Sorry it's been so long since an update! Life has been busy! May is a busy month for me so going forward, I wouldn't expect chapters/updates too often. I've also been in a rut on where to take some of my story. I have a couple of un-posted chapters but I'm not sure where to go from where I am. If you have any ideas, I'd love suggestions! In this chapter we meet a couple of the Selected as well as have a little reunion which some people might be upset with the character direction at the moment, but just wait...

As always, I hope you enjoy! Let me know if there are any mistakes or if you have any suggestions! 3

I wandered the halls Monday evening, feeling lost. In a matter of minutes, thirteen young men would be showing up in my home, all with the same goal in mind; my hand in marriage. Which, granted I had to give them, but it was nerve wracking all the same. I knew it would do Riverdale some good to have some excitement, but it was my life. The boys had arrived and had their makeovers a couple hours ago. They were currently upstairs in their rooms after eating dinner in the dining hall. My mother, the Lodge's, Cheryl and I had eaten before since I wasn't to meet them until tomorrow. It was just Cheryl with us from her family at the moment, and I got the feeling that she would be staying with us for a while.

"Out for an evening stroll?" Veronica came around a corner.

I jumped. "Veronica! You scared me!"

"Sorry! I was just heading to the theater downstairs for a little wind-down time before bed. I think Cheryl's coming too. Want to join us?"

"I'm way too nervous. I was going to go walk around the garden again. Try to calm down. Thank you though."

"Of course. We're friends, right B?"

"B?"

"Short for Betty? Is that okay?" She looked slightly nervous.

"Yeah." I was touched. No one had ever given me a nickname outside the one I had designated upon myself, which was Betty. "Yeah, that's more than okay."

"Yay!" She smiled. "That's great because I was kind of picturing us as B&V. The ultimate power duo." She waved her hand in front of her face in a sweeping motion.

"I love that…" I hesitated before adding, "V." She laughed.

"Enjoy your walk, B!" With another smile, she headed downstairs to the media room and I carried on to the garden. As I walked, I looked up at the stars. Out here, there weren't many lights other than the small lamp posts throughout the garden, so I could see the stars clearly. I kept walking like that, my head up, staring at the stars, feeling peaceful... before I crashed into something, and fell to the ground.

"Damn it." I heard someone swear under their breath. "Are you alright?" I looked up to see a young man's face. He looked to be around my age. He had dark raven hair and even with the shadows cast on his face, I could make out piercing eyes and sharp, narrow features. After a moment, I noticed his extended hand, and the fact that I had been staring maybe a minute too long.

"Um," I shook my head slightly to clear my head. "Yes. I think so." I took his hand and he pulled me up. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a 'S' on it, and a leather jacket. On his head, he was wearing a beanie. I was impressed his clothing choices had made it past the gates.

"Oh! Shoot. I'm supposed to…" He trailed off as he awkwardly bowed. I laughed slightly.

"It's really not necessary." I said, and he straightened up, looking relieved. "I'm Elizabeth Cooper." I held out my hand and he took it after a brief hesitation.

"Jughead Jones."

"Jughead?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"Trust me, the real thing is worse."

"Oh, I don't know. There's some guy in the Selection named Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third…" I trailed off as I connected the last names in my head. Shoot.

"That would be me." He sighed.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I really didn't think that through."

"It's okay. Let's call us even?"

"Even for what?" I asked, my mind completely blanking.

"For me almost running you over?" He cocked his head to the side, studying me. He must think I'm an idiot.

"Right!" I sighed this time. "I'm so sorry, it's been a long day and I wasn't really planning on talking to anyone else tonight."

"That's okay. I'm not really supposed to be out here anyway."

"Yeah, you're one of the Selected, right?" He nodded. "How did you get out? There's guards at every entrance that aren't supposed to let you out."

"Climbed out my window." He shrugged.

"What?"

"Was I not supposed to say that?"

"Um, I mean, I don't care. I'm just… surprised? I guess."

"I've always thought better outside."

"Me too." We just looked at each other for a moment. "Um, well I guess I should get back inside. Big day tomorrow. You do too."

"Yeah."

I turned to go inside, but paused and turned back to him. "Um, Jughead? Could you maybe not mention this to anyone? I'm not supposed to meet any of you until tomorrow."

He laughed, although I wasn't sure what was funny. "Sure, your Highness. You have my word."

"Please. Betty."

"Betty." As I walked away, I found myself puzzled by our conversation, although I wasn't too sure why.

I curtsied to the current gentleman standing before me. He had just bowed. He was good-looking-although so far all of them had been- but I was having trouble focusing. I'd already met eight of the twelve Selected. Daniel Dickinson was the ninth one.

"Where are you from, Daniel?"

"Swedlow."

"That's such a great area. I visited once with my family before…" I paused, realizing what I was about to tell him.

"Before the Ghoulies took over?" Daniel suggested, apparently oblivious to my almost-little-slip-up.

"Wait, the Ghoulies? What's that supposed to mean?" I was relived that he hadn't realized what I was about to say, but at the same time, that could be considered a flaw if I was thinking about this from a critical perspective. Which I should be.

"Um, nothing. Forget I brought it up."

"Okay…"
"I suppose I'll see you around, your Highness?"

"Please. Betty."

"Not even Elizabeth?" He teased and I laughed.

"No. That's what my mother calls me."

"Alright, then. Betty."

"Thank you." I said to him, "We will be gathering in the Great Hall which is just down the hall, to your right. If you get lost, just ask a guard and they will take you there."

"Pleasure to meet you, your Highness."

"Betty!"

"Betty! I'm sorry!" We were both smiling.

"Alright. Thank you." Daniel left, and I nodded to General Keller, who was overseeing the introductions from the back of the room, to let the next boy in.

"Why, you are a sight for sore eyes." The tall, dark haired boy said as he entered the room.

"I'm sorry?" That was a rather brash move.

"Betty, it's me. Kevin?"

"Oh my god. Kevin Keller?" I looked him over once again, and slowly, the young boy I remembered Kevin Keller to be morphed into the young man before me.

"The one and only." He walked over to me and I threw my arms around him, ignoring protocol completely.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" Kevin Keller used to hang around the palace a lot, since General Keller was his dad. We'd been best friends when we were young, but once his dad remarried Sierra McCoy, he went to live with her and her daughter in Seaside, where Sierra was the mayor a couple years ago. I hadn't seen him since then, but we'd written to each about once a month. We clearly should've sent pictures each year as well, though, since I hadn't recognized him.

"Do you not see the names before we get here?" Kevin asked.

"No. The council pulls names, so it's more of a surprise for me."

"Like a blind date?" Kevin suggested.

"Yes. Speed dating twelve men is also like a blind date." I teased.

"Hey, it all sounds like it to me." He laughed. "Look at you!" He twirled me around and my light pink dress flared out. "I hardly recognize you when I watch the Report!"

"Me?! What about you?! I didn't even recognize you when you came in!"

"That's true. I guess I'm just even more dashing than before." I laughed and playfully hit his arm.

"I forgot how annoying your jokes are."

"That's why I'm here. To remind you!" The more I thought about possibly marrying Kevin, the stronger the urge was to kick him out. I couldn't marry him. He was like my brother. It'd be weird.

"You've said hello to your dad, right? I'm not keeping you from him, am I?" I asked, glancing back at General Keller, who looked happier to see his son then I'd seen him look since he married Sierra McCoy.

"It was supposed to be a surprise for both of you." Kevin made his way over to his dad and gave him a hug.

"General Keller, why don't you and Kevin go talk and catch up? It must've been a while since you've seen each other."

"Really, Betty, I couldn't."

"Yes, you can, and you will." I smiled at him. "And that's an order."

"Who will watch the guys?" He asked.

I paused, thinking through the ones I'd already met today. I was pretty sure that only Archie Andrews and the boy from last night was left. "I'll be fine. There's only two left, and I've already met both of them. Archie is Fred's son." I assured him.

"When did you meet Jughead?" Kevin asked, confused.

"Um, we may have had a brief run-in last night?" I said, my voice going up slightly.

"Really? He didn't say anything. Then again, he doesn't seem like the type to say anything. He kind of sticks to himself from what I've noticed."

"Thank you, Kevin." I said, through gritted teeth. I was trying to get his dad to take a break to catch up with him and here he was, basically doing the opposite, unintentionally.

"If you're sure Betty," General Keller began.

"I'm sure. Now go! Talk!" I laughed and they headed out. I took a breath and walked over to the door of the room where the last two were. I guess I was going to do this with two of them at the same time. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see the two of them talking. Kevin had made it sound like Jughead didn't speak. Jughead had cleaned up from last night and was wearing dress pants that had a baggier white short-sleeved button-up shirt tucked in. There was no tie or jacket, though. Archie had dark dress pants and an un-tucked darker coloured button-up short-sleeved shirt as well.

"Um, hello. Am I interrupting something?" I asked as I stepped in.

"No. Not at all." Archie said, as he and Jughead bowed.

"General Keller is off with his son, Kevin, catching up, so I decided to come to you instead. I hope that's alright."

"Is that even allowed?" Jughead questioned.

I shrugged. "Not technically. But I've met both of you before even if it was in passing, plus there are cameras all over this place, so if you wanted to try anything, it wouldn't be smart. And I'm confident that I can stand up for myself." I smiled at them. They glanced at each other with hints of a smile.

"You heard the princess." Jughead said.

"Your Highness." They both gave exaggerated bows, and I laughed.

"Stop it."

"As you wish."

"I'm supposed to be getting to know you both, so do you guys want to do it one-on-one or altogether? Or does it matter?" I realized what it must sound like and tried to rethink my words. "I mean that in the least weird sense possible." They laughed again.

"Altogether is fine with me." Archie said and Jughead nodded.

"Great." We moved over to a cluster of couches.

"So, I know where you're from, Archie, and I know your father, obviously, but do you have any other family? Fred doesn't talk about your mother much." I asked. "I'm so sorry if this is too intrusive, but I need to try and get to know all of you."

"No, that's alright. Um, I'm an only child and my parents are divorced, but still really friendly. That would be why he doesn't talk about her much, but it's not like it was an awful divorce."

"That's good, I guess. I'm sorry they're not together though."

"It's better than a lot of people's situations." Archie shrugged. "I guess I'm lucky."

"What about your family, Jughead?"

"I have a younger sister, Jellybean. I'm from Whyte Wyrm." Whyte Wyrm wasn't the richest province, so based on Jughead's whole look, I was guessing he didn't come from the richest family.

"Oh! Penny Peabody is your mayor, right?"

Jughead snorted. "Yeah."

"Is everything okay?" I asked. He made it sound like Penny Peabody being mayor wasn't a good thing.

"Not exactly. But that's not what you need to worry about." He said. I dug my fingernails into my palm slightly. If everything wasn't okay, didn't I have a right to know? I hated when people acted like the country's problems weren't any of my concern.

"Ok." I changed the subject. "What about your parents?"

"What about them?" He was making this extremely difficult.

"What are they like?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Fine!" I stood up. "Thank you both for your time. You can head to the Great Hall, which is just down the hall, to your right. Have a good evening." They stood up. Archie looked confused and Jughead looked… angry? Like he was trying to hide it, but he was definitely upset with me. They both bowed and I turned to leave.

"Arch, can I catch up with you?" I heard Jughead ask him in a low voice.

"Yeah. Of course."

"Betty?" Jughead asked, as Archie headed out of the room. I turned to look back at him.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for upsetting you."

I sighed. "And I'm sorry for pushing you into something you clearly don't want to talk about." I said, somewhat sarcastically. I turned to leave again.

"Wait," I looked back at him. "It's just hard to talk about. I don't usually tell anyone about my life."

"Jughead, you're in the Selection. The entire country of Riverdale is going to want to know about your life."

"I know!" He took a deep breath. "If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone else?"

"Of course." He rubbed his face and sat back down on the couch. I sat next to him, waiting patiently for him to start talking. After a moment, he did.

"When I was fourteen, my mother took off with my sister, Jellybean. But she didn't take me. She left me behind because she thought I would be enough motivation for my dad to quit drinking for good. It wasn't. She also thought that I would be able to take care of myself. So I left. I moved into a drive-in projection building. And I've lived off and on everywhere since then." He stopped and looked at me. My face must've shown pity because his next words were: "Please don't look at me like that."

I tried to play it off. "Like what?"

"Like I'm some broken project for you to fix." My mouth hung open in surprise. No one had ever spoken to me like this.

"I was just wondering why you even entered the Selection when it seems clear you don't want to be here?" I tried to change the subject.

"Why did you hold a Selection when all you asked us were basic facts that you could find on a file of ours?" He countered.

"What?"

"I'm guessing this wasn't really your idea. Even if you went along with it." He said.

"Why… why would you even say that?" I asked, standing up again.

"So I'm right?"

"I never said that."

"But you didn't deny it." He stood up, and I looked into his face.

"I didn't confirm it." I snapped back.

"We could do this all day." Jughead shook his head.

"Why would you even want to know?" I asked him.

"I gave you a piece of me and I guess I just wanted to see who you are."

"And who do you think I am?" I was now just curious as to what he would say, as opposed to angry with him. Jughead shook his head again.

"I'll let you know."

"Seriously? Nothing?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

"You have no idea how tempting it is to just send you home, right now." I said, rolling my eyes.

"But you won't." He said.

"Is that who you think I am?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Could be." I tried to hold my smile, but I must've failed because Jughead's face was mirroring mine.