Archive of Our Own

On every Wednesday and Friday, after her Criminal Law I class, Veronica Lodge stands outside a very unassuming music room, dubbed room 203, in the great halls of the NYU’s music department exactly at 4:30 p.m. sharp. She hovers just outside the edge of the slightly ajar door, proficient and elegant enough to pull it off without looking completely creepy.

Now, despite what you may think, Veronica Lodge is not a stalker. She swears.

But she’s also not completely bereft of any proper auditory hearing to not appreciate the alluring melody and harmony flowing so iridescently through the closed door of one of the copious amounts of music rooms in NYU. I mean, come on, she’s not a barbarian.

The first time Veronica had heard this thrilling, yet astonishingly melancholy refrain, she was in the middle of walking down the halls of NYU’s music department, cutting her conversation with Josie and the rest of the Pussycats very abruptly. So much so, that the three girls were actually concerned, rather than amused at their friend’s usual over-the-top theatrics. But all Veronica could hear was that dazzling quiescence hidden in the crevices of the melody, and she swears, she falls in love right then and there.

And as she continued to ignore the sounds of Josie calling out to her, she follows the music like a beacon calling out to her in a dark and desolate night, stopping short in front of the door leading to what feels like the train to the rest of her life. She starts to commit the music to memory, ingraining the emotion behind it so deep that it etches itself onto her bones, igniting something so...pure within her. And then she makes the mistaking of peering through the slight crack in the door, because she swears her brain short-circuits, rewires itself, and then restarts, all in a startlingly, instantaneous moment. She takes in a ragged breath, and tries to quell this sudden serene wave sweeping over her, because sitting so ethereally before her is a fiercely gorgeous woman, almost as breathtaking as the music she was creating herself.

She was perched before a simple Baldwin piano, fingers moving swiftly and deftly across well-worn ivory keys, tinkling and electrifying in every one of her calculated movements. Her blonde hair was pulled tightly and neatly up into an innocent ponytail and her eyebrows were slanted down in concentration. Pulled between her teeth were two very plump lips, the lipgloss already being eaten away slowly. But despite her very obvious aesthetic beauty, Veronica could not help but notice how beautiful her disposition was as she continued to play, eyes closed, head tilted in a sedated manner, seemingly lit aflame by the sheer virtue of simply creating music.

That was when Veronica swore that she had been thrown onto the train speeding down to the rest of her life. It was cheesy, she knows, but sue her - she liked to dabble in literature.

Since then, she’s been an avid and consistent visitor to room 203.

Now, despite what you might still think, Veronica Lodge is not a stalker or a creep. She swears on her pearls and on her mother’s.

She just loves music as much as the girl playing it. And...maybe it helps that the person creating that lovely, lustrous composition is as breathtaking as the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen.

/////////

Betty Cooper lives for music. She lives for the adagio, the consonance, and the cadence of it all. She finds solace in what seems to be wild and chaotic to her mother, because it’s the only factor in her life that she can control.

She revels in the ability of transforming a melody, adding a dash of dynamic here and there, and creating a hauntingly beautiful harmony. She revels in the autonomy of it all, in the beats that are similar, in the harmonies that are comforting, and in the magic that seems to flow from her hands the moment they touch a key.

It was all easy to control, and that’s what Betty likes. She likes to know what comes next. Likes to know how to act or to know what to say, because in the messed up family known as the Coopers, that’s what it takes to survive.

It’s absurd how much music understands that. How much music understands her.

That is why Betty plays, and plays, and plays, like her life depends on it. Because it does. It is a fresh gasp of air for her, and every time her hands glide along the keys, she swears something awakens in her, shifting and writhing under the molten rock of hard facades, red crescents dug in palms, and tight-lipped, chewed raw lips.

Music is her saving grace and she vows to herself, to love it as much as it has loved her.

So she sets a routine for herself - attend her journalism classes for the week to keep her mother happy, and then head over to room 203 on Wednesdays and Fridays right after her Journalism Ethics class exactly at 4:15 p.m sharp.

Betty does this the first few weeks into her first semester at NYU, always alone until she notices the dark-haired woman hovering around the room one day in late September, listening very attentively through the cracks.

At first, she’d been a little flustered and alarmed by the Latina’s effervescent beauty, but after getting over her initial bewilderment, she admits, she kind of enjoys her presence. She enjoys it even more when she notices how enraptured the woman is by the music, because it feels like someone understands how she feels.

It’s nice because she feels a little less alone.

So, she continues to play all throughout the entirety of September and October, until she has to miss her practice day on Wednesday because of pending assignments for her Investigative Journalism class.

When she returns to room 203 on a Friday, fifteen minutes later than her usual time, she sees the dark-haired woman standing outside the room, looking a little disappointed.

She doesn’t know what compels her to step forward and acknowledge the woman, but she does, albeit a little nervously.

“Would you like to join me?” Betty says from behind, voice soft and shy.

The woman spins around, brown eyes wide and swirling with embarrassment and...something else? Betty can’t put her finger on it.

“Oh! Hello, I didn’t see you there,” The woman says, and Betty thinks her voice is as beautiful as she looks.

Betty smiles a little, biting her bottom lip. “It’s just, I always see you out here, and you always seem to want to come in and listen, so I thought why not?”

The woman laughs, turning a little red. “Oh, you noticed, hmm?”

“If it helps, I only noticed after a couple of weeks,” Betty adds, and the girl smirks.

“Maybe I wanted you to see me, so that you’d invite me in,” She responds, confident. “I’m Veronica, by the way. Veronica Lodge.”

“Betty. Betty Cooper,” Betty says, thinking how fitting Veronica’s name was for her.

“Nice to meet you, Betty Cooper.” Veronica says, and Betty revels in the way her lips wrap around her name, like a devout prayer.

“Likewise,”

“Well, aren’t you going to let me in then?”

Betty lets out a loose laughs and Veronica swears her heart is soaring a little.

/////////

They continue this little routine for several weeks, as fall continues to seep into the trees and into the air, shrouding the city in a gorgeous display of reds, yellows, and oranges. And as Betty spends more time with Veronica, the more she wants to grab that beautiful face of hers and press her lips to hers. But she doesn’t because it’s a just stupid, fleeting crush, and besides, she’s like totally in love with her childhood best friend, Archie Andrews, the resident boy-next door. And anyway, she’s a hundred percent sure that Veronica is straight, and also way out of her league.

Betty keeps telling herself this, chanting it in her head like a mantra, as they continue to hang out, and then, suddenly, one day, when Betty’s showing Veronica how to play a C# sharp, Veronica asks her out for dinner.

“W-what?” Betty chokes out, abruptly hitting a wrong key, dissonance ringing in the air.

Veronica turns a little pink, but she hides it with a well-placed flip of her raven locks. “I mean, I’m meeting my friends Josie, Melody, and Valerie and I was just wondering if you’d like to join us?” She sounds hopeful, lips turned up by a fraction. “As friends?”

Betty’s heart drops into her stomach but she tries not to let it show how much it hurts to hear that. She knew it was too good to be true that Veronica was asking her out on a date. “S-sure. I’m meeting my friend, Archie, for dinner, but I’m sure he’d be happy to join us, if you’re cool with that?”

Veronica offers her a blinding smile, and the pressure on her chest alleviates a little. “Of course. Any friend of Betty Cooper’s is a friend of mine.”

/////////

Okay, so Betty kinda regrets bringing Archie Andrews on her non-date with Veronica Lodge.

Don’t get her wrong, she loves Archie to death - he is her best friend after all - but she forgot to factor in how much of a flirt he can be. The moment he had laid eyes on Veronica as he walked into the Pop’s-esque diner, Betty knew she had already lost. His eyes rove up and down her body, and Betty had balled her fingers so tight into a fist that blood trickled down her wrist.

She tells herself that she’s only jealous because Archie’s interested in someone else that wasn’t her, not because they’re both interested in Veronica. It works for a while, as Archie slides into the booth, sitting opposite from her and Veronica, until he starts flat out turning on the charm around her.

Veronica, to her credit, seems uninterested but manages to maintain a friendly disposition. She answers Archie’s inquiries politely, smiles and laughs at all the right places, and if Betty weren’t clouded by jealousy and stewing rage, she’d notice how...chaste and platonic it all seemed.

Just as their meals arrive, Betty feels a gentle hand touch her shoulder. She turns her head to the side and is met by Veronica’s concerned gaze. She’s so close to her, she can smell her perfume, Chanel No.5, which Veronica claims was her favorite, and see the golden flecks surrounding her irises.

Betty tries not to pass out from the sudden closeness as she nods her head numbly. “Y-yeah, I’m good.”

Veronica looks skeptical, glancing down to her clenched fists, which Betty unconsciously loosens. It accidentally gives Veronica a glimpse at the red crescents, dried and bloodied. “Are you sure?” She asks, gently, reaching over to clasp Betty’s hands in hers.

Betty moves her hands away by a fraction. “Yeah, don’t worry.”

Veronica makes a move to grab her hand again and this time, Betty lets her. Veronica traces the rough scars of previous indents, soft and cautious in her touches, and Betty thinks she looks like she’s about to cry. “Oh, Betty, how long has this been going on?” She asks softly, and Betty is suddenly very glad that Valerie, Archie, Melody, and Josie are all so engrossed in their own conversations that they pay them no mind.

“A while now,” Betty mumbles, and she can’t meet Veronica’s eyes.

Then, Veronica goes and does something very unexpected. She brings Betty’s palms to her lips and tenderly kisses over the scars, both of the fading and healing quantity, and her heart leaps into her throat. She sucks in a rough breath and she’s surprised no one has noticed what Veronica has done yet.

“I promise you that I’ll never let you get hurt again,” Veronica whispers, kindly, benevolently.

Betty clears her throat and then slowly wraps her hands around Veronica’s. “You just met me, Veronica. And that’s a big promise. Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” She tells her, not unkindly, and Veronica simply shakes her head.

“When Lodges make a promise, they keep it, no matter what.” She assures her firmly, and Betty has to pull her hands away because it’s all too much. “And besides, we may have just met Betty Cooper, but fate has thrown us together, and I swear, you and I were meant to be best friends.”

Betty smiles despite herself at the declaration, her heart hammering violently inside her chest, and Veronica is smiling back at her with this sweet, unfiltered smile and then...the bubble they were in, is effectively and wholly burst when Archie clears his voice.

Betty and Veronica face their friends and notice that the entire conversation has died down to a dull buzz, with everyone looking at them in concern.

“Uh, is everything okay?” Archie asks, sweet and oblivious.

Before Betty can respond, Veronica offers them a bright smile, and shakes her head. “Sorry, Betty and I got sidetracked about something. What were you guys talking about again?”

And just like that, the whole groups roars back to life at full speed, everyone chattering at the same time, and all Betty can make out is, “New York”, “first timers”, and “never been to Times Square”, before she’s pulled into the conversation by Veronica.

“That’s ridiculous! Betty, please tell me you’ve at least visited Times Square and the Empire State Building?” Veronica exclaims, turning to look at Betty.

Betty feels like a deer caught in the headlights. “Uh...no?”

Archie cheers then, triumphant. “Hah! I told you I wasn’t the only one.”

Veronica looks at her with mock disappointment, shaking her head teasingly. “Betty, how could you...I can’t believe you’ve betrayed me…”

“Oh, Ronnie, don’t act like you’ve been wounded. You hate those touristy places. You call them the devil’s tourist traps.” Josie says, raising an eyebrow challengingly.

“Oh, please, Josie. You make me sound like a proper snob,” Veronica says, waving her hand away dismissively.

“You are, though,” Melody chimes in, smiling.

Veronica sniffs, nose turned up, and returns her gaze to Betty. “Ignore them, Betty. Now, please, pray tell me, why you have never been there?”

Betty shrugs, “Never had the time, I guess.”

Veronica shoots her a devious smirk. “Well, I guess we know what you’re doing this weekend.”

Betty smiles, amused. “Why do I feel like I don’t get a say in the matter?”

“I mean, who could deny the rare opportunity of spending more time with me?”

“Fine,” Betty drawls, still smiling. “As long as we get to come back to this diner when we’re done, I’m down.”

Veronica’s smirk transforms into a radiant one. “Who am I to deny my girl?”

Betty’s heart flutters at hearing the words “my girl” and the moment is ruined by Archie again, that poor, negligent sap. If she didn’t love him so much, she’d strangle him.

“I’d love to join, if you girls don’t mind,” Archie says, all boyish charm. Betty secretly hopes Veronica turns him down.

But before Veronica can answer, Valerie jumps in, “Archie, why don’t I give you a tour instead? I can show you all those cool record stores I was telling you about,” and all Betty can think is, thank God, Valerie! You’re my hero!, to which she then, feels very guilty about.

Betty knows she’s supposed to be in love with Archie, and she’s so sure she loves Archie, loves him for all his boyish charm, unwitting obliviousness, and flirtatious ways, but she’s not so sure she’s in love with him anymore. He doesn’t make her feel as much as music does, as much as Veronica does in the small span of time they’ve shared.

But then again, she doesn’t know how she feels anymore. She’s scared to admit she might be a little in love with Veronica, and it’s becoming increasingly obvious that it’s not the stupid, fleeting crush she thought it was.

She doesn’t know what to feel anymore and she’s terrified.

/////////

"So, I hear from a little birdie that you've made a new friend at NYU?" Kevin says one day, voice tinny through Skype.

Betty was doing her homework when Kevin had called, and is still reading through some notes while he waits for a response. 

"Yeah, we've been hanging out for a couple of weeks," Betty says, still distracted.

"From what I gather, the ginger stallion seems to be smitten by her," Kevin says, nonchalant. 

Betty's head snaps up at that.

"What? What're you talking about?" She asks, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"I mean, it could be nothing, Betts. He just seems a little charmed by her," Kevin replies.

"That's Veronica, for you," Betty says, but her voice isn't bitter. In fact, it's the exact opposite. It sounds more wistful and longing instead. 

"It's okay, B. You and Archie are still meant to be together," Kevin assures and Betty just hums.

She's not completely sure where she stands anymore.

//////////

There are two things in life that Veronica Lodge is very certain about:

1. She looks damn good in pearls and a low cut dress.
2. She does not get nervous.

She knows she makes other people nervous and she definitely makes them tongue-tied, but she’s never been nervous, and she doesn’t like it.

“I blame you, Valerie!” She groans, voice muffled through the walls of her walk-in closet, as she tries on her eighth outfit of the day.

It’s Saturday morning, and Valerie and Josie are lazing on her king size bed, the both of them scrolling through their social medias.

“Hey, girl, I was just helping you out! You’re the one with the massive crush on her!” Valerie responds.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think that it’d be this hard,” Veronica grumbles, coming out of the closet donning a beige leather jacket, a black striped shirt, and ripped jeans. “What do you guys think?”

“I think it looks great,” Josie says. “Along with the seven other outfits you’ve tried on.”

Valerie laughs despite Veronica’s pout. “I think this is the one, Ronnie.”

Veronica smooths her hands down the length of her jeans. “Are you sure? Do you think it’s a little too casual?”

“Well, considering the fact that you guys are going to spend the entire day touring New York City, I think it’s the right amount of New York socialite and casual civilian,” Josie answers, flipping herself over so she can sit criss-cross applesauce.

Veronica sends her a small smile. “Thanks, Josie. You know just what to say,”

Josie winks. “Anything for a fellow pussycat.”

“I just never thought I’d see the day that the Veronica Lodge gets nervous,” Valerie quips, and Veronica tosses a pillow at her head, earning a squeal in response.

“She’s just really pretty! Excuse me for having eyes,” Veronica huffs, folding her arms.

“Oh, girl, you’re already so whipped,” Josie claims, earning an eye roll from Veronica.

“I just...don’t you guys ever feel like you’re on a train barreling towards the rest of your life when you’ve met the one?” Veronica says, and the group sobers a little.

“Wow...didn’t think you’d be such a sap, V,” Valerie replies a moment later, and all the girls laugh.

Before Veronica can respond, Smithers knocks on her door, pushing it open. “Miss Veronica, Miss Cooper has arrived.”

“Thank you, Smithers,” Veronica smiles. “Okay, you guys can let yourselves out, later.”

“Have fun!” They both call out, but it’s drowned out by Veronica closing the door.

Veronica shuffles into the living room and is greeted by Betty. She’s dressed in a form fitting pastel sweater and black jeans, which are sensibly tucked into beige boots. Her hair is down, cascading in cresting, beach waves. Her makeup is simple but Veronica can’t help but think she looks beautiful.

She’s talking to Veronica’s mother, Hermione, who stands all graceful and beautiful.

“Hey, mami,” Veronica greets, standing up on her tippy toes to plant a kiss on her mother’s cheek.

“Hi, mija,” Hermione responds. “I was just asking Betty how the semester was going.”

“Yeah, it’s really hard hitting stuff,” Betty adds with an airy laugh.

“I bet,” Veronica says, smirking. “You look like a total smokeshow, by the way.”

Betty blushes, turning almost the same shade of pink as her sweater. “Thanks, Ronnie. You look really great as well.”

“Well, that should be my cue to leave. You girls have fun today. Be safe,” Hermione says, giving her daughter and Betty a quick hug before retreating further into the apartment.

Veronica turns to Betty and flashes her a brilliant smile. “So, are you ready to have the best tour of your life?”

////////

“So, where are we headed first?” Betty asks, as Veronica turns right at a major intersection.

“Well, since you’ve never been to Times Square, we’re going there first,” Veronica says, crossing the street.

“Sounds good,” Betty replies, “Thanks for coming to these tourist traps with me.”

Veronica feigns disdain. “While I detest these traps, I’d do anything for my girl. Besides, since you’ve yet to pop your New York cherry, it’s up to me to do so.”

Veronica leads her to Times Square, watches as Betty becomes enamored with the bustling lights and the big city, her face painted with muted wonder at how alive the city truly is. They take a couple of goofy selfies as well, in the middle of the square, Veronica making so many funny faces that Betty laughs so hard she nearly cries.

They hang around for a little more, and then Veronica brings her to the Empire State Building. It’s packed with people, but Veronica and Betty manage to get in when a friend of Veronica’s father waves them in.

“Daddy’s been friends with him for years,” Veronica explains vaguely, leading Betty to the elevators.

They ride all the way to the top, and Betty and Veronica pose at the edge where there are far less people, grinning ear to ear at the camera as a passerby snaps the photo.

They thank them, and later, Veronica will post that picture on Instagram with the caption, “B & V, forged forever.” Betty will claim that, that did not make her stomach flip and her heart roar.

After they ride down, Veronica brings her to Central Park, leading her through the throngs of tourist crowded around the central areas.

“This is my favorite spot to just come and think,” She tells Betty, all sparkling eyes and mischievous smirks. They’ve stopped at a secluded part of the park, and Veronica sits down at a bench, patting the space beside her.

“I can see why,” Betty says, taking a seat next to her. She takes in the sights of warm, fall ambience. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is,” Veronica says, and she’s staring at Betty, studying the profile of her face, committing those gorgeous features to memory.

“Do you come here often?” Betty asks, desperate to divert Veronica’s attention.

“Why, Betty Cooper, is that a pick-up line?” Veronica teases; eyes still warm and all kinds of beautiful.

“Maybe,” Betty answers in a sudden surge of confidence, and damn, if Veronica wasn’t overcome with the sudden urge to kiss her, she’d tell her she finds her undeniable attractive.

“I come here when I’m super stressed out by workload,” Veronica says instead, turning away to look at the view before them. “It calms me.”

“That sounds nice,”

“It is. You should come with me one day, for a study date,”

“S-sounds great,”

They walk around Central Park for a little while, and when they grow weary, Veronica pulls Betty aside to buy freshly squeezed lemonade and a hot dog from the street vendor.

Betty tries to protest against Veronica paying for her, but she waves her off. “Nonsense, Betty. As your self-appointed tour guide, you must let me buy you the customary New York street meal.”

Betty doesn’t protest after she takes a delicious bite out of the hot dog. “Ohmygosh,” She moans, mouth full of food, as Veronica watches her with amusement while she sips on her own lemonade.

“Told you,”

They finish the final leg of the tour off with a short trip to Liberty Island, where they both feign awkward prom poses next to the Statue of Liberty, causing the couple taking their photo to laugh.

“I think we should be put into the hall of fame for these pictures,” comments Betty, as they scroll through Veronica’s phone. She’s so close that Betty can smell her shampoo, something expensive with a hint of lavender.

“Oh, B, they are too iconic for the hall of fame. They belong to the New York Metropolitan Museum,” Veronica tells her, laughing.

“Fair enough,” Betty relents, “though I don’t think the visitors will be able to see you...you’re so tiny in those pictures.”

“Excuse me, Miss Cooper, was that a jab at my height?” Veronica asks, eyes narrowing comically.

Betty shrugs, but she can’t the grin off her face. “Yes.”

Veronica feigns offense and they continue to tease one another until they reach the diner that reminds Betty so much of Pop’s. Her heart suddenly aches at the thought of home. Though she hated being in the Cooper household with her mother, she does miss some of her childhood friends and the sense of familiarity they all brought with them.

“This diner reminds me so much of Pop’s,” Betty tells Veronica, once they’re seated, demeanor contemplative.

“Pop’s?” Veronica questions.

“Yeah, it’s this little local diner we had back home in Riverdale. It had the best milkshakes and onion rings,” Betty says, heart aching a little more at the thought of those late nights she spent at Pop’s with her friends.

“Wait, you’re from Riverdale? How have we never talked about that before?” Veronica asks, eyes wide.

“I guess it never came out,” Betty says, chuckling at Veronica’s surprised expression. “Why?”

“My mom’s from Riverdale! She grew up there before she met my dad and moved to New York,” Veronica tells her.

“No way,”

“Yeah! I even visited there last summer,” Veronica says, “For awhile, at least.”

“Really? I was in New York for a five-week internship that summer!” Betty exclaims, a little shocked at the missed encounter.

Veronica laughs, voicing her thoughts. “Guess fate thought it wasn’t the time for our chance encounter.”

“Guess not,”

They settle down after that, both ordering their milkshakes and respective meals, with a basket of onion rings to share.

“Vanilla? Really, B?”

“What? Don’t hate ‘cause it’s a classic, Ronnie.”

“That’s so plain, and you, Betty Cooper, are far from that,” Veronica tells her, “It’s only fair that you have a drink that accurately represents that.”

“And you think chocolate’s the one for me?” Betty asks, amused.

Veronica smirks. “It’s the right amount of decadence and richness, so yes, definitely.”

“You just want me to say that chocolate’s better,” Betty deadpans.

“Be that as it may, you have to try it,”

“Fine,” Betty relents and takes a sip of Veronica’s milkshake. They end up swapping milkshakes for the entirety of their meal.

“Okay, the vanilla was pretty good,” Veronica admits after they’ve left, and Betty pumps her fist in a satisfied cheer.

They take the subway all the way back to Betty’s dorm. Veronica stops her outside, pulling her into a warm hug. The smell of Chanel No. 5 and that lavender shampoo of hers engulfs Betty, warm like the feeling of crawling into a comfy bed after a long, cold, winter day.

“Today was good,” Veronica mumbles into her hair.

“Today was the greatest,” Betty amends, and Veronica pulls away, but is still close enough that she can feel her breath on her cheek.

“I’m glad you had a great time. Be sure to give a good review to Lodge Tour Service,”

“Always,” Betty says, and then they’re staring at each other. It looks as if Veronica’s leaning in to kiss her, and Betty’s eyes flutter shut and she feels herself lean forward too, but then her brain seems to restart. She panics but they’re still leaning in, and her brain freaks because oh my gosh we’re really gonna do this! We’re gonna kiss!

And then it all comes to a startling halt when a voice yells out for Betty. And Betty and Veronica stop short because they’d recognize that voice anywhere.

Betty and Veronica pull away, and Veronica swears to God she’s going to kill Archie Andrews the moment they’re alone.

The redheaded boy jogs up to them, and by then Betty and Veronica have a foot worth of space between them.

“Archie, what’s up?” Betty says, voice tight and stringent, and Veronica’s kind of glad she’s not the only one irritated by this.

“Hey, guys! Wait, did I interrupt anything?” Archie asks, looking concerned, and if he weren’t so sincere, Veronica would’ve smacked him.

“Was there anything you wanted, Archie?” She asks, fighting to keep her voice from becoming hostile.

Archie perks up. “Oh, yeah. Betts, I was wondering if you could take a look at this paper I wrote? It’s a big part of my grade, and I’d love to get your opinion on this,”

“Sure, Arch,” Betty replies, because she’s too damn nice to tell him no.

“Well, that should be my cue to leave then,” Veronica says, all suave and seemingly unaffected, “Want to get lunch tomorrow, B?”

“Sounds good,” Betty responds, and Veronica pulls her into a quick hug before hailing a cab.

“Looks like you guys are becoming really good friends,” Archie says, smiling as they watch the cab peel off.

“Yeah,” Betty says, and she swears she’s going to strangle him when she gets the chance.

/////////

Betty and Veronica continue their routine of hanging out in room 203 on Wednesdays and Fridays, with other days sprinkled in between. They hang out between classes, grab coffee together, and study at Veronica’s favorite spot in Central Park some days. Their friends tell them they’re attached to the hip and they all laugh. Betty tries to ignore that warm feeling that laps at the edge of her belly.

The moment that happened between them several weeks ago is never brought up again, and Betty would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed.

But Betty just can’t stop thinking of that almost moment, the thoughts and memories seeping in during the lulls in her day. She’s thinking about the moment between them again when she’s absentmindedly shuffling her piano sheets. Distracted, she doesn’t notice a few papers slip and fall to the floor.

Veronica sidles up next to her, picking up those loose sheets. Her eyes fall on a particular piece of paper.

“Betts, why didn’t you tell me you were considering in entering?” Veronica exclaims, shaking Betty out of her reverie.

“Huh? What?”

“Hey, where’d you go?” Veronica asks, looking a little concerned.

Betty shakes her head. “Sorry, just thinking about this paper I need to finish. What were you saying?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were thinking of entering the music showcase?”

Betty shrugs, “I don’t think I’m really going to do it,”

“What? Why not?”

“I just don’t think I’m that great,”

“Betty Cooper, don’t you dare. You are one of the best I’ve ever met,” Veronica forges on, “I literally stalked you for a couple of weeks because you were that good.”

Betty chuckles, “I thought you said that it wasn’t classified as stalking,”

“Stop changing the subject, B,” Veronica tells her, “You need to sign up for this.”

Betty takes the papers from her hands and places it into her stack. She walks over to her backpack to stuff them in. Veronica follows her the whole way, heels clacking against the floor.

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Betty finally says.

“Why not?” Veronica asks. “You’re amazing, Betts. One of the best I’ve ever heard.”

Betty pauses for a moment, before sighing. “Because if my mother finds out that I joined this showcase, she’d kill me. She’d make me drop out of NYU.”

Veronica softens. “Why wouldn’t your mom be supportive of you, B?”

“She was never supportive of me. She always told me I needed to be perfect, or no one would ever want me,” Betty says, and then she’s sniffling, and God, this is so stupid. She shouldn’t be crying at this.

She feels Veronica’s strong arms encircle her, warm and comforting, and...and…familiar. “If she can’t support you and love you for you, then she’s not a good mother. And that’s not on you. You are one of the best people I know, and my life wouldn’t be the same if I hadn’t met you, Elizabeth Cooper.”

Betty’s trying hard not to cry, because Veronica feels so much like home, and she makes her feel so loved, something she hadn’t felt in a long time since Polly was gone. She also tries to ignore the fact that their bodies fit perfectly together as Veronica forges on.

“And if she can’t support you, then I will. You have me. And Josie, Valerie, Melody, and Archie. They all love you, I can see it,” Veronica says, hands playing with the bottom of her ponytail. “And I love you, Betts. I’ve got your back.”

“Thank you,” Betty responds, voice thick with unshed tears.

“Of course. You’re my girl,” Veronica tells her, pulling away. Betty tries not to be bothered by the loss of warmth. “So, what do you say?”

Betty looks at Veronica, lips growing into a grin. “Why the hell not.”

///////////

“I don’t think I’ve asked you how you got into music,” Veronica says out of the blue, one day.

They’re seated at her favorite spot in Central Park, both enjoying the tranquility of nature as they finish their required assignments.

“Hmm?” Betty hums, looking up from her computer.

“You’ve never talked about it before,” Veronica presses on, truly intrigued.

Betty turns to face her, lips pursed in thought. She pauses the soft music playing through her laptop’s speakers.

“Archie was the one to introduce me, actually,” Betty begins. “My parents got into a fight with my sister, Polly, one day, and it was really harsh on all of us. Polly wanted to run away that day, and I just couldn’t handle it.”

Veronica sits, listening attentively, completely enamored. Betty forges on.

“So I ran over to Archie’s – he was my neighbor back then – and he just brought me to his garage and whipped out this old piano. Told me that it used to be his mother’s,” She says, eyes glazed over with recalling the past. “He said that he was sad because he couldn’t help me, but he knew music always helped him and he thought it’d help me.”

“Who knew that redhead would be so insightful?” quips Veronica, earning a full laugh from Betty.

“Right? But, yeah, after that, I’ve been obsessed ever since,” Betty finishes. “Found out that I had an affinity with it.”

“Can you play any other instruments?”

“Archie taught me how to play the guitar and the bass, so I can strum a few notes here and there, but I always prefer the piano,” says Betty, her lips turned up a little. “It always felt right to me.”

Veronica offers her the softest of smiles. One of the most genuine and unguarded ones she’s ever seen. “Thank you for sharing with me.”

“No problem,” Betty replies, and she finds that she truly doesn’t mind sharing this part of her with Veronica. It feels…nice.

/////////

When Veronica first meets Alice Cooper, she’s watching Clueless on Netflix with Betty in her dorm.

A knock on the door rouses them from the movie, and Veronica pauses it while Betty gets up to answer.

“Who’s at the door, Betts?” Veronica asks after a long moment of silence.

The silence carries on until Betty’s voice comes out high and stringent.

“Mother, hello,” Betty says eventually.

“Betty, my dear, are you not going to invite your mother in?” Alice Cooper remarks, disdain clear on her face.

“Yes, of course,” Betty responds, but her face is impassive, cool and reserved. She steps aside and Alice walks in, posture ramrod straight.

She turns around, pretends to straighten something on her desk so that her mother can’t see her trying to steel herself. Veronica watches as her fingers close into her palm, already digging, already hurting.

Veronica wants to reach out, cup her hands in hers, and loosening those stiff fingers comfortingly, but she’s certain that this is not the appropriate time to do so. So she sits there, stuffing her hands under her thighs to resist the temptation.

“What are you doing here, mother?” Betty questions.

“What? Can’t a mother visit her daughter?” Alice replies, walking further into the dorm.

“No, because there’s always a reason for your visits,” Betty tells her, coming to sit down next to Veronica.

Alice ignores her daughter’s quip, but Veronica can see that she’s very displeased. She acknowledges Veronica’s presence, but still isn’t happy. “And who might this be, Elizabeth?”

“Veronica. Veronica Lodge,” Veronica explains, and it’s as if the room drops by ten degrees, because Alice’s stare is hard.

“Hermione Lodge’s daughter?”

Veronica’s surprised. “You know my mother?”

“Oh, I grew up with her,” Alice says, but her voice is far from nostalgic.

Veronica’s not sure how to respond. Luckily, Betty steps in. Her fingers dig caverns into her palms. “Why are you here again, mother?”

Alice blinks, and then her hard stare is back. “Betty, why didn’t you tell me that you’re joining that – that appalling music showcase?”

Betty tries not to look taken aback. “What ever do you mean?” She feigns, blue eyes wide with innocence.

“Do not act coy with me, Elizabeth. You know how much I disapprove of it, and yet you still went ahead and did it anyway,” Alice replies, voice harsh at every angle. Veronica recognizes it as chilling hostility. Betty recognizes that she’s poised to kill.

Betty flinches and something that feels a lot like deep-seated anger flares within Veronica when she notices how hurt Betty actually is by her mother’s acerbic words.

“Miss Cooper, with all due respect, Betty is a grown woman, she’s capable of making her own choic-“ She begins, but is cut off when Alice whirls towards her.

“Don’t you dare think that you can interfere,” Alice spits out, “I’m sure that you’re the reason why my daughter has decided to join this showcase.”

“Mother, that is completely uncalled fo-“ Betty starts, but Alice interrupts with an angry huff.

“I don’t want you hanging out with this Lodge girl ever again,” Alice tells her, “She is a horrible, venomous influence. And I’m not allowing you to enter into that showcase either.”

For a moment, Betty considers bursting into tears, but then she sees a flicker of hurt dance across Veronica’s features, and all she sees is red.

“Mother, you do not get to tell me what to do,” Betty volleys back bitingly, fingers breaking skin and drawing blood. “I will spend my time with whoever I chose, because it’s my life.”

Alice circles her like a shark out for blood. “Don’t you dare talk back to me, Betty.”

Her voice is warning, deadly, but Veronica can tell that Betty’s far too enraged and far too tired with her mother’s controlling ways that she plows ahead.

“I am an adult, and I will do whatever the hell I please,” She tells Alice, but her false bravado slips when Alice squares her shoulders.

“Excuse me?”

Betty shrinks back a little then, but then Veronica’s up, standing up to Alice like her own personal superhero. “I think it’s time you left, Alice,” She declares, face set into hard lines.

“Who are you to-“

“Leave, mother.” Betty whispers, tone strong in its finality.

Alice is fuming at this point as Veronica leads her out. “Do not think this is over, Elizabeth,” She tells her. “Your father and I will no longer support your ambitions to continue your studies in NYU.”

“Well, it’s a good thing she has a scholarship then,” retorts Veronica.

“Goodbye, mother,” Betty adds. “Oh, and also, Veronica’s the best thing to have happened to my life.”

“Boom. Suck it,” Veronica tacks on, ignoring the flutters in her chest as she slams the door in front of Alice Cooper’s red face.

Veronica heads over to sit next to Betty again, the frigid tension dissipating with the presence of its owner and instigator.

“That was terrifying,” Betty says after a long time.

“That was amazing. I’m proud of you, B,” Veronica amends.

“I don’t think I can feel my heart,” Betty remarks. “I think I may be going into a coronary attack.”

Veronica laughs. “You’re fine, babe,” she assures, pulling Betty into her side.

“God, I hope so,” Betty says. “What am I going to do though? I can’t afford to live in this dorm after winter. It’s the only thing my scholarship doesn’t cover.”

“Hon, you can just live with me,” she says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“What? No, I can’t ask that much of you,”

Veronica waves her hand away dismissively. “Please. As if I’d leave my best girl hanging.”

Betty tries not to kiss her. “Okay. Thank you.”

Veronica hums and they continue watching Clueless together. She attempts to ignore how precious Betty feels at her side.

////////

When the movie ends and they both hovering on the fringes of sleep, Veronica turns to her, eyelashes fluttering on her rosy cheeks.

“Did you mean it? When you said that I was the best thing to happen to you?” She says, voice thick with vulnerability.

Betty replies yes, because she can’t even bring herself to deny it, with the way Veronica is looking at her.

Veronica looks at her like she’s just discovered gorgeous galaxies and distant planets. Like she’s finally getting that gasp of air after being underwater so long.

Betty feels invincible under that gaze. She feels light, celestial.

She swears that this moment will forever be transcendent.

That’s when Betty Cooper realizes she loves Veronica Lodge.

/////////

Naturally, Betty calls Kevin the next day, when Veronica has left for her apartment.

“Kevin, I’m freaking out,” Betty huffs out, hands pulling at the loose string in her NYU hoodie.

Kevin holds up his hands in a placating manner. It’s blurry and pixelated on Skype. “B, relax. You’re in love! There’s nothing to freak out about,”

“Not when I’m in love with my best friend, who is most certainly straight,” Betty corrects, biting her lip. “And not when I just discovered I might be gay. Or least gay for my best friend.”

“Oh, babe, I knew you were a little gay when I first met you,” Kevin quips. “And I’m gonna ignore that little comment about Veronica being your best friend.”

Betty ignores him. “We were like nine, Kev!”

He shrugs. “What can I say? I had great gaydar even back then.”

“What am I going to do?”

“The way I see it, you’ve got two options,” Kevin tells her, holding up two slender fingers to the camera. “One, you can tell her that you love her, in a totally gay way, or two, you can continue to pine hopelessly after her for an eternity.”

Betty groans.

“Personally, I think that you should go with option one,” Kevin continues. “You’re a complete catch and honestly with what I’ve heard about her, she’s probably a little gay for you too, boo.”

“Thanks, Kev,” Betty says, voice deadpan.

“Just consider it,” He advises. “Now, let me tell you about my latest conquest. His name is Joaquin…”

/////////

The weeks bleed into December, with the threat of a frigid winter and pending final exams heavy in the air. As the semester starts to come to a close, Betty starts to realize that she doesn’t really know Veronica all that well.

I mean, she knows that Veronica’s favorite colors are blue and black, that she wants to go skydiving on her twenty-first birthday, and she sticks her tongue out when she’s concentrating really hard. She knows Veronica favorite go-to; get better show is Gilmore Girls, that she prefers lavender roses over lilacs, and her favorite drink in the winter is ginger tea.

But she realizes she doesn’t know much about the Veronica that existed before they met. Veronica hasn’t spoken much about her past self. Even for all her extroverted way, it seems to be a topic she consciously avoided.

Betty voices these thoughts one day when she fiddling with her piano, Veronica at her side.

“You never told me much about your life before you met me,” She blurts out.

Veronica looks a little surprised, but she recovers quickly. “I mean, there isn’t much to tell,” she states, avoiding Betty’s curious gaze. “I was a despicable person back then. Venomous and poisonous to anyone I’d touch.”

“V-“

“Oh, trust me, Betts. I’m far from exaggerating,” Veronica interrupts, smiling a little but it’s rueful and tight. “Anyways, what really woke me up was my dad’s arrest. He was a complicated man; did a lot of bad things for wrong and selfish reasons.”

Her lips roll and twist nervously. “After that, I decided I wanted to get my act together. Get rid of that ice queen bitch attitude I’d been sporting,” She continues, eyes not meeting Betty’s. “I graduated, and worked on being a better version of Veronica Lodge when I got into NYU. The rest’s history.”

Betty’s quiet for a long moment. This is the most she’s ever learned about Veronica’s past and she’s grateful that Veronica feels comfortable enough to share with her. So she voices that out.

“Thank you…for sharing with me,” Betty responds. “And for the record, you’re far from venomous or poisonous. You’re one of the kindest, most loving people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

Veronica doesn’t know what to say, just knows that Betty Cooper feels a lot like love.

/////////

“Have you ever played Can’t Help Falling in Love?” Veronica asks in the spur of a moment one day, when they’re in room 203, practicing for Betty’s big showcase that’s coming up.

Betty avoids hitting wrong key as her head snaps up. Veronica’s staring at her with this contemplative look on her face and Betty fears that Veronica just knows.

“No, why?” Betty responds, swallowing a gulp.

Veronica’s still watching her, lips pursed. “Nothing,” Veronica eventually says, shrugging. “It was my parents’ song and I’ve always loved it as a kid.”

Betty would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little relieved at the other girl’s response. She pauses for a moment, playing a something in C as she ponders what to say next.

“It’s a great song,” She manages out.

Veronica offers her the smallest and most imperceptible of smiles. “Yeah, it is,” She agrees, thoughtful. “It reminds me of simpler times and how great it feels to be in love and to be surrounded by it.”

“Is it because of how the melody and lyrics work so well together?” Betty asks, genuinely curious.

“Yeah. I love how the lyrics are so simple but powerful,” Veronica hums, before singing out a part of the song, startling Betty with how clear and strong her voice truly is.

“Like a river flows, surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be,” Veronica sings, softly, and Betty swears she’s going to the death of her. “Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you.”

“Veronica, I didn’t know you could sing,” Betty says after, pleasantly surprised.

“Like a nightingale,” Veronica nods, adding a wink for good measure.

Betty laughs. “May I get an encore?”

Veronica smirks. “Maybe one day, Cooper.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” Betty responds and Veronica laughs, her smirk turning into a bright smile.

They’re silent for a moment then, Betty playing a few different keys to see what fits in best with the melody. She scratches in a note on the piano sheet in front of her when she finds one she likes, while Veronica looks out, still thoughtful.

“Hey,” Betty says, knocking the other girl off her train a thought with a small smile. She slides the pencil that’s in her hand into the crook of her ear as she turns to face her.

“Hmm?”

“I’m glad you shared that with me,” Betty offers, smiling softly. Veronica smiles back.

“I’m glad too,” Veronica says, still smiling before she sobers up a bit. “I miss how simple it was back then.”

Betty just nods because she understands, thinking back to her own childhood when the Cooper household was filled with laughter and warm love instead of suspicious glares and condescending smiles.

She misses the simplicity of childhood sometimes and she supposes Veronica does too. It’s then, when Betty vows to play the song the next time she’s at the piano with her best friend.

It’ll be worth it just to see her smile, and, oh, God, Betty Cooper is a goner.

/////////

“You look amazing,” Betty breathes out when she sees Veronica in a form fitting, sparkling black dress that makes her legs look like they go on for miles.

Veronica gives her a confident smirk as she steps out of her closet.

“You look beautiful,” Veronica tells her sincerely and Betty tugs at her simple navy blue dress, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

It’s a Friday night, and they had both just finished their finals. It’s been a long, stressful week, and Veronica had convinced Betty to attend a club owned by a friend of hers, to help start winter break with a bang.

At first, Betty was reluctant. She was much more of the type of girl to stay in and watch a movie with Veronica while they sipped on wine, but Betty knew how much she wanted to go out.

So, she tries to go at this with some positivity and excitement, because she loves Veronica and she loves seeing her light up when she says yes.

“You can be my date to the club,” says Veronica, and Betty knows she’s joking but she feels her heart skip a beat.

“Fine,” Betty had relented, earning those sparkling eyes.

This is where Betty finds herself, gripping her clutch tightly to try to not reach out to grab Veronica’s hand in hers. It’s been a few weeks since her realization and conversation with Kevin, and she’s been trying to avoid being alone with Veronica for too long lest she does something stupid, like tell her that she loves her.

Boy, how deep in, am I?  She thinks, heart lodging itself up into her throat when Veronica reaches out, slipping her smaller hand into Betty’s. Her hand is smooth and warm in hers. Betty tries to not be a nervous wreck at her touch.

“Come on,” Veronica tells her, grabbing their coats as they head out of the apartment.

This is going be a long night, Betty thinks, as Hermione bids them farewell.

Veronica holds her hand the entire ride in the towncar, only releasing it to open the door. She grabs Betty’s hand again when they exit, meeting their friends who are at the front of the line.

“Betts! Ronnie!” Archie greets cheerfully, waving at the girls. His red locks are styled in a messy, upward swoop, and he’s wearing long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned loosely beneath his winter jacket.

Standing behind him are Josie, Melody, and Valerie, all dressed to the nines, shivering under their coats.

“As much as I love playing catch up, I think we should continue this little pow-wow in the club,” Josie says, huffing out a puff of condensed air. “You know, where it’s warm.”

The whole group laughs and head into the club when the bouncer waves them in. Betty steps in, overwhelmed by the flickering, thrumming; pulsating lights of the club overwhelm her. The music swells to a crescendo around her before plummeting to a beat drop and then it’s roars back to life.

“Okay, this place is awesome,” comments Archie.

Betty tries not to feel intimidated at the sight of the throng of dancing bodies on the floor.

She feels Veronica squeeze her hand. “Just hold my hand. We’ll have fun tonight, I promise.” She tells Betty.

Veronica pulls her to the bar first and the rest of their friends join them.

“We need to get some drinks in you, get you to lighten up!” Josie tells Betty, ordering a couple of drinks from the bartender, who ignores the fact that they’re underage.

“You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to, B,” Veronica says to her, serious.

Betty feels a little uncomfortable but she wants Veronica to enjoy the night, so she vows to try her best to make the most of it.

“Why not?” She says, and accepts the first drink that’s handed to her.

Betty thinks that maybe if she has a couple of drinks, she’d stop being such a wreck every time Veronica touches her.

“Whoa, slow down there, tiger,” Veronica says, a little shocked at the rate that Betty’s knocking back drink after drink.

Betty just shakes her head. She’s feeling buzzed now, happy and lightheaded. “It’s okay, V. I’m having fun,”

Veronica looks skeptical but relents. “Okay, but stick close to me, okay?” She tells her, and Betty nods in assent.

“We need to get you a drink, Ronnie!” Val informs, handing a drink to Veronica and Archie.

Veronica eyes the liquid and knocks it back down. Once everyone is pleasantly drunk, the dance floor becomes even more tempting.

“Come on, Betts! Let’s dance,” Veronica says, dragging Betty to the mass of bodies on the dance floor. The rest follows in suit, dancing around them.

“I didn’t know that you were such a great dancer,” Betty comments after Veronica makes her laugh by busting a goofy move.

“I’ve still got a few tricks hidden up my sleeve, I suppose,” Veronica replies.

“Just never thought I’d see the day that Veronica Lodge acts goofy,” Betty responds, leaning closer to her to be able to be heard when the music gets impossibly louder.

Veronica lets loose an airy laugh, flipping her raven locks deftly to one side.

“Consider yourself blessed then,” She says, leaning even closer to Betty.

Suddenly, someone jostles Veronica from behind and she stumbles forward slightly, placing a hand on Betty’s shoulder to steady herself. Betty’s hand winds up on the small of her back to steady her.

They’re dancing really close then, and Betty recognizes that her palms are sweating from the sudden lack of space between them. The room is swirling with heat and Betty swears she’s going to pass out if she doesn’t kiss Veronica right there and now. As if she can read her mind, Veronica leans in, inching closer by the second, and Betty’s eyes flutter shut and she’s leaning in too, until they’re almost an inch apart before Betty’s brain restarts.

And then Veronica closes the gap and they’re kissing. If they weren’t pressed up against a mass of writhing bodies, Betty’s sure her knees would’ve given out by then. As Veronica deepens the kiss, digging her fingers into the tresses of Betty’s locks, Betty feels like every one of her nerve endings are on fire, and the back of her throat tingles with something pleasant that she can’t describe.

Their kiss ends after a moment, far too quick for Betty’s liking and she desperately wants to continue kissing Veronica, but then her eyes flutter open, when Veronica leans her forehead against hers.

She takes in Veronica’s dark gaze and her lipstick smudged lips in the darkened, fog heavy room of the club, and Betty thinks she’s never looked more beautiful.

And Betty’s aching to tell her that she’s been wanting to do this for weeks, but then something in her panics, and she thinks, what if I hurt her? What if she doesn’t want me that way? The thoughts swirl uneasily in her head and she feels nauseous, because her mother’s words are ringing in her ears now, ones she uttered to cut Betty.

You hurt everything you touch, Elizabeth, her mother taunts. Do not be foolish. No one could ever love you if you’re this broken.

“Hey, B, where’d you go?” Veronica asks, gentle and concerned, fingers grazing across the side of Betty’s jaw.

Something deep and fearful stirs within Betty and in an act of protectiveness, she says something completely and utterly, utterly wrong.

“I’m in love with Archie,” She blurts out to Veronica in return, but her brain is screaming, this is all wrong. This isn’t what I wanted to say. What is wrong with you? You’re such an idiot!

Veronica blinks for a moment, eyes flashing with something unreadable to Betty, and then her face is impassive, cool. She pulls back from their embrace.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to kiss you. I didn’t know,” She says, but her voice is void of any emotion. “But, wow, good…good for you.”

Betty wants to say something different, wants to tell her she’s sorry, that she didn’t mean it, that it’s her that Betty wants, but she can’t stop digging deeper into this lie.

“I-I haven’t figured out how to tell him yet,” She says, heart thudding in her chest. The sounds of the club and the swell of the music slowly die to a numbing lull and time seems to crawl at an infinitely slow pace as she waits for Veronica’s response.

Veronica still looks unfazed after a long time. Betty wants to cry because this is the least open she’s ever seen from the Latina.

“He’d be stupid not to reciprocate, Betty.” She says, eventually. “You’re wonderful.”

Betty’s body is tense and rigid now. She wants to kiss her again, but her mouth isn’t cooperating and she’s frozen in place.

“I guess I’ll just hope for the best,” She says weakly, and then Veronica nods, seemingly elsewhere.

“I’m going to get a drink,” She tells her, stepping away. “Do you want anything?”

Betty feels like there’s a chasm between them, irreparable and so vast that she’s so close to tears, but she manages to shake her head. Within seconds, Veronica is gone, leaving her alone in the mass of bodies shuffling on the dance floor.

//////// 

When Betty finds her next, Veronica’s making out with some dude, but Betty can’t see anything else but the blur of her tears.

She knew it was too good to be true.

Ronnie was probably drunk, Betty thinks. She doesn’t really like me in the way I want.

As Betty turns away frantically, Archie steps into her line of sight, all soft eyes and concerned glances. He grabs her arm gently as she starts to bolt.

“Whoa! Hey, Betts, are you okay?” He asks, swaying a little on he’s feet. He’s clearly inebriated, and she shakes her head, because she thinks, I can’t do this anymore, I can’t – I can’t breathe…I need out.

Anxiety swirls around her like a looming cloud and she’s still trying to fight off the tears.

Archie notices it immediately, surprising her with his unusual insight.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” He comforts, wrapping a safe, warm arm around her. “I’ll walk you home.”

Later, when she and Archie kiss outside her dorm, all she can think about how wrong this feels, how it’s not brown eyes and soft raven hair she sees when they pull apart, how it’s not plump, red, bow-shaped lips she’s kissing.

Archie slowly molds back to view in front of her, dispelling the apparition that was Veronica Lodge as she lets her eyes flutter open. And as she takes in his mussed hair and lipstick stained lips, she thinks how astringent this all tastes, and how this is far from invigorating smiles and earnest eyes. She thinks of how this doesn’t make her stomach feel like there’s a storm churning and curling at its’ very pit, and how it doesn’t make her feel like a glowing, summer day.

She finally realizes that this isn’t Veronica, and how empty it feels without her.

Betty can’t breath anymore. She pulls away from his arms, leaving him floundering there like a fish out of water.

Betty can’t find it in herself to care anymore. Instead, she runs back up to her dorm and flops onto her bed.

Sleep is a fickle ambition.

///////

Veronica doesn’t talk to her for the entire winter break, for all of three weeks, and it kills Betty.

She tries to go through the motions, frequently hanging out with Archie, and Kevin, who had flown in from Chicago to visit. She goes out with them often, taking to them to amazing restaurants Veronica had brought her to before. The food’s good, and okay, while it may seem desperate, she’s also hoping she’d run into the raven-haired beauty so that she can apologize.

Betty never sees Veronica though. Not even when she brought Kevin around Central Park. She chooses not to bring him to the spot where they had spent most of their semester though, because it felt too precious and too sacred to share with anyone else.

God, Betty Cooper knows she’s got it bad, and she knows she royally messed up.

She’s going mad. She doesn’t know what else to do.

So, she does what she knows best; throws herself into her music, practicing every single day, and though Archie and Kevin’s presence is nice, it still feels so much colder and lonelier without Veronica’s exuberant, affable aura.

For the first time in her life, music seems to have forsaken her.

“Whoa, okay, easy there,” Kevin says one day, when Betty seems to be having a particularly horrible time with the piano. She’s disheartened as she bangs over the keys, sending out waves of dissonance. Her unoccupied hand is balled up, painfully digging into her palms again.

It’s a day where Archie’s not here, because he’s busy writing songs with Val, who had volunteered to help him in these recent weeks.

She’s secretly glad he’s not here, if she’s being honest. After that kiss, Archie had asked her out, saying he’d seen the errors of his ways, and that he truly cared for Betty in more than a platonic way.

To the untrained eye, it seemed that Betty got everything she wanted and more, but she had felt hollow at the moment. Yet…she still said yes, because this was what Betty Cooper, resident good girl next door, had to do. This was what was expected of her.

She knows they’re all lies, but she’s in too deep now, and she doesn’t know how to dig herself out.

It’s been weeks since they’ve been dating and Archie has been in bliss, but Betty knows it won’t last. She feels horrible for stringing him along, she really does, but she’s been struggling to tell him that she doesn’t love him in that way anymore.

Perhaps she did, once. But that was before the era of Veronica had descended upon her like a blissful wave.

I’m a horrible person, aren’t I? Betty thinks, forlorn, because the last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt the people she loves. But, yet, she ended up hurting Veronica, and now…she’s hurting Archie too, whether he knows it or not.

“You’re not a horrible person,” Kevin tells her out of the blue, and it’s just occurred to her that she may have voiced those thoughts out loud. “Maybe a little afraid to say no and step out of your comfort zone, but not horrible.”

“Kevin…you don’t understand,” Betty responds, rubbing her forehead. “I hurt Veronica, and now, I’m hurting Archie too.”

“Bett-“

“My mother was right…I hurt everything I touch,” Betty murmurs.

“Now, listen here Elizabeth Cooper,” Kevin says, all usual tone of playfulness gone. “You are one of the kindest and most caring people I’ve met.”

Betty tries to interrupt him, but he shushes her.

“You’ve just made some mistakes, and that makes you human, B,” He advises sternly. “It doesn’t make you a monster.”

“I just…I don’t know what to do, Kev,” She utters out.

“Well, the first thing I’d do is tell Archie the truth,” He says, playing with the ends of her ponytail. She smiles a little at the unconscious act. It’s comforting, in a way. “Because that poor boy deserves to know how you really feel.”

“What if I hurt him? Or ruin our friendship forever?” Betty cries out, a little frenzied.

“He won’t,” Kevin soothes. “Plus, if he really does love you, he won’t let the friendship die. If he does, then he doesn’t deserve you, Betty Cooper.”

Betty pauses for a moment, sighing. “What do I do about Veronica?”

“Well, you go over to her house, apologize, and then kiss her,” Kevin states, nonchalant, like he’s talking about the weather.

“I don’t think it works like that,” Betty reasons. “I’m pretty sure she was drunk that night.”

“Babe, she kissed you and then you said were in love with Archie. Trust me, if she didn’t really like you, she wouldn’t be this upset,” He told her flatly. “And if my gaydar’s working really well, which it is, all signs of her affection and attraction point to you, even when sober.”

Betty’s quiet after that, contemplative.

“You know just what to say, Keller,” she tells him, and his face splits into a grin.

“I know. I’m just too wise for our generation.” Kevin replies, turning his nose up.

“I think you and Veronica would get along really well,” She says to him after a while.

“Oh, B, I know.”

//////////////

Betty thinks she’s going to pass out soon if she doesn’t get this over with. Her heart is hammering inside her chest, pumping erratically like a piston. She feels her palms start to sweat, hitting to dangerously clammy matters.

She thinks Archie can sense it too, since he’s got her hand in his.

“You okay, Betts?” He asks, all caring eyes and floppy red hair.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Betty says, squeezing his hand back a little to reassure him.

What a farce, Betty thinks, because she knows she’s about to break him.

He nods, still a little concerned, but continues leading them down the streets of Brooklyn.

Betty tries to gather up the courage and despite the fact that her heart is still beating her chest to a pulp; she thinks it’s now or never.

“Arch-“ She begins, but is interrupted by Archie yelling out a familiar name.

“Veronica!” He calls out, smiling and grinning as he waves her over.

Betty’s head snaps up, her heart stuttering in her chest, because Veronica’s here! And Betty’s stuck between relief and apprehension, and that’s all doubled when she notices that a man’s got his arms wrapped around Veronica.

A very handsome man, she might add, if she wasn’t so heartbroken at the moment.

Veronica looks weary, but plasters on a smile to cover it up. It’s the most pained and most expressionless of smiles that Betty has ever seen. Her heart sinks.

“Archie, Betty,” Veronica greets back smoothly, all dulcet tones and tenacious elegance. “What a surprise to have bumped into you here.”

“I know! It’s a small world,” Archie says in return, jovial.

Betty wishes she had told him a little more of the truth when he had asked about Veronica’s absence. Maybe he wouldn’t have tried to engage when Betty was far from ready.

“Hi, I’m Max. Veronica’s boyfriend,” the man says in greeting, offering a hand to Archie. He's got short, sandy hair, and a chiseled face, that's well accompanied with a dazzling smile. 

Betty sucks in a loud breath when she hears those words, and all eyes flip to her, but she’s too busy running out of air to think properly.

Boyfriend, she thinks, wild thoughts swirling uncontrollably in her head, she’s got a boyfriend. She’s moved on. She doesn’t love me. Not in the way that I want.

“Hey, you’re sure you’re okay?” Archie asks again, pulling her closer to him.

Betty manages out a weak nod, feeling her other hand curl into tight fist.

“I think I’m just a little lightheaded cause I haven’t eaten all day.” She lies, feeling Veronica gaze on the profile of her face. It’s a piercing gaze, she knows it; knows it like a familiar friend from the days where Veronica used to look at her like she sprouted the sun herself.

This time though, it’s calculative. Scrutinizing. Betty still can’t breathe.

“Okay, we should go and get you some food, then,” Archie responds. Betty nods mutely.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Max,” says Betty, tight lipped, as they brush past the other couple.

“It was nice seeing you again, Ronnie.” Betty adds, voice soft and tired. She hopes that Veronica doesn’t notice that she’s clenching her free hand.

/////////

“Okay, so, what’s going on with you and V?” Archie says over a mouthful of sushi.

Betty feigns innocence, playing with the leftover bits of rice on her plate. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”

“Come on, Betts,” Archie responds. “The tension was so thick between you two, that it felt like I was cutting through ice just by being there.”

Betty, for a moment, thinks of simply just avoiding the question altogether, but then Kevin’s advice comes flitting back into her mind and she steels herself. It’s now or never, and she refuses to stay with Archie for her own, selfish reasons, despite Veronica’s current relationship status.

“I want to break up,” She blurts out. She watches his face fall, and okay, she thinks, maybe she could’ve worded it better than that, but it’s too late, it’s all pouring out of her like a broken dam.

So, Betty forges on. “I think I’m in love with Veronica and have been for awhile now. I don’t think it’s fair to you that we keep dating if my heart wants someone else.”

Archie’s speechless. He sits, staring at her with a kicked puppy expression and Betty just feels all kinds of horrible.

“I’m sorry, Arch,” she tells him, a secret message hidden beneath her sincere apology, her voice pleading with him, please don’t be angry. Please don’t let our friendship die.

“I…I don’t know what to say, B,” He finally says, setting his chopsticks aside. “I mean, I kind of figured you guys had something going on.”

“You did?” Betty replies, a little shocked.

“Uh, yeah. I’m oblivious but I’m not blind,” He informs her with a scoff.

“So, you’re not mad?” She asks.

“No…I’m sad, and a little heartbroken, but I’m not mad,” He tells her, softening when he sees the relief that’s clear on her face. “I could never be mad at you, B.”

Betty feels a smile break out on her face. “That’s such a relief to hear,” She whispers, hugging him across the table, jostling their food in the process.

Archie’s muffled laughter is all the reassurance she needs.

////////////

The days pass by in a blur, Betty still struggling to gather the courage to talk to Veronica. She’s been struggling to come up with a way to apologize and tell Veronica she loves and cares for her all at once. Then, it hits her one wintry day, when she’s tinkling with the keys on the Baldwin for fun, and she knows what to do.

She buckles down and begins planning, scratching and etching notes into sheets of music. She spends days building melodies, and breaking down some. It’s proving to be one of her most challenging of works, but Betty enjoys it.

She spends days at the piano as the rest of the week bleeds together, coalescing into a giant blob that leaves Betty confused when she wakes up one day and realizes that it’s Christmas Eve.

She silently thanks her past self for having the wisdom of buying gifts and wrapping them early. But as she’s sifting through her gift pile, which was hidden in her closet, she realizes she has Veronica’s present, but no Veronica to give it to.

The gift is a two parter, the first being a personalized gift that took Betty weeks to get. It’s a small necklace with B and V connected together on the chain with a custom treble note to represent their time spent in the music room. It’s simple enough to fit Veronica’s effortless elegance.

The other is the book Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, and although it may seem very plain as a gift, Betty had managed to find the Spanish version of it. Veronica had once mentioned to Betty that she’d always wanted it in Spanish but hadn’t gotten around to buying one.

As Betty is staring at the gifts, she realizes that perhaps this is day she’d finally find the courage to talk to Veronica Lodge after three weeks of radio silence.

Betty gets up on her feet and dresses quickly, walking down familiar streets until she reaches a regal building. It looms over her intimidatingly, as she tries to gather the courage to walk up the steps, shuffling back and forth across the snowy pavement.

“Screw it,” she mutters to herself, and makes her way up the stairs.

She rings the button to be let in by the doorman at the lobby, but chickens out the last minute when she’s let in.

“Could you please give this to Miss Lodge for me?” She tells the doorman at the lobby desk, running out of the door before he can respond.

It is cowardly, Betty knows, but she also likes to think that she’s just biding her time in order to find the perfect moment.

You have to create the perfect moment, babe, she hears Kevin say in her head and she scoffs in return. Whatever. What do you know, Keller.

But, perhaps it was the right move for them, because during a small Christmas Eve gathering she’s at with Archie, Kevin, and a couple of their other friends, she receives an extra gift from Val, who dropped by.

“It’s from Veronica,” says Val, who offers her a small smile before heading off to find Archie.

Betty looks down to the neatly wrapped, rectangle sized present. The wrapping’s a cartoon print of Corgis in funny Christmas outfits. Betty smiles at the gesture.

“Unwrap it, B,” Kevin says to her as he passes by her, a knowing smile on his face.

Betty unwraps it to find a well-cared for but worn copy of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and a beautiful cashmere sweater with a small cursive B monogramed on the left side of the chest.

As Betty is admiring her gift, wishing she could thank Veronica in person, her phone buzzes in the back of her pocket.

Balancing her gifts on one hand, Betty reaches into her pocket, pulling it up and nearly choking on her breath when she realizes it’s from Veronica.

Merry Christmas, B. Thank you for the gifts, I love it.

Merry Christmas, Ronnie. I’m glad you love them. I love your gifts too

//////////////

Veronica thinks that, on paper, Max is everything she could ever want in a man. He’s smart, successful, gorgeous, and a generally very kind and caring person.

He makes her laugh, and he always has something interesting to say, and he’s proven to have a very lovely temperament. Unfortunately, no matter how hard Veronica tries, she can’t bring herself to feel the same spectrum of affection she holds for Betty. Not even a shred, and it saddens her, because he is a very wonderful man.

She feels awful, because essentially, she knows she using Max for very selfish reasons, but she just wants to be over Betty by now. But she can’t, and she thinks it’s pathetic how thickly coiled Betty has Veronica around her finger. If she wasn’t so charmed and captured by her, she’d even classify it as preposterous.

Perhaps Max can see it too, after weeks of spending time with her, because he breaks up with her after Christmas, a week and a half after they bump into Archie and Betty.

“Veronica, I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” Max says, after they finish attending a business event of his, and if Veronica weren’t still so stupidly in love with Betty she’d feel more upset.

But she isn’t, and she doesn’t say much in return really, just asks him why.

“Because…because I think you’re in love with someone else,” He finally says, loosening the tie that’s on his neck. “I can see it, in the way you speak, in the way your eyes glaze over, like you’re somewhere else.”

Veronica doesn’t argue, just stays silent. She can’t argue with the truth.

“You’re always somewhere else when you’re with me, Veronica,” He continues, and she’s still so silent, terrifyingly so. “You seem so lost and as much as I like you, I don’t think I’m the one for you.”

“Max-“

“And then it clicked after that run in with that girl. I saw the way you looked at her,” He asserts. “Betty, right?”

“I don-“

“You looked at her as if she had the power of creating galaxies. You looked at her like she was everything you wanted, but something you could never get,” He tells her, and she doesn’t know when she’d started crying, but she is now, properly sobbing and sniveling.

She can’t find enough of a reason to care.

Max wraps her up in those strong arms of his, and Veronica thinks, maybe in another universe, they would have been perfect for each other. But then, she thinks, no, it’s Betty and I that are meant for each other, in every universe.

“I’m sorry, Max,” she murmurs through the fabric of his shirt. “You really are a wonderful man.”

He doesn’t say anything else, just holds her until her eyes are dry and kisses her forehead as they part ways.

Veronica closes her eyes after she watches him leave, aching to reach for her phone and call that one person she’s spent countless of sleepless nights wondering about.

////////////

It’s January now, and Veronica supposes that the weather has been very similar to her mood for the last four days. It’s been sleeting, sending out a bigger atmosphere of gloominess. Veronica decides to stay locked in her apartment, choosing to binge-watch through Parks & Rec and Friends again.

Josie, Melody, and Val stop by the first day after the breakup but Veronica waves them away, claiming that she needs to be alone. She tells them that it’s not the breakup with Max that’s got her down, but the fallout she had with Betty. The girls refused to leave after that, causing Veronica to physically kick them out.

She loves her girls, really; but she doesn’t think she can handle them at the moment.

Hermione, bless her soul, seems to understand. She stays by Veronica’s side, silently watching as many episodes with her as she can before leaving for work.

“I need to go, mija,” Hermione informs Veronica, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her daughter’s temple. “Will you be alright?”

“No, but I will be, mami,” Veronica responds.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay without Smithers?”

“Don’t worry, mami. I’ll still be on the couch by the time you get back.”

Amused, Hermione bids her daughter goodbye.

“Mami,” Veronica calls out a moment later, when her mother’s putting on her coat. Hermione pauses, looking back at her expectantly. “Do you think that Betty and I will be alright?”

“I think that if you’re honest with her about your feelings, yes.” Hermione hums. “Even if she reciprocates or not, I can tell that Betty loves you too much to let your friendship die.”

“I was already rejected by her, mom,” Veronica tells her.

“I don’t think she rejected you, mija. I think she was just surprised and she didn’t react in the best way,” Hermione advises, a warm and understanding smile in place.

Veronica doesn’t reply, just sighs. Hermione laughs a little.

“Understand where she’s coming from, Ronnie,” Hermione says, leaning down to plant a kiss on her daughter’s head. “She’s probably just confused or afraid. After all, she has Alice Cooper for a mother.”

Veronica offers her mom a weak chuckle in response; waving at her mother’s retreating form and buckling down to watch Joey and Chandler get into another shenanigan. She gets so engrossed into the episode that she doesn’t notice that fifteen minutes have flown by.

Suddenly, as Netflix’s queuing up the next episode, her front door rings, and she’s a little surprised, thinking that Hermione has forgotten something.

Veronica gets up, padding over to the front door to answer, since Smithers just left for his day off.

“Did you forget something, ma-“ Veronica says, yanking the door open. She stops in her tracks when she sees that she has an unexpected visitor.

Betty Cooper is standing at her front door, soaked to the bone from sleet, the flyaways from her ponytail sticking on her forehead.

At first, Veronica’s surprised at the blonde’s sudden presence, but then she takes in Betty’s disheveled appearance, and she surmises that she’s probably been as miserable as Veronica has.

And Veronica can tell you how many times she’s imagined Betty arriving at her doorstep, and how many times she imagined herself going over to Betty’s, but every time, it’s proven to just be what it was; a figment.

“Betty? What are you doing here?” She asks.

Betty’s shivering as she offers Veronica a small, weak smile. “Smithers let me in the lobby while he was heading out. I hope you don’t mind,”

Veronica fights off every instinct in her body to shut the door in Betty’s face, because all that matters is that Betty’s here.

“Come in. You’re going to freeze if you don’t,” Veronica commands, stepping aside to let the blonde in. “I’ll get you some warm clothes and a towel. You need to dry off.”

“I don’t want to get your floor wet,” Betty says in protest, and Veronica rolls her eyes.

“Betty, that’s why they invented mops,” She says, earning an amused smile from Betty.

“Okay, thank you,” Betty replies, all soft smiles and downcast eyes.

Veronica doesn’t respond, just turns away and shuffles down into her room, grabbing an old dance shirt, some fleeced lined leggings, her NYU hoodie, and a towel for Betty.

She heads back into the foyer, and finds Betty still lingering by the door, awkwardly trying not to get any water onto the rug.

“Here, I hope it’s warm enough,” Veronica says, and she’s surprised how soft her voice is, as if she’s afraid of scaring Betty away.

Betty offers her a small smile, taking the change of clothes and the towel. She shuffles to the bathroom down the hallway and Veronica makes her way to the living room.

Now that she’s had the time to absorb the shock of seeing Betty again, she’s apprehensive and restless. She’s aching for some of Josie’s sound advice. She reaches out for her phone, which was wedged between the cracks of the couch, and is about to send a text to the Pussycat group chat they all have, when Betty appears again.

She’s standing at the entryway, close to the TV that’s still playing a Friends episode. She’s awash with the soft, blue; glow reflecting from the TV and Veronica swears she looks ethereal.

Veronica notes that she’s mostly dry now, but her hair is still a little damp, falling down in waves over the shoulders of Veronica’s hoodie. The hoodie’s a little short for the blonde, cutting off at her midriff, and Veronica tries not to focus the little sliver of skin that's exposed.

Betty’s staring at her, and there’s something indecipherable in her eyes. Veronica stares right back, dazed.

She still finds her so breathtaking.

“Hi,” Betty says, after what feels like an eternity.

“Hi,” Veronica repeats, still looking quite mystified, because Betty is here, and Betty’s in front of her, looking all kinds of beautiful.

Veronica’s hands are itching to grab Betty’s arm and pull her down to her side, like they always did on movie nights, but the same knee jerk reaction seems to be such a hard feat now.

So, she forces her hands to stay at her side.

Silence fills the gaps again, and they’re both struggling to find the right words. It seems that Betty bites the bullet first, noticing the conflict that’s evident on Veronica’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Betty says, stepping a little bit closer, and Veronica notes that she’s got her hands in fists again. It pains her to see that she’s the cause of Betty’s distress.

“For what?” Veronica asks, because it’s not Betty’s fault, it’s hers. She’s the one who kissed Betty, who pushed her away, and who wanted her in a way that the blonde couldn’t give.

It’s not Betty’s fault and she did a poor job of showing it.

Now, Betty’s standing in front of her, thinking she’s wronged her in more ways than one, and Veronica’s heart tightens agonizingly in her chest.

“For what happened at the club,” Betty says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Veronica tells Betty. “It was mine. I was the one who kissed you when you were in love with Archie. As your best friend, I should’ve known that and respected that. It was selfish of me.”

“Ron-“ Betty tries to say, but Veronica cuts her off, a sad smile on her face.

“I’m sorry that I pushed you away, too. It was wrong of me,” Veronica apologizes.

Betty shakes her head. “It was my fault, as well. It takes two to make a friendship work. I didn’t try to reach out to you more, and for that, I’m really sorry.”

Veronica feels herself get misty eyed. “God, why are you so perfect?” She asks Betty, watching the blonde step closer until there’s a foot worth of distance between them.

“I’m far from perfect, Veronica,” Betty tells her, sitting down across from her. “I’m broken, an ADHD with an Aderall addiction. I’m a girl who’s obsessed with being the picture perfect girl next door, so hell bent on pleasing everyone else that she forgets to appreciate what’s right in front of her.”

Veronica’s heart is thudding so hard in her chest, because…Betty’s saying things that Veronica’s only dreamt of.

But she’s also trying so hard not to cry, tears pooling at the edges of her vision. It saddens her to see how Betty can’t see what she sees. “You’re perfect to me, Betty Cooper,” Veronica says, firmly, genuinely. “I’m not saying you’re flawless, but you’re pretty close, and it pains me that you can’t see that.”

“Ronnie,” Betty chokes out, because she’s dumbfounded at the amount of love that is evident in the Latina’s voice. She simply reaches out and laces her fingers with the other girl’s, feeling warm and secure.

“When I said that fate threw us together, I meant it. There is no way that I don’t believe in a higher power because they gave me you,” Veronica says, and she knows can’t hold in how she feels anymore, not when Betty’s here with her right now. “Because every time I look at you, everything falls into line.”

“Veronica, I-“ Betty’s choking up because she’s never felt this loved in what feels like a very, long time.

“My life was good before you, but it’s gotten so much better since you got here,” Veronica finishes, and Betty notices a stray tear fall before she does, reaching out to wipe it away from her cheek.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t realize that earlier. So, don’t say you’re sorry because you haven’t done anything wrong. You don’t feel the way I feel, and I’m sorry that I didn’t acknowledge and accept that in a better fashion,” says Veronica.

Betty’s heart leaps in her throat, and she’s thinking frantically, did Veronica just say what I think she said?

“What makes you think that I don’t feel the same way?” Betty says after a moment, and there’s a moment of startled silence, as if Veronica did not expect that to come from her mouth.

“Because you’re in love with Archie,” Veronica reasons. “I saw you guys together.”

“Yeah…about that,” Betty says, laughing a little because this all seems absurd now that she looks back on it. They were tiptoeing each other for what felt like an eternity when it was so simple all along.

“What?” Veronica asks, confused.

“I broke up with Archie,” Betty tells her, still laughing because she feels so airy and so light. It feels like such a relief, now. She came here, all nauseous at the thought of ruining their friendship, when in reality, Veronica was struggling with the same turmoil.

It's ridiculous that they took this long to figure this out.

“You did? Why?” Veronica inquiries.

The moment of truth, Betty thinks.

“Because I realized that I was never really in love with him,” Betty says, looking at their intertwined hands. She rubs her thumb against the back of Veronica’s hand. “I used to love the idea of him, but then I met someone who helped me understand what love really looks like. And I don’t want to ever come back from that.”

Veronica's looking at her now, really looking at her, her eyes wide and hopeful. Betty just wants to kiss her already.

“We were never really just friends, we were?” Veronica says quietly after a while.

“No,” Betty says, shaking her head. “But I think that’s a good thing.”

Veronica’s heart somersaults then, and slowly but surely, she allows a smile to grow, flashing Betty a genuinely radiant one that sends an electrifying wave of warmth that tingles at the toes.

Betty thinks she could spend the rest of her life being enamored by that smile. She leans in really close to Veronica face, so close that their breaths are mingling together.

“So, what do we do now? What are we?” Veronica whispers and Betty smiles, putting her forehead on the other girl’s.

She breathes in deep, taking in everything that is Veronica. “Well, I’ve got something to show you first.”

/////////

Betty leads them to room 203, which is lit aglow with warm fairy lights. It’s hung over the piano, the ceilings, the walls, creating an atmosphere of romanticism.

Veronica’s amused but she can’t help swoon a little at the gesture. She’s in love, sue her. “Betts, what’s this?”

Betty doesn’t respond to her, just sits at the piano and takes in a breath. Then, she begins the hauntingly beautiful refrain of Can’t Help Falling in Love and Veronica breaks out in a luminescent smile, illuminating the room in unfathomable brilliance.

But when Betty starts singing, her natural voice low and alluring, Veronica very nearly cries; because sitting before her is a beautiful, wonderful girl, who’s serenading her with her favorite song of all time, and she just doesn’t know how she got so lucky.

She shuffles over to Betty and sits next to her, as she tries to stem the flow of tears that streaming down her face. Slowly, she realizes that Betty’s added her own mix of harmonies and melodies into the song, making it sound much more richer and more ethereal than it already is.

“Take my hand, and take my whole life too, cause I can’t help, falling in love with you,” Betty croons, her shoulder pressed up against with Veronica’s, fingers gliding across the keys.

Veronica’s sniffling now, thinking she must look like a hot mess, but Betty’s looking at her like she’s everything she’s ever wanted and needed, and Veronica falls in love all over again. Falls through the cracks and crevices of space and time and stars and galaxies, and everything in between.

She falls like she’s been falling for days, weeks, months, and she realizes that she’s been falling so much since she met Betty, that she forgot she was falling at all. And she thinks she understands why falling in love was like falling asleep – because you fall slowly and then you fall at once.

Betty finishes the song with a final, ringing note, still looking at Veronica like she’s staring at a supernova, and the Latina thinks that if she doesn’t kiss the blonde soon, she might combust.

“I wrote another song for you,” Betty tells her, and she leaning closer to her, the bubble between them increasing tenfold.

“Oh really?” Veronica hums, equally entranced.

Betty doesn’t answer, just captures Veronica’s lips in hers. And Veronica realizes Betty kisses her in the way that she makes her feel – sweet and gentle, tasting like honeysuckle and vanilla. It is a kiss that shakes the mountains and shifts tectonic plates – a deep, passionate, searing, soul-shattering kiss that makes the earth feel like it was knocked off its’ axis.

“Es una cosa bendecida amar y sentirse amado a cambio,” Veronica whispers to her, when they’ve pulled apart in order to catch a breath. She’s quoting Bucchianeri, Betty recognizes. “It’s a blessed thing to love and feel loved in return.”

Betty laughs, kissing her again, flattening her hands against Veronica’s back. Veronica tangles her hands in her hair, knotting them, and feels Betty cling tighter to her.

Heat pools in the depths of Veronica’s stomach and spreads to her toes, and it’s a tingling kind of a kiss. A kind of kiss that reminds her of new music playing softly in the background – untethered, arrhythmic, wild, passionate, and otherworldly.

Veronica sighs.

/////////

“You know, you still haven’t played that song for me,” Veronica whispers to Betty, when they’re tangled up together in the sheets, still a little sweaty from exertion. Veronica’s tracing across Betty’s bare back, drawing and connecting constellations, her touch dizzying and relaxing at all once.

Betty shifts to face her, expression in a sleepy, lovestruck daze. She leans forward and presses a kiss to Veronica’s lips, and she thinks smugly, just because I can.

Veronica smiles against her lips, and pulls away after a long moment, purring disapprovingly. “You’re trying to distract me with your womanly wiles,” she jests, but she’s still smiling.

“Maybe I just enjoy your face smooshed against mine,” Betty returns and Veronica laughs.

“Very romantic,” she tells her, faking disdain.

“Thou hast seen nothing yet.” Betty says, and tangles her foot with Veronica.

“Did you just quote Don Quixote?” Veronica asks, grinning.

“Maybe,” Betty responds, before leaning in to kiss Veronica again, this time slow and soft, like a piano ballad delivered after a dinner by the candlelight.

“Who would’ve thought you’d be the insatiable one?” Veronica says, in between kisses.

“Less talking, more kissing,” Betty murmurs against her lips, feeling Veronica laugh reverberate through the hollow of her throat.

All thoughts about music are tabled for now, as they fall deeper into the sheets.

////////

When Betty finally plays her composition for Veronica, it’s at her showcase, which was rescheduled to be held in the summer instead.

And Betty tells Veronica so, when the smaller woman greets her backstage, jumping on her and wrapping her legs around the blonde’s waist.

“Babe! You were amazing!” Veronica cheers, pressing a kiss under Betty’s ear, which turns her on, and she hopes no one sees how red her cheeks are as she imagines taking Veronica then and there.

“Thanks, babe,” Betty informs, pressing a kiss to the hollow of her neck. “It was the song I composed for you, by the way.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve been way more excited!” Veronica scolds and Betty laughs.

“I don’t think you can get anymore excited,” Betty says. “Besides, I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“How can you expect a girl not to swoon at that?” Veronica volleys back, voice mockingly flat and Betty laughs again.

“Okay, you guys are cute, but also, keep it PG, babes,” Kevin calls out from behind, and Betty whirls around to find that their other friends are with him. Mel, Josie, Val, and Archie are looking at them with wide smiles.

“Awh, you’re just jealous Kev-Bear,” Veronica teases, disentangling her legs from Betty’s waist. She intertwines their fingers when she’s fully standing.

“As if,” Kevin says, smiling at the couple.

Kevin had met Veronica on the last week of his visit, and they hit it off immediately, as Betty predicted it would. They have been close ever since, and Betty’s glad that her two best friends get along so well.

“Congrats, Betts,” Archie says, reaching to wrap Betty in a quick hug. He releases her with a pat on her shoulder and goes to join hands with Valerie again.

After their breakup, Archie had spending more time with Val, and they had started dating after the first week of the spring semester. Betty was happy for them; they seemed like a good match.

“Yeah, you were really great,” Valerie adds, a bright smile in place. The rest of the Pussycats agree, murmuring out words in assent.

“You know, the Pussycats could always use an extra musician for a couple of gigs, if you’re up for it.” Josie offers.

“Just be warned, she can be brutal,” Veronica adds, causing Josie to stick out a tongue at her.

“I would prefer to classify it as firm dedication,” Josie replies, sniffing, and all of them laugh.

“That sounds great, Josie. I would love to join in,” Betty answers.

“Great, welcome to the Pussycats, Cooper.”

Betty smiles, feeling like she’s on top of the world with Veronica by her side.

///////

It’s the day of their graduation, three and half years after they got their act together, and Betty is nervous as hell.

It’s mostly because her mother and father are coming for her graduation, and she’s not looking forward to seeing either of them. Betty knows they’re only showing up in order to keep up their reputation as good parents, as Alice had informed her on the phone a couple of weeks ago, causing Veronica to scoff.

But that’s not why she’s nervous. No, she’s nervous for a completely different reason.

For all of three years, her parents did not know about Betty and Veronica, and while Betty’s definitely not afraid to tell them that Veronica’s her girlfriend, she’s much more nervous about Alice’s reaction and whether she’d create a scene.

She doesn’t want Alice to ruin anything today, and Betty lists it down to two simple reasons:

1. She’s graduating today, like finally.
2. She’s going to ask Veronica to marry her.

So, yeah, she thinks that many can understand where her apprehension comes from.

Veronica seems to notice too, because she starts to note the little signs that are a precursor to Betty’s red-crescent habit. So, she reaches out for the blonde’s hands, smoothing them out and intertwining her own fingers through hers.

“You okay, babe?” She asks, looking concerned and all sorts of beautiful that sends a stream of warmth down Betty’s body, one that she can never get tired of, despite the years that have passed.

Betty wants to nod, but now she’s thinking about the weight of the ring that’s in her clutch, and she desperately just wants to pop the question now, but she can’t ruin the plan she’s spent months planning.

Betty just can’t wait to marry the love of her life.

Because being with Veronica makes Betty realize how simple everything is with her. How good love, pure love, full love, is simple. How falling in love with Veronica is like playing a sweet refrain, or listening to the pitter-pattering of rain on a windowpane. Falling, falling, and falling all over again, through the multitudes of laughter, pain, love, and moments shared.

And Betty is just awed, that, everyday, when she rises and wakes, she gets to feel Veronica wrapped around her, warm, thrumming, and alive next to her. Even in her sleep, she is lively, tender, and bright. And Betty knows, even for all of Veronica’s aesthetic beauty, she truly is one of the most beautiful people the blonde has ever met.

Betty finds her beautiful because she knows Veronica has known defeat, known loss, known struggle, and still, through it all, she carries a strong sense of appreciation and understanding of the intricacies of life that fills her with compassion, sensitivity, and deep-loving concern.

That’s what makes Betty think she’s the luckiest person alive.

Because, to her, Veronica feels like the sunset, a blaze of color – ornate oranges, peachy pinks, perfect purples - all coalescing to create something too wonderful and too beautiful for Betty to even describe in English.

Just like the woman herself.

God, Betty just wants to kiss her.

So, she does. She throws herself into everything is Veronica, from the fullness of her lips to the depth of her love. Looses herself in her ocean, and she’s falling again as she cups Veronica’s face in her handles, cradling her with a vulnerability that’s so blithe; it would be worrying if she didn’t know that the Latina would be there to catch her, every time.

She pulls apart from Veronica when she’s reminded that, oh, yeah, they kind of need air to breath, and she leans her forehead against the other girl’s, smiling with lipstick stained lips.

“Guess I need to reapply my lips again,” Veronica murmurs, thumbing the smear on the edge of Betty’s bottom lip.

“I mean, I could help you take it all off so it’s easier to reapply,” Betty offers, and Veronica huffs out a laugh.

“Sorry. Not today, babe,” She tells her, pulling away and smoothing out the silk garment of her graduation robe. “Are you sure you’re okay, though?”

Betty purses her lips. “I’m alright. I’m just worried about my parents,” Betty assures, sighing. “I just don’t want her to cause a scene.”

“I understand, B,” Veronica says, reaching out to smooth a part of Betty’s robe that got crumpled up during their kiss. “But there’s nothing she can throw at us that we can’t handle. I promise.”

“How do you always know just what to say to me?” Betty asks, sighing softly.

Veronica offers her a smirk. “Because I love you. Now, go and find your seat because it’s going to start in ten minutes!”

Betty nods, and reapplies her makeup from her phone’s front camera before hurrying away to find her seat. A small part of her is sad that Veronica and her couldn’t sit together due to the fact that the school went by alphabetical order.

As Betty’s looking around, surveying the crowd, she feels her phone vibrate in her hand and she glances down to receive a message from Veronica.

I love you, Betty Cooper.

Betty smiles, affection flooding her, causing her robe to feel a little stuffy.

I love you too, Veronica Lodge.

The commencement ceremony opens up far too slowly for Betty’s liking, with her zoning out until her name is called. She hears her friends whistle and holler from their places in the crowd as she receives her diploma, smiling at the fact that Veronica is the loudest.

She collects her diploma and shuffles back to her seat, cheering for her friends at the right time and sending a kiss to Veronica’s way when she steps up to accept her diploma.

The rest of the commencement passes by in a blur, with Betty anxiously fidgeting in her seat, hyperaware of the fact that it’s nearly time.

The commencement ends after what feels like a millennia to Betty, and she immediately hops up from her seat, searching for her girlfriend’s familiar raven locks.

She grabs her clutch, checking for that velvet box again before she makes her way through the throng of students gathering with their families. As she passes by woman being crushed in a group hug by her brothers, Betty hears a familiar, but not so welcome, voice call out to her.

“Betty!” Her mother calls, and Betty tries her best not to ignore her.

Slowly, she pivots around, her shoulders tense and her mouth set into a straight line.

“Mom. Dad.” She greets, offering them a small nod in acknowledgement.

Alice Cooper offers her daughter a look of disdain and discontentment in return. Betty shoots her father a look, to which he returns with a blank stare.

“Are you looking for that Lodge girl?” Alice spits out, like there’s a harsh taste in her mouth.

Betty sighs, and her hands twitch, aching to curl in on themselves. She forces herself to stay calm, unwilling to the give into the habit that’s already been broken for years now.

“Yes, mother,” Betty tells her, exasperated. Oh how quickly Alice could dampen her mood.

Alice opens her mouth to say something, but then, Veronica and Hermione call out to Betty, drawing the attention of the Coopers to the Lodge beauties.

“Alice,” Hermione greets, once she notices her presence. Her lips are in a tight, polite smile.

“Hermione,” Alice greets back, and Betty swears, the temperature plummets down several degrees by her mother’s glare alone.

Veronica, bless her soul, chooses to make up an excuse to pull Betty away. “I’m terribly sorry, Alice, but Betty and I have to finish up something for graduation,” She says, shooting Hermione an apologetic look.

Betty just nods along in assent when all eyes turn to her and before they leave, she leans a little closer to Alice, a calming kind of smile on her face.

“By the way, Veronica and I are dating,” Betty informs, and watches a vein appear on her mother’s forehead. “She’s been my girlfriend for three years now.”

And then they’re out, walking across the large football field. Betty can hear her mother’s indignant cries and Hermione’s laughter ringing in the distance.

“Very smooth,” Veronica says, a wide, ethereal smile on her face.

“I thought so,” Betty replies, smugly.

“I knew that there was a badass somewhere in there,”

Betty chuckles. “Thanks for saving my life, by the way,” Betty says, slipping her hand into Veronica’s.

Veronica winks. “Anything for my girl. Besides, I couldn’t let Alice ruin our graduation,” she says, swinging their hands back and forth. “We’ve been through way too much to let that happen.”

Betty just laughs in agreement. “So, where are we going then?”

“You’ll see,” Veronica says, smiling vaguely.

///////////

Betty supposes that now’s the best time to propose, since Veronica had already brought her to the spot she had planned to bring them to.

They’re at their usual spot in Central Park, that section unusually quiet at this time of the day. The wind blows softly among them, breezy and light, bringing the freeing feeling of summer along with it.

Betty feels that the breeze helps with the wave of nausea that’s overtaken her too, because the ring suddenly feels so heavy in her clutch.

Veronica’s uncharacteristically silent too, a far cry from her cheery demeanor on the walk over. Her hand is still in the blonde’s, clutched over her lap.

Betty would ask her what’s wrong, but she fears that if she does, there’s going to be an unpleasant display of word vomit. So, she chooses to sit in silence with Veronica, running her fingers over the ridges of Veronica’s knuckles.

Veronica’s the first to speak, eventually. “I got something for you,” Veronica says, her other hand producing a book bound in parchment paper and binded with simple twine strings. “As a graduation gift.”

Betty reaches for the gift, smiling softly. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” she tells her sincerely, fingers smoothing against the paper.

“I didn’t get it for you, per se. I made it,” Veronica replies, her voice wavering a little.

Betty figures she’s just nervous about the gift. “I’m sure I’m gonna love it.”

Veronica removes her hand from hers and gestures for her to untie the gift, so she does, unwrapping the package easily.

It’s a small black book, and it looks homemade, with simple, cursive letters emblazoned craftily on the cover, reading as B & V.

“It’s beautiful,” Betty says, reverently, awed.

“I wrote about the story of us,” says Veronica, voice gentle and loving. “Open it,”

Betty opens it and nearly cries when she reads what’s written on the first page. It’s in Veronica’s neat, fluid handwriting, and it reads:

Betty Cooper, will you marry me?

Betty’s head swivels to Veronica, who’s holding out a beautiful ring with a simple but elegant design, and an equally gorgeous smile on her face.

“Ronnie?” Betty utters out, tears flooding her vision.

Veronica’s crying too, Betty can tell.

“Betty, when I first met you, I was already so mesmerized by you. By the way that you make music, the way you care so much, the way you give everything your all. You never give up, and you always see the good in people,” Veronica begins, and Betty can’t stop the tears that are spilling out from the corners of her crinkled, smiling eyes. “I mean, you saw the good in me. And, for that, I’m forever thankful. You came in and changed my life for the better, and you challenge me in ways I can never describe. You are the B to my V, and without you, I know I could never be this fulfilled or happy.”

Veronica’s sniffling, the ring in her hand wobbling a little. Betty grabs her wrist to offer support, her thumb caressing the skin soothingly.

“And when I wake up in the morning and see you wrapped around, I’m always struck with the realization of how truly lucky I am,” Veronica continues. “You make me feel alive, B, and I want to spend the rest of my life feeling this way with you everyday. I want to make you so, so happy, if you’ll have me.”

Betty’s full out sobbing now, and Veronica’s right alongside her, and she briefly wonders how ridiculous they must look, sobbing and cradling one another in the middle of the biggest park in the city.

Betty doesn’t care though, because the love of her life is asking her to marry her.

“Elizabeth Cooper, will you marry me?” Veronica manages out, with minimal hiccups, and before she registers it, Betty’s tackling her, peppering kisses on every part of her face.

“I’m guessing it’s a yes, then?” Veronica giggles, and Betty plants a soft kiss on both of her eyelids before sitting up.

“I guess,” Betty jests, and Veronica just laughs, slipping the ring onto her finger. It rests comfortably, and it just feels so, so right.

“I can’t believe you beat me,” Betty says, after admiring the ring for a while.

Veronica cocks her head to the side, confused. “What do you mean?”

Betty produces the velvet box, popping it open to reveal a gorgeous ring so perfectly tailored for Veronica.

“Betty…” Veronica trails off, tears springing into her eyes again.

Betty smiles, pulling the ring out to hold it in front of Veronica. “Veronica Lodge, will you marry me?”

Veronica answers with a kiss so fiery that it causes Betty’s knees to wobble. She’s suddenly thankful they’re sitting down.

And as they pull apart and Betty’s slipping the ring onto the Veronica’s finger, she’s glad that she’s too far gone, because it seems to be that in every lifetime, their souls were made to be the same, two imperfect souls perfect together.