Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was dark outside. It must have been around 11 pm when she was walking down the streets that eventually would lead to her home. Y/N was usually not out this late, but she had been working on a school project that took longer than she expected. She had lived with her mother on the Southside since she was ten, when her father had left them. Her mother did not have much and was currently working two jobs so that Y/N would have the slightest possibility of going to college. Since her mother wasn’t home most of the time, Y/N knew that no one was concerned with her whereabouts this evening.

As she walked down the road, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She didn’t think about it too much since she was used to walking home, even though it was a bit later than usual. After a few minutes she looked over her shoulder and saw a shadowy figure following her. “It’s nothing” she mumbled to herself and kept walking. Her home was still pretty far away, so she started walking slightly faster. All of the sudden, she felt someone grab her and she was pushed against a fence.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing out so late?” He was an average height, probably around his 40’s and it was obvious that he had been drinking. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her tremble with fear.

“Please… leave me alone” she almost whispered, not being able to raise her voice.

“Oh come on pretty girl, I’m having fun” he said with a crooked smile and a mix of lust and hatred in his eyes. She felt his hand move under her jacket, and to her waist.

At that moment something snapped in her and she yelled, “Get away from me!” while trying to shove him away. He almost lost his balance in surprise, but before she could get away he forced her against the fence again. He was much stronger than her. She felt a sudden sting in her palm and before she knew it there was a knife at her throat. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe, she was terrified.

“So this is how you want to play the game, huh?” he asked her threateningly. She closed her eyes and tried to keep the tears back. She felt his hand again on her, only this time he grabbed her ass firmly and groaned, his gaze darker than before.

“Hey! Get the fuck away from her!” she heard a booming voice coming from the other side of the street. The man looked around, startled, loosening his grip on her just a bit. Before she could blink, a tall boy with dark hair pushed the man away from her and slammed him to the ground.

She knew this boy. They were in the same class. They’d never really talked before, but she always thought he was attractive. His name was Sweet Pea, he was a part of the Serpents and usually acted like a total dick to everyone that wasn’t a member of the gang. For some reason the Serpents and the Ghoulies never paid any attention to her, which was very unusual since both gangs loved to prey on the weaker students.

When she snapped back to reality, Y/N was sitting against the fence and shaking. Sweet Pea was standing in front of her, his hands clenched into fists. “If you ever touch her again you’ll be fucking sorry!” he yelled after the man, who was running away.

She watched as Sweet Pea’s eyes met with hers and his expression changed swiftly from furious to concerned. He hurried up to her and bent down to be at her eye level. “Shit, Y/N, are you okay?” he asked, trying to hide his anger. He knew her name, she wasn’t expecting that.

“Y- yes, I- I think so.” she answered, her voice low and trembling. The sting from her palm hit her, and she winced from pain, looking down only to see her hand covered with blood and a deep cut in the middle of her palm. Sweet Pea noticed the cut as well and his concern grew even more.

“Shit, you’re bleeding. That fucking bastard!” he mumbled as he helped her get up.

When Y/N was finally standing she threw her hands around his torso without thinking and buried her face in his chest, trying to calm her breath. He immediately put his hands around her and held her tightly. She didn’t know for how long they stood like that.

“Thank you” she whispered when she finally pulled her face away, her hands still around him and his right hand gently stroked her cheek.

“I’m glad I was here in time.” he said, with a reassuring smile on his face. “Now where do you live?” he asked her, with a more serious tone in his voice.

“Uhm… it’s like a 15 minute walk from here, I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it” she replied, breaking the eye contact.

Sweet Pea scoffed, “There is absolutely no way I am letting you walk home on your own, especially when you’re still bleeding” he took her hand to look at the cut, “I live just over there, let me at least patch you up, okay?” It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement.

“Okay…” Y/N replied and Sweet Pea put his arm around her and they walked over to the trailer park across the street.

Y/N was soon sitting on Sweet Pea’s couch in his trailer. He went straight into the bathroom and came back with bandages and a wet cloth to clean her cut. He sat down next to her and looked at her with those big brown eyes. “May I?” he asked her and she nodded, reaching her hand out. They sat in silence as he cleaned the cut and wrapped a bandage around her hand.

“How do you know my name?” Y/N asked, shyly, immediately regretting her words.

Sweet Pea looked up at her and grinned, “I know it’s hard to believe, but I do sometimes pay attention in class”. Y/N blushed. Sweet Pea was a completely different person than the one she knew from school. He was actually nice. Who would’ve thought?

“There! All done” he stated proudly, a big smile on his face. “Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked her for the tenth time since they came to his trailer. Y/N giggled and told him she was fine. She noticed he had been holding her hand the whole time. When she looked in his eyes, she couldn’t look away. He leaned a bit closer to her, unsure of what he was doing, his eyes flickering down to her lips. All of the sudden, his lips met hers, but before she could kiss him back, he pulled away. “Fuck, I’m so sorry Y/N, what the fuck is wrong with me” he blurted out, his eyes filled with guilt and concern.

“Sweet Pea…” she started but was interrupted.

“How am I so stupid, you were just attacked by some fucking creep and here I am, making a move on you? Fuck.”

Y/N looked at him, trying to hold back a laugh, finally grabbing his hand. “It’s fine, honestly. I was just… I don’t know, I was just surprised you wanted to kiss me, I guess” she said, feeling slightly awkward.

Sweet Pea looked at her in confusion “How could I not want to? You’re really smart, you’re actually funny even though you don’t know it, you care about people…” he moved his hand to stroke her hair before continuing, “and you’re fucking beautiful, Y/N”. Y/N sat there, processing his words, as tears started forming in her eyes. “Hey, don’t cry, please. I’m sorry, the last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable. If you want to leave I totally understand, but please let me walk you home.” Sweet Pea said with a frown.

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather stay here with you. I feel safe here…” Y/N told him, not wanting to go home to an empty house.

“Of course you can stay, you can stay here as long as you’d like”

Y/N had never felt what she felt in that moment. Sweet Pea’s hand was on her cheek, his eyes looking at her almost lovingly. She shifted closer to him and laid down on the couch. Without hesitation, he followed her movement, and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest and felt it move in sync with his breathing. After a moment, she felt his face move towards hers, and his lips pressed against her forehead. She looked up to meet his stare, and leaned up so their lips met. He pulled away, “Are you sure about this?”.

Y/N looked at him, “I never knew you were actually such a sweet guy, Sweet Pea” she laughed.

He smirked at her. “If you tell anyone else, I’ll kill you,” he responded and before she knew it, his lips found hers once again. The kiss was gentle at first but quickly became more passionate.

He shifted his body so that he was hovering over her, his arms holding him up so he wouldn’t crush her. At first she was shy but her confidence grew and she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled at his shirt, to bring him closer to her. He pulled away, only an inch from her mouth, and smiled. He kissed her again, deeper than before, and she let out a small moan as his tongue entered her mouth. He was very firm but gentle at the same time. She felt his hand trace the path from her neck down to her waist and she shivered when he snuck under the fabric of her shirt, finding his way to her chest. He groaned when his fingers stroke over her bra, and he cupped her breast, squeezing it gently.

“You are so beautiful, princess,” he whispered against her mouth.

Before he could reconnect their lips, Y/N whispered back, “Wait… uhm”.

Sweet Pea grew slightly concerned and smiled at her, “What is it baby?”

“I’ve never… uhm.” She tried to put her thoughts into words. He sat up, pulling her close to him, and waited patiently. Y/N took a deep breath and blurted out, “I’ve never uhm, been with anyone, uhm, before.” She bit her lip and looked up to see his reaction.

“It’s okay princess. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I have all the time in the world,” he told her and kissed her once more, before pulling her into a hug. “So, do you wanna watch a movie?” he asked her, with a huge grin on his face. She couldn’t believe how nice he was to her.

“Sure, that sounds perfect,” she replied and kissed him on the cheek.

He turned on the tv and put on some movie she hadn’t heard of before. When the movie started, he snuggled up behind her and put his arm around her to pull her in close. She could feel her eyelids getting heavier and she realized the time must have been way past midnight.

The last thing she remembered before she fell asleep was a whisper in her ear, “Good night, princess”, and a kiss on her cheek.

Chapter Text

Y/N opened her eyes, and it took her a while to figure out where she was, and whose arm it was wrapped around her. The events of the night before came back to her and she sighed. They had fallen asleep in their clothes. Y/N was wearing her black, high-waist, skinny jeans and a pastel pink crop top. Her boots and her gray bomber jacket were lying on the floor. She felt Sweet Pea’s breath against the back of her neck, and his arm tightened around her. She had no idea what would happen now, they barely knew each other. He had been so sweet and gentle to her yesterday, but did that even matter today?

Things were different outside of Sweet Pea’s trailer. He was pretty much the leader of the Serpents at Southside High, and she was a nobody. He couldn’t be seen with her, no way.

After a moment, her eyes widened, and she jumped up from the couch. Her sudden movement woke Sweet Pea up, who let out a confused groan. She quickly grabbed her jacket and found her phone.

“Fuck.” she gasped. It was almost 9 o’clock, which meant she was very late for class.

“Jesus Christ, what’s wrong Y/N?” he said grumpily, as he was rubbing his eyes.
“We’re late for school!” she almost yelled, picking up her stuff. “We gotta go now!” she said, looking at him pleadingly.
“Come on, we’re already late, what’s a few minutes more?” he smirked as he walked up to her and put his hands on her waist, pulling her close to him. “At least start by giving me a good morning kiss.” his touch calmed her down and she let out a loud sigh.

“I have a project to hand in before 10 o’clock and it’s almost 9 o’clock and I’m still wearing the same clothes as yesterday and-” she rambled until Sweet Pea put a finger on her lips and laughed.

“So we have two options, either we get you home so you can shower and change, or you can shower here and I’ll find some shirt for you to borrow.” Y/N looked at him, debating if it was a good idea to show up at school with Sweet Pea wearing his clothes. Like that wouldn’t raise questions. But, if she went home, it would take her at least half an hour more since it was pretty far away.

“Fine. I’ll shower here.” she said with a frown. His eyes lit up and a smile broke out on his face. His hands moved from her waist to the back of her thighs and suddenly lifted her up to press her against the wall. Her legs automatically wrapped around him so he wouldn’t drop her. “Sweets, come on, I have to hurry!” she groaned with a slight annoyance in her voice. He smirked and leaned in to kiss her. In that moment, she couldn’t care less about school or what people might say. She immediately kissed him back, eager for his touch. Her hand reached for his hair and pulled, making Sweet Pea let out a groan.

“God damn it, I’m not letting you go to school if we don’t stop now.” he murmured, his eyes full of lust. Y/N pressed a quick kiss on his lips before her feet finally found the floor again. Sweet Pea walked into the bathroom to find a towel. Y/N stood there awkwardly until he returned and handed it to her. He stood there for a while, not taking his eyes off her.

“What?” Y/N blushed as she tried to keep up with his stare. Sweet Pea chuckled at the question.

“I guess I’m just happy you’re here.” he said as he cupped her face and his thumb gently stroked her lips. “Now, go on, wouldn’t want to miss your deadline” he grinned and kissed her forehead.

She quickly showered and when she came back out, Sweet Pea turned around, holding a green shirt. “There you go, now you can smell like me.” he smirked, his eyes fixed on hers. Y/N blushed as she accepted the shirt, quickly turning around to put it on.

The walk to the school was quiet. It was more peaceful outside than usual, Y/N thought, the gang members were obviously still sleeping, already at school, or walking next to her. She noticed Sweet Pea looking at her.

“What are you looking at?” she smiled, awkwardly. Sweet Pea smirked, and reached for her hand.

“My shirt looks good on you, that’s all.”

When they approached the school, there were not many people around. Y/N noticed two of Sweet Pea’s friends standing just outside and it was obvious they noticed them as well.

“Where have you been?!” the girl yelled as they ran towards them. She felt Sweet Pea quickly let go of her hand and widen the space between them. Y/N identified the girl as Toni Topaz, but she didn’t know the boy’s name. “And who is this?” Toni spat out.

“Jeez, relax. This is Y/N. We overslept. Y/N, this is Toni and Fangs.” Sweet Pea said lazily. Y/N stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Toni looked at her with slight disgust before turning back to Sweet Pea.

“Yeah, whatever. We need to go. Now.” she said, shooting Y/N a glare.

Y/N took that as her queue. “Uhm. See you around Sweets” she said and started hurrying her way to the school before Sweet Pea could say anything, not daring to look back.

She had 10 minutes until the next class started, so she went straight to her locker to get some books. As she expected, Alexa was standing there, with her arms folded and a curious smirk on her face.

“Well, well, well, miss ‘I’ve never missed class in my life’, where the fuck have you been?” she asked laughing. Alexa had been her friend since she moved to the Southside. She was much more outgoing and social than Y/N, but for some reason didn’t bother to hang out with anyone else. “Oh. My. God. Is that a guy’s shirt?” she gasped, her eyes widening.

“Shut up Alexa…” Y/N sighed and tried to make her way past her.

“No way I’m letting you leave me without spilling all the details” Alexa shrieked and grabbed her arm. Y/N knew she wasn’t going to let this go any time soon so she decided to just tell her everything, from the drunk guy to the heated makeout session in Sweet Pea’s trailer.

“…but please, can you just keep this to yourself for once. I don’t know what to make of half of this to be honest. I don’t want the whole school to know.” Y/N said after telling Alexa the whole story.

“Holy shit Y/N!” Alexa yelled out, making Y/N shoot her an angry look. “Ok, jesus, I won’t tell anyone, but like, holy shit.” she said more quietly. “So what are you gonna do now?”

“I have no idea,” Y/N sighed. “can we just drop this for now and go to class? Please?”

The time went by slower than usual and Y/N’s mind was not registering much of what was going on around her. She couldn’t stop thinking about last night, and especially this morning. Did something bad happen? Was Sweet Pea involved in something? She quickly shook off that thought, of course he was involved in something, he was a fucking Serpent after all.

When it was finally lunch time, she went to find Alexa at their regular table in the cafeteria. There were a few other people sitting there, her so-called friends, but they paid little attention to her and she couldn’t care less. Y/N sat down next to Alexa, who was busy debating about something stupid with Liam, as usual.

The cafeteria suddenly filled with loud banter and laughter. She looked up and saw a bunch of Serpents enter, including him. She quickly looked away when she felt Alexa’s elbow hit her side repeatedly.

“Y/N! Do something, he’s looking over here” Alexa hissed at her before turning back to Liam to continue their debate.

Y/N let out a sigh, and slowly looked back in the Serpent’s direction. Sweet Pea’s eyes were already on her. He looked different than this morning. This wasn’t the sweet guy that had held her and kissed her and told her she was beautiful. This was Sweet Pea, the gang member she knew from school. A mischievous smirk appeared on his face and he winked, not taking his eyes off of her. Y/N shivered and unwillingly bit her lower lip, unable to look away. This made Sweet Pea’s smirk grow as he licked his lips.

“Earth to Y/N! Hello?!” said Alexa, making Y/N jump. Alexa rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Oh girl, you’re in it deep for this guy, aren’t you?”. Y/N looked at her in panic, expecting everyone at the table to be looking at her, only to see that it was just the two of them. “Relax, everyone else just left. Now come on!” she laughed, before dragging Y/N out of the cafeteria.

Their last class for the day was English. Y/N saw down next to Alexa at their usual table, waiting for class to start. Alexa was blabbering about some party that was in two days. Y/N’s heart stopped for a second when she noticed a tall Serpent enter the classroom. His eyes searched the room, noticing an empty table next to her. He started making his way towards her and sat down, grinning at Y/N, his tongue brushing over his lower lip. Y/N shuddered, looking away from him.

“So, you’re coming right?” Alexa asked her.

“Huh? Coming where?” Y/N looked at her in confusion.

“Jesus Y/N, where is your mind? The party on Friday, you idiot!” Alexa replied, annoyed tone in her voice.

“Oh, that, yeah sure, I’ll be there” Y/N told her with a faint smile, uncomfortably aware that Sweet Pea’s eyes were still fixated on her.

When she heard the bell ring, she packed her stuff as fast as she could, said goodbye to her friend and made her way to the door. She turned around too quickly and bumped right into some Serpent. He stumbled and looked at her furiously.

“Watch where you’re going, bitch” he spat at her, his eyes full of anger.

“I- I didn’t m-mean to, s-sorry” Y/N said, her voice trembling.

“I- I didn’t mean to, I- I’m so- sorry” the Serpent raised his voice, mockingly, before bursting out in laughter. The other Serpents started laughing as well, and to Y/N’s disappointment, Sweet Pea was one of them. She noticed Toni punch him in the side, looking at him bitterly.

“Leave the poor girl alone, asshole” Toni hissed at the Serpent that stood over her. Sweet Pea’s expression changed, and his eyes met Y/N’s, as if he was trying to apologize. Before she knew it, Alexa had pushed the Serpent away and dragged Y/N to the hallway.

“What the fuck was that?” Alexa murmured as they walked towards the bathroom. Y/N didn’t say anything. When they entered the bathroom she let out a deep sigh, and looked at herself in the mirror, trying to calm herself down. The door to the bathroom opened, and Toni’s head popped in.

“Hey, are you ok? I’m sorry about that…” she started. Alexa opened her mouth to say something, but Y/N interrupted her.

“No, it’s fine, honestly” she smiled at Toni, “Uhm, thanks for that, I appreciate it.” Toni looked at her almost concerningly and returned the smile.

“Look, I might not like you and I have no idea what the hell is going on with you and Pea, but if I were you, I’d ignore how he’s acting at school.” she said, grabbing the door handle, “He’s got a reputation to live up to, and if he shows that he likes you, it might just make things worse for you, and for him.”

Y/N scoffed, “I highly doubt that he likes me, there’s definitely nothing going on between us”, it was almost like she was convincing herself, and not Toni.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, princess” Toni grinned, opening the door. “By the way, sorry about this morning” she winked and then she was gone.

“Oh my god oh my god he likes you!” Alexa blurted out with a huge smile on her face.

“He probably just wanted to get in my pants… Can we just stop talking about him now?” Y/N groaned, rolling her eyes. Alexa nodded and started making her way to the door. Y/N stood there for a moment, processing what Toni had said. She had called her princess, just like Sweet Pea had. Had he told her about last night? Did he actually like her or was it just an act?

Fuck it, she thought, he wasn’t worth the trouble.

Chapter Text

„Big guy, you coming or not?“ Toni snarled at him, her hands crossed.

Sweet Pea was standing outside of Southside High with his friends as he watched Y/N hurry up the steps, after mumbling a short goodbye to them. He hadn’t even realized what Toni was saying in his daze.

„Huh? I‘m coming. Chill.“ he glanced at his friends that were standing in front of him, glaring. „What the fuck is going on?“ he asked, confused by the looks on their faces.

„Not here, dumbass. Follow me.“ Toni shook her head and turned away.

Sweet Pea scoffed, but followed his pink-haired friend to their regular smoking spot behind the school. He was growing impatient with his friends‘ secrecy but knew better than to push Toni. He picked up a cigarette, placing it in between his teeth before lighting it and inhaling. Irritation clear on his face, he leaned against the wall and stared at Toni questioningly. She looked around, checking if anyone was around to hear them. When the coast was clear, Sweet Pea suddenly felt a harsh jab coming from the punch in his side.

„You scared the SHIT out of me you asshole!“ Toni barked, rubbing the knuckles on her right hand. Sweet Pea let out a groan and gingerly touched the spot where she had punched him. Even though he was twice her size, she definitely had a mean right hook and a worse temper.

„Ouch, what the fuck Toni! I was at home, what do you want from me?!“ he shouted at her, while Fangs laughed.

„Fred Andrews was shot this morning at Pop‘s. They brought a few Serpents in for questioning and since your dumb ass can‘t even bother to charge your phone, no one knew where the fuck you were. I thought that the police had gotten you or that you had actually something to do with the shooting.“ she frowned at him, before pulling him in a hug.

„Well, fuck Toni. I had no idea“ Sweet Pea began, returning the hug. „Who did the police bring in?“ he asked, looking inquisitively at her.

„Beans and Skipper are the ones we know of, at least“ Fangs stated before adding „The police saw them on their way to Pop‘s, although they only held them at the station for an hour“

„Jesus.“ Sweet Pea mumbled, taking another drag of his cigarette.

„I‘m glad you‘re okay, Pea.“ Toni smiled at him. „Now, are you gonna explain what you were actually doing with, what‘s her name-“ she paused.

„Y/N!“ Fangs announced, smirking.

„That‘s right! Y/N“ she agreed with a smug smile.

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes at them. What had he been doing with Y/N? When he saw the man threatening her last night, something fumed inside him. He knew her face from classes but nothing more than that. There was always something about her that intrigued him. She was very studious, from what he had noticed anyways, always following that brunette girl around and didn‘t seem to care much about what was going on around her. And she was gorgeous.

„Uhm, I was walking outside yesterday when I saw some guy jumped her“ he sighed, „I scared him off and she cut her hand so I offered to fix it up at home since her place was far away and I dunno she stayed over.“ he continued, noticing the amused faces of his friends. „Nothing happened, okay? Fuck off.“ he concluded, finishing his cigarette.

They were soon joined by a few other Serpents but Sweet Pea didn‘t pay much attention to them. He couldn‘t get Y/N out of his mind. The whole thing was out of character for him. He usually pushed away any feelings he had that weren‘t anger or swaggering confidence. That‘s what people expected of him. That‘s what he expected of himself. Toni noticed how quiet Sweet Pea was being and made her way through the group that was still talking about what happened at Pop‘s. She smiled softly at him and sat next to him on the bench.

„Hey, you okay?“ she whispered. Sweet Pea looked at her and smiled.

„Yeah, why wouldn‘t I be?“ he asked.

„Usually, you‘d be over there with everyone else laughing and boasting loudly“ Toni said, looking over the group in front of them. „Do you like her?“ she asked, „Because nobody would care if you do“ she added quickly.

„For fucks sake, I don‘t like her.“ he blurted out defensively. „Me liking her? I can have any girl I want, and you think I‘m that hung up on some random nobody?“ he defensively snarled as he stood up.

„Yeah okay, forget I said anything“ Toni scoffed quietly, before following him inside the school.

Wherever Sweet Pea went, the gang followed. Loud chatter and laughter filled the school as they rushed through the halls leading to the cafeteria. First thing he noticed when he stepped through the door was Y/N, sitting next to her brunette friend. He and his crew were hard to miss so it was natural that she would notice him. He saw the brunette nudge Y/N and whispering something to her before she slowly turned her head in his direction. Their eyes met instantly and he couldn‘t help but notice how good she looked, especially since he knew she was wearing his shirt.

He was awfully aware that they were not alone. Any perceived weakness towards her would cause a world of trouble for them both when word made it to the Ghoulies. He needed to put on his disaffected facade for both of their sakes, fully knowing she wouldn’t understand. He would have to explain it to her later, he told himself with a bitter sigh. Slipping his mask of flirty indifference on and resolving to protect her even if it made her hate him, a huge smirk appeared on his face and he winked at her. He kept his eyes on her, noticing how she bit her lower lip and blushed. Her friends were leaving her table one by one, but her gaze never left his. At least not until the brunette got her attention and dragged her out of the cafeteria. His eyes didn’t leave her until she was out of sight and he realized he was smiling. Fuck, why did he have to act like a lovesick child when it came to this girl?

Him, Toni and a few other Serpents had English after lunch. He knew that Y/N was in that same class. When he arrived in the classroom his eyes found her right away. He saw there was an empty table next to her and started walking towards it, grinning at Y/N before sitting down. She looked at him puzzled. He overheard the brunette talk about a party on Friday. He knew exactly whose party it was and was surprised they were even invited. A small part of him was excited that she might be there, but he wouldn‘t admit that to anyone else.

During class he found himself sneaking glances at Y/N discreetly, each time forcing himself to look away. When the bell rang, he slowly picked up his stuff and stood up. Y/N was in a hurry, gathering her belongings quickly before running straight into one of his crew.

„Watch where you‘re going, bitch.“ Trey spat at her.

„I- I didn‘t mean to, I- I‘m so- sorry“ she stuttered, and he watched as Trey repeated her words mockingly before letting out a loud laugh and the rest of the Serpents joined in, except Toni and Fangs. Sweet Pea joined in on the laughter, out of habit, but clenched his fists without noticing. Toni punched his arm, a confused and frustrated look in her eyes. When Sweet Pea didn‘t say anything, only stared intently at Y/N with guilt painted over his face, she hissed at Trey, telling her to leave her alone.

The brunette quickly grabbed Y/N‘s arm and they rushed to the hallway. The last thing Sweet Pea noticed was the hurt in her eyes as she looked at him.

„Dude, what the actual fuck?“ Toni snarled at him, disappointed. Before he could think of something to say, she was rushing out of the classroom after Y/N.

He slowly gathered the rest of his things, his mind awash with infinite possibilities, each one worse than the last. Why didn‘t he do anything? He ignored everyone around him and went outside quickly to light a cigarette. It pissed him off that he didn‘t know how to feel or act when it came to Y/N. He let out a loud sigh before Fangs appeared next to him.

„We‘re going over to the Whyte Wyrm, wanna come?“ Fangs offered, carefully looking at him like he was gonna hurt someone at any second.

„Let‘s go“ Sweet Pea answered brusquely.

The evening was like every other. He played pool most of the night and won almost every game. When he wasn‘t playing pool there was some girl flirting with him, standing too close to him. Most times, if he found the girl attractive, he’d be flirting back viciously. But this evening Sweet Pea didn’t seem to pay any attention to any of it. After a while, he grew bored of the same old scene and decided to head out. When he stood up, he quickly looked at Fangs and Trey and motioned towards the exit. They quickly got up and followed him instantly.

„So, what‘s the plan?“ Trey asked, looking over to Sweet Pea.

„I dunno, just needed to get out of there“ he declared, walking away from the Wyrm.

„We could head over to the quarry,“ Fangs suggested, earning a nod from Sweet Pea.

They were halfway to the quarry when Sweet Pea noticed a familiar figure on the street, who other than Y/N. His eyes moved to two Ghoulies that were approaching her. She was completely alone and obviously attempting to get out of their range as quickly as possible, but to no avail. The Ghoulies were closing in on her too quickly for her to run, and she was vastly outnumbered. Sweet Pea could tell this encounter wouldn’t end well at all, but he was paralyzed at the idea of making things worse for them both by coming to her rescue in front of both Serpents and Ghoulies alike.

„Hah, there‘s that dumb bitch from class.“ Trey laughed making Fangs look at Sweet Pea warily.

The ghoulies had cornered her and he couldn‘t make sense of what they were saying. He noticed her eyes moving his way, locking with his own. She looked terrified. He froze. He was torn between desperately wanting to suppress his feelings for her and his desire to destroy those Ghoulies for even daring to touch her. He was quickly snapped back to reality when he heard Trey call after him.

„Sweet Pea, let‘s bounce!“ Trey yelled.

Sweet Pea turned to Trey, conflicted over what he should choose to do. He looked back at Y/N and saw the heartbreak in her eyes as he turned to follow his friends, praying that she would be alright and not hate him after this.

Chapter Text

Y/N hands were still trembling as she closed the door behind her. She leant against the door, swallowing as she closed her eyes. It didn’t seem like her mom was home and she sighed, relieved. Dropping her bag on the floor beside her, she made her way to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were tired and her lip was cracked. She noticed a slight bruise forming under her left eye. Y/N winced at the tightness that crept up on her chest, thinking back to what had just happened.

When she saw Sweet Pea walk away, she felt defeated. The two ghoulies were closing in on her from each side. One of them had blonde hair and pale skin and the other was short with dark skin and black hair. She didn’t hear what the short one had said to her as she stood there, frozen, contemplating her escape route.

“Get the fuck away from me” she whispered. They laughed and the blonde moved closer to her. When she felt a hand on her arm, something snapped. She clenched her fists and unintentionally punched the guy, right in his nose. He stumbled backwards in surprise, covering his nose with his hands.

“What the fuck, you bitch!” he cried out, looking at the other. The short one stormed over to her and pinned her against the wall, holding his fist up. When she tried to get away, he punched her. She felt her cheek turn numb but there wasn’t much pain. That’s when she blacked out.

She was standing on the street with clenched fists as she looked at the two boys running away. Confused, she looked around, expecting someone to be around, but saw no one. The adrenaline soon ran off and she looked down at her hands, her knuckles bruised.

The next day, Y/N did not show up to school. Sweet Pea was sitting in English class, glaring over at the empty table where she usually sat. Her brunette friend noticed his gaze and scoffed. She looked annoyed which made Sweet Pea shrug and turn his head back to his notebook. He couldn’t think about anything other than Y/N and the previous night, how he left her alone, whether she was okay? When the bell rang at the end of the class, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His head turned to face the brunette, who was staring at him bitterly.

“Oh, and by the way,” she leaned in and whispered, “she’s fine.” She let go of his shoulder and started walking away. “Asshole.” she muttered to herself, just loud enough for him and Toni to hear, before disappearing through the door. Sweet Pea was stunned. He noticed Toni watching him with a puzzled look on her face.

“Don’t ask” he muttered, before grabbing his bag.

Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangs, along with a few other serpents, headed straight to the quarry after school. Sweet Pea was sitting with some girls, making a lame joke, when Toni approached him, looking concerned.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Sweet Pea looked at her, slightly annoyed at her for ruining the punchline of the joke,and nodded. He followed her away from the others, before Toni turned around, hands crossed against her chest.

“Pea… You need to tell me what the hell is going on with you.” she said with a serious tone.

“I don’t know what you mean.” he replied, avoiding her eye-contact.

“You’ve been distant since that morning when you arrived with Y/N, which, by the way, was the happiest I’ve ever seen you, before you noticed us. Then there was that thing in class, and Fangs told me about what happened after you left the Whyte Wyrm yesterday.” she frowned. “So I’m gonna ask you again. What the hell is going on with you?”

Sweet Pea’s hand ran through his hair, pacing back and forth while he tried to come up with some sort of explanation. What the hell was going on with him?

“I think I like her, Toni” he blurted out. “I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what I was doing. I just panicked. When Trey did that shit in class, I wanted to punch him. But something kept telling me that it would only make it worse for her. And if the ghoulies saw me protecting her they would’ve just kept on going.” he sat down, burying his face in his palms. Toni sat down slowly next to him and put her hands around him, pulling him into a hug.

“She doesn’t deserve that shit,” he paused, looking up at her, the pain showing in his eyes. “and I don’t deserve her.” He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and sighed. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Toni gently squeezed his shoulder.

“You want my advice?” she smiled softly and laughed when he shook his shoulders, taking another drag of his cigarette. “Tell her.”

Sweet Pea looked at her in confusion, “Tell her what, exactly?”

“That you like her, why you’re being a dick. I’m pretty sure she can decide for herself what she deserves”

The next day, Y/N stood in front of the mirror putting makeup on, trying to hide her bruised cheek. Her mother had been working so much, she hadn’t even noticed. Alexa had called Y/N yesterday when she didn’t show up for school and in her state of vulnerability, Y/N told her what had happened. She grabbed her things from her bedroom and was about to walk out the door when she noticed a green shirt lying on the floor. She felt a slight sting in her heart and swallowed it quickly before picking it up and putting it in her bag. Today was a new day and she was not going to let Sweet Pea or some ghoulies ruin it.

When she arrived at school, she ducked her head and walked towards her locker, hoping no one would notice her bruise. As she was grabbing her books, she noticed Sweet Pea standing a few feet away, looking at his phone. He hadn’t noticed her yet, she pondered for a moment before grabbing the t-shirt from her bag. Making her way towards him, she saw his head turn to her and his eyes widened in surprise.

“There you go.” she muttered as she handed him the shirt and started to make her way past him. He grabbed her arm and turned her around so she was facing him, their bodies inches away from each other.

“Y/N, please wait” he said, his voice so low it was barely more than a whisper. “I have to talk to you. Can we talk after school? Just a few minutes, I swear.” he looked at her, pleadingly. His eyes flickered to her cheek, noticing her bruise. She saw his jaw clench and his eyes were filled with pain. Y/N looked at the ground, swallowing the urge to break down in front of him.

“I- I guess so” she stuttered, not wanting to look him in the eyes. He reluctantly let go of her arm and their eyes met for a split second before she turned around and walked away.

The day went by slowly. Y/N only had two classes on Fridays, and thankfully she shared neither of them with Sweet Pea. She was walking down the hallway with Alexa to their last class, praying she wouldn’t attract much attention, especially from the ghoulies.

“Are you gonna go talk to him?” Alexa asked suspiciously.

“Yeah probably, I don’t know.” she sighed.

“Just be careful, okay?” Alexa gently squeezed Y/N’s shoulder before heading into the classroom. They sat down at their usual table and Y/N opened her notebook, deep in thought. She didn’t know what to expect if she went to talk to Sweet Pea. She was angry and hurt after what had happened, but mostly she was confused at his actions.

“You’re still coming to the party right?” Alexa nudged her, trying to distract her.

“I don’t know, not really in the party mood these days.” Y/N sighed.

“Oh come on, it’ll be fun, and you can focus on something else other than that asshole” Alexa smiled before turning her attention to the teacher who was writing something on the blackboard.

“Yeah okay, if that makes you shut up about it” Y/N muttered.

When class was finally over, Y/N grabbed her things and walked nervously to her locker to return her books. She looked around and to her disappointment, Sweet Pea was nowhere in sight. She sighed, cursing herself for thinking he would actually show up, and headed towards the exit.

When she reached out to open the door, she jumped back in surprise, when it was flung open to reveal Toni and Fangs, rushing past her. She looked over her shoulder after them and saw Fangs looking at her, slowing down and opening his mouth as if to say something. He gave her a pitiful smile before turning back and running after Toni down the hallway. Y/N stood there, confused, wondering what that had been all about. She sighed as she picked up her phone and started typing a text message to Alexa.

Come over at 7 before the party? -Y/N

Sweet Pea was making his way over to Y/N’s locker, hoping she would talk to him. He walked around the corner and froze as he spotted a group of ghoulies. His eyes landed on a short boy with dark hair. He clenched his fists when he realized it was one of the ghoulies that had cornered Y/N that night. He noticed Trey standing a few feet away, looking at him confused. He sighed and started walking past them, trying to act normal.

“…so I punched her and she started crying like a fucking baby” the short ghoulie bragged to the group, who all started laughing.

Sweet Pea clenched his fists tightly at his sides, his nails digging into the flesh as the heat traveled from his chest and into his face. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but found himself taking a step toward the group, his brown hues boring down heavily into the ghoulie’s eyes. “That’s a big mouth for such a small person.” he growled.

“Bigger fists.” the male responded, lifting his chin up and an amused smirk appeared on his face.

Sweet Pea gave him a bitter smile and tilted his head to the side, “Yeah? Wanna see mine?”

The ghoulie’s body tensed at Sweet Pea’s words. He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms, trying to make himself appear larger. “Listen, Sweet Pie,” he started and took a step forward. “This really isn’t any of your business and I highly doubt you can afford another altercation. So how about you do yourself a favor and run along.” Sweet Pea’s eyes darkened and his hand shot forward, gripping the ghoulie’s throat tightly. His upper lip twitched in anticipation as he slammed him into the row of lockers behind him.

“Oh, but it is my business.” he snarled, raising his fist. Before he could connect it with the male’s face, he felt someone grab his arm and drag him back. He turned his head in confusion and was met with Toni’s gaze.

“Easy there, giant. Let’s not do something we’ll regret.” she warned, shooting Fangs a concerned look.

“Nothing regrettable about rearranging this fucking face with my fist.” he hissed, looking back at the ghoulie. Toni sighed, squeezing herself in between them and pressed her hands on Sweet Pea’s chest. Sweet Pea shot her an angry glare before letting go of the ghoulie and storming away.

“Hey!” he heard Toni yell after him, causing him to stop and turn around to face her. She put her hands on his shoulder and looked at him, waiting for him to explain what happened. Fangs stood next to her, crossing his arms.

“He’s- he fucking punched her.” he blurted out, the anger radiating off him. Toni let out a frustrated sigh, looking back at the group that were hurrying down the hallway before pulling him into a hug. His body relaxed a bit and he hesitantly returned the hug.

“We walked past her after Trey texted us about the whole ghoulie situation, I think she just left” he heard Fangs say as he let go of Toni. Fuck, he thought. There was no way he could clear the air between them now.

“Hey, she’s going to the party tonight, right?” Toni asked when she noticed his expression, like she could read his thoughts. “You can talk to her then, okay?” she gently squeezed his arm, reassuringly.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Sweet Pea muttered.

Y/N was standing in front of her mirror, making sure she looked alright before heading to the party with Alexa. Her hair was down, slight curls falling down her shoulders. She was wearing black denim dress over her white turtleneck and her green Dr. Martens. Alexa had managed to hide her bruise a little bit better and tried to make her feel better by telling her it made her look ‘badass’. Y/N sighed and grabbed her leather jacket before making her way out the door after Alexa.

The party was at their classmate Derek’s house. Alexa and him had been flirting for weeks so of course she dragged her along. Derek was a decent guy, he wasn’t a part of the ghoulies or the serpents, although he was friends with a few members of the latter. Y/N saw motorcycles outside the house and bit her lip nervously. She wasn’t sure what she should do when she would see Sweet Pea.

“It’s gonna be fine, Y/N, just say hi casually and do your thing. If he needs to talk, he’ll come to you.” Alexa looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. “Just follow my lead.”

She grabbed her hand and they entered the house. There were around twenty people already there, some talking and others dancing. “Alexa! I’m glad you’re here,” Derek greeted them, pulling Alexa in a hug. “Y/N, never expected you would actually show up, this is gonna be fun.” he smiled, squeezing her shoulder.

Alexa grabbed her hand and dragged her into the kitchen to get a drink. She was laughing at some story Derek was telling them when her eyes locked with brown hues staring back at her. She froze, Sweet Pea was leaning against the kitchen counter next to Toni, an awkward smile appearing on his face as he raised his hand in a tiny wave. Y/N blushed and smiled back before turning around to grab the beer Alexa was holding.

“Help.” she whispered and Alexa didn’t hesitate before dragging her out of the kitchen.

Y/N spent the night in the living room, talking to Alexa and a few of Derek’s friends. She found herself frequently sneaking glances over to Sweet Pea in the other side of the room. Most of the time his eyes were already fixated on hers, the corner of his mouth curling up every time their eyes met while she forced herself to look away.

At some point Alexa was making out with Derek on the couch and Y/N sat there, awkwardly, while the people around her started singing along to some song that came on. She sighed, finishing her beer and stood up. She walked over to the fridge and opened it to grab another beer. When she turned around, Sweet Pea was towering over her.

“Jesus fucking christ!” she gasped, letting out a nervous laughter, “You scared me, Pea.”

“Fuck, sorry. I didn’t mean to.” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Sweet Pea sighed and gently took her hand. “I’m sorry about today. Can we talk now?” Y/N looked at him shyly and noticed the regretful expression on his face. As much as she wanted to say no and forget about him, she couldn’t.

“Sure.” she squeezed his hand and gave him a soft smile. She saw a hint of relief wash over his features, smoothing away all the worry and concern. He tightened the grip on her hand and lead her towards the exit. When they came outside he sat down on the pavement and lit a cigarette. Y/N hesitantly sat down next him and wrapped her arms around her knees.

“I’ve been thinking all day about what I was going to say to you and I still don’t really know.” he broke the silence and let out a nervous laugh. He sighed before looking at her, frowning when she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m a fucking idiot, Y/N. I don’t know why I’ve been acting like a shithead the past few days, I’m so sorry.” he said, shifting his body closer to her and cautiously reached his hand to pull a lock of hair from her face. Y/N met his eyes and forced out a sad smile.

“It’s no big deal, really, it doesn’t matter.” she whispered, turning her head away.

“Yes it is, Y/N! You didn’t deserve that.” he groaned. “I’ve never been good with feelings. Seeing my parents fight when I was younger and then my mom leaving without a goodbye just made me promise myself to never get attached to anyone. I guess I thought I was protecting you. You know how it is with the serpents and the ghoulies. If the ghoulies knew anything about how I felt about you, they would make it their goal to torment you just to get to me.”

Shocked at his honesty, Y/N turned back to look at him, noticing how miserable he looked. She reached for his hands and gently squeezed it, waiting for him to continue. His eyes shot down at their hands and he wrapped his fingers around hers.

“I like you, Y/N. Like, a lot. I know it’s no excuse and I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I don’t know how to act when it comes to you. I just… I needed to tell you before I’d fuck it up even more.” he said, his voice low. Y/N sat there, frozen, not knowing how to respond. Sweet Pea groaned and let go of her hand, quickly standing up.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, hoping you’d just forgive me after I pulled that shit on you.” he blurted out, taking Y/N by surprise. She stood up and grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving.

“Sweet Pea, wait.” she whispered. He looked at her and frowned. “I don’t know what to say to all of that.” she paused, trying to find the words she wanted to say. “You really did hurt me, but I just wished you would’ve said something instead of pushing me away. I get what you mean with your parents and not being able to let anyone close to you. My dad left when I was ten, since then it’s just been me and my mom, and she’s never home. The only person I’ve ever felt comfortable with is Alexa, and then you.” she bit her lip, holding back the tears that had formed in her eyes.

Sweet Pea’s expression changed and he smiled at her softly before wrapping his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She felt comfortable with him. His hand stroked her back as the other moved to her hair. She closed her eyes and let out a sob, burying her face in his chest, arms wrapped tightly around his torso. Sweet Pea pulled away slightly and turned her chin up, making her look at him. He wiped away a few stray tears, before cupping her face and smiled.

“You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” he whispered. She smiled softly as another tear ran down her cheek. Without thinking, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was soft and gentle, almost vulnerable. It was nothing like the other kisses they’d shared. This one was more affectionate and caring. There was no lust, no other desire but to be there for each other. When their lips parted, he pulled her into hug, stroking her hair. After a few minutes of silence, Y/N pulled away and looked up at him.

“So what do we do now?” she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

“Do you wanna stay here or should I walk you home?” he smiled and kissed her forehead.

“I think you should walk me home.”