SIX
august 15th, 3:35pm
Cheerleading tryouts were perhaps the best, yet most gruesome, part of the school year. Lea, being co-captain, sat next to Cheryl for hours after school. They endured the dancers who thought they could be gymnasts, the outcasts who were there to protest, and the healthy middle grounders who would have to endure severe training under Cheryl's reign before they could be put onto a field.
So, when Lea lifted her head to see Betty and Veronica make their way onto the floor, she felt herself internally cringe. She played it off cool, but inside, she was screaming. Some part of her hoped she was telepathic and that Cheryl could hear her begging to not let either of them onto the squad.
Cheerleading was one of the only things that Lea had that she could hold above Betty Cooper's head, and she wasn't ready to let it go, yet. She fought tooth and nail for the grades that she received, and to make it look effortless was a challenge. And Veronica - she was a threat to Lea. She could see that the girl would be popular before anyone knew it. Her name was in everyone's mouth and it was only the first day.
These worries and concerns that Lea had quickly drifted away when she saw their routine. It was clear that Betty had been dragged there, as Veronica yelled the last cheer and the blonde returned to her normal, shy self.
"Hm." Cheryl hummed. "Ladies, where's the heat? Where's the sizzle?"
Lea chuckled under her breath. On the clipboard she held in her hands, she crossed out both of their handwritten names, found next to where she held her thumb as a discreet guideline. Better luck next time, she thought.
"Well, you haven't seen our big finish yet." Veronica said, dropping her pom-poms.
All of a sudden, Veronica had grabbed Betty and pulled her closer to her, bringing their lips together. The room was filled with cheers from the football team that stood practising on the other side of the court. Lea's head whipped round to see Luke laughing with his teammates as they watched the two. Almost as if he could feel her eyes on him, he turned to look at her. She merely raised a brow, which he challenged by raising his own, before resuming his game.
"Check your sell-by-date, ladies." Cheryl called. "Faux-lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo since 1994. So, let's see if you do better with the interview portion of our audition."
Usually, Lea asks the questions. This time she was very quickly cut off by Cheryl firing a question at Betty.
"Betty. How's your sister doing?" She asked.
"Um, Polly's fine." Betty fiddled with her hands. "Thanks for asking."
"Veronica," Cheryl's attention switched. "has Betty told you about her sister yet?"
"Uh, no -" Veronica suddenly looked lost in the conversation.
"Go ahead, Betty. Tell Veronica about your sister and my dear brother." The red head crossed her arms.
"Cheryl -" Lea tried to but in, but Cheryl held up her hand slightly. With that, Lea was silenced.
Betty began to swing on the balls of her feet. "Polly and Jason dated."
Cheryl let out a malicious laugh. "I wouldn't say dated. In fact, Jason's probably why your sister had a nervous breakdown and now lives in a group home. Isn't it?"
Members of the football team had started to listen in, including Luke.
"That's what my parents think." Betty said.
"What do you have to say about that, Betty?" Cheryl leaned forward. "Go ahead, the floor is yours! Whatever you've been dying to spew about Jason and how he treated Polly - unleash it. Destroy me. Tear me a new one. Rip me to shreds. Annihilate me."
Lea hadn't noticed, but she had actually began to shuffle to the edge of her seat. Some strange part of her was ready to run forward and run Betty out of the room. She maybe deserved a lot of things but she didn't deserve this. Cheryl was the queen of public embarrassment. Somehow, it seemed as though her mouth had been sewn shut per Cheryl's request.
"I just - I just wanted to say I'm sorry, about what happened to Jason." Betty sighed. "I can't even imagine what you and your family must be going through."
There it was. A response that made Lea realise why she disliked Betty so much. The Cooper girl always seemed to end up taking the higher ground. She always seemed to take the bullet for everyone and anyone. It was a trait that Lea wasn't sure that she had in herself.
"Right." Cheryl whispered. "Veronica, welcome to the River Vixens. Betty, better luck next time."
Lea almost dropped her pen. Maybe she was becoming too much like Cheryl.
"Wait, what?" Veronica crossed her arms. Oh no, Lea thought. "Because you couldn't bully Betty into being a bitch?"
"I need girls with fire on my squad." Cheryl retorted.
Betty looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
"I know what you need, Cheryl. Because I know who you are. You would rather people fear than like you, so you traffic in terror and intimidation. You're rich, so you've never been held accountable." Even though she wasn't being the one targeted, Lea felt as though she was the one being talked to. "But I'm living proof - that certainty, that entitlement you wear on your head like a crown - it won't last. Eventually there will be a reckoning. Betty and I come as a matching set. You want one, you take us both."
For the first time in her life, Lea had seen Cheryl Blossom be silenced. She was completely speechless. In a shot, Lea was standing.
"Come with me, and I'll get you both some new uniforms. Welcome to the River Vixens, Veronica and Betty." Lea broke the silence that seemed to echo across the court.
As she walked away, she could hear two sets of footsteps following her. The three girls left the room in silence, their sneakers squeaking across the floor. She led them down the corridor in which the girl's changing room was located. Holding the door open for them, they walked inside.
"There's some uniforms on the benches over there." She pointed with her pen, clutching the clipboard to her chest. "Find one that fits and it's yours for the year."
Veronica moved forward instantly, leaving Betty behind next to Lea.
"T - thanks for that, Lea." Betty said, rubbing her hands together once again.
"Don't mention it." Lea said, beginning to walk away. Betty nodded, smiling slightly. "No, seriously. Don't." With that, Lea walked out of the changing rooms, leaving the two girls to try on their uniforms.
There was no need for Lea to lead them to the changing rooms so early, but if she was honest, she herself felt like she was going to crush under the believable pressure in the room. She felt a glimpse of what it was like to be on the opposite end of Cheryl Blossom and Lea Lawson, and she didn't like it at all.
august 20th, 5:50pm
Lea sat in front of her vanity, finishing off the final bits of her makeup for the semi-formal. Luke was on her bed, legs spread out in front of him, not caring for his potentially wrinkled suit. He was spinning a pillow round on one of his fingers, like a pizza.
The two had been sat in a comfortable sort of silence since the boy arrived. Neither really took any notice, their minds elsewhere.
"Are you almost done?" Luke asked, leaving the pillow on the bed as it fell from his trick. He sat up. "It starts at six."
Lea picked up her eyelash curler and laughed shortly. "We're not going at six. We're getting there at half past at the earliest."
Now, the boy was confused. "You mean to tell me you've been running around all day to be super early for everything, and this is what you're gonna be late for?"
As she released her eyelashes from the curler she made eye contact with him in the mirror. "Yes."
Luke sighed, falling back onto the bed. "God, you're weird."
Lea finished her hair and makeup in silence, with no retaliation to Luke's sighs and constant checking of his watch. Thirty minutes later, the two were making their way down the carpeted staircase. Before they could reach the front door, they were interrupted by a blinding flash, catching them both by surprise.
In the doorway to the living room stood Lea's mum, Andrea, with a camera in her manicured hands.
"Really, mom?" Lea sighed, blinking wildly.
"Sorry!" The older woman called. "You both look so cute! Oh, fix your dress, Lea, it's all crumpled."
"Thanks." Luke smiled a cheeky smile, adjusting his tie.
Lea nudged him for encouraging her, but still adjusted her dress,"Mom, it's a semi-formal. Not prom."
Andrea sighed. "Okay, just one more and I'll let you go."
The two stood in front of the staircase, side by side. Luke pulled Lea closer to him, squeezing her side lightly to urge her to smile, which she did. After a few more flashes, orders from her mother, the blonde decided that was enough. As they were walking out the door, Liam called after the two of them.
"Have her home by midnight, son!"
Lea had opened her own car door as Luke turned around and held up his hand to her dad as a sign of agreement. As the duo pulled away from the pavement, Luke chuckled.
"I'm not gonna lie, your dad still scares me a lot."
Lea scoffed. "He's harmless. It's my mom you should be scared of."
"I don't know about that." Luke said. "Have you seen him in his old leather jackets? The man could put a shiver up any Serpent's spine."
At that comment, Lea had to laugh. The thought of any Serpent running away from her dad was unbelievable; he struggled to scare away the neighbourhood stray cat on the best of days.
"Okay, sure." She rolled her eyes.
The two playfully bickered back and forth, giddy as they pulled into the school parking lot. There were students everywhere in dazzling dresses and second-hand suits, making their way through the front doors of the building. Luke pulled into his usual parking space which was always left empty.
Lea pulled down the sun visor and began to fix her makeup, applying a layer of lipgloss over her nude lipstick. Hearing a swish of water against metal, she looked to her left to see Luke taking swigs from his hip flask. Wordless, she raised a brow, causing him to look her way.
They were so in sync that the moment Lea held out her hand, Luke was already passing the flask over to her.
"You shouldn't drink and drive." She said before raising the flask to her lips, cringing at the alcoholic taste.
"You shouldn't drink underage, class president." He leant against the door of the car, watching Lea with a small smile. "And I'm leaving the car here anyway."
"So, how are you thinking about getting me home?" Lea asked, taking another swig before returning her gaze to the mirror.
"You know I'll always walk you home." He said.
"Right, just like Moose's party a few months ago." She patted down her lipstick.
Luke remained silent on the subject, and tapped her leg in a way to ask for the flask back. "Don't drink it all, this has gotta last 'til Cheryl's."
She passed the flask back wordlessly and snapped the sun visor back into place. "Ready?"
Luke pulled his phone out of his suit pocket to check the time. "Give me a few more minutes, my guy is almost here." He looked behind Lea's headrest and out the window.
Lea scowled. "Your guy?"
"Yeah, he should be here in a few -" Luke was cut off by the sound of an engine roaring.
A singular headlight pulled into the empty space next to them. It was a motorcycle.
"Luke, are you serious?" Lea snapped. "In the middle of the school parking lot? Where anyone could see us?" She began to look around.
"Babe, do you know how many people at this dance are probably already off their heads?" Luke shoved his phone back in his pocket and leaned over on Lea's side of the car to reach into the glovebox.
"And do you know I have a perfect track record that I'm not going to lose because you ordered drugs to school?"
"This," Luke held up his flask, simultaneously pulling a wad of cash out from under the CD pile. "is worse for you than what I'm getting."
"At least it's legal!" Lea exclaimed, not noticing the contradiction in her words.
He noticed, but never called her out on it. "I'll be right back." Luke passed over the flask to Lea, which she took without a second thought.
She watched as he got out of the car and walked towards the motorbike. There was something different about his walk. It wasn't the walk of confidence he possessed in the hallways at school, or the nice-guy walked he presented before her parents. It was almost like he was greeting a friend - someone he respected and someone he felt comfortable with.
Lea tried not to think too much into it as she angrily sipped from the flask, counting the seconds that passed. Those seconds turned into minutes, and those minutes seemed too long to take part in any sort of quick drug deal. Shoving her flask in her purse, she opened the passenger door and hauled herself out.
As she neared Luke and the guy on the bike, she noticed they seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. Her suspicions were confirmed as she walked closer, her footsteps drowned out by the duo laughing. Lea stopped a few feet away and crossed her arms, clearing her throat.
Luke spun around to face her and the other boy's head snapped up.
"Are you done?" She asked, her eyes unwavering from Luke's face.
Luke sighed and raised his brows for a split second, turning back to face the dealer. Lea chose not to comment when she caught the beginning of his eye-roll.
"See you 'round." He said. The guy nodded and Luke walked away and towards Lea.
Lea never took her eyes off of him, even when the motorbike revved away and out of the school parking lot.
"Have you finished being a delinquent?" She raised her brow.
"Have you finished being a bitch?" He shot back.
Lea was anything but offended as the near empty flask in her bag had a sudden weighted presence on her shoulder. She smirked, sweeping the loose strands of hair out of her face. Luke playfully rolled his eyes back and held out his elbow for her to take.
And that's how the duo walked into the gymnasium, with Lea's arm looped through Luke's.
Their once bleak gym had been transformed into a teen movie party paradise. Fairy lights littered the ceiling, concealing the leaking pipes underneath. The ugliest parts of the bleachers were covered by tables filled with food and bowls of fruity (more than likely, alcoholic) punch. What stood out most amongst the streamers and the loud music was the large portraits of Jason Blossom, held at the highest points of the room for all to see.
It seemed as though Luke's eyes found them the same time hers did, for he took a sharp intake of breath.
Lea turned to him in an instant, unlinking from his arm and grabbing his shoulders. "Hey," He looked at her. "For one night, you can let it go."
He raised his brow in suspicion. "You're not gonna say a word?"
She bit the inside of her cheek in distaste. "I'll keep them to a minimum."
Luke played around with the idea in his head for a second. "Then we both let go for a night. Keep the stick out of your ass and I'll stop my moping."
Rolling her eyes, Lea pulled him in closer for a kiss. As they pulled away, a familiar riff filled their ears, following immediately by the lyrics the duo knew all too well.
'See them walking hand in hand across the bridge at midnight.'
"Is that - " Luke furrowed his brows.
'Heads turning as the lights flashing out are so bright.'
Lea grinned, grabbing his hands and pulling him to the dance floor. Girls On Film was a classic favourite between the two, and they came alive any time they heard its iconic 80s synths. They placed themselves near the centre of the commotion, amongst the dozens of awkward teens dancing their hearts out.
It was a weird feeling for Lea. It was like she had shut off being uptight for a few moments, but it was nice. She didn't know why she didn't allow herself to feel this more often, but the feeling soon died down when Cheryl stepped on stage and the upbeat music stopped.
"I'll be back in a minute, babe." Luke gently grabbed her hip and spoke into her ear. She nodded and watched as he headed towards the toilets.
"Good evening, friends. Are you all having a good time?" Cheryl's sickly sweet voice echoed throughout the gym. As usual, she was dressed from head to toe in piercing red. "As honorary chairperson and de facto queen of tonights semi-formal, it is my pleasure to introduce this evenings main entertainment. To know them is to be obsessed with them. Though, they usually perform their own material, tonight they're making an exception and debuting a cover of the song my parents claimed they were listening to the night Jason and I were conceived. This one's for you, JJ. I give you Josie and the Pussycats."
There it was again, that 80s synth - except this time, with extra melancholy. Lea's brows furrowed in confusion at Cheryl's words. She was a little hurt she didn't even get a mention for helping to organise the formal, but she supposed it was just in the true Cheryl Blossom fashion to take all the credit.
Luke still hadn't returned, and Lea was left alone in the middle of the dance floor. Now, she was surrounded by couples slow dancing. She turned on her heel to almost bump into Betty Cooper and Archie Andrews, entangled in a dance. Shaking her head in confusion, she weaved her way out of the crowd, ready to head for the food table, until the last person she wanted to see stepped in front of her.
"Lea, hi!" Veronica Lodge's perfect smiling face interrupted her line of sight.
Immediately, Lea plastered a barbie-like smile of her own. "Oh, hi, Veronica!"
The girl started to play with her fingers in what Lea sensed as nervousness. "I just, wanna say, thank you." She stuttered out.
The blonde's brows furrowed and her head tilted. "For what?"
"Letting Betty and I on the team." Veronica smiled softly. "It was pretty cool for you to do it in the face of Cher-"
"I let you on the team to save us all the embarrassment." Lea cut in. Veronica's face fell slightly. "I didn't let you in to spite Cheryl. You're a Vixen because as Co-Captain, I care about our image. Hopefully you'll both be able to turn your... dancing, into an actual cheer."
Veronica didn't know what to say to that. "Oh, well, either way - "
Lea felt an arm being placed over her shoulder. She pinned the familiar weight as Luke.
"Mind if I steal this one away for a dance?" He kind-of-not-really asked.
The raven-haired girl was still stunned by the blonde. "O-of course. See you round, Lea."
Lea grinned widely. "See you!"
She grabbed Luke's hand closest to his shoulder and ducked underneath, pulling him quickly to the centre of attention in between everyone dancing. Immediately the two were close together, her hands on his shoulders and his around her waist. Lea ignored the fact that Luke wasn't a very good slow dancer, instead, opting to sway back and forth.
They didn't speak much. Only watched the other. Somehow by the bridge of the song, Lea's head was on his shoulder and they were so close that dancing would only be awkward. Unfortunately, the moment didn't last long as Lea pulled away at the first sniff on his blazer.
"Did you really just go to smoke outside?" She accused, pulling back.
"No." Luke huffed. "I went to smoke in the bathroom."
Lea stepped back further. "Luke!"
"You told me to let go." He shrugged.
"I - " She stopped herself, knowing he was right. Sighing deeply, she tried to push it to the back of her mind.
"If it helps, Reggie and Moose were there, too."
She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't, but, nice try."
The song came to a close and Luke came stepped forward to plant a kiss on Lea's forehead. She accepted it but lacked the means to appreciate it. Everyone clapped for Josie and her band, Luke even whistled.
Lea felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she met eyes with Cheryl.
"Make sure those two turtledoves come to my after-party." She said, skipping the hello's. The redhead turned her gaze towards the most awkward couple of the hour, Archie and Betty. "Veronica too. I'm in the mood for chaos."
Lea smirked. "When are you not?"
Cheryl grinned. "See you later." She kissed her hand and blew it towards the blonde before walking away.
She turned back to Luke, who was watching Cheryl walk away with a somber expression. Sighing, she stepped away.
"I'm need some punch."
august 20th, 10:32pm
By the time for Cheryl's after-party came, Luke was only a couple drinks away from being wasted. Yet, it was the best mood Lea had seen him be in in a while. She merely watched from the sidelines as he laughed loudly with Reggie and took shots with Chuck. The latter of whom, Lea hated with her entire gut and heart.
Lea was pouring herself a drink in Cheryl's kitchen when her name was tentatively spoken from her left. She looked up to see none other than Betty Cooper. She didn't say anything else.
"Do you want one?" Lea asked to fill the silence. "It's just lemonade, but -"
"I-I saw you put the vodka in but, no, thank you." Betty said, smiling kindly.
"Okay, well. I'm gonna go back in there now." Lea pointed towards the living room where Luke was saving a space for her.
"I- I actually just wanted to thank you, Lea." Betty stopped her from walking away. "For letting us, Veronica and I, on the Cheerleading team."
Lea sighed heavily, not wanting to have this conversation again. "I said the same thing to Veronica, Betty. You don't have to thank me."
"Look, I know you don't like me." She spluttered out quickly. Lea was taken aback. "And, I don't know what I did to make you not like me, and I'm sorry for whatever I did. So, I know you didn't have to do what you did. But I'm really grateful for you letting us on, especially me."
Lea was speechless, to say the least. She assumed that her fake body language was good enough to pass for her liking the girl. "Betty, I-"
"You don't have to say anything. I just needed to say thanks." She nodded nervously and walked away, out of the kitchen.
Any normal person would've called her back to have a genuine conversation about their problems. Lea wasn't normal. Lea was spiteful, and confused, and embarrassed. She had too much pride to chase after Betty Cooper. So, instead, she let it go. Chugging down her drink that was accidentally vodka-heavy, she headed into the living room.
There were no empty spaces next to Luke. Reggie was on one side and Moose was on the other, the three caught up in a fun story. Like the buzzkill she was, Lea strolled up to the trio, stopping in front of Moose. He looked up at her when she snapped her fingers.
"Move, Mason." She sipped her drink.
He rolled his eyes, but still, stood and allowed her to sit down. "Anything for the princess." He took his place on the back of the couch instead, rejoining the conversation.
"It's game time at Chez Blossom, kiddies." Cheryl called, walking into the room. Her outfit had changed into a seemingly shorter version of her long, red dress. Her voice caught everyones attention. "We're going old school tonight. Seven minutes in heaven. Who wants to tryst in the closet of love first? My vote is A for Archie."
Lea immediately caught on to what Cheryl was doing. This was the chaos she wanted to cause, and she merely sat back to watch.
"Anyone care to second it?" Cheryl asked.
"Wait, actually - " Archie began to cut in but was interrupted by a drunk, and very, very loud, Reggie.
"Yes, Andrews! Yes!" He called, punching him on the shoulder in a very boyish fashion.
"Alright, gather round, kids. Let's see who's riding the ginger stallion tonight." She handed an empty beer bottle to Lea. "Lea, would you do the honours?"
She practically jumped forward. "Of course." Placing the bottle on the coffee table in front of them all, she scanned her eyes around the room quickly before giving it a forceful spin. It was perhaps her best spin yet, as the bottle came to a perfect stop right in front of the new girl in town.
"Oh, no way." Reggie giggled like a child. She felt Luke also start to chuckle next to her.
Veronica and Archie shared a look as Cheryl announced to those who couldn't see. "It's clearly pointing to the new girl. This should be fun." You could almost hear the teasing in her voice.
"Um, I'm not doing this." Veronica began to back out.
Cheryl sighed. "That's up to you. But, if you don't... house rules decree the hostess gets to take your turn."
Lea smirked into her cup as she took a swig. Cheryl sure knew how to cause drama, or, chaos as she liked to call it.
Soon enough, Veronica and Archie were hiding out in the nearby closet.
"I think I should go next." Luke said, turning to Lea. He had finally decided to engage in a conversation with her.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because I want my seven minutes in heaven." He shrugged, placing a hand on her thigh.
"I'm your girlfriend, every minute with me is a minute in heaven."