Jughead just got beat up, Archie is a teen vigilante, and there's still a murderer in town. But somehow, that's not even the worst part of Amy's day.
Chapter title is from Heathens by 21 Pilots (and honestly one of the most Serpent songs ever)
WARNING: lots of underage drinking, guns and fighting (from canon), mentions of (canon) underage stripping, and mentions of real world serial killers
(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter
It Sounds Better Than It Is (This Business of Surviving)
Amy woke early the next morning, more content than she had been since the beginning of summer. The four Serpents had slept over at the Jones' trailer the night before, and, curled up with Toni in their old cot, Amy started to feel hopeful that things would get better. She saw Sweet Pea and Fangs sleeping, sprawled out on the mattress that they had brought in from the Jeep, and, turning, saw Jughead starting a pot of coffee in the small kitchenette.
"Amy, coffee?" Jughead asked.
"Only if I get FP's Serpent mug."
Jughead nodded easily, pouring coffee into the requested mug; a gift that Amy had given FP the day after her initiation. She had painted it herself, and it certainly wasn't a masterpiece, but she was proud of it nonetheless.
Amy took the mug, taking a long sip, and watching her friends sleep. If someone had told her, even yesterday, that she would feel so safe and content with Jughead Jones, of all people, she might have stabbed them, but she couldn't deny it. Her partners sound asleep, Jughead now sitting on the kitchen counter, and a warm mug in her hands? Tucked away from the world in the one place that she'd always considered a home? This was the safest she'd felt since before Mustang had sent her to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.
A sudden knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts, and out of her cocoon of safety.
"Jughead, are you there?"
"Shit, it's Betty," Jughead told her.
"Does she have a key?"
"No, but she won't leave before I answer."
"Oh, okay, that's easy. Go to the bathroom, hop in the shower. I'll wake these guys up and we'll hide anything that would suggest that we were here overnight. I can handle the rest, Jones, I swear."
"Really?" he asked, suspicious.
"Really," she agreed.
"Fine." With that, Jughead made his way to the bathroom, and Amy set about waking the others.
"Doll? What's up?" Sweet Pea asked, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
"Princess Cooper is outside of the door. You guys need to hide the cot and the mattress, then get changed. I'm going to get dressed now and try to stall Cooper."
They nodded immediately, as she knew they would, and got to work. Toni deflated the mattress, while Fangs and Sweet Pea folded up the cot, tucking it into the back of the closet. Amy went into the bedroom, digging through FP's dresser- he'd always let them keep a drawer to themselves, for nights when they'd had nowhere else to go. She slipped back into the skirt that Veronica had given her, and pulled a tight black tank top out of the drawer, shoving her pyjamas away and tossing on her jacket. Much to her relief, the other three had finished their cleanup, and were just heading into the bedroom to grab their own clothes.
Once she was certain that none of them would be visible from the door frame, she opened the door.
"Finally, Jug, I've been knocking for five—you're not Jughead." Betty said suddenly, looking up from her phone.
"No, I'm not. My friends and I came by to see if Jones wanted a ride to school, but he's in the shower. I still have the key FP gave me, so I let myself in. One sec—" Not letting Betty in the door, she turned away, yelling towards the bathroom, "Hey, Jones, can I let Cooper in?"
"Betty's here?" Jughead called back, and Amy was impressed by his acting. If she didn't know better, she might have even believed that he didn't know.
"Yeah, she's been knocking."
"Let her in, I'll be out in a second."
Amy glanced to the side quickly, and saw the other three Serpents, dressed and ready to go.
"Alright, come on in," she said finally, stepping back.
Jughead stepped out of the bathroom moments later, wearing jeans and towel drying his hair, chest bare.
"Amy? How did you get in?" He asked.
"FP gave me a key. We were going to offer you a ride to school. But first, go get dressed."
"Yes Ma'am," he agreed sarcastically, heading into the bathroom.
"Oh, Jug, you're face," Betty gasped, when he re-entered the room. His face was no longer covered by a towel, and the bruises from the Ghoulies' beating were hard to ignore.
"Drove over a pothole yesterday, fell off my bike," he told her. "It's honestly not a big deal."
"That's why we were offering him a lift," Amy agreed. She might not know why the Jones boy was lying to his girlfriend, but she certainly wasn't one to object to a little white lie—or any other kind of lie, as long as she was the one telling it.
Amy could almost feel Jughead's tension, how much he must have hated lying to the Northsider, and how much more he hated the idea of telling her the truth.
"Grab some coffee, Jones, and let's get going. I've got a few people to see before classes."
If she hadn't been looking, she might have missed his sigh of relief. "Yeah, fine." He agreed. "Sorry, Betts. I'll call you later?"
"Wait, but Jug—"
"We're burning daylight, Jones. Get your ass in my car or I'll leave you behind," Sweet Pea called, already making his way out the door to start the car.
"We'll talk later," Jughead promised, downing his cup of coffee and giving the blonde a quick peck, before letting Amy drag him out.
Betty followed them, and Jughead locked the door, rushing to take the middle seat in the car before Betty could interrogate him.
"A motorcycle accident?" Toni asked, once they were parked outside of the school.
"If she knew that it was the Ghoulies, she'd try to drag me back to Riverdale High. It's just easier if she doesn't know."
"Whatever you say. But from now on, you wear this at school," Amy instructed, digging the jacket he'd been given out of her duffle bag. She'd never doubted that Sweet Pea would take care of it when he packed them up, but she was relieved all the same.
"I don't think—"
"Honestly, Jones? I don't care what you think. You wear the jacket. The Ghoulies won't touch you as long as you're under our protection. One beating, the result of your own pride? That's no big deal. A second, because we didn't have your back? FP would be fucking pissed, and I don't like when he's disappointed in me."
"Daddy issues, much?" Jughead asked, laughing.
"None of your business, Jones. Now put on the fucking jacket and let Toni take you to class. We've got some Ghoulies to deal with."
"When you say deal with?"
"Don't you worry, Princeling, just a reminder that you're under our protection now."
The group split off, with Toni and Jughead heading to gym class, and the other three to the cafeteria where, as she promised, Amy only issued a reminder. A loud reminder with quite a few threats, standing on a cafeteria table with Fangs and Sweet Pea behind her, staring down the table of Ghoulies, but still technically just a reminder.
They reconvened for English class, where Amy, very publicly, called Jughead over to sit with them.
"There are only four chairs," he pointed out.
"God, Jones, you really don't get how shit works around here. As long as you're sitting with us, the word will spread that you're in, and that'll keep you safe. Besides, I don't need a seat."
"What do—" Jughead didn't even have time to finish his question before Amy was abandoning her chair and making herself comfortable on Sweet Pea's lap. "Is that allowed?"
"Probably not," Amy admitted, "but no one is going to stop me, so why shouldn't I?"
"I… guess?" He said eventually, taking the empty seat. It felt strange, to be the only one participating while surrounded by four people who clearly could not care less, but he needed Mr. Phillips to like him if he wanted to keep the Red and Black, so he did it anyways.
"You're such a suck up," Amy teased, when the bell finally rang. "You have geometry next, right?"
"How did you know that?"
"Lottie texted me," she explained, "I'm in that class. I usually skip, but you're not going anywhere alone until we're sure the Ghoulies get the message, so you'll be sitting with me today."
"Do I get a say in this?" He asked, sarcasm falling a bit flat.
"Not at all," Amy told him cheerfully. "Unless you want the Ghoulies to actually break your ribs next time?"
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like my kind of hobby."
"Then you sit with me. Or Fangs, or T, or Sweets, whoever is in class with you. You have at least one of us in each class, so that's definitely manageable."
Jughead groaned, "fine, whatever."
"That's the spirit," Amy taunted. "Sweet Pea will walk us to class, since he's right next door, and we'll reconvene in chemistry."
Lacking the patience for any more discussion, Amy turned on her heel, confident that Sweet Pea would make sure Jughead followed.
She took her usual seat in the back of the class and Jughead moved to join her.
"Hold on," Sweet Pea said, grabbing him by the arm.
"What?" Jughead demanded, shaking away the other's hand.
"Just. Don't worry about the Ghoulies, Jones. The Jewels have it covered."
"The Jewels?"
"Yeah? You know, Amethyst and Topaz? Look, I know that Amy is demanding, she's used to people obeying her. But as long as you listen to her, she'll make sure no one else fucks with you."
"Yeah, I'm starting to figure that out. Fine, I'll listen, but I'm not joining the Serpents."
"You don't have to, not if you just want protection. Your FP's son, and Amy idolizes him, that alone makes you worth protecting. Now go to your seat and just do what she says."
"Fine," Jughead agreed, pulling away and taking the seat next to Amy. The class passed without incident, as did chemistry, but as soon as they claimed their table in the cafeteria, dragging Jughead along, things went downhill.
"Yo, Adams, you seen that Red Circle video yet?" Ricky called.
"Heard about it, we were just going to watch it," she called back, immediately pulling out her phone and loading the video- over a dozen Serpents had sent it to her in the past few hours.
The video finished, and Amy, for once, was speechless.
"Jesus," Jughead sighed, "what was he thinking?"
"That his dad was shot right in front of him and he's terrified. Sweets, hold down the fort? I've got a call to make."
She didn't wait for confirmation—she never waited for confirmation, Jughead had noticed, so confident that she would be obeyed—before grabbing her phone and storming out of the cafeteria.
She connected her hearing aids to their remote, pulling up Archie's contact information on her phone and immediately dialing.
"Ames—"
"Don't fucking 'Ames' me right now. Are you a fucking idiot, Andrews?"
"What are you—"
"I saw the Red Circle video, Red. Look, I get PTSD, I really do, but god, that video is a fucking death sentence. FP's in jail, Red, and we nearly lost your dad. I can't lose you too." Despite her efforts, Amy couldn't stop the sob that burst out of her.
"I'll be okay, Ames, I promise. I have a plan, I'll be okay."
"You'd better be. If you die on me, Red, I'll bring you back just so that I can kill you myself."
Archie chuckled fondly, "I know you will, Ames. I've got to go, but I love you."
"I love you too, Red. Be careful."
"I will," he promised, before hanging up.
Amy wiped the tears from her eyes, shoving her phone back into her pocket as she marched back into the cafeteria, climbing onto the bench, Sweet Pea's hands finding her hips immediately, keeping her steady.
"Alright Serpents, listen up. Archie Andrews may be a fucking idiot, but he's off limits. No one instigates anything or you'll be answering to me. Are we clear?"
She didn't give anyone a chance to answer before sitting back on the bench, squishing herself between Fangs and Sweet Pea.
"Was that Archie you just called? Is he okay?" Jughead demanded.
"It was, and he, well, he says he is. He's got a whole lot of PTSD and guilt though. He says he has a plan but honestly? I think the plan is to get his own ass kicked because he thinks that he deserves it."
"Self-sacrificing idiot for a thousand?" Jughead joked.
"Yeah, something like that." Amy smiled tiredly, leaning her head against Fangs and opening her mouth when he pressed a forkful of the—well, food might be too generous of a word for it—to her lips.
They made it through the rest of their classes without incident, until Toni dragged her out of art class to the Red and Black office. The boys were already there, clearly having been texted by Toni.
"The Black Hood sent a cipher- who wants to solve it with me?" She asked, far too excited about a serial killer in their own town.
"I'm in," Jughead agreed immediately.
"Count me out- I'm going to have my hands full with Red's vigilante nonsense," Amy decided.
Fangs and Sweet Pea declined too, which Amy knew meant that they didn't want her going anywhere alone—though whether because of the Black Hood or the Red Circle, she had no idea.
"So, Jones," Amy started, "you've got a thing for serial killers too?"
"They fascinate me," he agreed.
"So, are you more into Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer?" Toni asked.
"The Zodiac Killer, actually."
"God, you guys are boring. Jack the Ripper, anyone?" Amy countered.
"Is this seduction to you guys?" Fangs asked, amused.
"Actually my looks are my seduction," Amy teased, "this is foreplay. What do you say, Princeling, want to check out my favourite closet?"
"Tempting," Jughead teased back, "but I'll have to pass. Let's save that for celebrating when we solve the cipher."
"But where's the instant gratification in that?" Amy asked, jutting her lower lip out in a semi-playful, semi-flirty pout.
"You have to earn it," Toni interrupted.
"Damn, Topaz, it was just getting good," Sweet Pea whined.
Jughead blinked, seeming to remember where he was and, more importantly, who he was with. He cleared his throat loudly. "Right, so, the cipher?"
"You promised to call your girlfriend, Jones, then we can head to the trailer and get started."
Jughead nodded, excusing himself to a corner of the room and pulling out his phone.
"Damn, Adams, what was that?" Fangs asked, throwing an arm over the girl's shoulder.
"Chicken," Amy said quickly—almost too quickly.
The other three exchanged looks over her head, none of them believing her but still not wanting to call her out on it.
"So… Betty just asked me to solve the cipher with her, and when I told her that we were going to do it together, she told me to host a cipher-solving party? Whatever that means… anyways, it would just be us, Betty, and Kevin, but are you okay with that?" Jughead asked, looking at Toni.
"A party with you and two Northsiders… Not my usual Friday night, but I'm in. Guys?"
"I'll pass. I've got to get shit set up for Girls' Night at the Wyrm. You'll still be there, right T?"
"Of course! I'll come by after the cipher party. Ask Lottie to bring that cherry schnapps from last time?"
"Obviously! God, that was amazing."
"I can't imagine either of you drinking cherry schnapps, honestly," Jughead admitted.
Amy rolled her eyes. "Well, there's a reason we only do it when it's just the girls. Any sort of pink, or fruity, or actually pleasant tasting drink would have every single male Serpent looking down on us."
Jughead considered her words, "That… makes sense. I guess I never thought of it."
"Well of course not. Anyways, we should drop you and T at the trailer so you can get ready for this party thing."
No one argued, so they piled into the Jeep and took off. Sweet Pea parked behind the trailer, watching the two enter, before he, Fangs, and Amy hopped out, taking off towards the Wyrm.
"Hold on, what the—" Sweet Pea took off, seeing a figure spray-paint a bodega wall.
Amy and Fangs took off after him, a few other teen Serpents rushing over to see what was happening.
"Red? What the fuck are you doing?" Amy demanded.
"Ames? I was just—"
"Tagging our turf with your vigilante gang symbol? Go back to the Northside, Andrews. Now." Sweet Pea ordered.
"What are you going to do about it?"
Sweet Pea pulled his switchblade from his pocket, flipping it open. Amy kept a firm hand on his bicep, reminding him not to instigate anything.
"Really? That's what you've got? Get lost, Sweet Pea," Archie shouted, and pulled out—was that a gun?
"Jesus fuck, Red! What the fuck are you doing with a fucking gun? You know what, doesn't matter. Look, I love you, Red, but you need to get out of here. Even I can't stop these boys forever." Amy didn't wait to see what he would do, turning on her heel and taking off towards the Jones' trailer, confident that her boys would be following her and that the others would have dispersed.
She was just walking up the path to the trailer when she saw Toni and Kevin leaving.
"Party over already?" Fangs asked.
"I kind of told Northside about Jones sitting with us at lunch? I think they need the time to themselves now. What are you doing here?"
"I was going to talk to Jones. We just ran into Archie, spray painting fucking red circles on walls, waltzing around with a fucking gun."
"Wait what?" "Archie has a gun?" Toni and Fangs asked in unison.
"Yeah… Look, I think I need to get really drunk before I can even start to think about handling this, so why don't we get you," she looked over at Kevin, "back home, then head to the Wyrm?"
Toni nodded easily, and they set off. Knowing that Amy needed to clear her head, none of the Serpents suggested the Jeep, and instead they walked through the Southside, into the Northside, and eventually stopped outside of Kevin's house.
"Before you go, Kev—this morning Cooper mentioned that you've been cruising in Fox Forest. I don't want to tell you how to live your life but, there's murderer in town, and that shit's dangerous. You need a lay, shoot me a text, alright? I'll get you some options—hell, I bet neither of my boys would mind a night with you. Look, I didn't mean to, but I actually kind of like you. I've got your back, okay?"
Kevin looked between Amy and the two boys, expecting some sort of objection to the way that she had basically—rather, actually—offered them to him if he wanted, but when none came, he nodded. "Deal. Thanks, Amy."
"No problem," she smiled softly, "I take care of my own, and that includes you. Take care, Kev, I'll see you around."
She turned, waving over her shoulder, and dug her phone out of her pocket. She turned on her remote and pulled up Fred's contact, dialling it on instinct.
"Sweetheart? Is everything okay?"
The familiar concern filled her with affection; Fred remembered how much she hated phone calls, and knew that something had to be wrong for her to call rather than text.
"Not really," she admitted. "Archie's gone off the rails a bit. I think I can handle it, but I wanted to let you know.
"Do you need me to do anything?"
"Not yet," she decided. "Give me twenty-four hours? I'll try to get through to him. After that, though, I'll need the cavalry."
"You got it, Amy. I'm here if you need me though."
"I know. Thanks, Fred."
"Anytime, sweetheart. I love you."
"Love you too," she replied, hanging up her phone.
Looking up, she saw that they were standing outside of the Wyrm. She didn't remember getting there, but she decided not to dwell on that.
"Alright, you know the rules; no boys allowed. We'll call when we're done, and you can pick us up. Don't do anything stupid? Please?"
"No promises, Doll. You know us," Sweet Pea said.
"Yeah, I guess I do."
The four exchanged kisses and 'I love yous', before the girls entered the bar, smiling and greeting the girls who had already arrived.
"Hey, Lottie," Amy called, seeing the blonde by the jukebox, "you got the schnapps?"
"Of course I do!" Lottie gestured to a bag sitting on the bar, and Amy immediately poured out a round of shots. Girls' nights were usually only the girls under 30, so everyone rushed over to grab a glass, cheering and downing their shots.
Another round of shots found Amy climbing on the stage, wrapping a hand around the center pole.
"Get me a song, T!" She called, giggling when she heard the opening of Rebel Girl, which she knew to be Toni's ringtone for her.
Shifting her weight, she spun around the pole a few times and, once she was confident in her balance, started to dance. It was different, to her, dancing when it was just the girls. She didn't feel disgusting like she did when there were men in the room. When the song ended, she jumped off the stage.
"Damn, babe, that may have been your best yet," Toni told her, before leaning over the pool table to take her turn against Brooke, an older girl with unnaturally red hair.
"Thanks, T! It's so much easier when there aren't a few dozen men leering," Amy pointed out, downing another shot before making her way to one of the dart boards along the wall.
"At least when I work in Centreville I get paid," Brooke told them.
"See, that would be so much better. Like, god… the fucking dance is literally just a way for the men to get a free show at our expense? Hell, I'd dance every night if I got a paycheck, even if they didn't tip."
"Preach, Adams," Lottie agreed, from behind the bar. "Now, who wants a cosmo?"
Everyone hurried over to grab one—it was rare that they got to enjoy any "girly" drinks, so none of them liked to turn down a chance to have them.
Amy was on her third—or at least, she thinks it was her third—cosmo when her phone went off.
She saw the text alert and hurried to open it.
Sweets: I love you Doll. And I'm sorry.
"Fuck! Has anyone heard from any of the boys?"
Amy hadn't even finished her sentence before everyone was checking their phones, and shaking their heads.
Amy tried to fight the anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her, and instead started tossing out instructions.
"Lottie, Sophie, Brooke- I want you to check the trailer park. Text me if you find anyone. Everyone else, start calling around."
Amy grabbed a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar—cheap, and half empty, but strong—and finished it off, slamming it down on the counter. She had just started to look for something else to drink, when her phone went off again, this time with a Messenger alert.
Veronica Lodge: Your boys are here, a fight's going down, and I don't think I can stop them
Amy Adams: Where?
Veronica Lodge: The bridge
Amy Adams: do they have their bikes?
Veronica Lodge: yeah, all of them do
"Change of plans, guys, I know where they are. Toni and I are going to collect them and send everyone home. Someone text the other three, tell them the hunt is over." She grabbed Toni, pulling her out of the Wyrm.
"Babe, what's going on?"
"Veronica Lodge just texted me, there's a brawl going on at the bridge, Bulldogs against Serpents."
"What the fuck are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" They had just taken off, when Toni stopped suddenly. "Shit, we're too drunk to ride, aren't we?"
"Oh, definitely," Amy agreed, "so we'd better move fast. The boys all have their bikes, so we can get back no problem."
"Okay, good." With that, the two girls took off again, sprinting as fast as they could.
By the time they reached the bridge, the fight already seemed to be breaking off, with most of the Bulldogs climbing into their cars. Amy saw Veronica lowering a gun, and realized that she must have used it to break them up, and made a mental note to thank her later. But first, she had her own boys to deal with.
"Serpents! Get the fuck over here," she shouted, and it was only a few seconds before they were all gathered around she and Toni.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" She demanded. "Fighting Bulldogs, unarmed, on their turf? Are you fucking kidding me?" A few boys opened their mouths, but Amy cut them off. "You know what? I don't fucking care what you were thinking. Get the fuck out of here and go home, all of you. Sweet Pea, Fangs, hang back."
Everyone hurried to obey her, not willing to cross her when she was so angry.
"We didn't bring our bikes, so we need a lift," Toni told them. "Fangs, we're going straight to yours, and then you can try to explain why you were such idiots."
The boys agreed, climbing onto their bikes with the girls behind them, arms wrapped tightly around them. Being pissed off wasn't a good enough reason to risk falling off, after all.
It wasn't long before they reached the Fogarty trailer, and Amy was grateful for the fact that his grandmother had a shift at the call center that night. As soon as they were in, Amy grabbed several towels, tossing one to each of her partners so that they could dry off from the rain.
They all stripped out of their soaked clothes before drying themselves off and changing into the pyjamas that they all stored in Fangs' room, and Amy started boiling water in their old kettle, digging around for tea bags.
It wasn't until they were sitting together in Fangs' bed, worn comforter pulled over their laps, warm mugs in hand, that Amy finally spoke.
"What were you thinking?" She asked softly, too tired, too drunk to care.
"Honestly? That he says he loves you but pulls a fucking gun on your friends, on your turf, in front of you, and that that's just not okay," Sweet Pea admitted.
"I asked you not to," Amy sighed, tucking her head against his chest.
"I know, Doll. But what he did was hurting you, and I can't just do nothing when someone hurts you."
"Yeah, I know." She pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. "But next time, don't send me such a vague text. I was so scared."
"I'm sorry, Doll."
"So am I," Fangs said. "To both of you. We shouldn't have gone behind your backs."
"You shouldn't have," Toni agreed, "but you did, and we can't change that. So, instead, why don't we move on? I seem to recall someone promising The Princess Bride?"
Amy perked up at the mention of the movie, "yes! Please?"
"Of course." Fangs climbed out of bed, rolling the TV into the bedroom and setting up the DVD.
They had only just reached the eels when Toni noticed that Amy was sound asleep. She carefully took the mug from her hands, setting it on the bedside table. They left the movie running, and soon the other three were asleep too.
I hope you enjoyed! This chapter feels like a letdown after chapter 3, but it was needed to set everything up for chapters 5 & 6 (which will hopefully be done sooner than later!)