A/N: Pure crackship. Don't know how this happened; but I kinda ship it now. (thanksyoutubeedits)
She sees him trudging around the hallways sometimes and wonders why he won't look at her.
She sees him in the morning, walking the school corridors with his friend - what was his name again? Nate? Nick? - talking about Star Wars and Lego (or at least that's what Betty overhears). He seems normal; your average geek. The kind that Reggie could pummel in seconds.
But upon closer inspection, Betty sees more. She sees the ever-so faint bruised eye; or cheek, or lip, or nose (depending on what day it is). She sees the veiled twinge of melancholy hidden beneath his eyes; eyes full of defeat, and pessimism.
And that's when she wants to reach for his hand; say 'hi' or something (anything).
But she's getting really late for Spanish class, and promised to let Veronica copy her homework; so she heads the other way.
She sees him sitting at lunch sometimes and wonders why he won't look at her.
Usually with the frenzy that occurs at lunch she doesn't think twice about him; she is -after all – a bit more popular now, and that comes with the price of not always having a second of silence to herself.
But on somedays she won't find herself talking to 4 different people at once, and rather find a comforting silence fall upon her as she sits near the young boy; wondering if she should make the effort of small talk?
This only lasts for a few days, until betty realizes that the boy's physics homework was much more appealing than her; ultimately deciding that perhaps Archie's football-talk is much more interesting than sitting alone with a (mildly) interesting boy.
She sees him sitting in class and wonders why he won't look at her.
Peter. The boy's name was Peter.
"so why did you want to know?" whispers Reggie, whilst drawing stars all over his English worksheet.
"just curious." She mumbles back, and quickly hops on to change the subject. "Anyway, did you hear about that vigilante? Spider-boy? Spider-guy?"
"Why?" he asks distastefully, "you don't like him, do you?"
Betty's grip on her pencil tightens. "No. Of course."
And so she sits there wondering how long it'll take for her to believe that (because English class is only so long).
She sees him bleeding and wonders why he won't look at her.
Even during an icy storm, Betty could count on Pop's Shoppe to be open (hell, the world can be ending, yet Pop's would still be open).
She spots him immediately when entering the quaint diner. The young boy sat at the back; his nose broken, lips bruised, eyes blackened, and fingers terribly frost-bitten. She sees a pile of gauze, and medical tape on his table and wonders how long he's been there trying to patch himself up (because it's nearly 1 in the morning for god's sake).
She sighs, slowly walking over; placing her bag on his counter, grabbing the roll of gauze and beginning to patch him up. They don't talk, they don't even make eye contact; she wonders where he's been? why he's like this?
She knows he won't answer, and so tries to look past any questions she has; trying to ignore the tears in his eyes, and spider emblem on his shirt.
…
He leaves shortly after Betty's done; they don't talk but he says, 'thank you' and pays for her coffee. Leaving her there with a drink she never wanted, and a million questions she'll never ask.
she sees him upset and wonders why he won't look at her.
Reggie's spring break party was supposed to be "the greatest in the history of this town" but all Betty wanted to do right now was leave; between playing beer pong and a scandalous truth-or-dare, she wasn't having any of it. So she went out to the front porch; and that's when she saw him. Sitting on the porch steps.
Betty takes a seat next to him, "… what are you thinking about?" she asks; her eyes immediately falling towards his bruised lip.
The boy shrugs. "nothing, it's just Ned moved to Dakota"
"oh." She mumbles; cause what else is she supposed to say?
"I told him that we'd go to this party together, become popular…" he says.
"did you at least say 'bye'?"
He nods, "yeah, but it doesn't seem like enough now. It's hard… sometimes… to like, express how much someone means to you."
Betty hugs her knees closer to her chest. "Yeah," she whispers. "No matter what, you can never hold someone close enough."
The boy doesn't say anything after that, and - in an effort to preserve to silence – neither does she. Rather they indulge in a comforting silence, a silence that said more than words ever could; but Betty rather he says something,
anything.
He sees her smiling and wonders where he found the courage to look at her.
He stands at the side of the gym awkwardly; with a drink in hand, and boxed corsage in the other. He was sure his date would arrive; even when the Formal was coming to an end and many of the guest began to drizzle out, he was sure that she would come.
However, the realization of being 'ghosted' now hit him; as he stood there in the gym alone (apart from a few couples).
He decides to make his way back home, when he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns, only to see a pretty blonde smiling at him.
"Betty… hi." He mumbles.
"Hi Peter," she says, and points at his boxed corsage. "what happened?"
"I don't know… thought we agreed to go together," he murmurs. "guess not."
"may I?" she asks.
He shrugs, opening the box, and giving her the corsage to wear.
Suddenly she grabs his hand and pulls him towards the dance floor, and he lets her lead him. Slowly, but surely, they're dancing now (although to him its more of an awkward shuffle). He doesn't know what to do; do they talk? Kiss? Just dance?
He decides to tell her that she looks pretty. She lights up like a star, and he feels like laughing along, but he doesn't because he doesn't want to ruin the beauty of her own laugh; so, he just blushes.
God, he was always such a pushover.