fierce ↠ sweet pea [1] [✔]

|| FORTY-SEVEN ||

After what felt like a freeze in time as well as the planet, it got dark again, and the Serpents began their second long night chained to their school. Barely anyone had the energy to speak to one another, and there was nothing to conversate about besides the splintering cold which was something they didn't want to remind themselves of.

Lauryn still hadn't moved, but her temper was shorter than ever. She was at a point where one distasteful word said to her would cause her to snap viciously, and she was trying to block out every unpleasant feeling she had by reading the label of the bottle for what felt like the millionth time.

Sweet Pea glanced down at her, knowing he was right all along. He tutted quietly, shaking his head as he stared off into the distance frustratedly. "Unbelievable."

"What?" Lauryn hissed, lifting her head out of her hands to glare up at him. "If you've got something to say, say it to my face."

"Fine. You know you can't go on like this, and you're being a dumbass by trying to prove that you can," he said snottily, receiving a bump on the arm from Fangs whose irritation tolerance was too low to deal with their bickering. "Go home, Lauryn."

She ignored him, shaking her head subtly. "Go fuck yourself, Sweet Pea."

"Wow," he chortled. "Real mature."

"Cry me a river."

"What's your deal, you guys?" Jughead asked, turning sharply towards them. "Lauryn, you don't need to do this. You can go home. I never expected anything this severe from you, especially not for this long."

"Yeah, well, I'm all about surprises," she laughed fakely, and Jared knelt down by her, sensing the unpleasantness out of her mood.

"Hey," he began softly, wobbling because of the weight pulling him down. "You wanna go for coffee? I can't go on for much longer like this, either."

"No--"

"You're going," Sweet Pea ordered, and she shot a harsh look up at him, wondering if he'd truly said that to her. "And then, he's taking you home. You're not doin' this. Pack it up, let's go."

Lauryn weakly stood herself up, pointing a finger at him. "I've had it with your controlling bullshit."

"Oh, yeah, because it makes me hard to be in a relationship with, right?" he remembered, his face hardening. "Why don't you go be with some pushover, then--"

"Guys, stop it," Fangs begged, a hand settling by Sweet Pea's chest. He then looked at his sister. "Lauryn, can you just go with him, please?"

She sighed in defeat, giving into the desperation he was wearing on his face. "Fine."

At Pop's, Lauryn sat down in a booth that supported the former ache she'd sported from the concrete, resting her elbows on the steel table as she glanced out the window. She ran her hands through her hair, letting out a hard breath of air.

She was exhausted, but also furious. With who, though, she had yet to figure out.

Jared placed two mugs on the table, startling her as he sat down. "I got you a hot chocolate. Figured coffee wouldn't be the best for your adrenaline right now. You were pretty fierce back there."

"God, J, you don't even know the half of it." She picked up the mug, drawing it to her lips. She felt an instant rush of warmth electrifying from her hands to her feet, hoping the sugar in it would soon kick in and relieve her of the sleepiness which was getting harder to bear. "Thanks, by the way. Don't tell anyone, but I was kind of dying back there."

"I don't think I'd need to," he remarked, his pupils dilated in her direction. "So, what's going on with you and Sweet Pea? Are you guys--"

Pop suddenly placed a plate on the table in front of Lauryn, and she smiled up at him in confusion before looking at Jared. "Thanks?"