"I'm being thrown out?"
Betty Cooper tried hard to keep her expression passive. Though her lip was trembling, her eyes stinging with tears. Normally she would be able to steel herself and keep stoic. But for some reason, today was the day her life crumbled. Normally, her life always seemed to go to plan. Perfect. Just like her; the girl next door with willowy blonde hair and cornflour coloured eyes. Elizabeth Cooper had spent most of her life competing to get into her desired college.
Now she was here, Betty was past the hard part. But college life, it seemed, wasn't as easy as she had initially thought. So then began her terrible, terrible, very bad day. Which started with her waking up to a prickling pain in the back of her head which progressed into a stabbing slash in her skull. So of course she had ignored her seven alarms and gone back to sleep before waking up at quarter past nine.
Late.
Betty had never been late in her life. She had always been punctual, even if she felt like throwing up her lungs. But that morning, the pain had been too intense. After forcing herself awake and stumbling to class, hair unbrushed, clothes inside out, Betty realised she looked a complete mess. Strands of her hair were still sticking to her cheeks. In a girl's compact she'd caught a flash of her reflection; a pale girl who looked seconds away from death. Well fuck. Perfect girl Betty wasn't as perfect after all. Then it seemed like a the world was crashing down on her. She ended up missing an assessment in English. At lunch she'd dropped mystery meat all over herself, becoming the clown of the cafeteria. The butt of Cheryl Blossom's cruel jokes.
Keeping optimistic, Betty had prayed for a better afternoon. Except no. Her mind had blanked during Journalism, and after being asked to explain something so simple- even a five year old could perfect it- Betty had ended up choking out a string of gibberish that amused the class to no end. She was normally at the top of her game in Journalism. But not today. Today, for some reason, was cursed. The world was out to get Betty Cooper.
Her bad luck continued. After class she had traipsed up fifteen floors to her dorm room, ready to have a screaming fit into her pillow and sleep for three days. But a slip of red paper was waiting for her, taped to the number plate on her door. Red automatically meant bad. But her mind was already fleeting elsewhere; a party invite? The journalism club were having a party on Friday night. Maybe Kevin had gone against her wishes and stuck the invite on her door to piss her off. But the more Betty frowned at it, she couldn't see Keller's fancy calligraphy, or the bright colours usually on his snazzy invites.
It wasn't an invitation to a party. Her mind spun. Bile burning in the back of her throat. Fuck. It was an eviction notice.
At first Betty thought she was hallucinating. After all, she could barely keep her eyes open. It was possible that her mind was playing tricks on her, fabricating the worst scenario feasible. After the nightmare day she'd had, it would be the cherry on the cake.
But after blinking several times she had reached out and tugged the slip of paper from the lame strip of tape it hung from. It was real. The paper slipped through her fingers when she nearly dropped it. Betty stared down at the message. It was easy to hallucinate something hanging from her door. But not the bolded and heavily underlined message jumping out at her. Betty re-read the message five times, but it wasn't registering in her foggy mind, still reeling from making a fool out of herself all day. The words were firm and to-the-point. No sugar coating: "URGENT." Betty flinched at the string of exclamation marks. Did they really need that many? Her eyes went funny, blurring around the edges when her gaze flickered to the words printed underneath.
"IMMEDIATE EVICTION NOTICE FOR ROOM 17."
Below that, in the smallest font possible; "Please visit the downstairs office to arrange alternative housing. If you want to appeal your notice, please ring the admin office, open Mondays/Fridays - 9:00 -5:00 or ring: 202-555-0131 for more information.
So that's where she had landed. Standing awkwardly in the admin office, trying not to break apart. Sure, it wasn't particularly smart of her to barge in without knocking, spitting out, "You kicked me out?" but at that moment, it had seemed right. The words had came out like word vomit, and almost felt like a relief; a day worth of pent up anger and frustration finally seeping out of her. The admin office was cosy. Indigo walls dotted with ancient paintings and bookshelves overflowing with any book she could think of. Miss Berkhall, a middle aged woman with greying hair and a liking for knitted cardigans peered at her through thick framed glasses. She had had been sitting with a dog eared book in her lap when Betty had pushed through the door. The receptionist's gaze flickered from the curled pages of her book, to Betty. Before shutting the book a little more violently than needed and setting it back on her desk.
Clearly Betty had disrupted reading time.
"Excuse me, young lady," she straightened up with a pointed glare. The woman had a strong southern accent Betty couldn't ignore. "Can I help you?"
Nodding, Betty could only take a few shaky steps forwards. God, she was tired. It felt the very floor she was standing on was candyfloss. She took a deep breath.
"I- uh, I received an eviction notice, and I'm not sure why?" she yanked irritably at her blonde ponytail, strands of golden hair falling in her wide-set eyes. The eviction slip was still in her shaking hands as she held it up. "I think there's been a mistake."
Betty's voice was shaking, but she didn't care. If anything it was a good thing. The woman was still frowning at her, waiting for- she wasn't sure. "Oh no, there's no mistake Miss Cooper," the woman cleared her throat and smiled at her widely. But Betty knew the smile lied. Miss Berkhall glanced at the ancient computer on her desktop looking almost proud to call her out. "You've been accused of stealing from the girls in your dorm."
"What?" Betty felt like laughing. But it would be the absolutely worst time. Miss Berkhall nodded with a patronising smile, her icy blue eyes never leaving the computer screen. "We had a complaint this morning from a Miss Cheryl Blossom," the woman finally looked at her, curling her lip. "She accused you of stealing her belongings."
Spluttering, Betty tried to defend herself. But at the back of her mind she knew there was no point. Cheryl Blossom was the daughter of the Owner of the University. She had the misfortune of sharing a dorm with the girl. Betty had kept her head down, avoiding the red-head who strutted around like she owned the place. Well, she kind of did. But for reasons unknown to Betty, Cheryl despised her. Always pushing past her on the hallways, dumping her mail in the trash. The Crimson Horror (Betty's nickname for her) and even gone as far as hiding the majority of Betty's laundry and throwing it out of the window.
So it was no real surprise to Betty that Cheryl was the culprit for the notice. She half expected the girl to stride in with her usual puckered scarlet lips, that vindictive gleam in her eye. Betty clenched her fists. "I didn't steal anything." she whispered.
Miss Berkhall nodded, but her decision was already on her pursed lips.
"Right. Well Miss Blossom has threatened to bring in her father, so unfortunately until the matter is dealt with, you'll no longer be able to use your room due to the accusations put forward."
"But..." Betty struggled to coerce words. "How-" she swallowed, licking her lips. If her mother found out she'd been kicked out of the dorm, Alice Cooper would be dragging her back home by the ear before she could even explain the situation.
The thought of ringing her mother and asking to come and collect her felt like admitting defeat. Alice Cooper had never wanted her to go to Blossom University. It was a long way from home. But it was Betty's dream college. She had been fantasising about attending since she was thirteen.
Miss Berkhall must have seen the turmoil on her face, because she sighed and pushed what looked like an overflowing folder over to her. "Have a look in 'ere, sweetheart."
Betty took it, managing a nod. "I'll bring it back." she whispered, her eyes already scanning the front cover of the folder. The overflowing pages were curled and browning with age. The receptionist shook her head. "No need." she gestured to the pile of them on her desk. "We've got plenty." when Betty hovered for a moment, clutching the folder to her chest, she tutted. "Is that all you need or is there anything else?"
Shaking her head, Betty forced a smile and mouthed 'thank you' before backing out of the office, and then out of the girl's dorm, into the crisp October air. The sky was darkening, orangeade streaks blurred across the horizon. The quad was empty apart from straying kids making their way back from classes. Betty slumped down on a bench and opened up the folder on her lap. All around her trees were turning golden, shedding leaves across the walk. Any other day she'd snap a picture, but her phone was on 20% and she was temporarily homeless. Betty wondered if it would reach the point of calling her mother. Or was she going to be stubborn and sleep on a campus bench? It was mid October so chances of her freezing to death were high, considering Toledo's erratic weather.
Flipping through the folder, most of the adverts went back years. Kids were asking for anything from bottles of Coke to laptop chargers. Finally she reached room lettings and scanned the page that were literal clippings of notices from the campus newspaper. Her gaze glided over the ones that went way beyond her price range. Betty was looking for one, maybe two or three nights. Most of them were asking for three months rent upfront.
Finally, after what felt like hours of searching, one advert in particular caught her eye. It looked recent. Printed a few days ago.
WANTED: MALE/FEMALE ROOMMATE TO ROOM WITH THREE OTHERS - $800 PER MONTH.
The description: We are three lovely HUMANS currently renting out Lodge house, just off campus. We're walking distance from college, have WIFI and air conditioning, TV and games console. Four rooms. All fancy with double beds and an en suite.
MUST: be able to deal with shitty guitar covers, arguing over cereal, long nights of Mario Kart and at least be able to cook pasta. Because we can't.
For information about the room, call us on: 202-555-0166 (before 6pm. Afterwords we're like, too lazy to answer the phone)
It was worth a shot. These kids sounded pretty insane, but it was just for a few nights so she could sort her head out and avoid going to her mother. Glancing up, she realised it was dark. The sky was an inky black, a half crescent moon sitting in the middle, casting an eerie glow. The only sound was her chattering teeth as a biting breeze played with her hair. Blossom University's quad was now completely empty, apart from her, sitting alone in the dark. Betty wanted to cry. Her eyes were stinging, but just in case anyone happened to be observing her pathetic breakdown, she stayed stoic.
One look at the clock on her phone sent Betty's heart racing,
Shit. She was running out of time. Shoving the folder off of her lap, Betty pulled her phone out, dialling the number. Her hands were shaking, slipping on the screen as she tapped each digit, stabbing CALL.
Why was she doing this? Her mind wondered. Was she really too stubborn to ring her mother? Going home seemed appealing right now. Especially when she was freezing to death. Her room in her mother's house was so comfy with its pastel walls and thick blankets on her bed. But she had moved out. Going back home felt wrong. She didn't belong there anymore.
Betty pressed her phone to her ear and held her breath while her heart felt like it was about to explode, aggressively slamming into her chest.
The dialling tone sounded, before a click. "Hey!" a male voice exploded from the speaker, making her wince. "You've reached the voicemail of Lodge House! We're not available to take your call right now, because it's past six and we don't answer the phone."
"Because Jughead plugs it out." another male said, chuckling. There was what sounded like some kind of scuffle, before the main voice was back.
"Anyyyywayyyy, if you're calling about the room, feel free to pay us a visit! We're number twenty three, Greystone Street. It's just straight down the road from the college. We're the one with the bright red fence." a pause. "Okay, how do I end it?"
"You're an idiot." a girl's voice trilled. More laughter, before the answer phone clicked. "Please leave your message after the tone." the automatic response drawled.
Beep!
Betty opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue felt bloated.
"I'm uh- I'm calling about the..um...the room?" she took a deep breath. "my- my name is Betty Cooper and I'm looking for a temporary room for the next, uh week? I'm not sure yet, I-"
There was another click that startled her, before the robotic response: "Message sent."
She didn't even get to finish speaking. Betty shoved her phone in her pocket and let out a sigh.
So it was either sleeping on a bench, surrendering to her over-protective mother, or going to some random stranger's house and paying for a few nights. The latter seemed like the best decision. She stood up, shoving her hands in her pockets. Her breath came out in wisps of white. If her whole body wasn't freezing up, she might have thought it was beautiful. As Betty walked past the girl's dorm, she took a moment to glance at her room on the very top floor. The window was dark. She half expected Cheryl Blossom to be standing there, grinning at her. Her silhouette basking in the darkness.
Luckily, Betty had memorised Lodge House's address. It wasn't a long walk away. The streets were strewn with autumn leaves, and Betty kicked through them as she walked. The same pain that had racked her head this morning came back with a vengeance. She had found herself daydreaming, her gaze on the mounds of leaves she was kicking through, when her phone vibrated. She pulled it out quickly. There was a text from her mom lit up on the notifications bar. Followed by a missed call.
Mom: 6:15pm: Elizabeth, have you eaten?
Betty frowned at the message. The last thing she had eaten was the remnants of mystery meat and mash potato, half of which ended up on the floor. Apart from that, she hadn't eaten. But telling her mother the truth would be like a death sentence. Betty let out a soft breath, tapped on the message and quickly texted back 'Yep!" before shoving her phone back in her pocket. She couldn't be bothered to add details, but as long as her mother knew she was eating, she could continue to hide under the facade that everything was fine, when in actuality, Betty felt like her life was falling apart.
Soon enough, Betty came to be standing in front of number twenty three. The advert was right. It was fancy. The house looked old. Victorian perhaps. But it had aged well with a red brick structure, slanting roof and huge, wide windows bathed in warm golden light. A worn red fence surrounded the property, cutting the little house from the rest of the neighbourhood. There was no garden, except from a small patch of grass which looked like it had seen better days. Betty took tentative steps down the path to the front door, trying to ignore the ache in her chest and the pain curling in the pit of her stomach.
What if they turned her away? Said no? Their desirable idea of a roommate was still running through her head. Betty had never played Mario Kart and had grown up with elder siblings, so she could deal with domestic arguments. Betty ended up standing there for at least ten minutes, weighing the negatives and positives. She had found herself so deep in an imaginary conversation with the occupants, when the door finally opened, she nearly jumped out of her skin. A boy around her age stuck his head out. Through the crack in the door spilling cosy golden light, Betty caught a whiff of something burning. She fought back a cough.
The boy was tall and pale with mousy red hair sticking out from a knitted beanie, amused eyes taking her in, one eyebrow cocked.
He leaned against the door frame with his arms folded across a Van Halen shirt, eyeing her quizzically. "You've been standing on our doorstep for nearly ten minutes," his lips curled into a smirk when Betty felt her cheeks blaze scarlet. "Are you okay?"
Her eyes started to sting. They had been watching her?
Thinking about the residents watching and probably laughing at her talk to herself for ten minutes made her feel sick.
Betty could have cried.
But she wasn't going to break down in front of a complete stranger. "Yeah." choking out the word, Betty cleared her throat. "I'm here about the room?" when the redhead's eyebrows pushed together in confusion, Betty went hot all over. Was the advert a joke?
"The room?" she whispered. Suddenly her voice was quivering, on the edge of breaking again. "You, uh- you put up an advert?"
The redhead's eyes lit up. "Oh!" his lips stretched into a grin. "Oh, cool! You're here for the room!" he chuckled. "Shit, sorry. I was miles away. My classes were cancelled today so I've been playing video games all day."
Betty managed a nod. Unable to resist a sigh of relief. The boy straightened up, gesturing inside. "Why don't you come in?" he screwed his face up, covering his nose. "Don't worry about the burning smell. That's just Veronica burning our kitchen down."
"Okay?" Betty found herself actually laughing. The boy's smile was warm. "Yeah. It's a daily occurrence in the Lodge-Jones-Andrews household. You'll get used to it. He eyed her warily, his lip curling into a smile. "I don't suppose you can cook?"
Betty didn't know if he was joking. He looked around eighteen, maybe nineteen. Though the longer he stared at her, his brown eyes wide and hopeful, she realised he was being serious.
"I guess?" she shrugged.
The boy was bouncing on his heels. "You may be our savour." he opened the door wider, so she could step inside. "Madame."
Nodding, Betty followed him through the door. The moment she stepped inside, it felt like the house itself had wrapped its arms around her in a gentle caress. The hallway looked cosy. There were piles of shoes on a worn out welcome mat. She slipped out of her converse and put them neatly next to a fancy pair of heels.
"This is the, uh- the hallway," the boy pointed to the spoiled paperwork and bits of newspaper stuck to the floor. He chuckled. "We still need to decorate down here." he frowned at the ceiling covered in cobwebs before snapping his gaze back to her.
"I'm Archie by the way." he smiled brightly before gesturing down the hall. Archie was attractive for a redhead. The boy had thick shoulders, bulging arms, and she could just about glimpse a sign of intense work-out through the boy's shirt.
"Betty Cooper." she introduced herself, frowning at a small spider scuttling its way up the wall.
"Pleasure to meet you, Betty Cooper!"
Archie led her down a long winding hall, reminding her of the hallway from The Shining, eventually leading to an ancient staircase, bits of carpet hanging off each step. Archie saw her face and grinned. "It's nicer upstairs, don't worry." he winked, and Betty nodded, following him up the stairs. Archie took two steps at a time. "So, what's your story, Betty?" he asked, as Betty stared at the pale green carpet only just clinging to the wooden floorboards. There were rusting nails sticking out of the steps, and she watched her feet, careful not to catch her foot on one. That wouldn't be a good impression.
"I was kicked out of my dorm." she replied. Lying seemed like too much work. Plus, Archie didn't seem the judgemental type.
To her surprise, Archie didn't question why. He only nodded in understanding. Betty pulled herself up the last few steps and finally, Lodge House finally looked like it was described in the advert. Instead of dusty ceilings, spoiled paintwork and a ratty carpet like downstairs, the walls were painted a light indigo colour. In place of carpet, Betty found herself standing on smooth grey wooden flooring. Archie cleared his throat with a grin. "I guess I'm your tour guide?" he took slow steps down the hall, and Betty followed, looking around in awe. It felt like they had walked into a completely different house. The hallway was lit up with fancy lights all the way down.
"This is where you'll find me most of the time." Archie pointed to a small white door. There was an A4 ratty bit of paper stuck to the front which read; "MUSIC ROOM." in black marker pen. Archie allowed her a peek. Though it was just a mostly empty room, apart from a piano, a chair and a guitar leaning against it. Archie smiled like a proud father. "Since I've been banned from playing in the lounge, I moved my stuff in here."
"Oh right," Betty nodded politely. "You play?" she gestured to the guitar, and he scratched the back of his head. "Sort of?"
After the music room, Archie turned into a real tour guide, showing her a glimpse of each room, introducing her to the two bathrooms. They were both spacious with ocean blue tiles and flooring. The bath looked more like a swimming pool. Archie saw her grin. "I wouldn't get too hopeful," he rolled his eyes. "Veronica is always in the damn thing. I've never had chance. Me and Jug just use the shower and leave her the bath."
When Archie finished explaining, he led her back out onto the hallway.
"There's a downstairs bathroom, but nobody really uses it." he said. "Which leads us to the lounge!" Betty followed the redhead into a dimly lit room with the only light coming from a flat screen TV pinned to dark blue walls.
The screen was frozen on what looked like a video game. The colours were bright and childish. It looked like a platformer with a little character mid-jump through computer generated grassy fields. The words RESUME, OPTIONS and QUIT GAME displayed in green bubble writing.
"Why are the lights off?" Archie let out a loud, exaggerated sigh, pawing the walls for the light switch. Betty blinked in the blinding allure. The lounge seemed to come to life, the walls much more stand out, a calm purple colour matching the paintwork in the hallway. There was a glass table in front of the TV and sofa, covered with comics, magazines and stained coffee mugs. "Feel free to sit down." Archie pointed to the sofa and chuckled, jerking his head towards the TV screen. "I don't suppose you know how to get past the third boss on Crash Bandicoot?"
Betty didn't move. Though sitting down did seem appealing. She opened her mouth to answer, when Archie cut her off, wandering over to cream coloured curtains framing the windows and pulling them shut. Betty couldn't help feeling right at home. Everything from the coffee mugs littering the table and the comfy looking sofa screamed perfect. She sat down, nearly planting her butt on a Macbook sitting on a cushion with its screen time out.
"Oooh, that's Jughead's. Can you put it on the table?" Archie rolled his eyes with a grin. "I keep telling him to stop leaving it everywhere."
Betty nodded. But then felt ridiculous. She was barely speaking. But Archie didn't seem to mind. He didn't lose his bright, almost infectious smile. She picked up the laptop and set it on the glass top. The laptop, she noticed, was covered in stickers ranging from dancing skeletons to glittery purple hearts and stars. She figured the hearts were someone else's doing, or Archie's roommate had a thing for all things glitter.
"I'll go and grab Veronica and Jughead," Archie said, and Betty felt herself stiffen. Archie seemed nice, but what about the others? The all-too familiar feeling of dread started to eat her up inside, and Archie seemed to notice her distaste. "Or maybe you can come with me? do you want something to drink?" he sniffed and rolled his eyes. "If you're hungry you're welcome to some of Veronica's famous cremated Mac 'N cheese."
Macaroni and cheese did sound good. Even if it had been burned. Betty idly played with her hair. "a hot cocoa would be cool." she said, a little louder. Archie beamed.
"Oooh, that's my speciality. I hope you like whipped cream." rubbing his hands together, the boy backed out of the lounge, back onto the hallway. "The kitchen is just next door." Betty jumped up, her legs suddenly wobbling. The idea of meeting Archie's roommates and the other kids she was going to be staying with made her feel nauseous. She followed the boy through the door next to the lounge, walking straight into a cloud of smoke.
The kitchen wasn't what she'd imagined. Instead of being huge, like the other rooms, it was small and box-like. There was a refrigerator, oven and dishwasher packed underneath a marble counter top cluttered with dirty mugs, dishes and pans, and a small table with three chairs tucked underneath. There was a small girl with her back to Betty with raven hair pulled into a ponytail, scraping what she guessed were the remnants of Mac 'N Cheese into the trash. "Archie, finally," she murmured, tackling cremated cheese with a fork. "Who was at the door?"
Betty struggled not to choke and splutter in the smoke. But it barely seemed to faze Archie. She wondered if this was a daily occurrence, and felt giddy. If these guys were comfortable with each other, so much they didn't have breakdowns when the others nearly burned down the kitchen, then hell, she was suddenly sure she was going to like it here.
Archie chuckled, striding over to the sink, standing on his tiptoes above three cupboards. He stretched for the top one, grabbing two clean mugs. Betty noticed he had Harry Potter socks. "Veronica Lodge," Archie said as he messed around, pouring milk and scooping hot chocolate. The boy was already making a mess, and Betty's inner perfectionist was screaming at how much cocoa powder he was spilling all over the worktop.
"I'd like you to meet Betty, our new housemate." Betty stood in the doorway, frozen. She wasn't sure what to do. So she watched Archie fail at making hot cocoa. Veronica stopped vigorously attacking melted cheese stuck to a pan.
"What?" the girl spun around, and Betty finally saw her face. She was pretty. Very pretty. Holy shit, she was gorgeous. Her dark hair framed a heart shaped face, mocha skin shining in the fluorescent kitchen lighting. She wore a tight black dress and tights. The girl swiped at bits of cheese stuck to her cheeks, her lips curling into a scowl. "Archie, why would you bring her in here when I look like this?"
Archie looked pleased with himself. Betty could tell he was laughing, his head bobbing up and down as he stirred the cocoa. The clink, clink clinksounds made Betty feel warm inside. She was used to her mother making her hot cocoa. The aroma tingled in her nose, and her eyes started stinging again. Sniffing, she wiped at them quickly.
Veronica grabbed a towel and scrubbed at her face before smiling kindly at Betty. "Hi, it's nice to meet you!" the girl's cheeks had gone crimson. "Sorry for the mess, I uh-" she gestured to what looked like a Kitchen Nightmare disaster with pained eyes.
"She can't cook to save her life." Archie said, laughing loudly when Veronica grabbed another towel and whacked him with it.
"Chill, Ronnie!" he held up two steaming mugs of cocoa. "Unlike you, I'm making Betty feel at home."
The girl scoffed. "Per-lease," she rolled her eyes again, socking him with the towel. Archie side-stepped away from the girl, handing Betty a mug. The boy had added nearly half a can of whipped cream, but it smelt amazing. She took it with a thankful smile.
Archie took a sip of his own. "Where's Jughead?"
Veronica shrugged. "Beats me." she murmured. "Wasn't he playing on the PS4 with you earlier?"
The redhead nodded. "Yeah, but he's not in the lounge. His laptop is though."
Veronica's lip curled. "He's probably hiding," she giggled, her gaze flitting to Betty. She cocked her head thoughtfully. "You look tired." her brown eyes were suddenly wide with concern. "Do you want Archie to show you to your room? You can go and get some rest if you want." she smiled warmly. "The house is usually quiet at this time, so you should have no problem getting to sleep."
Betty found herself nodding gratefully. Archie set his drink down, wiping at a build up of cream on his upper lip. "Cool, I'll show you."
After bidding goodbye to Veronica, Archie led her to the final room at the end of the hallway. He opened the door for her, and she slipped inside. The room was bigger than her dorm room. With light blue walls and matching carpet. There was a double bed, dresser and table for study, as well as an en suite. She walked over to the window, which showed off the beauty of the New York skyline lit up in the distance. Archie stood in the doorway.
"You like?" he whistled appreciatively, and she turned to grin at him. "It's perfect!" Betty couldn't stop smiling. Archie beamed. "Sweet. I'll leave you to rest, alright? we can go over all the boring stuff, like payments in the morning." he started to back out. "I'm sure you'll meet Jug at breakfast," he said. "He's always first one up." the boy grimaced, scratching his head. "eating my fucking cereal."
With a final "Night." Archie shut the door, leaving Betty alone, and the first thing she did was kick off her shoes, and collapse onto the double bed. The bedding was warm, the pillows smelling of fresh lavender. Betty buried her head in them. Maybe moving in permanently would be a good idea. The house was beautiful, and her room was perfect. Archie and Veronica had done everything in their power to make her feel at home. Betty thought about the girls dorm back on campus. She could tolerate all the girl's in there, apart from Cheryl. None of them paid much attention to her, and she had spent most of her time in her room.
At Lodge House, the kids seemed so much more livelier and kinder.
Curling into herself, Betty slowly begin to drift. She was so comfortable. So warm. Her stomach hurt at the thought of meeting the final housemate, but it's not like she could avoid him. She was part-way through worrying about bumping into him and not knowing what to say, when her mind went blank, and she allowed herself to drift into a peaceful slumber.
The sky was still dark when Betty woke up. For a moment she was confused, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, before everything came back to her in flashes, like a rewinding VCR. Being kicked out of the dorm room, Lodge House, and Veronica and Archie. After gathering herself, Betty jumped out of bed, pawing for her phone in her jeans. It was 2am. There were new messages, mostly from her mom. But when she went to click on them, the screen went black. Dead. She'd left her charger back at the dorm, so that meant awkwardly asking her new roommates if they had one. Betty had glimpsed an iPhone on the marble counter-top earlier in the kitchen, so she was hopeful. When she straightened up, yawning, her stomach rumbled. Her throat was dry, in desperate need of a cool glass of water.
Betty half remembered the way to the kitchen. Thank god for an almost-photographic memory. She was still in her clothes from yesterday; a sweater and leggings, her hair a tangled mess in her face. If she was to finally meet the third mystery housemate, she would die of embarrassment. Her plan was to dash to the kitchen, grab a drink and a bite to eat, and then go on the hunt for a charger. Betty left her door open, walking into an abyss of darkness. The house was silent. She took careful footsteps, wincing every time the floorboards underneath her creaked. Eventually her eyes adjusted to the dark, so she could clearly see each door. Earlier Archie had said his and Veronica's rooms were opposite the music room, and Betty's was next door to the third housemate- Jughead.
As Betty neared the kitchen, she heard voices and froze. They were still up? She could faintly hear Archie, and another guy laughing. Her stomach started dancing with nerves again, but Betty forced herself to keep walking. Even when the voices grew louder. She wondered if they were playing a game. Back at the girls dorm she had regularly walked in on heated games of Cards Against Humanity. Her chest clenched. If they were playing something, why hadn't they invited her? granted, she had been exhausted. Maybe they had knocked on her door and not gotten an answer.
Betty felt her breathing get more shallow as she took tentative steps towards the door. The kitchen was right at the end of the hallway. She wished she didn't know that. She half wondered if she could sneak into the lounge, grab a charger and make a run for it back to her room. Surely the bathroom in her room had drinking water. But the more Betty tried to convince herself to head back, the faster her steps were. Until she was standing in front of the kitchen, her heart hammering. Their voices were clear now. Archie, Veronica- and the third housemate sounded like they were having a great time. Betty grabbed the handle, wincing at how cold it was.
She psyched herself up. Just go in, politely introduce yourself to the boy you don't know, grab a glass of water- and make a break for it. Taking a deep breath, Betty nodded to herself and pushed the door open. The voices faded out, and Betty blindly took a step inside. At first she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The kitchen looked different at night- like she had stepped into another world. She was right. They were playing a game. There were three sets of cards spread out on the counter top, and three glasses filled to the brim with what looked like Coke.
But her house mates weren't sitting at the small communal table. Betty lost her breath. Archie and Veronica were on their knees on the floor, their faces splattered scarlet. The two of them were gaping at her in horror, but their faces were like from a nightmare. Archie's eyes were red, his lips pulled back in a frightening snarl with glistening white teeth which looked ready to tear her apart. "Shit!" the boy growled, jumping up and covering his mouth. Betty was petrified to the spot. There was a body of a girl lying on the floor, red hair spilling around her like a crimson halo. Her skin was pale, a white dress clinging to her frame.
The girl's eyes were still open, staring dazedly at the ceiling. It took a few seconds for Betty's brain to register who it was.
Cheryl Blossom.
The third housemate was still bent over the girl. At first Betty wondered if he was checking to see if she was alive. But when the boy lifted his head, him too letting out a snarl of frustration, all hope flew out of the window. The boy may have been beautiful, if his lips weren't smeared scarlet, fangs out on show. He had tousled black hair sticking to a perspired forehead. "Betty!" Veronica looked flustered, her hand still clamped over her mouth. "Oh god, it's not- it's really not what it looks like."
Betty couldn't breathe. Her chest felt like it was on fire. It looked like her new roommates were draining the life out of Cheryl Blossom. She was dreaming, she had to be. This couldn't be real. Blinking once, twice, and a third time lucky- the floor didn't fall from her feet, and she didn't wake up gasping for breath. She stayed glued to the spot, her gaze stuck to the the trickle of scarlet dripping down Archie's lips. He licked them quickly, rubbing his eyes, as if he too was disgusted at what he and the others were doing. The boy stumbled away from Cheryl, backing into the table with Veronica.
"We were just-" his eyes were flickering, going from brown to red- settling on brown. But his fangs were still very real, protruding from his mouth like an animal. The points were stained scarlet. The boy wiped his mouth, looking guilty. "Would you believe us if we said all of this was ketchup?"
"Archie, don't be an idiot. Of course it's not ketchup."
Betty winced when the third housemate laughed, lifting his head up. The sound of his teeth retracting from the girl's neck caused bile to burn at the back of her throat. Betty swallowed. There was so much blood. But somehow, Cheryl was still alive. Her chest rose and fell, her blue eyes blinking every so often. But her lips stayed parted, as if the girl was about to scream. But she couldn't.
"So this is Betty, huh?" Betty felt her blood run cold when the dark haired boy turned to her, his eyes still blazing, fangs out. To her surprise, he smiled and held out his hand, which looked like he'd dipped it in a bucket of paint. Betty stared as blood pooled from his palms, dripping on the floor.
"Nice to meet you Betty!" The boy grinned. "The name's Jughead Jones," he cleared his throat, wiping his mouth. Archie and Veronica smiled at her too, as if they were embarrassed. "Sorry about the mess."