Veronica didn't know what to do. She knew that Archie was gone. She knew that Cheryl and Toni were on their way to pick her up to plan for some stupid school thing she'd agreed to. She knew that Kevin needed to be anywhere but here right now. She knew she needed to talk to Betty. She knew she couldn't be alone, or she'd do something she regretted.
It had been an hour since she'd stopped sobbing, and she felt numb. Mind blowing, really, how the brain can simply cease to feel. Veronica had one single thought on her mind, and that was, strangely, of Betty Cooper.
"Kev," she whispered, and he looked down at her. She was still in his arms, she hadn't moved since she'd dropped the phone – oh, god, Archie – and she shuffled out and sat up, wiping her nose across her sleeve. "Have you heard from Betty lately?"
Kevin shook his head. "Look, Ronnie, I can cancel my troopers meeting if you need me to –"
"No," Veronica said, her voice croaky. "Go."
Kevin shot her an apologetic look and stood up, leaning her alone.
Veronica looked around, grabbed the phone – no, god, she couldn't touch that. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
She stood up shakily and looked at the clock. 30 minutes, tops, til Cheryl and Toni arrived. She shuffled slowly towards her makeshift bedroom and pulled out the worn wooden box – her only memories from New York. She sifted through some polaroids, some random jewellery, the container of pearls from that day with Kevin and Ethel's dad and Betty – oh, god, she would give anything to have Betty here right now – until she got to a pill bottle, 2/3 full of anti depressants. She shook way too many out, dry swallowed four and tipped the rest back into the bottle. Then she leant back, her stomach growling, and closed her eyes.
When Cheryl came in, she almost screamed. God, she squeezed poor Toni's hand hard enough, for sure, when she saw Veronica passed out on a bed with a bottle of pills on her bedside table. "Ronnie!" She yelled, forgetting for a second that they were merely friends, that you can't use nicknames when you have the type of relationship she and Veronica had.
Veronica blinked her eyes open and groaned, standing up and rushing to the bathroom, retching into the toilet bowl. Cheryl winced and Toni gave her a small smile, leaving her girlfriend behind to go and hold Veronica's hair back while she heaved.
"Thanks, Toni," Veronica rasped, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. "I don't think I'm supposed to take them on an empty stomach." She still felt nauseous, but there was one thought front and centre in her mind, numbing all the Archie stuff and pushing everything else back. "Have you guys seen Betty lately?"
Cheryl and Toni, reunited, both shook their heads. "Nah," said the redhead. "She'll be back soon, no doubt. Ready to plan a dance?"
Veronica found herself about to cry. Cheryl sighed. "Veronica," she whispered, crouching next to the brunette. "Is everything okay?"
Veronica shook her head, sniffling, and Cheryl bit back a nasty comment when she caught Toni's eye. "Archie… Archie broke up with me," Veronica sniffled. "And he's gone and I can't protect him anymore and I want Betty!"
Toni snickered and then turned it into a cough. "Me and Cher can't do anything about Archie," she apologised. "But we can help you find Betty? If that helps?"
Veronica thought about her blonde best friend, mysteriously disappeared. She remembered the last time she'd seen Betty – they were at her house, alone, and Ronnie had her head resting in Betty's lap, and Betty was stroking her fingers through Ronnie's silky hair while they read books respectively. Occasionally, Veronica had looked up, almost panicking, making sure Betty was still there, and Betty had given her a sweet smile and stroked her head. Veronica remembers how they'd stayed like that for nearly two hours, enjoying each other's company after weeks of business, until Alice Cooper had waltzed in and told Betty that they had urgent business at the farm and whisked her best friend away. That was the last she'd seen of the girl.
"Okay," Cheryl said, knocking Veronica out of her reverie. "Where do we start?"
"The dance," Veronica said weakly, but Cheryl tsked and shooed Toni and Veronica out of the speakeasy, out of Pop's, and into the sunshine.
"Maybe her house?" Toni suggested, and Veronica was numb again. Toni and Cheryl each hooked an arm through hers and lead her towards the Cooper residence.
When Alice answered their knock Veronica felt sick to her stomach. "Toni…" she whispered, and the serpent girl squeezed her hand. Cheryl was being polite and courteous towards Alice but goddamnit, Veronica wanted Betty!
"Where is she?" She whispered, tears tracking down her face. "Where's Betty? Mrs Cooper? Where is she? What have you done to her?" Her voice had risen to a yell and she didn't stop until three things happened within 20 seconds of each other.
Firstly, Alice slammed the door in their faces.
Then Toni and Cheryl pulled her down the stairs, smack bang into a man.
Thirdly, Veronica sobbed "Archie!" And fell right into Fred Andrews, her tears soaking his chest.
She pulled away suddenly and apologised profusely. "Oh, Mr Andrews, I'm so sorry," her tears weren't stopping.
He gave her a small smile and turned to Cheryl while Toni came around and wrapped a thin arm around Veronica's waist, supporting her weight as she tried to collapse on he ground.
Veronica thinks she must have blacked out, because next thing she knew she was in the back of Fred Andrews truck next to Toni, driving somewhere only Cheryl knew.
When they arrived at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Cheryl leapt out of the car and retched into the garden bed. Toni gave Veronica a sad look and went to help her girlfriend, who was curled up in a ball next to a puddle of her own sick, smack bang in the middle of a PTSD induced panic attack.
Fred gave Veronica an encouraging smile and lead her towards the waiting desk, where he checked them in and where they were told to 'take a seat, we'll be with you in a second'.
Ten minutes later, they were lead by a nun through some dark corridors, and Veronica was hit with a memory of pulling Toni and Cheryl, mid makeout sesh, out of the theatre and running through a tight tunnel to rescue Cheryl and bring her back home.
When the nun said blankly "here you are," Veronica felt nauseous and had to take a deep breath. When she opened the door to Betty's dorm, the blonde was curled up in bed, asleep, and then nun said "sorry, she's resting, you'll have to come another time," and Veronica snapped.
She yelled at the nun. "I will not come back! I need to see Betty now! Let me see her!" She was so loud and so enraged that she didn't here Betty's quiet "V?" Until Fred tapped her on the shoulder and gestured toward the now awake blonde.
Veronica burst into tears and she wasn't numb now, she was feeling too much, and Betty opened her arms and didn't say anything, just let Veronica come and crawl in to them.
Veronica pressed herself against Betty, curling up next to her on the tiny bed, and sobbed. Betty wrapped her arms around Veronica's shaking waist and pulled the shorter girl into an embrace, murmuring against her head.
"Shh, V," she whispered. "It's all gonna be okay now. I've got you. It's okay, Ronnie. It's gonna be okay."
Veronica locked eyes with Betty's green ones. "It's not," she whispered. "I miss you so much."
"Deviant," the nun hissed, and Betty glared at her. "I miss you too, V," she whispered. "Why don't you tell me what's going on, hey?"
"Archie's gone," Veronica sniffled, almost forgetting Fred was in the same room. "He called me and he broke up with me and he made me say goodbye but I couldn't Betty I just can't let him go I don't know what –"
"Shh," Betty soothed. "It's all gonna be alright, V. I promise. What we're gonna –"
"Time's up," stated the nun cooly. Veronica started to cry. "No, please –"
Betty scowled. "Time isn't up til I say it is, Woodhouse. And I say time's up when I'm done talking to Veronica Lodge."
The nun swallowed thickly at the mention of Veronica's last name and nodded, and Betty turned back to Ronnie with a satisfied smile. "What were you saying, bub?"
Veronica swiped at her eyes but it was to no avail – her tears hadn't stopped falling since they left the Cooper residence. "I just… wa-want you to-to-to come back, B."
Betty sighed. "I wanna come home too, V, I promise. Now, what's gonna happen is I need you, and Cheryl, and Toni," here she lowered her voice. "I need you to hold fort back home, okay? And I'll get out of here and come help with Arch and everything, okay? But you gotta be strong, V. For me?"
Veronica nodded, her face all scrunched up with tears. "Do I have to leave?"
Betty gave a sad little laugh. "Yeah, V. But I'll be home soon, okay?"
Veronica nodded again. "Betty, wait –"
Betty turned back to her. "Hmm?"
"Can I have a hug?"
Betty nodded, giving her a smile – probably the first genuine one since she'd been sent to the Sisters. She folded Veronica against her and the shorter girl stopped her tears, snuggling in against her friend and letting Betty's warm words wash over her.
A time later, Veronica pulled herself reluctantly from Betty, resting her cheek against the other girl's in a goodbye. Betty gave Veronica a tiny smile, knowing that she'd have hell to pay later from both the sisters and her mother who had no doubt already been alerted. She pressed a kiss to Veronica's cheek, and then walked with the girl to then entrance, frowning at Cheryl, who was in inconsolable tears in Toni's arms.
Veronica took one look at Choni and looked back up at Betty, her lip quivering. "It's okay, V," Betty whispered. "It's all gonna be okay, I promise you."