Say My Name

Chapter One

It was Friday morning, the sun was shining, and Betty opened her eyes with pure glee when she remembered what day it was.

She reached over to her bedside table and patted the top, scrambling to find her phone. She picked it up, and ten new messages from Veronica appeared. She quickly scrolled through them, and a smile appeared when she glanced at the funny cat meme Veronica spammed her with. She yawned to herself as she faintly heard the sound of her mother calling her from downstairs. She groaned and rolled over on her stomach for a few seconds before she lazily pressed her feet to the carpeted floor and dragged herself to the bathroom. 

Today was the season's first football game, and Betty's first time cheering for the Bulldogs. She had never been so excited to be doing something she wanted to do for once. Her mom has been practically bullying her for as long as she can remember. "Sit up straight." "Don't eat that; it'll make you fat." "Why didn't you get a 100% on your exam?" "Are you sure you wanna wear that? It isn't flattering on you." These thoughts filled her mind as she brushed her teeth thoroughly and remembered not to put too much makeup on or her mother would have a hissy fit, and give her a lecture about not ending up on the streets, selling herself to any man who looked her way. She proceeded to dab a small amount of concealer under her eyes and curled her lashes with her Covergirl mascara, and layered a few shades of pink perfection on her lips. Betty put her blonde hair up in a tight ponytail, and brushed her hands over her fingertip length skirt and began to scan her eyes over her slim body in the mirror.

She wasn't the skinniest girl ever, but she wasn't fat, and Betty knew she could easily hide her body with loose clothing, but her mother insisted on her wearing tight sweaters that accent her curves. Betty was always more aware of her body when she wore sweaters, and it wasn't a sight Betty particularly liked. She looked over herself once more before she sighed and walked out of her room.

Today's going to be a great day. It's Friday; Betty knew she was going to ace that Math exam she crammed all night for, and tonight was the very first game of the season.

Nothing, and I mean nothing could possibly ruin the most exciting day of Junior year.

The bell rang for school to be dismissed, and Betty walked swiftly over to her locker, where she noticed Veronica, who was already dressed in her Vixens uniform. Veronica looked up from her phone when she saw Betty in the corner of her eye, and her face lit up.

"Hey, stranger. How was class?" Veronica asked.

Betty fumbled with the lock on her locker before she thought about Veronica's words, and managed to get her locker open.

"Oh, uh... Boring as usual," she replied and started to take her books out of her locker.

A ding from Veronica's phone distracted her from Betty's response, and her face lit up with shock. "Oh... my... god."

Betty shut her locker and zipped up her bag before she looked in Veronica's direction curiously. "What?"

"Archie might ask you to the dance."

Betty's eyes grew wide when she heard Veronica's words. "What? Why?"

"Uh... maybe because he likes you, and you guys are perfect for each other."

Veronica's words couldn't have been more true. Archie and Betty were perfect for each other. He was the star quarterback on the football team, and Betty was now a Vixen. They've lived next door to each other since they were little kids, and her mom had always encouraged Betty to go out with him. Veronica knew they were perfect, her mom knew, Archie knew, hell, everyone knew.

So, why didn't I want perfect?

Betty managed a half-smile, and Veronica shrieked with excitement. "He said he's gonna ask you after the game tonight. Oh, my god, I'm so excited for you. I can't believe it's finally happening."

Betty couldn't believe it either. After all this time, why now?

The sun was down, the Bulldogs were out on the field, and Betty was standing by the bleachers with the rest of cheerleaders. The stadium overflowed with fans cheering, and Betty danced on her feet, trying to keep herself warm. A smile crept on her face when she noticed Archie standing out on the field. Her eyes continued to Roam around the stadium and froze whenever they lingered on the parking lot. A glass bottle being thrown on the ground, followed by laughter and a few cigarettes lighting up, caught her attention. She couldn't quite distinguish who these troublemakers were, but Betty knew they didn't belong at a high school football game. The rest of the cheerleaders crashed their pom poms together, and Betty curiously stared at the mysterious figures in the distance. Before she could get a good look at them, Betty's gaze was disrupted when Veronica elbowed her in the ribs.

"Ow! What the hell, Veronica?"

She grabbed her side in pain, and Veronica laughed.

"We're about to go perform out on that big ass field in 5 minutes. You need to focus."

But Betty couldn't focus. The thoughts that swarmed her mind about Archie and about everything around her kept her from focusing. Betty caught herself looking back at the unknown group of troubling men who kept messing around and noticed there were motorcycles behind them. They were all dressed in black leather jackets, and looked to be around the same age as her or maybe even a little older. If she were to guess, they had to be apart of some gang.

How can people be so uncaring and hostile towards someone else's property?

Betty scoffed to herself and turned her attention back to the game. Veronica gasped to herself and brought her hands up to her face.

"Fuck."

Betty looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. "What?"

"I completely forgot the megaphone. It's still in the car. Shit, shit, shit, shit —"

Betty put her hand on Veronica's shoulder. "Calm down."

"Betty, I can't calm down. If Cheryl notices I forgot it, she'll have a cow —"

"I'll go get it," Betty quickly cut her off.

"You wait here, and distract Cheryl while I run to the car really quick and get it," Betty said calmly.

Veronica took a deep breath and nodded her head. "Okay."

"Okay?" Betty repeated, and Veronica continuously nodded her head. She walked over to her bag and dug out the car keys and handed them to Betty.

"Hurry," Veronica said with a worried expression on her face, and Betty nodded.

She turned to the parking lot, but before she could walk any further, she froze. The same scene of troubled gang members in front of her gave her an uneasy feeling. She had completely forgotten about them when she offered to go get the megaphone for Veronica, and Betty was itching to start punching herself in the face for it.

Crap.