Pleather || A Sweet Pea Romance (Riverdale)

chapter 28|| the talk

   "But that's the way it seems to go"
   "When trying so hard to get to something real"
   "It feels It feels like I only go backwards, darlin' "

There's only one week left of school and then I leave the following Monday. That means I only have 8 more days here in Riverdale.

Sweet Pea and I are sitting at one of the picnic tables in the trailer park enjoying the sun. It's been cloudy this whole week.

I told him that night about what Veronica told me and I asked him not to tell anyone. He said he wouldn't and I believed him. He told me that he was right all along, she was just jealous. We both agreed that I should lay low my last few weeks here. 

The funny thing is, her plan actually is working. Since I stopped talking to Betty, Cheryl, and Toni they've all become friendlier towards Veronica. Cheryl reached out to her to have her help throw her party. And Betty eats lunch with her now. Maybe I was her problem after all. 

Neither of us, Sweet Pea or I, want to upset Veronica. Especially because I have a strong feeling the Veronica told Malachai to text me that threat. When I showed Sweet Pea the text message, he nearly punched the wall before I could calm him down. I asked him to not tell anyone about the text. He said he wouldn't, but this was hard to believe. I feel like he must have told Jughead to keep an eye out for me, because when I'm not with Sweet Pea, Jughead is with me. I'm never alone. I don't mind the extra protection though. I'll only need it for a week more anyways.

"So, can we talk about me leaving?" I ask carefully.

He reaches across and grabs my hand and he nods.

"I'm leaving a week from tomorrow," I tell him. 

He nods and looks down. I bring his hand to my lips and kiss it. 

I'm quiet for a moment as I try to figure out how to word this next question. "I've been thinking whether or not we should try to do long distance."

"Why wouldn't we?" he asks. There's a little anger in his tone and I kiss his hand again.

"Because it's pretty far. And you don't have a reliable phone."

"I'll ride to Buffalo every weekend," he says matter-of-fact-ly.

The thought of him riding over 10 hours on his motorcycle every week makes my stomach drop. 

"I was also thinking..." I trail not being able to say it.

Part of me doesn't want to limit Sweet Pea. At a minimum, it's a whole year apart. And then there's college, who knows if we'd be in the same town then. I don't want him to wait around for me, which is what I know he would do. He'd do anything for me.

"You want to break up?" he asks.

"No," I say honestly, and I see him visibly relax. "Pea, you know I love you."

He's quiet for a moment and he reaches across the table to peck me on the lips. "You've never said that out loud," he smiles, but his smile almost immediately drops. "But that means you're saying goodbye."

I shake my head. "Pea..." I trail. "I don't want you to wait around for me. I want you to go and live your life."

He looks off to the side.

"I love you so much," I kiss his hands again. "And I know you love me so much too. You would wait here forever if I asked you to."

"I would," he agrees.

"But I can't do that to you. Who knows what's going to happen. It wouldn't be fair to you to ask you to do long distance. It's not your fault I'm leaving."