Jughead knows Sweet Pea, painfully, painfully well. He can always tell when the tall boy was happy, pissed off, or worried- though Sweets would go to his grave trying to hide that. Sweet Pea doesn't exactly hide his emotions too well, but he can often be convincing to everyone around him that he is just some arrogant fighter who will do anything to punch a Northsider in the face. But Jughead knows him better than that; the small twitch in his eye, the tiny frown on his lips, he sees everything and he can read Sweets like a book and today, he is angry. Jughead is staring at him, wrinkled brow, and trying to figure out what is bother the tall boy. He is sitting behind Toni, his head downcast as he scrapes a pencil against his desk. He hasn't touched any food all day and this lunch period is no different. He has barely said a word to anyone and Toni and Fangs exchange glances throughout lunch, before flickering their eyes back to the silent Serpent. Toni catches Jughead staring at him too but she quickly shakes her head before tucking a piece of her pink hair behind her ear and standing, squeezing Sweet Pea's arm tightly before she walks out- no doubt sneaking out to visit a certain red-haired Vixion.
Jughead huffs before grabbing his bag and popping up to his feet, ignoring Fang's eyes. He is getting to the bottom of whatever is making Sweets upset, not because he cares really… Just curious. Just as he looks at the open door to the hallway, he sees the slight blonde girl standing there. He feels a lump in his throat as Betty offers a half-hearted smile before quickly scurrying away with Veronica. The breakup had happened two months ago and neither he nor Betty had really spoken since. Jughead cringes as he glances back to the calendar, noting how it is only one month before Christmas. He hates this holiday so instead of focusing on his issues, he is going to distract himself with Sweet Pea. The bell rings and the three Serpents all look up at the loud sound.
"Come on, boys," Fangs quips and rises to his feet, shaking his leather jacket before turning up the collar and shoving his hands in his pockets, walking out quickly to chase Lucy- the target of his new attraction. Sweet Pea stands but Jughead swings around and places his hand on Sweet Pea's plaid shirt, making the tall boy raise an eyebrow.
"Let's go," Jughead murmurs before walking to the door, waiting for Sweets to join him but he has remained still in his spot, still not really looking at Jughead but instead staring at his hands. His dark eyes look so tired that it's almost pitiful.
"Where?" Sweets mutter and Jughead just shrugs his shoulders and nods to the door. "Anywhere, just come on," he tells him before walking into the hallway and finally hearing Sweet Pea's footsteps following him. They walk quickly to exit doors and out into the cold air, breathing it in deeply. There are some snowflakes floating down and Sweet Pea closes his eyes, letting the cold snowfall on his face. They make their way down to an old playground, long forgotten and tucked away in the woods. Sweet Pea crosses his arms and leans against the metal pole of the swing, still not saying a word. Jughead has climbed on top of the slide and hitches his leg up on top of the railing, not taking his eyes off of the tall Serpent.
"What's wrong, Sweet Pea?" he finally asks after nearly ten minutes of complete silence. Sweet Pea doesn't open his eyes to answer him but just shakes his head. Jughead groans before grabbing a granola bar, ripping the foil wrapping off before taking a large bite. "I know something is up with you." he muffles through the mouthful of the bar.
Sweet Pea breaths out angrily before uncrossing his arms and glares at Jughead. "Just fucking leave it, ok?" he snaps but Jughead doesn't relent, instead he leaps off the slide and shuffles towards the boy, pushing him to talk.
"Do you want to go home?" Jug asks, but Sweet Pea instantly stiffens and looks away, visibly biting his lip before punching the metal pole so quickly and violently that Jughead jumps, narrowly avoiding the blood splatter from his now bleeding knuckles. He reaches forward to try and help him but Sweet Pea leaps away, looking wild and angry. His brown hair is splattered over his forehead and his wild eyes seem to be unable to focus. Jughead goes forward and grabs him by the forearms, but Sweet Pea rips himself away and stumbles backward, breathing harshly.
"Leave me alone!" Sweet Pea roars and runs off into the woods, leaving Jughead to stare at him and sigh, wondering what on earth is wrong with his friend.
In his trailer that night, Jughead scrolls through his phone, mindlessly looking at whatever post that Toni shared. The loud ping of the message alert makes him jump and he opens it quickly.
From: Sweet Pea.
U home?
He raises an eyebrow before typing a quick "ok" as a response. The sudden knocking at his window makes him leap out of his skin and he falls out of the bed before rushing to the window, seeing the familiar brown eyes staring back at him from the other side. Jug groans before hitting his head and pointing to the door, knowing his dad was out drunk somewhere. Moments later, Sweet Pea comes into his room and immediately drops onto the bed, rubbing his eyes. Jughead is still next to the window and he rubs his hand through his hair, waiting for Sweet Pea to speak and finally, he does. "I couldn't go home," he mutters before he finally shrugs off his leather jacket, letting it fall to the floor and that's when Jughead sees the bruises on his body. He is only wearing an undershirt and there are purple bruises trailing across his whole torso, from his arms to his collarbone, which is normally covered by his long shirts. Jughead frowns before looking Sweet Pea up and down.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jug asks but Sweet Pea quickly shakes his head and swallows hard, before lying back on the bed, adjusting the grey tee shirt he's wearing so it doesn't fold up. He notes how Sweet Pea is still in his jeans but does eventually kick off his boots.
"I can go to the couch," Jughead says as he begins padding his way to the couch, but a hand grabs him and hauls him back to the bed, sometimes he forgets how damn quick Sweet Pea can be, who had just pulled him back to the bed. He is caught off guard by this but doesn't protest as he falls into place beside Sweet Pea, only their shoulders touching. Jughead hates labels so he never officially admitted to being attracted to particular genders, he just likes people for who they are. Sweet Pea always intrigued him, in a way he couldn't explain. He knows him well, but he still wants to know every part of him.
Sweet Pea is staring at the ceiling, not looking at Jughead, who is freely staring at him. "What do you want?" Jughead asks quietly, but Sweet Pea shakes his head. He doesn't know how to handle the silence so instead, he carefully reaches up and traces his fingers over Sweet Pea's, who in turn, twitches and then grabs hold of the smaller boys hand. Sweet Pea rolls over silently, still gripping onto Jughead's hand, so he is pulled over and is now leaning against his back. He buries his face into Sweet Pea's broad shoulders, but when he turns a cheek, he hits a large purple bruise which makes Sweet Pea has a harsh intake of breath and he squeezes his eyes shut.
"Fuck, sorry," Jughead says quickly before trying to move away, but Sweet Pea grips his hands and pulls him closer, still quiet. Jughead returns to his position, tucking his legs against his before putting his other arm up by Sweet's hair, running his fingers through the boys dark locks. He sighs before shutting his eyes, refusing to say another word.
That's how they stayed the whole night, Sweet Pea basically tucked into Jughead's arms. At 5 am, he disappeared and in school the next day, he barely looked at Jughead and all his bruises were covered and he was back to putting on the arrogant and cocky facade. At 3 pm, as Jughead made his way to the door, Sweet Pea brushed by him and he felt his fingers graze his back, only for a moment. Jughead watches him swing out of the door with Fangs, getting lost in the blur of students.
A minute later, his phone rings again, he looks down and sees the text, almost leaping off his phone.
From: Sweet Pea.
See u tonight?