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The core four — serpent and Carson version — sat in a booth at Pops, laughing and joking around. Suddenly, Carson was hit with a wave of realization. She looked down at her plate and saw that she still had everything on it. Carson sighed, she had to tell them eventually.
When they had calmed down, Carson spoke up.
"Guys," she started, earning everyone's attention, "I have to tell you something."
Her friends nodded, telling for her to go on.
"It's about to get really sad, so I'm sorry," Cason chuckled, "Okay. So when I was about sixteen. . I developed an eating disorder. It started when I started to get bullied. People were telling me that I was fat and kept body shaming me, so to please them, I quit eating. It started out as missing a few meals, to only thinking about not eating. I'd do the craziest things to keep me from eating. I would suck on ice that has salt on it, put a hair tie on my wrist and snapping it when I felt hungry, and if I'd eat then as a punishment I wouldn't eat for another two to four days. I was hospitalized for a month and had tons of therapy, but then we moved here and I met such good friends and I met Jughead and he helped me a lot. I wasn't best friends with Betty or Archie, I'm good friends with Cheryl sometimes, and I don't have the best relationship with Veronica."
"But then you guys came along. Toni, you've become like a sister to me and you've given me all this happiness. Fangs, you're my idiotic and weird brother," Carson smiled, wiping a tear away, "You've made me laugh 'til I cried."
When Carson looked at Sweet Pea, she was on the verge of breaking. Sweet Pea's eyes were red and he looked like he was about to cry. Carson's face softened as she placed her hand atop of his.
"Sweets, babe, you've made me the happiest I've ever been all my life. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, including my own parents. Besides you guys, Toni and Fangs," her friends laughed sarcastically, "And I've never experienced anything like this - like what we have. You'd be surprised, you were -" Carson glanced at Toni and Fangs to see them raising their brows, "my first time."
They cheered, causing Carson to sniffle and laugh.
"Anyways, you've definitely changed my life. For the better, not for the worse. Although sometimes I wonder how the hell I got into the serpents drama, but it's my drama now too. I never believed in love, really. But then I met you. I met a boy, and the way he laughs makes me smile, the way he talks to me gives me butterflies and everything about him, about you makes me happy," Carson grinned, a tear running down her cheek.
Sweet Pea sniffled, wiping away Carson's tear then wiping his away before he'd show his vulnerable side in front of Toni and Fangs. Then again, he didn't really care.
"I love you," Carson smiled, sniffling.
"I love you too," Sweet Pea whispered, Carson going into his arms.
Sweet Pea wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head then rested his head against hers.
"Aww," Toni and Fangs teased, causing the couple to roll their eyes and flick them off.
"Besides the point, I love you guys," Carson smiled.
Toni laid a hand on Carson's, "We love you too."
"Yeah!" Fangs exclaimed.
Sweet Pea took Carson's chin in between his thumb and pointer finger and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
♕
"So that adds up to how many tattoos?" Sweet Pea asked as he and Carson laid in Carson's bed.
Carson touched the wrapping at the back of her neck. She had recently gotten her birthday in Roman numerals in the middle of her neck, not too big.
She thought for a moment before answering, "Four."
Sweet Pea's eyebrows raised, "Four? I only have one."
Carson chuckled. She pointed to her new tattoo, "One." She held out her wrist where the word 'freedom' was, the top of the 'm' a bird flying away, "Two." Carson lifted her shirt up to her rib cage where the words, 'she believed she could so she did' were inked, "Three." Then Carson pulled down her leggings to her hipbone where an outlined fair laid, "Four."
"What's the fire for?" Sweet Pea asked.
"It's the fire within me that continues to burn no matter how many people or how many things try to destroy it and put it out," Carson smiled.
Sweet Pea sat up and leaned down, smiling before pecking Carson's lips repeatedly then placing kisses along her face. Then he began to tickle her, causing Carson to immediately thrash around and explode into a fit of laughter and some snorts here and there, making her blush.
"Stop! Stop!" She screamed, yet she continued to cry with laughter.
Sweet Pea laughed, "I won't stop until you say it."
"Say what?" Carson screamed, squirming and kicking, trying to get her obnoxious boyfriend off of her.
"Say that you love me," Sweet Pea smiled, continuing to tickle her sides.
"Jesus, okay! Okay!" Carson yelled, Sweet Pea removing his hands from her sides.
Carson took her chance and quickly scrambled away from him, pulling her knees up to her chest to prevent him from tickling her.
"Are you gonna say it?" Sweet Pea asked with a smile, his hand slowly making its way up her thigh.
"I love you! I love you!" Carson shouted, "I swear I'm gonna get a noise complaint."
Sweet Pea rolled his eyes and rested his hand on her knee, "And I love you."
Carson's world blurred, and it was only her and Sweet Pea. A wide grin appeared on her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her, placing her lips atop of his and simply enjoying the moment.
Carson couldn't be happier. She had her own apartment, an amazing boyfriend who truly loves her, amazing and supportive friends, and a new tattoo; her life was great.
But then she reminded herself that life can never be all bad or all good, eventually things would come back to the middle. For now, though, she enjoyed her happiness while it lasted. She enjoyed her moments.
She was happy she never took her life, for she still had so much more to experience in life.
