpent in the jury was almost one guaranteed ‘not guilty’ vote- he knew it, she knew it, the whole court room knew it, and yet she’d excused him from the jury. Now in his place sat a woman in her 20s who had no reason to believe him.

Robin could sense the tension behind her, quickly moving on in an effort to dispel it.

“Miss Nicholas, have any of the questions we’ve asked so far applied to you?”

The short no from the juror elicited a small smile on Robin’s face, however the back of her mind was still buzzing with dread about explaining this to Fangs. He would struggle to understand why she did it, because the case was so personal for him, but she knew that it was a decision she had to pull to trigger on, regardless of how he might feel.

The rest of Robin’s jury examination was gruelling. She spent close to two hours picking apart every aspect of the jurors’ lives, trying to find any reason to excuse some of them from their post. She was sure some of them resented her for it, but it needed to be done for Fangs’ sake. By the end of her examination, the jury was evenly split- six jurors who Robin thought might be more likely vote in favour of Fangs’ innocence and six she thought might be more likely to vote against him.

“Miss Allard, Ms White, are you ready for opening statements?” Judge Vines asked, making note of the panel of jurors left who would be the ones to decide Fangs’ fate.

“Yes,” the women called out in unison, sharing a nod between them.

White stood, and made her way to the floor, knitting her hands together and pausing as she looked over all of the jurors. She had to make a statement that would hit the jury in the heart and make it impossible for them to see past the violent nature and emotional impact of the crime on Midge’s loved ones and the wider town.

“On the 16th March 2018, Miss Midge Klump awoke, ready to take the stage as Carrie White in Riverdale High’s production of Carrie: The Musical. Midge had been working hard on the role, having been officially cast as Carrie a few weeks into rehearsals after a cast-mate pulled out. She’d been practicing her lines every day, studying the mannerisms of Carrie White and trying to perfect her performance, but it was choosing to meet with Assistant Director, the Defendant, Fangs Fogarty, that led to her untimely demise.” White started, watching the reactions of the public gallery and of each member of the jury. After a brief pause, she continued.

“Mr Fogarty was in a position of influence over Miss Klump- she trusted him as the Assistant Director and felt safe spending her time with him in order to better her performance. But Fangs Fogarty abused this position and he abused her trust by killing her in cold blood at a time that should have been a peak in her high school career. He killed her and left her impaled on the set of the production that he was co-running, allowing for her body to be revealed to the paying audience like some kind of spectacle. Midge Klump was more than a spectacle, she was a human being who had her entire life left to live.”

A whine sounded from Mrs Klump as she clutched her husband’s shirt and cried into his shoulder. The pit of Robin’s stomach dropped, and the rest of the court room’s attention fell to the couple as well. This trial was never going to be easy for them regardless of when it took place, but it was still so fresh for them and for the whole town. The loss of their daughter had created a void that they would never be able to fill- not with pictures, not with memories, not with justice. There would be a Midge shaped hole in their lives forever.

Ms White gave them a sincere look, before motioning towards them as she continued with her opening statement. “From what you can see right now, you can only but imagine how her family felt, seeing their baby left on that stage to die. Their little girl, who had a whole life in front of her, taken from them and paraded like a trophy.” Lydia and Moose held each other; their faces contorted into something utterly broken as they both flashed back to seeing Midge for the last time. “Fangs Fogarty had calculatedly used his knowledge of the production to get her on her own and kill her where they wouldn’t be caught- he led her like a lamb to the slaughter. He used his knowledge to his advantage to commit the perfect crime. Except it wasn’t perfect because he left behind breadcrumb mistakes that have led us here today in an attempt to bring him to justice."

“In this trial you will hear about how Midge was an exceptional student; she was a River Vixen cheerleader who helped her boyfriend Marmaduke Mason study for all his tests and who had an impossibly bright future ahead of her that was cut short. She took extra classes, volunteered, she was on numerous school committees- she was the perfect, all-American student.”

“You will hear from Mr Mason himself, who will tell you about the impact Midge had on his life and what this tragic turn of events has done to him on a more personal level.”

At White’s queue, the court’s attention turned to Moose, who could do nothing apart from blink away tears and pull Lydia that bit tighter to him.

“You’ll hear from Riverdale’s Dr Curdle who will explain exactly what happened to poor Midge Klump and how truly horrific this crime is. It will make you realise how twisted and disgruntled Fangs Fogarty would have had to have been in that very moment to have done what he did to Midge.” White looked towards Fangs with a venom, shaking her head in disgust.

“And on the other side of the coin you’ll hear from Riverdale’s Sheriffs, past and present, about who Fangs Fogarty is and who he associates with. You’ll hear from classmates that he’s a volatile troublemaker who fights and has a bad temper. You’ll come to understand that he has no alibi, possesses the same knives that were used to stab Midge Klump and you’ll hear about how his life led him here today, to this very court room where it is your job to convict him for a crime that he committed.”

Aggravated mumbles came from the Serpents and friends of the Fogarty’s at White’s attack on Fangs’ character. They knew he was none of those things, but the jury didn’t, and with each drop of venom that White spat, besmirching his name more and more, they became more anxious and unsure about his future.

“At the end of this trial, you will deliver a judgment on whether you think the Defendant is guilty or not, of this horrific crime, and after hearing all the testimony from the witnesses, I firmly believe that you will, as I do, believe that Fangs Fogarty is guilty.”

The court was silent as White took her seat, a barely contained smug look tugging at her face. She’d stunned everyone in the room. Mouths hung open, people wiping their eyes and lending each other tissues- the emotional response to Margaret White’s opening statement on behalf of the State had done exactly what she needed it to do, and this meant trouble for Robin and Fangs.

Once again, Robin had to do damage control to try and breakeven with White, when she really needed to have a one-up on her. Robin had known that White was the District Attorney, but she’d hoped that she’d gotten complacent in her security and older age. In actual fact, White was the most challenging attorney Robin had ever come up against, on the hardest case she’d ever had to fight for. It was a bad combination and Robin had a growing fear of losing Fangs like she did Alex.

Robin took the floor, the clicks of her heels against the wood sounding thunderous in the silent room. Robin could have heard a pin drop in there, and for the first time in a long time, she felt nervous and unsure of whether she’d be able to bring the room back around. She was doubting herself.

“My learned friend, opposition counsel Ms Margaret White, just gave a very empathetic opening statement for the Prosecution, but before I begin, I want to remind you that your job in this court room is to convict based on facts, not on emotions,” she started eyeing the jurors carefully as she began to slowly walk around the open space. “Midge Klump’s death was a tragic event that has rocked the whole of Riverdale to its core, challenging every fibre of its moral being. But that does not mean that you must to convict Mr Fogarty at the end of this trial just to bring someone to justice for the crime if you do not, beyond any reasonable doubt, believe that it is he who committed the murder.”

“Midge Klump did wake up on 16th March 2018, excited and ready to give her all into playing Carrie White. She was cast late, meaning she had to work to catch up with the other cast members, and she did go to my client, Mr Fogarty, for help. But what developed between them was not malicious as Ms White has implied, but, as you will hear, it was a tender relationship that both parties desired.”  

“Midge Klump’s death was devastating, especially for her family who must have felt like their world was falling apart. But that was not at the hands of my client, a 17-year-old boy who was not only her friend, but also someone who she trusted and who cared for her immensely in more ways than one. He would have done anything she could have ever asked of him and would have given her the world if he could.”

Robin looked towards the Klump’s who hung on her every word, eager to hear about how she was possibly going to defend such a person. They didn’t look disgruntled, angry or bitter, but more pained and vacant. They just wanted some kind of conclusion for their daughter and for themselves so that they could try to move forward with Midge’s legacy.  

“From the Defence you will hear a different side of the story. You will hear about how Fangs Fogarty is loyal, courageous and a friend to depend on at any given moment. You’ll hear about how he is the light and soul of any room, how he loves his family with everything he’s got and how he would give someone the clothes off of his back, even if it would help them for just a fraction of a second.”

“You’ll hear about how due to Mr Fogarty’s affiliation with a gang and his residency on the Southside of Riverdale, he has been prejudiced by the Sheriff’s Office repeatedly and shunned by them when he needs them, most recently on the night of his release from custody where he had to escape a mob outside the Station, who then followed and attacked him at his own home.”

In the public gallery, Reggie and Moose shifted uncomfortably, sharing a worried glance between them.

“You will also hear about how there is a serial killer in Riverdale, who is actually responsible for the murder of Midge Klump, but who, due to the aforementioned prejudice, the Sheriff’s Station is not and has not investigated as a possible suspect.”

“But most importantly, you’ll hear about how Fangs Fogarty is innocent. An innocent boy caught up in this mess simply because the Sheriff needed someone to convict and Fangs Fogarty happened to be the first person who fit the bill.”

Robin gestured to Fangs who sat with tears in his eyes, his legs shaking under the table as he picked a scab on his hand. He sucked in his cheeks, trying to hold back his emotions, but it was useless and his face was flushing an overwhelmed shade of pink as he quickly brushed a tear away.

“When you pass judgment on Mr Fogarty at the end of this trial, you must use three tools. Firstly, you must use the testimony and law presented to you in this court, not from Ms White, nor I, but from Judge Vines and from the witnesses. It is our job to help the witnesses to tell their stories, but not to tell those stories for the witnesses. Secondly, you must use your common sense. You will hear a lot of testimony over the course of this trial, from professionals and people of power in Riverdale all the way to high school students- it is your job as jurors to discern what is true and what doesn’t add up to you. And finally, you must use your courage. Being a juror is not easy; and Mr Fogarty’s life is on the line. It is just as courageous to acquit someone as it is to convict someone, and if you aren’t convinced beyond a shred of reasonable doubt that Fangs Fogarty did this, then you cannot convict him.” Robin urged the jurors, using her hands wildly as she stopped to look each one of them in the eye, a pained look settling on her face.

“Fangs Fogarty categorically did not kill Midge Klump, and by the end of this trial you will understand fully why that is the case, and how my client is innocent. Thank you.”

Robin nodded to the jury with a curt smile, before taking her seat and letting out a deep breath. She grabbed Fangs’ hand briefly and squeezed it, handing him a tissue before she flicked through her notes to take her mind off of her racing emotions.

“Okay ladies and gentlemen, that’s it for today,” Judge Vines announced, motioning to Robin and Margaret, and then towards the jurors. “We’ll reconvene tomorrow at 9:00am, see you then.”

A quiet murmur overtook the court as the public began to get up and disperse from the room, mumbling between themselves about the opening statements and what they thought the outcome of the trial would be. The Serpents shifted uncomfortably, the juniors splitting off from the King, still in shock at today’s revelations. If this had come out by accident on the first day of the trial, none of them were looking forward to the secrets that could erupt during the subsequent week.

Moose and Lydia walked slightly ahead of Mr and Mrs Klump, both pairs arm in arm and leaning on each other emotionally like they were each other’s life support machines. The Klump’s looked skeletal, dark circles adorned their eyes and their faces were gaunt, like they hadn’t done anything apart from exist since Midge had died. No parent should ever have to bury their own child, and it looked like they’d buried a part of themselves with Midge the day of her funeral.

Lydia and Moose didn’t look much better. Midge was Lydia’s best friend, her saving grace, the reason she got through each day at Riverdale High sane. Everywhere she looked, there was something that reminded her of Midge. Whether it was looking around her room and seeing the trinkets her best friend would pick up for her at shops and tell her ‘I saw this and thought of you’, or in the halls as she walked past her locker, or even in herself. Midge brought something out in Lydia that was locked deep down; a quiet confidence in herself that had been shattered and replaced with an insecurity that the town would know her as the girl whose best friend was dead.

And Moose. The gentle giant football star had been replaced with an aggressive form of himself, that took his agony out on anything within his reach. He’d put holes in his walls, fought his teammates at football and started arguing with his parents, locking himself away in solitary confinement to be consumed by his own thoughts. Behind his eyes, there was nothing. Maybe he wasn’t so far removed from Fangs, despite how much he tried to separate himself from the killer teen.

Moose and Lydia were each other’s anchors, trying to stop each other from being dragged away with the tide where they would be found washed up on a beach somewhere later.

Robin turned towards Fangs, supressing a grimace at the look of pure doom he gave her. She knew this conversation wouldn’t be one he would like, but it was necessary. She took a few steps towards him, lowering her voice so that only he would hear as the last few people filtered out of the court room.

“I know you’re not happy but-“

“Not happy?” Fangs hissed through gritted teeth. “That’s an understatement. Do you want me to lose this case? Because from where I was sitting it sure looked like it when you kicked that ex-Serpent off the jury.”

Robin let out a deep sigh, her face settling into its resting position- a notoriously bitchy and unamused look, which only wound Fangs up further. He was already a tightly coiled snake ready to bite, and that look on Robin’s face had him bearing his fangs ready to strike.

“You convinced me to stick with you, you convinced me not to take that damn plea deal all so that you could show off in court, and you can’t even do that. You’re fucking this up for me. You don’t get to play with my life.”

“You know what,” Robin started, straightening her posture to look at Fangs eye to eye, her heels giving her the extra inches to meet his eyeline. She was tired and agitated, and Fangs had picked the wrong moment to air his grievances with her. “You’re in my domain now, and you seem to have no idea that you’re neck deep in the shit and that I’m the one who can get you out of it. You may be my client, but I have duties to this court and to myself which take precedence. I have duty to the Bar to promote and protect fearlessly, by all proper and lawful means, your best interests- note the words proper and lawful. My overriding duty is to the court and to administering justice, so, as much as I would like to have kept that Serpent on the jury, I can’t. Heck, I would put all your friends on the jury if I could to ensure that you’re found not guilty, but I can’t. I’m not going to get myself disbarred for you, so you need to start believing that I can do this regardless of the jury composition.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of them and they remained eye to eye until Robin took a step back toward their table and gathered her books together. She wasn’t sure whether she was trying to convince herself or Fangs to believe in her.

“Go home and get a good night’s sleep. The real stuff starts tomorrow, Fangs,” Robin spoke levelly to the boy still standing behind her, having contained her outburst. She scooped up all her books and turned back to face him, shuffling them in her arms as one began to slip. “You’re not the first client to doubt me, and you won’t be the last, but I am trying my hardest, and I will continue to try my hardest for you and your family. I know what’s at stake, I know that better than most, but some things are out of my control.”

Fangs stood stern, looking at the woman before him. His eyes flickered to her snake pin on the lapel of her blazer and quickly back up to her face, swallowing hard and unclenching his fists slightly as he shifted his weight between his feet. He sent her a small nod, chewing the inside of his cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

She’d already been through it once before, when the Black Hood had come out of nowhere and attacked her whilst she was with Moose, shooting point-blank into the car they were cozied up in, with a murderous look in his eyes. They’d both survived, but part of their innocence was lost that day. Fangs didn’t want to be the reason that she became another addition the the death toll.

He slung his helmet over his handle and approached Midge, not quite sure what he would say to her, but hoping that he could be useful.

“Hey, Midge,” he started, drawing her attention from her phone. A sweet and friendly smile enveloped her face, making him more at ease almost instantly as he realised she wasn’t worried by him approaching her in the dark. His Serpent status had a habit of hindering his attempts to be kind, but Midge’s non-judgmental attitude had him feeing relaxed and somewhat appreciated. “What’re you still doing here? I thought you would be home by now.”

Midge let out a breath of a laugh, stuffing her phone into her back pocket as she looked up at Fangs, taking him in. “Moose is at Riverdale General with Huxley, apparently he landed funny after a tackle and hurt his back pretty bad so he’s getting an x-ray. Moose was my ride home and my parents aren’t picking up their phones. I’d usually walk but we finished late today and it’s dark- I don’t really like walking in the dark by myself after… you know.”

Midge shifted uncomfortably, knitting her fingers together in her lap, as she momentarily flashed back to looking into the barrel of the Black Hood’s gun. She didn’t need to explain what she was referencing, alluding to it was enough. It had been the talk of the school for the time she was off recovering, but it was an unspoken rule to not discuss it unless Midge instigated the conversation explicitly. For a while she’d experienced survivor’s guilt- Moose had taken all the bullets for her and she’d miraculously come out unscathed, and as much as she put on a brave face for her friends, she often felt like the walls were closing in on her. Nightmares were frequent and flashbacks inevitable.

“I would offer you a ride, but I’ve only got one helmet,” Fangs tried to break the tension, motioning behind him towards his bike that still sat lonely in the far corner of the carpark. “But I can walk with you if you want, so that you’re not alone?”

Midge hesitated, looking between the Serpent and his ride. “What about your bike?”

“I’ll come back and get it after, or I’ll make Sweet Pea give me a ride in tomorrow.”

Midge laughed shyly, grabbing her bag from next to her and slinging it over her shoulder before extending her hand out to Fangs from the step she was sat on. “Okay, sure. Give me a hand to get up, will you?”

The start of the walk home was quiet as the pair wandered the Northside streets of Riverdale. Fangs had been to the Northside before plenty of times, but he’d never stopped to look at his surroundings in so much detail. This walk really hit home for him the privileged lives that Northsiders lived, compared to what the Southsiders had. Here, the roads were quiet, there were no blinking and broken streetlights, there was no litter on the floor, hedges and lawns were trimmed, the houses were immaculately painted. Everything was perfect. The Northside represented the picturesque neighbourhood that any family would want to raise their children in.

The Southside, by comparison, could not have been more different. Buildings were left baron or filled with squatters, the town was decorated with graffiti of every variety on every street, the drug trade was no secret and there were more trailers than houses on that side of town.

Fangs wondered how his life might have been different if he’d been born into some kind of privilege.

Living on the Southside had its perks and although he made the best of the situation, there was no denying that it had its drawbacks at times. People took double looks at him as he walked around clad in leather, shop keepers watched him extra carefully when he went to get milk for his Mum, he had to work twice as hard as Northsiders he knew he was better than to equal them because people constantly doubted him.

Northsiders looked down on the Southside. But in spite of that privilege they had, there was nothing the kids of the Northside loved more than having fun with Southside culture. They’d attend drag races, stroll into Southside bars, graffiti Southside territory, having their fun and then never accepting the consequences that befell normal Southsiders. Northsiders were loud in their laughter, but silent in the Southside suffering.

All except Midge.

Fangs and Midge rounded a corner, walking past the Sheriff’s Station, the tall building imposing an eerie shadow over the already darkened path.

“How are you finding your new role?” Fangs asked, casting a glance her way as her face scrunched up even at the thought of Carrie.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m so excited to be Carrie- it feels like all my hard work has paid off. I just feel really behind the rest of the cast and I don’t want to let anyone down,” she replied, looking up at Fangs briefly before dropping her gaze to the floor. “I’ve been trying to run lines, but Moose is busy with football between rehearsals, so I’ve just been trying to get through the rehearsals without looking like a total flop.” Midge gave Fangs a short shrug, pulling up her backpack that had slipped down her shoulder a bit.

“I’ve got the spare time to run lines with you, if you’d like?”

Midge let out a loud bark of laughter, looking up at Fangs with a smile that met her eyes and lit up her whole face. “First you walk me home, and now you’re offering to run lines with me- some would say you’re trying to court me, Mr Fogarty.”

Fangs’ face dropped into an expression of worry, his brows immediately knitted together and eyes widened, only causing Midge to double over as an even louder roll of laughter roared out of her.

“Oh my god, you should see your face,” she started, barely catching a breath as she clutched her sides, tears of glee prickling her eyes. “I was only joking, I know you’re gay. I was gonna set Kevin up with you actually.”

Fangs’ attention snapped towards Midge, his eyes wider now than they were before, making his forehead crease slightly. “Uh, I’m not actually fully gay- I just like who I like, whatever gender they may be,” he bumped shoulders with Midge, shaking his head. “And after that ‘courting’ shit, I retract my earlier offer. You can keep practicing by yourself now.”

“No, please, I’d really appreciate the help,” Midge tried to stifle her laughter, a lopsided smile settling on her face instead. “Wow, and to think I thought you were gay all this time. You’re a lady-killer too.”

Fangs rolled his eyes playfully, shaking his head as an inkling of a smile quirked the ends of his lips. “You need to stop talking before I leave you to walk the rest of the way by yourself.”

Midge feigned offence in response, placing her hand over her heart and dropping her mouth open before her signature grin settled back on her face. “I’d actually be offended if we weren’t literally four houses away from mine. Thanks for walking me home Fangs, it means a lot. I’d really like to run lines with you if you were seriously offering?”

“Yeah totally, Tuesdays and Thursdays after school work for me, we can do either day or both if you want.”

The pair came to a steady stop outside of Midge’s house. It was exactly what he thought it would be- picture perfect and quaint. There were no cars on the driveway and all the lights were off aside from the porch light. A ginger cat sat expectantly on her porch step, meowing as it set eyes on Midge. Fangs scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Tuesdays and Thursdays sounds perfect. Thank you again Fangs, I’ll see you tomorrow!” Midge fished for her keys in her pocket and waved as she set off up the driveway towards the cat, who meowed even louder as she approached, a loud purr rumbling through it as it brushed up against her leg.

“See you then Midge,” Fangs waved her off, waiting until she was safely inside before he set off back towards Riverdale High to grab his bike.

Part of him felt excited to spend more time with the Vixen tomorrow running lines. It was an odd sensation to be excited about being around a Northsider after years of associating them with being the enemy, but Midge was nothing like an enemy to him and he found himself forcing away a small, content smile as he thought about their future rehearsals.

----

The Sheriff’s Station is a cornerstone of Riverdale.

The red-bricked monster sits on the corner of the town’s main crossroad and stands as a reminder that the rule of law will be enforced; that is, that no man is ever above the law. For some residents it is a beacon of safety and of justice, a symbol of protection for them in a town that as of recent had been plagued by nothing but darkness. And for the other half of the town it is nothing short of a nightmare which has taken the form of an institution. They do not view it as a sign of protection, but as the hunting ground for a police force that has done nothing but terrorise their kind for generations.

One year ago, the Sheriff’s Station was quieter. The town was quieter. The only people frequenting the Station were the police staff and the public attorneys – arrests were infrequent, usually only being made up of speeding charges and public disturbances. But over the last year Riverdale had descended into a chaos of sorts. Gang violence had increased, drug use had spread across both sides of the tracks and a murderous venom had seeped into every vein of the town; starting with the death of high school football star Jason Blossom and culminating in the murder of River Vixen, Midge Klump.

The Station was built in 1939 and in all its years it had never been as overwhelmed as it had been over the those few months.

Midge Klump was a town sweetheart who met an untimely fate. Compassionate and youthful, she had been cast as Carrie White in Riverdale High’s production of Carrie: The Musical and was making her debut when she was found murdered in cold blood. Her death became symbolic in Riverdale; enough was enough. The town didn’t want to have to worry about the safety of their kids anymore.

After the initial plume of dust settled, a witch hunt began to find killer and bring him or her to justice. The town was ruthless, working alongside the police to leave no stone unturned. As the hunt continued, the crosshairs closed in on Midge’s classmate, Fangs Fogarty, and the Sheriff pulled the trigger with no remorse, arresting him on school grounds and dragging him into the Station by the scruff of his collar with no intention of letting him leave.

Across the road from the Station, public defender Robin Allard threw her car into a parking space, gathering her folders into both of her arms before shutting the passenger seat with her hip. She’d received a call from the reception clerk that an unrepresented teenager had been taken into custody and was in interview with Riverdale’s Sheriff, Michael Minetta. Minetta was new and so Robin hadn’t had the chance to personally meet him yet, but from what she’d heard from Sierra McCoy, a legal acquaintance within Riverdale, he was ruthless. 

It was Robin’s job to protect Fangs Fogarty from the merciless swing of the Prosecution’s scythe and so it was of paramount importance that she got to her client as soon as possible to enforce his constitutional rights and to make sure that he didn’t seal his own fate before she even got a chance to help him.

“Where is he?” Robin boomed as she burst through the looming double doors of the Station, startling the receptionist who had been tapping away absentmindedly with her pen on the desk. Robin heaved a heavy sigh as she dropped her folders onto the reception desk, waiting for a reply from the brunette before she noticed her confused expression. “Come on Gwen, you rang me 40 minutes ago. Where’s my new client, Fogarty?”

Gwen’s face lit up in realisation as she turned to her keyboard and mumbled a quiet ahh yes, typing frantically and opening a few folders on the screen. “He’s down the hall with Sheriff Minetta, but I’ve got to sign you in before you can see him.”

Robin’s heels tapped a staccato rhythm as she waited impatiently for the police clerk to sign her in as a visitor to the station. She knew that her client was in danger every second longer this simple administrative task took and she was growing increasingly frustrated with the delay. Nothing ever seemed simple in Riverdale in all the years she’d worked there and despite all the town’s recent murders, the station was still as slow as ever at these mundane tasks.

All the while this was taking place, Fangs Fogarty was barely managing to keep his head above water in the interview room. The Sheriff had been waiting for an excuse to bring him in for questioning, and possession of a bladed article on school property was the perfect excuse. An excuse which also further implicated him in Midge Klump’s murder.

“You were in Midge Klump’s dressing room doing what exactly?” Sheriff Minetta asked, his voice tearing through the room and bouncing off the walls like broken glass, trapping the high schooler who sat opposite him. This was his territory and he wasn’t going to let Fogarty out of that room until he had what he wanted from him. Minetta stood at the end of the table, his hands splay against the wood, looking down at his suspect with venomous eyes, willing him to give in and confess.

“We were just talking,” Fangs choked out in response. He knew he was being cornered and he had no idea how to get himself out of this situation. He felt like he was drowning in this interview room and that the Sheriff was taunting him with a life raft. “I didn’t kill her!”

Minetta sensed blood in the water and his lips quirked into an evil smile as he realised that this was his chance to finally pin Fogarty down and make him squirm. “Didn’t you? With this knife you had on your person?”

Robin stormed down the hallway, hoping that she wasn’t too late. She’d rushed to the station as quickly as she could when she heard that she had a new client who was currently in interview with the town’s Sheriff, but she didn’t know if they had already managed to extract a confession from him. Down the hall she could hear Minetta’s raised voice and so she began to run towards his interview room as fast as her heels would allow her.

Robin grabbed the handle in desperation and without knocking threw the door open. “Don’t say another word,” she instructed sharply at Fangs, giving him a small nod of encouragement before turning her attention swiftly to the Sheriff. “I’ll be representing Mr Fogarty from here on out and I’d appreciate it if you stopped harassing my client.”

A tide of relief washed over Fangs and he felt all the colour flood back into his face. His eyes flickered between the two other figures in the room who seemed to be staring each other down in a display of authority. Sheriff Minetta stood half a foot taller than Robin, but her attitude more than made up for that in this situation.

Minetta tore his eyes away from Robin and he looked towards Fangs, his eyebrows settling angrily on his face as he prepared to leave. “You don’t know how lucky you are, this conversation is not finished.”

Robin took a step to the left, stopping Minetta in his tracks as he let out a deep sigh and bit his tongue. “I don’t know who you’ve been dealing with before now Sheriff Minetta, but you will not talk to my client under any circumstances if I’m not present, or I will report you for violating Mr Fogarty’s Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel. I hope I’ve made myself clear.”

Robin set her folders on the desk Fangs was sat at, huffing as she did so, quickly shutting the door behind the Sheriff once he’d left. She straightened her dress out, fanning herself to alleviate the sweat from her frantic journey to this very room from her flat one town over. She took a seat across from Fangs and sent him an empathetic smile. He looked dishevelled. Being arrested on school premises is something that would be enough to rattle any student at Riverdale High and even more so when the whole town was looking to hammer the nails in his coffin and had already branded him a murderer.

“Now we don’t have much time, but are you okay?” Robin asked, scribbling a few words on her battered notepad. “It seems Minetta really sprung this situation on you, huh?”

Fangs let out a shallow breath of a laugh, the first laugh he’d had in the four days since Midge had been killed. Those four days had taken him to rock bottom. He was used to looking over his shoulder, but an entire town denouncing him as a killer had him using every energy reserve in his body to keep himself from crumbling. “I’m as okay as an accused murder can be, I guess.”

“Good. What did you tell Sheriff Minetta?” Robin had no intention of concerning herself with small talk beyond checking that he was okay. It was in times like this where she knew clients could really use an offer of compassion even as small as asking about their mental state, but she was acutely aware that they were working on borrowed time.

“That I didn’t kill her.” Fangs searched Robin’s face for a hint of anything to reaffirm that he’d done the right thing, and the way that relief washed over her alleviated the constricting sensation that was tightening around his throat.

Robin gave him a small nod with a smile, muttering a ‘good’ as she sat back in her seat. “That’s great, I was worried that he would have managed to crack you before I got here. Good job Mr Fogarty-“

“Fangs. You can call me Fangs,” he interrupted, a sincere smile creeping onto his worn and tired face. His smile looked out of place on a face that looked like his did; gaunt and tired.  

“Okay, Fangs,” Robin emphasised, shaking her head slightly with a small grin. “I’m Robin Allard. I’m your publicly appointed defence attorney because you currently don’t have any other representation. Obviously, you’re more than entitled to seek alternative legal representation, in which case they will be your acting attorney in my place, or if for some reason you can’t or don’t want another attorney, I’ll act for you whilst this situation continues.”

Fangs sent Robin a confused look, leaning forward into the table. “Are you serious? After what you just did to Minetta after not even meeting me? I’m sticking with you.”

Robin gave Fangs a curt nod as a breathy laugh escaped her, scribbling in messy cursive in her notepad.

Upon her arrival into the station, Gwen had given Robin a copy of Fangs’ arrest report. Her eyes scanned over it quickly as she picked out all the key parts of information. She shook her head as she read over it, realising what Minetta’s game was- he had no reason to arrest Fangs for questioning about Midge’s death, so he’d had to find something else to use as his excuse for hauling him in.

“In terms of why you’ve been arrested, that’s for carrying a bladed weapon on school premises. The Sheriff has 24 hours maximum to hold you from the time you were processed here, so he has to release you by 9:43am tomorrow at the latest. Riverdale laws prohibit people carrying knives with a blade of four inches or more so provided yours had a blade of less than four inches, you should be released with a caution,” Fangs nodded along eagerly to Robin’s digest of his report and her knowledge on the law at hand. He was trying to make a mental note of everything she was saying in case he needed to quote her against the police staff later. “Have you had your phone call yet?”

Fangs shook his head, fiddling with his rings nervously. “No not yet, I asked for it but they said later.”

“Okay well when you go back to your cell, I’ll ask them to give you your phone call. My advice is to call your family. You don’t need to waste it on sorting anything legal, that’s my job, so call your family and let them know you’re fine. And when you get released you call me, okay? I’ll leave my contact details for you at reception, we’ll arrange a meeting once you’re released,” Robin’s head snapped to the door when there was a knock. “Look our time is up because this wasn’t a prior arranged meeting between us, but call your family now, call me when you get out and keep your head down okay? Until they find another suspect you’re still top of the list.”

Fangs and Robin stood as Sheriff Minetta re-entered the room ready to escort the teen back into his cell. Fangs could feel his heart in his throat as it dawned on him that he was about to be alone again and a nervous sweat began to break out all over his body.

“Before you put him back in the cell, he hasn’t had his phone call. He’s entitled to it within the next-“ Robin stopped to check her watch. “35 minutes, so now’s probably a good time before you put him away again and then have to get him back out.”

Sheriff Minetta huffed and shook his head, stopping and turning Fangs towards the telephone sitting lonely on a bare wall. “Go on then, Fogarty, you can take your phone call now.”

Fangs practically lurched at the beacon of hope that was the station telephone. His mind went blank for a few moments before his Mum’s number flooded into his brain and he frantically pressed the buttons, whispering repeated come on’s as it rang. After what seemed like a lifetime, the line picked up and his Mum’s voice rang through the receiver with an overwhelming cast of concern.

“Mum?” Fangs spoke, his voice catching in his throat as he realised the severity of the situation he was in. “I know Jughead’s probably told you everything and I’m okay. But this situation? It’s bad...”

----

It had been 16 hours since Fangs has been arrested and he was finally being released, although his release wasn’t quite what he’d hoped it would be.

He and his fellow Serpents were trapped in the Sheriff’s Office, surrounded by protesters who were out for blood and wanted to tear Fangs limb from limb. Fangs stood by himself by the telephone, his hands shaking as a deep dread settled into the pit of his stomach and he realised the likelihood of him getting out of this building alive was slipping away. Around him the Serpents were frantically trying to figure out a way to get out, but all he could hear was a high-pitched ringing sound in his ears.

“We can’t take Fangs out the front, we have to take the side entrance,” Jughead spoke frenziedly at Sheriff Minetta as he approached, rattled by the angry mob outside. The beanie-clad Jones had never imagined he’d find himself in a situation remotely like this and he hoped the town’s Sheriff would be able to give him some reassurance.

“Crowd’s out there too- pick your poison Serpent,” Minetta replied nonchalantly, a shrug rolling easily off of his shoulders. Minetta didn’t care about the Serpents- when they got out of his station, they were no longer his problem and the quicker they were gone, the better. Jughead had been naive to think Minetta would help them, even accidentally.

Silence enveloped the room, making the sounds of the angry crowd seem even more ferocious now that they could all really hear them. The jeering, shouting, banging on the windows- it filled them all with fear for their lives.

Sweet Pea became particularly unsettled, ringing his hands together as nerves took over his body. “What do we do man?” he questioned, voice low and full of dread.

As if at once, Fangs’ attention snapped back to reality and there was only one thing on his mind that escaped his lips before he even had the chance to register what he was saying. “I don’t wanna die,” he fretted, his voice breaking.

His words made the Serpents’ hearts sink. Jughead closed his eyes in a moment of composure before he turned back around to the group who were relying on him for guidance. He knew he had to put on a brave face for them right now, even if he didn’t know what to do. He could have never imagined that this could ever happen in Riverdale, especially to his friends.

“Hey, you’re not going to. Look at me, okay?” he clasped Fangs’ face as he spoke, noticing how his eyes were full of tears and how he was trying desperately to swallow back any chance that he was going to cry. Fangs gave him a shallow nod and a whimper, knowing that his life was in the hands of his friends. Jughead moved his left hand, settling it on Sweet Pea’s shoulder to bring the group into a close circle of trust. “We stand together so that none of us falls. In unity there is strength.”

The group pulled together, their hands splay over each other’s backs as their heads touched as a symbol of togetherness. That may well be their last moment as a group of four, and so they needed to make it count and to make it something to remember. This was what it meant to be a Serpent. It was their last stand. “In unity there is strength!”

The small group of Serpents banded together, forming a protective shield around Fangs. In that moment, they were willing to give their lives for him. It was them against the world.

As the Station doors burst open the pack of Serpents surged forward, shoulder to shoulder, pushing their way through the crowds of angry townsfolk. Older Serpents joined the younger members at the front, elbowing and pushing people out the way to make room for their convoy.  There were people everywhere, angry fists and picket signs being forced into the air in protest of Fangs’ release. People spat. Booed. Hurled insults like murderer, Vixen Killer, dead man. Fangs Fogarty was not innocent until proven guilty, the citizens of Riverdale had already assigned their judgment and that was that he deserved nothing more than an empty cell and a life of misery.

That night Riverdale could not have been further removed from its reputation as ‘the town with pep’. The bodies packed together radiated nothing short of disgust for a teenager who hadn’t even been formally charged. Their disdain had been led almost singlehandedly by one woman who had repeatedly posted inflammatory articles about the inhabitants of the Southside - Alice Cooper. Although she previously identified as a proud member of the Southside and of the Serpents, she repeatedly used the Riverdale Register as a vehicle to criminalise an entire population article by article, branding them as second-class members of the town. Despite her prickly personality, Alice Cooper was a respected Northside citizen, and so her words carried weight with her affluent kinsfolk who ate up her pieces on the Southsiders, word by word. It would be fair to suggest that for most of those who were at the riots, their scathing hatred of Fangs Fogarty was in part due to the rhetoric Alice Cooper had spewed, especially in posting an ambiguous video of him with Midge in her dressing room shortly before her demise.

Although they had a tough exterior, on the inside the Serpents were scared for their lives, and for Fangs’. They were used to abuse and used to being classed as outcasts because they were born on the wrong side of town; a lot of them knew no different. But this was unlike anything they’d ever experienced- no one had ever wished death on them. And yet here they were, desperately trying to push their way towards the light to save themselves from a fate like Midge’s.

From the right a protester charged at Sweet Pea, trying to get through the barricade to Fangs, practically frothing at the mouth in anticipation of getting his hands on the young Serpent. Sweet Pea shouldered him in the face, contemplating stopping to throw a punch at the entitled stranger, but he knew that if he left Fangs’ side for even a second, he’d be torn apart by the mob. Sweet Pea could not be a weak link in Fangs’ only source of protection, otherwise he’d never forgive himself for what could happen to his best friend. They needed each other and Sweet Pea wasn’t going to let the mob get to him without a fight.

From inside the human shield every single one of Fangs’ senses had dulled. The shouting had faded into a ringing in his ear, his hands felt like static, his vision was blurred and all he could smell and taste was smoke. But deep down beneath his obscured senses he was scared. Scared that he would never go back home to his Mum, scared that his friends would grow up without him, scared that his family would have to plan his funeral before his life had really even started. His legs had turned to jelly and the only thing keeping him moving was his pack of Serpents willing him forward towards salvation.

When the Serpents broke through the last of the protesters, they were exhausted. Many had scratches and bruises up their arms, FP sporting a particularly nasty scratch across his right cheek that had already began to weep, dotted with blood. The group panted and heaved, checking Fangs over before piling onto their motorbikes ready to go back to Sunnyside Trailer Park, the only place they felt safe in their town.

Fangs clambered onto the back of Sweet Pea’s bike, his breath quaking and hands shaking as he held on ready for the ride back to the Southside. Sweet Pea glanced back, looking at his paled friend before he gave him a look of reassurance. They often exchanged looks, but this one was different. It was panic, relief, brotherly love, hope and anguish all wrapped up into one, brooding exchange. Sweet Pea turned his attention back to the road and revved his engine, pulling away and racing home to get Fangs out of this situation and back to his family.

The ride home was quick, although for Fangs it felt like hours. The roads were littered with broken glass and cars on fire, windows were boarded up and covered in spray paint, the product of sheer anger at him. Riverdale resembled chaos. The convoy of bikes passed Pop’s and the neon sign which usually washed the town in a warm red glow, radiated a glow that was menacing and hell-like. Fangs wanted nothing more than to go back a week, to a time when he could sit in a booth with his friends and gorge on burgers without the fear of someone throwing a brick through a window at him. Those days seemed so long ago now, almost like they’d never even happened.

By comparison to the scene outside of the Sheriff’s Office, Sunnyside seemed like paradise. It was quiet, familiar, safe. Within an instant Fangs’ Mum, Maria, erupted from his trailer, the rumble of the bikes signifying that the group had returned. She stood in her slippers and dressing gown, the cold night air nipping at her skin. Fangs’ head snapped towards her figure, tears lining his eyes as his feet carried him towards her.

Their embrace settled Fangs’ stomach and unsteady hands as he clutched at her like his life depended on it. “My boy,” she breathed quietly, relief washing over her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Fangs couldn’t muster any words in response, knowing that if he tried to say anything all that would come out would be a choked sob, and so instead he just stood holding her trying to regain some courage. Everything he did was for her and yet in this moment he felt like he couldn’t do anything at all other than be in her arms.

The familiar rumble of a motorcycle broke the silence of the moment and FP stepped off of his bike, his brows knitted in concern. He shook out his hair before approaching Fangs, slapping him on the back with a fatherly smile. He’d stayed behind to make sure the boys got away smoothly and to assess the situation after they’d left. Damage control, he’d called it.

“I’m glad you’re okay, kid,” he began, ruffling Fangs’ hair and sending a nod of approval to his Mum for getting him home safely. “But don’t get too comfortable. There’s a group of protesters from the station on their way here, led by your Bulldog pals from school.”

Fangs’ heart dropped. He’d brought protestors to the heart of the Southside community. The Northside was a mess, broken and battered by the protesters who had ruined their own half of the town- God knows what they would do to the Southside where they had no regard for the people or the property. Profanities and curses were littered from the mouths of the other Serpents, with Sweet Pea’s hands closing into tight fists. The Northsiders had taken everything out from underneath them, made their daily lives that bit worse, and yet they wanted to come to Serpents territory and pick a fight? All of the Serpents knew that that could get ugly.

“Topaz,” Fangs shouted, gaining the attention of not only the pink haired girl, but the rest of the group. “You need to take my Mum somewhere safe, she can’t be here when they get here.”

Protests came from both women who wanted to stay and protect their homes, but Fangs wouldn’t take no for an answer, thinking only of protecting them from whatever was about to happen on their home soil. If things were going to get as ugly as he knew they could, he didn’t want either of them to be collateral damage, especially at the hands of Northsiders who were out for his blood.

“Tones, I’m asking you as my friend, please take her somewhere away from here- to Pop’s or something where I know she’ll be safe,” he turned his attention to his Maria, addressing her eye to eye, his voice dropping to a soft plead. “I know you want to stay but if anything were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself. If I go with you, they’re gonna tear this whole place apart to find me and I can’t let these guys lose everything they’ve got because I ran away from fate. Please Mum, I’ll be okay. But right now, I need you to be okay too and I can only be sure of that if you go with Toni.”

Maria’s eyes filled with tears and as she dropped her head into a small nod, pulling her son into a tight hug, internally willing him to just survive. Truth be told, she didn’t want to leave him, or for him to leave her, but the look in his eyes as he begged her to go was too much for her. She placed a kiss on the crown of his head and held him by the shoulders as she took one last look at him. “Call me as soon as you can, I’ll be waiting ready to come home to you.”

It wasn’t long before the women had whisked themselves off into the night in hopes of finding somewhere safer out of the chaos. The reality of what was about to ensue settled on the remaining Serpents. They had a whole community here of people who already had so little, and yet the entitled folk from the other side of the town were about to descend upon them like locusts and try to take even more.

FP went door to door, waking up as many families as he could. He knew the mob was close- he’d passed them not five minutes ago and they were half way to the trailer park. He knew he wouldn’t be able to wake everyone before they got there if he was doing it by himself. He shouted to the other Serpents to start banging on doors, knocking until they opened up and groggy snakes appeared in the doorway, scratching their heads and yawning, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

“They’re coming,” FP announced, his voice full of disgust as he began to pace around. “The Northsiders are coming for Fangs, and they’re coming here to our homes to get him. Now we all swore an oath to look after our own and to stand together- obviously we are going to fight to protect you and everything that you all have, but if you want to come out here and stand by our sides, it would be an honour to show these Northsiders off of our property with you all.”

By now the Serpents could hear the hum of the mob in the distance and they were beginning to become antsy. They didn’t know what their Northside rivals were hoping to achieve by coming to their front doorstep, but things were not going to end well if they overstayed their welcome.

As the other Serpents were mentally preparing themselves for the worst-case scenario of an all-out war, Fangs was beginning to panic. All of this was because he’d got himself caught up with Midge, and now the entire town was coming for him. He wanted to defend himself, but he knew one wrong move would incriminate him even more. Everything he did from this point on had to be done with the upmost precision and thought behind it.

The Serpents slithered to the boundary of Sunnyside as the mob approached, Bulldogs leading the pack in their letterman armour, Reggie Mantle taking pride of place at the head of the group with a nasty scowl on his face.

“What do you want boys?” FP called out as the group stopped a few feet from them, chests puffed out with a look of danger dancing across their faces. He wanted to defuse the situation and move them on without an issue, but he knew that if the other Serpents could sense blood in the water, they would strike.

“We want him,” Reggie spat back, his eyes narrowing on Fangs who was stood towards the back of the pack, hoping not to be seen.

“No can do, boy’s innocent. That’s not up for negotiation. Now go home to your parents before I have to call them to come and collect you.”

“He killed my girlfriend,” Moose sneered, using anger to cover how utterly broken he was by the situation. Midge was the single best thing that had happened to him, and in a few short days he would be burying her. The pair were the ‘it’ couple of Riverdale and it had all been snatched from him in one fell swoop. Inside he was reeling, but outside he looked like a bull ready to charge at a red flag.

“Moose, I know Midge is gone and I can’t begin to think about how you’re feeling, but do you really think she’d want to see you doing this when no one’s even been charged?” Jughead chimed in, stepping forward to try and reason with the boy who he could clearly see was struggling. He knew that deep down Moose was only here because Reggie told him that it would make him feel better, not because it was the right thing to do.

“Get her name out of your mouth, snake,” Reggie bit back, taking a step towards Jughead as his brows furrowed in anger and his hands balled into fists.

“Shut the hell up Mantle and take a step back,” Sweet Pea ordered firmly, putting an instinctive protective arm in front of Jughead as he internally begged Reggie to give him an excuse to break in his new brass knuckles with the Bulldog’s jaw. Sweet Pea had never seen eye to eye with Jughead. The son of FP Jones had swanned in and assumed a position of importance without even proving himself and that irked the inky teen, but he knew better than to let personal issues rear their head in a situation where they had to act like a pack.

“Or what?” Reggie spat back, shrugging and looking towards his Bulldog companions in solidarity.

“Or I’ll put you down, mutt,” Sweet Pea had a razor sharp and calculated voice, his eyes narrowing as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He finally stood at full height, looking down his nose at the group of hostile Northsiders with a grimace of disgust.

Reggie’s face contorted into a something grotesquely furious and he almost threw the first punch, instead barely holding himself back. He wanted the Serpents to make the first move so that he could justify his actions as self-defence. He’d spent far too many nights talking to Sheriff Keller about his behaviour and had finally worked out that if he provoked them into fighting, he might get let off with a caution and no phone call home to his parents.

But it was Moose Mason who made the first move, charging into a teenage Serpent fist first. He wondered if fighting would help him to feel anything other than empty and like a part of him had died with Midge on that stage.

The two sides clashed together almost instantaneously after that. Sweet Pea wound his arm back and swung with all his might, barely catching Reggie’s left cheek as the Bulldog jerked his head back, just out of the way of the brass-clad fist. Sweet Pea may have had strength on his side, but Reggie was quicker and nimbler. Reggie pounded at Sweet Pea’s stomach, winding him, before a junior Serpent charged at him and knocked him into the dirt of the inroad into Sunnyside. Sweet Pea gave his junior a quick nod of thanks before embedding the steel toe cap of his boot as hard into Reggie’s stomach as he could, eliciting a choked groan from him as his body shunted at the impact.

Jughead got himself between Moose and a Serpent, grabbing the torn-up Bulldog by the scruff of his collar to try and reason with him. Moose grimaced at Jughead, pushing him off of him with all of his frustration-brooding strength. The beanie wearing teen stumbled back, barely stopping himself from falling into the dirt.

As he managed to recover from the shove, a Bulldog he recognised as Huxley approached him, wringing his fists ready to fight. Jughead backed up, trying to persuade him that this wasn’t a good idea and soon he found himself in a corner with nowhere to go.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” Huxley started, taking a step towards Jughead and closing the space as he cracked his knuckles, his voice and face equally menacing. “But you’ve always had someone to protect you. Not now though, and I’m gonna enjoy this.”

As Huxley wound his arm back, a pristine blade came against his throat and a petite arm wrapped around the top of his head, holding him still as burgundy nails dug into the skin of his forehead and yanked his head back, exposing the soft flesh of his neck. Relief washed over Jughead has he saw his sister Jubilee pressing her switch blade harder against the fullback’s throat with a look of danger in her eyes, daring him to move even an inch.

“You get the fuck out of here, now,” Jubilee murmured harshly into his ear, eliciting a panicked nod from the football player. “If I ever see you here, or near Jughead again, you won’t be walking away next time. Am I understood?”

Huxley frantically shouted yes, his voice a panicked beg, and reluctantly Jubilee let him go, pushing him out of the trailer park as she clenched her grip on her knife a little tighter. She and Jughead exchanged a brief look of thanks, no time to stop and talk. Had Jubilee not been there, Jughead wasn’t sure how he would have ended up, but he knew it wouldn’t have been pretty. 

The pair scanned the chaos in front of them, seeing Serpents old and young fighting Northsiders, some of whom they knew and some they didn’t. Jughead ran towards the Serpents who he could see were hurt, ready to help get them away from the clash and towards the first aid trailers, and Jubilee went fist first into a group of women who she knew her fellow male Serpents wouldn’t fight with, ready to give them a reason to never come back to the Southside.

Fangs couldn’t believe what was happening. It was as if in the blink of an eye, hell had descended upon him. Around him, Serpents and protesters alike were hobbling away with broken noses, blood pouring from their faces. Some had been so badly winded that they couldn’t move or had slashed and bruised. Others were still going, including Sweet Pea, who Fangs couldn’t take his eyes off of. Sweet Pea was tearing through Bulldogs and Northsiders like there was no tomorrow, having finished with Reggie Mantle. He was throwing fists wildly, daring anyone to challenge him. The giant Serpent looked like a wreck. His fists were covered in a mixture of Northsider blood and his own from where the brass knuckles had cut him from the force of his own fists, and he was already sporting matching black eyes.

“Fangs!” FP shouted, bloodied and bruised as he took a punch to the gut from an older protester. “Go, hide!”

Fangs turned on his feet and ran deep into Sunnyside through the fighters and towards his own trailer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hot Dog cowering next to an armchair, sounds of terrified whining coming from him, and another pang of guilt flooded his body. He stopped in his tracks and whistled for the shaggy dog, willing him to come to him so that he could get him out of this battle zone before he got hurt.

To the left of Hot Dog, he spotted Kevin stood idly watching the interaction as he grasped a golf club, not really sure what do with himself. Fangs shot him a pleading look, hoping that he wouldn’t rat him out to the others he’d come with. Kevin contemplated his position momentarily before turning his head away, acting as if he’d never seen the wanted Serpent. Fangs picked up the terrified dog who was now at his feet, carrying on his frantic run towards his trailer. 

Once inside he locked the front door, putting Hot Dog under his bed and shutting his bedroom door as he sank to the floor in his living room with his head between his hands, exhaling shaky breaths, waiting for the fight to end. His head was spinning wildly, bones rattling and his chest felt impossibly tight, like his ribs were going to break any second. He was on the cusp of a panic attack, but he was trying with all his strength to keep it together for a little longer.

It wasn’t long before a violent banging started at the door. Someone must have seen him.

“Get out here Vixen killer!” A battered Reggie Mantle spluttered, only just recovering from being winded by the toe of Sweet Pea’s boot. “Either you get out here or I come in. You’ve got 10 seconds!”

Fangs began to panic, looking frantically for something to protect Hot Dog and himself with. But before he could find anything a brick crashed through his trailer window, shattered glass flying everywhere, nicking at his skin as he tried to shield his eyes. For a moment, he was thankful he’d shut the door and that Hot Dog was okay, but the relief he felt didn’t last long when he saw the end of Kevin’s 7-iron being used by Reggie to bash out the remaining glass so that he could get into the trailer through the window.

This it is, Fangs thought. He said a silent prayer for his Mum, hoping that after whatever was about to happen to him, she would be okay. He hoped the Serpents would look after her and that she’d have a good life. He hoped he’d been everything she’d wished for in a son and that he didn’t let her down. He hoped that even if he died at the hands of the Bulldogs right now, that she knew he was innocent.

His prayers were interrupted by a sound of salvation, the shrill siren of the Sheriff’s cruiser. A single warning gunshot rang out silencing the crowds and halting the fighting.

“Disperse!” Tom Keller shouted, causing most of the protesters to retreat away from the trailer park, a few lagging behind due to their injuries. Reggie quickly ducked away from the trailer, staggering back towards the Northside, hoping to not get caught by Tom or his own parents.

After a few moments, Fangs cautiously unlocked the door, cracking it and peaking his head out to see that the only people left were Serpents and the Kellers. He left Hot Dog in his room, not wanting him to cut his paws on the glass and went outside to see the damage. Fences had been kicked down, there was broken glass everywhere, the trailer park looked unrecognisable and most importantly it was littered with Serpents who were nursing injuries ranging from bruises and minor cuts, all the way to fractured eye sockets and major gashes.  

“Tom,” FP sighed with relief, slapping his old friend on the back. “Didn’t you resign?”

The older Keller let out a hoarse laugh, running a hand through his hair. “I did, but I haven’t given back the cruiser yet. But I’m glad I didn’t because it looks like you guys needed some help over here and I didn’t see anyone else coming to give you that help.”

There was a low chorus of ‘thank you’s from the Serpents, old and young, who were all thankful that the night’s debacle was over. Generally, the Serpents didn’t like fighting, but they would if they needed to defend themselves and their honour. Tonight’s riot night fight, however, had been the worst fight many of the Serpents had ever taken part in, and they, for once, were thankful to hear the wail of the cruiser.

----

The next morning the Serpents were up, cleaning the mess from last night.

Sweet Pea was sporting two black eyes and matching bruised knuckles with deep, bandaged cuts, his ribs sore from Reggie’s punches to the gut, painted with bruises varying in colour. Jughead had escaped unscathed thanks to Jubilee, however his father wasn’t so lucky as FP wore a badly split and swollen lip, two black eyes and a scratch across his face with pride.

When Toni and Maria arrived back at the trailer park, they both felt thankful that Fangs had insisted on sending them away for the night. The state of the trailer park and of the Serpents themselves told them exactly how bad thing had gotten and it was worse than either of them could have imagined.

Maria had been inside cleaning up the glass from her smashed window when the familiar uniformed devil stepped into the trailer park, his eyes narrowing on Fangs as a smug smirk enveloped his face. He had him, finally.

Fangs had never thought much about Midge before, she blended in with the crowd at school, never one for getting involved in spats or drama. She kept to her circle of friends closely, often spending her days with Lydia Boyd talking about boys, school drama, boyfriends and how excited they were for prom. It was hard to believe that she was a River Vixen, given that she was worlds apart from the shallow nature of most of the squad. Despite being a cheerleader and dating a member of the football team, Midge had maintained a sense of humility when it would be easy to let her status do the talking for her. She was a rose amongst a school of thorns. In a town like Riverdale, where the Serpents weren’t the only snakes around, no one had a bad word to say about her, and that spoke volumes to a lot of people, but especially Fangs. He wondered how in a town like this, a girl like Midge could remain somewhat uncorrupted and normal.

He wondered how he’d never noticed her before now.

“You think?” he asked, placing a hand over his heart. He sent Midge a short wink and a faint blush arose to the apples of her cheeks, barely masked by the peach blush she’d put on this morning. “I’ll have you know, Alice Cooper doesn’t have shit on me. The only person who could possibly play a strict religious mother better than me would be Lydia Boyd, given her Dad’s job. I hear he’s pretty protective over his little angel- but what father wouldn’t be, this town is nuts at the best of times.”

Midge quirked an eyebrow at him, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as her lips fell into a small pout. “Play nice, Lydia’s my best friend. And her Dad’s a nice guy too- protective, but nice.”

“Okay, okay,” Fangs conceded, holding his hands up. “I like Lydia, Jubilee says she’s a nice girl and I trust her judgment, so she’s okay in my book. Anyway, I wanna take it from the cue where Margaret starts talking about Eleanor Snell. Remember, Carrie is shy, she’s been picked on by her classmates for as long as she can remember. She’s like the poster-child for high school bullying.”

Midge gave him a nod and cleared her throat, sitting up in her seat a little straighter as she prepared.

“Just as the laundry was about to close, Eleanor Snell brought in some last-minute alterations. I think the Snell’s are having a graduation party for Sue. She’s in your class, isn’t she?” Fangs dropped his head to the side as he posed the question, looking at Midge intently.

“Momma, listen-“

“Anyway, Eleanor said she’d pay double, so I’ll be up all night trying to get it all done. Heaven knows we can use the extra money,” he interrupted Midge, watching her posture change as she prepared for her next lines. A small smile quirked at his lips as he saw how seriously she was taking this.

“Momma, please,” Midge begged, elongating her words as her eyebrows furrowed instinctively, voice pleading with Fangs. “Something happened at school today. Something terrible.”

“Terrible things are the Lord’s way of testing us, Carrie,”

“I know, but the other girls-“

“You’re not like the other girls,” Fangs spoke sternly, cutting her off again. He glanced up from his script, noticing how her tongue caught between her teeth and her nose crinkled when she was concentrating. Something about her was different. She made him feel human and like an equal. She made him feel something in the pit of his stomach, something good.

“But I am, Momma- I am. I never thought so, but-“

“You’re not, Midge- you’re special.” he spoke, not taking his eyes off her until her gaze shot up to his.

“Midge?” She asked, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she let out a breathy laugh. “You mean Carrie. I keep calling people by their names instead of their character names too, glad to know I’m not the only one who does it.”

She knocked her knee against his and he let out a deep exhale, chewing his lip as he tried to rack his brains for something to take the conversation away from his mishap. He’d meant what he said, Midge was special. The line had fit perfectly and in the heat of the moment, as he watched her try her hardest and persevere with her work, he forgot that he was meant to be acting.

“You’re really coming along, and you’re really fitting into the character well now that you’re understanding the backstory a little more. This was so much better than our group rehearsals last week, great-“

Fangs was interrupted by the auditorium door swinging open, Moose and Reggie sauntering in with their gym bags slung lazily over their shoulders as they called out Midge’s name, ready to pick her up from her afterschool rehearsals.

Internally, Fangs cringed at the entrance of the Bulldogs. Relentlessly for the last few months since the Serpents had transitioned to Riverdale High, the two groups had clashed, the Bulldogs easily irritated by the Serpent presence and the Serpents even more so irritated by the hostility of the football players. Moose and Reggie were often at the forefront of the exchanges, as well as Fangs and Sweet Pea, and so they were more than familiar with each other. Fangs didn’t want his tumultuous relationship with the Bulldogs to get in the way of his work with Midge. They really seemed to be making headway with her personification of Carrie.

And he was also really enjoying the time he got to spend with her.

“You ready to go?” Moose asked softly as he slipped an arm around Midges waist with a smile. It faltered slightly as he looked over to Fangs. “You never told me he’d be here too.”

“Yeah, what is Fogarty doing here?” Reggie asked pointedly, puffing his chest out slightly as he looked the Serpent up and down.

“God, step off, Reggie,” Midge sighed frustratedly, shaking her head at his actions as she slipped out of Moose’s grasp and towards Fangs, her face settling into an irritated expression at Reggie’s tone and actions. “I can’t run lines by myself. And besides, he’s the co-director so it makes sense for me to run lines with him. You’d know that if you actually bothered to take part in the musical.”

“Okay, chill, Klump,” Reggie held his hands up in defeat, taking a few steps back as he shot Moose a wide-eyed look followed by a grin, obviously finding Midge’s rise to his words funny. “C’mon, let’s bounce. I need a protein shake after those drills Coach made us do today or I think I may actually die.”

“See you at rehearsals tomorrow Fangs,” Midge smiled, subtly sending him an apologetic look when the boys weren’t paying attention. She waved him off daintily, dropping her hand to her side after, which Moose instinctively took into his own larger hand. “Thanks again for your help.”

“No worries, see you tomorrow, you too Moose,” Fangs called after the group, raking his hands through his hair with an awkward look on his face when the trio’s backs were turned.

He didn’t know too much about Midge. He couldn’t tell you her middle name, or her favourite colour, or anything about her life outside of school. But part of him wanted to know those things about her and other things like what made her scared or her aspirations for life. Perhaps he liked talking to her because it was almost forbidden- the good girl spending time with a guy like him that her boyfriend had a bad relationship with. But regardless of the reason, he knew there was something about her that he couldn’t quite shake from his mind.

---

It was a Saturday morning when Robin got the frantic call from Jughead. Fangs’ Mum had been too cut up to do it herself and Sweet Pea had been the first by her side to comfort her after they’d witnessed Fangs being hauled away by Minetta.

She’d been sat on her sofa, wrapped in an ash grey robe with her hair in a towel, cradling a battered and used copy of Res Gestaeby Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome. Robin was a stickler for ancient history; her flat adorned with old leather-bound history books, copies of all 12 parts of Suetonius’ De Vita Caesarium and busts and statuettes of Grecian, Egyptian and Roman figures. Her favourite was her statuette of Dike, an ancient Greek Goddess who represented moral order, fair judgement and justice. Dike sat proudly on Robin’s desk and acted as a reminder of what she strived to achieve in her role as a public defender.

As Robin turned the page, she let out a content sigh, her eyes reading over a quote that caught her attention. I found Rome made of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble. Maybe that’s what Robin had been trying to do when she took her job as a public defender in a town a small as Riverdale. It would have been easy for her to take a job as a corporate attorney in a big city, working to line the pockets of people who already had more money than sense, and making a big paycheque out of it which would have meant she’d never have to worry about money again. Public defending was not rich, nor was it glamorous. But it was hers. Maybe she was taking the system, one brick, one ‘criminal’ at a time, and trying to leave them covered in something akin to marble to make the system something more than a machine that acted in the interests of punishment rather than rehabilitation and fairness. Maybe she was hoping to bring a little bit of Augustus to Riverdale.

It was the ringing of her phone that tore her away from her book, an unknown number flashing up which made her stomach gurgle in an uneasy way. She hadn’t even breathed a hello into the receiver before a young and frantic voice was shouting down the phone at her, urging her to get the Sheriff’s Office as quickly as she could.

Robin’s position became more rigid, and she trapped the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she placed her bookmark between the pages of her book, standing up to move towards her bedroom. If things were as urgent as this unknown caller claimed they were, she had to get moving now. Part of her hoped Fangs knew not to talk after their meeting yesterday, but she could never be sure- the pressure of formal questioning by the town’s Sheriff made intelligent people do uncharacteristic things.

“Sorry, who is this?” she asked, setting her phone down on her bedside cabinet and putting it on loud speaker as she threw her towel across the room and shook her hair out, the damp stands flying wildly across her face.

“My name’s Jughead, I’m friends with Fangs Fogarty,” Robin hung her robe behind her door and pulled out a navy suit, chucking it on her bed as she buttoned up a white blouse. “I found your number on Google.”

Robin let out a breathy millisecond of a laugh, zipping up her trousers and pulling on her blazer, sitting on the edge of her bed in front of her mirror ready to pull her hair into a neat bun. The mirror sat against her wall, big and imposing. The wood around it was chipped, the varnish peeling in some places, and it looked rough against her appointed room. “How long ago was Fangs arrested?”

“About 10 minutes ago, they’ll be back at the Sheriff’s Office now. Please hurry, I don’t trust Minetta with him. He almost got us killed last night.”

Robin paused, furrowing her brows for a moment before carrying on with her bun. She knew teenagers had a habit of exaggerating things, she’d dealt with many over her years, but something about Jughead’s voice told her that he was being honest. “What do you mean?”

“We had to push our way out of the Station yesterday into an angry mob with no police support and then the mob came and attacked us at our trailer park and surprise surprise, Minetta was nowhere to be seen,” Jughead’s voice was laced with sarcasm and disdain, his face on the other side of the line emulating it in his expression. Robin shook her head and stood up, slipping her low-heeled shoes on before scooping up her files from her desk and grabbing her car keys.

She picked up her phone, turning it off loudspeaker and wedging it between ear and shoulder again. “Okay, well thank you for your call, I’m leaving for the Station now so I’ll be there soon. Don’t worry about Fangs, he’s in good hands.”

---

Robin strutted into the Sheriff’s Office, files in hand as she checked herself in and proceeded towards the meeting room to see Fangs. She’d called the Office as soon as she got off the phone with Jughead to book a meeting with her client. Riverdale policy meant she had to book meetings in advance so that the Sheriff’s department could log them- it was an inconvenient policy that probably infringed on federal laws, but public defending didn’t bring in enough money for Robin to be able to fund a class action lawsuit against the town.

She opened the door to find Fangs sat with his head against the table, skin paled and covered in nicks from the implosion of his trailer window from not even 12 hours ago. Robin sat down opposite him, sending him a short hello as she waited for him to look up at her so that she could begin their meeting. When he didn’t, she sat back in her chair to get comfortable.

“I can sit here all day,” she mused, looking at her short nails as she set her pen down. She was hoping he would bite on the line she’d strung, but he didn’t. She thought back to earlier, about what Jughead said on the phone, trying to figure out a way to coax him into conversation. “A little birdie told me that you had some trouble getting out of the Station last night and that that trouble followed you home.”

Fangs’ body visibly tensed against the table and he raised his head a little, peaking out at Robin over his forearm. “Who told you that?”

“One of your friends called me to let me know that you were in here and he mentioned it. Something to do with a jug,” Robin replied, her face scrunching up as she tried to remember her earlier caller’s name. Fangs’ body rocked against the table as he laughed a little at her response. He sat up in his seat, crossing his arms across his chest as a stoic look settled on his face. A ghost of a smile took place on Robin’s face for a fleeting moment, pleased that she’d finally gotten him to engage in conversation. “Want to talk to me about it?”

“No,” Fangs answered shortly. “I don’t want to talk today.”

Robin leaned forward, setting her elbows on the table. “Why not? You seemed pleased to meet me yesterday and today you don’t want to talk.”

Fangs grumbled, rubbing his bagged eyes and running a hand through his hair. He dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling, his hands coming to settle on top of the table. “You work with the Sheriff.”

Robin rolled her eyes and laughed to herself, causing Fangs’ head to snap forward to look at her with narrowed eyes, a scowl taking over his face. “We may both work in law, but it’s on different sides of the coin; he’s working to prosecute you and I’m a public defender. I work against him. And if that’s not enough to settle your mind, I think he’s a self-righteous asshole.”

The room fell silent. Robin sat back again in her chair, crossing her legs under the table. “You don’t trust me, I get it,” she started, shrugging her shoulders. “You’ve been arrested and you’re afraid and now I’m asking you to talk to me, someone you met only yesterday, about a situation that is clearly sensitive for you.” Robin had seen it a few times in her career- a total shut down, but usually after realising that it wasn’t worth it, they would come around. She knew it would be harder with Fangs and she’d have to give a little to get a little. “Ask me something, anything. Ask me whatever you want- whether the weather is okay or what my biggest fear is- and I’ll answer you truthfully. I’ll open up to you first and then, if you want to, you can open up to me.”

Fangs quirked an eyebrow. She was right. He was terrified and he didn’t know who he could trust, or if he could even trust himself enough to get through this ordeal without turning to dust and blowing away in the wind. Robin was a stranger, a stranger he was now expected to trust with his life.

“What were you like when you were my age?” Fangs asked quietly, looking down at the table, picking at a scab on his forearm from the night before.

Robin laughed a little, thinking back to her younger days. “I was a strange mixture of a normal high schooler and bit of a troublemaker,” she started, catching Fangs interest as he leaned forward slightly to listen in, his attention drawn away from his nicked skin. “I went to school, did all my homework, got good grades- classic stuff that you’d expect from an attorney, right? But then I used to sneak out, throw eggs at cars when it was Halloween and sometimes, I’d steal stuff for the adrenaline. I grew up a few towns over from here and we had a bar right by where I used to live; one time I stole a full-length mirror from there with my best friend and no one noticed. I still have it in my bedroom.”

Fangs’ mouth hung open slightly before cracking into a small smile. He mumbled to himself in disbelief at how his law enforcing public attorney could have been at all similar to his own childhood. How she could go from causing trouble like him to having a job that he felt was out of his grasp, or out of any troublemaking teenager’s grasp? “Okay, so if you did all that stuff then why are you an attorney?”

“Because I never got caught and that was great for me, but other kids I knew did get caught when they were my age and when they were older, and I saw what having a criminal conviction can do to someone’s life.” Robin frowned, pressing her lips together before shooting Fangs a shallow smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. There was more to her answer and her body went rigid as she thought about the details, the hairs on her arms prickling up as she considered telling Fangs more. “My brother, Alex, went to prison when I was applying for university.”

Fangs blinked back at her, not sure how to proceed. He didn’t know if it would be insensitive to ask questions, but god did he want to know more about it.

Robin watched his reaction carefully, seeing his eyes light up for a moment. She was surprised when nothing followed. “Aggravated battery,” she told him simply, shrugging her shoulders as her gaze dropped to the table and she chewed her lip. “He was walking his girlfriend home and some guy started giving them hassle. Alex told the guy to leave them alone, but he followed them and started talking about the things he wanted to do to his girlfriend. Alex got into a scuffle with the guy, they exchanged a few punches and then he shoved the man as hard as he could and he fell over, hit his head on the pavement and nearly died.”

“Then what happened?” Fangs asked quietly, leaning forward on his elbows.

“I went to his trial every day and watched the attorneys. I saw how they manipulated each fact, every word he said, to fit their narratives, whether they were true or not,” Robin’s voice was quiet. “He got 12 years, because even though he claimed it was an accident, the guy hit his head so hard that he had a depressed fracture on his skull and he had to have surgery. I applied to law school because of what I saw in that trial and because I wanted to be able to stop people from going through the same thing he did.”

Robin thought about her brother. He wasn’t the same person he was before he went to prison; he was tattooed, had a buzzcut, didn’t seem to have the same drive as he did before. Prison had taken everything Robin loved about Alex, mercilessly, and just left the bones. Sometimes there was nothing behind his eyes and that scared her. The boy she’d grown up with; who’d helped her sneak out of the house, who bought her alcohol before she was 21 for her to take to parties, who taught her how to ride her bike, was compartmentalised somewhere deep inside his mind, and had been replaced with a paranoid and distrusting version of who she once knew. All because of a freak accident.

She saw a lot of the old Alex in Fangs, and that scared her too. “What are you scared of?” Fangs asked, dropping his head to the right in anticipation of what she would say as he dragged her attention away from the blackhole she was being drawn into by her own mind.

“Someone who’s innocent going to jail because of me- at the moment, that someone is you, Fangs,” she said simply. A silence settled across the room and the gravity of the situation settled on Fangs like a dust. Robin was a complex. She came across as brutally honest, almost fearless, but Fangs had seen a side to her that humanised her. “Are you going to talk to me now? It’s just going to be the basics, there’s nothing to be nervous about, I promise.”

Fangs gave her a small nod, uncrossing his arms and setting them openly on table in front of him. He had to trust her, not just with the truth of the situation, but with his life, because she was the only one who could get him out of this mess. He had to believe in her, and he hoped that she believed in him too.

“Let’s start with yesterday. What happened?”

“God,” Fangs mumbled to himself, sighing heavily as he thought back to the night before. “Long story short, they released me pretty late in the day. My friends turned up, along with a mob who basically wanted to see me dead and the Sheriff just sent us out into the riot with no support. And then the mob turned up at my trailer park and there was a fight and that’s how I got all these.” Fangs spoke, referring to the scabs all over the underside of his arms from where he shielded himself, and a few rogue cuts on his face.

“Did you recognise any of the people who came to the trailer park?” Robin asked as she wrote Fangs’ recount in her notebook, her brows furrowed in frustration at what he was telling her. He nodded in response to her question, recalling the names of Reggie Mantle, Moose Mason and a few of the other football players from the year below. “Tell me about things with Midge. As you’re aware, a video of you two has been leaked by the Riverdale Register, but I want to hear about it in your own words.”

“She was like a life raft in a storm,” Fangs sighed desperately before he could even think, a weight settling on his heart as he thought of Midge. He thought back to seeing her on stage, gone, and how much potential she had shown in rehearsals. How much he’d grown to appreciate her company. “Midge was cast as Carrie in the musical after Cheryl Blossom couldn’t fulfil the part. She was a few weeks behind everyone else, so I offered to help her rehearse because I was the Assistant Director and she seemed pretty stressed. It made sense for me to at least offer to help.”

Robin nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And how did those rehearsals go?”

“They were the highlight of my week,” Fangs breathed tenderly in response, tapping his fingers against the table in an off-beat. “She was great to work with, but she was also the best person. She was one of the only Northsiders who didn’t care about where I lived or what kind of person other people thought I was, even if those other people were her friends and her boyfriend. She made me feel wanted, like I wasn’t some piece of Southside shit who didn’t deserve to be at Riverdale High. Like a human being.”

“And so what were you doing in her dressing room when your friend walked in with his camera?”

Fangs paused, wondering how much detail to go into. “Midge and I got closer because of how much time we were spending together between our extra rehearsals and the normal rehearsals with the rest of the Carrie crew,” he chewed his lip, sucking in a deep breath. “The day before the musical, we crossed a line. I was in her dressing room talking to her about it and about her boyfriend, Moose, when Jughead walked in and caught us together.”

Robin quirked an eyebrow as she continued to write in abbreviated notes. She could already envision the things the prosecution would try to paint Fangs as and how they would pin it on him- a crime of passion; he killed her because he couldn’t have her. She’d have to find a new suspect. “Isn’t there a serial killer lurking around these parts picking people off?”

“Yeah, the Black Hood.” Fangs recalled quickly. “He tried to kill Midge and Moose before. They were in Moose’s car, parked up in the woods and he shot into it at them out of the blue- Moose barely survived it all.”

Bingo, Robin thought as she emboldened and underlined the words Black Hood a few times in her notebook. She believed the Black Hood was a plausible suspect, but whether a jury would believe that after the prosecution twisted the story would be another thing.

“And what did you do after Jughead walked in on you? Where were you when Midge’s body was discovered?” Robin asked, internally crossing her fingers for an alibi that could be corroborated.

“I went outside for a cigarette to calm down by myself. And then I went to find my seat in the audience- that’s where I was when they found her.” Fangs’ posture changed to something smaller, and his eyes glazed over as he recalled the moment Midge was found suspended with knives on the backdrop of the play. The way her head dropped to the side, devoid of anything that resembled life, of anything that resembled the girl he’d grown so fond of. She was an empty vessel.

“Okay, well that’s all I’m going to ask for now- I just wanted some preliminary information to get the ball rolling at this point. I’ll need more detail at a later date, but we’ll go over that another time. I can see things are getting harder for you the longer we go on, so now seems like a good place to stop,” Robin sympathised, slipping her notepad in her bag. She smiled at him, a real smile where her eyes crinkled at the sides, kind of like the smile his Mum had given him when he got home last night. Those were the first real smiles he’d seen since Midge had been killed. “Actually, one more question; your arraignment hearing will be in the next week, what are you planning on pleading?”

“Not guilty,” Fangs practically shouted as soon as the word ‘pleading’ left Robin’s mouth. A bigger smile took over Robin’s face; court was a stage where she came into her element. She was almost a different person when she was in front of an audience in a court room. She hoped that she wouldn’t end up on her stage like Midge did, for Fangs’ sake. She could recover from losing a case, it was a fact of life that no lawyer would win every case they ever had, but he would never recover if she didn’t win this case for him.

“Good,” Robin spoke pointedly. “That means we’ve got a battle on our hands. We’re going to war Fangs, and I’m going to ride with you until the death.”

---

Fangs’ arraignment hearing was the first time he’d been to a court and he felt like he couldn’t breathe as he reluctantly climbed the steps into unfamiliar territory. It was a hunting ground and he was the prey.

The court was large, it was imposing, and it was devoid of anything that wasn’t judicial. All cases from Riverdale, Greendale, Midvale and the surrounding towns were held there, and so to accommodate the volume of people who found themselves within its confines, the court house was sizeable and impressive. It was akin to a Roman temple; eight Corinthian Columns guarded the entrance, with ‘The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of Government’ engraved proudly on the entablature of the building.

It was where people came to have their fate sealed, and Fangs could already feel the metaphorical handcuffs tightening around his wrists.

“Impressive, right?” A familiar voice called behind him, punctuated by the clicking of stiletto heels as Robin approached, carrying nothing but a slim file of notes on his case. She shot him a small smile and nodded forwards with her head. “Come on, you’re next on the docket in court room five.”

The inside of the court house unsettled Fangs even more. Though Robin walked through it with her head held high and the confidence of a lioness, he could feel himself getting smaller by the second. Around him were people of every kin and creed, some looking as nervous as he felt and some looking like they’d done this a few times before. It didn’t make him feel any better to know that other people felt the same way that he did, as he followed behind Robin, dragging his feet to prolong the inevitable.

A shrill wail grabbed his attention as an older lady was ejected from a court room not too far from him. Her face was red, tears pouring from her eyes as she hyperventilated, breath catching in her throat. Her hair was a deep brown, almost black, like his Mother’s mane of waved hair, and he felt his body tingle with chills as she cried out in anguish that’s my son, you can’t do this, that’s my baby. A shaky breath rattled its way out of his throat and he tried to dispel any thoughts that were beginning to creep into his head, but he couldn’t quite extinguish the thought that that could he his own Mum crying out for him soon. It made him sick to the pit of his stomach to imagine her feeling that much anguish, caused by him.

Fangs couldn’t quite believe that he’d found himself in this situation, perusing through the court that held his future in its grasp, all because he’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and lived on the wrong side of town. Part of him had decided that this was his fate, but a dwindling part of him knew that he didn’t deserve this. The longer this all went on, the more he felt like he deserved every bad thing that came his way- he felt like he had blood on his hands, even if he didn’t kill Midge.

Within a few minutes Robin stopped outside of a large oak door, titled Court Room 5. Her lips quirked into a small smile as she turned to Fangs, her expression lighter than usual and her posture straight. She could not have appeared any more different to him in that moment. She was clearly more comfortable here than in the Sheriff’s Office, but Fangs didn’t mirror her confidence, even though this whole trial was down to what she could make the jury believe was the truth.

“This is just an arraignment hearing. Judge Vines will go over your charges, ask you if you’re guilty or not guilty and then she’ll decide on a bail charge if she deems you eligible for it, okay?” Robin asked, setting a reassuring hand on Fangs’ shoulder to steady his nerves.

Fangs could barely muster a small nod before Robin pushed the large oak door open, a low creek sounding from the joints as she walked up the isle and settled in her seat before the Judge’s bench. Fangs sat next to her nervously, twiddling his hands in his lap to disguise his shaking and to give his mind something to focus on.

“All rise,” The Court Clerk announced, causing he, Robin and the opposing counsel to rise from their seats in anticipation, as a petite middle-aged judge entered the room with a small nod to all present. “The court of Midvale is now in session, Judge R Vines is presiding, please be seated.”

“Good morning everyone,” Vines welcomed, sitting in her seat at the head of the court room as mumbles of good morning sounded from around the court in return. “This is the case of Riverdale against Fogarty. Is Mr Fogarty prepared to enter a plea in relation to the charges of first-degree murder at this time?”

Robin glanced at Fangs briefly before turning her attention back to Judge Vines. “Yes, Your Honour, he is.”

“Okay, Mr Fogarty, I’m going to read you your charge and then I’m going to ask you to give me a plea as to each charge,” Vines started, looking at him as she put her glasses on. “The grand juries charge that on the 20thday of March 2018 in the town of Riverdale you, Fangs Fogarty, did feloniously, willingly, deliberately, intentionally and with pre-mediation, kill Midge Klump. How do you plead to that charge?”

Fangs swallowed deeply, feeling his throat instantly dry as he stood to address the Judge. He could feel himself fidgeting with the hem of his blazer as he tried to compose himself. Today was the first time outside of a wedding that he’d worn a full suit, and he felt vulnerable without his leather armour to protect him. Nothing about this situation was comfortable, nor reassuring, even with Robin beside him. “Not guilty.”

Vines send him a nod and made a few notes at her bench, the Clerk in front of her typing frantically to keep up with the transcript of the hearing. It was all so formal and whilst Robin was swimming, Fangs was drowning at an alarming rate.

“Let’s go to the next issue,” Judge Vines stated, shuffling some papers around on her desk as she looked for the correct memorandum amongst all her other files. “I understand from your email, Ms White, that the prosecution has a deal they are willing to extent to Mr Fogarty?”

“Yes, Your Honour,” Ms White answered quickly as she stood, a frown etched into her face as her skin settled into its natural lines. Years spent in the court room advocating for the administration of justice had aged her- grey hairs grew freely from stress and she had a face akin to aged leather. “In lieu of having a trial, the State is prepared to offer Mr Fogarty a lesser sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. We are currently pursuing a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole due to the nature of the offence- we are instead willing to offer Mr Fogarty a term of 25 years imprisonment with the opportunity of parole after 10 years has been served, if he enters a guilty plea to the offence in question, namely, the first-degree murder of Midge Klump.”

Whilst Fangs Fogarty felt like his heart had stopped right there and then, Robin was rolling her eyes at the audacity of the plea deal.

“Miss Allard, whilst you’re rolling your eyes let me remind you that you have a legal duty as an attorney to present and discuss this deal with Mr Fogarty in full,” Ms White remarked, peering around Fangs at Robin.

Robin met White’s eyes with a stony glare. Her eyebrows straightened out on her face, drawing together and causing an angry shadow over her eyes. White may have had confidence due to her District Attorney title, but Robin liked being the underdog. The bigger they are, the harder they fall and Robin liked it when they fell hard. It made winning all that much sweeter to know that she’d cut the legs out from underneath someone who thought they had the case in the bag.

“Your Honour, I’d like to ask for a small recess to discuss this with my client.” Robin asked bluntly, biting her tongue at White’s previous comment in an order to remain professional. If this was in any other situation, Robin would have come back with an equally sarcastic remark in response, but in the court, she couldn’t afford to damage Fangs’ case with her own attitude.

“Recess granted. Be back here within 30 minutes, Miss Allard. I’ve got other cases on the docket to hear today.”

Inside a meeting room across the hall from the court room, Fangs felt like he was going to be sick. The prospect of a lifetime in prison made him feel numb, and 25 years didn’t seem any better. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He didn’t want to go to prison but gambling the prospect of a lesser sentence with a 50/50 chance of losing didn’t seem like a much better position to be in. His head was swimming with thoughts, none of them helpful.

“Fangs-“

“I want to take it,” he blurted out, his eyes glazing over as he chewed his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. “I want to take the plea deal.”

Robin stared at Fangs, her eye twitching slightly as she tried to keep her face expressionless, however her features were clouded by something between sadness and anger. It soon hardened into a glare that was dark enough to swallow all the light in the room, and Fangs could feel the oxygen depleting the longer he stared into her eyes.

“If you truly did not hurt Midge Klump, why on God’s green Earth would you even consider taking a plea deal?” she spat quietly, not wanting to raise her voice too loudly for anyone outside of the closed door to hear.

“Because 25 years is better than never seeing the light of day again. I don’t want to never see my Mum again, or my friends- I want to look forward to being able to ride my motorbike, to feel the wind in my hair and to see sunsets, or to see anything outside of the same prison walls. 25 years isn’t that long, especially if I have the possibility for parole after 10. I’d rather be in for 25 years than forever.”

Robin sucked in a deep breath and put her face in her hands. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing and had heard enough of Fangs’ panicking- he needed a wakeup call and he needed one now. He was floundering. Ms White knew exactly what she was doing- he was a teenager who would make irrational decisions just because they seemed better at the time, without thinking of the consequences for himself later. Robin knew she needed to snap him out of this now before White got into his head too deeply for her to be able to help.

“I’m going to need you to shut up and get a grip. Right now,” Robin spoke pointedly, raising her eyebrows, daring Fangs to disobey her. “Why do you think the prosecution is offering you a plea deal at this stage in the case? Because their case isn’t solid, and they want you to plead guilty so that they don’t have to lose to us in court. If their case was sound, they wouldn’t even bother offering you a lesser sentence, they’d carry on gunning for life without parole. You won’t be walking into an easy life if you take that plea deal, you know that, right? You’ll be somewhere between 27 and 42 when you eventually leave prison, and no one is going to want to hire someone who pled guilty to murder. You’re setting yourself up for failure, Fangs.”

Fangs stood from his seat, slamming his hand on the desk in front of him in frustration. “You won’t understand because you never got caught when you were younger, but my life is on the line here and I don’t want to gamble my chance at some kind of freedom even if it’s in 25 years’ time. You don’t get to make this decision for me, you don’t get to gamble with my life!”

Robin took a long, deep breath, revelling at the way it filled her lungs and expelled some of the frustration she could feel bubbling away inside her. Her anger was ugly, but it was because she cared. She didn’t want to see him throw his life away because he was scared. She knew it was hard for people to put their trust in her to pull through, to save them, but part of her felt hurt that he wouldn’t let her help him. Just when she thought they were making progress, they started to struggle again.

She wondered if it was because she was usually closed off or too self-assured, or whether Fangs just didn’t think she could do it. But all she wanted was for him to trust her to do the right thing, to trust that she had his back and wouldn’t let him fall to the same fate that her brother had.

She didn’t want him to turn out like Alex.

“You’re right, I can’t make that decision for you- it’s ultimately yours to make. But, it’s better to have fought for your innocence and lost, than to have never fought for it at all. If you’re found guilty, we can appeal the decision, but I will not let you go down without a fight and I fully intend for you to walk out of that court room as a free man,” she shrugged, twiddling her thumbs at her stomach. “This is about what you want, that’s true, but I bet you that your family and your friends would hate to see you go down without even trying to prove that you’re innocent, without fighting to prove that you want to stay with them. Just think about it and about them, please.”

Robin didn’t know whether Fangs would choose to take the plea deal or not, but she hoped that she’d gotten through to him that she would do everything in her power to prove that he was innocent, whether that meant sleepless nights every day until the trial was over, or using every contact she knew to pull strings and obtain information.

She would go to the ends of the earth to save him from a fate like Alex’s.

---

“Miss Allard, have you and Mr Fogarty come to a decision about whether you will be accepting the deal presented to you by Ms White?” Judge Vines asked, her glance shifting between Robin and Fangs as she waited for an answer.

Robin chewed her lip uneasily, passing a quick look over Fangs before turning her attention back to the presiding judge. “Yes, Your Honour, we have.”

Robin held her breath as she waited to hear Fangs’ decision. She knew this was hard on him. He was a 17-year-old boy who had been thrown in at the deep end and was looking for something to keep him afloat, and Robin just wished he’d take her hand so that she could pull him to safety, but he seemed constantly just out of reaching distance, being pulled out by the current.

“I will not be accepting the State’s plea deal, Judge Vines.”

Stress rolled off of Robin’s shoulders and relief filtered through every cell in her body. She gave Fangs a small squeeze on the wrist and a lopsided smile as a silent thank you for trusting her, having finally managed to reach him in the rising tide before the swell washed him away.

“As long as you’re sure, Mr Fogarty, you know you won’t have an opportunity to change your mind on this decision?” Judge Vines asked carefully, waiting for Fangs to nod at her before she continued. “Okay, the next matter is setting a date for trial. The Defendant has a right to a speedy trial, so it has to begin within the next 60 days. Does anyone have any specific dates in mind?”

“Yes, Your Honour,” Ms White spoke up, flicking through her diary on the desk parallel to Robin and Fangs. “I have a trail in another State in 30 days so I would like to request that the trial begin in 21 days’ time. I believe that that allows adequate time for both the prosecution and defence to prepare and it ensures that the trial will be over before I have to leave. I anticipate the trial will last 5-6 days so it should be over before I am due to appear in Pennsylvania. My trial in Pennsylvania may take a considerable period, so to err on the side of caution, I think it’s best to have the Defendant’s trial sooner rather than later.”

“21 days’ time from today is fine for the fefence too, Your Honour, in the interest of Mr Fogarty receiving his right to a speedy trial,” Robin looked between White and Vines, the three of them giving a collective nod as the two attorneys added the date to their calendars and the clerk entered it into the online court system. “And in relation to Mr Fogarty’s bail, we would like to request that he be released on his own recognisance, if possible.”

“Own recognisance,” Judge Vines mused to herself, searching through her files to find her sheet on bail orders. “Mr Fogarty, how long have you lived in Riverdale?”

“I’ve been here for three years, Your Honour, my family moved here from another State.”

Vines nodded, writing some notes on her sheet before posing another question. “And do you swear that you will attend court on the specified date 21 days from today?”

“Yes,” Fangs practically bit her hand off in eagerness as he answered, causing Vines to laugh to herself as she made more notes and ticked a few boxes. “I promise, I’ll be here. I swear it.”

“Miss Allard, can you corroborate that?”

“Yes, I can,” Robin answered, giving Fangs a small smile, her nose wrinkling slightly as she did so. “Just over a week ago, Mr Fogarty was attacked by a mob upon being released from police custody, and subsequently again at his own trailer park. The fact that he is still in Riverdale today, despite the growing hostility against him and attempted threats at his life, proves to me that if he was going to leave Riverdale he would have done so already. I will personally make sure he’s here, Judge Vines.”

“Okay Mr Fogarty, I don’t think you’re a threat to society, nor to I think you’re going to up and run away from Riverdale between now and the start of your trial, so I’m going to release you on OR bail which means there’s no charge to pay now, but if you breach any conditions of the order you will be reprimanded into jail and bail will be set at $250,000, do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Honour, I understand,” Fangs replied with a hint of excitement underlining his voice as he turned to look at Robin with a grin on his face. The smile didn’t quite make it all the way to his tired eyes, but this was something she hadn’t seen from him in the short time she’d known him. Genuine happiness and glee at the thought of being able to live a semi-normal life for the next 21 days, before the trial began and his chances at freedom plunged into something murkier and more unsure.

Something about him already seemed lighter and it gave her a glimpse into the type of person he was before he found himself in this mess.

“I’ll see you all in 21 days’ time, I expect to see you here with bells on Mr Fogarty. Don’t make me regret my decision,” Vines called out as she began to leave the court room, ready to reside in her chambers before the next case on her docket started.

The next 21 days would be a taste of freedom for Fangs, and he’d finally be able to live a semi-normal life, even if it was only for three short weeks. He could go to Pop’s for a burger, or to the Wyrm, sit outside in the sun with Sweet Pea and Jubilee, or help his Mum cook dinner without worrying about what was coming next. He could be teenager again and maybe he’d stop seeing Midge in his nightmares if he could finally relax a little bit.