Sin bin { Sweet pea}

E I G H T

Estrella pulls into her driveway and stops, the emptiness around her humming with the scent of sweet pea. He always got a ride home with Estrella after events like jugheads initiation. They weren't the most common but they always ended with some end of the night ritual like streaking across the tracks, or playing a game of cards against humanity while higher than cloud nine. A flicker of a smile dies on her lips as she glances up at her battered trailer.

The lights in her trailer are on. A shadow waltzes through the light. Someone's in her house?

Estrella pulls sweet pea's brass knuckles from her pocket before turning the Plymouth off and steps up onto her porch. One hand on her phone ready to speed dial one of the serpents if necessary.

The front door swings open, revealing a flash of blonde before Estrella finds her back digging into the porch railing. Kaitlyn around her waist. Estrella stands arms up in surprise, without a slight clue as to why Kaitlyn was in Riverdale.

"H-hey!" Estrella recovers quickly, wrapping an arm around Kaitlyns back. "What are you doing here?!" Estrella drags her friend inside only to be greeted by the rest of her team, matching green leather jackets on and ruthless grins staining their faces. "What are you all doing here?!" Estrella mimics their grin.

"I got us tickets to the international WFTDA championships this year! We came to get you. You can't say no. I already packed your stuff and zen baby is holding it ransom down at the hotel, if you ever want to see your precious red flannel dress again, you'll follow us!" Kaitlyn explains before laughing manically and fleeing the trailer. The team follows. All smiling ear to ear. Some whisper with excitement.

Estrella stands in the empty trailer, studying the hollow lifeless husk around her. The faint hint of sweet pea's cologne wafted up from the couch to comfort her as she sat on the arm her eyes drifting around, watching the dust reconstruct old memories. There was nothing here for her.

Estrella steps out the door to find the girls were gone, Kailyn stood at the driver side of the Plymouth keys in her hand.

"Took you long enough." She smiles. A warmth spreads through Estrella's chest, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips.

"Shut up." Estrella slips down the stairs, sliding into the passenger seat of her car. Kailyn did not go gentle as she spun the Plymouth around, but the Plymouth only took it as a challenge. With the taillights lighting up the road behind her Estrella dared glance back just once, and turned away.

Sweet pea stood on the road only steps away from the stairs to Estrella's trailer watching her drive away. A stranger in the driver seat.

A cold feeling crept into sweet pea's stomach. Like a rock being dropped into a frozen pond sweet pea was falling beneath the ice, he was falling and Estrella was the only one that could save him from the cold.

➿➿➿

The international WFTDA championships where amazing, and the added bonus of being hosted in New Orleans made them even more worthwhile but exhausting non the less. Ready to have a shower, curl up with a blunt, some hot cheeto's, and crushing loneliness she won't be getting any of these as her bright Plymouth headlights illuminated Jughead Jones and Archie Andrews sitting on her porch steps at just after eleven am.

Jughead jumps to his feet, Fear knots Estrella's stomach and with the car still running she jumps out to meet him. "What's happened? Is anyone hurt?" She catches his shoulders. Worry weighs down her heart. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if someone was hurt.

"I don't know. Archie showed up at southside high and grabbed me. Mayor McCoy ordered a raid on southside high. They got almost all the serpents, sweet pea, Fangs, and Toni included."  Jughead explains watching the sickening fear in Estrella's dark eyes turn into livid molten anger. He could swear her eyes got darker. For a moment she reminded him of sweet pea.

Estrella turns quickly jumping back into her car. "Stay here. I'll be right back." The force she uses to knock the car into gear sends the Plymouth into a shower of dirt, the engine crying with ferocity.

The police station is quiet, a few officers mulling about, reviewing their minuscule evidence against the serpent children.

Estrella barges through the doors, her thick heels striking the tile with intensity and rage that sweeps through the room as the doors bang against the walls behind her.

"Whoa! Easy! Can I help you?" Sherif Keller jumps in front of her, one hand poised for his taser.

"Yeah, give me the keys to your cells," She demands, arms crossed as she pauses to sneer at him. "You are holding juveniles with no evidence to convict meaning you can not keep them here." She continues, ripping through sherif Keller's flawed law system.

"Now, we have evidence against a few of-"

"The Ghoulies are drug trading, drag racing criminals. If you want someone to pin the jingle jangle crime on, go speak to them. In the mean time I will wait until you surrender your half-assed conviction and let the southside serpents go. Am I making myself clear?" Estrella's upper lip curls. Her toe drumming on the floor.

Sherif Keller sighs, turning to one of his deputies standing cautiously behind his desk. "Let them go." The deputy nervously slinks off and a few minutes later a small throng of serpents emerge from the cells.

"Estrella!" Toni shoves through the crowd wrapping herself around estrella's torso. Relief makes Estrella's stomach knot and her lungs ache. "One." Estrella hugs Toni closer looking up to spot Fangs and sweet pea. "Two!" She pulls fangs into him into her side. "Three."

Sweet pea nervously watches Estrella reach out, one arm still around Fangs and her calf around Toni's lower back to keep her close. "Sweetie come here." She shakes her hand reaching for him.

Sweet pea barrels foreword burying his face into her shoulder as he wraps his arms around her and Toni tightly. "I'm so glad you Three are okay." She sighs running her hand through sweet pea's hair. "Let's go home." She whispers. The three keep some part of them touching Estrella as she leads them to the car. Several serpents cheer for Estrella as she walks past, a few thank her but most are figuring out how to get home.

Sweet pea tugs her back towards him as Fangs and Toni climb into the back of her Plymouth. "Thank you." He whispers, nuzzling Estrella's neck. Estrella leans closer wrapping her arms around his neck and then jumps, wrapping her legs around his hips. "Thank you, for not giving up on me."

"Lets keep it PG! You can do that when we get back to the Sunnyside!" Fangs yells from the car.

Sweet pea growls in Estrella's ear, tightening his grip around her back to keep her close. "Sweetie, I promise one day, you have my permission to be as 'rated R' to me as you want and we can drive those two wild." Estrella purrs before slipping out of his grip. She jumps into her car but sweet pea grabs her thigh when he gets inside and leans closer to set Estrella's insides on fire. "I'll hold you to that promise."

Toni groans loudly falling into fangs before hitting the back of their seats. "Stop it! Please!" She complains.

Fangs sits staring at the police station before popping her head between the seats. "Can we stop at pops? I'm hungry." With a laugh Estrella ruffles his hair. "Sure Fangs. Anything."

The car fills with a steady buildup of overlapped conversation as fangs, toni and sweet pea begin to tell their tales of the raid, and the upcoming bonfire, the tests none of them studied for in class and the nitty gritty details Estrella missed. She was where she needed to be, and she wouldn't be leaving again any time soon.