"Are you hungry, babe?" Lauryn called from the kitchen the next day. Sweet Pea was sat on the couch drinking a beer, his face in the Riverdale Register as he jeered in amusement at the lies written about the Southside on almost every page.
"No, thanks," he responded, barely processing her question. "Do what you want, though."
"There's like nothing in here!" Lauryn remarked as she looked through every drawer of the freezer until she found one thing. "Sushi?"
"Hell, no," Sweet Pea got up, snatching the packet from her hands. "You can't have that, remember?"
"I'm craving it so bad now that I've seen it," she pouted, giving him puppy eyes. "One bite?"
"And I'm craving you so bad but your libido is nowhere to be found," he retorted jokingly, feeling up her slight curves. "I'm startin' to think you're not attracted to me anymore."
She laughed. "You think I asked to be this abstinent? The kid just isn't willing to share yet."
"Well," he hovered his face inches from hers. "I ain't waitin' nine months. You're mine, too."
"Maybe if you're lucky," Lauryn kissed him, feeling the vibration of him laughing against her lips. "But right now, my hunger drive is at its highest."
"How about I order a pizza?" he offered, and she let out a groan in relief.
"Hell, yeah. My hero."
He kissed her on the nose before grabbing his phone and the pizza menu from the noticeboard. "Hey, are you gonna come to school tomorrow?"
Lauryn frowned, watching as he dialled the number on his phone slower on purpose. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"
"Do you feel up to it? You're--"
Lauryn refused to hear him tell her that again. "I've been pregnant for the last two weeks, and I still went to school almost every day."
She ruffled his hair, and he dodged her to adjust it himself. Laughing, she latched onto his arm. "You're such a dork when no one's around. You know that?"
"How could I forget?" he replied, turning towards her. "Don't push yourself too hard tomorrow, okay? Take it easy. I know it's a hard environment for you to deal with right now, and I imagine all the Ghoulies know about what happened the other night."
"I will, only because I have another human to take care of now."
Sweet Pea completely disregarded his phone, cupping her cheeks. "Promise me that you won't keep any secrets from me like the one we had again? I can't stand fighting with you and, well... you know that I have a temper."
"You do. A short one, but that doesn't mean I love you any less."
"It's gonna be so weird being parents."
She giggled, still unable to properly imagine it. "Yeah, I know. Having a little Pea that we made screaming every night is gonna take some getting used to."
"Nah, we'll be all right. Can't be any louder than when you--"
"Stop!" she cringed, screwing her face up. "Order that damn pizza, please."
Laughing, he kissed her on the cheek. "You got it."
As the days went on, Lauryn's morning sickness seemed to have been getting worse, stretching to random times of the day where it was getting hard to hide. Toni was a godsend at school, helping to excuse her out of lessons when she needed to make a break for the restroom, and the guys kept away any prying eyes.
"Better?" Sweet Pea asked her when she finally emerged from the bathroom. He'd been waiting for her since she'd run off as they were walking together. He placed his hand on her back as she nodded tiredly. "Maybe you should make an extra appointment just to make sure everything is fine."
She nodded, taking his hand as she caught her breath. "Yeah, I was thinking about it, actually."
They heard the doors bang open, and to their surprise, Mayor McCoy was storming in with police officers decked at her sides, pointing vigorously at any Serpent she saw. Sweet Pea grabbed his girlfriend's hand, and he ran down the opposite hall, shoving anyone in front of them out of the way.
Spotting Archie trying to usher Jughead out of the school, he came to a sharp halt, shaking her by the shoulders. "Lauryn, you need to go now!"
"No!" she declined stubbornly. "Not without you."
"No way in hell am I letting you spend another night in that damn station," he vowed, cupping her pale cheeks. "Get the hell out! Go!"
"But--"
"I'll be fine," he kissed her, the fear in her eyes breaking his heart. He put a key into the palm of her hand, closing her fingers over it. "Go back to mine, and I'll see you later, I promise."
"I love you," she cried, throwing her arms around him to hug him before he squeezed her small figure before shoving her away as cops started to approach.
"I love you too, Angel Face!"
Lauryn felt another hand clasp her arm, and Jughead was yelling for Toni who was trying her best to catch up. They got out in time but had to witness Sweet Pea and Toni were caught defenselessly through the dusty windows, unable to do anything to help them.
Sweet Pea slammed his fist into the locker he was shoved against, watching as Lauryn screamed his name from outside, pressing her face up against the glass as the two boys tried to drag her back.
"Lauryn, we need to get out of here now!" Jughead roared, and they fled the school grounds amongst the swarm of lucky students who'd made it out in time, hiding behind a wall a block away to catch their breath.
"Why'd you do that, Jones?!" Lauryn spat viciously, getting an urge to hit him in the face. "I should be back there with them!"
"What, you think being locked up in a freezing cell is what's good for you right now?" Jughead snapped back, feeling Archie separate them as his eyes widened. "You could at least thank me!"
"What's up with her?" Archie asked, frowning.
Lauryn rolled her eyes, unwilling to speak to him after he pointed the gun at Sweet Pea. "Nothing that concerns you."
"Go home, Lauryn," Jughead advised her. "I'm gonna figure this out, and make sure Sweet Pea and Toni--"
"You don't think I want to help?!"
"I'll call you, okay?"
"Fuck you," she muttered, storming away from them towards where the bikes were parked to think about how to use her time productively. She was fuming, and as she drove past the cruisers parked across the white lines outside of the school, she considered keying them.
The stress had her all types of nauseous and shaky all day, and she wondered where her brother was. Every time she tried to call him, it went straight to voicemail, as did Jared's number, and she instantly assumed they were together.
Then, she finally got the call from Jughead she'd been waiting for. "Jones?"
"I'm texting you an address," he said on the other side of the phone without even bothering to say hello. "Meet me there in ten. This is Serpent business and I know you're familiar with its associates."
Lauryn scoffed, her head still over the toilet bowl. "You mean I'm the only one who listens to you and isn't locked up right now."
"Your choice of words, not mine," he retorted. "Archie's not coming with me, so I need you, Lauryn, despite your outburst at me earlier."
"Fine," she said. "I'm on my way."
--------
"Crap..." Lauryn whispered, recognising where they were from pictures on social media after they met up outside of a derelict-looking bar on the outskirts of town. "It's..."
"What is this place?" Jughead asked, trying not to touch the greasy walls of the bar as they journeyed down some rickety wooden steps into a dimly lit basement that smelt revolting.
"You'll know soon enough," Angel Face told him quietly, her eyes panning the room they were finding themself in for the one person she didn't want to see.
Tall Boy was down there waiting for them, appearing quite surprised to see Lauryn, but he certainly didn't look like he was going to complain.
"Sit down, kids," Tall Boy told them as he sat down himself, but they stayed put. "Business to discuss."
"Tall Boy, what the hell is this? Where are we?" Jughead demanded. Neither of the Serpents noticed Malachai creeping up behind them, and Lauryn jumped slightly as he breathed down her neck.
"You're in my house," he announced proudly. Angel Face tried to take a small step away as he grinned inches from her face, and she could smell the drugs on his breath which made her nose twitch. "It's the House of the Dead!"
Lauryn rolled her eyes, wondering how he could ever have been proud of the place. Malachai sat down near Tall Boy. His gaze remained on her still, surveying her up and down and licking her lips as if she were his prey.
"Well, I'm sorry, who the hell are you?" Jughead asked rudely, and Lauryn nudged him subtly.
"Take it easy, Jughead," Tall Boy scoffed. "Malachai speaks for the Ghoulies."
Jughead's facial expression changed, he then realised why Lauryn was so uneasy.
"The heat on us and our ranks depleted, our tribes need to unite and that's gonna be easier to do if you two endorse this partnership," the old man pointed at them, and it was almost like his finger pierced their souls.
"Us?" they both repeated in sync. He nodded, sitting up and looking at Jughead.
"You're FP's son, that carries weight, especially with our younger members," he began before moving onto Lauryn. "And from what Malachai's told me, it seems as if you're expecting, lady. What do you say you share that baby as a symbol of unity between our gangs?"
Lauryn scoffed, crossing her arms. "That's a joke, right? Are you on J.J? I'd never even let you within five-foot of my kid! The Ghoulies are unreliable and dangerous, and the Serpents would never get involved with that."
"Yeah, Tall Boy, and they're the reason Southside was even raided! Them and their Jingle Jangle!" Jughead added, touching her shoulder supportively as she stepped behind him.
"Chaos is how we thrive, and you better get used to it," Malachai grinned, grabbing a drink as he brushed off every one of their words, seeing no wrong in his words or actions. He and Tall Boy exchanged glances.
"Are you seriously going to do this to my dad? You're supposed to be his right hand," Jughead pointed at the old Serpent. "And for you to try and drag Lauryn's kid into this, I'd say you've got a nerve."
"The Northside declared war today," Tall Boy told them calmly. He stood up. "Your old man ain't here to call the shots. And yeah, I'm his right hand. That makes me De-Facto leader here and now. So... things are changing, Jones."
Lauryn caught Malachai's perverted gaze and felt the fury in her veins as she crossed her plaid shirt over herself. It was hard to stay calm, but she wasn't sure how to react to it without getting herself into more trouble.
"Either you change with them, or suffer the consequences," Tall Boy concluded.
Jughead shook his head adamantly. No way was he letting Tall Boy exploit the Serpents into going down a road of drug dealing, second-level illegal activity and constant trips to the Sheriff Station. As if things weren't bad enough already."
"Evolve or die, baby. Evolve or die," Malachai chanted, laughing to himself as he opened yet another straw of substance.
"Well, in that case, I guess I'm dying," Lauryn riposted before seeing herself out, followed by Jughead who struggled to keep up with her. "Fuck you."
"What's the deal with you and the Ghoulies?" Jughead asked Lauryn outside when he stopped her from getting on her bike, giving her a second to breathe.
"Just before you started at Southside, there was a streetfight, no weapons involved. I volunteered up against Malachai and he stabbed me," Lauryn explained, picking up her helmet. "He wants to finish me off because of how I used to mess with the Ghoulies, and he teamed up with another Serpent called Skye who has a creepy thing for Sweet Pea to take me down."
Blown away, Jughead blinked twice. "Woah, I had no idea."
"Yeah, and now he's gotten the baby involved and I can't help but feel like that's my fault. God, Sweet Pea will be so upset," she stressed, only imagining his reaction. "Why did I have to get pregnant now?"
Jughead chuckled, not finding a single thing about the situation funny except her comment. "Relax. It'll be fine. He cares about you clearly, since he doesn't like me all that much."
"Like you still care about Betty?" Lauryn asked, watching as he blushed.
"I do care about her," Jughead sighed. "But... I don't know. It's weird."
"Spill, Sythe."
"Toni and I kissed, and she stayed over. We didn't... do anything at all but when we were at Pop's, she told me that she was more into girls," he said. "It kind of made me realise that I was going off the rails because of Betty. I miss her, I can't lie."
"So you're gonna work things out with her?"
"From what Archie told me, I don't really think I want to speak to her."
Lauryn tilted her head. "Fair enough, it was a little harsh. Even for a Northsider."
"You and your Northside slander."
As soon as Lauryn got home, the smell of pasta filled her nose, and her eyes lit up when she saw Sweet Pea in the kitchen. "You're home!"
She threw her arms around him, inhaling his smell at the first chance she got. He chuckled, running his fingers through her soft hair. "Of course, Angel Face. Didn't I promise?"
"You did," she pulled away to analyse him. "I missed those eyes."
"Likewise," he smiled. "Toni's out, too, by the way. They got nothin' on us."
"What about Fangs? Was he there?"
Sweet Pea frowned, shaking his head. "No. Neither was Jared."
Shrugging, Lauryn opened her arms to hug him again. "They're probably together somewhere."
"Yeah," he returned. "Where were you just now?"
"Let me explain over a bowl of your famous spaghetti."
--------