#southsidegems

[southsidesgems]

Sweet Pea’s Sapphire is currently being rewritten.

[kneesheee]

unity

warnings: major character death|betrayal

If Sapphire had to be honest, there wasn’t many things she expected to be waiting on her when she returned to Riverdale. Her friends? The Serpents? Expected. Penny Finally Fucking Gone? Expected. FP’s son in charge of the Serpents? Expected but not until he was an adult.

Her brother dead and never coming back?

Entirely unexpected.

She could feel Sonja’s hand slip from hers as the shock settled in. Their brother. Their big brother was gone. “Hermano, despierta,” she demanded. Already her eyes were clouding with tears. “Despierta. Joaquin, wake up. Please. Please.”

But he wouldn’t, and her tears spilled over.

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

“No”

“NO!”

She could feel the pressure in her chest grow as she desperately tried to breath all the while huge ugly sobs escaped her. “Hermano, please. You can’t leave me!”

She reached for his body and she felt no warmth. His skin was cold to touch and so quickly the grief inside of her turned to rage.

Joaquin was hers and she’ll make them pay. She’ll make them all pay.

After all, no serpent was left for dead and a serpent never betrays their own.

But what’s betrayal when there’s no serpents left?

--

Sapphire and Sonja walked through the halls of Riverdale with their heads held high. They each wore shades to cover their red rimmed eyes and were surrounded by a group of security guards. Each of them had their respective gang affiliated paraphernalia and tattoos covered. No need for people to wonder why a Ghoulie and Serpent Former Serpent were together.

Standing inside the protected circle with them with Stone Enterprises’ and Stone Industries’ own lawyers. It took a lot work and a lot of non-legal dealings to acquire footage of certain Serpent members leaving the woods and were last to see her brother alive. Fuck, the Serpents’ legal help. She’s going make sure that they’ll never have scale to slither on.

“Getting rid of the Serpents gives the Ghoulies a good leg to stand on,” Sonja comments offhandedly. She cares nothing of what happens to either gang. She wants vengeance. She wants to see everyone involved with her brother’s descent into realm of death held responsible. And she was responsibly hanging them over a building by their small intestines then who can blame her?

Sapphire snorted and hissed, “I don’t give flying shit. They killed my brother.”

They made it to the room where the Serpents had taken to hanging out. Sapphire had only just barely managed to suppress the snarl at seeing them lounging around so casual. Like they hadn’t been the last ones to see her brother before he was killed. To her, they were just as guilty as the murderer. Especially after she recognized the slicing of skin where his serpent tattoo had once been.

They all tense up at the sight of all the armed guards walking into the room. Sweet Pea, her dearest beloved and first love even rose up to his full height. As much as she loved Mama and Grammy Sweets and the triplets, she will see that he falls face first. Knock him down to her height.

“What’s going on,” FP’s boy questioned. She saw the old pictures of FP and the boy could’ve been his clone. Too bad that her love for her leader will not stop her from tearing his son into pieces.

Sapphire and Sonja stepped out the circle. Recognition immediately filtered through Fangs (her little murder puppy), Toni (her best friend), and Sweet Pea (her first and only love).

“Saph,” they all breathed and the others in the room with them looked on in confusion. Those who had not been a part of the gang before Sapphire left to follow her brother.

“It’s Miss Stone to you,” she snapped without bothering to hide the pure and righteous fury in her voice. They flinched away from her. Good. They’d do right to fear her. “Can someone tell me the laws of the Serpents?”

Her eyes flickered around the room even looking at FP’s boy but even he had enough sense to not make eye contact with her. It mattered not. She was going to end them all.

“There are many but the main six? One: No Serpent stands alone. I know you all like to think that I abandoned FP when he was arrested for that shitcase with the Blossoms, but I stood with Joaquin since no one else did. I stood with my brother. “

She made she sure to clearly enunciated her association with him for the ones that didn’t seem to understand.

“Two: If a Serpent is killed or imprisoned, their family will be taken care of. Again, I took care of my family since no one else decided to. And it has been a week since my big brother was fucking murdered and this is my first time seeing any fucking serpent!”

Sonja calmly laid a hand on her shoulder, but Sapphire could feel her shaking. Could feel the anger coursing through her body.

“Three: You cannot hurt one of your own.”

She held up one finger.

“Four: No Serpent is left for dead.”

She held up another.

“Five: A Serpent never betrays his own.”

She held up another.

“And yet, despite knowing these fucking laws, my brother was still hurt. He was still left for dead. And he was still betrayed!”

She was screaming so loud that she was sure the students’ around the faculty heard her. Her gaze shifted from around all of them. Fangs was the unlucky one to catch her gaze first. “You know, he called us. The whole time he and Archie were making their little plan while in juvie. He called us and told us what was going on. And I told him to stay. He should’ve been informed us of what was going on and that I’d have him out there before the next day was over with. The next day came and no one could tell me where my brother was until he called me himself to tell me how he had to save your ass, Edward. And you held him down while this poor excuse of a fucking leader cut the tattoo off his arm.”

Fangs flinched back from the anger, hurt, and grief in her voice. He didn’t even care that she spoke his real name. He hurt her, and she was damn sure going to make sure he knew it.

“He betrayed us first, Saph!”

Sapphires gaze whipped towards Sweet Pea and her lips pulled back into a snarl. “Korran, you have no leg to stand on with me. That’s my damn brother you’re talking about you oversized pea brain oaf! And it wasn’t a fucking betrayal! I heard that it was over some stupid ass Goblins game or whatever the fuck you idiots are playing! My brother is dead! That makes you either murderers or accessories to the crime. So, which is it? Tell me! Either way, the Serpents are fucking done for. This whole fucking town is done for.”

FP’s son stood and stalked over to her as if he imitated her. She could laugh. He didn’t understand the danger he was in just by being in her mere presence and he decided he was going to what? Scare her into indulging him?

He stopped right out of her reach. Smart boy.

“What do you mean the Serpents are done for?”

She pushed the shades from her eyes, so he could see the rage in them. “Exactly what I said. Everything from the mortgage down to the sugar packets and anything owned or operate by Serpents members officially and legally belong to me. And I’m going to get it all back.”

Sapphire stared right at Sweet Pea as she stated, “Which includes Sweet Pea’s family store. Includes the trailers. Includes half the land of Riverdale. Includes the Whyte Worm. The jackets on your bodies even the damn tattoos on your skin. It was MY money that paid for it and since it was my brother that paid for YOUR actions, I’m going to let you know exactly what happens when you mess with Sapphire Stone.”

“You can’t do that,” one of the people in the room argued. She let the growl escaped her, “Fucking watch me.”

Toni slowly walked towards her. Timid and slightly scared. It wasn’t how she usually was. It was actually completely out of her character, but she knew how Sapphire was when she got angry. And anger and grief don’t mix well together. Neither did the wild look in Sapphire’s eyes. But she had to try to appeal to Sapphire. She couldn’t destroy the Serpents. They were family.

“Sapphire come on. What happened to the six law? You know, ‘In unity, there is strength’. We’re family. Quin meant a lot to us too. We need to stick together.”

If it wasn’t for Sonja’s sudden arm breaking grip on her, Sapphire would’ve clocked her fist into Toni’s face. “I know my family and you’re damn sure not a part of it. Keep that same unified energy though when I’m burning the Serpents to the ground. You’re gonna need all the strength you can get.”

She snapped her fingers, “Fri, you’re up.”

Sonja and Sapphire watched as one of their many lawyers stepped forward and handed over the paperwork to Fangs and Sweet Pea and Jughead and Toni.

“Edward Fogarty, Korran Swelton, Forsythe Jones III, Antonia Topaz, you have been served.”

Sonja swallowed down her grief and rage as she looked upon the four serpents that her cousin counted as friends and allies. “You may not understand the severity of such documents considering that you previously attended Southside High and believe me, I know how fucking shitty that school was. And this current school teaches you nothing and lets you all sit around playing dumb ass board games where you go out and murder innocent people- “

“Sonja,” Sapphire stated easily reeling her back in. Sonja refuse to think about how it felt to see her brother’s body so lifeless and cold.

She cleared her throat, “The purpose of those papers basically states that you are not allowed within fifty of feet of Sapphire and I or any of our family. You are not allowed at Joaquin’s funeral. Fortunately for you, Legal has put through a set of check and balances which will allow you to continue staying in your homes. No worries, though, you still will not be able to come near us. This information will be dealt out to all Serpents and their family members. There’s probably more, but Saph and I wanted to personally see your faces when you realized that we won’t have any more your shit.”

She could feel her fist clenching, “You took our brother from us and now we will take your lively hoods.”

Sonja watched with a sort of detachment as three of the Serpents in question immediately tried to plead with her cousin.

“Come on Saph, you cannot do this.”

“Can’t we come to some sort of understanding? You’re better than this.”

“Joaquin wouldn’t want this!”

It wasn’t only because their head of security stepped into Sapphire’s path that kept her from flying at Sweet Pea’s head. What did he know of what Joaquin wanted? He basically killed him.

“I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I may have fought with Quin a lot, but you once you laid a hand against him, it was time to face ME. And for my brother, I’d do anything. I hope you rot in hell.”

“You’d be wearing the crown,” she heard FP’s boy mutter.

“You shall hope not because I’ll never give you peace whether in life or death.”

--

“It’s not the memories inside my head that drive me crazy. It’s the new memories without that push me over the edge.”

Sapphire and Sonja stood over Joaquin’s grave. Everyone else had left the gravesite and the workers had stepped away to give them some privacy. In each of their hands they held onto the jackets that gave them their statures amongst the south side community. That made them the whispers of the night and at one point had them on opposing sides so deep with hatred they refused to sleep in the same house. But they united under a common force. The Serpents killed someone they claimed as theirs and the cousins will not stop until they have justice. In this, a Serpent and a Ghoulie stand together.

“We will raze this town to the ground,” Sonja spot into the air round them. Her gaze lifted and her connected with the small crowd standing at the edge of the graveyard. Even from a distance, she could tell they were Serpents.

Sapphire didn’t even glance their way as she kept her gaze on the coffin holding her brother captive. Keeping him from her. Taking him from her.

Sonja glanced away.

They lye their jackets on top of the bloodied jacket that Joaquin owned.

When they straightened up, Sapphire still refused to acknowledge the crowd instead running her eyes over area around them. Her gaze though always returned to the coffin.

“In unity, there is strength.”

[kneesheee]

Preparing myself for heartbreak while I rewatch Riverdale so that I can properly write these stories (and prepare for Season Three)

[southsidesgems]

Who Was Sapphire?

WARNINGS: REFERENCES TO SUICIDE/SELF HARM/DRUG USE/SELF HATRED/DEPRESSION/IDENTITY ISSUES/ANGST

Sapphire didn't care about many things and she knew how that seemed to others. She heard the whispers of how she was some heartless monster that only felt joy from other's misery. That she was some rich slut throwing her money around hoping to wipe away all her faults. That she bought her friends because no one would like her for who she was.

Sapphire can admit that those words hurt. That they tore into her and filled her with insecurities deeper than the Tsangpo Canyon. Because who was she really?

She wore so many masks. The Heiress, The Serpent Princess, The Southside Gem, The Kingpin Member, The Orphan... Just who was she? Who is Sapphire Stone? Would she ever know?

It was those thoughts that plagued her day and night as she struggled to find her sense of self. Those thoughts that twist and turned in her mind as she lay awake at night before having to get up the next day and throw on a mask. It was those thoughts that she tried to drive out of her mind as she pounded her fist against the punching bags in her personal gym until her fists were bloody.

Who the hell was Sapphire Stone?

She could scream herself hoarse, but she doubts she would ever know. How was this fair? How could she not know? She could feel the impenetrable mask of the Southside Gem crack and splinter as she tried to focus in class. Her hand gripped her pencil tightly until it cracked under the pressure of her fist the sound not being heard over the shrill ringing of the bell.

Sapphire calmly took a deep breath before she packed up her things and exited her last class of the day. She needed to clear her head. She needed a break as the thoughts pushed themselves to front of her mind. She could see in some detached way as she strode purposely out of the building. She could see the other students' gazes on her. She could see the fear and anger in their eyes. The disgust. She was nothing but a walking wallet with control issues.

Sapphire could feel Phire fighting for control of her mind, but she pushed that side of her down into the abyss. Let it deal with their insecurities for a change. She was almost to the door when a pair of well-worn leather stiletto boots stopped in front of her.

She paused slightly her eyes quickly flickering over the person in her path. Ariel Tremaine.

She did not have time for this.

"Oh, hi, Sapphire," the girl purred, and Sapphire inwardly snarled. All the different personalities. All the different masks screamed inside of her. Demanded control. Who is Sapphire Stone?

"Out of my way, Ursula," Sapphire scoffed. "Move before I make you."

The girl pouted before a slow smile crossed her face, "Don't you supposed to be at the dance team practice? Oh, that's right. Jazz got the spot instead."

Surely, she had not committed so many sins as to deserve dealing with one pest but having to speak about another that were the reason these thoughts were plaguing Sapphire in the first place.

Sapphire scoffed and didn't answer the girl before she shoved her out the way and kept moving. "You can't fool us, Sapphire. Your masks may be carefully crafted but you're still just a rich bitch throwing her money at her problems."

Sapphire didn't pause in stride to get away from that building. Her eyes were wide and bright filled with so many emotions that no mask of hers could even attempt to hide the panic and confusion she felt. She didn't even notice the rest of her friends and her boyfriend standing by their rides waiting on her as she tightened her bag strap around her and sprinted down the road. Her bike would have been faster, but she just didn't have the patience to wait for it.

She ran as fast as she could and as far as she could. She could hear people calling out her name and feel the rush of air as people passed by her in their vehicles. But she ignored it all. She ran and ran until her body couldn't run anymore. Until she had to stop and breath. She fell to the ground gulping down air, but she needed to move. She had to move.

Who was she? Did she run from her problems too?

Sapphire felt more than heard when people approached her. When the vehicles by her stopped. She felt arms come around her and couldn't hide the flinch when Sweet Pea whispered into her ear, "Princess?"

She was no princess. Princesses got happy endings and they were liked and loved because of who they were. People only wanted her for her money and her looks and those that couldn't wait until she was older hoping to get her body as well.

No one wanted Sapphire whoever the hell she may be.

She willingly fell into the abyss of her mind to escape the thoughts drowning her.

--

When Sapphire had joined the Serpents, she had been so sure of her place. She was strong and beautiful and rich. She was everything they could ever need.

And then Cheryl joined, and Sapphire’s world tilted on an axis. She hadn’t known what to think. She didn’t want to believe that her best friend had fallen in love with such a person, but she also didn’t want to believe that everything she had thought about Cheryl had been a lie.

She was a bitch that was true, but she was human just like the rest of them. And she wore masks just like everyone else. Just like Sapphire.

It hadn’t really been a problem for Sapphire to give the girl a chance. Toni wanted her to. She didn’t want her two favorite girls to hate each other. And she felt it slightly weird that both had mention how stress was bad for her skin (stress of them hating and avoiding each other was causing her). And Jughead wanted her to give the girl a chance. Which was shocking cause she thought boy cared little for her. But she did because he was FP’s son and FP made him the leader of the Serpents and she trusted FP’s judgement.

The two heiresses bonded over safe topics. Critics of the outfits around them and the absurdity of some of the outfits at galas they’ve been to. And then Cheryl just had to casually mention how she was so glad to have found Toni. How Toni made her feel more like herself. A person she never knew she was but was glad to be able to be. And Sapphire agreed to an extent. Sweet Pea did make her feel like somebody else. Somebody good. But she didn’t know who that was.

But she’d like to find out.

--

Sapphire sat in front of her vanity. Her face was void of any makeup. Her hair was a loose ponytail. She looked like a kid. She imagined what the students at school would say if she showed up just like this.

She took a deep breath and told herself, “You do not have to wear makeup to be beautiful.”

“Aw, she has freckles. I could play connect the dots on her face,” a voice that sounded suspiciously like Ghoulie leader Malachi.

Sapphire picked up her foundation.

--

Sapphire had been mindlessly pushing around the food on her plate. Stone Enterprises was partnering with some designer company and they wanted Sapphire to model their swimsuits. She needed to be smaller to be ideal look of beautiful.

She looked down at her stomach. She wasn’t fat. “You do not have to be skinny to be beautiful.”

“You are a good size, yes. If you lost some of your gut baby fat, then you would be perfect,” the voice sounded just like the designer and her own personal tailor.

Sapphire raced to the sink, stuck a finger down her throat and threw up.

--

Sapphire refused to look at her mirror. She turned right for her closet and tried to find something to wear. She was kind of horrified to see that she had mostly designer and customized clothing. She seriously had nothing normal. Nothing from a thrift shop? Rue 21 or Forever 21? Nothing from Walmart? Was she really that bad?

She went to Joaquin’s room and started searching through his clothes. She avoided the designer clothes she bought him like plague. She dug and dug until she found a plain white t -shirt. It was small enough to fit her without being too baggy.

Sapphire went back to her room and searched for a her least pretentious pair of jeans. She slipped them both on and a simple pair of flats that she remembers randomly buying when her feet hurt from the heel she wore at a gala. She slipped her grandmother’s necklace on, grabbed her backpack and went to school.

She still didn’t look in her mirror.

She swung onto her bike and drove off, “You don’t have to be anyone but yourself to be beautiful.”

--

“You’d be the perfect girl if you weren’t so untouchable.”

Her masks dropped onto her face quickly, “If I cared enough about your opinion, then I’d start by remembering your name.”

She rushed off into the bathroom and applied minimal makeup to her face.

--

She didn’t eat lunch that day.

--

Sapphire was so tired.

--

Sapphire stared down at the handful of pills in her hands. She looked into the mirror, and she didn’t like what she saw. She never did.

--

She flushed the pills.

She didn’t have to be anyone but herself to be beautiful.

--

If there was one thing Sapphire was used to, it was work a crowd. Whether it’s Stone Enterprises’ board or a crowd of reporters or even a crowd of students. She knew how to make them bend to her will and listen to her.

“When I was born, I gained my first mask. A persona that I keep with until this very day. I nicknamed it The Heiress. It’s the mask I wear whenever I’m at a socialite party or in a business meeting or standing in front of you. I wore that exact mask when I walk through those doors.”

She could see the confusion in everyone. Just where was she going with this.

“When I was eight, I gained another mask. One I share with my favorite superhero, Tony Stark. I call that one The Orphan. I gained the very second my parents took their last breath and its one that I will never be able to get rid of.”

The pity tasted bitter in the air. She needed a drink.

“When I was ten, I was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. I had no idea what it meant. I only knew I was going to doctors after doctors after doctors. I thought I was sick. When I realized that I was going to see different therapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists, I thought I was a freak. When I was ten, I began my descent into depression.”

Furious scribbling and scandalized gasp. Oh, they just got the story of the century.

“When I was twelve, I gained three more masks all at one time. My foster mother and I had been approached by people in the neighborhood to help improve our side of town. I instantly jumped on the idea and the first mask I gained, I nicknamed it The Serpent Princess. It was during this time that I met my best friend. The two of us gained an instant bond and wreak havoc all over our neighborhood. I shared this mask with her, and the neighborhood called it A Gem. We teamed up with my foster brother and our mutual friends and suddenly, we all shared a mask together, they called it The Kingpin.”

Correction: she joined a gang.

“I’ve spent years tossing these masks around like baseballs, and I’ve grown tired and complacent. When I started the ‘You Don’t Have to Be… to Be Beautiful’ campaign, I wasn’t doing it to for money. I wasn’t doing it to make myself look good. I was doing to let others know that they are not alone. People see us on these stages and runways and they go, ‘Oh I wish I was as pretty as her’ or ‘Oh, I wish I had a guy like him’ and ‘I wish I was skinny as them’”. Well, let me be the one to tell you that I don’t know about anyone else, but I am fucking miserable.”

She could feel the heavy gazes of all her loved ones those that were there and those that weren’t. Who would’ve thought after so many years she could still feel the familiar weight of her mother’s stare.

“I’ve never told anyone this. Not my brother. Not my friends. Not my foster parents. Not any of my therapists. But I hate myself. Yelp, I said it. I absolutely despise myself. I used to go sit in the bathroom or in my closet or lye down in my bed and I would just cry and cry and cry. I’ve got insecurities on top of insecurities. I hate it all. I’ve had days with knives and pills in my hands ready to end it all. And I tried so hard to be the girl everybody wanted me to be.”

She is so damn glad she didn’t wear makeup because she was sure that it would be running down her face right now. Her eyes connected with Sweet Pea’s at the back and she could see the pity in his eyes, but she could also see the love and she pulled strength to continue from that.

“If I had to describe what I liked about myself, I wouldn’t be able to give an honest answer because I don’t know. I can fake confidence and self-assurance with the best of them. But I have never felt an ounce of love for myself. Love that I am so quick to give everyone else.”

She was kind of glad that this was being filmed live on the Stone Enterprises’ website. She had no worries about anyone doing any edits, and if they did, she had no problem pulling funding.

“I’ve starved myself sick because everyone made it seemed like that’s girls with small stomachs were the best. I’ve been pricked and prod of all things that could’ve made me who I am, but instead I just felt like a damn barbie doll.”

Sapphire ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath, “I wish I can go back and teach myself how to be myself, but I can’t because I don’t know how. I want to start over, but insecurities are a bitch and I’d probably only feel worse. I have so much hate and anger and bitterness built up in me about myself that I could just scream. But instead I lash out and everyone claimed that I was untouchable. So, I took to it with a smile and a laugh when all I needed was for somebody to hear me and tell me it was okay. I broke into pieces and I had to be the one to build myself back up.”

She shrugged with a small tilt to her lips, “I wish I can say that I’m better and that I love myself, but I don’t. I really don’t. I draw strength from everyone else, but I don’t love me, and I wish I did just like I wish I could start over.”

“A couple of weeks ago, I had a classmate ask me just who Sapphire under all my masks was. She said to it be malicious, but it stuck with like a mantra. I had found it so crazy. You wear mask to hide and protect something, but I didn’t even know what I was hiding let alone protecting.  Every morning before I started my daily routine; before I slipped on my masks… I would look in the mirror and say, ‘You don’t have to wear makeup to be beautiful’ or I’d be in the kitchen contemplating my diet and I’d look down at myself and say, ‘You don’t have to be skinny to be beautiful’. Or as I drove to school in clothes that I would only imagine myself in and feeling the insecurities and doubt eat my mind, I would say, ‘You don’t have to anybody but yourself to be beautiful’. Because that’s what I thought it was about. I think I don’t love myself because I don’t believe that I’m beautiful whether it be in appearance, personality, or my soul.”

Sapphire knew that if she or the universe didn’t kill her, this next part will. “When I walked through those doors, I made a promise to myself that one be the last time I wore a mask. Because I don’t have to wear one to be beautiful. So, thank you, Jazmine Towers for awakening this self-discovery. Stone Enterprises will be releasing apparel for the ‘You Don’t Have to Be… To Be Beautiful’ campaign. All funding will go to different orphanages across the world alongside research centers for those that suffer from Alopecia.”

“My apologies, but we won’t be taking any questions.”

--

Sapphire walked out of those doors with her head held high. She was everything and she was nothing.

She was Sapphire.

[kneesheee]

The Teenage Kingpin

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE, ATTEMPTED MURDER, GANG WARS

|eleven|

Emerald did not plan for her weekend to go this way. Honestly, she had plans to talk to Sapphire and clear the air between them. Look for potential recruits to add to the cheer team. Yet, somehow, someway, she was currently ducking behind a car in the middle of a shootout. She loaded some more bullets into her gun and took the time to look for her friends. Fangs and Sweet Pea were up ahead of her shooting from behind a truck while Toni was shooting from inside a car to the left of her. And Sapphire, oh so brave and stupid and reckless Sapphire, was standing on top of a jeep in front of them shooting with a machine gun.

Despite their unforgiving nature and the fact that some of them have killed before, they weren’t aiming for kill spots. Liable to be injured for months on end or seriously disabled? Yeah, that was much better.

Emerald couldn’t help but to feel grateful though. It was because of her that they were doing this. If she had never gotten so close to Reggie and let her darkness consume him, this wouldn’t be a problem. She and the rest of the Kingpin and half of Sapphire’s den wouldn’t be distracting the Ghoulies while Jughead, Joaquin, and the other half got the Northsiders back to their side of town.

A loud scream emerged through the air. Emerald’s head snapped up and she saw Sapphire falling to the ground clutching at her stomach. The tension in the air turned darker.

And then Emerald was no more.

Meri didn’t have some stupid tension with her gem sister. Meri was the manipulator of the Kingpin. She played people like chess people and she knew in her soul that her sister had a very good reason for murdering Philip Willis. It was just like she knew her sister was right in killing the Willis siblings.

That was why she pushed her way forward and shoved Emerald back. There was no time to be the kindhearted soul that she usually was. She needed to be tougher and braver with a heart of iron. She shook off her tension and relaxed.

Meri needed to create an opening so that Sweet Pea could get to his girlfriend. She cast a critical eye around their surroundings. She could see Nathan trying to make his way to his den leader out of her peripheral. She could feel the seething anger from Sweet Pea even from the distance she was at.

Her phone dinged with a message from Paz. She opened it quickly and it was a google maps street view of the area surrounding them. Another message pinged, and she got schematics of the buildings lingering. Meri grinned when she noticed that she was the closest to an accurate shot at the old gas pipeline. If she got it right (and she would. Her math was immaculate), then the bullet would bounce off the panel and fly towards the pipeline creating an explosion which would of course give them the perfect diversion to get Saph out of the line of fire and let them create an escape.

Meri took a deep breath before lining the shot just like it needed to be. A second passed and she squeezed the trigger. She watched as the bullet soared towards the panel before bouncing off it just like she knew it would. She watched it head towards the pipeline before finally colliding. The chain reaction was immediate and within seconds Sweet Pea was rushing for Sapphire.

Meri and the others shot off rounds in the chaos by the Ghoulies while Sweet Pea cradled Sapphire oh so gently and rushed her towards Fangs’ car that was further down the road. They all shot a few more times before they were taking off running behind the couple.

Meri was pushed down and Emerald relished in being in her right mind again.

She slid into the passenger seat of Fangs’ car hearing the whimpering from Sapphire from her spot across Sweet Pea’s and Toni’s laps.

“Get us to the medic stat,” Sweet Pea growled.

Fuck, she hoped Saph pulled through for everybody’s sake.

--

She did.

Barely.

The private physician for that Sapphire hired for the Serpents performed the surgery she needed. She had lost a lot of blood, and Saph just had to go on and show out how much special she was by being AB-.

She was still mad at Sapphire. She was still guilty by how she treated Sapphire after Toni told her why Sapphire killed Mr. Willis. But seeing one of her best friends… her sisters lying pale and so small, it made their argument seem so insignificant. It just made her wonder what Sapphire had been thinking when it was her lying on the bed.

Emerald couldn’t handle seeing Sapphire like that especially considering it was her fault. Sapphire wouldn’t have gotten shot if Emerald hadn’t overstepped her bounds. She was a Southsider. A serpent. They should have been the only ones she spent time with, but Reggie was so sweet and so different than the norm. She liked the freedom that she experienced when she was with him.

But Emerald would spend the rest of her days in her metaphorical bonds if it meant never seeing Sapphire like this again. Her fellow gem didn’t even have on any makeup. Honestly, she looked like a fifteen-year-old for a change. And even that was a stretch. Bare faced Sapphire looked so much like a child that one would think Sweet Pea was cradle robbing.

Sweet Pea.

He and Joaquin and FP had been here everyday without fail. Each pleading for her to wake up. And as usual, Sapphire proved how stubborn she was by refusing.

Gods of Olympus, she missed her friend.

She missed the way that only people that really knew Sapphire knew how her eyes would light up with excitement with whatever she was passionate about. She missed the fierce determination she had whenever she wanted something done. She missed walking into the gym and seeing Sapphire teaching her den how to fight people or watching her at the shooting range in Stone Manor teaching them how to shoot. She missed how Sapphire would show up at cheer practices with refreshments and food and a fresh set of eyes to make sure they were perfect. How she took days out of her frankly incredibly busy schedule to hand wash their jerseys and uniforms. She poured money into the Southside community as if she was pouring water.

People could say whatever they liked out Sapphire, but no one can deny she cared so much about the Southside and its people. She was insanely protective over what she deemed hers. And that’s what makes it so hard for Emerald to come to terms with what Sapphire did. She knows Sapphire is defensive and overprotective, but she never thought that her friend would kill anyone in her name.

It was too much for her to process.

She settles into the chair by the hotheaded gem, taking her hand and rubbing her thumb across the back of it like she saw Joaquin do. She didn’t know the prayer he whispered, but she hoped the effect was the same.

“You know being mad at you is such a chore…” she breaks eye contact from her hands to stare at Sapphire’s face. “Half the time I don’t think it’s worth it but trying to stay mad at you is just as hard.”

The words are spilling out of her mouth like water, boiling hot water. It hurts to confess to Sapphire when she can’t even hear it. She’s alone in this room with nothing, but her thoughts and shadows.

There’s no reaction on Saph’s face and Emerald wished for a moment that there was, that for some miracle Sapphire woke up for her. Just for her in this silent room and loud thoughts, that she would wake up and the two of them could finally talk and clear the air. She missed her best friend with the fierceness of a lion even when Sapphire was right there.

There’s a dull pain in her chest that hasn’t disappeared since watching Sapphire drop down on the jeep weeks prior. That whatever she wanted to say to Sapphire at the time she could have come clean with her feelings and she wouldn't be left in this gruesome waiting game of ‘can I forgive her or not.’

The back of her head says she already knows the answer. She lost her chance and should have made a stance weeks ago then maybe things could have been different. She buries her face into Sapphire’s arm. She drinks up the contact. She hasn’t been this close to Sapphire since the night she woke up in the Manor under all her guilt gifts.

“You make things too difficult, but you’re...you’ve taken up my thoughts and I hate it.” She laughs. “God Saph, I hate you so much.” A lie.

“Did you know that anytime I saw someone with a bold blue lipstick and clicking heels I would think it was you? I know, you’re a trendsetter and many girls at school kill to copy your style. But you’re my sister and it’s just hard to not to be able to turn around and see you looking so impassive to anyone that didn’t know you.”

There’s a faint sound of crickets that reaches Emerald’s ears through the window, she’ll have to close it when she leaves, who knows how many nasty bugs will crawl their way into the building that way.

“You’re probably ignoring me even in your sleep Saph...but I guess it’s better to say it now then never, I-I forgive you. I’ve forgiven you since the day Jazz Towers mentioned my kidnapping and you spent the rest of first period wiping the floor with her while the others were pulling me out of a flashback.”

Emerald choked back a sob, “For fuck’s sake, wake up. I miss you.”

Finally, she closes his eyes and for once in the past few weeks she falls asleep quickly.

 --

Sleeping in the chair in Sapphire’s room has to be one of her worst ideas. There’s an awful crick in her neck and a dull ache in her back now. It probably won’t go away until she goes to sleep again in the cold comfort of her bed. Emerald’s eyes flutter open and she’s met with the harsh light of the morning sun. Without thinking her arm is already up and covering her face. She hopes that she’s not late for her patrol of the Serpent territory to keep the war with the Ghoulies’ in control. It’s one thing at school where they were all feared and couldn’t be properly contained, but it was different on the streets where all battles could probably be the final one.

She never did close the window either. She prays no spiders made their way into the room during the night, because if they did Saph is on her own.

“You know…you’re the last person I expected to see when I woke up.”

The voice jerks her out of his tranquil peace so fast that the chair tilts and Emerald finds herself screaming. The chair is gone it makes a loud sound as it hits the floor and slides to hit the room wall. Emerald feels like she just finished getting body slammed by Hog Eye when they’re practicing hand-to-hand combat. The pain in her back and head only becomes worse.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Saph’s voice is gruffy from the lack of use and more than likely dry as well.

The princess wants to cry. The universe is out for her, time and time again she’s being shoved with series of happy unfortunate situations with Sapphire. She takes a moment to think, to think what to say, to think of her next moves, but everything comes up blank.

Maybe once she gets a good look at Sapphire she’ll be able to. Possibly think of a concrete thought.  Finally she opens her eyes and looks around. Sapphire is leaning over the small railing of her bed that Grammy Sweets and Nana Fangs demanded to be installed, worry filters her face as she prepares to say something else to Emerald.

Nope. If anything, it completely whips the brunet’s mind of any coherent thought. Like a fish out of water she stutters as she opens and closes her mouth repeatedly.

“Are you okay?” Sapphire says, and she looks so worried for Emerald you could think that past few weeks of unforgiven tension between them never happened.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine, I just--I didn’t think you’d be up, I’ve--everyone’s been worried.” The cheer captain finally finds her voice and she’s a stuttering mess, Sapphire looks like she’s about to laugh her ass off with how Emerald is reacting. A slight twitch to her lips like she’s holding it back.

“You sure? You hit your head pretty hard, it sounds like it hurt.” The raven-haired heiress coughs to cover up the laugh that’s bubbling to the surface.

The best thing to do is always embarrass yourself in front of the person that you need to beg forgiveness from, nice one Emmy.

“It did but sleeping in that chair has probably been the worst thing in my life too.” Good a normal conversation, she sounds normal. Maybe. She thinks she might be pitching her voice and running out of breath a lot faster than usual. This is normal, yes of course.

“You sure you okay Wayne?” The way her name rolls off Saph’s tongue is like music to her ears, she springs up so fast her back cracks and she sees the way Sapphire cringes at the sound.

(It didn’t escape her notice that Sapphire called her by her last name. An occurrence so rare its damn near a myth. It just goes to show how far they’ve strayed and how hurt Sapphire was by her actions no matter how justified.)

“Better than ever, thanks for asking.” It’s rushed out so quickly she can see Saph didn’t understand a word she just said.

“Uh…okay...sure,” She gives Emerald a quick one over just to make sure and settles back into her bed. Emerald could feel Meri pulsing in the back of her mind and reaching for Phire. Emerald knew intellectually that she and Meri were the same person, but it was mainly easier to think of that darker side of her as a different person. It also made Sapphire feel better and that nothing was wrong with her despite being diagnosed with such a mental illness. She could see Sapphire’s unease when she saw the IV dripping with the medicine to keep Phire under control and stabilized.

Slowly Emerald pushes herself up and places both of her hands on the edge of the mattress, leaning her weight into it. “But really, I’m happy to see you awake, you’ve...been asleep for a long time.”

Sapphire blinks and looks up at her confused, “How long?”

“If you slept another week it would have been a month.”

“It’s been that long?”

Emerald nods not looking away from Sapphire, drinking in the sight of the other and their small actions. The way Saph nose scrunches up in thought and the slight pout to her lips. The self-loathing and anger and regret in her eyes for making them wait so long for her to awaken for something as stupid as a bullet wound. She should’ve been more careful. She shouldn’t have let Phire have so much control.

Honestly, if Sapphire was so injured, Emerald would slap the shit out of her to keep those thoughts away.

“Yeah, in that time the Ghoulies have gotten a little more brave though it hasn’t been long, I’ve been training the Northies too.” Sapphire freezes and looks like she wasn’t prepared for Emerald to say that. She could basically see Sapphire’s walls come down. She knew what the other princess thought she was going to say. And while it was a true though, she knew how much Sapphire hated being compared to the Northsiders even though she dressed like them and talked like them and apparently fought like them though she was definitely more vicious. “They’re alright, they have this your dramatic flair I’m trying to get rid of.” Emerald smiles and tilts his head to the side. A dramatic flare just like you.

It appears to be the right answer as Sapphire relaxes and smiles up to Emerald, “Bet they’re nowhere near the level of my den.”

She was absolutely right. Sapphire’s den was a reflection of her and she took great pride in them. The Northsiders wouldn’t stand a chance. Hell, if it were for Emerald’s princess status in the Serpents and being a part of the Kingpin, she was sure that the Saph’s den would’ve tore her to pieces for getting her hurt. She knew that they wanted to demolish the Northsiders especially Reggie, but the war with the Ghoulies took precedence. And they were under strict orders from Sweet Pea to not touch them as he took over the den in his girlfriend’s absence.

“Where’s Sweet Pea,” ah Emerald knew it wouldn’t have been long before Sapphire asked for him.

“He’s been busy with your den; do you want me to find him?” Her voice betrays her, she doesn’t want to leave the other yet. For once in a long time she’s has her sole attention with no one else to get in their way. She wants to take this in, enjoy it for what she can before this is ripped away from her too. Before the two of them have to have the conversation to clear the air between them and Emerald can properly apologize again.

“It’s fine, I’m sure he’ll just know and be here when he can, he’s a complete mother hen.” Sapphire smiles, holding back a laugh.

A part of Emerald wondered why Sapphire was so calm and expressive with her after the weeks of anger and tension between them. Even when they had to present the arc reactor that Sapphire somehow managed to pull off and create for their class project and had the rest of them recite the schematics and how it was built and how the different elements reacted to the power core, there was tension between them. She remembered thinking to herself that some of the elements she was using for the project was rare and did she pay hush money and who she killed just to get it.

Yet here Sapphire is acting as if none of that had happened.

Emerald does too, snorting and placing her hands on her hips. “You’re not wrong. Do you want me to call anybody else in?”

Sapphire stops smiling and thinking for a moment, eyes furrowing in thought. Emerald heart stops and her mind goes into overdrive. Maybe she really didn’t expect to see her and hoped for someone else. Maybe she was just being polite and courteous. But the look in Sapphires eyes were genuine and the smiles she was gracing the room were pure.

“No? I actually wanted to talk to you, since you know we never got to since I ended up getting shot and everything.”

Emerald stops functioning, and she thinks she’ll just prefer to make a break for it. The brunet didn’t think that the other would bring up the topic so quickly.

I’m sure when she wakes up she’ll want to speak with you. Thanks FP.

“Oh...yeah that,” she responds lamely, scratching the back of her head.

“I know we kinda left each other on...a bad note, but I do-” Sapphire can’t seem the right words as she turns her head to look away from Emerald. It hits her like a ton of bricks. It was a well-known fact that despite how caring Sapphire was, she was absolutely shitty at comforting people and expressing her feelings and apologizing. She had been working on it because she hadn’t wanted it to seem like she was some manipulative bitch that got all her problems swept under a rug because she didn’t know how to be empathetic.

It also kept her and Sweet Pea from breaking up every other week.

The brunet decides to save her the trouble, “Hey it’s okay, I was a jerk and you had every right to be one back it’s fine, I’m sorry.”

But Sapphire shook her head, “No, I have to apologize for the stuff with the Willis’. I should’ve told you from the beginning starting with running them out of town. I didn’t expect to care for you as deeply as I do. I didn’t think I would see you as a sister. At the beginning, you were just another girl. Basically, an insurance. Another equal for Toni whenever I had to leave on business. I never supposed to have let you get close enough to have the power to hurt me…”

“…But the night that Candace put those dead snakes around you and I found out Philip was trying to take you in. I knew I had to do something. FP had said that he would handle it, but I just couldn’t wait. Something need to be done soon and fast, so I had manipulated my way around everything and took control of their reigns of life. I just knew I had to protect you no matter the cost…”

“… And Emerald, I am so, so, so sorry that you got hurt because of my careless. And even then, hurt doesn’t even fully cover it, but I don’t regret it. I’d do it a thousand times again if it means keeping you out that creep’s hand and hell if I could, I would’ve gotten rid of the twins at the time while I was at it.”

Emerald knew there were tears streaming down her face. Even without the makeup and still being so pale, the intensity of determination and stubbornness and protectiveness in Sapphires eyes made her look like so normal. Made her look like the Serpent Princess that she was.

Emerald stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Sapphire, “I forgave you a long time ago.”

Honestly, it was one of the best mornings Emerald had in a while.

[kneesheee]

Me: Fuck Yes! Finally, got some inspiration to finish The Teenage Kingpin!!!

*opens up word doc*

Me: What the fuck is this shit? 😭🤦🏽‍♀️

[southsidesgems]

How Could She?

Sweet Pea stood back against the wall watching as his “sisters” danced on the floor. His eyes flickered over each of them and he wore a small smile at the sight of them. Though his brow furrowed a second later when he didn’t see his favorite gemstone.

He turned his head to the side when he felt someone come stand beside him, and there she was. Sapphire. She looked up at him with a bright smile. Her eyes sparkled like the diamond resting around her neck.

“Come dance with me, SP,” she pleaded. The pout she wore only served to make her look younger than she was. He flicked his gaze over her face and could see the love she held for him in her expression. He felt a flicker of guilt for the pain and hurt that was sure to appear before it went away because she knew how he felt for her. Just like he knew how she felt about him.

“I can’t do that, Princess. You know I’m waiting on Jazz.”

And there it was. The flicker of hurt and pain. The way her smile tightened before she smoothed her features out in the way only she could do. To where it wasn’t Saph no longer standing in front of him, but the untouchable Sapphire Stone, heir to Stone Industries.

“Right. Well, hope you have a good time.”

He watched her turn away from him and watched as she moved back towards the dance floor. Watched as she let her jacket fall in the lap of one of her den members grasp. Watched as she let her hair down. And he watched as she tried to force herself to forget him even if it were only for a few moments.

He made himself turn around before the guilt he felt tore him apart. Sure, he didn’t feel the same way, but she was still like a sister to him. He couldn’t imagine life without her by his side. He saw Jazz heading back towards him, but he pushed himself off the wall and headed towards her. He casually slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into one of the back rooms.

All the while he ignored the heavy gaze of a breaking heart staring after him.

--

Sapphire working the bar at the Whyte Worm when it started. An intense burning feeling grew in her lungs and she stumbled back from the force of it. She vaguely noticed Toni turning towards her, but Sapphire was mostly distracted by the sensation in her chest. She pounded on her chest to get whatever what stuck out yet when it did, the only thing she wanted more than anything was for it to disappear.

Especially since it was obvious exactly what it was… a sweet pea flower.

“Holy shit.”

--

Sapphire had always known that she was in love with Sweet Pea. How could she not be? It was like every time she looked at him she felt breathless. When she realized that she had started to take the walls up around her heart back down. When she realizes that she would let him do anything or do anything for him even if it hurt her. When no matter how what state he was in, she could only see a person that makes her feel like nothing else in the world matters.

He was her safe haven, and she’s not afraid to admit that she relies heavily on him. If Toni was her best female friend, then Sweet Pea was her best guy friend. And she could admit to herself that she wanted more. That she wanted to be the girl wrapped in his arms and smiling up at him.

She thought she had a good hold on her emotions especially since it seemed like he didn’t like in her that way. When it seemed that he only saw her as a sister figure instead of a love interest. She can admit that it hurts. She knows he’s done some shitty things. Getting her to ask other girls out for him or that time he took her bike to Tiana’s house to go fuck. But she still couldn’t see herself with anyone but him.

He really had her looking in the mirror staring at her reflection thinking she was flawed because why didn’t he feel the same? But Sapphire was a big girl, so she pushed down her feelings and ignored them no matter how much it killed her to.

And now it was really killing her.

--

Days went by and Sapphire could feel the roots and branches making a home of her lungs and heart. Each day a new flower petal erupted from her lungs, and she did nothing to stop them. She didn’t want to.

Toni and Joaquin begged her to get the surgery. Begged her to have the branches removed. But she couldn’t. She didn’t want to. How she could not love him?

Everything around her was a mess. She was coughing up so many petals nowadays that she had to miss school. Honestly, she only saw four people on a day to day basis. FP, Toni, her brother, and her cousin Sonja. They crowded around her holding her as petal after petal escaped her.

But she still couldn’t get that surgery. Sweet Pea made her heart sing and obviously he made flowers boom inside of her heart. Even as she laid awake at night delirious through the pain, she only paid attention to the memories she had with him. Whatever the road is, she wanted to cross it with him. Even now as she was slowly dying, she would choose him repeatedly. The warm embrace of his skin, the soft glow in his eyes, the soothing rumble of his voice and his contagious smile. She would choose it over any heaven. Any paradise. She’d choose death repeatedly if she could never forget how these emotions felt.

And even though she knew he’d never love her the same, she also knew that love was a wonderful feeling and so is the pain that comes with it.

--

Sweet Pea had been playing pool when he found out. Sapphire had hanahaki disease and it didn’t take a second guess to figure out just who the reason behind her suffering was even if the flower in her hand wasn’t a clue. He had turned around to look at the bar when he heard Toni scream out Sapphire’s name. He had pushed his way through the crowd to get nearer when he saw her on the crowd. She looked beautiful even if she did look seconds away from death and in another world, he might have loved her the way she needed him to. The way the flower that emerged from her esophagus demand him to.

But he couldn’t. To him, she was just like Toni. Just like Emerald. Just like Emilia. Just like Camille. Just like Jade. She was his little sister in all but blood, and he couldn’t see her any other way.

“Holy shit,” she stated.

Yeah, holy shit indeed.

--

It didn’t take long for people to come yell at him. To convince her to get the surgery. To demand that he fix it. As if he could just conjure feelings up. As if anything did he would do wouldn’t hurt her further. He was too scared to go see her for that exact reason.

He stared at his reflection everyday wondering what about him made her fall in love with him. What was so special about him that she wouldn’t get the surgery that would save her life? He could admit that he was good looking guy and he had a good heart. But he had flaws just like the next person. Flaws that Sapphire had seen firsthand. So how could she love him when he wasn’t right for her?

He heard from Emilia who heard from Toni that Sapphire’s humor had took a morbid turn. At least to everyone else. She had the flowers she coughed up cleaned and plucked beautifully and filled her room with flower crowns or floral bracelets.

“This is all your fault, you pendejo! De todas las personas, ella tenía que irse y enamorarse de ti. Eres bueno para nada hijo de puta,” was all he heard before fists began attacking him. It took him a minute to catch the fists hitting him not before a handful had already bruised his chest. Sapphire’s cousin, Sonja, was still crying and desperately punching at his chest and cursing him in spanish.

“What do you want me to do, Sonja? Huh! I can’t love her that way. I don’t see her that way. Would you rather me lie to her only for her to find out the truth and the branches grow with a vengeance? Do you think I want her to feel this way? Huh? I would rather her hate me with down to the very last atom in her body than to be lying quite literally on her death bed!”

“BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS ALL ABOUT YOU ISN'T IT!! DID YOU THINK ABOUT HOW I FEEL SWEET PEA? I'M ABOUT TO LOSE THE LAST MEMBER OF MY BIOLOGICAL FAMILY BECAUSE OF SOME ASSHOLE WITH AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM!”

She snatched away from him and stormed off and he watched her go. He watched as she walked Sapphire’s locker where people had placed even more flowers in front of. He found it heartbreaking that someone had actually put sweet pea flowers in front of them. As if she wasn’t coughing up enough to fill a flower shop. As if he wasn’t feeling guilty as it was.

He watched as Sonja stopped in front of the lockers where someone had tapped a picture of Sapphire. He watched as she broke down right in front of the lockers and he watched as her adopted brother, Joaquin, embraced her as tears streamed down his face also.

Sweet Pea turned and left the school. He headed right for the Whyte Worm where he hoped to let some of his aggression out in a game of pool or to drown his sorrows out in some bottles.

He was shooting some practice shots when he felt someone come up behind him. Sweet Pea took a shot and the ball missed. Just like the feelings he couldn’t conjure up for her.

“Coming to scream at me too,” Sweet Pea mumbled bitterly. He heard a scoff and them moving around before another pool stick appeared in his vision.

“No, I’m coming to check on you because I know this has to be hard on you too,” Fangs replied as Sweet Pea moved to set the game up.

“I just don’t understand why she won’t get the surgery,” he growled frustration coloring his tone. “I’m not worth her dying over.”

Fangs hummed, “Obviously to her, you are. Saph has always loved you, dude. Getting some flowers removed won’t change that.”

“Yeah, but with the flowers gone, so will the feelings?”

“And can you handle that,” Fangs suddenly asked looking Sweet Pea in the eye. “You know the surgery can always back fire and take away all of her feelings towards you. Would you be able to handle the emotionless expression she’d wear around you? How before she’d laugh at your jokes or how her smile lit up the room whenever you were near? You say you see her as a sister, but how would you feel if she saw you as nothing? Everything would be gone. The adoration. The love. The hate. The pain. Would you be able to live with that?”

Fangs didn’t say anything else as he placed the pool stick on the table and walked away leaving Sweet Pea with his thoughts.

And well he decided it was time to man up and go see Sapphire. He needed her to have this surgery just like he needed her in his life.

--

She was beautiful even as she was dying. She wore a flower crown on top of her head as she looked at him with wide eyes. There were dark bags under her eyes that hinted at the sleepless nights she was having. There were flowers across the room. Some with specks of blood on them and some without. Flowers crowns and bracelets littered the floor. It was as if someone played an endless game of “he/she loves-he/she loves not”… except it kind of was and Sapphire was suffering in the worse the loss in the worst way possible.

He watched with a guilty heart as a smile lit up her face, and he couldn’t understand how she could be smiling when she wasn’t far from having branches piercing her heart.

“I knew you would come,” she stated. Her voice was raspy from the air that she could breathe in. From the damage done to her throat from all of the excessive coughing that she was doing. “I knew that peace wouldn’t come to me without seeing you again.”

Sweet Pea stared at her with tears in his eyes. He couldn’t love her as she needed, but he did love her as a sister. She was family, and he didn’t want to see her die. He couldn’t see her die and know that he was the reason.

“Princess, please get the surgery. If you love me like you say you do, then you would get the surgery. Please.”

She only looked at him with a soft smile on her face. The love in her eyes overpowered the pain she was feeling radiating through her chest. Here he was pleading for her to get a surgery because he didn’t want to see her die? How could she get the surgery when he did things like this? Besides, she could feel the branches growing rapidly. She knew that it was far too late to get the surgery now. She had already been tipping on the edge of being unable to. She also knew his presence was fueling it faster. But she didn’t care. What was a little pain to true love? She was adamant that their love was eternal. Like Sasuke and Sakura. Like Leo and Piper. Like Elena and Damon. Like Naruto and Hinata. Like Bella and Edward. They had only needed more time and he would’ve understood, but time was a fickle thing.

She knew she would wait for him. She could patient. That’s why she continued to smile adoringly at even as the branches grew faster in her lungs and pierced her heart. It was the perfect way for her to welcome eternity. Knowing that the last thing she saw was the who held her heart so tightly in his grasp that it was unavoidable that it was squeeze until her love flowed freely.

--

The sun shined brightly as if welcoming her home after so many years alone. They lowered her into the plot between her parents. Wrapped in their eternal embrace. A smile was on her face and she held a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

A bouquet of sweet peas.

[kneesheee]

Sweet Pea’s Sapphire

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF ATTEMPTED MURDER, MURDER, NON CONSENSUAL DRUG USE, MENTAL ILLNESS

|ten|

The water turned red as Sapphire descended deeper into the water. Alice Cooper watched with wide eyes as nearly all the Serpents alongside Archie and Jughead threw off their jackets and ran forward on the fragile ice towards the area Sapphire fell in. Some of them fell as the ice cracked under them, but she didn’t have any doubt that they weren’t still trying to swim towards her. Even from a distance, she could see the water turning red as Sapphire bled. She could only hope that the young girl makes it out of this alive. She looked up to the cliff where the Black Hood had been, but the man was gone. – Sapphire was sinking. The cold water nipped at her skin at every turn. She struggled under water to get the ropes off her hands as she trying to swim upwards, but she felt her body slowly slipping into unconsciousness. Right as she gave up hope, the ropes slipped off and she swam up as quickly as she could force herself. She was just at the opening when the darkness finally claimed her, and she began to sink once more. She knew her time was up as her eyes slipped closed and only one last thought crossed her mind.

Please. Don’t forget me.

– Sweet Pea reached the area where Sapphire fell first. He dove right into the bloody water without a second thought. He looked around quickly spotting Sapphire sinking deeper into the river. The water stung his eyes as he swam after her.

Her eyes were closed, and she looked peaceful. He reached out and lapsed onto her leg. He tried to pull her towards him, but his grip was too loose, and she slipped out of his grip. He inwardly growled and swam back towards the opening.

He came up and took a breath before he was going back under not paying attention to any of the others. He swam down towards her quickly this time wrapping his arm around her waist before kicking back towards the surface. He didn’t once let his grip falter as he made his way to the opening. He broke the surface with her still in his arms before pulling both of them out of the water. Joaquin grabbed his sister while Fangs and Jughead helped him out of the water. They looked up as the sheriff brought out a small rover to take them back across the river and off the unstable ice.

Once it got by them, Joaquin and Toni wasted no time jumping on it and securing Saph who was slowing turning blue in the face. FP motioned for the vehicle to not worry about them and to hurry and get Sapphire back across the river to the ambulance.

They followed behind running and swimming quickly back towards the land. By the time they got there, Joaquin was gone in the ambulance with Sapphire. They hooked Joaquin’s bike onto the back of Fangs’ car and grabbed their jackets before getting on their respective vehicles and rushing to the hospital. – “Sapphire wake up.”

“Saph, please open your eyes.”

“Please, sis. Wake up.”

“Princess, wake up.”

“Ria, hija mía. Open your eyes.”

“Saph. Princess. Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry. Please, wake up.”

“Sapphire, come back to us. We can’t do this without you.” – Sapphire was sitting in a field. Lush green grass that she absently picked at. She was dressed in a light blue dress and she wore no shoes. Her hair was hanging free and dancing wildly in the light breeze. But she paid it no mind.

“Princess, wake up.”

Sapphire snapped her head up and looked around, but no one was there. Her eyes narrowed, but she made no motion to move.

“Ria, hija mía. Open your eyes.”

Her head whipped to the right yet there was still no one there. Open your eyes? Her eyes were already opened.

“Who’s there,” she called out. She bent down and picked up a big rock until she could find a better weapon to use. No one answered her.

“Please, sis. Wake up.”

Sis? She was an only child. And she was awake!

“Saph. Princess. Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry. Please, wake up.”

She listened carefully and that voice she knows that voice. And the other voices! She knows those voices. FP and Joaquin. And-and Sweet Pea.

“Sapphire wake up.”

That was Fangs.

“Saph, please open your eyes.”

And that was Toni.

“Sapphire, come back to us. We can’t do this without you.”

That was JugJug.

Come back to them? What did he mean? Her heartbeat sped up and she looked around the field she was in. No, she didn’t want to stay here.

She wanted her friends and her family. – December 12

Sapphire had been unconscious for six days. Her room was filled with chocolates and balloons and cards. Grammy and Mama Sweets had long ago changed her out of her hospital gown and into one of her sweater dresses. Fangs who had recovered her grandmother’s necklace slipped it around her neck and Toni had fixed her hair up.

Despite such a sad occasion, one good thing came out of Sapphire’s hospitalization. The Northside and the Serpents worked alongside each other. Or more accurately, the Serpents and Police worked together to keep all the out of town reporters from entering the hospital.

But it was on December the Twelfth when Sapphire opened her eyes. – Sapphire’s eyes opened to look at the room around her and a small gasp of pain left her as she felt the full effects of her injuries. Where was she? The last thing she remembered-

THE BLACK HOOD!

That bastard sliced her up and threw her off a cliff. She was going to kill that son of a bitch as soon as she found him. But she had more important things to worry about like three small, adorable faces staring into at her own.

“SAPPHIRE! YOU’RE AWAKE,” AJ cried out throwing his arms around her neck. His brothers followed suit each trying to make sure they claim a space in her around her. She chuckled tiredly and used all the strength she had to raise her heavy arms and hug them back.

“No wimp with an ugly ski mask can keep the Mario Kart Champ down,” she stated with a heavy voice. But the triplets didn’t say anything too busy crying into her hair and her neck. “Oh, Cerberus. Its alright. Let it out, okay?”

The boys clinged to her harder before Grammy and Mama Sweets maneuvered them around her so that they could stay lose to her on the bed without hitting disturbing her wounds or the IV in her arm.

The two women looked at her with relief before placing a kiss on each side of her head. “I swear we’re going to wrap you in bubble wrap and lock you in a tower.” – Time passed in a blur. Doctors and nurses walked in and out of her room and once they were finished, then came the visitors. Sapphire swore just about every member of the Serpents had came to visit her at least three times in the span of three hours.

Mr. and Mrs. DeSantos had rushed into the room and looked over in worry before gulfing Joaquin into a huge hug. They stayed for an hour before leaving to go back to Joaquin and Sapphire’s house where they had been staying to get her room ready for her to go back.

A part of her didn’t have the heart to tell them that she doesn’t live there anymore, but Mrs. D gave her a knowing look, so she figured the woman did know.

And then she was left in a room with three sleeping triplets surrounding her. Her adopted brother and coming through the door were the other members of the Kingpin.

It was Joaquin that stepped forward first.

“Sapphire. Mi hermana. I am so, so sorry. This is all my fault. If I wouldn’t have had never left from the beginning,” he rushed out as he gripped her hand tightly. Tears welled up into his eyes and Sapphire felt a part of her breaking.

She didn’t want to forgive him or the others. They lied to her. They replaced her. But she couldn’t help it. They were still her friends. Her family. They were all she had.

Sapphire couldn’t be alone. She wouldn’t be able to cope. Peaceful sure? But she couldn’t handle the loneliness. She couldn’t handle the abandonment.

She squeezes his hand and he looked at her. He really looked at her and she gave him a small smile.

“I forgive you,” she said. Her eyes flickered over all of them. “I forgive all of you. And what happened to me was none of your faults. The Black Hood had already targeted me, so it made sense that he’d do it again. I don’t blame you.”

If anything, she blamed herself. It was her stupidity that got her in that situation.

Sweet Pea opened his mouth o object, but Sapphire beat him, “Look, I’m tired and I’m aching. We can hash it out how it was none of your faults after I wake up.”

Her friends shared a look and gave her a hesitant nodded as she got comfortable holding onto the triplets tightly before closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep. – Sweet Pea paced around the parking lot of the Whyte Worm waiting patiently for his girlfriend to appear. His hands were stuffed in his pockets as he gazed at the ground.

It took a minute, but the familiar purr of her car pulled up and he snapped his head up to watch her slip out of her car. She looked at him before arching an eyebrow and nodding her head.

“Am I right to assume that this meeting of ours was for you to end things,” she questioned as she leaned back on to her car. Sweet Pea looked a little guilty, but Cheryl knew that this moment was a long time coming.

Sweet Pea sighed and nodded his head, “It isn’t fair for me to be with you when I still love Sapphire.”

Cheryl inwardly winced. She always knew that he still loved Sapphire. She was kidding herself to think otherwise. “Well if we’re being honest, it wasn’t fair for me to push my feelings for Toni on you. I guess- I guess I was just afraid of what my mother would say.”

Sweet Pea blinked. He so didn’t notice that she was crushing on Toni and he was going to tell the girl that as soon as they finished here. He gave her a small smirk.

“You know you’re pretty cool for a northsider,” he teased, and she huffed out of laugh.

“And you’re a decent guy for a Serpent,” she teased back. “You should give her this back and tell her to get better. We can’t be good rivals if she’s not well.”

Cheryl handed him the charm bracelet before pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You take care of yourself too, Sweet Pea.”

And then she got back into her car and sped off. Sweet Pea stood there for another moment before turning around to walk into the Whyte Worm. – Sapphire sat in front of the vanity in her room and she just looked at herself. It was Christmas and it was also her “Welcome Back”, “Glad the Creepy Dude in Ski Mask Didn’t Kill You”, and “I’d Die if You Died” parties.

She sighed a little as she picked up the scissors. Taking a deep breath, she cut her hair. She took her time cutting it before fixing the uneven parts as best as she could. Once she finished with that, she curled it and put little braids slipped little braids in it.

She moved automatically as she put on makeup and slipped her grandmother’s necklace around her neck. She turned slowly and picked up the sweater dress that she was informed to wear. She slipped on the thigh high black boots before turning to look at herself in the mirror.

An image of a lush green field crosses her mind except this time it was filled with people. She smiled lightly before standing up straight and letting a smirk pull on her lips.

She was Sapphire Maria Stone, the sole heir to Stone Enterprises. The owner of every known business on the Southside. She was a Southside Serpent. A member of the Teenage Kingpin. A Southside Gem.

She could do this. – Sapphire stood in front of the crow of reporters. She stood on the platform looking like a goddess. Her shoulders were set and her back was straight. Her eyes flickered over the crowd making eye contact but never settling. Her lips were turned upwards in a small smirk and she said nothing as she let the cameras flash wildly before she rose one hand in the air and all went quiet.

“Good morning,” she stated and Sweet Pea’s heart skipped a beat. She sounded older and more professional. She sounded untouchable and unmovable. She didn’t sound nor did she look anything like the girl that nearly drown in Sweetwater River. “Its good to have you all here, though I am sadden that you all would be here with me instead of with your families. I promise to make this quick, so that you all can get back to them as a result of that. I’m only taking five questions.”

But then a sharp glare settled onto her face as she looked into the crowd, “But also note that any slander written after this conference will be taken care of swiftly and without hesitation, ignore that and you will not have a career anymore.”

Toni and Fangs and Sweet Pea felt shivers run down their spines at the venom and heat in her words. They had never seen this side of Sapphire and by the looks on the reporters faces neither had they.

“Phire,” Joaquin whispered. “She’s channeling Phire.”

“What are you talking about,” Toni hissed.

“Saph has dissociative identity disorder. She usually has it under control to the point where she doesn’t even seem like she has it. Remember all of those times when we were younger and we would go out of town to visit family? Well we were actually going to visit specialists to help treat her.”

“Okay, but who’s Phire?”

Joaquin glanced at them before turning to look back at his sister on stage. “Saph is the girl we all know. We grew up with her and we know how she is. Sapphire Stone is heiress to Stone Enterprises that’s all business and brilliant business woman for her to be so young. But Phire? She’s every high-strung emotion in her and burned to the depths of hell. Nothing. Absolutely nothing will stand in her way to get what she wants. Its like she blackouts and nothing can get to her. She’s untouchable.”

At his words, the first thing that came to mind was when she fought Cheryl. The way she didn’t seem to hear anyone talking to her or really feel anyone touching her. They thought back to the moment when she saw them in Pop’s and how she basically ignored their existence. When she stood on stage and basically said fuck them to the whole gang. Her eyes. She was usually so expressive but her eyes they were blank. Unreadable. Untouchable. Sweet Pea remembered when he saw her kissing that boy in the hallway and how her blank her gaze was.

Was that Phire? – Back on the stage, Sapphire stood tall as she looked into the crowd of reporters. She saw Alice Cooper and Jughead sitting in the crowd. Reporters from People’s magazine and even Ebony.

“You there. With the lime green tie,” Sapphire stated pointing at a reporter. The reporter in question straighten up slightly.

“Can you let the readers know exactly what happened?”

Sapphire smirked bitterly, “I was going through a rough time. It honestly just hit me out of nowhere that this would be the eighth year that I’d be celebrating Christmas without my mom and dad. I had took a walk by myself to clear my head when this man in a ski mask knocked me…”

Her eyes went faraway as she lost herself in her memories. “I woke up all alone in this room. There were no windows or anything. It was all so quiet. So quiet. My arms were tied together and threw was a chain wrapped around my leg to keep me from going anywhere. I cant remember how long I was gone for but time seemed to drag. Everyday the man in the ski mask would come with food and I wont eat any of it. I didn’t know what was in it until one day he just snapped and punched me before he forced me to eat. And one moment I had fell asleep and the next I was being thrown off a cliff…”

She blinked slowly as she came back to reality before narrowing her eyes. The same reporter inquired, “Is there anything else you can say to describe the attacker?”

She frowned before stating, “There’s not much. He has green eyes. Soulless green eyes. And he wore an ugly patchy fake leather jacket.”

Sapphire shook her head before pointing into the crowd, “You there with red scarf.”

The reporter asked, “Has the kidnapper been caught?”

She shook her head, “No, the assailant Black Hood is still at large but Riverdale’s police force is doing everything they can to catch the man and Stark Enterprises has donated a large sum to department in hopes of speeding alongside the process.”

Sapphire slightly narrowed her eyes with a sharp smile before going, “Mrs. Cooper.”

Alice sat up straighter, “What were your injuries and are you healing alright?”

Sapphire thought for a moment, “My injuries included but were not limited to a mild case of hypothermia, deep laceration across my back, a mild concussion, a black eye, and a sprain wrist. As for my healing, I’ve been doing alright. There’s a doctor always on sight in case I start showing an increase in symptoms. “

And then a small genuine smile appeared on her face before she pointed to Jughead, “Last question. Mr. Jones?”

Jughead sat up straighter before looking at his friend. He had felt slightly unnerved by her earlier but he was relieved that she was back to herself.

“Now that you’re out of hospital, the readers would like to know how does this effect Stone Enterprises and what are your plans for the future?”

Sapphire paused. Her mind flashed back to when all of this began. Back to when Jason Blossom was still alive and being held for ransom. To when her  brother told them about his murder. To the tailgate. To homecoming. To FP getting arrested, Mustang’s death, and her brother running away. It went to finding out Sweet Pea loving her. It went to starting The Plan and the incident with Nicholas. To when all of the Serpents got arrested at school. She thought of Sweet Pea asking her to be his girlfriend, to have their night of passion. It went to when the Black Hood first targeted her to Sweet Pea cheating on her with Cheryl. She thought about when Joaquin came back. She thought of the triplets and Grammy and Mama Sweets. She thought of Stone Manor that’s been turned into a homeless facility. The lying from her friends and her kidnapping by the Black Hood.

But she finally settled on the thought of the lush green field with all of her loved ones surrounding her.

“I haven’t thought much about what shall happened to Stone Enterprises, but I am publicly announcing that we will be donating money to various charities and organizations including but not limited to the Support of LGBT Rights, Equal Rights for Women, Equal Rights for the Colored which includes but not limited to Black Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans; Homeless Facilities, Food for the Homeless, Mental Health Research and Facilities. We all have to come forth together as a whole. What happened to be was a result of a man who found the ammunition to strike by the clear divide in our town’s society. I will not- Stone Enterprises will not stand to let this to happen to anyone else…”

She leveled Jughead with a look, “My plans for the future is to bring our people together and love and support each other. I know we can only take it one day at time, so today, I’ll celebrate with my loved ones and tomorrow? I’ll do my very damn best to bring peace to your loved ones.”

Sapphire flashed the crowd another smile, “No more questions. That is all.” –

Sapphire stood outside of the Stone Manor where the Christmas parties were being held in the east end. She could hear the music faint as it were from outside, but her eyes were only focus on the her little pink pixie bestie and the redhead bombshell.

Toni had only just told her about how Sweet Pea said that Cheryl only dated him because she was trying to force her feelings for Toni onto him. Toni hadn’t known what to do with that information. She had wanted to leave it alone because Cheryl’s actions had let to Sapphire getting hurt. But Sapphire remembered the promise she made so long ago. If Cheryl was who Toni wanted, then who was she to stop it. She promised to do everything she could to get the two together, so if telling Toni that she was okay with Cheryl’s actions would be make it happen, then fine. She didn’t even blame Cheryl honestly. The poor girl had no idea that tearing away Sapphire’s happiness who would lead her to getting kidnapped and almost murdered.

Sapphire watched as Toni walked up to Cheryl. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but she could see. Oh, she could see. Toni was nervous, and she hardly ever saw nervousness in her best friend.

It felt so good to be able to say that again.

Toni had her hands stuffed in her pockets while she talked to the ginger. A small smile danced on the edges of both girls’ faces before Toni stretched her hand and motioned towards her bike. Cheryl looked a little shocked, but she did take the other’s girl hand before following her over to the bike.

Sapphire knew the two had a lot to talk about, but she could see it in their eyes that they both wanted it. – Sapphire felt eyes on her and she flicked her eyes around the area before she noticed Sweet Pea looking at her.

She turned to look at him and their eyes connected. On the inside, she wanted to cry. She wanted to scream because she was still hurting. He hurt her, and she couldn’t forgive him. At least not yet. Hell, she doesn’t know if she could at all.

But then he smiled at her and she froze. It wasn’t one of his usual smiles. Sharp and jaded with a softness to it that’s only reserved for those he holds dear. It wasn’t one of his business smiles where he makes those that cross the Serpents shake in anticipated fear and wariness.

No, this smile. This smile was the one he gave her years ago when they had first met, and he helped her up from where Scott Reynolds pushed her off the monkey bars. This smile was completely soft and inviting. It was comforting. It was a little shy yet confident.

It was a hello and a goodbye.

The scary part was now she didn’t know which was it, so she gave him her own smile back. Not a Phire smile. Not a Saph smile. Not an Heiress Sapphire Stone smile. She gave him a smile that was all just Sapphire. The one extremely similar to what she had given him back after he helped her up all those years ago.

Their first hello.

She didn’t know what this meant for the two of them. She didn’t know if this was a hello or if it was a goodbye. But the two of them just smiled at each other.

They’ll figure it out.

After all a story never ends, it continues in your heart. And she knew that without a doubt in her heart she would always be Sweet Pea’s Sapphire.

@pure-fluff-imagines