"Who knows?" Fangs choked, and Fallon couldn't look him in the eye.
"Betty. Sweet Pea, obviously. And FP." Fallon said, and she found the strength to look at her older brother. "I don't blame you, you know." He said finally, and Fallon gave him a confused look. "Y-you...you don't?"
"No. I blame Sweet Pea."
"I swear to God, Fangs, if you lay one finger on my boyfriend--"
"I won't, shortstack. I was kidding. Although this is no way in hell the best timing, I'm excited to meet this little snake. I'm gonna be a kickass uncle." He smiled, and Fallon burst into tears. "Woah, woah, woah, what? What did I say?" Fangs said, alarmed, and Fallon wiped her eyes as she yanked her brother into a hug. "I really fucking love you, Fangs. And I'm pregnant, give my emotions a break."
"Oh. Oh! Gotcha." He said, wrapping his arms around her. She smiled into his t-shirt, feeling like everything was gonna be alright.
Nobody had any idea what was coming next.
The next week at school, Fallon, Sweet Pea, Jughead, Fangs, Toni, and Jughead's Northside friends were sitting at a table discussing Veronica's latest betrayal in the name of her parents.
"I just loved your spin piece in the paper, Olivia Pope." Jughead snapped at her, and she sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"Can we not, Jughead?"
"Did you know about Southside High closing? Or the prison?" Fallon asked sharply, and Betty gave her a look.
"Of course not. That was all her parents' doing. Right, V?"
"She didn't know, Fallon, okay? So, back off. You too, Jughead." Archie growled, and Jughead shrugged indifferently.
"Fine. I have to conserve my energy anyhow. I'm going on a hunger strike to protest Southside High closing and to get it reopened."
Archie snorted, and Fallon shot daggers at him while Jughead looked mad as hell.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, man. It's just you're, like, always eating." Archie laughed.
"I mean, good luck with that, but hey, it's Jughead's prerogative to protest peacefully, so we're gonna support that, aren't we?" Betty said pointedly, and Fallon would have said more if it wasn't for one Ethel Muggs approaching their table.
"Veronica?"
"Oh, hey, Ethel." Veronica said, and Ethel did not smile back.
"For your crimes against the town of Riverdale, for everything that you and your family have done and continue to do, we find you guilty. Your sentence is this." She said, a dead look on her face.
Without warning, Ethel threw the contents of the cup in her hands straight into Veronica's face, the large strawberry milkshake splashing all over her face, hair, and clothes.
Sharp gasps echoed around the cafeteria as Fallon and the Serpents let out stifled laughter, a dark glee burning in Fallon's veins. Sweet Pea and Fangs didn't do much to conceal their chuckles, Kevin and Josie's expressions Fallon's particular favorites.
At Betty's behest, Fallon followed Betty and the humiliated Veronica to the bathroom, where Fallon leaned against the wall as Betty and Veronica tried to clean Veronica up.
"The chilling thing is Ethel went through the trouble of bringing that milkshake here from Pop's. I mean, how mad is she?" Betty asked, and Fallon rolled her eyes.
"My dad is responsible for the Muggs family losing basically everything. And he still hasn't made amends, so, Ethel has a right to be upset." Veronica sighed.
"So do you. Are you sure you're okay?" Betty asked quietly, and Veronica gave her a grateful look.
"I'll manage."
"I'm impressed, I'll give you that. I'd want to rip Ethel's head off." Fallon chuckled darkly.
"As my mom keeps saying, this is not the time for drama and flying off the handle. I just need to...take deep breaths, keep smiling, turn the other cheek. Give Ethel a wide berth." Veronica said with a smile, and turned back to the mirror.
___________________
"Veronica! I heard you got a face full of dairy. I've got some nuts to top off that shake if you want." Reggie called in the hallway, making Betty, Veronica, and Fallon stop dead in their tracks.
As much as Fallon didn't like Veronica Lodge, she hated Reggie Mantle more.
"Leave her alone, Reggie." She hissed, and Veronica gave him a glare.
"You do not want to push me right now, Reggie."
"One question I gotta ask, as future Student Body President. What are the odds your dad's the first inmate in that prison he's building? Oh, man. That's gonna be shitty for your mom." He laughed, and before Fallon could rip him limb from limb, Veronica turned around and delivered a vicious right hook to Reggie's jaw.
"Holy fuck, Lodge!" Fallon gasped as Reggie hit the floor, stunned beyond belief.
Veronica turned on her heel and fled the scene, her eyes ablaze as Betty and Fallon followed after her, unable to believe what she'd done.
___________________________
"This isn't a demolition notice. It's a notice of extermination." Jughead barked, and Fangs sighed. "We've already said our goodbye to Southside, Jughead."
"Today, it's Southside High. Tomorrow, it's the world. Everything that makes the Southside home is gonna disappear. If we roll over now, it's all over." He sighed, and Toni gave him a look.
"It's just a building, Jug." She said.
"No! Toni, it's the soul of the Southside. They fought and died trying to protect that land.
Our parents fought to keep it safe during the riots. Now it's our turn. It's our time. This is our fight. So who's with me? Who's ready to go to war?" He begged, and Fallon stood.
"I will. I'm with you, Sythe, come what may."
"Me too." Sweet Pea spoke up, and one by one, the Serpents agreed. They'd fight till the last man for the Southside, their home.
___________________________
"Well, well, well. The cavalry's finally here." Jughead said bitterly as Archie Andrews approached the nine Serpents, who had decided that the best plan of action was to chain themselves to the school.
"Guess that means we've got Hiram's attention." Fallon sighed.
"Are you nuts? Chaining yourself to this place? They're gonna tear it down in two days, dude." Archie spat at Jughead, and the younger Jones merely smiled.
"Not unless Hiram wants the blood of nine young Serpents on his hands. We're not going anywhere."
"Go and tell your boss we said that." Fallon hissed at Archie, her eyes blazing.
The redhead sighed, and walked back towards the North, leaving the Serpents behind.
_______________________
Betty came the next day, far more sympathetic than Archie had been.
"God, why didn't you call me last night, Jug? I mean, Fallon is pregnant for God's sake! Why isn't she home?" She said the last part under her breath.
"Hey, trust me, we tried to convince her, but she was having none of it." Jughead grinned tiredly, and then did a poor imitation of Fallon's voice. "Baby or not I'm sitting here and you dumbasses are gonna like it!"
Betty rolled her eyes, sitting down next to her boyfriend. "I would have brought you and your crew blankets."
"You would have tried to stay the night."
"Are you sure you're not gonna get arrested for trespassing or protesting without a permit?" She asked, and Fallon, who had been listening from her spot tucked snugly in between Sweet Pea and Fangs, spoke up.
"Oh, that's the beauty of all this, Betty. See, if Sheriff Keller and his goons try and manhandle a bunch of teens peacefully trying to save their former school, it's just gonna look ugly. Not to mention, probably go viral, which at this point, it is publicity I would welcome. Also, no one's gonna mess with those guys over there." She pointed to FP and about fifteen older Serpents, who leaned against their bikes and smoked, the fumes curling into the air like snakes.
"Good point. I have some Student Council obligations with Veronica, but I'll be back later tonight, okay?" She said, kissing Jughead on the cheek.
"Go get 'em, Tracy Flick." He smiled, watching her as she walked away.
_______________________
"Last man and woman standing. What happened to no Serpent left behind?" FP asked Jughead and Fallon later that night, and Fallon curled closer into Jughead's side, who'd promised Sweet Pea he'd keep her warm till he got back.
"Ah, they were claimed by frostbite. They'll be back after some coffee. They'll warm up." She said, and the elder Jones chuckled.
"Too bad. I got a dozen burgers. Guess they're all yours now. Come on, kids. It's just you and me. I'm not gonna tell anyone you broke your hunger strike." Jughead sighed and dug in while Fallon laughed.
"I didn't start one to begin with. Growing a child, remember?" She said, and FP rolled his eyes.
"Right, right. So, uh, just like clockwork, I got a call from Hiram."
Fallon and Jughead both stopped eating to look at him.
"What's he offering this time?" Jughead growled.
"You know how they're saying SoDale will mostly be low income housing? Well, apparently, there'll be a few penthouses at the top. Would be more than enough space for all of us. Your mom, Jellybean. Just like you always wanted." FP shrugged. Jughead fixed him with a hard glare.
"Just imagine me, standing on that balcony and looking over a prison Right in the same spot that all my friends and I used to go to school. And Jellybean, growing up in a town where her best hope, or only hope aside from getting the hell out, is to work at the prison? It's not right. What'd you say to him?"
FP grinned at the two confused teenagers, unwrapping a burger.
"Nothing. I hung up on his ass and went to Pop's and got some burgers."
___________________________
"Save our school! Save our school!" The gathered Southsiders chanted, a crowd gathering fast and phone cameras starting to record.
"Uh oh..." Fallon said, grabbing Sweet Pea's arm as Archie, followed by the Riverdale Bulldogs, appeared, all of them carrying a pair of bolt cutters.
FP stepped in front of Archie, placing a hand on his chest as he practically bared his teeth. "Cops may let you by, Red, but you come in here acting like a big man and I will knock you down."
"Dad, don't! They'll throw you in jail. Don't give him an excuse." Jughead shouted, and unwillingly, FP backed away.
"Are they gonna hurt us?" Fallon asked Sweet Pea, eyes wide. Normally she'd be ready and more than happy to fight, but she knew if she got hit anywhere from her neck to her hips, it could possibly be game over for the small but defined bump resting directly between her hip bones.
"They lay a hand on you and Fangs and I will break as many bones as we can." Sweet Pea rumbled, every muscle in his body taut. I
"I'm sorry, Jughead." Archie said, stopping in front of his former friend.
"Me too. I'm not gonna fight you, Archie. Look around. It may have taken a couple of days, but now people know what Hiram's doing, what's happening here. This fight is not gonna go away. We're not gonna go away. So go on, cut us down. I want them to see you do it." Jughead spat, holding his hands out.
Without hesitation, Archie cut the chains on Jughead's hands in half.
One by one, the Bulldogs cut the Serpent's chains, many of the Bulldogs sneering and shoving the leather clad teens as they walked away.
One put a hand on Fallon's shoulder, but was quickly shoved away by her skyscraper of a boyfriend, who stared him down with a gaze like knives.
"You lay a hand on her again and I will make sure you never walk again." Fangs spat, placing a hand on Fallon's back, Sweet Pea throwing an arm around her shoulders.
The Serpents headed back to Sunnyside, Fangs, Sweet Pea, and Fallon going straight to the Fogarty trailer.
"I can't believe this," Sweet Pea fumed, pacing around as Fallon sank into the couch, feeling nauseated and cranky. "I'm gonna murder those Bulldogs."
"Pea, shut up. My head hurts and you are not making it better." She groaned, and she heard Fangs huff from the kitchen. "Sorry, Blue Eyes." Sweet Pea said, quieting down and sitting next to her. "How's the little one?"
"It seems to be doing alright." She said, hand resting over her bellybutton.
"Good." He said, giving her a gentle kiss.
"I love you," He said, kissing Fallon, and then lowered his head to kiss her belly. "And I love you."
Fallon gasped, and Sweet Pea looked alarmed. "What? What's wrong?"
"It nudged me!" She said excitedly, and Sweet Pea wasted no time in placing both hands on her stomach, his face absolutely lighting up when he felt a nudge against his palm, tears coming to his sparkling eyes.
"Oh," Fallon gasped, tears filling her eyes and running down her cheeks. "I love you." Sweet Pea said, kissing her long and full.
"I love you too." Fallon wept, her heart feeling amazingly full.