𝐒𝐎𝐋 | ˢʷᵉᵉᵗ ᵖᵉᵃ

• F O U R T E E N •

« La Redada »

           Clemintine had heard of Betty's return to the real world. Due to the quarantine placed on the town, the cousins would have to await their face to face reunion. Jackson refused the Bartholdy children to leave the house, concerned that they would fall victim to the seizures as well.

Clemintine spent most of her time going back to the violin. She had gotten rather rusty, due to her not playing in so long. When she wasn't playing, she was on the phone with Kurtz, or texting Betty. They had so much to catch up on.

After a Friday night shift, Clemintine came home to a quiet house, Jackson and Julian already being asleep. Just as she sat down on her bed, her phone rang. She warily looked at the called ID. "Hello?" She hesitantly spoke. They hadn't spoken since they had dyed her hair together.

"Hey." Sweet Pea responded, just as hesitantly. "How are you?"

"Bored." She laughed lightly. "Jackson won't let me leave, except for work. You?"

"Worried." Sweet Pea answered. "I heard what happened."

Clemintine bit her lip. "You heard about that?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Clemintine put the phone on speaker and began to undress. "I didn't think you would want to talk to me."

"Because of your boyfriend?"

She put on her pajamas, getting into bed. "No. Kinda. I also thought that you might be... busy."

Sweet Pea knew what she meant. "I wasn't. I haven't seen her since we talked."

"It wasn't as bad as last time." She informed him. "I wasn't as weak."

"I still would have liked to know."

"Okay." Clemintine spoke, not sure what to say.

"Are you okay though?" Sweet Pea was concerned, genuinely concerned. He cared so much about her. "Especially with the quarantine?"

"I'm alive, and I plan on staying alive. That's all that matters."

"Of course."

The two continued to talk. Clemintine eventually fell asleep at 1am and Sweet Pea spent the next 30 minutes listening to her soft snores. Eventually falling asleep himself and letting the call going.

When Clemintine woke up, it was to the sound of the call ending. She picked up the device, seeing that the call had lasted 10 hours and 20 minutes. "Holy shit." She whispered.

Sweet Pea's POV
(The night before)

          Of course, he had to be the last to find out. He might not be as close to Clemintine as he used to be, but he still considered himself as her friend. But lately he seemed to be the last to find out anything within his friend group, especially when it came to her.

He wanted to call her. He was besides himself. He wanted to have a connection to her again. Whether it be a friendship or a relationship, he needed to be close to her again. The one thing that kept him from calling was what she had said. She had a boyfriend. He should be happy for her and move on. Maybe give Josie a shot.

He stopped himself at that thought. No way. Never. He didn't feel for Josie like he did for Clemintine. He couldn't string her along like that. He may have been a 'bad boy', but he would never step that low.

His eyes drifted to the clock on the wall. It wasn't perfect. It was taped in more than one spot and had several cracks. The batteries powering it were found in a dumpster. Yet the numbers were still visible. It was late, maybe he shouldn't call. She was probably asleep. But this is Clemintine, she stayed up late most nights.

He picked up his phone, staring at the dark screen. "Fuck..." He opened his phone and quickly pressed her number. He fought with himself to hang up before she answered. He decided to hang up. Right before his thumb pressed the button, she answered. And a warm feeling filled his chest.

"Hey." He spoke hesitantly. "How are you?"

They talked until Clemintine fell asleep. He laid down on his bed, placing the phone next to his head, putting it on speaker and listening to the beautiful girl breathe. It may be creepy to anyone who didn't know the situation. But to them, it held love. It was a sign of love. He too soon fell asleep. And when he woke up in the morning, he realized that the call was still going.

"Shit." He whispered, before ending the call. The whole time, her face never left his mind.

He sat in bed, clutching his head. She probably thinks I'm a creep. He thought.

3rd Persons POV

         Five weeks passed and the quarantine's been lifted, but the town still hasn't gotten its pep back.

"Blossom, Topaz, break it up." Moose instructed the couple.

"Clemintine, Kurtz, you too." Kevin spoke up.

"Bite me, Moose." Cheryl refused to drop her girlfriends' hand.

"Ditto." Clemintine refused the same with her boyfriend.

"It's one of the new school rules, all physical contact must be kept to a minimum." Kevin informed the four.

Clemintine rolled her eyes. "This is minimum, Keller." She held up her and Kurtz interlocked hands. "You know what's not minimum, which you should be worried about? This." Clemintine grabbed her boyfriends' collar, kissing him deeply. Once she pulled away, she looked at Moose and Kevin's shocked faces. "These are the best years of my young adult life. Don't fuck them up for me." Clemintine got in Moose's face. She flashed a fake smile. "Thanks." She patted his chest, then turned to Kurtz, grabbed his hand once more, and walked away.

Kurtz pulled Clemintine into an empty classroom. "You drive me crazy, Clemintine." He smirked, placing his hands on the slightly exposed skin of her midriff.

"Kiss me." She instructed.

"Don't have to tell me twice." He lent forward, kissing the girl roughly, his hands tightening on her waist.

The bell finally rang and the two reluctantly pulled away from each other. "We'll continue this after school." Clemintine told him, kissing him quickly, before exiting.

Kurtz was quick to follow, grabbing her hand. They entered Jackson's class together, hand-in-hand. Sweet Pea's smile dropped as he saw them. Fangs watched his friends reaction.

"Dude, I thought you said that you were okay with it."

"I am." Sweet Pea shrugged. "I'm just worried is all."

"About?" Fangs pushed.

"He's ruining my girl. She dresses like Cheryl now."

"She was never yours." Jughead told him, taking a bite of an apple. "And those are Cheryl's clothes."

"Alright kiddos." Jackson clapped his hands together, rounding his desk. "We've reached the first project of our book. So, lets find our partners. Go."

Clemintine moved from Kurtz side and sat down beside Sweet Pea. The boy stared at the cover of his book, trying his best to ignore Clemintine's presence.

Jackson held up a cheap binder. "I'm a nice man. For every book we read, we use the binder. Feel free to write and draw whatever you want. You know what's school appropriate. We'll turn them in whenever I decide to actually put a grade in. Then, you'll get it back. The activity is self-explanatory. If you have any questions, let me know."

Clemintine opened her binder. "So, should I read? Or do you want to?"

Sweet Pea ignored the girl, standing and leaving the room. Jughead's words had struck him in a certain way. He couldn't be around her right now as he processed what he was feeling.

Jackson's slender frame slipped into the desk that Sweet Pea was supposed to be at. "Hello, I'm Jackson. I'm your new partner until Sweet Pea comes back." Jackson smiled, trying to keep Clemintine happy. It was a success, as Clemintine did smile.

chapter word count: 1287