Chapter Seven
" I'M FINE. IN FACT, I'M AMAZING! "

"Come on, Cheryl. You gotta talk to me. What's wrong?" Sydney pleaded. They were at lunch and Sydney showed up for their regularly scheduled filming, but Cheryl wasn't in the mood. "I don't wanna talk to you," she said lamely and took a stab at her salad.

"Cher, I saw you crying in your car after you dropped me off. What happened? Did someone hurt you?"

"Yes," Cheryl answered, but she refused to say that it was Sydney who hurt her. She didn't feel like saying it because, initially, Sydney hadn't done anything wrong, but it still hurt. "I'm gonna talk to my friends. Give you some alone time and we can reschedule to make up for lost time. The film festival is in a few weeks and I am not keeping up with what I planned." Sydney started to shove things into her messenger bag and was about to leave when Cheryl asked, "Whatever happened to you and Sweet Pea?"

"Honestly? As fun as it was, I don't think it's gonna work. See you later, Cheryl." She then went to go find Roan and Christie. And when she did find them in the film club meeting room (shocker), she jumped at them asking, "What the hell?"

"Why? Why the 'what the hells'?" Sydney asked, a little startled as Christie shoved her phone under her nose. "You and Sweet Pea. That's 'what the hell,'" answered Roan. Sydney groaned and set her bag down. "Not you two, too. How'd you even get a picture?" She moved Christie's phone away so she could see for herself. And sure enough, there was a picture of her making out with Sweet Pea.

"Someone posted it. Seriously, Syd? Out of all the possible contenders in the entirety of Riverdale, why him?" Christie crossed her arms like a disappointed parent. "Why is everyone so upset by this?" Sydney rolled her eyes. "Can't you tell that Riverdale is in the middle of a feud right now? If they see you side with the Serpents, you may never come back from this," Roan warned.

"I'm not 'siding' with anyone. If it's anyone's fault, it's the Northside's. If they hadn't shut down Southside High, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"They were selling drugs, Syd!" Christie exclaimed. "The kingpin was hiding in plain sight! Next thing you know, they could try selling here."

"Like hell they will. Principal Weatherbee will have them hanging out to dry before they can even lay a finger on those dumbass pixie sticks."

"Oh my god, Syd. I can't believe you're defending them," Christie scoffed. "I'm not. I'm just saying that if you could get your head out of your privileged ass and try to actually talk to them, they may not seem as horrible as you make them out to be. Now, I was gonna swing by and hang out with you guys for a while but I guess I'm not welcome here, either." Sydney picked up her bag and left without another word. She'd go back into the cafeteria, but she didn't want to risk running into Cheryl. So she went to the library.

Upon entering, Sydney saw Sweet Pea a few tables back and she decided it was best to avoid him, too. But before she could get a move on, Sweet Pea spotted her and waved her over. She went reluctantly and took a seat across from him. "Hi," she said, trying her hardest not to sound awkward. "Hi," he said, also a little stiff. "I assume you saw the photo, too?" she sighed. He nodded. "This probably isn't a good idea. Normally, I'd go against this but it's close to tearing me and my Serpents apart."

"Glad to know we're on the same page. My friends hate me, too. I wasn't sure how to go about this because you really do seem like a sweet guy and I didn't wanna break your heart a second time, considering how I walked out on you that night."

"Hey, it was fun while it lasted."

Sydney nodded. "Definitely."

There was a short silence before Sydney added, "I'll see you around, then?"

Sweet Pea nodded and let her go a second time.