Back To Life ✧ Sweet Pea (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Eighteen ✧ This Needs To End

It makes me kinda sad that I only get one or two comments on each chapter. :/

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Chapter Eighteen

She went to see Jughead on the last day of school before Christmas break. Thankfully, it was only a half day. She was able to meet the Serpents at the Whyte Wyrm fairly early.

"What's this?" she asked, walking up to the table where Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs were wrapping presents.

"It's Serpent tradition," Toni replied. "Every year we give back to the Southside. Toys for Tots, Meals on Wheels; kids and old folks living alone."

"The Hells Angels do it," Fangs grinned.

She looked over at Sweet Pea and saw him smiling a little while he wrapped small presents. He looked so happy while doing it; Talia would even go as far as saying that he looked absolutely adorable.

"I'm always down for charitable works," Jughead hummed, seeming distracted and stressed. "Hey, have you seen my dad?"

Talia hadn't asked him what was wrong because she knew he wouldn't tell her. He was stubborn.

"Why aren't you in school?" FP said, coming up behind Jughead right on cue.

Jughead left to go talk to FP while Talia grinned at Toni and grabbed some tape and scissors.

FP seemed to deny Jughead whatever it was he had wanted, as he stayed and FP left.

"Sweet Pea!" FP called over his shoulder. "You're with us!"

Talia, out of habit, looked up the moment she heard his name. Sweet Pea glanced at her before standing up and following FP out of the bar, an almost distraught-looking Jughead watching after them. She finally gave in and went over to him to ask what was wrong. He didn't answer for a second, but then he turned to her with his brow furrowed.

"Penny Peabody got my dad out of jail for a favour. I took a crate of drugs to Greendale. That was the supposed to be the end of it but she lied and tricked us all. Now she has my dad wrapped up in it, and I think she has Sweet Pea in too."

She blinked. "I'm sorry, she what?"

"Sweet Pea is doing her dirty work too because she has my dad doing it," he explained. "He didn't want me involved so he picked Sweet Pea instead. This isn't on him. I need to find some way to fix this."

Talia was confused. He had said the Serpents didn't deal drugs, and he had been so adamant about it. What had changed his mind? And more importantly, why had Penny Peabody gotten Jughead into this mess in the first place?

She was angry with him. That much was clear when she went up the steps of his trailer that day and pounded on the door as hard as she could.

She had waited for hours, letting it roll over in her mind. She didn't want him to be upset with her but god, she was with him.

It briefly occurred to her that she didn't have her gun, but that didn't matter.

He pulled the door open. He wore his short-sleeved plaid shirt over a plain black tee, and normally she would have taken a second to appreciate how handsome he always looked. It always caught her off guard. Today, however, she had darker thoughts on her mind.

She pushed by him, going to stand in the living room on the other side of the door.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Sweet?" she snarled, spinning around and pointing a finger at him. "Jughead told me what Peabody has you doing. You and FP are going to get yourselves arrested. Or worse, killed."

He looked confused for a second, then his jaws clenched and his eyes shut in irritation. "That fucking kid is gonna get it-"

"Don't blame this on Jughead!" she shouted. "I'll ask again; what were you thinking, Sweet Pea?!"

"FP told me what happened," he tried to explain. "Peabody tricked Jughead into doing a favour for her so she'd get FP out of jail. She did, and then the favours piled up because that's what Peabody does. That's what happens here. She helps us and then she uses us. She's a Serpent but she's the worst of the worst. I had to help FP because he's the leader, and he needs me. If the drugs aren't delivered then it's on us and we could all die."

"Then get rid of her!"

"How?!"

"I don't know, but you need to get the fuck out of this, Sweet Pea!" she exclaimed. "This isn't how it goes, Sweet! This isn't safe!"

He took a step towards her, his arms flying out. "Look around you, Tal! None of this is safe! You think that everywhere is just like the Northside? That the cops would care if the Black Hood hung around here instead of killing Northsiders? They wouldn't! So we've gotta protect ourselves and our own people and if that means dealing drugs to keep FP out of trouble then fine!" he shouted back at her. "I'll fucking do it!"

She looked him in the eyes, curling her hands into fists. "Why can't you just stop? Why can't you all just not listen to her? She can't just put FP back into prison, Sweet! There are rules!"

"I'm trying to protect the Serpents, don't you see that?!"

"Of course I see it!" she said as she stepped forwards and closer to him. Her tone changed to a lighter one, her lips parted and her features relaxing to hurt instead of rage. "Of course I see that, Sweet."

He went quiet, and his expression faded to one of saddened anticipation. It was as if he already knew what she was about to say.

"This needs to end," she said, her eyes beginning to sting of the tears which were ready to form. "We need to stop this. One of us is going to get hurt through this, or both."

Both of them were silent for a moment before she went to walk by him. He took her arm in his hand and made her stop, and she looked him in the eyes.

"We can't do this, Sweet! I'm hiding things from you and so you're doing the same. That's not healthy and you know it. That's not okay. We can't do this anymore."

"What is 'this'?" he asked. "What is this that we're doing here, Tal? Tell me."

She ripped her arm from his grip. "It doesn't matter anymore."

She walked out of the trailer, feeling as if she had done it a thousand times by then, and left.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears she refused to allow fall.