A/N: I have been re-inspired to keep working on this story! I knew how I wanted it to end but was having a big block on how to get there. I am about 7 chapters in and will start updating on Thursdays each week. Thank you to anyone who continues to read on!

Chapter 3: Jumping the Gun

It was weird, yet surprisingly entertaining to Sweet Pea to be sitting and having a drink with Jughead. Not just drinking but laughing and thoroughly having a fun time; even Betty seemed at ease with him being there and he was glad for a moment. He finished off his second beer and set the bottle down on the bar with a loud 'clink'. He grabbed another from his stash and popped it open. As he took his first sip, the door to the Whyte Wyrm slammed open and an older member, just known by the moniker Fran, stumbled in clutching his side. Jughead jumped to his feet and went to help him inside to sit down. The bar was eerily quiet as everyone watched what was happening in a bit of confusion. A couple of other guys came over to see if they could help in any way.

"Who did this?" Jughead demanded, as he pressed his long sleeve shirt to the man's wound.

"Go. Outside," was all the man could answer without passing out.

Sweet Pea and Fangs looked at each other and got up from their seats. He told Betty, "stay here" as they ran out the door. Just up ahead of them Sweet Pea could make out a couple of figures in the dark and he started sprinting harder. Fangs was the faster of the two of them and caught up to the men who were trying to evade them. He was able to grab one guy's shirt and yank him to the ground before his friend slipped away and pinned him down between his legs.

When Sweet Pea caught up he stood there fingering his switchblade inside his jacket pocket as Fang demanded the man's name. The man wouldn't answer him so Fangs popped him in the mouth with his fist.

"How about now?" he antagonized. "What is your name? Who sent you?"

The guy on the ground still didn't answer. Fangs punched him again and his lip burst open and slight trickle of blood was now apparent on his chin.

"Was it Malachi?" Sweet Pea demanded.

At his boss's name, the man's eyes went wide. He opened his mouth and choked out what must have been a rehearsed line, "I have a message for you. Tell Jones that we will not release the next snake we catch back into the wild so easily. If he knows what is good for him, he will turn himself and the Southside over to us."

With each word Sweet Pea's blood boiled under his skin, so much so that his cheeks turned crimson in anger. He swiftly pulled his knife out of his pocket, opened it and knelt next to the man. He took the tip and played in over the mans neck and said, "a snake does not show his belly in a fight, but strikes," as he plunged his knife deep into the man's shoulder. He pulled it out and repeated his action giving the man two gaping wounds that looked like a snake bite. "You are lucky that is all I am going to do to you; but don't see it as a weakness. You go tell Malachi that he can go back to where he belongs."

"This is our town," Fangs said getting off of the man, "get the hell out."

The man got off the ground and grabbed his shoulder in pain as he ran off into the night. Fangs and Sweet Pea watched him go before acknowledging what had just happened.

"Dude, I thought you were going to kill that guy!" Fangs said as they turned and started walking back to the bar.

"Naw this is better. Now they know we are not running scared. That we wont run from a fight."

"Do you think that this made everything worse than it already was?"

"I think there is bigger shit at play than Malachi. It has me thinking; what do they want with our part of Riverdale? It's worth nothing. There are no big houses no companies worth buying, no maple trees to tap. Why do the Ghoulies want our land anyway?"

"Because they are assholes," Fangs answered as he opened the door to the bar.

Betty breathed a sigh of relief when the boys walked back in. She and Toni had just been watching Fran get patched up and Jughead has told everyone what had been going down. There was some grumbling about the information having been withheld from them, but nothing worth noting. One sentiment was shared amongst everyone though; they were with Jughead if it meant getting rid of the Ghoulies once and for all.

Sweet Pea went over to her and wrapped his arms around her when she noticed his sleeve was covered in blood. He leaned over and asked her if they could go to back to his room. She nodded and held her questions for when they were going to be alone.

She got up off her stool and said,"I think we are going to be heading to the back for a bit, OK guys?"

"Yeah, we will see you later," Sweet Pea said grabbing his beer before following Betty to the back of the bar.

His blood was still pumping furiously and he felt the adrenaline from what had transpired outside as they headed down the hallway. As soon as they stepped foot into his room and closed the door, he pushed Betty up against it and caught her mouth in her surprise. He kissed her harshly and took her bottom lip in between his teeth. Something in him woke up and was trying to claw it's way out.

"Sweet Pea," she mumbled in his mouth as she pressed her hands against his shoulders. "Hang on." He pressed his knee between her legs as he started kissing and sucking on her neck. "Babe," she groaned as she gave in for a moment and ran her fingers through his hair. "You need to take off this bloody shirt."

"Just what I was thinking," he said as he pulled off his jacket and unbuttoned his flannel shirt and throwing it on the floor behind him. He took of his black undershirt in between kissing her and pushed off her jacket. He spun her around and nearly threw her on the bed and came down on top of her. He pushed up her shirt as he kissed her once again.

"Slow down, babe," she said as she had her pants on the floor and was working on his belt.

"Betty, I want you," he said sliding down his jeans and taking her hand on putting it in his boxers so she could feel how hard he was. "I need you."

She was surprised at how stiff he actually felt and the thought of it made her wet. She knew she had questions for him about what had just happened but she was getting swept up in the moment. She took her hand and put it against his cheek and pulled his face close enough that she could look into his eyes and be sure she could read him, "You promise you are OK?"

"Promise," he said and he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

She opened her mouth and his tongue slipped inside, making little licks against hers. He slid her underwear to the slide and pushed his index finger inside of her. How wet she had become made him so hard that it hurt and he knew he would not last long once they got started. He broke their kissing and slid down her underwear in one swift movement. Pulling them off he kiss down her leg until he was kissing between her legs. She gasped as he began fingering her again as well as pleasuring her with his mouth. She squeezed her thighs around his head as she climaxed and he pulled away with her dripping.

He took off his boxers and saddled himself between her legs. "May I, ma'am?" he asked kissing her cleavage and lightly biting her right breast.

"Oh, please do," she said spreading her legs even wider.

He took himself and teased her with the tip for a moment before pushing inside of her. He buried himself until he couldn't go any forward and pulled out to do it again. He picked up her legs so that he could go deeper and moved into her as her walls squeezed tightly around him. His momentum built quickly until he grunted and finished collapsing on top of her.

When the white, hot feeling of his orgasm subsided, he rolled next to her and laid her head on his chest. She could feel his heart still pounding and she traced a heart over and over in the sweat that was pooling in between his pecks.

"That was, uh, intense," she said in the best way she felt like she could.

"Sorry," he confessed. " I was just worked a little worked up."

"Not that I minded but- what happened out there?"

Sweet Pea worried about telling her about what he did. His anger controlled but sometimes violence was necessary to send a message and he wasn't sure she would understand. "I don't know if I can tell you. Can't we just have this moment without me ruining it?"

"You can tell me anything. I'm a big girl."

"Are you sure that it won't upset you? I don't want you to think badly of me."

"Just tell me."

"We caught one of the guys that had gutted Fran; he was a no good Ghoulie and I stabbed the guy. A couple of times."

Betty sat up in the bed and scooted so that she was sitting against the pillow. Not what she expected to hear. "Stabbed," she said in a questioning tone. "Is he alive?"

"Yeah, he's alive," he said almost as a joke. "Do you think I would just kill a guy?"

"I don't know. I can't really imagine you stabbing a guy. A couple of times," she said looking away.

"You're freaking out, aren't you?" he said trying to scoot up next to her. "This is why I didn't want to say anything."

"I'm just," she paused, "processing."

"Processing?"

"It's harder to hear than I thought it would be, I guess."

He opened his arms as he leaned against the headboard. "Come here."

Instead of going to him, she got off the bed and grabbed her bra. "I'm not mad," she said as she continued getting dressed. "I just need to go. My mom is expecting me."

"Betty," he said getting up.

"I'll text you when I get home," she said grabbing her jacket and going out his door. She started going down the hall but instead of going outside she ducked into the bathroom to hide.

Sweet Pea ran out in the hallway after her as fast as he could get dressed. He ran down the hall but when he got to the bar he was that she must have already gone and he went back to his room. When Betty heard his door close for the second time she quickly went to the bathroom and then headed home.