#riverdale does grease

[wormdramafever]

Generational Distress. The End of Childhood.

By Marta Trivi.

Article in spanish by Marta Trivi about Goodbye Volcano High's themes and how it reflects the current times. Some roughly translated highlights:

In the visual novel Goodbye Volcano high, the end of adolescence and the transition to adulthood overlap with the end of times. The result is a faithful portrait of the nihilism and hopelessness of Generation Z. [...] For [Charlie] Coombs, the disenchantment that the youngest people show in regards to the future, as well as their obsession with the now and with the inconsequentiality of our existence, is nothing more than a symptom of the current times, a response to a social and political present that is totally indifferent to our actions. Because of this, it's easy to consider Goodbye Volcano High as a work as generational as Reality Bites; a game extremely stuck to its time whose construction and dramatic development are inseparable from a post-pandemic society that little by little begins to accept the harsh consequences of climate change. Some of the most sincere and realistic parts of the KO_OP title seem lifted straight from the early days of pre-lockdown uncertainty. Because, as we saw at the beginning of 2020, the news capable of changing our reality, far from plunging us into the absolute panic that other fictions reflect, often goes under our radar or is reduced to little more than an anecdote. [...] No one who has lived through the weeks before lockdown will find it strange the way in which the teenagers of Volcano High seem to live until the very end in a contradiction by which the end of the world is as real as their aspirations to go to university or win in the battle of the bands. [...] But the nihilism of Fang and company is not the only thing that makes Goodbye Volcano High a generational work. Throughout the story, the characters move between a small number of locations. [...] Unlike other stories starring teenagers, from Grease to Life is Strange, through Mean Girls or Riverdale, Goodbye Volcano High does not have "third places", meeting places outside the private home and work (in this case school) in which we can come into contact with the community and meet quietly and for hours with our friends. [...] But although these third places are, for many sociologists like Ramon Oldenburg, essential for public health, Generation Z is the first to be growing up without them, using virtual spaces to socialize (from private messaging groups to social networks). [...] Many key scenes in Goodbye Volcano High take place inside Fang's cell phone as they immerse themselves in a more than expressive immobility: eyes fixed on the screen while message balloons appear and scroll on the side. Being with their friends outside of school is, in reality, sitting and looking at your cell phone. [...] And this is not dramatic, it is simply real.

(note: the article uses gender neutral words to refer to the non-binary protagonist, using online translators may not reflect this)

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Greaser Serpents | Part 4

Pairing: Sweet Pea x OC (Luna Simmons) 

Words: 2408

Warnings: crying, language

Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five

“I have to talk to you,” Luna says before even greeting her best friend, and drags her into an empty classroom. A small flashback goes through her mind as she does that, thinking about what she and Sweet Pea had been doing the other day in empty classroom. 

“Good morning to you too,” Betty mutters while Luna shuts the door behind her. The girl seems agitated and stressed about something, causing worry to rise within Betty. She can’t stand watching her best friend be so upset about something. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asks, placing a comforting hand on Luna’s shoulder. The girl licks her lips, her eyes darting away from her best friend as she tries her hardest not to cry. She raises her arms shortly in defeat whilst shaking her head as tears begin to run down her cheeks. 

“I’m in love with a Serpent, Betty,” she confesses, “But I can’t be with him because there’d be a target on my back. Other gangs will pick up on it and use me to spite him or the Serpents will annoy Sweet Pea for dating a Northsider. My father hates him and practically will ruin his life with this stupid plan of his and Hiram’s. But I can’t stop thinking about him, Bets. He’s just constantly on my mind and I can’t seem to forget about him. No matter what I do,” she explains, unloading her bucket of emotions with her best friend. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” she sniffles as Betty takes her in for a tight, comforting hug. “There’s one thing you can do,” the blondie says after a moment of pure sobs and crying from Luna. They pull away from each other, and while Luna wipes away her tears, Betty strokes a strand of her best friend’s hair behind her ear. “Please, tell me, I’ll pretty much do anything right now,” she mumbles, chuckling a little at how desperate she sounds. Toni, who happened to be passing the classroom where the two Northsiders were talking in, has heard everything and it makes her blood boil. That stupid Serpent friend of hers has made the Northsider girl cry. One of the few Northsiders she cares about. He will hear of this. And without listening to what else Betty has to say, she storms up to her two best friends in the student lounge.

“How dare you play with a girl’s feelings like that!” she yells at the tall guy, not even caring about who else could hear it. Jughead, Archie, Kevin and Veronica are sitting on the sofa, startled at the pink-haired lady’s anger. “Toni, keep it down, please,” Sweet Pea mutters, knowing she’s talking about Luna. “What the hell are you on about?” his voice is low, but that doesn’t stop Toni from yelling more. “I’m talking about how you hurt Luna’s feelings by doing God-knows-what when you know you can’t date her because it would put her in danger!” she hits him on the shoulder. Her yelling has attracted more of the students, including Cheryl, Josie and Reggie. Sweet Pea’s wide eyes dart around the room, finding everyone already staring at them. “Toni, she knew what she’d pulled herself into. She knew it would be strictly fooling around, no strings attached,” he explains, suddenly very self-conscious. Toni and Veronica both roll their eyes at how lame that excuse is. “Oh, so because she knows it’s no strings attached, it’s okay that you broke her heart?” she asks. The audience doesn’t make her shy away from saying what’s really on her mind. “She’s crying to Betty right now about how she doesn’t know what to do because of the feelings she has for you. She’s so lost, Sweet Pea. And you’re oblivious to that because you think you’re good because you warned her for it,” the girl doesn’t give off. “You’re such a dick, Sweet Pea, do you know that?!” she hits him on the back of his head. “Toni, please, stop,” a tearful, cold voice retracts the people’s attention from Sweet Pea and Toni to Luna. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her lipstick’s gone from biting and licking her lips nervously. “It’s none of their business. Neither is it yours, FYI,” she tells her Southside friend. Toni glances to the floor, ashamed of her outburst all of a sudden. Luna’s eyes glance over to Sweet Pea. He looks broken and lost. Almost as lost as she is. “Show’s over, kids. Get to class,” she orders all of them before turning around and leaving the student lounge. The Serpent boy who had broken her heart in a thousand pieces launches forward to run after her, but both Betty and Toni stop him. “It’s better if you leave her alone for now, Sweet Pea,” Betty tells him with a little smile, “She’ll come to you when she’s ready to talk about it,” the boy lets out a frustrated breath before grabbing his backpack and getting out of the lounge to get to class. “I don’t know what you heard, Toni,” Betty begins when everyone has left the class, “But we have to help her. We only need to convince her that it’s the only way to be with him,” Toni nods her head. She didn’t hear what the two talked about, but she knows what Betty is on about now. If Luna really wants it, the two of them can pull a few strings and make it happen. Luna looks in the mirror in the restrooms as she fixes her makeup and hair. When she woke up this morning, she didn’t expect to burst out into tears the way she did. She felt sad, but it wasn’t to the point of crying. It’s only when she really came face-to-face with her own feelings and really said them out loud to Betty, that’s when the waterworks really began. “Look at me, there has to be,” she sings the reprise softly as she stares at her reflection. “Something more than what they see Wholesome and pure Oh so scared and unsure A poor man’s Sandra Dee,” she sighs before reapplying her lipstick and then leaving the bathroom at once. The idea of Betty haunts her mind. The entire day, she can’t think of anything else but that. It might actually be the only way to be with Sweet Pea. Even if it means getting disowned and kicked out by her parents. “Are you okay?” Josie asks when she sits down next to Luna at lunch. That’s all Luna has been hearing today. That’s all everyone’s asking her. The others look at her, awaiting her answer, even though they’ve all asked her at one point that day. She angrily throws her burger on her plate, suddenly not hungry anymore. “Can everyone stop asking me that? I’m fine, okay? Just peachy,” the last bit comes out in a whisper as she realizes she’s lying to her friends and herself. “Sorry,” she then mutters while shaking her head and getting off the bench. Her friends watch her run out of the cafeteria, knowing she just needs some time. It’s still a touchy subject. They’re not even sure when it’s not going to be a touchy subject anymore. “No, Sweets, don’t!” Toni yells at Sweet Pea as he gets up from his seat and runs after Luna, completely ignoring his friend’s orders. He finds her in the student lounge on the sofa, trying to calm herself down a little. It breaks his heart seeing her like that, especially considering he’s the one who put her in that situation. “Hey, Luna,” he says softly as he walks in and comes into her view, cautiously. She looks up at him for a moment and wipes her tears as she offers him a small smile. “Can I sit?” he questions, pointing at the sofa. The girl simply shrugs, knowing that if she’d talk, fresh tears would run out. “I’m sorry, Luna,” he then says after a moment of complete silence. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about, Sweets,” she tells him, glancing down at her wrists whilst playing with the bracelet she got from her father for her birthday last year. “I do though. I’m sorry I led you on and I’m sorry we can’t be together, but I thought you were okay with the no-strings-attached kind of thing,” he stares at the floor. Neither of them is sure what to do. They’d rather be kissing each other right now instead of talking. “I was,” she replies as fresh tears roll over her cheeks, “Sorry,” she whispers and gets up to get away from him again. She doesn’t want him to see her crying. Sweet Pea groans and runs after her again, grabbing her wrist to pull her back to him. “Stop running away from me, Luna. Please, let’s talk about this. I hate to see you hurt when I know I can do something about it.” Her tears abruptly stop at his words and she looks up at him. Her hand rises, her fingers softly stroking his jaw. “Oh, but you can’t do anything about it, Sweet Pea,” she whispers, “You can’t help it that I fell in love with you when I knew I shouldn’t. Hell, I can’t even help it. But it is what it is. And I know we can’t be together. My mother warned me about it and you did too,” her voice is soft, as if she’s telling him her biggest secret. “Your mother warned you?” he asks, confused about that part of the explanation. “She warned me about putting a target on my back if I ever dated a Serpent. Other gangs would use me to spite you and all that jazz,” she explains quickly, rolling her eyes at how silly that sounds. “But that’s not the point now, Sweets,” she shakes her head. “I can’t date a Northsider, Luna,” he tells her again, sounding defeated. “You don’t have to,” a smile tugs at her lips, “We’re kind of like Sandy and Danny in real life, aren’t we? I’m going to have to change for you to be able to be with you,” she says softly. Sweet Pea’s eyes widen at her insinuation. “You’re not joining the Serpents, Luna. I can’t let you join the Serpents,” he orders sternly, towering over her makes her more intimidated by him than she ever was. “Don’t flatter yourself, Sweets. I told you, I’m not like Sandy. I’m not going to join the Serpents just so we can be together. I’m not built that way,” she explains to him with a chuckle and a shake of her head. “I’ll figure out a way to get you out of my head. It’s going to be fine,” she reassures him. He grabs her by the waist at that, pulling her closer to him. “But Luna—” he begins, but her singing voice cuts him off. “Guess mine’s not the first heart broken My eyes are not the first to cry,” Her fingers push away the curl on his forehead as she sings to him. The song that sums up her feelings right about now. “I’m not the first to know there’s just no getting over you,” She turns around and walks away from him. Away from the safe place in his arms. Away from his beautiful bright eyes. She has to forget about him. Preferably now. “You know I'm just a fool who's willing To sit around and wait for you But baby can't you see there's nothing else for me to do I'm hopelessly devoted to you,” she walks down the hallway and back to the cafeteria where she halts at the door to watch her friends talk amongst each other. She even makes eye contact with Toni who gives her a small, sympathetic smile. “But now there's no way to hide Since you pushed my love aside I'm outta my head hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you,” She walks back into the hallway where she finds Sweet Pea still standing at the lockers. His fist punches the metal, making it clang loudly and boom off the walls. This just isn’t how it’s supposed to go. This isn’t how either of them had imagined falling in love for the first time. It hurts harder than they thought it would. During the rest of the day, the two of them had tried to avoid one another. And if they did lock eyes, they’d give each other a sympathetic, acknowledging smile. Nothing more, nothing less. The only time they didn’t ignore one another is at rehearsals that night. “My head is saying, "Fool, forget him." My heart is saying, "Don't let go. Hold on till the end." And that's what I intend to do I'm hopelessly devoted to you” She sings her heart out on the stage this time, standing all by herself in the middle of the spotlight. The other cast members watch her tentatively, a little bit tensed as well. They know she means what she’s singing, and she’s singing it for Sweet Pea, who’s sitting at the end of the line. He’s watching her with an aching heart. “But now there's nowhere to hide Since you pushed my love aside I'm out of my head Hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you” A single tear rolls down her face as a silence falls over the entire auditorium. Sweet Pea shakes his head and leaves. He can’t keep watching this. He can’t keep looking at Luna being hurt because of him. He’d rather run up that stage and hold her. There has to be another way. There has to be a way they can be together without her getting hurt. “Jughead,” Luna says from the stage, capturing the Serpent’s attention, “Could you pull a few strings with your dad for me, please?” she asks kindly. The boy looks at his girlfriend and his pink-haired friend. They had talked about this during lunch. He simply nods, giving the girl a smile and a new will to live. She normally would never change herself for someone else. But if her happiness depends on it, she might as well try something. It might even save Sweet Pea’s life. Just maybe she could convince her dad not to go through with his plans for Riverdale. Maybe, just maybe everything could be okay. 

Taglist: @iamaunicorn4704, @cvvlxx

[riverdaleplots]

a gaggle of sweet baby ducklings imprint on archie and follow him around wherever he goes. he's threatened with suspension because he can't get them to be quiet in class, and they keep clogging up the hallways in between lessons. cheryl has been in the cellar of her mansion for days on end without leaving, making a pair of wax wings for herself. when toni finds out and tells the others, they have an intervention. cheryl explains that it's always been a dream of hers to fly to the sun and back. betty asks her if she knows who icarus is. cheryl says yes, "he was a loser." no one can come up with a logical reason to stop cheryl from trying to fly into the sun, which is embarrassing, because there are lots of them. rather than have to split his time as a single father and a high school student, archie drops out of school and moves next to a pond. jughead writes a human interest article about him for the paper that no one reads. cheryl gathers the town of riverdale to her mansion to witness her maiden voyage into space. she stands on the roof, makes an appropriately ego-fuelled and charming speech, and then launches herself into the air. she flaps her wax wings and oh my god it's working? cheryl blossom is flying away. she does not look back. the episode ends much like Grease does, except cheryl is the flying car and everyone is too busy losing their minds to even think about waving goodbye to her. we watch as her silhouette becomes smaller and smaller against the ever expanding brilliance of the sunset. to be continued...

[msookyspooky]

heyo. its ⚰️ annon, yes id love a one shot. fluff like i mean like “(y/n)” and randy go on a date to a dinner (like ugh all i can think of is kinda the riverdale dinner “pops” but sorta like that) and they both sit at a booth and IDC WHATS NEXT. put ur own twist if u can idm at all. but if you cant ill be happy to go on. - ⚰️ annon

No problem dear, I got you!

Randy x GN!YN Date • Fluffy

Randy ushered you to the booth in your local Woodsboro Diner. You both sat down and he nervously adjusted himself in his seat. "I'm not gonna lie, I was shocked when you said yes. I was sort of joking...Well, half joking."

You smiled. "Randy. I like you, I'm more than happy to go on a date...Besides, you're paying." You joked and he gave you a lopsided grin. "Oh, so that's how it is, huh?"

"Yep. You asked, you pay." You giggled to yourself as a waitress came over. You recognized her, having went to this place since you were a kid with your folks. The middle aged woman gushed at you both. "Oh my goodnees, look at you two! Aren't you just the cutest things!"

Randy ducked his head. "Uh yeah, thanks?"

You both made your order and she came back not even a few minutes later with a large shake and two straws. You blinked. "Oh we didn't-"

She bent and whispered. "Oh, I know. Just thought I'd give you two love birds an excuse." She winked and walked away.

You stared at each other before chuckling with faint blushes on your face. Randy muttured, "God what is this? Grease?...How does she know we're not vegan or lactose intolerant or something?"

He got a cup from a nearby table and halfed your shake. You chuckled before you heard a noise beside your both. You saw a few teen boys from your school making kissing faces at you from another booth. Randy rolled his eyes. "They don't take a break, do they?"

"Nope. They need something to entertain themselves. "

You saw how bothered he looked before you grabbed his hand from across the booth. "Hey, you're the one on a date while they get to hang out with other guys every weekend."

They made remarks and Randy side eyed them with a scowl. "Yeah well, its still annoying...They think you're on a date with me as a joke."

You quirked your brow with a smile. "How about we give them something to talk about while proving them wrong?"

He blinked at you, staring as you leaned over the table to kiss him quickly. He hesitated before reaching up and kissing you back. It was awkward at first before you both got the hang of it. Pulling apart after a few seconds. The boys at the other both stared with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

Randy shot them a smirk as you sat back down and blushed. Randy raised his brows at them. "That's right. The geek gets the babe."

The guys at the other table scoffed at him but stayed quiet. He looked back at you with a genuine smile. "...Holy shit...We kissed."

You laughed. "Yeah we can do it again as soon as we eat and you take me for a ride in your car."

He shoveled a handful of fries in his mouth as you snorted. He mumbled with his mouth full. "Deal."

[queenmolina]

no one asked but here you go

jatp characters and their taste in musicals

julie loves anything an everything. a particular favourite is ‘in the heights’ and yes she cries to alabanza every. single. time. she also just loves the atmosphere of live theatre and the hum of music waiting to be heard. whenever she has the opportunity, she’ll be at the theatre. even if it’s just some ten year olds running around in fish costumes and calling it the little mermaid. julie knows all the shows so if you’re ever looking to find new stuff, she’s your gal. she’s the one that introduced alex to bare, willie to starry and reggie to [title of show]. she also knows the encyclopaedia of musical theatre songs that aren’t actually in shows (see: jonathan reid gealt, michael mott, kerrigan and lowdermilk etc)

luke can’t sit still for the life of him. he tries to because he doesn’t want to be rude but it’s not really his scene and he loses concentration. for this reason, he’s really into his movie musicals. he used to watch grease and the sound of music with his mom. rocketman and we will rock you are his modern day favourites. (he’s also got julie’s second hand excitement for the in the heights movie)

alex (dare i say it) loves dear evan hansen. he knows it’s slightly problematic but who are we kidding, it’s so much more progressive than peoples view of anxiety back in his day. he ugly cries at i’ll cover you reprise in RENT. he’s also a sucker for shows like dreamgirls, six, & juliet etc. and bare. for obvious reasons

reggie has two very opposing tastes. the first is as ‘rock’ as you can get while still being musical theatre (ie. bat out of hell) and the second is he absolute masterpiece that is annie. just - there’s a dog and a loving family so he’s sold

bobby likes newsies purely for the dance routines. athlete bobby lives in my head rent free. he spends his days rewatching the movie so that they can get all the moves right. they nail them all. bobby also likes other dancey shows and also little shop of horrors for some reason (the stage version where the plant is literally about to eat everyone in the theatre)

carrie likes mean girls. it was a casual liking until flynn decided they hate it and so now carrie plays it at every opportunity just to annoy them. also the idea of carrie singing someone gets hurt does things to my head

flynn likes ‘dark’ musicals like heathers and beetlejuice and carrie (the musical not the girl but yes her too). they’re very frustrated when riverdale ruins them but also uses the gif of archie dad-dancing in ‘the world according to chris’ as a reaction whenever they’re planning something exciting just because everyone hates it

willie likes jukebox musicals because the usually have really wacky plots to make it work. (alex and willie listening to & juliet) jagged little pill is a frequent favourite but they’re still mad that jo isn’t non-binary like in the workshop version

nick likes mamma mia (and cats) and that’s it

caleb is obviously into big flashy musicals like 42nd street and a chorus line. and also cabaret? i get that vibe. also throw in some obscure stuff like natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812. i just thing he’d like that

ray likes disney musicals - movies or on stage. they’re just wholesome and perfect and remind him of when the kids were little

[snarkwrites]

ssw | sweetpea; wondering what his kiss feels like. | fluff.

NOTES:

Okay, so.. Apparently my brain likes to torment me. Because earlier, I was going to outline the next chapter for my Sweetpea x Andrews!OFC fic Gangsta and my brain threw out a casual, “But have you considered.. Using the Lodge!OFC you were planning to use with Reggie Mantle.. With Sweetpea?” and this kind of.. came.

So.. if enough people are interested, I may be considering actually writing them a fic or doing more of these little things based around them.. and trying to delve more into possibly pairing Alyssa with Reggie? Because when I wrote their oneshot I felt like there was potential there too... Also, this one shot is a direct result of me, watching dirty dancing reenactments on tik tok and my love for the movie + the fact that Riverdale does musicals every season...

Anyway, enjoy?

PROMPTS:

taken from either [ HERE ] or [ HERE ] give or take. It could be one or the other or a mix of both at my own choosing.

the way he says your name / his fingers sliding between your own / wondering what your kiss feels like - these are the inspo prompts used for this oneshot.

FANDOM / CHARACTER

Riverdale / Sweetpea x Lodge!OFC, Marlena

OTHER WORKS SWEET PEA X MARLENA ARE USED IN

None BUT.. That could change, idk..

WARNINGS

Intense sexual tension. Arguing back and forth as a love language until someone snaps. Mutual crushes that turn into something more.. This one is absolutely safe for the kiddos aside from a few swears and the like.. Oh and one barely elaborated on incident of thigh riding / dirty dancing.

TAGGING

There’s absolutely no one on my Riverdale taglist. If you want to be on it, please let me know. Or add yourself to the link below.

OTHER STUFF

[ faq | sfw masterlist - safe for the kiddos but read with caution | tag list ] 

“I swear to God, if she doesn’t give me more, I’m going to fall asleep. Is this really all we could find to participate in the musical for you guys?” My sister's question drew me out of a silent stare war with Sweetpea across the auditorium. He rolled his eyes and I stuck out my tongue at him before turning my attention back to my older sister, sighing as I glanced in the direction of the stage up front. “ She’s not that bad.. I mean at least she had the guts to try out for a part?” I mused quietly, shaking my head. Disappointed at myself because I hadn’t signed up.

Stage fright is one hell of a deterrent. And I knew that if I had tried out, no matter how well I knew the movie we were doing our musical adaptation of this year, when opening night came and those curtains opened and I saw all those people sitting out in the seats? I was going to freeze. I’d completely ruin the show. I didn’t want that.

The best I could do was at least offer to do costumes for Kevin. I told myself that behind the scenes was still helping and being supportive but deep down, ugh.. I wanted to do so much more.

If I were half as brave as my older sister Veronica is when it comes to this kind of stuff… Everyone has their fears though. Mine just happen to be public speaking in front of large audiences. My sister tells me constantly that it doesn’t make sense because I can go all over competing in dance stuff and there’s a crowd there, but.. When I’m dancing, I’m focused on footwork. On steps and the music and the way it makes me feel. I don’t have to speak.

This is also ironic when you take into consideration I am not a shy girl by any stretch of the imagination. I’m actually quite vocal. But when it involves speaking in public?

I freeze. I shut down and in turn, I wind up looking like an idiot.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn’t notice that Veronica had gotten up out of her seat and walked over, taking the seat right beside Kevin. They were whispering back and forth. I laughed softly because knowing my sister, she was probably telling Kevin that Leah needed to find a better attitude or Kevin needed to find a better person to play Baby Housemann.

Oh, if only I had one tenth of a clue.

My sister came back over, sinking down into the seat next to me. “Feel better now?” I asked her, barely hiding my amusement as I said it. She giggled and nodded. “Much better. I want you to remember how much you love me…” she muttered.

I raised a brow. “What’s that even mean?”

“Just wait.”

“What the hell did you do, Ronnie?”

“You’ll find out, Marlena. Just wait.” Veronica wouldn’t give me any more of an answer than that. Grumbling to myself, I settled back in my seat and tried to focus on the ongoing argument between Leah and Kevin from the stage.

Rolling my eyes at her audacity. Literally anyone could’ve done her part better and she had the nerve to demand Kevin to change everything to fit her? Refusing to work with him on anything? Putting down the script when it was the same one they used in the movie?

Just the thought of it had me shaking my head and muttering to myself about the entitlement and audacity. Veronica gave a soft laugh and leaned in, mocking the way she’d delivered her last line and the fact that she wanted pretty much all her dialogue changed and constantly needed reasons why her character did anything they did.

“Marlena! Hey, Marlena, where are you?” Kevin was calling my name. I looked up from the whispered conversation I’d been having with my older sister Veronica and raised my hand, waiting.

“C’mon. I want to try something. Leah’s just not cutting it for me as Baby.” Kevin called out to me as he gave Leah an irritated dirty look. Leah threw down her script and walked out of the auditorium in a huff. “This is a stupid idea for a musical anyway. Nothing’s gonna top what the seniors are doing. Good luck, jackass.”

Veronica gave me a nudge and with a soft laugh, she leaned in, smiling as she whispered into my ear, “You were born for this, Marlena. Dirty Dancing is your all time favorite movie.”

“Excuse me? I thought we both established it was Crybaby. Then Grease. Then Dirty Dancing.” I teased, standing in a hurry. My sister’s rebuttal to this was to point out with a soft laugh that I definitely had my own special vibe and type of guy. I poked out my tongue at her and turned away. Making my way towards the front of the auditorium where Kevin stood.

Once I was up there, Kevin pressed a copy of our class’s script into my hands. “Congratulations, you’ve been promoted from costumes.” he smirked at me. “I have a feeling about you and this part. As a director, I’m going to go with my gut.”

“But I didn’t sign up..” I shuffled my feet. 

“ Yeah, well, the ones who did from your class obviously don’t care enough to bother showing up to practice or don’t care enough to give their best when they actually bother to come and we’re rehearsing.” Kevin shrugged. Taking his seat.

Alex, the guy who’d been cast as Johnny Castle, walked over. Wrinkling his nose at me as soon as he stood in front of me. Arms folded over his chest as he asked Kevin in a snobbish tone, “So we’re seriously just letting stage crew have parts now, Keller? Is that what this is? I thought you were going to help us make our musical better, not make it a massive failure.”

“Asshole.” I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes as I stepped up to him, jabbing a finger into his chest. Giving him a piece of my mind because holy hell did his holier than thou attitude ever irritate me, “I’ll have you know, I probably know this movie line for line. I can probably do all the dances blindfolded, in a wheelchair. Who the hell do you think you are anyway? I saw you in Romeo and Juliet. I have never fallen asleep so fast in my entire life.” I smirked as I went quiet, rolling my eyes at him.

Alex chuckled and rolled his eyes right back at me, making the dismissive remark in response, “Did I ask you to speak? Did I address you directly? No. I didn’t. I was talking to the director. Don’t you have costumes to make or something? You’re holding up rehearsals.”

Out towards the back of the auditorium, I heard my sister cheering me on. Clapping and whistling. Telling me to give him hell and telling Alex he was awfully full of himself for someone who got a thumbs down by a New York theater critic over the summer.

I took a deep breath and glanced down at the script in my hands. Starting to read over it. Ignoring the argument between Kevin and Alex for the most part. Just trying to get myself in character while I waited. 

Alex grumbled and stormed back over, standing near me. His posturing tense and a supremely annoyed look in his eyes as he gave me half a second’s glance. Kevin gave the cue to start and Alex read his line first. 

“Look, spaghetti arms. This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don't go into yours, you don't go into mine. You gotta hold the frame.”

Before I even got a chance to read off my line, Kevin was standing up. Making his way towards us. “You two are supposed to be dancing together. Marlena, you need to stand closer. Alex, you need to deliver the line in more of a teasing tone. Like you’re trying to taunt her. Playful. Not like you’re actually being an asshole. Like you’re flirting with her.”

“She’s not my type.” Alex rolled his eyes as he glanced at me. I glared up at him, a hand on my hip. Dangerously close to exploding all over again. I kept everything I’d been about to say to myself though, and with a deep breath, I listened as Kevin gave us both advice. Smirking to myself a little when he lit into Alex for being a drama queen.

After Kevin finished telling us what to fix, we prepared to try again. I stepped closer. Found myself glancing out in the crowd. My eyes settled on Sweetpea. 

I found him watching the whole thing play out with an amused smirk. His arms folded over his chest. Holding my gaze boldly. Daring me to look away first. I refused. If  I looked away first, that gave him the upper hand. I was not about to give him that.

,, That jackass. Look at him. All smug.. Ugh, I just wanna punch his stupid sexy face.” the thought surfaced and I quickly did my best at shoving it out again. I found myself thinking about a heated argument we’d had in the hallway earlier.

I found myself kind of drawing parallels between him and the character Alex was supposed to be playing but doing a terrible job at playing. I couldn’t work with the performance Alex was giving, he wasn’t giving me anything to work with. 

Somewhere in the midst of it all, I found myself replaying my earlier argument with Sweetpea. Stepping closer to Alex. Doing my best to play at a lack of experience in dance, despite my vast experience and love for it. Getting immersed in the role. Imagining myself as the character Baby.. And not Alex but Sweetpea as Johnny Castle.

Alex delivered his line a second time. His delivery wasn’t much better. Kevin grumbled to himself and made his way over yet again. This time, Kevin’s problem with the scene had absolutely nothing to do with me.

He addressed me first. “Please, please please.. You have to play Baby. You have to.” he gave me a pleading look. “I’m prepared to beg, okay?”

I pretended to mull it over. Smiling as I nodded. “Okay, alright.. I can still do costumes though, right? Because I already have a ton of ideas drawn up..” I shuffled my feet, giving Kevin a pleading look.

“Yeah! Definitely. You’re the only one I trust to do the costumes right, Marlena.” Kevin answered quickly.

He turned his attention to Alex and they got into a heated argument. Alex blamed his performance on me and the fact that I seemed standoffish and that I wasn’t up to his level and shouldn’t even be sharing a stage with him to begin with. Insisting that Kevin should at least give Josie McCoy a chance to play Baby in our play. She already had her hands full with the senior class musical and her performance during intermission and Kevin pointed that out.

“Josie can’t do both musicals and intermission twice, Alex. That’s asking way too much. Even from her, man. Marlena is Baby. You can adapt to that or you’re welcome to leave.” Kevin stood firm in his decision.

Alex eyed me and I stood taller. Smirking up at him. More than a little amused by the entire thing. He chuckled. Shrugging as he tossed down the script he’d been holding in his hands. “Fine. Try to find somebody else to do a better job at playing Johnny. See how that works out. I’m done. I refuse to participate in this mockery.”

He stormed out of the auditorium.

My sister Veronica and Josie McCoy shared a look and a nod. Veronica stood. Josie shot up out of her seat also and the two jogged over to Kevin. Getting him off to the corner of the auditorium. As the three of them whispered back and forth, I stood there, shuffling my feet. Reading ahead in the script.

Taking it all in.

Honestly enjoying the fact that I was going to be playing Baby Housemann in the junior class musical immensely more than I thought I would. ,, until opening night when you’re on stage in front of everyone and you either freeze, bolt out of the room or throw up everywhere.” my mind taunted.

I shoved out the intrusive thought.

Kevin chuckled out loud. Getting so excited that he didn’t keep his voice down when he spoke up. “Your minds, I swear. Yeah, we’re gonna try that. Right now, actually.” Kevin told my sister and Josie. They smirked at each other and as they walked past me, Veronica gave me a wink.

And almost as soon as she did, I braced myself. Because I have the sneaking suspicion that my sister was up to something. And if that something had to do with a certain Serpent reading against me as Johnny Castle?

I was literally going to die. I’d be totally doomed.

,, maybe not.” and even the surprise optimism had me laughing at myself because I knew better.

“Sweetpea, can you come up here, man?” Kevin called out.

I tensed just a little. Took a deep breath. Suddenly I knew exactly what my sister had been up to but my question now was why had Josie taken part in the whole idea? I thought she was dating him? They were hot and heavy at Cheryl’s party a few weeks ago and they went places together a lot …

I prayed for a portal to another dimension to open in the stage and take me out. If my sister has even slightly hinted that I may or may not have feelings for the giant jerk to anyone I swear to God.. I’ll die.

Sweetpea hopped over the chair in front of him and walked down the long aisle, stopping where Kevin sat in the front row. The two were whispering back and forth and more than one time, Sweetpea glanced back at me. Smirking. Chuckling as he listened to what Kevin was telling him and rubbing his chin as he pretended to think something over.

Sweetpea looked over at me and shrugged as he answered Kevin. “I can try. I’m not makin any promises though because I don’t dance and I’ve never seen this movie.”

“Just trust me. You’re as Johnny as Johnny gets, Pea.” Kevin encouraged. I wanted to kick him so badly at that moment. Did he seriously have to encourage Sweetpea? There had to be someone else… anyone else. Someone I didn’t have a massive crush on and yet also want to strangle.

I pretended to stick my finger down my throat and gag, as per usual when Sweetpea locked eyes with me again as he walked towards where I stood..

 ,, because God forbid you let him even get an ounce of suspicion that you have a crush on the guy.” my brain was at it again with the taunting. I pushed it all down deep and took a deep breath or two.

“You did this just to be an asshole.” I muttered.

“No, I did this because Kevin’s my friend. Not everything I do is about pissing you off, princess.” Sweetpea chuckled as he said it. Adding in a quieter tone, “Just because you’re Marlena Lodge… That doesn’t make everything about you.”

My jaw set and I glared up at him. Taking a deep breath or two. Reminding myself that despite Sweetpea now reading as Johnny Castle, I still loved this movie and I wanted our class’s play to be worth watching. That I couldn’t mess this up. I couldn’t let Sweetpea taunt and torment me into messing this up either.

I didn’t want to disappoint Kevin because he was one of my best friends. He was depending on me to at least try to do my best here.

Kevin gave the signal for us to start from the top of the scene.

I stepped closer. My body brushing against Sweetpea’s. Sweetpea mirrored this and grabbed hold of my arms, pulling them out in front of me just like Patrick Swayze did in the actual movie as he recited the line.

And the tone in his voice, oh my god.

“Look, spaghetti arms. This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don't go into yours, you don't go into mine. You gotta hold the frame.”

I responded with my line. Stepping closer, even throwing in an accidental mis-step on the top of his foot on my own. 

Kevin continued to sit, watching us rehearse. By the time we got to the scene where Johnny is telling Baby that he got fired, I could feel more people’s eyes on us. And I swallowed hard, trying not to focus on being watched and how that felt, but instead, on the script. On what I had to say and how I felt like it needed to come across.

And maybe, in my own mind, I was imagining how I’d act if I were in Baby’s shoes. Having just argued with my father about the guy I was in love with only to turn and find out that despite my own optimism at convincing the guy to do the right thing, nothing worked out the way I wanted at all.

Sweetpea must have caught on to my anxiety because he muttered quietly, “You good, princess?” as he covertly brushed his hand against mine. Clearing his throat to get my attention and keep me from getting nervous and blanking out or bolting off the stage.

I gazed up at him a second or two, finally nodding. Managing to ground myself somehow and I tried my best to convince myself it was not because Sweetpea’s fingers laced through mine. Almost as if he’d caught hold of my hand to keep me from leaving.

,, He’s just doing that because it’s in the script. You’re supposed to be having a heated discussion and you’re about to walk away upset. That’s the only reason he grabbed your hand. It has nothing to do with the fact that you kind of freaked out a little and lost your focus.” I reminded myself grimly as I caught up to where we were on the page and took a deep breath, preparing for my turn to speak.

As I delivered my next line, “So I did it for nothing.I hurt my family, you lost your job anyway-- I did it for nothing!” I wanted to disappear into the stage floor when my sister stood up in her chair, clapping and whistling. But the way I said it sounded so wistful. Disappointed and bitter. Like I was truly hurting.

Sweet Pea said his line. “No, no, not for nothin', Baby! Nobody has ever done anything like that for me before.” and I paused. Staring up at him. Blown away because he sounded so sincere too. Like for a second or two, this was really taking place and it wasn’t just some silly rehearsal. Like he meant what he was saying.

But I knew he didn’t. We tolerate each other at best. At our worst, we’re at each other’s throats constantly. Finding any and all excuses to rip into each other or push the other’s buttons. Because it’s just what we do.

But his tone. The look in his eyes when he delivered the line. The way his eyes fixed on me, searching. Waiting.

“It’s your turn, princess.. Cat got your tongue?” he muttered under his breath to draw me out of my own inner turmoil.

I took a deep breath and scanned the page. Finding my next line. “You were right, Johnny. You can't win no matter what you do!” and I could feel him staring as I said it. Biting his lip when I lazily punched at his chest because it felt like the right thing to do in the heat of the moment to show how upset the character was. I shook my head and dropped my eyes. “You were right.” I muttered in a quieter tone.

Sweetpea reached out, rough fingertips gripping my jawline. Guiding my eyes back up to meet his as he replied with the next line, “You listen to me. I don't wanna hear that from you. You can!”

And again, it sounded so real. Emotional. Like we were really having this argument. I was really getting into this. Probably a little too much for my own good. I sighed and shook my head sadly. Biting my lip as I stepped away a little and continued to shake my head, arguing back, “I used to think so.” and after a second or two, adding in a quieter tone, “Now I don’t know anymore.” even though it wasn’t in the script.

Sweetpea was staring at me. Thoughtful. Intent. Almost as if he were actually seeing me and not all the stupid things he’d written me off as from the word go on the first time we met. He cleared his throat and that shit-eating smirk was back again. “Not too bad, huh?”

“Jackass.” I muttered, mostly to myself. Still a little dazed.

Kevin called for a break and made his way over.

“Okay, we’re going to take this all the way from the beginning tomorrow. I wish I’d done this sooner. We’re going to have to practice the lift next. Because the lift is iconic. We have to pull that off or I’m gonna want to punch myself in the throat.” Kevin was excited, rambling away a mile a minute.

Sweetpea spoke up. “What about my part in the senior musical?”

“You can do both. We’ll move the junior musical to a different night. You have to do this. C’mon…”

Sweetpea grumbled and finally muttered with a shrug, “Okay, alright. Fine. Shit. I’ll do it. But I’m not wearing tights, are we clear?”

“You really haven’t seen the movie at all… have you?” I scoffed as I gazed up at Sweetpea. He mimicked me and shrugged. “I’ve seen bits of it. But I know one thing and that’s dancers wear tights. I’m not wearing tights. Not happenin.”

“For your information, you big idiot, Patrick Swayze does not wear tights a single time in this movie. At least not that I remember and I’ve seen it a thousand times... Suit and tie, maybe.”

Sweetpea grumbled and raised a brow.

“Not for the whole movie, damn it.. Black jeans and a black shirt will suffice for most of it. You can even wear your leather jacket, you big man-baby. Johnny Castle wears one in the movie.” I answered. Stepping closer to him to sort of get a visual read on his measurements so that when the time came I at least kind of had an idea of what worked. Sweetpea chuckled, dragging his fingers through his hair as he gazed down at me. “See something you like, princess?”

“I’m trying to figure out what I’m gonna need for your costume, dingus.” I replied as calmly as possible.

“Ya know, you could always just measure me… Right? Or ask me my size?”

“Oh you’d enjoy that entirely too much. And I’d have to touch you. No, nope. No thanks, I’ll pass.”

“I’m gonna have to touch you anyway. That lift or whatever it was that had Kevin rambling just now.” Sweetpea barely hid his amusement as he stepped even closer. A hand at my hip. Lingering.

For a second or two, I was lost in his eyes and totally oblivious to anything going on around us and then Kevin shattered that by starting the last song of the musical and calling for everyone to take their places.

And from the crowd, Fangs spoke up.

“Hey babe.. What if we got all the extras from the clubhouse scene to come in through the crowd? Just like the movie?” Fangs was smirking at both Sweetpea and I as he spoke up. Enjoying this entire situation way too much.

“Fangs, you brilliant and beautiful man, this is exactly why I love you so much.” Kevin smirked as he rubbed his chin and called out. “Okay, if you were an extra in the clubhouse scene, go to the doors of the auditorium. When Fangs gives the signal, you’ll come in. Dancing.”

He turned to Sweetpea. “You go with them.”

Sweetpea managed to break the staredown we had going on and he nodded. Grumbling as he walked towards the front of the auditorium.

Everything went pretty well until we got to the part where I was supposed to run to Sweetpea and he was supposed to lift me over his head. I took off, running towards him.

I missed the mark. Wound up with my legs wrapped around his waist, clinging for dear life while he staggered back just a little. Both of us arguing about whose fault it was that we messed up.

Kevin cleared his throat.

“You guys need more practice. Maybe you could rehearse together?”

Sweetpea and I glanced at each other, mulling it over.

“Fine.” Sweetpea ground out through a jaw tightly clenched. A glance at Fangs revealed that the reason he agreed without a huge fight was probably something to do with the way Fangs was giving him a demanding look.

“Fine.” I answered. Swallowing hard.

Trying to pull myself together because frankly, I was still all sorts of stirred up from the way he’d actually caught me and the fact that no, I hadn’t wanted him to put me back on my feet at the end, either.

I spoke up again. “We can do it at the bunker.” I suggested. Trying to think of a neutral place that didn’t favor either of us heavily. A place we could hopefully be alone and focus. And probably scream and shove and storm away to cool off if things got too heated.

“8 work for you or does daddy let you out past your bedtime, princess?” Sweetpea taunted, smirking at me when I glared and rolled my eyes.

“ I do what I want.” I scoffed at his parting jab. 

From behind me, my sister spoke up. “Are you ready, Marlena?” as she looked back and forth between Sweetpea and I with an amused grin.

“Yeah. We need to get going.” I answered.

 As my sister and I walked out of the auditorium, my sister gave a soft laugh. “That wasn’t so bad, huh? I knew you could do it.”

“Oh shut up.” I grumbled, managing a weak smile. “We haven’t made it to the night of yet. Don’t jinx this. Remember what happened last time I had to get up in front of people and talk in any capacity?”

“Marlena, that was kindergarten. Maybe it’ll be different.”

“Veronica, I threw up everywhere. And not gracefully, either. It was a full on projectile vomit.”

“That was something. The chemistry between you and Sweetpea in there. I felt like I was actually watching the movie.”

“He’s an ass. And he hates me, remember?”

“Yeah, well.. It didn’t look that way to me, Marlena. If he hated you, he wouldn’t have been standing so close the entire time… or the way he grabbed your hand?” my sister questioned.

I shrugged it off. “Can we change the subject?”

“Why? Afraid I might be right?” my sister teased, as usual.

TIME SKIP

“Okay, if he’s not here in ten minutes, I’m leaving. This place gives me the creeps.” I muttered to myself almost the exact second that I managed to find a spiderweb with my face and shriek about it.

Low chuckling from behind me had me turning. Finding myself body to body with Sweetpea as he tried not to laugh.

“Do you talk to yourself a lot or do I make you that nervous, princess?” he taunted. I gave a light shove and stepped away, pouting up at him. Quick to argue that he didn’t make me nervous, not at all, not even a little.

Despite knowing that the truth of the matter was yes. Yes, he made me extremely nervous. Because he was so distinctly my type and I just longed for what I knew wouldn’t ever work out between us because we were entirely too different.

“In other words, yes. I make you that nervous.” Sweetpea’s jaw set in a line and I flinched a little. Not wanting to fight with him.

I quickly changed the subject, nodding to a little tv and dvd player I’d rigged up earlier and the brown paper bags with Pop’s logo on the front.

“We need to rehearse. Not whatever this is.” Sweetpea was still irritated.

“Yes, well.. You’re never going to realize just how huge a part of the story Johnny Castle is until you’ve seen the movie.”

Sweetpea rubbed his chin in thought. “How long is this fucking movie?”

“Maybe two hours? C’mon… Or do you have a hot date waiting?” -the hint of jealousy that crept into my tone was enough to make me tense up a little. Pray to God he hadn’t picked up on it. Lucky for me, he didn’t seem to, instead, he was already digging into the grease stained paper bags, grabbing himself a burger and fries.

Sprawling on the little twin sized bed.

I dug out my own food and sat down, close to the edge of the bed, careful not to sit too close to him because I didn’t want to crowd him or annoy him or give him the wrong impression.. Or in my case, the right impression though I’d die before admitting that to him. 

After hitting play on the DVD player, the opening title splashed across the screen and I smiled, settling into my chosen seat just a little more comfortably.

About thirty minutes into the movie, I could feel his eyes fixed on me. I turned to look back at him, a brow raised. “What?”

“You know every single line.”

I felt my cheeks burn a little, shrugging it off as I nodded. Answering through a mouth full, “When we were little.. Veronica and I used to watch this movie whenever it was raining or we were sick. We’d get cozy in one of our rooms with snacks and blankets and we’d just like… imagine life being that simple. Doesn’t help that Johnny Castle is - to quote my sister, “Totally your kind of man.” “ I gave a sheepish laugh and took a handful of my fries, raking them through my milkshake.

Sweetpea rose to sit. Leaning in a little. Extending his arm and wiping his thumb over the corner of his mouth as he cleared his throat. “You had some milkshake…” before falling silent all over again. Staring at me for seconds that seemed to stretch infinitely. It  felt like everything fell away. All that remained was that thick tension. The flickering of the candles I’d lit earlier against the wall. The tension got to me. It had everything I wanted to say but couldn’t find the nerve threatening to come out.

“I don’t bite, ya know.” he muttered quietly. Pulling away a little. That look in his eyes again. 

It hit me. He honestly thought I disliked him. Or thought that I was better than him. Nothing could be further from the truth and realizing how he must have felt and what probably fuelled most of the comments and the arguments between us was the fact that he thought I viewed him as a lesser person somehow… that really got to me.

“I, uh.. I didn’t want to crowd you.” I managed to get the words out after a few seconds. Not daring to look at him. Desperate for a rewind button so maybe I could go back in time to when I first met him and salvage everything.

Desperate to tell him how I really felt.

Especially when I remembered what Veronica mentioned earlier about the way Josie just shut him out.

“Oh.”

The movie caught our attention again. After a minute or two of sitting poised right at the edge of the bed like I’d been and longing to really get comfortable, I settled in the sliver of space next to him. Trying not to think about the fact that the bed being as small as it was gave us literally no space and we were forced to touch.

Thirty minutes passed. Sweetpea sat up.

“ I think I get it now.” he muttered.

“Yeah?” I was getting lost in his eyes all over again.

“Mhm.” he affirmed. 

I sat up and so did he. “It’s cheesy as hell, but… I get it. Kinda know how the guy feels.” Sweetpea’s gaze settled on his hands and he chuckled to himself, the sound almost bitter.

“I’m sorry. I heard about you and Josie breaking up.”

“We didn’t. You can’t break up with someone if they never wanted to be with you to begin with.” Sweetpea answered. He tensed up a little and I sighed. Wishing I hadn’t opened my mouth.

That tension between him and I doubled.

In an attempt to make things just a little lighter, I slipped off the bed. Held out my hand.

Sweetpea eyed it warily. 

I insisted, “Oh come on, please? Just one dance. You did say we had to practice. And I dance, so I can definitely tell you that if we don’t at least somewhat connect, we’re going to be awkward and it’s going to look bad.”

Did I really just do that?

The scene where Baby goes to Johnny’s cabin and spends the night was just beginning and I swallowed hard as soon as I glanced back up at Sweetpea and realized that he was staring at the television in a daze. I cleared my throat to get his attention.

“You want me to dance with you.. Like that. Okay.” Sweetpea towered over me. Closing the space between our bodies before I had a chance to back out of what I asked of him. His hands went straight to my hips. Holding my body in place against his as he chuckled, looking down at me. “You’re the one who wanted to dance, princess.”

“Yeah.” I managed to stammer. Breathless. Helpless thanks to the way his fingers dug into my hips and held me against him. But when they started to move up and down my sides, oh… I felt myself shiver at the touch. Melting against him on my own. I’d been trying my best not to give in and do that.

I trained my eyes on the front of his plaid shirt because I didn’t dare look up at him.

His leg slipped between mine and I bit my lip. Breath catching in my throat all over again as I rubbed myself against his thigh. My usual careful,guarded filter was gone.

All I cared about was doing whatever I could to show Sweetpea that what he thought I felt towards him wasn’t true.

His hands settled across my ass. Fingers digging in as he gasped quietly. A groan slipping out as he muttered in a daze, “You really are a good dancer, huh?”

“I, uh… I compete. My parents are huge on pushing my sister and I into competitive activities, whether we want it or not.” I babbled.

It must have bothered him that I wasn’t looking at him because he gripped my jaw, guiding my gaze up. “But you like dancing. I can tell.”

,, maybe it’s just dancing like this with you.” the thought came. I stopped just shy of actually letting it slip out. I sighed and smiled, nodding in agreement. Because that was so much easier than everything else I wanted to do or say. ,, besides,” my brain continued to taunt, “why on Earth is he going to want you when he could have literally anyone else?” and the thought had me pouting a little.

I didn’t think he was aware of it.

“What?” he asked. Tensing a little. Loosening his grip on my body just a little bit. Seeming as if he wanted to step away from me. Before I had the chance to talk myself out of it, I melted against him all over again. Raising my arms to slip them around his neck.

“Nothing.” I answered after a few seconds.

“You were pouting again. That’s kind of a thing you do when you’re upset, you’re not getting your way or you’re annoyed.”

The fact that he picked up on that had me raising a brow. Scoffing. About to argue that I didn’t pout all the time, but keeping quiet because I knew he was right.

But how -and when, had he noticed?

“Dreading the fact that I’m going to get up there on stage and see everyone watching and I will panic.” I muttered quietly because a half truth was better than the whole truth or a complete lie.

If I told him the real reason I’d been pouting, well.. That would’ve opened up a can of worms that I’m not sure about opening. God I want to. But if I just lay it all on the line…

I can’t.

Sweetpea raised a brow. He started to say something but he went quiet on me. Thinking.

“But you’re so loud.” he finally spoke up.

I pouted up at him, giving his chest a light smack. “I ought to step on your foot, sir.”

“Won’t hurt. Boots are steel toe.” Sweetpea smirked as he said it. Sticking his tongue out at me.

He dipped me and I hadn’t been expecting it. I gasped and he chuckled. “Not so bad at this dancing shit, hmm?” he questioned as he pulled me back up. His hands moved up and down my back before settling on my ass again. Squeezing when I rocked myself over his thigh just a little before I could stop myself because what he was doing was getting me worked up.

I sighed a little. Melting all over at the way he touched me and held me. Admitting with a quiet laugh, “You’re actually not. And I can teach you more..” trailing off and going quiet.

“You can, huh?”

His voice was this perfect mix of gravel and silk and I had to clench my thighs just a little. Found myself praying to whatever God might exist that I didn’t get too excited and leave a wet spot behind on his jeans. Because that would definitely seal the embarrassment and awkwardness factor. And I didn’t want that.

I was staring intently at his chest again when he tucked his fingers beneath my chin and tilted my head. “Careful what you say, princess. I might actually take you seriously.”

“I’m being serious. I don’t mind at all.” I babbled and instantly, I wanted to punch myself in the throat for it. This awkward version of myself wasn’t me but for whatever reason, Sweetpea seemed to bring it out. All my insecurities seemed to come rushing to the surface. Taunting me with the knowledge that there was no way he’d ever be interested in me beyond the convenience of a good screw. Knowing that even if he were, something would go wrong somehow.

He dipped me again. This time when he pulled me back up, our faces bumped against each other and when my mouth brushed against his, I couldn’t stop the quiet gasp that came. His fingers dug into my body just a little more and we were staring at each other.

Dazed.

“Pea?”

“What’s up, princess?” he muttered after a second or two. Blinking as if he were trying to focus.

“Nothing.” I muttered. Losing my nerve and my train of thought. Pushing down everything I’d been about to say all over again.

“ Why do you do that? Just say whatever it is you want to say.”

“Oh, I don’t think you want me to do that.” I muttered, mostly to myself. My gaze trained on anything and everything but his. He guided my face up and licked his lips, his eyes darting down. Settling on my mouth. “What if I do?” he muttered in response after a few seconds.

“Okay, fine. I was wondering what..” I trailed off. Frustrated. Laughing at myself and shaking my head. “Forget it. It’s stupid.”

“Tell me, woman. Damn.” his tone was firm and I swallowed hard as I looked up at him.

He was going to keep at it until I said something and right now, I was drawing a blank on any other convenient things I could say that were less controversial than what I’d stopped myself from saying.

,, maybe if you say it, he’ll know that you don’t hate him.” the thought came.

I took a deep breath. Shaky.

“I was wondering what your kiss feels like.” I muttered, my voice dropping so low that for a second, I didn’t think he heard me.

His jaw dropped. One hand left my ass and raised. Dragging through thick dark hair as he tugged. His mouth opening and closing.

“What? You kept asking… I.. You don’t have to. I didn’t want to make it weird.” I babbled nervously. When he started to chuckle, I looked up at him with a brow raised. “Gee, thanks.” I pouted.

Stepping away. Because if I didn’t put some distance between us right then, I was going to keep digging the hole deeper.

He reached out and grabbed me by the hips, pulling me against him all over again. Rocking himself into me clumsily. His face inching closer and closer to my own. Our mouths were on a collision course and neither of us bothered to stop it from happening. His lips settled against the corner of my mouth clumsily. His tongue traced the outline of my lips and I shivered and melted against him like I’d been before. Clinging. My arms around his neck again. Fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck before settling my hand across to rest and pull his mouth back against mine.

My lips parted, granting him access. His tongue slipped past my lips and he melted into me this time. Deepening the kiss. Using his grip on my ass to pull me up his body slightly. I sighed as the kiss broke, my tongue rolling over kiss swollen lips. Staring at him as I tried to wrap my head around what just happened.

How badly I wanted it to happen again.

“Well?”

I bit my lip. Trying to formulate words. Anything. My brain must have short-circuited because I came up with nothing, despite all the opening and closing of my mouth as I attempted to answer.

I’m not sure what possessed me to do it or why I thought it was a good idea, but I was grabbing hold of the back of his neck. Pulling his mouth back against mine greedily. Taking total control of the kiss this time around. Making him chuckle into the kiss. 

As we pulled apart to breathe, he repeated his question.

“Better than my wildest dreams.” I blurted out quietly.

“So you dream about kissing me?” he asked, tucking his fingers beneath my chin so that I couldn’t do what I tended to when a subject got to be too uncomfortable for me… I swallowed hard and admitted in a hushed tone, “Among other things.”

He growled out the word “Fuck.” and pulled me up his body completely. Deepening the kiss to a point where I almost forgot to breathe a time or two. I could feel myself getting light-headed. The kiss broke and we pulled apart, breathing heavily. I melted against him, dazed. Still trying to get my head around the turn the night had taken.

“It’s getting late, princess.”

“It is.”

“I should probably get you home.”

I pouted a little. Holding onto him just a little tighter. “Unfortunately.” I muttered.

He scooped me off the table and carried me out of the bunker. Sitting me on the back of his motorcycle. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned against his back, the Serpent patch scratching at my skin a little.

The drive back to the Pembrooke took almost no time and as soon as his motorcycle stopped at the curb, I pouted a little. Rolling my eyes at the literal ivory tower.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” I asked as I slipped off the back of his motorcycle.

 He grabbed hold of my hips, pulling me against him. Leaning down and stealing another deep kiss. “Mhm. Definitely, princess.”

I practically floated up the stairs leading into the lobby of the building. And I leaned against the wall, waiting on the elevator. Trying to pull myself together. Smiling like an idiot.

[thatiranianphantom]

If you had to assign each riverdale main character a Song from a musical to sing, what would your choices be 🤣

Please understand that I THE OPPOSITE OF FORGOT ABOUT THIS.

In fact, I had to give it its due time, as all musical questions deserve. Thus, I present you with this, and I am going ahead and assuming you mean a song that fits the character, because I don't think I could listen to these people actually sing these songs. I don't need them to be butchering any more of my favorite songs.

Also this gave me the opportunity to look through the musical genre tag on my music and I had SO much fun with that. I really could not decide what to listen to next, I rediscovered so many old faves, so thank you, Anon!

Archie - Dechire. Look, I know this is niche. This is from Notre Dame de Paris, an excellent but older musical that is usually performed in French (please watch it in French. Use English subtitles if needed but god does it lose something in translation). This is basically a character just whining that it's totally not his fault that two women love him, like can he help it that he's a normal guy? Whatever will he do, when their both hot and want him? It's perfect.

Veronica - Pity the Child from Chess. This is usually sung by a male vocalist but I think she could do a great job of it. If they're not going to give her a plot outside her parents, we may as well make the song on that theme. She could also kick ass on The I Love You Song from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Betty - She Used To Be Mine (please listen to it by Shoshana Bean, it's MAGICAL) or Anything Worth Holding Onto

Jughead - I've ALWAYS wanted to hear him sing Michael In The Bathroom from Be More Chill. Like, not hear Cole sing it, but it's such a Jughead song, especially early Jughead?

Cheryl - Congratulations (Hamilton). I just like to imagine Cheryl ripping someone to shreds with this. Like, really. Alternatively, maybe There Are Worse Things I Could Do from Grease?

Toni - I dunno - she could sing There's a Fine, Fine Line from Avenue Q?

Alice - While I don't want her to SING it, I think Someone Else's Story from Chess could fit her well. It's all about past regrets with shitty spouses. Would work well.

Hiram - Oh he's such a dramatic bitch, he HAS to sing Last Midnight from Into The Woods.

Fred - Oh, I'd LOVE for him to sing How It Ends from Big Fish. One of my personal faves and it's just kinda all about living a good if quiet life.

Penelope - GUYS. Master of the House from Les Mis. Picture it. Just picture it. Because now I can't stop.

Kevin - Y'all know I had to give the best singer a song from Bare, right? Fangs has an awful voice, but I'd accept a duet on a song like the title song, just by virtue of Kevin's voice being so good. He could also sing Are You There or Role of a Lifetime. GOD I would die if he sang Role of a Lifetime.

God, please discuss this with me, people. Even if you're just there to tell me how wrong I am. Also if someone wants to make me a Penelope Blossom gifset to Master of the House they'd be my absolute fave

[just-another-ficwriter]

Zuko

Pairing: Reader x Sweet Pea

Words: 700ish

Warnings: Mild swearing

Summary: When Sweet Pea’s first day at Riverdale High goes from bad to worse, he mistake’s Y/N’s kindness for something else. But he wasn’t prepared for her fiery attitude that rivals his own.

Notes: Based on a requested by @elliemaemusicals, I hope you like it hun!

 Sweet Pea had spent the whole morning encouraging the others in an attempt to convince them this transfer was a good idea.

He wishes he hadn’t bothered now.

They’d arrived to a full-blown protest, he could barely keep up in maths, he’d almost ended up in a fight before 10am. And now a cheerleader, whose temper was as fiery as her hair, had made a scene about him sitting next to her in class, and of course he’d been the one thrown out.

He’d desperately wanted this to be a fresh start, an opportunity to actually make something of his life but the damn Northsiders couldn’t even let him have that.

“Are you okay?” Your voice makes him jump; he’d been so wrapped up in his own thoughts he hadn’t seen you coming. “If you’re lost, I could help you find your class?”

“Like I’d accept help from a Northsider like you.” He scoffs. For a second it stuns him how fast your warm y/e/c eyes turn into an icy stare. It should make him feel bad, but it doesn’t.

“I live on the Southside jackass.” Your nose scrunches up at his remark and you can’t help but bite back.

“Funny.” He chuckles humourlessly, but his face is far from amused. You don’t get the joke either.

“Excuse me for not dressing like I’m auditioning for Grease.” He doesn’t get a chance to argue back before your walking away.

Any other day he’d be impressed.

-

The bustling atmosphere in the Wyrm during Winter months has quickly become one of Sweet Pea’s favourite holiday traditions. He spots Toni scolding Fangs for his wrapping and can’t help but chuckle while he walks towards them. He’s about to make some kind of joke when he notices a familiar face a few tables over.

“What’s her deal?” He nods in your direction.

“Y/N?” Toni follows his gaze before turning back with an eyebrow raised. “She helps out most years normally with meals on wheels but this year she volunteered to help here instead.”

“She’s from the Southside?” He feels his cheeks turning pink, the heat rising to the tips of his ears. “Why haven’t I seen her before?”

“Probably something to do with how strict her parents are.” Toni shrugs, half paying attention. “They aren’t Serpents and I guess they thought Southside High was too dangerous, so they sent her to Riverdale High instead.”

-

“Y/N?” There’s a slight hesitation in his voice when he approaches you, worrying about whether you might bite his head off. He wouldn’t blame you if you did.

“What’s up Zuko?” There’s a sparkle in your eyes when you tease him, and he can’t help but smile. It only grows bigger when you smirk at him.

“Has anyone told you how annoying you can be princess?” He playfully rolls his eyes and you don’t miss the added nickname.

“It might have been mentioned once or twice.” You tilt your head to the side, teeth biting at your bottom lip.

He starts to pick things up from the box on the table, inspecting them just to do something with his hands and have an excuse not to look straight at you. “I guess I owe you an apology for the other day, huh?”

“You can start by helping me wrap these gifts.” You shove tape into his chest before winking at him. “And then you can buy me a milkshake at Pops.”

“Deal, but I have a question first?” He moves a little closer to you, noticing the way your breath hitches. It’s a nice distraction from how fast his heart is beating and the way his eyes linger a little longer on your lips than they should. “If I’m Danny, does that make you Sandy?”

“We’ll see, stud.” You close the gap between you, and for a fleeting moment he stupidly thinks you might kiss him until you’re pushing him away laughing and telling him to get to work.

Sweet Pea Masterlist

Forever Taglist: @p-marie-sp

Sweet Pea Taglist: @80sand90simagine @wildberryyyy @hopelesslylosttheway

[ifonlyweknewwhatiwasdoing]

So. I'm curious if you'd agree with the following: Do you think that Omega heats are basically date rape drugs?

Um well.. if we were to talk about everything wrong with A/B/O we would be here for literally forever, right?

Because inherently everything about it is dystopic and I feel like it's become a allegory for a lot of different civil movements.

So like in that retrospect, things that forced heat would 100% be akin to like GHB or roofies or what have you.

But the heat itself? Idk man. It's something that happens with non-human animals all the time and you don't really call that date-rape right?

But like as humans we've got this level of unserstanding that not very many animals do so like heat in a human would be particularly different and I think it also depends on what we are defining as heat, right? Because across fiction it's written different.

Hell between different stories from the same author it's different (even for me personally) but like what's the allegory for it then?

Is it like being horny? Or like alcohol/drugs where you're compromised? And can it be defined as date-rape if it's your own body doing it as opposed to an outside source? Like GHB is only date rape if THATS what it's being used for. Same as Ketamine. Actually most date rape drugs have other purposes, right?

And then there's a ton of consent issues for both parties. Like if someone is in heat and you fuck them are they considered unable to consent like if a woman was drunk? If someone's heat scent is affecting you does that mean you aren't able to consent? And is a scent the same thing as a drug? Because hormone therapy is prescribed but it's not used for something like this so we don't know.

Like A/B/O is hugely problematic but I think most people cling to it for a few different reasons that would take too long to outline tbh.

I think what I'm getting at is like no? Not exactly?

Is it inherently flawed? Absolutely.

Is it unequal? Of course.

Is it fiction? 👈👈👈👈

I think that's the most important thing to consider. It's fiction and a lot of people use fiction to process their own trauma in a safe space. Or maybe they just like it. But it's tagged and that's their call. I think if it's not conducive to your journey then by all means skip it. But some people enjoy it because it's fiction.

You wouldn't enjoy the Hunger Games if it was real.

You wouldn't enjoy Grease if it was real.

You wouldn't enjoy Riverdale if it was real.

Because it's fiction it's enjoyable. I think that's a super important distinction.

So I hope this...helped I guess? Because it's a very interesting conundrum that you've asked about and this isn't intended to be abrasive but really to kind of break it down.

-Marie

[beebleboosuwu]

Alright.

There are a lot of conflicting emotions about having The Music Man kicking out Beetlejuice from the Winter Garden. Although I am bitter that one of my favourite musicals is being replaced in favour of money and two big names is just.. not sitting right, but I am open to everything and trying to look at everything with open eyes and an unbiased opinion.

Did Will Blum’s influence this a little? Yes.

Was the post a little unsound and unprofessional? I think so but it brought up some great points.

Yes, I agree. The fact that you are selling a name instead of a GREAT show is disrespect to the source material. Hugh Jackman is an awesome guy and his tenure as the Boy From Oz is forever embedded into Broadway his(her)story as being a stepping stone for Hugh’s career. Also you have Broadway star, Sutton Foster, another big name who, if you are a theatre lover, can’t help but fawn and scream in excitement.

We all know and love Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine/James Howlett/ Logan, that’s what people associate him as such. Fun fact he played that role from 2000-2018. Wolverine is known to be big, all muscle and raw strength, but in the theatre world we know him as a musical theatre actor. Jackman first claim to  international's fame was in 1999 when he played the leading man, Curly McLain, in the film adaptation of Oklahoma! He played the titular character Peter Allen in Boy from Oz in 2004 which he won a Tony for and Jean Valjean in the film adaptation of Les Miserables in 2012 while that wasn't the best adaptation of that musical, they did include Broadway and West End actors which was awesome! And lastly the most recent entry musical/film role was P.T Barnum in The Greatest Showman, Jackman went on tour last year singing songs from The Greatest Showman and some other songs from other musicals he previously worked in. He is an amazing vocalist, actor and dancer. His performance in Boy From Oz says as such in a review by Charles Isherwood: praising Jackman but panned the show: "Jackman is giving a vital and engaging performance in this pitifully flimsy musical almost in spite of the material he’s been handed. It’s a sad waste of an exciting talent." I’m pumped.

Sutton Foster is a Broadway actress that is well known for her two-time Tony award winning performance as Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has also roles from other shows such as: Chess, Funny Girl, Les Miserables, Anything Goes, Grease and MANY more. I knew her best as Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes, her vocals are nothing but extraordinary and her acting is nothing to sleep on, she is an excellent dancer and I cannot help to try and recreate in my bedroom when I’m alone. You can say all you want about her, but she is one of the Broadway actresses I know from the top of my head, alongside Patti LuPone, Sierra Boggess and Liza Minelli. She is also the younger sister of Hunter Foster of Little Shop of Horrors and Urinetown fame. Foster is going to be amazing as Jackman's partner in the upcoming production and honestly as a fan, I am so excited! 

They are both triple threats but.. no one knows a lot about the Music Man. It is a classic and has been around since the late 50′s.

Broadway, coming into the new decade of 2020, is becoming more MODERN. All these new musicals that have come out during this past decade might not have made it to Broadway but they are more aligned with the changing times and modern settings. Though there are musicals based on films from the 80′s that reach out to that generation and reintroduce them into that mind space they were in back in the day.

American Idiot, great musical, angsty music but has that throwback niche to that rebellious stage some, or not most, of us went through in the 2000′s.

Elf, that also starred Will Blum at one point, is fan service to those who love the holiday season and those who loved the film that came out in 2003. I haven't listened to it yet BUT I WILL EVENTUALLY.

Heathers, we all love the Heathers. Also Winona Ryder, who played Lydia Deetz in the 1988 Beetlejuice film, starred as Veronica Sawyer. Like Elf, IT BRINGS INTEREST TO THAT GENERATION SO THEY COULD BUY TICKETS TO THIS SHOW THAT WAS BASED ON A FILM THEY WATCHED AS TEENS. Also can we just forget about the horrible rendition of Candy Store done by the cast of Riverdale? That never happened. NEVER. HAPPENED.

Beetlejuice, Come From Away, Ghost, Once, Book of Mormon, Finding Neverland, Newsies, Kinky Boots, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Big Fish, 21 Chump Street, Amélie, Be More Chill, Hamilton, Head Over Heels, Lazarus, School of Rock, Something Rotten!, Tuck Everlasting, Waitress, Anastasia, Hadestown, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Prom, Ain’t Too Proud, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Frozen, Mean Girls, Six, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Lightning Thief, Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge!, The Cher Show, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, & Juliet, Mrs. Doubtfire.

These are SOME of the MANY shows that came out this decade!

Some musicals are entirely satirical so that was a niche for audiences who love the weird and messed up humour, some musicals are named after the films or shows they were based off of. So old audiences can take interest into coming to Broadway, okay I get that because again, nostalgia, some are entirely original or had little to no source material! Some are based around history, some about civil rights issues and some of them are jukebox musicals that appeal to people who like those artists.

Broadway has always been conservative and prefers to play it safe when it comes to opening a new productions and the dominant audiences have been older and more traditional. So that stereotypical Broadway show people think of is just that, the lead character getting their “want song” in, a lot of dancing, internal or external conflict that ultimately gets resolved with cheerful songs and set pieces. Although newer audiences want those boundary pushing shows so CAN get introduced to musicals like the Music Man, it means nothing if they were never introduced to the strange and unusual first. Everyone wants to advance to find that next big thing but they can’t do that when it is all safe but we did get some of them with Cats, Beetlejuice, Carrie, Matilda The Addams Family and more.

I totally get the interest of bringing back a musical that hasn’t been on Broadway for 20 years (last performance was in 2000) and it is a great way to reintroduce an old piece back into the world again, but it was at the expense of new artists making their Broadway dream a reality. The decision to evict, not close, evict Beetlejuice from the Winter Garden was a big mistake by the Schubert Organization. The Schubert Organization is one of the biggest landlord of theatres in New York, they at least own 17 Broadway theatres. Here’s the reason why they’re so successful:

They don’t keep shows that don't bring the cold hard cash. It’s show business, it has always been about the business and never about the show. As much as we could scream and shout to keep Beetlejuice in the Winter Garden all we want, it is unfortunately their decision to keep them or boot them out. We all know that productions have to be approved by a theatre organization so that production can be leant one of their many theatres, they show also had to keep up a total of sales from tickets above that number per week. As all of you know, that’s what happened with Beetlejuice. Ticket sales dried up and fell way below the amount. There was talk around the theatre community that a production of the Music Man was in the works with Hugh Jackman as the lead. So... they saw Beetlejuice as dead weight and sought out to cash in on Hugh Jackman’s name and fame.

There was a lot of problems from the show but most of their problems came from the critics. Mixed reviews was all the show got but the biggest blows came from the New York Times and Ben Brantley saying that the show never came to that same conclusion of home and belonging like other Broadway shows. This killed their ticket sales cause everyone goes through those reviews before they see a show. However that’s the thing, Beetlejuice never wanted that. The entire creative team and the cast knew that what they had was entirely unconventional, like it was their way sticking of the middle finger at the word conventional.

There's no doubt that the Music Man, Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster and the cast and creative team will be amazing at the Winter Garden and it is highly unfortunate that the eviction of Beetlejuice was done for the sake of financial greed. I’m glad they were only evicted and not closed, the show IS still on and the public demand for the show is high. I know a lot of us hate the decision but what could you do? It’s all about the business aspect of Broadway and never the show.

Even though Beetlejuice had its problems with its opening following the Harvey Weinstein controversy, having the Music Man revival during this time of political conflict is a little awkward. Let’s trade a sexual, murderous demon for a eulogized conman.. that seems right.

I’m sure the show will be fantastic but the circumstances leading up to the opening is shady and not shining a good light for the Schubert Organization but lets not hate the actors and the creative team of the Music Man, they didn't do anything wrong. Instead, point that dislike to corporate greed, but is okay. The show is not closed and is only evicted from the theatre. Eventually they will find a new theatre on or off Broadway for everyone’s enjoyment again! Also that National Tour is coming up in Fall 2021 I believe, I personally can’t just fly to New York but I will be watching the National Tour if it does roll by where I live.

Keep safe my friends 💚🤍🖤

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Greaser Serpents | Part 2

A/N: I’m planning on doing a five-parter for this one as I love it way too much already. I’ve had a few people asking to be in the tag list, so, if you want to be in the taglist too, just lemme know! :) 

Pairing: Sweet Pea x OC (Luna Simmons) 

Words: 3054

Warnings: none

It’s been a good week of rehearsals, and Luna has learned to live with the fact that she has to pretend to love the Southside Serpent that’s become her love interest in the musical they’re doing at Riverdale High. To be completely and truly honest, the entire process of rehearsing and singing and dancing with the entire cast has been so much fun thus far. Even with the Serpents.  “Okay, Luna, I absolutely love everything about that!” Kevin comments when they’ve finished the scene at the peprally where Sandy and Danny see each other again, but Danny’s being a dick about it. “You’re all amazing!” the director exclaims, overexcitedly. “Let’s take five and then we’re doing Greased Lightning,” the entire cast nods and Kevin looks at them for a moment, taking everything in. He’s proud of this entire cast. Proud of him for picking out the right people for the right characters.  Luna as Sandy and Sweet Pea as Danny has been the best idea he’s ever had. Even though they hate each other, the chemistry between them is undeniable. Betty’s the perfect Marty, and Rizzo’s the role of Veronica’s life. Toni as Frenchy and Midge as Jan is the most perfect casting ever. The T-birds are well-cast too. Archie as Kenickie, Jughead as Doody, Fangs as Sonny and Reggie as Putzie. Cheryl plays Patty Simcox and Josie would be Chacha. He had never been prouder of a casting as he was of this one. Those roles are made for his friends and there was no lie in that. 

“Can we rehearse lines together tonight?” Betty asks when she and Luna go to sit down in the auditorium. They want to watch the boys perform Greased Lightning and wait for Kevin’s notes on previous scenes too. Luna convinces herself she’s staying to see Archie and Jughead do one of her favorite songs, but in reality, she just wants to see Sweet Pea doing it.  “Yeah, sure! I wanted to ask you to help me with the reprise of Look at me I’m Sandra Dee at the end anyway,” Luna whispers to Betty as Kevin calls action on the boys. Sweet Pea stands in his spot, right next to a block of wood where the car will be during the actual play. For now, the wood would do.  “Why this car could be systematic,” Sweet Pea begins as he takes his Serpent jacket off with the beat of the music that began to play at the same time.  “Hydromatic, ultramatic,” he throws away his jacket and jumps on a table next to the block of wood. Luna’s breath hitches in her throat as she watches him. His biceps flex at every move he makes, and sends shivers down her spine for some reason. Every time he performs one of the songs and his beautiful voice and amazing dancemoves are shown, Luna gets weak in the knees and hates the person he is a little bit less.  “We'll get some overhead lifters and four barrel quads, oh yeah,” Sweet Pea sings in a deep, sultry voice, matching the actual voice of John Travolta. “Keep talking, woah, keep talking” Archie sings his line. “A fuel injection cut off and chrome plated rods, oh yeah,” “I'll get the money, I'll kill to get the money” Archie sings again from his spot on the block. “With a four-speed on the floor, they'll be waitin' at the door You know that it ain't shit, we'll be gettin' lots of tit, greased lightnin'” “Go go go, go go go go go go go go,” All the boys sing as they run towards the wooden block. Fangs, Archie, Reggie and Jughead in front and next to the block, Sweet Pea on top. “Go, greased lightnin', you're burnin' up the quarter mile.” “Greased lightnin', go, greased lightnin'” seeing the boys do the iconic dance moves makes Luna smile a little. This is going to be the greatest musical Riverdale High has ever done. During the instrumental bit, the boys o the choreography Toni had taught them as Sweet Pea hops off the wood and does whatever he’s supposed to do as choreography as well. His eyes meet Luna’s, and he gives her a wink. His biceps flex again, weakening her. They sing the last bit and end up in their pose on the wooden block. “Alright, guys! Let’s get to work!” Sweet Pea says his last line before the girls and Kevin in the audience begin cheering. Luna’s eyes are glued on her Serpent co-star and his glance lands on her as well. He gives her a little smile, and inside even melts a little at the look she’s giving him. Her eyes sparkle. Something has shifted inside her that made her stop looking at him with absolute hatred in her eyes. For some reason, her hazel eyes suddenly look lighter. “Amazing, guys!” Kevin tells them with a wide, toothpaste-commercial-like smile. “Let’s call it a day and assemble tomorrow for the epic dance scene!” he informs them, and everyone starts packing up. Sweet Pea walks up to Luna, leaving all of his friends to head home without him. She smiles up at him as she puts her bag over her shoulder. “How about I treat you to a milkshake at Pop’s and we can go over some lines together?” he suggests with a little smile. Her eyes glance over to Betty, who’s heard what the guy asked, and she gives her neighbor a little nod. They could do their lines some other time. Right now, it’s more important that the two get along. And maybe even a little more. “Yeah, sure,” Luna replies with a smile and the two head outside school together. Outside, it’s chucking down rain, almost making it impossible to see one foot in front of them. “Okay, my car is at the back of the parking lot,” Luna mumbles, annoyed at herself for not coming to school earlier so she’d have a better spot. “Whatever we do, we’re going to get soaking wet,” Sweet Pea mumbles. A smirk appears on Luna’s face as she looks up at the tall Serpent, her glance lingering on the tattoo on his neck. He looks down at her, realizing what she’s thinking, and his expression falters, “Not like that,” he scoffs, rolling his eyes. Luna giggles a little, shaking her head. “Let’s just make a run for it, shall we?” she suggests with a little sigh. Sweet Pea hums in agreement and, as if on automatic, grabs Luna’s hand in his before dashing off into the rain and dragging the Northsider girl with him. Giggles and loud laughs fill the air, almost muting the pattering rain on the pavement. “Get inside!” Luna yells as she lets go of the boy’s hand and clicks the button on her key to open the car. Both of them get inside, each of them soaking wet, but still laughing through it. “Fuck, that’s cold,” Sweet Pea mutters, wiping his hair back that’s now sticking to his head. That beautiful curl that normally sits on his forehead is gone. “Let’s get to Pop’s,” Luna nods and starts her car, driving off through the rain and to their favorite diner.

“Hello, Luna,” Pop greets her with a smile as he arrives at the booth the two had taken a seat in. The blonde girl smiles up at the old man, happy to see him again. “The usual?” Sweet Pea looks at the girl in front of him, a tender smile on his face. Northsiders are so weird with their usual orders at the diner, but it’s kind of sweet too. “Just the strawberry milkshake today, Pop,” she tells him before glancing to the boy. “A vanilla milkshake for me, please,” Sweet Pea orders, looking at the old man now. Luna’s eyebrows furrow. She never expected a serpent like him to be the vanilla-milkshake type. “And some fries to share,” he adds quickly with a smile. Pop nods and leaves the kids alone. Luna still stares at Sweet Pea, the confused look still plastered on her face. “What?” he asks, blushing only a tiny bit. “Nothing, I just didn’t take you for the vanilla-type,” she shrugs and leans back in her seat. “I guess you just don’t know me that well,” Sweet Pea leans forward, his elbows resting on the table in front of him. Luna opens her mouth to say something, but then closes it again. “You might be right. We’re playing the main roles in a musical and have to pretend to be hopelessly devoted to each other, but we don’t even know one another,” she says, more to herself than to Sweet Pea. The guy chuckles and wants to say something, but Pop handing the milkshake and fries interferes with that.   “Thanks, Pop,” Sweet Pea tells the man and Luna gives him a thankful smile before taking the metal straw between her teeth. “So, tell me something about you,” he nudges, staring in her eyes as she looks up from her milkshake. He pops a fry into his mouth. “Why don’t you say what you think about me?” she suggests on playing a game. “Ok…” he mumbles and sips from his beverage once, “I think you’re this clean-cut, straight A-student who has been living on the Northside her entire life. You live in this pastel-pink world where your parents love and pamper you to death and your friends live close to you and you spend every waking hour with them. Or that’s what you want people to think…” he trails off at the last part, his eyes scanning her face. Her flawless face with the freckles decorating her nose and cheeks, and her hazelnut bright eyes. Luna chuckles. “Almost,” she replies and takes a deep breath, “My parents don’t really have time for me as they’re too busy building their empire with Hiram Lodge, which I strongly disagree to, by the way. I tried to stop them, believe me, but I’ve failed,” Sweet Pea shifts in his seat at the mention of Hiram Lodge. He’s the reason why his school was shut down and will be closed soon. “I get straight A’s, but I don’t study that much, I have a gift, people tell me,” she scoffs a little at that. She has no clue how she gets straight A’s without studying for it, but it just happens. “I only ever see my friends at school, except for Betty. She lives next door, so I see her every now and then outside of school too,” Sweet Pea listens intently, a smile tugging at his lips. “Your turn,” he then says and takes another sip from his milkshake while she pops a fry in her mouth. She chews for a moment, thinking about what to stay whilst scanning his face. “You’re this tough-looking guy with the intimidating looks and the aggression and violence, but in reality, you’re actually this big soft teddy bear who cares about his friends and family and would literally die for them,” she rambles, leaving Sweet Pea speechless. “Did I get something wrong?” she asks, raising an eyebrow and grabbing a few fries. “Not at all,” he mumbles, a little shocked she got that spot-on, “I don’t really have a family anymore though, not by blood, I mean. The Serpents are my family. And I know you hate us, and you don’t like our laws, but they took me in when I lost my parents in a tragic accident. I never really thought about leaving them. They’ve raised me and I don’t know anything else but that family and their laws. Even if it makes people hate me,” he explains truthfully. Luna stops in her tracks for a moment and stares at the vulnerable Sweet Pea in front of her. “That’s actually really sweet, Sweet Pea,” she chuckles, “No pun intended.” The boy laughs at that a little and grabs a few more fries. The two talk about their lives for a moment, really getting to know each other. For some bizarre reason, Luna feels attracted to him all of a sudden. It’s like a weird connection has grown between them. Like they now see each other in a completely different light and every single drop of hatred they had towards each other, is just gone. Poof. Like that. With only one milkshake and a shared portion of fries. That’s until a couple of Serpents decide to ruin the party.

“What do we have here?” Fangs asks with a smirk as he and a couple other Serpents reach their table. Luna looks at Sweet Pea for a moment, and she can tell he’s getting embarrassed for being caught with a Northsider at Pop’s. “We’re just rehearsing lines, Fogarty,” Sweet Pea grumbles, his fist clenching on the table. “Over milkshakes and fries?” he asks, “This looks more like a date than anything else,” Fangs laughs, making the other Serpents laugh too as if on cue. Luna rolls her eyes at the Serpents, sick of their attitude all the time. They may be family, but they’re still annoying as hell. And most of all, she hates how they treat Northsiders. How they treat her. “It’s nothing, Fangs. You really think I would go on a date with a Northsider?” Sweet Pea asks, only to break Luna’s heart a little. She actually feels it break then and there. Physical pain courses through her chest, and she’d much rather be at home rehearsing lines with Betty instead of this gross, toxic masculinity-filled asshole. Fangs looks at Luna for a moment, feeling sorry for her. She actually seems nice. Why can’t Sweet Pea stand up for her like he should? He knows they’re only teasing him. “Sorry, bro,” Fangs holds up his hands in defense, “You’re coming to the Whyte Wyrm for a game of pool?” Sweet Pea’s eyes glance over at Luna. She’d sunk into her seat, arms crossed and glaring at him. If looks could kill, Sweet Pea would be bleeding to death now. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a moment,” he replies, his voice low. Fangs and the Serpents go to the counter to grab their order from Pop and leave the co-stars alone in the booth. “Luna, I—” he begins to make up some lame excuse, but Luna isn’t having any of it. “You’re always going to be the same, aren’t you?” she asks, “You open up to me about your family and make me believe you’re actually this sweet, vulnerable guy when in reality you’re just the typical chauvinistic macho who thinks he could make girls go weak in the knees,” Sweet Pea sinks in his seat, head hung low. “Isn’t that true, Sweet Pea? Well, sucks for you, but I’m not one of those girls who would fall for your macho-traits. I’m not Sandy,” she stands up, grabbing her bag and shaking her head at him as he’s sulking into his embarrassment. “See you at rehearsals,” she mumbles before leaving him at the diner. Sweet Pea sighs deeply, shaking his head at what had just happened. He hates himself for letting the girl go. For once, he was opening up to someone, letting someone see a more vulnerable side of him. She finally stopped looking at him  like he was a culprit, a criminal. She finally looked at him like he was human.  “Stranded at the drivin', branded a fool What will they say Monday at school?” he mumbles his lines from his solo song. He wanted to rehearse that scene with Luna, but since that won’t happen anymore, he might as well rehearse the song on his own. “Sandy, can't you see I'm in misery? We made a start, now we're apart There's nothing left for me,” he gets up from his seat, whacks some cash on the table and leaves the diner. Fangs looks at him for a moment, sympathy arising inside of him. This is all his fault. He shouldn’t have come between the two.   “Love has flown, all alone I sit and wonder why yi-yi-yi Oh why you left me, oh Sandy, oh Sandy,” he thinks about the conversation they just had and how he could be so stupid to let Fangs get underneath his skin. He could’ve just told him the truth. He could’ve told her the truth. “Baby, someday, when high school is done Somehow, someway, our two worlds will be one In heaven forever and ever we will be Oh, please say you'll stay, oh, Sandy” He walks towards the Northside and stops at Riverdale High where he sees Luna with her friends, talking. She seems angry, probably yelling at Betty about what had happened at the diner. Tears come rushing down her cheeks, and he’s left wondering whether they’re tears of anger or sadness. “Sandy, my darlin' You hurt me real bad You know it's true But, baby, you gotta believe me when I say I'm helpless without you” The boy now makes his way towards the auditorium where he continues to sing his solo. For once in the entire rehearsing-process, he’s really feeling what he’s singing. For once, he’s truly realizing that the crush on his co-star might not just be a crush. But he can’t date a Northsider, can he? He’s a Southside Serpent. He would be ridiculed, and she would be bullied into joining the Serpents and thus doing the dance. “Love has flown, all alone, I sit I wonder why yi-yi-yi, Oh why You left me, Oh Sandy Sandy, Sandy Why yi-yi-yi” She can’t do the Serpent dance. No one is supposed to see her like that. Not before he has. Not before he has told her what he truly feels for her. How the hatred he felt towards her, has disappeared the moment she began singing that first day of rehearsals. “Oh Sandy,” he mumbles the last words with his hands in his hair. Applause makes him jump out his thoughts, his eyes wide as he looks into the audience. “I’m glad you’re rehearsing on your own, man,” Kevin tells him with a smile, “Wish everyone was as dedicated as you.” He’s oblivious to what had just happened. Oblivious to the feelings Sweet Pea has for Luna. Oblivious to what he sang was actually felt deep inside of him.

Taglist: @iamaunicorn4704, @cvvlxx

[rigginsstreet]

b-bike shop 🥺 say more

ive just been thinking about fp having to travel around for the army until he eventually leaves/gets kicked out. and he has the choice to go back to riverdale where theres nothing but painful memories and a dead end future or.... he could go somewhere else. and the pacific northwest has good vibes for him i feel like he’d really fit in there

but of course this means he left fred behind but he rationalized it as being for the best. the longer he stayed in the army the less they communicated anyway so he figured fred probably didnt miss him that much by the time he got out and fp was sure fred wouldve found a girl by then, would be on his way to settling down if he wasnt there already

so he starts up a new life for himself. works a few odd jobs before deciding to start up his own shop fixing and selling motorcycles. gets himself a nice little place by the water, gets a dog that hes always got at the shop with him. hires a spunky young lady to work up front while hes in the back fixing bikes. gets himself a nice little thing going. makes some friends. never actually has any long term relationships but he has his fair share of hook ups to keep him busy. isnt really looking for much more. wont really admit why even to himself

and fred... fred has not been able to let go either. not that hes been like wallowing over fp for years. hes done his best to move on. has actually found himself in relationships that lasted a good while but ended for one reason or another. and maybe it has something to do with the fact hes always kind of searching for fp everywhere he goes. he does some traveling every now and then, mostly for work. always finds some construction related convention to go to, some business thing. always finds himself walking around foreign towns, and when he spots little businesses with jones in the name, no matter what it is, his heart skips a few beats and he thinks maybe todays the day he’ll see him again. 

but of course it never is. and fred knows hes being ridiculous wishing for impossible things but...

he finds himself in oregon. is walking along the streets, killing time. sees a shop at the corner: JONES CUSTOM BIKES. and it feels a little too good to be true, but fred doesnt want to get his hopes up. cant stop himself from going inside, either.

he goes inside, is greeted by the girl at the front desk. all tattoos and bright hair and warm smile. asks if she can help him with anything. and freds nervous as shit, like he always is when he does this. gets up the nerve to ask if the owners around. thinks briefly about leaving while the girls gone to the back, leaving him out front alone. 

fp steps out wiping grease from his hands, too focused on that to see who was asking for him. until fred speaks. says fps name all breathless and almost disbelieving. and fp stops in his tracks. looks up like a deer in headlights. and neither of them really know what to do, how to greet each other after so long, after fp just... left. but maybe they find themselves in a tight embrace. too stunned to say anything. fighting back tears. so much to say...

but they end up making plans for dinner to catch up. which lands them at fps place after. which leads to fred forgetting about his hotel room for the rest of his stay. which leads to a really hard goodbye when fp drops fred off at the airport

and from there... who knows. whose to say. i dont know

[phoebestarks]

diana for the headcannon ask?

yesss yes yes diana my beloved <333

literally hates most of the riverdale men, jughead especially. (preface - she didn't hate him when they were younger but she thinks she's a pretentious douchebag (a la 'the social network'))

she used to have a crush on veronica for a little when she first showed up but got over it quickly bc of *blech* aRcHiEkInSsSs

she wants to go on broadway once she graduates (she does in the time jump) and her dream roles are christine canigula (yes...i know i was a bmc fan) and she'd love to play eponine in a les mis revival (which she does and gets nommed for a tony for!!)

when she's drunk once at a party she kinda figures out who the black hood is but everyone's like "diana...u are off ur fucking rocker he is not the black hood" soooo whoops

her favorite movies are la la land & grease!!

she's in the school's production of heathers: the musical and gets to play martha! (although i would put her as heather mac but veronica's connected to lifeboat sooooo yeah also i know that she should logically play someone else but kindergarten boyfriend is connected to the plot so it's a must)

only gets vanilla milkshakes from pop's. betty forces her to try chocolate once and diana like....does not approve GSJDG

not a headcanon but diana technically would end up w betty if @megdonnellys's lena didn't exist SGJGEHE

send an oc you'd like to know better for some headcanons about them!

[reggierightsactivism]

4, 18, 22!

Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

I like both these parts from Like A Tough Guy Would: 

Sometimes, though, he starts talking again even before he’s aware that it’s happening.

“Hey Munroe,” he starts, catching a rogue black olive and piling it on a stray piece of sausage so he can eat both together. “Now are we even?”

“Hm?”

“You know…” Reggie glances over, sucking some salt and grease off his fingers. You know how I was a dick to you and never really apologized, probably never really intend to either (at least not in so many words), but then you kept quiet for me, and I bought you food at Pop’s and gave you a ride home, and you let me stay the weekend, and I helped you do yard work, and you gave me football tips, and I ordered us all pizza… “Like, in general.”

Munroe shrugs, which is not the answer Reggie was hoping for, but also one that doesn’t surprise him.

“I haven’t been keeping score,” he says. “But I’m good if you’re good.”

“Yeah,” says Reggie with a slow nod. “I’m good.”

& 

“NYU? Right,” laughs Marty derisively. “So you can major in Philosophy and Tap Dance? Or-- Lindy, what was that music class you said they had?”

“Music Therapy.”

”Music Therapy.”

“They’ve got a good--”

“Why don’t you just save us the tuition money and drop out of school now? Go down to the Southside and get fitted for a Serpents jacket so you can spend the rest of your life slinging sugar and blowing homos in parking lots to get your next fix. When did you become such a damn sissy, Reggie?”

Reggie says nothing, wrinkling his nose as his dad shakes his head and shovels more food into his mouth.

“And then answer me this, who’s going to run the dealership after I retire, huh? Maybe I should hire that Munroe kid, since clearly he gives a damn. Does that sound good to you?”

Reggie glowers silently, prodding at his food.

“Well? Does it?” Marty whacks the back of Reggie’s head with his palm. “I’m talking to you.”

“Ow-- no!”

God, he hates it here. The amount of times he’s seriously considered getting into his car and just driving until he gets to New York City is not insignificant.

“You know, when I was your age I had these dreams of moving out west and surfing all along the coast,” Marty goes on. “I didn’t have what you have, Reggie. Your problem is that you have it too good-- I didn’t go west, I invested in my future and built that damn dealership from scratch, you hear me? From the ground up. And do you think your grandfather just stroked my hair and gave me handouts? Hell no. This?”

He gestures around the dining room, but what he means is bigger than just this room; what he means is ‘the dealership, this house, this life.’

“This is all thanks to me and your mother.”

Reggie can’t stand this lecture no matter how many times he hears it. His parents are both assimilated to hell and back, especially his dad, but that never stops them from digging their heels into a good lesson on bootstraps whenever they think Reggie isn’t falling into line fast enough to their liking-- like it isn’t enough he’s already basically resigned himself to a lifetime of selling cars for the family business instead of figuring out his future for himself.

Not that he really knows what he’d do instead, though. Reggie has always told himself, and anyone else who would listen, that he is not going to peak in high school, but all the same he hasn’t given much thought to what his life could or should be like after graduation. He always figured college would help clear that up for him, because growing up in Riverdale makes it hard sometimes to imagine ever actually leaving, or growing out of whatever identity high school creates for you.

Who is Reggie Mantle without football, without Riverdale High, without his reputation in this town and the comfort of his family’s money? He doesn’t really know. If he takes over the family business, he doesn’t ever really need to.

“I don’t need an MBA just to sell some old cars,” he mutters, although he knows he won’t change their minds.

“He thinks he doesn’t need business skills to run a business, Lindy,” Marty quips. “A kid whose only A’s have been in gym class since he was in middle school.”

“Reggie, while you’re grounded I expect you to catch up on your music lessons,” Melinda says, looking at him sharply from across the table. “At least an hour per day. Honestly, when is the last time you’ve even touched your violin?”

“Mom, everyone plays violin! Do you know how basic that’s gonna look on my transcripts?” Reggie has to bite back a more inflammatory version of that comment, but then continues with: “I’d rather play guitar.”

“Everybody plays guitar,” Marty says dismissively, sipping his beer. Melinda makes a hum of agreement. Reggie can only imagine she’s thinking something like, ’Fred Andrews played guitar, and now he’s dead. What do you have to say about that, Reggie?’

Death would probably be preferable to this conversation, but Reggie soldiers on.

“Archie said he’d show me how. He could give me lessons,” Reggie says slowly, chewing a mouthful of noodles. “He has this bass he doesn’t use that I could--”

Neither of his parents are listening anymore. Reggie stops talking and just eats in increasingly sullen silence.

“Oh, some good news,” says Marty after about ten more minutes, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “I talked to my insurance this afternoon, convinced them to cover at least a third of the repair cost. Maybe more. The guy I tore into on the phone said his higher ups wouldn’t be in until tomorrow.”

He looks at Reggie, who just flinches and nods.

“We’ll stick to half your allowance and every other weekend at the lot. After school I want you focused on improving your football game.”

“Yes sir.” Reggie resists the urge to roll his eyes. Like he doesn’t want to be doing his best out there? Please.

“Great.” Marty looks satisfied. “Good talk.”

Because 1) I just like working in things that canon should have digged into and finding a way to explore them, or even examine their lack of exploration, in an in-character way that helps paint a better picture of the characters and their dynamics. And 2) I weirdly enjoy fleshing out the Mantle family. 

Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

Yes and no...! I feel like I don’t diverge on my characterization very often, except in whatever minor ways are necessary to serve the differing plots of my stories (e.g. what ship I’m writing, what the character(s) do or don’t still need to work through, etc.) (though I did once receive a very lovely comment about how much my writing had improved between one fic and another), although I definitely have a lot of plot lines I’ve gone in very different directions from what I’d first intended. 

WRT Riverdale specifically I just haven’t written enough yet, I think, to have a lot of abandoned ideas of things I’ve actually published in some form, but in the case of When The Morning Comes I’ve already got a lot of competing ideas of how to do certain things, as well as discarded plans. I guess one thing I “abandoned” was a Joaqevin horror fic idea that involved Joaquin being brought back to life, but it’s only abandoned in so much as I decided to just fold it into this fic. 

Do you reread your old works? How do you feel about them?

Sometimes... I get so nervous about this because I’m so easily embarrassed by my old writing, I’m always afraid I’ll look back and notice how poorly written it is or how I went on and on about something that doesn’t actually fit the story. Which is why before I wrote Everybody’s Lonely I went back and edited out portions of Lightning in a Bottle 😭

✍🏽Ask me meta fic questions ✍🏽

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

I would like Sweet Pea and the movie Grease... because I have always thought ever since the Serpents came to Riverdale, if any musical makes sense, it's Grease.

I’ve been thinking the exact same thing. Like, literally Grease makes the most sense to have as a musical episode, plus its definitely the most popular. Anyway, I hope you like this! 

Quote: ‘Men are rats, listen to me, they're fleas on rats, worse than that, they're amoebas on fleas on rats. I mean, they're too low for even the dogs to bite. The only man a girl can depend on is her daddy.’

“Sweet Pea!” You shout over the pouring rain. Its been raining since you left Pop’s and the long walk to Sweet Pea’s trailer has left you soaked, your hair sticking to your face and your clothes clinging to your skin. The only good thing about the sudden down pour is that fact that its covering the tears flowing down your cheeks. “Sweet Pea!” You knock loudly and you can just make out the sound of him tripping over something before the door swings open. 

“Sorry.” He apologizes. “I couldn’t hear you over the rain.” 

“Its fine.” You shrug. “Can I come in?” 

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” He moves out the way and you smile gratefully as you brush past him. He closes the door quickly before following you into the living room, picking up a few random things that he’s thrown on the floor. If he knew he was coming he would have tidied up a bit, especially the boxers on the floor. You’re the only person that he actually cleans his place for. “Sooooo.” He stands awkwardly as he watches you flop onto the sofa, a deep frown set on your face. “Do you want a towel?” 

“Please.” You reply and he nods, disappearing into the bathroom before returning a few seconds later with a white towel gripped in his hands. He sits beside you and hands you the towel which you take gratefully before drying yourself off. A few minutes go by in a comfortable silence and Sweet Pea’s distracted by whatever is on the TV while you dry your hair off. 

“I thought you were supposed to be hanging out with Danny tonight.” He says casually and you freeze, dropping the towel on to your knees. You’d only just managed to stop crying, to get your emotions in check. But as soon as he mentions his name you break again. Tears streaming down your face as your whole body shakes with sobs. Sweet Pea instantly wraps his arms around you. 

He doesn’t know whats going on, but he does know its his job to cheer you up. It’ll always be his job. He squeezes you tightly against his chest and you try to protest, not wanting to get his shirt soggy but he just rolls his eyes and tells you to stop being so stupid. If it was anybody else, you’d be annoyed that they’d said that, but you know when Sweet Pea says it, he means it in the nicest possible way and that brings you a little comfort, at least he’s not letting you down. “What happened?” He asks confused, one hand stroking your hair while the other one keeps you close to him. 

“He broke up with me.” You mumble against his chest and he pulls away, staring at you with an un-readable expression. How could anyone break up with you? How could they be so stupid? You’re literally his favourite person and he doesn’t understand why anybody would not want you in their life. 

“What?” He asks, his jaw clenched and eyes narrow as he tries to understand. 

“He broke up with me.” You repeat. “He invited me to Pop’s and then broke up with me. Apparently he’s found someone that understands him more. Whatever the hell that means.” 

“I’m gonna kill him.” His fists clench as he tries to stand up but you quickly grab his arm and he instantly relaxes a little. 

“I just wanna hang out with you tonight.” You sigh and lean your head against his shoulder. 

“Fine.” He mumbles. “I won’t kill him...tonight.” You giggle softly at him and he smiles to himself, happy that he’s cheered you up, even if its just a little bit. “He’s an idiot.” He says out loud, his mouth moving before he could stop himself. 

“Yeah. I know.” You agree and the two of you smile at each other. However your smile quickly disappears making him frown. 

“Okay. Men are rats.” He starts and you roll your eyes at him. “Listen to me, they’re fleas on rats, worse than that, they’re amoebas on fleas on rats. I mean, they’re too low for even the dogs to bite. The only man a girl can depend on is her daddy.” 

“...okay.” You blink. “There’s a lot to unpack there. Number 1. Daddy?” You raise an eyebrow at him and he shrugs in reply. “Number 2. What the hell is an amoeba?” 

“Dunno. Something smaller than a flea I suppose.” 

“Hmm. You do know that you’re also a man right? Meaning you’ve just insulted yourself.” 

“Nah.” He shakes his head. “I’m much better than that. Some people have likened me to a God.” 

“Pffft.” You snort. “If you’re a God, you’re Koalemos.” 

“Who’s he? The God of incredibly good looking men. The God of mind blowing orgasms?” 

“Ha!” You laugh loudly. “You really are the God of idiocy.” 

“Hey!” 

“But I still love you though.” You add and smile softly at him, only now realizing how close you are to each other. Your faces inches apart making your lips part and him blush softly. The two of you lean in softly, the rain pattering on the roof adding to the whole atmosphere and you close your eyes, waiting with baited breath until...suddenly he pulls away from you making your eyes snap open. 

“Well thats good isn’t it.” He stands up quickly and looks around the small room. 

“Pea?” You say quietly and you swear you can hear your heart breaking for a second time that day. 

“I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have done that. Lets watch your favourite film and forget all about Danny and his stupid face. Yeah?” 

You take a deep breath and close your eyes for a second before looking back at him. “Yeah. Sure.” You force a smile. 

movie quote prompts 

sweet pea masterlist 

[loser-freak-beheader]

(Unfinished) Thoughts on Riverdale’s Hedwig

Wicked Little Town

Awful switch from speaking to singing. The music cuts straight in, and Cole’s (Jughead) narrative voice is lower than his singing, which irks me slightly. He is a good singer, so I’m glad they used him more.

Not actually a bad start, at least until Madeline (Cheryl) begins singing. Her voice never sounds right for some reason, and even her two lines sound auto tuned. It’s jarring as well, because everyone is singing softly and she comes in slightly louder and harsher than everyone else. Lili (Betty) also has a questionable voice, though it’s not as loud and peculiar to hear. I certainly don’t wanna follow her voice

I wish they’d stop making characters sing for the sake of singing, especially with the families where their voices don’t blend well together.

Random Number Generation

That ‘we’re generation Z’ was painful, they’re trying and failing so hard to be woke.

Casey (Kevin) is a good singer, but he lacks emotion in his voice. This is meant to be an angry rebellion song, and all of them miss that. It is because they are so monotone with their singing and dancing, that the pauses in the lyrics sound wrong and put of place. They’re shouting but it lacks all enthusiasm and roughness of the original song.

Just making the backing track louder would have made it feel more rocky and energetic. The track is much quieter than they’re singing for some reason, and that makes everything they do worse. For the last chorus, they’re all looking angry and even their dancing is more energetic. However, because the track is so quiet, it loses what could have been an actually good moment.

Tear Me Down

Corey (Kevin) looks very uncomfortable dressed like Hedwig at first, but then seems to grow more comfortable. He does play Hedwig very well, despite acting stiff at some points and the song overall being quiet.

I think this is the best song they’ve done from Hedwig, and I’m glad they did at least one song justice.

Wig In A Box

Unnecessarily loud kissing sound. Lily’s voice doesn’t sound as bad here, but it sounds like she struggles with holding notes when it’s quieter. The girls can’t harmonize, and some of them are using vibrato while others aren’t which creates an unclean sound.

Choreography is bad and looks awkward as it’s mainly hand movements. Lacking in energy throughout, and it’s sad because Corey was so wonderful in Tear Me Down

It’s not the song, but Toni’s hair was crimped earlier and now it’s in curls. Also the whole setting of the song reminds me of Beauty School Dropout/Sandra Dee from Grease

Sugar Daddy

This show adheres to the male gaze and it’s especially disgusting when you remember that these characters are meant to be teenagers. Sometimes I truly believe Riverdale never bothers to look at the context behind songs, and this song is evidence of that. The true meaning of this song essentially boils down to two meant-to-be-teenage girls calling their principal ‘daddy’ and offering him sex in return for favours. It’s vile, this song shouldn’t have been performed and I do not understand why they chose it, especially why they chose two underaged girls to sing it.

The individual singing is alright, but when singing together, their voices do not match well. Madeline cannot sing, I will say this over and over again. She needs to stop being giving important singing parts when she needs auto tune to sound somewhat acceptable.

Cheryl as a character is one of the most irritating people ever. The Principal is right in his banning of Hedwig, as not only are all of Riverdale cis but the show itself is highly sexual and inappropriate for teenagers to perform. Her using the phrase ‘queer-phobic’ is ridiculous as he’s not banning the show because it feature queer characters. I would die for this principal, and I fully understand his decision.

Exquisite Corpse

Nothing much to say. Bad transition from speaking to singing. The actual context of this song is very different to how Riverdale portrays it. It feels like they saw the word corpse and was like ‘yep, this works perfectly for Jughead’.

I hate all the het/cisgender people singing, it ruins the genderqueer representation Hedwig has. The songs don’t even make that much sense outside of their original meaning, especially this one which is about Hedwig’s feelings and breakdown. It feels disrespectful that such an important and poignant moment in the show is ruined for some teenagers having minor issues in their life.

-/-/-/-

This is the point where I gave up. I truly detested this episode

I’d never heard Hedwig before and only knew parts of the story, thinking that no prior knowledge would make me less biased.

While this episode was probably the best for them actually singing, the context behind the show and songs made it the worst overall. It’s a show of defying gender and exploring sexuality, and Riverdale only has three LGBT characters who are relevant. All the characters are cis, and that made songs like Wig In A Box and Exquisite Corpse uncomfortable to watch. There was no emotion or energy

Good parts:

• I’m still laughing now from the phrase, ‘queer-phobic’, it was so stupid within the context

• Casey Cott really impressed me

• They didn’t make Madeline do any belts or sing out of her vocal range too much, which was a blessing

• The choreography wasn’t as bad as Heathers

Go watch the proper Hedwig and the angry inch, it’ll be 100x better than Riverdale’s poor version.