𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉𝓎-𝑒𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

The worst kind of pain does not come from your enemies 

but from the people who you trust and love. 

+ + + +

Nellie nervously frayed the paper between her fingers. On it was Fred's program but she already knew it by heart. She threw another stolen glance into the audience before the debate was about to start. Nowhere did she see her tall Serpent or his pink haired sidekick. Her mouth drew into a disappointed twist. 

"There, there, nothing to be worried about," Mary Andrews friendly draped her arm across Nellie's shoulders and pulled her closer. 

"It's Fred going on stage not you," a shimmer of amusement glinted in the woman's warm eyes. 

Nellie let out a sigh. "I'd just expected some friends," she admitted to which Mary sympathetically patted her arm. 

"They'll show up or perhaps they're not that politically interested," she quirked an eyebrow and even though the nerves were running through her veins, Nellie managed to smile. That was until her eyes lingered on the figure on the opposite side of the stage a little too long. 

Hiram Lodge was obnoxiously ignoring the Andrews' side of the stage, showing them a great view of his broad back in a perfect fitted black suit as he talked to Veronica. Nellie swallowed down the bitter taste of hatred as he watched him dismiss his other daughter. The young girl looked annoyed at his answer and a sudden satisfaction made Nellie ease up a bit. 

At least he disappointed both of his daughters tonight, she thought. 

A sudden towering figure drew her attention back into the audience. Sweet Pea didn't look up as he followed Toni through the rows of people crammed next to each other. The girl happily waved and shoved the Serpent with her elbow but Sweet Pea stubbornly refused to look up. A dark feeling settled in the pit of Nellie's stomach.

"He's handsome," Mary Andrews chimed next to Nellie. For a moment she'd forgotten the motherly embrace she'd found herself in. 

"A pain in the ass," Nellie muttered, her heart heavy in her chest at the thought of having another discussion with Sweet Pea before she might be able to lose herself again in his embrace. She shouldn't solve their problems with physical attraction but when he was leaning back, his head supported by his arm hooked behind his head, she couldn't help but imagine straddling him and kissing every piece of exposed, muscled abdomen.

Mary chuckled next to her. "Well, as long as he treats you right." Nellie only hummed in response trying to focus her improper thoughts back onto the debate. Thankfully, the lights dimmed and Alice Cooper appeared on stage, welcoming the audience. 

A huffed breath caused Nellie to look next to her, surprised to see Archie Andrews finally showing up to support his dad. She offered him a friendly smile. When Mary lifted her arm from Nellie to embrace her son, the young girl felt another sad sting vibrate through her body. She was here alone. No Dahlia to support her and no Hiram Lodge to count on. 

Clenching her teeth together, she forced herself to listen to the debate as it went on. She was intend on absorbing every word, ignoring the two brooding, dark men in her life. Just like they ignored her. 

As Hermione revealed that Minetta had arrested the possible murderer of Midge Klump, the audience erupted in mutters and heated whispers. Fred Andrews immediately countered that the police wasn't certain Fangs Fogarty was the suspect they were looking for. 

Hit by the news, Nellie couldn't help but let her eyes stray once more through the audience, searching for the dark passionate ones of Sweet Pea. Scanning his face for any sign he knew, she noticed his clenched jaw and balled fists when his face didn't reveal any emotion.