Sweet Pea paused, looking up from underneath the hood of her truck. “What?”
“You’re a mystery,” Stevie repeated.
“You’re gonna have to elaborate, Coop,” Sweet Pea frowned, his head dipping back underneath the hood.
“People keep telling me you’re not a good person.”
Sweet Pea raised an eyebrow. “People?”
“...Cheryl,” Stevie mumbled, tucking her hair behind her ears and feeling her cheeks flush. “Reggie. Archie.”
Sweet Pea nodded slowly, his lips pursed as he busied himself and looking at her. “You believe them?”
“No,” Stevie answered almost immediately, and Sweet Pea’s gaze drifted over to her for a second. “I don’t think you want them to know that, thought. I think you like people at arms length, and that’s why you keep saying we can’t be friends.”
Sweet Pea sighed heavily, straightening up and grabbing a cloth out of his back pocket. He wiped his hands carefully, keeping his eyes down, before he crossed his arms over his chest.
“People round here... They look at me like I’m trash, Stevie. Like I’ll never amount to anything, like I’m a criminal and that’s all I’ll ever be. They judge me without even knowing me.”
“You don’t strike me as the kind of person who really cares what other people think of you.”
“I don’t,” he shrugged his shoulders. “But you’re new in town, you don’t get how it works around here yet. If you hang out with me, you’ll be tainted by association. They’ll mark you down as just another good for nothing kid who’s gonna get anywhere in life. I just... don’t want them to look at you that way.”
“I don’t care what people think about me, either,” Stevie told him stubbornly, and he snorted loudly. “What? I don’t!”
“Please,” he shook his head. “Little Miss Perfect? You’re a Cooper, you’re a cheerleader, you do ballet, for God’s sake. Must take a whole lot of work to uphold that image, huh?”
Stevie grinned, cross her arms and mirroring his stance. “Oh, now who’s judging who, huh?” she teased, and Sweet Pea’s smirk faltered slightly. “You’re not so bad, Sweet Pea. You didn’t have to rescue me from the side of the road and you don’t have to work on my truck for nothing. You’re a nice guy, but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Yeah,” he muttered, rolling his eyes and turning back to Stevie’s truck, unable to stop the smile that crossed his lips. “It better be.”
Mikayla “Mikki” Marlow never wanted to leave Toledo but, as Gladys Jones’ right-hand girl and JB’s surrogate big sister, she wasn’t left with much of a choice thanks to that stupid redheaded kid who’d turned up a couple of months earlier with someone Mikki had never wanted to see again not far behind him.
Not that she would have been happy staying behind without them, anyway. The Serpents were just about the only family she had left.
Besides, they were only moving to Riverdale - The town with pep!
Butterfly Kisses // eventual Sweet Pea x OC - chapter one.
Notes: I don’t know what this is, I just love the idea of Fangs and Pea as amazing uncles/surrogate dads to their best friend’s kid. I wrote it super quick last night when I was bored and not feeling well so if it’s terrible I’m blaming the fact that I was drugged up to the eyeballs on painkillers!! Let me know what you think or if you’d like to see more, and my ask is always open if you have any questions! :)
*
Two pink lines.
Two tiny, little pink lines that had just changed - no, ruined - her life forever.
Dropping to her knees, Talia emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl for what felt like the hundredth time in the last 24 hours as she ignored the soft knocking from the other side of the bathroom door.
Grabbing some tissues, she wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet to try and hide the sound of the strangled sob she let out, running her hands through her dark hair as she sat with her back against the wall. She was obviously going to have to drop out of school - she couldn’t keep going to class when she had a kid to bring up single handedly. She’d have to see if the ad agency could give her more hours - she couldn’t work two jobs anymore, and definitely not at the bar.
God, how could she have been so stupid? She was 21 years old, she knew what a condom was, why hadn’t she used one? Looking down at the white stick in her hands, she groaned loudly when saw saw the two pink lines again, as though she had been hoping it would have magically changed. The knocking on the door started again, and she looked up with a frown when she heard Fangs’ voice drift through.
“Tal? C’mon, open up.”
“I don’t want to.”
He paused. “You’re knocked up, then?”
Climbing to her feet, Talia scowled as she opened the door and came face to face with her sympathetic looking, so-called best friend. “Yes, Fangs, I’m knocked up,” she snapped, and he winced.
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
She pushed past him, walking towards her bed and sitting on the edge, her hands unconsciously finding their way to her stomach. Fangs let out a breath as he sat beside her, his fingers tapping nervously against his thighs.
“Shit, Tali,” he repeated, a little quieter than before. “What are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know.”
“...You want me to call him?” he asked softly, and Talia raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Pea. You want me to call him, get him to come over here?”
Talia was shaking her head before he’d even finished speaking. “Jesus, no.”
Fangs frowned. “Babe, you have to tell him.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do?” Fangs turned his body to face her. “Listen, I know you guys broke up, I know it was bad and I know you’re both still hurting and shit, but he’d never want you to do this alone. You know he’ll support you no matter what you decide to do. Pea doesn’t run away from his mistakes— not- not mistakes because I mean- well-”
“It’s okay,” Talia interrupted and Fangs sighed in relief, stopping before he dug himself a hole so big he’d need a crane to lift him out of it. “It’s not his mistake.”
Fangs blinked. “What?”
“It’s not his kid.”
“Oh. Shit. Did you- I mean... How do you know for sure? It- it could be his, right?”
“Because I had a period after we broke up, Fogarty, Jesus. Sweet Pea isn’t the father, okay?” she huffed.
“Then who is?” Fangs prodded. “I mean, I’m assuming you know?”
“It’s just some guy,” she muttered. “It... It was when I went back home, back to Riverdale with Toni. We just- we went on one night, I’d been drinking and I was still upset over everything with Sweet Pea, and I just hooked up with some guy. It doesn’t even matter who it was.”
“Fuck, Talia, tell me it wasn’t a Bulldog or Pea’ll lose his damn mind-”
“It wasn’t a Bulldog,” Talia couldn’t help the smile that came to her face. “Can you believe you’re 21 and you’re still pissing about North siders? It might be time for the both of you to let that grudge go, Fangs.”
“Nah,” Fangs scoffed. “I’m good. So’s Pea. We’ll take this particular grudge to our graves,” he smirked, and Talia rolled her eyes. “So... Are you gonna tell the dad, then?”
“No.”
Fangs balked. “What? He has a right to know-”
“I don’t even remember who it was, okay?” she muttered. “I was drunk, so was he, it was just a stupid hook-up. I can’t even remember his name, what he looked like, anything,” she glanced towards him, gulping slightly and shaking her head when she felt tears prick her eyes. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re disappointed in me,” she whispered. “I can’t handle that right now. Especially not from you.”
Sighing heavily, Fangs put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll never be disappointed in you, T. I’m just... I’m just surprised, that’s all. It’s not like you and I guess I feel a little bad that I didn’t realise how hard the break up had hit you. I didn’t realise you were having such a hard time with it, and I’m sorry. I should have been a better friend, I should have come with you back to Riverdale, but I had to stay here and make sure our boy didn’t get himself in any trouble, y’know?” he hummed.
“You’re the best friend, Fangs Fogarty, and don’t you ever think any different,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist. “...How do you think he’s gonna react to this?”
“Sweet Pea?” he asked, and Talia nodded. Fangs paused for a second, before shrugging weakly. “It’ll crush him. He still loves you, thinks you’ll find your way back to each other one day. I keep telling him that’s not gonna happen when you keep avoiding each other, but you know how dumb he can be. He’ll... Look, T, if you want this kid, you know you’re not alone, don’t you? He’ll step up, even if it’s not his. We all will. Me, Toni, Jughead. Even Cheryl, and you know Betty’s gonna piss herself in excitement when she finds out,” he scoffed, not noticed the way Talia winced at the mention of Jughead. “It’ll be the most badass kid with the biggest, most dysfunctional - but still the best - family.”
Talia looked up at him, smiling weakly. “I love you, Fangs.”
He beamed. “And I love you, too, obviously,” he rolled his eyes, placing a loud kiss on her cheek before he stood up. “I’m in the mood for Chinese. You? It’s on me,” he waved his phone towards her and Talia nodded. “Usual?” he raised his eyebrows, and she nodded again as Fangs turned to walk out of the room. She waited until she heard him talking to the takeaway place, before she grabbed her own phone and typed out a message.
We need to talk.
Chewing on her thumb nail, she paused as she read over the message. Four words, that’s all it was. Four simple words that could hold so many different meanings to so many different people. Four words that was almost always followed by news the other person didn’t want to hear.
But she had to tell him. It was going to get back to him one way or another, and he wasn’t the type of guy who’d let something like this go.
And so, with the knowledge that she was about to change his life forever, Talia pressed the send button.
First Kisses // Emma + Sweet Pea - requested by @siriussblackx
Making her way back towards her friends through the crowded bar, Emma cursed under her breath every time someone bumped into her and her drink spilled over the top of the glass, splashing on to her arm. She could still feel his eyes on her back as he followed her through the crowds, and she held back a shudder. If she could just make it to the boys, it would be okay. She could get rid of him. She had a plan.
She could see them now, Fangs’ eyes searching the crowd and Sweet Pea towering around everyone around him even though he was sat on an empty table, and she made a beeline straight for them, pushing past the last few people with ease.
“Hey!” she breathed, shoving Fangs’ drink into his hands and putting her own glass on the table beside him and quickly moving to stand between Sweet Pea’s legs. He gave her a bemused smile when he spotted the look of urgency on her face, and Emma took a shaky breath as she placed her hands on his shoulders. “I am so sorry,” she whispered.
“Sorry for w-” Sweet Pea didn’t manage to finish his question, his eyes widening as Emma crushed her lips against his. It took his brain a few seconds to register what was happening (he was half-tempted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, but the strangled squeal he heard coming from Fangs’ direction was enough to make him realise that this was reality) but when he did, his grip on his beer bottle tightened and his free hand came to rest on the small of Emma’s back as he held her closer to him.
She pulled away too quickly for him, his eyes still half closed and his hand still on her back as he vaguely registered the flash of Fangs’ phone as he snapped a picture of them (probably to send to Toni, who would most definitely not believe what had just happened), and Emma turned around to look behind her.
“What was that?” Fangs breathed.
“There’s a guy,” Emma hissed, turning back to them and making no attempt to move away from Sweet Pea. “You know I told you about Ryan from Toni’s photography class? The guy will not stop asking me out. It doesn’t matter how many times I say no, he just asks and asks and asks, so I told him I have a boyfriend and of course he’s here tonight and he’s seen me with you guys so I just- I panicked.”
Fangs’ eyes darkened as he scowled. “Want me to beat him up for you? Where is he, what does he look like?”
“No,” Emma rolled her eyes. “Has he gone? He’s got blonde hair and he’s wearing a green shirt,” she asked. Fangs and Sweet Pea both looked past her, neither of them being able to spot anyone matching Emma’s vague description.
Fangs shrugged. “He’s-”
“Still watching,” Sweet Pea interrupted and Fangs raised an eyebrow at his friend, watching as he reached behind him and placed his beer bottle down on the table. His hands landed on Emma’s waist and he pulled her closer to him, their noses almost touching. “Maybe you should kiss me again.”
Fangs scoffed loudly, but Sweet Pea ignored him as he kept his eyes on the girl in front of him. Her brow had furrowed slightly and for a second Sweet Pea was afraid he’d made a mistake, but then Emma leaned a little closer.
“Are you sure?” she asked him quietly. He didn’t answer, his answer sticking in his throat as he swallowed thickly and nodded his head. “Okay,” Emma closed the gap between them, slower than before as she pressed her lips to his.
Sweet Pea felt as though every single nerve in his body was tingling, he felt like he was on fire as his left hand moved from around her waist up to the back of her, his fingers tangling in her hair as he held her closer against him.
Fangs could do nothing but stand there and stare at them awkwardly - he didn’t mean to, he wasn’t trying to be a creep even if that’s what he looked like with his eyes bugging out of his head as two of his closest friends were basically making out in front of him - but he didn’t know what else to do. Was he supposed to be supporting this because he knew how Sweet Pea felt, or was he supposed to be stopping this because he knew how Sweet Pea felt? He had no idea what was going through Emma’s mind, he couldn’t read her the way Toni could, he didn’t know the things about her that he knew about Sweet Pea. Emma was still a bit of a mystery to Fangs, but he thought it was telling that she had chosen Sweet Pea as her fake boyfriend for the night and not himself, considering she had known Fangs longer and was easily more comfortable with him. He’d be a bit offended if he wasn’t too busy trying to stop his head from exploding.
Emma’s grip on Sweet Pea had loosened, her arms draped around his shoulders as her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck and he sighed into her mouth, his arm tightening around her waist. Feeling his tongue run along her bottom lip, Emma’s eyes snapped open and she pulled away from him, laughing weakly.
“You’re a really good actor, Sweet Pea,” she told him softly, barely hearing the whine that came from Fangs.
“Hmm,” Sweet Pea hummed, his hand coming round to cradle the side of her face and him thumb brushing against her cheek. He leaned forwards again, placing one last, soft kiss on Emma’s lips before pulling away, resting his forehead hers. “He’s still watching,” he murmured.
“Okay,” Emma whispered, her teeth sinking into her bottom and her stomach twisting nervously as she made no move to step away from Sweet Pea. She was fully aware that Ryan was no longer watching, and she was beginning to wonder if he’d even followed her all the way back to the table.
Fangs whined again. “You guys are gonna kill me.”
Never Be The Same // Sweet Pea x OC x Fangs - prologue
Notes: Inspired by this headcanon by @sweetpca. This is just a short little intro to the three of them and how they met. Let me know what you think! I’m super nervous so pls don’t make me cry thanks
banner by @siriussblackx
Tag list: @lena-davina
*
Fangs’ gaze drifted between the dance floor and Sweet Pea, who was sat beside him in silence, his leg jittering and his eyes fixed on the group of girls he had barely stopped looking at since they came in. Not that Fangs could blame him, of course. They were hot. Especially the little one with the big, hooped earrings and her hair piled on her head. Even Fangs had been watching her, the way her hips moved to the music, the way she nibbled on the straw in her drink – God, the things she could probably do with that mouth – and the way her eyes lit up when she laughed.
Sweet Pea needed this more than he did, though. Sweet Pea needed to get laid, and Fangs had volunteered himself to be wingman (even though Sweet Pea insisted he was fine, he didn’t need a hook-up and Fangs absolutely did not have to help him) (Fangs ignored him).
“Dude stop,” Fangs huffed, pressing his hand down on Sweet Pea’s knee. “You’re annoying me.”
“Sorry,” he muttered, taking another sip of his beer and letting his eyes drift back towards the dance floor. Fangs scoffed.
“…Why don’t you go talk to them?”
“What?” Sweet Pea turned to his friends, his eyes wide. “No. Why would I do that? They’re obviously Northsiders-”
“And you obviously can’t take your eyes off them so who give a fuck if they’re Northsiders?” Fangs interrupted. “Which one is it, anyway? Can I guess?”
“It’s no one-”
“The little one in the blue dress with the earrings, right?” Fangs asked, grinning when Sweet Pea huffed loudly and pushed a hand through his hair. “You’re so predictable. You look like you’d break her. You get off on that or something? You always go for the small ones.”
“Shut the hell up, Fogarty.”
Fangs snickered, lifting his own beer to his lips. “She’s hot, dude. Just go for it.”
“If you think she’s so hot why don’t you go for it?”
Fangs shrugged. “Okay.”
“What?” Sweet Pea blinked, watching as Fangs downed the rest of his beer and slammed his bottle down on the table before standing up. “Fangs I was kidding. Don’t go over there. Dude, seriously.”
Fangs smirked, raising an eyebrow and turning to glance at Sweet Pea over his shoulder as he made his way over to the group of girls who were still dancing and giggling the way teenage girls did, all huddled around each other with their eyes darting around to spot any potential threats.
If only they knew, Fangs couldn’t help but think.
He caught her eye easily, grinning to himself when she turned around to say something to her friends and all three of them suddenly turned to look in Fangs’ direction. The blonde girl she was with whispered something to her before gently nudging her forwards, and she rolled her eyes as she walked towards Fangs, meeting him in the middle of the dance floor.
“Hey!” he called over the music, leaning closer towards her so she could hear him.
“Hey yourself,” she called back, leaning back slightly and looking him up and down, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “I’m Carmen.”
“Fangs.”
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Fangs. My name.”
Carmen narrowed her eyes. “Your name is Fangs?”
“Yeah,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, so, listen – my friend over there thinks you’re hot and-”
“Sorry, what?” Carmen shook her head with a confused smile. “Are you… Are you hitting on me for your friend?” she asked, and Fangs shot her a sheepish smile. “Where is this friend of yours?” she stood on her tiptoes, planning a hand on Fangs’ arm to balance herself and he beamed at her as he turned slightly to point towards the back of the club, where Sweet Pea was still sat. Fangs scoffed when his friend looked away quickly, a familiar scowl on his face. “He doesn’t look very happy.”
“That’s just his face.”
Carmen laughed, keeping her hand on Fangs’ arm as she stood normally. “Is he pissed that you came over here?”
“He’s… shy.”
Carmen raised her eyebrows. “He doesn’t look shy.”
Fangs groaned inwardly. Absolutely fuck Sweet Pea and the scowl he permanently wore. Everything about him practically screamed ‘I’m in a gang, beware’ and Fangs was sick of having to do all the legwork when it came to stuff like this. He opened his mouth to speak, debating whether or not to just forget Sweet Pea for the night and take this girl for himself, but he sighed and leaned in a bit closer, his mouth by Carmen’s ear.
“Look, he’d kill me for saying this, but he’s just got out of this thing with this girl – she really fucked him over – so I brought him out tonight to cheer him up and he hasn’t taken his eyes off you since you guys walked in here-”
“I’d noticed.”
Fangs pulled back in surprise. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Carmen nodded slowly, taking a sip of her drink. “Who could miss him? He’s… cute. Tell him to come find me if he wants to talk or whatever, yeah? It was nice to meet you, Fangs.”
“Yeah,” Fangs beamed at her. “You too, and I’ll definitely tell him to come find you. Thanks!” he leaned forwards, planting a loud kiss on her cheek before he spun around and hurried back over to his table.
Carmen rolled her eyes slightly as she watched him go, before she made her way back over to her friends at the bar, Josie frowning at her in disappointment.
“No luck?” she asked with a pout.
“Nah, he was coming over to talk up his friend,” Carmen sighed, and Josie huffed loudly. “It’s no big deal, his friend’s hot too,” she told her, gesturing towards the two boys where Fangs was saying something in his friend’s ear. “I’m gonna go fix my hair, I’ll be back in a sec,” she told Josie, taking the straw out of her drink and throwing her head back as she downed what was left of it. “I’ll have another one of those.”
“Sure thing, babe,” Josie nodded, pulling the front of her top down a bit as she tried to get the bartender's attention. Carmen giggled quietly, pushing her way through the crowd and making her way to the bathroom. She pushed past a couple making out against the wall and turned down the corridor leading towards the bathroom, groaning inwardly when she saw who was stood just outside of the girls’ room. Deciding against fixing her hair, she spun on her heel to leave before he saw her.
“Babe!”
“Ugh.”
“Thought I’d see you here…” he smirked, his arm snaking around her waist. Carmen pushed him away, keeping her hands on his chest to put some distance between them. “Damn, you look good. Who you all dressed up for?”
“Well I’m definitely not dressed up for you, am I, Reggie?” Carmen muttered, pausing as she looked at him. “How drunk are you? Actually, don’t answer that. You’re not my problem anymore,” she told him with a roll of her eyes as she moved to walk past him, narrowing her eyes when her ex reached out and put his arm on the wall opposite, trapping her where she was. “Reg, c’mon. I’m not in the mood.”
“You were never in the mood, where you?” he asked, his voice low. “That’s why I dumped your ass. Who were you just talking to?”
“What?” Carmen scrunched her face up in confusion. “Wait… Are you pissed I was talking to a guy?” she asked with a laugh. “Wow. Like you said, Reggie. You dumped me. I don’t owe you anything.”
“He looked like a snake,” Reggie’s lip curled in disgust.
“Can you get out of my way please?” she pushed against his arm, but he stayed where he was. “Reggie, come on, I just wanna-”
“Everything okay here?”
Carmen turned at the voice behind her, her shoulders sagging in relief when she saw Fangs’ friend behind them, his face hard and his jaw clenched as he looked between her and Reggie. If he had approached her in any other situation, she probably would have been a little afraid by his expression – he looked like he was totally ready to fight someone – but she couldn’t help the feeling of relief that washed over her when she realised he could get rid of Reggie.
“None of your busi-”
“Yeah, actually,” Carmen interrupted Reggie, and his angry gaze flicked from the tall boy at the end or the corridor and down to her. “This guy won’t let me past,” she motioned towards Reggie and, hearing footsteps behind her, turned to give Fangs’ friend her best pout.
“I think she wants you to back off, Bulldog,” the angry looking boy snarled, his fists clenched as he stepped between her and Reggie. Carmen looked between carefully, realising that these two obviously knew each other a little too late when she saw the muscles in Reggie’s jaw tighten.
“You back off, snake,” Reggie scowled, taking another step forward and Carmen quickly darted between them, putting her hands on Reggie’s chest and pushing him backwards.
“Just leave me alone, Reggie,” Carmen told him with a sigh. “I’m sick of all the drama surrounding you. Just go,” she shooed him away. Reggie’s eyes narrowed into a glare, taking one last look at them over his shoulder before he turned and stalked away in the opposite direction, Carmen huffing loudly and running a hand through her hair.
“What a dick.”
She had almost forgotten he was there. Almost. He towered over her - he was easily a foot taller than her - and had Carmen not had a few drinks (thanks to Josie’s fake ID), she probably would have been a little intimidated by him. But still, Fangs had seemed nice enough so how bad could this guy really be?
That was when she saw the tattoo on the left side of his neck, and she sucked in a breath.
“You’re a serpent.”
“Yeah,” he paused briefly. “That a problem?”
“No,” Carmen surprised them both with her answer, and the boy cocked an eyebrow as he smirked down at her. “...I’m Carmen.”
“Sweet Pea.”
Carmen narrowed her eyes. “You’re the one who kicked Archie’s ass, aren’t you?” she asked, and Sweet Pea shot her a small, triumphant grin as he nodded. “You don’t need to look so pleased about it.”
“Nah, he deserved it,” Sweet Pea shrugged. “Just a shame I couldn’t get your little boyfriend, too,” he added, gesturing in the direction Reggie had skulked off in.
“Ex-boyfriend,” Carmen corrected quickly, and Sweet Pea bit down on his lip.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Like you said - he’s a dick,” she shrugged her shoulders weakly, tucking her hair behind her ear and looking up at him coyly. “So are you gonna buy me a drink or what, Sweet Pea?”
He looked at her in uncertainty. “You sure you want me to?”
“Wouldn’t have asked otherwise,” she replied. “Your buddy did a good job of talking you up, you gonna let his hard work go to waste?” she wiggled her eyebrows, laughing quietly when Sweet Pea screwed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about him,” he muttered. “I told him not to go over.”
“You mean you don’t normally send him over to pick girls up for you?” Carmen widened her eyes in fake-disbelief. “I am shocked. I thought that was how things were done nowadays.”
“I prefer to do it myself, actually. Be a little more, uh…” he paused, taking a small step backwards and letting his eyes rake over her body. “Hands on.”
Carmen smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah,” Sweet Pea grinned, holding his hand out towards her. “Let’s go get you that drink.”
Butterfly Kisses // eventual Sweet Pea x OC - chapter two.
Notes: I posted the first part of this on a whim, it was something I wrote in like 30 minutes and I wasn’t even sure I was going write anything else for it but people seemed to like it, so... here’s part 2? It’s short but please bear with me, I’m trying to get used to actually posting fics and not just prompts. Also pls don’t judge me too much for who the dad is lol
banner by @siriussblackx
masterlist
part one
Tag list: @serpentsweetspea, @drw0301bieber, @popeyetheunicorn
*
Saying a quick thank you to her Uber driver, Talia grabbed her bag and ducked out of the car, groaning when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket for what had to have been the seventh time in the last forty minutes. Closing the car door behind her, she pulled her phone out and frowned when she saw all the missed calls were from Toni. She was about to send a message telling her friends she’d call her later, when the phone rang again and Toni’s name flashed across the screen.
Huffing loudly, Talia pressed the phone to her ear. “Toni? I’m a little busy right now, can I call you back when-”
“I spoke to Fangs.”
Talia froze, her breath catching in her throat. “O-oh?”
“Yeah…” Toni paused. “Is he telling the truth, Talia?”
“Wha- I mean, that depends on-” Talia stopped, screwing her eyes shut and taking a breath. “What did he say?” she asked weakly.
“You’re pregnant with some dude’s baby, but you don’t know who he was. It happened when we went back to Riverdale.”
“I’ll kill him,” she grumbled. “He had no right telling you, he has no right telling anyone- oh God does Sweet Pea know?” she asked, panic seizing her. “I should have been the one to tell him! I was-”
“Calm down,” Toni interrupted. “No one else knows. Fangs only told me because he’s worried, he stopped by your place and weren’t there, your neighbour told him you’d left early this morning with an overnight back and you’d asked her to keep an eye on your apartment. He was freaking out, so he called me. Plus, he thinks you might need a girl to talk to because apparently pregnancy falls under girl stuff in Fogarty’s book,” she told her with a snort. “So, where are you?”
“I’m- I’m home.”
Toni paused. “Bullshit.”
“No, I-” Talia sighed. “Not home as in, my apartment home. Home as in, back in Riverdale.”
“How come?” Toni asked, but Talia stayed quiet. “T… You do know who the dad is, don’t you?”
“…Maybe.”
“And there’s a reason you didn’t wanna tell Fangs. Christ, Talia, is it who I think it is?”
“Depends on who you think it is.”
Toni grumbled under her breath. “I think it’s someone everyone’s gonna lose their shit over. Who I left you with in the bar. It’s him, isn’t it?” she asked, and Talia’s silence was the only answer she needed. “Fuck, T! This is gonna break Sweet Pea-”
“Sweet Pea ended things with me, Toni, not the other way around,” Talia snapped. “I didn’t break his heart, he broke mine. He’s the one who said he couldn’t see a future for us and I’m the one who’s knocked up so why is everyone so damn concerned about how Sweet Pea is going to handle this? How about some of my friends being on my side for once! I made a mistake, okay? I know I did, I knew it was a mistake as soon as it was done with, a quick fumble in the back of a truck and now I’m gonna end up with an actual real life person to take care of for the rest of my life? You don’t think I know how fucked up this is? Believe me, Toni, I know. What I need right now is a bit of support from you, I don’t need you to judge me. I need you to lie to me and tell me I haven’t just ruined my life and that everything is going to be okay because I’m about to go tell this guy that I’m having his baby and I am terrified!”
She was met with silence on the other end of the phone and she paused, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose as she took a few deep, shaky breaths.
“You’re right,” Toni whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Talia sighed. “I just- I’m just feeling a little stressed.”
“No, you’re right. I don’t blame you. Look, I… Call me when you’ve spoken to him, alright? Does he know you’re coming?”
“No,” Talia muttered. “I texted him, he didn’t reply, but I know I can’t put it off. I couldn’t sleep last night so I booked a train ticket and got the first train here. Can you just- just tell Fangs I’m alright?”
“I will,” Toni assured her. “And please call me when you’ve spoken to him, alright? So I know if I need to kick his ass or congratulate him on being a dad.”
“Yeah I uh, I doubt he’s gonna want congratulations,” Talia laughed weakly. “And hey, Toni? Don’t… Don’t tell Fangs who it is. I should be the one to tell him.”
“Of course I won’t tell him, T,” Toni replied softly. “Just call me, okay? I love you.”
“I love you too, Topaz,” Talia whispered, pausing before she ended the call and shoved her phone back in her pocket with shaking hands. Taking a few deep breaths, Talia tried to calm herself down as she looked up at the building in front of her.
She knew he’d be inside – there were only two places in Riverdale he’d be at this time, and she’d already checked the bar. She just hoped that Pop’s would be relatively quiet given that the high school hadn’t let out yet. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have with a lot of people around.
Tightening her grip on the strap of her bag, Talia took a breath and pushed open the door of the diner before she could talk herself out of it. She spotted him almost immediately, leaning against the counter, a look of boredom on his face and his attention fixed on the phone he held in his hand. He looked up as she entered, the bell above the door signalling her arrival and Talia felt her cheeks flush as the corners of his mouth turned up into a smirk.
“Natalia,” he hummed softly, placing his phone down on the counter as she approached him. She almost winced at the sound of her name; he had always been one of the only people to use it and hearing it fall from his lips, she was instantly thrown back to that night in the back of his truck, her own name being whispered into as he told her how good he was going to make her feel, and whispering empty promises both of them knew he’d never keep.. “Back already?”
“I-I need to talk to you,” she stuttered nervously, dropping her back on the floor and she climbed on to one of chairs. “It’s important,” she added, and his smile slipped slightly. “It- it’s about… what happened.”
“You back for round two?” he asked with a chuckle and a raise of his eyebrows.
“I’m serious!” she snapped, and his laughter stopped as he frowned at her.
“I’m not gonna tell anyone if that’s what you’re worried about,” he shrugged. “It won’t get back to Sweet Pea. You guys back together, is that what’s got your panties in a bunch?”
“That- that’s not what this is,” Talia sighed, pushing her hands through her hair as she avoided his gaze, her stomach twisting nervously.
She bit down on her bottom lip, her hands falling on to the counter as she finally worked up the courage to look at him. He was watching her in a confusion and concern, a small, unsure smile on his face as he leaned a little closer to her. He made her nervous, he always had done. The way his dark eyes would focus solely on her, giving her his undivided attention whenever she spoke. She had been terrified of him when she was a teenager, but it was the kind of terrified that had made her feel alive, each one of her nerves tingling with excitement. She had never told anyone that, of course. Apart from Fangs, but he didn’t count. She told Fangs everything.
Talia opened her mouth to speak, but the way he was staring at her made her stop. There was something there, hidden in his eyes that made her swallow thickly. The bruises on her body from where he had gripped her hips a little too tightly and the hickies that had littered her collarbone had long since faded, but she knew the memories of that night never would and with the way he was looking at her, she knew that he remembered every single detail, too.
“Natalia, what’s wrong?” he asked as he reached out, his hand covering hers in concern when she still hadn’t spoken, and she flinched and pulled away from him.
“I’m pregnant.”
He blinked. “Congratulations? I’m sure Sweet Pea’s thrilled.”
“It’s not Sweet Pea’s,” she told him, pressing her lips together and raising her eyebrows at him, hoping he’d get what she was trying to say so she didn’t have to utter the words ‘it’s your baby’. There was silence between them and as Talia watched him, she could almost see the cogs turning in his head as his expression changed to one of realisation.
“Wha- I- me?”
“Yeah.”
“No,” he shook his head, pushing himself away from the counter. “No way. It can’t be mine.”
“Well, it is.”
“How can you be sure?” he snapped. “It was easy enough for me to get in your pants, how do I know you’re telling me the truth and you’re not just trying to pin it on me?”
Talia’s lip curled up into a snarl. “Well you’re hardly father of the year material, are you? If I was gonna pin a kid on someone, you’re the last person I’d choose!”
“Then get rid of it.”
Her breath caught in her throat, her knuckles turning white as he fingers gripped tightly on to the edge of the counter to stop herself from reaching out and slapping him. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that.
“How can you say that?” she asked in a whisper.
“Because neither of us want a kid, Natalia,” he snapped. “We’re not in a relationship, neither of us are in a position to support a kid financially.”
“And that’s your solution? Just ‘get rid’ of it?”
“Well what else do you wanna do?” he shrugged his shoulders, and Talia scowled. “…Don’t tell me you’re actually considering having it?”
Talia met his eyes, her gaze hard. “Maybe. I haven’t decided yet, that’s why I came to see you. I figured we needed to talk about it but I didn’t come here for your permission. Whatever I do, it’s gonna be my decision. You don’t have to be involved, frankly I don’t really care if you wanna be or not, I just thought you should know that you could potentially have another kid out there that might come find you one day. Then again, you’ve never really given a shit about the two you already have, huh?”
Slamming his hand down on the counter and ignoring the way she jumped and leaned away from him, he balled his hand into a fist pointed a finger at her. “Get. Rid. Of it,” he spat. “I mean it, Natalia. I want nothing to do with it, or with you. You were just a drunk hook-up, an easy lay. I didn’t sign up for this shit.”
Blinking bac angry tears, Talia grabbed her back and hopped off the stool, reaching out and shoving him backwards. “Fuck you, FP,” she snapped, throwing her bag over her shoulder and storming out of the diner.
She was half hoping, although not expecting, FP to follow her or to call after her or something, and she couldn’t help the angry tears that spilled over and rolled down her cheeks as she walked the once familiar road away from Pop’s. She reached up to wipe her eyes, not looking where she was going and gasping slightly when she collided with someone’s chest.
“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going-”
“Talia?”
Sniffling, Talia looked up through her tears, smiling weakly at the person in front of her. “Joaquin. Hey.”
“Hi,” Joaquin smiled in confusion. “What are you doing back in town? Are the guys with you?” he asked, his expression quickly turning to one of concern when he took in her watery eyes and trembling lip. “Hey. What’s wrong?” he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders and pulling her towards him.
Talia tried to hold herself together for all of five seconds, but she couldn’t. She let Joaquin pull her into his arms, burying her face in his chest, and she cried.
Never Be The Same // Sweet Pea x OC x Fangs - preview
Notes: Inspired by this headcanon by @sweetpca - will hopefully be a multi-chapter fic. Let me know what you think!!
banner by @siriussblackx
*
Fangs whined, screwing his eyes shut and letting his head fall back and hit the locker he was stood in front of. Toni jumped slightly beside him, grabbing her books from her locker and shoving them in her backpack as she looked at him in, alarmed.
“You good, Fogarty?” she asked, reaching forwards to slam her locker shut. Fangs muttered something unintelligible, and Toni shook her head. “You wanna talk about it?”
“No,” he replied quickly, opening his eyes and pushing himself away from the lockers. “It’s nothing, just me being dramatic. You know how much I love that.”
“You sure?” Toni frowned, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “You’ve been all over the place the last couple weeks, you’ve not been hanging out with us much and when you have your mind’s been somewhere else,” she told him, linking her arm through his as they started making their walk through the hallway.
“Yeah, I’ve just-” he stopped – stopped talking, stopped walking, just stopped dead in the middle of the hallway with wide eyes as he saw the couple heading towards them, Sweet Pea with his arm lazily slung over his girlfriend’s shoulders, smiling down at her as she chatted animatedly. “I gotta go,” he said hurriedly, and Toni followed his gaze with a look of confusion.
“Oh, hey, Fangs-”
“Gotta bounce, I’ll catch up with you later,” he interrupted, quickly unlinking their arms and dropping a kiss on Toni’s cheek before he took off in the opposite direction.
He could hear Sweet Pea asking Toni where he was going, but he didn’t hear Toni’s reply as he ducked down another corridor and darted inside the first empty classroom he could find, closing the door after him and leaning against the wall with his head in his head.
