The Andrews twins laughed as Fred beckoned Archie to help him pick up one of the trees. A few weeks ago, Fred had proposed that the Andrews family would sell trees for Christmas as a bonding mechanism. However, they all knew it was to help alleviate their financial burden.

Jughead Narration: "Used to be, in ye olden days, every December a Lord of Misrule presided over the winter holidays called back then, the Feast of Fools."

"What do you say Pop? Is it okay?" Archie asked as Fred stood in the doorway, holding  one end of the tree.

"The best tree yet." Pop's replied. The two entered the diner while Jughead's head lifted to see Emma float in behind her dad and Archie. "Thanks, Archie. Thanks, Fred. Thanks, Emma."

"Oh, no. Thank you, Pop, for letting us set up shop in front of the diner." Fred chimed.

Pop smiled and lightly teased her, "And what is it that you are doing, Emma?"

"I prefer the role of supervising." Pop laughed at her response. Archie met eyes with Jughead and then Emma, who quickly looked away.

Archie walked towards the booth and sat across from Jughead. Emma glanced over towards the boys every so often, however, Jughead never met her gaze.

"Are you guys gonna stay in town for break?" Jughead started.

Archie nodded, "Yeah. We were gonna go up and visit my mom, but she booked a single's cruise so... Emma might go visit our grandfather for the New Year, but who knows." Jughead nodded, noting he hadn't spoken to her in days.

As the two talked about their fracture love lives, Fred stopped at the door before calling out to Jughead. "Jughead, you want a Christmas tree for you and your dad? On the house."

Emma continued out the door, not acknowledging Jughead.

Jughead shook his head, "It'll have to be a small one, Mr. A."

He nodded as he followed his daughter out knowing she was not in the greatest place with Jughead.

Jughead Narration Continued: "So Christmas was happening even though this year's Lord of Misrule was none other than the Black Hood."

***

Emma could hear Archie and her dad discussing the latest bill from Riverdale General Hospital. $98,000. That was the cost to save their lives from the Black Hood's doing. She bowed her head, knowing her dad was in a hole.

Picking up her gift from the side table, she walked towards the dining room where the two were talking. "Ready to head out, Archie? Kevin will kill us if we are late for Secret Santa."

For the majority of her holiday break, Emma waited on Jughead's call. Yet, on December 23rd Cheryl dragged her out of the house and towards a bar in Greendale with her, Archie, and Reggie in tow.

After that Emma crawled out of her small funk by late night dinners at Pop's with Kevin and a movie night with Toni before she made her trip up to Maine for New Year's.

Once they were in school, the twins parted ways.

Once situated, Emma made her way towards the student lounge. She smiled meekly at Kevin, avoiding Jughead's eye, and she sat down next to Reggie. In acknowledgement, he draped his arm casually over her.

"A gift certificate for a couples massage... Thanks, Josie." Veronica offered a painful smile.

Josie looked at Archie and Veronica awkwardly. "You can go with Betty... or your mom." Her voice wavered.

"Or I can go with your mom?" Reggie added to the uncomfortable tension, which earned a slap in the back of the head by Emma. "Ouch. What? It was a question."

"Oh, dear God, can we please get this torture over with?" Cheryl rolled her eyes causing Emma to smile. Kevin inhaled deeply fully aware the awkwardness wasn't over yet. "Well, Emmie you're next and then Betty."

Betty handed Emma a gift causing the group to internally groan while another possible awkward interaction emerged. She unwrapped it revealing forest green gloves and a poetry book.

She looked up at Betty offering an awkward smiled.

Betty took that moment to explain as the tension hung in the air. "I-uh, noticed you have been wearing green lately so I thought the gloves would be a nice touch. Plus, I know Sylvia Plath is your favorite, so..." Everyone looked around, knowing this couldn't get more awkward.

"Thanks, Betty. I appreciate it." Emma smile at her softly before placing them in her bag.

Kevin looked around, "Betty, you're next, and mercifully last."

Betty picked up her gift as she unwrapped it, swooning over Archie's gift to her about her childhood read-a-long record that the two had listened to as kids. Moose entered with Midge, still recovering from his injuries.

As everyone happily embraced Moose, Emma took her cue to slip away.

"Hey, Thea..." Jughead caught her in the hallway. Rolling her eyes she turned around to meet Jughead's eyes.

"Come." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the Blue & Gold office. She walked in as he closed the door, moving towards the desk. "What is it, Jughead?"

He open a drawer and handed her a small box. "I got this for you before... uh..." Taking the gift, she looked at him before looking at the small box. She inhaled, reluctantly she opened it.

"Jug." The raven-haired boy smiled at her while he took the necklace out of the box.

"I know you have been looking for a necklace and you're a gold type of girl." She glanced at the circular pendant as Jughead moved to clasp the necklace around her neck.

"I love it..." She whispered, holding it. His hands lingered ever so lightly on her shoulders as she turned looking into his eyes. The two looked at one another silent but filled with emotion.

"Thank you, Forsythe." Just as she dipped into her bag to give him his gift, Betty had walked in. "So, I know you said no presents but I couldn't not get you one." She said brightly as she locked eyes with Emma, who sported Jughead's necklace.

"Oh... I'm interrupting."

The strawberry-blonde quietly fumed that Jughead and Betty has made up so quickly while their relationship sat in peril.

Emma pursed her lips as she handed him a small gift.

Turning, her eyes met the preset in question— a typewriter that sat proudly wrapped on Betty's desk. 

She walked out without meeting Betty's eyes as the two watched before silence fell over them.

"So much for that..." Jughead whispered almost inaudibly.

***

Emma had heard Betty and Archie downstairs as she got ready. She knew the two were heading to the Sister's of Quiet Mercy to ask about Joseph Conway.

So, Emma waited until she heard the door clock, signaling the two had left. Waiting a few moments, the strawberry-blonde also left and headed to meet Toni at the Wrym.

The drive was quiet as the road curved, covered by darkness. The bar had been pretty desolate just as outside had been.

A cold breeze flew into the dimly lit bar once Emma opened the door.

As she neared the bar, Emma spotted Sweet Pea leaned against the side while Toni stood behind the bar.

"Hey." Emma breathed sitting at the corner stool next to where Sweet Pea stood.

The strawberry-blonde shrugged off her black long wool coat and scarf, placing it on the seat besides her. Toni smiled at her in response.

"Hey there, Pipsqueak." She smiled at Sweet Pea's antics. He was out of his usual attire, simply sporting a black tee and jeans. To Emma, he seemed more relaxed than his usual front that she detected he put up.

Much like her own.

Sweet Pea looked at her and then at Toni, shooting the pink-haired girl a reassuring eye. "You okay there?" Emma questioned.

Toni bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were doing? I haven't seen you in a while."

"You slept over my house like a week ago, Antionette."

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer. He knew that she was stalling. After coming back from the Andrews house the next morning, Toni banged on his trailer door and barged inside.

Only to tell him that she was still torn between telling Emma that Betty had learned about the Serpent Dance from her or simply not mentioning it.

Being surrounded by boys constantly became annoying after a while and Emma understood things that her two best friends might not. Toni didn't want to add fuel to the fire.

"Are you going to tell her or are you going to keep fidgeting?"

"Sweet Pea." Toni said harshly as he raised his hands in defeat. She then looked at Emma, who was observing her face. "I told Betty about the Serpent dance."

"And there it is..." Sweet Pea droned.

"I told her. She came in asking about how to be a part of this world and I told her about the dance and how it was misogynistic," Toni geared her last word towards Sweet Pea who was smirking.

Rolling her eyes, Toni looked back at Emma. "I didn't think she would do it. She agreed that it was misogynistic, but then I saw her doing the dance the other night and it clicked. Then, I came over to watch movies with you-"

"Which I'm upset I wasn't invited to by the way." Sweet Pea chimed in.

Toni glared at him before continuing, "I meant to tell you, but you were in such a good mood and we bonded. I didn't want to ruin that-"

"Toni, I'm not mad."

"Really?" Toni said with disbelief.

Emma nodded, "I mean, I am mad but not at you. You didn't know her intentions. That's on her and Jughead. He led her on and she overstepped. You just filled me with rum and left me with poor company." She nodded towards the boy beside her.

"I don't think you admitting you find me attractive and raking your eyes all over me qualifies as poor company, princess." The raven-haired boy teased as she rolled her eyes at him. "You are absolutely infuriating, you know that?"

Sweet Pea scoffed, "Well, Little Red, you sure did a number on Jones. He's been mad since. Even rallied us to cut Penny's tattoo off her arm and dump her in Greendale. It was-"

"He did what?" Emma snapped her head as the raven-haired boy looked down and smirked. "Explain." She eyed him carefully while he explained the Penny Peabody situation.

Thus, leading her to understand why her brother and Jughead were acting weird that night at Pop's.

Toni excused herself to help hog-eye with shipment leaving the two to their own devices. The music flowed out of the jukebox a few feet from them. The few patrons that stood at the bar were near the pool table and jukebox, laughing at one another.

"Now that Toni has left, how are you really doing with the whole Jones thing?" Emma turned her head to see Sweet Pea's body turned towards her.

His legs were outstretched while Emma's legs barely made it to the last stilt on the stool. She shrugged and took another sip of her drink, "I told you, I'm fine."

"Little Red, you and I both know you lied through your teeth because you didn't want Toni to feel weird since she's friends with both of you."

She stared at him confused how easily he read her actions. It was something that Emma wasn't a fan of.

"Aren't you?" Emma retorted.

The raven-haired boy exhaled knowing that she was unsure of where he stood and she wasn't the type to gossip about her personal life. "We may run in the same circle, but it doesn't mean we have pillowtalks."

Emma knew that Sweet Pea gave a lot of push back because of Jughead's reluctance to join the gang. He had taken his hesitation as a slap in the face after the Serpents had protected him.

The raven-haired boy eyed her, "I know a good poker face when I see one."

"Is that because you wear one too?" She asked in a softer curious voice.

He nodded, "It's easier." Sweet Pea's voice matched her softness. In a way, this was his very odd way of opening up and Emma could see that.

The strawberry-blonde sighed and turned her body towards him. She hadn't realized how close he was to her until she crossed her legs and brushed hers against his knee.

Whether it was because Emma didn't want to complicate things with Toni and Jughead or because she simply didn't want to let her in, Toni was not a option to confide in.

One arm rested along the counter while her other hand rested in her lap.

"Take it from someone who knows, it's not. The moment you slip up is when the trouble really brews." Emma stared at her drink sounding more defeated than philosophical.

He was intrigued even further by their layered conversation, "Is that what happened?"

"That the Ice Queen attempted to thaw her heart only for it to backfire as usual?" She looked at him before grabbing her drink, "Yes."

He watched Emma downed the rest of her double bourbon leaving him slightly impressed at how she didn't seem to flinch at the burning sensation that coated her throat.

She placed the cup back down before fiddling with her gloves. He found it curious that no matter the weather or atmosphere she was always wore them. When Toni had come to his trailer the day after her sleepover with Emma, she ended up staying the day wanting to avoid her own home a little longer.

When he asked her in passing about the strawberry-blonde and her weird accessory choice, Toni shook her head. According to her, the one time she had asked Jughead he became slightly angered and told her that she had a bad experience in Chicago.

Toni didn't push any further knowing he did not want to discuss it at all.

Yet, Toni speculated there was much more, and so did Sweet Pea.

"So, what's the deal with the gloves?" He pointed at Emma's lap where her hands rested.

She looked down at the blue leather gloves that contrasted against her white blouse, "I'm a germaphobe. Picked it up in living in Chicago."

Sweet Pea watched as she simply brushed it off, but saw she fiddled with them once more. He had a feeling it was her own nervous tick.

He leaned forward slightly capturing her eyes that tore away from her lap, "If that's the story that you want to tell then by all means, Emma. But you and I both know that story is much deeper than you let on."

Emma stared at him with immense curiosity.

"To be frank, I don't like talking or being psychoanalyzed."

He shrugged at her statement. "Neither do I and yet, here we are."

Emma's expression of suspicion morphed into her cool, usual stare. The youngest Andrews mastered the art of deception and yet he had seen right past it. She could feel herself receding back into her safe space of isolation.

Sweet Pea had watched her demeanor completely change right before his eyes. And just as quickly as her veil of illusion had fallen, the walls built back up even faster. He could tell she was clamming up.

It wasn't a conversation she wanted to even acknowledge. Therefore, Sweet Pea changed the topic.

"You are not like other Northsiders."

Emma turned to face the bar and smirked. Her head turned in his direction, "Oh, do you mean like my brother that you pummeled?" She teased.

"In my defense, he was asking for it." He pointed at her matching her smirk.

"Truth be told, he deserved it." Emma shrugged and grabbed his beer before taking a sip. The strawberry-blonde swayed towards "Not to mention that he was really pissing me off that week."

He noted how she didn't seem all too bothered by her brother's and his differences. "Most people would've hated me for beating the crap out of their twin."

And it was true.

Had the situation been different, if Archie wasn't the aggressor and rather the targeted, Emma would've been pissed. In truth, no matter how far she and Archie stood on certain topics, if it came down between her brother and the Serpents, including Jughead, Emma would've chosen her brother every time.

However, her twin stood in the wrong and no matter who you were to Emma Andrews, she didn't stand for injustice and prejudice.

"Well I am not most people, now am I?" She mused.

Emma noted his dog tags that hung loosely around his neck and the cold metal rings that sat on his two middle fingers and his left thumb.

Sweet Pea could tell that she was reading him.

Her eyes moved to match his and she knew that he had watched her surveying him. Sweet Pea smiled down at her and leaned close towards her face only to stop inches away from her.

His voice was low, and steady, while his eyes never wavered from hers, "No, you are not, Little Red."

She felt his hands lightly touch hers as he grabbed his beer from her clutches.

Emma smiled at him sweetly causing him to smile back at her. "Did we just have a moment?" She cooed slightly.

He silently laughed, "That is what friends do."

"Ah, so you do consider me a friend." He noted her face slightly lit up at his statement. Emma made it a point that she had a very strong feeling that they would become good friends and while he shook his head at her.

She persisted on the night of FP's party.

Part of him was reluctant of a friendship knowing that a small part of him didn't view her in a platonic fashion. Jughead Jones was the Serpent Prince— the next in line to run the gang after his father handed him the gauntlet.

And Emma Andrews was someone that he felt would create issues for his place in the gang and Jughead's inner circle.

The Serpents were the only family Sweet Pea ever really had. Therefore, befriending the girlfriend of the his future leader wasn't the smartest idea, but he also believed that his infatuation would settle.

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes at the small smirk that gently laid on her lips. He looked at her pointedly, "You're also a pain the ass."

"Oh we are so going to do face masks together one day. You'll see." She winked at him knowing that the bad boy exterior he project would waiver soon enough.

Her phone buzzed causing her to peel her eyes from him to her phone where Toni stood smirking. Emma was completely unsure of how long the pink-haired girl stood there, but Sweet Pea made a point to shoot Toni an annoyed look.

She looked down at her phone to see 15 missed calls from the group and her dad. "Shit. I have to go."

"Uh, uh-uh." Toni shook her head. "You were drinking."

"Was this your ploy to keep me here? Get me to drink?" Emma smirked at the girl. She secretly wished she could've stayed longer.

The pink haired girl smirked, "Maybe?"

"Well, I really have to go to Pop's. Everyone has been blowing up my phone."

Sweet Pea stood up, "I'll take you."

"You've been drinking too." Emma glanced at his cup.

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, "I think you drank more of my beer than I did if you want to get technical, princess. I hope you like motorcycles." Emma's eyebrows raised as she followed him out.

"Good luck!" Toni yelled as the two exited the bar.

"Here." He handed her a helmet as Emma stared at him like a deer in headlights. The strawberry-blonde hesitantly got on behind him. He could tell this was most likely her first time on a motorcycle. "Relax, it won't bite."

Wrapping her arms around his waist, "If you kill me, I'm going to haunt you."

He snorted in response as he turned on the bike. Emma slightly jump at the sound, "Well then, who else could I bother if you were dead?"

"Charming." She scoffed as he took off causing her to hold onto him tighter.

***

Emma walked into Pop's apologizing to her dad as he and Hal Cooper spoke to Sheriff Keller.

Her eyes landed on Archie who spoke, while he and Betty were covered in dirt. "Forget his eyes. I can't believe he cut off his own finger." Veronica said with disbelief.

"Who cut off their finger?" Emma asked as she walked in front of the booth.

"Where were you? We've been calling, Em." Archie stood up and wrapped his arms around his sister.

He gestured her to sit next to him. "I was with Toni and Sweet Pea." She said sliding into the booth.

Jughead raised his head to give her questioning look. He didn't enjoy the fact that she grew closer with the two Serpents while avoiding him like a plague.

Veronica scrunched her nose, "Were you drinking?"

"Sweet Pea gave me a ride, relax. I'm not getting a DWI at the ripe age of 16. What happened? Why are you covered in dirt?"

Archie met her eyes and exhaled. "Mr. Svenson's the Black Hood. Betty and I left the house after we found out where the conman was buried-"

"-And to recreate that... he had Betty bury Archie alive." Veronica added.

"What?" Emma looked at her brother with disbelief as she looked him over, making sure he was okay. "I'm fine. But we chased him to the bridge and Sheriff Keller shot him."

Emma sat back with surprise all over her face. "Wow..."

"We know whodunit. So why did he do it?" Jughead asked passing his coffee to Emma, which she scrunched her nose to.

He knew she hated coffee, "It will sober you up, Thea."

Emma looked at him curiously as it was the first time he spoke to her in weeks.

She sipped on it as Betty relayed how Mr. Svenson accused an innocent man of killing his family, who in turn had gotten killed himself based on Svenson's accusation. That this was his way of balancing the scales, murdering the sinners of the town as he said.

"He could've seen Ms. Grundy and me in the music room."

"Yeah, and he could've seen Moose and Midge buying Jingle-Jangle." Betty added to Archie's statement.

"Maybe your dad because of the affair with my mom, but why not target my mom too? And was Emma collateral damage?" Veronica questioned.

Jughead's face scrunched as he played with his hands, "I don't know guys. This sounds like a scene out of Psycho. The truth is... I have nothing."

"Surprise." Emma muttered.

Jughead continued, "Except he's in a body bag and we aren't. You guys weren't." He gestured towards Betty, Emma and Archie. "I think that's enough for tonight."

***

The next two days were quiet a the Andrews family gathered around the phone on Christmas. "Yeah, mom. Love you too." Archie said into the phone.

Emma leaned against the island facing the phone and where Archie and her father stood.

"Love you more, Mom." She yelled as Archie rolled his eyes and passed it to his father.

As they ended their call, Archie walked towards the front door as Emma went to grab the pancake mix.

"Traditional Andrews' holiday breakfast, coming up." She said as he father smiled in response.

For her even in times like this, she cherished the moments where the Andrews men and her got together, forgetting about the looming darkness, and spent their time laughing and talking.