VIPER→ s. pea [1]

CHAPTER EIGHT ✔️

     "Hey, I'm Nick. I don't think I caught your name at the party." She had hoped the boy would refrain from speaking to her, but as always, her hopes were crushed. So she plastered on a fake smile and turned to him.

     "Uh, yeah I'm Harley Byers. Nick you said?" The two shook hands. He offered her a charming smile.

     "Nick St. Clair. A friend of Ronnie's from New York." He informed. Harley already knew that. Veronica hadn't really said a lot about the boy, other than the fact that they had been friends forever and that he was one of the good guys.

     "Bet all these Riverdale girls go crazy when you tell them that." Harley joked. She had first hand experienced how some of the girls here acted when encountering someone from the bigger cities in the country. They all probably pounced the guy like sharks to slum.

     He chuckled at her, thanking the bartender when he slid over the beverage. "Yeah, no. Haven't really had time to tell any cute girls yet. Well, except you of course." She snorted at his lame attempt to compliment her.

     "I'm flattered, St. Clair." She joked. He was nice to look at, Harley would give him that. Putting his obviously big ego and snobby demeanor aside, maybe she'd found him appealing. Just maybe. Then again, Harley found a lot of guys attractive. From her own best friend, Jug, to a gang leader, Malachai. Now that she thought about it, she had horrible taste in men. Most of the ones she had ever flirted with had been assholes. That must mean Nick is one too then.

"How about I buy you a drink? You look like you need it." Nick offered, already putting his hand up to order a drink. Harley snorted at him.

"I don't know whether or not I should thank you or slap you. Do I look like a huge mess or something?" Harley continued to joke. Nick let out a laugh, enjoying her company. That, and the revealing dress clinging to her frame.

"No, you just have this look in your eye." He explained, pointing to her eyes as he did.

She hummed. "What look?" She pressed curiously, accepting the drink he had ordered. They were both underage, so she was curious as to how they were both drinking with no consequences, but she brushed it off.

"This look that either makes you look like you're about to commit murder, or that you're about to chuck something at someone and get the hell out." Harley let out a strangled laughter at the description. It was kind of how she felt in the very moment.

"That's accurate." She laughed. He grinned widely. From afar, Josie and the pussycats and Veronica away making their way onstage, probably to perform some song.

"Woah, you good there?" Nick asked when the Byers girl suddenly stumbled slightly. She opened her mouth to answer, when she suddenly felt incredibly drowsy. No matter how hard she tried to, she couldn't seem to form any proper words. It all came out as mutters as she tried speaking.

The girl stumbled once again, his arm secured around her waist being the only thing keeping her from tumbling to the ground. He supported her, starting to pull her out of there. Her mind raced as her sight was growing blurry by the second. She hadn't had that much to drink, had she?

"I got you, don't worry." He cooed as he pulled her away from the crowd and into a car. Her eyes started dropping close, the last thing she felt being an unsettling feeling about the guy telling her not to worry.