VIPER→ s. pea [1]

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

     His t-shirt fell down halfway down her thighs, the pair of sweatpants he had given her barely hanging on. She made sure to tighten the waistband as much as possible, snorting at her reflection in the mirror. The outfit made her look like a homeless little boy. His clothes were, of course, huge on her and therefore incredibly comfortable.

     Harley's eyes fell on Sweet Pea who had returned to his spot on the couch. It felt so odd standing there infront of him. In a way, he felt like a complete stranger to her. Like the several moments they shared hadn't happen. So much had happened the last couple of weeks and suddenly her interactions with him felt so distant. Like he hadn't saved her from the crash, like they hadn't been on a date.

     "Thank you." Harley suddenly broke the silence between them. Sweet Pea's eyebrows knitted up in confusion. "For that night, the accident. And for tonight too. It means a lot. I don't really. . . have a lot of people who's really there for me, so it truly does mean the world to me. Thank you."

Sweet Pea watched the girl intently as she expressed her gratitude. It was stupid, but this was the most. . . innocent relationship he had ever had to anyone. With Toni and Fangs, they were family. But with Harley it was different. Somehow it felt so genuine and pure, and he was constantly afraid that he'd mess it up like he always did. He wasn't even sure if what they had was that serious. All he knew, was that he didn't want it to end. Sweet Pea couldn't help but feel suprised by her words. She was this perfect northside popular girl. What did she mean by not having a lot of people there for her?

Sweet Pea didn't ask that question, though. Instead, he gave her a curt nod. He wasn't the best at expressing his feelings, nor was he good at dissecting others feelings.

"I was wrong about you." Sweet Pea said as the girl sat down on the couch at the opposite end. "You're not what I said you were." You're just some entitled northside brat who's biggest challenge in life is whether you want to order a stawberry or chocolate milkshake at Pop's. The words he had spoken that night rung in his ears, regret biting at him. He had been so angry and jumped to conclusions. He had been so wrong.

Harley averted her gaze. Though she appreciated his apology, she didn't want to talk about the things he had said to her nor did she want to think about it. "You're not who I thought you were either." She admitted, finding his honesty refreshing. He really wasn't just the hardheaded, short tempered Serpent everyone was branding him as. Hell, even Jughead chalked him off as that.

      They stared deeply into each other's eyes, relishing in the peaceful silence hugging them. Neither of them felt the urge to fill the silence with anything. Appreciating each other's presences was simply enough, and they both knew it. As Harley sat there, staring deeply into his dark eyes, she wondered if the feelings tugging at her were genuine, if they meant what she thought they did. Because if they did, she wasn't sure if it excited her or if it deeply scared her. Climbing in bed with a serpent was a bad idea, at least according to everything she knew. But god, they didn't know just how charming the snake could be. . .

     And despite of the night she'd had, she let herself indulge in the thought of the two of them. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't so scary after all.

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Sitting gathered around a lunch table in the cafeteria was Jughead, Archie, Veronica, Betty and lastly Harley. Jughead had practically begged the Byers girl to sit with them at lunch, wanting to make up for not being there for her lately. Initially had declined the offer, but once she remembered that she was severely pissed off at Midge, she accepted. It was either that or sitting by herself with her thoughts.