U N H O L Y - [Sweet Pea]

2.8

Kate embraced her too, glad she had someone who stood behind her. "Are you going to class next period?". Betty asked as she let go of her. Kate shook her head and lifted her designer bag from the ground, straightening the lace top and her pencil skirt, lifting her chin again. "No. I'm going away for the weekend". Betty let out a soft chuckle at how quickly she hid her emotions again. "Can I ask where too?".

"Find my brother and you'll find me". Kate smiled with a shrug and walked out of the restroom to go to her car and not return to Riverdale for a couple days.

Sweet Pea's headlights flickered off when he stopped in front of the closed down Southside High building. He sat still on his motorcycle and took his helmet off, letting it dangle on the steering handle. He had been riding all day, since he left the school. He needed to clear his mind, get away from everyone for a little while, just him and his Harley was all that mattered when he drove through the roads that went nowhere. He took the bag of Pop's with him, seeing Jughead's figure sitting on the cold stone of the monument in front of the school. "You look lonely". He started as he approached him. "You look like you've been ran over by a truck". Jughead responded with a soft snort. "Great, cause that's how I feel". Sweet Pea replied and moved to sit down next to him. "You've been here all day?". He started again and placed the bag between them. He took one of the burgers out to eat it, handing another one over to Jughead. "No thanks, still doing this, right?". Jughead mentioned, pointing at the chains around him, being the only one left to strike against Hiram Lodge.

"Yeah, I've been here all day". He sighed. "Think it was more fun than at school". Sweet Pea mumbled. "You don't exactly seem the person who'd open up to someone like me". Jughead said, a bit suspicious why the older Serpent was so friendly to him all in sudden. Or well, so friendly, more friendly than normal. "Nobody wants to open up to you, Jug". Sweet Pea said, ah, there it was again. Jughead suppressed a smile as Sweet Pea ate his burger in silence. "You know...". He started, making Jughead chuckle now as he knew he would start talking, else he wouldn't be here. "I never thought Kate would be hypocrite until today. Her parents were behind all of this, behind closing Southside High, taking away what belongs to us. They came back to work with the Lodges. She's been talking with big frustrations about Veronica Lodge, but she isn't better than Veronica at all. She's been lying to me!". Sweet Pea stood up in anger as it welled up in his chest again.

"Have you talked to her?". Jughead asked, somewhere already knowing the answer. "No, I can't talk to her now. I'm too angry for that". Sweet Pea replied, sitting down again and crossing his arms over his chest. His breath blew small clouds in the cold air. He took his box of sigarettes from his pocket and lit one, hoping the nicotine would make him feel a bit more calm. "The guilt was written all over her face". He continued. "Don't you have a fight with Betty, where you almost broke up?". Jughead looked at him. "Yeah, you were there when Archie told me Betty wanted me to stay out of her way, which she actually didn't want, but then she didn't tell me the truth and there were arguements about that". Sweet Pea blinked at what he said. "I probably cared too less to remember". He blew out some smoke. "Maybe that's your problem. Maybe she has subtly told you that her family was working with the Lodges and she didn't want to have anything to do with it". Jughead said.

Sweet Pea twirled the cigarette around between his fingers, thinking deeply about what he said, yet everytime his thoughts slipped back to the moment where Ethel adressed herself to Kate and spilled the words to everyone, the way her expressions changed and how her eyes filled with tears, as if this was the moment she hoped it would never come. As if she never wanted this day to come, as if she was guilty. So many as if's he couldn't ensure himself of. He felt a firm headache burning in the back of his head. "I'm going home". He mumbled, leaving the other burgers with Jughead. "Don't die". Jughead chuckled at the somewhat encouraging words. He watched Sweet Pea get to his motorcycle again and he hopped on it, closing the strap of his helmet underneath his chin to lock it. The engine roared to life and he turned around to get to the Sunnyside Trailer Park. He chuckled at himself at the thought, because how Sunny was it when Hiram Lodge turned it to the darkest place of Riverdale.

His thoughts didn't leave him and he hated when that happened. He hated it how he couldn't think of something else. He hated how he couldn't hate her. Sweet Pea couldn't think of breaking up with Kate before and he didn't want to do it today either, however he couldn't trust her. And he had hurt her so intensely. Sweet Pea was hard to crack, he had a wall build around him from at least three meters of concrete thick. Kate had been one of the few who broke through that, but this day had caused the wall to be rebuild and twice as thick. Sweet Pea parked his bike in front of his trailer, taking the keys out and moving upstairs to unlock the door. He was tired, incredibly tired, yet he alread knew he didn't want to sleep. His nightmares would haunt him again. If he could, he'd watch the sunrise, however he also knew he'd fall asleep eventually. Sweet Pea kicked his boots off and shed himself from his clothes to take a hot shower. He let the water run, the steam fogging up the mirror and he couldn't see his broken state and the bags under his eyes anymore.

He let the warm water soak him and he leaned his forearms against the wall, thinking about the first time Kate was here and she stayed the night, where she accidentally opened the bathroom door where he was, just wearing a simple towel around his waist.

The water had stopped running, so she went to the bathroom and softly pulled the door open. "Oh! I-I'm sorry, I thought you were... I ehm...". Kate stammered as her eyes were glued to the abdomen that were sharply sketched onto his body, the v-lines cutting into his hips and leaving her imagination to run wild as they disappeared under the white towel. "Kate". He said, eyebrows slightly raised and her cheeks were bright red.

Sweet Pea moved his hands through his wet hair and shook it off, at least he tried to. He brushed his teeth and washed his body, getting out of the shower as quickly as he had gotten in. He dried his hair and his skin before getting on a clean pair of sweats, diving into his bed. His eyelids felt heavy, even though he was fighting against the sleep, already faintly hearing and seeing the start of his dreams. He never expected a clean night and his expectations were reality when he woke up, bathing in his own sweat at three in the morning. He threw his pillow away in frustration, a yell leaving his mouth and for the first time in years, he started crying. Everything he felt was let out now, frustration, anger, hurt, club troubles, fear of the future, pushing away everyone he loved, isolating himself.

Another angel cried that day.