Pleather || A Sweet Pea Romance (Riverdale)

chapter 25|| lying

   "I got you, out on a wire"
   "You be love and I'll be a liar"

"Are you sure you're okay, Ray?" Sweet Pea asks. We're laying down in the living room of FP's trailer. The TV's on, but we're not watching it, we're both looking at the ceiling.

My head is on this chest as I lay perpendicular to him. My hair is spread out across him and I can feel him playing with it.

I've been home in Riverdale for an hour. Sweet Pea came over almost immediately, but we didn't get much alone time before Betty and Jughead walked through the door. They're talking about something serious in the kitchen. I hear the name 'Lodge' being thrown around, but I'm trying to not get involved.

"Yeah," I respond to Sweet Pea. I don't want to tell him about Buffalo yet, even though it's the only thing on my mind. 

My dad tried to talk to me about it more since last Thursday, but I am still in shock. I wasn't able to talk with him about it. He talked at me about it for the whole car ride, but I didn't respond. I know it's stupid, but I feel like if I don't acknowledge it then it won't happen.

I don't want to stress Sweet Pea about it. Not until I have fully grasped it myself.

"Well, I'm glad you're back," he dismisses my lie. 

"Me too," I say honestly.

 ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° ° º ° 

It's been a week since spring break and it's the last day of March.

I get back into my Riverdale routine: walk to school with Sweet Pea, go to my classes, eat lunch with Sweet Pea and the other Serpents, walk home with Sweet Pea, do my homework with Sweet Pea, go to sleep.

I feel like my time with Sweet Pea is more precious now. What will happen when I move away? Could I even go back to my life without him right by my side? I know in theory I could, but, it's hard to picture my life without him. Will we try to do long distance? Would we even be able to survive long distance?

"Reagan, what's bothering you?" Sweet Pea asks as we walk to the Whyte Wyrm to meet up with a few other Serpents. "Is it Veronica?" he asks.

For what ever reason, I'm on Veronica's shit-list, but I really haven't noticed. I haven't really been playing along with whatever drama she has been starting  about me and this is making her even angrier at me. She's started her own lunch table with Josie, and a few other cheer leaders, but I honestly haven't even been bothered by her. 

I need to be careful though, Veronica has a lot of connections and if she wanted something bad to happen to me I know she could make it happen. All I can do is try not to escalate what's been going on.

"No," I answer. "Although, I don't really know what I did to make her so angry at me. And I don't know what to do to make things better between us."

"She doesn't have Archie and you kind of replaced her as being Betty's best friend. She's just jealous."

"I don't know how to change that. That's what happens when you and your parents are shady," I comment.

"What's bothering you then? Is it me?"

"You? Of course not."

"You've just been kind of ... distant," he comments.

"It's just hard to adjust to be back to Riverdale. There's so much going on here," I half lie.

We walk in silence for a little bit before he asks, "are you worried about the Ghoulies?"

I can see the Whyte Wyrm in the distance.

I stop and he stops too. I look up at him and kiss him on the corner of the mouth. "No," I lie. A big part of me is scared to think about the next time I run into the Ghoulies. Malachai made it very clear that he was coming after me.

Sweet Pea scans for my face to try to read me, but I can see he gives up. He brings my hand up to his to kiss it and we continue on towards the Whyte Wyrm.