#serpents

quick reminder my serpents, even if you are deeply in love with someone, never forget to love yourself the most

Sage’s deal with FP was simple and fair.

She must attend school every day and graduate. She was also required to help out the club with any outstanding tasks. Most of the time, it was simple runs and drops, but there was also sometimes the grunt work, sweeping, cleaning, stocking the Whyte Worm and so on. On rare occasions, there were special little projects. Like, for example, delivering the surprise in the box for the waitress at Pop’s. It always made her feel important when FP trusted her with tasks like that.

As long as Sage kept up her end of the bargain, FP gave Sage a place to live and allowed her to be in the Serpents. Those were the conditions. Before that, she had tried her best to make it work with no experience in the real world, no job, no money, no family, all while staying under the radar from social services. Eventually, she stumbled across the Serpents, who became home base and her family.

Unbeknownst to most, the Whyte Worm had nine rooms in various sizes upstairs above the bar. Some members crashed there temporarily between housing, some borrowed the space for a drunken one night stand after one too many bourbon shots. FP kept a room for himself, which he used as an office a place to meet with other members privately.

But FP had reserved the smallest room at the end of the hall for her to stay in. He furnished the room with a small twin bed with a lumpy mattress, an old desk, and a wicker dresser. There was one tiny window placed in the center of the wall, her bed to the left of it, the dresser to the right. She tacked a blanket up to keep the early morning light out. Other than that, it had been up to her to find an old microwave which she kept on top of her dresser for her daily dinners of ramen soup and green tea.

Simple but home.

Simplicity was her style.

Perhaps the biggest drawback was the lack of shower and the bathroom was down the hall. But as usual, she found a way to make it work, using the bathroom sink to freshen up daily, or in dire situations, braving the gym locker room at school for a real shower. Another negative was the constant noise and smelled of cheap tequila and cigarettes. But so came the price of living above a bar.

A perk of becoming a Serpent also allowed Sage to earn a little money. Aside from a roof over her head, she was able to earn extra from some of the jobs she did. Essentially it was pennies since she was on the bottom of the totem pole, but she was disciplined and she managed to save most of what she earned only spending what she absolutely needed to. She hoped by the time she graduated, she would have enough saved to rent or even own a trailer in Sunnyside and have a real place of her own someday.

Sage’s anxiety was spiraling out of control, her head reeling from accidentally hearing the two men outside her room the night prior. For the first time in months, she genuinely felt unsafe, an uneasiness stirring in the pit of her stomach. The threat of the outside world was an everyday occurrence, but threats within the family concerned her. They swore an oath and to go against that was mutiny. They weren’t just waiting for FP to fail, they were counting on it.

She knew she needed to find Toni immediately to help her unravel her concerns.

“We’ve got to talk!” Sage exclaimed, grabbing Toni’s arm, pulling her against the row of lockers out of the bustle of bodies slumping through the hallway.

Toni stared at her wordlessly, drinking in her wild eyes and tight jawline. “Wha—”

“I heard something last night, I definitely should not have heard,” she interrupted.

“What the hell happened?” Toni’s own eyes widened wearily.

“I was upstairs in my room and I heard two men talking outside in the hall about FP. Toni, they want him out.”

“Whoa, whoa, what? Out of what?” She kicked her foot up and back against the locker, hugging her books tight into her chest.

“The Serpents, Toni! They said about how he’s dropped the ball and put us all at risk. And something about FP torching the car that Jason Blossom took to get rid of the evidence.”

“Oh my god, what?! You need to slow down and explain everything. I need details.” Toni said, holding her hand up.

“Mornin’ ladies,” Sweet Pea sauntered over. He immediately picked up on their protective stance and hushed voices. “Uh, am I interrupting something?” He looked between them

“Always, Sweet Pea,” Toni teased, patting him on his broad chest.

Sage rubbed the back of her neck, nervously. “We’ll finish talking about this tonight. I’ll explain everything and we can try to piece it together. But, I think I was right.”

“Piece what together?” Sweet Pea asked. “Right about what?”

Sage looked at Toni wearily. Should they fill him in?

Toni gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, making the decision for both of them. “We’ll tell you tonight, but we need to go somewhere private.”

“My place is out,” Sage stated plainly.

Sweet Pea thought for a moment. “Let’s go to my trailer.”

***

Toni and Sweet Pea sat side by side on a raggedy plaid couch in his living room, while Sage sat on the carpeted floor across from them, cross legged.

Sage had never been to his place before prior to this. It appeared smaller than she thought with two small bedrooms, one bathroom. The kitchen and living room were only separated by a counter that served as a breakfast nook. Sweet Pea rarely spoke of his folks, so Sage wasn’t sure if he lived with them or not. The bedroom doors were closed and gave nothing away. Although it wasn’t exactly clean, it wasn’t dirty either. It was just very lived in. A pile of dirty clothes in the middle of the living room and towels draped over a temporary and makeshift clothesline in the kitchen.

“Alright,” Sweet Pea said, rubbing his face before tucking his dog tags back under his shirt. “Start from the beginning.”

“First,” Sage began, “you need to promise me this stays here… in this dingy, dimly lit trailer.”

“Hey, don’t hate. And yes, I promise.”

Sage smiled as Toni positioned herself to get more comfortable on the couch, tucking her legs under her slim frame. “I told Toni this, but a few weeks ago, I went to FP’s trailer after a drop and I saw Jason Blossoms jacket hanging in his closet. I asked him about it but he shrugged it off and called it ‘insurance’. FP also met some woman at the drive-in. My theory is maybe she paid FP to have Blossom killed.”

“No, no,” Sweet Pea shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong. She was the buyer for the Twilight Drive-In. Well– her husband was. Word is, he’s in jail but he used her to secure the deal. He paid FP to have the Serpents trash the drive-in so he could buy the land for at a lower price.”

Toni and Sage looked at each other and then back at him. “How do you know that?” asked Toni.

“Joaquin told me. FP and Joaquin have been real tight since the summer.”

A light bulb went off. The takeout bag she retrieved from the waitress and given to Mustang, had been filled with stacks of bills.

“So… the reason why he had me drop off the snake for her was because she didn’t pay him enough. It was just a warning,” she said thoughtfully. “But it had nothing to do with Blossom like I thought. It was all orchestrated around the drive-in, which worked.”

Toni nodded. “Yes, okay, that makes sense. But something else happened. What had you pawing at me this morning?”

Sage twirled the pendant on her necklace, rolling it between her fingers. “Two guys were outside my room talking last night. The first thing that took me by surprise was about how FP took a job with Andrew’s Construction.”

“Why the hell would he do that?” questioned Sweet Pea, sitting up a little straighter, eyes narrowing. He too hadn’t heard this piece of information yet.

“I think he really wants to clean it up for Jughead. You know, try and make things right finally,” Sage trailed off.

“Yea, that’s bull,” retorted Sweet Pea. “He was so out of his mind drunk at the bar last night, Mustang had to drag him away from Hog Eye to get him home in one piece.”

“I don’t know, maybe he needed the money?” Sage suggested half-heartedly.

“We all need money.” scoffed Toni. She softened after a moment. “But maybe he really is trying to keep tabs on things on the Northside, especially the Cooper girl throwing out that Blossom worked for the Serpents. Or maybe he really is trying to get his family back. Both are viable hypotheses, really.”

Sweet Pea shrugged, tossing a side glance at her. “Okay, nerd.”

Toni leaned over and punched him in the arm.

“There’s more,” Sage continued before Sweet Pea retaliated. “They mentioned something about FP torching evidence. Jughead and some other girl found it and went to the police.”

“Snitch!” Sweet Pea exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the couch arm. Toni jumped.

“Sweet Pea…” Sage chided gently.

“What car?” Toni asked.

“If it had evidence, I’m sure it had to do with Blossom again.” Sweet Pea said, still frowning deep.

“Which still makes me think that maybe FP actually did kill Blossom.” Sage pointed out.

“So… what if he did?” contemplated Sweet Pea.

The group was quiet for a moment, pondering over what that meant to each of them.

“What about the two guys?” Toni wondered redirecting her attention to Sage.

“All I know is that they are counting on FP failing and I think they are planning on trying to throw FP under the bus out so they can take over the club.”

Silence came over them again.

“That’s a pretty bold accusation.” Toni swallowed.

“I’m telling you, they want FP to take the fall for something. They are waiting for an opportunity and they are actively plotting against him.

“Goes against our code.” Sweet Pea growled. “Who was it?”

“I couldn’t see one of them,” she admitted truthfully, “but I saw the other guy. It was Mustang.”

Toni exhaled a swoosh of air from her lungs. “Crap.”

“Watch your back, guys. I think shit’s gonna hit the fan soon.” Sage warned.

Sweet Pea rubbed his hands on his thighs anxiously. “Well… that didn’t answer anything. I just have more questions now.”

Sage smiled, tiredly. “Welcome to my life.”

They all were startled again when the door flew open, slamming into the wall. Joaquin stumbled in, looking around at the three of them. “Guys…” he said breathlessly. “You won’t believe what just happened.”

“What is it?” Toni stood up immediately, sensing his urgency.

“Jughead was just taken into custody by the police. He’s a suspect in the Blossom murder.”

Entire Work: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19441756/chapters/47562346

fangs:if i run and jump at sweet pea, he’ll certainly catch me in his arms

fangs running towards him: COMING IN !!!

sweet pea: NO! IM HOLDING HOT COFFEE-

sweet pea: *drops coffee to catch him* fuck you, fangs.

black hood: *points gun at sweet pea and toni*

black hood: give me all of your money if you want to live!

sweet pea: bold of you to assume i want to live

toni: bold of you to assume i have money

fangs, getting shot: guys, now is not the time

Fangs: Hey what time is it?

Sweet Pea: I don’t know, pass me the trombone and I’ll find out.

Sweet Pea: [blasts the trombone]

Toni:Who the FUCK is playing the trombone at TWO IN THE FUCKING MORNING?

Sweet Pea: It’s two A.M.

Fangs:… Figured

Fangs:What country has the most birds?

Sweet Pea: Portu-geese.

Fangs:Wait, that’s a language.

Sweet Pea:Portu-gull.

Fangs: Nice recovery. Or should I say re-dove-ry

[later]

Fangs:Turkey. How did we miss Turkey?

SweetPea:Don’t say a word

Fangs:… fergalicious

SweetPea:I said no words!

Fangs:Oh, I see how it is. Two weeks ago, playing scrabble, it wasn’t a word, but now it is. how convenient for you!

Penny & the ghoulies: *breathes in the direction of Fangs*

Me:*crackling knuckles* i think the fuck not u trick ass bitch

SweetPea:I DO WHAT I WANT

Fangs: I’m calling Toni.

SweetPea:no wait

Toni:I may only be five feet tall, but you see that thing in the top of the cabinet? I put it there.

Sweet Pea:Why??

Toni:SPITE.

Fangs:[hugs sweet pea from behind]

Fangs:[softly tucks his hair behind his ear]

Sweet Pea: [shivers]

Fangs:[whispers] Eat all the frosted animal crackers again and we’re done.

Sweet Pea: C’mon, I wasn’t that drunk

Fangs: You tried to colour my face with a highlighter because you said I was important

Sweet Pea: [tearing up] Because you are!

Sweet Pea: I’m over this dumbass school with all of these fake ass people

Jughead:Hey

Sweetpea:Hey

Sweetpea: Fuckin’ bitch

*Sweet Pea and Archie fighting behind the counter*

Fangs: “Can I get a waffle? Can I pLeAsE get a waffle??”

Fangs: Please tell me this is safe

Sweet Pea: This is safe

Fangs: Please tell me this is safe, without lying

Sweet Pea: …You’re really demanding, you know that

Jughead: Well, in times like this, I live by the words that my father always tells me. 

Jughead: “Fuck off. I’m busy.”

Sweet Pea: [To Jughead] I don’t hate you. I’m just not necessarily excited about your existence.