A little known fact about Sweet Pea is he loves skating- and he is really good at it. You wouldn't guess it, looking at the 6'5 giant, one might even think his long limbs would make him clumsy or only cut out to be a hockey player, but no, he glides swiftly around the rink effortlessly, and almost never falls. The South Side only has one, old, rundown rink, but he goes there frequently in his solitude.

It is his secret because if any of the other Serpents knew about his adventures he would never hear the end of it. There is only one cleaner that works there, named Max, and he always leaves the back door open for Sweet Pea after the rink technically closes, and that is where he is now. It is 11:45pm, and he has strapped on his skates and glides out onto the ice. There is only three working lights, illuminating only three quarters of the rink but luckily he knows it like the back off his hand, every bump and curve, ever dent in the sideboards, he knows it all. He skates solely to forget about everything else, it is like his little escape from the shit happening around him, the rink is like his little safe bubble where no one could touch him. He also came here to escape one person in particular; the raven haired princess, as Jughead calls her. Veronica had come into his life like a tornado and he hated it admit how thrown off he was. After their first meeting at Archie Andrews' house, and she had taken a special interest in him. Maybe she considered him a new charity case, which he despised. Of course, no one knew about their interactions, but he sometimes gets texts checking in and occasionally she sees him in one of the schools out-cove. One day, she had grabbed his phone day when she found him by himself in the hallway, put her number in and that was that. He hates Archie, but it is undecided on the raven haired and headstrong girl. She likely did it because her father wanted more insight into the South Side, but she never gave him an actual reason.

He breathes in the familiar smell of the rink and feels content, knowing that no one will get here. But that bubble of security came crashing down when he heard the door open then slam shut. He dug his blade into the ice, luckily stopping at one of the shaded parts of the rink so he knew he was hidden. He hears the sound of heels and he rolls his eyes, knowing instantly who it is. She walks to the opening gate and begins looking around the rink for him.

"I know you're here, come over!" She instructs but he just frowns and remains unmoving. He can hear a shake in her voice, and the faint lights are reflecting what seems to be tears on her cheeks.

"What are you doing in the South Side? And how did you find me?" He asks her, still hiding in the shadow.

"The four of us were at Jughead's trailer. I… got in a fight with Archie but it's fine. I saw your location on the Snapchat map," she admits, looking almost embarrassed for once.

He curses under his breath. The fucking Snapchat thing, he hates it. He makes a mental note to turn off that thing when he goes home. He looks back at her, still grimacing. "What do you want, Veronica?"

She doesn't answer right away, instead she just looks down at her shoes. Her high heels are shining in the dim light, and she is wearing a black wool trench coat is drawn tightly across her slight frame. Sweet Pea eventually sighs, before skating over to the girl. When he eventually slides to a stop, she finally looks up from her shoes and acknowledges him. He bites his lip and stares down at her, cocking his eyebrow, wondering why on earth she decided to come to him. So, that is exactly what he asks.

"Why? Why did you come to me?"

Once again, she doesn't answer him. She just shrugs her shoulders, but then shakes her dark locks back and straightens her shoulders. "I didn't know you skated," she remarks, before showing off her smirk.

Sweet Pea ignores the fact she didn't answer his question, instead leans against the board and cocks his head. "Don't go spreading it around. There's a reason I didn't want people knowing." He snaps at her, growing tired of whatever game she is playing. She finally steps out, her foot hovering over the ice, her high heel grazing the top of the cold white sheet.

"Bring me out on the ice." She demands sternly, and he cocks his eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"I said bring me out on the ice. You're tall, carry me around, I don't care. Show me what is so important that you disappear to this place." She snaps before putting her hands on her hips, and glaring at him with that fiery look that he knows is just challenging him to do something. Impulsively, or defiantly, he does. He reaches forward and grabs her waist, lifting her into his arms before pushing off again. He admits she does throw off his balance a bit, but he is skilled enough that he just positions her so her weight is evenly distributed. Her chest is against his, and her face is resting on the crook of his neck, while her arms are wrapped tightly around his shoulders. He glides around the rink, before sliding to a stop in the middle and letting her go. He holds on to her hands to keep her balanced and notes that with the dim lighting, her dark eyes still shine.

"What are you really doing here, Veronica?" He snaps as he grips her hands tighter, whether to keep her up or because he is angry, he doesn't know. Why does she have this fascination with him?

She shakes her head, letting the raven locks fall over her shoulders. "You're fun to toy with, you get all flustered. I need to go now, take me back." She instructs but now its his turn to shake his head. He turns around and pushes off, quickly skating back to the gate, angry.

"Get yourself back and stop leave me the fuck alone. Go get another toy, that carrot top kid is a good option." He snaps as he grabs the boards and hauls himself up and quickly goes to the bench, here his shoes were waiting.

"Sweet Pea!" She calls out but he doesn't answer, he just rips off his skates and gathers his things, before standing up and walking out of the rink, leaving her there. He's tired of this girl thinking she can use him as an antidote for her boredom. She can get some other plaything.