The Only Beanie - Book 4 (Riverdale Season 4/5)

The Locked Room - Part 2

"Hey, boy. Betty. Aminity."

"Hey," Betty greeted FP as they walked inside. "I'll be right down," she told them before running upstairs.

"Grandpa, I thought you left," Jughead said as he and his sister walked over to them.

"No, not yet," he chuckled, giving his granddaughter a hug.

"Joining us for dinner?"

"Uh, we're actually going to meet Archie and Veronica at Pop's, so... Unless you want me to stay."

"No, go have fun," FP told him.

"Yeah," Forsythe agreed.

"Should we say goodbye?" Jughead hesitated to ask.

"Oh, no," Forsythe told him. "I expect your father and I will still be talking when you get back."

"Bye, Grandpa. Bye, Dad," Aminity smiled, giving each of them hugs before going outside, Jughead and Betty following a moment after.

***

"Maybe something good did come out of this whole Stonewall mess," Jughead said as they sat in Pop's. "My dad and my grandfather are talking again for the first time in thirty years. Who'd have thought of that."

"It's pretty great to see," Aminity nodded.

"You think your dad will forgive him?" Archie asked.

"It's not really forgiveness," Aminity told him. "I mean, there's some of that, but it's more recognizing what's happened in the past and vowing to do better and move on together."

"Alright guys, let's make a vow," Archie said, picking up his milkshake and making them all groan. "I know, I know. The last time we made a vow to have a normal senior year, everything went to hell pretty quick. But we only have two, three months left. Let's end it on a high note."

Jughead spoke first. "Are we just going to ignore the fact that Archie and I will probably not be graduating with you guys?"

"Jug, okay. Do you really think V and I are going to sit ideally by and not help our boyfriends graduate?"

"And I may not be a senior, but next year is my senior year, not yours," Aminity teased and they laughed.

"Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones," Veronica pointed at them, "you will graduate. Even if it takes a thousand tutors. You will set aside everything, no more mysteries, and make graduating your sole purpose in life."

"Why does that sound like a threat?" Jughead asked Archie.

"Because it is," all the girls said and they laughed while picking up their milkshakes.

"To going out on top. Together," Veronica toasted.

"Cheers."

"Cheers to that."

"Guys, guys, just a reminder, I'm posting the sign up sheet for the variety show tomorrow," Kevin said as he came over to the booth. "You all have to perform. Even both of the Jones'."

"Count us in, Kev," Betty smiled.

"Wait, do we not get a say in this?" Aminity let out, looking between them.

"Nope," Betty smirked. The bell to Pop's rang and Jughead, Betty, and Aminity turned around as Kevin sat next to Veronica.

"I'll be right back," Aminity said, slightly interrupting the conversation happening as she slid out of the booth and walked over to Sweet Pea who was standing and looking at her. "Hi," she said nervously, glancing to the ground and then back at him.

"Hey."

"I'm sorry," they both blurted out at the same time, making them chuckle.

"Me first?" Aminity asked and he nodded. "I'm sorry that I lied to you about Jughead. I swear I didn't know at first. I found out after... after the funeral. It killed me keeping it from you and I wanted to tell you, but it wasn't just me involved. I wasn't even supposed to know, but once I found out, I had to promise not to tell anyone because it could mess things up. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too. And that's really hard for me to say," he said and she gave a small smile. "I shouldn't have blown up at you because your brother is alive. I'm glad he is. There was just this voice in the back of my head that said that you didn't trust me."

"I do trust you, Pea. It just wasn't my secret to tell."

"I'm still sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I... I love you, Aminity. I love you and it scared me, so I lost it. I lost my cool like I do every time. I self sabotage myself. I don't expect you to say it back, but-"

"I love you too," she admitted, stopping his rambling. He smiled, making her blush as his hand came to rest on her cheek, pulling her up so he could place a sweet kiss on her lips. They pulled away, keeping their foreheads together until they heard whispering and shushing. She turned around, seeing her friends quickly turn their heads and pretend to be talking about something, making her laugh before looking back at her boyfriend. "You wanna join us?"

"Sure, Princess," he said, following her over to the booth and sitting next to her.

"So, what did we miss?" Aminity asked, the conversation quickly striking up again and Aminity smiled, knowing that everything was as it should be, even if just for a moment.

First 'I love you's for Sweet Pea and Aminity! Hope you all enjoyed. Sorry this one was short. I didn't realize it was that short when creating the parts last week. Oh well. Next week is the musical episode!