Betty Cooper and Trev Brown were Riverdale High's sweethearts. Ever since their sophomore year in high school, Betty and Trev had been a couple. It was your classic teen cliché, football player and cheerleader date, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after. At least that's what everyone else thought. Betty, however, never did feel like forever was their destiny. Trev was Betty's first for pretty much everything, save for a small peck to Archie's cheek in elementary school. He was her first real kiss, her first real boyfriend, and they had shared their first time together after senior prom. Trev had earned the Cooper's stamp of approval almost instantly and Alice's pressures at home eased up a little when Trev was around.

Trev and Betty attended undergrad together at NYU all four years. He studied Political Science and she studied Journalism. Everyone they knew expected him to propose after graduation and her to accept. He had a pending job offer in Florida and Betty saw the next 50 years of her life mapped out before her eyes, without her input. She felt completely and utterly helpless to stop it.

When their graduation rolled around and Trev inevitably wound up down on one knee at the fancy restaurant her mom picked out for their post-graduation celebration, Betty just couldn't bring herself to say 'yes'. So Betty, in front of both of their entire families, tearfully said 'no' and then nothing at all. She simply grabbed her purse, turned on her heel and bolted.

Now, as she sat on the bench in Central Park, Betty felt relieved. Trev had always been sweet to her and treated her wonderfully and sure, Betty did love him. But there always seemed to be this part of her that felt like she was settling. Not necessarily with him, but with her life as a whole. She wholeheartedly believed that at some point they would have simply drifted and realized maybe they were simply better friends. Trev brought safety to the table, he was predictable and stable. However, a part of Betty always felt like maybe she had missed out on excitement. Safety doesn't keep you up at night, safety doesn't incite passion, and safety doesn't keep a couple together.

Sitting on that bench at 22 years old with a Bachelor's in journalism and no specific future plans, Betty felt lighter than she had in years. Alice Cooper bred stability and structure into both Betty and Polly. From a very young age they were both held to impossibly high standards and always taught it was better to be safe than sorry. But in that instant, Betty didn't feel like safety and she certainly wasn't sorry. So where did that leave her?

The reality of the situation sank in as hours passed and Betty remained stationary on that bench. Her parents were still in town, her phone had been vibrating almost constantly the whole time she sat there, and she still shared an apartment with Trev. She had multiple places she could go but nowhere she really wanted to.

Putting on a brave face, Betty turned her phone over to see who had been trying to contact her. There were 18 texts from Trev and 2 missed calls. Betty swiped the notifications off her screen, not quite ready to delve into what he had to say. Both her mother and her father had tried to call twice and her calendar notification for a girls' night involving celebratory graduation drinks with Veronica alerted her she was 24 minutes past her expected time of arrival.

Betty begrudgingly picked up her phone and debated whether to text or call Veronica to cancel the drinks. She knew she couldn't stand being in a crowded public bar right now. Ultimately, she decided to text and simply let her know that she wasn't feeling well and they would have to reschedule. As soon as Betty noticed the message move from deliver to read, Veronica was calling her. Betty let out a long sigh and let it continue ringing for a second while she mentally prepared. Mustering up her perkiest voice, Betty picked up just before her voicemail and was greeted with Veronica's voice in and a very noisy background.

"Betty! B! Are you okay? I knew something was up! You are never late and I was getting worried! Where are you? Do you need us to come pick you up?" Veronica breathed in nearly one breath.

Faced with an onslaught of questions, Betty wasn't sure which to answer first.

"Hey V! I'm fine, just tired and not feeling up to it can I possibly get a rain check?" Betty attempted to dodge answering each and every one of those questions.

"No way! Cher and I are only in town for a few days before we go back to Paris and you just GRADUATED today! I don't care how tired you are, you had better come see me right now before I have Smithers find you and bring you to me himself!"

Betty chucked at her friend's enthusiastic response, she could tell Veronica was already feeling buzzed. She hadn't seen Veronica or Cheryl in nearly 6 months and she did miss them. Deciding she could show up for a few and deliberately not discuss Trev past the obligatory 'he's spending time with his family' response, Betty decided it might not be the worst idea. "Yeah, sure. I'm coming right now, just running late. I'll see you soon."

Betty could hear Veronica squeal loudly before the music drowned out whatever else she said and eventually the line clicked off. A smile tugged at her lips as she thought about seeing them. Cheryl and Betty were practically related. Her older brother married Betty's older sister while they were still in school. They now lived in California together with 3 beautiful children and visited her at least once a year. As a result, Betty and Cheryl had floated around each other for years. When Betty moved to New York to attend NYU, she met Veronica and they become fast friends. They were roommates their first semester at NYU by assignment, and every semester after that by choice. That was, until Veronica took a gap year to explore Europe and all it had to offer. When she returned, Cheryl just happened to be in the city visiting Betty and the two of them hit if off. Unbeknownst to Betty, Cheryl and Veronica were inseparable after their first date. She envied the spark they found so effortlessly.

When only a month had passed and Cheryl was still in New York for no apparent reason, they came clean. Veronica told Betty all about their grand plan to move to Paris and for her to run Lode Industries' Parisian chapter while Cheryl stood by her side, Betty was shocked. It all seemed so fast to Betty who had been with the same boy for 4 years at that time and hadn't even considered moving in with him. Much less, moving halfway around the world. Betty, at the time had tried to talk them out of it with logic and practicality, but love had won. Now, two years later they had come back for her graduation categorizing the occasion as monumental. As strange as it may seem to an outsider, Betty now knew she truly envied the love they shared.

The bar was only a short distance from her current location, so she decided to walk it. The crisp night air always seemed to help cleanse her thoughts. Saying no to Trev had been easy for Betty. It had been far too easy and she suddenly felt so guilty for letting it get this far. Six whole years knowing nearly every day he wasn't meant to be her forever wracked her with guilt. When Betty approached the bar, she took a deep breath in and out before breaching the doors. Looking around, she saw the place was absolutely packed. She squeezed her way around the perimeter before locating the fiery redhead and her brunette best friend wrapped up in each other just off the side of the bar. They were swaying to the music and lost in that moment together. The sight of it made her heart ache. Not in jealousy, but in longing. She knew Trev was incapable of being that person for her and she wondered if she was even meant to have that. Sure, she wanted it. She wanted a love like that more than anything, but some people just weren't meant to have it she resigned. Maybe she was one of them.

She snapped out of her self-deprecation when Veronica spotted her and waved her over to the bar to join them. She ordered a long island and sipped away at it while the three of them caught up like no time had passed. The friendship they all shared had not suffered with the change in dynamic when Cheryl and Veronica got together. They were still two of her closest friends independently or together.

All night, Betty diverted the conversation to Cheryl and Veronica and their life in Paris. Ducking and weaving the conversation away from Trev and her future plans, which they would have naturally assumed were intertwined. Betty wasn't ready to discuss the incident yet and after another hour she told them both she was tired and really did need to get home. They all said their goodbyes and Veronica and Cheryl got into a town car while Betty said she was going to walk the short distance to her apartment.

When she approached the block her apartment was on, she began to feel a sinking dread. She wasn't sure if Trev would be there or want to talk. She hadn't answered any of his calls or texts and hadn't been brave enough to check it since she was in the park earlier. She still wasn't brave enough to look at it even after a few drinks at the bar. She trudged up the front steps and made her way to the fourth floor and then to apartment 410. She stood silently for a minute trying to gauge if there was a presence inside the apartment. She dug her nails into the palm of her hand trying to center herself in preparation for what could be behind her door. It was a habit she had picked up in high school and only a few people had ever known about it. None of which she was expecting to see over the next few days. After a few more moments of silence, Betty slipped her key in the lock and opened the door to a surprising scene. The apartment was empty. Not just without his presence, but also without his stuff. It appeared Trev had come back to the apartment after dinner and packed up his half of their life from the last two years in their shared one-bedroom apartment.

Betty eyed a note on the fridge and dreaded what it might say. It looked to be a few pages long and neatly written. As she got closer and read it, she realized he thought they were drowning just as much as she did. But his defensive tactic had been trying to hold on tighter, while hers was to slip away. He wasn't angry, but he was certainly sad. That much was evident. He mentioned he paid the rent for the next month (their lease was up in a month anyway) and he wouldn't bother her any longer. He left a forwarding address for anything of his she might stumble upon over the next month when she would pack her own things and move. At the very end of the note, he simply asked her to give him space for a while because he wasn't ready to talk to her.

Betty crumpled to the floor and finally let out the sob she had been choking back all night. Her feelings swelled as the tears in her eyes pooled and flooded down her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying. She didn't miss him, she did love him, maybe she was never really in love with him to start with, she wasted 6 years of her life, no one would ever love her, did she even deserve it? All of these questions and more creeped into her head as she cried herself to sleep curled into a ball on her apartment floor with his note still in her hands.

When Betty woke up the following morning with a stiff neck and a face full of smeared makeup, she decided to check her phone. Her parents had been trying to call her since she left last night but only left one voicemail saying they were coming to her apartment. When Betty checked the timestamp, she realized they should be there within the next 15 minutes. Quickly, she rose of the floor and cleaned herself up. She showered and was redressed with the perfect taught ponytail within 15 minutes and was just sticking the note in her desk when she heard their knock on the door.

She fielded questions left and right but kept her composure through the whole ordeal. She told them honestly, she hadn't felt like she was in love with him for a long time and she wanted it to hurt them both less now than further down the road. They seemed to accept her explanation and proceeded to spend the entire day with her in the city before they headed back to Riverdale the next morning.

As the sun was setting and both Alice and Betty were starting to feel buzzed off their dinner wine, Betty began crying. Not big sloppy tears like the night before, but singular drops down her cheeks. As if she was so full of tears they were simply leaking from her eyes one at a time. Alice turned to see her daughter shed a few tears stoically and her heart broke at the sight. She reached over and squeezed her daughter's hands.

"You know honey, not every one's life goes according to plan. I know I've always been hard on you, but if you need to come home for a few days, a few weeks, whatever it takes. You know you can always do that. I know your lease is up in a month anyway and you were going to be going to Florida, but why don't you just come home with us tomorrow and we'll take it day by day?"

Betty sat in the backseat of her parent's car as if she were a child again as they rolled around a corner and were greeted by an old familiar sign. "Welcome to Riverdale! The Town with Pep!"

As Betty breathed in a sigh of relief she realized maybe the only way to move forward with her currently aimless life, was to return to the start and figure out who she was without Trev. Maybe find out who she wanted to be, and maybe find some direction for her now uncertain future.