CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENNCY
"i'll give you all of my trust,
if you don't mess this up"
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚
The relaxing warm water trickled down Harley's body as she stood in the shower. The 'warm' water was lukewarm at best, but at the very moment Harley couldn't bring herself to care. All she could do was think. The events of the night clouded her mind as she stood in the shower, drowsy blinks letting her know that she was minutes away from falling asleep. She turned the knob in the shower, the downpour of water halting. She sighed deeply, stepping out to wrap a towel around her body.
If anyone had told her she'd end up spending the Friday night at Sweet Pea's trailer wrapped in nothing but a mere towel, she would have laughed at them. Yet here she was, exhaustion hitting her as she wrapped the white towel tightly around herself. His bathroom was small, barely fitting the shower. The trailer in general was small, but the serpent had somehow made it seem so much bigger by decorating it with posters and pictures. It seemed so personal, so inviting. Harley found herself appreciating his home in ways she couldn't even appreciate her own.
Harley groaned when she noticed the clothes piled up in the floor, water having leaked from the shower just to soak them. She really hated shower curtains, and how they always failed at keeping the water from going all over the place. Hesitatedly she turned the door knob, poking her head out to search for the host. Her eyes found him laying on the raggedy old green couch situated in his 'livingroom'.
She debated putting the soaking wet clothes on for a moment, dreading having to asking him for some, but she swallowed her pride at the thought of squeezing into the cold and wet clothes. "Hey, Sweet Pea?" Her call for him caught his immediate attention, his head poking up from behind his phone. "You don't happen to have any clothes I can borrow, do you?"
He quickly got to his feet, heading into what Harley assumed was the bedroom of the trailer. The trailer was small, barely fitting the kitchen and the livingroom. The kitchen was crammed into the far corner, dishes were starting to pile up in the sink. The livingroom consisted of a small coffee table and an old couch. It was all crammed up by the entrance, barely making way for the front door. The floor was in the form of a dull grey carpet, a carpet Harley imagined was a nightmare to clean. He had adorned the trailer with small objects for decorations. Harley found the surroundings to be comforting. It all felt so homey and personal.
As quick as he had disappeared, Sweet Pea reappeared infront of her, holding out articles of clothes for her to take. It felt odd standing before him in nothing but a towel, having his eyes rake over her body. She accepted the clothes from him, mumbling a quiet 'thanks' before returning into the small bathroom.
His t-shirt fell down halfway down her thighs, the pair of sweatpants he had given her barely hanging on. She made sure to tighten the waistband as much as possible, snorting at her reflection in the mirror. The outfit made her look like a homeless little boy. His clothes were, of course, huge on her and therefore incredibly comfortable.
Harley's eyes fell on Sweet Pea who had returned to his spot on the couch. It felt so odd standing there infront of him. In a way, he felt like a complete stranger to her. Like the several moments they shared hadn't happen. So much had happened the last couple of weeks and suddenly her interactions with him felt so distant. Like he hadn't saved her from the crash, like they hadn't been on a date.
"Thank you." Harley suddenly broke the silence between them. Sweet Pea's eyebrows knitted up in confusion. "For that night, the accident. And for tonight too. It means a lot. I don't really. . . have a lot of people who's really there for me, so it truly does mean the world to me. Thank you."
Sweet Pea watched the girl intently as she expressed her gratitude. It was stupid, but this was the most. . . innocent relationship he had ever had to anyone. With Toni and Fangs, they were family. But with Harley it was different. Somehow it felt so genuine and pure, and he was constantly afraid that he'd mess it up like he always did. He wasn't even sure if what they had was that serious. All he knew, was that he didn't want it to end. Sweet Pea couldn't help but feel suprised by her words. She was this perfect northside popular girl. What did she mean by not having a lot of people there for her?
Sweet Pea didn't ask that question, though. Instead, he gave her a curt nod. He wasn't the best at expressing his feelings, nor was he good at dissecting others feelings.
"I was wrong about you." Sweet Pea said as the girl sat down on the couch at the opposite end. "You're not what I said you were." You're just some entitled northside brat who's biggest challenge in life is whether you want to order a stawberry or chocolate milkshake at Pop's. The words he had spoken that night rung in his ears, regret biting at him. He had been so angry and jumped to conclusions. He had been so wrong.
Harley averted her gaze. Though she appreciated his apology, she didn't want to talk about the things he had said to her nor did she want to think about it. "You're not who I thought you were either." She admitted, finding his honesty refreshing. He really wasn't just the hardheaded, short tempered Serpent everyone was branding him as. Hell, even Jughead chalked him off as that.
They stared deeply into each other's eyes, relishing in the peaceful silence hugging them. Neither of them felt the urge to fill the silence with anything. Appreciating each other's presences was simply enough, and they both knew it. As Harley sat there, staring deeply into his dark eyes, she wondered if the feelings tugging at her were genuine, if they meant what she thought they did. Because if they did, she wasn't sure if it excited her or if it deeply scared her. Climbing in bed with a serpent was a bad idea, at least according to everything she knew. But god, they didn't know just how charming the snake could be. . .
And despite of the night she'd had, she let herself indulge in the thought of the two of them. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't so scary after all.
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚
Sitting gathered around a lunch table in the cafeteria was Jughead, Archie, Veronica, Betty and lastly Harley. Jughead had practically begged the Byers girl to sit with them at lunch, wanting to make up for not being there for her lately. Initially had declined the offer, but once she remembered that she was severely pissed off at Midge, she accepted. It was either that or sitting by herself with her thoughts.
The romantic weekend at the Lodge cabin had been anything but romantic, as someone had broken in and decided to rob them. Oh, and at the very start of the weekend Cheryl Blossom had called Jughead to let him know that Betty and Archie had shared a heated kiss just outside her house. He had been rightfully upset to begin with, seeing as Betty had failed to inform him of this kiss before they became intimate at the night of his father's retirement party. But alas he had chosen not to let it ruin his weekend with his girlfriend ( especially since he had kissed Veronica infront of both Betty and Archie to make up for it all ). Everyone had escaped from the weekend unscaved, fortunately.
With the news of Hiram Lodge buying the trailer park, Jughead was anything but pleased. In fact his conspiracy theories flourished at the piece of information, finally beginning to piece together the puzzle. At the rate the Lodge man was going, he'd soon have ownership of the entire town. Jughead had no idea what it meant yet, but he knew it wasn't anything good.
Which was why he was currently announcing his plans for a peaceful form of protest.
"I'm going on a hunger strike to protest Southside High closing and to get it reopened." Jughead announced, eyes locked on Veronica. His gaze, however, shifted quickly over to Archie as he snorted at the revelation. "What?" Jughead pressed, a single brow quirked.
Arhcie looked around the table, unable to contain his chuckle. "I'm sorry, man. It's just— You're, like, always eating. I mean, good luck with that, but—"
"Hey, it's Jughead's prerogative to protest peacefully, so we're gonna support that, aren't we?" Betty came for her boyfriend's defense. Harley wasn't really paying any attention to the conversation, mentally checked out. She simply stared blankly with a head full of thoughts, chowing down on her sandwich.
"Veronica?" Thee voice of which belonged to Ethel Muggs caught the tables attention.
Veronica smiled warmly at the Muggs girl, unbeknown to what she was about to do. "Oh, hey, Ethel."
"For your crimes against the town of Riverdale, for everything that you and your
family have done and continue to do, we find you guilty." Everyone at the table shared a look of confusion as Ethel paused. "Your sentence is this."
Just like that, Veronica was covered in the bright pink strawberry milkshake Ethel had poured over her head, a gasp of shock sounding in the cafeteria. Harley's mouth fell open ever so slightly at the scene. The Raven hair girl quickly got to her feet, storming out with Betty hot in her heels. Archie scurried after the two girls, leaving Jughead and Harley behind.
Though very suprised by the incident, Harley couldn't help but to let her mind wander elsewhere. Seeing Veronica covered in the pink milkshake reminded her of that day at her locker, which in turn reminded her of Friday's night. . .
Harley had yet to even inform Jughead of what had happened. Quite frankly the girl was unsure if it was even worthy of mentioning. The Jones boy very obviously had a lot on his plate right now, and the last thing Harley wanted was to add to that. Especially considering that her worries included not only one, but two serpents. David's words kept echoing in her head everytime she even considered the remote possibility of pursing anything but a friendship with Sweet Pea. Despite his hospitality and kindness to her, she couldn't shake the shorter serpent's words. Any guy who says he's interested in you beyond just fucking you, is full of shit. Harley was aware of how incredibly unfair it was to put David's words on her relations to Sweet Pea, but she couldn't help it. It really, really got to her.
Harley was fully aware that she wasn't some unlovable, bleak creature, but she had always had this nagging feeling that no one could ever be hopelessly devoted to her. To love her unconditionally and irrevocably. To say that David's words had hit a nerve would have been a grave understatement.
"Earth to Harley?" Jughead waved his eyes infront of her eyes, snapping her out of her train of thoughts.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Harley blinked rapidly as she came back to her senses.
Jughead offered his friend a look of worry. "I asked if you're okay. You've been giving me blank stares all day."
The Byers girl sighed deeply with a shrug. "I'm fine."
"Come on, I know you better than that Har. I can tell somethings up." Jughead pressed on.
The girl scoffed loudly, slamming her hands down on the lunchtable. "Oh really? You've managed to do that in what all of the five minutes we've spent together over the course of the last few weeks? I don't really understand why you're acting like you care so much all of a sudden. Last I checked, you've been too busy to even check up on me at all lately!"
Jughead was taken aback by her sudden outburst. Harley never really was the one prone to tantrums and outbursts unless something was really bothering her. "I'm sorry, you're right. I know I've been a bad friend lately—"
"No, no you haven't. I'm sorry." Harley sighed, realizing how totally unfair she was being. "I'm sorry. I barely got two hours of sleep last night and I'm just feeling really stressed out lately." The girl ran a hand over her face, sighing deeply for the hundredth time that day. "The phone works both ways and we both have had a lot of things on our plates lately."
"Something in particular bothering you? You don't seem like yourself." The Jones boy questioned in genuine concern.
"No, no I'm okay. Guess just school and this musical coming up is putting a toll on me. Kevin asked me if I could take this role, and I'm kinda regretting it." Harley lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. School had been kicking her ass lately, and she did regretting agreeing to partake in the musical. But she had much bigger things bothering her.
Fortunately for her, Jughead seemed to buy the excuse. The bell rang loudly soon after than, signaling the end of lunch. Harley didn't hesitate to collect her things and scurrying away from the table.
But not without noticing his intense stare locked her the entire time. . .
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚
"Friends, I have an exciting announcement to make."
Gathered in the students lounge were Harley, Jughead, Archie, Kevin and Veronica. The latter was currently preparing to make an announcement to the others. "I'm running for student council president against Reggie 'the misogynist' Mantle."
While Betty and Archie smiled warmly at the news, a Jughead made no effort to hide his discontent. He scoffed at the news, sporting a scowl on his face. "You've got to be kidding me." He whispered, audible to most everyone gathered for the news.
Veronica brushed past his annoyance, continuing. "If yesterday's dramatic event taught me anything, it's that Veronica Lodge is not a victim, nor will she ever allow herself to become one."
"Your parents are taking over Riverdale, and now you wanna take over our school?" Jughead couldn't help but to voice his opinion. "So what is this? Part of mommy and daddy's evil bidding?"
"Jug, I get that you're in a bad mood because you haven't eaten in—" Veronica hastily interrupted Archie.
"Actually, Jughead, my parents think I should avoid the spotlight. But I was born for elected office." Veronica defended. The explanation seemed to peak Jughead's interest, especially the part where her parents didn't want her drawing in too much attention.
"V, if you wanna be president, you've got our vote." Betty reassured, a warm smile playing on her lips.
Arhcie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, team Ronnie all the way."
Harley too decided to support the Lodge. "It's obvious that I'm not voting for Mantle, so consider my vote yours." Veronica flash an greatful smile to her friends.
"B?" Veronica switched her attention over to the Cooper girl, smiling warmly. "As the Thelma to my Louise, I can't imagine doing this with anyone else. Will you be my running mate?"
Betty grinned back widely. "Of course, V. I'd be honored."
Kevin cheered in his seat. "Amaze! B and V!"
Harley smiled at Betty and Veronica as they hugged joyfully. She was happy to seem them so content. Just the previous day Veronica had landed a punch in Reggie's face, something Harley almsot wished she'd done herself. She sure as hell was voting Betty and Veronica instead of Reggie. In fact, she couldn't help but to wonder why the hell the Mantle boy was running in the first place. He was most certainly not one for politics, let alone for thinking at all.
Harley slipped out of the students lounge as her phone buzzed signaling a notification. Everytime she received a text lately a horrible feeling would creep in on her. Hesitatedly, Harley pressed on the notification. Much to her dismay, it was from the same unknown number that had been haunting her the past few weeks.
I think it's due time we start getting to know eachother a little better, don't you think Har? Well, I know all about you, of course. Maybe we should even out the playing fields a little?
Letting the stress and emotions of the last few weeks get to her, Harley decided enough was enough. She wasn't going to sit back and ignore the texts, she was finally responding.
How about you stop hiding behind your phone like a coward and tell me who you are.
Harley wrote back, shutting her phone off. She shoved it aggressively into the pocket of her jeans as she stalked down the hallway. The girl had ran away from Sweet Pea the night outside of the Whyte Wyrm, she had ran off everytime they either kissed or came close to. Harley had run of when someone terrorized her locker, and she had ran off when that serpent had belittled her so brutally. Enough was enough. Harley was done running, starting with that god damn text.
And Sweet Pea was next on her list.
word count; 2995
a/n
super super excited to give you this and the next few chapters ! have a lot of stuff planned ahead, so stay tuned for that ! have been able to regularly update which has really truly been so much fun, and it's even more fun when i get to see you guys interact with the chapters ! so pls keep interacting cause it'll make me even more motivated to write and update the book more ! hope you enjoyed the chapter !
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