fierce ↠ sweet pea [1] [✔]

|| SIXTEEN ||

She let out a sigh, unable to get over what he said just yet. "Whatever."

As he opened his mouth to continue trying to win her over, Jared and Fangs came out of the store laughing with a bottle in a brown bag together, and the group began the walk to where their bikes were parked.

Down the sidewalk, they noticed a guy spray-painting a garage door, which wasn't a respectable act around Serpent property. Sweet Pea's territorial instinct sent him rushing over there first, the others trailing behind him.

"Hey!" he barked. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Back off, I'm not here for you," the guy who they instantly recognised as the Red Circle organiser answered, not bothering to even look at him.

"Oh, yeah? Then who's this message for, huh?" Sweet Pea interrogated, shoving the shorter boy around to face the Serpentshim so he was facing them. They observed the horribly marked circle on the door, and Sweet Pea's cheeks formed a grin. "Aw, hell. Don't tell me it's for the Black Hood. You believe this guy?"

"And people say we're the troublemakers," Fangs added, maintaining his spot beside Sweet Pea.

The boy ignored the remarks, trying to shoulder his way through the gang members, but was pushed back by the wall they'd formed mostly by Sweet Pea's tall build.

"Whoa," Sweet Pea eased, giving the Northsider the message that he didn't want to start that kind of trouble. "Southside Serpent country. You can't come here and tag our turf. So, why don't you get your ass back to the Northside before someone gets hurt?"

"Get out of my way, or someone will get hurt," the guy warned, and the Serpents merely laughed at him, wondering where he'd gotten such confidence from.

On cue, the Serpents took out their switchblades and ejected them with a click, Lauryn including, despite having no intention of using hers.

"You just made a big mistake," her boyfriend licked his lips, but then, the boy revealed a gun from inside of his jacket, pointing it straight at Sweet Pea's face.

"Who made a mistake?!" he asked as the Serpents started backing up, starting to flee. "Who made a mistake?!"

Sweet Pea stood still for a minute, slightly stunned, but Lauryn turned back to tug at his arm. "Let's go!"

The Serpents fled the scene, finally reaching their bikes where they shared a frenzy of trying to catch their breath. They were all unharmed, but then Lauryn felt her lungs turn to weights, and she placed a hand on her chest as she sat down on her bike for stability.

Noticing her state, Fangs rushed over to her which struck the attention of the other two, clasping her shoulders as he sensed that something was terribly wrong. "Lauryn? What's wrong?"

His sister couldn't speak, and all she could hear was her own heartbeat pulsing through every part of her body, sending ripples of dizziness through her vision. Her adrenaline paralysed her, and her brother then realised what was happening.

"She's having a panic attack," he called out, and Sweet Pea hurried over, tucking her hair behind her ears as he tried to get her to look up. Fangs backed up, running a hand through his hair as Jared came to his aid. "Shit."

"Hey, look at me," Sweet Pea told his girlfriend, having to kneel down in front of her as she wouldn't look up at him. "You're okay. Just look at me."

After a moment, her breathing began to slow down, and she regained awareness of her surroundings. Breaking eye contact with Sweet Pea which seemed to have grounded her, she covered her face with her hands, humiliated and distorted. "I'm sorry."