"I don't think the caffeine boy is sleeping tonight"
After a very stressful and terrifying weekend at Shadow Lake, Stevie learned things didn't go that much better in Riverdale. Kevin and Josie found out their parents were seeing each other and it broke Kevin's heart.
Stevie felt terrible. Kevin was her closest and longest friend and while she was out with her boyfriend, he was dealing with this by himself.
She also found out that Toni and Cheryl had bonded over the weekend and Toni had grown to like the bombshell more than she thought. It also took a lot to convince her dad to keep the cat they found; he finally agreed after she told him he wouldn't have to worry about taking care of Oreo and that she would spend time over at Sweet Pea's.
Jughead had been working on the latest piece about Hiram Lodge and after everything that happened over the weekend, Stevie supported him 100%.
Their dad had been working his ass of at Pop's since he got out and Stevie was proud of him. FP was a very prideful man so she knew that it wasn't easy on him to work at Pop's, getting bossed around by teenagers all day.
Jughead was at the table working on his piece about Hiram while Stevie was laying on the couch, texting Kevin about what Betty was making him do to Chic while also planning the musical this year.
Stevie looked up at the sound of keys in the door as FP walked in.
"Hey." Jughead greeted as FP took in the wall in the kitchen. Jughead had mapped out all of Riverdale, pinning up everything he could about Hiram Lodge.
"What's all this?"
"Hopefully, this is the article that saves the town from Hiram Lodge." Jughead explained, pouring his fourth cup of coffee. At this point, he could give Stevie a run for her money on being a caffeine addict.
"Jughead..." FP started
"If I can fit the pieces together."
"Boy, you need to drop this. He saved us." FP argued, causing Stevie to raise her eyebrows, "By save, you mean buying out Sunnyside so he can take it away from us at any time."
FP gave her a pointed look, her holding her hands up in surrender.
"He bought the trailer park. Forgave our debts." FP looked between his two kids
"What? He's the reason we almost lost the trailer park." Jughead said in disbelief as Stevie agreed, "Considering he's the one who had Kev's dad hand out the eviction notices in the first place."
"Hiram's slicker than a bottle of snake oil, no doubt," FP pointed out, "but this is-"
Jughead cut him off, holding his head in his hands, "Dad, please!"
"Hiram Lodge just bought the Riverdale Register." Stevie told him, hopping onto the counter as FP joined Jughead at the table.
"He's trying to silence dissenting voices before he makes his big play," Jughead started, "he's afraid of this exposure."
"Betty's mom called her while we were at Shadow Lake," Stevie started, ignoring the look she got from her brother, "she was freaking out. Alice couldn't get ahead of Betty's dad."
"Jesus." FP sighed, placing his head in his hands. Stevie slid off the counter, placing her hand on her dad's shoulder, "why don't you take the bed tonight? I don't think the caffeine boy is sleeping tonight."
FP nodded, standing up from the table as he kissed her on the head, patting Jughead on the shoulder as he made his way down the hallway.
"Please tell me one of those coffees is mine." Stevie begged, walking into the lounge where her boyfriend and two best friends were.
Sweet Pea handed her the extra cup that she took with a big smile. She leaned down to give him a kiss, "This is why I love you."
"Did you not have coffee this morning?" Toni chuckled as Stevie sat on the arm of the chair Sweet Pea was in, the boy wrapping his arm around her waist as she wrapped one of her arms around his neck.
"No. Jughead drank almost all the coffee last night," Stevie explained, "And then Kev and I were up all night discussing the musical so I slept through my alarm."
"You're into musicals?" Sweet Pea questioned, looking up at his girlfriend in confusion.
"When one of your best friends is a Broadway fanatic, you learn to like them." Stevie shrugged, all but downing most of her coffee.
"How's Jughead's story coming along?" Toni asked as Stevie sighed, "He's stuck. He can't figure out how to continue with it because he can't figure out Hiram's motives."
"He's talking to Archie right now because he and his dad had dinner at the Lodge's last night so he's trying to get information out of him." Stevie continued
"After what happened this weekend, " Sweet Pea stated, "I'm surprised they're even talking."
"Jug and Archie have always been like this though. They didn't talk to each other for a while until the start of this school year."
"Wait, what happened this weekend?" Fangs asked as Toni nodded in agreement. The couple shared a look, debating whether or not to talk about what happened at the lake.
"Hiram bought Sunnyside, Southside High, and he bought the Riverdale Register." Stevie told the two who looked back at her in shock, "What?"
"And, of course, Andrew's defended it because he's an ass kisser. He and Jughead got into it." Sweet Pea added
"It also doesn't help that Cheryl called him and told Jughead that she saw Betty and Archie kissing during Christmas." Stevie said
Toni and Fangs sat quiet, trying to process everything they were just told in a short amount of time.
"All the good stuff happens when we're not around." Toni laughed
Jughead had told Stevie that Hiram wanted Fred Andrews to run against Mayor McCoy in the reelections. And that Hiram also bought Pop's. Stevie was pissed. Pop's was her favorite place in Riverdale. Every Saturday night growing up, FP and Gladys would take their three kids to get milkshakes after dinner.
Her and Sweet Pea also went there after the night her dad got arrested and they had bonded. It's what got them to where they are now. This is just what her brother needed to get people to see what kind of person Hiram Lodge actually was.
Toni told Stevie that Cheryl invited her to Clifford Blossom's will reading. Stevie already loved the two of them together. Toni always felt alone because living in a town like Riverdale, meant living in a town of small minded people who weren't very accepting.
"I'm sorry, what?" Stevie coughed, trying to process what Toni just told her. Toni had called her after everyone left Thornhill after the will reading and Stevie was not expecting what Toni just told her
"Alice Cooper stormed in and announced the Blossom's were inbred. Betty's dad is a Blossom, Stevie." Toni laughed
"Hang on a second," Stevie shot up off the bed at her realization, "Betty's sister Polly was seeing Jason Blossom before he was killed. They have kids...which means..." Stevie started
"Polly slept with her cousin and had little inbred babies." Toni finished. Stevie laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, "And suddenly, the Jones family is no longer the messed up family in Riverdale."
"That's not even the best part," Toni continued. Stevie sat up once again, eyes wide in excitement, "There's more?!?"
"Cheryl's dad had a twin brother. Claudius Blossom," Toni explained, "Cheryl saw him and passed out."
"Holy shit." Stevie sighed, leaning on her elbows, "And I thought my family had secrets."
'Cheryl's been through so much this year," Stevie said in a quiet voice, "first her dad kills her brother, then kills himself, leaving her with her psycho mother. And now this?"
"I get why Cheryl has this tough exterior," Toni sighed, "her mom found her and a girl from camp together and told Cheryl it was wrong. Her mom all but stormed into her room when I showed up earlier, telling her this kind of behavior would not be tolerated."
Stevie had a look of shock on her face, not expecting that at all. Of all the people in Riverdale, Cheryl was the last person she would expect to be a lesbian.
"Holy shit," Stevie let out, running her hand through her hair, "how can someone do that to their child?"
"That's what she and I bonded over. I told her about my uncle not liking the fact that I liked girls. But I also told her I had three amazing best friends who didn't think less of me when I told them." Toni said in a soft voice.
Stevie shrugged, "You were my first friend when I transferred to Southside High, Toni. You treated me like a normal person instead of Serpent royalty like everyone else. I would never think anything less of you. Unless, you like pickles, cause then we gonna have words."
Toni laughed at her best friend, not understanding where her hatred of pickles came from.
"I love you, Toni."
"I love you, too Stevie."
Both Jughead and Stevie sat on the couch in their trailer as FP stood by the kitchen as Jughead explained to the two what he learned today.
"Hiram's gonna beat the clock, "he started, "feels like he's two or ten steps ahead of me. He's lapping me!"
"He's been winning at this game a lot longer than you two have been alive." FP explained
"Yeah, because he's been rigging the game," Stevie said, "and everyone's been afraid to come out against him."
FP took a breath as he sat next to Jughead on the couch, "You know, uh...there's one person you haven't asked to go on the record yet."
The two siblings shared a look before looking at their dad, "Who?"
"Me." FP answered
"Ya know, back in the day, Hiram asked me and the Serpents to trash the drive-in so he could buy it at a rock-bottom price."
"We complied." He finished
Stevie didn't take her eyes off her brother as FP told him. The Twilight Drive-In was Jughead's favorite place. He, Stevie, and Jelly-Bean would go there twice a week. And Jughead actually spent some time living in the projection house.
"On purpose?" Jughead asked, "You worked for Hiram Lodge?"
"I'll own up to that," FP confirmed, "on the record, if it'll help you bring him down."
Jughead's phone went off before he could answer his dad. The two watched him as he stood up, walking around the coffee table as he answered, "hello?"
Jughead pulled his phone away not even a minute later, turning to look at his dad and sister.
"Who was that?"
"I have no idea," he answered, moving to grab his bag, "But you may not have to go on the record just yet."
Stevie scooted closer to her dad, "Why didn't you tell me about the drive-in? I was part of the Serpents by then."
"I didn't want to drag you into business with Hiram," FP told her, "I didn't want to give him something to hold against you for situations like this."
"Dad..."
"I know I wasn't the best dad, Steph. I know I checked out after your mom left," he continued, "But when it comes to Serpent business with anyone dangerous like Peabody and Hiram Lodge, I don't want that to blow back on my kids."
Stevie's heart warmed at her dad's words. No matter what was going on, FP was always looking out for her kids. Stevie grabbed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder, "I love you, dad."
"I love you, too Bug.'
"Did you know about my dad and the Serpents trashing the drive-in?" Stevie asked, laying her head on Sweet Pea's chest.
After Jughead left, Stevie needed a break from all the Hiram drama. She told her dad she was spending the night at Sweet Pea's.
"I remember a few older Serpents talking about a high-paying job but I didn't know it was the drive-in." He answered
"He told Jughead and I that Hiram paid him to trash it so he could buy it at a low price."
"Jesus." Sweet Pea scoffed, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. This was her favorite place to be. Laying with her boyfriend, not a care in the world. No Serpent business, no northside issues. Just two teenagers spending time together.
Stevie heard a quiet meow and rolled on her side to pick up Oreo. She placed her on Sweet Pea's chest as he used his index finger to rub the top of her head. Oreo shut her eyes and let out little purrs. Stevie smiled at the sight in front of her. Never did she think she would ever be in this situation. Let alone with Sweet Pea. But she always loved any quiet moment she could get with him.
"What's got you so smiley?" Sweet Pea asked, placing his arm around her again, causing her to turn her head to look up at him, "Just thinking about how much my life has changed in the last six months."
"How so?" He questioned as she shrugged, "Six months ago, I was the girl from Southside who had daddy issues. I barely saw my brother, you and I didn't get along and I had a strong opinion about the Northside."
"Now, my dad and I are better than ever. I'm friends with Northsiders, and you and I are dating and I got my brother back."
"You're the only person I know who could go through all of that in a short amount of time and not go crazy." Sweet Pea laughed, placing a kiss on her forehead, "No, you just drive me crazy."
He threw his head back with a laugh, looking back at her with a loving look in his eyes, "Wouldn't be your boyfriend if I didn't."
A/N
Hello and Welcome back to 'Underbelly'
I know it's been a long ass time since I've done anything with this but so much has happened since I last did this. I got into Sons of Anarchy and started a book about that. But since Netflix just added season 5, I got back into writing for this story again.
I know this chapter is short but there wasn't really any serpent interaction in this episode so I tried to add Stevie in as much as possible. It's mainly just a filler until the next episode!