"I am scared as hell to want you. But here I am, wanting you anyway."

+ + + +

Waking up before Sweet Pea, Nellie slowly unravelled herself from his embrace. Sleeping vastly, the young Serpent didn't notice her sneaking out of his bed and heading for the bathroom. After taking a refreshing cold shower, she darted back into the bedroom to get her clothes. Wearing a pair of black jeans and a washed off flannel shirt, Nellie vacated the room. 

In front of the front door, she paused to look at Sweet Pea's sleeping form. The sound of roaring engines outside, woke her up abruptly and told her the day was about to start. If she wanted to leave before Sweet Pea woke up, she needed to leave now. 

As she closed the door, a sickly sweet mumble pulled her attention towards a trailer a bit further away. She watched the blonde ponytail of Betty Cooper bounce away as the young girl headed for the bus stop. Jughead leaned against his doorframe, his brooding eyes following the girl with admiration. 

Feeling the disappointment and betrayal of the day before crash back to her, Nellie headed for the young Serpent. When he noticed her arrival, he rose his eyebrows high. 

"Well?" she demanded as if one word would explain her outburst. Jughead shrugged and frowned, throwing her an haughty stare as he leaned back against the doorframe. 

Frustrated by his lack of emotion, Nellie grind her teeth. "Why didn't I know about the prison? Why didn't you tell me?" she shot at the boy who looked like he couldn't care less. 

"I just heard," he said as an excuse, already retreating back inside the safety of his trailer. Before he could close the door, Nellie slammed her hand flat against the cheap wood. "No, not good enough. I give you something to work with, give you my cooperation to destroy Hiram Lodge and that's what I get in return?" Her voice was rough with the morning and frustration. 

Jughead's cold eyes scanned over her face. He looked sideways and licked his lips before he opened his mouth again. "You have given me no info at all. Just a pair of cufflinks." he addressed her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"And? Did they lead to something or are you going to keep that info from me as well?" Nellie shot back. 

"I haven't had the time to look into them. But they are not important anymore," he shrugged carelessly. 

"What do you mean?"

"Hiram Lodge is building a prison. No matter what big reveal those cufflinks bring, they won't be enough to bring him down. We either need to stop his plans or get some real dirt on him. Especially since his wife is running for mayor," 

At this new piece of information, Nellie lets herself slump the slightest bit. "She is?" 

Jughead only nods. "Hermione Lodge is running for mayor and if we don't stop them soon, the Lodges will run this town. And no one will be able to stop them." 

Hermione. The name sounded familiar to Nellie although she couldn't entirely place it. Before she could register it, the door in front of her closed. Apparently the Prince of the Southside had decided she was no longer worthy of his time. Letting out a huff, she turned around and dashed towards the busstop, unaware of another Serpent watching the entire staging from the safety of his own trailer.

+ + + +

The tension at Riverdale High was reaching peaks. After the  school hall meeting, Jughead insisted all the members of the Swords of Serpents to meet him in a separate classroom. Sweet Pea clenched his jaw the moment Jughead dashed through the door. 

Before he has a chance to speak, Sweet Pea rose and smashed his hand flat on one of the desks. "Well?" he started reminding Jughead of Sweet Pea's roommate earlier that morning. He wondered if Sweet Pea knew how similar they were. The Serpent didn't give him much chance to ponder over the simple resemblance as the accusations followed. 

"What a lousy answer you gave during the meeting! Are we supposed to put our faith in you? Instead of fighting the Lodges, you're now running for student body president? What is that going to change for the Southside?" Sweet Pea was fuming with anger. He wanted to ask about Nellie, and why the hell she'd been at Jughead's trailer this morning. But he knew better than to reveal to the others about how deeply he felt for Nellie.

Instead, he rose an eyebrow, daring Jughead to give answer. 

"It's the only way." F.P. Jones' kid explained himself, receiving an eye roll from Sweet Pea. "Whoever is elected gets a seat on the school board, gaining them access to the inside which means we couldn't be silenced." 

"And what about your running mate? The Cooper git?" Fangs threw back. At the mention of his girlfriend and the way his Serpents talked about her, Jughead tensed. 

"Yes, she'll bail on us just like her mother did," Sweet Pea added. "Alice has done us no good ever since she started writing shit about us on the Register. She blamed us for crimes we didn't even commit!"

"She's the worst running mate you could've picked, Jughead," Fangs continued, shaking his head in disbelief. 

When his fellow Serpents looked back at Sweet Pea, he couldn't help but feel satisfied that no matter what, they had chosen him to out their discontent with Jughead. 

"Choosing Betty as your running mate is a slap in the face to the Southside, Jughead. And for that reason, you won't be getting the Serpent vote for your silly campaign."

Jughead remained frozen, too angry to let any emotion truly show. He watched impassive as his fellow Serpents one by one deserted the room. He couldn't deny the looming figure of Sweet Pea that was still leaning against one of the desks. His eye shone proud as he watched his Serpents listen to his orders once again. 

He felt as if he had just delivered a perfect hit at Jughead's face. Although a smirk toyed with the corners of his mouth, Sweet Pea's eyes were hard, remembering the slap on his face in the morning when he saw Nellie dash towards Jughead's trailer and have a long and heated conversation with the Serpent in front of him. 

"Well, now that that is cleared up," Sweet Pea started, abandoning the desk and staggering towards Jughead. He pointed his chin in the other boy's direction. "I have one more thing to talk to you about."

Jughead rose an eyebrow but didn't show any more emotion than he had before. 

"Stay away from Nellie," Sweet Pea snapped. Now, Jughead looked up to the taller Serpent in surprise. 

"Sorry?" he managed to get out, still too surprised to truly grasp the meaning behind Sweet Pea's words. 

"You heard me," Sweet Pea warned. "I don't like the idea of her hanging out with you. You've brought nothing but destruction to the Southside, so before you ruin her as well I give you this warning. Stay away from Nellie," 

A haunting smile appeared on Jughead's face. "You've got things mixed up, Sweet Pea," he started, the anger at the Serpent's words made him irrational. "I believe it's you she should be afraid of. I believe you have more crimes to your name than I do? After all, it must run in your family."

Sweet Pea's features contorted into an ugly sneer at the low blow directed at Bear and his parents. Before he could wrap his hands around Jughead's neck, the door burst open and Betty interrupted their conversation, unknowingly preventing the danger that was about to happen upon her boyfriend. 

Sweet Pea abruptly turned away and rushed to his motorcycle. As he sat down, he took in a deep breath. He had just threatened Jughead, all because of Nellie. He had never done anything like it before but the thought of Jughead interrupting whatever was going on between the two of them, made his heart ache with fear. He couldn't lose her to some scrawny kid like Jughead. 

He couldn't lose Nellie to anyone.