𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓇𝓉𝓎-𝒻𝒾𝓋𝑒

Riverdale was long but a sweet and quiet place. Murder and terror did that to a town. People grew wary and suspicious. Neighbors no longer trusted each other. However, in this dark and unsettling era, two people did trust each other.

The only question that remained was: was their trust founded?

+ + + +

In the dim lights of the diner, Sweet Pea glanced at Nellie as she almost attacked the curled fries and fried chicken on her plate. With a grin, he snatched a few fries receiving a playful smack on his hand.

"You know, when I first came here, F.P. paid for my dinner," Nellie suddenly revealed. "He insisted I'd take the fried chicken and he was right. It's delicious."

Sweet Pea uneasily shifted in his seat. Now that Nellie had brought the attention back to the Jones' family, he was itching to ask her about her relationship with Jughead. It irked him not to know more about it but he wasn't entirely certain he wanted to.

"You want some?" She asked, unaware of his inner turmoil and shoving the plate with fried chicken in his direction. He shook his head and instead leaned on his arms on top of the table, leaning closer to her.

"How do you even know the Jones's?" he asked, trying to sound normal. Nellie squinted slightly, searching for his motive to ask the question. When she couldn't think of one, she just shrugged and casually answered "F.P. was the first one I knew in this town. I'd stranded in this diner and he offered me his help. I owe him for that."

"And what about Jughead?" Sweet Pea continued, unable to stop.

Nellie sat back in the bright red leather seat. Her dark brown eyes grew wary, afraid that Sweet Pea might've gotten a clue about her intention to take down Hiram Lodge. The question was: would he be mad at her? After all, she'd hidden her identity from him. She'd lied to him and if it were her, she would feel betrayed. It didn't matter that they were fighting against the same enemy. There weren't always two parties to a war.

"I met him at F.P.'s trailer, I've only seen him a couple of times since then," she said, directing her eyes back to the fries on the table. She was afraid Sweet Pea would ask for more. She wasn't certain she could continue to lie to him, especially when he had the power to make her knees buckle with just a smirk.

"This morning being one of them," Sweet Pea finally stated. He couldn't avert his eyes. Years of lying and hiding things had taught him that when you tackle the problem face forward, only the greatest liars manage to keep their face straight. He knew Nellie was a bad liar.

She licked her lip for a second, long enough to look for an excuse. No matter what was going to come out of her mouth, it would be a lie, Sweet Pea concluded.

"We just had an argument," Nellie admitted, casting her eyes down. If she'd look at Sweet Pea, she knew he would see right through her. She'd spill everything.

"About what?" he snapped. That made her look up. His face was no longer carefree and relaxed. He was tense, shoulders flexing as he sat. His dark brown eyes immediately glued to her eyes. If it weren't for the distinct sound of the bell announcing somebody's new arrival at the diner and averting Nellie's gaze the slightest, he would've known everything.

Instead, Nellie's breath hitched in her throat as a familiar figure staggered towards the bar. The man, so wrong in this setting, took of his double-breasted jacket. He'd light his cigar with a match instead of a lighter. A stark white bandage was still wrapped around his injured hand.

When his dark eyes met hers, Nellie froze, completely forgetting her conversation with Sweet Pea.

A smirk danced around Kowalski's mouth but his eyes were fuming. He deserted the bar and took measured steps towards her table.

However, when he finally arrived, the face of a pissed off Serpent glared him down.

"Miss Hearst," Kowalski addressed her, not giving the gang member another look. Nellie just gawked at him, remembering this man pinned to a desk in the Five Seasons. She'd do it again, she decided and her fingers wrapped around the simple knife on the table.

Kowalski's eyes flashed to her movements and he quickly stopped her by slamming his good hand on the table and locking her wrist in place.

"I guess you still owe me something," he sneered, holding up his bandaged hand. He couldn't finish whatever he was about to say as Sweet Pea stood up and roughly pushed the man away. Kowalski didn't lose his balance but he did take a few steps back.

"How cute. I see you have a knack for hanging around the wrong people... Must be in your blood." He sniggered as his bodyguard ran into Pop's and immediately stood between Sweet Pea and Kowalski.

When the Serpent launched himself, brass knuckles in the attack, at Kowalski, he met the hard fist of the bodyguard connecting to his stomach. He doubled over, his arm pressing against his abdomen. His grunt overpowered Nellie's terrified gasp for air.

Kowalski shook his head, "Ts ts ts, think before you pick a fight, Serpent. Teach him a lesson."

The bodyguard grinned wickedly as he threw himself at Sweet Pea while Kowalski walked away, snatching his order from the bar. Sweet Pea defended himself quite alright, but couldn't avoid the fist of the bodyguard to connect to his eye socket. The diner spun around him, dark spots disrupting his vision. He could hear Nellie scream as she ran towards the bodyguard who was already walking back outside.

Without thinking, he reached for her, his hand wrapping around her wrist and stopping her from doing something stupid. That was his job.

"Let it go, you'll only hurt yourself," he muttered, pressing his hand against the sore spot on his face. Nellie turned around, worry marking her face. "Just like you?" she asked, her voice high with fear but she wrapped her hand carefully around his wrist and pulled down his hand.

The skin around his eye was already turning darker. A young girl that had been hiding behind the counter quickly offered them a towel filled with ice to press against the bruise.

Nellie's fingers brushed away his hair so gently, Sweet Pea wasn't entirely certain she'd even touched him. When she pressed the cold towel against the bruise, he flinched though he had experienced worse.

"That was Kowalski, wasn't it?" Sweet Pea muttered. His other eye took Nellie in as she guided him back to his seat and towered over him. She just nodded.

"What did he mean by "hanging around the wrong people"? Who was he talking about?" he asked. Nellie ignored the question and kept herself busy by brushing away Sweet Pea's hair. When she pressed the towel firmer against his skin, he didn't move.

"Nellie?"

At the mention of her name, she visibly slumped a little. Sweet Pea placed his hands around her waist, not wanting her to run away from him.

"He's some mobster. Who knows what he means?" her voice came out like a whisper. It took Sweet Pea a while to figure out the emotion that laced through her words. Defeat. Perhaps, she'd finally spill all his secrets to him.

"You're hiding something from me," he stated. His words weren't accusing. Rather matter-of-factly. When Nellie remained silent, it confirmed Sweet Pea's suspicions.

"You know you can tell me everything. We're in this together," he said, not realizing his fingers were digging deeper into her waist, as if by using more pressure the words would finally absorb.

He didn't miss the tears framing Nellie's long lashes. "You will hate me if I tell you," she whispered.

Sweet Pea's breathing hitched. "I won't," he said without thinking. He knew he was speaking the truth. He could never hate Nellie. For some reason, he knew he would always be on her side. His friends often prized him for his loyalty to the Serpents. He was starting to think Nellie would be right under the Serpents in ranking.

"I can't tell you now, Sweets," Nellie whispered, again adjusting the towel. "But I promise you I will..."

"When you're ready," Sweet Pea finished for her.

"When I am ready."

A/N: Not my best chapter but don't hesitate to let me know what you think! (Almost 20k reads at the moment I publish this :o thank you so much for your loyalty!) I swear things will quicken up a bit again. Soon!