The worst kind of pain does not come from your enemies 

but from the people who you trust and love. 

+ + + +

Nellie nervously frayed the paper between her fingers. On it was Fred's program but she already knew it by heart. She threw another stolen glance into the audience before the debate was about to start. Nowhere did she see her tall Serpent or his pink haired sidekick. Her mouth drew into a disappointed twist. 

"There, there, nothing to be worried about," Mary Andrews friendly draped her arm across Nellie's shoulders and pulled her closer. 

"It's Fred going on stage not you," a shimmer of amusement glinted in the woman's warm eyes. 

Nellie let out a sigh. "I'd just expected some friends," she admitted to which Mary sympathetically patted her arm. 

"They'll show up or perhaps they're not that politically interested," she quirked an eyebrow and even though the nerves were running through her veins, Nellie managed to smile. That was until her eyes lingered on the figure on the opposite side of the stage a little too long. 

Hiram Lodge was obnoxiously ignoring the Andrews' side of the stage, showing them a great view of his broad back in a perfect fitted black suit as he talked to Veronica. Nellie swallowed down the bitter taste of hatred as he watched him dismiss his other daughter. The young girl looked annoyed at his answer and a sudden satisfaction made Nellie ease up a bit. 

At least he disappointed both of his daughters tonight, she thought. 

A sudden towering figure drew her attention back into the audience. Sweet Pea didn't look up as he followed Toni through the rows of people crammed next to each other. The girl happily waved and shoved the Serpent with her elbow but Sweet Pea stubbornly refused to look up. A dark feeling settled in the pit of Nellie's stomach.

"He's handsome," Mary Andrews chimed next to Nellie. For a moment she'd forgotten the motherly embrace she'd found herself in. 

"A pain in the ass," Nellie muttered, her heart heavy in her chest at the thought of having another discussion with Sweet Pea before she might be able to lose herself again in his embrace. She shouldn't solve their problems with physical attraction but when he was leaning back, his head supported by his arm hooked behind his head, she couldn't help but imagine straddling him and kissing every piece of exposed, muscled abdomen.

Mary chuckled next to her. "Well, as long as he treats you right." Nellie only hummed in response trying to focus her improper thoughts back onto the debate. Thankfully, the lights dimmed and Alice Cooper appeared on stage, welcoming the audience. 

A huffed breath caused Nellie to look next to her, surprised to see Archie Andrews finally showing up to support his dad. She offered him a friendly smile. When Mary lifted her arm from Nellie to embrace her son, the young girl felt another sad sting vibrate through her body. She was here alone. No Dahlia to support her and no Hiram Lodge to count on. 

Clenching her teeth together, she forced herself to listen to the debate as it went on. She was intend on absorbing every word, ignoring the two brooding, dark men in her life. Just like they ignored her. 

As Hermione revealed that Minetta had arrested the possible murderer of Midge Klump, the audience erupted in mutters and heated whispers. Fred Andrews immediately countered that the police wasn't certain Fangs Fogarty was the suspect they were looking for. 

Hit by the news, Nellie couldn't help but let her eyes stray once more through the audience, searching for the dark passionate ones of Sweet Pea. Scanning his face for any sign he knew, she noticed his clenched jaw and balled fists when his face didn't reveal any emotion. 

He knew. 

He had needed her and he hadn't reached out to her. At that moment she knew he didn't trust her, that much was clear. She was good enough to keep his bed warm but not when he was so obviously struggling. 

She dug her nails deeper in the palms of her hand to avoid them from trembling. She hated feeling so vulnerable.

A sudden scream from Veronica tore through her thoughts right before a shot was fired. Everything happened so quickly, Nellie barely managed to comprehend what was going on. Archie pushed her aside from behind, making her stumble onto the stage as he dove for his father, just in time to tackle him. The shot barely missed him. Hidden behind the speaking stand, they were both hiding for the rain of bullets that was aimed at the stage. 

Nellie looked up into the light. A dark hooded figure was standing on the balcony. His silhouette was embraced by a halo of pale light. The rifle pointed at her. Too numb to move, she heard the bullets whizz by her head, leaving a ringing in her ears as they passed. 

Unable to look away from the infamous Black Hood, Nellie frowned when her vision was obscured by another dark figure that jumped onto the stage in a swift movement. Two strong hands wrapped around her arms and hauled her backstage, hidden in the safety of the coulisses. 

Panting and terrified, Nellie tried to focus on the face in front of her. Dark spots danced in her vision as his features slowly became visible. Sweet Pea. The rain of bullets ceased almost immediately as the rest of the chaos brought people pushing themselves passed the two. 

Protecting Nellie's frail form, Sweet Pea wrapped himself completely around her. She clung to him, pressed her face against the soft worn tissue of his dark T-shirt as shock got the better of her. He whispered things she couldn't hear. He kissed her hair but Nellie didn't even feel it. Her body was too shocked of having watched a murderer in the eye. Of having a gun aimed at her. 

"Let's go home, Nels," was the only thing that sounded clear when Sweet Pea took her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Although Mary had done the exact same thing earlier that evening, the feeling didn't compare to the safety Nellie felt when the leather clad gang member guided her through the panicked crowd. 

The lights of a beat up truck illuminated the chaotic parking lot as Sweet Pea pressed the key. He helped Nellie climb in on the passenger seat before his fingers quickly typed a message to Toni. 

"Where are you?"

"I'm safe. I'm coming with Cheryl."

Quickly running his hand over his face, he glanced back in the car. Nellie was pale and trembling. Her eyes were pressed closed as she pushed her own hand against her forehead.

He got into the driver's seat. Worry washed over him at her delicate state. "You alright?"

"Headache," she mentioned, trying to ignore the ringing of her ears. He couldn't help himself but reach for her other hand. Her fingers were freezing cold. Nellie couldn't feel anything in her numb fingertips. When he brought her hand to his lips and pressed tender kisses on each fingertip, they slowly thawed. 

"We're waiting for Toni and Cheryl to leave," he said once he was done. With a sudden force the chaos of the parking lot entered the truck when Cheryl and Toni pushed themselves inside. 

"Trailer Park, Pea," Toni instructed securing her safety belt before lacing her fingers through Cheryl's. The Riverdale diva looked just as shaken as the others and somehow Nellie had never imagined this would be how they'd first encounter. Nellie couldn't bother honestly, for her hand felt numb again as Sweet Pea started the truck and drove them off the parking lot. 

Expecting the rest of the ride to pass in silence, Nellie let her head lean back against the cool window. The cold seemed to slow down the rushing of her blood, ease the thumping of her heart. 

Heated sparks shot through her numb hand once more when Sweet Pea reached for her hand and pulled it closer to the steering wheel. Nellie glanced to the side. He was focusing on the road ahead, unaware of her gaze. His hand firmly gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. The street lights illuminated his stern look whenever they passed. Cheryl and Toni were mumbling inconsistently on the back seat, too lost in their own conversation to pay the two in the front any attention. 

It wasn't until they dropped the two girls off at Toni's grandfather that Sweet Pea dared to look back at Nellie.

She wasn't prepared for the intensity in his eyes. She was glad he had kept to the road for if he had looked at her like that before, she would've swooned on sight. 

Instead, his eyes were filled with the promise of crashing lips and bruised thighs.