Nothing had really changed at school. The Serpents still stared at her but none of them ever bothered her. But she had noticed that before Sweet Pea had only ever given her blank stares but now he would wave to her every once in a while, and she had been completely fine with that.
But one late afternoon her reading was interrupted by someone sitting next to her. Jughead was the only who ever sat with her and that was only during lunch so she knew it wasn't him. When she was finished with the page she had been reading her hazel eyes met dark brown eyes that belonged to the one and only Sweet Pea.
She put her book away because she knew that he wanted something if he had sought her out. "I talked to Jughead. He said you've been working pretty late. Why haven't you called me?"
She didn't understand why Jughead had to tell Sweet Pea about her walking home from the diner. It wasn't like she was walking around at 2am in the morning for hours at a time. It wasn't even a 20-minute walk which was usually cut in half by her riding her bike. She usually left the diner at 11. Nova summed up her thoughts by telling Sweet Pea that it wasn't even a big deal.
"It's not a big deal. Nova there's a crazy man on the loose killing people." As Sweet Pea spoke the louder he got.
Nova's eyes bugged out of her head. Did he not realize they were in the library where people were supposed to be quiet. She looked around hoping no one was staring at them. "Calm down Sweet Pea." She whispered yelled at him.
"I told you to call me if you needed a ride. Why do you have to be so stubborn!" He glared at her. Before she would have been worried about the look on his face directed at her but now it didn't faze her. She knew how Sweet Pea could be she had been a witness to it spending months on the Southside but he had proved he wasn't a terrible human being.
She pushed her chair away to put space between the two. "No, I don't know why your being so stubborn. Until last week we had never spoken before and now your acting like you're my keeper now." She slammed the book she had been trying to read before he had shown up into her bag in frustration. She knew her cheeks were probably a terrible shade of red.
Nova didn't pay any attention to Sweet Pea following her through the halls yelling her name. She wasn't worried about bring attention to herself because unlike with Riverdale High no one ever stayed after school not even the teachers. Everyone hated it that much. The only people left in the school were in the library and they were probably there for the computers so no one was going to notice her and Sweet Pea in the hallways. In her rush to get away from Sweet Pea she hadn't paid any attention to her surroundings so when she went outside she was greeted with a down pour of rain and a dark sky.
She didn't have to think twice about being stubborn and since she was already almost soaked continued to walk in the rain. Nova thought walking home in the rain would be enough to get Sweet Pea to leave her alone over the rides but was sadly mistaken. He pulled up next to her in an old beat up truck she didn't know he even owned. Nova tried her best to ignore him but after fifth teen minutes of Sweet Pea following her home at snail pace in the rain. Every couple minute he would roll the window down and ask her if she was ready to get in the truck. When she realized the Sweet Pea would follow her all the way home she stopped walking. When she stopped walking the truck stopped inching forward. "Are you gonna get in the truck now?" The way Sweet Pea said it was different from every time he asked before like he knew she would finally relent.
"I'll soak the inside of the truck." She didn't know what else to say. Sweet Pea didn't respond and simply reached across the cab to unlock the door. Nova got in and as soon as she was out of the heavy down poor and inside of the truck she started to shiver. Before she knew what was happening he had taken off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. It didn't stop her from shivering but it did stop her teeth from chattering.
Nova wanted to be mad at Sweet Pea for not taking no as an answer, but she knew she was being stubborn. She realized she just wanted a reason to be mad at him. She didn't have much experience with friendships in the past and could count on one hand who she counted as a friend. This was something new to her and she had no idea how to let someone take care of her. It sounded odd because she had trusted FP. In an odd a way FP had saved her, but he was in jail now.
In all her thought she didn't realize they had pulled up to the trailer. Before she could say anything, Sweet Pea pulled her from her side of the truck cab and carried her to the door. She was shocked. He didn't bother knocking simply walking inside of the trailer only setting her down outside of the bathroom door. "Go take a hot shower." Only an hour ago her and Sweet Pea had been arguing about him telling her what to do and now she listened without a thought. She hadn't even realized that she was doing what she was told till she was in the shower thinking as she rinsed her hair. When she was done she put on a large shirt that was probably FP's and tiny shorts.
She was greeted by Sweet Pea sitting on the couch. She didn't know what to say to the boy so she silently sat down next to him. A sneeze coming from Nova cut the silence. "You couldn't just get into the truck could you. Now you're going to get sick."
"I'm sorry Pea for being so stubborn I'm just not use to someone caring."
"Well I hope that means next time I tell you to get in the damn truck you won't try to walk home. I said it before if you need me call me." Yet again the boy sitting next to her shocked her.
Looking into his eyes she looked for something to tell her not to trust him but it was the complete opposite. When she looked at Sweet Pea she felt safe like she could trust anything and everything he said to her. "Why are you being so nice to me. Don't get me wrong I don't think you are some terrible person because your part of the Serpents, but I want to know why your being so nice to me Sweet Pea. I've been here for months and may not have met you till the other day but I've seen you at school and I know how you can be." She played with her fingers as she admitted to watching him.
Sweet Pea gently tilted her head so she had to look at him. "You may not be a Serpent but you make sure Jughead eats not his northside girlfriend and I'm not dumb I saw you watching his initiation and I could see it in your eyes that if you thought you needed to step in you would. FP took you in for some reason and he sees something in you Nova and I do too. I'm not saying the Southside will ruin you, but you think being a loner will keep you safe but lately you don't notice the looks you're getting. The Serpents are loyal to those who show loyalty to them." Nova could feel her face heating up. Sweet Pea had been watching her at school and she had no idea.
The moment was ruined by her sneezing again. Sweet Pea yet again picked her up without warning this time not stopping till he was dropping her into her bed. As Nova arranged her pillow and blankets she looked up after a few seconds of not hearing movement to see him watching her at the door way. Without much thought she opened her big mouth. "If you want you can stay the night." It was pretty late. Sweet Pea nodded his head and started to turn and head for the couch. Nova took a chance reaching out to grab his hand stopping him. "You don't have to sleep on the couch." Sweet Pea stood frozen for a moment before walking around to the other side of the bed. He took off his boots before sliding in the bed.
They lay in the bed in silence the only noise was there breathing. They weren't touching but weren't miles apart. As they sat in comftable silence Sweet Pea that the entire time that he had been at the Jones trailer that there was no sign of Jughead.
"Nova where's Jughead at?" Sweet Pea had already stated that he worried about Nova and the Black hood and knew if for some odd reason if the Black hood wanted her the trailer door locked or not wouldn't stop him. She shouldn't be alone.
She didn't answer right away. She knew she wasn't supposed to know. "He's doing a job for Penny." She knew that she wouldn't have to say more about it. Sweet Pea would know what she was talking about.
"Do you know what kind of job?" Sweet Pea got closer to Nova. He couldn't see her face in the dark but could tell by her tone of voice that she wasn't excited about the situation.
"Pancake mix." She didn't say anything else and when Sweet Pea wrapped his arms around her she let him. In the past few months the Jones had become her family and well neither of the Jones men in her life had the greatest situations going on in their own lives.
Hey guys I hope you like chapter 3. Thank you for all the people that have been reviewing and taking the time to even read my story. I'm debating putting it on tumblr but not completely sure how that works lol. I probably won't up load another chapter before Christmas so merry Christmas!
