Amy was starting to get pretty annoyed at the whole "Treat Amy Like An Invalid" thing. Not only was her fake father unable to look at her for an extended period of time without looking like she kicked him in the face, but Archie wouldn't leave her alone.
"Ames! You remember anything?"
"Amy, we're going to Pop's after school, you wanna join?"
"Ames, I know you don't care, but I could really use some help with my lyrics."
Like now, for instance.
Amy sighed. "I don't not care."
Archie did the puppy face.
Amy sighed again, throwing her book to the side. It was a reread, anyway. "Fine, Archibald, but this better be worth tearing me away from my dear sweet Nico DiMarco."
Archie grinned. "Yes! It will be, promise. You can get back to your book boyfriend later."
"Excuse you, that's my book son."
"Whatever!"
Amy rolled her eyes and followed as he practically skipped out the room.
They sat on his bed and he played her the song.
Amy smiled knowingly. "Let me guess, this is about your older woman? How old is she anyway? 16?"
Archie blushed. "A little older than that."
Amy widened her eyes in mock disbelief. "Ooh, a cougar? Archibald, you sly boy. 17? 18?"
"Little older."
Amy's smile faltered. "19? 20?"
Archie looked down and shook his head.
Amy's smile dropped completely, replaced with concern. "Archie, that's... that's illegal."
He looked up quickly at that and glared. "Like you haven't done anything you're not supposed to. Remember the Serpent girl? No, of course you don't, you're brain's broken—"
"Archie!"
His eyes widened and he ducked his head. "I'm so sorry, Ames, your brain's not broken. I'm just stressed."
Amy reached a hand out and squeezed his shoulder. "I can see why. Who—"
"Can you drop it, please?"
Amy pulled back and nodded. "Fine. But I'm going to find out eventually."
He looked away and grunted.
Amy rolled her eyes and pushed the worry slightly to the side. "So, about this Serpent girl..."
Archie cracked a small smile. "Of course that's what you focus on. What do you wanna know? You didn't actually tell me much."
"Was she hot?"
Archie laughed. "From what you've told me, extremely. Pink hair, leather jacket, 'the goddamn prettiest face I've ever seen, Archie!'—"
Amy threw a pillow at him. "I do not sound like that!"
"'I do not sound like that!'"
"Archibald!"
"'Archibald—' AH!"
The ensuing pillow fight left them both breathless and laughing. Amy nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Pink hair, huh?"
"Yep."
"Nice." Amy grabbed his hand and squeezed. "You'll tell me if anything goes weird with your old lady, right?"
"She's not an old lady—"
"Archie."
He sighed and squeezed her hand back. "Yeah, Ames, I'll tell you."
"Good."
They laid there in silence for a moment.
Archie side eyed her. "So are we actually gonna work on my song, or?"
Amy snorted and sat up. "Well, firstly, I think you should learn more than four chords on the guitar..."
-/:():/-
Objectively, sitting in on Betty and Veronica's River Vixen practice didn't sound like such a bad idea.
Subjectively, it still wasn't a bad idea. Amy had just forgotten about Cheryl Bombshell.
"You sitting in on practice, Lucy Whitmore? Or did you get lost?"
Amy smiled at Cheryl. "I'm sitting in. I hope you don't mind."
Cheryl flicked her hand dismissively. "As long as you remember to not be a distraction. My River Vixens need their concentration in tact."
"That sounds reasonable. You look nice today."
Her chin raised minutely. "I look nice every day, Pippi. If I didn't, the school would most likely self-destruct."
And she flounced off.
Amy raised an eyebrow at Cheryl's back before shrugging and returning to her book.
"The Pippi thing was kind of hypocritical."
Amy almost flailed off the bleachers. "Ah!"
Jughead grabbed her quickly so she wouldn't fall. "Woah! Easy, there."
Amy jerked away and straightened. "Jughead Middle Name Jones, this is the second time you've almost killed me!"
Jughead rolled his eyes and sat down, opening his laptop. "You ran into me the first time."
"You almost knocked me off the bleachers!"
He was already typing. "We're on the second row. And I saved you from falling. By the rules of approximately every you adult novel aimed to the female population, you should be a blushing, stuttering mess at my feet."
Amy stared at him in disbelief.
Jughead glanced up from his screen and smirked. "I'm waiting."
Amy hit his arm lightly with her book. "Jughead, I'm basically your older sister, right?"
"More of a close-ish cousin, actually, but go on."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Older female relative. This means I always win."
"Does it?"
"Yes."
"Does it really?"
"Ye—"
Cheryl yelled over at them. "Will Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz please refrain from their freak flirting or move it out of practice? You're nauseating the captain. AKA, me."
Amy tilted her head at Cheryl. "You know I only have eyes for you, Cher-Bear."
Cheryl purses her lips and was about to reply when Veronica sauntered in. "Sorry I'm late, I—"
Cheryl spun in her direction. "Lack dedication to the team? Yes, I see that. We already reviewed the new choreography, so you'll be in the back where your presence will do the least amount of damage."
Veronica smiled sardonically, and Amy stopped paying attention at that point, though she came back to awareness when generic trap music started playing.
She looked up from her book and stared. "Jug?"
"Hm?"
"Are Cheryl and Veronica having a dance off?"
He glanced up and snorted. "That appears to be the case, yes."
Amy blinked rapidly and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Okay. Why?"
Jughead turned back to his laptop. "The female mind is an enigma to me, Amelia Andrews."
Amy didn't look away from the dancing girls. "Literally none of this looks like a cheer routine— Wow, okay, Veronica has some strong legs."
"That's nice, Lia."
"Those shorts are very short."
"They are, indeed."
"Oh look, Cheryl is on the floor."
"Hm."
"She's so pretty."
"What?"
"They're dancing together now, okay, nice."
"Did you say Cheryl was—"
"Holy god, Veronica's end pose. I am no longer bisexual, I am full gay. Full homo. I was not prepared and I will never be prepared."
Jughead stared at her.
Amy blinked and looked back at him. "Wait, were you saying something?"
He patted her leg and turned back to his laptop. "No, Lia. Go congratulate Veronica."
Amy grinned and ran over to the girls as Betty asked for a vote.
Amy voted for both of them, two other girls raising their hands for Cheryl when they saw her do it.
Cheryl glared.
Veronica won and looked at Cheryl. "Never cross a Lodge."
Amy raised her hand again.
Cheryl rolled her eyes. "What?"
"What was the vote for?"
Veronica smiled. "Who gets to be center for the pep rally."
Amy tilted her head. "But you were late. Why should you get to be center?"
Veronica's smile dropped. "I—"
Cheryl cut in. "Whatever. Girls, hit the showers."
The rest of the Vixens left, Betty and Veronica sending confused looks in Amy's direction.
Amy rolled her eyes and turned to Cheryl, who was already looking at her.
Cheryl spoke. "You know those spineless bimbos only voted for me because you did."
"Don't slut shame."
Cheryl rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.
"If I'd known what the vote was for, I wouldn't have voted for Ronnie too."
Cheryl paused. "I still would have lost."
"Yeah."
Cheryl stared at her for a moment before nodding and stalking to the locker room.
Jughead materialized beside her. "And the plot thickens."
Amy hit him on the arm. "Jug! Stop doing that!"
"Never."
-:))/-/
Pop's that night was kind of awkward.
"I just don't understand why you would retract your vote for me."
"You won anyway!"
"That's not the point, Amy!"
"What is the point, Ronnie?"
"Loyalty! Just because you have a lady boner for Cheryl Blossom of all people—"
"You showed up late and disrespected your captain, do you seriously think you deserve to be center?"
"I—"
"If it had been Betty who challenged Cheryl, I would've voted for Betty. No question. Because she shows up to practice on time, she learns the routine with everyone else, and she doesn't think she's entitled to literally everything even when she doesn't work for it!"
Veronica stared at her, slackjawed, for a moment before snapping her mouth closed and standing up. "If you thought so little of me, you should've said so before."
Amy rubbed her eyes under her glasses. "Ronnie, I—"
"Save it. Your assertive streak has gone from Sharpay Evans to Regina George. No, Cady Heron. Come back to me when you come to your senses."
Veronica stalked off, Betty following almost immediately afterward.
Amy stared blankly in front of her.
Archie sighed and shared a look with a suspiciously silent Jughead. "Ames."
Amy grunted.
"I think you should apologize to Ronnie."
She rolled her eyes. "I will. Eventually."
"How soon is that?"
She checked her book. "Next chapter, maybe."
Jughead snorted. "And when are you going to read the next chapter?"
Amy smiled wanly. "Maybe a few days."
Archie groaned.
