CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
ULTRA-VIOLENCE
"it's obvious, i want to be into you
but it all depends on all the things you do"
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Harley was convinced helping FP bringing the several bags of food back to his trailer was a mistake the second she stepped foot in Sunnyside trailer park. The raging music and several drunk serpents caught her attention immediately, the crowd cheering happily at the news the day had brought them. In one flip of a switch Hiram Lodge had gone from the horrible man corrupting Riverdale, throwing the Southsiders out of their homes, into the man saving them. Harley follow tightly in heel after FP as he made his way into his trailer.

The trailer was packed with serpents, all of whom appeared to be in a state between drunk off their asses and high on happiness. Harley wasn't quite sure what it meant that Hiram Lodge was continued to buy up properties in the small town, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness as she watched the serpents celebrate. They had survived yet another day, depts paid and evictions waved. Trailing after the serpent king, Harley and FP both entered his trailer. A shockingly big amount of people had managed to cramp inside the small space, all making way for the food delivery. Harley mumbled a few 'thank you's', hyper aware of the many sets of eyes glued to her. They were all weary of strangers, Northsiders especially, and understandably so. Simply because Hiram had 'saved' them today, it didn't erase the many years of this on going war.

     "Just put it down here." FP instructed, dropping the several brown paper bags of ontop the small dinner table. Harley found herself wondering how she'd ever even ended up here. She was spending her Friday night with her best friend's dad, how sad was that? "Just hang around if you want, I'm going to shoot Jughead a call."

     Harley nodded, watching practically the only person she knew there take off into the crowd. The Byers girl sighed deeply, checking her phone for any notifications. She had texted both Midge and Jughead during the night, missing her two closest friends. With Jughead at the Lodge cabin and Midge at the movies with her boyfriend and Kevin Keller, Harley began to realize just how lonely she was ( especially now that she had officially dumped Reggie ). All of her other 'friends' weren't really friends, they were just acquaintances. Despite being fairly popular at the high school, Harley really didn't know many people, and even fewer really knew her.

     Without any text messages to distract her, Harley shoved her phone back into her jacket pocket. She crossed her arms over her chest, searching the trailer for a familiar face. As if he could read her mind, his eyes found hers. His tall frame was resting against the wall as he stared deeply into her eyes, a green bottle of beer firmly in his grip. Harley inhaled sharply. The mere sight of him was enough to make her stomach churn with an unknown feeling. Normally, Harley would have averted her gaze, but this time she didn't. She held his gaze challengingly, tilting her eyes ever so slightly, staring through her lashes.

     His expression was hard to read, as per usual. It was as if he was wearing this emotionless mask to cloud over his feelings. Harley found him annoyingly hard to read. Even staring deeply into her eyes, it was impossible to decipher what was hiding behind them.

     Harley was the first to break eye contact when someone approached her from her peripheral. She switched her eyes over to the leather cladded serpent approaching her, a single brow quirked in curiosity. The Byers girl could faintly remember seeing his face around before, she just couldn't pinpoint where exactly.

     "What's a girl like you doing standing all alone in a place like this?" He queried as he halted infront of her. There was no denying that Harley stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd of Southside serpents. She was, after all, the only one not sporting something serpent related. Plus, her very preppy skirt and top combo made it obvious that she wasn't a Southsider.

     "Wouldn't you like to know." She responded, smiling at him. The dark haired boy was dashingly handsome, his water-colored eyes contrasting his dark curls beautifully.

     He extended a hand, holding out a beer. "You look parched." Harley chewed on the inside of her cheek, debating whether or not the beer was a good idea. A grin fell on her plump lips. Despite of deciding it was a bad idea, Harley accepted the beverage. Maybe she wouldn't feel too lonely tonight after all. "David." He introduced, shaking her hand. His hand felt cold in hers, several silver rings decorating his fingers.

     "David?" Harley repeated in amusement. "I'm Harley."

     He tilted his head, his bright eyes staring deeply into her darker ones. "Does my name amuse you?"

     "I guess so. David seems so tame for a serpent." Harley admitted, having expecting a totally different name.

     David grinned back at her. "Well, the serpents tend to call me Chains, but it's not exactly inviting."

     "Now that is a proper gang name." Harley laughed, 'Chains' joining in. A certain serpent watched the two from afar, eyes narrowed. He had yet to properly apologize for what he had said to her in his moment of anger that night outside the Whyte Wyrm. Sweet Pea wasn't even sure if was going to apologize. It wasn't exactly in his character description. Yet he felt the need to clear the air, make up for what he had said and done.

And it would be the perfect excuse to pull Harley was from the douchebag she was currently talking to.

A few beers later, and Harley was ashamed to admit that the drinks had affected her a great deal. She wasn't exactly shitfaced, but she was definitely not sober. It had been a hot minute since she had gotten drunk last. Whenever she did actually decide to drink some, it was on the pretense that she'd go home early and limit the amount severely. Tonight was different. After the last few days she'd been having, she desperately longed for a break, a chance to let her hair down. Tonight was just that.

Harley didn't even care that she was on the Southside, pretty much surrounded by strangers. Nor did she care about the many odd looks she received from the Southsiders, all wondering why the hell a Northsider like herself was present at the celebration. And she most definitely didn't care that her mother would suffer a heart attack if she knew about her current whereabouts. This night was as carefree as Harley could possible get, at least for now.

David, also know as Chains, had stayed stuck to her side the entire night, making sure to supply her with beer after beer. He himself was chugging down some moonshine another serpent had made. His could hand found her upper arm, tugging her ever so slightly away from the crowd. Harley stumbled after him, the two disappearing behind a trailer. He hoisted her up, placing her ontop of the hood of a car to better match their heights. The Byers girl found herself staring up at him through her eyelashes, the moonlight perfectly illuminating his features. He had strong cheekbones and a strong jawline, his crystal eyes making him all that much more alluring. There was no denying that the serpent was attractive, but Harley couldn't help but to compare him to a taller serpent. . . She shook her head, trying to get his face out of her mind.

"You're fun for a Northsider." David hummed, placing a hand on her upper thigh. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. . . Has anyone ever told you that?" Harley let a soft laugh out at the compliment, her facing heating up. She turned her face away, but his fingers gripped her chin, turning her back to him. "It's true."

"I'm sure you use that line on all of your girls." Harley quipped, face still hot from the comment.

He laughed warmly at her response. "No, no I only tell them they're pretty." Harley laughed at him, shoving him away playfully. "No, but seriously. You're insanely good looking. . ." He trailed off, his hand finding its way back to her thigh. His formally bright eyes were suddenly a shade darker, determination visible in his eyes. He dipped his head down, tugging on her sweater to better reveal her collarbone. He placed a hungry kiss on her collarbone.

Harley laughed awkwardly, nervously. She softly placed her hand on his chest, weakly attempting to push him away. "What are you doing?"

He huffed slightly at her interruption. "What does it look like?"

"David, we can't. We're in public, anyone could see us." Harley tried, yet again pushing on his chest.

"If you're worried about anyone seeing us, my trailer is right here." He replied cheekily.

Harley shook her head. "No that's not what I meant— look I'm just feeling really drunk right now and I think I should just go." The serpent took a step back from her, staring in disbelief.

"Wait, are you serious right now?" His tone had completely switched, the tension surrounding them switching with it.

Harley tugged her skirt as far down as it would go, hugging her jacket closer to her body. "Yeah, I'm just— I'm really not feeling too good right now and I think it'll be best if I just go." She repeated, feeling dizzy as she stood.

The boy scoffed loudly in annoyance. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Harley's heart dropped at the venom dripping from his voice, eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What?"

"You've literally been all over me this entire night, so if we're not fucking then what have we been doing this entire time?" He spat.

"Are you being serious?" Harley asked, her tone faltering.

"What, you think I'm here because I'm interested in you? In what you have to say or what you think about things as if you're so fucking interesting? Like, every time you start talking I think to myself 'who the fuck does this Northsider think she is'? You are so fucking boring." The serpent boy continued, eyes narrowed at the girl. Harley could feel her eyes sting, his words slicing at her. She brushed past him, his fingers circling around her upper arm, pulling her back harshly. "I'm gonna be honest with you, because no one else will. Any guy who says he's interested in you beyond just fucking you, is full of shit. So go ahead and run back to you're little superficial northside life, she if anyone really gives a shit."

A few months ago, hell only a few weeks ago, Harley would have snapped back with something twice as mean, but she was changing. Her breath hitched in her throat at his words, ripping her arm away from his grip. Her legs couldn't carry her fast enough as she stormed out from behind the trailer, crashing directly into a hard chest.

Sweet Pea's hands shot out before she had time to fall on her ass, stabilizing her. He looked down at the girl, finding her tear filled eyes staring back up at her. Harley wasn't sure if crashing into the tall serpent made her feel any better or worse, as his very own words resurfaced in her mind. "Harley—"

     "Whatever you want to say, Sweet Pea, spare me. This night sucks enough as it is without you telling me how much of a stuck up brat I am. You and David can bond over how much you hate, I'm getting the hell out of here." Harley brushed past him.

     Confusion clouded his mind at her words, but it was cleared up when the David in question rounded the corner. "Chains, what the fuck did you say to her." Unable to contain his rage, Sweet Pea grabbed the boy by his jacket, slamming him brutally against the trailer behind them.

     David, seemingly unfazed, smirked cockily up at the taller serpent. "Nothing everyone doesn't know already." He chuckled. Sweet Pea slammed his fist next to David's head. "Fine. I told her what we've all been thinking; that she's just some boring, northside slut without any real purpose."

     "I swear to god I'm gonna beat your face in." Sweet Pea raised his arm, throwing a punch square in his face. The boy flew to the ground, clenching his nose. Sweet Pea didn't bother staying behind, instead turning to follow after the Byers girl.

     Harley sat at the curb by the main road, phone in hand. "Midge? Hello? Can you come pick me up?" Her voice cracked as she spoke, distress clear in her words.

     "I-uh I'm kind of busy right now. . ." Midge replied, shuffling sounding in the background.

     "What? Where are you?" Harley questioned sniffling, wondering what the hell her best friend was busy doing at two am in the night. She was obviously no longer at the movies, nor was she with her boyfriend ( after Moose had been shot, his parents barely let him out of their sight, let alone out till two am ).

     "With a— uhh, friend."

     Harley ran an frustrated hand over her face. "Well can you blow them off, please?" She begged, her tone cracking. "I really need you right now."

     "I can't, sorry Har, I've gotta go." The painful sound of the line dying hit Harley's ears as her friend hung up on her. With Jughead out of town, and Midge blowing her off, Harley was left of options of who'd to call.

     "Fuck!" She yelled out in frustration, tossing her phone to the ground in a blind rage of tears. The sound of a twig snapping next to her caused her head to snap in the direction. Her eyes fell on his tall stature. "Sweet Pea can you just leave—"

     "No." He cut her off, determined to get his apology through this time. "I'm gonna talk, you're gonna listen." He instructed. "I'm sorry for what that night outside of the Whyte Wyrm. I was angry, and I didn't think before I spoke. I was wrong, about everything I said. And I'm sorry." The taste of the word 'sorry' felt foreign on his tongue. Toni and Fangs would've probably fell over in shock if they'd heard him apologizing right now. His ego wouldn't allow him to apologize to anyone. Yet here he was, laying it all out bare.

     When Harley didn't respond, he continued. "I don't know what Chains told you, but he's a dickhead and you shouldn't listen to him." Sweet Pea said. Obviously whatever that asshole had said to her had affected her deeply. "Now as far as I can tell, you're stuck here until further notice, cause there's no way you're walking all the way over to the northside of town, not at this time of night. I would offer to drive you, but I've had a few beers so I can't. What I can do is offer you to stay at my couch."

     Harley let out an sigh of exasperation, closing her eyes for a moment. Sweet Pea was right; she was stuck there. The Byers girl desperately wanted to refuse his offer, to walk all the way home instead just so to fall asleep in her own bed, but something about the authority in his voice as he spoke forced her to comply. And so she picked up her phone from the ground, trailing after him as he led the way.

     The very night marked the official beginning of the downfall of Harley Byers as most knew her, the many cracks finally beginning to show, and soon enough, the cracks would give into the pressure, collapsing under the weight of it all.

word count; 2754
a/n

hi ! what am i doing ? oh, well i'm just writing these last few chapters like crazy instead of actually studying to the many huge exams i have got coming up. priorities, am i right ? guess i can only hope what i'm writing is entertaining enough to keep you guys from studying too ! it'll be like a whole circle moment ! anywho, this chapter was v exciting to write, and as i'm sure many of us are well aware of, certain scenes and things are coming up . . . so stay tuned for it !

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