Morning rolls around and with it, another day of school. Leaving Archie to Riverdale, Amy heads across town to Southside High, but first she promised Sweet Pea a conversation. At school, she has a few people to get information from, which is followed by a shift at the Wyrm and a sleepover with her friends, which is interrupted by the discovery of another body.
Chapter title is from Final Girl by Daphne Gottlieb
WARNING: serious discussion in which characters plan a murder, reference to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and all of their abuse, and mentions of alcohol abuse and addiction
(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter
It Sounds Better Than It Is (This Business of Surviving)
"Coming through," Archie warned Amy, slipping behind her with a stack of pancakes.
"Hot pan," she called back, lifting a pan of bacon off of the stove.
"Wow, kids, you didn't need to do this," Mary told them, helping Fred down the stairs.
They both shrugged, "yeah, but, we wanted to," Archie said.
While Archie hugged his mom, Amy served up three plates before chugging down three cups of coffee and handing out the plates.
"Aren't you eating?" Fred asked.
"No can do," she explained with a grin, "I told Sweets that I'd meet him at the trailer park by 7:30 and I still need to get changed—if I'm late, he'll definitely storm the Northside to find me."
"You go get dressed, Sweetheart," Mary told her, "I'll pack up some containers for you to share- will it be all four of you?"
Amy nodded, swallowing another mouthful of coffee. "You're the best! I'll be down in ten!"
Exactly ten minutes later, Amy returned downstairs. She had traded Archie's old shirt—her usual pyjamas when she stayed at the Andrews—for an oversized flannel which fell to the middle of her thighs, cinched with the black belt of her usual hip holster. She accepted the stack of containers, throwing on her Serpents jacket and lacing up her boots before heading outside, lifting the seat of her bike to store the containers.
"Don't you need your backpack or something?" Mary asked from the doorway, handing Amy the phone that she'd forgotten on the kitchen counter.
"Nope! My backpack and duffle both live in Sweets' car," she said before climbing onto her bike and making her way back to the Southside.
She pulled into the trailer park with just minutes to spare, parking her bike behind the Jones' trailer, like she always did, and grabbed the containers from inside her seat.
"There you are, Doll!" She heard Sweet Pea say, turning to see his teal Jeep Wrangler sitting outside of Toni's trailer.
"It's not like I'm late," she whined, gratefully accepting his hand as she climbed into the passenger seat. "God, why did you have to get such a tall car?"
"It's not that tall, you're just tiny," he taunted.
"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too," she said, leaning over the console to hug him.
"Wow, I feel loved," Fangs called from the back seat.
"Sorry Fangs," she said with a laugh, "you know how distracting this asshole can be."
"Don't we all," he agreed, leering at the taller boy. "Although you can give him a run for his money with the way that shirt rides up." Amy just laughed, sliding the hem of the shirt further up her thigh.
Moments later, Toni was climbing into the backseat. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Your uncle?" Fangs asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary—" she was quick to reassure them— "He got home late last night and I'm pretty sure he's still drunk."
The other three nodded in understanding, all too familiar with his drunken behaviour. Sweet Pea put the car into gear and took off, driving past Southside High to the riverbanks. While the land was usually unoccupied, it was the original Serpent territory and even the Ghoulies had never tried to take it. As soon as the car was in park, Toni and Amy grabbed the various bags from the trunk and tossed them into the front while the boys lowered the rear seats to create their usual sitting area. The boys climbed in first, helping the much shorter girls with the step up. Once they were all in, Sweet Pea pulled Amy between his legs, forcing her to lean back against him.
"Alright, Doll, you promised you'd talk to us. How are you?"
"How do you think?" Amy retorted. "God, I've been out of rehab for less than a week and suddenly FP is in jail, Fred's been shot, and I can't even stay at the trailer because fucking Jughead is staying there now." She wiped her eyes, trying, and failing, to bite back her sobs. "My actual dad was a piece of shit, you guys know that, but I was still devastated when he died… but now I feel like I'm about to lose the two closest people I have to actual dads and that's so much worse. And I just keep feeling like this is my fault—like, if I hadn't had to go back to rehab then maybe I could have done something?" She took a deep breath, smiling shakily when Toni placed a supportive hand on her knee. "Like, maybe if I wasn't such a fuck up I could have saved even just one of them. But no, instead I was fucked up beyond belief and—"
"Okay, stop with the self-deprecation," Toni demanded, "the addiction thing isn't your fault—"
"But—" Amy started.
"Nope, I'm with Tiny," Sweet Pea agreed, cutting her off. "You were raised by an asshole who preferred to get you to sleep with whiskey instead of milk because he couldn't be bothered to get off his ass and raise a child. That messed you up before you were old enough to have any say, you can't blame yourself for the results."
"He's right," Fangs added, "and you weren't 'fucked up beyond belief' and you know it. Mustang went behind FP's back and shipped you off to the Sisters because they'd already been paid to deal with Jason. As soon as he found out, FP got you out, remember? The only reason he sent you to rehab instead of bringing you home is because people were starting to pay attention and he didn't want anyone finding out that you're legally orphaned and getting you stuck in foster care. I was there when he told you that, babe, he wasn't just making excuses."
"Thanks for letting me finish," Toni teased, before grabbing Amy's cheeks and forcing her to make eye contact. "God, Amy, FP loves you so fucking much, so does Fred, and so do we. I know you wish you could have done something, but do you think any of us would have let you put yourself in danger? Fights with Ghoulies are one thing, taking on murderers is something else entirely. You're too important to all of us to let you risk your life like that."
"Besides," Sweet Pea continued, "Fred survived. And FP won't get life, he just needs to get the jury to believe him that he was only acting to protect his son. And as for the trailer? It's bullshit that you can't stay there, it really is, but we've already got everything sorted. Mrs. F has night shifts Wednesday through Friday, so we'll stay there for those nights, and we can sleep here the rest of the nights. You're not alone, Doll, we've got you."
"Thanks, Sweets." Amy smiled at the taller boy, pecking him on the lips before doing the same to the other two. She wiped her eyes again and tightened her ponytail. "So, what are the schedules tonight?"
"We're working til eight," Sweet Pea told her, gesturing to himself and Fangs. He may not approve of the way she bottled everything up, but he knew that they had pushed enough for one morning.
"And we work eight til close," Toni reminded the other girl.
"Perfect. Alright so Toni and I can do homework at the garage and grab takeout, so we can eat during your break, then you guys can do homework at the Wyrm, and we'll all crash in the Jeep?" Her fellow Serpents nodded. "Good, alright. Just let me get changed before we go to school?"
"Oh but you look so good in just my shirt," Sweet Pea teased.
"I look good in everything," Amy said easily, "and I didn't think you'd want anyone else seeing me like this."
"He definitely doesn't," Fangs agreed, reaching over the seats to grab her duffle bag. "Your uniform and some regular clothes."
"Thanks," Amy said, taking the bag. She rummaged through until she pulled out a pair of black jeans with lace up sides and a black bandeau, both of which she pulled on with no hesitation. She pulled her jacket and boots back on, tossing the flannel into her duffle bag. "Ready?"
Sweet Pea helped her out of the trunk and they got back into their respective seats, parking at the trailer park and climbing onto their bikes. It wasn't easy to ride with a backpack and a duffle bag, but years of practice had made it manageable, and soon they were pulling into the school parking lot, sneaking through the maintenance door to avoid the metal detectors.
They walked down the hallway, crowds parting like the Red Sea. They stayed silent, staring straight ahead until they crossed paths with a boy in a Serpent jacket.
"Ricky. Talk to me, have you heard anything more?" Amy demanded.
"I haven't, but Lottie was asking if anyone had seen you earlier so she's probably the best person to ask," he reported, before parting ways with the others, heading to his next class.
"Alright," Amy turned to her group, "Lottie's in my geometry class next, I'll talk to her and fill you in during chem."
The group split ways, with Sweet Pea walking Amy to her classroom, right next to his own algebra class, while Fangs and Toni made their way to their history class.
"Amy!" A blonde girl whisper shouted as Amy slid into the seat next to her, "finally! I've been looking for you all morning. Apparently, everyone at Riverdale High blames a Southsider, but no Serpent or Ghoulie knows a thing."
"Which means it was probably either a Northsider or someone passing through… Good to know. We shouldn't speculate too much during class but sit with us at lunch, so we can compare different stories, make sure it all lines up?"
"Of course!" Lottie exclaimed. It was a rare privilege to sit with the senior-most Serpents in the school, and word was sure to spread throughout the entire gang, raising her status significantly.
Amy smiled at her, calculated but genuine nonetheless, before turning to the front of the class. She fiddled briefly with the remote around her neck, spacing out as music flooded through her hearing aids. She set her phone on top of her open notebook and opened her Facebook chat with Archie.
Ames: Hey Red 3 how's school today?
She closed the chat, knowing that Archie wouldn't reply as long as he was in class, instead opening her eBooks, returning to her chapter of The Reptile Room.
Hearing the bell ring, Amy tossed her notebook into her bag—not that she used it to take any actual notes in geometry, but as long as it looked like she was working, teachers didn't care if she actually did anything in class—and met Sweet Pea at the door.
"So, anything?" he asked immediately, draping an arm around her shoulders.
"I said I'd fill you in during chem," she reminded him, "I don't want to have to repeat myself."
Sweet Pea laughed, "of course not," he agreed. "Did you even pretend to listen today?"
"I opened my notebook," she offered. "Tutor me tonight?"
"Like always." The girl smiled, reaching up to hold the hand over her shoulder, not letting go until they were dropping their bags and getting comfortable on their lab stools.
"So?" Toni demanded immediately, from where she and Fangs had been waiting across the table.
"Northsiders blame one of us, but apparently no Serpent or Ghoulie knows anything. She'll be sitting with us at lunch to compare everyone's stories. I'm pretty sure it was a Northsider, though it could have been a Ghoulie or someone passing through, but I want to be sure."
"Can we finish this at lunch? I don't want you guys burning off my eyebrows again," Fangs whined.
"They were only lightly singed," Amy argued, "but fine."
Fangs took charge of the lab, still not trusting his friends with fire and chemicals. They wrapped up with a few minutes to spare and continued to discuss theories about the shooter until the bell rang, at which point they made their way to the cafeteria, the girls claiming their usual table while the boys got the food.
Alice waved Lottie over when the blonde entered the cafeteria, and she joined them with a smile.
"Hey Lottie- I've gotta get back to a couple of people but you can fill these guys in while I do," Amy said, gesturing to Toni and the boys, who had just returned with trays.
As they started talking, Amy turned on her phone and reopened her chat with Archie.
Red: Managing 3 every1s heard by now but no1 is saying anything bout it, idk if id rather they did or not
Ames: stares are usually better than questions, but if anyone upsets you lmk and I'll deal with them
Red: u dont need 2 kill my friends
Ames: if they hurt you they deserve it
Red: *sigh* arguing is pointless isn't it?
Ames: 100% ily
Red: ily 2
Done talking to Archie for the moment, she switched to reading messages from various classmates, but all of them said more or less the same thing, that no Southsider had any involvement. Amy replied to each with a thank you and instructions to let her know if anything new came out, before slipping her phone into her pocket and turning her attention to the group.
They crosschecked every story, looking for any holes, but they all checked out, so Amy finally conceded that it was most likely a one-off, but told herself she would still ask around at the Wyrm. When the bell rang, the quartet made their way to Spanish class, Amy got comfortable, or as comfortable as was possible in the hard plastic chairs, and set herself up for a nap—the other three were all fluent, they could teach her privately, and she desperately needed some sleep.
"Ready for the history test?" Sweet Pea asked as the class wrapped up.
"Don't remind me," Amy groaned, letting the taller boy wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I didn't have time to study at all what with FP being in the hospital and also the fact that I've only been back for a week."
Sweet Pea laughed. "Maybe not but you know everything about the World Wars."
"Not everything!" Amy argued, pouting slightly.
"Okay maybe not, but definitely enough to pass the test—" Amy would have shrugged, but Sweet Pea's arm was in the way, so she settled for sticking her tongue out at him— "Don't do that unless you plan on using it," the boy taunted.
"I'd rather that than take a test," Amy offered, eagerly jumping at an excuse to skip class.
"Keep it in your pants, you two," Fangs warned them as he and Toni split off to go to their own classes—the duo had totally forgotten that they were still there, but both rolled their eyes as they left.
They reached their next classroom and, as always, claimed the table in the back corner for themselves. Sweet Pea kicked his legs onto the table, leaning back without a care, while Amy frantically read through her notes until the class actually began and the tests were handed out. Despite her anxieties, she was the first to finish and felt quite confident in her answers, but held on to her paper until a few others had turned theirs in. Since the entire period was blocked for the test, she set her test on the teacher's desk and returned to her seat, immediately opening her phone and going back to reading The Reptile Room, blasting music into her hearing aids. She was so lost in her head that she didn't hear the bell and had really no idea that class had ended until Sweet Pea shook her, turning off her music and standing with a groan.
"Come on, Doll, only one more class and then you have practice," he reminded her, getting a small smile for her efforts. It was clear that her lack of sleep was catching up to her, but she straightened her spine as she grabbed her bag, allowing herself to be walked to the art room where Sweet Pea left her with Toni, the boy heading to join Fangs for shop class.
Amy could have jumped for joy when their teacher told them that it was a work period, grabbing a table easel and canvas, as well as a several paints and brushes and a tray, while Toni set off to develop some of her negatives. Without thinking about it, Amy poured out some red paint. She closed her eyes for a moment before she began, picturing the way blood had stained Fred's hospital gown. One corner of the canvas was covered in orange and blue—Archie's hair and varsity jacket—as she remembered the boy's panic. Another corner turned black and green—her own rage and panic— all while the red spread and spread. The third corner was a mix of black—Fangs and Sweet Pea—and pink—Toni, of course—and the final corner was burgundy—Veronica—baby blue—Betty—and olive green—Kevin. It was messy, but she felt lighter than she had since Mary called her the day before, and by the time class ended, the canvas was set to the side to dry, so that she could continue to work on it the next day.
Fangs and Sweet Pea met them outside of the classroom, always firm in their refusal to let the girls walk around in a school crawling with Ghoulies, accompanying them to Amy's locker to get her duffle bag, and then to the locker room, where both left them to change into their red, white, and black cheerleading uniforms. Once they were in the locker room, the boys left, taking their bikes to the auto shop where the girls would meet them in an hour.
The girls joined the rest of their team for practice, tossing both of their clothes into Amy's bag and locking it away. They didn't have any major routines to learn, so Ally, their captain, had them running drills for the first half and then working on stunts. When practice finished they went back to the locker room, and Amy texted Sweet Pea to let him know that they would be showering before heading to the shop; if the four of them were going to be sleeping in the Jeep, they really didn't want to deal with any more sweat than inevitable. Once they finished their showers, Toni tied her hair into two braids and pulled Amy's into a French braid for her. They pulled on their normal clothes and Amy grabbed the duffle, before heading back to the hall lockers to get their backpacks. Finally ready to leave, they hopped on their bikes, parking at the Wyrm before crossing the parking lot to the shop.
"Honey we're home," Amy called out, getting greetings from both boys—Sweet Pea bent over the hood of a truck and Fangs on his back underneath it.
Grabbing Sweet Pea's keys from where his bag sat on the counter, Amy unlocked the Jeep to toss her duffle bag in. Once that was done, she and Toni set up in their usual corner of the room to do their homework—the owner was a fellow Serpent and was used to the girls being with the boys whenever they didn't have work of their own. An hour later, with only her Spanish homework left, Amy announced that she and Toni were going to get food.
"I'm taking the car," she warned Sweet Pea, digging the keys out of the pocket where she had shoved them earlier. While she and Toni both preferred bikes, they'd long since learned their lesson about driving with food.
"Only if Toni drives," he called back, "you can't reach the pedals!"
"That was one time!" Amy argued. One time wherein she had wound up in a ditch, blaming the accident on her height rather than her inability to drive. Of course the others knew that it was an excuse, but Sweet Pea loved to tease her about it.
"You haven't grown since then," he reminded her, "Toni drives."
Amy sighed loudly but handed over the keys. They drove to the Costco outside of town, using Mary's old membership card to get in—Amy always covered the photo with her thumb and no one had ever asked to see it—and ordered a large pepperoni pizza. The Northsiders may have Pops', but Costco was much more affordable and could feed all of them for less than a single meal at Pops'. They set it carefully in the trunk and returned to the shop. Both boys punched out while Toni put the keys back in Sweet Pea's bag and Amy set up the pizza box on their designated homework table. While they usually never did homework during the breaks, preferring to take the time to just hang out, Amy insisted that they fill her in on what she slept through during Spanish. When the boys had to get back to work, Amy took the opportunity to finish her book and Toni pulled out her camera.
At quarter to eight, the girls packed up to head to the Wyrm. The boys would come over as soon as they finished their shift, but the girls needed time to punch in and get sorted.
The first thing Amy did when they got there was head to the bathroom and, using the very limited visible space on the mirror—the space not covered in stickers and graffiti—, free her hair from its braid and tie it up in its usual ponytail instead. When she got back to the bar, Toni had thrown both of their backpacks into the Jeep, so the girls swiped in quickly and took over from Hog Eye, who had some sort of business meeting with Penny Peabody to get to, and was happy to leave them to their devices.
The girls had only served a handful of drinks by the time the boys joined them, setting up in one corner of the bar to do their homework. It wasn't until Tall Boy waved her down for a scotch that Amy realized that Jughead was there. She poured the scotch and made her way across the bar to deliver it, but froze when she heard what Tall Boy was saying.
"Sounds to me like FP is in some serious trouble. I think you need someone who makes a living on getting snakes out of trouble- a Snake Charmer, so to speak."
"For fuck's sake, Tall Boy," Amy started, drawing the attention of her friends, "the Princeling is barely even a Serpent and you already want to get him tangled up with Peabody?"
"You watch your mouth, Princess," Tall boy sneered, reaching over to grab the glass from her.
Amy wasn't easy to intimidate, but as the man leaned over her she had to fight her gut instinct to flee.
"Hey, Tall Boy," Sweet Pea shouted, standing straight. While he wasn't as tall as the older man, his boots gave him enough of a lift that they appeared more or less the same height, and Sweet Pea used that advantage anytime one of the drunks in the bar would yell at either girl. "Why don't you lay off her? And anyways, Peabody works for Serpents and like she said—" he gestured towards Amy— "the little Jones definitely doesn't qualify."
"Doesn't matter if she's right or wrong, the bitch needs to learn her place. FP might have a soft spot for her but I'm thinking Mustang had the right idea about what to do with her."
Sweet Pea could see Amy flinch and, remembering how traumatized she had been when FP got her away from the Sisters, he fought back the urge to punch him. "He chose to live in the goddamn drive in over living with a Serpent—and not just any Serpent, our king! Why should any of us help him? We can protect FP just fine without him, it's not like he ever cared before."
"Quiet!" Amy screamed, effectively silencing the entire bar. "Sweets, Tall Boy, if you're going to fight you can do it outside. Jones, for once in your life respect your father's wishes, and don't get involved with the Snake Charmer, and yes, I know that's what he'd tell you too." The two men quieted immediately, although the tension didn't dissipate. As an afterthought she added, "Lottie, be a babe and get some music going?"
Lottie nodded from where she was playing pool by the jukebox and moments later Joan Jett filled the room. Amy gave the girl a thumbs up, both for the choice itself and for the fact that Tall Boy absolutely hated what he called "chick music" and would inevitably end up leaving to get drunk in his trailer instead.
"Well that was fun," Amy sighed, making her way back to Toni and Fangs, Sweet Pea joining them a moment later.
"You okay, Doll?" Sweet Pea asked worriedly.
"Nope—" she faked a grin— "But I will be… eventually… We're closing at one, though," she told Toni, who nodded.
"Take Sweet Pea and take five," Toni told her, "I can handle this."
Amy sighed with relief, grabbing the aforementioned boy and dragging him to the bathroom, rolling her eyes at the scattered cheers and wolf whistles. She pushed Sweet Pea into the girls' room and locked the door behind them, immediately sinking to the floor. Sweet Pea crouched down to her level, taking her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him.
"Hey, look at me, Doll," he murmured, "you're here, in the Wyrm, not back there. Tall Boy can't touch you, Mustang can't touch you. Just breathe with me," he instructed, "in, and out. In, and out. There we go, that's it Doll." As Amy slowed her breathing, he moved his hands from her face to her shoulders, pulling her against his chest in a tight hug.
Amy wrapped her arms around him tightly, pressing herself closer and letting him lift her into his lap. "Sorry about—" she gestured vaguely with one hand— "all of that."
"It's fine, Doll," he promised, "but I might kill Tall Boy anyway."
Amy laughed wetly. "Don't bother, we don't need you in jail too." After a few more moments she pulled away, letting Sweet Pea stand and help her up. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand before unlocking the bathroom door and returning to the bar as if nothing had happened.
"Had fun?" Fangs asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"I wish," Sweet Pea groaned dramatically.
"Oh please, you all know I much prefer the back room for things like that," Amy teased.
The night continued without any more incidents, and thankfully everyone cleared out by midnight, so it was no problem for the girls to close up early. The boys had already moved all four bikes to their usual spot behind the Jones' trailer, so they all rifled through Amy's duffle to grab their respective pyjamas—she always kept pyjamas and a spare outfit for each of them—and changed in the bar. None of them minded the others seeing them in any state of undress, and it was way easier than trying to change in the back of the car. While all four of them preferred to sleep in underclothes, the cold weather meant that that wasn't an option, so instead they all wore the matching green and black flannel pyjamas that FP had gotten them a couple of years before. They had to keep shoes on to cross the parking lot, but Amy kicked hers off as soon as she was in the car. Sweet Pea drove them to the riverbanks, parking in the shade of some trees. Much like in the morning, the girls took care of moving everything into the front seats while the boys set up the back, although this time they also had to set up the air mattress. Amy grabbed the large blanket that they kept under the backseat and passed it to Sweet Pea as he and Fangs climbed in, she and Toni waiting for the boys to be settled to help them in.
They didn't go to sleep right away, all of them happy to just be together, and after a few moments, Amy spoke up.
"I'm going to kill Jennifer Gibson," she told them, matter of fact.
"What do you need from us?" Toni asked immediately. They knew that she was serious and, more importantly, they knew that they'd never make her do it alone.
"I've got my weapons, but I think I'd rather make it look like a suicide. Fangs, you still have that rope?"
"It's in my backpack," he confirmed.
"Perfect. Best plan I've got is to choke her with it and, once she's dead, tie her to… something, I don't know, I'll figure it out when we see the house… then we can leave a chair tipped over, so it looks like she kicked it away. Toni, you remember what you told me about pressure points for knocking people out?"
"Back of the neck knocks them out instantly," the pink haired girl reminded her.
"Good, great. That's great. Better to have her unconscious so she can't fight back, but blunt trauma could get noticed and then they might realize that it wasn't suicide. Sweets, I'll need your help with the body."
"Always," he promised.
"The Jeep is quieter than the bikes, and a Jeep in a residential neighbourhood is a lot less suspicious than four bikes. I'll have to text one of my contacts in Greendale—probably Sabrina, she knows everything—for the address, but that should be easy enough. And—" Amy was cut off by her phone vibrating. "Mary texted me. Says she needs to call but didn't want to wake me. Hold on."
Amy dialled with one hand, fiddling with her remote with the other.
"Mary? I saw your text, what's up?"
Silence.
"She's what?"
Silence.
"Did you tell- no, of course, that makes sense."
Silence.
"Let him sleep. I'll wake up early and come over before school."
Silence.
"Love you too, see you tomorrow."
Another moment of silence, before Amy put down her phone.
"Well, scratch that. Someone beat me to it. Keller just called the Andrews', apparently a neighbour saw her body through the window. Throat slit."
"And Andrews?" Toni asked.
"She hasn't told him yet. I'm going to bail early tomorrow and head over so I can be there when they tell him. Might miss first period, we'll see. I… I feel sad for him, because I know he'll be devastated, but mostly I just wish that I could have been the one to do it.
Hope you enjoyed chapter 2! This was a hard chapter to write since we have literally no idea what was going on on the Southside during this ep, so I hope you liked my fill in! Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long but also I make no promises because setting a deadline is the single fastest way to jinx myself! That said, feel free (and encouraged) to comment with your thoughts and anything you'd like to see (or not see) in the future!
Also for visuals' sake, the cheerleading uniform is the one from the Vampire Diaries (with the cropped top)