So Jughead didn't sleep with Betty, thank god. But between preparing for war, Archie going off the rails, and a dead body, Amy doesn't even have time to celebrate. She does, however, have the time to throw a dozen wrenches into Hiram Lodge's schemes.
Chapter title is from Fight Like A Girl by Emilie Autumn
WARNINGS: Honestly this chapter was pretty tame! Just Amy's usual crassness and Hiram Lodge being a creep.
(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter
My Heart Is A Weapon Of War
Waking up was an interesting experience, even by Amy's standards. Between Toni and Sweet Pea seething about Tall Boy, Fangs being shaken up by Penny, Jughead dwelling on Betty, and Amy trying to figure out how to outwit Hiram Lodge, it really didn't feel like they'd actually slept at all—and to be fair, they barely had.
"Come on, assholes," Amy said finally, seeing the time, "gotta get ready for school."
Jughead groaned, stretching his arms as much as he could with Toni and Amy on either side of him.
"Do we have to?" he asked through a yawn.
"Tragically, yes," Amy told him, crawling over Sweet Pea to get out of bed. "I've got schemes to plan, and you have a girlfriend to either break up with or apologize to."
"You're right," Jughead nodded decisively. "I've got to make things right with Betty."
Amy tried to ignore the way her heart clenched at his words and plastered on her usual fake smile.
"And I've got a criminal mastermind to destroy," she said, instead of the number of things she wanted to say. "Up and at em."
Fangs grumbled but her partners all complied, and soon the five of them were on their bikes and heading to school.
Amy perched herself on Sweet Pea's lap, carefully ignoring Jughead talking to the Northsiders. Of course, despite her best efforts she couldn't actually tune them out, and she rolled her eyes as Veronica tried to organize a 'negotiation'.
"Jug," she said abruptly, standing up and grabbing her bag. "I've gotta dash but text me the time and I'll be there."
"Um," Veronica said, "this is between the Lodges and the Jones'."
Amy scoffed loudly, quirking an eyebrow. She took a moment to enjoy the way Veronica wilted under her stare before she spoke. "No," she drawled, "this is between Hiram Lodge and the Serpents. And quite frankly, your dad is an idiot and I don't actually care what he thinks. Jughead," she repeated, smiling softly when he looked up at her. "Text me the time and I'll be there."
He nodded, letting her press her hand to his cheek before leaving the lounge, Sweet Pea falling into his usual place at her side.
As soon as Amy was out of earshot, Betty looked over at Jughead. "Is… is she why you stopped things last night?" she whispered.
"No, Betts. God, I just felt like you were trying to prove something- to me, to yourself, I don't know- and if or when we do anything, I want it to be because you want to do it not because you feel like you have to."
Meanwhile, as Betty processed his explanation, Amy dug out her phone and called Fred.
"Sweetheart?" he greeted, picking up on the first ring. "What's wrong?"
Amy sighed loudly. "Hey. I… I don't know. I'm worried about Archie and, I don't know what to do."
Her voice caught in her throat, and she knew that Fred heard is as his voice softened.
"It's okay," he told her, "it'll be okay. You'll figure something out, or I'll talk some sense into him, or he'll realize that he's hurting you. Archie loves you a hell of a lot more than he loves Veronica. You're his sister, sweetheart, in every way that matters, and he's going to realize that impressing Hiram Lodge isn't worth losing you."
Amy nodded, and then remembered that he couldn't see her. "Yeah, I… I guess," she said, although she was sure that he was wrong—she was a second choice, she was always a second choice, and she would be Archie's second choice too.
But she wouldn't argue with Fred, she would never argue with Fred, so instead she sighed. "Yeah," she repeated. "Thanks."
"Anytime, sweetheart. I love you."
Even after all her years living with Fred, after all her years of hearing him say that multiple times a day, Amy's breath still hitched every time.
"Love you too," she said, before hanging up the phone and heading to class.
She took her seat beside Toni with only moments to spare before the final bell, and felt the other girl take her hand, squeezing it gently. Are you okay? she knew it meant.
She squeezed back. I will be, it promised.
She pulled her hand away after a few seconds, picking up her pencil and jotting down her notes—both for the class and in preparation for the upcoming negotiation with Hiram Lodge.
Her day passed in relative boredom. She rolled her eyes endlessly at Veronica and Archie, avoided Archie's attempts to talk to her about the impending negotiations, and tried to pretend that her chest didn't tighten every time she saw Jughead and Betty together. Though, judging by the worried looks that she was getting from the other four Serpents, she might not have succeeded.
Still, she was beyond grateful to hear the final bell, grabbing her bag and heading to the locker room to get changed for River Vixens practice. She saw Sweet Pea taking his usual seat in the back of the bleachers and smiled up at him before turning her attention to Cheryl and the new choreography. She was more than a little shocked to find out that she would be one of the main features but couldn't help but smirk at the fact that she was getting Betty's spot.
She was a better dancer, and a better cheerleader, but she hadn't expected Cheryl to ever choose a Southsider over one of her own. Still, she resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at the blonde brat and instead she threw herself into learning the routine.
The hour passed quickly as Amy lost herself in the music, in the comfortable familiarity of dancing and flipping her way around a gym.
When she finished, she wasted no time in joining Sweet Pea, smiling up at him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"You don't have to wait for me, you know," she told him.
"You're my girl, Doll, of course I'm going to wait. I don't want any Northside asshole trying to jump you or something—"
"I can take care of myself, Sweets," she objected.
"Of course you can," he agreed easily, "but you shouldn't have to. Besides, I like watching you in that uniform."
Amy tilted her head, conceding, pressing a quick kiss to his jaw before ducking into the locker room to change. As soon as she was dressed, she rejoined him and let him lead her outside to their bikes.
"Any word from Jones?" he asked.
"He was able to delay everything until the end of practice, Veronica was a good excuse for that, but he wants me to head over asap," she reported, checking her phone.
Sweet Pea nodded and the two got on their bikes, making their way to the other side of town. They stopped outside of the Jones trailer, and Amy took a minute to fix her outfit.
She unbuttoned her dark green flannel, letting it fall open under her jacket and leaving her black bandeau entirely visible with her snake tooth necklace falling perfectly in the centre of her chest. She took off her helmet, hanging it off of her bike's handlebar, and put her hearing aids back on, tightening her ponytail and touching up her blood red lipstick.
"How do I look?" She asked Sweet Pea.
"Ready for war," he assured her, dropping a soft kiss to her forehead—he would have kissed her properly, but he knew that she would be pissed if he ruined her lipstick.
"Good."
She took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders before climbing up the stairs and letting herself into the trailer. Sweet Pea watched the door close behind her and then got back on his bike, taking off towards the Wyrm.
Amy was glad to see that she'd beaten the Lodges to the trailer, hugging both Jones men in greeting.
"You kids ready?" FP asked. "Hiram Lodge doesn't mess around."
"We're ready," Amy promised. She crossed the trailer quickly, leaning against the kitchen counter and folding her arms.
Only moments later she saw Jughead's stiffen, and knew that he must have heard a car pulling in. While both of the Joneses were posturing, straightening their spines and pushing back their shoulders, Amy let her slouch exaggerate. It was just like she had told Jughead, back when they were getting ready to deal with Penny, it was all about impressions. They wanted to look tough, to remind Hiram that they weren't people to fuck with, but Amy wanted to look like she didn't care, like he was so far beneath her notice that she didn't feel the need to impress him.
A moment later there was a knock on the door, and Amy watched as FP let them in. Her eyes narrowed at the way both Hiram and Veronica eyed the trailer with barely-concealed disgust before Hiram noticed her.
"I thought that this was a private meeting," he said, lip curling as he looked her up and down.
"She asked to be here, I said yes," FP told him, crossing the trailer in such a way that he blocked Hiram's view of the girl without it seeming forced. "You brought Veronica, after all."
"Veronica is my daughter," Hiram countered, and Amy caught Jughead's eye, smirking at his clear attempt not to laugh.
"And Amethyst is my heir," FP said. "This isn't between your family and mine—although she is family as well—this is between you and the Serpents, and Amy has more right than either Veronica or Jughead to be present for Serpent negotiations."
Amy fought off the grin that threatened to take over her face when FP called her family. She had to focus, had to keep the ball in her court.
"So," she drawled, using a high heeled combat boot to push herself off of her perch, "are you going to pull them out and measure them or are we going to negotiate?"
This time Jughead couldn't hold back a snort, nor could FP hide his fond smile at her usual audacity.
"How… crass," Hiram said, and Amy simply smiled at him. "But yes, let's sit down and discuss this misunderstanding."
She watched as the other four sat down, and moved to stand on FP's right, leaning against his chair but not dropping the steel from her spine.
"There's no misunderstanding," she informed him coolly.
FP nodded. "Tall Boy said you paid him to decapitate the Pickens statue. As an excuse to turn up the heat on the Serpents. You got a lot of nervous people scared they're gonna lose their home," he said.
"I heard about that," Hiram hummed. "And though it has nothing to do with me—" Amy scoffed loudly, but Hiram continued as if she weren't there. "I've spoken to Mayor McCoy. And as a gesture of goodwill to the Southside community, I'd like to settle any back rent you or your neighbours owe the town."
"And what do you want in return?" Jughead asked, and Amy felt a rush of fondness at how easily the boy had come into his own as the Serpent Prince.
"Peace in the land."
The three Serpents waited a moment, Amy enjoying the way that Veronica started to fidget in her seat, before FP stood.
"It's a deal," FP said, holding out his hand as the other three stood up.
Hiram clasped his hand. "There is one thing," he added, and Amy clicked her tongue loudly. "Mayor McCoy tells me that you have some kind of… exposé you're working on, Jughead."
Jughead's eyes met Amy's, and from the quirk of his eyebrow she could tell that they both knew exactly what was coming, and that neither of them were going to agree.
"So in exchange for my generous offer," he continued, "I'd appreciate it if you just kept my name out of it. Sound fair?"
Jughead scoffed, sounding eerily similar to Amy herself. "That sounds a lot like a bribe," he said.
"Sounds like you've got something to hide," Amy added.
"No deal," Jughead continued.
"See you in the funny pages," FP said, tossing an arm around his son's shoulders and gesturing to the door.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Amy sank into the couch.
"What a condescending asshole," she sighed.
"He's always been like that," FP told her. "But you both handled that really well. You make a good team."
"Fuck yeah we do," she agreed, holding out a fist to bump against Jughead's. "Little Princeling here is growing into a full blown prince."
"Thanks," he said dryly.
"Anytime," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm going to have a nap."
She let FP ruffle her hair before heading into the bedroom, curling up in the comfortable bed, surrounded by warm blankets and Jughead's familiar scent.
When Amy woke up, it was to the sound of a phone ringing. She blinked quickly, trying to wake herself up, and padded out into the living room.
"We have to go, dad," she heard Jughead saying. "They need our help and I don't know what to do."
"Don't know what to do about what?" Amy asked, and both of the men jolted in surprise.
"Um…"
"The Coopers need help with a body," FP told her.
"I mean, you should definitely just call the cops on Alice," Amy shrugged, turning to Jughead. "But I guess you're so far up Betty's ass that that's not an option so, let's go."
Jughead opened his mouth, but FP cut him off.
"Let's go," he agreed, and the three all put on their jackets before piling into the truck.
They made it to the Cooper house pretty quickly, and Amy narrowed her eyes when Alice opened the door.
"What are you doing here?" Alice asked.
"I'm here to deal with a body that you're both too idiotic to take care of yourselves."
"How did you even know?" Betty demanded.
"I practically live at the trailer, Northside. Jughead told FP, didn't realize that I was in the bathroom." It was easy to lie, and she saw the tension leave Jughead's shoulders when she did. "But we're not here to talk about my bladder. Come on, FP."
She helped FP with the body, watching out of the corner of her eye as Jughead and the Coopers got to work cleaning. It was somehow comforting to get back into the truck, dead body and all, and leave the house in the rear-view mirror as FP drove the two of them out into the forest.
From that point, it was a mindless task to actually deal with the corpse—she hadn't been lying those few months ago when she told Archie that she could deal with a dead body—and they were soon getting back into the car.
"Jughead texted me," FP told her—his voice was hesitant, like he was talking to a wild animal, and Amy knew that she wouldn't like whatever she was about to hear. "We're going to Pop's with Alice and Betty. Do you want to come?"
"Thanks, but I don't feel like having to deal with another body tonight and I don't think I can go more than ten minutes around either of them without snapping," Amy shrugged, trying to keep the hurt from her voice. "I think I'm just going to get Sweets to pick me up."
FP nodded, and Amy did just that. By the time they got back into town and were pulling into the driveway, Amy could see Sweet Pea waiting at the end of the road. She waved goodbye to FP and Jughead before joining him, settling onto the back of his bike and watching with a heavy heart as the Coopers and the Joneses drove off together.
Holy shit I am so sorry about how long it's been! I can give you a bunch of excuses about how I've been working on other projects, dealing with transferring schools, and getting back to work, and while that's all true, the main reason I've been gone for so long is that I've been finding the OC community very toxic in the past few months. I've been getting a whole lot of anon hate on tumblr and dealing with a lot of bullshit in various servers and basically I just lost any motivation to write for any of my Riverdale OCs—also Riverdale is just a shit show and I've officially stopped watching, and ever since Luke Perry died it's been very hard for me to write Amy and Fred scenes. And while I can't promise that I won't disappear again, I'm definitely back in an Amy mood so hopefully I'll be at least a bit more consistent from now on!
As always, you're more than welcome to come and talk to me on tumblr randomestfandoms-ocs and/or check out my Amy tag (Amethyst Adams or /tagged/amethyst-adams) because while I haven't been writing much, I have been making a lot of other content for her lately!