“Yeah, I guess you’re right. We should probably switch it up; and breakfast foods sound incredible right about now. Now I kinda want French toast; I think those chocolate chip pancakes are still calling my name. And a side of bacon.” If they were gonna do breakfast, Tess was getting bacon too. That was a breakfast staple; and it was kinda her favorite food item. It went good with pretty much anything. About to comment on her love of grape soda, the tiny Serpent was interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling. “Okay, can we just order please? I don’t need the entire diner hearing my stomach sounding like some weird dinosaur.” She let out a soft chuckle.
“You wouldn’t want to order the same thing as me now, huh? Gotta have some originality. But, alright. I’m gonna order some french toast and coffee for myself and for you, some chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and I can’t forget - your damn grape soda,” She nodded her head, before getting up from the booth they were sitting at and putting in their order.
‘what exactly are you doing here, valdez?’, the serpent question, his eyes rolling slightly as he walked over to her, ‘ you’re van is basically broken then. okay, but this isn’t going to be a free inspection, and i’m demanding repayment by you buying me breakfast at the worm after this.’ usually, sweet pea wouldn’t make demands like this but it was so early and they hadn’t even opened..but honestly the male would stick out a neck for one of his fellow serpents as long as they deserved it. ‘so what seems to be the issue?’, he spoke boredly.
“I’ll buy you stupid breakfast at the Worm, alright?” Stella shook her head, trying her hardest not to roll her eyes at the older boy. She understood that having to deal with people early in the morning was never a joyful task, but she was looking to try and get a possible answer on what might be wrong with Clifford - again. It was no secret that the girl’s red mom van was basically a driving death trap, always seeming to be having some kind of issues. But, it was still her car. Her beloved car that she became too attached to for reasons not many might understand. “I’m not quite sure what it could be. For the past week my car hasn’t been wanting to start up, the battery is still pretty new though. I’m fairly knowledgeable with my own car but I can’t figure out what could be wrong right now. Thought it would be worth a shot asking y’all at the shop.”
“You know me. I’m far from picky.” Tess had quite the appetite for someone of her size. If money wasn’t an issue, she could probably eat half the menu at Pop’s in one sitting… Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. But she could eat a lot. “I’m kinda feeling chili cheese fries and, uh, I dunno. A bacon burger maybe?” It was her go-to order; but it was her go-to for a reason. One could never go wrong with fries and a burger. “Then again, chocolate chip pancakes sounds really tempting this time of night… Ugh, I dunno. You could, like, just order for me; and you know I’d eat it. As long as I get my grape soda.” Most people came to Pop’s for the milkshakes. Not Tess. She came for the grape soda. She’d kinda become addicted to it since moving to Riverdale. It was a staple of ever trip to the Chock’lit Shoppe.
“Burgers and fries do sound good,” She admitted, looking over the menu even though she had it practically memorized by now. “Seems like we tend to order that kind of stuff so often. How about we switch it up, huh?” Stella suggested, the thought of breakfast foods at this time of night sounded amazing. If you’re wanting chocolate chip pancakes, then I’ll probably order some blueberry one’s for myself or perhaps some french toast?” She shrugged her shoulders. “Can’t forget the grape soda though. You’ll drink that shit regardless of what you’ll eat it with.”
Toni watched on in amusement as Stella negotiated with the Bulldog across from. She was ready to intervene if necessary, but the other girl seemed to have it under control. That was only emphasised by the boy slamming the extra twenty dollars on the table before he left. “Way to read him the Riot Act, Stell.” A soft chuckle passed through glossed lips as she welcomed herself into the now vacant seat. “He holding back on ya?” Toni asked, hoping for the full story rather than the bits and pieces she overheard.
“Thanks, I try,” She shook her head, rolling her eyes just thinking about the conversation she had to suffer through with the football player. The bulldogs, along with other people who played sports, happened to make up a good chunk of Stella’s customers. Even though she didn’t even attend Riverdale High, news of the Serpent’s intelligence and ability to crank out assignments, essays, or projects blossomed into a business that reached across both sides of town. “Hell yeah he was really trying to. I wasn’t going to let him leave Pop’s without injuries if he wasn’t going to pay the full amount. The Knuckle draggers usually comply with me fine but this one just wanted to try and test me.”
Finally, it seemed as if their threats worked. The boy dug another $20 from his wallet and handed it over to Stella before scurrying off like a scared puppy. This elicited a small chuckle from Tess’s lips as she now turned her full attention back towards her friend. “Not that it wasn’t fun terrorizing a Bulldog; but I kinda came here to order food. You hungry? I don’t wanna eat alone.” Last time she was at Pop’s, she’d only been in the mood to be alone. But now, she kinda wanted company. Being alone allowed her to get wrapped up in her own thoughts. And getting wrapped up in her own thoughts led to her arm stinging from fresh cuts… Or not so fresh cuts as her current ones were several hours old. Between that and her jaw still healing up, she definitely preferred the company.
“Well, if I went through all the trouble of coming to this side of town to collect my much deserved money, I might aswell grab a bite to eat,” She admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. “What are you in the mood for? I’ll pay,” she added on, sending a smile to her friend as she waved the twenty dollar in her hand. “We can feast like kings and give our waitress a decent tip with this,” she told Tess.
sweet pea was actually not really caring regarding the death of the town’s beloved jason blossom. plus, what would help him anyway? he had bills to pay himself or more important things to worry about other than some kid’s untimely murder. plus, he was so used to things being rough since he lived on the southside anyway. so, it was a surprise to him to see somebody showing up to a mechanic shop right after they had opened, ‘what exactly are you doing here?’ , he spoke, his words laced with heavy irritation.
“Hey Pea,” the Cuban offered a smile to her fellow Serpent. “Hate to bother you so early,” she admitted. “Just think there might be something wrong with my van and thought you might be able to check it out? Wanted to come by before the shop might get more busy with people.”
At only 4'10 and 96 pounds, Tess was potentially the furthest thing from intimidating. One could probably snap her in half like a twig or squish her like a bug… Needless to say, her nickname of ‘Tiny’ was quite fitting. She was small. She always had been. But she had a big personality to make up for it. And when she wanted to, she could have a big attitude as well. It was times like this, times where she had to backup a friend, that the attitude came out, as did the moderate intimidating factor she’d been trying to perfect ever since joining the Serpents. “Here’s the thing… And I’ll speak nice and slowly as to not destroy those last two brain cells of yours. God only knows you’ll need ‘em to have a proper toss later… It’d be pretty pathetic for you to show up to practice on Monday to tell your mates you’re sitting out the rest of the season ‘cause your grades are shit and you got your arse beat by two little girls for being a cheapskate. I may be short; but I’m the perfect height to ruin your night, mind.” Staring him down, she grew silent for a moment before continuing on, sending a quick glance in Stella’s direction before speaking. “Just pay her what you owe, take your damn essay, and move on with your life.”
Nodding in approval of Tess’s blows against the jock, she hoped that the knucklehead would come to his senses and realize he wasn’t going to leave this restaurant without consequences if he didn’t comply. Holding out her palm, she locked eyes with him, her attention directed right at him. “Give me twenty more dollars now,” she raised her voice. Her raising her voice must have worked because it finally made the boy reach for her wallet once more, quickly shoving two ten dollars bills into her hand before getting himself up from the booth. “Hey, wouldn’t want to forget this, huh?” Stella replied in a sarcastic manner, holding up the printed out essay in her hand.
ONLY AFTER HE HEARS STELLA’S VOICE does he realize that his unexpected company is that of the small person variety—something that the girl was definitely never in short supply of. Avery, that’s right… Jughead recognizes the boy, having met the entire Valdez crew many times before, but frankly, most days there’s just TOO MANY NAMES to sift through to come up with the right one on the spot. A small smile tugs at the corners of his lips, amused by the kid’s unabashed curiosity. “Oh, he’s f i n e, Stella… I should probably take a break now anyway before my eyes go PERMANENTLY CROSSED.” He comments, scrubbing a tired hand over his face before turning his attention back to the boy. “—What’s up, kiddo?”
Looking down at her younger brother, he smiled eagerly at Jug. “Just eating some burgers and milkshakes,” he replied. It was true. There was something about the food at Pop’s that made her younger siblings so happy. If only times were still simpler for the oldest Valdez. She’d kill to still be Avery’s age, still so young and not feeling the pressure of the world on her shoulders. Patting him lightly on the back, she turned to Avery once more. “Go take these napkins and go back to where we all are sitting, I don’t want your food getting cold,” she told him. Once her little brother had made his way back to their table, Stella slipped into the booth across from Jug. “So, what does have you here this late?” She raised a brow to him.
JUGHEAD’S FINGERS CLICKED AWAY FURIOUSLY at the keys on his laptop, barely even noticing when someone else approached the otherwise empty booth. Grateful that Pop’s was always open, and for the bottomless flow of CAFFEINE currently fueling his writing frenzy, he had to at least finish his current thought before distractedly lifting his gaze. “—Can I h e l p you with something?”
Stella had taken everybody in her family for dinner at Pop’s. Even though the Valdez clan was far from made of money, the girl always tried her best to take them all out to the local diner once a week. To her, she considered it a small treat for all of them. She was walking with her ten year old brother, Avery, to get some extra napkins when the young boy noticed a familiar face, Jughead Jones. The boy looked lost in thought and whatever he was typing up, but that didn’t stop the younger boy to become curious at Jug’s writing. “Avery, just because you constantly wonder whatever I’m writing on my laptop doesn’t mean you can be annoying and interrupt somebody else while they’re working,” she told her brother, with a slight roll of her eyes.
It was fairly late; but that didn’t stop Tess from finding her way to Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe. She hadn’t had dinner yet, despite the time being after 8pm; so needless to say, the tiny Serpent was hungry. Then again, the girl was always hungry. Her size didn’t show it; but she could easily out-eat just about everyone she knew. Walking into the diner, she her plan was to make a beeline to the counter and place her order; but she stopped and changed direction upon hearing what sounded like the start of an altercation between a dumbass Bulldog and one of her fellow Serpents. The brunette only heard half of the conversation; but from what she could tell, the Bulldog owed Stella money for doing his homework. And of course she was going to back her girl up. Making her way towards the pair, she slip into the booth beside Stella. “What seems to be the problem here?” She inquired, her jade eyes glancing between her friend and the boy. “Do we not know how to count to $50? Or do we simply wish for our teammates to know just how much of a fucking pansy we truly are? ‘Cause I promise you I can make the latter happen if that’s what you so desire.”
Stella wasn’t expecting her dear friend and fellow Serpent to slip in the booth next to her, but she wasn’t opposed to the other girl back her up. “Look, my girl and I are just trying to make this as crystal clear to you as possible. Either you give me the full amount you had agreed to paying me or certain things are going to go down. I’d rather not have to get to a point where my other options may have to come into play, but I’m not afraid to do so. There doesn’t have to be a need for our argument right now anyways, you’re the one being difficult. An A+ on one of your first essays of the year is what you wanted and you’ll kiss it goodbye if you don’t pull out another 20 for me, jackass.”
Stella had agreed to meet with one of her customers at Pop’s. She found herself meeting up with any of her customers at odd places, wherever it didn’t really matter, she just cared about getting paid for the work she did. The Serpent was growing frustrated at the jock as he slipped a mere 30 dollars to her from across the booth. Looking down, she let out a chuckle. “30? No, I said it would be 50. My prices are firm,” The oldest Valdez told the Bulldog who had wanted to get an essay done from her. As expected, the boy tried explaining that it what all he had and what he thought they had agreed on, making up excuses. The small diner was fairly empty at this point in the night, but there was quite a bit of commission coming from their booth. “Y’know, it would be a shame if you couldn’t play your next game because you didn’t do your essay. Probably would be even be more embarrassing if people ever found out you have to have a Serpent of all people do your work for you to get a decent grade,” she added on, venom dripping from her voice. Stella happened to take her ‘homework doing and essay writing’ business seriously. If people tried to low ball her or not pay their full amount, she wasn’t about to have it. “So, I’ll repeat this again incase you couldn’t get this through your thick skull. 50 dollars or you don’t get shit. I’m not going to lower my price either just because you throw around a fucking ball,” she added on.
Hello everybody! I’m Sarah, I am 23 years old, and live in EST. This is my beloved OC, Stella. She happens to be one of my all time favorite characters of mine and I hope that y’all love her as much as I do. Below the cut is all the information you should know about her! I will say, there is some potentially triggering content so please be noted of that!
[ LAUREN JAUREGUI ] ( ✶:･ﾟ♦ — ▓ hey, guess what - i just saw STELLA VALDEZ by sweet water river, you know they’re SIXTEEN and a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT who identifies themselves as FEMALE i sometimes hear people describe them as RECKLESS and STUBBORN but others say that they’re LOYAL and ADVENTUROUS . me personally? i’m wondering what they were doing at the scene of jason blossoms murder, alone.
TW: child neglect, child abuse, gang violence, murder, alcoholism, drug abuse
Alright, to start off firstly - Stella is what I’d like to consider a mixture of Kat Stratford and Fiona Gallagher. She’s also totally the mom friend and momma bear of the younger serpents lbr
FAMILY UPBRINGING/DYNAMIC:
She is the oldest out of six children. Yes, six children. She has three brothers and two sisters.The birth order of the Valdez family is as follows: Stella (16 years old), Nick (13 years old), Avery (10 years old), Serenity (7 years old), Evan (3 years old) and Rowan (4 months old).
The Valdez family has ultimately been labeled as that family on the Southside that ‘never stops growing’. Basically, you blink - and there’s another member of that family.
Growing up, Stella has never came from a life of privilege. She’s never known of the concept of a trust fund or a comma in her bank account. For her, it always too small of clothes. Too cold of nights. Too hungry of mornings. To be frank, she’s dirt poor. Always has been poor.
A majority of her younger years consisted of moving around, quite a bit. The places she grew up and lived in prior to Riverdale were not great by any means. They hardly had any furniture or personal belongings. They often consisted of a two bedroom apartment (if they were lucky) where Stella would find herself sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag because her family couldn’t afford actual beds. She wouldn’t actually have her own bed to call her own until she was over 10 years old.
She is of Cuban decent, having been born and spending the first years of her life in Miami, Florida.
Her parents grew up in the same neighborhood with one another, becoming close as teenagers, eventually starting to date once they were at the age of 16/17.
Her dad has had a criminal record ever since he was a young teen. Having been in and out jail throughout his life, even when he was a juvenile. He joined a gang within Miami when he was around the age of 13/14. As he grew older, he’d become more engulfed into gang life and what it involved.
Contrary to popular belief, Stella’s dad wasn’t always a terrible person or father. Yes, he has always done sketchy things but it was always because he needed to feed his family and provide for them.
When Stella was 5 years old and Nick was around the age of 3, they’d kiss Florida goodbye. One night, seemingly out of the blue, her dad came home late, extremely distressed, physically in bad shape, and shaken up, Stella and Nick had no idea what was going on, but they were told by their mom and dad to pack up enough things that would fit in the van and that they had to go. Completely fleeing the place they had been living at.
Unknown to them, their dad had an altercation with a rival gang that turned deadly. The rival gang members were trying to jump one of his ‘boy’s and Stella’s dad wasn’t going to have it. Having grown up with his fellow gang members, he had to be loyal to his guys. He ended up killing one of the members in the rival gang. Being afraid that his actions would put him and his family at risk, he had no other choice than to flee.
The death of the rival gang member eventually lead to her father becoming an alcoholic. This was a turning point in not only his life, but his family dynamic. This was a point in Stella’s life when she knew something changed and her parents weren’t truly her parents anymore. To this day, Stella still doesn’t know her dad killed a man.
When they fled Florida, they had little to nothing with them. They had very few belongings and no home. Their financial situation was at an all time low and for the next almost 3 years of her life her family was basically homeless; living out of the Friday van. She had dealt with temporary homelessness before, having to sleep in the family van for a few days or weeks at a time at the most. But, this would soon become months at a time. Stella had no idea where they were headed, but she knew Florida would never be their home again. They were lucky if they could spend a few nights at a time at homeless shelters and such. During this period in her life, she’d go days without eating full meals and the food she did have, she’d find giving to her siblings.
Before finding their way to Riverdale, her parents would fall into addictive tendencies, not putting the needs of their kids before that. This was a turning point for her when she came to realize that nine times out of ten, her parents were going to put their addictions before themselves. If she wanted to survive, she’d have to provide for herself and for her younger siblings.
She has learned to become a humble person and be thankful for the things that she does have. Even if it might not be much, she knows there is probably somebody way worse off than her. Living in the Sunnyside trailer park feels like luxury compared to the living conditions she was so used to during her childhood.
Nobody knows much about Stella’s past prior to moving to Riverdale. It’s not like she’s ashamed of it, she just doesn’t want to remember that low point in her life, or for people to take pity on her. (Of course, I HC that some people would obviously have to know about her troubled upbringing, but I can’t imagine it would be all of Riverdale, nor the Southside).
Officially moved to the Southside of Riverdale when she was 9, almost 10.
Throughout her childhood, her parents have had on and off custody of her siblings. CPS has had to step in and turn her family upside down more than once. With her mom being an on and off drug addict and her dad having drinking issues, it has only created chaos.
As of right now, her mom is currently not in the picture. She ditched her family shortly after the birth of her sixth child. Her dad’s drinking habits has increased due to her absence (they were under control for a bit, long enough for him to find stable work within Riverdale. Now, they are getting out of hand once more, him on the verge of loosing the job he currently has). Also, her dad’s anger has worsened and he has chosen to take it out on his oldest daughter while he is strung out. Currently no one knows about the abuse she is suffering at home and Stella wants to keep it that way. If anybody were to get too involved, that could mean the kiddos getting taken away from her.
OTHER INFORMATION:
Stella is actually extremely smart and a borderline genius. She has always done well in school without trying hard. It’s all come natural to her. She has a 4.0 GPA in school and her teachers have high expectations for her.
Stella has found ‘creative’ and ‘different’ ways to make money for her family. This includes doing other people’s homework/writing papers for them, pick-pocketing, stealing, and scamming people out of money (with the help of her adorable little siblings). The ways she sees it - when you’re poor, the only way to make decent money is to steal it or scam it.
The girl, over the years, has found herself developing a love for cooking (mostly baking). Aside from her non-conventional ways of making money, she works part time at a bakery on the Southside. It’s a job that she actually enjoys and she gets to score free bread and sweet-treats for her family.
Along with baking, she loves to read. This girl can finish a book in what seems like seconds. She’s not really picky with genre's, ultimately just loving the escape that books bring to her. You can usually catch her reading a book in the mornings on her front porch of her trailer, cigarette and coffee alongside with her.
She has dreams of possibly going to college and ultimately doing some good with her life. Either wanting to become a lawyer, working in the foster care system, or going for a business degree to open up her own bakery. But, even though she could get into some good colleges the thought of doing anything after HS doesn’t seem like a reality for her. She doubts she’ll be able to leave the Southside, as sad as it sounds. Plus, she has had the lingering thought of when she officially turns eighteen, becoming an official guardian (or possibly fighting to fully adopt) her younger siblings. She vowed to herself a long time ago that her family was going to come before anything, including herself. Her siblings future and well-being are more important than her own. All she wants is for them to have a wonderful future as they grow older and she is willing to do whatever it takes to do so. Even if it means putting herself on the back burner and not doing the things she, deeps down, desperately wants to achieve and accomplish for herself.
The Serpents have became the family she never knew she needed. She’s always been close to her southside neighbors and such, but eventually found herself joining when she was a young teen (age 14). She’s fully involved with them now and would do anything for her fellow Serpents. She’d literally take the shirt off her back for her Southside family (but especially the Serpents). Even if her trailer may be tiny and always chaotic, her door is always open for a place to crash, to eat, or the such.
She’s never ‘too’ fond of the Northsiders due to have always been judged by them due to her lack of money and large family.
She drives an extremely old and beat up ‘mom van’ that she named Clifford. She can be seen toting around her younger siblings in it with pride. Please note though: Stella is a terrible, terrible driver. This bitch is constantly running over curbs and such. It’s a shock she passed her driving test in the first place.
