bloodline [sweet pea]

act one, scene three

❝You think I'll be the dark sky so you can be the star? I'll swallow you whole...❞

☽ ---------------- 𓆙𓆙𓆙 ---------------- ☾

'ALL AMERICAN BOY ON TRIAL -The New York Times' and 'THE CANNIBAL: face of madman who killed 17 and ate them - Daily Mirror' and 'KILLER TO COPS: "I'll do it again" - Daily News' all had one thing in common. They were all headlines that rocked cities and towns that would forever be known as the place where tragedy dwelled.

And now there was 'CHAOS AND THE BLACK HOOD: Police have no leads - Riverdale Register'.

There was a tension that hung around the town of Riverdale, thick and as unnerving as the most recent headline to splash across the local media outlets. Dear fair Riverdale was joining ranks with all the other towns who's claim to fame would one day be the murderous psychopaths that called it home. The recent information that had come to light about the so called Black Hood had the towns residents on edge.

It didn't help that a group of high school boys had recorded a video of them taunting the man with the gun.

The town was relatively divided on this topic, some found it to be grotesque and unnecessary, others thought it displayed bravery and that was perhaps the most dangerous thing of all. Telling a bunch of testosterone filled boys what they were doing was brave only added fuel to the already blazing fire.

Among those who didn't care enough to form an opinion was Theo Cohen, who, after a grueling cheer practice lead by an angrier than usual Cheryl Blossom, was dragging herself to Pops to pick up dinner. Theo hadn't been surprised to find Jughead Jones sitting in a booth typing away on a laptop, beanie on his head and a steaming hot mug of coffee next to him.

Theo thought Pop Tate ought to commission a painting of this scene and hang it above the very booth the boy was sitting.

He glanced over the top of his laptop when Theo dropped into the booth bench across from him, eyebrow quirking at her sudden appearance, "Cohen."

"Jones." She replied with, lips pursed tightly for only a moment before her facade cracked and her lips curled up into a smile, the corners of Jughead's mouth threatened to mirror hers. She plucked a fry from his plate and asked, "So how ya doing?"

Jughead glanced around the diner, which was mostly empty at this time of the night, but he still asked her, "Sure you want to be seen with me?"

"There's no one here Jughead." Theo pointed out as she flicked his hand, stretching a leg across to rest her foot on the bench he was sitting on, the toe of her sneaker tapping against his outer thigh. 

Jughead shrugged his shoulders and informed her, "I'm fine."

"Bull." She called him on it, but to Jughead's surprise she didn't push it. Theo knew what it was like to have a father in prison and how it was all anyone ever wanted to talk about. So she changed the subject and gave him the chance to talk about something else, "So how's Southside High?"

He contemplated not answering her, changing the subject with a snarky comment but Jughead knew it was a moot point, if anyone could match him wit for wit it would be Theo. So he tapped against his computer, hitting save on the draft of his novel that he was working on, closing his laptop he informed her, "Everything I expected and everything I didn't expect all rolled into one giant shock to the system."

"Sounds about right." Theo muttered.

"Your pal Fangs has been alright though, Toni introduced us the other day." He purposely left out Sweet Pea, something Theo noted and truthfully she didn't blame him for. Theo had interacted with Toni a handful of times through Fangs and the two go along well enough and it certainly was no secret that Theo would gladly take the pink haired girl over Fangs' boyfriend with the anger problems. No question.

So Theo nodded her head, informing him, "Good, I told him I'd beat him up if anything happened to you... you know, aside from whatever it is that made your face a little more tragic than normal."

Jughead turned his face away from her in an attempt to hide the smile that was about to betray his otherwise stoic expression, and when he notices Betty and Archie approaching their table he notes, "Ah, the cavalry is here."

Theo, who had never gotten along with Jughead's blonde, ponytail wearing girlfriend offered her a tight lip smile as she slid out of the booth to let them both in. Her take out was waiting for her at the register so she turned over her shoulder as she walked away and said, "See you around Jug."

As she headed away from their table Theo could hear Betty voice in her usual sickeningly sweet disposition, "I didn't know you two were friends Jugs."

A gentle scoff left her mouth when she heard Jughead assure his girlfriend, "Come on Betts, we're from completely different worlds, we're barely acquaintances."

The streets of Riverdale are quiet that night, Theo isn't surprised to find this as she drives home with her take out bag of dinner on the passenger seat. Most of the residents in town had enacted curfews for their families, keeping everyone indoors and as safe as possible once the sun went down. It seemed like a smart move to them, only Theo could guarantee every house with a child over the age of fourteen had empty back bedrooms and a wide open window. 

Teenagers were defiant to a fault, no amount of threats of imminent danger would keep them in their homes every night. Truth be told if she wasn't already alone for the night with no set of watchful parental eyes on her she would have done the same thing. Black Hood or not. 

The Cohen's home is quiet and dark when she pulls her mom's Kia into the driveway, putting it in park and gathering her food and practice bag from the seat next to her. The horn beeps as Theo clicks the lock button on the key fob on her way to the front door. Navigating her way through the front door and down the hall to the kitchen in the dark Theo tosses her practice bag in the vicinity of where she knows the laundry chute is by the mudroom door and enters the kitchen. 

It isn't until she places her bag of Pop's on the kitchen peninsula that movement catches her eye. The sheer curtain covering the window by the back door billows with the gentle breeze, a window that, given the current state of Riverdale never would have been left open by either of her moms if they weren't home. 

Slowly Theo approaches the window, slamming it shut and clicking the lock into place before she slides her fingers over the two locks on the back door, ensuring they were turned the proper way. With that she reaches into the umbrella stand next to the door, her fingers curling around the handle of a wooden baseball bat, pulling it from the stand. 

She turns swiftly when there's a creak in the hardwood, bat up and in ready stance when a familiar voice, deep and frazzled in panic, calls out to her, "Jesus, don't swing it's me!"

** Part 2 will be up tomorrow :) **