worst case scenario I could keep the mouse and just let the touchpad be useless

If you have never opened a laptop (Or anything) i do not recommend fixing it on your own.
Because you will f**k it up. It is WAY harder than it looks. (I once even almost started an electrical fire from trying to fix a computer)

I would watch Ghostbusters 4 before tryna violate a chromebook gng

would a mouse work fine just in case tho

bro? would a mouse work fine just in case?

Absolutely.
I have used a mouse on every laptop i have ever used. It's just annoying when you aren't sitting at a table or desk.

have you used a mouse for a situation similar to this?

I think at one point my mom's laptop touchpad stopped working for no reason when i was much younger, so all of us had to use a mouse. I do think it fixed itself at some point. But that laptop is never going to work again and it would be too hard to explain why. I tried getting everything off the hdd but it has some encryption on it.

If you think water got into your computer, take it to a repair place, or at least quarantine it in a sink or a shower with no curtain. If the water touches the lithium ion battery, it can catch fire.

it just got under the touchpad no big deal

Hopefully…