Chapter Text
"It's game time at Chez Blossom, cuties" Cheryl said. Chills shivered up Betty's back. She didn't know what twisted ideas Cheryl had in mind, but she knew Cheryl wanted to mess with her.
"We're going old school tonight; seven minutes in heaven. Who wants to tryst in the closet of love first? My vote is B, for Betty" Cheryl said as she looked through her. Betty froze on the spot. "Anyone care to second that?" Cheryl asked with a wicked look. "Yes!" Reggie said "let's see the good girl go bad!". Betty wanted to scream. What if she got stuck with some creep like Reggie? But, what if she got stuck with Archie, the guy she had been in love with for years? Suddenly her interests peaked, maybe tonight everything would go according to plan. Maybe tonight Betty would tell Archie how she felt, and he would tell her he felt the same. Maybe, this was fate.
"Gather around kids. Let's see who blondie'll be riding tonight" Cheryl said as she placed the bottle down on the table. Betty watched as the bottle span, praying it would land on Archie. As the bottle started to move slower she felt the whole world slow down around her. And then the bottle had stopped, and it wasn't pointing to Archie, but instead, Veronica. "Ahh! No way!" Reggie exclaimed. "It's clearly pointing to the new girl" Cheryl said. Betty and Veronica exchanged looks for a moment, both confused as to what had just happened. "This'll be fun" Cheryl said.
Veronica felt worried as the closet door shut. She knew that the moment the two girls walked out of that room that rumors about them would spread like wildfire. Although Veronica was no stranger to malicious rumors involving what she did in the dark, since at her old school half of the male population was convinced that she and her best friend Katie, were more than friends.
Veronica needed to break the ice. Even though she had only been in Riverdale for a few days, she really liked Betty. She wanted to be Betty's friend, desperately. "I know her brother died and everything, but Cheryl Blossom truly is the antichrist" Veronica said. Betty chuckled and flashed Veronica her cute, dorky smile. "Imagine going sixteen years with her constantly terrorizing you, it's a nightmare" Betty replied. "I can only imagine" Veronica said. And then Veronica felt something form in her stomach. It was like that one line of dialogue from Betty had somehow been the highlight of Veronica's day.
And then they returned to stark silence and bitter awkwardness. Betty exhaled deeply "do you miss New York?". And just as that feeling began to quickly drain from Veronica, it was back. "It's been less than a week, but yes" Veronica nodded. "What was it like? New York?" Betty asked. "What do you want to know about? The people, the shops, the food?" Veronica asked her. Veronica had only thought of New York on a superficial level for the past few days, but never really thought of it.
"Everything, I want to know everything about it" Betty said. A smile came to Veronica's face. "It's the best city in the world, I couldn't have asked for a better home. Everything about New York is so magical, it almost feels like Disneyland" Veronica said. Betty smiled. "I want to be a writer, and I've been thinking about going to college in New York. But, I've never been outside of Riverdale, so going to New York would probably be like an out of body experience" Betty said. "I think you'd fit right in in New York, you just need to start drinking more coffee" Veronica said. Betty gaged and Veronica chuckled "no thank you, I can't stand coffee".
Somehow that conversation had not only eased up the tension between the two, but somehow unlocked something in Veronica. Betty pulled out her phone to check the time "four minutes and thirty six seconds".
Veronica didn't know why, but something poured out of her as she began to speak "when I was a little girl, my parents would always take me on carriage rides around the city, and they would act as thought I was a princess going about to meet her subjects. Now, it looks kinda stupid, but little memories like that, they're what define us. That's probably why I became so bitchy when I got older, my parents told me I was a princess, so I started acting like one". "Wow" Betty said "Veronica, I-" "it's fine, bitchy Veronica is gone, she died the moment she saw her father get dragged away by police officers. But enough about me, let's talk about you. You said you wanted to live in New York, and as a former New Yorker I can happily say that that is a wonderful idea. But, uh, New York isn't as close as you think. It'd be hard seeing your family or, a boyfriend, or whatever" Veronica said. She had no idea why she had brought that up, but she has already made her bed, and now she had to lie in it. "Oh no!" Betty exclaimed "I don't have a boyfriend". Veronica felt taken aback, almost as thought those five words had calmed her, as if they had been exactly what she wanted to hear. "Really? Not even Archie? I mean, you two seem close" Veronica said. "No, Archie's just a friend" Betty said "but what about you, do you have a boyfriend, or a... girlfriend or something?". Veronica smiled "no, I don't have a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or something".
More awkward silence. "I'm sorry, if somehow that offended you. You know, suggesting that you have a girlfriend or something" Betty said. "Oh no, it didn't, really" Veronica replied. "Okay good, because I really like you Veronica" Betty said. Veronica smiled, and it felt as though she overflowed with joy. "And, I've never really had any female friends, the only friends I really have are Kevin and Archie, and honestly, neither of them are that great of friends".
Something hit Veronica. The way she was feeling, all the joy and excitement, she'd felt that way before. She'd felt that way at a party in New York when she and a few friends played spin the bottle, and when the bottle had landed on Katie, when she had gone shopping with Katie and the two girls would help undress each other. And, she had felt it less than a week ago, when she had kissed Betty. Veronica felt herself moving closer to Betty. "Betty, what is this town like, like how " Veronica paused for a moment as she found the right choice of words "progressive is it? I mean, no offense, but everything in this town looks straight out of the 50's. I just wanna make sure the ideals aren't also straight out of the 50's". "Um, I mean it could be better but it could be a lot worse. I would say that things are changing, for the better, hopefully" Betty said. "Good, that's good. I.. I was just wondering since I'm Latina and being the victim of a hate crime is not on my to do list" Veronica said. Veronica shouldn't have said that. She had dug herself into a hole, and made things ever more awkward.
"How" Veronica paused for a moment to assess what she was doing. For some reason, this felt like a colossal mistake. "How much time do we have left?" Veronica asked. "A little more than a minute and a half" Betty responded. "Okay" Veronica said.
"Betty, what you were saying, about never having any girl friends, is that true?" Veronica asked. "Uh, yeah why?" Betty asked. "Well, I would love to be your first girl friend" Veronica responded. She just noticed his much closer the two girls had gotten. Veronica felt as though they both knew what was going to happen. "We... We shouldn't do this" Betty stuttered. And then they kissed. And it wasn't a brief kiss like it had been during cheer tryouts, it was long and full of emotion.
"Oh, well, looks as though we've discovered Riverdale High's own Ellen and Portia" Cheryl said. Veronica immediately broke away from Betty. Oh god, oh god. She looked at Betty, only to discover tears welling up in her eyes. Veronica wanted to comfort Betty, but before she could process it Betty was breaking through the crowd. "Betty! Wait!" Veronica yelled as she tried to fight her way through the crowd. But Cheryl blocked her, and gave Veronica a look so that Veronica knew she would never get through that crowd. And even though there was nothing Veronica wanted to do more than run after Betty and comfort her, she couldn't. Veronica was completely powerless. And as she watched the blonde haired girl get farther and farther away, she saw a flash of red hair darting after her, and relaxed knowing that at least some would be there to comfort Betty.
"Well Veronica, looks like Betty's so-called 'moment of fire' at cheer tryouts wasn't just a moment. I'm afraid I'll have to ask for her uniform back on Monday" Cheryl said. "You don't fool me, you cant do that" Veronica said. "Why not? I'm cheer captain after all" Cheryl said. "I told you, if Betty's not on the team, I'm not on the team, and if I get kicked off the team, then you've just found yourself a new enemy. And I warn you, you don't want to know how bad this queen bee can sting" Veronica said as she barged off.
The moment Archie saw Betty crying, he leaped from his seat to go comfort her. His best friend was in pain, and needed him more than ever. And Betty didn't seem to let up. He felt almost embarrassed that she was faster than him in heels. When he had finally made it to the Cooper residence, and saw that she wasn't there, he almost felt defeated. He didn't know what Veronica or Cheryl or whoever had done to her, but he had to be there for her. And then she came out. Archie quickly walked up to her as she shut her front door. She walked up to him, still with tears in her eyes.
"Hey, Betty, you okay?" He asked. She nodded, even though she clearly wasn't okay. He walked up to her, the girl he had known so well since he was a child, and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, I'm sure that by Monday this will all go away and Cheryl will have some other juicy story to obsess over" Archie said. "No Archie" she said as her voice broke "you don't understand. She saw us kissing, she's never going to let that go. She already hates me for no reason, and she and Veronica are already butting heads to be queen bee. She'll never let this story die". "Hey" he said as he let go of her, his closest friend "it's no big deal, it's just a kiss. You'll get through this". "Archie" she said "there's something I need to know, something that's been eating me alive for years". "What is it Betty?" He asked "you know I'd do anything for you".
"Do you love me? Or even like me? Or even think that you could one day like me?" Betty asked. Archie froze for a moment. "Of course I love you, Betty" he said "but, I can't give you the answer you want". He saw as the tears began to well up in her eyes "why?" She asked. He couldn't think. He couldn't just tell her that he didn't love her just because he didn't. "You..." He began "are so perfect. I've never been good enough for you. I'll never be good enough for you". He watched as she began to choke down her tears. It pained him to see her like this. He loved Betty, he really did. Maybe not in the romantic sense, but he loved Betty as much as someone could love someone else. And to see her in pain, and to know that he had caused that pain, broke his heart.
"Sorry to interrupt" he heard a voice say. Archie turned around, and saw Veronica on the street below him. "Go away" Betty said, her voice breaking. "Betty I-" "I don't care what you have to say. You embarrassed me! And for what? To impress Cheryl?". "Betty that's not-" "save it, you already told me that you were a complete snob in New York. I don't think any thing's changed about you Veronica. I think you're still the same spoiled, bitchy mean girl from New York and that you agreed to kiss me to get in with Cheryl and get friends. But, whatever this is, is over!" Betty said as she turned around and marched inside. As she slammed her door, his heart sank.
"Archie?" Veronica asked. He turned around to face her again. "Yeah" he responded. "When you get the chance, can you tell her that I never meant for any of this to happen, and that I'm sorry, please?" She asked. "Okay, but, why do you really care. You've known her less than a week, and you could easily be friends with anyone you want?" Archie asked. He didn't trust Veronica, especially not after what had just happened. "Because, I want to be friends with her" she said "we've created a bond in a week that's stronger than most I've made over the course of years. Please, just tell her that I'm sorry" Veronica said. "Honestly, I don't really want to. How do I know that you're not just going to turn her into a dummy that you, Cheryl, Tina and Ginger can pick on. Honestly Veronica, you've given me no reason to trust you" Archie said.
Her expression changed dramatically. It almost looked as though she was going to cry. "Oh, okay" she said "I... I'll just go then". Veronica began to walk off. As he began the extremely short journey home, guilt started to sink in. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Veronica was good.