I would never fall in love again until I found her
I said, "I would never fall unless it's you I fall into"
I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her
I found you

Amethyst paced her room with her phone against her ear as she talked to Jughead. She was expressing her concerns about his dad and himself, as well as Pop's diner.

"I just couldn't sleep much," she explained. "What with your dad's trial coming up and how there's a killer on the loose. What if the killer breaks into my cabin or your trailer?"

"Relax, Buttercup. I'm sure we will be fine," Jughead said. "Now, as for Pop's, Betty called and said she wanted to meet us at the Mayor's office to try and persuade Mayor McCoy to keep Pop's diner open."

Amethyst stopped pacing and threw her hand up. "Why the hell didn't I come up with that?"

Jughead chuckled. "It's alright, Amie," he said. "Now I have to go and get ready to leave. Do you need me to take you?"

Amethyst shook her head. "No, Demi is here."

"Okay, I'll see you at the office," he said. "I love you."

Amethyst smiled lightly. "I love you."

She hung up and looked at herself in the mirror, sighing sadly at what their lives had come to.

•

Amethyst, Jughead and Betty sat on a small couch in the waiting room at the Mayor's office. Amethyst nervously played with Jughead's fingers as he watched what she was doing.

"I'm sure Pop's diner will be fine, y'know?" Amethyst said quickly. "It's been through some shit so this shouldn't be that much different, couldn't it? And I'm sure your father will be fine also. I mean, maybe there will be some evidence piled in his favour so that he doesn't have to spend all that time in jail?"

"I hope so," Jughead sighed.

"I'm sure Mayor McCoy will be lenient," Betty told them two. "She's very — Mayor McCoy!"

Amethyst, Jughead and Betty stood up in an instant to catch up to the Mayor who was hurrying to her next destination.

"Betty, Amethyst, Jughead, what can I help you with?" Mayor McCoy asked.

"So, the Chock'lit Shoppe is on the verge of closing and we want Pop Tate to know that the town is rallying behind him," Betty told her.

McCoy huffed as she began to walk away, but the three teenagers were quick to follow. "We were thinking that you could make the building a landmark," Jughead said.

"Or declare a Pop's Day in support," Amethyst said.

Mayor McCoy frowned as she slightly glared down at the teenagers. "What if I endorse Pop's and next week someone else is shot there? My priority, as a mayor and as a mother, is keeping this town safe. If we have to close Pop's, I'm all for it."

"But anyone in America can get a gun," Amethyst told her. "They could easily just pop up into a bookstore or another cafe and shoot someone. Pop's Diner just happened to be the unlucky building this person decided to shoot in. Are you going to close the whole town down because of psychopaths with guns?"

"If that's what we have to do, then that's what we have to do," she said, before turning around and walking up the stairs.

"Are you also all for shipping my dad off to a state prison for a murder that he didn't commit?" Jughead asked her.

Amethyst scratched the back of her neck as she looked away from Mayor McCoy and Jughead.

"What is this, an ambush?" She asked.

"I know you have an in with the state attorney," Jughead said. "If you could just call him and try and get my dad a better lawyer? Anything?"

"Your Father made some mistakes," Mayor McCoy told him. "I'm sure he'll get a fair hearing."

"What would you have done if you found a dead body in the middle of your living room with all of the evidence surrounding it pointing towards you?" Amethyst asked her. "What, would you call it in and get arrested and sent to prison for many years? Or would you try and fix it so that you could stay around long enough to see your daughter graduate, become famous and get married?"

Mayor McCoy pursed her lips before turning around and marching back up the stairs. "Mayor McCoy?" Jughead called out. "You remember this moment, 'cause this is the moment you turned your back on both Pop Tate and my father."

•

Jughead wanted to get help from the Serpent's, and after he told Amethyst about what happened the other night with Hudson and James, she didn't want to be a part of it. So, she followed Betty back to school where her, Veronica, Kevin and Betty sat around in the library.

Amethyst had her head resting on the desk with her eyes closed, but she was still conscious and made inputs into the conversation.

"We can't let the terrorists win," Betty said. "We need to host an event at Pop's that reminds the town of simpler times. Like a throwback to when the Shoppe first opened its doors."

"Does that mean I would have to dress up in my grandmother's old clothes?" Amethyst asked her.

"Yes, that does mean that," she said.

Amethyst hummed but didn't open her eyes, because she thought she looked alright in a poodle skirt.

"Betty, Amethyst, I like a good milkshake as much as any girl, and Pop's puts Serendipity 3's to shame, but why this hill to die on?" Veronica asked her.

"Orange freezes with my mom and Polly after ballet," Betty said with a smile. "Chicken noodle soup with my dad after ice-skating. Grilled cheeses with Archie on the last day of summer vacation. It's where I met you for the first time, V." She turned to Kevin. "It's where I met you for the first time."

"That was the last place my family had dinner before mom passed away," Amethyst spoke up. "Oh, and Pop's is the only place that makes vegetarian burgers. Juggy may lose his dad, and I know how much he loves Pop's so that's why we're trying to save it. So that maybe we could save this one place for him, for all of us."

There was a knock on the door, followed by it opening. "Hey, Veronica," a male's voice said. "May I speak to you?"

Amethyst opened her eyes and sat up to see who it was, only to see a dark haired man at the door holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Daddy?" Veronica said.

Amethyst frowned. "Daddy?" Betty and Kevin repeated.

Veronica sighed before standing up. "Yeah, we can talk," she said. "And I'll see you guys later."

Veronica and Hiram Lodge walked out of the room, and as soon as the door closed, Amethyst said, "More like Papi Lodge, Jesucristo."

Betty and Kevin nodded in agreement.

•

"Remember back to the days when our lives were boring?" Amethyst asked Jughead as they slowly walked towards the Blossom's new house.

"Our lives were never boring," Jughead replied.

Amethyst hummed as she swung their hands forwards and backwards. "True, but we never had to go through a murder mystery before. And now father's are killing their son's and a psycho is going around shooting construction workers and killing teachers," Amethyst said. "Actually, come to think of it, our lives sound an awful lot like Teen Wolf."

"Besides the werewolves, of course," Jughead said.

"And the kanimas. And the werecoyotes. And the true alphas. And the—"

"I think I get it," Jughead chuckled lightly.

Amethyst and Jughead stopped when they spotted the house the Blossom's were staying in, due to that fact that Thornhill got burnt to the ground.

"That's one beautiful house," Amethyst mumbled as she stared up in awe at the vine covered house/mansion.

"This is the Blossom's we're talking about," Jughead said. "They wouldn't downsize for the world."

Amethyst and Jughead walked towards the front door, where Amethyst immediately knocked. Cheryl answered almost instantly, and smiled warmly at the two.

"If it isn't Butterhead, my most favourite ship in Riverdale," Cheryl smiled as she looked between the two. "Welcome to Thistlehouse. Mother's in the conservatory. Follow me."

Cheryl opened the door wider so that the two teenagers could step into the house. Amethyst looked around at the dimly lit hallway, feeling a shiver run down her spine. The outside of the house may be pretty, but the inside wasn't.

"Follow me," Cheryl said, before walking in front of Amethyst and towards the conservatory, with Amethyst and Jughead following after her. She entered a room that was surrounded by windows, before sitting at the head of the table opposite of Penelope Blossom.

Amethyst and Jughead sat down at the only two available seats, and looked between Cheryl and Penelope. Penelope honestly looked like shit to Amethyst. Her face was all scarred, and her jaw and forehead was wrapped in bandages, and she wore a turban to cover the fact that she had no hair.

"Thank you for sitting down with us," Amethyst eventually said after a minute of silence.

"Of course, Amie. You're like family to me," Cheryl smiled.

Amethyst smiled back at her, before turning to Penelope who was intently staring at the teenage girl.

"Okay," Jughead started. "There's a reason we're here."

"Jughead's dad's lawyer thinks that if the family of the victim showed mercy, that his sentence could be lessened," Amethyst told them quickly, the uneasy feeling in the room not settling well with her.

"Mercy," Penelope scoffed as she stirred her tea, her gaze still locked onto Amethyst. "That's why you're here?"

"Well, it's an appeal for leniency from you to reduce my dad's sentence," Jughead explained.

"Where was your father's mercy when I spent those countless nights walking through the halls of Thornhill in agony, obsessing over what was happening to Jay-Jay, imagining the worst?" Cheryl said, a cold look on her face as she stared at Jughead. "Where was your father's mercy when I slept under the same roof as a cold-blooded killer night after night?"

"But that was your dad who killed him," Amethyst frowned, stating the obvious. "Y-you even saw the video. You wanted to see it."

"If it were up to me, I'd watch FP fry in the electric chair," Penelope snapped.

"I would say the same to you but, oh, looks like you're already fried," Amethyst snapped at her, before abruptly standing up.

"We need this sordid chapter closed forever, Amethyst, and FP is the last loose end to tie up," Cheryl explained to her. "I will not have a living, breathing reminder of the darkest chapter of my life walking through the streets of Riverdale."

"I understand that, it's just that you're letting an innocent man go to jail for a murder he didn't even commit!" Amethyst said. "He's going to be facing 20 years, if not 40 years in prison, for something he wasn't even supposed to be a part of. You two have an opportunity to break through the stereotype that surrounds your family, claiming that you are all nuts, if you just help this innocent man and testify on his behalf."

Cheryl seemed to pause as she thought it over. "I can't, Amethyst. Jughead, I'm sorry," she said. "If he didn't dumb my brother's body into the river and just called the cops straight up, then, yes, I would've testified on his behalf. But because that didn't happen, and he let me worry for Jay-Jay's safety for months, I won't do it."

Amethyst huffed in anger before Jughead stood up and place a hand on hers. "It's alright, Buttercup. We'll find another way."

Amethyst glared at Cheryl before stalking out of the conservatory and towards the front door with Jughead following closely behind.

"Amethyst!" Cheryl called out, but Amethyst was too pissed off to respond without yelling at her, so she ignored the red-head. "Amie!"

Jughead walked out of the house first, but Amethyst stayed in the doorway. Jughead turned back to Amethyst in question but she nudged her head. "I just want to tell Cheryl something," Amethyst told him.

Jughead nodded before walking away from the front door.

Amethyst snapped around towards Cheryl, who had only just reached her.

"You want closure, Cheryl, and I want to help my boyfriends dad," Amethyst told her.

Cheryl huffed and crossed her arms against her chest. "I already told you I wo—"

"And I'm telling you to help FP," Amethyst told her, before bringing her voice down lower so Penelope couldn't hear. "Or I will publish the video of your dad shooting Jason on the internet."

Cheryl's eyes widened slightly, before she regained herself. "I-I thought you gave the drive to Sheriff Keller," she said.

"Not before I saved a copy onto Jughead's laptop," Amethyst told her, a small smirk on her face. "I didn't think I would have to use it against you, but I guess I have no choice. So, if you testify for FP and prove to the court that you and your mother forgive him, then I will hand you over the drive and delete all other copies."

Cheryl narrowed her eyes, before a small smirk appeared on her face. "Are you blackmailing me?"

Amethyst nodded. "Oh, yeah."

Cheryl lightly licked her bottom lip as she looked Amethyst down and up. "I never knew you had this dark side to you, Amie. I'm kinda digging it."

Amethyst lightly rolled her eyes before taking a deep breath. "We have a deal?"

Cheryl nodded. "We do."

"Okay, then see you at trial," Amethyst turned around and began to walk out of the house, before quickly turning back around. "Oh, and Betty and Veronica want the vixens for Pop's retro night. If you could make that happen, that'll be great."

Cheryl smirked as she leant against the doorway. "Everyone thinks that you're a precious, innocent girl, Amethyst. But underneath, you're really a stone-cold bitch."

Amethyst threw her hands up. "You've finally gotten through all my layers and reached my core," she sarcastically said before turning around and hurrying after Jughead who was standing at the end of the driveway.

"What did you talk to her about?" Jughead asked as he wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Oh, it was just a little girl talk," Amethyst smiled lightly. "No biggy."

Jughead kissed the top of her head before the two walked down the street and towards his motorbike.