The Drunk Mind Speaks The Sober Heart

Part 1

Betty stood in front of her closet looking at the contents in dismay. She continued to stare, hoping if she stared long enough it would somehow transform into a closet that contained something half decent to wear. Betty had never been much of a party girl, her clothes certainly showcased that. Sighing she ripped a pale pink floral top from its hanger, she paired it with her jeans and her trusty grey boots. Sitting at her dresser she let her hair fall loosely around her shoulders, picking up a diamanté clip she twisted a section of her hair and clipped it behind her ear. Deciding to keep her make up minimal she applied a light layer of foundation with mascara and a swipe of lip gloss. Rushing down the stairs she raced out the door, she was already late thanks to her inability to find something to wear. She was on her way over to Cheryl's, who had decided that the best way to celebrate all the recent good news was to throw a pool party, Betty was pretty sure this kind of thing only happened in movies, but Cheryl had never been one for subtlety.

Betty slipped quietly through the already booming party, it seemed like most, if not all of Riverdale High was in attendance. Breezing through the mass of bodies Betty made her way through the back doors towards the pool.

"Betty, you made it." Spinning around Betty caught a glimpse of raven hair before she was almost knocked off her feet with a hug.

"Nice to see you too, Veronica." She said with a chuckle.

"I almost thought you weren't going to come, but you'd never do that me, would you?"

"What and leave you a socially awkward pariah at the party of the year, no chance." Smiling she grabbed hold of Betty's hand and dragged her through the crowd.

"Come, let's go grab a drink." Veronica pulled her towards a table lined with a variety of drinks ranging from beer to shots and every kind of liquor in between. Betty poured herself a weak vodka and coke, she wanted to pace herself, Veronica, on the other hand, was more than ready to party and filled her cup halfway with vodka before topping it off with lemonade. Betty raised her eyebrow as Veronica took a large sip of her drink but decided against saying anything, Veronica had had it tough the last couple of months, if anyone needed to let loose it was Veronica.

"So is Jughead not with you?" Betty shook her head.

"No, but he said he'd try to make it, there's some meeting he couldn't get out off."

"Ah, that explains the lack of serpents gatecrashing the party, let's hope the meeting runs well into the night." Betty glared at Veronica. "Sorry, you know I don't mind Jughead, and Toni's tolerable but the rest of those ruffians can be a bit too much." Betty sighed, she had to agree, some of the serpents took their gang status a bit too seriously, Betty worried for Jughead and what could happen if he didn't take the role of serpent leader seriously. She had begged Jughead to turn down the position, after what had happened with the Ghoulies and Penny, she worried for Jughead's safety. Penny and the Ghoulies had been quiet since that night but Betty knew they weren't just going to slink back into the night. Something big was coming, Betty could feel it and she suspected Jughead could as well, that was probably what this meeting was about. Part of her wished she'd taken Jughead up on his offer of becoming serpent queen, maybe then she'd be kept in the loop, she hadn't yet given Jughead her final answer but she was swaying more towards declining him. She already struggled with the darkness that festered inside of her, being around the serpents, listening to them talk about baying for blood, she knew it was going to be too much for her, she feared she'd be swallowed whole by the already stifling darkness.

Hearing Veronica sigh she followed her gaze and found the reason for her woeful sigh, Archie stood out on the patio surrounded by Reggie and a few of the other guys.

"How are things between you and Archie?" Veronica dragged her gaze away from Archie and locked eyes with Betty.

"It's been hard, we both know this is for the best but it doesn't make it hurt any less." Betty reached out and rubbed her arm. "I really did like him, I hope we can stay good friends, once we move past this horribly awkward stage. I think I just need to get him out of my system, which is going to be hard seeing as the eye candy at this school is pitiful, do you know if Reggie's single?"