𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 ⚢ beronica

【 prologue. 】

Every crush is, by nature, inconvenient. Betty is well aware of that, so when she meets Veronica Lodge and Archie Andrews at Youngster's Diner upon her arrival in Riverside and feels an instant draw to the world they've built in the years they've shared, she recognizes it with dismay; she's developing a really inopportune crush-on both of them, no less.

In her first day at Riverside High, she's baffled to know that the girl who kind of knocked the breath from her lungs at that dinner isn't who she expected at all. She assumed the hot blonde girl on a date with the cute ginger boy to be more or less running the school; instead, she finds that she's a shy, earnest outsider pushed to the social sidelines by Cheryl "Bombshell" Blossom--a bitchy, Machiavellian mean girl. Cheryl quite immediately gravitates towards Veronica, probably recognizing the political sharpness and social cunning that polished Veronica into the person she is; the person she doesn't want to be anymore. Back in New York, Veronica carried the sort of destructiveness around her that chilled every environment she ever stepped in, and she sees how Cheryl has directed all her energy into becoming this same type of person, and she wishes she could convince her that it isn't worth it.

While she navigates the dual task of avoiding what comes naturally to her-befriending someone like Cheryl-and trying her best to fit into the group that she wants to belong in-Betty, Archie, and Kevin-Veronica wills herself to believe that she can be a good person, and that she's not going to ruin the beginnings of her friendship with people who are actually nice.

In those first few hours of her settling in at Riverdale, she's still teetering between Betty and Archie, her attraction oscillating between the boy and the girl even when she realizes that they're actually meant for each other, not her.

Then, things take an unexpected turn.

It's not the kiss she surprises Betty with at cheer tryouts or the kiss with Archie in the closet. It's the aftermath of Cheryl Blossom's party: the ensuing schism between her and Betty and the feeling of utter hopelessness brought on by losing someone to whom she had already gotten way more attached than she could have anticipated, and the awful sensation of having really, really messed up her entire life in a moment (or seven minutes) of recklessness.

Veronica had hurt people for sport, before. She came to Riverdale determined to be a different, better person, but she hadn't really known what that looked like until she crossed paths with Betty. Veronica's never met anyone less deserving of cruelty than this girl, who's disarmingly optimistic, distractingly beautiful, and tragically unaware of her own strength and potential. It's this girl, with her goodness and lack of malice and unwavering belief in the decency of people, who can anchor Veronica when her thoughts turn dark, and her old instincts threaten to come barging in to take over her life again.

Before she goes to sleep that night, Veronica stands at her balcony, shoulders tensed by an unfamiliar, uneasy disappointment. She gazes into the star-speckled distance, wondering how many hours or days it would take to reach New York by foot. When she closes her eyes and breathes in a lungful of chilly, pristine Riverdale air, it's Betty's unassuming smile that she sees, almost as though it's been engraved inside her eyelids. For all the nighttime darkness enveloping her, recalling memories of happier times with Betty is a lot like watching a particularly brilliant, warm sunrise emerge from the horizon.

This is when her heart seems to make it's choice clear to her.

There is indeed an attraction to Archie. But clearly, there is something much more real, stronger, and deeper inside her, pulsing for Betty, and it's asking her, this is it, isn't it? This is the girl for you. This is the person you want. She's not going to have eyes for anyone else-she knows this as firmly as she knows her own name. She met Betty and, really, she never had a chance.