Chapter One: A Long Way From Home
Elizabeth Cooper shuffled her way towards the mass of people at the airport. Her long, blonde hair was flowing freely, a rare thing for her. Her blue eyes had none of their usual light as she glanced down at her ticket. She would be out of Phoenix and in the town she never felt at home in.
Riverdale.
Her parents' hometown. It was where they had met and fallen in love, but now all it brought were sad memories to all of them. Up until now, she had lived with her father Hal in Phoenix with her sister Polly. But she was long gone, married and living in San Francisco. Her father had remarried a sprightly, nomadic woman named Gwen who wanted to move to Florida.
"Betty."
The young blonde was pulled away from her thoughts to see her father. He had the same blue eyes as her, the same softness to their face, but his hair was a dark, rustic-looking brown. His face was set in a deep frown.
"You don't have to go, honey," Hal said.
"I want to," Betty sighed, combing her fingers through her hair. "It'll be good to spend some time with mom. I miss her."
Hal nodded and grabbed Betty's arm and pulled her in for a hug, "I'll miss you, sweetie."
"I'll miss you, too, Dad," She said back, holding in the tears that were threatening to spill.
"Tell your mom I said hi."
"I will," Betty told him. "Goodbye, dad."
It had been a very long flight and Betty's face dropped down with exhaustion. Upon arriving in Port Angeles, Washington, her mother Alice was waiting for her. Alice was leaning on the side of her car, holding up an umbrella that was shielding her from the downpour. Her tousled blonde hair was the exact same shade as Betty's. There was a great deal of resemblance between both women.
Alice hugged her daughter, before ushering her into the car to begin their journey to Riverdale. It was a silent ride as neither women were exactly verbose. The older woman opted to turn on the radio as Betty took in her scenery.
There was green everywhere. It looked like there was an infestation of green. Vibrant foliage sprawled all over the mossy earth, trees sprung up from every inch, and the grayness of the clouds only highlighted the vividity of the green. It was beautiful, in a way Betty could appreciate. Although, she could make do without the pouring rain. She wasn't particularly fond of cold weather.
"I bought you a car!" Alice squealed excitedly as she dashed through a sign that said 'Welcome to Riverdale! The town with pep!'
"Oh," Betty said not expecting her mother to start a conversation. "You shouldn't have, mom."
"I wanted to," Alice insisted, her blue eyes twinkling. "You'll love it. Archie spent all last week fixing it up for you. You remember Archie Andrews right?"
Archie Andrews was the small red-headed boy who lived right next door to her when she still lived in Riverdale. They used to make mud pies and go swimming in Sweetwater River when they were little.
Betty nodded in response and prompted Alice to continue.
"It's a good car. It's still running-I swear."
Betty could only smile at her mom as they finally pulled up into a familiar driveway. An orange truck was perched in front of a charmingly white, two-story house. It looked exactly the same as the last time Betty had visited. The two blondes rushed out of the car and into the house, only managing to get slightly wet from the rain.
Everything was the same way Betty remembered, including her room. The dull pink curtains, the flowery duvet, the small desk in the corner, and her long, standing mirror. She spent most of her night organizing her clothes into her closet and adding decor she had brought from home. After a while, she finally fell asleep.
Betty woke up the next morning and stumbled blindly into the bathroom. It was still dark out, an unfortunate side effect of living under a near-constant cloud cover. She brushed her blonde hair into a tight, neat ponytail and slithered into a powder blue peacoat.
Thankfully, Riverdale High School wasn't too far from her house. She had almost made it through the whole day without embarrassing herself. It wasn't until she tripped on her loose shoelace and brought a girl down with her.
"I am so sorry!" Betty spluttered helping the petite girl up.
She was pretty in a sophisticated way. She had thick ebony hair, beautifully arched eyebrows, and glowing golden skin. Her dark eyes watched Betty apprehensively before settling on a bright smile.
"Don't worry about it, New Girl," The girl struck out her perfectly manicured hand. "I'm Veronica Lodge fashion extraordinaire and resident prima donna. You must be Elizabeth Cooper."
Betty laughed, not knowing how else to respond, and took her hand, "Call me Betty."
"Well, Betty, I believe we have lunch to attend," Veronica caught Betty by surprise and looped her arm around the blonde's and led her to the cafeteria. "So, how's your first day so far? Have you fallen tragically enough with a mysterious local yet?"
"No, not yet," Betty shook her head. They were nearing a table full of teenagers who were all waving at Veronica. "Is that a common thing here?"
Veronica shrugged, "Riverdale tends to be the drama hub of the Olympic Peninsula. It really shouldn't be pegged as a town with pep. More like a town of mystery and hot, steamy drama."
"Veronica, hey, who's this?"
Betty glanced up to see the owner of the voice. He was a handsome, tall boy with stylish brown hair and green eyes.
"Betty this is the adoringly annoying Nick St. Clair," Veronica gestured toward the boy. "Saint Nick, this is Betty Cooper."
Betty was introduced to the rest of the group. Josie McCoy (a young singer with an ambitious streak), Ethel Muggs (she was incredibly sweet albeit painfully shy), and Kevin Keller (the charismatic son of the town's sheriff).
"Damn, God, really went overboard when he made him," Kevin grinned as a familiar gangly redhead walked into the cafeteria.
Archie Andrews was flanked by a gang of boys all playfully bantering with each other. As he passed, he smiled at Betty in acknowledgment.
"Archie Andrews and his stupid pack of dogs," Veronica sneered, her berry-colored lips turning into a frown. "Even poor, mousy Dilton Doiley is following him like a lost puppy!"
"You're just mad he laughed when Reggie spilled spaghetti all over your new dress," Nick pointed out.
"I can't decide who's hotter Joaquin or Moose," Kevin sighed dreamily. "Oh, I think they definitely would be the hottest guys in school if Jughead didn't go here."
Betty snorted loudly at the mention of the name, "What kind of a name is Jughead?"
"The name of a stupid boy who isn't worth our time," Veronica sniffed.
"The guy who rejected her," Nick interrupted, a lazy smirk graced his face.
"Speaking of Jughead," Kevin said perking up. "Here come the Jones clan."
A group of dazzling beautiful students entered the cafeteria at that precise moment. In the lead was a statuesque girl with long, wavy red hair. She was stunning and resembled a high fashion supermodel than a modern teenager. Next to her was a petite girl with purple curls and a charming smile. She was light on her feet, in a way a professional ballerina would be.
Not far behind them were two dark-haired boys both wearing leather jackets. They towered over the girls, one of them was tall enough to even reach the ceiling. They were both muscular like bodybuilders and devilishly handsome.
"The redhead is Cheryl Blossom, the purple-haired girl is Toni Topaz," Kevin told Betty. "The really giant one is Sweet Pea-yeah, it's a nickname or something-the other is Fangs Fogarty. Also, a nickname I think."
A gangly boy with raven-black hair and a pale face trailed behind them. While all the others looked, at best, slightly joyful, he was completely stoic. His shoulders were hunched and his face twisted up in what looked like turmoil as if he was fighting a war in his head.
"Is that one Jughead Jones, then?" Betty asked. He was the only one left so it had to be.
"Unfortunately, yes," Veronica stated sourly.
As if he could hear his name being said, Jughead Jones' head snapped up. His piercing charcoal eyes met Betty's and her whole being was flooded with warmth.
He was beautiful. So beautiful in a tragic way that made angels weep. He looked at Betty quizzically, his eyes focused solely on her. He looked momentarily shocked, before composing his expression into a stoic one again and following the others' lead.
Betty's body tingled all over. One thing she knew for sure was that Jughead Jones intrigued her and she didn't know whether that was good or bad.