FRONT PAGE ☆ SWEET PEA

TEN

"This is where I go whenever I want to be alone." This was where we used to go when we were kids, he thought to himself.

Debbie chuckled cynically. "Not tonight. I'm not going anywhere."

"Me neither."

The two of them stayed quiet after that, with Sweet Pea propping himself on his elbows, watching as the sun waded into the night, and Debbie trying her best to ignore him. It proved to be hard for her, because Sweet Pea would ask her if she was okay every five minutes, to which she would either shrug or simply ignore him. Sighing, Sweet Pea took a bottle from his box and took a meager sip, recalling the last day he saw her.

—

2012 was torture for him. Moving from foster home to foster home, all of which he had despised, certainly wasn't easy for Sweet Pea. But he quickly learned that nothing in life was easy, especially because of his predicament. A certain woman by the name of Penny seemed to try and make things easier for him though, and he appreciated that. The social worker driving a car had attempted to get some words out of him but he promptly refused, opting to look out the window and ignore her instead. She sighed, but kept on driving. The rusty, but familiar sign of Riverdale greeted him as they drove past, and a smile finally made its way to his face for the first time in months.

Riverdale might not have been good to him, but the sight of it brought good memories back.

His new foster family lived at a rundown, seedy trailer park. His social worker stiffened at the sight of so many leather clad and heavily tattooed people, but Sweet Pea was unaffected. Finally, they seemed to have arrived at their destination, since the car came to a complete halt.

Another, if not even more disappointing, trashed trailer. Sweet Pea, having gotten through this routine dozens of times, pushed his suitcase out of the car and into the wet, muddy ground. His social worker winced, but proceeded on knocking on the door. As his new foster parents and the woman talked, Sweet Pea drifted off, tapping his foot impatiently.

He had somewhere to be.

When they finished discussing his arrangements, he trudged his muddy suitcase into his apparent new home, a man blankly staring at him as he did so. He wore an old leather jacket, a symbol of his allegiance to the Serpents. Sweet Pea dismissed the idea. The Serpents had brushed him off a long time ago, since he was too young. Setting the trunk by the couch, he looked at the man for affirmation, who merely nodded. "Can I go?"

"You just got here ten minutes ago."

"I have some important business to settle," Sweet Pea pulled on a sweater he had acquired from a former foster family. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

The man chuckled. "You sound like a drug dealer."

"I'm not," Sweet Pea grumbled, muttering a small goodbye as he walked out of the trailer and headed for his destination. Riverdale Middle School.

Dodging motorcycles and beer bottles from drunken gamblers, even though it was literally mid-afternoon, he confidently strode into the North side of town, crossing the train tracks that marked the boundary between the good and the bad sides of Riverdale. He couldn't help but grin, now breaking off into a run.

The silhouette of Riverdale Middle School loomed threateningly above him as he decided on whether or not he should enter. From the exits, he could see numerous kids, but no one resembled who he was looking for. Screw it, he thought as he pushed forward into the school, confidence unwavering as students gawked at his appearance. From there, he twisted and turned through the neverending supply of hallways and stairs. At one point, he asked a janitor for help, who shrugged and went on with his cleaning.