An unlikely duo made their way past the trees that graced the highway. Holding onto her rider, Nellie cursed the moment she had decided to vacate her work. The image of her half-sister, looking like an angel, would burn a new memory in her mind. One she could be tossing and turning over when she couldn't sleep. How different life could've been when other decisions had been made.

+ + + + + 

On the back of a dangerously fast motorcycle, Nellie felt her walls slowly crumble. She had always thought herself to be strong. After all, she had been on her own for over three months since her mother died. 

But the truth hurt. It burned inside her as humiliation and defeat battled for dominance. She was still the angsty girl desperate for her father's attention. She may have hated Hiram Lodge ever since he left, but she still wanted to make him proud. It was a sick little world she lived in.

She shut her eyes close, begging her tears not to spill. Her grip around Sweet Pea's waist tightened, although she didn't notice. The Serpent however did, and slowed his pace. He couldn't glance back, their speed not allowing him to lose his focus on the road ahead but the way Nellie clung to him said enough.

Whatever had happened during the ceremony, it had rattled her bones. Her motivated work attitude disappeared as snow from the sun when she had left the confirmation behind. 

Feeling responsible over her, Sweet Pea drove her back to his trailer in Sunnyside Trailer Park. The sunny day was growing gloomy with dark gray clouds threatening the sky. 

As soon as they skidded to a halt, Nellie released her grip on the gang member. He thoughtfully registered her staggering to the door. She was wearing his brother's sweater but from underneath peaked a skirt too short for the rain that was about to pour down. Her simple flats would be drenched in seconds if she stayed outside for too long. 

With the first raindrops, Sweet Pea had followed her inside to where she just stood still in the room. Her eyes darted from the door to her bedroom, to the bathroom, to the simple bench. As the rain clattered against the thin roof of the trailer, her eyes sought the source of the noise through the small windows. 

Sweet Pea stood frozen and observed the strange girl. Who did F.P. force upon him? After having her as a guest for a week, he still didn't know a single thing about Nellie Hearst. 

When he searched her face for any sign or indication of what transpired in her head, she noticed and abruptly faced the other way. 

Apart from the tapping on the roof, the trailer was silent.

Sweet Pea scratched the back of his head before he shrugged off his leather jacket and went to the fridge. 

Nellie crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her heart was beating loudly. To her it was the only sign she was still alive. All the hurt she had pushed down the last couple of months had resurfaced when she noticed Veronica Lodge standing in front of the aisle. Her breathing hatched when the memory of her mother's funeral was achingly clear on her vision. She didn't even notice when a shadow fell over her.

Upon raising her gaze and bringing her surroundings back into focus, she stared up at Sweet Pea. He looked almost innocent as he lifted his hands to reveal two glasses filled with an amber spirit. 

"You look like you could use something a bit stronger than cheap wine," he said with a soft smile. The sound of his voice brought her back from the haze she had fallen under. Suddenly the moment of reality became very clear. It was as if he handed her a shovel to burry her past with once more. 

Forcing a smile on her face, Nellie accepted the glass and brought it to her lips. The drink didn't hold any taste but it burned its way down her throat. Her ears almost immediately glowed as the alcohol started to get into her system.

"I very much needed that," Nellie apologized, finally sitting down on the edge of the bench as Sweet Pea fell down onto his unmade bed. Her legs dangled over the side of the simple bench.

"So, you always get so emotional after church or is this a one time occasion?" he asked, not lifting his gaze from the glass he was twirling between his fingers. The alcohol followed his swift motions.

Nellie could understand his curiosity. After all, she hadn't been all too eager to share too much information about herself. Hell, she didn't even trust him yet she was the one staying in his house. To him, allowing a stranger under his roof... She did not know if she would show the same hospitality.

"I haven't been to church ever since my mother died," Nellie admitted, eager to focus on the trails of raindrops on the windows rather than the boy next to her. She could feel his gaze linger on her face. She wondered what he would see; did he see an unfortunate orphan or did he think of her as an emotional wreck? Perhaps he considered his hospitality to her a mistake. Much like how Hiram thought about her.

To avert her thoughts from her father, she gulped down another swallow of the bitter spirit. 

"I am sorry to hear about your mom," Sweet Pea replied, straightening his back a bit and leaning on his elbows. His half filled glass was dangling between his legs. He was slightly bend forward as if entering Nellie's personal space.

She only noticed when she could practically feel the heat radiating from his legs onto her bare ones.

She shook her head "She was sick, she couldn't win the battle," she started, surprised by the vastness of her voice. In the last months she hadn't told anyone about her mother. She always imagined she would break down if she did. 

However, she started to tell the Serpent the story of how her mother was brought into the hospital with an acute kidney failure. Her body refused the medications and no donor was available. It all happened within two weeks and Dahlia Hearst went from a joyful woman to a ghost in a hospital bed.

Nellie left out the details of how she had slept in a cold rigid chair for days and bailed out of school during the time. How she lingered in the hallways of the hospital or on the parking lot when she had lied to her mother about going to school or catching up with Poppy as it became clear that Dahlia wouldn't make it. She just felt like she couldn't leave her mother alone to die.

Sweet Pea listened carefully, observing how Nellie from New York downed her whiskey. Her voice became a bit lower as she revealed the tragic past of her mother's disease. The young girl had been completely abandoned in the time span of fourteen days. Fourteen days and her carefree world had been turned upside down. 

He didn't know why she had decided to trust him. He was only the one obligated to provide a roof over her head and food in her stomach. But as she continued her story with admiring bravery, Sweet Pea figured Nellie Hearst was not the kind of girl to sulk in pity. 

She had handled her mother's illness and passing all by herself. She had made it to Riverdale all alone. From the first day, Nellie made clear she didn't want to be a good will case and offered her support where she could. 

Her job at the Four Seasons was a welcome addition to Sweet Pea's income when he worked for Andrews Construction. He admired the motivation the tiny and innocent girl carried around her. 

Her story came to an end. Drained from the emotions of the day, she ran both her hands through her hair, straightening her back in the process. 

"So why Riverdale?" Sweet Pea finally asked once the silence had comfortably settled. 

Nellie eyed him from the corner of her eyes. She remembered F.P.'s reaction when she told him Hiram Lodge was her father. For some reason, she was reluctant to confide Sweet Pea in that piece of information about her. Telling him about her mother, the only honest and truthful person she knew, had been hard but she didn't have a conscious nagging about it. When she thought about telling him about Hiram and the pain he had caused her and her mother, she knew she wouldn't be able to share her true opinion about the man. 

So instead she shrugged, "It wasn't New York," 

Sweet Pea chuckled and shook his head. "It most definitely isn't." His smile stilled on his handsome face as he looked at Nellie sideways. Some sort of intimacy had wrapped around them, sharing her past in the dimmed lights of the trailer with the sound of the rain as their only companion. 

She looked great, he thought as his treacherous eyes averted to her bare knees and fine black skirt. He huffed and closed his eyes. To think such things when she was clearly struggling... but he couldn't help but notice that even in her heartbreak, something radiated from her. Some stubborn strength refusing to hold her down.

Nellie too felt giddy as she took a breath and took a step back from the moment. Two kids, drinking whiskey in a trailer. It looked so out of her world but she was the one living the moment. If her mother could see her... Nellie did not know whether Dhalia would be proud or disappointed in the decisions she had made until know. It bothered her immensely.

"Thanks for listening, Sweet Pea," she finally said, standing up. Before she could cross the tiny living area and pass the kitchen, Sweet Pea stood up as well, catching her attention once more. His features were barely illuminated by the lights of the trailer and a lone light outside. He towered in front of her, an image that she one time had found intimidating. Now, it was almost tempting to wrap her arms around his torso and share all of her worries with the Serpent. 

But Nellie knew better. The intimacy was created by the revelation of her secrets not by her attraction to him. It was only a combination of the fatigue and emotional rollercoaster that had been today. 

"You know, if you manage to save your job tomorrow, we'll go to the Whyte Wyrm. To celebrate," He said, placing his hands on his hips. 

The realization only then dawned on Nellie that she had vacated her spot at the Four Seasons but she was too tired to actually care. It was just another burden on her pile. 

"I'd like that,"

"Goodnight, Nellie," Sweet Pea replied before she quickly ushered her own goodnights and snuck away to the bedroom. 

She barely made it out of her clothes and into one of the oversized T-shirts, before her head hit the pillow and she drifted of to a dreamless but much needed slumber.