Second Chances [Sweet Pea x OC]

Chapter 12

"What about Veronica?" Mr Andrews asked after a moment. "You reach out to her?"

Archie stayed silent, not looking away from his plate.

"I'm gonna start cleaning up," I said, rising from the table as an awkward silence filled the room. I was somewhat curious about how that reunion was going to go though. Over the past week or so, it seemed like something was going on between Veronica and Reggie. Something more than just running La Bonne Nuit.

Later that morning I bumped into Archie on my way down the stairs.

"Abigail, I, uh, I wanted to say thank you," he stuttered.

I looked back up at him, confused. "You're welcome?"

"For being here with my dad," Archie replied. "I was worried about him being here alone, but I'm glad you were here for him. And for extending Serpent protection to us."

"Thank FP too, he's been around a lot too. And as for the Serpents..." I paused, considering how to continue. "You're like a brother to Jughead, and Mr Andrews is kind of like a father to me and since you're his son, you're family in some weird, twisted way. Families of Serpents will always be taken care of. And aren't you an honorary Serpent yourself anyways?"

He nodded. "Yeah, before I went to juvie."

When he didn't say anything else, I turned back around, stopping at the bottom of the stairs when Archie called my name again.

"Abigail, please, don't move just because I'm back," he said. "You're more than welcome to stay."

I nodded in acknowledgement before letting myself out of the house, heading for the Serpent camp where I found Sweet Pea with a few other Serpents around the fire. He didn't hesitate in pulling me down onto his lap, arms wrapped around me.

"What's going on with you?" Sweet Pea asked quietly after some of the Serpents left a while later. "You have something on your mind."

"Archie's back," I said.

He looked at me in surprise. "He is? Since when?"

"This morning, I guess," I replied, shrugging. "He showed up at the house with his dog. I don't know how he made it back. For all I know, he walked back to Riverdale all the way from Canada."

"What does that mean for you? Are you still going to be living there?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I talked to Archie earlier and he said he didn't want me to leave on his account."

"Good. I'd hate to have to go beat his ass for kicking you to the curb right after he got back," Sweet Pea said. "For now though, I'm off tonight, so how are we gonna spend it?"

I rolled my eyes at him, laying my head on his shoulder. "We could stay right here where it's somewhat warm or we could go see a movie." If Hiram Lodge really wanted to improve this town, he'd add more things to do inside during the winter months. Our options were pretty limited right now.

"We could stay here and do this," Sweet Pea said with a smirk, tilting my chin up before kissing me gently.

"Archie's back!" Jughead shouted a few minutes later, the door to his trailer slamming open. A few cheers rose from those in the area.

Sweet Pea and I sighed in unison as we pulled apart slightly. "It was nice while it lasted," I said.

"I'd say we go back to my tent but it's cramped in there with just me," Sweet Pea replied. "I can't even lay completely flat in there."

"Well, if you weren't so damn tall, that wouldn't be a problem," I teased.

"That's never–" he cut off as someone cleared their throat beside us.