AN: Any recognisable dialogue belongs exclusively to the Netflix Original T.V Show; Riverdale
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice
Forsythia Jones; Jellybean to her family, JB to her friends. To him, she's always been something else. Riverdale AU (Aged-up Jellybean)
Chapter II – Buttercup
JB wakes on the roof, Pink Floyd still playing softly.
Dew has settled overnight, the thin layer of frost making the corrugated iron slick and her clothes damp. She stands carefully, her clothes clinging to her body uncomfortably and stows the record player in her backpack, shimming off the roof with the same ease she climbed up with. JB drops onto the small veranda with a loud thud, and pushes the unlocked door open; FP lays, sprawled drunk on the couch, an empty bottle of jack on his stomach and crumpled beer cans on the floor beside his feet.
Anger blooms in her chest and she slams the front door so hard the walls shake and her father stirs from his alcohol induced stupor. Her backpack is left on the worn dining table as she stalks toward the small-windows and wrenches the half-shut blinds fully open, letting the early morning sun in.
FP groans, and Jellybean glares. "Up and at 'em Dad, you're burning daylight."
He groans out something she thinks sounds like her name, but she ignores him, turning on the lights and brightening the trailer further. Jellybean knows she's being incredibly petty, but she's at the end of her rope; she has no idea where to begin in repairing their damaged relationship. She shuts the cupboard door roughly, wincing as the few plates on the shelf rattle precariously.
"Enough!" FP growls, sitting up and directing a glare at her back.
JB slams two mugs down on the counter, her hands shaking as she spoons instant coffee into the cups and follows it with boiling water. She stirs them quickly and thrusts one carelessly toward her father, scalding coffee sloshing over the edge of the mug and onto the dirty carpet. "Drink." She orders, and retrieves her backpack, carefully stowing the record player back in its hiding spot.
FP complies and hisses when the liquid burns his tongue.
"Careful." Jellybean murmurs uselessly, "It's hot."
He gives her a half-hearted glare. "I guess I deserved that."
Jellybean grips her own mug tightly but makes no move to bring it to her lips. "I guess you did." She agrees softly, unable to meet his eyes. She sits, fiddling with a loose thread on the armchair, the silence between them hangs awkwardly until she breaks it finally. "You've been a terrible father."
She hears a dull clink as he sits his mug on the coffee table and listens as the couch creaks and clothes rustle. Jellybean feels so young then, so incredibly like a child, and not the adult she's been forced to become in the last year.
"I know." He whispers.
"Do you?" Jellybean asks still unable to look anywhere but her shaking hands. "Juggy left because of you. He'd rather live in a freezing two by four projector-booth at the Drive In than here at home with his family, because of you. You may still be here Dad… but you… you, stopped being our Father the day Gladys walked out that door."
"Jellybean…" His voice is like gravel, rough and sharp all at once, and when she finally gains the courage to look up at him, she finds him near tears.
"I love you Dad, so, so much. But I need you to understand, sitting here and watching you drink yourself into an early grave… it's breaking my heart."
She sees his expression turn to stone and anger flare in his eyes. "Then leave Jellybean! I never asked you to stay!"
"I have nowhere else to go!" Jellybean yells, on her feet and matching his anger stoke for stoke. "Do you think I want to be here? In this shitty trailer that smells like alcohol and vomit and gasoline? I'm fifteen! I don't want to be your parent, I want you to be mine."
Still in the damp clothes from the night before, Jellybean leaves. The skies have opened and rain falls heavily, sinking into her skin and chilling her to the bone within minutes. JB tugs her bike keys from her back pocket, her hands shaking as she bends down to twist them in the ignition. The bike rumbles, and she pulls her long hair into a braid, tucking it beneath her denim jacket and zipping it fully. She feels eyes upon her as she pulls her helmet over her head; he's watching again, the serpent with a name relating to flowers and she doesn't want to imagine just how much he heard. There's no privacy here, in the realm ruled by her Father and she wonders, what do they think when they overhear the Serpent King argue with his daughter?
JB accelerates out of Sunnyside, her tires squealing on the wet bitumen and rain pelting on her shoulders, the rumble of the bike almost overshadowed by the roar of the wind; but still, her mind refuses to stop. "Then leave Jellybean!" Over and over and over again, FP's words repeat in her mind, each repetition cutting deeper into her heart; she has no desire to follow Juggy, running, instead of fighting, leaving, instead of staying... she hadn't wanted to recognise the merits in Juggy's decision, hadn't wanted to believe that perhaps... Jughead was right. She had expected their Dad to guard their hearts, Jughead had expected their Father to break them. Leaving him, leaving them, she realises now, is Juggy's way of protecting his own heart from being as battered and bruised as she imagines her own is now.
The sound of the wind almost fades as the rumble in her ears turns to thunder, growing louder and louder, until she's overtaken, a helmeted figure on a gleaming black motorbike speeding ahead and swerving into her lane with skill she's not certain she can match. Leather and denim, the green serpent proudly displayed on his back; it's not her father, she knows that immediately, not Jughead, who would rather die than wear the serpent brand on his back. There's really only two others it could be and JB can't imagine why either would go out of their way for her.
The rider slows, falling in beside her with the ease of someone used to riding in a group before dropping back, and circling around to her other side. JB risks a glance toward him, her control over the motorbike unwavering as she turns her attention back to the road and speeds forward, unsurprised when she hears the unmistakable revving of an engine, as the rider behind her matches her pace. He pulls ahead once more and for a moment, JB thinks he's going to cut her off as he swerves dangerously close to the front of her bike. He misses her front tyre by what seems like inches, the wet road nothing to him as he manoeuvres the bike with ease; with sudden clarity, JB realises he's showing off.
She almost laughs as she revs her engine and pulls forward, cutting in front and dropping into the slip lane that would take her in the direction of the Quarry. She slows, taking the corner carefully and speeding up again on the straight, downshifting easily as the bitumen gives way to dirt, finally slowing her bike to a crawl. JB has always found the Quarry to be quite beautiful; man-made once upon a time but over the years, nature has taken the land back, trees growing again where they were cut down, the tall rock cliffs being overtaken by greenery, the water reflecting the mixture of colours prettily.
JB cuts off the engine, levering down the kickstand and stepping off, listening carefully as she removes her helmet; his bike is loud, cutting through the serenity like thunder, fitting she thinks, if the rider is who she believes.
He stops aside her, voice muffled by his helmet. "You almost lost me back there."
"What makes you think that wasn't the point?" She responds snappily, balancing her helmet carefully on the seat, and heading for the water.
At some point in their childhood, Mr Andrews and her Father had spent a weekend creating a small Jetty at the edge of the water. It was only perhaps three meters long and a meter and a half wide, but with the way the Quarry dropped intermittedly, it was the perfect depth to jump off in the summer. She has so many good memories of this place, barbeques with the Andrews and her family, swimming with Betty and Archie and Jughead.
JB kicks off her shoes, stepping onto the Jetty barefoot, and sits at the edge, feet dangling in the cool water. The rain has slowed, spitting softly now instead of pouring, the humidity in the air making the day seem far warmer than it should. A shadow falls across her, disappearing quickly when she feels him sit beside her, dark-wash jeans rolled half way up his calves, his long legs dipping far deeper into the water than her own. He lounges back on his elbows, utterly at ease, and god how she envies him; he seems not to have a care in the world.
"Why did you follow me?" She asks finally, tired of sitting in silence.
"Curiosity."
JB scoffs. "What, didn't think your Serpent King took enough shots at me? Thought you'd come and take a few of your own?"
He sits up. "No." He states firmly. "That was…" He leans back again. "Not… what I expected."
"In unity there is strength." She quotes, unable to quite hide the burning bitterness in her voice. "How much did you hear?"
"More than enough… Jellybean."
Jellybean turns so quickly she almost falls off the dock. "You cheated!"
He smirks. "Well, I wouldn't say I cheated." He sits up, mischief sparking in his pitch eyes. "Tell you what, if you can still guess my name, you win… but, only if you guess it now."
JB leans back. He's so… smug, so certain he'll win their little contest, and she's unhappy to admit he most likely will. "Well, it surely can't be Daisy." She grins as he scowls.
"Definitely not." He agrees. "That's one Jellybaby."
JB raises an eyebrow. "Jellybaby? Really?"
His grin is wide, and she just wants to wipe it off his smug face.
"Rose?" JB asks and he almost looks insulted. She pulls her knee up to her chest, one foot still dangling in the water as she studies him. He looks so… intimidating, the very essence of the brand on his neck, she can't imagine what flower would have gotten him his nickname. "Buttercup?"
He leans forward, invading her personal space and for a moment, JB wonders if perhaps she won. But his grin stretches, wide and carefree and she knows, her final guess was wrong. "Nope. You know, I'd almost be insulted that you didn't guess correctly, but here I am, the winner."
She pushes him away, unable to be truly mad. "Alright, tell me then Buttercup, what is your name?"
He grins, getting to his feet and shrugging off his jacket. "You know what, I don't think I will." His flannel over-shirt follows, and JB feels her cheeks flush as he tugs at the bottom of his white t-shirt, lifting it over his head, his well-muscled chest on full display. "I want my prize first, winner's prerogative remember?"
Weakly, JB protests. "You cheated Buttercup."
He grins, dropping his shirt and unbuttoning his jeans. JB looks to the overcast sky, cheeks flaming. "I did nothing of the sort." He smirks as he steps out of his jeans and offers her a hand. JB allows herself to be pulled to her feet. "I just so happened to hear a name mentioned that I thought, perhaps, might be yours," he leans forward, his breath hot on her ear, "you just didn't ask the right people."
JB shivers as he steps back; he looks so satisfied, so incredibly gratified that he's the cause of the blush staining her cheeks crimson; smug bastard, she thinks as he dives headfirst into the water, surfacing only moments later.
She tilts her head, watching him in the water as he rakes a hand through his hair, a few strands falling in his face.
"C'mon Candy, in you get."
JB raises an eyebrow. "Say please." She orders.
He smirks. "Please."
She turns around, back to him as she removes her clothes, her jacket and t-shirt joining his on the dock. She hesitates at the zip of her jeans; JB's half expecting him to heckle her as she strips and risks a glance over her shoulder. His face is pink, and she allows a smirk to cross her face as she shimmies out of her jeans and plunges into the water.
It's colder than she's used to, but warmer than she was expecting.
"Nice of you to join me." He grins as JB surfaces.
JB swims lazily toward him. "Are you going to tell me your name now Buttercup?"
He shakes his head. "Not yet. How did you get your nickname?"
Jellybean laughs and rolls in the water, floating on her back. "Depends who you ask. If you ask FP, he'll say it's because he got caught in a traffic jam on the way to the hospital because a truck had flipped and there were hundreds of boxes of Jellybeans scattered across the road. If you ask Juggy, it's because Jellybeans are his favourite sweets. If you ask Gladys, it's because that's how small I was when she found she was having twins." She looks to him, floating beside her contentedly and allows herself a small smile. "Most people just call me JB."
"JB." He murmurs, and JB thinks she likes the way it sounds on his tongue. He looks at her, mischief dancing in his eyes. "I think I prefer Candy." He grins, and splashes water toward her face.
She dodges, her outraged "Hey!" echoing off the rocks as she swims out of his reach and returns fire. JB loses sight of him during her onslaught and she stops, the water stilling ominously. "Buttercup?" She calls warily, the quarry suddenly too silent as she treads water.
JB screams as something grasps her ankle, all the horror stories Juggy spun when they were children spring to mind, and she thrashes, her ankle immediately released. His head breaks the surface of the water a few seconds later and his laughter echoes off the rocks; a taunting reminder that she'd lost her cool. She scowls, half-heartedly splashing him as he swims closer. "Asshole." She growls.
His grin is unapologetic even as he reaches for her beneath the water, his arms snaking around her back and tugging her closer. JB lets out a surprised huff as they collide, her hands splaying across his chest. It's like he's been carved from a piece of the quarry, all hard edges and subtle beauty; she feels her cheeks pink. His heart beats steadily below her palm and JB wishes her own would calm, for she's certain it's beating faster than any speed she could ever reach on her motorbike.
"I like that blush." He murmurs, tracing her cheek with his fingertip. His hand cups the back of her neck, and JB can't breathe. He's like a magnet, drawing her in, and she doesn't think she'll ever want to fight the pull.
The ringing of a mobile phone cuts through the serenity, Marina and the Diamond's Primadonna Girl, obnoxiously loud in the echoing quarry.
"Ignore it." He demands even as she detangles herself from his grip.
"I can't." JB pulls herself up onto the Jetty with ease, fishing her mobile from her jacket pocket and answering it, the person on the other end of the line already speaking.
"Fellow Twin! Party at Thorn Hill tomorrow night, after the formal obviously, you'll be there of course."
JB watches him as he shakes the water out of his hair and buttons his jeans. They hang low on his hips, and JB allows herself to study him; she was right in her earlier assessment, he truly does seem to have been carved perfectly from stone, a love-letter to the Greek Gods of myth. "That depends Satan, can I stay the night?"
The chiming laugh on the other end of the line is answer enough. "Mumsy would have a coronary…" JB hears her pause, and knows the girl has a grin wider than that of the Cheshire cat. "A sleepover sounds perfect. Much love, party starts at eleven."
"See you then." JB murmurs, and the line clicks, their conversation over.
Her own jeans stick uncomfortably to her skin as she tugs them on, her feet get snagged in the rips and idly she wonders if she'll be completely dry at any time today. He's gone from the dock when she ties one of Juggy's old flannels around her waist and slips back into her denim jacket. He's lounging across his bike easily, the machine rumbling loudly beneath him, an unreadable expression on his face.
JB situates herself on her own bike, inserting the keys into the ignition and starting it easily.
"Sweet Pea." He says loudly, and JB looks to him questioningly. "My name. It's Sweet Pea."
"By morning, everyone would be talking, texting and posting about it. We'd all be feeling it. But the world around us had changed. Maybe forever. That Riverdale wasn't the same town as before. That it was a town of shadows and secrets now. On Monday, the Autopsy on Jason's body would take place. And on Tuesday, half way through fifth-period… the first arrest would be made."
AN: This chapter went in a far different direction than I expected.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed. I adore all the feedback and I hope you all enjoy this update.