skin and bone ; riverdale ♡

thirty six ♡

It takes a few seconds for my instincts to kick in, but when they do, I bite the attackers hand while kicking behind me, hitting my target; his crotch.

Luckily, I hurt him enough that the attacker groans in pain, pulling away. I spin around to face him. My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I stare at the crumpled over figure in front of me, before realisation kick in and my eyes widen in concern.

"Fuck!" I gasp, fumbling to the bent over Serpent, who is clutching his crotch. "Sweet Pea, I'm so sorry!"

Guilt engulfs me as I realise I'd just hurt one of Toni's friends.

Oops?

"It's fine." He groans.

"I'm so so sorry. Are you okay?" I ask him, as he stands up, his face screwed up in pain.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He assures me.

The guilt fades a little, but I still feel bad. At least, until I remember why I attacked him.

"Why the hell were you sneaking up on me and scaring me like that?! You scared the living hell out of me!" I snap.

"How was I supposed to know you'd freak out like that?" He asks, baffled.

I stare at him in disbelief.

"Common sense?" I suggest with a scoff.

"Okay, damn." He sighs. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." I reply, turning around to walk back, because it's starting to get dark. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, Toni sent me to come and check on you." He informs me, following along beside me.

"Of course she did." I roll my eyes.

"You seem very jumpy." He comments, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans as we make our way through the wooded area. "Is everything okay?"

"Actually..." I trail off, contemplating telling him about the creepy texts, just to get it off my chest.

No. It's not a big deal.

I shake my head, pursing my lips. "No, it's fine." I reply, unsure of whether I'm just saying that to reassure myself. "I'm just tired."

"Yeah, I kind of guessed that. You look awful." He says, shrugging.

Ouch. Well, that hurt.

When he sees the look on my face, he quickly realises his mistake. "Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that." He groans. "I mean, you look beautiful, you always do, but you just look more worn down and tired."

I smile shyly at the tall Serpent next to me.

"Did you just call me beautiful?" I ask cheekily, raising an eyebrow as I look up at him.

He rolls his eyes. "Don't let it get to your head." He warns me. "I still don't like you, Barbie."

"I have a name, you know?" I roll my eyes.

"Yes, I'm aware, Olivia." He scoffs.

"Aw! You know me!" I fake coo. "Now we can be best friends."

"Black Hood, wherever you are, kill me now." Sweet Pea says loudly and dramatically.

"Hey!" I slap his arm. "You'd be lucky to be best friends with me."

"With a Northsider?" He looks at me as if I've just suggested he run away to Australia and adopt ten kids with him. "Yeah, no."

"There's nothing wrong with the northside, buddy. Maybe if you could just stop being so closed minded." I suggest.

Sweet Pea stops. "I am not closed minded!"