#god forbid i never see the milkshake monday man again

[otrtbs]

god i fucking hate tiktokers. i wish they weren’t real.

[strangerthroned]

Rebel With A Cause: Chapter 2

Rebel With A Cause

Sweet Pea x OC (Emma Carter)

Warnings: Emma has very cynical humor so don’t take it too seriously! Also, this is likely going to have some sexual content towards the end so if that’s not your thing I apologize!

About: The summer before one’s senior year in highschool was big. If not one of the most important summers of a young adult’s life. This proved no different in Riverdale. After all of the Gryphons & Gargoyle and gang drama, the town of Riverdale was ready for a quiet summer. However, the incoming senior class of Riverdale had other plans. Sweet Pea, a member of the Southside Serpents, in particular, as the disappearance of his best friend, Fangs, continued to play on his mind. He was determined to raise as much hell as possible to find him. With an unsuspecting Emma Carter falling into Sweet Pea’s life, she helps him through the loss of his best friend. Through investigation and, at times, use of force, Emma and Sweet Pea begin to find that all the drama Riverdale had to offer wasn’t that bad at each other’s side.  

Although Emma considered herself pretty much friendless, she did have one person who she trusted enough to keep in her life. 

Gina Watkins. 

Gina had grown up with Emma on the Southside and they had always been close. There moms had raised them together and their moms had bolted at the same time. Talk about going through it all together. There were some rumors regarding a romantic relationship between their mothers, but they had ignored them with ease. 

If it was true, who the hell cared? They had left meaning they were no longer relevant enough to the girls to care. 

So, the two girls sat together at Pop’s to celebrate the end of their work week. Double chocolate milkshakes and fries sat in front of them as they debriefed the hells that were their jobs.

“Like, I wouldn’t care if they would just say ‘please’ or even, God forbid, ‘thank you’!” Gina exclaimed, sucking down about a quarter of her milkshake in one sip. Screw alcohol, milkshakes were their stress relief. 

Emma laughed, “You’re the one who thought working at the grocery store was a stellar idea. I mean, the place is the go-to hangout for anyone in the Southside who can’t go anywhere else.”

Gina sighed, “You’re probably right. How’s shit at the garage? Chip putting you to work?”

“Oh, you already know it,” Emma responded, rolling her eyes. She loved spending time with her dad, but sitting at a front desk staring at a screen all day was not the ideal summer for the red-haired girl. “Pops is in full-on dad mode all day everyday.” 

Gina chuckled at her friend, shaking her head, “He means well, Em.” 

The two girls sat in silence for a beat before they were interrupted by the ringing of the bell that signaled someone had entered the restaurant. It was automatic to check who entered, as the diner was constantly filled with people they knew and hated. 

Emma was surprised to see that it was Sweet Pea, the new hire from work. He was wearing his Serpent jacket and was accompanied by a few other Serpents. 

So far, her father had proven to be completely smitten with Sweet Pea. He was a whiz with the motorcycles and had already increased business as all of his fellow gang members were now coming to Chip’s for business. Emma couldn’t help but be completely annoyed by her father’s affections. 

He was just a guy that could fix shit, who actually cared for that?

Oh yeah, Emma’s motorcycle-obsessed father, that’s who. 

Emma observed him for a moment more before turning back to her friend. 

“Ah, the snakes,” Gina muttered, picking at the fries that sat in front of her. Gina was extremely anti-gang. Her father had once been a large part of the Serpents, but had nearly died because of it before retiring. A drug-deal gone wrong, as Gina liked to put it. It had been exactly what Gina had feared when she’d found out about her father’s relationship with the group, leaving her with doubts and hatred towards the group. 

This hatred made it even more difficult for Gina to live in the Southside. So, when they had been forced to transfer to Riverdale High, Gina had been ecstatic. She was finally able to enjoy her time at school and get involved with activities Southside High just didn’t have the resources to provide.

Gina was thriving at Riverdale. Emma, on the other hand, continued on her same path. Joining nothing, but excelling in school. 

It had put a strain on the friendship, as Gina had made new Northsider friends and left Emma somewhat on her own. But that was life, Emma supposed. People changed and so did their relationships.  

Emma understood Gina’s slights, but she wasn’t going to reciprocate her friend’s distaste for the group. 

With ease, Emma changed the subject, asking Gina about her newest romantic partner, Tim Higgins. He was on the football team and the absolute last person Emma ever saw her friend going after. 

Gina was a dark-haired badass with a taste for poetry and literature. She was never seen in anything remotely colorful and enjoyed writing and reading more than pretty much anyone Emma knew. However, Tim was a Northsider who, before this past year, probably wouldn’t have given her the time of day. 

It showed how much had changed in Riverdale. Southsiders and Northsiders dating? That was entirely new. 

Gina was able to blab about Tim for the next half-hour, leaving Emma with a glossed over gaze and wandering eyes. She found herself looking over at Sweet Pea’s table. The group laughed with one another, all smiling and talking with one another. 

Ever since the Southsiders had moved to school in Riverdale, Pop’s had become a new hangout. It was the only place where those from the North and South co-mingled with one another. 

Her stare continued, with Sweet Pea meeting her eyes. Emma sent him a small wave, knowing it was the polite thing to do. They had sat together at lunch a few times with her dad. Her father fawning over the tall boy the entire time. 

They were, at best, acquaintances.

Something Emma detested.

As her long-held belief was that friends made things more difficult than they needed to be and created more drama than anyone could possible need. That’s why all Emma needed was Gina and that was unlikely to change. 

Emma was surprised to see that her wave caused Sweet Pea to smile and stand up abruptly from his table. He sauntered over to Gina and Emma’s table with a cocky smile on his face. 

He grabbed a chair from a neighboring table and sat by the girls, facing them.

“Hello ladies,” Sweet Pea said, the cocky smile plastered all over his face. 

“Are you stalking me or something?” Emma retorted, a faux-look of disgust on her face.

Sweet Pea chuckled, “Can’t stay away.” 

Gina looked shocked at the interaction, hardly believing that her life-long friend was associating with a Serpent. And so...kindly. At least, kind for Emma that is. Emma wasn’t necessarily one to be all butterflies and daisies, instead, she liked sarcasm and sass. It was her way of showing affection.

Kind of. 

“And you are?” Gina asked, her face stoic. 

“Sweet Pea,” he said, sticking his hand out to shake Gina’s. Gina just simply looked at it before meeting his gaze again. She merely nodded at him, disinterested in even touching the guy. 

“Interesting name,” Gina said, looking away and outside of the window. Emma ignored her friend’s rude attitude and, instead, turned to the Serpent. 

“That’s what I said when I had the not-so pleasure of meeting him the first time,” Emma grinned, earning an eye-roll from Sweet Pea. 

“Ice queen,” Sweet Pea retorted, leaning back on the chairs two legs. “You need to get a better attitude.”

Emma looked at him and flipped him off, “You need to get a better hobby than stalking me, it’s honestly ridiculous. I see you all day at work, isn’t that enough?”

“Never, Buttercup,” Sweet Pea smirked, causing Emma to hit him on the arm with a look of anger. She couldn’t believe he dared to use her father’s embarrassing nickname in front of her. After her father had called her that, Sweet Pea demanded to know the origin story of the nickname and continued to bother her with the stupid nickname for the rest of the week. 

“I cannot believe you’d even dare to say that word. I’m totally getting my dad to fire you,” Emma shook her head, feeling betrayed by her own father. “While, probably not, you’re so far up his ass you probably can’t even see.”

Sweet Pea groaned at her response, “Disgusting image, Emma. But you’re right, Chip loves me.” 

“Far too much considering your awful personality.” 

Sweet Pea appeared to look wounded for a moment before turning back into his cocky smile. 

“Well, Buttercup, we both know that’s not true. But I’ll let you hold onto that little insult,” he stood up with those words. “Well, it was very nice to meet you.” He said to Gina, looking over at her.

Gina, again, just nodded. Pursing her lips towards the raven-haired man. 

“See you on Monday,” he said, turning back to Emma. “Unless you can’t stay away and you decide to start stalking me. I wouldn’t be surprised, obviously.” 

Emma ignored his comment and simply waved him off, “You wish, bud.” 

After his tall figure was further enough away, Gina scoffed, “I can’t believe you actually talk to that guy. He’s a Serpent, Emma. He’s dangerous. Honestly, I can’t even believe that your dad hired him in the first place. I genuinely thought your father was better than that.” 

Emma looked at her friend, surprised at her friend’s words, “Gina, they’re not all drug dealers and murderers. My dad would never put his shop in jeopardy like that.” 

Emma was genuinely offended her friend would even say that. Making comments regarding Emma was one thing. But, her father?  

Gina snorted, “He’s a Serpent, Em. He is exactly what I think he is.” 

Emma couldn’t help but sigh at her friend. She didn’t find it fair that she’d judged Sweet Pea so quickly. Sweet Pea was in no way Emma’s friend, but he wasn’t a bad person. Her father would never allow a violent gang member anywhere near his shop or Emma, for that matter. He cared about his daughter more than anything and if he had even the slightest of inklings that Sweet Pea was dangerous, he would be nowhere near Chip’s family or business. 

“How cute of you,” Emma snarled, feeling the need to defend her father’s decision, and Sweet Pea for that matter. “judgemental isn’t a good look.” 

“Whatever, Emma,” Gina said, rolling her eyes and picking at the food in front of her. They sat in a long, awkward silence as they slurped on their milkshakes. Finally, as they reached the bottom of the glasses they looked at one another once more. Gina spoke first, “I should head out, see you later.”

With those words, Gina practically stomped out of the restaurant leaving Emma alone with her frustrations. 

She sat silently at the table staring down at the empty plate and empty milkshake glasses. She was confused by the series of events that had just occurred. Beyond just the argument, she could not believe she had defended Sweet Pea. 

Sure, he wasn’t a bad person, but Emma rarely put herself out there in order to keep another person’s character in check. And she had just done exactly that. She almost felt...good about it, too. 

She actually felt like she did something good. Sure, it hurt her to get in an argument with someone like Gina. Someone she actually cared about. But she felt better knowing it was for something worthwhile.

Emma wasn’t about to put herself out on a public display defending the Southside Serpents, but she would do it to those closer to her. Gina clearly had a right to feel slighted by the Serpents, but she had no right to attribute all of those things to a single person. 

Emma couldn’t help but think to herself that she sounded like she actually gave a shit about Sweet Pea.

That needed to be ended absolutely immediately. The guy was nice and all but Emma couldn’t help but assume everything around him consisted of a lot of drama. And she did not have the energy to deal with it. 

For those reasons, a friendship with the guy was out. 

Emma left the diner with her head full of these thoughts. She was so conflicted regarding her feelings towards how to approach this situation. She was in between a rock and a hard place. False judgement and her best friend. How is someone supposed to choose? 

She loved Gina, but she couldn’t let her go on believing that all the Serpents were bad people. Emma had seen first hand that that wasn’t true. Her dad had been working with the crew distantly for years and they had never caused him, or her for that matter, trouble. They were kind and paid well and made sure to stay genuine and consistent about business. The Serpents had been incredibly generous, even as the Southside and it’s businesses declined. Her father’s business should have suffered but they made sure that did not happen. 

In a way, Emma knew she should be grateful to the group. Although, it was a difficult feat to admit. Thanking a gang was low on her list of priorities, but she was thankful they hadn’t let her dad lose his entire business. 

The dark walk back home was not Emma’s favorite thing. Sure, Riverdale had returned to relative safety and normalcy after the bizarre events that had previously stalked the small town. Serial killers, cults, and cracked-up teens had once run the town, but ever since the beginning of the summer, that proved to be fading. 

Emma’s walk home, though, was still a tad dark for her liking. It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle herself, but walking through the Southside at night, alone, or anywhere for that matter, wasn’t always safe. 

Emma clutched her purse to her chest, keeping her head down as she crossed over into the Southside from Pop’s. She saw the faint glow of the downtown. The Whyte Wyrm, the major Serpent hangout, was in full display. It glowed and she saw at least ten motorcycles parked outside of the bar. 

She kept walking, seeing all of the run-down shops that surrounded her. Most of them were closed, with nothing of great significance left of them. From afar, she saw Chip’s shop, which meant she was just a few blocks from home. 

As Emma walked, she continually checked behind her and kept a look out. She’d never been jumped before, but she knew more than a few people who had and wasn’t about to risk it. Sure, not all gangs were bad, but the Ghoulies were the worst of them. And they still were present, torturing the Southside, holding it hostage to their whims. 

Cars continued to pass Emma, but she avoided making any eye contact with the drivers in the vehicles. That is, until a car slowed next to her. She continued to walk, increasing her pace as she did so. 

“Hey,” a voice called. A familiar one. She turned to see Sweet Pea’s face and cocky smile. 

“Sweet Pea, what the hell? You really are stalking me!” Emma exclaimed. She was relieved, though, to know that it was him and not some creep who wanted to kill her and leave her body in Sweetwater River. 

How morbid.

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes and turned to the girl, “Want a ride? You really shouldn’t be walking alone, Emma.” 

Without missing a beat, Emma climbed into the car, buckling her seatbelt. She looked over at Sweet Pea who was looking at her with a face she couldn’t quite decipher. 

“Are you gonna drive?” Emma snapped, crossing her arms. He shook his head and laughed in response at Emma’s attitude. With her words, he was off, speeding down the street. Emma noticed that he was following the exact path to her home, “How the hell do you know where I live?” 

Sweet Pea shrugged, “Your dad had me run an errand over there earlier today, drop some parts off.” 

Emma nodded, unsure. How odd, her father never brought employees to the house, mostly because it was the only space he had that wasn’t connected to his work. But her father’s new found bromance with Sweet Pea would explain why he felt comfortable allowing Sweet Pea to their house. 

Emma shrugged it off, enjoying the blurs of green and black that passed her as they drove. 

“Is this your car? I thought you were a bike guy,” Emma questioned, holding her purse in her lap. 

He shook his head in response, “It’s my friend Toni’s car. I’m just borrowing it so that I don’t have to walk everywhere like some people.”

Emma snorted, “Oh shove it, walking is good for you. Helps keep the figure trim.” 

“Oh it sure does,” Sweet Pea winked, his smile cocky as he drove with one hand on the wheel.  His other hand fiddled with the shift, his fingers covered with silver rings all with intricate designs. Emma couldn’t help but stare and admire them. 

“Didn’t take you for a jewelry guy, either,” Emma commented, nodding to the rings. Sweet Pea didn’t respond, just the same cocky smile on his face. Within seconds, they were pulling into Emma’s driveway. Once the car was in park, they sat for a moment. With Emma breaking the silence, “Well, thanks for the ride.” 

“Anytime, Buttercup,” Sweet Pea grinned, waiting for her immediate backlash and yelling. What typically occurred when he used the stupid nickname for Emma.  

Instead, Emma rolled her eyes and got out of the car. Before slamming the door she spoke for one last time, “Fuck off, Sweet Pea.” 

Although it sounded rude, she said it with a smirk on her face, earning a loud laugh from Sweet Pea as he put the car into reverse and rushed down the street towards wherever his home sat and leaving a very confused red-haired girl. 

Tags:

@idontunderstandfeelings-fangirl

[thetactilepope]

Lessons in Thermodynamics: Chapter 7

{Previous Chapter} | [Chapter Index] | {Next Chapter}

A Matter of Pride

Thirty-one days until winter break

Friday

 Momo sat in the restaurant booth, surrounded by her friends, feeling relaxed and happy. She wasn’t totally at ease, but as she laughed along with Kyouka and Hagakure at Mina’s jokes, it was tempting to forget she had a deadline hanging over her head and that in almost exactly four weeks, her fate at Yuuei would be determined.

“I needed this, especially after everything that happened.” Frowning at the thought, she remembered her visit with Todoroki’s mother, and then his confession about his scar, the frankly disastrous study session afterwards, and his abrupt departure.

Most of her Saturday had been spent replaying that moment on the sidewalk over and over in her head, trying to figure out what to do with her newfound insight regarding Todoroki’s past.

In the end, she hadn’t been able to settle on any course of action, a dissatisfactory outcome, even if things had worked out in the end.

“Our meeting on Monday could have gone better,’ She mused, fiddling with the straw in her milkshake, ‘that’s for certain…”

---

“Yaoyorozu-san, you’ve got nothing to apologize for.” Todoroki had said, cutting her off before she could finish her apology.

Momo sighed, shifting the papers in front of her around, “Then stop treating me like I do.”

He seemed perplexed by her words, utterly unware of the tension between them.

“Just… Never mind, let’s just get started,” Fuming, she opened the novel, resigning herself to the silence.

---

They only managed to go through around half of the assigned chapter, thanks to her partner zoning out every few minutes. It had irritated her to no end, but thankfully, she hadn’t had to endure many sessions like that.

Kyouka, after listening to her problem, had been the one to suggest simply explaining her feelings to Todoroki clearly. It was a solution she’d overlooked, and one that allowed them to return to the easy camaraderie she enjoyed.

“What’cha smiling about, Yaomomo?” Mina asked, a mischievous grin stretching across her face, “Someone finally capture your debutante heart?”

“What?” Despite her efforts to retain her composure, her cheeks began to warm as she attempted to rebuff the question, “N-No, it’s nothing like that. I was just remembering…”

Mina leaned forward eagerly, grin growing wider, “Remembering… what?”

“Yeah, tell us!” Hagakure clapped, as she mimicked Mina’s motion.

Glancing at Kyouka, eyes pleading for an assist, Momo struggled to think of something innocuous to say, that wouldn’t pique their interest

“I saw… a-a… a cute cat the other day,’ She offered weakly, ‘While I was… walking to the store with Todoroki.”

“AHA! I knew it!” The gleeful exclamation was accompanied by a squeal of surprise from Hagakure, and stifled laughter from Kyouka. Shooting her best friend a look that demanded ‘how could you?’ Momo suddenly wished she hadn’t taken the seat by the window. It meant exiting early would be far from a graceful affair.

“You an’ Mr. Hot-and-Cold have been spending an awful lot of time together recently.” Mina began, her pointer finger tapping on the table to punctuate each point, “Not to mention how secretive you’ve been about that fact.”

“Furthermore, you’ve been actin’ awful jumpy in class. As if there’s something on your mind. Yeah, there’s no doubt about it, Yaoyorozu Momo, you…”

Momo stiffened, fearing the worst. She had tried so hard to hide her failure from the class, but she should have realized that she wouldn’t be able to forever. No doubt her friends would be hurt by her secrecy.

“You’re dating Todoroki-kun! Right, right?” Hagakure said brightly, interrupting Mina’s string of observations.

Indignantly, the pink-haired girl crossed her arms, “Hey, I was getting to that!”  

“They just think we’re dating…” The thought was accompanied by a wave of relief, which quickly turned to embarrassment as the accusation sunk in.

With her cheeks approaching the colour of her hero suit, Momo considered what to say. On one hand, it would be incredibly presumptuous of her to buy into the lie. But correcting her classmates would most likely involve fessing up about her failed test…

“I could just… not say anything.” She thought, her hand clenching under the table, bunching up a small section of her skirt, “Todoroki and I are so far from involved like that, denying it isn’t necessary.”

Even in her head, the words rang hollow, tinged with the familiar fear of failure. As she finally rolled her eyes at Toru’s remark, Momo plastered an easy-going smile to her face, pushing all the doubt to a far-off corner of her mind.

She’d just have to deal with this later.

…

Once she was back at the dorm, Momo was eager to return to her room.

“A break with my friends is nice’, she sighed, ‘but I can’t blow off homework. Not completely, at least.”

Climbing the steps, she paused near the top, her attention caught by the sounds of a not-quite-peaceful discussion.

“C’mon, man, just tell us!” Kaminari’s voice whined, carrying down the hall.

The next voice that spoke brought a frown to her face, “Yeah! What’s the deal with you and our babe of a vice-rep?”

“Mineta. Ugh.” God forbid she make it to her room without getting harassed once.

“Deal? What do you mean by that?” Todoroki’s calm tone responded, but she could tell his patience was wearing thin. She could practically picture the disinterest on his face.

Kaminari sighed, and then continued, “Dude, are you guys, like, together? You’ve been hanging around each other a lot, an’ I-’

There was a sound like an elbow connecting with a kneecap, and a grunt of pain from the blond, as well as a loudly muttered ‘Ow!’

“Sorry, we,’ He stressed the word, ‘don’t wanna step on your toes or nothing. Considering you could probably destroy us.”

The silence stretched for longer than was comfortable, and the temperature seemed to drop noticeably. Momo held her breath, hoping her study partner wasn’t about to tell them anything.

“Yaoyorozu-san is more than capable of doing that herself, you know. Destroying you, I mean.” Todoroki spoke with confidence, and she could clearly envision the set of his jaw, “And besides, my relationship with her shouldn’t matter more than her own feelings.”

A crackling sound filled the air – that chill hadn’t just been her imagination, then – accompanied by exclamations of surprise.

“Please, take Kaminari! This was all his idea!”

“Hey! It was not, you gremlin!”

A pause, and then the electricity user spoke again, “Uh, no need to start freezing things, Todoroki. We’ll just… be going, then. Sorry to have disturbed you.”

Suppressing a laugh, she turned the corner just in time to see the two other boys disappear up the stairs, bickering about whose fault the incident was, and observed Todoroki using his left hand to melt a patch of ice on his doorframe.

“Oh, Yaomomo,’ He turned to look at her, ‘how was everyone? Did you have fun?”

“When did he start calling me that?” She wondered, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Not that she minded. It was nice, the way he had warmed up to her.

With a shrug, she made a so-so motion with her other hand, “Everyone’s a little stressed right now. But, yes, I did have fun. You… should come with us, one of these days.”

His answer was simply a non-committal huff, but one that meant he’d consider it. She knew Todoroki still felt awkward around many of his classmates, but was making strides to be more social.

Still, Momo couldn’t shake the lingering memory of the conversation she had listened in on.

“I heard what you told those two.” She confessed, “Thank you.”

He smiled softly, shaking his head, “Ah, it was nothing. Just the truth.”

“Well, I appreciate it nevertheless.”

Fumbling for other conversation topics, she asked if he was going to be ready for their session on Monday. After an assurance that he would, she bid him goodnight, finally returning to her room.

…

Homework nearly complete, Momo glanced over at her phone as it buzzed yet again, finally catching her attention. She stood up from her desk and grabbed it, before sprawling onto her bed with a huff. Her phone had practically blown up with notifications.

“I hope nothing happened.” Usually, it only got this busy the night before a test, as many of her classmates asked last minute questions.

The messages, and there were a lot of them, were from a group chat Mina had set up, one that was used to plan things like that afternoon’s outing. Momo was tuning in just in time to catch the middle of a conversation.

{Class 1-A Girl Power!!}

∞ girl [whaaaat? yaomomo and todoroki are really dating??!! FOR REAL??!]

pinky <3 [YEAH!! i asked her today lol!]

[she was p tight-lipped about it tho…]

hijacks [c’mon yaomomo never actualy *said* they were] [haga-chan, back me up!]

see-thru [i mean…]

[Jirou is kinda right?]

pinky <3 [*hmph* w/e she just doesn’t wanna admit they’re really together] [bc she didn’t know either] [ >8P ]

hijack [hey mina] [🖕🖕]

pinky <3 [ily 2, boo ;)]

∞ girl [deku says todoroki hasnt mentioned anything abt this?] [also that kaminari and the purple one were gonna check w/todoroki]

[he’s gonna ask around see if anyone else knows]

hijack [uraraka] [urararararaka]

[YOU TOLD MIDORIYA???]

∞ girl [oh]

[oops]

Several people are typing…

 The only reason Momo cursed out loud was because she let her phone drop out of shock, hitting herself square in the forehead. Not because it would take a miracle to prevent the rest of her classmates from latching onto the rumor about her and Todoroki.

Definitely not that.

With a groan, she rolled over, burying her face in her pillow, muttering muffled by the plush fabric, “Perfect, absolutely perfect.”

To join the group chat now would be like jumping into a shark tank with an open wound. Extremely awkward, to say the least.

She wracked her brains for a solution, but was too drained think of anything, “We’re definitely going to need to meet before Monday, and figure out what to do…”

“Yes, having yet another private chat with Todoroki would certainly go a long way to clearing up these suspicions,” Her doubtful side deadpanned, “Nothing flawed with that logic.”

With another groan, she pushed her face deeper into the pillow, “I just want to pass the test, is that so much to ask?”

There are twenty-four days until the Retest.