Betty Cooper hated crying. She'd done it far too much recently, ever since everything kicked off at the start of the year. It felt like what Cheryl called the "sad Breakfast Club" were the only people who even cared about finding the truth; everyone else just wanted to save their own skins. They didn't care who they hurt. Her parents certainly didn't.

Every time Betty thought about what her parents had done the tears came on again. How the hell was she meant to trust them when they were belittling her and dismissing her as crazy at every turn? She didn't, she couldn't, and it hurt more than she could have ever imagined. Who was she meant to trust if she couldn't trust her own flesh and blood? But, of course, she knew the answer to that. Who had left her the yellow flowers that made her heart sink when she was told they represented friendship? Who had hardly even hesitated about being her first kiss? Who had fought tooth and nail to win her over, to etch her name into Betty's skin; Veronica. There was nobody she trusted more.

No. She couldn't feel like this. She loved Archie, she always had, she had to, she couldn't be feeling this way about a girl she barely knew...

Betty's phone buzzed. She considered ignoring it, but a second buzz sounded, and a familiar ringtone played. The Pussycats' version of I Feel Love. The one with Veronica's singing. Betty seized the phone and swiped frantically to answer.

'Hey Betts,' Veronica's voice sounded down the phone. She sounded a little out of breath, but her smiling radiated through her voice. 'You okay?'

'Er, yeah,' Betty lied, trying to compose herself. Blotchy-eyed and shaky-voiced isn't a very hot look, she thought. 'Why do you ask?'

'I saw a slightly dramatic tweet and wanted to check in on my favorite cheerleader. Are you sure you're alright? You don't have to lie to me, Betty. I know you've had a rough day.'

'I...I forgot I'd told you about it,' Betty said quietly. Veronica gave a small, sweet laugh.

'Come on. We don't keep secrets. It's not really worth it in this town.' Veronica quipped.

'Ain't that the truth,' Betty sighed.

'Alright, so we've established you're not really fine. Do you need another one of Ronnie's Pick-Me-Up Playlists?'

'While I do adore your music taste, Veronica, I don't think that's going to help.' Betty didn't mention how she'd let out a squeal when Veronica made her that playlist a few weeks ago.

'Oh, Betts,' Veronica said, 'you gotta talk to someone about - hey asshole, slow down! This is Riverdale, not the interstate!' In the background of wherever Veronica was, Betty heard the horn of a car and hurried footsteps.

'You know, you really shouldn't be on the phone while you're on the road,' Betty told her.

'Hey, don't blame me for the crazy driving of some people here.'

'Where are you, anyways?' she asked. She could probably guess the answer; Veronica would be coming back from a party with Archie, or running to the store for a late-night drink and a new lipgloss that would make Betty swoon.

'Don't you worry about that,' Veronica said; when she spoke, Betty could practically see the mischievous smirk on the other girl's face.

'Seriously, I'm sitting here at home because I didn't wanna go to this conference with mom. I need to hear about someone else's exciting life if I'm not going to have any my-'

'Look out your window.' Betty glanced to her side and peered out of her window. She was there. Veronica stood in a pair of kitten heels, waving and looking up at her with a look of glee on her face. She gestured to Betty to open her window.

'You didn't really expect me to leave you sitting at home all sad without someone to talk to, did you?' Betty couldn't fight the smile that demanded to spread across her face.

'Honestly, Ronnie, you scare me sometimes,' Betty called down at her.

'Come down and let me in!' Veronica replied.

'I can't. Mom locked the door; I'm under house arrest.'

'Well I'm not just gonna leave you here,' Veronica yelled, but there was no way up. Betty sighed and leaned back on her bed, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her again. Hello darkness, my old friend, she thought with a half-smile, remembering that silly post Veronica had sent her earlier.

'Betty Cooper!' A sharp knock came at the window. God, she'd climbed Betty's dad's ladder. Betty smiled and opened the window to pull Veronica in.

'Thanks - woah, careful,' Veronica said as Betty hoisted her up. 'This dress took a lot of time to press.'

'Sorry,' Betty said quietly. Veronica Lodge made herself comfortable quickly; she sat on the corner of the bed, where she always did when she came to visit, and dropped her elegantly beaded clutch bag down next to her. She took one look at her friend and looked down, her face filled with concern.

'You've been crying, haven't you?' Betty hastily wiped her eyes with the end of her hoodie and tried to give a weak smile to Veronica.

'God, I must look terrible.'

'You never look terrible, Betts,' Veronica told her. 'I can see it, though. In your eyes. They look...I don't know, kinda lost.' Without saying anything more, Veronica wrapped her arms around Betty, pulling her in close. She felt Veronica's hands stroking her hair, playing with the split blond ends there. To tell the truth, Betty hadn't felt this safe in weeks, this cared for.

'Thank you,' she managed to choke out. 'For coming.'

'How could I not?' Veronica said, pulling away slightly to look her in the eye. 'You're my best friend, Betty Cooper.' She wanted to feel grateful for that, really, she did, but she'd never been one to hide her emotions well. 'You don't look too happy about that,' Veronica said quietly. Shit. I can't have her thinking I don't like her. What do I do, what do I do?

'Have you seen the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel?' Betty blurted out. Veronica tilted her head to the side.

'Can't say that I have.'

'Jughead got me into it,' Betty admitted. 'It's pretty good. But...er, there's this couple in it - well, sort of couple.'

'Is this the 80s stereotype and the badass green chick?' Veronica smirked at her own joke.

'Yeah. Well, they...they keep talking about this...this unspoken thing between them - well they don't talk about it, or it wouldn't be unspoken, obviously -'

'Betts?' Veronica was so close to her, so, so close, and she wouldn't stop looking at her. She felt as though her cheeks were on fire.

'I...I wonder if...if we -' Veronica pressed a finger to her lips.

'You said it's unspoken, right?' Betty nodded. She felt her pale cheeks reddening. 'Well, then, let's not talk.' Then Veronica was kissing her. It was just like the first time. All that background noise and particles of worry, but all she could feel was Ronnie's hands cupping her cheeks and Ronnie's lips pressed against hers and Ronnie's eyelashes fluttering shut; the taste of Ronnie's lipstick on her own slightly parted lips and how gentle she was when slowly, as though asking every step of the way, Ronnie's tongue flicked against her lips.

Betty didn't mean to make a sound, but she kept kissing her. It was instinct, she supposed. When Veronica pulled away, paranoid thoughts immediately flooded her mind, saying that she'd made such an idiot of herself that Ronnie was going to make some excuse and leave. Instead, she smiled, her lipgloss stained away in places.

'Did Betty Cooper, the sweetest girl-next-door of all time, just moan? The two of them laughed, giggles transforming into raucous laughter.

'I think she did,' Betty giggled.