𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚

chapter twelve

✴︎°༄

KIARA HADN'T EVEN noticed that she had been shot because of the fear and adrenaline running through her. She had one thing on her mind; save her friends. But that was gone now because she knew her dad had everything under control and they were safe.

She felt it now. The cold hands of death grasping at her in an attempt to drag her under. She was going to die. A million thoughts ran through her head; Natalia, Jughead, Cheryl, Kevin, Archie, Toni, Fangs.

Tears filled her eyes when she thought about Sweet Pea and what she said to him; 'I hope I never see you again'. But right now all she wanted was him. All she wanted was for his dark eyes to stare into hers as they closed for the last time. She had known him for a year now and never told him how much she cared.

How much she loved him.

She pressed her hand into her stomach in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding and let out a painful yelp. She felt the blood soaking her shirt, bra, and pants. Her vision started to go blurry and she pressed harder on the wound. A quiet scream escaped her lips but she ignored the immense pain.

She had to survive, just to tell Sweet Pea the truth.
Her legs went limp along with her hands and arms. She stared at the stars as they became less and less visible. She heard her name being called desperately and the last thing she saw was red hair, brown eyes, and Betty's ponytail flying around until all she saw was a bright light.

***

Her lips crashed onto his as his leather-covered arms wrapped around her waist. They smiled and she pulled on his soft, red hair.

Sweet Pea could only watch. He couldn't even move. His eyes were glued on the girl that pushed him away. The leather jacket the boy wore morphed into that of a bulldog letterman jacket. Kiara pulled away and smirked at Sweet Pea as he felt his eyes sting.

"Wake up Serpent scum," Archie growled in a low, cold voice. "There's nothing left for you here."
"You killed me," Kiara smiled and Sweet Pea looked at the blood that was now covering her torso and his palms.

Sweet Pea woke up with a thin layer of sweat coating his muscular body. He looked at the clock. It was two in the morning Christmas day. He tried to process what his subconscious just threw at him then suddenly there was a pounding at the door.

"Sweet Pea! Answer the fucking door!" The voice outside shouted. He threw on a pair of jeans and the pounding continued until he opened the door, revealing a very nervous Jughead.

"Hey Jones, what's up?" He asked dryly.

"Grab your stuff and get to the hospital fast," He commanded then went down the stairs and to his bike.

"What the hell?" Sweet Pea grumbled.

"Kiara was shot and is clinging to her life so-"

"She what!" Sweet Pea screamed.

"Yeah, she was shot by the Black Hood but-"

"Is he dead?" He roared and walked right up to Jughead. "Is he dead?"

"If you'd stop yelling I could tell you what's going on!" Jug screamed back and pushed on Sweet Pea's shoulders. "He's dead, and she's really struggling. She's been in surgery too long for me to feel comfortable at all about this situation. I need you to get dressed and get back to the hospital with me, okay?"

Sweet Pea nodded and let out an anxious sigh. He ran back into his trailer and grabbed his wallet, phone, jacket, and a shirt; after putting his shoes on. He raced back outside and rode to the hospital. They both hurried in and talked on the way.

"Wait, how did she get caught up in the Black Hood's business?" Sweet Pea asked suddenly.
"She was trying to save Betty and Archie-"

"This is because of Red?" He all but screamed.

"No, it's not, Sweet Pea," Jughead replied and stopped him in their tracks. He gripped his collar and stared into his eyes, "I need you to calm down, Sweet Pea! We're all scared as fuck but we can't let it take over, we need to stay strong for Kiara."

Sweet Pea nodded and they continued walking. They reached the emergency waiting room and Sweet Pea slammed his fist on the desk and shouted.

"Kiara Keller, is she okay? Is she alive?"

Jughead went over to Betty, seeing that Fangs was coming over to help Sweet Pea. Archie and Betty were both on the verge of a panic attack because they felt such overwhelming guilt about the whole situation.

"Sir, I'm gonna need you to calm down. We-" The lady behind the desk replied.

"Don't ask me to be fucking calm! That's my girl in there, tell me she's okay!"

"Hey, Sweet Pea, she's okay," Fangs came up to him. "She's in surgery right now, okay?"

"Fangs, I can't lose her," Sweet Pea whispered and walked over to Archie, Betty, and Jughead. "Why'd you let it happen, Red?" He held back his tears but Archie couldn't.

"I didn't want this to happen! You think I wouldn't have told him to shoot me a thousand times instead of hurting her?" Archie's voice cracked and Sweet Pea's anger slowly began to fade.

"He was aiming at me," Betty stood up. "It was my fault, okay? Don't blame Archie this is all on me." She began to cry and it turned into heavy sobs. Jughead wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest.

"No, it's not your fault," Sweet Pea said softly. He knew that even though the Northside hurt Kiara, there were certain people she still held close, and the teens standing in front of him were two of them.

"It's not anyone's fault, I'm sorry," He apologized. "The last thing she would want is for us to hurt each other."