fierce ↠ sweet pea [1] [✔]

|| FIFTY-SEVEN ||

Lauryn felt a tap on her shoulder which snapped her out of her brutal thoughts which had been distracting her from the mindless sounds emitting off of the pool table, as well as Jared's voice, and she turned to see Jughead behind her, his phone in his hand. "Bad news."

Her stomach turned as she wondered how bad the news could possibly be. She perked up, her eyes widening. "What is it, Jug?"

"Penny called me," he started, holding up his phone. "She's at the dock with Toni. Skye's there, too."

Lauryn stood up briskly, her heart dropping to the floor. "They have Toni? Holy shit, we have to--"

"Don't worry," Jughead stopped her, his hand finding her upper arm. "I'm gonna go get her. You stay here."

Lauryn raised her brow. "You're going alone?"

"I don't have a choice," he replied, but he looked a lot more confident than he should have. "I'm just gonna get her and come back."

"Have you told Cheryl?"

Jughead frowned, shaking his head as he wondered why she'd ask that. "No. Why?"

"Toni left to go get Cheryl, I'm sure she's worried," Lauryn explained, and then she got an idea. "Call her. She can back you up. Toni mentioned something about archery a while back."

"That's not a bad idea," Jughead replied, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Don't do anything stupid," Lauryn turned on her heel as he'd already began walking towards the door. He saluted her off and she watched until he'd gone, an uneasy feeling in her stomach as she made her way over to Sweet Pea who had given his attention to the exchange. 

"What was that about?" he asked, taking his shot which knocked two balls into a single hole. 

"The Ghoulies have Toni," Lauryn revealed, making Sweet Pea stand up straight.

"What?" he barked, hitting the end of the cue against the floor. "Bastards."

"Jones has gone to go get her now," she said, losing her breath at the end of her sentence. She swallowed down to her voice, shaking her head. "It's all falling apart. I hope FP gets here soon."

"Haven't you heard?" Jared sneered, an irritating smirk plastered across his cheeks when he caught their attention. "The Serpents are dying out tonight, Fogartess. Better start sayin' your goodbyes, to Fangs especially."

Lauryn furrowed her brow as she felt her patience being ripped from within her, and she gradually took a step closer to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jared took a flask out of the inside of his jacket, taking a long sip before letting out an obnoxious burp. "You saw him back there. If he survives, it'll be a miracle."

She went to charge up to him but Sweet Pea stopped her, his arm blocking her. Scowling at Jared, he shook his head. "You better watch it, Aleks."

"Or what?" Jared taunted, his eyes flashing at them manically. "Everyone dies in the end. Get used to it."

"Have you heard yourself?!" Lauryn yelled, clenching her fits into a ball so hard her nails stung her palms. "What the hell is your problem with Fangs? Ever since you guys broke up, you've been acting weird."

Jared's expression softened, and he crossed his arms. "He never told you?"

She frowned. "Told me what?"

"I... I thought he would've told you by now," he paused, disliking the way Sweet Pea was staring daggers at him. "You got a minute to talk alone?"

Sweet Pea scoffed hard. "As if I'd let her go with you."