little talks [ sweet pea ]

━ TEn

( 010 ) strawberries and cigarettes

IT WAS THREE IN THE morning when Cheryl and Jackson decided to leave the quarry. they went to Pops to grab a strawberry milkshake for Cheryl to have on her way home and Jackson had decided to stay at Pops so he could edit the photos he'd taken during the night.

the waiter placed down Jacksons fries and coffee. Jackson thanked the man and grabbed a few fries before shoving them into his mouth. whilst chewing he grabbed out his laptop and camera and turned them on, plugging in what he needed to.

the bell to the above the door rang out through the diner. Jackson assumed it was just a trucker coming in for a cup of coffee and clicked on his files and the found his camera files.

being completely unaware of the presence sat in front of him Jackson moved all the photos of Cheryl and other things that'd caught his eye to a file on his laptop and unplugged his camera as he didn't need it no more.

"hi," the person in front of him finally spoke, startling Jackson. the long haired boy jumped in his seat, almost dropping his camera in the process, and turned to glare at whoever it was that'd scared him.

Sweet Pea chuckled at Jackson as he gave the Serpent the finger and motioned to the clump of wet hair messily tied up in a bun with a bright red scrunchie, "nice bun," he complimented the Doherty.

Jackson frowned and reached up to feel his hair, brown eyes sinking with realisation. he was about to pull out the scrunchie but Sweet Pea stopped him, "no, no. dont take it out," Sweet Pea then pulled out his phone and held it up. the flash went off, temporarily blinding Jackson and Sweet Pea laughed at the photo he took. "okay, now you can take it out."

Jackson glared at the Serpent and tugged the scrunchie out, putting it around his wrist and making the mental note to give it back to Cheryl.

"i hate you," Jackson muttered as he took a bite of his burger and leaned back into the seat. Sweet Peas lips turned up slightly in a small, forced looking smile and he reached over to grab some of Jackson fries, taking them before Jackson could slap his hand away.

"where'd you run off to at lunch?" Sweet Pea asked and Jackson shrugged, looking back up at Sweet Pea. he frowned at the fresh bruise on the side of his face nut decided against asking about what had happened, he was sure Sweet Pea wouldn't tell him the truth anyways. the Serpent was very closed off, Jackson had noticed. he didn't smile a lot, nor did his laughs seem as genuine and when he did smile it looked as if they were forced, uncomfortable even.

"i felt sick," Jackson lied to the Serpent and took another bite of his food.

"uh huh," Sweet Pea nodded and he seemed to realise something as his eyes widened just in the slightest and he looked up with a smirk, "is that why i saw you and that redhead running a muck down at the quarry?"

Jackson looked like he'd been caught burying a body. his hand moved to his hair and he ran his finger through it, staring down at the keys of his laptop.

"please don't tell my dad," Jackson begged the Serpent, "he'll fucking flip if he finds out i lied to him about being sick."

"i wasn't going to tell Josh. i know how he can be," Sweet Pea reached over and grabbed some more of Jacksons fries. it was silent between the two for a while. Sweet Pea ordered a chocolate shake whilst Jackson enjoyed the rest of his coffee and food with Sweet Pea occasionally stealing a fry or two.

"do you like strawberries?" Sweet Pea suddenly asked. Jackson looked up from his laptop screen with a confused frown. he frowned a lot.

"what?" he chuckled out confused even though he had heard the question.

"do you-"

"no i heard you its just," Jackson laughed again, "its just a very, very weird question. are you high?"

"wha-? no!" Sweet Pea protested confused as to how Jackson came to the conclusion he was high. "my friend left strawberries at my house and they need to eaten and i dont like strawberries."

"you have friends?" Jackson acted shocked and Sweet Pea gave him a look. laughing, Jackson said, "yes, i like strawberries. second favourite fruit under those green grapes."

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

"strawberries and cigarettes, huh? its a weird combination." Jackson stated and leaned forward to grab another strawberry. he was sat cross legged facing Sweet Pea with strawberries and a cigarette pack in front of him. Sweet Pea was laid out on the grass staring up at the stars with a cigarette between his fingers. they were sat in the middle of a random field Sweet Pea had somehow found during the summer. it was at least a thirty minute walk from Sweet Pea's trailer.

"y'know what else is a weird combination? yellow and pink."

Jackson looked at Sweet Pea with furrowed eyebrows, "pink and yellow?"

"yeah, they just do not suit," Jackson would admit, he had a fair point. Sweet Pea took a drag of his cigarette and offered it to Jackson. the Doherty took it and placed it between his lips, inhaling the cancerous smoke. he handed the cig back to Sweet Pea and laid back to stare up at the stars.

"you ever think one or those could be a loved one who passed away?" Jackson softly asked the Serpent. he'd been thinking about it a lot since he passed away.

Sweet Pea shrugged even though Jackson couldn't see him and muttered back, "i believe my grandpa is up there, so, yeah. i do think that others are up there in those stars."

before Jackson could even reply his phone started to ring. he sighed and pulled it out of his hoodie pocket, answering the call without checking the name.

"hi?"

"where the fuck are you?" came Joshuas angry voice. Jacksons eyes widened and he pulled his phone away from his ear and saw he was hours past his curfew. he was supposed to be home at twelve.

"crap," he put the phone back to his ear and stood up quickly, "i'm so sorry dad. i went out for a walk around the town and then i went to Pops and ran into a friend- and thats not important. i'll be home in thirty minutes."

"thirty minutes? where in the buttfuck are you?" Josh asked confused and Jackson glanced around him with a shrug knowing Joshua couldn't see him.

"uh, not too far away. anyways, see you soon, bye," Jackson quickly hung up and grabbed the strawberries before looking at Sweet Pea who'd stood up, "if i die its all your fault," he told the Serpent with the most serious expression he'd ever used.