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theangriestpea · 4 years

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The Killing Type | Four

Summary: Just when Lavender thought things were going great with Sweet Pea, a new girl comes back to turn to turn their entire relationship upside down. Now they have to navigate a world of drug dealers, rival gangs, and co-parenting. Sequel to Mercy Killing. <ao3> <masterlist> <playlist>

Rating: Mature // Explicit

Pairings: Sweet Pea x OC // eventual Jughead Jones x OC

Warnings: Minor foreplay, minor violence

Word Count: 5.1k+

A/N: Updates will be slower from here on out. I'll be going back to work soon.

Chapter Four : Shock Trick

Sweet Pea’s index finger grazed her clit through her underwear as he kissed across her breast. Lavender released a whiny moan, unable to handle the way his mouth moved across her chest on top of his prodding digit. She was only in her underwear while Sweet Pea was down to just boxers and gym shorts. She thought she was going crazy underneath him, his tongue and finger moving slowly against her body.

Suddenly there was a banging on the front door and both teenagers groaned at the interruption. Instead of getting up, Sweet Pea went back to teasing her nipple with his teeth, hoping that whoever it was would just go away. Lav inhaled sharply, about to exhale another moan when the banging happened again.

“Sweet Pea! Open up! I need you to take Daisy!” Came the loud and commanding voice of Lily Owens.

He sat up abruptly, face red with anger as he left his girlfriend panting on the bed. He opened the front door, “We agreed that tonight you would take her.” He hissed, “Why don’t you be a good mother for once and spend some time with your daughter?”

Lavender flinched at his harsh words, pulling on a top to make herself more decent. She heard Lily’s reply clear as day, “I spent nine months alone with her. Take some responsibility.”

“Responsibility?!” He roared, “I have watched her every night this week! All I wanted was one night with my girlfriend and you said I could have that! Now you’re here trying to pawn her off of me again? What is your deal, what do you need to do that’s so goddamn important?!”

“I have a job to do! Just take her already and stop being such an asshole!” Lily yelled back, unafraid of his anger like Lavender was.

Lav had poked her head out of the bedroom, “Pea, just take her.” She said softly. “We can finish this some other time.”

Sweet Pea took his now crying baby from Lily as well as her diaper bag. If looks could kill then Lily would be minced into a million tiny pieces and strewn across the hard for the buzzards to pick at. He made sure to slam the door in her face before attempting to calm down his daughter.

“Sweet Pea, this is our chance.” Lavender said, having slipped on a pair of leggings. “We take Daisy to Mrs. Fogarty next door and follow her. Jughead said he hasn’t been giving her any jobs that require her to be out at all hours of the night. Now we can see where she’s going.”

He had managed to get Daisy to stop crying, he sat her in the pack ‘n play that he kept set up in her trailer and went to get dressed. He was too angry to respond to her, knowing he’d snap if he said anything out loud. Instead Lavender took his silence as an agreement to follow through with their plan.

Once he was finished he came out to see Lavender holding a giggling Daisy. She flashed Sweet Pea a smile, “Let’s hurry before she gets too far.”

He couldn’t hide the small smile that formed at seeing his two favorite girls get along so well. He kissed the tops of both of their heads before grabbing his keys. Lavender quickly took Daisy next door where Fangs’ mother was more than happy to watch over her, saying how much she missed having a baby in the house. The teens thanked her before hopping onto Sweet Pea’s bike and making it to the street adjacent to his trailer to see Lily getting into her car and driving off.

They followed after her at a safe distance. Sweet Pea hoped she wouldn’t recognize the sound of his bike. If Lily was on to them then she made no indication of it. She drove into Ghoulie territory, something that had Lav on edge as she was squeezing Sweet Pea’s rib cage. There was still a hit out on her and if she were caught here then something terrible could happen. Sweet Pea was only one person, he couldn’t fight them all off.

Lily pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned office building. Sweet Pea slowed, parking to the side of the crumbling bricks to stay hidden. The two of them got off of his bike to get a better look. Before they left, Lavender had grabbed her late father’s binoculars to help them see. Even though it was night, there was enough light from the street lamps to see what was going on.

A teenage boy walked up to her, hair falling into his face and a cruel, twisted smile on his lips. Neither Sweet Pea or Lavender recognized him and he wasn’t painted up as a Ghoulie. Lavender was looking through the binoculars and watched as Lily handed him a brown paper bag. He opened it, pulling out small baggies of powder.

Lavender bit her lip, “Pea…” She handed him the binoculars so he could see. She could feel him tense beside him, anger surging.

“She’s been ditching Daisy to deal drugs? What the fuck is this?” He hissed, not liking the way her buyer was leering at her as if she were also a poison to be consumed in order to chase a high. “We have to tell Jones.”

“Maybe we should talk to her first.” Lavender said softly. “Before going to Jughead. What if he kicks her out?”

“She’s dealing drugs, Shanna. Serpents don’t do that shit.” Sweet Pea replied, “Let’s go, we’ve seen all we need to.”

Lavender was frowning as she got back onto his bike. She had been jumping at every stray noise. The thought of someone following them was ever present on her mind. Every shadow was her enemy at this point and Sweet Pea sensed her distress. Not only had he gotten to the bottom of Lily’s little disappearances, but he also wanted to get his girlfriend out of such a dangerous environment.

He sped back to Sunnyside, his thoughts racing faster than his motorcycle. How could she do this? The other kid hadn’t been a Ghoulie from what he could tell, but still he was in their territory. Where was she getting the drugs from? Was she cooking them as well? It wasn’t Jingle Jangle so what was it? There were more questions than answers at this point and he hated not knowing what was going on. He hated the feeling of betrayal. And he hated feeling like he no longer knew who the girl that was once his best friend was.

When they arrived back at her trailer, Lavender went straight inside as Sweet Pea went to grab Daisy. He didn’t want Lily to get suspicious of him for not having her or yell at him for letting Mrs. Fogarty look after her.

When he arrived back, he set the little girl on the couch. She was already starting to nod off, having crawled to Lavender to lay in her lap.

Lav smiled, stroking her back softly to help soothe her. She had already put on Paw Patrol for her to watch. Sweet Pea wanted to smile at the image, but was too upset with Lily.

“Do you mind if I take a shower?” He asked, knowing she didn’t but still wanting to ask. He needed to clear his head and he did his best thinking while under the hot water.

She shook her head, “You know I don’t. Go ahead, I got her.”

Sweet Pea nodded and went into her bathroom, cutting the water on the hottest setting before stripping down and stepping inside.

Daisy fell asleep while he was bathing. Lavender gently picked her up and placed her in the pack ‘n play, making sure it was free of any toys or blankets before going into her room. The water was off but he still hadn’t emerged from the bathroom. “Pea?” Lav called out, “Are you okay?”

She heard a deep sigh, “I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Lav frowned as she started getting ready for bed. She reduced her clothing down to a pair of underwear and one of his button up flannels, leaving the top few buttons undone. By the time she was done, Sweet Pea had walked out in nothing but a towel.

“Sweets, please don’t do this to me.” Lav groaned, falling back onto her bed. He had made a rule that they couldn’t have sex when Daisy was in the house. She thought it was so stupid, but his argument was that Lav was so loud that she’d wake the little girl up. This had led the both of them to be extremely sexually frustrated as Lily had left Daisy with them nearly every night.

The tension was beginning to cause an uncomfortable rift between them that neither of them could keep ignoring for much longer. Between that and still having not uttered the L-word really was doing more harm than good. That was one reason why Sweet Pea needed the night off from Daisy. He needed to fix things before they became unmendable, and he feared that the breakage might already be too much. They ached for one another but his paternal boundaries wouldn’t allow them to be together intimately.

Sweet Pea’s shoulders slumped forward with a tired sigh. “You know we can’t.” He added, exhaustion in his voice. He hated the frustrated look on her face as she laid down and turned her back to him so that she could no longer see him. He frowned, unable to say anything else as he changed into his pajamas. He kept a handful of clothes over at her place now, just for convenience.

He cut out the light and laid down next to her, pulling her close even though she resisted at first. Eventually she melded against him, unable to stay angry. She nuzzled the crook of his neck and quickly fell asleep.

They had school the next morning. Sweet Pea and Lavender barely spoke to one another. They were having a disagreement on what to do about Lily. Sweet Pea thought they should tell Jughead immediately, however Lav wasn’t so sure. She thought they should get Lily’s side of things first. Maybe what they saw wasn’t what it appeared to be. She wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but her boyfriend wouldn’t let her.

At lunch, she noticed that Jughead and Sweet Pea were both absent. Lavender was incredibly suspicious. She had a feeling he was going to tell him behind her back, and the thought had her too angry to even eat the sandwich she had brought. Fangs was also missing and the only core Serpents at the table were the girls.

“Where is everyone?” Toni asked, taking a bite from her apple as she looked around.

Lavender opened her root beer, her mouth seeming incredibly dry. “I don’t know.” She said quietly, unable to look at Lily.

Lily cocked her head to the side. It wasn’t like Lavender to not eat her lunch or to not actively start conversation. She was very talkative once she accepted you as a friend, which Lily felt that she had. Maybe it was because of last night. “I’m sorry I had to leave Daze with you two last night. I know things are hard right now, but I had a job to do. I needed the money for diapers.”

Lav forced a smile, “I can buy you some if you need them. Just tell me what kind you like.” The offer was genuine, she just felt incredibly uncomfortable knowing what she knew.

“Why is Jug giving you such late night jobs anyway?” Toni asked before Lily could respond, “Doesn’t he understand you’re a mom?”

Lily visibly stiffened. “It was the only thing he had available. He told me that he could try to find something else, but I decided to take it. It’s alright, I’ve been gone from the Serpents for too long. I need to prove myself again.”

Toni snorted, “You don’t need to prove anything. You’re a serpent by blood.” She took another bite of her apple before grinning at her girlfriend who was walking over to join them.

“Lavie, I’d feel incredibly guilty if you bought me diapers. I’ll just ask Sweet Pea for money next time.” Lily said, smiling lightly to show that she appreciated the gesture.

Lavender snorted, “I have more money than he does, but don’t tell him I told you that. He’s very self-conscious about it.”

“Self-conscious about what?” Fangs asked, sitting down next to her as the other two boys joined them.

“His extra large dick.” Lavender responded jokingly, and Fangs let out a dreamy sigh playfully. She rolled her eyes at him and they both giggled at one another.

Sweet Pea sat next to her, immediately shoving food into his mouth. Lavender glanced at him and could tell by the look on his face that he had talked to Jughead. She wanted to say something to him, but knew this wasn’t the time nor the place. It would have to wait until they were alone. Although she was certain Sweet Pea would pull the daddy card over her head like he seemed to love doing. He didn’t need to constantly remind Lav that she wasn’t Daisy’s mother. That was plain to see.

Jughead was uncharacteristically quiet. He was eating his cafeteria burger at a slow pace which was also unusual. Typically he shoved as much food into his mouth at once as he possibly could. He wouldn’t look at Lily either, which typically he was so secretly enamored with her that he couldn’t keep her eyes off her. Lavender was the only one that knew this about him, everyone else thought they were just friends. She knew he wanted something more than that. He acted the same way around Betty when they first started dating.

Anger caused her to stand, abandoning any attempt to eat her lunch. “I forgot I have a meeting with Mr. Hawthorne about an assignment. I’ll see you guys after school.” Lav left and Sweet Pea didn’t even look to acknowledge her. He knew she was mad but so was he. They didn’t have to see eye to eye on everything.

There was obvious tension between everyone as Lavender had received a text from Jughead to meet him at the Whyte Wyrm that night. Because her name was still on a rival hit list, Fangs stayed close with her which she was totally fine with. She didn’t want to speak to her boyfriend right now. He was too stupid for his own good, in her perfectly honest opinion.

Fangs was doing his best not to take sides, but Lavender could tell he was leaning more towards Sweet Pea than her. Typical boys sticking together. She was angry with him, but not enough to ask for a different temporary body guard.

When they arrived at the Wyrm, they went upstairs to the small office to speak in private. Jughead and Sweet Pea were already there and the intensity of the clashing opinions was palpable. Lavender was opting to glare at Sweet Pea, while he pretended that she wasn’t even there. It hurt her more than she wanted to let on.

“Are you sure you saw Lily dealing drugs?” Jughead asked her and she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Frankly, Jughead, I’m not sure what I saw. I saw Lily handing a bag of something over to another kid. It could have been anything. I can’t say if it were drugs or not because I haven’t talked to her like I wanted to because my partner decided to talk to you first instead.” Lav spat back, feeling as if it were her against the three of them. The odds had memories threatening to flash back, but she held them back by counting backwards in her head. Grounding herself was the only way she’d be able to stay ahead of it.

Jughead glanced at Sweet Pea, who was finally looking at his girlfriend. The two were having a heated contest to see who would back down first. It didn’t seem as if either were going to budge anytime soon. “What else could it be, Shanna?” Sweet Pea hissed. “What do you think she was giving him? Baking soda? Sugar? It was drugs and you know it!”

“I don’t know it though and neither do you!” She snapped back angrily. “If you had just asked her first, asked her to explain instead of running to Jug, then maybe we’d know the truth! But we don’t because you had to be a little snitch instead.”

“I’m sorry I’m actually loyal to the gang we’re a part of.” Sweet Pea replied, and Lavender’s heart shattered. How could he even suggest that she wasn’t loyal? She had never done anything to hurt them, unless you count the time she broke Kitty’s nose.

Hot angry tears welled into her eyes as she stared at him with disbelief. “How dare you,” She choked out as her fury escaped her. “How dare you even suggest that I’m anything less than loyal. I don’t care what any of you do. I’m going to go talk to her.”

Before they could say anything in response, she turned on her heel and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her so hard that a picture frame fell off the wall and shattered.

Lavender didn’t care about the danger. She was seeing too much red to even notice the painted ghoul approach her as she walked down the street towards Sunnyside. She didn’t even hear the sound of his wrist breaking when she grabbed and twisted it. She hardly comprehended the motion of her knife coming out to press against his groin or the threat that spilled from her lips for him to touch her again.

The random Ghoul freed himself from her iron grip and ran before she could castrate him, which she had made perfectly clear that she would do if he took one more misstep. She kept her knife in hand and she finally arrived safely in the park where no one was dumb enough to attack her in broad daylight. She went straight to Sweet Pea’s trailer and banged on the door.

Lily opened the door, confused at the expression worn on her new friend’s face. Her makeup was smeared as she’d obviously been crying, her switchblade was gripped tightly in her fist and her hand was shaking violently. Lily quickly pulled her inside. “What are you doing alone?”

“Are you dealing?” Lavender asked, ignoring the question. “We followed you last night. Are you dealing?” She asked again, her voice more desperate now because if she had to address what just happened then she might fall completely apart.

Lily was taken aback by the question. “Lavie…” She said gently, “Put down the knife.” She reached for it, but Lav quickly got into a defensive position. Her body was stuck in fight mode and it was a simple reflex. She didn’t mean to hurt Lily.

When she realized that she was pointing the knife at a fellow Serpent, she dropped it. It clattered onto the linoleum of the kitchen. “I’m sorry,” Lavender whispered as her tears started again. “I’m sorry.” She couldn’t stop the sudden stream of apologies that escaped from her mouth. She sounded like a broken record, unable to stop saying the same two words over and over as panic overwhelmed her.

Lily quickly took her into her arms, holding her tightly in an attempt to soothe her. She had no idea what had happened before she got there, but if she had to guess by the knife then it would be that she had a run in with the Ghoulies.

“Shhh,” Lily cooed softly, stroking her hair. “It’s okay. Just breathe. Where is Sweet Pea?”

Lavender’s forehead was on her shoulder as she shook with sobs, unable to give any kind of coherent answer. They weren’t particularly close but in the moment, Lavender needed someone to lean on and Lily was more than happy to oblige.

After realizing that her questions wouldn’t be given an actual response, Lily decided to change the subject back to herself. “Someone is making me do it.” She said softly to Lavender. “To help me get my dad out of prison. I...I don’t have a choice. Is this why you and Sweets were refusing to speak to each other at lunch? You shouldn’t be arguing over me.” Lily was able to use her concern for Lavender to steal her features and keep from breaking down herself. That would have to wait.

The distraction allowed Lav to break free from the tight hold of her trauma. She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes, her smeared makeup making her look like a raccoon. “I wanted to talk to you first. Ask you about it first….but he wanted to go straight to Jughead. He just kept saying that he needed to do right by Daisy and that I didn’t have a say in it because I wasn’t her mother or even her step-mother. And earlier he accused me of not being loyal to the Serpents so I stormed out on my own to come talk to you.”

Lily didn’t press her further. Obviously something else had happened, but if Lavender didn’t want to talk about it then Lily wasn’t going to force her. “He’s an asshole.” Lily replied, “how are you disloyal because you wanted to talk to me about it first? That just makes you a good friend.”

Lav sniffed back the mucus that had begun to build in her sinus cavity. “You really think so?”

“Yes, I do. And he doesn’t need to bring up the fact that you’re not Daisy’s mother when Daisy has nothing to do with this. That’s such a dumb thing to keep mentioning. I’ve seen how well you help take care of her, so even if you’re not a birth parent you’re still helping. That is what matters. I appreciate what you do for her, especially considering that you didn’t know about her until a few weeks ago.” Lily continued. “He needs to pull his head out of his own ass.”

“We’re just so...frustrated lately. He won’t have sex with me if Daisy is in the house, even if she’s in the other room.” Lavender said, feeling as if her relationship was just falling to pieces faster than she could mend it.

Lily made a face, “why not? If she’s asleep in the other room, why does it matter?”

Lav blushed lightly, “He says I’m too loud and will wake her up…”

“Trust me, you will not wake that girl up.” Lily said, “She sleeps as hard as he does. He needs to get over it and just fuck you. Or tell you how he feels about you. Either one would make you two stop being so angry with one another.”

“Can you just...tell him that?” Lavender mumbled, still embarrassed by the subject at hand. “Because he won’t listen to a thing I say when it comes to her. He’s been a father for like a month and thinks he knows everything there is to know about taking care of a child.”

Lily snorted, “He is insufferable. I don’t know how you put up with him.” She picked Daisy up, who had been playing on the floor with her stuffed animals. She squealed with delight at her mother’s affection and Lav smiled at the two of them.

“You put up with him too. Once upon a time.” Lav pointed out, and for once the sentiment didn’t bother her. She didn’t feel any less valid as Sweet Pea’s current girlfriend by pointing out their past relationship. Growth comes in small doses, after all.

Lily just shook her head. “I guess it was hard to see all of his faults at first. Distance made me realize that we just weren’t a good fit. We were just best friends that were tired of being alone. The love there was never the same as it is between you two.”

Lavender chewed on her lower lip. That damn word again. She hated every time Lily brought it up, because especially now she was convinced that it just wasn’t true. If Sweet Pea loved her then why did he sometimes say such terrible things to her? Sure, it was always out of anger, but that was no excuse to verbally abuse her.

“And you two still haven’t said it.” Lily said pointedly, observing the look on her friend’s face. “You two really blow at communication.”

A pout formed on the other girl's lips as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “It’s not my fault he’s such a troll sometimes. He makes it impossible to talk about…”

Lily bounced Daisy on her hip, making the little girl giggle more. “I know he does. Honestly it’s kind of a miracle you two ever ended up actually dating by what Juggie tells me. I guess FP played a hand in that.”

“I think it was more Fangs than FP, if I’m totally honest. He would find reasons to leave us alone.” Lav said, a small smile forming on her mouth as she thought back to when the two boys were her live-in bodyguards. “He basically forced us to be close. Even if we fought it tooth and nail for the longest time…”

“I just hope he’s better at sex now. He was awful when we were together.” Lily said, groaning at the memory. “He literally gave zero preparation, just stuck it right in and went to pound town.”

Lav frowned a bit, “he didn’t warm you up or anything?”

“Not really.” Lily admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed about it. “He just did what he could to get himself off I guess.”

“What an asshole.” Lav mumbled to herself. “I guess he learned something because I actually quite enjoy the sex. Or, I did. Until he totally cut me off for no good reason.”

They became quiet as they heard the telltale sound of Sweet Pea’s motorcycle out front. Lavender quickly bent down to pick up her knife. “I better go. I don’t want to see him right now.”

“Lavie, he needs to know that you almost got hurt.” Lily said and she watched the teen stiffen uncomfortably. It wasn’t something she wanted to address right now. She planned on just calling Toni and Cheryl to possibly stay the night at Thistlehouse. None of the boys were in her good graces...except perhaps Jughead who hadn’t actually done anything wrong to her yet.

“No, he doesn’t.” Lavender said, pinching the bridge of her nose in order to will the panicked thoughts away. She needed to be strong in front of him, even if it was clear that she had been crying.

Lily gave her a disapproving look. Clearly this was something that needed to be addressed, whether Lavender liked it or not. Just as Lily’s extracurricular activities needed to be, although Lily hoped by pushing the focus on Lavender she could escape that particular conversation.

She was about to make a break for the back door when the front door opened to a very angry looking Sweet Pea. Daisy whimpered at the look on his face, recognizing it as the one he made when he was about to yell. It frightened the little girl and the knowledge of that made Lily all the more protective of her.

Lavender attempted to leave, hoping that his stare down of Lily would prevent him from noticing her. She was wrong. His head snapped to look at her, noticing the knife in her hand. “Why do you have that out?” He asked incredulously, boxing her in before she could make her escape.

“It fell out of my pocket.” Lav lied as she slid it into the back pocket of her skinny jeans. “I’m going home, Pea. Let me by.”

“She was attacked.” Lily said, again knowing that his conversation had to be had. “I just got her to calm down a few minutes ago.”

Sweet Pea’s hard face softened into nothing short of concern and worry. He put a hand on the side of Lavender’s face, thumb brushing over her cheek as he quickly looked over her for any damage. “You shouldn’t have left by yourself.”

Lavender smacked his hand away from her angrily. “I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been such a prick to me.” She countered back. Sweet Pea took a step away from her to give her space., knowing that if she had just come down from being triggered that backing her into a corner would just make it worse. Even if he was upset with her, he still respected her boundaries.

Nevertheless, his teeth clenched. “Just tell me what happened, Shanna.”

“A Ghoulie tried to put his hand on me so I broke his wrist.” Lavender replied. “And I threatened to make him a eunuch if he touched me again.” A proud look crossed Sweet Pea’s face. He wanted to be furious with her, but knowing she had successfully defended herself made him very pleased. It was a very conflicting set of emotions.

“I’m going home.” She muttered, walking past him finally as he turned to follow her. She really didn’t want him to, but seeing as the sun was beginning to set, him being nearby made her feel safer. If that lone Ghoul came looking for payback with backup then she’d need help in the form of the six-four giant. While he did not walk right next to her, he did keep a step or two behind in order to give her more space.

When they were both gone, Lily let out a sigh of relief. Maybe with their mountain of relationship problems, they’d forget all about hers. She could only hope. She set Daisy in her high chair so she could feed her her dinner and then put her to bed. Deep down she was praying that she wouldn’t be getting a text from her boss to make another run tonight. She was so exhausted from the little amount of sleep she had been getting. She thought coming back to Riverdale and rejoining with Sweet Pea would allow her to have a break. If only that had been the case.

Now she had to deal with everyone knowing she was dealing drugs and the possibility of getting thrown out. The sudden onslaught of anxiety and fear of being without her family overwhelmed her, forcing tears to release from her eyes at last.

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lolabean1998 · 4 years

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This Better Work Part 6

Sweet Pea X OC

Summery; Hey guys, not sure how well this is going to go but I originally put it on Wattpad so its way long, but hopefully its not horrendous. Let me know what you think! So, it follows the story line kind of, it’s not exact but I have tried and it follows my OC Ali as she navigates through the hell that is Riverdale. Whilst struggling with financial, social and romantic difficulties, she has the added pressure of keeping up with school work and bonus of being thrown into the frightening world of the criminal underground.

Side Note; None of the gifs or pictures I use are mine, I’m not talented or smart enough to even begin an attempt at making my own. Thank you to those who have such abilities and if you don’t want me using them then please let me know so I can remove them for you.

Word Count; 5,407 (Give or Take)

Ali hid her bike half a mile from the tattoo parlour where Penny Peabody had set up shop. Sticking to the shadows as she crept silently towards the door. Picking the lock in seconds. Her father had taught her to pick car locks as her mum was always locking her keys inside. Ali tip toed in checking for an alarm system. But this was Southside and Serpent territory, so it was very unlikely.

Thank god for honour amongst thieves, I guess. Who'd be dumb enough to break into the snake pit? Ali thought to herself and she headed cautiously to the office at the back.

On second thought Ali, don't answer that! She chuckled when she remembered that she was probably the only person in the whole of Riverdale dumb enough to do so. She was quick to upload the virus. Making sure to infect all aspects of the computer writing the last of the code to focus on the set files. Once she was satisfied with her work, she quickly crept back to the comfort of the night air. Heaving a sigh of relief when she made it in and out without a hitch.

"OI WHAT ARE YOU DOING." A deep terrifying voice bellowed from a small huddle of bikes across the road that Ali had failed to spot.

"Premature sigh. PREMATURE SIGH!" Ali muttered to herself as her heart rate met speeds that would put her bike to shame. She didn't have much time to plan her escape as 3 ominous figures raced furiously towards her.

Well that’s just fucking great, Of COURSE it's them. Ali hissed internally to herself as the light of a street lamp hit the faces of her attackers. Revealing none other than Sweet Pea and Fangs charging head on towards her.

"Wait why am I still here!" Ali thought aloud leaping into action. Just in time to avoid a large heavy fist swinging mere millimetres from her face. She didn't have time to run from the fight. She had hesitated too long. Leaving her only one option. She was going to have to fight her way out.

She didn’t have any time to thinking before ducking from a second swing. Upper cutting Fangs before he could get another hit in. Landing a perfect jab to his diaphragm winding him instantly. Ali couldn't help but give him a sharp boot to the ribs for good measure. He had tried to hit her twice. It was only fair. One of the two Serpent boys Ali wasn't familiar with grabbed her outstretched wrist pulling her towards him.

Dumbass took the bait! Ali smirked using the momentum of his pull to heave herself up wrapping her legs under his arm and over his shoulder hurtling him head first to the concrete. Swinging herself out the way at the last moment. 1 winded, 1 knocked out.

Keep it up Ali-Cat! She thought. Dodging a fist to the jaw only to be caught in the ribs by a surprise attack from Sweet Pea. Jackass! Ali quickly gave the second Serpent boy a hard kick to the sternum sending him flying back.

However, Fangs was now recovered enough to be back on his feet. Grabbing her leg before she could bring it back to the ground. Ali felt bad for Fangs. But he left her no other choice. She was just about to push herself up to kick him with her free leg. But a large pair of hands landed heavy on her shoulders gripping them tightly. She was defenceless.

Come ON! I don't want to stab you, but I will if I must! Ali gasped exasperatedly in her head.

Ali, determined not to seriously harm her friends, quickly twisted wrapping her hands around Sweet Peas arms kicking up with all the strength she had. Kicking Fangs square in the jaw as her legs cut swiftly through the air. Making their way up over her head and landing heavily on Sweet Peas shoulders forcing him to release the hold he had on her shoulders. Fangs staggered back. His eyes rolling in their sockets before his body dropped to the ground unconscious. Ali wasted no time in throwing her upper body backwards to the ground. Her legs gripping tightly around Sweet Pea. Slamming his back hard against the concrete.

But he was a stubborn boy and could take a hit. His hands gripping Ali's arm as she scrambled to her feet, heaving her back down rolling her to her back before she had a chance to break free. But he slipped up. Missing Ali's free arm giving her just enough time to grab a knife from her holster. Moving the blade to press threateningly against his crotch as the giant straddled her. She had only recently fixed his jacket. She didn't want to be the first one to slice it again.

"You've got some explaining to do!" He snarled, his voice cracked and gravelly. He had just been smashed against the floor.

Ali lay there silently. Pushing the blade harder against the inside of his thigh in response. His eye's searching her masked face. Like he was looking for something. Waiting for the ball to drop. One hand pinning Ali's hand to the ground above her head whilst the other subtly searched her pockets. Ali was so focused on planning her escape she didn't notice him pull her lock picking kit from her breast pocket. Ali could see the realization gradually begin to surface in his eyes. She had to get out of there before he recognized her. Pulling her blade swiftly from his crotch and thrusting the handle full force into the side of his ribs. Angling the blade so the handle wedged smoothly between the ribs as she struck, winding him. Giving her the opening she needed to pull her arm from his death grip punching him hard on the side of his face.

That should be a lovely shiner you fucking tosser. You're lucky I fixed up that jacket otherwise I'd have used the other side of the knife. Bean Pole! Ali huffed leaping to her feet and launching into the race of her life. If she could make it to her bike before Sweet Pea came too, she'd be in the clear! Her feet pounded hard against the ground. Legs blazing and lungs close to bursting as she whipped around the corner. Frog leaping onto her bike throwing on her helmet and taking off in one clean swoop. She tore down the street not wanting to look back. Afraid of what she might see. Her heart was still racing when she crossed the border. Only settling when her bike was safely snuggled in its little shed, with her back in the confines of her home.

"You've got a split lip Ali. Did you walk into something or were you spotted?" Rosie asked the next morning when Ali made her way groggily over to the kitchen island. Her body sore and stiff from all the galivanting of the night.

"Car part dropped as I was fitting it. But yes there was a minor hitch in an otherwise smooth mission." Ali groaned, already practicing her excuse so she wouldn't raise suspicions if she was asked about it. "Poor Fangs. He didn't deserve that last night. We should make cookies or something for him."

"Because nothing says innocent like a guilt basket!" Rosie retorted sarcastically handing her worn out daughter a large mug of steaming hot tea and a full English breakfast.

"You're right. We need a Trojan horse." Ali pondered. The two girls faces lit up into a wickedly innocent smile as Izzy skipped into the kitchen. Freezing when she spotted the concerning glares her mother and big sister were giving her.

"Whatever it is I want no part of it. That look never brings anything good!" Izzy declared edging cautiously to her seat beside her sister.

"Isabelle. My darling dearest little sister." Ali started, her voice sweeter than sugar.

"How would you feel about a sparring session with Sami? We could bring cookies and train this afternoon. I'll teach you any move you like!" Ali offered batting her eyelashes pleadingly. Izzy had to fight the urge to leap in the air in celebration. Instead opting to play it cool even if it went against every fibre of her being.

"Since you asked so nicely. I guess it wouldn't hurt to fit in some extra practice." Izzy agreed calmly. Play it cool Izz. Play it cool. She thought fighting the grin that was tugging ferociously at her lips. It was no use. Less than a second after she had spoken her face was set alight by the happiest grin ever seen. Way to play it cool Isabelle!

"Hey Mamma Fogarty. We were just wondering if Sami was up for a sparring session? Ali promised to teach us some of her moves since we did so well with our science project!" Izzy asked politely. Handing the tall, dark skinned woman a large box of cookies.

"You my dear, have perfect timing. They're just round the back sparring now." Mamma Fogarty smiled pointing the girls in the direction of their friends. "He does this every time he gets into a scuffle."

"Thank you Mamma Fogarty. Enjoy the cookies!" The girls called jogging around the corner to find Sami trapped in a headlock with Fangs ruffling up her already frizzy hair.

"SWEEP HIS KNEE AND SLAM INTO HIS SIDE TO KNOCK HIM OVER!" Ali instructed. Laughing at the panicked expression that flicked over Fangs' face as he crashed into the long grass beneath him.

"Nice job kiddo. That'll teach him for messing with the hair!" Ali grinned coming to a halt beside Fangs. Looking down and waving sarcastically down at him.

"You're such an ass sometimes Ali. Did you know that?" Fangs mocked grabbing the back of her knees and heaving them towards him sending Ali toppling over. Pulling a nervous squeak from her as she landed heavily beside him.

"Ali said she's going to teach us some of her special moves. Want to join?" Izzy grinned re-plaiting Sam's wild, untameable hair.

"Oh cool! Can you teach us the arm swing thing? The one where you grab their arm and pull yourself to wrap around their shoulder? Can we learn that one?" Sam asked eagerly, an enthusiastic beaming glow flooding her face.

"If Fangs is up for helping then hell yes. It's one of my favourites!" Ali winked helping Fangs to his feet. The boy sighed heavily but nodded in agreement. A dark bruise already making its presence on his face known from the spot Ali had kicked him the night before. Sorry Fangs! Ali thought getting a clear view of the full extent of his injuries.

"You sure you're up for it, you look like shit!" Ali remarked as they got into position.

"Shut up Ali. I look like shit 'cos I got in a fight last night. You just look like shit!" He quipped with a cheeky grin. "At least I have an excuse!"

"Fuck you Fangs. I was going to go easy on you. But now you're just asking to get your ass whooped!" Ali defended playfully. Unaware of the extra pair of eyes observing from the cover of the surrounding trees.

Izzy and Sam watched eagerly as Ali took them step by step through the move. Allowing them to practice on her first so she could give them the necessary pointers before they practiced on Fangs. For someone who'd had recently had his ass kicked he showed no signs of weakness. If anything, it looked like he was enjoying the extra practice. Even getting to practice the move and try out a few counter-moves on Ali.

The girls had just finished perfecting their third new move when the figure that had been watching from the shadows decided to come forwards into the light.

"This looks like fun. Mind if I join in?" The voice called gruffly.

"SWEET PEA!" Izzy cheered running over to throw her arms around his waist in a hug.

"Of course you can! The more the merrier!" She beamed skipping back alongside him, making his face crack into the smallest of smiles.

"Can I try out the new moves Ali taught me on you?"

"Sure kid. Let's see what you've got!" Sweet Pea agreed. Bracing himself ready to be thrown, pushed and pulled to the ground. Grunting and groaning with each landing and giving the little girl pointers where possible.

"Hey, now that Sweet Pea's here you can show us how to defend against two opponents." Sam piped up, looking hopefully up at the older trio stood in front of her. Fangs shrugged, nodding in agreement turning to Sweet Pea awaiting his answer.

"I'm up for it if Ali is. We're all friends here." Sweet Pea paused turning to Ali, a knowing look in his eye.

"Aren't we Ali?" He finished, twitching an eyebrow at her daringly.

"Yeah sure, why not?" Ali smiled nodding in agreement.

"What could possibly go wrong!" She muttered sarcastically under her breath moving into position, ready to be attacked by the two boys for the second time in less than 24 hours. This time it was Sweet Pea to make the first move. Lunging forward to sweep her leg. Ali jumped out the way just in time. Grabbing his arm and using it to pull herself up to wrap around his chest trapping his arm between her powerful legs. Twisting herself to the side using her body weight to hurl the giant into his friend knocking the pair down like a set of bowling pins.

"That was awesome!" The two girls cheered giving the boys and Ali a round of applause as they got to their feet.

"Could've done with this yesterday huh Sweet Pea." Fangs joked helping Sam perfect her stance and hold on Ali.

"Took the words right out my mouth." Sweet Pea muttered scowling suspiciously at Ali.

This was a bad idea. This was a very bad idea! Ali cringed.

"What happened yesterday?" Sam asked curiously, helping Ali back to her feet ready for Izzy's turn. Ali felt the question slam into her like a bus. This couldn't get any worse.

"Caught someone breaking into serpent territory late last night and got our ass kicked by crazy Ninja moves like these." Fangs sighed defeatedly, the disgust of his defeat evident in his voice.

"Reckon they just got lucky." Sweet Pea baited glancing slyly over at Ali, registering the eye roll she gave his comment.

"I don't know Bean Pole. They certainly managed to give you a rather nasty black eye." She replied flicking her eyes over the deep purple bruise spreading over his eye. Her gaze breaking as she hurtled towards Fangs by Izzy's forceful swing. Ali coughed a little as she sat up feeling slightly winded, accepting the hand being offered to her. Regretting it almost immediately when Sweet Pea heaved her up pulling her uncomfortably close to him as he leant to whisper in her ear. Placing something in her hand.

"You've got some explaining to do!" He whispered glancing down to the silver writing embossed on the pale blue lock picking kit in her hand that read 'H.M'. Ali swallowed hard in a desperate attempt to drown the panic that had risen in her throat. It just got worse.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ali replied casually. Stepping back smiling her signature smile and moving ready to teach the girls another move. The group spent the next few hours practicing moves and counter moves. With Sweet Pea keeping a very close eye on Ali.

"Ok, if you boys don't say it I will." Ali panted lying on her back in the long grass. Her cheeks flushed and head sweaty. "I'm absolutely shattered. Everything hurts and if I don't eat something soon, I'm afraid I'll eat Fangs." Ali half joked as her stomach gave a low grumble, making the team chuckle.

"Hey why me? Why not Sweet Pea? He's much bigger than me!" Fangs questioned sounding rather hurt by her suggestion, turning on his side to face his exhausted friend.

"Sweet Peas are poisonous. I'm starving not stupid. Sorry Fangs." Ali replied sympathetically before looking him over and licking her lips mockingly.

"Right Pop's it is. We can take the truck. Ali you can catch a lift with the poisonous plant. I don't feel safe being in a confined space with you right now." Fangs laughed rising to his feet and fetching his jacket and keys from the pile by the trailer.

"Come on Ali, the sooner you eat the better. You look like hell." Sweet Pea teased offering her a hand up. Scowling when she slapped his hand away.

"Last time you did that it was a trap!" Ali scorned struggling to pull her lifeless limbs into action.

"Just take the help Ali. It's becoming painful to watch." Sweet Pea coaxed smirking at her repeated failed attempts of standing. Ali huffed but took his hand only to heave him to the ground. Smiling smugly at his unamused expression.

"There, now you don't have to watch!" Ali chirped happily, rolling onto her hands and knees so she could scramble up leaving Sweet Pea in the grass. "I'll leave you here if you want."

"Oh yeah and how are you going to leave when I have your keys?" Sweet Pea asked smugly. Jingling a set of keys with a bright blue letter A hanging from them. Ali’s eyes squinting irritably for a second. Quickly returning to its previous proudly smug expression, throwing Sweet Pea completely.

"Simple," Ali chimed smugly. "I'll take yours!" She grinned waving his own set of keys back at him.

"You're dead!" He growled playfully, leaping to his feet and grabbing Ali's waist before she could make a run for it. Throwing her over his shoulder and swiping the keys from her hand.

"Did you just squeak like a mouse? Ali-Cat, more like Field Mouse!" Sweet Pea scoffed carrying her over to his trailer where his bike was parked.

"I'll dig my claws in if you carry on insulting me like that!" Ali threatened playfully. Trying to wiggle her way out of his grip.

"Oh no you don't. Not after that comment. You can stay there and think about what you've said!" Sweet Pea scolded slapping her ass hard as he spoke. Smirking when she squeaked at the contact.

"That's fine I've got something to keep me occupied anyway." Ali teased resting her head in her hands to stare at his ass.

"Harley Masters, are you staring at my ass?" Sweet Pea inquired playfully. Waving to Jughead who was watching in confusion as they passed his trailer. Ali's eyes flew wide open and her heart rate increased tenfold at her full name. How did he know. She immediately began trying to swing out of his hold. But he had her in a firm, unbreakable grip.

"How the-? What in the Hell did you just say?!" Ali demanded. Her brows knitted into a furious blend of panic and confusion.

"You heard!" Sweet Pea replied smugly placing her on the back of his bike and handing her his spare helmet.

"Izzy told me all about your nickname. About how it took you ages before you could pronounce your R's properly. How you used to say Haly instead of Harley." Sweet Pea teased putting his helmet on.

"That's what you meant earlier." Ali exclaimed. "You seriously confused me!"

"Ali what are you talking about?" Sweet Pea asked frowning.

"When you said I had some explaining to do..." Ali trailed off, avoiding Sweet Pea's leg as he swung himself on in front of her.

"Oh that. I already know what the H.M stands for. What I don't know is why you broke into Peabody's place. Hold on tight!" He called not giving Ali a chance to reply. Speeding off just as she wrapped her arms around his waist. The feeling of her hands clinging to his shirt made it very hard to concentrate as he whipped and weaved his way to Pops. Ali's mind to busy racing with an endless list of possibilities to notice what she was doing to him. What does this mean? Are Mum and Izzy going to get beaten up? Killed? Did he tell her? How did he know? What have I done? Why am I still on his bike? She felt like her mind was about to explode.

By the time they arrived at Pops she was in full panic mode. Pulling off her helmet to reveal her bloodless face. Panic overwhelming her eyes. Sweet Peas eyes widened when he saw the fear coursing through her body sending her into small scale convulsions. Making her very uneasy on her feet when she climbed gingerly off his bike. Her centre of balance was so uneasy, he had to catch her before she fell over. Helping her back over to lean on his bike for support.

"Ali relax I'm not going to say anything. I just want to know why. Nothings going to happen. Hell, I'm even willing to look past the fact that you pulled a knife on me." He comforted rubbing her back and pulling her into a gentle hug.

"You sure you're not going to tell Penny?" Ali asked tentatively. She wasn't so worried for herself they could do what they wanted with her. As long as they left her family out of it.

"And you're not mad about the knife?" She looked up hesitantly up feeling ridiculously pathetic.

"The knife? No that was just self defence. The black eye however... that, I'm going to be coming back too." He joked stroking her hair, looking deep into her puppy eye's. Feeling his heart melt with every second she was with him. Ali scowled giving him a playful shove and standing up straight again.

"I found out what she was making my Uncle do and we can't afford to get caught up in anything. So I figured if she didn't have anything on him then she couldn't black mail him anymore." Ali explained, technically she hadn't lied. Just not told the whole truth.

"And you thought that was the night to do it?" He asked as they made their way into Pops. Smiling at the familiar ring of the bell as they entered.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Fangs called dramatically as the pair joined the group at the booth in the far corner.

"I've been stuck listening to reruns of how I got my ass kicked yesterday. And this morning!" Fangs scowled crossing his arms and turning his nose away like a drama queen.

"Man up Fangs! You're turning into a Northsider. Got your ass kicked twice in less than 24 hours and now your acting like a spoilt brat. Carry on like this and you'll be joining Ali for cheerleading practice!" Sweet Pea sassed slumping down beside his best friend.

"Ouch Sweet Pea. Even I felt the sting on that." Ali exclaimed smiling at Pops when he handed the group their milkshakes.

"You were supposed to. Cheerleaders are just preppy little bitches. It's pathetic really. All you do is bounce around grinning all the time." Sweet Pea mocked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. I'd like to see you throw a human being in the air and catch them without damaging them, yourself and looking amazing whilst doing all that." Ali defended raising a daring eyebrow at the Serpent.

"Thank you, Izzy, for ordering for us. It was very nice of you." She smiled turning to her little sister who was watching intently whilst she slurped her chocolate milkshake.

"No worries, but how did you know it was me?" She questioned.

"You're the only one crazy enough to tolerate spending enough time with these clowns to know their order." Sam and Fangs elaborated in chorus before bursting into hysterics at their perfect sync.

"What can I say?" Izzy shrugged nonchalantly. A playful twinkle beaming in her eyes.

"I've got clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am. Stuck in the middle of you!" She sang motioning either side of her to the rest of the group making everyone laugh and Ali choke on her drink. The group watched in frozen horror for moment as Ali battled against the desperate force trying to spit her drink. But after a moment struggle, she swallowed the drink with ease.

"At least now we know Ali doesn’t spit she swallows." Fangs commented nonchalantly sending everyone into another fit of giggles.

Pops placed their order on the table once they had all calmed down. Giving Ali and Sweet Pea a knowing glance before handing Izzy a 10-dollar bill.

"What was that?" Ali asked suspiciously before taking a large bite of her burger. Her gaze fixed on her little sister as she tucked the money into the arm pocket of her jacket.

"Nothing just tip money." She shrugged innocently. But Ali knew there was something else going on. She was her sister after all.

"Uh huh sure it is." Ali nodded sarcastically before several waving hands caught her eye distracting her. Sweet Pea saw the focus completely disappear from her face the second the waving hands caught her attention and couldn't help but laugh.

"Is she always like this?" He asked watching as she ushered the group over to the table.

"Like what?" Izzy questioned through a mouthful of cheese burger.

"Easily distracted." He elaborated before scowling at Ali as she shuffled him over to the wall so Jughead, Betty and Cheryl could join.

"Only when she’s trying to ignore something at the back of her mind." Izzy replied truthfully. She knew exactly what was playing on Ali's mind. The only problem? Ali didn't.

The group spent the rest of the evening debating over the black hood and enjoying milkshakes, cheesy bites and fries. Ignoring the lingering unanswered questions and looming cloud of doom making its way closer and closer to their side of town.

"You'll never guess what's happened!" Cheryl exclaimed the second Ali took her seat in Chemistry making her jump a little.

"Oh god! What happened? Did Archie do another stupid thing again?" Ali moaned with a heavy sigh, unaware of the person sat behind them.

"Hey! What did I do to you?!" Archie gasped throwing a ball of paper at her head in mock offense.

"OUCH!" Ali cried sarcastically. A smirk spreading across her red lips as she threw it back.

"Sorry Arch but you have been a dumb ass lately." Ali replied before turning back to Cheryl who looked as if she was about to burst.

"Southside High got shut down so now the scumbag Snakes are being sent here!" She raged making several students jump at her sudden outburst. The thought of the serpents coming to Riverdale High sent butterflies to her stomach and she couldn't figure out why. Some of them were her friends sure but that wouldn't cause this surely? Cheryl's continuous bitching pulled Ali from her daze.

"Chill Cheryl, they aren't that bad. You got along with Fangs and Sweet Pea sort of. Ali grimaced a little at her words and the memory of Cheryl hanging out with her and the Serpents at Pops. Everything is going to be fine." Ali reassured her but she knew that come the next day, it would all go sideways. Chaos would rain down on them all.

Cheryl spent the rest of the day whining about the Serpents and how they were going to ruin the school. It was after all, a sanctuary from her home life.

"Oh God. Why do you like the cat that ate the canary?" Ali groaned when she walked into the girls changing room. Only to discover the Vixens already in gear and rallied with Cheryl who was looking very pleased with herself.

"Because my dear Ali-Cat, me and Reggie have come up with a solution to our little dilemma." Cheryl chirped before heading out with the rest of the cheerleading squad in quick procession.

"Oh, dear god! Of all people why Reggie?" Ali whined as she quickly threw on her cheerleading uniform. Chasing after the team of preppy teens about to pick a fight with the biggest gang in town as soon as she was dressed.

"Too late." Ali huffed as she darted down the corridor to where Cheryl and Toni were standing toe to toe. She was just about to jump in to defend the Southsiders. To at least give them a chance but Principle Wetherbee beat her too it. Cheryl and Reggie lead their crowd of puppets away whilst Jughead led the Southsiders down the corridor to the common room, passing Ali as they went.

"I told you when it came down to it, she was a Northsider." Sweet Pea muttered to Fangs as they passed her. His eyes scanning her uniform as they passed.

That rat bastard! The little git thinks I'm siding with Cheryl! Ali gasped internally, watching as they disappeared around the corner.

It didn't take long for Ali to find an opportunity to redeem herself in the eyes of the Serpents. She was sat in the cafeteria talking to Varchie and Bughead about the happenings over the holidays. Laughing at the awful puns Jughead kept adding in. He seemed to be happy for the first time in a while and Ali hoped this would last forever. Queue Reggie and his team of meat heads.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He snarled as the Bulldogs slowly surrounded the leather bound, snake tatted table.

"This can't be anything good." Ali grumbled before standing up and strolling casually over to the table. Watching as Sweet Pea's jaw clenched, his fists balled up to the point where his knuckles were turning white.

"Back off mutt. We don't want your fleas." Sweet Pea snarled squaring up to Reggie. His gaze stone cold as he stared down the preppy jock.

"Really Reginald? This is what you do with your spare time? Pick fights with poisonous flowers?" Ali sighed looking very unamused as she pushed herself between the two testosterone fuelled boys.

"Stand down Mantle the Magnificent before you become Mantle the Mauled to death." She warned feeling rather annoyed at his arrogance.

"And you can wipe the smug grin off your face too Sweet Pea. Picking a fight on the first day isn't a very clever start is it?" Ali called him out without even needing to turn around to see his smug expression. His heart was racing faster than he thought possible and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Sorry Princess did we disrupt your fine dining?" Sweet Pea quipped giving her a smirk and a wink as he sat back down in his chair. He could never pass up the opportunity to tease her. Ali rolled her eyes at his silly little remark and turned to leave. But just as she was about to, a large warm hand wrapped around her wrist pulling her backwards.

"You look good in that uniform you should wear it more often." Sweet Pea whispered, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke flooding her body with butterflies. His hand was warm against her skin and she could feel the heat radiating off his muscular body. He released her hand allowing her to stand up straight. Only to grab her hands and pull her closer again.

"Ali you're freezing." He claimed his voice filled with genuine concern as he searched her eyes. She smiled her usual bright smile shaking her head with a light chuckle.

"Pea I'm always like this. You're just freakishly warm." Ali smiled pulling her hands away and turning to walk back to her table. As for the uniform My eyes are up here, so keep them there. She warned playfully pointing to her smoky eye shadow and bright blue eyes.

"Wait!" Sweet Pea instructed stopping her in her tracks. She turned around slowly to see why he had stopped her from going back to her friends again.

"You're going to freeze to death, and I need you to do a paint job on my bike later. This should keep you warm." Sweet Pea stated pulling a large black hoodie from his bag and handing it to Ali. Who only put it on after a stern raise of his eyebrow.

With a reluctant huff she made her way back to her table. Who does this kid think he is? I don't need his charity.

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sprinklesandsugarcubes · 5 years

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Devil’s Snare; Masterlist

When Faelynne Jones planned out the rest of her high school years, she never could have expected this. Her father is in prison, wrongly accused for the murder of a boy with too many secrets to count. Her twin brother grows distant every day, consumed by unearthing Riverdale’s darkest secrets with a Cooper at his side, no less. The system has exiled them to the Southside, sending all of her plans up in smoke without a backward glance...and there’s this boy.

He says her father sent him, that the Serpent Princess is to be protected at all costs. He says she’s family, blood, and that no Serpent stands alone. He’s got eyes darker than the night, an intensity about him that leaves her near breathless, and an ever-familier symbol inked into the side of his neck. He says they’ll have her back. He tells her to call him Sweet Pea.

She’s tangled up in a web of secrets and chaos, subterfuge and deceit. Caught tight in a snare of expectations, a legacy her father had never intended. And even if she could make a deal with the devil to get out, she isn’t sure she would want it any other way.

Fandom: Riverdale Rating: Mature/Explicit Pairing: Sweet Pea x Jones!OC (Endgame/Main), Sweet Pea x Jones!OC x Fangs Fogarty (Minor/Occasionally) Warnings: Language/Cursing, Adult Themes/Situations, Fighting/Violence/Murder, Slight Gore/Blood, Character Death (Minor, Possible Major), Emotional Stress/Anxiety/Trauma, Possible Mentions of Depression/Angst, Physical Trauma, Classism/Societal Issues, Gang Activity, Drinking/Possible Drug Usage (Please Party Responsibly!), Smut/Sexual Themes and Situations (Seriously. Sex. Everywhere.) *Individual Trigger Warnings/NSFW Warnings will be noted on each chapter.

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sweetfogarty · 5 years

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Summary: After taking theatre classes after school for months, Midge Klump is delighted to be cast, albeit by a technical default, as Carrie White in the Riverdale High production of Carrie: The Musical. On debut night, Midge is murdered in cold blood and a witch hunt ensues to find the killer and bring him to justice. Fangs Fogarty finds himself in the crosshairs of this witch hunt, which culminates in him being arrested and charged as Midge’s killer.

Robin Allard, a public defender, is assigned to his case and together they fight the uphill battle to try and prove his innocence in court, finding skeletons in each other’s closets along the way. Robin may believe that Fangs is innocent, but will 12 jurors think the same? And will Fangs Fogarty be found guilty or not guilty of the murder of Midge Klump?

Rating: Mature

Status: Part four coming soon

Warnings: Violence, minor character death, blood (minor), systemic racism, reference to suicide, reference to domestic abuse, anxiety, religion. Specific warnings can be found at the beginning of each chapter.

Pairings: Fangs Fogarty x OC (platonic); Fangs Fogarty x Midge Klump

Chapters:

Tumblr - Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven

AO3 - Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven

Tags: Inspo || Robin Allard

Playlist || Moodboards || Characters Introduction || Robin Allard Introduction || Fidge aesthetic

#COMING SOON #FINALLY #Riverdale fic #fangs fogarty fic #fangs fogarty #riverdale #ITPOJ #ITPOJ inspo #in the pursuit of justice #fangs fogarty x oc #fangs fogarty imagine #fangs fogarty drabble #drew ray tanner #robin allard #itpoj masterlist #masterlist #riverdale OC

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kiara-carrera · 5 years

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you and me

pairing(s): brooke holliday x sweet pea, dakota chambers x fangs fogarty (credit to @starkdnvers for dakota) word count: 9,351 summary: when brooke’s certain that she’s fucked up her entire life (and by extension, the life of her boyfriend as well), there’s only one person she can turn to. warning(s): pregnancy, swearing, mentions of sex, brief mention of abortion author’s note: the adult!challiday, accidental pregnancy au that basically no one but me and joey asked for. it’s chaotically long for something i thought was going to be very short, but here we are.

To say that Brooke Holliday was freaking out was the understatement of the century.

She was late. She was fucking late. She’d never been late in her life, her period had always been annoyingly regular, always showing up at the most inopportune times. But this month, it had been late a day. And then a day turned into two and two turned into a week and a week became two and two turned into Brooke paling at the sight of her phone’s calendar, doing the mental math. There was no other conclusion besides the fact that she was late.

It was that heart-stopping reaction that had sent her running off to the corner store, avoiding the curious and somewhat pitying stare of the cashier as she had shoved a handful of bills in exchange for the test.

Test. She was buying a pregnancy test. She was going to see either a negative or a positive result. Two little pink lines could change her entire life. She was trying to stay positive, but how could she? Luck wouldn’t be on her side in this regard. She’d never been lucky, that much was clear to her considering she grew up in Riverdale of all places. Things had calmed down since high school had ended, but that didn’t mean luck was in a place like this and it didn’t mean luck would be with her.

There had never been happily ever afters in a town that had once been plagued by so much needless death and she was certain there would be no starting with that now.

Regardless of all of that, she bought the test, forking over the money and returning home with it. She had followed the instructions, set a timer on her phone, and had sat on her bathroom floor with tears that threatened to fall but never broke past her waterline. She was panicking and that could be told simply from observing her. The normally put together blonde was sat on her bathroom floor, on the verge of tears, fingers tangled in her hands as she tried to go through her options.

What was she supposed to do if it was positive? Positive. A positive pregnancy test. A potential baby on the horizon. She was barely twenty-five. She was out of school and had a sort of decent-paying job, but she wasn’t even sure she when she wanted kids, let alone to have one right now. She had always pictured having kids somewhere down the road, but when she well past her twenties. Maybe at thirty-two, that seemed like a nice age to have a kid. But twenty-four? She still barely knew how to file her taxes and she was potentially carrying another life in her?

And Sweet Pea. How the fuck was she supposed to tell Sweet Pea if she was pregnant? How would that conversation even start? Like, hey, just an FYI, you knocked me up and my reproductive organs have basically screwed up our entire lives. She didn’t even know if he thought about kids at all, let alone with her. They’d been together for years, but the baby conversation had never come up. Nothing excessively long term, nothing permanent had been discussed between the two of them.

They were just going with the flow. They weren’t like their best friends, who had gotten married during the middle of college and had just had a baby themselves. They weren’t like Dakota and Fangs. All Brooke and Sweet Pea knew about their relationship was that they loved each other and that they loved being together. But that wasn’t much of a permanent declaration of anything…a baby would be.

Fuck. She released her hair, instead opting to put her head in her hands, burying her face into the fabric of her sweater’s sleeves.

As she sat there on her bathroom floor, she tried to think about how this happened. They’d always been safe, ever since that very first time. They’d been together since high school and had been sexually active since around that time as well. But they’d always used condoms. Deep down, she knew that condoms weren’t 100% effective, but from almost seventeen until now, she’d never had a scare. She was always careful, they were always careful.

Unless…shit. There had been one instance not that long ago where there’d been a mishap with the condom, but both of them had written it off as nothing to worry about. She had written it off as nothing to worry about.

And now? Now there was something to worry about. Fuck.

Now…now they were screwed—no, potentially screwed, she told herself. She nodded to herself a few times as she repeated this in her head, trying to convince herself of this fact. There was no certainty yet. The timer on her phone hadn’t gone off yet. Maybe her body just decided to fuck around and be late this month. An irregular period would be the heaven-sent blessing of the century.

But again, when had luck ever been on her side?

The timer went off then, startling her slightly. She wiped at her eyes, drying up the tears that she refused to let fall. Reaching behind her blindly, she slipped her phone off of the closed toilet lid, thumbing the alarm off. Brooke paused as she did that, stopping to stare at her lock screen for a moment.

The picture was old, haven been taken the day of her high school graduation. But despite the time difference, it was still one of the best photos that Brooke had. She was stood next to Sweet Pea, both dressed in their standard Riverdale High issue blue caps and gowns, beaming at the camera. Brooke could still remember Sweet Pea protesting taking a picture when she handed Vivian Chambers (Dakota’s mother and the only true maternal figure that Brooke had ever known) her phone to take the shot. He had continued to complain up until Brooke beamed up at him with her big blue eyes, batting her lashes at him. He had always been a sucker for that.

And so, the picture had been taken and Brooke had kept it as her lock screen throughout all those years. Normally, looking at it brought her a sense of peace. But right now, looking at it made her feel sick to her stomach.

She set the phone face down on the tiled floor, taking a deep breath. It was shaky upon exhale as she stood, eyes squeezed shut as she centered herself in front of the sink where the test was laid out for viewing.

It felt like an eternity before she allowed her eyes to open. She took another breath, trying her best to ground herself, even if for a moment. She glanced down, eyes scanning the results.

A hushed, barely audible oh was the only thing she let slip from her lips. No other words seemed like they could truly encapsulate what she was feeling at that moment. Where words didn’t work, tears did. For the first time that morning, Brooke Holliday let her tears fall, a choked sob slipping from her lips as she allowed herself to sink back to the floor of the bathroom.

On the sink, a pregnancy test sat, baring two pink lines.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Brooke Holliday was freaking out. And when she freaked out, there was only one person she knew she could turn to.

After allowing herself to cry on the floor for fifteen minutes, whether it had been for herself, for Sweet Pea, or maybe for some future path that was now gated off to her, she had tried pulling herself together. She had wiped at her eyes again, harshly rubbing off the remnants of her mascara with it. Normally bright, blue eyes were bloodshot and puffy, tear tracks traced down the skin of her cheeks. But she had ignored those, opting for marching out of the bathroom. With her boyfriend at the garage for the next couple of hours, so it allowed her to roam around without the worry of running into him and having him question the visible remainder of her cry or try to deduce what she had shoved into her purse. Normally, she loathed the days where their days off didn’t line up, more than wanting to curl up in bed next to him for hours.

But today, it felt like the smallest possible silver lining that she could have ever been granted. And so, she had made her way to the door, had slipped on her jacket and grabbed her bag, and locked the door to her shared home behind her.

There was only one place she could go, she knew this as clearly as she knew that grass was green, skies were blue, and Pop’s shakes were one of the few good things about her hometown. In all situations, Dakota Chambers—sorry, Fogarty now technically, even if Sweet Pea solely referred to her as Chambers to this day—was the one person that could make sense of all of this.

The story of Brooke and Dakota wasn’t necessarily a lengthy one timeline-wise, but it was a story that filled with so many defining moments that it cemented the girls’ places as each other’s best friend. Dakota was like the sister that Brooke had never had. Her family had taken her in all those years ago when her mother had fallen through as a reliable parent. Dakota would be able to ground her, to calm her down. Hopefully.

The early winter air was bitter as Brooke made her way into the lobby of the apartment building that the Fogarty’s lived in. She hugged herself a little tighter as she crossed the threshold, even though a blast of warm air hit her the second she was safely inside. Honestly, if anything, she was more than likely holding herself tightly so that she didn’t fall apart.

A few flights of stairs later, Brooke stood in front of Dakota and Fangs’s door, rapping her knuckles on it quickly. There were only a few moments of pause before a calming voice was calling out that they were coming and then within seconds the door was opening.

Dak stood on the other side of the doorway, with her signature smile on her face and a baby on her hip. Brooke tried to smile at the sight of little Nora Rose, especially when her little face brightened in recognition of her Auntie Brooke, but it was hollow at best. Dak’s warm eyes fell confused at the sight of her less than happy best friend on her doorstep.

A little cautiously, she spoke. “Brooke? Is everything okay?”

Apparently, that was all it took for Brooke to lose any fragment of composure that she may have had.

Voice panicked, the blonde exclaimed, “We have a situation!”

Okay, maybe we wasn’t the right term. Dakota had no involvement with Brooke and Pea’s sex life nor the unknown day which their sex life led to this. But to be fair, Brooke always referred to everything as a we situation when it came to Dakota. They were a package deal, a matching set. From sophomore year till now, they had gone through so many different situations together that not calling this situation a we situation just felt wrong.

Dakota furrowed her brow, her confusion increasing by tenfold. “We do? What’s going on?”

What’s going on? That was a fairly reasonable question. So, naturally, it made Brooke clam up slightly. She frowned, running a hand through her hair as her best friend eyed her worriedly. Nora, ever the exuberant child, didn’t seem to notice the shift in the mood of the doorway, continuing to make grabby hands for her pseudo-aunt. The sight alone made a wave of tears flood Brooke’s eyes. In several months, there could be another baby around, but when it eventually made grabby hands at Brooke, it wouldn’t be for the comfort of an aunt. It would be for the touch of a mother.

Mother. Her. Brooke fucking Holliday, a mother. Those words didn’t seem to string together right. Motherhood looked great on Dak, but Brooke? It was hard to imagine. It was a concept that Brooke couldn’t even fathom, even though the plastic stick in her bag were telling her otherwise.

Dak spoke again, stepping closer to rest a gentle hand on her best friend’s arm. “Brooke?”

“I’m late, Dak,” Brooke admitted quietly. “I’m late.”

Dak, still ever the wide-eyed, innocent little church girl, stared at her best friend oddly. “For an appointment?”

Brooke groaned. “My period, Dak. I’m over two weeks late. I’ve never been this late in my life.”

“Oh,” Dak mumbled offhandedly, the information not truly sinking in. And then, once the realization kicked in, she sucked in a breath. “Oh. Brooke…are you…?” She trailed off, unable to find the words.

Voice thick with emotion, mostly just sadness and fear, Brooke said, “Unless the test I took is lying, yeah. Yeah, I am.”

She refused to say the word out loud. Pregnant. It was swirling around her head, battering off every corner of her brain like a pinball gone rogue, but she had yet to let it fall from her lips. Saying it out loud made it real and she was afraid. Making it real would be too much right now, especially when she had no idea what she was doing. Or feeling. Or hell, even thinking.

A part of Dakota wanted to smile. Her best friend was having a baby, that was such a wonderful thing. When she had found out about Nora, she and Fangs had been over the moon. The fact that her friend, a person she considered a second sister, was pregnant was exciting. But something on Brooke’s face told her that she was the only one who thought so.

“Are you not happy?” Dakota asked softly, rubbing Brooke’s arm. She adjusted the grip she had on Nora, a happy giggle pealing from the babbling child’s mouth.

“I just…I’m freaking the hell out, Dak. I mean, what the hell am I going to do? We didn’t plan this, it just happened and now it’s happening and I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do!”

Dak’s gaze softened at the blonde’s rant, teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “Have you told Sweet Pea?”

At the mention of her boyfriend, Brooke looked like she wanted to vomit. She shook her head no rapidly, blonde hair flying. “I-I can’t, I can’t do that. I haven’t even processed this fully, I came over here the second I stopped sobbing on the floor like a two-year-old. I…Dak, I just fucked up both of our lives. I don’t even know if he wants kids and I just went and got us pregnant!”

Dak squeezed Brooke’s arm then, shaking her head at her. “Hey, hey. Calm down, it’s going to be okay, we’ll figure everything out. Do you want some tea?”

Feeling somewhat like a distressed teenager with a fresh round of tears starting to burn behind her eyes, Brooke nodded as Dakota let her arm go, moving to wrap her arms around her again. The brunette stepped back and then aside to let her in before shutting the door behind them.

Dak led Brooke to the kitchen, getting her to sit before mumbling to give her a quick second. In the span of a few minutes, Dak disappeared into the apartment, easily finding her husband. Nora was quickly switched off into Fangs’s arms, who smiled lovingly at the sight of his two girls.

“How are my favorite girls?” he questioned, grinning brightly at his daughter pressing an exaggeratedly loud kiss on the baby’s face which caused Nora to giggle.

Dak smiled at him softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He beamed, the usual reaction he had to the woman in front of him, even after all these years. “Do you think you and Nora could stay in here for a little while?” she questioned.

Fangs’s happy gaze fell quickly, both at seeing Dakota’s distressed expression and at her request to stay out of the kitchen with Nora. “Is there a reason I’m being confined to the bedroom?”

“Brooke’s over,” Dakota replied simply, which only seemed to raise more questions than it answered.

“Is she okay?” Fangs questioned, brow knitting together in confusion. “She and Pea didn’t have another fight did they?”

Dak shook her head gently, giving her husband another small smile. “We’re just having girl talk and I think privacy is best,” she told him, before pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

And with that, Fangs was on board with staying in their bedroom with their little miracle.

Moments later, Dak was returning to Brooke, finding the blonde still sat at the kitchen table. She had her phone out, staring intently at the screen. Dak wasn’t sure what she was looking at, but she didn’t question what Brooke was doing. Instead, she opted to silently move around the kitchen, setting out to make the tea.

Minutes later, two steaming mugs were set on the table and a chair next to Brooke was pulled out and filled. Dakota pushed one of the mugs towards her friend, taking the other for herself. The brunette drew the mug back, taking a sip, contemplating her next words. How does one even begin to console a pregnant woman that might not even want to be pregnant?

She didn’t have to think much of an opening line, though, because Brooke was already speaking. “I don’t know how this happened,” she mumbled, taking a sip from her drink. “We have one tiny little accident. One. How is this happening?”

“Stuff like this happens all the time, Brooke,” Dakota replies tentatively.

Brooke didn’t answer for a moment. She knew Dak was right. People got pregnant all the time, whether they wanted to or not. The circle of life was a never-ending amalgamation of happy days and fuck yous. Brooke was certain her experience was the latter. In the grand scheme of things, this all felt like a sick joke. Like someone was playing a prank on her.

She groaned, letting her head fall forehead to gently rest on the tabletop. “What am I gonna do, Dak? Seriously? Yesterday I was deciding what kind of bagels I wanted to buy, cinnamon raisin or blueberry—spoiler alert I got both because I have zero impulse control—and now I have to think about having…having…”

“A baby,” Dakota supplied, figuring maybe a rip the band-aid off quickly approach would work best in this situation.

Brooke lifted her head, face paling again. “A baby,” she mumbled. And then her eyes filled with panic and she was crying out in frustration. “How the hell am I supposed to have a baby? This wasn’t apart of the plan!”

“What was the plan?” Dakota asked curiously.

“There wasn’t one!” Brooked cried out. “This wasn’t supposed to happen! Sweets and I aren’t you and Fangs, Dak. We’re not married, we didn’t name our children together after like, five months of dating—”

“We didn’t do that,” Dakota interjected, eyes wide and a minor blush smattering her cheeks. Her and Fangs weren’t that certain they were each other’s forever that early on.

“—How am I supposed to even bring this up to him? We’ve never even talked about longterm and now this is happening? What the fuck do I even say to him? Do I just go hey I just fucked up our lives by going and getting a fucking future child growing in my uterus? Think that’ll work? Does that sound like a good conversation starter?”

She said it wryly, bitterness flooding her tone. It was the same question she had posed to herself back at home, but back then there had been no one to go wide-eyed and look mildly appalled with her suggestion. But that’s where Dak came in.

At her friend’s statement, Dak’s eyebrows raised considerably before she was reaching out to cover Brooke’s hand with her own. “You didn’t mess up Brooke, okay? Being pregnant when you’re not planning for it is scary, it is. But you didn’t mess up, I can promise you that.”

Sadly, Brooke squeezed her eyes tightly, as if to hold back tears. If she let out a small, vulnerable whimper, Dakota didn’t mention it. Quietly, she mumbled, “Then why does it feel like I did?”

Dakota sighed, a knot forming in her stomach for her friend. It was clear as day that this wasn’t what Brooke wanted to happen. She bit her lip again, squeezing Brooke’s hand. There was a question she wanted to ask, one she wasn’t sure how to phrase in a sensitive enough manner. But Brooke was freaking out and it was just something that needed to be asked.

And so, softly, she questioned, “Do you want the baby?”

The question made Brooke visibly balk. Of course, it had been something she had been thinking of the second she realized she was late. Did she want the baby? This wasn’t something she could make an unsure decision on. She couldn’t hedge. This was quite possibly the biggest decision of her life, and it was hanging in the balance right now, mocking her.

She blew out a breath, running her free hand through her hair. “I don’t know? I told you, we didn’t plan this, we didn’t talk about it.”

“Okay, but what about how you feel about having a baby?”

Brooke looked at Dakota oddly. “I just told you?” she replied, though her answer sounded more like a question itself.

“You talked about you and Sweet Pea. But I asked how you feel about all of this. If you want this baby,” Dakota told her pointedly, but there was still an air of kindness. Dakota wasn’t trying to be rude, just trying to get a point across. “We can talk about everything, we can, but before you talk to him, you should decide if you want the baby or not. Then we can talk about Sweet Pea.”

The Holliday woman paused. In actuality, it made sense to think about what she wanted. She was the one who would deal with the majority of this, she would be the one who would potentially be carrying this pregnancy, not him. There were things specific to Brooke that would need to be thought out, things that didn’t necessarily include her boyfriend. And the biggest question indeed was the one that Dakota had posed.

Taking another sip of her tea, Brooke gave Dakota a half-hearted shrug. “I mean, maybe? Down the road I always assumed I might end up with a kid…but what if I just fuck it up? Clearly parenting doesn’t run well in my family.”

The statement was a dig at Brooke’s mother and mother alone. Her father had never been involved in her life, it had been Shannon who had taught Brooke that sometimes families sucked. She had gotten lucky in her junior year when Vivian Chambers had taken her in, when Dakota’s family had shown her the familial love she had been missing most of her life. Yet that didn’t negate the fact that Brooke had always been mildly afraid of becoming just like her mother.

Dakota gave Brooke a sigh. “Brooke, you’re not going to…” The brunette trailed off for a moment, looking mildly uncomfortable. “You’re not going to fuck it up.”

Brooke’s eyes went wide as she interjected, “Did you just say fuck? Jesus Christ, what is this, your second time?”

Dakota frowned at the obvious jab about her vocabulary which was far less colorful than the ones of her friends and husband. “Be quiet, I was only repeating what you said. And you’re not going to do anything wrong, you’d be an amazing mother. You’ve been such a good aunt to Nora every time you’ve babysat.”

“That’s not exactly the same thing,” Brooke pointed out. “I get to give Nora back at the end of the day when I watch her.”

“Okay,” Dak relented, thinking for a moment. “Look, think of it this way. Parenting is a learning curve. No one’s perfect at it, not even me and Fangs. Not my parents. Not anyone’s parents. The most important thing is that you want your child, that you love them, and that you’re willing to try for them.”

Try. Brooke figured this was the thing that her mother was missing. The will to try for her child. She wondered if she was different from Shannon in that regard. She hoped she was. Brooke had always had a capacity for love that was far greater than her mother’s, the older woman more akin to an unforgiving winter storm than a warm and caring presence.

At the end of the day, Brooke knew deep in her heart that her mother had never actually wanted a child…maybe at first. But once she was born? No, too much had gone wrong for Shannon Holliday by then. From the time of conception to birth, her entire world had spun on its axis far too rapidly, had changed her. Had hardened her. By then, she hadn’t really wanted Brooke.

But Brooke…Brooke could be different. And so, she was brought back to Dakota’s original question. Did she want a baby, this baby? Her baby.

A baby. A whole new life that she could bring into the world. This wasn’t a situation to take lightly, it wasn’t something that she could just sweep under the rug and hope it would go away.

There was a terrifying side to this. She’d be a mom. She’d be responsible for an entire person. The thought made her skin crawl. How the fuck was she meant to be a mom now? Again, her mom hadn’t been the greatest. Cold. Detached. The kind of woman who kicked her own daughter out, the kind of woman who ruined her entire relationship with her only child based on things that had happened well into the past. What if Brooke did become like Shannon? What if she fucked this kid up like Shannon fucked her up? She couldn’t handle that kind of responsibility.

But…there was also a side to it that didn’t scare a part of her as much as she thought it should. Again, she wasn’t picturing being a mom now. She pictured that if she ever was to have a child, it would be later down the road. But the thing was, Brooke loved Sweet Pea and as much as she had never admitted it out loud to anyone, let alone Sweet Pea himself, she had always imagined that particular future with him. She imagined every future with him. They may not have discussed long-term, but she knew there wasn’t anything else she wanted. He was it for her.

And because of that, there was a small part of her—one that was small, yet battling strongly against her unbridled fear—that tried to imagine it. A little baby, with tanned skin and a head of dark hair, dark eyes and a familiar smile…well, its created an entirely different response than the one she had figured she would give. Somewhere, there was a tiny part of her that knew if there was even the slightest chance that this child could end up being a little version of the man she had loved since she was seventeen, well that was a whole different ballgame.

She sat there, sipping her drink, mapping out everything in her mind the best that she could. Everything would change drastically, it was up to her whether it was for the better or not. She tried to picture herself, month by month, carrying this child. Feeling the baby kick. Hearing its heartbeat. Doctor appointments, only the beginning of a lifetime of expenses. She pictured holding the baby after the birth, and if she pictured a healthy baby boy that looked far too much like Sweet Pea…well, no one was there to judge her inner thoughts.

Birthdays. Starting school. Little league games or dance recitals or science fairs or whatever the child wanted to do. Scraped knees and tears and happy giggles and family adventures and memories that Brooke herself never got with her mom. She could be the mother she never had. Sweet Pea could be the parent that he never had. Brooke tried to imagine it, her whole life with him and the baby that she could bring into the world if she chose to.

She knew she had options. She knew some things could be done, measures that could be taken that could undo what had happened. Choices. A world of choices that could—no, would change everything. She knew, at the end of the day, she had options.

Options that got exactly three seconds of consideration. It made her sick to her stomach thinking about it, even more so than she already was. It was an option that was good for other people, it was an option that everyone should have the right to consider. But Brooke knew that it wasn’t the option she could go with. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

She had pictured her possible child. She had imagined her life changing. She had seen for what she wanted it to be, for what it could be. And in a matter of moments, it felt like the world had shifted. She was still terrified to her core. The air of uncertainty was still thick and suffocating around her. It was etched into every facet of her being.

But there was no going back now. How could there be, when she had painted such a future in her head? Brooke Holliday, for the first time since she had realized that she was late, was pretty sure that she wanted this baby. Sweet Pea’s baby. Their baby. If there was a universe where they could be happy forever, with this child, she wanted it. She wanted it so fucking badly, despite never having given it any thought before this day.

Alarm slammed into her all once, the door to every panicked thought flying off its hinges at her internal admittance. While it was important that she be on board with this pregnancy, it didn’t necessarily mean Sweet Pea would. Doubt began to cloud her mind, hitting her full force as she tried to realize what this could mean for them.

What if this changed not only everything with their lives but amongst them as well?

Her eyes fell shut to try and ward off the burgeoning tears that were beginning to form and she leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath. A hand once again reached up to tangle itself in her hair as she tried to figure how she’d gone from seeing this as the end of everything to wanting this.

“Brooke?” Dak asked suddenly, making the blonde realize she had been silent for a long while. Her eyes flew up, locking with those of her best friend, who looked concerned. “Did you hear me?”

“Oh, um, no. Sorry, I was just…thinking about everything,” Brooke replied, her hand slipping from her hair to run across her face. “Everything’s going to change isn’t it?”

Dakota didn’t reply for a moment. She stared at Brooke, eyes flitting across her features, the gears in her head spinning. It felt like she was staring right through her, right into her mind. Once upon a time, Brooke had been able to read Dakota like an open book, and for once, it seemed as if Dakota was returning the favor. She could see the wave of emotions that Brooke was enduring in an instant, and she pursed her lips together.

So instead of answering the question that Brooke had posed, she gave one of her own.

“You want to keep it, don’t you?”

“…I think I do.” It was no louder than a whisper, but it was spoken all the same.

And like a dam bursting, the tears burned behind her eyes and pooled amongst her lashes began streaming down Brooke’s face. Dakota was beside her in an instant, her chair screeching against the floor as she scooted over to her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Brooke cried against Dakota’s shoulders, again for herself, for Sweet Pea, and for some future path that was now gated off to her with her newfound want.

“It’s okay,” Dakota whispered, the words spoken against the blonde’s hair. “It’s going to be okay, Brooke, I promise. Everything will work out.”

“I’m fucking terrified, Dak,” Brooke whimpered in between two choked sobs. Her earlier worries came back full force, spilling out of her mouth. “I can’t do this without him, but what if this ruins everything? What if I’m right and I screwed up his entire life?”

Dakota had had enough. Pulling back, she placed both hands on Brooke’s shoulders, looking the girl dead in the eye. Dakota can see her fear clear as day, a wretched thing seeping into the tears that gloss over her eyes. “Brooke, listen to me. You didn’t screw up his life, stop saying that! Having a baby is a blessing and if he doesn’t realize that, well then that’s his loss.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” Dakota interrupted. “You don’t know how he feels about this, okay? You don’t, because you’ve never talked about it. You just need to talk to him, Brooke. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear the news! He loves you, okay? He loves you so much and having a baby with you should make him the happiest man on the planet.”

A part of Brooke knew this was true. He did love her, as much as she loved him. There had been trials and tribulations along the way, just like there were for every relationship, but they had gotten through them. She had seen past what everyone else had, had seen him for who he truly was. And in return, he had done the same for her. She had loved him wholeheartedly since she had been seventeen and there had never been a doubt in her mind that he loved her just as much since then.

And yet, one immense and paralyzing fear still filled her. One she let slip through her lips in a broken whisper. “…What if he leaves?”

The moment the words left her lips, she knew she wasn’t right. He wouldn’t just leave. He thrived on loyalty, had that trait coursing through him immensely. Brooke had always admired that about him. Once you got close to Sweet Pea, once he let you see past the bloodied knuckles and the switchblades and the anger, he was loyal to you until you gave him a reason not to be. He wouldn’t just up and leave her, he wouldn’t leave her alone. Not now.

She knew this. And Dakota knew it, too. Knew that her husband’s best friend was quite possibly the best person for her best friend. But she still found herself answering the brokenhearted question. “…Then he’s not the one for you.”

Truly, Brooke knew she was right. If Sweet Pea did want to leave once she revealed the pregnancy to him, then that just meant that they weren’t right for each other. She knew that the chances of that happening were slim to none, but it still caused fear to ache in her bones. Fear that he was the best she was ever going to get. Fear that she was going to raise a child alone, just like her mother.

“I don’t know what the fuck I’ll do if he’s not,” Brooke mumbled, a whimper escaping her lips.

She felt like a blubbering two-year-old as Dakota once again brought her into her arms. The brunette was shushing her, repetitions of it’s going to be okay falling from her lips at a steady rate. The more she felt Brooke shake from her tears, the tighter she held her. She hadn’t seen the blonde fall apart like this in a long time. It was jarring and it felt like someone was tugging harshly on Dakota’s heartstrings as she heard every hiccup and sob and sniffle.

As the two friends clung to each other in the small kitchen of the Fogarty’s apartment, Dakota let a fierce promise fall from her lips. “We can figure that out together, okay? You and me.”

You and me. That’s the way it had always been for them. Brooke held onto her a little tighter.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Despite having been calmed down and less teary-eyed by the time she left the Fogarty’s, Brooke Holliday was still undoubtedly freaking out. She had left the couple’s place well over an hour ago and was finally back in her own home, cuddled up on the couch with a thick blanket. Dakota had left her with multiple promises on top of you and me, including a vow that Sweet Pea would be ecstatic. Dakota didn’t see how he couldn’t be—he was going to have a baby with Brooke. Nothing should make him happier.

Brooke, however, saw things a little differently. While she was trying to maintain hopeful and adamant that he wouldn’t leave her to do this on her own, wouldn’t throw away all of their years together over this, she was still scared shitless.

Her head rested against one of her hands, elbow propped up against the arm of the couch as some mindless reality show played on the television set in the corner. She was staring off into space, eyes fixed on a chip in the wall’s paint. On her lap, her other hand was clutching onto the bright green, slightly matted fur of a small stuffed frog. She’d had since the summer before senior year, from the weekend away that she, Sweet Pea, Dakota, and Fangs had taken. After everything with the Black Hood, the Gargoyle King, the Fizzle Rocks, Tall Boy’s death, the Farm…they had needed to get out of town.

The place they had ended up in for their small vacation had had a carnival that very weekend and the frog in her lap had been won on one of the games at the fair. Sweet Pea had tried for one of the big ones, hoping to win her a giant stuffed animal like Fangs had gotten for Dak. He’d only managed to win one of the small ones, but honestly, Brooke had never beamed brighter. That stuffed frog had stayed with her for the rest of high school, an object of comfort she carried way into early adulthood.

Right now, it just made her wary of what was to come once he came walking through those doors.

She felt like she waited for what was a century. Knowing that she could back out now, couldn’t gloss over everything that had happened earlier. She needed to face this head-on, needed to tell him exactly what was happening. What was going to happen.

In actuality, she didn’t have to wait too long. By the time the second hour of the reality show arrived, the lock on the door to her shared home with Sweet Pea began to make noises, indicative of someone on the other side with a key. Brooke could feel her muscles tense and stiffen and she swore she felt herself stop breathing for a moment. If there wasn’t another life inside of her, she was certain she’d be guzzling a glass of wine from her nerves. Instead, she gripped the plush fabric of her stuffed frog.

The door opened, Sweet Pea slipping through as he did most nights after work. He looked tired, there were grease stains on his hands, and his worn down Serpent jacket sat proudly on his shoulders. Shutting the door behind him, he let out a small yawn before his eyes briefly fell on his girlfriend seated on the couch.

“Hey, princess,” he greeted easily, slipping his jacket on to hang on the hooks by the door before ambling over to the couch to sit down beside her. “How was your—what the fuck happened?”

The second he sat down and really, truly looked at her, he saw it all. The tear tracks on her face, the puffy redness of her eyes, the quiver of her bottom lip. It was evident all over her face and it immediately set off red alarms in his mind.

Crying Brooke and Sweet Pea had never exactly gotten along. Sure, he’d learned how to comfort her when she was upset along the way, but there was nothing more unsettling than watching her cry. It made him deeply uncomfortable, not wanting to see her upset. And so, instantly, his mood went from moderately happy and tired to uncomfortable, concerned, and slightly angered at whoever had possibly made her upset.

When she didn’t answer, a frown etched its way across his lips and he scooted closer to her. Attempting to hold her, his arms began to go out to circle around her, but he stopped when he noticed her tense even further. Brow furrowing, he paused, arms dropping back to his side.

“Brooke?”

A shaky breath escaped her lips and she squeezed the stuffed animal tighter, her eyes squeezing shut for a moment. When she opened them again, she felt like she was going to shatter at the expression on his face. He was undoubtedly concerned, but she could see a glimmer of confusion and maybe even a little bit of hurt that she hadn’t instantly melted into his arms. And she wanted to, God, she wanted to. But she was freaking out and she was sure that there was nothing that he could do to quell the fear in her bones, in her veins, in every ounce of her being.

The silence was deafening. It covered them like a blanket, a growing discomfort in the air as he watched her try to find the words to start this conversation. What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to phrase this? Were there any right words to start this off?

There was also the fact of the matter that she was terrified of his response. Putting this out there, between them, meant he’d react. And there was nothing more worrisome to her than how he was going to take the news that she was carrying his child, that she’d already decided that this baby was what she wanted.

God, she should have asked for more advice on this during her tea slash cry slash panic session with Dakota.

“Okay, you’re gonna need to say something, princess, because you’re freaking me out,” Sweet Pea told her after another long moment. “Did something happen? Did someone do something to you? Because I swear to God I’ll gladly beat the shit out of anyone who thinks they can—”

“No!” Brooke exclaimed, the sound coming out quickly and loudly. She shook her head frantically, blonde hair fanning out around her. “No one did anything.”

There was a second of pause before he nodded, content with her answer. His eyebrow quirked up before a wry smile covered his lips. “So she speaks.”

A humorless chuckle escaped her lips, sounding slightly wet from all the crying she’d been doing on and off. “So she does. Pea, I…I need to talk to you about something. Something really important.”

He nodded. “Okay, yeah, sure. What’s up, princess?” Sweet Pea slung an around on the back of the couch, resting above her shoulders, but not directly touching her.

She sat silently for a moment, trying to figure out her next words. Brooke had so much she wanted to say, so many things she wanted to convey, but it was like every single word she knew was evading her. Her lips parted and shut a few times, a sure sign of someone who didn’t know what they were going to say.

It was frustrating, not knowing how to get the words out. And it was frustrating, knowing that the P-word was eventually going to be used and it was like her entire vocal system just shut down at the thought of it. She let out an annoyed sigh, staring down at her lap, before deciding to backtrack her starting point, back to where this whole thing had started.

“Pea, do you remember the night after we saw that really shitty movie? And we decided to fool around after?”

His eyes lit up in recognition quickly enough, tongue darting out to wet his lips. “I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it after the sounds you were making.”

Despite the situation at hand, Brooke rolled her eyes. Of course that would be the main star of his memory of that night. “No, I’m talking about afterward. When we realized that the condom broke?”

It took a second before he was nodding in remembrance, but Brooke could tell he still hadn’t pieced it together. He was looking at her in confusion, nodding slightly as if to tell her to go on. Brooke tried giving him a look, hoping that she could still convey her meaning even with her bloodshot eyes. But it was to no avail, his eyes didn’t light up in understanding, there was no lightbulb moment here.

And so, frustration and sadness and fear taking over her, she reached under the blanket covering her lap, fishing around until her fingers met cold plastic. A new batch of tears began to pool in her eyes, setting off an alarm in Sweet Pea as he watched her with a careful gaze. Without words, Brooke pulled the object out into view, thrusting the test right into Sweet Pea’s hand.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, voice broken.

He gave her an odd look, accepting the little stick that she handed him. The arm behind her head pulled back as the man opted to grip the tiny little stick with both hands. He looked down at it, face scrunching when he realized what it was. And then, Brooke was certain that she could pinpoint the exact second that the world stopped for him.

Once it had become clear what he was holding and what the little lines under the plastic window meant, his face fell slack. His eyes widened, mouth popping open ever so slightly. She could hear him suck in a deep breath.

Brooke wished she knew what he was thinking. She wondered what was the very first thought that ran through his head when he understood what the test meant. Did he have that little moment of oh that she did in the bathroom this morning? Or was his more aligned with an oh fuck moment? Was he excited? Scared? Angry? She didn’t know and she couldn’t tell, his face void of every emotion besides shock.

Brooke wanted to speak, tell him to say something, anything, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk. All she could do was sit there and wait.

“ This…” Sweet Pea started quietly, trailing off, unsure what to say. “Are you…?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“And it’s—”

“If you seriously ask me if it’s yours, I’m going to hit you,” she said, cutting him off with a biting tone. He’d been her first and her only, there was no fucking way it was anyone else’s.

He swallowed thickly, before shaking his head. “I was gonna ask if it was right. That you’re sure? You’re…I mean, how the fuck did this happen?”

His tone wasn’t angry, but his words made her flinch nonetheless. In a small voice, she replied, “I told you already. The condom broke, Pea. We thought it would be fine, but clearly it wasn’t.”

“But that was only one time, I mean, how can one broken condom end up like this?” he questioned her, voice rising ever so slightly.

Her bottom lip quivered a bit before she repeated what Dakota had told her earlier. “Stuff like this happens all the time.”

“Yeah, but…I mean…fuck,” he groaned loudly, slamming the test on the small coffee table so hard Brooke thinks it’s going to crack down the middle. He turned away from her, running a hand through his dark hair for a second before standing and pacing a few steps. Sweet Pea turned back to her, exasperated. “I mean, you’re having my fucking kid because one fucking condom broke?”

To Sweet Pea, it seemed like a reasonable question. How the hell could one tiny little slip up create such a large situation? But to Brooke, it felt like all of her fears were falling into place. He was mad. He was upset with her. They fucked up. They fucked up. This baby was screwing up his life.

She started fiddling with the blanket on her lap, beginning to shake her head at him. Tears were dripping down her cheeks at a steady rate, like tiny little streams against the flushed skin.

Brooke began speaking then, words just falling from her lips without abandon, “Look, I know that we never talked about this, but we can’t do anything about it now, okay? I didn’t ask for this either and I’m sorry, I didn’t want this to happen especially when I don’t even know if you want a family with me or kids at all. I’m sorry. But Pea, please, I can’t do this by myself.”

Sweet Pea moved closer to her, prepared to say something else when her words fully sank in. He froze in his movements. She had said she couldn’t do this by herself. In a way, Brooke was asking him to stay.

I can’t do this by myself.

She thought he was going to leave her.

Within mere moments, the entire vibe of the room had changed. Brooke was still on the couch looking up at him, fear swimming in the tears in her eyes. But Sweet Pea…her words felt like a slap in the face. He visibly recoiled, hurt flooding his features. She thought he was going to leave…why the fuck would she think that?

“Did…did you think I was going to leave?”

Everything in Brooke was screaming to say no. Her heart was screaming no. She knew she didn’t think that, she knew would never in a million years think he would leave her. But the problem was, her head was saying something completely different. While her heart wanted to believe that they would be okay, that this baby was something that would bring them closer together, her head was pragmatical as ever—probably a side effect of being friends with Jughead Jones for so long.

While her heart was holding onto the hope that they’d be okay, her head believed otherwise. Her head was being constricted by fear, forced to see paths that she didn’t want to believe were true. Her head was telling her that, although she loved him, there was never a promise of forever. That anything good can be destroyed in the blink of an eye. And it was for those reasons that her head and her heart were at war.

For when did anyone’s head and heart ever see eye to eye?

Her silence was confirmation enough and again, Sweet Pea felt like she had struck him across the face. His eyes narrowed at her, anger beginning to pulse through him. After everything they’d been through…after everything, this is what she thought of him?

“What, so because both of my parents decided to fuck off, you just figured I’d do the same thing?” he snapped at her, voice bitter and rising with every word.

It wasn’t the first time he’d raised his voice around her, but it was the first time that he wasn’t met with her raising her voice back. They’d had fights before, some nastier than others, but it was never just him shouting into the void, looking like a complete asshole. But this only made Brooke cry harder. A pathetic whimper slipped through her lips as he continued to look at her with a gaze that she hadn’t been on the receiving end since Jughead first ran The Gauntlet.

She hated it. She hated him looking at her like that. It was her fault he was. If she had just said no, if she had just had fucking faith in him, this wouldn’t be happening. Sweets was loyal to a fault, he wouldn’t leave her high and dry like this. They weren’t their parents, they couldn’t be.

Not now, not ever.

When she didn’t answer him, it only seemed to make him that much more mad. And when Sweet Pea got angry, he handled it one of two ways: venom tinged words or blood-tinged violence. His next words to her were spoken with such frustration that it caused Brooke to wince.

“I mean, I know I can be an asshole sometimes, but you actually think I’d just follow in my parents' footsteps? Just leave you and my fucking kid behind? Because newsflash Brooke, your mom was a fucking bitch to you, too. If you’re anything like her, then that kid better be prepared to get kicked out of their fucking house at sixteen!”

“Look, I’m scared, okay?” Brooke yelled out then, her voice wet and the sound akin to a sob. He froze, eyes flitting to her. “I didn’t want this to happen okay, but it did and there’s nothing we can do about it, okay? I’m pregnant. I am and it’s your baby. And I’m having this baby and I’m so afraid of everything that it means. I’m fucking terrified and all I know is I need you with me for this, Sweet Pea, I really fucking need you.”

Her knees dragged up, her arms wrapping around them tightly as she buried her face into the fabric of the blanket. She needed him. She couldn’t do this alone. It didn’t matter if Dakota said they would figure it out. It was a lovely promise, but it wasn’t from the person she wanted to hear it from. She loved Dakota, but it was nothing compared to how fiercely she felt for Sweet Pea. Nothing could be compared to how badly she wanted him for the rest of her life, how badly she wanted them to have this child along for the ride with them.

Brooke heard the floor creak before she felt the couch dip down beside her. Strong arms wrapped around her tightly and she was tugged into his chest, head pressed right up against his heart. Sweet Pea’s grip only seemed to tighten when he could feel her cry against him, feel the wetness of her tears instantly soaking through the fabric of his shirt. In a second, all of the anger he had felt for her moments ago had been shoved backward, concern taking the foreground. Brooke had looked as if she was breaking apart in front of him and that had done him in. He hated her thought process, hated what she assumed, but in the end, his love for her would always outweigh all of that.

They’d figure out everything else later. Not right now. Right now, he’d hold her as long as she needed. Anything to get her to stop crying, to stop shaking in his arms. Fights and discussions and all that other bullshit could wait.

His lips pressed into her hair, kisses pressed firmly against the crown of her head. He felt her struggle against him for a moment, but any concern he felt at that melted away when he felt her arms wrap around his torso as tightly as he held her.

“I need you with me on this,” she mumbled into his chest.

Another kiss was pressed against her head before words were whispered against her hair. Two sentences, eight words. Everything she wanted to hear from him at that moment, in such small words with such large meaning. A promise.

“You and me, princess. It’s you and me.”

#sweet pea x oc #minor fangs fogarty x oc #riverdale fic #brooke holliday x sweet pea #sweetbrooke #brooke holliday x dakota chambers #challiday #adult!challiday #dakota chambers #friends ocs #amanda's crossovers #amanda writes #also fair warning #i'm a nursing student so i know the mechanics of pregnancy #but not the mindset so like #do with that what you will

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