The Girl Next Door // Betty & Archie

three

                                                       betty.

riverdale may not be the most exciting town in the world, but you can always rely on it to be constant. riverdale had pop's. the twilight drive in. a community of families that knew one another better than themselves. and it never changed, because it had no reason to. everything was balanced; everyone was happy.

but i have a feeling that with the addition of veronica lodge, riverdale can no longer stay the same. within minutes of meeting her, i sensed an air of chaos. and yet, i was so drawn to her. it was like i couldn't tell if she was going to change riverdale for the worse or the better, but i knew i'd be by her side while she did it.

"so why the big move? you don't move all the way from new york to riverdale for no reason." archie queries, stabbing his fork into his food.

"i trust there is a reason, but my dad has yet to mention it to me." veronica replies, speak

i shoot her a sorrowful smile. "that must be hard for you, do you miss new york?".

"more than you can imagine. i miss the hustle and bustle, i miss the people, i miss the energy. it's so different here; the polar opposite of everything i'm used to."

"i can only imagine." i sigh. "well, if you're up to it, cheryl's throwing a party at her house tonight. but i totally understand if you'd rather-"

"of course i'm up for it!" she gushes. "what better way to settle in than to jump in the deep end. are we getting ready at yours?"

"i, uh-" i lock eyes with archie, who is obviously as taken off guard as i am. "yeah, that works."

"cool, i'll come over to yours after school."

i nod and smile. "sure, i'll see you then."

                                           ***

it's so weird bringing a stranger over to your house for the first time. your home is a showcase of who you are, and then this person- who knows next to nothing about you- is bombarded with snapshots of your first day of kindergarten, your first car restoration, the first frog you found in your garden and decided to name quentin. you feel vulnerable; exposed almost.

the only thing weirder than bringing any stranger over, is bringing veronica lodge over. i expected her to look down her nose at our things, disgusted at how little money they must've cost, but it was apparent as soon as we arrived that she didn't care about that. in fact, she barely noticed anything at all. she was too busy dragging me to my closet, pulling out dresses, and tossing them at me.

"god. your closet needs a serious update."

i chuckle. "most of my stuff used to be polly's. it's hand-me-down couture."

"it's depressing." she sulks. "luckily, i came prepared. it's like i could sense that you needed a fashion fairy godmother, and now i'm here to grant your wish."

"right," i raise an eyebrow "is everyone in new york so dramatic?" she grins, but only momentarily before her attention focuses on my window.

"is everyone around here neighbours?" i follow her gaze, where archie can be seen from his room.

i shake my head and smile. "no. arch and i just got lucky."

her eyes trace the edges of my room, eventually landing on the floor. she sits beside me on the bed, refusing to meet my gaze. "so, you and archie, are you guys..."

"we're... just friends."

she looks over at me. "have you ever wished you were more than that?"

i pause as i feel my mouth go dry. no, i haven't. 

have i?

"no, i haven't." i assure her. 

we've only ever been friends, and that's not going to change. if something were to happen between us, it would've happened already.

right?

she is silent for a moment as she studies my face. "so he's single?"

i chuckle slightly "no hesitation there, hey?"

"i know what i want, betty, and usually, i get what i want. so i may as well go after it from the get go." she starts digging through her backpack. "things get complicated when people withhold their feelings from each other."

she pulls out a black dress, followed by a red one. her eyes dart between the two, before she tosses the black one to me. "put this on." she holds the red dress up to herself. "tonight we are both going to get what we want."