fierce ↠ sweet pea [1] [✔]

|| FIFTY-FOUR ||

"Everyone get out your knives!" a Serpent hollered as he stumbled into the Wyrm out of breath. "The Dark Circle are terrorising the Southside. I think they're comin' here next!"

"Those bastards!" Sweet Pea spat, slamming his fist against the table which raised the alarm further. He took Lauryn by the forearm instinctively, getting up. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" she asked with a growing worry. 

"I'm getting you out of here," he declared when FP overheard and approached them slowly.

"You're not goin' anywhere," he said, which gave them a bad feeling. "Those psychos are angry because they think Fangs did it. You don't think they'd choose his sister as a prime target as retaliation?"

Sweet Pea swallowed, cursing himself for not thinking it through. He looked down, loosening his grip on Lauryn also. "What are we meant to do?"

"Get her upstairs where it's safe," FP ordered, thumb-pointing at the wooden staircase. "The rest of us will hold down the fort here, fight off any intruders. Until it's confirmed whether or not Fangs did this, wherever you go is gonna be a warzone."

Sweet Pea nodded in acceptance, leading Lauryn up the stairs to the room which was occasionally used as an office. It was dark, and the stench of weed lingered permanently. There was only one dusty window that led out to the passing street, but it was perfect to spot any uninvited visitors.

"This is bad," Lauryn fretted, slumping down on the worn-out red couch which had previously been moved from downstairs because it was falling apart.

"I know," Sweet Pea agreed, unable to think of anything reassuring he could say to her. "I guess, all we can do is wait it out until morning. Hopefully, Sunnyside won't be full of Northsiders by then."

Angel Face rested her chin on her hands helplessly, her boot tapping against the floor. "Fangs is at the station by himself, what if they're trying to break in there as well?"

"He's in a cell," Sweet Pea reminded her as he sat down, dust squeezing from between the leather of the couch. "Ironically, that's the safest he can be right now. Any news on the attorney?"

"No," she said, taking out her phone. "I'll text Jughead."

Calamity arose downstairs, and the couple glanced at each other knowing that something had broken out. The door swung open, but thankfully, it was a couple of friendly faces before them rather than the intruders.

A few young Serpents, ranging from middle schoolers to Freshmen made their way in behind the two Serpents, being ordered to take a seat. 

"Thank God, you're here," Toni gushed as she ran to Lauryn who was still taking in what was happening. "It's going insane down there. FP told us to come up here and hide."

"Sunnyside is covered in angry creeps just like those downstairs. Teenage boys tryna' be somethin'. I had to get the kids out," Bumblebee added as she locked the door, slipping a wooden chair below the knob for extra security. "I was worried you'd be there."

"We came straight here after the station," Lauryn explained to them, acknowledging everyone in the room. "What's gonna happen come dawn?"

"Hopefully, these assholes won't be stupid enough to attack our land in broad daylight," Sweet Pea hissed, tightening his arms together. "We can't be colonized like this forever, not while they're judging Fangs based on a crappy video."

"Yeah, well," Bumblebee scoffed, shaking her head at him. "They've been waiting for the opportunity to abuse their power for years. Fangs is just an excuse. This is about all of us, sweetheart."