#tbh i assumed this would be way darker from the cover….and first couple of chapters | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

redhairdontcare732 · 5 years

Text

Sometimes it Snows in April

Author’s Note:

Hey all! This is my first attempt at an actual multi-chapter fic. This will be a Sweet Pea X OC story. I hope it goes well!

Anyways, I hope this first chapter isn’t too boring! It’s a lot of exposition tbh, trying to set up my new OC Bea and her relationships with everyone in Riverdale, not just Pea. I’m hoping that this will be somewhat of a slowburn, but I’m also impatient af so we’ll see! XxXx

As always feel free to comment or like if you want more!

Chapter 1:

Jughead’s POV

I groaned as I vaguely heard a gentle knocking on the front door of my trailer through my sleep induced haze. I groggily made my way to the front door, clad only in my boxers and a t-shirt, not really caring how anyone bold enough to be here before dawn would see me. I didn’t even have my beanie on, rather I clutched it firmly in my fist as I opened the door. I was surprised to see the sweet face of one Betty Cooper standing in my doorway.

“Betty? What time is it?”, I asked confusedly as I attempted to rub the sleep from my eyes. I briefly turned to look for a clock, perplexed as to why my girlfriend was here waking me up before my alarm.

“7:15. I wanted to catch you before school”, she stated softly before inching up towards my body and planting a chaste kiss to my lips as a way of greeting. I smiled briefly, the look quickly fading from my face as my brain caught up with my current state.

“Sorry, I have morning breath. You want coffee or something?”, I asked tiredly, heading for the kitchen of my small trailer and setting my beanie down on the counter. I rubbed my face once more, sleep threatening to overtake me where I stood. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Betty, but it was way too early for this. The Joneses were not known to be morning people, least of all me.

“No, uh I’m actually on my way to the library”, she replied quickly. “I asked Ms. Paroo to set aside all the books she has about cryptograms and ciphers. I thought it might help us crack the Black Hood’s code”.

I grunted in lieu of a response, hands reaching for cereal practically of their own accord. If I was going to be up this early you’d better believe I was going to at least get some food out of it.

“Which is something I was hoping we could do together, Jug”. she finished gently. I froze, an ominous chill running through my body. Most people would assume the chill was due to the macabe nature of our conversation, but anyone who knew Betty or I knew that this was pretty par for the course. No, my chill was in response to my tired brain finally recalling the way that I’d promised Toni that we’d work out the cipher together. I knew Betty was not exactly on board with me hanging out with anyone from the Southside Serpents, and she was definitely not going to be thrilled to hear that I’d been spending more time with the young Serpent girl. Scenarios flashed through my mind as every fiber of my being practically screamed for me to lie to Betty; surely no good could come from me telling her about Topaz right? But this was me, and this was Betty we were talking about. I hated lying to her, and though my instincts were telling me something very different, I decided quickly to come out with it. I cleared my throat in unease.

“Uhm….actually, funny enough, Toni of all people and I, we started working on that yesterday at the Red and Black. I can show you what we’ve got so far if you want”, I replied plainly, feigning nonchalance. I settled in with my bowl at the table, eyes avoiding Betty at all costs. I didn’t even have to turn around to know that Betty wasn’t fooled by my casual comment in the slightest; I could practically feel the way her body tensed in response, and I could picture the look on her face in my mind perfectly. Body rigid, posture perfect, eyes cast towards me with the most scrutinizing look in her blue orbs; her beautifully delicate features attempting to imitate impassivity but failing, and her lower lip tucked securely in between her teeth as thoughts took laps inside her mind wildly. I knew Betty like the back of my hand.

“Toni….”, Betty drawled, walking over to occupy the seat next to me. “...because let me guess, she loves serial killers”. I chuckled mirthlessly.

“She does have an affinity for the darker side of things, yeah”, I replied while taking a bite of my breakfast. Betty hummed in response, clearly not impressed or fooled by my attempt at indifference. I watched her take in my response, and as I did a new feeling of amusement overtook my still tired brain. Betty’s face was practically screaming in annoyance, and a small part of me was satisfied in its ability to elicit such a response.

“In that case--”, Betty started.

“In that case, maybe you guys could hold off on your little lover’s quarrel until oh I don’t know noon or so”, a voice called, effectively interrupting Betty’s train of thought. I immediately jumped to my feet, Betty not far behind as I took in the sound of the intruder coming from my dad’s room. I found the sight of a girl looking even more disheveled than I, walking down the hallway of my trailer while she yawned and rubbed her eyes with the palms of both hands. She had a couple of inches on Betts but was not nearly as tall as me, long legs taking easy strides down the hall as she approached. She was dressed for bed with a pair of plaid cotton pants for bottoms and a wrinkly black tank top for her shirt. The hair on her head was a mass of wild curls sticking up in every direction making her look as if she'd gotten into a fight with her bed and lost. Her right bicep was covered with a tattoo comprised largely of red roses, and based solely on her current appearance I’d wager a guess that there were others in places I couldn’t currently see. Her face betrayed how tired she was, hands still desperately trying to remove the evidence of her sleep as she approached where Betty and I tensely stood. I subtly angled myself in front of Betts as I took in the new arrival’s presence with apprehension. The girl did not seem bothered in the least by our evident shock and continued to walk into the kitchen before sitting in the seat across from mine.

“What in the actual fuc--”, I snapped before Betty cut me off.

“Bea?”, she questioned softly, stepping out from behind me and approaching the girl slowly, facial expression betraying a sense of hopefulness. The intruder’s face broke out into a small, tired smile, eyes appraising Betty and I with a fond look on her vaguely familiar features.

“Last time I checked”, she chuckled. Betty gasped lightly before practically tackling her with an embrace. My brows furrowed deeper in confusion as I took in the sudden turn my morning had taken; I still stood on the opposite side of the table, watching with an utter lack of understanding as Betts laughed and hugged my unwelcome houseguest with poorly contained affection. The wheels in my brain were turning around and around furiously as I attempted to make sense of the scene in front of me. Eventually the girls pulled apart, Betty turning to me and smiling brightly. Evidently my lack of comprehension was clear on my face because they both shot me amused looks.

“Jug, do you really not know who this is?”, Betty questioned incredulously. I rolled my eyes in response at the same time that the other girl snorted.

“Oh come on Juggie, Nancy Drew over here figured it out straightaway”, she accused.

Now I was officially confused. No one had called Betts ‘Nancy Drew’ in years; no one since…

“Bea?”, I practically choked as the realization dawned on my slowly. Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, though I could tell that she was somehow rather amused by the entire situation.

“Jughead”, she mocked lightly, standing up and walking over to where I stood, still frozen in place. I didn’t hesitate this time, arms flying to wrap themselves around her tall frame tightly. She responded in kind, hands coming to rest on my waist as she hugged me back with an intense sort of emotion. I couldn’t believe what was happening, my self-proclaimed other half was back in Riverdale after nearly ten years away.

She looked different, that was for sure, but now that I knew I couldn’t believe that I’d missed it. The resemblance was uncanny from her nearly 8 year old past self; Bea still had the same wildly curly dirty-blonde locks, the same round face (although age had thinned it out a bit), and the same look of self-assured confidence that she’d always possessed. The biggest giveaway though by far should have been her eyes; giant almond shaped eyes, irises a striking green with specks of brown. They were identical to my own, practically copied and pasted directly onto her face.

“What are you doing here Bea?”, Betty questioned as we distangled ourselves. Bea smiled lightly before taking her seat back at the table, Betts and I following suit.

“Well I heard through the grapevine that my uncle was in a bit of trouble and I decided the time was finally right to grace Riverdale with my presence”, she explained lightly, grabbing my bowl of cereal and helping herself to a bite.

I shook my head, still unable to process that this was actually happening. I mean this morning had started out with me being woken up at an ungodly hour by Betty and now I was sitting at my kitchen table with my cousin that I honestly thought I’d never see again. Bea and her father had disappeared from Riverdale without a trace when we were both around 8 years old. I was crushed when I'd realized that my best friend had vanished from my life, and that was one of the first times I'd seen my dad get well and truly drunk. Bea was my dad's niece by blood, the only child of his sister and the only thing he had left from her in this world. Bea had always been closer to my dad than her own, and I think he took her disappearance harder than even I had. Emotion overcoming me, I punched Bea lightly in the arm, glowering at her.

“Uhm ouch Jug”, she simpered, rubbing her bare bicep lightly. Betty frowned at me.

“Jughead!”, she scolded lightly. I shook my head, effectively ignoring her.

“Bea where in the ever-loving fuck have you been? How did you get in my trailer? How long have you been in town? And why in God’s name haven’t you contacted me once in the last 10 years?”, I questioned angrily. The shock and relief I’d initially felt upon seeing my cousin had faded and made way for feelings of resentment and indignation.

“Okay that’s a lot of questions before 8 am”, Bea mumbled, rubbing her eyes once more. My eyes narrowed even more, and I shook my head in annoyance. Bea seemed to soften upon looking at my expression, soft hand coming to rest on my own in a show of understanding.

“I know this all seems crazy right now, but for real I am not nearly awake enough for the full story. So pick like two out of those million questions and I promise to do my best”, she replied finally.

My harsh expression faltered for a second as I looked into her exhausted face, appraising her with poorly masked irritation. We sat this way for a beat or two, facing off stubbornly as Betty’s eyes darted between the two of us with a sort of anxious interest. Finally, I sighed, leaning back and thinking hard about what I really wanted to know.

“How did you get in here?”, I asked after a few moments. Bea’s face broke into an all-too-familiar smirk as she replied, drawing my mind back to all the memories from the happier parts of my childhood.

“Seriously Jug? I know it’s been awhile but I definitely still remember where Gladys kept the spare key. And knowing how you and FP operate I just assumed, correctly by the way, that it’d still be there”, she stated proudly. I chuckled at her now obvious explanation as a wave of nostalgia overtook me. Betty giggled lightly.

“Okay. Where have you been?”, I asked more gently than before. Bea groaned, rubbing her eyes once more and resting her head on her hand.

“Alright the Cliff notes are that dad ran us both off to Minnesota when he found out that FP and Gladys were planning to take me away from him, and that’s basically where I’ve been ever since”, she stated quickly. I swallowed the lump in my throat that had formed. My face softened fully as I eyed her exhaustion with more compassion than before. Betty shot a sympathetic expression to Bea, pulling her into another gentle hug in a show of silent support. Bea sighed once more.

“So if that's all, I'm going to let you get back to whatever you were arguing about before, as long as you promise to do so quietly”, she snipped to Betty and I, tossing a pointed look in our direction. Betty’s face tinged pink with embarrassment but I just rolled my eyes. “Jug I’ll see you after school and I promise we’ll talk then, okay?”.

“Wait you’re not going to school?”, Betty questioned gently. The blush had faded from her face and she was now looking at Bea with concern plastered across her features. Bea snorted once more.

“Yeah that would go over big. I’ll just walk into the office without any proof of address or legal guardian to speak of and demand to go to class”, she snickered. “Besides, you know me Drew, I never was as smart as you or Jug”.

With that she got up from the table and headed back down the hall towards my dad’s bedroom, presumably to go back to sleep. I laughed in disbelief at the comment she yelled back over her shoulder as she walked away,

“GET TO CLASS NOW CHILDREN.”.

Bea’s POV:

I drove up to the crack den that evidently passed for a high school in this town, the roar of my bike quieting instantly as I removed my key from the ignition. I removed my jet black helmet, shaking out my shaggy blonde locks as I did so. Already annoyed with the way the curls were tickling the back of my neck, I sighed and contained my hair swiftly into a messy bun. As I walked up the diapedated steps of the school lightly I also tied my black bandana around my head tightly in a fruitless attempt to keep the little baby hairs that didn’t fit into the hairband from attacking my face. I walked quickly up the steps and into the school, walking with a mission as I always did. I needed to find a certain raven haired, beanie wearing cousin of mine, and according to the text I’d gotten from Betty he now went to this dumpster fire of an educational institution. Rolling my eyes lightly, I walked through the un-manned metal detectors and briefly wondered if they were more for show than anything.

On a mission, I wandered the shitty school with a look that I’m sure clearly broadcasted my thinly veiled disinterest, taking note of all the graffiti and overwhelming amount of gang paraphernalia. I’d seen much worse in my life honestly, but I was a bit surprised that my sweet, brooding Juggie was caught up in a place like this. True, I hadn’t been involved in the minutia of his life for quite some time, but I’d always gotten the feeling that FP wanted to keep Jughead as far away from this kind of thing as possible. FP had always gotten after my old man for bringing me around the Serpents, but my dad (as was the case for almost everything) didn’t give a shit. I’d spent what little childhood I'd had in Riverdale at the White Wyrm surrounded by burly, scruffy looking gang members and I loved every second. Compared to my dad those scary looking men were practically teddy bears. I’d always been more comfortable in a place like this, even after we moved. I wondered how far Jug had gotten into the Serpent life, especially since his mom and sister bailed and FP'd been carted off to prison.

I didn’t have to wonder for long, because not far down the hallway I heard the distinct tenor of Jughead’s voice coming from a place I could only assume had been deemed a lunchroom. Smiling to myself, I headed into the area with my sense of purpose restored. I found my dear cousin standing near a lunchroom table where a bunch of young serpents sat huddled around a computer. At least I assume they were serpents, judging by the tattoos and the fact that I didn’t peg Jughead for the Ghoulie type. Although to be fair I'd never seen him as a Serpent type either.

In front of a piece of shit laptop coated in a thick layer of duck tape was a tall, dark haired guy with the Serpent crest tattooed on the left side of his neck. He wore a look of unabashed annoyance and poorly masked anger on his chiseled features, and I couldn’t help but find myself immediately intrigued by him. His inky black hair was soft and thick, a stray curl falling on his forehead tantalizingly. His hands were clasped up near his face, elbows propped on the table in a casual stance. His arms were bare, and his biceps were large and deliciously defined. On his right sat another young serpent, a bit shorter with more of a bronzed skin tone and a more convincing nonchalant facade dominating his sharp yet somehow gentle features. On his left sat the shortest girl I think I’d ever seen with her silky hair falling in effortlessly beautiful pink waves that I was immediately jealous of. My own locks were usually dry and a new level of unruly that the likes of Riverdale had never seen. Jughead looked as if he were going to be ill, and I felt my brows immediately furrow with concern. Shaking the expression off my face, I swapped it out for the casual mask I found myself portraying more often than not. I strode up to the table, arms crossed in front on myself protectively.

“Jug. Let's bounce, I wanna see my Jonesey”, I stated firmly once I reached the table. The unnamed serpent in the middle of the table cocked a brow at this but didn't say anything. Shame, I was almost hoping he'd start something. A face like that usually had a voice to match, and that was something I had to hear for myself. The other two serpents shared a look of confusion, but the tall boy's dark eyes never wavered from my own. I locked my gaze to his, partly because I was never one to back down and in part because I found myself being sucked into his dark brown orbs. They were, dare I say, mesmerizing. Deep, dark, and teeming with emotions that I was willing to bet he’d never share out loud if he could help it. Jughead was the first to speak up, grabbing me by the arm and leading me slightly away from the table.

“Bea what in God’s name are you doing here?”, he practically hissed. “I thought you were going to wait at home for me”. I frowned, yanking my arm out of his hold indignantly.

“Jesus Jug, chill the fuck out”, I snapped back.

“Jughead, aren’t you going to introduce us to our new friend?”, the pink-haired serpent girl asked plainly, interest evident in her voice. Jughead eyed her with a sort of annoyance; I’d nearly forgotten just how easy it was to rile him up and how much joy it brought me when I did. I smiled brightly, teeth and all as I walked easily up to the girl and stuck my hand out.

“I’m Beatrice Jones, but you can call me Bea. I’m Jughead’s most favorite cousin, pleased to meet you”, I stated confidently, shaking the small girl’s hand firmly. “And you are…?”

“I’m Fogarty, but you can call me Fangs”, the bronzed skin boy spoke up, eyes searching my body with poorly disguised interest. My eyebrow quirked up in a silent question, a small chuckle leaving my lips as I stuck my hand out to him as well. His thick eyebrows waggled at me in a silent flirtation and I couldn’t stop the amused giggle that escaped from my mouth. Was he serious? Did he think I hadn’t caught the stink eye he’d been giving Jughead not minutes before?

“I’m Toni Topaz, and please ignore Fangs he hasn’t been laid in a while”, the short serpent girl interupted while rolling her eyes. I chortled once more as I waved my hand to dismiss her apology. The tall serpent in the middle of the trio rolled his eyes as well, clearly over his friend’s antics. His eyes returned to me after a moment and seemed surprised to find me staring at him. He paused for a moment, expression unreadable, before speaking.

“Sweet Pea”, he finally said simply. I was right earlier, a face like that always meant a voice to match. His voice was a low bass, slightly gravelly but altogether pleasing to my ears. My mind briefly wondered what his voice would sound like in the morning; was it even possible that it could be deeper? Ever the master of concealing my thoughts, I nodded once before I turned back to an exasperated looking Jug with a face of pure ease.

“Great, so now that’s sorted, can we please go?”, I asked lightly, motioning to the exit with a cock of my head.

Sweet Pea’s POV:

My small rant directed at Jones about the idiotic Red Circle was swiftly interrupted by the sweetest voice I’d ever heard speaking up.

“Jug. Let's bounce, I wanna see my Jonesey”, the clear voice demanded with a sense of authority.

I looked over to find a tall girl I'd never seen before, my age, standing expectantly in front of FP’s kid with her arms crossed. She was clad in a dark outfit: tight black skinny jeans that had more tears in them than seemed logically possible, a dark grey v-necked shirt covered by a deep red flannel, a well-worn leather jacket, and clunky combat boots to finish it all off. Her fingernails were near impossibly short and painted black, a silver ring adorning almost every finger on her hands. I mean I thought I had a lot of rings but god-damn. Her body was well covered to my slight disappointment, but even so I could tell that she wasn’t like all the other girls in this town. She wasn’t overweight by any means, but she definitely had more curves than most of these Riverdale girls. Her darker blonde hair was messy, like she just threw it up that way and left it, and the way it was arranged atop her head gave my eyes access to every feature her beautifully round face had to offer. She had several silver studs in each ear ending with big gauges, a ring in her nose, and a stud in her eyebrow. Her eyes were an impossible shade of green, big and round and covered in a fan of dark lashes. She didn’t seem like she was wearing any makeup outside of the dark winged liner she chose, but I thought the basic look suited her perfectly. I appraised her with interest, though I was careful not to let it show on my face.

To my slight surprise, she stared back at me with a sort of stubbornness I wasn’t expecting. Normally my gaze was enough to either intimidate someone or make a girl blush and avert their eyes, but she matched my intense look with an expression akin to boredom. Our staring match was only interrupted once Jughead grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from our table, muttering softly at her. She responded by frowning, thick eyebrows pulling downwards as she pulled her leather clad forearm back from him. I didn’t even know this girl and already I could tell that Jones had messed up; she didn’t strike me as one to be fucked with. Was she a northsider or something? She wasn’t a serpent for sure, I’d have known about her if she was, but she didn’t seem like the other northside trash Jughead brought around. I didn’t have long to ponder, because Toni (ever the vocal one of our group) spoke up and addressed the pair in front of us.

“Jughead, aren’t you going to introduce us to our new friend?”, my pink-haired friend asked plainly, interest evident in her voice. The new girl responded immediately, a dazzling smile overtaking her features as she strode back to the table quickly.

“I’m Beatrice Jones, but you can call me Bea. I’m Jughead’s most favorite cousin, pleased to meet you ”, her bell-like voice stated confidently, hand shaking Topaz’s hand firmly. “And you are…?”

“I’m Fogarty, but you can call me Fangs”, my best friend spoke up from my other side with his hand stuck out. The new girl (or Bea I guess) didn’t seem fazed by his interruption, but she did chuckle lightly at his attempts at flirting before shaking his hand as well. Of course Fangs was the first to act a fool in front of the new girl. I rolled my eyes in annoyance as Topaz introduced herself and apologized for him. When I glanced back up I found Bea’s mesmerizing eyes directed at me, features expectant. I paused for a moment while I struggled to think of a nonchalant response. I realized almost painfully that I hadn’t even said anything to her yet, and felt an emotion akin to panic overwhelm me. What could I even say to this mysterious badass looking girl in front of me without looking like an absolute tool? Realizing I’d been silent for what felt like an eternity, I went with just stating my name. Mentally I face palmed at my crude response, hoping to God that she hadn’t noticed my internal struggle. If she did, Bea didn’t let it show. She simply smiled and nodded, seemingly satisfied with my response, before turning back to Jones.

“Great, so now that’s sorted, can we please go?”, she concluded amusedly while cocking her head to the exit. Jughead sighed and shook his head, looking exhausted as ever.

“Bea why do you even need to see him now?”, he snapped while rubbing his forehead like he had a headache. Her eyebrow quirked up slightly before she crossed her arms once more, hip popping out defiantly as she glared at her supposed cousin.

“Because Jug, I didn’t get any sleep because of you and Nancy Drew so I’m awake now, and oh yeah because it’s quite literally been TEN YEARS”, she sassed. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her look of annoyance, especially since it was directed at Jughead. I wasn’t shy about my dislike for FP’s kid and I was honestly thrilled that someone else was on the same page. Although she did say they were related so that was a slight bummer.

“Wait you know FP? How come I’ve never heard of you before then?”, Toni interrupted before Jughead could retort. I spared a glance to the small serpent next to me and found her delicate features a mask of confusion. I furrowed my brow as well. How had we never heard of this girl? I knew practically every Serpent, in or out of jail. Surely if she’s related to FP she had to be affiliated somehow right? I turned back to Bea in interest. Her facial expression remained an unamused mask but I could see in her eyes a tiny spark of fear and discomfort, causing my brows to furrow in concern.

“My dad was Jailbird Johnny”, she muttered before averting her eyes from our curious eyes briefly. Jughead bit his lip before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. I felt my eyes widen in comprehension as Toni’s jaw dropped. Fangs simply looked between the four of us, the confusion clear on his face.

“Who was…?”, he trailed off questioningly. Toni took a breath, looking to Bea for approval before answering. Bea noded lightly, and Topaz began her explanation to the newly initiated Fangs.

“Jailbird Johnny was a serpent during FP’s time. He was not exactly known for his, uhm, aptitude, but he ended up marrying FP’s sister so he was kept around until--”,

“Until he went bat-shit crazy, got kicked out, and moved me out of town”, Bea finished more harshly than I think she intended. I felt a pang of pity run through me with her admission; bat-shit crazy wasn’t a strong enough descriptor for Jailbird from what I’d heard. No wonder I’d never seen her around before. My old man told me that Jailbird had gone way off the deep end after his wife passed and was a hair length away from being kicked out of the Serpents. Clearly over this discussion, Bea cleared her throat before turning back to Jones.

“So, can we go? Visiting hours started hours ago and they won’t let me see him unless you sign off first”, she glowered. Jones sighed once more and I found my irritation with FP's son reigniting.

“Yeah I guess, just let me grab some stuff before we go”, he muttered seemingly annoyed. Bea smiled lightly in victory, face morphing back to the confident expression she'd previously worn. “Come on, let's stop at my locker and then we'll go”.

Bea rolled her eyes before taking a seat at our table next to Topaz.

“Please Jug, I'll just wait here. Not that I'm not down to explore more of this shanty you call a school, but I know for a fact that we're closer to the front doors from here”, she stated simply. Jones threw her a look of disapproval, eyes darting to our group quickly before returning to his cousin. I huffed in annoyance.

“What's the matter Jones? Ashamed to leave her with a bunch of snakes?”, I spat, eyes narrowed. Bea audibly and exaggeratedly gasped.

“He speaks!”, she snickered, feigning shock. I rolled my eyes while Fangs and Topaz laughed. Bea giggled lightly before turning her attention to Toni and speaking casually.

“So did you do that dye job yourself? Cause Jesus knows this rats nest could use a little love”, she asked, hand pointing upwards to her messy hair for emphasis.

Toni and Bea immediately launched into an animated conversation, while Jones excused himself from the lunchroom. I turned my attention back to my broken down laptop, effectively ignoring the easy conversation developing from my two friends and our newest arrival. True, Bea was intriguing, but I generally didn't take well to outsiders and I wasn't really interested in getting to know anyone related to Jughead. No matter how hot they were. My attention was pulled back to their conversation by the girl in question as I vaguely heard her ask me something I didn't catch.

Her gorgeous eyes were looking into my own with such genuine interest that I felt my heartbeat quicken slightly. Refusing to acknowledge this strange physical response, I furrowed a brow in silent confusion. She chuckled lightly, my wandering eyes not missing how the action caused her chest to bounce slightly with its force.

“I asked what's got you so invested in your screen over there Captain Intensity”, she restated sardonically. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and chose to simply ignore her instead. Fangs laughed out loud and Topaz giggled at the blonde girls question. I glared at my supposed friends; so much for no serpent stands alone.

“I mean is he always this broody, or am I somehow offending him?”, Bea jokingly asked Fangs. I noted with dissatisfaction that my friend had moved to sit closer to the Jones girl and was now so close that their arms were touching. I watched as he laughed and shook his head. I cocked an eyebrow at him a glowered, daring him to say anything. Topaz rolled her eyes from Bea's other side.

“No he's basically always like this”, she replied, ever unfazed. I turned my glare to her, arms crossing in indignation. “But, to his credit, some insane northsider just formed an anti-southside militia so he’s a bit more on edge”.

Bea’s eyebrows furrowed deeply into her smooth face, green eyes losing their twinkle and instead turning into green pools of concern.

“Anti-southside militia?”, she questioned softly, eyes finally settling on me once more.

Whatever smart-ass reply I’d formulated died in my throat as I found myself sucked into the undeniable pull of her gaze. I simply nodded, turning my laptop in an attempt to show her.

“See for yourself”, I stated as blandly as I could manage. No way I was going to let Fangs, Toni, or Bea get a hint of the strange attraction I was feeling for the new girl. Besides, like I said, I really didn’t want anything to do with FP’s blood. Shit was already complicated enough with his wannabe Northside son hanging around, I didn’t need his long-lost niece to come into my life and screw everything up.

Jughead’s ears must have been burning because he chose that exact moment to enter the lunchroom and call Bea’s attention away from me. Eyes still trained on my face, she stood slowly. Finally tearing her appraising eyes from me I felt myself release a breath I hadn’t even known I was holding. There was just something in her eyes, something dark that made me think that she saw through my front. Like she knew what I was really thinking and feeling. I was 99% certain I was just being stupid-- I mean I just met the girl 10 minutes ago for god’s sake-- but regardless, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved to be out of her line of vision for the moment.

Topaz and Fogarty stood with her, both giving Bea a quick hug as she prepared to exit. Fang’s hands lingered a little too long on her waist for my comfort, but seeing as I made no moves to even stand, I suppose I had no reason to judge. I vaguely heard Bea’s cheery voice giving her goodbyes as I attempted to slow down the inexplicable way my heart beat wildly at the sight of my best friend hugging the new girl. Soon I felt a strange, but not unpleasant tingling sensation on my face as if someone was staring at me. I was certain she was looking at me now, but I chose to keep my eyes trained on the laptop in front of me rather than check for myself.

“Bye Sweet Pea, I’d say it was nice to meet you, but I’m pretty sure you’d hate the sentiment”, she chuckled. I ventured a look up to her face and was unable to stop my lips from curling into a smirk at her comment. She gasped once more, hand coming to rest on Jughead’s shoulder as if she needed support and the other flying to her plaid covered chest dramatically.

“I made the jolly green giant smile. Someone, quick, take a picture! This may never happen again!”, she exclaimed dramatically before winking at me playfully. Ignoring the way the simple action caused my hands to go clammy and my heart to race, I rolled my eyes and kept my smirk firmly in place.

“Only for you doll”, I replied sarcastically, hoping it sounded more passive than I was feeling at the moment. I noted with pride the way her smile seemed to widen fractionally at my comment before Jones turned to pull her away. She turned around and faced our group as she and Jughead left the cafeteria, saluting in mock respect as she exited.

#sweetpeaxoc #sweetpeaimagine #sweetpea #sweet pea #riverdale imagines #riverdale #southsideserpents #jughead jones #jonesoc #riverdale fic #sweet pea fanfiction #archie comics #fanfic #oc #sometimes it snows in april

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tenacious-scripturient · 5 years

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a run-down of / my thoughts on the novel ‘trade secrets’

so! i’ve recently finished this beautifully written novel by @bettsican, and am anxiously anticipating for the second book in the trilogy! (seriously, give it a read. it’s a great lgbtq+ thriller and mystery story, i promise you’ll love it!! you can find trade secrets in many places, including amazon, where it’s only $6)

as i was reading it, i noted down all the thoughts i had. it was fun, interesting, and kept me on the edge of my seat!

oh, and spoiler warning, of course.

Chapter One

okay. this is interesting. why are they in paris? or rather, why are they NOT in paris?

2080. damn.

who is cooper hall and why is he important i want to knowwwwwwww

Chapter Two

HOLY FUCK

CHAPTER ONE WAS A PROLOGUE

OKAY IF I DIDNT NEED TO BEFORE I HAVE TO READ IT NOW

-ahem- anyway

nate literally everything you think of has to relate to smoking, doesnt it?

clyde you absolutely bitch raccoon

im sort of piecing together what’s happening here? either way this is a SUPER interesting concept.

i love the idea of every word being important

nate look at you being a nice guy. testing the CAPS before giving them to ur clients

or maybe it’s just good business

but whatever

okay, so credits are money in this world. but how do people get them? obviously there’s what nate’s doing but what’s the legal way to get them? ill probably find out soon

if it wasnt explicitly said by betty that nate ends up with another guy (i forget his name. cooper?) i would have thought audry was the romantic interest

audry you loving caring hypocrite

i feel like she’s gonna be one of my favourite characters

who is this young man that dares disturb nate’s slumber

cooper? cooper.

Chapter Three

nate get up

u turtle get up and hurry down the stairs

or—okay you can fall into that drywall that works too

ohhhhh so nate is a detective. that’s interesting

i also love this idea of keeping secrets (haha trade secrets)

dude are you sure that your embarrassing entrance wasn’t the ONLY reason you blushed? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIG—

nate ur spending an awful lot of time looking at his features you funky little bisexual

oh damn ur smarter than u seem, just watching him take a single breath and you’re already making connections. i guess that’s why he’s a detective

im gonna assume this is cooper, even tho it never explicitly says so

i feel like we aren’t gonna get his name for a while, bc clients and whatnot and not getting attached

Chapter Four

NATE WEARS GLASSES???????

that’s kind of cute

im lowkey gay rn

anyway

NATE CALLED HIM SWEET-FACED AND PRETTY-FACED O K A Y

oh he has curly brown hair

and oh the glasses aren’t real glasses. oh. the use is actually pretty cool!

so from what im gathering civilians are people who don’t live in sanctuaries, and lemnis are people who do?

cooper sweetie why do u need so much money what have u done

nate’s pretty clever

HAH I WAS RIGHT WE AREN’T GONNA GET HIS NAME FOR A WHILE

well that’s that i guess

Chapter Five

he’s so timid awh

hehe he’s on nate’s bed

sorry

goddammit man calm down or else you’re gonna get everyone in a 5-mile radius around you arrested

wait…. zero-credit balance?? didn’t he just have a few hundred thousand credits???

OH THIS IS A FAKE PROFILE HE MADE

so cooper isn’t his real name either

Chapter Six

oh we’re back to 2080

oh they’re back in the apartment??

it was obvious before but at this point it’s confirmed that they’re going to be doing some travelling together or something

Chapter Seven

this is getting really interesting i dont wanna stop reading and type everything that comes to mind

these are gonna be shorter now hehe

“i’d been a petri dish of mixed emotions and wild chemical changes for half the day” I LOVE THAT METAPHOR LMFAO

what happened with nate’s mom

i want to know

my prediction: she wanted him to either change up or completely remove the chip bc she did something horrible? or maybe she just wanted to leave idk im bad at predictions

either way it said she was crazy

o h

that’s why he’s terrified of cutting the chip

poor nate

Chapter Eight

oh this is strangely intimate

very intimate

i feel that, because cooper has such high pain tolerance (or doesn’t show pain), he has some backstory for it

Chapter Nine

lmao nate just went off didnt he

THEIR FLIRTING IS CUTE FHJKJDLSKAJDKLSJAK

also is being lgbtq+ widely accepted as the norm in this setting? bc nate considered cooper to be flirting with him

ughhhh it’s so good so far, from the character interactions to the suspense, especially in this chapter

Chapter Ten

rude cooper is rude, rude nate is even more rude

F E D O R A

“coop”

Chapter Eleven

aw i love jimmy already—

WHAT THE FUCK COOPER

EXCUSE ME

JIMMY

WHAT

HOW COULD YOU

goddammit

what the fuck is cooper hiding

cooper oh my god

you

you’re playing a dangerous game, mate

are you really that heartless

“deceptively innocent eyes” you got that right

this chapter hurted

thanks a lot jess

Chapter Twelve

“like a weeping wound on the canvas of my home” this has got to be one of my favourite similes ever omg

the way nate’s describing cooper makes my heart hurt awh

i feel like butterflies have some sort of symbolism

maybe being ugly on the outside and beautiful on the inside, or vice versa? the vice versa was basically cooper lol

aye we finally get to meet audry!!

PEANUT BUTTER AND TRICYCLE I WANNA HEAR ABOUT THAT

i love audry omg

IT’S NATE’S BIRTHDAY?? HAPPY BIRTHDAY YA SMOKEY CONMAN

“bright eyes” is the cutest nickname ever

Chapter Thirteen

oh we’re back to 2080

wait what they’re trapped together

is this story gonna have a sad ending

please no

Chapter Fourteen

OH IT’S THE LINE ON THE COVER

i like that

nate’s back to where he left cooper

also if it wasn’t obvious before, it’s definitely obvious now that nate and cooper or gonna find each other again. hm. not sure how i feel about that

kind of pissed at cooper but also we need him for the story to progress

O H

COOPER IM ONLY KIND OF PISSED AT YOU NOW

IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE

NATE IVE SAID IT BEFORE BUT YOU’RE PRETTY CLEVER

also who is ‘her’?

COOPER WANTS TO BECOME A?? LEMNIS?? GODDAMMIT MAN

I CAN FEEL THE PRESSURE RISING

nate’s in danger

wow this chapter is

a lot

i need a break

-cue a break-

Chapter Fifteen

i’m back

eisley is a cool last name

oh wait so even people outside of sanctuaries can become a lemniscate

i’m still not 100% sure what a lemniscate is

it’s so ironic elijah’s last name is king, but i assume you did that on purpose. i also like the slight nod to royalty by his first name

COOPER’S BACK

why hello there

Chapter Sixteen

they’re

competing

to become a lemniscate

and one of them dies

do they fight back?? is that why they end up in prison??? so many thoughts are going through my head right now

nate, your fantasy about becoming a lemniscate is surprisingly dark. i’m totally down for it

Chapter Seventeen

oh wait so joshua is cooper’s blackmailer?? Interesting that it’s a lemniscate

i keep forgetting nate is wearing glasses

cooper, my dude, calm the fuck down. you’re gonna get yourself and nate killed

it’s the return of soft™ nate

Chapter Eighteen

oh there’s another one

oh this is very ominous i don’t like

Chapter Nineteen – Twenty-One

okay i was eating while i read so i couldn’t type here but just know that these chapters were really really good

Chapter Twenty-Two

wait fuck what’s happening this is all happening so fast

cooper brought out his gun,,,, it’s aimed at ivonne,,,,,,, they’re walking,,,

OH IT WAS A FAKE KIDNAPPING

nice

i like ivonne a lot

Chapter Twenty-Three

the entire story just changed course

this isn’t just about cooper and nate anymore, it’s about a corrupt government

NATE AND COOPER ARE HOLDING HANDS AS THEY RUN THROUGH THE BARRIER THAT’S SO ROMANTIC

also the line “only the dead are ever truly free” is beautiful

THAT’S WHERE PARIS COMES IN

THEY ALL GO TO FRANCE DON’T THEY

I’m so curious to find out where this story is going

Chapter Twenty-Four

this is doin me a confusion

but tbh these hints/ visions of the future, if you could call them that, are giving just enough information to keep me super interested. props to you

Chapter Twenty-Five

AUDRY STOP TEASING NATE

just joking keep doing it, this might actually get their relationship somewhere

ivonne is definitely my favourite character so far. she reminds a little of melia from xenoblade chronicles, in that they’re both ‘royalty’ that rebel. also they’re badass and smart

oh fuck the brother is here

okay thank god he’s not an asshole

oh god things are happening again

Chapter Twenty-Six

nate stop ogling at cooper when you’re in a life-or-death situation

holy shit the lemniscate are messed up

this crew is pretty great, it sucks that it’s almost the end of the book

WAIT I FORGOT THERE’S A SECOND COMING SOON HECK YEAH

anyway

YES COOPER PULL THROUGH

awwww yiss

Chapter Twenty-Seven

O H

oh my god i ship them so hard

THEY KISSED

THIS IS SO STEAMY

this chapter was art thank you so much for this

Chapter Twenty-Eight

AHAHAH AUDRY

once again, i’d like to state how much i love her

oh the tension just grew twentyfold

this is… great

oh god nate what are you planning, you just got together with cooper and now you want to leave him?

Chapter Twenty-Nine

what’s with all the dancing?

Chapter Thirty

oh god the description

so he’s going around and giving people credits, all the while confessing things that would help the lemniscate track him down. i assume this means he’s going to die, but why?

just what are you planning?

oh we’re back to clyde, the guy who started it all. it feels full circle

Chapter Thirty-One

HE’S MAKING HIS CHIP SHOW THAT HE’S DEAD

that’s much smarter

FUCK

NATE YOU IDIOT—COOPER’S REAL NAME

SHIT NOW KING IS HERE

everything’s going downhill now isn’t it

Chapter Thirty-Two

wait that took an even darker turn

there’s so much happening right now i can’thandlethis

cooper and nate are couple goals

Chapter Thirty-Three

king isn’t as horrible as i thought

still horrible, but not a monster

NEVER MIND YOU’RE A FUCKING MONSTER WHAT IS THIS BS

cooper

actually

shot

nate

Chapter Thirty-Four

OH MY GOD

WHAT

THIS IS HOW YOU END IT

I CAN’T

HOW DARE YOU

i need the next book

like right now

what the hell

Final Thoughts

okay so this book was SO good, and so well written. like damn

aside from that horrible ending how could you do this to me

i’m joking, it was an incredible and emotional ending, i loved it and hated it at the same time

it very rarely felt static, and especially in the first half, there was a good mix of action and backstory/description. it was never boring

the story is just,,, so unique. i seriously haven’t read anything like it, EVER

the world-building?? Is?? so vast?? and insane??

the increasing tension and speed as the story progressed is perfect, i felt my heart beating faster the more i read

anyway that’s all from me

this book was amazing i cannot wait for the next

#writeblr #other writeblrs #trade secrets #phahbiyah speaks

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