F I G H T E R

“it seems to attract a lot of out of towners and doesn’t have to be kept a secret since a teenager still in high school isn’t running a speakeasy with alcohol.” laughing through his nose as his eyes shifted at the crowd, his head shook slightly in disbelief. it was easy to figure out in traveling the world that riverdale was very rare and different to say the least. but, it was a small town with a lot of talk and a lot of tug of war constantly going on. “yeah, toni told me about hiram lodge selling it to you guys, you don’t think he had any…weird intentions in doing so, do you?” looking at sweet pea, archie’s swallow was heavy as he tried to fix it with some more beer. they both knew what that man was capable of. “my commander actually relocated me back here to run the rrotc program. but i’m already getting emails about sports, places around town my dad worked on that could use upgrades, not to mention still owning the el royal. it’s…it’s really weird to walk around this town. i feel like i’m always having to check over my shoulder twice and that’s not the army training in me.” putting his finished bottle down onto the bar, he flagged down the bartender for another. “you up to anything besides running this place, sweet pea?”

“i don’t care if he had any intentions, we took it from him, no loans, no deals. we got the money and this place became ours. he might try to take it back but we can turn him away. like you said, it attracts business, truckers are always coming through and now that the serpents are at their strongest they’ve been in years...we got one up on him. we can run it with no help from his deep pockets. im sure that was his plan from the start... two starving young serpents in over their heads but with fangs into trucking and tabitha putting in the gas station up front...the tables turned.” sweet pea’s loyalty was dug deep, it never wavered even when the serpents were weak; it’s all he’s had. pea picked through one of the peanut bowls and opened a few up before eating them. listening to archie andrews in a civil enough conversation...a twist in time that’s for sure. “So... you’re going to be working at the school? must be fucking weird going back there, i’ve never even been back yet. and yeah, you better keep that instinct up, andrews. you never know when one of those trash goblin ghoulies is tweaked up on jingle jangle and starts something... or just wants to knick your wallet. even the northside is their turf all thanks to hiram.” pea shrugged. he was no doubt the one in the town that wasn’t going to go far. “nah... i uh...didn’t get into college so this is pretty much the best shot i have. not that im complaining.” he said looking around, yep, sweet pea was stuck in riverdales neverending void. 

walking down the steps to the whyt wyrm, archie stood for a second to take it all in. this was a total shake up from la bonne nuit. part of him wondered what veronica thought about losing her speakeasy and how toni got ownership of it, but that was a conversation saved for after a few beers. seeing some of the serpents at around the bar, the red head finished his steps down into the club and went straight to ordering himself a drink. “whats up, sweet pea. it’s been a minute.” archie said as he patted the guys shoulder, over his leather jacket and moved around to shake his hand while holding a beer in the other. “this place is awesome. toni told me about it, had to come check it out for myself.”  @sweerpeant​

it was like a riverdale in the days, archie walking down to the bar had taken sweet pea back and he was worried what would come next. “i was wondering when the rest of you would show up.” pea said turning to the red haired counterpart and crossing his arms over his chest. it was known that sweets and archie were nothing but acquaintances but pea had more to worry about then some nearly ancient past. not that he would be a soft sack in the least. no one got that side of sweet pea. “yeah, toni and i got the place back to it’s bearings... obviously not the same.” he thought it was better. “so, you’re back in town... toni’s said a few things about getting the school back to it’s prime?” 

riverdale  had  never  been  all  that  glamorous  ,  but  it  didn’t  take  a  detective  to  see  the  last  breath  of  life  being  exhaled  from  their  sleepy  little  town  .  ❝            you  can  stay  ,  ❞  betty  offered  before  she  could  consider  how  awkward  that  would  be  .  ❝  we  were  .  .  .  ❞  not  friends  .  that  was  too  much  of  a  stretch  .  ❝  it’ll  be  nice  to  catch  up  .  how  are  fangs  and  toni  ?  ❞

the invitation was actually a shock to sweet pea. he didn’t think in all the time that he had known betty that they had been alone. and as forced as the invitation was the idea of taking it only seemed more so. “oh...” he said looking around. it couldn’t hurt, right? he could also get some more information on if anything was going on that would bring the coincidence of her and veronica back. “they are good. toni and fangs went off to school while i stayed back to hold things down...but now they are back, toni is a counselor at riverdale...” he said shrugging. between the three he was the one who hadn’t done much. “when toni got back we took our money and bought up this place and the noir...don’t know if you’ve seen the changes.” 

❝            old  habits  die  hard  ,  i  guess  .  i  wanted  to  come  see  pop  again  .  ❞  was  it  strange  for  sweet  pea  of  all  people  to  be  one  of  the  first  people  she  saw  upon  getting  back  ?  yeah  ,  a  little  .  however  ,  it  wasn’t  completely  unwelcome  .  better  him  than  someone  like  reggie  mantle  .  ❝  studies  and  everything  .  life  ,  y’know  ?  guess  i’ve  just  become  a  little  .  .  .  nocturnal  .  ❞  because  he  never  been  the  type  to  truly  offer  a  penny  for  her  thoughts  .  no  way  that  would  be  starting  after  she  left  riverdale  in  her  rear  view  mirror  .  ❝  so  you’ve  got  your  freedom  for  the  night  now  ,  what’s  the  plans  ?  ❞

“well, i mean, if it wasn’t the best place to get something to eat before it’s pretty much the only place now.” he mumbled. riverdale’s tumbling fall had made everything in town that was worth it close’ which was why when the place come up and the whyte wyrm needed a home toni and pea scooped it up. he humph slightly at the comment and moved on, feeling if he went further into it what she has been doing and honestly, pea did not have that energy to pretend to care about what betty had been doing. but then he thought about  her question and he now realized talking about himself was worse. he shrugged, leaning against the booth. “either i get a burger and take it home or i find somewhere to hangout and make something of the night. im sure some serpents have a party still going on somewhere around here, they never have a last call.” pea would have wanted to just go home but also didn’t want to make himself seem like another washed up riverdale resident.

for  most  ,  coming  back  to  their  small  home  town  was  a  change  of  pace  .  a  chance  to  catch  their  breath  after  everything  that  happen  in  the  great  wide  world  .  admittedly  ,  it  WAS  more  peaceful  than  what  betty  had  endured  on  her  own  .  not  that  it  was  hard  .  still  there  were  black  hoods  and  heartbreaks  around  each  old  haunted  corner  .  pop’s  had  been  their  safe  haven  back  in  the  day  .  it  was  no  surprise  betty  would  retreat  to  the  wash  of  red  neon  lights  upon  her  return  .  familiar  cups  of  coffee  keeping  the  nightmares  at  bay  .  a  shadow  cast  over  her  table  had  blue  eyes  flickering  up  to  the  semi  -  familiar  face  .  still  the  same  ,  yet  changed  by  seven  years  .  ❝            what  are  you  doing  here  ?    it’s  ,  like  ,  two  in  the  morning  .  ❞  she  spoke  as  if  she  wasn’t  the  one  clearly  already  settled  into  a  booth  .

pea rounded up the troops for the final drink. clapping his hands loudly across the wrym, leaving the drunks rocking out of their seats and walking back up to pops which had a later last call. after locking up the bar for the night, sweet pea had made it up to the dinner and looked around to the usual faces, truckers on a late night and catching a coffee and a burger. but the one thing that hadn’t been a familiar sight was that blonde hair that sat in a booth. he thought he was seeing things but after seeing the lodge girl before he was sensing a pattern and damn did he not want to see the other half of the gang that had managed to slip through the cracks of riverdale...something pea couldn’t do himself. “what am i doing here?” he scoffed “that’s the point, it’s two in the morning these are stomping times for me. just closed up for the night and now im able to do my own shit.” he said as he looked around. “what i want to know is what in the hell are you doing here. and so late, cooper?” 

“I get it, I might give you shit but it’s great, I’m glad you guys found a spot to just come together because that’s all I wanted it to be in high school,” Veronica nodded slowly as she spoke. “The old man, even though I was miles and miles away he still drove me crazy about things happening back here in Riverdale but never told me the truth about what he’s been doing,” she rolled her eyes leaning forward against the counter. “I loved living in New York but came back to help get Riverdale back on its feet, working in the school teaching Economics and newly divorced.. which I’m enjoying more than anything,” Ronnie admitted as she moved a hand in her pocket pull out enough money to cover her drink and a tip. “Here to fix my fathers mistakes so if you need help with him or anything you know where to find me.”

“well, it took a shit load of work to get where we got. what with daddy warbucks and mantel constantly playing the higher dice.” it was as if hiram honestly just loved to dg his claws into everysoul he could find. the southsiders were down already, it seemed the easiest for him until toni returned and was able to start helping with everything. but he went still. a lodge was a lodge and sweet pea was one person who knew just how much family ran through for some people. his cautions were held high. even if veronica seemed to come with a white flag and good intentions the serpent wasn’t going to cave. it’s what had held them up as they were building the serpents together, sweet pea’s constant need to hold together a fort. “hm. so, you think you can pull this whole sodale thing to the ground? you’d be one popular girl if you do.” he reached across the counter and pocketed the cash. “and divorced?” he shook his head. “look, lodge, i’m not making promises but you need something to bury your father to the ground, i’ll be there with a damn shovel. there is nothing more than watching him fall.” 

“Spit and shine.. it was a speakeasy, of course it was more godfather..” she let out a soft laugh as she picked up the glass and took a sip from it. It was weird for her to see things so differently now from when she owned it. But, to be fair she didn’t exactly miss dealing with her father trying to run it into the ground just out of spite. “It must drive my father crazy so I love it,” Veronica teased Sweet pea as she lifted the glass to her lips again finishing what was left in it. 

pea’s nose scrunched and he shook his head. “yeah, not really our style.” he said shrugging his shoulders. how they changed it...well it was more of home to him then he was going to get. “what, the old man? yeah, we’ve been pretty much trying to do anything to keep him shaking. the whole... trucker destination thing hasn’t been his favorite thing but he deserves it.” now that he would be getting actual money from the girl he rose a brow. “what are you doing here anyway? aren’t you supposed to be some big wig in new york?” 

Veronica still wasn’t used to walking downstairs from Pops shop and into what used to be the La Bonne Nuit back when she owned it. She walked over to the bar immediately sitting down on the stool diagonal from the stage picking up the menu examining it for a moment until she heard a familiar voice. “How hospitable,” Veronica observed with a slight sigh placing the menu down glancing up at Sweet pea. “Just reminiscing, I’ll have whatever whiskey you have.. neat.” 

though the comment was one not many would take lightly there was only a truth behind it. it a person wanted a warm comfort and a smile they usually waited for when toni was serving. pea had always held up a part of this heard to break continence that sped things along with orders.  “warm and sweet isn’t what i’m goin’ for during a rush.” he said knowing the face as the infamous veronica lodge, former owner of the place they stood. he reached over for a bottle of whiskey, a nice and pricey one, before pouring it in a glass and sliding it over. “see what a bit of spit and shine can do to a place?” there were so many changes to the bar one might never recognize it. “no offense but the old look was a little too... godfather and not enough oil and steel.” 

[jordan connor, twenty five, he/him, cismale]. I can’t believe (SWEET PEA) still lives in/has come back to Riverdale! I’ve heard they are (+LOYAL) but also can come off as (-IMPULSIVE), and can be found hanging around at (WHYTE WYRM). 

APPEARANCE

Eye color: Brown

Hair color: Black

Height: 6′4′’

Scars: Small silver cuts from being a rough boy. Got to be scrappy to get by

Tattoos:  a few skulls along his wrist, a death tarot card on the back of his forearm obviously his serpent tattoo, skull and serpent on shoulder, and no serpents shed their skin on his forearm

Lizzie’s head tilted after hearing his reply “It’s just so… SMALL. sure, my hometown is small, but I think it’s a bit bigger than this town” She explained. Made more sense now with the quote on their welcome sign when he explained from what year it was from “Understandable. They should change the sign then” Some things needed updates, but maybe it was not a big deal with signs, unless it was a new store or something. 

She nodded “You sure?” She questioned, could not help to wonder “ Okay so, what year is it?” If it was the past she would for sure know if it was magic behind this “No no, I am actually being serious about the vampire thing. I don’t read books unless it’s homework. I was in mystic falls, my hometown a few hours ago what I know of, and then out of nowhere I turn up in a new town”

Small? Now that he could agree on, Riverdale wasn’t the biggest place on the map which was what had him so confused on the random amount of unrecognizable faces he has been noticing around. “Okay, beats a packed fucking city full of airheads doesn’t it?” She was so quick to judge where he came from he at least had the right to judge her town without even knowing where it was. And this was coming from a boy who wasn’t too fond of being stuck in Riverdale himself. 

“So?” Reggie questioned Sweet Pea. Why would he care if other people had something to worry about? He cared about people who he was close to, but not anyone he barely knew “Agreed, a bit. It was just a guess. Sure, it’s strange, but complaining about it doesn’t help. No, maybe it doesn’t look as it did and that it has been here forever” He had no idea what he said anymore. Everything was confusing “Maybe there’s an explanation? Someone have to know”

After only days of being in Riverdale, Veronica was already settling in nicely, loving the looks she got as she walked down the street. People weren’t necessarily afraid of her, but they certainly were intimidated. It was all over their faces whenever they crossed the road when they saw her coming. But as she walked down a rather empty street, she took note of the boy who didn’t seem to care much for her. It was a new feeling for Veronica, really. “Excuse me? Did you not see me walking?”

closed starter for @sweetser-pea-nt

Sweet Pea: ...and so young.

Jughead: Posting that I died? That really isn't funny.

Sweet Pea: Well, how you died is funny.

Jughead: Oh, please, hit by a blimp?