Heart is beatin' loud and she doesn't want it to stop
Movin' too fast, moon is lightin' up her skin
She's fallin', doesn't even know it yet
Havin' no regrets is all that she really wants

"I can't believe you're making me go to this," Jughead groaned as they ran across the school parking lot, hand in hand.

"We have to go support our friends," Amethyst told him.

Jughead scoffed. "No one out there is my friend."

"Archie was. And no matter what we say," they stopped running once they reached the side of the bleachers. Amethyst poked his stomach, "Archie will always be our friend."

Jughead flared his nostrils as he scanned the field. "Well, look who he is with," he said.

Amethyst looked out onto the field and saw Archie and Ms Grundy talking to each other.

"That fucking siren," Amethyst mumbled.

"He is going to get caught if they're constantly seen talking to each other," Jughead said.

Amethyst sighed. "I know." They watched as Archie turned to look at them. "I wish I could lip read," she mumbled.

Archie began to run across the field towards them. "Speaking of the devil," she said out loud.

Jughead looked at him. "Girl trouble? You?" He asked.

"Grundy and me. We're telling Weatherbee," Archie said.

Amethyst held her finger up. "Are you both telling him, or is it just you?" She asked.

"Okay, I am," Archie said. "And, also, I didn't mean all that crap I said to the two of you. I'm sorry."

Jughead nodded. "It's cool." The two of them awkwardly looked at each other and Amethyst rose an eyebrow. "We're not gonna hug in front of this whole town. So, why don't we both just do that bro thing where we nod like douches and mutually suppress our emotions?"

"Yeah. But as friends, right?" Archie asked.

"To be discussed....over many burgers and many days," Jughead smiled. Archie chuckled and then ran off onto the field.

Amethyst shook her head. "Boys," she said under her breath.

"To kick off this pep rally, I'd like to hand it over to our very own Mayor McCoy," Weatherbee said.

"Thank you, Principal Weatherbee," Mayor said. "It is heartening to see so many of you here, even in weather like this. But a lack of heart and school spirit has never been the Riverdale way. Tonight's pep rally isn't like any other we've had in the past. And we shouldn't pretend that it is. Which is why I would like to dedicate this evening to the memory of one of our brightest. Jason Blossom. We're with him tonight. Now, please, join me in welcoming to the field our very own River Vixens and their special guest stars, my daughter, Josie, and her Pussycats!"

The Vixens lined up on the grass and the Pussycats began to sing. The girls did their routine, all with perfect smiles on their faces, even considering it was pouring down with rain. When it was the end of the performance, Cheryl walked onto the stage and hugged Josie.

"Alright, you all ready?" Coach said. "Let's make some noise. Put your hands together for the Riverdale Bulldogs!"

Everyone cheered as the football team ran through the banner with Archie at the front. Amethyst and Jughead held their thumbs up to Archie when he spotted the two, and he grinned. Cheryl then suddenly sprinted off of the stage and across the field towards the change rooms.

Amethyst watched her leave with a frown before patting Jughead's arm. "Give me a few minutes," she said.

Amethyst ran after Cheryl and fell into line with Veronica. They continued running until they made it into the locker room, where Cheryl was crying on the bench.

"Cheryl?" Amethyst asked quietly as she crept up to her.

Cheryl sniffled up her tears and wiped her nose. "Cheryl, what is it?" Veronica asked. "What happened?"

Veronica and Amethyst sat on the bench, one each side of Cheryl. "Jason," she said. "He's gone."

"I know he is," Veronica whispered as Amethyst rubbed Cheryl's back.

"No, you don't. You don't understand," Cheryl said. "He was supposed to come back."

"And we always think they will," Amethyst mumbled.

"I'm alone. I'm all alone...." Cheryl sobbed into her hands.

"You're not alone, Cheryl," Amethyst said. "You will never be alone."

Cheryl turned around and hugged the two girls, sobbing into their shoulders. Amethyst closed her eyes and rubbed her back.

•

After Cheryl cleaned herself up, she asked Veronica and Amethyst if she could be left alone for a little bit. They nodded and left the locker room.

Amethyst made her way back over to Jughead and smiled lightly as Jughead smirked.

"You and Cheryl, huh?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What are you, like, besties now?"

Amethyst shook her head. "No, it's not that," she said, then looked down at her hands. "It just reminded me of when my mother passed away."

Jughead stopped walking and turned so Amethyst was standing in front of him. "I had you to help me cope with her loss. Cheryl, she.....she doesn't have anyone. The one person who was meant to be there for her, the one person's shoulder she always cried on is dead. He's dead and now she thinks she has no one." Amethyst rubbed her nose because it began to get all tingly. "I had you, she had no one."

Jughead wrapped Amethyst into a hug and she rested her head on his chest. "It was amazing what you did back there for Cheryl," he said. "Not many people would've done that. Her supposedly 'best friends' didn't even run after her."

"I know," she whispered. "She just needed someone."

Jughead rubbed her back.

"On a much lighter note, Archie is waiting right behind us so we can all go to Pop's to grab a bite to eat," Jughead said.

Amethyst chuckled as they pulled apart. "You know how to make a girl feel better, don't you?"

Jughead shrugged. "It's one of my specialties."

Amethyst grinned as the two walked hand in hand over towards Archie.

•

"Now, about that deal you guys made with each other about talking it over whilst eating at Pop's...." Amethyst began as they walked towards the front doors.

"It technically wasn't a deal," Archie said.

"It counts in my books," Amethyst said. "Considering I didn't get a voice in the deal, can I make one with you now so that it's even steven?"

Archie shrugged. "Yeah. I have to befriend you, too."

Amethyst grinned at Archie. "Can you pay for all of my Pop's meals for a week?"

"A week?"

"I'll make it two, or I'll never be friends with you again," Amethyst smiled.

Archie narrowed his eyes. "Dude, just take it. You knew it was going to be something food related," Jughead said with his hand still in Amethyst's.

"Sure," Archie nodded. "You like the vegetarian burger with fries and a chocolate shake, right?"

"Make it a large meal, considering you ditched us for a teacher," Amethyst said.

"That's not fair!"

"It's totally fair," Jughead said.

Archie groaned. "Come on, you must've made heaps of money working during the holidays," Amethyst said.

"It was my fathers job. I pretty much volunteered to help out," Archie said.

"Not my fault," Amethyst said.

"Fine," Archie rolled his eyes.

"Yay!" They slapped hands. "I love blackmail!" A police man walked past them. "And by blackmail, I mean envelopes that are black and not white." She held her hands up in the pray symbol. "Jesus Christ is my superstar."

Jughead and Archie laughed as the cop smiled lightly.

They opened up the Diners doors and walked in, Amethyst immediately spotting Veronica and Betty in a booth. She would've gone and sat with them, but she remembered that Archie and Betty had a falling out and didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

Betty turned to the group and smiled. "Do you guys want to join us?" She asked.

Amethyst grinned as she walked over to the table. "Of course, we do," she smiled.

"Yes, but only if you're treating," Jughead said and the girls laughed.

Amethyst jumped over Veronica's seat and sat beside her.

"Veronica Lodge," Veronica introduced to Jughead.

Jughead jumped over the seats and sat beside Amethyst. "Jughead Jones the third," he said.

"Jughead Jones the third," Veronica repeated and the group laughed.

"You girls don't have to pay for my food because Archie's treating me for a whole week," Amethyst said.

"I thought I got out of it tonight," Archie grinned.

"Course not. You owe me a whole weeks supply of Pop's," Amethyst smiled and the group laughed. "Now photo time!"

The group groaned as Amethyst got out her Polaroid camera. She climbed back over the seat so she was standing in front of the table. "Guys, lean in." They moved so they were leaning into the table. "Smile!" Amethyst took the photo and then grinned when she jumped back over the seat.

All was well for the moment.

•

Jughead Jones and Amethyst Moore sat together at the back of the room in biology, neither of them paying attention to what the teacher was saying as they conversed with one another.

The class suddenly became quiet and that drew the twos attention away from each other and towards the doorway, where Sheriff Keller and Principal Weatherbee were standing. Sheriff Keller's eyes were locked on Amethyst and Jughead's when Cheryl stood up.

"You're here for me, aren't you?" She asked. "Because of the autopsy?"

"We don't need to do this in front of your classmates, Cheryl," Weatherbee said.

"It's alright, Principal Weatherbee. They'll find out soon enough," Cheryl held her wrists out to them.

"Now, that won't be necessary," Keller said.

"Wait, Cheryl. Find out what?" Veronica asked.

"That I'm guilty," Cheryl said. Amethyst's jaw dropped as Cheryl was lead out of the room, the class falling into an awkward silence.

•

- okay children. Sit down and listen (I mean read) to a dream I had last night.

I was at school and just walking around as if I had no one to hang out with and then I heard that new kids were starting. I was in class and the new kids rocked up. They were Betty, Veronica, Archie and Jughead and I, of course, found Jughead attractive but didn't say anything. They sat beside me and behind me and I was like 😁. And then they started talking to me and I was talking to them and lordy. But then lunch time rolled around and their lockers were on the other side of the school and I was upset because I thought I wouldn't get to hang out with them. I walked to my locker and Jughead's was behind me. And I was going through my locker for my food when he leant against the locker beside mine and talked to me. (Now I have this weird thing where I still have my thoughts in dreams. So I was currently saying MEODKFOAKFKSKKCKS in my head). And he was adorable and I was (not literally) crying. And then we walked together towards the other guys lockers and people in my year level were giving us weird/jealous looks because all the girls found him attractive and I was the one to be hanging out with him and not them. We were talking when he grabbed onto my hand and pulled me along to some place where he showed me this book he was writing which was obviously amazing. And he grinned at my reaction and then we continued towards their lockers when the bell went, so we had to turn around and go back to our lockers and people were still giving me looks because they're jealous little shits and then I woke up crying it was so beautiful -