blue. on hold.

two.

———————————— blue.
chapter two,                  satan's gaze.
01 x 01,                                part two.
part one. ———————————

Betty, Veronica, and Heather were clad in the Riverdale High's cheerleading outfits, standing in the middle of the now cleared gym. Sitting in front of them, was Cheryl Blossom, the giant smile she once had when talking to Veronica, only a few hours before, completely gone. "We're blue! And gold! We're dynamite! We'll take you down, and fight the fight! Whoo! Go, Bulldogs!" Betty and Veronica were extremely stiff, while Heather moved much more fluidly.

"Hmm. Ladies, where's the heat? Where's the sizzle?" Cheryl asked, her tone indifferent. "Well, you haven't seen our big finish yet." Veronica spoke, quickly thinking up a plan. She turned to Betty, whispering, and gaining her attention. "Don't freak out. Just trust me." Veronica pressed her lips to Betty's, her tan hand on Betty's milky cheek. Cheryl's crones looked on in surprise, while Cheryl's face didn't stray from her cold indifference, and Heather, despite staying outwardly passive as well, felt herself grow angry at the way the, very clearly, straight Veronica used queer baiting as a finale. Poor taste.

"Check your sell-by date, ladies, faux lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo since 1994." Cheryl was unimpressed, her tone icy with a hint of anger, before she suddenly flipped switches, though her tone was still the same. "So let's see if you do better with the interview portion of our audition. Betty, how's your sister doing?" The blonde went wide eyed, obviously not expecting the question. "Um, Polly's fine, thanks for asking." Betty said, hesitantly, and Heather could see Betty begin to clench her hands into fists.

"Veronica, has Betty told you about her sister yet?" Cheryl chirped, and Heather crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes in slight amusement. "Uh, no." Veronica replied, looking towards the blonde for a moment before crossing her own arms. "Go ahead, Betty. Tell Veronica about your sister and my dear brother." The redhead's voice was cruel, and Heather couldn't help but look down, and attempt to cover her growing smile. "Polly and Jason dated." Betty said softly, looking at Veronica out of the corner of her eyes. Cheryl scoffed, "I wouldn't say 'dated'."

"It didn't end well." Betty said, still in her soft, innocent voice, but Heather noticed her clenched fists, and the growing coldness in her eyes. Things that no one else seemed to pick up on. "In fact," Cheryl said, faking a thinking tone, "Jason's probably why your sister had a nervous breakdown and now lives in a group home, isn't it?" Betty shuffled, and Veronica looked on in concern. Heather snorted, softly, and she could see Cheryl glance at her for a moment, before returning her attention to the struggling blonde.

"That's what my parents think."

"What do you have to say about that, Betty?" Cheryl leaned forward, "Go ahead, the floor is yours! Whatever you've been dying to spew about Jason and how he treated Polly, unleash it. Destroy me. Tear me a new one. Rip me to shreds. Annihilate me." Cheryl's tone was hard, and only got louder as she went on, and Heather could see Betty's tight fist shake. "I just..." Betty started, and Cheryl sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Finally." And then Betty continued, relaxing. She let her hands free from the fists, nail marks adorning her palms. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened to Jason. I can't even imagine what you and your family must be going through."

"Right." Cheryl said, quietly, before collecting herself, and looking towards the darker haired girls with a wide, forced grin. "Veronica, Heather, welcome to the River Vixens." Then she looked at Betty. Her smile gone, her eyes cold and her voice as hard as a rock. "Betty, better luck next time." Veronica paused, the small smile that had appeared only seconds ago vanishing in turn for a look of annoyance. "Wait, what? Why? Because you couldn't bully Betty into being a bitch?" Veronica asked, gesturing towards Betty. "I need girls with fire on my squad." Cheryl explained. Heather knew that Cheryl just didn't want Betty there.

"I know what you need, Cheryl, because I know who you are. You would rather people fear than like you, so you traffic in terror and intimidation." Heather didn't even try to fight her grin, as Veronica chewed out the bitch on her own cheerleading throne. "You're rich, so you've never been held accountable, but I'm living proof. That certainty, that entitlement you wear on your head like a crown? It won't last. Eventually, there will be a reckoning. Or..." Veronica moved closer, "Maybe that reckoning is now. And maybe, that reckoning... Is me." Cheryl watched, upset at where the situation had taken them, with her at the bottom instead of the top. "Betty, Heather, and I come as a matching set. You want one, you take all of us." Heather could see Betty hide her grin. "You wanted fire? Sorry, Cherrybombshell, my specialty's ice."

Cheryl looked behind Veronica, inhaling sharply when she saw Heather, and the wide, almost maniacal grin that graced her lips. Cheryl thought she was looking right into satan's gaze.

She knew she had lost.