𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚

chapter ten

✴︎°༄

A WHILE HAD passed since the Ghoulies were temporarily wiped off the chessboard, and FP's retirement party was ready to be had. Toni had convinced Kiara to sing the song she wrote and would be doing so right before Archie and Veronica sang. It annoyed the hell out of Kiara that Veronica would be on the Serpent stage, but she tried to not let it ruin her night. She had worked way too hard on the lyrics and tune to let a couple of Northsiders stop her from singing.

Kiara now stood near the bar with Toni and was waiting for Sweet Pea to arrive. She was wearing a gray bralette and skirt with thigh-high boots of the same color. The skirt had three slits; one straight down the middle, and two half that length on the sides. To complete the look, a thick black choker decorated her neck and a belt was wrapped around her waist with the end dangling in the front delicately.

She had gotten ready with Toni and Fangs at his trailer, so Sweet Pea hadn't seen her yet.

Sweet Pea hopped off his motorcycle and fixed his wind-tampered hair before straightening his jacket. He wore black jeans and a tight plaid shirt, his Serpent jacket over top. He walked into the Wyrm and glanced around until his eyes landed on Kiara. His stern look gave way to a bright smile as he strode toward the bar.

"Evening, ladies," He smirked as he leaned on the counter, facing Toni and Kiara.

"Hey, you made it," Toni said. "Oop! Looks like I gotta be over there." She waltzed away but not without mouthing 'yes queen' to Kiara.

"You look nice," Sweet Pea complimented and she giggled.

"You look nice too, tough guy."

"I heard you're singing a song you wrote?" He questioned.

"Yeah," She smiled, tapping her fingers nervously on the bar counter. "I wrote it for you." She smirked then ran off, leaving him speechless and with the widest grin on his face.

***

"I'm so into you, I can barely breathe, and all I wanna do is to fall in deep," Kiara sang into the mic and Sweet Pea spat out his drink. He hadn't expected her to be so blunt and must've forgotten how angelic her voice sounded. "But close ain't close enough 'til we cross the line, so name a game to play, and I'll roll the dice." She continued singing and every word meant something different for Sweet Pea then it did for everyone else.

To most, it was just a cute love song written by a girl swooning over her dream guy, but Sweet Pea saw it as a longing, a cry for help. She was hurt but she wanted him badly. She needed what he could give her. She needed him to heal the wounds that Pitbull and ripped open and the scars that her past had left. She wanted and needed him to light up her world, and she wanted it very, very soon.

The crowd cheered wildly and screamed for an encore once she finished the song, but it was clear team Varchie couldn't keep themselves together much longer. Kiara kindly welcomed them onto the brightly lit stage and the Northsiders went to the mics. They felt awkward and knew they could never top what Kiara had just done but they were damn well going to try.

"That was amazing," Sweet Pea beamed when she met up with him in the back of the Wyrm.

"Thanks," She giggled shyly.

"And I got the message, Kiara," He smiled down at her and she looked up at him. "I'm into you too, and I want you more than anything else."

The crowd started booing loudly, so Sweet Pea naturally joined in. Betty quickly filled the stage and continued the song, which was Mad World by Donnie Darko. She began to unbutton her shirt and Kiara's eyes widened. Holy fuck! There is no way she is becoming a Serpent!

Sweet Pea looked away awkwardly then smiled down at the girl one foot shorter than him.

"Remember that night you were on that stage?" He smirked.

"Yes, and it was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life," She giggled.

"Oh c'mon, you were amazing," He protested.

*flashback*

Kiara danced the best she could around the pole and received many cheers while doing so. It was definitely on the list of the top ten worst experiences of her life, but she wanted to be a Serpent more than anything.

A few minutes later she was outside the Wyrm and talking with Pitbull.

"We're getting together, you don't have a choice," He smirked.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Get this through your thick skull; I'm not single!" She replied.

"Archie, right? Yeah, I can change that, just give me twenty-four hours and he'll be wiped off the board," He smirked and Kiara's eyes widened with fear. "You think your brother, Kevin wouldn't approve of us fucking? I can take him down too. Cheryl, Natalia, Jughead, I'll kill 'em all if I have to. I will hurt everyone you've ever loved until you get with me."

"Fine, just don't hurt them, please," She exclaimed, tears rapidly streaming down her cheeks. "Promise you won't hurt them."

"Done. Call Archie and he's safe."

"Okay," She whispered and took out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until coming to Archie's and hit call. She brought the phone up to her ear, her hands trembled with fear and sadness.

"Hey, love, how have you been?" Archie chirped. "I've been missing you like crazy and I was just trying to plan a way to safely sneak over to where you're staying-"

"A-Arch, I love you," She spoke softly. "I love you more than anything, more than I love myself. But I can't drag you down into the mess of the Southside. Being with you puts you and your dad in danger, which means-"

"You aren't breaking up with me, Kiara," He replied, obviously on the verge of tears. "I can't lose you!"

"I'm sorry, Archie Andrews, but this is goodbye."

"I love you," He whispered before she hung up.

She collapsed onto a nearby bench and began to sob heavily.

"Are you happy now?" She whispered to the boy standing in front of her. "You just took away the one thing I love."

"Well, I'll fill that hole, babe. Tell me you love me," He smirked but she shook her head. He slapped her across the face and commanded her to say 'I love you'. She did so out of fear then he left.

*end of flashback*

"Kiara, you okay?" Sweet Pea asked, snapping her out of the awful thoughts. FP had just finished his speech and shots were being passed around.

"Yeah, I need a drink," She replied and took his hand, leading him to the center of the action.