Love or Hate?
Requested: Halloween prompt #9 where reader dresses as Sweets.
A/N: I hope ya’ll like this sorry it took so long. Keep sending the prompts in with your ideas. I have a few Halloween ones left in my inbox as well as some regular requests I’ve had for a bit.
Word Count: 2392
Pea’s POV
Every time Halloween comes around everyone is preparing for Cheryl blossoms early costume party. Everyone was waiting for the invite; the announcement that revealed what it would be this year. The invitation placed on your desk.
“Hello darling, you are cordially invited to my gathering at Thistle House, can’t wait to see your costume” She sent a wink your way which concerned you cause Cheryl is always up to something.
“You are cordially invited to Thistle house for the annual Halloween Bash. But there’s a twist; In order to get in you must be dressed as the person you love....or the person you hate. Will they know the difference? Will you spill? Guess we’ll find out”
So now you had two options; Sweet Pea or Reggie and you were not wearing a Riverdale letterman. You were scared shitless, to say the least, and you had to find Toni.
“T”
“What's up?”
“Did you hear about Cheryl’s party?”
“Clearly considering I’m dating her, why?”
“Okay no need to be sassy T, Haha anyway this is important. What the fuck am I going to dress as? I only have one option here. I have to dress as Pea cause I sure as hell ain't dressing as Reggie but if I dress as Pea he is gonna fucking think I either hate him or love him and that is a problem!”
“Oh I know that was the point, plus it isn’t a problem”
“Huh”
“I love you but I’m fucking tired of you and him, You need to grow a pair and fucking tell him”
“If I tell him it’ll fucking ruin everything”
“Well, you don’t really have a choice so either Mantle or Pea, you only have two options
“Guess you’re helping me draw a tattoo then”
“Thank fucking god becuase I swe...” Before she could finish Pea came in slamming the door open.
“Yo, you guys get your invites?”
“Yeah of course, who you dressing as?”
“Someone I hate...”
“Let me guess…?”
“Sure”
“Reggie?”
“How did you know!” He was playing it off coming over and draping his hand over your shoulder.
“Not a super hard thing to guess PeaPod”
“I thought we stopped with that nickname!”
“It’s never gonna stop”
“Guess I can deal but only for you” He sent a wink your way, and it caused your stomach to twirl. “Do you wanna come over and help me cover my tattoo?”
“Sure, guess I'll see you later then?”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you after school?”
“Yeah”
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You decided to just bring your clothes for the party in your backpack considering you just had to throw his flannel on top of what you’d normally wear.
You got to his trailer but before you could knock on the door he was opening it shirtless and in basketball shorts and your mind ran wild. It was weird you’ve been friends for years, maybe more than friends but you never really noticed him that way until recently. He was always your Pea Pod, the guy who you could go to for anything, the guy who would protect you from anything. But you wanted to stay friends, you couldn’t tell him anything, not after Fangs made the joke about the two of you marrying eventually and Pea laughed it off punching him saying it would never happen. That struck you, you couldn’t ruin the friendship you had.
A hand waving in your face knocked you out of your thoughts “Yo earth to Y/N”
“What?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah I'm good”
“You sure? You feeling okay? If you're sick we can just stay here and chill, fuck the party”
“I’m okay Pea, I promise”
“Okay, well come inside”
“Thanks, alright, sit on the toilet lemme grab the makeup out” You began applying the layers carefully working your way covering his tattoo.
“Why didn’t you wear your costume, you look like yourself?”
“It’s in my truck, I gotta go to Toni’s so she can do my makeup”
“What, don’t trust me to do it?”
“Your good at a lot of things Pea, but makeup is not one of them” His hand covered his heart.
“I’m offended”
“Poor baby” you looked at him pouting your lip
“So who are you dressing up as” you were leaning over to his neck covering the tattoo and felt his breath cast its way over, a shiver going throughout your body.
“I uh, It’s a secret”
“C'mon we don’t have secrets”
“Guess we do now…”
“Y/NNNNNNNN” he was like a two-year-old who had their candy taken
“I can’t tell you it’ll ruin it”
“Yeah well you know who I’m dressing as”
“Yeah Pea because there is only one person you hate more than anything in the world and that is Reggie”
“I could’ve dressed as the person I love…” You stopped what you were doing looking into his eyes
“You love someone?” Your eyes lingered on his, was your chance gone? All you could think was that you lost him.
“Yeah, uh I do” Thank god you were done you couldn’t sit there any longer
“Alright you’re all done”
“Already!”
“Yeah haha, now I gotta go, see you at the party” You began grabbing your stuff as Pea stood up abruptly grabbing your arm. He placed a kiss on your cheek
“See you later” Your whole body warmed with the feeling of his lips pressed to your skin. He always gave you kisses on your cheek or forehead but now it was so, so different.
---------------------------------------------------
“How was doing Pea’s makeup?”
“Not too hard”
“No how was it I mean”
“Oh uh, it was good. Before I left he kissed me on the cheek”
“Oh!”
“It felt different T like, I don’t know I just don't wanna fuck anything up”
“Everything is gonna be fine trust me”
“Alright, your makeup is all good now let’s get dressed” You went and grabbed the items out of your backpack. A flannel of Pea’s that you stole. It was big on you, not too big but enough to be so cozy and comfy, and it still had the faint smell of him. You then slipped your boots on that looked somewhat like his, and you also slipped the dog tags he gave you over your head. Pea always wore his grandfather's dog tags, and one with the names of his grandma. You always loved that he had something that brought him close to his family because, for you, there was nothing of yours left. At a young age, Pea became your family almost. The only friend and person you had. So when you turned 12 he got a dog tag made for you with a little sweet pea carved into it. You always kept it on your nightstand but tonight you figured it made the outfit that much more believable
“You‘re even wearing the dog tags?”
“Is it too much?”
“Not at all”.
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Pea’s POV
Y/N doing my makeup had my heart fluttering, all I wanted was to tell her I liked her. But when I told her I loved someone it’s like she coiled back. I couldn’t tell her not then. Maybe dressing as Reggie was the better idea.
I walked into the party the music blasting. The sound going into my ears making my head pound as if I was already drunk.
“Hey Pea” Fangs called out.
“Hey nice letterman”
“I know ugly isn’t it”
“Where did you even get it?”
“Borrowed it from FP it’s his old one it’s a little tight but it does the trick”
“Yo your tattoo what the fuck”
“I had Y/N cover it with makeup”
“Oooo your girl was that close to you”
“Shut it, Fogarty”
“What, it’s about time you tell her already”
But that’s when he saw you walk through the door the boots, the black jeans, the flannel that looks eerily similar to the one he couldn’t find this morning when he got dressed for school he figured maybe you were dressed as Tall Boy than to top it all off he saw the familiar silver glisten coming from around your neck and then the drawing of the snake, a replica of the tattoo that he adorned in the same exact spot. “Guess she hates me so it doesn’t matter now”
“Pea wait…” I didn’t wanna be there for when she walked over so I walked away to grab drinks
“I‘m grabbing drinks” Y/N caught my eye and I didn’t even give her a nod back like always. I couldn’t she hated me. There was no other explanation. There was no way she loved me or she wouldn’t have coiled back when I said I loved someone earlier.
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Y/N POV
“Wheres Pea?”
“Uh he left, got his panties in a bunch and went to grab some beers or something”
“You look great, dressed as lemme guess. Pea?”
“Uh yeah”
“So what you hate him?”
“Not exactly…. I uh”
“Oh shit you love him” T came up behind you then.
“Fogarty stop teasing the poor girl, acting like you don’t know shit you know she fuckin likes him”
“Doesn’t matter now T, he saw me and he walked away. I’m just gonna leave”
“No don’t you dare you got all dressed up you’re staying if he ignores you or is pissed than he is just a dick wad got it”
“T really it’s fine”
“No, you are staying”
You tried talking to Pea a few more times but every time he would see you coming he would move out of the way. You gave up trying, about an hour in and just enjoyed the time you were having with Toni and Fangs
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The night when on, Toni got a few drinks in you and you loosened up a bit, you still hadn’t seen Pea but you needed air. Being surrounded by all the bodies all the heat you were beginning to freak out, you never liked being in large crowds. And when you were you always had Toni or Pea, but T was off with Cheryl and Pea was nowhere to be found.
You found the door stepping outside letting the cool fall air hit you. “Fuck, fuck fuck” You sat down on the ground trying to even your breathing and you finally did a bit. You saw Pea sitting on a swing and you needed to know what was going on, know that if you dressing as him ruined your chances of still being friends at all.
“What are you doing over here Y/N”
“Came to check on you, you been out here all night?”
“Maybe why does it fucking matter”
“Jesus Pea lighten up”
“Me, lighten up!”
“What the fuck is your problem?!”
“You Y/N you are the fucking problem. Why the fuck would you dress like me! I thought we were best friends, I mean fuck was it all a lie? Jesus christ am I an idiot for thinking that we could be something more? Am I an idiot for thinking we were best friends? You know I must be... I must be a fucking idiot for falling in love with you only for you to basically tell me you hate me…”
“What?” He walked away then storming back into the house and you were shocked couldn’t move an inch as you walked him disappear. By the time you made it through the crowd, his bike was long gone.
---------------------------------------------------
You drove to your spot at the top of SweetWater river. It was the one no one knew about other than the two of you. It was your place, the place you had been going too since you were little. You grabbed the small dog tag out of your glove box, the dog tag you’ve been imagining giving to him for months, it was now or never.
You walked over and saw him sitting with his back against the tree, your tree, the one you carved when you were 7. His dad used to take you both up here, well before he got deployed.
“I know you're mad at me but just close your eyes and open your hands”
“Why, just go back home Y/N”
“Look I know I dressed up as you but just… open your palms please Nathan” it caught his attention because you were never one to use his full name.
“Fine” You placed the dog tag into his open palms. His eyes fluttered open as you began to walk away. You saw his eyes cast down before you did so. You were halfway down the path before you felt an arm tug on you.
“Is it true?”
“Of course it is Nathan, how would you ever think I hated you, you the only fucking constant that has been there my whole life, you mean everything to me” He brought you into a hug, the familiar feeling of his arms causing your legs to go slightly weak. “I thought I lost you, fuck Pea I really thought that you were just gonna leave”
“Hey, hey even if you did hate me I would never let you walk through this world alone”
“Guess ima have to make you a dog tag now too huh?”
“Yeah guess so, I’d like another”
“Really?”
“Of course”
“So do you wanna go back to the party?”
“No, I say we say fuck it”
“I agree, btw I like your tattoo”
“Pea I hate to break it to you but I have a serpent tattoo already”
“Yeah but neck tats are sexy don’t ya think”
“Yeah, maybe a little…”
“A little! Cmon Y/N you know you want some of this”
“Well guess you have to wait till we get to your place to find out….”
“Well then why are we still standing here Pea Pod” He grabbed your hand dragging you through the bushes and to your vehicles. A quick kiss to your forehead “meet you at my place, I vote scary movie marathon what do you think?”
“Is that even a question Pea”