After closing the door, Sweet Pea studied her face, and she took a deep breath, wanting the exchange to be over with as soon as possible. "I'm not going to try and beat around the bush so here it is. The way you talked about the Black Hood earlier kind of... scared me. I get that you're mad about the Southside being blamed for everything, but calling a murderer a hero and trying to send my brother after that Northsider for no reason? Isn't that a bit too far?"
Sweet Pea exhaled which almost came across as a grunt. "I knew that was why you were avoiding me. I know that him shootin' people ain't a good thing, but it's damn well teaching those spoilt assholes over there a good lesson."
"But what about Fangs?"
"He wants to earn some sort of dignity here, and you should, too," Sweet Pea blurted out insensitively, and Lauryn blinked twice in disbelief, chortling sarcastically.
"Are you being serious? Wasn't almost dying to prove my loyalty to the Serpents enough?"
"Maybe it could've been if you didn't care more about what I thought of you and screw it up," he snapped, and instantly regretted it seeing the hurt look on her face. "Angel Face, that's not what I-"
"Wow. Fuck you," she told him spitefully. "Your head is so far up your own ass it's hilarious. I can't believe I thought we could have a mature conversation about this. You clearly don't care about me enough to realise that I regret what happened more than anything."
Before Sweet Pea could say another word, Lauryn stormed out of the bedroom back into the living area where her brother and his boyfriend were, slumping down on the couch between them as they waited for her to say something.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Fangs asked quietly as Sweet Pea walked out as well, keeping his distance by the kitchen island where he opened another beer, listening in subtly.
"No, it's fine," Lauryn huffed, replaying his unkind words in her head. "Don't worry about it."
"We heard just about all of that, in case you were wondering," Jared muttered before taking a swig from the vodka bottle which was sat on the crumb-covered coffee table in front of them, offering it to her after which she refused with a gesture.
"Gold star, J," she retorted, refusing to look at him as her arms snaked through each other tightly.
There was a painfully long moment of silence, and Fangs switched off the TV which only made it more awkward, letting out a sigh. "What now, then, guys?"
"Do you wanna make our way over to the Whyte Wyrm?" Jared proposed, and getting out of that apartment was all Lauryn wanted, so she stood up first. "It's getting a little lame here."
"Yeah, this room was starting to feel a little too small," she remarked, shooting a hateful look at Sweet Pea who narrowed his eyes. "Or there's just too much stupidity in the air."
She was the first out of the apartment block, making it to the bottom of the stairs before the boys who were laughing and joking in their drunk states, but Sweet Pea remained silent. The anguish appeared to have sobered him up.
"Wait, guys, I'm gonna go grab a bottle of something," Jared spoke, taking Fangs' hand as they both made their way into the liquor store, leaving the couple awkwardly stood outside alone.
Lauryn leaned against the wall, her arms remaining in their folded position. She was debating on just going home to be by herself.
Sweet Pea brushed his wild bangs out of his face as he approached her, but they fell straight back into place over his eyes. "Uh, Lauryn?"
"What?" she replied lowly.
"I'm sorry for what I said," he said genuinely, expecting her to at least look at him but she didn't.
She let out a sigh, unable to get over what he said just yet. "Whatever."
As he opened his mouth to continue trying to win her over, Jared and Fangs came out of the store laughing with a bottle in a brown bag together, and the group began the walk to where their bikes were parked.
Down the sidewalk, they noticed a guy spray-painting a garage door, which wasn't a respectable act around Serpent property. Sweet Pea's territorial instinct sent him rushing over there first, the others trailing behind him.
"Hey!" he barked. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Back off, I'm not here for you," the guy who they instantly recognised as the Red Circle organiser answered, not bothering to even look at him.
"Oh, yeah? Then who's this message for, huh?" Sweet Pea interrogated, shoving the shorter boy around to face the Serpentshim so he was facing them. They observed the horribly marked circle on the door, and Sweet Pea's cheeks formed a grin. "Aw, hell. Don't tell me it's for the Black Hood. You believe this guy?"
"And people say we're the troublemakers," Fangs added, maintaining his spot beside Sweet Pea.
The boy ignored the remarks, trying to shoulder his way through the gang members, but was pushed back by the wall they'd formed mostly by Sweet Pea's tall build.
"Whoa," Sweet Pea eased, giving the Northsider the message that he didn't want to start that kind of trouble. "Southside Serpent country. You can't come here and tag our turf. So, why don't you get your ass back to the Northside before someone gets hurt?"
"Get out of my way, or someone will get hurt," the guy warned, and the Serpents merely laughed at him, wondering where he'd gotten such confidence from.
On cue, the Serpents took out their switchblades and ejected them with a click, Lauryn including, despite having no intention of using hers.
"You just made a big mistake," her boyfriend licked his lips, but then, the boy revealed a gun from inside of his jacket, pointing it straight at Sweet Pea's face.
"Who made a mistake?!" he asked as the Serpents started backing up, starting to flee. "Who made a mistake?!"
Sweet Pea stood still for a minute, slightly stunned, but Lauryn turned back to tug at his arm. "Let's go!"
The Serpents fled the scene, finally reaching their bikes where they shared a frenzy of trying to catch their breath. They were all unharmed, but then Lauryn felt her lungs turn to weights, and she placed a hand on her chest as she sat down on her bike for stability.
Noticing her state, Fangs rushed over to her which struck the attention of the other two, clasping her shoulders as he sensed that something was terribly wrong. "Lauryn? What's wrong?"
His sister couldn't speak, and all she could hear was her own heartbeat pulsing through every part of her body, sending ripples of dizziness through her vision. Her adrenaline paralysed her, and her brother then realised what was happening.
"She's having a panic attack," he called out, and Sweet Pea hurried over, tucking her hair behind her ears as he tried to get her to look up. Fangs backed up, running a hand through his hair as Jared came to his aid. "Shit."
"Hey, look at me," Sweet Pea told his girlfriend, having to kneel down in front of her as she wouldn't look up at him. "You're okay. Just look at me."
After a moment, her breathing began to slow down, and she regained awareness of her surroundings. Breaking eye contact with Sweet Pea which seemed to have grounded her, she covered her face with her hands, humiliated and distorted. "I'm sorry."
"Sis, you alright?" Fangs asked, and she could only manage a tiny nod in response.
"Fuck," she rasped, repeating herself unknowingly. "I'm sorry, that was..."
"Don't be sorry," Sweet Pea said softly, shaking his head as he moved her hands from her face, watching her eyes become teary. "That wasn't your fault."
She sighed. "I'm such a loser."
"No way. We just got a gun pointed at our faces, Laur. It's understandable that you're scared shitless," Jared reassured her, holding no judgement whatsoever. "Not gonna lie, I nearly shit my pants back there."
That wasn't all that was on her mind, and they had no idea. Though it was difficult to bear alone, she intended to keep it that way.
"I've lost that part of me that would've grabbed the gun from him and pinned it to his forehead," she admitted, fighting the urge to cry as it burned in her chest. "I have to stop pretending before someone gets hurt. He could've shot you--"
"Look, it doesn't matter, okay? I'm fine, and you're still you," Sweet Pea comforted, holding her hands and massaging them with his thumbs. "You're my girl, and no one's going to hurt you."
"Let's just forget about it, okay?" she requested before looking up at the others, pointing an index finger at them. "And don't you dare tell anyone I cried."
It was 3 in the morning when the couple finally made it back home, sober, however, since the night at the Wyrm had not consisted of the shenanigans it usually would've.
"Are you okay with that idea?" Sweet Pea asked his girlfriend after the emergency meeting he was the one that called. "Goin' to his house, all of us. Nothin' about Fangs having to prove anything. I admit that was dumb."
"Yeah, if it's what we gotta do to tell the Northside we're no joke," Lauryn agreed, sitting down on the couch to kick off her shoes. She then laid down, exhausted. "God, I've just been constantly tired lately."
"Listen," Sweet Pea began as he plopped down next to her, pulling her closer to his chest. "I'm sorry about how much of an ass I was earlier, there's no excuse. I feel so stupid."
"No, there isn't, and you should," she said. "But I forgive you because I trust you. I know you didn't mean what you said. You and booze? Bad mixture."
Sweet Pea chuckled lightly, before reflecting on the more serious part of the evening. "Are you sure you're okay after that panic attack? I've never seen you like that before. It honestly scared me."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... too much going on, I guess," she accidentally let slip, and luckily, he didn't think of a deeper meaning behind her words.
"Fangs knew what was goin' on straight away," he remembered. "It's not the first time, is it?"
"It happened a few times after my parents died," she explained. "I made him keep it a secret, though. No one needed to know I wasn't as stable as I presented myself as. The Lauryn Fogarty I showed the world was way more fun."
Sweet Pea raised his brow. "Jeez, you really didn't tell me anything back then, did you?"
"I did when it wasn't embarrassing. I still feel stupid."
"Having a mental breakdown isn't embarrassing, you can't help it. Do you have any idea what you've been through?" he rubbed her thigh. "Maybe it's okay if you start showing who you really are. Your friends aren't gonna love you any less."
She didn't want that. She didn't even want to think about that. Her mind's stubbornness flattened any doubts about her eventually bouncing back. There was time. "It's easier pretending I have no emotions."
"It's also unhealthy," he lectured her. "There's no winning this one. I'll help you, okay?"
Lauryn shook her head against his chest. "No. You don't need all this baggage piled on top of you. Let me deal with my shit alone. Can we talk about something else? I feel really stupid now."
"You couldn't be stupid if you tried, that's the Northside's job."
"I promise I'll come to you if things get bad, Sweet Pea," she gave in eventually, taking his hand. "But right now, I just want to go to sleep."
"Whatever you say, Angel Face."
All she could think about was how disappointed Sweet Pea would be finding out about how the Sheriff rescued her, and her cowardly relief. His hatred for the Northside was no joke, and on top of that, he'd likely go off the rails to behead Malachai.
Seeing him like that was the last thing she wanted, especially if he'd end up hurt.
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