Archie wants to ask his girlfriend how much of the rehearsal she'd seen. Did she witness the kiss? It's in the script, Archie tells himself. That's why you did it.

But how to ask her without sounding worried about it. Without it seeming like he didn't want her to see, like he was doing something wrong.

"So, did you really think it was good?" he settles on.

"I did, Archiekins," Veronica says. "You and Betty work well together. And you're so dedicated, doing extra rehearsals, even without the director there."

He can't gauge her tone. Sarcasm? Or is she genuinely proud of his dedication? She smiles, but it doesn't put him at ease. She leans in to kiss him, and the subject is dropped.

The two of them head back to Archie's house, and they fool around in Archie's room until Fred gets home and Veronica says she has to leave. Archie watches as she dresses carefully, smoothing out her skirt and collar, flicking her hair behind her shoulders. She slips on her heels and gives Archie a smirk over her shoulder as she leaves.

"Archie?" she pauses in the doorway. "You've got a lot of good things going on in your life right now," she tells him.

"I know," he says, though he's confused as to why he's being reminded of this. Veronica tilts her head and gives him a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"I love you," she says. She doesn't wait for him to say it back before she leaves.


When there's no one
There is darkness
All the light that used to shine, that once was mine
No longer glows
And there is no sun
When there's no one


They have a scheduled rehearsal for the whole cast after school on Monday. All the scenes have been blocked and it's time to start running them through, perfecting them. Even Alice is there, though they're unlikely to make it to any of her scenes.

Archie has never dreaded a rehearsal more.

Kevin has acquired a megaphone over the weekend, and insists on talking through it, even when the person he's talking to is five feet away.

"Alright people!" he says into the megaphone, his voice echoing through the auditorium. Everyone is scattered on stage, having just gone through some vocal and physical warm ups together. "From the top!"

The rehearsal is fine, but Kevin has a long list of notes for them afterwards, keeping them back an extra hour. Eventually he finishes, dismissing them until Wednesday's rehearsal.

Veronica is oddly silent as she gathers her things and walks out of the auditorium, Archie beside her.

"Hey," he says. "Everything okay?"

"I'm just a little confused," she says. Archie waits for her to elaborate. "I'm confused as to why you would rehearse a kiss with Betty when there is no one else around, but not when the director is sitting there watching. Which means he obviously hasn't asked you to rehearse it yet, because we would have heard about it in his extensive notes."

Fuck. She's completely right.

"It wasn't the same kiss, Ronnie," Archie says. It's a flimsy excuse at best. "Kevin isn't making us practise that one yet because it's more…" he trails off.

"Hot and heavy?" Veronica finishes for him. Archie blushes.

"He said we were perfectly capable of rehearsing a peck on the lips without it being awkward," Archie says. Lies, lies, all of it lies. He watches Veronica cautiously, waiting to see if she believes him.

"Oh," she says. "That makes sense. I'm sorry," she smiles, leaning up to kiss him. Archie smiles, squashing down the guilt he feels. Guilt about lying, and guilt that it was so easy. And guilt because he doesn't feel as guilty as he probably should. And yet none of the guilt is about actually kissing Betty in the first place.


Always remember that I love you.


As the weeks go on, Kevin seems to get increasingly frustrated with Archie and Betty's lack of chemistry onstage.

Of course, Betty isn't thrilled that Kevin isn't pleased with her performance, but at least Jughead seems to be satisfied. He hasn't made a jealous comment in a few weeks, though granted, Betty hasn't spent any time alone with Archie since they first rehearsed You Shine.

"Remember to send me your bios for the programme by the end of the week! And everyone can go," Kevin says at the end of yet another rehearsal, still with the use of his megaphone. Dress rehearsals are drawing near, and everyone finally has their lines down pat, even Reggie. "Except Betty and Archie. I need to talk to you."

Betty's stomach drops. Is he going to kick her out of the play? She stays seated while everyone else files out of the auditorium. Archie and Veronica sit in the row in front of her. Jughead stays beside her.

"Okay guys," Kevin turns on them. "I was willing to give you a pass when we were in the first few weeks of rehearsal, but dress rehearsals are two weeks away and you're still the flattest couple I've ever seen on stage!"

"Hey, that's not fair," Archie argues. Betty wants to agree with him, but she knows Kevin is right.

"Sorry, but that's the cold hard truth," Kevin says unsympathetically.

"They had chemistry when I saw them rehearse," Veronica says.

"What?" Kevin narrows his eyes. "When?"

"When you first had them do You Shine together," Veronica says. Betty wishes she would shut up before she says something Jughead won't want to hear. "After you left, they kept rehearsing. They didn't know I was there."

Betty feels Jughead stiffen beside her, but he stays silent.

"But you agree they have no chemistry now?" Kevin asks.

"Sorry, no," she gives Betty an apologetic look, over her shoulder.

"Why are you guys holding back?" Kevin huffs.

"I think I know why," Fangs grins. Betty wants to slap that knowing smile off his face. Everyone turns to look at him, waiting expectantly for the answer. "Isn't obvious? They're worried they might feel something."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Betty says quickly. "I'm not holding back. I'm doing my best, and the fact that you keep saying Archie and I are stiff and flat and have no chemistry is, frankly, insulting."

Kevin looks taken aback. Betty doesn't look at Jughead. Perhaps her rant was a bit much. Perhaps he sees right through her.

"Fine," Kevin says finally. "But I need you guys to start practising that first kiss scene."

"But you said not until dress rehearsals!" Archie bursts out.

"I changed my mind. You two need all the time to get it right that you can," Kevin huffs. "You can go."

Betty hurriedly grabs her things, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. Jughead is right behind her. Alice is waiting in the parking lot.

"Betty," Jughead says. Betty stops, turning to him. She can't deal with this right now. "Was he right?"

"Who?"

"Fangs."

"No!" Betty denies, her voice a little too high. "No, no, of course not! Can we just forget about it?"

She wants him to comfort her, to notice that she's upset and pull her into his arms, tell her she's doing a great job, no matter what Kevin says. That's what a good boyfriend would do. Instead he's hurtling accusations at her, proving time and time again that he doesn't trust her, even though she would never cheat on him in a million years, never want to hurt him. Yet he seems hellbent on hurting her.

"Fine," is all he says. "I'll see you tomorrow." He turns and stalks off, and Betty watches him go before walking to the car and getting in the passenger seat.

"Is everything okay, sweetie?" Alice asks her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Betty sighs. Alice turns on the radio.


I never wanted to cause you such pain
But there are times when my life is so frightening
Maybe I do things that I can't explain
But my feelings for you never change.


Betty knew this day would come eventually. It's not that she thinks kissing Archie will be awful. After all, she's kissed him before, and it was decidedly not awful. The complete opposite of awful, in fact. Which is probably the real reason why she doesn't want to kiss him. Not because she's worried she'll suddenly be unbearably in love with him again, but because she'll probably enjoy kissing him, and Jughead will probably be able to tell.

He hasn't brought up Fangs' comments since they were made, but he's also been a little withdrawn, and Betty feels like she's constantly walking on eggshells. It's hellish.

The cast assembles for rehearsal on Monday night, ready to do a full technical rehearsal of the show. Kevin pulls Archie and Betty aside after the warm up, as everyone else gets ready for the show to start.

"I wasn't kidding about what I said last week," he tells them. "You guys need to rehearse that kiss today. Okay?"

"Okay," Betty and Archie agree in unison. Betty gulps.

"As soon as you've finished singing…" he flips through his excessively annotated script, "life just doesn't begin until you're in' the first time, just grab each other and really go for it, alright? You're two horny teenagers. You should both know what that's like." Kevin grins and heads for his directors table, leaving Betty and Archie to join the others in the wings.

Betty tries not to think about it as she takes her place on stage, and then she's in character, saying her lines, and she doesn't have a chance to think about it, until she's singing the chorus of In in the lead up to it, and the nerves kick in. She glances at Archie while she sings.

Just don't think about it, she tells herself. It's not Archie, it's just some faceless guy. You won't enjoy it.

Her main focus is to just do it and get it over with. That, and she's going to do everything in her power to not enjoy it.

And then the moment is before her, and she shuts her eyes and puts her arms around his neck, and thinks about other things, while his tongue is in her mouth. And then Josie says her line, and the kiss is over. It worked. She didn't feel anything. She didn't enjoy it. She feels relieved. Perhaps she was worried about nothing after all.

The rehearsal continues without any major blips, and Kevin calls them all into the auditorium afterwards to go through his list of notes. Thankfully, the list is shorter each time, but he's always finding something new to tell them they're doing wrong.

Kevin stands on the stage, and clears his throat before reading.

"First note— Betty and Archie," he starts. Archie looks over at her and she rolls her eyes. "That kiss was pathetic. Betty you looked like you were in pain, and Archie you looked like you'd never kissed a girl before. Do it better next time or I'll make you do it over and over until I think it's right."

Betty suppresses a groan. Evidently her plan of not enjoying the kiss had worked a little too well. She glances at Jughead but his face is impassive. If she didn't have to worry about what he might think, she could play this part so much better. She doubts Archie is having this much trouble keeping Veronica happy. V seems to have no qualms whatsoever about her boyfriend kissing another girl. She understands theatre and acting.

But Betty knows she can't keep worrying about what Jughead is going to think. It's a play, and Kevin wants every single element to be perfect. She's not going to let him down because she's worried about an overly paranoid boyfriend.

So at the next rehearsal, she promises herself she's going to do it properly this time. It's only acting. She can separate herself from Sue, and Archie from Tommy.

Kevin starts the rehearsal, and Betty gets through her first lines. Kevin has never had a problem with the way she plays the interrogation scenes. Or the scenes she has with Veronica, or Cheryl, or Josie for that matter. It's only the scenes she has with Archie that Kevin seems to take issue with.

"What you need to understand is, we were just kids," Betty says, the spotlight shining in her eyes, while the rest of the stage stays in darkness. The music for In starts. "Kids trying to do our best. We were kids."

Betty is joined by the rest of the cast, standing in the dark as they start singing. The wash lights come up and they continue singing, the scene changing from the interrogation room to a school scene.

The cast all sing together, "Look where I am, damn! My whole life feels wrong. What if I do snap? Holy crap. I'd crawl out of my skin, and so would you. Cause life just doesn't begin, until you're in!"

This is it. Betty reaches for Archie, finds him reaching for her at the same time.

Relax, she tells herself, don't hold back.

She fists her hands into his shirt, pressing herself against him, opening her mouth to him. Her eyes flutter shut, and his tongue slides into her mouth. She melts into him. She can't help it. She feels want pulse through her as his mouth moves against hers. He kisses her slowly, purposefully, like he doesn't want to stop. God, Betty thinks, this is what kissing is supposed to be like.

"I said," Josie's voice cuts through Betty's lustful haze, "watch those hands, Tommy!"

Shit. Had they missed the first time she said the line? Betty feels her face heat up as Archie pulls away from her.

"Yes, ma'am" he says. Betty glances at him. His face is as red as hers feels.

"Hey, you two, get a room!" Veronica yells from across the stage, and the scene continues. Betty does her best to still her shaking hands, and to put Archie's lips out of her mind. It isn't easy.

At the end of the rehearsal, Betty expects a scolding from Kevin for missing the cue and making Josie say her line twice, but he doesn't mention the kiss at all. Instead, he hands out cast copies of the programme.

Cheryl takes it upon herself to start reading the cast bios out loud.

"Archie Andrews may be making his theatre debut in Carrie: The Musical, but it's certainly not his first stage performance. Archie is an avid musician and singer/songwriter, excited to be exploring his thespian side –"

"Ha, thespian!" Reggie interjects. Cheryl shoots him a glare before continuing.

"He would like to thank his girlfriend, Veronica, for always being there and his dad, Fred Andrews, for helping build and construct the sets."

"That's so sweet!" Ethel says. Cheryl rolls her eyes.

"Are you really going to read all of them out loud?" Reggie complains.

"Well, you can't read them so I'm just doing you a favour," Cheryl tells him, but she falls silent as she reads through Betty's bio in her head. "Really, Betty? Hashtag Bughead forever?" she snorts. "Overcompensate much?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Betty snaps back.

"Just that you declaring your love for your boyfriend in your bio is a little much, don't you think? Almost seems like you're trying to prove something," Cheryl smiles sweetly. Betty wants to slap the smarmy smile right off her face.

"Please, Cheryl," Veronica says, before Betty can respond. "Like you can talk. You and Toni also give each other shout outs."

"It's cute when we do it," Cheryl pouts.

"That's enough, people," Kevin interjects. "Why don't you all go home and get some rest. We've only got one week until opening night, and I want our dress rehearsals to go as smoothly as possible."

Taking their cue to leave, everyone starts gathering their things and streaming out of the auditorium. Betty collects her things slowly, not looking forward to the conversation she knows Jughead is going to want to have. That kiss, and then Cheryl's comments? Betty can feel her anxiety rising just thinking about what Jughead is probably thinking.

Her stomach sick, she starts walking out of the auditorium, Jughead beside her. She can practically feel the resentment radiating off him. Her fingernails dig into her palms painfully.

"Betty, will you hurry? I have to get home and start making dinner," Alice calls, already waiting at the door.

"Go without me," Betty tells her mother. "I'll walk home."

Alice rolls her eyes, but does as her daughter says.

Jughead waits until they're outside, alone, before he says anything.

"Is Cheryl right?" he asks. Betty wants to scream. Can't he just trust her?

"What do you think, Jug?" Betty snaps. "For god's sake! It's Cheryl! She'll say anything for a bit of drama."

"I don't know, Betty," Jughead says, matching her tone. "I don't know what I'm supposed to think! You sure as hell seemed to enjoy that kiss."

"So what?" Betty erupts. "It's just a dumb kiss for a dumb play! I don't see why you can't just trust me. I've never cheated on you. I never would! What is your problem?"

"My problem is that you're still in love with Archie!" Jughead accuses. Betty's breath catches in her throat. It's the first time he's said it out loud. It's the first time anyone has said it out loud. Hell, Betty hasn't even let herself think it. It hits her like a freight train. She swallows.

"I can't do this anymore, Jug," she whispers, tears already forming in her eyes.

"Can't do what?"

"This!" she says desperately. "I can't be with you with your constant suspicion and accusations. Either you believe I love you or you don't, and these past few months you've made it pretty clear you don't."

Jughead stares at her. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying it's over," Betty says. A tear escapes and rolls down her cheek. Jughead is lost for words. Betty waits for him to fight her. To beg her not to do this, to tell her he's sorry. But he says nothing. So she turns and walks away.


That's what the boys do
They'll make promises
They will break your heart
Then they'll laugh at you
Watching you fall apart
Don't you think that I know?
Don't you think this has happened before?


Archie drives Veronica home after rehearsal. She smiles, and they talk as usual, but Archie can tell something is bothering her. He pulls up out the front of the Pembrooke. Veronica doesn't get out right away.

"Ronnie?" he prompts gently. "What's wrong?"

"I don't—" she stops, looks at him, frowns. She looks at her hands folded in her lap. "I want to think I'm being paranoid," she says. "But, Archiekins… these past few weeks, I just have a feeling."

"What kind of feeling?" Archie asks slowly.

"I'm going to ask you something. And I need you to answer me completely honestly, once and for all. And if you do, I swear I'll believe you and I'll never bring it up again," Veronica says. She looks almost nervous. An emotion Veronica Lodge does not display frequently.

"Okay."

"Do you have feelings for Betty?"

The question hangs heavy in the air. Archie's heart hammers in his chest. Should he have known this question was coming? What happens if he says no? What happens if he says yes?

He licks his lips. "I—I don't know," he says finally. It's not entirely the truth. He does know. He's known it for months now. What he doesn't know is what Veronica is expecting to hear. What she's going to say. He doesn't know what his feelings for Betty mean for his relationship with Veronica.

"You don't know?"

"I—" he swallows. "It's Betty."

Veronica doesn't say anything for a minute.

"Ronnie?" Archie says, a little desperately.

"I don't know if that's worse or better than yes," Veronica laughs humourlessly. How can it be worse than yes?

"What does this mean?" Archie asks her. She shakes her head.

"I don't know," she says quietly. "I need to think."

Archie's stomach plummets. He nods wordlessly. What can he possibly say?

"I still love you, Archie," Veronica says as she gets out of the car.

"I love you too," Archie says. Because whatever else happens, that, at least, is still true.


Who will hold me when there's no one?
When the smiles I used to see are not for me,
What will I do?
Nobody's told me, who will hold me?


Veronica avoids him for the next few days. She ignores his texts and calls, and when she sees him at school she walks the other way. Archie takes that to mean she hasn't made up her mind yet. He's pretty sure that's what's happening. She's deciding whether or not she's going to break up with him. It's torture, not knowing what's going on in her head.

But come to think of it, Veronica isn't the only one who seems to be avoiding him. He's barely seen or heard from Jughead or Betty either, since their last rehearsal. As far as he can tell, Jughead is hanging out with the serpents, Betty is spending her time with Kevin, and Veronica is, strangely enough, eating her lunch with Cheryl. Archie finds himself spending more time with Reggie. It feels like something has changed, something drastic, and he doesn't know quite how to get things back to normal.

Whatever turmoil Veronica has going on inside her, she doesn't let it detract from her performance on Monday night's dress rehearsal. She performs her main song, The World According to Chris, with even more commitment than usual.

"My daddy taught me you get nowhere being nice. So now I'm sharing his advice," Veronica sings, straight out to the near empty auditorium, as if she's really about to tell a crowd of people just how Hiram Lodge does things. It isn't too far from the truth.

"The world according to Chris is, better to strike than get struck! Better to screw than get screwed. You'd probably think it's bizarre, but that's the way things are!"

Though Veronica seems to have really stepped it up a notch now that she's wearing a costume, Betty's performance has improved even more. Archie is blown away at the way she throws herself into the role, and he swears they sing You Shine ten times better than they've ever done. His smile as he sings to her is completely genuine, and the way her eyes sparkle at him makes his heart beat erratically.

He should have told Veronica the truth.

After the curtain call, Archie grabs Betty before she can retreat into the dressing room. Despite her dazzling performance, he can see now there's a sadness about her.

"Hey," he says. "I've barely seen you lately. Are you okay?"

Betty shrugs. "I broke up with Jughead," she says simply. And though she seems sad, she also seems kind of relieved. He wonders what's been going on in their relationship that he has been completely unaware of.

"I'm sorry," he says automatically. He wants to ask her why, but he knows it can wait. When they've got time to just be alone together, to talk like they used to. He heads to the dressing room to get changed.

He takes his time getting out of his costume and into his regular clothes. He slowly removes his stage make up, leaving him the last one to leave the auditorium. Veronica is waiting for him on the stage.

"Ronnie?" he asks, coming to a stop before her. He regards her nervously.

"I've thought about it a lot," Veronica says. She chews her lip. "I believe that you love me. I know you wouldn't lie about that. But I think you also love Betty."

Archie swallows. He doesn't deny it.

Veronica continues. "And the thing is, maybe right now I'm what you want, or maybe I'm not. Maybe you just don't want to hurt me. But I can't help but feel like one day you're going to wake up and realise that it's Betty that you want, not me. And I can't take that chance."

"Veronica…" Archie starts. Is she really going to leave him like this?

"It's over, Archie," she cuts him off. "We're done."

"Why?" is all Archie can say.

"Better to leave than get left, right?" Veronica smiles sadly. Her heels click on the stage as she walks away, echoing through the empty auditorium until she's gone, and Archie is left alone in the silent dark.


Better to whip than get whipped
Even if somebody bleeds
Please, nobody dies from a scar
And that's the way things are.


Losing Veronica hurts. Archie feels hollow for a couple of hours, lying on his bed, wondering what he should have done differently.

You shouldn't have fallen for your best friend, the voice in his head tells his dumb self. But there was absolutely nothing in his power he could do to stop that.

Just beneath the surface, under his veneer of sadness, he also feels relief. It's like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He doesn't have to pretend anymore.

He walks with Betty to school everyday that week, and the world just seems a little brighter. She seems a little brighter. Her smile, her eyes. He wonders if the affection he feels for her is evident in his face. He wonders if he too, looks brighter.

Opening night is a Thursday night, the first show of three. It seems such a shame to rehearse for so long and then only get to perform it three times, but Kevin says he had to convince Principal Weatherbee to even let him do that many, as the principal had said one would be plenty.

Kevin gathers everyone backstage to give an inspiring speech before the show starts.

"Listen up everyone!" he says. He's forgone the megaphone tonight. "I just want you to know how proud of you I am, and I know you're going to kill it out there tonight! I know at times I haven't been the easiest director to work with, but you've all stuck with me, and I appreciate all the hard work you've all put in. The auditorium is packed full tonight, so let's see if we can get a standing ovation from the audience!"

"Hear, hear!" Toni shouts and the rest of the cast cheers.

"And congratulations to Kevin!" Veronica adds.

"It's ten minutes to show time, so make sure you're all ready. Chookas!" Kevin blows them a kiss and then disappears with Fangs to go and watch the show from the back row. Archie looks around for Betty, but he can't see her blonde ponytail amongst the crowd of other cast members.

"Hey," he taps Cheryl on the shoulder. "Have you seen Betty?" Cheryl points towards the stage door.

"Make sure she's back in time for curtain up," Cheryl demands. Archie follows her finger, pushing the stage door open and stepping out into the cool night air. He finds Betty leaning against the bricks, looking queasy.

"Are you alright?" he asks her worriedly.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she groans. She looks white as a sheet. Archie smiles softly. He's definitely been where she is now. He leans back against the wall beside her.

"Stage fright?" he asks. He looks at her out the corner of his eye to see her nodding.

"Yeah," she says. "I didn't think it would be this bad. I've done public speaking before. This should be easier!"

"It's just different," he says. "And hey, don't worry. You're going to be amazing out there."

Betty nods, but she doesn't look like she quite believes him. He needs to think of a way to distract her.

He's been thinking a lot, this past week. About Betty, mostly. About what it might be like to be her boyfriend. To hold her hand as they walk to school together. To kiss her properly, not because Kevin says they have to, or rushed and secret in the front seat of a car. The more he thinks about it, the more he wants it. But he knows neither of them are quite there yet. It wouldn't be fair to either of them, and it wouldn't be fair to Veronica or Jughead either. All four of them need time to heal.

But he still really wants to kiss her. And what better distraction from her stage fright.

"Betty?" he says. She turns her head towards him. "I think I need to rehearse just one bit before we go on stage. Just to make sure it's right."

"Which bit?" Betty asks.

"The part where we kiss," he says. He waits with baited breath. He's not going to do it unless she says it's okay.

"Yeah," she says, breathless. "I think I need to practice that part too."

Archie steps in front of her, as close as he can get. Her back is pressed against the brick wall behind her and she looks up at him. He leans in, closing his eyes, breathing her in. He presses his lips to hers and she meets him immediately. Her hands leave the wall behind her and tangle in his hair, pulling him closer. He teases the seam of her lips with his tongue and she opens for him, a soft moan spilling from her mouth. He kisses her hungrily, urgently, his hands clinging to her waist.

The stage door bursts open with a clang, and they hurriedly break apart. Cheryl glares at them with pursed lips.

"The show's about to start, you horny teenagers," she snaps. Archie flushes and Betty ducks her head in embarrassment. "Betty, make sure you fix your lipstick before you go onstage."

Betty rubs at her lips as Cheryl retreats back inside, the stage door slamming behind her.

"I guess we should go in," Betty says.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Archie asks.

"Yeah," Betty smiles. "Thanks."


What a surprise, gazing into your eyes
I swear that I still get lost in the light
No photograph could possibly show
The you I know.


Once Betty is out on stage, the nerves leave her. She just has the adrenalin rush, and a feeling of pure joy as she performs. It's a high like she's never felt before.

And that kiss with Archie… well, maybe it was nothing. Maybe he was just trying to calm her down, to make her forget about her stage fright. But it felt like something. She so badly wants it to be something.

She stands next to him in the wings, waiting for their next scene together, Do Me a Favour. It's really their first time to talk since the show started. Josie and Cheryl are reciting their dialogue onstage.

"Betty—" Archie starts. "I want to say—"

"Shh!" Toni shushes him. "No talking in the wings."

Betty smiles to herself at Archie's annoyed expression. He gives her a look of exasperation.

"We can talk later," she whispers. Archie nods. They both turn back to watch as Josie sings to Cheryl.

"Love can find you when you least expect. Funny how two lives connect. That's how it starts, two unsuspecting hearts."

Betty glances at Toni. She's watching her girlfriend onstage, a slight smile on her face. She'd probably be embarrassed at how lovestruck she looks right now. Betty looks back to Archie, ready to point it out to him, but the way he's looking at her makes her forget all about Toni. He quickly looks away.

Josie continues singing. "In a world where nothing's sure, and nothing's ever guaranteed, you should trust the way you feel. That's the only thing that's real."

Betty lets her arm fall from where it had been crossed across her chest. Her hands bumps against Archie's. The simple contact makes her heart race. Archie's hand brushes against hers again. A moment later, he slips his hand into hers, and Betty finds herself grinning stupidly. She gives his hand a squeeze, and he squeezes back gently. It's a simple gesture, but it means everything.

Cheryl and Josie close out the song together.

It's like magic how your spirit soars,
Once you feel his hand in yours.
That's how it starts,
Two unsuspecting hearts.