Vampires. Her mind whispered, almost teasingly. A hysterical bubble of laughter climbed up her throat. Vampires weren't real. But they were standing right in front of her. Archie, Jughead and Veronica were vampires. Creatures from folklore. Novels. Films. Betty had read the Twilight series when she was younger. Sure, she thought Edward Cullen was kind of hot. But this was real life. This was happening right now.
There were vampires standing in front of her, and Betty Cooper didn't know what to do. Did she scream? Cry? Beg for mercy?
"Well this is awkward." Jughead took a step back, retracting his bloody hand. He was still smiling, despite everything. If his fangs hadn't been on show, Betty might have seen his smile as friendly. But this boy was anything but. Practically the opposite.
Betty stared at him. She was sure she was about to faint. Her head was spinning erratically, as if she was on an out of control carousel. But no matter how hard she tried- she couldn't take her eyes off of the three monsters in front of her. They loomed over Cheryl Blossom like wild animals. Veronica was wiping telltale traces of crimson from her bottom lip, while Archie began to slowly lower himself back into a crouch. He was blinking rapidly, as if to try and hide his blazing red eyes. But he wasn't doing a good job. The boy's eyes were glued to Cheryl Blossom's perfectly sculpted neck, rivulets of ruby red already running down creamy, slender skin. It looked like they'd already started feeding. Judging from the blood still running down Archie's chin.
The boy gave up trying to act human. With a low growl, his fangs flashed once again. Two tiny sharp points. When he caught her eye, Archie grinned. "It's rude to stare."
Betty swallowed. But she still didn't move. She was frozen in the doorway, her hands gripping the door. Her knuckles were very quickly turning white.
"Alright, you got us," Veronica sighed, tipping her head back. "Betty knows our dirty secret, can we feed now?" she hit the floor knees first, following in the redhead's wake. They really were like animals, ready to prey on their victim, who was Cheryl Blossom, laying in a pool of crimson. "Come on guys, she was going to find out eventually."
Archie nodded, smirking at her suggestively. "Now I wonder how she's going to take it."
Jughead chuckled when she whimpered softly. Her legs felt heavy, like they were going to give-way at any moment. But she couldn't move. Every chance she got, it felt like she was standing in thick molasses. Trapped. All she could do was watch, waiting for one of them to get bored and lunge at her. From the look on his face, she expected it to be Archie. She supposed the boy wore the 'sweet and kind roommate' face like a mask. Underneath it, the boy was a monster. Like Jughead and Veronica. It hit Betty then, like a wave of icy water, that, fuck, they were probably going to kill her. It was only a matter of time.
Jughead seemed to be enjoying every moment of this. He licked at the tips of his fingers, his tongue sweeping across the blood pooling on his palms. "Mmmm." he moaned, giggling, never taking his eyes off Betty. "Delicious."
Archie growled. "Hey, that's not fair. We're supposed to feed together." the redhead's eyes flicked to Betty for a second. "Or- I mean, Veronica and I could have a taste of Little Miss Sunshine?"
"Now now, Archie," Jughead rolled his eyes and shot the boy a look. "What did we all agree on?"
Archie sighed. The boy was inching closer to Cheryl, his striking red eyes glued to the girl's neck. "No murdering our new roommate?"
"Archie Andrews, I'm disappointed." the voice came from the floor. When Betty stared down at what she thought was the surprisingly beautiful corpse of Cheryl Blossom drained dry by her bloodthirsty monster's of house mates. Though now Betty knew why the so-called 'corpse' of the scarlet rich bitch looked so immaculate; flawless skin, blood red lips and a perfect figure. It was because Cheryl Blossom wasn't alive at all. Or dead. She nearly jumped back but managed to steel herself when the girl sat up with a sigh.
Betty should have been surprised when the girl's eyes fluttered open, revealing blood red iris' glaring back at her. But funnily enough, she wasn't. It all made a sick kind of sense in her foggy mind. Cheryl Blossom's beauty had confused Betty since she had met the girl. Everything had. The fact that she never got sick, always looked stunning, and never ate or drank in front of Betty. She strictly remembered the girl delicately picking at a piece of toast at breakfast in her old flat. But the girl never actually ate it.
And now Betty knew why. Like her roommates, Cheryl was a fucking vampire.
"Elizabeth Cooper." the girl hummed, eyeing her with a frown. "Didn't I just get rid of you?"
She couldn't reply. Betty was scared if she did, she'd scream. And she wouldn't stop screaming until her throat was raw, her heart stampeding from her chest. Luckily, the girl turned her attention to the other three bloodsuckers.
"You think with your stomach," Cheryl was glaring at Archie.
"Lets just ignore the fact that if you feed from a human, you will turn into a 21st century nosferatu-" when Archie opened his mouth to speak, the girl groaned. "What I mean by that is you'll lose your souls. You'll become full vampires and rip apart any human standing in your way." the girl sat up on her elbows, eyeing the three of them as if they were her children. "Plus! You'll be newborn, so your thirst will be ten times worse."
"Doesn't seem that bad." Archie muttered. Veronica scoffed, elbowing him.
Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Basically!" she settled the others with a bright smile. "Don't eat humans!" the girl cocked her head when Archie and Veronica stared at her, the two of them both adapting looks of immense confusion. "What?" Cheryl groaned. "Did half dying kill all of your brain cells?" Betty flinched when the girl pointed a scarlet fingernail at her. "No bitey or bad shit will happen. Is that straight forward enough for you?"
Veronica growled at her. "We get it." she muttered. But her predatory gaze strayed on Betty. "She smells so good though."
Archie hummed in agreement. "That mug I made her hot chocolate in?" he moaned softly, licking his lips. "I practically got high off the scent she left on the handle."
Jughead's lip quirked. "That's not weird at all."
Archie's eyes darkened. "Don't play the good guy, Jug. You've been dying to sneak into her room and suck her dry all night."
Jughead snarled. "At least I didn't inhale her fucking coffee mug for half an hour."
"Boys." Cheryl interjected. "As much as it would thrill me to see the two of you rip Betty Cooper limb from limb, you know what will happen if you feed from a human." the girl's gaze landed on her once again. "Are we done here, Cooper, or are you staying?" she sunk back on the floor, stretching out, her crimson hair spreading over the tiles in a bloody halo. Betty still didn't move. She was pretty sure she was paralysed. Cheryl's lip curved into a smile. "You might want to watch, sweetie. Having three fledglings feed from you is the equivalent of the best orgasm you'll ever have in your life."
Betty felt a blush spread over her cheeks and Cheryl cackled. "Aww, bless your little virginal heart," the girl giggled, turning to the redheaded fledgling whose gaze was stuck to Betty, his head cocked to the side like a confused puppy.
"Archie, sweetie, you haven't drunk enough." Cheryl reached out with scarlet fingernails and grabbed him by his collar, yanking the boy closer to her. He didn't pull back or try and get away, though Betty didn't expect him to. Archie's eyes flickered shut and he moaned softly, slipping into her, his teeth grazing her neck. The two enveloped together, him straddling her blood spattered legs. "Can we have Betty as seconds?" he murmured," his teeth splitting apart once again, tracing her throat. "God, she smells so good."
Run. Betty managed to stumble into the door frame. The boy's words were slamming into her, sending her heart into a frenzy.
Cheryl closed her eyes, whining softly. "If you ask one more time, Andrews, I'm jamming a stake in your heart-" she trailed off, her annoyed hiss softening into a moan when the redhead's teeth ripped into her. Betty slammed her hand over her mouth when blood spurted from the girl's jugular, dripping down pale skin. Veronica and Jughead watched the two, a mixture of lust and hunger burning in their eyes. "Jughead." Cheryl spoke like a demanding parent. "My dear fledgling, Betty Cooper is irrelevant. You need to feed."
The boy was still staring at her, Betty realized. His eyes were a crackling inferno, his fangs on show. But the boy didn't look like he wanted to kill her- not yet. He cocked his head, his smile widening. "I've never come across a human who smells as good as you before," he murmured. When Betty didn't, or rather couldn't say anything back, he sucked in a breath and let out a soft whine. The boy was clearly fighting every instinct in his body, forcing himself not to join his vampire pal's feast. He gestured to the floor, holding out his blood stained hand once again. "Care to join?"
"Jones." Cheryl snarled. "Leave the human alone. That's your last warning."
Jughead's lip twitched with irritation. "You're not my mother," he grumbled back, his eyes still drinking Betty in. "Who knows? She might be into it."
"Jones, I swear to god..." Cheryl's mouth opened, but no sound came out. She rocked back and forth as Archie drunk deep. The girl was in complete ecstasy, moaning softly. "Archie, fuck, save some...save..." she trailed off into another soft keen, and the redhead chuckled, going to puncture her chest. "Does that feel good, Cheryl?"
"Fuck you." the girl hissed, before sighing.
Betty felt herself take another step back. She was nearly halfway out of the kitchen. Jughead shrugged before giving her another fanged grin. "Suit yourself," he muttered, before turning and dropping to his knees beside Archie. She watched the boy shove the redhead out of the way, before going in for the kill himself. Except Archie wasn't one to back down. "Hey," the boy snarled, retracting his fangs from the girl for a moment. He sat back, his eyes half lidded. The boy's words were slurred. Betty wondered if it was possible for vampires to get drunk from blood. The redhead snarled at Jughead. But before he could attack, Cheryl let out another warning hiss. He backed down almost instantly, glaring daggers at his roommate. Betty shivered. If looks could kill...
"She said we could share, asshole."
"I always get the neck," Jughead retorted matter of factly. The boy looked up and caught Betty's eye, a grin lighting up his lips, smeared scarlet. He was showing off.
"That's not fair," Archie growled. "Cheryl, you said we could both have the neck!"
"Stop acting like children," Cheryl chastised the two boys. "There's plenty to go around."
"Snooze ya lose, Andrews," was Jughead's muffled reply as his fangs sprung, two sharp spikes. Betty watched him lean into the girl slowly, nuzzling her chest, then her neck. It was like watching the beginning of an orgy. The third roommate took his place with practised precision, baring his teeth over the girl's jugular before tearing into the girl, Cheryl letting out a yelp, quickly morphing into a low keen of pleasure.
The boy took slow sips turning to hungry progressive gulps that Betty could hear in clarity. Archie, snarling with jealous rage, dove in again, this time biting into Cheryl's arm, drawing a squeak from the Blossom girl. Archie flashed her a crimson grin. "Sorry," he mumbled, between thirsty gulps. Veronica stood by and watched, looking uneasy.
When Betty caught her gaze, the girl sighed. "Boys." she rolled her eyes. When Betty didn't reply, the girl smiled brightly. "You seem like a nice girl Betty," she murmured. "And if I wasn't an undead creature of the night I'm sure we'd be great friends." Veronica's eyes flashed. "But damn, Jughead was right. You smell good."
The next few seconds were a confusing whirlwind. Veronica's beautiful face breaking apart, transforming into a monster. Her eyes burned scarlet, her smile morphing into a fanged grin. Betty was well aware of the scream ripping from her throat. But she didn't hear her teasing laugh, or see Veronica's expression crumple when the girl realised she was terrified. "Betty, hey, hey listen to me!" the girl grabbed for her, but Betty shrunk back, still screaming. Her only thought was to get out. To get out NOW.
"Hey," Veronica held up her hands in surrender, stumbling back. The girl blinked, human brown eyes blurring back into view. "Dude I'm messing-"
Before Veronica could finish, Betty was spinning on her heel and making a break for it. Her body was free of the impenetrable fog it had been trapped in, locking her limbs. Adrenaline zipped through her as she catapulted herself into the pitch black hallway. She expected Veronica to follow her, maybe the others, deciding to kill her after all. But all she heard was boy's voice was still slurred. "Hey, Betty!"
"Betty, come back! Veronica was joking!"
Betty didn't listen, slamming her hands over her ears. She stumbled down the hallway that had seemed so innocent, past the lounge spilling warm golden light and Archie's music room. The human Archie she'd met at first glance seemed like a stranger now compared to the monster in the kitchen. Lodge House was where she wanted to call home. Now Betty knew the truth. Her roommates were bloodthirsty beasts of the night.
The lights were off, but Betty had memorized the way out. She threw herself into a run, diving down the old, rickety stairs before yanking the front door open and tumbling out into the bitter October chill. She was halfway down the street, choking on sobs, when she realised she was barefoot. When Betty lifted her head she felt something cold slither down her back. Rain. She almost laughed. Rain seemed to mundane, so human. Betty almost wanted to dance in it. There were tears running down her cheeks, her chest was aching, the urge to vomit still burning in the back of her throat. The cold, wet walkway was almost a relief on her bare feet. After walking for a while Betty realised she had left most of her belongings at Lodge House. She inwardly groaned. There was no way she was going back. The kids she had trusted and actually started to like, were vampires.
Vampires. The look on Veronica's face still haunted the back of her mind, ever pressing. Betty was staring down at the sidewalk, frowning at her bare feet trudging through leaves when the heavens opened. She looked up at her sky, blinking back freezing cold rain from her eyelashes. The sky was an endless stretch of black. She estimated the time to be around 3am. Which meant she had been standing, paralysed, in her roommates kitchen watching them drain Cheryl Blossom for an hour. It felt like only seconds had gone by.
Gritting her teeth against the bitter chill, Betty wrapped her arms around herself. The rain glued her thin, cotton t-shirt and jeans to her skin. Perhaps it was time to give up, she thought. Admit defeat and allow her mother to come and take her home. If getting thrown out of her dorm room was bad enough, she'd ended up accidentally finding out her supposedly sweet and down to earth roommates were actually 21st Century bloodsuckers. Maybe Blossom University wasn't cut out for her. She'd been expecting a relatively feasible work-load and dorm parties every night. Except she had no friends, the only party's she'd been invited to were hosted by the journalism club, and the sudden existence of vampires. Betty couldn't help wonder. Were Cheryl and the others the only ones, or was this place teeming with the undead? She shivered. Had Blossom University been a modern day Dracula tale all this time and she hadn't even noticed?
Eventually Betty found herself shivering in front of Kevin's dorm. The security guard had been fast asleep at reception, so she had easily gotten past. Kevin Keller lived in the dorms opposite hers. The Harrison building, the cheaper and less fancier version of the one she'd been kicked out of. The Harrison building reception had stunk of mold when she'd entered; rough blue carpet grazing her soles as she crept past the admin office. There were two boys passed out on beanbags, a vending machine turned over onto its side. No wonder her mother chosen the other dorm, Gladwell. Which smelt of air freshener the second you walked in. The reception had resembled a posh dentist surgery with white marble flooring and bright sunshine yellow walls. Harrison looked like a bomb site.
After climbing up seven flights of steps, Betty was ready to collapse. She still didn't understand why Kevin's dorm didn't have an elevator. There were nearly twenty floors. Every single one stinking of weed. The halls weren't that much better than reception. Each floor was identical; a mahogany door bearing each flat's number. The walls were a sickly looking green, most of them covered in graffiti. Kevin's floor thankfully wasn't. It didn't smell of weed, but there was the lingering aroma of something burning.
Veronica's cooking popped into her mind and she shook her head. The girl had seemed so sweet at first glance; scraping cremated cheese into the trash. Betty wished she was still oblivious of them being vampires. At least she'd have a place to stay. Though Archie's words relayed in her mind like a broken record.
"Don't act like the good guy, Jug, you've been dying to sneak into her room and drain her dry all night."
Alright, maybe not. Perhaps she'd dodged a bullet after all.
Betty easily found room 202 and knocked three times. She was a mess, but Kevin was never one to judge. Betty frowned at herself in the reflective number plate. Her hair was a damp, straggly mess hanging in her face. She had wiped her eyes, but was she was sure they looked bloodshot. After leaving Lodge house she had sobbed until her chest was aching, her throat burning. Her clothes were uncomfortably stuck to her skin and her bare feet were dirty. Betty waited in tense silence, her lungs squeezing. When the door finally opened, she was verging on the edge of a panic attack. "Betty?" a girl with toffee coloured skin and long pink hair tied into pigtails stood in shorts and t-shirt, a battered black jacket slung over the top. Betty frowned. Toni Topaz, one of Kevin's three roommates. The girl was blinking at her, wide eyed. It was 3am and the girl looked like she'd just come out of the rain. Betty could still see raindrops glistening on the collar of her jacket. "What are you doing here?" the girl's tone softened when she saw Betty's bare feet. Betty opened her mouth to speak, but the girl was already opening the door wider, gesturing her inside. "Dude, come in!" Toni ushered her in. "You're freezing!"
"Thanks Toni." she managed. "Is Kevin awake?"
"Yeah, he's in the lounge." Toni was wearing knee-high rainbow socks she kept tugging at. The socks clashed with the leather but damn, Toni could pull off any outfit.
Kevin's dorm was cosy, Betty had to admit that. She'd been around countless times. But never at 3am. The walls were still the generic dorm-room sickly yellow, but Kevin and his roommates had done their best to personalize the walls. Down the hallway, posters were dotted across the paintwork. "I'll get Kevin, why don't you go and get yourself a drink?" Toni disappeared down the hallway and Betty nodded, heading towards the kitchen. There was a chair in front of the door, holding it open. Fluorescent lights blinded her when she rushed in to grab a glass of water. Kevin's dorm kitchen was similar to hers; a refrigerator, oven and dishwasher packed underneath a curved marble countertop. There was a communal table surrounded by four chairs, what looked like an abandoned game of Cards Against Humanity and four empty shot glasses spread over dark mahogany wood.
Betty let out a breath and glugged her water. It tasted amazing running down her throat. She was frowning at a bottle of vodka looking dangerously close to falling off the table when Kevin finally appeared. "Betty, what happened?" Much like his roommate, Kevin Keller didn't look like he'd been asleep. He was fully dressed in a white shirt and jeans, a black jacket over the top. He too looked like he'd been outside, his dark hair hanging damp in wide set green eyes, almost narrowed at her. Betty couldn't help staring. This wasn't the Kevin she knew. Her best friend wore sweater vests and chino's. Betty had known Kevin since her freshman year of high school, back in Riverdale. This was some weird alternate version of the boy. Blinking, Betty wondered if she was still asleep. Dreaming. It would explain why Archie, Veronica and Jughead were fucking vampires.
Betty set the glass of water down. The floor didn't fall from her feet, and Kevin didn't grow a second head. So she wasn't dreaming. "I'm fine," she lied. Suddenly it was so hard to keep everything in. The words 'My roommates are vampires' were in the back of her throat, but something told her Kevin wouldn't believe her. Sure, the boy was a nerd and into all things fictional. But the boy wouldn't suspend his belief that far. She bit her lip instead, nodding at his outfit and quirked a brow. "What have you been doing?"
Kevin waved dismissively. "Playing Fortnite," he muttered. The boy looked distracted. Betty knew he was lying. Unless he was doing some weird kind of roleplay thing, which she knew her best friend wasn't a stranger to. Leaning against the countertop, Kevin folded his arms. "Betty, why do you look like you've been through literal hell?"
"I was kicked out of my dorm," she ended up saying. Which was the watered down version. Kevin shook his head. "Shit, that sucks," he muttered. "How?"
Betty bit her lip. "Cheryl Blossom." she said softly. Kevin rolled his eyes. "I always knew she had it out for you, but getting you kicked out of your dorm? That's cold." the boy sighed. It was the perfect time to say it, she thought. Just four words. They were tangled on her tongue. My. Roommates. Are. Vampires. "Kevin, there's something else," she said quickly. Word vomit. Kevin's eyes widened. "What is it?" his expression darkened.
"Did somebody hurt you?" before she could reply, Kevin was straightening up, swiping his fringe out of his eyes. "We can go to my room and talk, I'll grab you some of Toni's clothes from the lounge."
Betty managed a nod and followed the boy out of the kitchen, into the lounge opposite. The room was dimly lit with cosy brown walls and purple carpet. There was a leather couch in front of a flat screen TV hooked up to a games console. Though the television wasn't on. Betty found her gaze going to paper strewn across the small coffee table, coffee mugs and empty glasses sitting on top. Kevin's other two roommates were sitting on the couch when she walked in, the two of them hurriedly gathering up what looked like blueprints. Toni had resumed her position on the floor, her laptop on her knees. It looked like the four of them had been having a study session. Betty spied Kevin's laptop sitting on the floor next to a pile of notebooks and paper. Though something was nagging at her mind. Why did the boy lie and say he was playing on the games console which clearly wasn't on?
"Sup Betty!" one of the boys looked up, shooting her a smile. The other saluted her, before slumping back down on the couch, reaching for his laptop.
Michael Peabody and Finn Fogarty. Though most people just called them Sweet Pea and Fangs. The two boys weren't brothers, but they could fool anyone; both brandishing the same inky black hair and honey coloured skin. Like Kevin and Toni, they too were in the same battered leathers jackets. Kevin hurried over to a pile of laundry and picked out a pair of sweatpants and a pink long sleeved shirt. "Toni, can Betty borrow these?"
Toni glanced up from her manic typing and nodded at Betty with a smile. "Sure," her eyes were kind. "Keller, try and be quick, okay? We need you for the-"
"Study group." Sweet Pea interjected. He put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back with a sigh. "It's due tomorrow Kev," he murmured. "Remember that."
"I hear ya loud and clear, Sweets." Kevin chuckled, rolling his eyes. He turned to go, but Toni was standing up, still holding her laptop. "Kevin," she said softly. She looked like she was about to say something before her gaze landed on Betty and she decided against it. The pinkette let out a sigh before dumping her laptop down.
"Alright, I'm sick of studying," the girl wandered over to the Playstation, flicking it on with a manicured nail. She grabbed one of the controllers on the floor, turning to Sweet Pea and Fangs. "Mario Kart?" her smile was teasing. "I can beat your ass at it again, Michael."
Sweets grabbed a screwed up bit of paper and threw it at the girl, who laughed loudly. "Call me that again and I refuse to cook dinner tomorrow."
Fangs cleared his throat loudly, tipping his head back. He had a Serpent tattoo on the back of his neck. "You can't use your cooking skills against us dude. Not cool."
Betty couldn't help smiling. Kevin scoffed. "This is normal," he said, "Don't worry, they'll work out their differences and end up playing fifty rounds of Mario Kart."
Sweets was already grabbing the other controller. "You're on, Topaz."
Before long, Betty was out of her filthy, damp clothes and dressed in the best pajamas available; a long sleeved shirt and sweatpants, courtesy of Toni. She sat cross legged on Kevin's bed, the boy sitting opposite her, sipping from a bright purple mug. He'd changed into his pajama's too which was a welcome comfort. Betty couldn't take him seriously in the battered leather. Kevin's room was homely; black walls covered in posters and a double bed with enough comforters and pillows to build a fort. The boy proudly showed off his comic book collection in piles on the floor, amongst strewn bits of clothing and old chip packets. It was the same unkempt mess it had been the last time she'd visited.
Betty blinked in the warm allure of the lamp on the boy's night stand, sitting next to a text books and his backpack. The light was distracting, but she knew of the boy's secret fear of the dark. Even now, at nearly nineteen years old, Kevin Keller was still terrified of the dark. Kevin cleared his throat. He looked exhausted. He absently rubbed at his eyes and yawned. There were dark sleep circles underlining his eyes.
"Okay, tell me everything," he said, and Betty was flustered for a moment. When she spluttered, the boy smirked. "Come on, we've known each other since we were little kids," he grinned. "I can tell you're hiding something."
Betty held her breath. Maybe she could tell Kevin a version of the truth without mythical creatures. "I found a new place," leaning forward she dragged a hand through her still-damp hair. The hairdryer had died halfway through drying it. It hung in her face in clumpy strands. "Have you heard of Lodge House?"
Kevin shook his head. "It doesn't ring a bell," he muttered. "Why? is that where you're staying?"
Betty nodded. "My roommates are..." she trailed off, and Kevin's eyes widened. He cocked his head. "Are what?"
"Weird." she ended up choking out. If she started ranting about vampires he'll think she's lost it. Though the boy looked far too interested. She noticed his expression had lit up, his tired eyes suddenly looking alert. "Weird how?"
Shrugging, she tried to laugh. "They just freaked me out," she said. Which was the truth. She expected Kevin to drop it, maybe suggest getting some sleep. But the boy was suddenly in her face, his green eyes hard. "Betty," he spoke softly. But she caught the catch in his throat, the wild look in his eyes. "What did they do to freak you out?"
Betty stared hard at the boy, weighing the positives and negatives of telling him the truth. "They just scared me," she whispered. "I dunno, they didn't speak much, and one of the boy's was pretty weird, the other one barely spoke," she lied. It was getting easier and easier to spin this web. "I just didn't feel comfortable living there." Lies. Betty felt like she finally belonged, with kids who actually cared about her, until she'd walked in on them having a vampire orgy with her mortal enemy Cheryl Blossom, who they were apparently now bound to. Betty didn't understand much of what the redhead had explained to her roommates, but she could just about fathom that she was in their alpha. There was a word for it, back when she read Twilight. Jacob Black had gotten close to vampire Bella's daughter. What was the damn word? It was on the tip of her tongue.
Imprint!
Cheryl Blossom had imprinted on her roommates, since they were her fledglings. Did that mean the girl had turned them?
"They just creeped me out, Kev," she said in finality. "I didn't want to stay longer, so I left in the middle of the night, and..." she trailed off. Veronica's wide eyes popped into her mind. The look of regret on her face when she realized that Betty was screaming, her fangs still gleaming scarlet.
"Dude, I was messing-"
"You left your stuff there," Kevin finished. "I get that, Betts. But why didn't you bother with shoes? Toni said you looked like you'd been dragged through a drainpipe."
"Thanks." Betty tried to laugh, but her head was starting to pound with pressure from the lamp. "I had a panic attack," she said. Which was technically true. Seeing Archie and Jughead tear into Cheryl Blossom had set her heart into a frenzy, she felt like she was going to suffocate.
Kevin hummed. "Next time you feel like that, just call me okay?"
"Mmm."
"So these kids were just weirdo's?" Kevin leaned back, pulling the duvet over his head with a sigh. Betty slipped into bed too, curling up on her side. "Yeah," she murmured. Another lie. The Lodge House residents were past weird. They were fictional creatures for god's sake. If Betty so much has uttered the V weird she'd be labelled insane. Her eyes grew heavy. Kevin's bed was so warm, so cosy. But she almost missed how comfortable her bed had been at Lodge House. A thought struck; her bag, phone and most of what she owned were still there. There was no way she was going back. Veronica might have been joking, but her fangs were real. Her blood thirst was legit and all three of them had admitted that she smelled good. "Betty," Kevin murmured. He was half asleep, but she entertained the thought of speaking to him. It was better than thinking about Jughead's fanged grin, his bright, friendly eyes. But he was a vampire. She wasn't a potential friend, she was a meal. A shiver tingled down her spine and she shook her head, swallowing hard.
"Mmm?" Betty shut her eyes and breathed slowly. Everything was going to be okay. She was going to go to class tomorrow like normal and ring her mom at lunch, admitting defeat. Alice Cooper has been right. She couldn't handle Blossom University.
"The kids you were staying with," Kevin mumbled with a yawn. "What are their names?"
Betty bit her lip. "Archie, Veronica and Jughead." she finally said, before she could bite her tongue. "Why?"
Kevin didn't answer. He'd probably fallen asleep. After a moment of laying awake and staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about Jughead draining the life out of her Dracula style, Betty buried her head in warm pillows that smelt like lavender, and finally drifted off.
Betty dreamed she was sitting in the middle of a frozen forest; trees shedding their leaves, glinting with the sparkle of frost and freshly fallen snow. the woods around her were beautiful, reminding her of childhood memories. Her twelve year old self hiking with her elder sister Polly during Christmas break. They'd build a fire, roast marshmallows and tell spooky Christmas tales that admittedly used to terrify her. Especially the story of Krampus. Looking down at herself, Betty realised she was wearing a long white dress that spread around her. She didn't feel the chill of the frozen ground digging into her knees or the icy air whipping blonde strands of her hair from her cheeks.
There was no feeling. Reaching forwards she grabbed a rock and sliced her finger on the pointed end. Betty watched a single drop of blood appear. But there was no pain. The familiar stinging sensation of her nerve endings on fire was none existent. For a moment she stared at her bloody finger, before sticking it in her mouth like she usually did.
"Betty?" she turned at the sudden voice, slowly rising to her feet. The dress felt heavy on her, weighing her down. When Betty looked down, her feet were bare and dirty. A second glimpse at the dress, the white garment was stained a revealing scarlet, the bodice splattered crimson. The voice was familiar, but her dream self couldn't recognise it.
"Hey, Betty!" there it was again. She began to move slowly towards the voice. It echoed in her mind, bouncing around her skull. Her bare soles moved delicately through leaves and bracken. It felt like she was walking on air. The voice got louder the closer she got, pushing her way through trees. "Betty!" there was urgency in the voice suddenly, a squeak of alarm. Betty felt herself move faster, flitting through the trees, as silent as the breeze coursing through her hair. Finally she came to a clearing.
There was body on the ground. She noticed it automatically. It lay in wildflowers. She saw blonde hair spread out in a golden halo, caught in the roots. When Betty edged closer, her breath caught in her throat. It was a girl. She lay in a bed of flowers. Her skin was the colour of the snow covering the ground. The closer she got, the harder it got to breathe. She couldn't see the girl's face, for it was hidden drooping roses and blossoming lavender. Polly. Her sister's name was tangled in her throat. She wanted to scream, but no matter how hard she tried, the girl's face was lost in the wildlife.
Before Betty could try and edge forwards to see if the girl was Polly, figures were appearing out of the darkness; four to be exact. Though she knew exactly who they were.
The first figure turned around and Betty recognised the flash of long red hair cascading automatically. Cheryl Blossom. The girl was standing over the body of the blonde. Cheryl wore a snowy white dress, much like Betty's. But unlike Betty's, the soft white material was immaculate. Betty took a shaky step forwards and shivered. Snow began to fall. She watched flakes dance in front of her, spiralling, pirouetting, in the chill.
But again, she couldn't feel it. Cheryl wasn't wearing one of her usual spiteful smirks, instead the girl looked sympathetic. Her blue eyes were wide, a small smile painted on her ruby lips. "Come on," the girl said softly, reaching out for Betty's hand.
Betty didn't know why, but her dream self took it. Cheryl's pale hand felt strangely right entwined with her own. She stumbled forwards, tripping over her dress. But when she looked down to try and straighten it out, it was torn at the seams, ripped and clawed at.
"My dress..." her dream self whispered. She sounded different. Her voice was softer, more mellow. It sounded like wind chimes. Cheryl giggled, but didn't say anything, pulling her closer to the blonde girl laying in the flowers. "I'm sorry," the redhead murmured. "Really, I should have kept them under control. This is all my fault Betty."
Betty's dream self cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" she decided to see for herself, diving into the flowers, she fell to her knees beside the blonde girl. But it wasn't Polly. When Betty leaned forward to look, she caught her own blue eyes staring lifelessly up at her. Her lips were open in what looked like a scream, and there were two puncture wounds in her neck, crimson staining her pale skin. The dead girl was her. But Betty didn't cry or scream. She only stared at herself, a low melancholic whine keening in her throat.
"I couldn't control them," Cheryl moaned softly. "I'm sorry they did this to you Betty."
"Did...did what?" she whispered. But the answer already covered her dress. When she blinked, Cheryl was gone and Jughead stood in her place, his fangs stained scarlet. This time he held out his hand for her to take.
Like Cheryl's, the boy's hand felt right in her own. He wasn't cold. Nothing was cold, because Betty couldn't feel. She was completely numb.
"Care to join?" Jughead's voice echoed again in her mind. The boy pulled her dream self towards her own dead body. The two of them fell to their knees. Veronica and Archie appeared, already tearing into her body. But she felt their claws, their teeth, ripping into every inch of her. Their laughter rode on the wind, but she joined in with Jughead as they feasted on her own flesh. It was a symphony of snarls and growling, the snapping of bones and blood dripping down her own throat. It tasted like melted sugar.
Her dream self loved it. The hunger grew inside of her as she grew more violent, plunging her hand into her own chest and ripping out her heart. It looked strangely beautiful in contrast to the snow all around them. She held it up, grinning at it, blood pooling down her chin Before she opened her mouth, her own fangs appearing. They felt right, springing from her gums, before she, like the others, went straight for the kill.
It was just a dream. That what Betty kept telling herself throughout the next morning. But it wasn't like her usual nightmares. They genuinely weren't real. Child catchers with the faces of demons? she could easily brush that off as fantasy, and she'd be able to shake off the nightmare. But this time her dream had elements of truth to it. Archie, Veronica and Jughead were real vampires. Betty woke up late, managing to make herself look semi-presentable with more of Toni's clothes. She picked out a black sweater, leggings and boots. Her hair was a mess whether she brushed it or not, so she borrowed Kevin's baseball cap hidden under all the clutter on his floor. Her entire wardrobe was back at Lodge House, but the thought of going back there turned her stomach.
Betty made it to her first class, jittery from the two coffee's she'd gulped down, scolding her tongue. Though it felt good to feel. Betty revelled in the bitter October chill biting at her cheeks, playing with strands of her hair. She wondered if her roommates or Cheryl had proper feeling. Could they feel pain or the cold? In her dream she had been turned, and had began feasting on her own body. The thought made her feel nauseous.
Home. As soon as lunch arrived, Betty would borrow the phone in Blossom's University's office and tell her mom to come and pick her up. Riverdale Univeristy wasn't bad, she could get in there easily. Plus, Midge Klump an old classmate from High School went there. But she'd be leaving Kevin, completely oblivious in the lion's den.
The dream was still in the back of her mind, relaying throughout her journalism teacher's lecture on getting a good angle for an article. Betty found a seat at the back of class and leaned on her closed laptop, shading her eyes with the baseball cap. The meagre four hours of sleep she'd managed to get were slowly creeping up on her. Anything the lecturer said sounded like gibberish. His powerpoint might as well have been written in hieroglyphics. Betty was too tired to take notes, or even acknowledge the powerpoint flickering on the wall.
Looking around her class she wondered if any of the kids dotted around the lecture hall were vampires. After all, they could hide in plain site. Though none of her classmates looked enthusiastic enough to be blooduckers. They looked like they'd just rolled out of bed, which they probably had. The majority of them were slumped in their seats still in their pajamas or sweats, their eyes were on the lecturer, but their minds were elsewhere, probably somewhere interesting. Yep. Definitely not vampires.
Betty spotted a girl sitting in front of her with blonde pigtails and olive skin. What was her name again- Kate? she vaguely remembered working on a project with the girl at the beginning of freshman year. Kate's eyes were glued to her laptop screen, playing what looked like an episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine. The subtitles were on, so Betty focused her attention on the girl's laptop. The story was easy enough to understand. Plus, she'd binged the first three season's with Kevin over Thanksgiving. The show was gold.
But even the lighthearted humour of a police sitcom couldn't settle her raging mind. By the time the episode had finished, so had class. The lights were flashing on across the lecture hall, blinding her and kids jumped from their seats, grabbing their laptops and books. Betty followed suite, stuffing her laptop into her bag and shouldering it.
She was on her way to the door, eyeing Kate. Maybe she'd strike a conversation with the girl. It was a distraction from her vampire roommates and Cheryl Blossom. Plus, Kate seemed like a nice girl. Betty joined the line of kids slowly moving down the stairs to the exit. Kate's pigtails were getting further and further away, disappearing in the crowd. When she finally made it out of the hall, Kate was nowhere to be seen.
Her stomach rumbled. Betty had managed to scarf down a cereal bar before class. Sweet Pea had made offered her a plate of eggs, but she was already late. Now she was starving. Betty followed the crowd of kids heading to the cafeteria and study areas. She was glaring at the ground, trying to conjure up an excuse for dropping out of Blossom University, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Betty, hey!" the all-too familiar voice sent shivers down her spine. When she turned around, Archie was standing there with his usual friendly smile, brown eyes crinkled around the edges. His red hair was a curly mess, poking from a knitted beanie. He wore a plaid shirt and skinny jeans, a stripy backpack slung over his shoulders unzipped, spilling books. In his hand was a to-go cup of hot chocolate. "Morning!" he said brightly, before shoving the cup in her face. "Uh, this is for you," he said, ruffling a hand through his hair. Unbelievably, the boy was blushing. Betty couldn't help wonder how the boy was capable of that. "consider it an apology for the teensy tiny misunderstanding last night." when Betty glared at him, Archie sighed. "C'mon dude, just take the hot chocolate." he wrinkled his nose. "I had to wait in line for this cup of poison."
Betty was still mad at him. More mad than she had ever been in her entire life. But the boy was holding fresh hot chocolate, and she couldn't say no to a warm beverage. She took the drink. "Misunderstanding?" she hissed. "Are you going to tell me that you're not a vampire, and everything I saw was some vivid hallucination from smoke inhalation?"
Archie smirked. "Smoke inhalation? I might actually use that," when he chuckled, Betty turned to leave. Her chest was aching. But the boy matched her pace. "Look," the boy said quickly. "We're all really torn over what happened last night, we didn't mean to scare you," he said. Betty couldn't help scoffing. She walked faster, keeping her gaze on her converse. The hot chocolate was no longer appetizing. "You're a vampire!" she whispe-shouted, turning on the boy. Her cheeks were scarlet. Archie looked shaken for a moment, before his eyes darkened. "Fledgling," he corrected. "Betty, we're not full vampires, we don't drink human blood. If we could, you'd already be dead. Hey- hey, where are you going?"
Betty kept walking, accelerating her pace. Her legs were aching, but she managed to mechanically shift them forwards by sheer force of will.
Archie ran after her, lowering his voice. "Look, I was high on the blood lust Betty, that wasn't me. I really am sorry." the boy actually sounded sincere, but that didn't change the fact that he was a vampire. "Can you come back to Lodge House, we really want to give it another shot," Archie smiled hopefully. "Veronica can make you pizza?"
"You eat?" she found herself scoffing. The boy looked hurt for a moment, before shrugging. "Well, no. Human food is kinda gross," he scratched the back of his head. "But you do!" Archie's lip curled. "We promise we won't burn it this time. Pinky swear?"
Sometimes Betty wondered if Archie was really a six year old trapped in the body of a nineteen year old vampire. When he held out his pinky, she rolled her eyes.
Betty took a moment to take the boy in. Archie looked perfectly human. His eyes were still mocha brown, a clumsy smile on lips that weren't pulled back in a animalistic snarl like last night. She couldn't glimpse the monster that had terrified her, but that made her feel uneasy. Archie wore a mask; a human mask over his monstrous face.
"I need to get to class," she lied. Her classes were over for the day, but Archie didn't know that. The boy, to her disdain stuck by her side. "Sweet, we'll walk you. Veronica is waiting by the entrance, we can go back to Lodge House if you'd like? We owe you an explanation, and, hell it's kinda lengthy because I'm got gonna lie, my death did kinda suck, but it had its pro's y'know. For instance-" Archie stopped babbling when she reached the girl's bathroom. Finally. Somewhere he wouldn't follow her.
"I'm gonna be a while," Betty muttered. She didn't wait for the boy to answer. But the gleam in his eye told her he was happy joining her inside. She spun around to glare at Archie. "Don't follow me." her tone surprised her. Cold, splintered ice. Archie nodded with another smile. "Hey, it's cool!" his gaze found the ground before he backed away, waving shyly. "Come back to Lodge House, okay? We really do want you back."
Betty bit her lip and didn't reply, pushing her way into the girl's bathroom.
She didn't look back.
Luckily, Toni had loose change in her jeans. Just enough to by a to-go cup of ramen and much needed coffee. Betty was nursing a caramel macchiato, standing outside Kevin's last class of the day when the third Lodge House roommate showed up. The late October chill played with her hair, lashing it across her cheeks. But the coffee did wonders.
"Hey." the voice startled her. She nearly dropped the hot drink.
Betty nearly lost her breath when Archie's roommate appeared seemingly of nowhere. He, like the redhead was doing a pretty good job of acting human. She still remembered him from last night; blood stained teeth grinning at her, eyes burning red. The boy nodded at her but he wasn't smiling. His hair was an unkempt mess hanging in very human-green eyes. The blood splatters were gone, of course they were. He looked completely different from last night. Perhaps Jughead too had been high from the blood lust like Archie said.
The boy wore a white shirt and jeans, a red and black jacket that looked miles too big for him hanging over the top. He regarded Betty with a smile. The boy cocked his head, "Can we talk?" he pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "Fancy another coffee? My treat."
Betty shook her head, pulling her coffee closer. "I'm good." she murmured, trying not to make eye contact with the boy. Jughead sighed. "Okay, I'm just gonna say it," he muttered, moving to stand by her side. Betty flinched, but she didn't move away. Jughead shoved his hands in his pockets
"We were careless last night," he admitted. "Veronica and Archie are really shaken up over what happened. Ronnie's sorry she scared you, and they want you to come back." he offered her a smile and rolled his eyes. "And I guess..." Jughead trailed off with another exaggerated sigh. "I guess I want you to come back too."
"You guess." she nearly choked on her coffee. "Good to know."
"You really hurt Archie and Ronnie's feelings." he said, after a moment. "It's been a while since we've been able to act properly human. With you in the house, they finally got the chance."
The boy's words made her chest ache. "You're vampire's," she whispered, and the boy scoffed. "Fledglings, for the thousandth time."
"Does it matter?" Betty found herself hissing, and Jughead laughed. "Yeah, it kind of does? Vampires drink human blood and go on murderous rampages. Arch, Ronnie and I are fledglings. Meaning we survive off Cheryl Blossom's blood. We don't go on murderous rampages, unless it's Friday night. Which is Mario Kart night."
Betty found herself smiling. She couldn't help it. "Vampire Mario Kart?"
The boy grinned. "It's more fun than it sounds. Last time I threw Archie out of the window when he distracted me during rainbow road." the boy winced at the memory. "Alcohol still affects us but it takes a lot to get us completely wasted. Which is a ride."
Betty scoffed. "You can't lure me back with Mario Kart."
Jughead was silent for a moment. He was staring hard at the ground, playing with his hands in his lap. "It's like being possessed," he muttered. "When I drink blood, I'm not...myself," the boy cleared his throat loudly and lifted his head. "Just so you know."
Betty sipped her coffee. It was lukewarm now, dribbling down her throat. "I'm going home," she blurted. Tucking straying strands of hair behind her ear, Betty shrugged when the boy's eyes widened. "Back to Riverdale, I mean. I'm dropping out."
Jughead nodded after a moment. "Alright, we deserve that," he muttered. The look in his eyes was playing with Betty's heart, and it was driving her mad. The boy bowed his head. "At least come back and get your stuff? Veronica wants to give you a formal apology."
Betty chewed her lip. She did need her stuff back. "I'll think about it," she mumbled into her coffee. Jughead whistled. "Alright." he turned to go, before frowning at her. "One last thing," he murmured. "Why do you always look at me like that?"
Betty felt her heartbeat quicken. "Like what?"
The boy quirked a brow. "You look like a startled deer that's terrified of the hungry wolf," his lip curled into a smirk. "This isn't Twilight, I don't like you like that sweetheart."
"Excuse me?" she squeaked, her cheeks blazing. Jughead was walking away before she could yell something back at him. "Veronica's making you pizza!" he shouted over his shoulder, his voice whipping in the bitter breeze. "Think about it, Betty Cooper!"
A few hours later, Betty had made her mind up. She was standing in front of Lodge House once again. The Victorian red brick structure looked different in the daylight. Her legs shook as she walked up the path, shivering. It had began to snow, flakes settled in her hair, twirling around her. Sure, Betty loved snow when she was little. But now she found it anything but. She kicked through snow covered leaves covering the path.
The red door loomed in front of her and she stared at it, willing it to open on its own so she could sneak in grab her stuff without bumping into its undead residents. But Betty wasn't special. She didn't have supernatural powers capable of making the door fly open, and she wasn't an undead bloodsucker. Betty was just human. Which she was perfectly fine with. Sucking in a breath she lifted her hands to knock, jumping back in surprise when the door flew open before her fist made contact. The smell of burning hit her almost automatically, and a plume of smoke flew in her face. Followed by the unmistakable smell of cremated cheese. Jughead's voice came loudly from inside. "Veronica! If you think I'm spending my night scraping cheese from every surface in this damn kitchen-"
"Bit me, Jones!"
"Betty! Oh, thank god!"
Before she could breathe, a whirlwind of velvet black hair smothered her. Veronica Lodge wrapped her arms around Betty, hugging her tightly. "I am so sorry about last night, I was crazy high from the blood, I meant no harm I swear!" the girl finally pulled away, and Betty understood what Archie meant earlier about the girl being torn up. Veronica's green eyes were bloodshot, there was no sign of her fangs, and her hair was an unbrushed mess. She was still wearing her clothes from last night. Her olive cheeks were smeared with soot, and there were bits of cheese hanging off the seams of her dress.
Betty managed to smile at the girl, but couldn't quite make her mouth work. Veronica's eye's brightened and she grabbed her arm with a squeal. "Are you here permanently now? I made pizza, but I left it in for far too long. Do you like burnt cheese?"
The girl was dragging her inside before Betty could fight back. But there was something about the homely golden light spilling from upstairs that settled her racing heart. They headed upstairs, Veronica practically bursting from excitement. "So Archie can do this really cool thing when sometimes he sees the future," Betty nearly tripped up the stairs.
Veronica grinned at her. "Basically, he saw you coming," her green eyes twinkled. "Cool, right?"
Betty found herself once again in the Lodge House Kitchen. It stunk of smoke, and she could spy bits of melted cheese stuck to the counter top. But Cheryl Blossom was gone, so were the blood splatters. The place looked more or less the same; everything still where it was, except sitting at the communal table were Archie and Jughead, looking enthralled in a game of cards. There was a family sized pizza sitting between them. Veronica grabbed a seat, yanking Betty down with her. "We weren't sure what type of pizza you liked, so we guessed."
Archie glanced up, a smile curving on his lips. "Knew you couldn't stay away from us."
Jughead raised his eyebrows at her. He shuffled his cards, laying them out on the table. Veronica happily watched the two of them, her smile contagious. "Don't get too excited, Arch. We don't know if she's staying for good."
Betty had a funny feeling Archie already knew what choice she'd made. No matter how many times her brain screamed that this was wrong, that her roommates were perfectly capable of tearing her limb from limb, she couldn't resist either of them. She ended up eating nearly half a pizza, joining in the game of cards. And it felt so...normal. There were no fangs, no talk of drinking blood or Cheryl Blossom. She won two games and came to realize that Jughead Jones was a sore loser. He also had a laugh that made her feel warm, feel safe.
Betty finally relaxed. Veronica disappeared for a second, while Archie was dealing another game. The girl was back in a blink of an eye. She held Betty's phone.
"We charged it up for you," the girl handed her the phone with another gleaming smile and Betty took it gratefully, scanning the screen for texts from her mom. But instead, her notifications were filled with messages from Kevin. The last text sent shivers skittering down her spine. It had come through seconds ago.
Now: Kevin: 4:37pm
Betty, I know you think I'm crazy, but I think Sweets is onto something. Cheryl Blossom is a vampire, and she turned three college kids a few months ago. We think they're your roommates. GET OUT OF THERE.
review for more :)