Chapter Text
“Kevin, are you sure this is the one?”
Betty Cooper lifted up the pale pink vest she’d chosen to wear later on, and pressed it against her body as she looked in the mirror.
“Yes. It’s cute, it’s slightly revealing, it’s a classic Betty colour and you look hot but not like you’re trying too hard,” Kevin Keller rattled off, lying down on her bed with his legs in the air. “Archie will go crazy for you.”
Betty pouted. “Pretty sure he’s seen me wear this before, Kev.”
The summer of 1985 was coming to an end, and after three months of building up her college application, all that was left on Betty’s list was dating Archie Andrews. She sighed, trying to dispel her nerves. Everyone knew her and Archie were meant to be, it was basically small print on their birth certificates. All that was left was to seal the deal. Because, according to Kevin, men were dense and didn’t respond well to hints. She gazed at herself in the mirror, pastel coloured bra on. Maybe by tonight Archie would be taking the bra off-
“Betty!”
She jumped at the sudden knocking on her door accompanied by her mother’s voice. She scrambled to put her shirt on while Kevin immediately shifted position to crossing his legs.
“What, mom?” she asked, exasperated, opening the door - which only allowed Alice to push herself past her.
“Did you see there’s a new family moving in?” Alice asked, voice neutral on the surface with venom simmering underneath. She beelined straight to the window, and peered through the blinds. Normally Betty only looked out of it to wave at Archie.
“Uh, no,” she answered, nonplussed. Kevin made eye contact with her and she put her hands up to say I don’t know what’s happening either.
Alice turned around. “Really, Betty, do you not look through your window? Did you miss that big U-Haul truck this morning?”
She went over and looked through the curtains too. Sure enough she could vaguely see a few people on the lawn of the house next to Archie’s, holding cardboard boxes. She also didn’t see why her mom thought she’d be paying attention to that.
“Okay,” Betty said slowly, “what’s the problem? Have you even met them?” She walked away to sit next to Kevin.
“Your dad spoke to them this morning.”
“And?”
“He said something was off about them. As in, they don’t belong in a neighbourhood like this.”
Betty scoffed. “You guys think there’s something off about everyone!”
And when it came to her mom, ‘off’ could mean anything from they were serial killers chopping up bodies on the porch to one of the kids looked like they listened to rock music. Or maybe one of them was ginger and simply reminded her too much of Jason Blossom.
“They can’t be any worse than the people that used to live there,” Kevin interjected. When both Coopers looked at him, he shrugged. “Archie said they used to blast Cyndi Lauper all the time.”
“I think you should go introduce yourself, Betty,” her mom announced, arms folded. “Find out more about them.”
“What?!”
“Betty, are you okay?” Kevin asked, looking at her. For all she knew, one of her eyes was twitching.
“We have cake in the fridge. Just ring the doorbell, give it to them and say it’s a housewarming gift,” Alice instructed, like this wasn’t one of the stupidest things Betty had ever heard.
“But I have a-” Alice raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m meeting Archie at Pop’s, Mom.”
“You’ve been doing that since you were twelve, Betty. I’m sure Archie can wait.”
Betty hated it, how her mom could pull her around like this and she was so used to it that she couldn’t even resist anymore.
“Right, of course he can,” she said quietly, admitting defeat.
If she really thought about it, this would probably only be a five minute stop on the way to Pop’s. She could knock on Archie’s door after, and everything would be fine. A flash of anger coursed through her and she dug her nails into her palm.
Half an hour later, she was stood on their new neighbours’ porch, pink vest covered by a white cardigan. She rang the doorbell, holding tightly onto her plate of coffee cake with her other hand. The lights were on, and she could hear chatter from inside the house, though there was no sign that anyone was coming to answer the door. Betty tapped her foot, and considered leaving her mom’s plate there with a note. Just as she’d turned around, the door swung open.
“Hello?”
It was a boy her age, maybe a bit older. He looked tired, his eyes suspicious.
“Hi.” She tried to give him a warm smile but he looked unimpressed. “My name is Betty. Betty Cooper. My family lives across the street from you guys. And, uh, my mom wanted to give you guys this.”
She pushed the plate into his hands, and he accepted. They kept staring at each other, like neither of them were sure how to proceed.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah- uh, yeah. Sorry, we’ve just never really had great neighbours before. Don’t really know what to do after this part.”
“Well, normally you introduce yourself,” she joked.
He blinked as if that just occurred to him. “Yeah, sorry, I’m Jonathan.” He cleared his throat. “Welcome to the Byers’ residence,” he continued in the same somewhat awkward cadence.
There was something so… Jughead about him, though without the self-assurance and snark. If this was Jughead, he probably would’ve gone through ten monologues about the horrors of suburbia. And then introduced himself ‘ironically’. Regardless, it was clear that Jonathan didn’t feel like he fit in here. Maybe the last place he lived was rough. And, of course, her parents had picked up on that and decided it meant he didn’t deserve to live in their neighbourhood.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
Jonathan looked back into his house and then at her. “Sure.”
As Betty stepped in, she could hear voices coming from what she assumed to be the kitchen. The layout of the house was exactly Archie’s which was slightly trippy when she knew her way around there like the back of her hand. The furnishings were a bit older and sparse, she noticed as he led her to the living room.
“Yeah, we still need to pack up half our stuff from home,” Jonathan said, watching her roaming eyes.
“I’m not judging.” He nodded.
They could hear murmurs from the kitchen and when Jonathan went over, Betty followed.
There was a girl sitting at the kitchen counter, hugging a teddy bear to her chest, with red eyes and tear stained cheeks. A woman, presumably their mom, was stroking her hair absentmindedly. And the girl’s other brother, younger than Jonathan, was leaning against the wall, as if he wanted to be as far from her as possible. Jonathan coughed and all three sets of eyes moved to them.
“Guys, this is…”
“Betty. I live across the street.”
“That’s my mom, that’s Will, and that’s, uh, Jane.”
The girl - Jane - stared at her with big, dark eyes, with an intensity that made Betty feel like she could see right through her. Will, on the other hand, was looking at her with as much suspicion as his brother.
“Oh, hi, sweetheart,” Mrs Byers finally said, voice warm and comforting, as Jonathan came in and put the cake down on the counter. “I’m so sorry, we just moved, we’re a bit of a mess right now.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I just came over to drop off that. My mom kinda… forced me to, so-”
“Do you go to Riverdale High?” Mrs Byers asked.
“Yeah, I’m a sophomore.” Betty nodded politely, her mind focused almost solely on the time, ticking closer and closer to when she had to leave.
“These three have their first day tomorrow, they’re a bit nervous.”
“Mom!” Jonathan and Will shouted in sync. The girl looked away, eyes on the ground. Betty racked her brain.
“Are you… Jane Hopper?” Jane’s eyes widened at the mention of her name, like she’d been caught doing something wrong. Betty had been thrown off by Jonathan saying the Byers’ Residence but everything made sense now. “I’m meant to be showing you around school tomorrow.”
Jane and the other girl, Veronica Lodge. The scandal of Hiram Lodge’s arrest reached far and wide, and Betty assumed the Byers would go unnoticed amid her and Jason Blossom’s drowning in Sweetwater River.
Will frowned. “Do we not get a tour?”
“There’s this, uh, big sister program at Riverdale High. It’s to help students who might need, um, a mentor,” she scrambled for words, trying not to offend Jane even though she seemed thoroughly unaffected.
The program at Riverdale High had been put in place to help students who seemed disadvantaged, like kids from the Southside or ones with learning difficulties. The school had heard Jane had been home schooled her whole life and missed out on a big chunk of her education, which meant she had no choice but to be assigned a ‘big sister’. And Betty had just signed up to mentor someone for her college applications.
“Big sister program?” Jane echoed her words.
“Yeah, it’s just if you have any questions, or need any help with anything, you can come to me.”
Jane nodded, hugging her big flannel shirt closer towards her. Betty looked at her properly. She was really pretty, and in another context she could see her walking down the hallway behind Cheryl, clad in their cheerleading costume. But the way she was right now, she would get eaten alive. Betty would know.
“Thank you.” Jane smiled, finally, and Betty clamped her suspicions down. She had a sweet face, a smile that made you feel oddly protective of her. And hopefully Cheryl would be too focused on Jason to go on a rampage.
“Betty, we’d love to have you over for dinner, but we-”
“Just moved in today,” Jonathan interrupted, albeit apologetically.
“Can we just order pizza?” Will asked.
“Pizza? Why don’t you just go to Pop’s?” Betty asked, receiving four blank stares. “Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe,” she clarified.
Jane’s brow furrowed. “Chocolate shop?”
“It’s a diner in the middle of town. It’s, like, the centre of everything, pretty much?” Riverdale truly wouldn’t be Riverdale without its steady supply of pancakes, waffles and milkshakes. Betty checked her watch. “It’s… actually where I’m meant to be right now.”
“You want me to show you out?”
“No, I know the way.” Jonathan stopped in his tracks. “It was nice to meet you, guys. Bye, Jane!” She waved, waiting for the girl to copy her movement, before she rushed out, ready for her life to change forever.
-
El didn’t want to stay in Riverdale. She didn’t want this house. And she certainly didn’t want to stay with Joyce, or Will, or Jonathan.
She loved the Byers but her heart ached to be with Mike, planning their life in high school together. Or with Max, disappearing together and talking about Hopper, and sometimes Billy. Maybe even smoking those cigarettes that reminded her of her dad, and Max of her brother, though it filled her with guilt. Mainly because of how angry she knew Hop would be right now.
And Mike had caught her the first time when she’d apparently tasted of smoke. He’d been so upset by it that she’d vowed not to make it a habit.
She knew she wasn’t acting like herself. How could she? Her dad was gone. Gone and never coming back. Ever since the Starcourt Mall, she’d felt like she was in a bath, head barely above water. Fighting to keep herself afloat when she knew how easy it would be to let herself sink to the depths. And sink she had.
After Hop, she’d basically shut down. Mike came to visit everyday while she couldn’t get out of the Byers’ spare bed. He brought her food, tried to feed her himself when she couldn’t, and asked Will in hushed whispers, ‘how am I supposed to help her?’ And when she had come back to herself, Mike had tried to convince her that moving to Riverdale would be perfect for her.
“I mean, you’re moving to New York. That’s, like, super cool.” El wrinkled her nose. “I’m serious, New York City is one of the coolest places ever. It’s really big, and there’s loads of people.”
“Like Chicago?” El asked.
“When the hell did El go to Chicago?”
“Shut up, Lucas.” He redirected his attention to her, voice suddenly sweet and reassuring once again. “It’s bigger than Chicago.”
“Bigger?” El’s eyes grew wider, mystified by what this magical place could be like.
“Well, it’s not like you’re moving to the city. The place you’re moving to is kinda the same as Hawkins, right?”
“Shut up, Dustin!” Mike reached over to smack him.
“Ow! I’m just saying!”
“Anyways… I’m sure you’ll really like it there, El. There’ll be way more stuff to do over there than here.”
She had wanted to try to be happy here, without her powers and her friends. But now that she was here in her new empty bedroom, she couldn’t fathom being here for, what, the next four years? Especially when Mike didn’t even have their phone number or address. They had to go back in a month to get the rest of their things but that was much too far away. El had made up her mind. She was going back to Hawkins.
“How are you feeling, El?” Joyce had come to check up on her before bed, El already tucked into the sheets. She held her teddy bear close to her chest, against the soft material of the big Star Wars shirt Mike had given her.
She shrugged, looking away.
“I know you didn’t want to leave,” Joyce continued softly, sitting down on the bed. She switched on the lamp next to El’s bed, the warm light illuminating El’s dark room. “I miss Hawkins too, but I really think this place will be good for you. Living a normal life is all Hopper wanted for you.”
The mention of him stung. “Hop didn’t want me to be in the city.”
“I promise you that Riverdale is safe. Owens wouldn’t have sent us here otherwise. I don’t want you to doubt that for a second, you hear me?” Her eyes were intense, though her voice was still soothing.
“Okay. I won’t,” El said, hoping Joyce would go back to her room soon. “Goodnight.”
Joyce looked like she still had something to say, but then she shook her head slightly, smile returning back to her face. “Goodnight, sweetheart. Remember, we have to get up early for school tomorrow.”
El waited for her new adoptive parent to leave, and for all the lights to switch off before she pulled out her full backpack from under her bed. She snuck downstairs, still in her pyjamas and slowly shut the front door. The keys to get back in were heavy in the pocket of her sweatpants. She had only taken them just in case she changed her mind, which she wouldn’t.
She shook off her doubts and stepped off the porch.
“Sneaking out through the front door is a risky move. Trust me, I’ve tried it before.”
A voice stopped her in her tracks, the same one from a few hours ago. Betty. Her eyes met Betty’s, and El glared, daring her to stop her.
“I won’t tell.” Betty smiled and it made El feel small, somehow. Like it reminded her she wasn’t a telekinetic force of nature anymore, just a fourteen year old girl that wanted to run away from home. “But before you go, are you sure you don’t want to try food from Pop’s?” She lifted up a big paper bag, and El’s stomach growled involuntarily. She hadn’t had much of an appetite at dinner, and it had caught up to her now.
Eyes still locked on Betty, she nodded slowly. What was the harm?
Betty led her to the steps leading up to her house, and they sat down to eat.
“There’s onion rings, a burger, and a chocolate milkshake in there,” Betty informed her after taking her own food out. El started eating voraciously, forgetting to respond.
She hadn’t felt like this since Benny gave her her first taste of food outside the lab. Right now, the ‘onion rings’ that she’d never had before were comparable to the wonder of Eggos. And the milkshake…
“Jeez, I’ve never seen someone happier to have cold takeout,” Betty joked, and El stopped to look up at her.
“Thank you,” she said, remembering what Hopper had told her about manners.
“Don’t worry about it. My, uh, date was kinda disappointing. I just wanted to get out of there, but then my food showed up.”
“Your boyfriend?” El asked. It made sense, Betty sort of looked like one of those Barbie dolls Nancy had donated to her a while back, with her shiny blonde hair and blue eyes. It only made sense she’d be dating someone.
“Uh, no, not my boyfriend.”
“Your girlfriend?”
“No!” El jumped a bit at the sudden reaction. The older girl sighed. “He- I want him to be my boyfriend. I don’t know if it’s going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“I was going to confess to him, right? And then this girl walks in, the other new girl, and it’s like all he can do is look at her.” It was like a switch turned in her brain and she was complaining at full speed. “And then they start making lovey-dovey eyes at each other and I just had to watch!” Betty groaned. “She was like the opposite of me. She was dark, and mysterious, and this… New York celebrity. I’m just the girl that lives next door.”
“My boyfriend’s name is Mike.” Betty raised an eyebrow at her. “Before he became my boyfriend, I thought he liked a girl called Max. She was cool too. And pretty.” She hoped what she was saying made sense to someone who wasn’t used to the way she spoke. Even her closest friends took a while to decipher her words sometimes. “But he didn’t. And I was mean to her because of Mike.”
“Then what happened?”
“Max and I became best friends.” El shrugged, like it made perfect logical sense. And to her it did. “Mike gets jealous of us as well sometimes. But he shouldn’t.”
“That’s nice. I don’t think me and Veronica Lodge will ever be best friends though.” Betty narrowed her eyes. “Are you running away because of Mike? Or Max?”
This conversation had made El forget temporarily what she had to do. She shook her head. It wasn’t because of either of them, not fully. “I want to go home.” She paused. “Do you know how to get to Indiana?” She figured there would be a bus that could take her. Or some man with a truck.
“Indiana? That’s like ten hours away!”
“I know.”
“Are you leaving because of your dad? Does he live there?” El jumped back like she’d been burned. “Sorry, I just noticed that he wasn’t there, with your mom.”
“My dad is gone.”
She could hear Betty’s sharp intake of breath. “I’m sorry.”
El just looked away, because she was tired of being told people were sorry for her loss.
“Hey, how about you hang out at mine for a bit? I won’t tell my parents that you’re leaving, and if you still want to, we’ll… figure it out.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
El looked back at the Byers’ house. None of the lights had turned on, no one had figured out she’d gone yet. She still had some time. Her eyes wandered to the street, and she saw someone walk over to them, a boy around her age with bright red hair.
“Oh my god,” Betty muttered beside her.
“Betty, hey!” He jogged over to them. “Who’s this?” he asked, looking straight at El.
“This is Jane. She’s your new next door neighbour, actually. Jane, this is Archie, my… friend.”
El waved.
“Oh, nice to meet you, Jane.” He reached over and shook her hand.
“We were just going to go back in actually,” Betty said suddenly. Maybe she was jealous of her and Archie. Which was about as stupid as El being jealous of Mike and Max. “See you tomorrow, Arch.”
Betty gently grabbed her arm and led her up the stairs, leaving Archie at the bottom. When they reached the house, the front door swung open.
“Elizabeth, you’re ten minutes past your curfew- Who’s your new friend?”
El guessed this was Betty’s mom.
“This is Jane, she moved in next door, mom,” Betty sighed.
“I didn’t tell you that it was okay to-”
“Mom! She’s not sleeping over, we’re just hanging out. You know, like you told me to?”
“Fine.” Her mom’s tone was sharp, but she conceded and moved away from the door. “Welcome to the neighbourhood, Jane.”
Betty’s house reminded El of Mike’s, but maybe even more picturesque. There were pictures and books everywhere, and the living room led right into the dining room and kitchen. She took everything in, and once her gaze reached the bright yellow couches she realised there was a man sitting there. He put his newspaper down, like he sensed her staring.
“Oh, hey Dad, this is Jane, she moved in next to Archie,” Betty introduced.
“Uh- hi there, Jane,” he stammered.
El stepped back, recognising the look in his eyes. He was scared of her.
“Dad, why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Before he could answer, she scoffed. “Never mind.”
And then she dragged El by the arm, all the way to her room, and El let herself discard that strange interaction from her mind. As soon as they entered, it was like El stepped into another world. Betty’s room might have been smaller than Nancy but it was just as pretty, with white furniture, pink walls and pillows and posters galore. It felt so far out of her reach. A bedroom meant for normal girls. Even when she’d gone to see her mama and saw the room she was meant to grow up in, it still didn’t feel like it was meant for her.
“Do you like it?” Betty asked, settling down on her bed. El nodded slowly, setting her heavy backpack down by the door and joining her.
“Archie is…” El searched for the words. “I see why you like him.” Betty’s ponytail swung from how quickly she turned her head.
“Hey, you have a boyfriend,” she pointed out, though El realised it was a joke and relaxed. Betty groaned and fell back onto her mattress. “He is really cute, right?” Her hands covered her face, and she was looking at El through a slit between her fingers.
“Yes. He is not my type though.” El only realised in that moment that she missed this sorely, being able to talk about boys with Max.
“What is your type? What’s Mike like?” Betty asked, leaning in like it was some sort of scandal.
El stood up and grabbed her backpack, pulling out a picture of her and Mike that she’d make sure to take. A picture of them staring into the camera at the Snow Ball. There was another one, of them smiling after Nancy had told them off, but this one was somehow her favourite.
She passed it to Betty. “Me and Mike last year.”
“Oh, you guys are adorable,” Betty cooed.
El shrugged, cheeks heating up, and looked around more of the room. Her eyes fell on the open wardrobe, filled with soft pastels.
“Can I…”
“Go ahead. You can borrow something for school tomorrow. You know, if you decide to come?” Oh yeah. El was running away. “Sharing clothes and stuff reminds me of when Polly was here.”
“Who’s Polly?” She took out a pale blue jumper, thinking about how perfect it would look with her jean shorts.
“My sister. She’s not with us anymore.”
“Gone?”
“Not dead. But yeah, gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
Betty shook her head. “She was dating Jason Blossom.” She searched El’s eyes for recognition and found none. “The boy who drowned in Sweetwater River. He meant more to her than she did to him.”
El shuddered at the thought of finding out Mike cared about her less than she thought. His care for her was something she could always count on.
“What happened then?”
She sunk back down on the bed, hugging the jumper.
“My mom went crazy, and said Polly wasn’t her daughter anymore. She sent her to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.” Betty sighed, putting her head on her pillow. El shifted around until she was opposite her. “Jason did hurt Polly, but it was my mom that ruined her.”
They’d sat in silence after that, lying in the bed until El succumbed to her tiredness and let her eyes close.
-
Betty awoke to the trill ringing of her alarm the next day. It took her a few seconds to remember what had happened exactly, and then all the emotions hit her like a wave. The embarrassment when she’d given up on her date and ran away, the resentment towards her mom, the warmth she’d felt hanging out with Jane. Unfortunately, none of it happened because it was the first day of school.
Jane sat straight up as the alarm sounded, covering her ears. Betty reached across her to turn it off.
“Hey, don’t worry, we just fell asleep last night.”
Truth be told, she had always loved mysteries and Jane was shaping up to be the biggest mystery in the neighbourhood. Betty was so curious on what had made her this way, why her speech was so stilted and why she reacted to an alarm clock like a bomb had gone off. It wasn’t something she expected to figure out in a day though. And maybe the answer wasn’t something she wanted to hear.
Jane slowly let her hands go back to her sides, and gave Betty a sleepy look.
“School is today?” she asked, looking back at the backpack she’d brought to run away.
Betty nodded. “Unless you still want to leave.”
Jane looked at her, jaw set, and then resolutely shook her head no.
“Okay, then.”
They had rushed to get ready, and Jane ended up borrowing her whole outfit from Betty’s closet - a blue jumper, acid wash jeans and a statement belt to complete the look. And Betty narrowly escaped her mom’s ire using the excuse that they had to make it to school on time. But Jane still had to face the music at the Byers.
At the door, Betty could hear Mrs Byers shouting and it made her heart pound with anxiety and guilt.
“It’s her first day, Jonathan! Hopper trusted me to take care of her and she’s gone! This isn’t Hawkins, anything could’ve happened to her.”
“We can track her down! She can’t have gone far. She’s just a fourteen year old girl, she doesn’t even have her-”
Jane interrupted her brother with a loud knock on the door, and both voices ceased. The door swung open and a frazzled Mrs Byers gasped, wild eyes softening with relief. She immediately pulled her daughter into a tight embrace.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Sleeping over at Betty’s.”
Jane pulled away from the hug, clearly apologetic but not knowing how to say it.
“I am going to get my school bag.”
Joyce nodded. “Okay, sweetheart.” As Jane ran upstairs, her mom looked at Betty. “Could you…”
“Walk her to school and make sure she doesn’t run away?”
Joyce let out a shaky breath. “How did I not see that she wanted to leave?” She shook her head then. “Thank you. For watching out for her.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I think she just needed someone to talk to. My sister ran away once, and I always think that if someone was just… nice to her, it wouldn’t have happened.” She fiddled with the sleeve of her cardigan as she said it, not used to talking about Polly like this.
Jane descended down the stairs again, with a different, bright purple backpack. She’d put her wavy hair up into a scrunchie too. Mrs Byers said bye to them quickly (not before taking a photo of Jane against the wall) and they’d headed off.
Just when Betty had the feeling she’d forgotten something, Archie had jogged over to join them.
“Hey, guys,” he announced himself, voice slightly out of breath.
Betty looked at him apologetically. “Hi, Archie.”
“Hi.”
“You guys excited for school?”
“Sure, I just hope Cheryl doesn’t somehow become more evil than last year,” Betty joked, making Archie grimace. “How about you, Jane?”
“El.”
“Sorry?”
“My friends call me El.”
“El for Elizabeth?” she asked. Wouldn’t that be a coincidence?
“El for Eleanor,” Jane- El corrected softly.
“Well, El, are you excited for your first day of school ever?”
The younger girl shrugged, like the thought hadn’t occurred to her. Betty, on the other hand, had the feeling that this school year would be much more eventful than the last.