"So, Sweet Pea, what would you like to get out of this?" Mrs. Moore asked the tall teen that was sitting on the couch next to Fangs.
"Questions answered." He kept it simple.
She hummed and wrote something on her notepad. "Do you feel like he has to prove himself to you?"
"It's not about that, to move on I need to understand." He wasn't going to have her blaming him for shit.
"That didn't answer my question." She noted the way he avoided it.
"If it was just me then it would be no big deal but there are other people to consider, the Serpents, the kids at the community center, my family." He lists.
"You don't need to push your feelings onto others, you can own them as your own." Fangs wished Sweets would admit that he was hurt because that is how they would be able to move on.
"You have a few therapy sessions and you think you can analyze people." He scoffs.
"Why did you come if you weren't going to be open-minded?" He glares.
"I came because you asked me to!" He reminds him that he didn't want to.
"But it means nothing if you aren't going to answer the questions honestly!" He yelled back.
"You want me to answer the question honestly. FINE! You have to prove yourself to me. Do you know how much it hurt me when you took off in the middle of the night then I see you at school and you were acting like you don't know me? Then when you do, you're saying my love for you wasn't good enough. What the fuck is that?" He replays that moment when Fangs try to persuade him to join the farm.
"It wasn't that it wasn't good enough. It was that it wasn't the type of love I was craving at the time." He explains.
"You thought Kevin could give you that? Kevin has looked down on the Serpents since Joaquin broke his heart." He reminds Fangs.
"We were both desperate souls feeling like we were unlucky in love, with all our friends finding deep romances, it felt isolating." He knew what he had with Kevin wasn't healthy. Sweets nod in an understanding of how the two came together.
"Sweet Pea, do you have any questions you want to ask?" She gave him the floor.
"I understand wanting to be a part of something. I thought that's what the Serpents were for us. You tried to keep your foot in both worlds but in the end, you chose them. I don't understand why." He found that the most confusing. The serpent helped raise them, how could he turn his back on them?
"Jughead was barking orders and threatening to kick people out if they didn't follow. Edgar made me feel like I was important. It was an honor if he gave me a task. He made it so I didn't want to disappoint him." He explained why it was easy to say goodbye to the Serpents. "I was feeling like a pawn in Jughead's game for Riverdale. It wasn't what I signed up for."
"I get that. Without him, we've been focused on the community center and helping people get jobs so they can afford housing. It's been going well. I've taken over the reins, but it's mostly about Abby's vision." He knew that the ex-Gargoyles were loyal to her.
"She kind of reminds me of Edgar." Fangs were used to saying whatever was on his mind in the office.
Sweet Pea glares at him while Mrs. Moore asks him to go on. "In what way?"
"She finds these lost souls and welcomes them with open arms. She nurtures you and makes you believe that you can be anything. Even though she says that you don't have to do what she wants, you want to because you crave her praise." He described how he had the same feelings.
"Why do you need her praise?" She asks.
"My guess is mommy issues?" Sweets cross his arms.
"You better be speaking for yourself too." Fangs gave him the side eye.
"You didn't have a mother growing up. Abby is comfortable in a caretaker role. So, it makes sense that you fall into those roles." She agrees.
"It's the shine in her eye when you accomplish anything whether it is an A on a school assignment or clearing out a drug den. I never had anyone look at me like they put me on a pedestal. Like I can do no wrong." Fangs describe it.
"It's addicting." Sweets agree. "She is adorable when she's mad too, so there is no wrong."
"That's because you like rebelling against any authority figure." He snorted at his friend.
"If our kinks line up and we're not hurting anyone including each other then I don't see the problem." He looks at the therapist.
"I'm not here to tell you everything in your life is wrong." She was used to people being defensive when they sat with her. She had many patients like Fangs that were here on a court order.
"If you say so." He looks unconvinced. Fangs sighed knowing it would be a while before he let his guard down.
The teen residents of the Andrews house put a VHS tape in that was left at their front door. "What the hell is this?" Sweet glares at the screen.
"I wish I knew, bro. Everyone's been getting one." Archie stares at his house. It was a full video of their house.
"Who the hell would do this?" Abby watches her and Tessie give Vegas a bath in the front yard. "And why? Do we have another Black Hood on our hands that want us to know that we're being watched?"
"It's around Halloween, could it be a prank?" Sweet Pea suggested.
"On the whole town?" Archie asks.
"It's not that much work. They set up a hidden camera and let it run until the tape is full." He didn't think it was that complicated of a prank.
"I guess it might not be serious." He was hopeful. "We got our handful with the community center."
"I got a Halloween party to plan." Abby got up to prepare the food.
The Serpent's Halloween party was being hosted at the community center. They were keeping it open later because Dodger's gang was looking for heads to split open. After all, Archie put on his red circle mask to beat him up. She decorated the place with fake spider webs, skeletons, and orange and black streamers.
"This is amazing, Mary Jane." Archie smiles at his sister who was wearing jeans and a white shirt that had a heart of Spiderman on it. The outfit from her famous cover.
"Who are you, Uncle?" Tessie was dressed as Ghost Spider.
"I'm Pureheart the Power." He was wearing a generic hero costume. "Did you turn the ring into a graveyard and is that a smoke machine?"
"Yeah, I wanted to make it more Instagramable. It gives the teen a reason to want to stay, other than their safety." She hands him a death-by chocolate cupcake that had a design of a skull on it.
"Eddie," Archie marched over to the teen who was twirling around a switchblade. He tried to hide it behind his back. "What are you doing? You can't have weapons in here. Give it here."
"Can I get it back when I leave?" He hands it over before he gets his answer.
"Maybe." He knew he was carrying it around for protection.
The walkie-talkie that Abby had sounded off. "We got trouble, coming to the front door. Dodge and his crew are going to try to enter." Fang's job tonight was to be the bouncer.
"On it." Monroe's voice came over the walkie.
"I'll come." Sweet Pea, who was dressed like Spiderman, wanted to see this asshole.
"Archie, go make sure Sweet Pea doesn't do anything crazy." She orders her brother.
"I will." He met the guys that were heading to the entrance.
Eddie felt his heart sink under Abby's disappointed stare. "I'm not looking for trouble, it's just…"
"I know you need protection, but you don't need to be doing tricks with it. I know you think Sweet Pea is the coolest, but ask him how he got that scar on his hand." She didn't want him to have an accident with that knife.
"He is pretty cool." Malcolm agreed.
"I'm cool. I don't throw around a knife." She crosses her arms. The boys laughed. "I don't see why that's funny."
The guys made it to the entrance at the same time Dodger did. "You're not welcome here, Dodge." Fangs stop them from entering.
"I thought this event was open to the public." He tilts his head.
"No one from your crew is welcome here," Archie told him.
"Then you got to have Eddie come here. He was hiding here when he was supposed to be working on my corner." He wanted him to come out.
At Edddie's name, Sweet Pea clenches his fists. "Why don't you work your corner instead of having kids do it for you, you spineless bastard."
"What did you say to me, punk?" He tried to move forward but Monroe pushed him back.
"I heard you recently got a beating. I can give you another one if you keep pushing. Or, I can call the cops because this is private property." He wanted a reason to beat him after what happened to his brother. He looks the muscular teen up and down before walking away. "Don't think that is the last we'll see of him." He sighs.
Sweet Pea heads back inside and grabs Eddie's arm to drag him into the office. "Sweets!" Abby, who was in the middle of a game of darts with Tobi, yelled. "Malcolm take over for me." She hands him the darts before following them into the office.
"Eddie, are you working for Dodger?" Sweet pushed him down on the couch before pulling the office chair in front of him. He nods his head. "What are you doing? Running? Collecting? Stealing hubcaps?"
"Why do you care?" He leaned forwards.
"Why do I care? What do you think I'm helping out at this center for? Because I got too much time on my hands? I care about you guys. I don't want you getting in trouble with the law and ending up with a wrap sheet before you get out of high school. Or, worse, end up dead." Sweets know the road the kid was headed down.
"You're part of a gang, so how can you tell me not to be?" He points out.
"Dodger's crew and Serpents are two different things. Dodger is about making money by selling drugs. That shit ruins people's lives, tears apart families, and causes more crime. They prey on kids so they don't have to get their hands dirty. Serpents are a family. We want the best and look out for each other. We uplight the community." He compares their two gangs. "Does that sound the same to you?"
"Ah, Abby." Dracula pops in. "A few kids are wanting to go home so I was going to give them a ride. Dodgers out front waiting to do damage to anyone who walks out that door."
"Is that so?" She got up from her seat on top of the desk.
"Why are you telling her, shouldn't Archie deal with it?" Eddie was curious how the Serpents seem to take orders from her or Sweets instead of Archie.
"He tried to deal with it and now he's outside." Dracula scoffs.
"Sweets, you can stay and talk to Eddie. I'll take Dracula, Kraken, and Greg with me." She walks out. Dracula gathers the guys and meets Abby by the door. Fangs followed them out. "Weren't you told to get off my property?"
"That is not the way it works, honey. Your crappy gym might be private property but this lot isn't." He spat at her. The spit landed a few inches from her shoes.
"I have never been so repulsed by someone before and I have been in the presence of the Black Hood and been held in an embrace by the Gargoyle King." She thought spitting on someone was the lowest of the low.
"You want me off your hands, all you gotta do is bring out Eddie." He smirks.
"Fuck off, I'm not giving you Eddie. I know you want to make an example out of him. Show those kids that we can't protect them. You don't want to mess around and find out what I would do for these kids. I don't play games with scum like you. I'm going to call the cops."
"For what?" He chuckles.
"Let me count the ways: public intoxication, warrants, unregistered guns, or drugs." She counted on her fingers.
Kraken smirked when he saw their faces drop. "So, if you guys want to get arrested tonight and make our Halloween then stick around." He signals for Abby to go ahead of them.
She walks in first and the guys watch on as the Dodger crew walks away before going into the center themselves. She called the police. "Hey FP, can you do a circle around the center? Dodge was here and I got him to leave but something tells me he's not going to be that far away." She had to leave him a voicemail.
"Fuck losers." Fangs shook his head. They barricaded the door. The guys went around to do the same to all the exits.
"What's going on?" Archie asks.
"We're going to wait for the cops to clear the perimeter and then we're going to take the kids home." She told him.
"FP is taking forever." She grumbled.
"I know, he should see your voicemail and take it above others." Sweet Pea nods.
"I don't know if that's right." Archie didn't think he should play favorites.
"We can't do this. We're making him seem like a big scary monster that he wants to be to these kids." Greg was tired of waiting.
"What do you think we should do?" Monroe asks.
"We got the van, let's take the kids home." He didn't think Dodger had the balls to do anything to them if they were in a group.
"Okay, let's do it." Archie agrees.
Abby answered her phone. "Hey Abby, sorry tonight's been demanding." A couple of gunshots were heard coming from outside. "A car is speeding away and a kid is on the ground across the street. I'm gonna try and get the car. An ambulance will be on the way."
"What?" Abby ran to the door. The chair was removed from under the door handle and was wide open. She bolted out to kneel by the teen's side. "Eddie!"
"It hurts, Abby. It hurts." He grabs her hand.
"I know. I know. Help is coming." She grabs the jacket that Malcolm hands to her to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.
"That's why your ass should have stayed inside where I told you to." Sweets stood over them to scold him.
Abby came out in a silk robe after taking a bath. "That fucking bastard put two kids in the hospital that was supposed to be under our care."
"I know, and now our Halloween tradition of roleplay has been ruined." Sweets huffs.
"Tradition, we did it once." She laughed as she sat down on the bed.
"That's how tradition starts. You gotta keep them going no matter what." He kissed her.
"Seriously? I can not do that right now. I can't stop thinking about Eddie in that hospital." She shoved his face away.
"A guy gotta try." He lay down next to her in his boxers. She turns off the light and crawls into bed. "Sure I can't try to get your mind off it."
"Sleep, Sweet Pea." She orders.
Abby and Nancy went to visit Eddie in the hospital. "How are you feeling?" Nancy asked Eddie.
"Like I got shot in the leg," He grumbles.
"You got lucky this time. The doctor said it was only a flesh wound. That was probably because Dodger was drunk. He was looking to make an example out of you. There's a reason you got Serpent security at the door." Nancy nods to Kraken.
"You need to be honest with the police about who shot you?" Abby knew his statement of not seeing his shooter was bullshit. "They can help you."
"How are they going to help me? The last thing I need is for these guys to think that I'm a snitch. Especially since Archie took my switchblade. You didn't get it back for me." He glares at her.
"Eddie, your blade ain't doing shit against someone who has a gun." Nancy snorted. "Everyone that volunteers at the center will protect you."
"And what happens when the center closes at 10? Where do I go then? I'm back out on the streets cause I have to be. A Lot of us are… I have two options: either I roll with Dodger or hide from Dodger. That's it." He laid it out for her. Abby stood up and paced in front of the bed. "What is she doing?"
"Brainstorming." Nancy didn't blink when she started muttering to herself.
"I have an idea but it is me putting a lot of trust in you. Tell me, do you want to roll with Dodger?" She grabbed the footboard.
"No, if I did then I wouldn't be spending time at the community center." He fears Dodger.
"Archie would never go for this because you'd be unsupervised in the center. I'll give me my key, so you can come in after Archie locks up. You have to get out of there by eight when Mr. Keller opens it, which shouldn't be hard because you should be in school by then." She offers.
"You would do that for me." He was shocked.
"You're too smart to let everything go down the drain with Dodger." She wouldn't let him fall in with the likes of that scum.
"So if I was dumb then you wouldn't help me." He failed to keep the smile off his face.
"If you were dumb you wouldn't have step foot in the center." She smiles.
"What about the other kids?" He wonders.
"That is at your discretion. I'll leave a bunch of pillows and sleeping bags under the ring. Don't misuse my trust, Eddie." She took the gym key off of a keychain.
"I promise I won't." He took it from her.
"I bought a packet of schoolwork you missed." Nancy pulled it out of her bag.
"Seriously?" His eyes widened.
"Yeah, I'm not letting you fall behind." She grabbed the overbed table and rolled it to him.
"Sweet Pea's right, women don't let up." He sighs.