Another evening another trouble in Riverdale High, of course. Sometimes the students wondered if they would actually have an undisturbed week, or even a couple days, just to be real teenagers, study a little bit, raise their GPAs… The said week might exist, but it definitely wasn't that particular one. That evening, especially, proved to be extremely troublesome for a group of people.
And the specific group consisted of Jughead, Betty, Sweet Pea and Cheryl. An awkward combination, but the fact that the four of them were in the same Politics class and, given their seating arrangement, were designated to do a project together, brought them together.
They walked side by side out of the school to the parking lot, Jughead and Betty holding hands, the former looking admiringly at his girlfriend and the blonde girl sending weird glances to the pair beside them. Sweet Pea had an arm around Cheryl's shoulder, whispering on her ear some pretty lame joke that only the Blossom laughed of. Her giggles were lovely, he grinned.
That scene remained peaceful until Cheryl's laugh stopped when she looked ahead, noticing something no one had yet.
"Pea…" She muttered, motioning with her head at the three people walking towards them.
Sweet Pea analyzed the trio for a second, by the time Cheryl called him, Jughead had already spotted the strangers. As they got closer, their features started to show, and the taller serpent held the redhead a little bit closer. He recognized those people. Ghoulies.
The two serpent boys weren't wearing their jackets, which could mean the rival gang members could just walk past them and not notice who they actually were. Or they could remember Sweet Pea from a fight the serpents won two weeks before, the boy probably broke some people's bones that day. Being as lucky as they all were, the second option was what happened, and they stopped right in front of the four teens.
Switchblade on the right pocket, check. Sweet Pea thought as the three Ghoulies looked at them, eyes lingering on the girls for one split second more. The boy noticed that and moved his body to stand in front of Cheryl, while motioning for Betty to get behind the boys too. He felt a soft grip on his left arm and saw Cheryl partially behind him and partially glaring at the trio in front of them. If she was afraid, she didn't show.
"Look what we have here…" The Ghoulie in the middle started, a grin on his face that looked more like a grimace. "Two stupid serpents and two beautiful girls."
Cheryl scowled and rolled her eyes. She knew who those people were from what Toni, Sweet Pea and Fangs had told her, some stories made her never want to meet them. However, looking at three members of that gang, in person, she thought they kinda looked like rats or some other thing that looked disgusting but was probably easy to smash. Poor rats, cute unappreciated animals.
"Tell us, girls, why are you walking around with those serpents, when you could have some real fun with the Ghoulies?" The middle one kept talking, making Cheryl wonder if the other ones were incapable of opening her mouth and looking angrily at them at the same time. It must be a difficult thing to do when you have no brain.
"First of all, because they don't look like disgusting insects." Cheryl answered, stepping beside Sweet Pea, instead of behind him, to stare at the men in front of her. "Second of all, I like to interact with people who have more intelligence range than a tea spoon. Which means," she smiled her HBIC smile and continued "you're definitely not fitting."
At the same time that Sweet Pea was amazed to see the girl step up and confront the men, he wished she just didn't. It would just make it difficult for him and Jughead to distract them so the two girls could leave before a fight started. Cheryl's red hair was easily spotted, and that attitude could make the Ghoulies take an interest in her.
"Fierce!" The gang member - the only one that seemed to know how to talk - stated and laughed, a laugh that could make evil villains flinch, but just made Cheryl raise her brows and roll her eyes. "I would like to have fun with that one, guys." The other two Ghoulies laughed.
Closing his hands in a fist, Sweet Pea stepped forward, facing the middle one, that was clearly the leader of that stupid terrorism attempt. "You better not even think about that." He glared at the guy, who looked up at him - they had a remarkable height difference - and smirked.
"Betty, Cheryl, you should go." Jughead told them, his voice as low as he could manage, sensing things would get heated up pretty soon by the way his friend and his now rival were acting. He saw Betty nod and slowly step back, trying not to drag attention to herself. He also saw that Cheryl didn't move, staring at the three guys with fire in her eyes.
Cheryl was staying, of course she was. Leaving Sweet Pea - and even Jughead - never went through her mind. Cousin Betty could go and find more help - they both knew Kevin and Fangs were still inside the school - but she would stay. Three against two was far from a fair fight, and although only taking a beating from her mother and never fighting back, she had to do something. Sweet Pea was not to stand alone.
Both Sweet Pea and the middle guy looked at her, the first looked almost surprised she chose to stay, but worry was evident in his features. The Ghoulie, while still looking at her, whispered something only Sweet Pea could hear. And that's when the fight started. Sweet Pea throwing the first punch.
It would be a lie to say Cheryl knew what she was doing, that became even more evident when Jughead reached forward to punch the guy on Sweet Pea's right and she just stood still for a second, her opponent having the advantage of coming towards her instead.
This guy could use some face masks! Was Cheryl's first thought when the men got even closer to her, before everything became a blur.
Later she would remember how the guy launched himself towards her body, in an almost successful attempt to throw her down, only to have her punched his face before they both fell on the ground.
She could feel and would forever remember the pain, that was for sure. She felt the blows on her stomach and on her ribs, where her mother had already carelessly broken before. She felt the pain on her fists as she somehow managed to roll on top of the guy, after probably a knee on a deserving area, and punch his face to no end. When her opponent recovered his strength, he dragged her to the ground again, with a punch on the side of her face.
From where she was on the ground, she could see was Sweet Pea beating the crap out of his guy and Jughead taking a pretty bad beating. And then she tasted blood in her mouth, and heard a pain filled scream coming from the man on top of her, and… ew! Was that an ear she was biting?
And as soon as it started, a voice Cheryl recognized as Fangs' - even with the ringing in her ear due to the adrenaline and the punch she received on her face - was able to stop the fight. Yelling something as simple as "HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Seeing another Serpents' member coming along with another guy on his side, Kevin, must have made the Ghoulies understand they were soon to be outnumbered and beaten the crap out of. So they quickly stood up, limping, and ran towards the car they parked. Sweet Pea's opponent had a harder time getting up and leaving because no matter what, the serpent just wouldn't stop punching him and let him go.
What made the boy stop his punches and release the man so he could join his group of losers was actually the sight of Cheryl on the floor. She was still laying there, managing to slightly bend her knees and open her arms to rest them on the ground.
Betty called Jughead and ran to his side as quickly as she left, Keving running along with her for emotional support, probably. Sweet Pea dragged himself to Cheryl's side, Fangs soon joining them there. She was awake, thankfully, just seemed slightly confused about what had just happened.
Her knuckles were red with blood, the boy noticed as soon as he helped her sitting up, Fangs doing the same on her other side. She grimaced as they did so, slightly bending forward to spit blood on the ground between her bent knees.
"Not mine." The girl clarified when she saw their worried glances. Sweet Pea smiled at that, and that made her smile back, her teeth slightly red. Adorable, he thought.
"Way to go, Red." Fangs praised and helped her up to her feet, doing the same with Sweet Pea soon after. "But now we have to get out of here. Let's leave our bikes here and Kevin will drive us to the Wyrm. We can come back and pick them up when you're all feeling better."
"Can you walk?" Sweet Pea asked Cheryl, who nodded, but stepped closer to him nonetheless. He grinned, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, the same way they were before the fight started, and guided her to the truck, where Jughead already sat on the back.
Fangs and Betty were riding on the front seats, keeping Kevin company, while the battered ones were on the back, where they had more space to be comfortable. Not that Sweet Pea and Cheryl needed any, they were pretty okay with taking up the least space possible. Kevin left the back window open so they could have interactions between the front and the back, to check on them and just keep them distracted. Again, Sweet Pea and Cheryl were already doing that on their own, not needing anyone to help them with that task either.
"So, are they dating?" Betty asked jokingly, looking at the back of Kevin's truck, where Sweet Pea sat, carefree, with an arm around Cheryl, who was leaned on him to doodle something on his other arm with a marker she had just found. A bruise was forming under the drawing, showing signs of the recent fight.
Fangs chuckled softly, glancing at the same scene. He saw the smile on his best friend's face. If they used to joke Toni was whipped… "Yeah, you could say so."
"But…" The blonde looked dumbfounded, expecting Fangs to answer 'They're just close friends' or something like that, not to confirm what she joked about. "Toni…" It was hard for her to even formulate a sentence after the received information.
"Is gonna be pissed when she finds out Cheryl was dragged into this mess." Fangs completed for her. "The fight, I mean." He clarified, moments later. "Not the relationship."
"She meant to ask…" Kevin interjected "Where does Toni stand when it comes to the Sweryl ship?" Truth be told, Kevin was just curious, given the fact that both Cheryl and Sweet Pea had been openly affective with each other lately, but never labeled.
"I'd rather call it the ChoniPea ship." Fangs said, expecting them to understand the implications of it. It wasn't that hard to, really, and it's not like no one knew about the trio. All the serpents did and were okay with it, and to Toni and Sweet Pea their family was all that mattered. No one but Toni and Sweet Pea seemed to matter to Cheryl anyways.
"You mean… Cheryl dates Toni, who dates Sweet Pea, who dates Cheryl?" Betty asked, just to clarify her thoughts. She wasn't that dense, she just wanted to check if she had the facts straight.
"Yep." The serpent answered with a smile.
"Cool!" Kevin, ever so kind, exclaimed. "I'm happy for them." More for Cheryl than for any other. Kevin knew how much love that girl needed, and how much happiness she deserved.
"Call me old-fashioned, but…" Before Betty could say anything further, Kevin interrupted, protective towards his new favorite ship.
"You're old-fashioned, Betty. Period." He said. "Good thing you have Jughead, and your relationship is just as tightly closed as the closet Cheryl used to hide herself in up until a few months ago." Fangs suppressed a laugh as the driver continued "So you have nothing to worry about."
"What dear Kevin means, Cousin Betty…" Cheryl started, showing her bruised face on the truck's back window - her sweet fake smile made an appearance despite the beaten aspect of her face-, leaning her body opposite to Sweet Pea to do so. "Is that this relationship is none of your business."
Sweet Pea laughed at Betty's shocked face, because she seemed to have forgotten that they were there, bruised but not deaf - not even Jughead was, he was just sleeping soundly in front of the couple-. He, then, pulled Cheryl to him again, gently packing the bruise on her temple as she closed her eyes and snuggled closer, a small smile gracing her features. Betty and Fangs watched the interaction, the latter with a big grin on his face as Kevin, who was driving them to the SouthSide missed the cute scene.
"You should have left when Betty did." Sweet Pea said softly when his mouth lightly brushed Cheryl's ear. He felt her shake her head.
"That was never an option." The girl answered, so quiet he was barely able to hear.
"Tiny is gonna be pissed." The serpent said, more like scolding himself than talking to her.
"There's nothing to be pissed about." Cheryl stated, seeming more assured than Sweet Pea would ever be. Hell, even he was pissed. At the Ghoulies, at himself - more at himself than at anything else. Cheryl should never be in danger. Ever. -. "There were three Ghoulies, but only two Serpents, and a fight was about to happen. Leaving you alone was not an option." She repeated the words she'd said a while before.
"Jughead was there." He reminded her.
"Serpent King, Prince or whatever… I don't fully trust him." She stubbornly retorted, crossing her arms in front of her chest, but making no other move to leave his embrace. Cheryl felt his chest move as the boy chuckled at her antics.
"You were brave, Cherry." Sweet Pea had to give her that.
"I almost bit a guy's ear off." The redhead simply shrugged, not knowing hot to respond his statement. He smiled.
"That's my girl." He praised, kissing the crown of her head.
Not long after that, the Whyte Wyrm was spotted as Kevin parked the car. As soon as it parked, a pink haired figure exited the bar. Logically, there was no way she knew something happened, but she did.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Toni exclaimed, running to the back of the truck when she saw a bruise on her girlfriend's face and a cut above her boyfriend's eyebrow.
"Ghoulies." One word from Sweet Pea and it was all explained.
The boy grimaced, stepping off the truck, as he studied Toni's face while she helped Cheryl off, examining the bruise on her right temple. The pink haired girl's lips were forming a thin line whilst she tried to gently touch her girlfriend's face, expecting her to flinch at the contact. Cheryl, of course, didn't do so, years of bruises harshly handled by her mother made it easy for her to keep her pain bottled up.
Toni was definitely pissed.
"Are you pissed?" Sweet Pea asked, when they all sat on his trailer's couch, after patching themselves up at the Wyrm and going back home. He saw her Cheryl rolling her eyes at the question - because she was positive there was nothing to be pissed about -, but Toni's face was still stern.
"Not at you, Pea." She assured him, giving him a peck on his lips.
Toni knew he was the one pissed at himself for letting it happen, although she was pretty sure Cheryl would be stubborn enough to stay even if he had explicitly asked her to go. What happened was bound to happen sometime, she rationalized. It could have been with her, or it could have been with Sweet Pea, but it was bound to happen. Unfortunately, hanging out with a serpent wasn't always roses and peaches, so, obviously, dating two of them meant twice the risk.
They'd talked about it, even before Sweet Pea, Cheryl and Toni talked about it. About how Cheryl didn't care about the risks even though Toni did. And about how it was all okay because they were always together, meaning Toni was going to protect her with her 2' tall little body - Cheryl joked when she saw her girlfriend was getting worried as the conversation went by -. In the end, it was just obvious that no risk could keep them away from each other and even if Sweet Pea wasn't their boyfriend at the time, he was now included at that logic.
"At me, then?" Cheryl asked, a pout forming on her face, tears almost welling up in her eyes at the thought of Toni being mad at her for something she wasn't even able to feel sorry for.
"Of course not, babe." Toni pecked her lips, the same gesture she did with Sweet Pea, making the redhead smile. Her hand, however, caressed her girlfriend's bruised temple. "I'm pissed at the bastard who did that to your pretty little face."
"Hey! "What about MY handsome little face?" Sweet Pea complained, making both the girls laugh. Toni gently flicked his nose.
"Maybe if you got beaten up in the face more, you'd have it fixed to a more handsome one." The pink haired retorted and her boyfriend glared at her.
"Don't listen to her, Pea." Cheryl caressed his cheek. "You're really handsome."
That compliment made the boy lean forward and gently meet his lips with the redhead's in a kiss, feeling her hand slide down from his cheek to his neck, stopping right above his tattoo. Her hands lingered there as they broke apart.
"Aw, you're so sweet I'm gonna throw up." Toni interjected, laughing at their faces as she did so.
"You've had your kisses, it was our turn." Sweet Pea argued.
"Pecks are not kisses!" Toni retorted, moving from the couch to the kitchen. "But I'll have them all after dinner… that I'll so kindly cook for you."
"You're the best, TT!" Cheryl happily stated, her bruises almost forgotten at the presence of both her partners. She always felt the best when the three of them were together.
"That I am, honey…" The pink haired girl said, mentioning the so hated nickname just to tease and see her girlfriend's cute annoyed face as she did so. "What's it gonna be?" She asked, back to the dinner subject, opening the fridge "Beef or chicken?"
"I don't think I like meat anymore." The redhead answered, a grimace replaced her display of annoyance at the nickname. Sweet Pea laughed behind her and pecked her forehead, making her grimace fade a little bit.
"Since when?" Toni asked, surprised at the new information.
And their boyfriend seemed to know the reason why.
"She almost ripped a guy's ear off." The boy explained, smiling widely as he did it.
"That's my girl." The pink haired serpent stated, proud glowing in her eyes as she met her girlfriend's ones, and smiling at the sight in front of her. Her two loved ones, sitting on the couch, looking at her the same adoring way she looked at them from the kitchen.
"Exactly my words." Sweet Pea agreed, pulling Cheryl to his chest as she hid her blushing face on his T-shirt.