I can't seem to face up to the facts
I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax
I can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire
Don't touch me, I'm a real live wire

Amethyst nervously tapped her foot on the grass as she sat on a bench at a park a few blocks down from Riverdale High. She had just contacted Cheryl about a certain dark-skinned teenager and asked for his phone number, and now she nervously sat at the park, waiting for the cousin of the male who has caused her so many tears.

The sound of grass crunching caught her attention, and Amethyst visibly stiffened as she watched Chuck Clayton walk into the park. He briefly looked around in search for her, before noticing her sitting on a bench behind the swing set by herself. Chuck smirked slightly, before straightening up and walking over towards the female.

"Amethyst Moore," he greeted as he sat down beside her. "My, was I surprised when you called me up."

"Save it, Clayton. I only called you up because Josie happened to mention you were trying to go straight," Amethyst said quickly, leaning back.

Chuck smirked triumphantly. "So, that's what I had to do to get your approval? After all this time?"

"Not exactly, but it did help persuade me to come meet up with you," Amethyst said. "So, have you heard from....James?"

Chuck rose an eyebrow. "My cousin James?" Amethyst nodded. "Yeah, of course. Why are you asking?"

"Because I was—" Amethyst took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you could get him to come back to Riverdale so that I could patch things up with him. Leave no bad blood."

Chuck smirked. "There's only one way that'll end and you know what it is," he told her.

"No, it won't end out like that," Amethyst defiantly told him.

"Whatever you think," He said. "And he's coming back over the Christmas break anyway."

"But he cant!" Amethyst said quickly. When Chuck rose an eyebrow, she continued, "I need to see him before the break, because I'm busy throughout it." Chuck hummed. "Please, Chuck. It's the only way things can ever be normal again."

In that moment, Amethyst's phone began to ring. She looked down at the caller ID before looking back up at him. She sighed as he rose an eyebrow up at her before she stood up and walked away from him, pressing the answer button.

"Juggy, what's up?" She asked.

"It's Penny. She said that my father was beat up by the Ghoulies in jail," he said quickly.

"Woah. Slow down," Amethyst told him. "Your dad—"

"Is in the medical ward at the prison," he told her. "The Ghoulies bet him up after they got sent there."

"Are you sure?" Amethyst asked. "Have you gone to check up on your father or are you just taking Penny's word for it?"

"No. I believe her. She was very thorough with the story," he said. "She....she wants me to deliver....pancake mix to a warehouse in Greendale."

Amethyst rose an eyebrow. "Pancake mix?" She asked before something clicked. "She's not making you deliver drugs, is she?" Jughead was silent. "Honestly, Jones, if she is, I will break her fucking arm."

"Then she isn't, okay?" He said. "It's pancake mix."

"Pancake mix my ass," Amethyst mumbled.

"If I do this for her, then she'll help my dad," he said. "She promised me."

Amethyst sighed. "She will?"

"Yeah."

Amethyst nervously licked her lips as she looked around. "Then I'll come with you," she said.

"No. I'm not letting you get dragged into this," he said quickly.

Amethyst let out a deep sigh. "Then just watch out for cameras and don't mention it to anyone. Remember the note the Black Hood left about no sinning?"

"I've only told you and Archie. He's helping me out with it," he said.

Amethyst looked back at Chuck who was casually on his phone. "Look after yourself."

"You too," he said. "I love you."

"I love you more," she replied, before hanging up.

Amethyst placed her phone back into her pocket and looked up at the grey sky. "Why us?" She wondered. She then looked back over at Chuck and walked over to him. "I have to go," she told him.

"James said yes," Chuck suddenly said. Amethyst frowned. "He's coming back to Riverdale next week to patch things up with you."

Amethyst's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked. He nodded. "Tell him I'm thankful for him agreeing."

"He's only doing it so you don't out to his parents about what he's done," Chuck said. "His parents are crazy."

Amethyst nodded slowly and frowned, before waving and walking off.

•

Amethyst didn't know what to do afterwards and for the rest of the day. Jughead and Archie had to meet at a warehouse by eight, Demarcus was doing paperwork for Andrews Construction virtually all night long, Cheryl was busy with Josie, Veronica was having a sleepover with Kevin and Betty was busy with homework. It made Amethyst wonder if she should do her homework now and get it out of the way or just do it at the last minute like she usually did.

Amethyst was too busy thinking about what she should do that she didn't see someone walking her way, causing her to bump into them.

"Woah! Sorry," Amethyst said quickly, not meaning to disturb them before continuing on.

"Wait, Amethyst?" the person asked.

Amethyst paused in her steps and turned around to find a familiar face. "Louis?" she asked, genuinely surprised to see him during her stroll in the dark.

A smile instantly made its way to his lips and he walked up to her. "What're you doing walking around alone at night?"

Amethyst shoved her hands into her jumpers pockets, suddenly aware that it was very cold out. "I could ask you the same thing," she said.

"My mom and stepdad are arguing at home so I decided to take a walk," Louis replied easily. "You?"

Amethyst thought over what her answer should be because she couldn't just outwardly confess that the Black Hood had given her the task to lure a man back to Riverdale so that he could deal with him the 'proper' way.

"Just clearing my head," Amethyst eventually said.

Louis smirked lightly. "You do realise there's a killer on the loose, right?"

"I don't sin," she replied easily.

Louis rose an eyebrow. "But you're in a gang."

"That's not a crime."

Louis hummed. "True," he said.

A silence hung over the pair. Amethyst was looking down at her sneakers in thought while Louis was watching her with a small frown, knowing that something was on her mind but not wanting to press on the matter as he felt that if she wanted to share it with him, she would.

"How have you been?" Louis eventually asked.

Amethyst looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "How have I been since what?"

"No, just in general," Louis said with a small laugh. "Like, how are you feeling? What have you been up to? That sort of thing."

"Oh," Amethyst mumbled and shuffled her feet. "Well, right now I'm heavily tired, but when I actually get into bed, I can't fall asleep."

Louis frowned in worry. "Why's that?"

Amethyst nervously looked around. "I keep feeling like someone's watching me."

"The Black Hood?" Louis asked, and the look Amethyst gave him answered his question. "I doubt it. You've done nothing wrong."

Amethyst didn't want to tell him her predicament, so she continued, "And all of my friends and Jughead are busy, so I don't really have anyone to chill with."

"You can chill with me at my house," Louis said with a big smile. "I have movies and an endless amount of ice cream."

Amethyst pursed her lips. "It's alright. I rather not intrude on your family."

"Step dad's probably not there, and mom won't mind," his smile never faltered, knowing that he had her.

"How far do you live?" She asked.

"Just down this road, actually," Louis replied.

Amethyst nodded. "Okay, but only because you have ice cream."

Louis grinned. "I knew I had you there."

Amethyst turned around from the direction she was facing and followed beside Louis as they walked in a comfortable silence. Louis suddenly stopped in front of a small house that looked to be chipping on the sides. He suddenly had a twisting feeling in his stomach as he noticed Amethyst blankly staring at the building.

"I know it's not much...." he said uneasily, then mentally argued with himself. 'Why was he suddenly so worried about her opinion?'

"No, it's great," Amethyst told him quickly, realising he must've thought she didn't like it. "It's home. I understand."

Louis' uneasiness went away in an instant as Amethyst sent him a reassuring smile, causing him to smile as well. Although, it began to falter as the sound of people yelling reached their ears.

"I guess Brad hasn't left yet," Louis mumbled. "We can come back later or go to the park if you want."

"It's fine," Amethyst told him.

Louis let out a deep sigh before walking towards his front door with Amethyst beside him. He took out his key and stuck it in the keyhole.

"YOU DO NOTHING AROUND HERE!"

"I PAY FOR EVERYTHING, WOMAN! SO, SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"

Louis opened up the front door in that moment, and the two adults standing on the other side turned to face them. Amethyst's cheeks were flushed at what she had walked in on while Louis nervously bit the inside of his cheek.

"Ah, hey guys," he said uneasily, seconds away from leaving with Amethyst if his step-dad said one wrong thing.

Louis' mom instantly smiled upon seeing her son, and she glanced at Amethyst with a knowing look. "Oh, Sweetheart, who's this?"

"This is my friend from school, Amethyst," he said. Amethyst awkwardly waved.

Brad scoffed in an instant. "Friend. Yeah, right. Not with the way she's dressed."

Amethyst frowned as she stared down at what she was wearing, which was a jumper, track pants and converse. "But I'm just wearing—"

"We'll be in my room," Louis quickly said before grabbing Amethyst's hand and dragging her down into the basement where his room was.

Louis instantly let go of her hand once he shut the door. Amethyst awkwardly scratched her nose when Louis ran down the stairs to get into his room.

"So, your stepdad seems....nice," Amethyst said uneasily.

"He's a douche," Louis said instantly, making Amethyst relax because she wouldn't have to be kind when mentioning him. "The only reason mom puts up with him is because he helps pay the bills, even though he spends most of his cash on alcohol and gambling."

Amethyst frowned. "Why didn't she stay with your dad then?"

"He died."

Amethyst paused and stared at Louis in regret. "I'm-I'm so sorry."

Louis shrugged. "Na, it's okay. You didn't know," he said. "And he died when I was young so I don't really remember him."

To clear up the now awkward air, Amethyst asked, "So, what made you join the Serpents?"

"I was sort of a loner all throughout my primary school years and the beginning of freshman year," Louis said, leaning against the wall. "Toni noticed me one day sitting by myself, so she invited me over to her table, which happened to be the Serpent's table. They instantly welcomed me into their group," he smiled lightly. "They're the first real family I've ever had."

Amethyst smiled lightly back. "I'm so happy that worked out for you."

Louis smiled at her and nodded, noticing how she had very small dimples on her cheeks when she smiled. "So, ah, what movie?" he asked when he realised he had been staring too long.

"Do you have Terminator?" Amethyst asked.

"I have all of them," Louis responded, walking over to his movie cabinet.

"We can watch them all in order," Amethyst said.

Louis turned back around to her in shock. "All of them?"

"It's not a school night," Amethyst told him. "And, like I said before, I can't really sleep, so."

Louis hummed. "Touché." He put in the first Terminator DVD into his television and then moved over to his mini-fridge. Amethyst looked back behind her at the bean bags and sat down in one of them, and then proceeded to move around a bit to get comfy.

"I have chocolate or cookies and cream," Louis called from the fridge.

"Cookies and cream all the way," she replied.

"Really?" Louis asked, getting out the tub of ice cream and grabbing two spoons. "I always thought you were the chocolate type."

"I am, but if cookies and cream were an option, I'd choose it over chocolate," Amethyst said, before Louis handed her the tub and a spoon. She instantly dug her spoon into the ice cream and ate it. "Mhm, this is so good."

Louis chuckled. "This is all going to go within the first ten minutes, isn't it?"

Amethyst grinned sheepishly. "Probably."

Louis chuckled lightly before pressing play.

•
sorrrrrrryyyyyyy i haven't been updating as much. truth me told, riverdale's just getting a bit much now like instead of one big storyline, there's like 50 different storyline's and it's hard to keep up. so I've just lost interest 😬