Underbelly } Sweet Pea

Brave New World

The brunette slowly made her way to Fangs' room. Steve took a deep breath before pushing the door open, "Hi."

Fangs turned his head to the side, face brightening up at the sight of one of his best friends. He let out a laugh as he observed her broken and bruised face, "You look how I feel."

"How you feeling?" She asked, walking over to the chair next to his bed. His hair was flat against his forehead, some of it sticking up. His face had some color back to it and he was smiling, "Like I got shot."

Fangs ignored the look Stevie sent him as she sat in the chair, grabbing his hand, "You have no idea how happy I am that you're okay."

"FP told me what Minetta did," Fangs muttered, "Are the Serpents really gone?"

Stevie nodded, giving him a small smile, "There's only a handful of us left. Sunnyside is gone. Our trailer was untouched. I checked on your mom and grandma, they're okay."

Fangs gave her hand a grateful squeeze, thankful she was looking out for his family, "How's Jughead doin'?"

Stevie had tears in her eyes as she thought about her brother, "God, I thought he was dead. Penny cut his tattoo off. The Ghoulies beat the crap out of him; bruised heavily, he got stitches on his head and he has a few cracked ribs. But he's alive and breathing."

"I was scared I was gonna die," Fangs whispered, "I just remember looking down and seeing red everywhere. I remember you and Sweet Pea holding my hands. I remember reaching for you before surgery."

"You're okay, Fangs." She told him, bringing his hand up to her mouth, placing a kiss on the back of his hand, "I promised you that you would be okay."

"I love you, Stevie."

"I love you, too, Fangs."

Last night, while Hal was telling his wife and daughter about all the 'sins he cleansed', another 'Black Hood' attacked Archie and his dad. But luckily, Fred was still wearing the Kevlar vest he got from Kevin's dad.

Stevie and Jughead slept in the bedroom while FP slept in the recliner in the room, not wanting to let his kids out of his sight.

Stevie, Sweet Pea, and Toni had called for a swords and Serpents meeting but so far, her and Toni were the only ones in there. Sweet Pea immediately pulled Stevie into a hug as he walked into the classroom, "He's okay. You kept your promise."

Stevie let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "You've seen him, then?"

Sweet Pea nodded, placing his hands on her waist, giving it a squeeze, "Your dad told me after he told Fangs' mom. I stayed with him after the fight."

"I thought my life was over these last few days , "She confessed, "losing Fangs and then Jughead giving himself up. My world was falling apart. But now, everything is going back to normal."

Sweet Pea raised his eyebrows at the use of 'normal', causing her to correct herself, "Well, as normal as Riverdale gets."

Jughead walked in and smiled at the sight of his sister and her boyfriend. Stevie hadn't smiled a real smile in almost a week and he was glad to see it back on her face. He thought a lot about his sister when he was with the Ghoulies and how much she did for him and their dad. She would text him to make sure he was still taking care of himself when he was staying at the Twilight Drive-In at the start of the school year and she would send updates to let him know their dad was still breathing.

Sweet Pea nodded his head in Jughead's direction, causing the girl to turn around. Jughead leaned against the desk as the three explained Weatherbee's latest notion for Riverdale High.