A/N:Title is taken from the song by Fall Out Boy that I discovered and got really into around the time I was writing this fic.
Timeline is kinda hand-wavy. I'd say it's either vaguely post S1 but without any lingering cliffhangers like Fred getting shot, or somewhere late S1, with the investigations kinda stalling and no major drama happening? Just, ignore The Plot of the show, because it's not too important to this fic, which is more about Veronica's still yet to be filled in past. The other title for this fic was "multiple choice past" for a reason.
So, apparently , Veronica is bisexual and everyone knew about it but her.
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Or, well, Kevin and Jughead knew. The former because of some kind of mutual LGBTQA kinship and impeccable gaydar, and the latter because he is just that observant somehow (and possibly also because of his membership as the A in the LGBTQA club)
Betty supposes she should be glad she at least found out before Archie, who is so clueless about these things it would be an honest embarrassment to know something after him.
But it's a cold comfort, when the revelation makes her heart thump in an erratic rhythm that makes her feel like she is two seconds away from a panic attack.
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It starts like this:
They're all just hanging out at Pop's as always, the five of them this time, because Kevin decided to drop by (Joaquin was busy with something slightly shady that he wasn't pressing too hard about). Despite the addition, it nothing different from their usual casual chatter, when Veronica launches into a story from New York-involving her ex-girlfriend.
The whole table seems to squeak to a halt, or at least, that's how it feels to Betty.
"Your ex-girlfriend?" Betty squeaks in question, the revelation making her mind whirl, and she can't help but instinctively blurt out. "Y-you're gay?"
The dark-haired girl tilts her head to the side, and Betty's heart palpitates a little harder at just how adorable the motion is. The look in her eyes is full of fond exasperation, with the barest hint of nervousness that betrays her. Because she cares about what Betty thinks of her, and that just make the blonde's heart stammer harder.
"I'm bi," Veronica corrects her lightly, and while Archie looks as shocked and bewildered as the blonde feels, the other two boys at the table are not.
In fact, Kevin is barely holding back an ecstatic grin, while Jughead only shakes his head slightly, looking distinctly uncomfortable but unsurprised.
"I thought you knew." Veronica continues, looking amused at Betty's obliviousness. "I wasn't exactly hiding it."
"True story." The sheriff's son confirms, adding, "You should scroll through her Instagram some time."
"Stalker much, Kev?" Veronica shoots back, but without much venom.
"Girl, you know you love the attention." Kevin rightfully points out.
Veronica concedes the point with a shameless grin, before pointing out smugly, "Like you don't, Mr. Over-1000-posts?"
The conversation devolves after that, and topic of Veronica's apparent sexuality is lost to the ensuing banter about hashtag Instagram moments and just who is the biggest selfie queen at the table.
Betty smiles and laughs along with them, but it's like it's all underwater or happening to someone else. Her mind is still rocking with the revelation, and the words keep echoing in her mind, drowning out all other noise.
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Veronica likes girls.
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It shouldn't be a big deal, really. The fact that Kevin is gay or that Jughead is ace doesn't faze her, doesn't make her do anything but want to offer support as a friend. It shouldn't be any different with Veronica, who is apparently bi and not at all hiding it.
But while, the girl is one of her dearest friends, and Betty does want to offer her support-
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(She's not sure anymore that it's just as a friend.)
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When Betty goes home, she locks her bedroom door, draws her window curtains closed and generally acts totally shady before she swipes her phone over to Instagram to stalk through Veronica' Instagram profile. It is, even by Instagram standards, a very pretty collection, not least because it features a very pretty Veronica in ninety percent of the photos, but even the ones without her have such an aesthetic appeal it's clearl that the girl knows her stuff.
The newest ones are all from Riverdale. While she hasn't been here long, she's certainly made her mark on it, and it shows. The same old Riverdale sights and scenes she's seen a billion times seem to glow in the frames of Veronica's instagram photos. Maybe it's just the filters, but mostly, Betty thinks, it's the girl .
There are indeed a lot of selfies, after all, and they are all expertly shot to showcase her beautiful features and impeccable fashion sense, but there are plenty of group shots too. Betty is almost giddily proud to note that she's a pretty consistent fixture in the latter. There's the two of them in their uniforms as the Riverdale Vixens, with Cheryl photobombing with a stern frown in the background; getting milkshakes at Pop's, neon lights casting them in a strange glow; and just hanging out in Veronica's too fancy for Riverdale (but probably not as good compared to New York) bedroom.
For a moment, Betty forgets the reason for her sudden stalker-mode as she looks over the photos, smile creeping onto her face on instinct as she looks at all the pictures of her and the dark-haired girl together.
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B&V, forged in fire.
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There's certainly a kind of warmth spreading through her at the thought. Betty's never had a best friend quite like Veronica. Or known anyone like her, period. It's a little impossible not to get swept up in her.
It's strange to think that they've really only known each other for a short while, because by now, it's almost impossible to remember a time without the brunette by her side. If this collection is any indication, she isn't the only one who feels that way.
If there's ever been a social butterfly, it's Veronica Lodge. While the majority of her photos are with her, the brunette still has plenty with other friends too. There's the four of them, of course, and she has plenty of solo shots with just Archie and even Jughead. Kevin is clearly battling for the selfie crown for a reason as he features prominently too. In full costume and out, there's the Latina with the Pussycats too. Even Cheryl is in a few, during the friend stages of their frenemy relationship.
All of the photos are a clear indication of just how much Veronica Lodge has managed to worm her way into Riverdale's core in only a few months. She so clearly belongs in these pictures, in these places, it's easy to imagine she was almost here all along (to the point that Betty can almost fabricate an entire childhood spent with an adorable mini V).
But, eventually, inevitably, she reaches the point that shows exactly how much of a fantasy that is.
Veronica doesn't talk a lot about her life in New York.
Oh, she'll tell anecdotes every now and then, share snippets of appropriate stories and very rarely, give a tiny glimpse into the girl she used to be, but they're infrequent and brief, and there's always the feeling that she's holding so much more back. For as much as she can talk, for as quick with a word as she is, Veronica can be surprisingly reticent about the details regarding herself.
So much so, that doing this-looking through her old Instagram photos-seems almost like an invasion of privacy. The stalkery nature of what she's doing hits her again and she feels a mixture of guilt and shame, even as she reminds herself that this is all public information. Biting her lip, Betty hesitates. There's a reason Veronica doesn't like to talk about it, after all. As a good friend, she should just respect the other girl's decision and privacy.
But on the other hand, Veronica doesn't like to talk about it, after all. Take the information about her bisexuality, how long did it take for that to come out? Betty had been utterly blindsided, and if it hadn't been for an offhand comment, she might've never found out at all.
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Veronica had a girlfriend.
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The blonde still has a million questions about the other bomb Veronica casually dropped, but she already knows she can't ask them. For one thing, she suspects that the Latina won't answer. She'll probably just do that thing she does where she redirects the conversation and deflects attention away from the question. And even if she doesn't… well, Veronica will probably want to know why she is asking so many questions.
Betty doesn't think she's ready to answer that question to Veronica.
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(She's not even ready to answer that to herself, really.)
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So, in the end, she has no other choice but to lowkey stalk Veronica on her social media accounts to try to piece together the mysterious past she's so firm in not talking about. Starting with her old Instagram photos.
Internal war done thanks to this bout of justification, Betty focuses her attention back to her phone, where Veronica's account awaits.
At first glance, it's not too different from her newer photos. Once again, Veronica proves herself a selfie queen, with beauty lit shots that make Betty marvel over again at how gorgeous the brunette is.
The difference is mostly in the setting, which changes from small town Riverdale to the bright lights and skyscrapers of New York City. But there are quite a few other places featured prominently too, various locales over the world from over a dozen different family vacations over the years. They're places the blonde's only ever seen in the magazines and the movies, but are clearly old hat to the jet-setting Lodges.
As she goes through photo after photo of Paris, Rome, and Prague, Betty wonders how small Riverdale must seem to the other girl. There are times when it seems too suffocating even to her, and she's mostly never known any better after growing up here. What must it be like, to go from having the whole world open to you, to having your whole world coalesce into the incredibly tiny borders of Riverdale?
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Veronica doesn't like to talk about it.
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Betty wonders if she'll ever know, if she'll ever hear the answer from Veronica's mouth. If she'll have to settle for weaving a narrative of her own, imagining the kind of loss that is, frankly, unimaginable to her thanks to her own background.
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(Is that really any different, a voice in her mind pipes up, from any of the other fantasies you've been secretly entertaining about her? )
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She shakes off the thought, and focuses her eyes on the pictures again. The other difference between her new life here and her old life pop up as she scrolls through. Intellectually, Betty is aware just what kind of power and prestige once came with the Lodge name.
You had to be up high to fall so far, after all.
But when she's faced with the everyday reality of Veronica, who smiles so sweetly at her while she wears a River Vixens uniform just like her, it's hard to think of her as Veronica Lodge , as the daughter of one of the most wealthy and powerful men in the world.
It's not like Veronica doesn't have all sorts of stories about the MET gala or Elton John's after parties, because she certainly does, but it's different to see such clear photographic evidence of it. There's Veronica Lodge, in an amazing black and white gown, posing at the MET gala; in a lovely emerald number on the front rows at Fashion week; rubbing shoulders and posing casually with actual Hollywood stars like it's no big deal.
All of it paints a picture of just what kind of girl she used to be. It's the kind of girl even Cheryl could only dream of being. The New York socialite. The billionaire's daughter. The high society princess.
That was Veronica Lodge.
If her father had never been charged with all those terrible crimes, if she'd never fallen from her pedestal and been forced to move all the way to Riverdale…
Betty would have never met Veronica Lodge.
The thought makes her almost sick to her stomach, as she imagines a life without the brunette ever coming into it. For as much of a hurricane force of nature Veronica's presence can be at times, her absence is what would truly destroy her.
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It takes Betty several deep breaths and some repeated reminders to herself that Veronica is here to calm herself down after that. Her palms take another bruising and she's sweating a little from the stress of her mini panic attack-but hey, at least she's living in a reality where the other girl is only a phone call away.
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At this point, she's a tempted to at least shoot a quick text to Veronica. The reassurance of even a little winking emoji would work wonders on her still frayed nerves. But she knows from experience how easy it is to get lost in a conversation with Ronnie, and her phone is still set to her Instagram, reminding her that as interesting as this rare glimpse into Pre-Riverdale Veronica's life is, it's not what she's actually supposed to be looking for.
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True story. You should scroll through her Instagram some time.
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Kevin's words have been ringing in her ears almost as much as Ronnie's, and this entire stalkerfest could probably be blamed on him later, if asked. Urged on by those words, Betty steels her nerves, takes another deep breath and keep scrolling on down. A good investigator chases a lead down to the very end, after all.
There are quite a few group shots with various other teenagers who look just as rich and beautiful as her, all often tagged with the caption of #squad . A few of them seem particularly close to Veronica, if the touchy-feely posing is an indication, but still, none of them seem like they'd fit the description of an "ex-girlfriend".
From her friends' comments, she'd thought it would be glaringly obvious, so she starts to wonder if she's missing something and being clueless again somehow, when, she finally hits it .
As soon as she sees the photo, she gets what both Veronica and Kevin meant immediately.
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I wasn't exactly hiding it.
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It's a dimly lit shot, with the New York City skyline hovering in the background, but Betty barely sees it. Right in the foreground, taking up all her attention, is Veronica locking lips with another girl. The two of them seem unaware of the photographer, completely wrapped up in each other.
The caption goes: " Just celebrating with my fave girl. Happy anniversary, babe! xoxo"
Fave girl. Happy anniversary. Babe. XOXO. The words all thump against her mind, a harsh staccato rhythm that matches the sudden racing of her heart. She's not sure which part of this is more incriminating. All of it, from the photo to the caption, make her want to dig her fingers into her palms again.
Definitely not hiding it.
So this must be the fabled ex-girlfriend, then, Betty guesses. The conclusion prompts her to take a closer look at the other girl in the photo.
It's hard to make out the features of the other girl thanks to the angle and lighting, but she seems pretty enough, with light green (?) eyes framed by dark makeup and long blonde hair that makes Betty reach up to touch her own blonde locks.
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Veronica likes blondes.
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The traitorous thought comes without warning, and Betty remembers, with sudden fierce clarity, her first-and only-kiss with Veronica Lodge.
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Do you trust me?
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Even though it only lasted a few seconds, Betty doubts she'll ever forget the feel of those lips against her. They were soft and fierce and pliant all at once, and she remembers the electricity that had shot down her spine, the moan that had wanted to escape her mouth, the faint taste of cherry lipstick on her tongue.
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Is this what they looked like?
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The thought comes unbidden as Betty looks at the candid shot of Veronica kissing another girl with obvious passion, and she has no idea what to think of the way her heart leaps, the way she needs to suddenly cross her legs to relieve the pressure-
Betty clicks away from the photo, and goes back to the rest of her collection, scrolling down again with sudden fierce concentration as she very forcibly keeps her thoughts away from any ache between her thighs.
Soon, she finds herself quite distracted, as she finds, after this first one, a sudden deluge of the mystery blonde featured all over Veronica's Instagram. There are a few more of them kissing, and some skirting the edge of propriety with its PDA, but most of them are casual photos that seem platonic enough at first glance. Whatever the setting, it's always the two of them, grinning, laughing, posing, and generally acting affectionate with each other.
Again, she can't help but think of her own photos with Veronica.
If she's completely honest with herself, she feels a strange sense of betrayal, of being replaced, though if anything, it's the other way around.
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Why would you be friends with someone like me?
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Veronica liked to talk a lot about how different Betty was, how good and how special. But Veronica was also a much better liar than she was and very good at deflecting attention away from the things she didn't want to say.
Looking down at the pictures of blonde and brunette together, Betty has to wonder again.
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Do you trust me?
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They'd known each other for all of two days when Veronica had kissed her, supposedly in some misguided attempt at proving something to Cheryl at try-outs. Afterwards, Veronica had ended up kissing Archie too, and at the time, it was that kiss that had drawn more attention.
Later though, it was that first kiss that had kept replaying in her mind, that had kept her up at night with the whys. In the end, she's chalked it up to Veronica being Veronica and not given it (too much) further thought.
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After the little revelation regarding her sexuality, it's hard not to think of the kiss and wonder if there was something more to it.
Veronica liked girls, after all, didn't she?
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Did she like Betty?
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Now, looking at all of Veronica's photos with her ex-girlfriend, her pretty blonde ex-girlfriend with more than a little resemblance to Betty…
The thought that Veronica might have kissed her out of lingering feelings to her ex makes her heart twist in terrible, painful ways.