Escaping the chaos in their town and the darkness inside of them Betty and Jughead would always make it back to each other.
Finally reunited at Riverdale High the Shakespearean lovers were barely found without each other. Betty's suspicion of Toni's relationship with Jughead was soon solved and she grew fond of the pink haired Southside Serpent. Betty hadn't gotten time to socialize with the other Southsiders but she enjoyed Toni's company. They had a few classes together. The major icebreaker was definitely at FPs retirement party, when Toni realised Betty wasn't just the girl next door, but a distant member of the Serpents, by blood, owing to Alice Cooper.
Jughead, Betty and Toni found themselves together at Pop's.
Though they preferred to be alone, Betty and Jughead were curious about their friend's contagious grin.
" What is with you today Toni, you haven't given anyone a stink eye the whole day, not even Reggie!" Jughead said something that was on Betty's mind too
"It's better if that Bulldog doesn't cross my path" retorted Toni
"Well can you tell us what the reason behind your smile is?" Betty tried the good cop approach to get their friend to spill.
"It's just that I'm so happy for you guys, back together, not fazed by that speedbump" she said with sarcastic grin. "You solved that out didn't you, the Archie thing" she said finally serious.
"How do you know that ?" both of them exclaimed at the same time
Jughead out his arm round Betty "And yeah we solved that" then he laughed.
"We'll tell you about that some other time, first you" betty tried to change the topic of the conversation.
"I walked into the locker room and Cheryl was talking to Jug, about you and Archie"
"I think she did that because she wasn't invited to the 'couples only' weekend at Veronica's Lodge lodge" Betty looked at Jughead then at Toni " …did you say something to her ?"
"Yeah, I asked her why she did it, she gave me her classic introduction, Cheryl bombshell etc. etc. It got on her nerves I think. So later in the evening I was at the Bijou for Love, Simon, that new movie"
"Based on the book right?" questioned Betty
"I asked her…if she was with someone or if …" Toni gulped "if she'd want to sit with me." She looked sheepish. Then angry, that she felt sheepish.
Now both Jughead and Betty was staring, jaw dropped. Then they laughed, out loud
"Toni you might be the only person ever in the history of Riverdale to have the courage and interest in asking Cheryl out. Oh my god, did she say yes? " Betty completely slipped into Gossip Girl mood with this new revelation.
"It's not like I asked her out, she was there alone too, and yes we sat together, then we came at Pop's later"
Toni skipped a few details, like how Cheryl was crying throughout the movie, when Simon's mother was supporting him through his journey. And she dared not tell them what she said to Cheryl afterwards , at Pop's . Cheryl might have been the Bombshell on the outside, but on the inside she was maple syrup.
It was like saying Cheryl's name literally invoked her presence because she walked in the next instant, with her lava red hair flicking. She was wearing yet another shade of red. Toni wondered what she'd look like if Cheryl wore any other color except red. But it suited her so much that she would never ask her that.
"Look who it is, the hobo and cousin" Cheryl had a hint of envy in her comment "Hi Toni" but she didn't address Toni in the same tone.
Betty noticed this, she raised an eyebrow "What do you want Cheryl?"
"How is it that whenever I meet you, those are your exact words? …anyway no point in wasting my time. I'm here to tell Toni"she turned to her "that you are formally invited to daddy's will reading tomorrow afternoon at Thorne hill, and that you are informally invited there an hour earlier, I'll text you the timings, bye" she grinned somewhat insanely.
"Cheryl, what about us?" Betty asked because after all she was a Blossom by blood. Every time Betty thought about that, she wanted to puke.
"Oh dear Betty, didn't I tell you, it's for non- couples only" and with that she walked away turning only once to cast a look at Toni.
Sensational thought Toni. "Hey is one of you going to say 'Oooh burn' or should I do the honours" her laugh was boundless, free "Look who is laughing now."
"Looks like you got yourself a girlfriend" Jughead couldn't stop himself from saying "do tell us how that works out" But he wasn't sarcastic now.
In that moment they were truly acting their age, not out solving crimes, chasing serial killers, or exposing scandalous truths. They were experiencing love maybe for the first time. They were just a couple of teenagers, sitting in a booth at a diner.
Young and carefree.