I am scared to say I miss you
Last time I had you I should have kissed you
These feelings fester up inside
But how could I deny these butterflies

Sheriff Keller walked into the waiting room minutes after Archie returned. The group all stood up out of their chairs and walked up to the Sheriff.

"How's your dad doing?" Sheriff Keller asked Archie.

"He's still in surgery," Betty told him.

"Archie, I know this is a hell of a time for you, but perhaps we could go somewhere and talk about what happened," he suggested.

"Is it cool if I tag along?" Jughead asked.

"Actually, if you don't mind-"

"Yeah, that would be great," Archie insisted.

Sheriff Keller turned around and walked off, closely followed by Archie. Jughead turned to Amethyst and raised his eyebrows, causing the girl to grimace before he walked off. Amethyst smiled lightly to herself before her, Betty and Veronica sat back down on the chairs.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at Amethyst, who was still smiling to herself. "What's up with you?" She asked. "Why have you and Jughead been smiling at each other like it's the morning after your first time?"

Amethyst widened her eyes at what Veronica was hinting at. "No. It's not that," she said quickly.

"Then what is it?" Veronica asked.

Amethyst pursed her lips as she looked between the two girls. "We may have told each other about our feelings last night."

The girls broke out into a grin. "Really?" Veronica asked, and when Amethyst nodded, said, "Finally!"

"That's what Demarcus said," Amethyst mumbled.

"Kevin is going to be so thrilled," Veronica said.

Betty smiled at Amethyst. "I've been having to sit with you two making googlie eyes at each other for years," she said. "Finally you said something about it."

"Did you kiss?" Veronica asked.

"No, we didn't," she replied.

Veronica screwed up her face. "Damn," she mumbled. "But now you know what you're in for."

Amethyst shrugged. "It'll come. Who knows when."

Veronica sighed happily before leaning back in her chair. "There are just some things no one does better than Veronica Lodge," she said. "Makeovers, party planning, dance-offs, fangirling, dropping vintage bon mots as if they were bonbons. Conversely, there are things that I'm not good at. Grief, bedside vigils, comforting boyfriends."

"Okay, that was the old Veronica talking," Betty told her.

"Old Veronica would've bolted by now," Veronica said. "But new Veronica doesn't want to let Archie down."

"And you won't," Betty told her.

"Veronica, you just have to stick by him. Never leave him by himself," Amethyst told her. "God knows how he would act if he was by himself."

Veronica sighed and nodded before her gaze went over to the two incoming teenagers. "Oh, and speaking of-"

Amethyst watched Jughead and Archie walk back into the room, before Jughead pulled him back. They whispered something to each other, had a manly hug, before Jughead's gaze moved over towards Amethyst and he nudged his head to indicate that she should follow him. His eyes then met Demarcus', and the twenty year old got out of his chair to follow him.

"That's my cue," Amethyst told the girls, before she hurried out after Jughead and Demarcus.

Amethyst fell into step with the two guys, who were talking between one another. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Archie believes that the Serpent's may have had something to do with Fred getting shot," Jughead said.

Amethyst frowned. "That doesn't sound right. They wouldn't have done it without a motive and Fred's been so kind to them, letting them work for his company and paying them."

"Fred fired them the other day," Demarcus told him. "Kept me because he trusted me, but not the other guys."

"So some of them may be pissed off with him?" She asked.

"Could be," Jughead replied.

"Pissed off enough to shoot him?" Amethyst frowned. It didn't sound right.

Jughead sighed. "Who knows. That's why I was asking Demarcus to call that Serpent who gave me the jacket so I could meet up with him, ask him a few questions."

"Are you sure?"

"He said he'd have our backs," Jughead replied.

"But the Serpent's look out for their own backs before anyone else's," Amethyst told him.

"That's true," Demarcus replied. "But the bloke's being genuine. Him and FP were best mates."

Amethyst sighed and nodded. "Yeah, call him up."

Demarcus nodded and walked further ahead and out of the building to call them up. Amethyst and Jughead followed out after him, before walking over to the bench on the side and sitting down. Amethyst slung her legs over his and he grabbed her hands.

"How was Archie?" Amethyst asked him as he played with her fingers.

"He's hiding something else that happened," Jughead said. "I didn't want to pester him because he's still traumatised over it all, but if it's something big, then we should know."

"Maybe it was something to do with his father before he got shot?" Amethyst suggested. "Or something that happened to him after his dad got shot?"

"Maybe," Jughead mumbled before sighing and bringing his eyes up to hers. "I thought everything was going to be alright after last night. Betty's speech was so encouraging, we moved out of the Andrews' household. Then we....confessed feelings."

Amethyst chuckled. "Confessed feelings," She mimicked. "More like had a deep heart to heart about the things we've been keeping in for ever." Jughead chuckled back. "And who would've thought you'd be the first to say something. You, being the dark and mysterious boy who never discuss' his feelings, and me, who outwardly cries in every given situation and puts her trust into anyone that speaks to her."

"But that's the thing," Jughead said. "You've put your trust into a lot of people, meaning that you've been broken the most. I knew you weren't going to say anything because you wouldn't want your heart to break - given if you had feelings for me. So when I heard Betty's speech at the Jubilee, I knew I had to do it then, because god knows what could've happened the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. And before we know it, it'd be too late. And then Archie just confirmed what I was thinking after the Jubilee finished."

Amethyst rose an eyebrow. "You listened to Archie about feeling's?"

Jughead grinned. "That's all you got from that?"

"No," Amethyst smiled. "Apart from the fact that you, Forsythe Jones, told me you loved me."

"Well it's true, isn't it?" Jughead smiled back before leaning in. "I love you, Amethyst Moore."

Amethyst smiled as she leant in as well. "And I love you, Jughead Jones."

The two leant in closer, their smiles never leaving their faces before they were pulled apart by Demarcus Moore. Jughead groaned and rubbed his hand over his face as Amethyst glared at her Brother.

"What?" He asked in defence. "This isn't the most appropriate setting to have your first kiss. And, anyway, the Serpent's are here. Wouldn't want them to see you two all lovey dovey, would you?"

Both Jughead's and Amethyst's gazes moved to the two Serpent's who had parked their bikes under an archway and away from prying eyes. They then got off of the bench and hurried down over to the two, not wanting to keep them waiting and anger them.

The younger one, who Amethyst still didn't know the name off, was leaning against his bike as the older serpent looked at the two.

"Hey," Demarcus greeted the two Serpents, who nodded at him.

"DM," the younger one greeted.

Amethyst snorted. Everyone's attention went onto her. Amethyst shrugged and grinned. "I'm just gonna slide into your DM's, Marcus."

Demarcus shook his head as he looked down, mumbling a small, "Oh god."

"I got nervous when you said that Jughead wanted to meet at the hospital," the older one said

"I was wondering about when you said the Serpents had our backs," Jughead said. "Does that courtesy extend to a guys who's like my brother? And a man who's like a second Father to us?"

The older serpent sighed as he looked down, before he looked back up at the teenagers. "What do you need?" He asked.

"Fred Andrews, my buddy's dad, was just shot during a robbery at Pop's," Jughead told him. "The guy was in a black hood."

"Serpent's don't wear masks," the younger Serpent said.

"Yeah, I get it. But some of those Serpents were working for Fred Andrews when, for reasons of his own, he decided to let them go suddenly," Jughead told him. "Maybe someone took it personally and went rogue? You guys know every hidey-hope in town. Someone had to have heard something about what went down at Pop's."

"Alright," the older Serpent nodded. "We'll knock some heads. Let you two know what we find. DM, you want to come with us?"

Amethyst had to look down at her feet so she wouldn't outwardly laugh again. "Yeah, sure. I've got no business being here anyway," Demarcus said before patting Amethyst's back. "See ya, sis."

"Wait," Amethyst said, causing the three Serpents to look at her in question. "What are your names? It's very tiring naming you guys 'older serpent' and 'young serpent' in my head."

The older Serpent frowned as he looked at the younger one before meeting Amethyst's gaze. "Hudson," he said. "But call me Tall Boy."

"James," the younger one piped up.

"Okay, cool, Hudson hornet and James Bond. Easy to remember," Amethyst mumbled to herself, before looking at James. "Do you mind if I call you Jimmy?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Oh, okay, Jimmy," Amethyst let out a big breath of air. "Wow, I'm getting such an adrenaline rush. I never knew that sort of stuff happened to me, y'know? Because I live a pretty boring life filled with school and murders and suicides and now, apparently, Serpents, which is unbelievably nuts."

James frowned. "Are you sure she's Dariela's daughter?" He asked.

"Trust me. She is," both Hudson and Demarcus replied.

"I'm so sorry I'm acting like this," Amethyst apologised. "It's just that I get a little nervous when I talk to criminals. Normally. When I do encounter them occasionally."

"You've slept over Clifford Blossom's house before," Jughead told her. "You even went to a family dinner with him."

"That was before I knew he killed his son," Amethyst told him.

Demarcus chuckled before shaking his head. "See you, short stack."

And as Hudson and James jumped onto their bikes and Demarcus rounded the corner to get onto his, Amethyst shook her head and mumbled, "Rude."