fierce ↠ sweet pea [1] [✔]

|| TWENTY-TWO ||

"Forget it," he told her. "I'm so happy for you."

"Me too," Toni hugged Sweet Pea before doing the same to Lauryn. "You guys are going to make the most amazing parents."

"What's up with all the dirty dancing?" Jughead asked, joining them. Sweet Pea crossed his arms, sensing the trouble.

"I'm pregnant, Jug." Lauryn smiled, expecting him to have the same reaction as the other two. "For real."

"Well, that's amazing!" Jughead replied, and it came across as unintentionally crude. "And I'm guessing, this guy's the father?"

Sweet Pea put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, marking his territory. "I am. And why wouldn't I be? Are you pissed it's not yours now that you've moved onto Southside girls?"

"Babe, stop," Lauryn begged. "Can you guys not do this now?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jughead squinted, disregarding Lauryn's comment.

"You tell me, Jones," Sweet Pea taunted, slipping in front of Lauryn who was being jerked out of the way by Fangs.

"Come on," he urged his sister, taking her over to the bar. "Don't stress out the baby."

"Is she third on your list or fourth, Sweet Pea?" Jughead asked snottily, and Toni facepalmed, trying to break the two of them up. "I have to say, you don't seem very--"

"Shut it, Jones," Toni told him, knowing full well what taking on that attitude with Sweet Pea would cause, especially when it was about something personal.

"Don't fuck it up for her, now," Sweet Pea warned, his face inches from Jughead's intimidatingly. "You better be nice to her, too, because I'm not taking any shit from anyone, you especially."

"Right, okay. I'll make sure to take orders from you in the future, Sweet Pea. Including the ones where you get my friends pregnant."

"You're walking on thin ice, Jones." Sweet Pea spat, about to grab hold of Jughead. "I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not just some fuckboy like your Northside pals."

"Guys--" Toni tried to step between them but Sweet Pea held his hand out.

"What are you gonna do? Hit me? Stab me? You remember the laws, you can't hurt another Serpent," Jughead shoved him away. "Or are you forgetting that my dad's leader?"

Sweet Pea scoffed. "Get down off your high horse. You're not a Serpent, yet. You gotta survive the gauntlet."

"Piece of cake," Jughead moved his face closer to Sweet Pea's once again. "Consider me initiated," he whispered before walking away, something irritating in his step which almost made Sweet Pea want to follow after him.

"Sweet Pea," Fangs patted him on the back, and he turned around, looking at Lauryn who was still sat at the bar. "Lauryn's worried."

He went straight over without another word, startling her with a hand on her back.

"Sorry," he said, kissing her temple. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered softly. "But what was that?"

"Just your friend accusing me of being some kind of player."

Lauryn rolled her eyes. "My god. I didn't think the judgement would start this early."

"Nah, that's just Jones," Sweet Pea remarked, stroking the hair out of her face. "You wanna go home?"

"Yeah, actually," she accepted, pursing her lips together as she got off the barstool. "Unless you want to stay?"