Jughead and Toni

"I'm Toni Topaz. I was supposed to give you the full animatronic tour of Southside High, but some of the robots went insane and started killing the guests, so, we'll just wing it."

- Toni to Jughead

The friendship between Jughead Jones and Toni Topaz began when Jughead transferred to Southside High. They became good friends when Toni volunteered to be Jughead's tour guide when he first transferred, as she knew Jughead was a Southside Serpents, bond by blood, the son of FP Jones, the leader of the Serpents. Because of this, Toni would always have his back along with the rest of the Serpents, as they consider Jughead family.

Toni gives Jughead advice when needed, especially when it comes to surviving Southside High and the Ghoulies. Toni is also loyal towards Jughead, as she knew that Jughead got jumped by the Ghoulies, however she knew Jughead wanted to keep it a secret from Betty, and so she choose to honor his wishes, proving her loyalty towards him.

Toni and Jughead also work together at The Red and Black, after he convinced Mr. Phillips to re-open the school newspaper, later recruiting her in the process as the school photographer. As he described Toni to have an amazing eye and a hunger for social justice like he was. Their currently working on a case together for the papers on the Black Hood, with Betty and Kevin aiding them.

Southside High's Welcome Wagon
Toni arrived at school that morning to find Jughead Jones, Southside High's newest student passing through security. While taking a quick photo of him, Toni called out to Jughead by his first name, Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, before introducing herself as his mentor. She was supposed to give him the full animatronic tour of the school, however, she joked that with some of the robots going insane and killing people, they would be forced to wing it. Toni made sure to tackle the basics as she guided Jughead throughout the school. The classrooms don't have Wi-Fi. The bathroom stalls don't have doors. And the school paper, The Red and Black, had long since been closed down due to budget cuts. To their right was a rare glimpse of Jingle Jangle (highly addictive gutter drug) being consumed in its natural habitat. On to the cafeteria, where she informed Jughead of the Ghoulies, a rival gang of drug dealers, street racers, and rumored cannibals. As for her and Jughead, they sat on the other side of the cafeteria with the Southside Serpents, which Toni failed to mention earlier, though her affiliation to the Serpents is precisely why she volunteered to be his mentor. However, Jughead would rather sit alone, which baffled Toni considering that he was a Serpent by blood; the son of FP Jones. Toni advised Jughead to stick with the Serpents. Should the Ghoulies discover that he's alone and vulnerable, they'll attack.

The next day in class, Toni warned Jughead against answering Mr. Phillips question in relation to the dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451. However, Jughead failed to heed her warning.

Later that day, she joined Jughead in the Red and Black offices to help him unpack after receiving approval from staff to revive the school paper. She congratulated him on finding his safe space. All he needed now was a photographer with an amazing eye and a hunger for social justice, looking to Toni in hopes that she would agree to join him. However, before Toni got the chance to reply, they were interrupted by Sweet Pea and two fellow Serpent members, who were wondering if Toni and Jughead would be joining them at the quarry. Although Toni was prepared to leave, Jughead declined Sweet Pea's offer, which left him feeling a bit upset considering that Jughead had come to them in the past for assistance. They were good enough for him to ask for help, but not good enough to hang out with, Sweet Pea concluded. While Jughead appreciated what they had done for him and his father, he was through with the Serpents, which angered Sweet Pea, enough to make him attack. Fortunately, Toni was there to keep the two of them apart, telling Sweet Pea that Jughead just wasn't that into him.

That night, Toni accidentally walked in on Jughead kissing his girlfriend, Betty Cooper. Toni apologized for the intrusion, sarcastically remarking that she didn't see the sock on the door. Betty was not at all what Toni had pictured. She imagined someone more resembling of Emily the Strange. Jughead then pulled an old kettle pot out of the box of items that Betty had brought over. Surprisingly, Toni had brought one off her own, commenting that great minds think alike.

Toni joined Betty and Jughead in FP's trailer the next day, following an attack on Jughead, presumably orchestrated by the Ghoulies. However, he lied to Betty, telling her that the cuts and bruises were the result of a motorcycle incident. While cleaning him up, Betty was initially worried that Jughead was going to tell her that he got jumped by the Ghoulies, which according to Toni, the Serpents would never allow because they had Jughead's back. Even though he wasn't an actual member, there was still that connection of family loyalty. Before leaving for school, Betty asked Toni if she could keep an eye on Jughead while she was gone, to which Toni replied that she was all over it. Once Betty was gone, they were able to speak freely. Toni reminded Jughead that she had warned him about the Ghoulies and how they would attack. She was hoping that this would serve as a lesson to take the threat more seriously.

The following day in the cafeteria, Jughead voluntarily joined her and Sweet Pea at the lunch table. It would seem that he had finally realized the severity of the threat, as well as accepted their offer to join them.

Cracking the Cipher
Toni sat alongside Sweet Pea and Fangs Fogarty in the school's cafeteria as the three of them watched Archie Andrews' message to the Black Hood, where he threatened to hunt the killer down. With Fogarty becoming more anxious to earn his Serpent stripes as the day grew on, they could think of no better way for him to earn his way into the gang than for him to bring them the head of the Northsider in the video. Unfortunately, Jughead advised them against such action, claiming that he knew the guy in the video, who he described as being a lame target. If they actually sought to prove something, Jughead suggested that they got after the Black Hood, though as Sweet Pea explained, this wouldn't be in their best interest. The Black Hood was doing their work for them by going solely after Northsiders, essentially making him a hero.

Later that day, Toni found Jughead in the Red and Black offices reading Beware of the Zodiac. She noted that while it was a decent read, she preferred Robert Graysmith's definitive books on the subject. Jughead's phone then began to ring. Calling him, was Betty, though he chose to ignore it. Jones, Jones, Jones, you disappoint me, Toni said. If serial killers were an interest of his, Toni suggested that he check out Ted Bundy, Albert Fish, Aileen Wuornos. However, as Jughead explained, none of them fit the profile. Unlike most serial killers, the Black Hood wore a mask. He's most likely someone consumed with self-loathing. Conversely, he also sent letters and cryptos to the press. Admittedly, Toni was a "true crime junkie". Toni confessed that she didn't stop by for a friendly chat, she was seeking Jughead out, hoping that he would help her crack the Black Hood's cipher that was posted in the latest print from the Register.

The following night, Toni, Jughead, Betty, and Kevin convened in FP's trailer. where the four of them work together in an attempt to decode the cipher. Betty remarked that the codes looked familiar, though she couldn't quite place them. Toni suggested that she loosen her ponytail, which she swore was a joke, though the awkward tension was apparent. Back on the topic of cracking the cipher, Toni explained that she was looking for doubles letters, such as double L and four-letter words like kill. It was then that Jughead began to question why the Black Hood chose now to start killing. From what little they knew of the Black Hood, he was obsessed with cleansing the town of sinners and hypocrites, seemingly attacking anyone with ties to the north side, which Toni referred to as fake news. All the Northsiders ever did was demonize the south side, so it came as no surprise that they would suspect the killer of being from there. Betty's defense was that she was merely stating facts, though Toni made a point of addressing how drugs in town were sold mainly to north side crackheads. She then turned her attention to the Red Circle, or as she preferred to call them the Red Psychos. She was surprised that Betty hadn't already come out to say that she thought the Black Hood was a Serpent, as they all knew how much Betty hated the Serpent, proving this claim to be true as she outed Jughead for hiding from Betty the fact that he sat with the Serpents at lunch. Having said that, she decided to leave.

Display of Love and Concern
When Jughead approached Sweet Pea, Fangs Fogarty and Toni, among other young Serpents who crowded the lunch table in the courtyard. They were confronted by Jughead after learning that Dilton Doiley had supposedly been jumped and stabbed by Southside Serpents. They clarified that they didn't jump Dilton, but recounted what really went down; a large brawl broke out between The Red Circle and Southside Serpents which explained Sweet Pea's black eye that he acquired from Archie Andrews' blow to his face. The Bulldogs were let off free, whilst the gang was hauled in by the police. Tired of being subjected to unfair treatment and looked down upon as second-class citizens in their own town, Sweet Pea and Fogarty devised a plan to blow up the Register with a pipe bomb. Jughead objected to such action. Doing so would only worsen the divide between sides, suggesting instead that he first talk it out with Archie, but was quickly turned down as Sweet Pea was tired of Jughead playing both sides.

After the Serpents left the table, Jughead sat down next to a concerned Toni, who said that the Northside has been dumping on them for years. Jughead's father, FP Jones, tried to keep both sides of the pot from boiling over and trying to prevent the bloodshed. But with him in prison, and no leader present, reckless individuals such as Sweet Pea think that there is only one solution: violence.

At the Whyte Wyrm, Jughead appeared in the Serpent jacket, claiming that he was ready to embrace being a Serpent. Tall Boy interjected, saying he'd only become an official member of the gang only if he survived Serpents initiation. Toni and Jughead locked eyes, and he could see her signs of concern.

Before Jughead's second initiation test, Toni met up with him at FP's trailer. She tested Jughead's memory of the laws of being a Serpent, which were the following; "a Serpent never shows cowardice", and "if a Serpent is killed or imprisoned, then their family will be taken care of". However, he failed to cite the remaining laws. Toni instructed him to focus and to take the initiation seriously, which he swore he was, but he was struggling, though this still left the question as to why Jughead suddenly wanted to go from conscientious objector to full-fledged member. Much to Toni's surprise, Jughead's sudden change of heart was because of her earlier statement in regards to his father being responsible for keeping Serpents like Sweet Pea inline. Somone had to step up in order to prevent an all-out war from erupting. Hearing these words from Jughead convinced Toni to continue helping him with his review of the laws.

After Jughead's successful initiation, they sat in the trailer, as he was healing up. Toni congratulated him for passing that initiation. As he held an ice pack against his face, Toni pointed out that he was going to have a difficult time hiding his brand new double-headed Serpent tattoo from Betty, though as Toni would come to learn, he and Betty broke up, thus making his tattoo a non-issue. Upon hearing this, Toni leaned in for a kiss, which he reciprocated.