fierce ↠ sweet pea [1] [✔]

|| SEVEN ||

Sweet Pea and Lauryn had become inseparable, more than what they were before the incident. Lauryn hadn't slept in her own bed once all week, and Fangs had Jared sleep over multiple times just to make the place seem less quiet, and he was making the most of it.

The years of put-off affection were catching up, and everything was falling into place fast.

"On another note, Jughead seems to be settling in okay, and by that I mean terribly. I've told him not to raise his hand in class, but he does it anyway. It's like he's enjoying classes here, besides the thrill of waiting to be beaten up by the Ghoulies." Toni remarked just as Jughead walked past the girls with a quick nod, clearly trying to get out of the way of the Serpents and Ghoulies in the halls.

"Aren't you gonna help him set up the Red and Black, Toni?" Angel Face asked.

Her best friend nodded. "Yeah. That reminds me, I gotta go help him set up shop real quick, and hopefully not suffocate in the dust. I'll be out in a second. Wait for me?"

"Of course," Lauryn said with a smile as they stopped, and Toni turned in the opposite direction. "Don't get coffee in your hair."

As she watched her best friend go, Lauryn felt the walls swallowing her up, realising that this was the first time she'd been alone in the halls all day, and the Ghoulies were more than numerous.

"There she is!" one jeered, while his friend waved his hands around in her face to scare her, the two of them laughing childishly.

Startled, she chose to ignore them, brushing past them as other joined in the frenzy of tormenting and namecalling which was harder for her not to react to than she expected it to be.

She had her switchblade tucked into her boot. Despite the metal detectors decked at the entrance of Southside High, the students always found ways to hack the system. It was taking everything in her not to pull it out, yet, she'd be outnumbered like crazy.

She picked up the pace, thankfully spotting Sweet Pea, Fangs and Jared through another crowd of students leaving.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sweet Pea asked her once she got to them, noticing her slight heavy breathing and wide eyes. "You look scared."

"Did one of those bastards touch you?" Jared asked, folding his arms as he stared down the whacky-haired enemies nearby who were staring Lauryn down. "Say the word, Lauryn, and we'll take 'em down."

"No, uh, I'm okay," she said, trying to shake the sticky feeling of feeling herself being watched. "I just got a few weird looks. I felt outnumbered, that's all."

Fangs put his hand on her shoulder firmly. "Don't worry. You won't have to walk the halls alone anymore."

"I'll walk with you from History to Math if you want." a voice said from behind them.

It was Skye, a dark-haired slightly tanned Serpent whose arms were decorated with tattoos and jewellery. She was an ally who often helped other members under heat escape Riverdale when she wasn't off the radar. Everyone just assumed she was indulging in her drug addiction which was obvious by her chapped lips and straggly hair.

Skye was one of the lucky Serpents like Jughead who still had their father to provide for them, though. Her father was a Serpent, but only for protection for Skye and her younger siblings due to his involvement with an ex-mercenary years before.

He was more into art and music than partying and drugs so he tended to keep out of most of the criminal activity unless desperate for cash. No one said anything, though, as he was a peaceful patron, and was always respectful. All the better for Skye, then. She could do just about anything without him finding out, or any other Serpents questioning her loyalty.