Red moons ---Beronica (Riverdale's, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge)

Chapter 2: closet

Veronica Lodge doesn't lose.

Veronica Lodge never loses.

So when she stumbled out of that closet with Archie trailing behind her, only to find out (From a very smug Cheryl Blossom) that Betty had left, the first thing she wanted to do was go straight home.

Because she never lost before, so she doesn't know what else to do.

Wait...no. She has lost before. That's why she was stuck in this stupid town in the first place. Her father had been wrongfully (At least she hoped it was wrongfully) accused of embezzlement, her family had been cheated out of most of their money, her so-called friends back in New York abandoned her, and everything she knew and loved was taken away from her - yet, in comparison to what she was feeling now, all of that was so insignificant and far away. Why?

Maybe it was because of her vow to reinvent herself - yeah, that had to be it. Veronica promised herself that she would attempt to be a better person once she started her new life in Riverdale, and it was working...at least for the first few hours. She made new friends, she knocked Cheryl down a peg or two, and she helped Betty get on the cheer squad. She was doing great.

Then she went into the closet with Archie Andrews.

At the moment, it seemed like the right thing to do. If she didn't agree to go in, Cheryl would've thought of another way to hurt Betty's feelings. She didn't really have a choice.

Okay, maybe she didn't have to kiss Archie. That was one thing she would have changed. She found herself groaning inwardly as she replayed the scene in her head. There was no rhyme or reason for that kiss. There really wasn't. She could just tell herself that the both of them got caught up in the moment, that they ran out of questions to ask each other and they just kissed for the sake of finding something to do, that they did it because there were only a couple minutes left and they needed to kill time somehow, but none of those excuses would bring Betty back.

Betty. Betty Cooper.

She didn't want to admit it (At least not for now), but there was something about that ponytailed, cardigan-clad, all-American, stereotypical small town, straight-out-of-a-Taylor-Swift-song girl that Veronica could not help but be captivated by. She felt it the moment she laid eyes on her that night when she walked into Pop's, when she accidentally walked in on her and Archie trying to figure out their relationship (It might have been for the best, seeing as the both of them looked kind of awkward and it did not look like the conversation was taking a turn for the better). The instant she locked eyes with the blonde, Veronica knew they were meant to be in each other's lives in some shape or form. She just knew.

The girls Veronica surrounded herself with back at Spence were nothing like Betty. Spence girls wore Kate Spade and Jimmy Choo and talked about summers spent in Waikiki and Barcelona. Spence girls got cars and front-row concert tickets from insanely rich fathers just because. Spence girls smelled like Dior and Chanel (And tasted like poorly made whisky sours). Spence girls looked like Blair Waldorf and Cher Horowitz.

Betty Cooper, on the other hand, looked like she came straight of out a 1995 Sears catalogue and smelled like generic women's drugstore body spray (And tasted like instant hot chocolate mix), but that didn't really matter to Veronica. "Old Veronica" might've had something to say about it, but times have changed. In fact, Veronica really liked that Betty was the complete opposite of what she was used to. Isn't there a cliché about opposites attracting? It had to be a cliché for a reason. Betty was everything Veronica wasn't: Calm, composed, prepared, and a romantic at heart-

...Which brings us to why Veronica Lodge is currently collapsed across her mother's lap with her eyes glazed over in unshed tears.

She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, and the moment things go dark Betty's palms fade into view. She can see the red half-moons simpering at her, teasing, provoking her.

You failed, Those tiny red smiles were wordlessly cackling at her, You failed, failed, you failed.

A part of her wondered how deep Betty's nails dug in as she watched her new friend and the boy she loved enter that closet. She wondered how much blood she drew as Veronica stood on her tiptoes to meet Archie's lips. She pictured Betty's knuckles, white as snow, and the tendons underneath her skin shifting uneasily as her fingertips worked their way into her palms.

The mere possibility of being the reason why Betty is hurting herself makes Veronica's stomach turn.

"Is everything okay?" She can barely hear her mother's voice. She could feel Hermione's fingers comb through her hair - a gesture that never failed to comfort her in the past, but it wasn't working its magic tonight and she had no idea why. "Ronnie, what is it?"

"I screwed up." She heard herself reply. It didn't feel like she was the one speaking; it was almost like she was having an out of body experience. She could see herself resting on Hermione's lap, and she could see her mother soothingly petting her hair. It was like she was watching a movie of her life. "I screwed up really bad tonight." She watched her lips part in a part-laugh, part-scoff, part-sob. "I did the one thing I promised myself I wouldn't do when we moved here, and that was to not hurt someone. I ended up breaking that promise before the first week even ended."

"Mija," Her mother cooed, "I think you're being too hard on yourself. I know it's hard adjusting - it's not quite what we're used to-"

"Understatement of the year."

Hermione's expression was stern, but also amused. "Riverdale isn't New York, and it won't ever be New York. New York may have been bigger, and more exciting-"

"It also had better food-"

"Don't hate on Pop's. Their burgers are uncontested."

"Sure, Mom - though I guess their onion rings are passable."

"Anyways," Hermione tossed her hair over her shoulder, "What I'm trying to say is that Riverdale is a lot more forgiving than New York. You'll be surprised at how understanding the people here can be. You'll make good friends here - real friends. Friends who'll have your back no matter what."

Veronica watched herself rise from her mother's lap, shifting over so that she sat next to her. "But that's the thing - I did make friends. Good friends! They were willing to look past the whole mess going on with Daddy. They gave me a real, genuine chance to prove to them that I'm not just some rich bitch from the city." Her chest rose and fell in a deep sigh. "But I blew it, and now I'm not sure if I'll be able to win their trust back."

Hermione sat in a pensive silence for a moment. Veronica knew that look - she was thinking of a solution. She waited patiently, twiddling her thumbs for a few seconds until her mother's voice caused her to look back up. "I've got an idea."

She watched her own lips curl up in a grin. "You always do."

"We're going to have to dip into our savings a little bit, but from the way you're describing things, this is an emergency." Hermione's grin matched her daughter's. "Remember what I always used to tell you?"

"You tell me a lot of things, Mom."

The elder Lodge rolled her eyes. "C'mon, you know what I'm talking about."

It took a moment for it to register, but once it did Veronica's eyes lit up. It's a bit of a stretch, but it might just help win Betty back.

"There's no wrong the right cupcake can't fix?"

(It worked - for a moment. Just like her last plan.

Fuck.

The triumphant look Betty flashed her before she allowed herself to be pulled away by Cheryl punched all sorts of holes through Veronica's chest. It hurt a lot more than she expected.

She managed to catch a glimpse of Betty's palm just seconds before Cheryl's own palm covered it - those dark, crescent-shaped scabs were almost laughing at her.

She's sitting alone in the change room, sitting so low that her forehead's pressed against her thighs. Her hands are clasped in front, the fingers woven together so tightly because she knew if she relieved an ounce of restraint she might just start hitting something.

She's trying to remember how to breathe.)