protection of my own || sweet pea

six

The next week went by pretty quickly, and Neveah was glad of that. She still kept to herself in school but would talk to Toni every so often. She also would notice the glances Sweet Pea gave her in the hallway, the lunchroom, or their Chemistry class. Something about him unsettled her. She was constantly on edge around him. He knew this too, the power he had over her made his ego skyrocket.

Friday came and Neveah was excited to spend the weekend with her friends to celebrate Jughead's birthday. She walked from school to Archie's house, where she met with Kevin, Joaquin, Archie, and Ethel to decorate.

"Veah! I missed you." Kevin greeted as she stepped into the living room of the Andrews residence. "It's been two days, Kev." Neveah said with a giggle, giving the brunette boy a hug. "Still missed you." Kevin responded. "Hey, Veah, how's school?" Archie asked as he walked through the living room with a roll of streamers in his hand.

"Uh, pretty good, I guess." Neveah answered, offering to give him a hand in hanging streamers by the door post. While Archie and Neveah did that, Kevin, Ethel, and Joaquin set out the rest of the snacks and hung the Birthday banner. About ten minutes later, everything was decorated.

"If it's a double feature does that mean I have time to go to the bathroom?" Ethel asked. "I'd hold it, Ethel." Kevin responded. Neveah was stood on the other side of Kevin when Archie came up and put his arms over Kevin and Joaquin's shoulders. They saw a figure walk up to the door, quickly turned the lights off and got in position. When the door opened, the group yelled "Surprise!" in unison, but quieted down when they realized it was Veronica.

"Do I look like Jughead to you?" Veronica snapped.

Jeez, someone woke up on the wrong side of their queen sized bed.

Kevin's phone dinged and he looked down at it. "Oh. Betty just texted me, they're almost here." He put his phone back and looked at Veronica. "You've met Joaquin, right?" He asked. "I haven't had the pleasure." Veronica answered as she shook hands with the boy. Veronica then grabbed Kevin's arm and took him into the living room. "So, how you liking Southside High?" Joaquin asked. Neveah shrugged and let out a small sigh. "I miss my friends, everyone in that school scares me- like there's this one guy that won't l-"

"Guys, they're really coming this time. Everybody hide." Ethel spoke up when she saw the headlights through the curtain. Neveah slipped behind the kitchen entryway, and someone else turned the lights off. The front door was opened, and as Betty and Jughead walked into the living room, the lights turned on.

"Surprise!" the group yelled in unison. Betty looked a lot more excited than Jughead did. "Happy birthday, man." Archie said as he hugged his best friend. "Hey, Veah," Betty said with a smile as she walked past her friend. She nodded to her and waved to Jughead. "Happy birthday." She mouthed. Jug nodded and got introduced to Joaquin.

"Has anyone seen Betty?" He asked. Neveah cut the lights off again and Betty walked through the kitchen with Jughead's cake in her hand and began to sing Happy Birthday. It was kind of creepy, but they dealt with it. "I need something to drink." Neveah said with a groan before making her way to the kitchen. She poured herself some punch and leaned against the counter. Veronica came in after her and went straight to the sink. "Everything okay, V?" She asked. She looked at her and nodded her head. "Just stuff with my dad." She said simply. "If you need anything. let me know." Veah offered.

Archie walked through the entryway, and Neveah walked back into the living room to give them some privacy. She leaned against Kevin and sipped her drink. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. She looked out the window and her mouth dropped at what she saw. Cheryl and Chuck were leading the pack of at least 50 kids outside of Archie's house. "You really think you can have a party without Moi?" Cheryl asked. "Or me?" Chuck added.