𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚

chapter twenty-three

✴︎°༄

"Fair warning," Veronica beamed. "Our Shadow Lake chalet is rustic, but it has breath-taking views of the mountains, the water..."

"Oh, my God. That sounds heavenly, V," Betty smiled then turned to her boyfriend. "What do you say, Jug? Can you bear it?"

"As long as it's cool with your dad," He shrugged and looked at Veronica.

"Mr. Lodge actually suggested it," Archie stated.

"Well, then, cue the dueling banjos," Jughead smiled sheepishly. "What? And it'll also be a good chance for me to work on my novel."

"Excellent!" Veronica squealed. "Kiki? Of course you and your beau are invited as well. You in?"

"I'm always down for a luxury vacay at Lodge Lodge," Kiara replied. "Sweet Pea?"

"Uh, yeah babe, whatever you want," He faked a smile. She placed her hand on his thigh comfortingly. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He whispered and she nodded with a weak smile. They left the room and went to the nearest boy's bathroom.

"What's wrong?" She asked and cupped his face with her hand.

"I've been missing you like crazy at night, Kiara! And, I've been up for hours worried sick about you!" He sighed and ran his hands down her back to her hips. "I just think you're avoiding something, or maybe hiding something from me? I don't know, I just- I'm sorry- I guess I just love you so fucking much and I'm realizing that I would lose everything if I ever lost you. And, it scares me how much I care about you because I've just never felt like this about anyone. Sorry, this all sounds so stupid-"

"Whoa, slow down babe," She cooed. "I love you more than anything, okay? I haven't been totally truthful with you about what's going on at home but that's just because I don't want you worrying about me."

"What's happening at home?" He asked. He tried not to show on his face the anger that was already building up within him at the thought of her parents.

"Well- It's- It's nothing serious; Mr.Russo will just say something really degrading or triggering and I'll spiral into a panic attack in my room, but like I said, it's nothing."

"That's- That's terrible Kiara!" He exclaimed. His brows furrowed and a worried look came over his face. "I- Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because there's nothing you can do about it!" She almost screamed. "When we're together I try not to think about everything going on at home because I know that it won't change and I've learned to just push it away. When we're kissing I don't want you to be thinking about him hurting me-"

"There has to be something I can do to help?"

"This weekend thing Veronica has planned, please let's just enjoy it okay?"

He nodded and gave her a peck on the lips.

***

The trip was going smooth until Cheryl gave Jughead a call. Veronica said some time in the hot tub would fix their relationship issues. And so, they each got into their swimsuits. The boys got in first, the girls needed to water-proof their makeup and touch up their hair.

Kiara slipped off her cover and revealed her black bathing suit. It was fairly modest; it covered nicely but clung to the form of her thin body. Sweet Pea smirked and looked her up and down before she giggled and stepped in.

"You get more gorgeous everytime I look at you," He said in a low whisper. Kiara blushed as butterflies formed in her stomach. She smiled widely at him before reaching back and grabbing her margarita.

"Ah. I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling better already," Veronica announced happily. "Okay, so, full disclosure time. When Archie told me about the kiss, I absorbed it, processed it, and in the end, I bear no ill will towards my beau nor my bestie." She stuck out her hand in Betty's direction and smiled. "But has the thought of it haunted me these last few weeks? A tiny bit, yeah. And now, clearly, Betty and Jughead, you guys are caught up in the aftermath. So to clear the air amongst us, Jughead and I should kiss."

"Pfft," Kiara let out a laugh, fully believing it was a joke.

"What?" Sweet Pea frowned with confusion.

"Veronica, are you nuts?" Archie gasped.

"Well, wait a minute, I don't know. Hold on," Jughead smirked. "Veronica and I kissing might help to uh... What's the sports term, Archie? Uh... Level the playing field?"

"Betty, a little help here?" Archie asked desperately.
"You're not upset though?" She asked.

"No. No, really, I'm not upset," Jughead replied.

"Uh huh," Kiara raised a brow.

"But I'm human. What if a future me tries to use your kiss with Archie against some future you? A Vughead kiss, right now, in the present might be precisely what it takes to save a future Bughead from imploding. Archie, come on, man. It's just a stupid kiss. Right?"

And so, the two kissed, making everyone else beyond uncomfortable. When it was over, there was more tension then before.

"Since we're already on the topic of kind-of-cheating, Archie, wanna say anything?" Kiara said and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Shit," He whispered to himself.

"What's she talking about, Arch?" Veronica furrowed her brows.

"Nothing, it's uh, nothing," He lied.

"Archie!" Kiara warned. "I hate having blackmail on you, just get it off your chest."

He shut his eyes tightly and sighed. "I kissed Kiara," He stated and opened his eyes.

"What?" Sweet Pea all but shouted.

"Well, yeah, you guys dated, Arch," Veronica chuckled.

"Um- I kissed her when we- when we were together- when I was with you," Archie clarified.

Sweet Pea looked at Kiara with nothing but pure hurt. "You kissed him?" He whispered.

"It was before we were together, and I didn't initiate it," She replied and placed her palm on his cheek. "I only have eyes for you, tough guy."

"It was the first time I saw her in months, since our break up, and all the feelings came rushing back. I'm so sorry Ronnie, there's really no good excuse," Archie explained.

"You know what, we've been through so much, Arch, I'm not mad. And it was like months ago."

***

Kiara stepped out of the bathroom in a bathrobe. Sweet Pea removed his shirt as she untied the rope around her waist. He took off his pants and she let the clothing drop to the floor. Her black two-piece lingerie was transparent; embroidered snakes covering her private parts.

"Fuck," He gasped in awe.

"Yeah, that's kinda the point," She giggled and ran into his arms. He smashed his lips onto hers and rubbed her back softly. He made a trail of kisses down her neck. It only got more heated from there.