How long had she been following the tenacious redhead around? Cheryl had told her to keep up and by God, Victoria had tried, but the girl talked so fast to both her and people they were passing that it was hard to latch on to things she was supposed to retain. After so long, her mind wandered and she barely heard Cheryl anymore.

"Victoria. Are you listening?" The brunette turned her head and nodded.

"Yes, Cheryl," she lied as the bell rang.

"Great! This is your first class. You'll find your way the rest of the day I assume." Victoria nodded. "I also assume you'll be trying out for the River Vixens since your sister is on the team." The contempt in Cheryl's voice was as evident as the disdain on her porcelain face.

"What is a River Vixen?" She received a bewildered look.

"Only Riverdale's finest team of cheerleaders! Not to mention the best looking girls in school, led by yours truly." Victoria shook her head.

"Oh, no. I don't cheer."

"Aren't you and Charles Cooper…?"

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?" She paused. "Oh, cheerleaders and athletes. I get it." Victoria smirked. "No. I've been there and done that. I'm not interested. Thanks though." With a glance toward her classroom, she gave a wave to Cheryl. "Thanks for the tour."

Victoria parted from Cheryl and walked into a half filled classroom; one equipped for science experiments. Her experience with the redhead left her a bit confused as the girl was a bit hard to read, even for being a self-proclaimed Queen Bee. Of course, that was probably a good thing. She could surely get the lowdown about Cheryl Blossom from Veronica later.

"PSSST," she heard to her left. Tori turned her head and spied CJ at one of the tables. He motioned her over and she hesitated. The odds of him being a distraction for her were pretty good if not one hundred percent, but she was moving toward the table before she could really make a sane decision.

"I'm not sure I should sit beside you," yet she did anyway.

"Why?"

"Let's be real. How much work are we actually going to get done?" He let out a chuckle.

"More than you think. Mr. Hayes is a hard-ass. We won't be able to talk when he's teaching."

"Is that so?"

"That's what one of my buddies said last year." Victoria nodded. "How was your Cheryl Blossom Tour?"

"How'd you know she gave me a tour?"

"She gives all of the transplant student tours. I think it's her way of trying to be nosy about them before anyone else."

"Oh. Well, she was…interesting. She talked a lot; and fast. She's really pretty and fashionable though." CJ stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"Am I barkin' up the wrong tree?" Tori quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He leaned toward her for a moment.

"You know, we were all…gettin' on pretty well and then you're all basically like Cheryl's hot…" Victoria let out a laugh that startled a trio of nearby students. The last bell rang and the last of the students ran into the room as Mr. Hayes stood up.

"That's not what I said."

"Well, then am I?"

"Good Morning, class. Give me silence, please." Mr. Hayes said. CJ rested his hand over his face for a moment in a defeated fashion and Victoria tried not to laugh as she set her attention on her teacher. Her right hand tapped CJ's thigh and then rested there for a moment. He looked down at it.

"You're doing fine," she whispered.

The rest of the morning, Victoria was CJ free, having no other classes with him. She was slightly bummed seeing as how she didn't know any other seniors, but it was only the first day. The lunch bell rang and she was too eager to go see her sister and their shared friends, but on her way, she passed the music room. It called to her, and she had to back up.

After peering inside and finding it empty, she stepped through the doorway and approached the piano inside. She hadn't even gotten her keyboard out at the apartment, let alone played it since packing it up and moving. Where was the music teacher, she wondered? Was there a music club? Was there a chorus?

Victoria set her backpack on the floor and sat down on the bench, lightly tapping the keys. For a moment, she thought back to the last recital she'd done at school in New York. It had been so horrible. The memory of it brought tears to her eyes. Why had she let it happen? "I can fake a smile. I can force a laugh." She pressed the keys to the song that caused her pain. "I can dance and play the part. If that's what you ask; give you all I am…"

"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it…" Archie and Jughead paused silently in the doorway to listen; Archie more so, seeing as how he shared a musical interest with Victoria. "But I'm only human. And I bleed when I fall down. I'm only human. And I crash and I break down. Your words in my head, knives in my heart. You build me up and then I fall apart. 'Cause I'm only human."

Victoria stopped and opened her eyes, before wiping away stray tears that slid down her cheeks. After realizing the moment seemed to be too private for them, Archie nodded Jughead out and the two of them disappeared before they were seen. Taking a few centering breaths, Tori regained her composure and collected her bag. Her stomach growled as she exited the room and roamed toward the cafeteria.

"Hey, Victoria!" Jughead called from the cafeteria entrance. He waved her over to the food line where he and Archie were getting their lunch.

"Hey guys! How's the first day of school going for you?" she asked with a flushed smile.

"Pretty good. How about yours? You like Riverdale High so far?" Archie asked.

"It's not too bad." Jughead handed her a tray.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Uh…yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Can you help me with a song I wrote?" She was thoughtful as she grabbed food and put it on her tray.

"What do you mean help you?"

"Well, you said you can play the piano, right?"

"Yeah…"

"I…kind of wrote a song for Veronica and I have some music written. But, I wrote it with my guitar and I want to play it on the piano. Will you help me learn how to play it on the piano?" Jughead smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Still, so disgusting," he said. Victoria grinned.

"I think it's sweet! Of course I'll help you."

"Wait, really?" Archie asked.

"Yes, really."

"Yes! Awesome! Thank you! But, we can't let Ronnie know."

"Well, of course not." Jughead led the three of them outside to a cluster of tables to eat at.

"Tori! How's it going?" Betty asked, turning her attention away from Veronica.

"Good. How are you ladies getting along today?" Tori sat down.

"Well, I have Mr. Hayes for Biology and he basically hates me." Veronica said with a pout.

"Why?"

"What'd you do to him?" Jughead asked.

"Why is it my fault?" Veronica asked, her eyes moving upward above Tori. A flower was presented in front of Victoria's face and she leaned back momentarily to focus on it before looking up to see CJ smiling down at her.

"Thanks," she said, taking the flower.

"Are you trying to seduce my sister?" CJ nodded.

"Possibly, but I have to press pause. I was paged to the parking lot. Someone's trying to tow my truck," he said.

"And you stopped to give me a flower?" Tori asked.

"Yes."

"Wait! Why is someone trying to tow the truck?" Betty asked.

"I don't know. That's what I'm going to find out." He ran off, leaving Betty with a confused look on her face.

"Maybe he parked in a teacher's spot." Jughead suggested.

"Maybe he parked in Mr. Hayes' spot." Veronica said.

"Vixens! Practice after school. Don't be late!" Cheryl squawked as she walked by. Veronica gasped and smiled at her sister.

"I already told her no, Veronica." Tori said in between bites of her food.

"Why?!"

"I don't want to be a cheerleader."

"Why not?"

"Because I've already had that experience. I don't want to do that during my senior year."

"Alright. I'll leave it alone."

The teens chatted and ate for several minutes before an agitated CJ rejoined them.

"What happened, CJ?" Betty asked.

"They towed it because it was in Dad's name and of course, it's defaulted on payments. I guess Mom hasn't been using the money I've been giving her to pay on it. I called her but she didn't answer." He shook his head. "Ugh, I'm so pissed right now."

"We'll take you home today, guys," Veronica said.

"You can take Betty, I'm gonna go home late. After practice and everything." Tori cautiously reached to touch his jacket-clad arm.

"Are you sure?" He seemed to coldly flinch away from her. Tori snatched her hand back immediately.

"Yeah, it's cool. Thanks." CJ looked toward Jughead. "Take a walk with me Jug?" Jughead nodded, kissed Betty goodbye and trekked off with CJ. Veronica studied Victoria for a moment.

"He's just upset, Tori," she said. Tori looked up from her tray.

"Huh?"

"He didn't mean it."

"Mean what? What are you talking about?"

"To blow you off like that. He's just upset." Tori bit her lip.

"It's fine. You don't have to explain things to me, Veronica. I know how to handle people and their emotions. I don't need excuses."

"I was just…" Tori got up and walked away with her tray. Veronica looked between Betty and Archie. "Well, I'd say they were a match made in heaven, guys."