"Was that Mrs. Cooper" Jughead asked even though he had clearly seen her as she walked past- without even bothering to acknowledge he was there.

"You know it was. She wanted to ask if I was willing to do an interview about the shooting" Izzy stated dismissively waving her hands at the current topic at hand.

"Are you sure it's such a good idea?" Jug asked. "She isn't exactly known to be impartial when it comes to… anyone" he warned, although Alice did seem to right about Izzy in a positive light most of the time he still wouldn't trust her.

"I'm thinking about it, I'll wait until I read the interview she does with Archie before deciding. Now what did he want?" Izzy asked sneering at the fact that Tallboy had actually come to the diner.

"Nothing" Jug replied only to be stared at by Izzy until he finally gave in, "Nothing much" he clarified. "He wanted me to, he set up an appointment with someone who can help my dad with his court case."

"Uh huh" Izzy replied looking skeptical as the motorbike drove off the parking lot back across town to the Southside, she could hear Joe already going back into the kitchen no doubt uninterested in anything to do with the Serpents.

"Izzy it's nothing, I promise. I'm just going to meet someone who can get my dad out of jail"

"I'm not saying anything" Izzy denied side stepping to grab some lukewarm fries and avoid Jughead's gaze. "… What, I didn't say anything."

"But you're thinking something" Jughead stated, he knew that look, it was that same look she had when he was eleven and Pop had wanted to take the two of them to a theme park to celebrate his birthday, it was a looked that said 'I have something to tell you but I don't know how you're going to take it'.

"Well…. it's just odd that he would come all this way to tell you about this mysterious person that can save you dad when he could have told you anytime, at the trailer, at the 'wyrm', he could have even gone to your school and told you this, or he could have told you weeks ago when FP was arrested"

"Iz"

"What, you asked." she replied shrugging still unbothered by the looks Jughead was giving her, of course he thinks she was being over protective "You said that you were cool with the serpents now, I just find it kinda hinky that he only told you this now after your dad has been in prison for how many weeks now and only when you were by yourself"

"Hinky? Now there's a word you don't hear very often" Jughead joked dismissing Izzy's concerns. Tallboy knew a lot of shady people maybe he hadn't told Jughead about the Snake Charmer before now because the benefit won't have outweighed the cost but now that it was looking more likely that his dad might actually go to prison for twenty years or more Tall Boy was willing to take the risk and introduce them even if he did warn Jughead about going.

"Jughead I am serious" she replied back. "With a serial killer on the loose I am suspecting anyone who goes out of their way and roam about town by themselves, we put Shady guy on the list because he comes and eats here by himself so Tall Boy can be on that same list cause decided to track you down and drove right across town for a five minutes conversation when he could have just waited for you at the trailer. I am serious that is just straight up hinky"

"I trust Tall Boy, my dad trust him and maybe him telling me about the Snake charmer now might be 'hinky' but it's a solution. My dad is facing twenty years in prison Iz." Jughead stated. "I'll be thirty-six by the time he gets out and that's if he takes the deal instead of going to trail… I"

"You want FP home." Izzy sighed getting to the heart of the issue, if it was her she would probably do the same thing, so what if she never liked Tallboy Jug was right he was offering a potential solution to FP being in jail and if she was in his shoes and Pop was the one facing twenty years in jail Izzy would do everything she could to get him out of there. "Just be careful Jug, with a name like Snake Charmer I don't want you selling the shirt off your back to bail Fp out of this"

"Don't worry I'll be careful plus I am going to have to sell the shirt for money anyways, I am down to my last ten dollars so if it helps get my dad out of jail then I'm all for it"

Izzy was stuck with her mouth hanging open for several seconds as she stared back at Jughead as her brain tried to understand what she had just heard. "What?!"

"Izzy" Jughead tried to calm her down before she got all worked up or worried about him.

"How? Jug why the hell don't you-" Izzy stopped herself from continuing and thought about it, the drive-in had closed down about two months ago so Jug obviously didn't have a job and he wasn't living with his foster family -like he was meant to- and he had to still buy the essentials himself any money he had made will have been running out by now.

"Don't make a big deal out of it" Jughead pleaded feeling embarrassed talking about his money problems even with someone like Izzy who didn't pity or judge him. He had managed to stretch out the last of his pay check from the drive in quite far, mostly because he came and ate at Pop's for free thanks to both Izzy and Pop -and not having to pay any rent on the trailer also helped- but after months of unemployment the money had to run out sooner or later. "It's fine, I can ask around town and see if anyone is hiring plus I can always do some odd jobs for the serpents" Jughead reasoned although he wasn't a massive fun of the shady side of the Serpents he understood that it pay the bills for a lot of the serpents who couldn't get legitimate jobs.

Izzy wasn't stupid, she was in the run to be valedictorian -when they graduated- she knew there were things Jughead kept from her either cause he was embarrassed or he didn't want her swooping in unwanted help but she couldn't help it, it wasn't in her nature to let her friends suffer not when there was something she could do about it, now her 'enemies' on the other hand, Izzy had no qualm about watching those who crossed her suffer; she had a mean streak a mile long and she would gladly walk every inch of that mile just for revenge.

"Jug… it is a big deal, how the hell are you living with only ten dollars. You are sixteen and having to do shady jobs just for money isn't okay, you might as well work here if you are looking for a job" Izzy stated and quickly continued as she knew Jughead would probably turn down her offer out of embarrassment. "And before you say no or think I am just doing this for your benefit, we actually need people. Pop was going to place an ad in the papers because a couple of guys quit after Fred got shot, not enough for us to worry but enough that Pop and Daisy have been doing double shifts to try and make up the missing personnel while they try to find someone to hire so if you work here you give them a break"

"I…"

"Just say yes, you need the money and Pop actually needs the help so it's a win-win, it's either this or I convince Pop to let you move in with us." Izzy threatened she had no idea what the foster system was like or what Pop would have to do to take official be Jughead's guardian but if push came to shove she was sure they could just have Jug living with them with no one being the wiser, it's not as if Jughead's social worker was competent when she isn't know that Jughead was living by himself.

"The job is fine, I'll pay you back." Jug reassured her, not at all surprised by her offer to move Jug into her house, he was sure she would do it too.

"I think you're forgetting the part where I said you will actually be working for the money but you are welcome. I can get the paperwork done for you before we leave tonight and if you do a full eight hour shift tomorrow and you can spare three hours each night during the week, with payday being this Friday that will be twenty-three hours working and with Pop paying just a bit over minimum wage, minus taxes, I would say maybe a hundred and seventy-five dollars this Friday" Izzy said doing a rough calculation in her head, she may be wrong about how much Jughead will be taxed but it seems about right.

Jughead stood in awe at Izzy's mathematical skills even after all the years he had known her she always found a new way to leave him staring at her in amazement. "Isn't this moving a bit too fast, I mean Pop does have a say in this right?" Jughead asked reminding Izzy of her tendencies to put the cart before the horse, when Izzy had a 'gut feeling' she just tended to run with it regardless of other people's opinion.

"This is Pop he won't say no, you need a job, he needs to hire someone." Izzy pointed out.

"Thank you" Jug whispered confusing Izzy, there were the only two people in the diner right now and there were stood less than three feet apart but more confusing was the way Jug was looking at her that it caused her brows to furrow trying to work it out, it wasn't gratitude or happiness- she's seen those expression enough times-… maybe fondness? Izzy wasn't sure what that look was about but the moment felt charged, clearing her throat Izzy moved back and stopped the staring contest she had going on. "I'll go get the forms now."

x.x.x.x

It was barely seven in the morning on a Sunday when Pop walked downstairs to see his granddaughter and Jughead on the sofa still in the depth of their movie marathon, his front room was a mess, there were various drink cans and at least half a dozen empty bags of snacks scattered everywhere while the two teens huddled on one side of the couch under a shared blanket eyes glued to the tv screen, from the looks of things it seemed like they hadn't slept after getting back home.

"Jughead Jones you best get off to bed now if you want to make a good impression on your first day of work" Pop warned, since Izzy had informed Pop that she had 'hired' Jughead to work at the diner.

Noah didn't really have an issue with Jug working there especial as he knew that Jug has a good work ethic but he would have liked some advance warning when it came to staffing issues especially since Izzy had also informed him that she had let Daisy and Jessica go home early.

Maybe Noah needed to remind his granddaughter that he was in fact the sole owner and property of the diner (and had been for over thirty years) and while one day the diner would be hers she didn't have the authority to just hire people or change his staff rota around willy-nilly, it had been a couple of years since his heart attack when she had bullied his staff into working more hours so Pop could spend more time resting at home but Pop didn't want a repeat of the days where his staff responded more to her than to him.

"Of course Pop" Jug said tearing his eyes away from the screen "This is the last movie, I will be going up after this"

"And what about you Izzy? I am sure Pastor Charles would love to have you in church today" Pop stated in the vague hope of getting Izzy to come to church, he knew she wasn't planning to but he did always extend the offer to her every Sunday.

"Maybe next week" came the expected phrase from his grand-daughter. "Say hi to GG for me and tell her I will see her this Friday." Izzy was only half paying attention to what Pop was saying but she heard the word 'church' so it was easy to guess he was inviting her alone once again, it was Sunday so that meant Pop would ask her to come, she would say maybe next week and go pick up GG from the retirement home to take her to church and they would both come home around three to eat the Sunday dinner that Izzy had prepared for them.

Izzy loved her Great-Gran the woman was amazing there was no two ways about it, she born in the 1930's when Jim Crow and segregation laws were a part of everyday life and had raised a family in the south before moving up North and finally settling in Riverdale but Carol Tate was one of those judgemental church ladies that turned Izzy off going to church on Sundays.

GG loved to gossip about everything and everyone and more than anything she loved to brag, brag about Pop, the diner, Izzy, the house, the fact that she had one of the better rooms in the retirement home or even that Pop brought her home ever Sunday and Izzy choose to volunteer at the retirement home.

Each and every Sunday GG would start of the evening by telling stories about the past and she would eventually make some comment about how Pop was raising her great-granddaughter to be Godless or whatever, Pop would then argue with GG about how you couldn't force someone to go to church and seeing as Izzy still believed in God and read her bible (occasionally) he wasn't going to force her to come to church if she didn't want to then GG would say how she never raised Pop like that and the whole thing would spiral down into how Izzy should be more God-fearing or how Pop should be more strict with her and once Izzy tries to leave GG would apologise just to start the same old argument the following Sunday.

Izzy always did wander if GG would have preferred her to be 'fully black' she never ever said it out loud and Pop would probably disown her but Izzy always felt that part of the weekly argument and criticism about Izzy being 'Godless' came from the fact that she was mixed race; either because Izzy was born out of wedlock and therefore wasn't born under the 'sanity of marriage' or as she suspected GG's main problem was more to do with Izzy's dad or as she called him that 'he-devil', anytime the topic of Izzy's parentage had come up over the years GG would always refer to Izzy's dad as a 'he-devil' mutter some bible reference about how the man belongs in hell next to his father and move on.

x.x

After the movie ended and had gotten the front room looking half way decent Jug and Izzy could finally head up to get some much needed rest

Izzy pulled on Jug's other arm stopping him before he entered the guest room he normally stayed in, she couldn't help it, she had to say something, she thought of another way for Jughead to not worry about money or rent or buying food, she just wasn't sure how he would take it, Izzy needed to say something soon because at this point she was just holding onto his arm in the middle of the hall way while biting her lips.

"What, what is it?" Jughead asked, she had that look again 'the bearer of unwanted news' look.

"I… forget it, just remember to set an alarm for Pop's you have the afternoon shift." Izzy said having changed her mind, it was a stupid idea to even think.

"Izzy" Jughead wasn't sure what was going on in her head but she looked nervous and unsure like really unsure about something, maybe she didn't want to be alone right now.

It was just last week that she was breaking down in her car about her nightmares and no matter how much better she seemed she might want someone sleeping next to her. "Do you want to sleep next to me" Jughead offered, they hadn't shared the same bed since they were twelve but Jug was feeling nostalgic and slightly worried, it was just like old times sake binge watching a movie till the got too tired to keep their eyes open for another second and just falling asleep wherever they were, Izzy had once fallen asleep at the kitchen table in the trailer only to be started awake once FP came home from his shift.

"Err… yeah" Izzy found herself responding "I'll go shower in my room first."

x.x

Just as they drifted off to sleep Izzy hoped she could let go of the crazy idea of contacting Gladys and asking her to come back to town.

FP had been in jail for over a month now and if she wanted to she would have come back to Riverdale as soon as she heard and not risk her son going into foster care and even if Gladys thought Fred or Pop would step up and take care of Jughead while FP is in jail she should at least have come back for a day to make sure her son was okay living in the town where he would be judged just because of FP's action.

Writer's note:

Okay so there's a lot to unpack here. But Firstly i have finally resolved the massive plot hole in Riverdale that had Jughead living by himself with only ten bucks for weeks/months on end and no new source of income so welcome the newest member of our Diner family.

Secondly seems like great gran (GG) seems to know all about Hiram Lodge and have an intense hate for the dude but why is that, is it because of his skin colour or maybe GG hates the way the he-devil treated her grand-daughter but isn't expressing it well enough that she give Izzy mixed signals.

Finally, it seems Jughead was giving our girl some type of looks confusing her could her act of kindness start bringing up feeling to the surface.