STING [peter parker & betty cooper]

Chapter Seventeen: Scratches and Trees

I woke up to the sound of my alarm going off and the rarity of actual sunlight streaming through my window, though I could hear the light touch of the snow on the tiles. It was the next Monday and school was almost over for the holiday season.

Peter and I didn't make any efforts to hide our relationship, and though he looked very shy when I did it, I couldn't help but smile and hold his hand for a moment as we walked through the parking lot. We met Veronica and Archie as usual and talked with a few other of our friends in the parking lot before the warning bell sounded.

Classes went by quickly and I was glad when lunch came. There was a tangible buzzing in the air and almost every conversation in the cafeteria was focused on the up-and-coming Christmas break. From what I heard not many people were leaving town but I heard several mentions of Greendale and Canada.

We were eating at our usual table, talking and laughing when Harry, who had been mostly quiet the whole time, perked up and looked behind me curiously. "Where are Tweedledee and Tweedledum going? It's snowing so heavily outside."

The rest of us looked to where he was staring to see Cheryl and Tina Patel, a girl she usually hangs out with sneak out, well try to sneak discreetly outside. I had no idea why they looked so suspicious since really what can you get up to in a town like Riverdale?

Gym was a horror show like every other day. It always felt like natural selection, the weak being herded out from the strong and I was pretty sure I was on the brink of extinction. I couldn't wait for graduation since I would never have to take this evil class again. Peter was the only one keeping me alive and was always the first one there to help me up when I fell.

The teacher finally let us go change back into our regular clothing about five minutes before the final bell. We followed the crowd together until Peter and I went our temporary different ways, exchanging quick waves and grins before I was forced to be shuffled into the change room.

Wanting to get home as fast as possible I whipped off my t-shirt and slipped on my long-sleeved sweater after a much-deserving shower. When I returned to my stuff I heard loud obnoxious giggling behind me and turned to see Cheryl once again whispering and sneaking glances at me. I decided to ignore her and grabbed my jeans, pulling them up and buttoning them.

As I stuffed my dirty gym clothes into my bag I heard the giggling again and huffed in annoyance. I turned around only to be met with two pairs of brown eyes.

"Is there a problem?" I asked in a dry tone, running a brush through my wet hair before putting it back into its ponytail.

"No, not really. Have I ever told you I love the way you twist your ponytail?" Cheryl said in a sickly sweet voice that immediately had me suspicious. Cheryl was never nice to me unless she was up to something. I thought things were better between us since that distressing day on the river so I decided to ignore her once again, pick up my stuff, and leave the change room without glancing back.

I was walking quickly down the hall when Alana appeared beside me. "Hey, Betty!"

I smiled. "Hey Alana, what's up?"

"Nothing much. You and Peter huh?" Unlike others, Alana wasn't looking to gossip or sticking her nose for the sake of it. She was genuinely nice so I had no problem divulging my life status.

"Yeah, who would've thought?" I chuckled shyly and she looked genuinely happy for me.

We were almost at the exit when I heard someone calling Alana behind us. When we turned I discovered it was Harry. He ran up to us and kissed Alana on the cheek, which completely caught me off guard since I knew Alana was dating someone else just a few weeks ago.