When Crossing The Tracks-Sweet Pea

70- salted caramel kind of love

"It's crazy how people change" Betty said as she looked around "Yeah" I said, following her gaze. Jughead was talking and laughing long with Sweet Pea and Fangs "I remember when you came to Riverdale" she giggled "What about it?" I asked "Oh come on, you were the complete opposite of who you are now. The way you talked and looked at people with this slight judgement in your eyes" she said "What? That's completely false" I said "Oh yeah, sure" she nodded her head and I laughed "Yeah. I guess we all changed" I said "I remember when you and Sweet Pea started getting close" she said and I smiled "I have a headache just thinking about it" I said "Oh, Lila" she laughed and put a hand on my shoulder "Yeah, the beginnings of our relationship were really...something" I said, glancing over at Sweet Pea again "He was crazy for you from the start" she said "Nah" I said "The guy was ready to punch anyone that even looked at you. Or did you forget those fights he had with Reggie and Archie" Betty laughed "Oh God" I laughed, covering my face "When they showed up at Archie's house ready to fight, gosh. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that night" I said "Did he scare you?" she asked "I don't even know....he's so different now, though" I said and she nodded "He is. You're good for him" she smiled "Yeah. But deep down he still has that rage in him" I sighed "It must be scary to see him throwing punches huh?" she sighed "He....yeah" I sighed. I quickly put a smile on my face when I noticed Sweet Pea and Jughead walking towards us "Hey" Sweet Pea greeted "Hey" I smiled, cuddling to his side "What were you two talking about?" Jughead asked as he put an arm around Betty "Just girl stuff" Betty said "Oh, I love girl talk" Jughead said and we laughed "It's good to have you back, Jug" I said "Thanks. Hey, you ladies want to grab a bite at Pop's? Call it a double date" Jughead said "Sure" Betty smiled and I looked at Sweet Pea "Yeah, sure" he said and Jughead smiled, nodding.

It was nice to forget about problems for a while. As we were sitting in one of the booth at Pop's, munching on fries and drinking delicious milkshakes, I had a third's person view in my head of what we looked like. The scene unfolding in slow motion, the four of us smiling and laughing. We'd look at each other with nothing other than love in our eyes, as if outside of the diner, Riverdale wasn't crumbling apart under Hiram Lodge. Downstairs at La Bonne Nuit, the atmosphere was a lot different. The place became quite popular the past few weeks, despite Veronica's concerns. "We should go" Sweet Pea said as he put down his empty beer bottle on the table "Already? It's only 11" Jughead said "See you tomorrow" Sweet Pea said and stood up "Bye" I said and gave Betty a quick hug "See you, man" Jughead said and shook hands with Sweet Pea. On our way out, Sweets made sure to say good bye to some of his Serpent friends "How come you wanted to leave so early on a Friday night?" I asked and he shrugged "Wanted to hang out with you" he said and kissed me before opening the car door for me "Okay?" I laughed "What? I can't hang out with my girl without all those other idiots around?" he asked as he started driving back to the trailers. He always drives with one hand which kind of gives me anxiety but his bad habit of resting his other hand on my thigh or even holding my hand – has become something he does without thinking about it. Thinking back at Betty's words from earlier. When I first met Sweet Pea, he was still childish, in a way. He thought a fist fight could solve all his problems. I can't blame him though, he didn't know any better. Even I judged him without really knowing him. I thought he was an arrogant, flamboyant bad boy who always had bad grades because he didn't give a shit about anything other than getting drunk and hanging out with his friends. When in reality, he's loving and caring, smart and passionate. "I love you, you know" I said, leaning my head against his shoulder "All of a sudden?" he chuckled and I rolled my eyes "Oops, my bad. Call it a momentary lapse of sanity" I said "Does that happen often?" he laughed "Yeah. So don't feel too special when you fear that from me" I said, sitting back in my seat "Very funny" he said, shooting me a stern glare. I smiled and intertwined our fingers, bringing his hand to my lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckles "I was just kidding" I said "I know. I love you too" he said. I smiled, looking at the lipstick mark that was left on his skin. When we got to his trailer, he opened the door for me and I walked in. He followed suit, locking the door behind him. Sweet Pea shrugged off his leather jacket and kicked off his shoes. A deep sigh fell from his lips as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. His plush lips made their way from my cheek to my jaw and down my neck to my collarbones. I gave into him completely, without any second thought or concern.

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?" I asked. I was laying on Sweet Pea's naked chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, enjoying the feeling of his fingertips caressing my bare back. "Ten years? That's a lot" he said "I don't know, probably still in this shitty town" he added "Don't you want to leave? You can do so much better than Riverdale" I said "I'm not sure about that. And besides, go where? I have no money" he said "Just hypothetically speaking. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?" I asked "A Nascar driver" he said "Wait, really?" I looked up to him and he nodded "I would've guessed a fireman or something" I giggled "No way, that's so cliché" he said "Oh right, sorry" I rolled my eyes and he smiled "What about you?" he asked "A princess but I don't think that will work out " I said and he smiled "Where do you want to go to college after graduation?" he asked "I haven't thought about it" I shook my head. I obviously already had everything planned out but I can't just tell him this, at least not right now "You'll probably go off to fashion school with Veronica or something" he said and I laughed "True. Me and Veronica already decided to go to Paris" I joked "Design me a new leather jacket while you're at it, okay?" he said and I laughed "Sure thing" I said and kissed him.