Chapter title is from Lord of the Flies by William Goulding
NOTE: yeah lmao this is super anti-Alice Cooper and I have no regrets she's the worst and has been since season 1
WARNING: underage drinking, Amy's usual unhealthy relationship with sex (ft. Archie calling her out on it) and some nondescript sex at the very end (if you don't want to read it, just end when they get to Sweet Pea's trailer after the party.
Tall Boy is a little bitch, but it doesn't matter, because FP is getting released! Of course then a certain northsider has the brilliant idea of having a party for a recovering alcoholic at a bar, and between that and everyone's inability to have any sort of healthy communication, things go downhill pretty quickly.
(Cast Not Your Stone at the Wayward Daughter)
The End of Innocence
She awoke early the next morning to a text from Jughead, telling her to meet him at the Wyrm when she woke up. After a quick follow up, to make sure that he wasn't in any immediate danger, she woke up her partners. They dressed quickly, returning the car to normal, and drove straight to the Wyrm.
Jughead was waiting outside, as promised, and Amy was barely out of the car before he was sweeping her off the ground, into a hug, and spinning her around.
"Jug? What's going on? Are you… are you drunk?"
"Better," Jughead told her, "My dad is getting out of jail, tonight."
Amy squealed, tightening her grip around Jughead's neck. "For real?"
"For real," he promised, setting her down.
Sweet Pea pulled the other four into a group hug, wrapping his arm around Amy to ruffle Jughead's hair.
"Sweet Pea, I was wondering if we could take the Jeep? He'll be getting out around five, so I was thinking that maybe we could pick him up and then get dinner at Pops?"
"Wait," Toni said, "you want us to come with you?"
"Of course I do. Look, I didn't know you guys before he went away, but I know how much you all mean to him, and how much he means to you guys, and I think he'd want you to be there."
Amy couldn't hold back her tears, grinning widely. "We'll be there," she promised, not giving anyone the chance to object.
"Time to tell the others?" Fangs asked, looking towards the door.
"Yeah, I think it is," Jughead agreed.
They walked in, a united front. Amy stood in the middle—Sweet Pea always said that it was the only way people would see her—with Fangs on one side of her and Toni on the other, Sweet Pea and Jughead standing next to either of them.
Amy whistled sharply as soon as they were in, looking at Jughead as soon as she was certain that they had everyone's attention.
*"My dad's getting out," Jughead announced. Cheers rose up around the room, fading out as Jughead continued. "And when he does, I'll bring him up to speed* about our plans to work with Mayor McCoy."
*"That's brilliant," Tall Boy scoffed, putting down his glass.
"Do you have a problem with that, Tall Boy?" Jughead demanded.
"Your old man? No. I got no problem with him. But you want us to sit down with the Mayor."
"I do," Jughead agreed. "He's right," he added, looking around the room, "I think we can bring the Southside back. But it's going to take work and it's going to take compromise."
Tall Boy laughed, "Bring the Southside back. You've been here all of five minutes."*
"Oh fuck off, Tall Boy," Amy said. The older man glared at her, but Amy's face remained carefully passive.
*"Tall Boy, I am sick of you acting like a little bitch,"* and damn, if he weren't back with Betty, Amy could have kissed him for that. *"Whispering behind my back that I'm half a Serpent or that I don't belong here. Why don't we put it to a vote? If you guys think what I'm going is wrong, I'll step aside."
It was Toni who spoke next, drawing the attention of the bar. "All those who stand with Jughead and think that Tall Boy should shut the hell up—"*
Amy didn't give her a chance to finish, hand shooting up. Fangs and Sweet Pea's followed immediately, along with Toni's, and soon most of the bar had done the same.
"Jones here is more of a Serpent than you are," Sweet Pea added, "and he's never tried to sell us out to the Ghoulies."
Tall Boy's face reddened with anger, but he didn't try to say anything more, instead storming out of the Wyrm, slamming the door behind him.
"Good riddance," Fangs muttered, and soon the five teenagers were laughing, semi hysterically, as they made their way to the Jeep.
Sweet Pea drove them first to the trailer, where they split up to clean the trailer for FP's grand return. Amy was glad that she took the bedroom, finding her underwear from the night of the Open House underneath the bed—and wow, it was a good thing that Betty hadn't seen them, that would not have been pretty.
Amy quickly pushed those thoughts away, along with the irritation that always came with any thought of the Cooper girl, and went back to cleaning. She raided all of FP's usual bottle hiding spots, pleased to see that they were all empty. She knew that fighting alcoholism wasn't as simple as that, but if he didn't have booze in the house then it would be easier for her to monitor his intake at the Wyrm. They spent most of the morning cleaning, before Jughead said that he wanted to go across town, to tell his Northside friends the news.
"Yeah, sure, go fill them in, just don't let anyone claim any of the seats in the car. We'll have to use the way back as it is," Amy reminded him.
"Of course I wouldn't," Jughead assured her.
"Okay, good. I have a key, so we can finish cleaning up and then you can meet us back here when you're ready to go?"
Jughead nodded, waving goodbye as he left. Amy busied herself with rearranging the bedroom drawers, before digging out a dusty bottle of bleach and some gloves, hoping to return the windows to their original white. She finished that, and was about to start on the floorboards when the door reopened.
"Ready to go?" He asked, and Sweet Pea and to lift her by the waist to keep her from running out in bleach stained gloves. He made her take them off and wash her hands before finally letting her leave the trailer, and they piled into the car.
They pulled up outside of the prison, where Sweet Pea and Fangs set about lifting the back row of seats, before the door opened and FP stepped outside.
The intimidating gate was the only thing keeping Amy from running to him, but as soon as he was past it Amy was running, jumping onto FP's back. FP chuckled, hugging Jughead and Toni, and ruffling Sweet Pea and Fangs' hair, before Sweet Pea lifted Amy off of the man.
"Fucking limpet," Sweet Pea laughed, tugging at her ponytail, before stepping back so that FP could pull her into a proper hug.
Amy buried her head in his chest as she hugged him, breathing in the familiar scent of FP, without the reek of alcohol covering it up.
"Miss me, Amethyst?" He teased.
"Nope, not at all," Amy returned, finally pulling away. Toni and Fangs took the back row, Jughead and FP the middle, and Amy took her usual shotgun.
The road to Pops wasn't as familiar to them as the Wyrm, but Sweet Pea got them there no problem, and soon they were squeezing into a much too narrow booth. FP sat between Jughead and Amy on one side, with Toni between the other boys across from them.
"So, how has everyone been doing?" FP asked.
"I mean, there's a murderer in town," Jughead reminded me—was he capable of sounding anything other than sarcastic?
"Not Riverdale, Riverdale has always been a mess. But you guys?"
"Betty and I are good," Jughead told him, and Amy's grip on her fork tightened just a bit too much to seem casual.
"Southside High still sucks, Tall Boy is an ass, nothing new," Toni said, Sweet Pea and Fangs nodding in agreement.
"Auto shop is fine too," Fangs added, "Boss is chill about letting us take time off for Serpent jobs."
FP smiled at them, before turning to the suspiciously silent girl beside him. "Amethyst?"
"I'm fi—"
"Don't give me that 'I'm fine' bullshit, girl," he warned her, "I know what that means with you."
"Okay, so, I'm not fine," Amy admitted. "I haven't been fine since before Mustang sent me to the fucking orphanage from hell. And I mean fuck, if everything else weren't bad enough, Malachai is in jail and he blames me. Because Red called the fucking pigs."
"What's with you two?" Jughead asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.
Amy shrugged. "Well, I tried to fuck him, like, a year ago. He turned me down, said that I was a kid and that I was drunk and to ask him again when I was twenty-one and sober." She ignored the look of shock on Jughead's face, pressing on before he could interrupt. "Some of his boys didn't have the same standards and, well, I was pretty close to blackout, not in any state to object. Mal called them off, told them that if any of them ever wanted to touch me, they'd need his permission, and that he wouldn't be giving it. He's kept an eye on me since then, and always makes a big show of respecting my status—he's actually part of the reason that I get the respect that I do now. I guess they figured that if the leader of the Ghoulies was going to respect some little punk then they should too. Point is, he's an asshole, a total dick, but he has my back. That's more than I can even say about some Serpents."
"I… That's not what I would have expected," Jughead said.
"I know," Amy told him, turning back to FP, "And god, if that wasn't enough, I spent over two months with the goddamn Sisters, the only person that I considered a friend there broke out and left me behind, you were arrested, and within about five hours of getting back from rehab, Mary Andrews called me to tell me that Fred was shot, Red became a vigilante, then there was the fucking raid, then the race, and Mal getting arrested, and we've come full circle and everything fucking sucks."
"I had no idea," Jughead said, "I mean, I knew parts of that, but I never really thought about—"
"About how terrible it is? Yeah, well, now you know."
FP pulled her against his side. "I think what I'm about to say might make it worse," he warned her.
"What is it?" She asked nervously.
"I'm leaving the Serpents—"
"FP, you can't!" Toni objected.
"I have to. I love the Serpents, you know that I do, but I can't go back. I'm sober now, I'm trying to get my life together, and I can't do that as a Serpent."
"The Serpents need you, FP," Amy told him, "I need you."
"I can't. I need you to take care of them, Adams, to be the king that I can't be."
Amy took a deep breath, blinking back tears. She knew better than to argue, but the idea of FP was more than she could handle. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly.
"You'll be okay, kiddo. I'll still be around, I'm not abandoning you, I just can't be a Serpent."
Amy nodded, "Okay. Where do I start?"
"Start with something simple. Sort things out with Malachai."
"How do I do that?"
"You go back. Look, one visit is expected of you, Adams. You're the heir to the mantle, and he's the leader of the Ghoulies. Even if it had been your plan, that much would have been expected of you. You go back, that's on you, that means you're serious. Malachai knows that as well as I do."
"I need to go," Amy said, moving to stand.
"How are you going to get there?" FP asked, grinning.
"I can walk," she said, after a moment.
"Or, you can sit down, finish your milkshake, and we'll drop you off," Sweet Pea suggested.
Amy rolled her eyes, but sat back down. She let the conversation wash over her, sipping at her milkshake and relishing in the familiar warmth of FP beside her.
They finished up shortly, paying and climbing into the Jeep. As promised, Sweet Pea dropped her off at the prison, promising that he would be back after he dropped the others back at Sunnyside.
Amy waved over her shoulder, turning to walk into the building.
Signing in was a familiar routine for her, and she made her way down the hallway to the window.
Malachai threw himself into the seat, grabbing the phone with a glare.
"I told you to leave. That you're dead to me," he told her.
"You did," she agreed, her face as blank as her voice.
"Yet here you are."
"Here I am."
Malachai's eyes widened, taking in what she'd said. "Jesus, Princess, this wasn't actually your doing, was it?"
"That's what I've been telling you," Amy pointed out.
"I thought you just came because it was expected of you. But you came again, you didn't have to do that. I told you not to do that."
"I know, Mal. And yeah, being sneaky and underhand is exactly my kind of thing, but I would never do that to you."
Mal chuckled weakly, "No, I guess you wouldn't. So, what's happened since I've been in here?"
"Little boy prince is dating Turncoat Cooper's daughter again, the fucking Black Hood called Pops yesterday, and FP got released today."
"I don't know what I was expecting. Your life is never normal, Princess," he teased.
"It's not."
"So, FP Jones got out of jail and instead of being with him, you're visiting little old me?"
"Yeah? I wanted to make things right."
"You're something else, Princess. We're good. Now get out of here and spend some time with the king."
"He's not the king anymore," she told him. "He's stepping down, said he wants me to take up the mantle."
"That's my girl," Malachai said fondly. "All the more reason for you to be there."
"I don't know if I can do this, Mal. I'm not ready."
"You've got this, Princess," he assured her. "Now stop hiding from it and get your ass to the Wyrm."
"Fine. Thanks, Mal."
"Anytime, Princess. Come back and visit once things are settled."
"I will," she promised, hanging up the phone.
When she stepped outside, she saw Sweet Pea sitting on his bike.
"Everything good?" He asked, as she settled in behind her.
"Everything is good," she agreed, and quickly filled him in.
"I figured you'd want to get straight to the Wyrm?"
"Please. I have a shift in thirty anyways."
Sweet Pea slid his helmet over her head, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. They took off down familiar roads, parking amongst the line of bikes outside of the Wyrm.
Amy walked in, and froze, seeing Betty Cooper at the bar.
"Northside. What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to Toni," Betty told her.
"Cool, you can talk to both of us. Spit it out."
"I want us to have a party for FP. A retirement party."
"First of all, Northside, there is no 'us'. And second, you want to have a party for a recovering alcoholic in a bar? You know, I never imagined that Jughead would fall for a fucking dumbass."
Betty recoiled, and Toni stepped in quickly.
"She's harsh, but she's right. You're not a Serpent."
"But I could be," Betty said, "I mean… I don't want to be a full Serpent, but maybe Serpent-adjacent? This is Jughead's life, which makes it kind of my life too."
"It really doesn't," Amy scoffed.
Byrdie laughed, from her seat down the bar. *"Sorry, Sweet Valley High, if you wanna join the club, you gotta do the dance. The Serpent dance."
"Excuse me, Serpent dance?" Betty asked.
"It's an outdated, sexist, Serpent tradition," Toni explained, "tried to get it outlawed, but misogyny dies hard. You don't wanna know."
"Uh, yeah I do. I want to know everything."*
"You want to know everything?" Amy demanded.
"Yeah, I do."
"It's a pole dance. Stripping. You know, me and Toni did the dance when we were twelve. As soon as he became king, FP made it against the law for anyone to do the dance, or run the gauntlet, under thirteen. He tried to make it eighteen, but the resistance was so strong that he nearly lost the mantle. Toni and I absolutely shouldn't have been allowed to do it, but FP wasn't there and not a single other person gave a shit."
"That's—"
"Save it, Northside. You said you wanted to know everything, I'm telling you everything. You want to know how disgusting it felt? How vulnerable? FP was out on a job, and it was pretty much just the adults, and Sweet Pea. He came to support us, and thank god he did because he was the only thing keeping me from puking all over the stage. Do you know why my jacket is so big on me?" she asked, plowing on before Betty could answer. "Because FP walked in before we were done. Because the moment he saw us, he grabbed his original jacket from the back—the one that was always meant to go to Jughead if he joined—and pulled his off. He stormed onto the stage, called the whole thing off, and declared that we were in. Because there we were, two twelve year old girls, half naked, freezing, and humiliated beyond belief, and the only thing that he could do was wrap his jacket around Toni, and the old one around me. Toni gave hers back, and got one of her own, but I kept this one. It reminds me every single day of how much I've given to this gang. What have you done, Cooper? Other than accuse FP of murder? Nothing. No dance can change that. Jughead's one of us now, we don't need you and your holier-than-thou attitude interfering in something that is none of your business. Host the fucking party, if you want, but don't ever think that you're one of us."
Betty opened and closed her mouth, speechless. Toni reached out, to lay a comforting hand on the girl, but Amy pushed her aside. She poured herself a double shot of whiskey, downing it, and then repeated the process, before slamming the glass down on the countertop, immediately pulling Sweet Pea and Fangs from a pool table, dragging them to the back room. They were still there, fast asleep on the floor, when Toni joined them an hour later. She laughed fondly, grabbing blankets from the closet and laying down to join them.
When she awoke the next morning, Amy was gone. She pulled a sticky note from the door, saying that Amy had gone to the front to talk to Jughead.
Slipping on her jacket and boots, she stuck the note back on the door for the boys, padding down the hallway.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" She heard Amy demand.
"Unfortunately, no," and that was Jughead's familiar drawl, which meant that Amy's note was probably fairly recent.
"What's going on?" Toni asked, as she entered the room.
"Penny—" Jughead started.
"Fucking Peabody," Amy spat out, "telling Jug that if he doesn't become her latest drug mule she'll get FP sent back to jail."
Toni's eyes widened, "Can she do that?"
"Probably," Amy shrugged. "Fuck it, I need a drink."
"No you don't," Toni told her, grabbing her as she made her way to the bar.
"But Toni—"
"Nope," Toni cut her off. "We have a party to get ready for."
"Fuck. Fucking fuck I forgot about that. We need to get the boys, and go back to—fuck, I don't even know which trailer is empty to get ready—"
"You can come to mine," Jughead offered, "I know you all have clothes there."
"We do," Amy agreed. "That should work. Okay, I'll deal with the boys—"
"Deal with us about what?" A new voice asked—Sweet Pea, as he and Fangs joined them.
"Oh, perfect. I was going to come wake you up. Cooper's stupid party is tonight, so we're going to FP's to get ready."
Both boys nodded. Amy's nerves were palpable, no doubt because FP stepping down would make her the Serpent King, and they weren't going to make anything harder by arguing with her.
Amy, who had come to the Wyrm on Sweet Pea's bike, climbed on behind him once again. As soon as they got to the trailer, Amy was pushing her way into the bedroom, not caring that FP was still sleeping, passed out on the couch in the living room. She dug through the closet, emerging moments later with a black—Jughead wasn't sure if he'd call it a dress, more of a scrap of fabric.
"What the fuck are you waiting for?" She asked the other four, all of whom were standing around doing nothing.
"The party isn't until tonight," Jughead reminded her.
"Yeah, but we're going to be the first ones there. I'm not letting anyone or anything catch me off guard tonight, and that includes getting there before anyone else. Now get to it."
Jughead didn't argue, thinking that he might receive a knife to the gut if he tried, and rummaged through his door for a fairly tight black shirt.
By the time he turned around, Amy was already dressed, and he saw that he was right, and the dress was barely there. The tight black fabric stretched from her upper thighs to the top of her chest, with an open lace overlay covering the dress, as well as her arms and collarbones. Between the length of the dress and the height of her boots, Amy's legs looked longer than should ever be possible for a girl who wasn't even five feet tall, and her hair was down for once, the dark waves brushing her lower back. She pushed past him, heading to the bathroom.
"Um, Toni?"
"It's nothing I haven't seen before, Jughead, but fine, I can turn around while you change."
Toni did turn around, changing into black jean shorts and a tight tank top, while all three boys stuck to their usual dark jeans and shirts.
Amy left the bathroom, letting Toni take her turn, and Jughead felt a stirring in his gut. If he thought that she had looked good before, the addition of sharp eyeliner, red lipstick, and her jacket made her look sinful. He had a similar reaction when Toni emerged, skillfully smudged eyeliner and bubblegum pink lipstick carefully in place.
He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, but before he could say anything, a new voice spoke up.
"You girls clean up nice," FP told them, leaning against the doorway.
"You're awake, good. We're leaving in half an hour to get set up, so shower and dress quickly," Amy said, ignoring his compliment and shoving him towards the bathroom.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," FP chuckled.
The door closed behind him, and Amy busied herself by making a large serving of scrambled eggs, divvying them up onto five plates. She handed four of them to the other teenagers, leaving the fifth for FP.
"You need to eat, Doll," Sweet Pea told her.
"Nope. Not happening. The idea of eating is making me nauseous."
Jughead would have let it drop at that, but apparently Sweet Pea didn't share his fear of a nervous Amy and her knives; which he was certain would be tucked into the garters that she was sliding on.
"No, Amy. You need to eat." He scooped a third of his eggs onto another plate, pushing it over to her, along with a fork. "Finish those and I'll let it go."
Amy glared at the plate, and then at the boy. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly, stabbing at the offending food.
FP was out soon after, towel wrapped tightly around his waist as he crossed the living room to the bedroom. It didn't take long before he was joining them in the kitchen, clothed in black jeans and a tight white t-shirt.
"I see Sweet Pea is making you eat," he teased, and Amy turned his glare on him.
"Sweet Pea is an asshole," she pouted.
"I'm sure he is, kiddo, I'm sure he is."
Apparently FP's presence was stronger than Amy's anxiety, as she soon finished her eggs, dumping her plate in the sink. She returned to a combination of pacing and checking her phone until the others were done, and they made their way to the bikes; the men all stopping to grab their jackets from the hooks by the door. FP led the way to the Wyrm, with the teenagers close behind.
Amy had barely even parked her bike before she was jumping off, making her way into the Wyrm. Amy's eyes drifted over to the bar, but a quick look at FP had her shaking her head, moving to the dartboard instead.
"What do you say, Fogarty? FP?"
"I'm in," Fangs agreed, before turning to the others, "she needs to get rid of some energy, but give us a heads up if people start arriving."
Jughead saw Toni and Sweet Pea nod, and quickly did the same, watching as Fangs and his dad joined Amy.
All three were fast, he noticed, and incredibly accurate. He couldn't deny that he was impressed with their skill, watching with one eye, while the other watched the door.
"People are arriving," Sweet Pea called out, well into the fifth round.
Amy cursed, tugging nervously at her jacket before taking her usual spot behind the bar. Jughead didn't know exactly why she liked being there so much, but he suspected that it had something to do with the raised floor and the fact that she was in control.
Archie and Veronica were amongst the first to arrive, and he found himself joining them at the bar, where Amy was in a heated discussion with the red head.
He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he knew instinctively that Amy would hate herself for taking her anxiety out on Archie, so he quickly drew them away with questions about their investigation.
Several people had arrived, and the party was in full swing, when he noticed heads turning. Looking towards the door, he saw Betty, looking as beautiful as ever, with—was that Alice? Behind her. Alice was dressed like a Serpent, Jughead realized, although her jacket was just a normal jacket, not a Serpent jacket.
*"Hog Eye," she called, "get me a—"*
"Hog Eye's not on bar tonight, Turncoat," Amy said.
She didn't raise her voice, she didn't need to. The bar had fallen dead quiet when she spoke, everyone waiting to see what would happen.
"What did you call me?" Alice demanded.
Jughead could almost feel everyone holding their breath, and realized that he was doing the same—a showdown between Alice Cooper and Amethyst Adams was guaranteed to be nuclear, but he would put his money on Amy. While Alice saw herself as being at the top of the food chain, Jughead knew that Amy was more dangerous, and much more ruthless.
"Turncoat. That's what you are, isn't it? You left the Serpents, turned Northside, and dedicated your entire fucking career to ruining our lives. You don't get to come crawling back like you're still one of us, like you didn't break the fifth law and betray us all, just because FP is hot and you want to fuck him."
"Excuse me? How dare—"
"How dare I? How dare you, Turncoat. You're not welcome here, not now, not ever again. Now get the fuck out, unless you want me to dispose of you like I do all the trash that stinks this place up."
Alice gaped, but Amy remained unflinching. After a moment of silence, Alice huffed, turning around and storming out of the bar.
He saw his dad heading towards Amy, and quickly made his way to where Betty was still frozen.
"That was harsh, kiddo," FP told Amy.
"That was the truth, and you know it. And someone had to tell her."
"Amethyst—"
"Don't Amethyst me, FP. Alice Cooper is an entitled bitch who just wants in your pants and you fucking know it. Now, you have a party to get to, and I have a job to do."
FP sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, "we're going to talk about this eventually," he told her.
"Sure we are," Amy agreed, waving him away.
She lost herself in the easy rhythm of bartending, until she suddenly heard a familiar voice through the speakers. She rolled her eyes when she saw Archie and Veronica on stage, watching passively as Veronica stormed out of the Wyrm, Archie close behind her.
She saw Toni whispering to Jughead, who quickly crossed the room to Betty, interrupting her path to the stage and leading her out the back door, before her gaze was drawn to the other side of the room, as Archie reentered, alone.
She listened with one ear as Toni called karaoke a terrible idea, declaring that the machine would be off for the night, but was more focused on chasing after Veronica.
"Veronica?" She called, following the girl outside.
"Amy? Shouldn't you be with Archie right now?"
"Should I be? Honestly, I have no idea what just happened."
"We broke up."
"Why? You two are like… disgustingly perfect for each other."
"Because Archie said he loved me, and I couldn't say it back."
"Why not?"
"I don't know," Veronica sighed. "I mean, it's not like it's that big of a deal, right? I've never once heard my parents say it to each other."
"The words aren't a big deal, but I think that is. And I get it, V, I really do. Probably more than most people. I mean hell, Sweet Pea was the first person to ever say it to me, and we were eight years old, the day before I got sent to the orphanage. If you ever want to talk, I'm here. And, god, I don't want to be a bitch and ditch you, but I need to be there for Archie right now, make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid like try to fight Sweet Pea again."
Veronica laughed, "yeah, you do that. I might have to take you up on that offer though, sometime."
"Anytime, V. Let me know that you get home okay, okay?"
"I will. Take care of Archie for me?"
"I will," Amy promised, and the two girls parted ways.
Amy went back into the Wyrm, thankful that Archie's red hair was easy to make out in the dark room. She grabbed him, leading him to the back room, doing her best to be gentle with him.
"Red?"
"Veronica dumped me, Ames," he told her.
"I know… She told me. What do you need, Red?"
"I need… I don't know."
"Well… you've got a dick, I've got a mouth. I can take your mind off of it for a bit?"
"What? No way. You're my baby sister, Ames," Archie reminded her.
"It's just a mouth, Red," Amy argued.
"No it's not, Ames, and you know it."
Amy blinked, eyes filling with unwanted tears, "But… you say you love me," she told him.
Archie sighed, taking her hands in his, crouching down to look her in the eyes. "You don't need to give people sex for them to love you."
Amy stared at him blankly.
"I know you, Ames, I've known you for years. You treat sex like it's a currency, the price you have to pay for love, but it's not."
"I don't get it," Amy told him.
Archie pulled her into a tight hug. "I know you don't," he said, "but one day. One day you'll understand. And look, I'll always love you, even without the sex, but right now I think you need your friends. And I need to head home."
"I… Yeah, I think you're right. Text me when you get back?"
"Always," he promised, leading her out of the room. As Archie left her side, heading to the door, Amy immediately sought out any of her partners.
Thankfully they were all standing together, so Amy slid up beside them. She was about to say something when FP climbed onto the stage.
*"You know what?" he asked, the crowd silencing immediately, "I've been in and out of the Serpents since I was younger than my son. And it's been a wild ride. Good times, bad times, but through it all, the Serpents stuck by my side, while most other people turned their backs on me. My own family included. Now, the letter of the law says that I can't be here in the Serpent den. That I can't associate with my friends. My real family." Loud protests filled the room, but FP silenced them quickly. "But I've been thinking about that. And it'll be a cold day in hell before a snake lets a pig tell him what to do. Northside wants me outta this gang? Well, they better bring a coffin because FP Jones isn't retiring. I am not going gently into the night! I'm here to stay! So, bring the fire!"*
Amy watched, speechless, as he stepped off of the stage, immediately being pulled aside by Jughead.
"He—he didn't just do that? Did he?"
"He did," Fangs told her. "It'll be okay, babe, we can keep an eye on him."
"Well, at least the Jones men are having a good night," Amy scoffed, watching in horror as FP was handed a shot glass.
"Only one of them," Toni told her, "I told Jughead that Betty wanted to do the dance, and next thing I know he's telling her that he can't involve her in this and breaking things off."
"Oh. Well, we'll deal with that in a second," Amy said, making her way to FP.
"Amethyst, kiddo, I—"
"Doesn't matter, FP. We can talk tomorrow or something. Just… please be careful, okay?"
"I always am," FP told her.
"That's what I was afraid of. Okay, well, I need to go mend your son's broken heart, so I'll see you tomorrow."
FP nodded, already being pulled away by Tall Boy, so Amy continued on her mission, cornering Jughead by the bar.
"I heard about what happened," she told him.
"News travels fast around here, doesn't it?"
"Yeah it does. Now come on, we're all sleeping at Sweets' tonight. Come with us."
"But my dad—"
"I know you love him, and you worry about him, Juggy. So do I. But FP? If we try to stop him now, it'll just backfire. We can talk to him in the morning, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good, now come on." Amy waved her partners down, and they met up by the door. "Juggy is staying with us tonight."
"Nice," Fangs said, eyeing the taller boy.
They took their bikes to the trailer, stumbling through the door. Sweet Pea had barely locked the door behind them when Amy grabbed Jughead, slamming him against the wall, pressing her mouth to his.
"Amethyst?" He asked, pulling away slightly.
"Yes or no, Juggy, yes or no?"
"Yes. But are you sure—"
"Don't ask me if I'm sure I want this. I do."
Amy dragged him to the bedroom, the other three following close behind. Unlike the last time, Jughead immediately reached for the boys when they moved to step away. Amy was focused entirely on her mission, yanking Jughead's pants down quickly, while Toni and Fangs took care of the shirt. Once he was fully naked, he pulled Sweet Pea in for a kiss, smirking when the taller boy froze for a moment, before wrapping his hair in the Jones boy's hair.
Sweet Pea pulled away suddenly, seeing Amy slide down her underwear.
"Doll?"
"I know what I'm doing, Sweets. I'm not even drunk."
Sweet Pea sighed, raising his hands in surrender. He crossed his legs, pulling Jughead's head down until he was face up in the other boy's lap, looking up at him.
"Hi," Jughead whispered.
"Hi yourself," Sweet Pea replied, leaning over to kiss him quickly.
He kept one eye on Toni and Fangs, who were each focused on leaving hickeys on their respective sides of the boy, the other on Amy.
Amy kissed her way down his chest, before moving to a kneeling position, lifting her hips before lowering herself onto Jughead.
-
As always, I hope you all enjoyed! I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out, and I hope that you are too!