DESPERADO | SWEET PEA [2]

2

Walking toward where FP was giving Archie a Serpent tattoo on his arm before he was sent off to jail, Izzy, Sweet Pea, Jughead, And Fangs talked together about what was going on with the Ghoulies.

"We know that Hiram Lodge has taken over the Southside 'cause he's been colluding with the Ghoulies and we need to know what he's up to exactly," Jughead explained, referring to both himself and Izzy.

Izzy shared a quick glance with Sweet Pea, both of them still not talking to each other after the fight they had with each other earlier that day. Sweet Pea knew Izzy was mad at him. He had broken their promise. The promise of never leaving the other when in the middle of a fight. That promise always helped them worked through their differences and Sweet Pea ruined that by leaving on his motorcycle.

Izzy let out a small sigh, turning her head to look at Fangs instead, "Alright, Fangs, you're up. I need you to find the Ghoulies' new lair, okay?" She spoke up, placing a hand on her best friend's back as she talked to him, "If you see them, I don't want you to engage. This just for you to gain visual on them. We can't be risking another gang war right now after last time. I just need confirmation that whatever the hell Hiram Lodge is up to, it has nothing to do with the Serpents or Riverdale High because that's the last thing we need right now."

Once making it to the Serpent hangout, the group stopped walking. Fangs patted Izzy on the back, "Will do, Iz. You got it." Fangs responded before walking off.

Sweet Pea, on the other hand, stood in place. He walked closer to Izzy, placing a hand on Izzy's shoulder as he turned her body so she was facing him, "Hey, can we talk?" He asked her in a pleading tone.

Izzy glanced at Sweet Pea before looking over at Jughead, who was waiting for her to accompany him over to where FP was giving Archie his Serpent tattoo. She turned her head to look back at Sweet Pea, "Not right now, Sweet Pea. I'm kind of busy." She told him quietly, "Later?"

Sweet Pea let out a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them back up and nodded his head, "Yeah, Yeah. Sure." He replied before walking off, clearly frustrated.

That was the problem though. He wasn't mad at Izzy for choosing Serpent business over him, he was mad at himself for leaving her at the courthouse when they should have been fixing their problems together.

Izzy watched Sweet Pea walk away from her, a sad look on her face as she did so. She sighed out before turning to Jughead, nodding her head before they both walked over to FP together, "Hey, kids, come have a look." FP told his two children, letting out a small laugh, "Might be my best one yet."

"Well, carrot boy, how does it feel to be an honorary Serpent?" Izzy asked Archie, a smile forming on her lips as she walked a bit closer to him.

"Feels pretty savage, Izzy." Archie smiled at Izzy before looking back down at the Serpent tattoo FP was finishing up on his right bicep.

Jughead and Izzy took a seat on two chairs nearby, "Archie, the first thing I learned at Southside High was that you need to roll with a crew to survive. They're gonna be Serpents in juvenile detention. Find 'em. Sit with them. That tattoo is gonna get you in. But it's also gonna get you protected." Jughead explained to his best friend while Izzy couldn't help but feel as though she disagreed.

"Yeah, Jughead's right," FP agreed with his son, "Up to a point. That Serpent ink will keep your body safe, but you still gotta worry about protecting this, eh?" He pointed his index finger at his brain, "I speak from experience, all right? Your mind is the first thing that goes when you're locked up. If you can keep your head on straight, you can get through anything. You just...You gotta keep your wits about it, Red."

As it became silent between the four of them, Izzy finally took it upon herself to speak up, "What you guys are saying..." Izzy trailed off, causing the three males to look up, "I have to disagree."

"Disagree about what exactly?" FP questioned the girl confused.

"No offense, Archie, but you stuck a gun in the My face, you started a fight with the Serpents and you've done a lot to show that you're an enemy of us. Some people in Juvie will recognize you as that, not the boy who helped protect us when the Southside was taken over. And when that happens, they won't be able to protect you from people like the Ghoulies, who hate your guts after you got Malachai and a lot of them arrested during the drag race." Izzy explained to Archie, who seemed nervous by it all.

Jughead noticed how worried Archie looked and he quickly spoke up, "Don't listen to her, that won't happen. You don't have to worry." He tried to assure him, but deep down, all three males knew Izzy was right.

"Just don't drop the soap, Andrews," Izzy jokingly commented, causing the group to give her a look, "You're too good looking to drop the soap."

FP couldn't help but chuckle at Izzy's comment while Jughead was giving her a glare and Archie gave her a confused look, not knowing what she meant.

______

At Cheryl's pool party, Izzy entered in her pink bikini, every single one of her tattoos on full display. A lot of the guys at the party checked her out, news of her and Sweet Pea getting into a fight oddly being known by everyone.

Her eyes scanned around. She noticed Cheryl and Toni sitting together, Reggie and Archie tossing a football to each other and a few of her other friends scattered around. Her blood boiled when she spotted Sweet Pea, sitting at the poolside beside Josie McCoy.

She rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh. To control her anger, Izzy tightly balled her hand into a fist. The tighter her grip had went, the more her finger nails dug into the palm of her hand. She winced a bit, allowing her hand to open back up as she calmed down a bit. Izzy put a small smile on her face, strutting right past Sweet Pea, which quickly caught the male Serpent's attention.

"Izzy!" Sweet Pea called out, only to get no answer from the female.

"Well, well, look at who it is. Izzy Blake. I haven't seen you all summer yet it seems like you've gotten hotter. Must be the haircut," Reggie spoke up as he tossed the football to Archie, averting all his attention to Izzy as he checked her out, "What a coincidence though. Archie and I were just talking about you."

Izzy smiled, walking a bit closer to Reggie as she crossed her arms over her chest, "About what exactly, Mantle?" She questioned curiously.

"Since Archie's off to juvie, I'm in charge of the Bulldogs. And since you're in charge of the Serpents, we're gonna have to work closely together to keep the peace," Reggie explained, walking a bit closer to Izzy, "Sound good?"

"Sounds great." Izzy smiled at him.

Just then, Izzy turned to look at one of the Bulldogs, who held a water soaker in his hand as he pointed it at her, "What are you doing?" Izzy asked, still smiling, "You better not, I swear."

"Get her," Reggie laughed as he grabbed onto Izzy allowing her to get sprayed with water.

Izzy screamed in playful manner as she got soaked, "Reggie, are you serious?" Izzy laughed at him as she tried to get out of his grip, "Let go!"

Sweet Pea, who standing at the side of the pool, watched as the scene occurred, feeling jealous. Izzy was actually laughing at something Reggie Mantle did. Something he thought he would never see her do. She was having fun and he wasn't able to be there with her.

AN: Don't worry. Sweet Pea and Izzy will make up in a chapter or two.