Betty felt her feet pulling her towards the center of the Town with Pep! And she smiled serenely as they did so. Her magic was very much drawn to the town – more so than to any other town she had visited outside of her village. True, those visits had always been with the idea that her family, her home was awaiting her return. Now, she was unmoored. Her family was dead, and she was alone. She felt Jughead slip his digits through hers' in what could be considered a show of tenderness as she looked up to lock eyes with him. His oceanic orbs were filled with nothing, but compassion and she understood the silent message he was conveying: you're not alone. We're here. Please, let us in. Nodding, she squeezed his hand gently, her promise to try.
The group of…odd misfits she had come to fondly deem them as, made their way straight to the middle of the street and they paused, Joaquin turning to face Betty. "What'll it be, Betty? The book-store or the apothecary, first?"
Remembering what the long-haired man had said about his boyfriend – soulmate – being the owner, she smiled and tilted her head towards that first. "Apothecary. Let's see what elements are drawn towards my magic." She gifted Joaquin one more smile and made her way into the shop, senses filled with the alluring aroma of hazelnut almost immediately. "Ooh, good greeting scent."
"Greeting scent?" Sweet Pea asked curiously, and she noted his eyes watering.
"Do you come in here a lot, Sweet Pea?" Betty asked in amusement, watching as the taller shook his head and rubbed at his eyes.
"Nah, it affects my allergies or some shit," he muttered.
She laughed, teasing him gently. "It's not capable of affecting allergies, Pea. The greeting scent is overwhelmingly strong to anyone not of magical capabilities. Our magic is able to help dull it down a bit, but for a Guardian…"
"Well, you guys can't handle the beautiful aromas I provide all my shoppers with," came a voice and Betty looked around to spot a brunette with a friendly smile walking towards her. "Kevin Keller and my god, you're visionary, Betty Cooper. I can't wait for us to be best friends."
Betty smirked, knowing exactly what he was implying with his words. "You say that with only the confidence of a Seer."
"Ah, but of course you're the first witch in our town to spot that without me having to announce it personally!" Kevin cried in delight and Betty laughed.
"Polly, my older sister, had a penchant for being able to use her magic at reading people – she taught me a bit of that magic and not my mother. My mother wouldn't have approved of that folklore," Betty said, soft smile resting on her lips. "It's not that she didn't believe in it, of course, it's just she didn't find it necessarily practical. Not in a war."
"And you, Betty Cooper? What's your level of practicality?" Kevin asked curiously.
"Deviously wicked," she winked, and Kevin grinned before turning to the rest of the men in the room. "She's fun. Oh, babe, can we keep her? Please?"
Jughead laughed as Pea's frame shook, too.
"Kevin, she's not something to be caged and kept but yes, she'll be staying here for the foreseeable future," Jughead replied. Kevin suddenly got a mischievous look in his eyes and opened his mouth, as if to ask something, but Joaquin cut in.
"Don't ask if you can practice palmistry with her, babe. Please. Last time you did that, Josie McCoy was ready to sink her fangs into you. Literally," he said.
Betty tilted her head. "Not surprised that a vampire is in Riverdale. Not really."
"Would be surprised if you were, to be honest," Sweet Pea said, picking up a crystal that had Kevin swatting at him for immediately.
"Don't touch, for Goddess' sake. You remember what happened last time," Kevin huffed.
Sweet Pea winced. "I said sorry and paid for the…mess."
"If by mess you mean four cracked vials of my personal remedy for flu season, two crystals that will never see the light of day again, and a very distraught owner of the apothecary, then I say your debt is still being paid off," Kevin sang.
"Quin, can't you…?" Sweet Pea appealed to Joaquin, who looked far too amused as he held up his hands.
"I want no part in your guys' weird…whatever this thing you have going is. It's like one day you're friends, the next you intentionally try to provoke him, and he threatens to mess with your palmistry reading for the hell of it."
Betty tried to bite back her laughter but upon spotting both Jughead and FP turning their own cheeks, she laughed freely, allowing the other two to follow her lead.
"He has a point, Pea," Jughead chuckled. "You provoke the shit out of Kev for the hell of it, and in turn, Kev fucks with your palm reading. You guys are so weird."
The two men in question looked at one another before shrugging and smiling.
"But, we dig each other at the end of the day," Sweet Pea said casually, and Betty smiled. The taller was a friend of Kevin's and vice versa. It was clear they respected each other at the least and their issues seemed to stem from a teasing mannerism more than anything else. She liked their banter. Turning to Kevin, she looked around the apothecary before poising her question.
"So," she began, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm actually looking for a job and -,"
"You're hired," Kevin said immediately, and she blinked.
"Just like that?" Betty asked doubtfully.
"Just like that. Your magic was drawn to my shop first, right? Not the bookstore?"
"Yes but how did you…," she trailed off before giving her head a shake. "Right, Seer. You saw me coming into town before I did."
He nodded, sly grin pulling at his lips. "I did a bit of my own research on you, what with knowing you were potentially curious about inquiring about a position in my apothecary. I don't hire just anyone. I don't hire anyone, to be frank. I run things mainly by myself with Quin or Josie coming in from time-to-time if there's a moon harvest happening."
Betty nodded. "You're good friends with Josie?"
"She's my step-sister," he replied. "Heavy on the step. We haven't bonded quite the way siblings normally do. She's not awful, though. It's just an adjustment."
Betty smiled sympathetically and she continued.
"So, what did the research provide you with?" Betty asked.
"Well, you have worked at an apothecary shop I could only dream of working at. One that merged with a book shop? I would love to have that, but Veronica likes having her own business as well," he sighed. "So, haven't made that happen, yet. But, your shop in particular is famous amongst all apothecaries."
She smiled, pleased with the praise. "It is."
"And yet, you're being modest. You, Betty Cooper, are the one who created it," Kevin said, looking at her with that same grin.
She felt her cheeks redden as Jughead looked at her.
"You started the shop? It wasn't already in your village?" Jughead asked, voice awed.
"I…had a penchant for being particularly drawn to crystals. It's a…gift of sorts, I suppose, from my mother," Betty admitted. "She, uh, gave me my first crystal ever."
"One from Smith lineage? An amethyst?" FP asked, eyes shining with happiness and Betty knew he was happy to have pieces of his friends still in herself. She nodded, clearing her throat.
"Yeah, came from my great-grandmother," she murmured. "I keep it on me at all times. Something tells me, as my personal Guardian, you know why, FP."
He chuckled. "Ally and Hals' daughter through and through, alright. Yeah, I do. Keep it on you, always."
She nodded. "Always have." She turned back to Kevin. "Do you have an application I can fill out?"
He scoffed. "Honey, I'm offended on behalf of yourself that you just asked that. You're hired. Promoted to my head manager effective immediately."
Betty grinned.
Riverdale was starting to look up.
Author's note: Next chapter is Jughead and Betty central. Enjoy! Xxx