High school was the time for finding yourself, stressing over grades, and having the time of a lifetime with friends. For many people it also meant young love, Betty Cooper just didn't happen to be one of them. After spending years longing for her childhood best friend, Archie Andrews, she eventually gave up on love all together. Her other best friend Veronica wooed him in a matter of months.
She spent so much time trying to get his romantic attention, that she had no dedication left. Betty was resigned to the fact that at the ripe age of fifteen, she was a love cynic. The blonde decided that all her efforts would be placed on her studies so that she could get into a fantastic college far from her dysfunctional family. Romance would just get in the way.
"Can you believe Archiekins actually bought me this necklace!" Veronica beamed as she twirled the heart shaped necklace around her neck. It was a valentine's day gift.
Betty loved her two friends and their relationship but sometimes she just wanted to scream. Maybe it was the jealousy or maybe it was just her wishing she was in Veronica's shoes. She'd never get in their way though, she cared about them so much...even if their kissing all the time nauseated her.
"It's beautiful." She replied back. It was the truth after all.
"And I got you a little something too, every girl deserves flowers on Valentine's day." Veronica announced and handed Betty a bouquet of peonies. The blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the pity flowers. It was a sweet gesture from her best friend after all, but did she really seem that pathetic?
"Thank you. They smell fanstastic, but I've really got to get to class." Betty thanked and hurried to her journalism class. It was her favorite class of the day and she wouldn't miss it for the world.
She saw the stares as she sped walked down the hall with a bouquet in her hand. Did they think she had a boyfriend? Or were they just as surprised as she was to get flowers on Valentine's day? Everyone knew she was single and not ready to mingle.
She made it to class right as the bell rang. Unluckily for her that meant all the seats were taken except for one in the back. Sometimes she loved that there were no assigned seats and other times she hated it. The seat in question happened to be next to Jughead Jones, her former friend and current gang leader of the Southside Serpents.
Before Veronica came into the picture the three musketeers were Betty, Archie, and Jughead. They were as close as could be until Jughead's parents split. His mom moved out of town and his dad became an alcoholic. Like Betty was a cynic for love, Jughead became a cynic for life. He joined the Serpents in an attempt to stay close to his dad and distanced himself from his old friends. Now his dad was in jail for petty drug dealing and he was the leader of the Serpents. Betty barely recognized the boy sitting next to her.
Physically he looked almost the same. His wavy ebony hair was still mostly hidden under a grey beanie. His pale complexion never got a summer tan. He was still the lankiest kid in the grade. In fact the only things different were the leather jacket on his back and the hardness in his dark eyes.
Everyone knew he only came to school for this class. All his other time was spent in the trailer park with his gang buddies. Betty personally thought he was wasting his intelligence on being a gang leader. He could get into the best colleges with his smarts if only he dedicated himself like Betty.
He didn't say a word as she sat down but she did notice his eyes flickering to her cheerleading uniform. He didn't expect studious Betty Cooper to be a cheerleader. She never was the ultra peppy kind.
"Alright class time for your first big assignment. In pairs you will research a story going in Riverdale and prepare an in depth article with multiple sources and viewpoints. You'll have a month to complete it so don't wait till the last minute." The teacher announced.
Betty and Jughead shared a groan. Neither of them enjoyed group projects. Betty couldn't rely on someone else when it came to her grades. Jughead was just not a people person. He had a few people he interacted with, mostly Serpents now, and that was all he wanted to handle.
"And to cut out the awkwardness of picking partners I did it for you." The teacher added.
Betty did a quick scan of the room to see who would be an ideal partner. No one was really sticking out. There was queen Bee Cheryl who Betty prayed would not be her partner. Most of the kids she barely knew. There was one guy who maybe could work, Trevor, he seemed nice and liked grades. She crossed her fingers and hoped, as long as she didn't get a deadbeat she'd be fine.
"Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones." The teacher called.
Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance when she heard her partner's name. She already knew she'd do all the work while he slacked off with his stupid gang. Or maybe he'd actually try and just screw it up.
"Discuss among yourselves and give me a topic idea by the end of class."
Begrudgingly Betty turned to face her partner. Her mind was blank on topic ideas though.
"Looks like we're partners." Jughead stated with a hint of a smirk. It was amusing to see the usually calm and collected Betty Cooper so obviously flustered.
Jughead wasn't as upset with the pairing as Betty. Sure, he'd rather do it by himself, but of the other options, Betty was the best. He knew her well and also knew that she'd help make a great project. They both loved journalism so it was almost a match made in heaven. Maybe he'd get a chance to reconnect with her after years apart. Of course blonde didn't see it that way.
"Don't look so smug." Betty mumbled. She thought he was relishing in having the brainiac as his partner. Less work for him and more time for drug dealing or car stealing. Betty wasn't actually sure what the Serpents did.
"At least you didn't get stuck with Cheryl. She would've dominated the whole project." Jughead reasoned.
"At least she'd care about getting an A." She huffed back. The brunette rolled his eyes. When did she get so prissy?
"Whatever. Got any ideas for a story?" He asked.
"Maybe something about the pollution in sweet water river?" She offered with a frown. It wasn't a great idea. She didn't like being put on the spot.
"Boring. You think that'll get us an A?" He replied with a fake yawn. Betty narrowed her blue eyes at him. He wasn't this annoying before the Serpents.
"Got any better ideas?"
"Actually yes. There's this rival gang, the ghoulies, that are trying to take our turf. We could investigate them and find some dirt to get rid of them and get an A. Two birds, one stone." Jughead explained. He had been dying to spy on them ever since their gang came to the Southside. The Serpents were the superior gang after all.
"You're joking right? I'm not doing a stupid gang article." She objected. How dumb did the Serpents make him?
She hated the gangs in Riverdale. They were ruining its pristine image with all their drugs and fighting. If she had it her way, they'd all be kicked out to Greendale. There was no way she'd do a whole article about them and give them that kind of attention.
"It'll be way more interesting than the river. And my guys can help us out. No one else will have anything like it." Jughead continued. He knew his idea was the better one but Betty was as stubborn as she was pretty.
"Read my lips, no way." Betty objected. By now she was leaning towards his desk with a fiery glare.
Jughead suddenly had the urge to do more than just read her perfectly pink lips. He quickly shifted in his desk to avoid her glare. Betty wasn't the aggressive type but something about her tone was appealing. He wanted to see how much more of it he could get out of her.
It wasn't like Jughead to make bold moves but he still found himself walking to the teacher's desk. Betty still remained seated with wide eyes. He was not about to do what she thought he was.
"Betty and I are going to do an exposé on the new gang in Riverdale, the ghoulies." He stated confidently. He waited for the teacher to nod and make a note of it before returning to his seat.
"I can't believe you!" Betty hissed with a clenched fist. Valentine's Day was really messing with her today.
"I get what I want." He shrugged. However the brooding boy didn't know exactly what he wanted just yet.
"Just shut up and give your number. I want to get this done as soon as possible." Betty groaned and handed her phone. Just let this day be over already.
Betty stormed into her house later that day. Thankfully Cheryl cancelled cheer practice so she could go on a date night with her girlfriend. Betty could go straight home and relax before starting homework. She desperately needed to have a break after class with Jughead.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Her mother, Alice, asked. It wasn't like Betty to come home in a mood.
"Jughead and I have to do a stupid group project. And he told the teacher we'd do it on some stupid gang!" Betty explained angrily with arms crossed.
"That shouldn't be allowed. I don't want you anywhere near those thugs." Alice agreed. She was what created Betty's hatred towards the Serpents.
"Now I don't have a choice." The teen pouted. If she were a child, she'd be throwing a tantrum right now.
Her mother's narrowed eyes lit up with a devilish glint. She has just gotten an idea.
"You know if you do have to go undercover, maybe you could find out some dirt on the Serpents. Enough evidence and we can get them kicked out." Alice offered. Her mother was also a reporter and had tried to eliminate the Serpents for years. She could never get a good reason though.
"Jughead just bought their bus tickets." Betty nodded. Maybe the partnership wasn't so bad.
"Oh and remember for Archie's party curfew is midnight." Alice mentioned.
Betty had forgotten about Archie's party that was happening over the weekend. Those things always got wild but were usually a good time. Veronica would make sure it stayed tasteful. As long as Cheryl didn't crash it like last time, it should be just what Betty needed before spying on a gang. The best part was that there was no way loner Jughead would be there.