His Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 6- Poor Sweet Pea

So, I guess up till this point in the story we haven't mentioned pivotal part of Sweet Pea. Probably the part that attracts the ladies to him. The huge part of him that he loves to take for a ride.  His beautiful bike. Lately, he has been getting bussed to school considering Toni refuses to let him drive right now because of the way he has been acting. Today, however, he disobeyed the orders of his Serpent Sister, or mother as he feels at the moment, and drove it to school to help clear his head.

Sweet Pea was in Biology class, it was a day after the hallway drama with Jess. They were still sitting next to each other because it was the way the teacher commanded it and Sweet Pea was tired of fighting at the moment. Tired of fighting Jess about their relationship. Tired of fighting the Northsiders about him belonging. Tired of fighting Jugheads battle against whatever injustice against the Serpents it was this week. He kept his tough facade and resting bitch face on to make sure others didn't notice. Conceal, don't feel, Elsa may be a Disney Queen but she is wiser than you would believe.

Of course, Jess's head was down and he knew she was pretending to be asleep. It was another avoidance tactic right now, at least in Sweet Pea's mind it was. The teacher was droning on and on about something that might be important but probably isn't important for life. Overall it was calm. The calm before the storm. He soon got a text from the beloved fangs, who had apparently decided to skip math.

Fangs- Someone just messed up your bike!

SP- WHAT DO YOU MEAN MESSED UP?

Fangs sent him a picture of the bike. It had words like scum, loser, and leave written on it, along with BACK OFF THE GIRL written in thick bold letters. It was all over the bike, not just the seat, but the handlebars, the wheels, the light, EVERYWHERE! 

Fangs- IT WON'T COME OFF TONI AND I HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR TEN MINUTES BUT IT WON'T COME OFF!

"Dammit!" Sweet Pea yelled throwing his phone on the table, which in turn startled Jess to look up and see the bike's damage. He picked it back up and stormed out of the classroom enraged. He was devastated and needed someone to punch he was about to go find that kid and kill him. He already lost his high school, then his relationship with a girl he really liked got ripped apart and now his bike was completely vandalized. He was about to tear the school apart before he heard a soft voice.

"Sweet Pea, calm down." He turned around to see Jess. "I am so sorry, this is all my fault. You need to calm down though."

"Why? I have literally lost more than gained when I came here? And what you're talking to me now?!" He yelled at her and wound up to punch a locker.

"You need to be calm. You are letting them win! They want you to get mad Sweet Pea! They want you to tear apart the school to prove you don't belong here. Sweet Pea, you and all the Southside high students belong here! Don't give them an excuse to get rid of you!" She took a deep breath and pulled him into an embrace. "I am talking to you because I still care. You deserve so much more."

He stood there astounded at her. Yesterday, she was yelling at him to leave her alone and now this. Nothing is ever easy with her, is it? But then again Sweet Pea was never really going to stop fighting for her, not as long as she did things like this.

"I am sorry, I know I am confusing you, but just take a walk and clear your head. Do not punch anyone's face in! Or a locker, do not drink your little stash I know you have. It makes it harder to ignore you when you do that." She was a little muffled considering he was a bit shorter than him and practically speaking into his chest.

"You are something else, you know that." He chuckled, this moment felt too comfortable and all too right. Her in his arms was something he wanted since he met her in the gas station and again when he found his Sleeping Beauty.

"I have to go back to class because you disturbed my mid-morning nap. I am sorry about your bike, am actually going to stop now. I won't confuse you anymore, so, Goodbye Sweet Pea." She let go of him and as sudden as the embrace began it ended. Sweet Pea yearned to have her back in his arms, but this Good-bye she said sounded real. Like she was going to officially stop now. It was a melancholy ending to a sweet moment between the two.

*************

It was the end of the day, Sweet Pea and the rest of the young Serpents were getting ready to leave. He was about to say goodbye to his dear friends to ride home on the newly vandalized bike.

"Sweet Pea? Where's your bike?" Toni asked, pointing to the place where he had left it. He began to search his pockets and backpack for the keys clumsily dumping everything out.

"No, no no no no no no!" He couldn't find anything.

"What wrong Sweet Pea?" Jughead was entirely oblivious to the whole situation.

"Those assholes stole my bike!" He yelled to his own dismay.

"Why would anyone do that? You are literally the most confrontational person I have ever met and we've all met Archie." Jughead rolled his eyes.

"Does this have to do with the message on it?" Fangs asked Sweet Pea thought back to the hallway. He thought to when Jess had calmed him down. He remembered the moment they had shared not a few hours before.

"What message?" Jughead was really getting irritated with being out of the loop.

"Back off the girl, but she cut everything off with you over a week ago." Toni pointed out, at this moment Sweet Pea fumed with rage. He had never felt so publicly humiliated and violated in his entire life. The times she even acknowledged his existence in the past week was to say goodbye, and yet someone felt the obligation to take it personally and take it out on him.

"I am so done with this Northsider obligation! She told me goodbye and today she just calmed me down! What the hell is their problem with me? Why do they care so goddamn much if Sleeping Beauty and I talk to each other!" He took a deep breath and picked up everything he tossed out of his backpack.

"That's why we need to protest Pickens day! They took everything away from the Uktana and now they're taking everything away from the Southside! This is exactly why you need to join us Sweet Pea!" Jughead was practically on a soapbox by the end of his spiel.

"Fine! I will join the protest Jughead. But don't you dare ever turn my personal life into a political statement again." Sweet Pea was furious and needed something to cool him off.

"I guess you are taking the bus today!" Fangs said, trying not to set off the time bomb that was about to explode on the next Northsider that passed him by.

"Is anyone going to the Worm after the bus ride?" He asked.

"I wasn't planning on going till later but you might have died by alcohol poisoning if I don't mediate." Toni pat him on the back, as they made their way onto the bus.