"Toni!" She called.

The girl waited for her to catch up, shouldering the door open for the both of them as she shot her a genuine smile.

"Hey, Blondie."

"Blondie?" Betty repeated with a laugh, before deciding to ignore the nickname. "You were amazing out there. I wish you would have been here last year."

Something flashed in her eyes, a look she couldn't quite read, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

"You're not anything like I expected." Toni mused, after a moment.

Betty didn't even have to ask.

She began to wonder what, if anything, Jughead had told her about the friendship they had once shared. Did she know about all the times he had followed her along to interviews, even going undercover, incognito, to keep her out of trouble as she got the information she needed for her newest editorial? Did she know how many nights he had sacrificed his own sleep to try and ease her troubled mind?

Did she know about how many afternoons they had spent at Pop's, reading their respective current favorites, looking over at one another every so often, but never needing to speak?

Or did she know about ice queen Betty Cooper, the girl who took Adderall to try and cope with her hectic life, the girl who more or less let her group of friends control her every action, the girl who had let one of the best friends she'd ever had dissipate from her life without much of a fight.

"Toni..." She drew out, her nails digging into the palm of her hand from the nerves. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Toni replied, without hesitation.

"Do you think it's possible to be two different people at once?"

It was a deep question, one she might have normally asked Archie or Veronica had she not been on the outs with both of them, though she knew the answer they would give her. They would have told her that she was the same person she had always been, the girl they knew and loved, but that would have been a lie.

She needed someone to be honest with her, and because the only person she trusted was not there, she was willing to extend that faith to the person closest to him. Toni.

Toni stared at her, her expression suddenly thoughtful.

"I don't know, Betty." She admitted.

Betty released her nails from her palm, her movements not going unnoticed by the female Serpent. Suddenly, a hand enclosed around her own, keeping her from repeating the action.

"I think that we all act differently around different people." Toni continued. "But at the end of the day, you are who you are, and that's probably who you've always been."

Betty blinked, processing her words. They should have made complete and total sense.

And yet, she had no idea what Toni had meant by that.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Do you like the way you act around your friends?" Toni questioned.

There was no hesitation in Betty's tone.

"No."

"Do you like the way you act around Jughead?"

Her lips formed a thin line.

Around Jughead, she felt more like herself, more like the Betty Cooper she had thought was lost from the moment she joined the River Vixen's. befriending Cheryl, and Veronica, and Reggie, and the rest of them.

"Sometimes."

"Well." Toni squeezed her hand. "Then I think you have your answer."

She opened her mouth to reply.

"B!" A sophomore member of the team called, rushing towards them. "You need to come with me! It's bad, it's getting bad!"

"What's wrong?" Betty demanded.

"Veronica!" The girl replied. "It's Veronica and Reggie!"

Forgetting the previous day's events, she was still irritated with her best friend, they had barely spoken all afternoon, Betty found herself following along behind her teammate, pulling an unsuspecting Toni along behind her.

It was only when she saw the scene unfolding, Veronica, eyes wide, frantic, as she swung at him again, Reggie, his arms thrown upward as he tried to defend himself, did she untangle herself from Toni's grasp, moving to step in between the two.

"V!" She said.

"Get out of my way, B." Veronica snarled. "You lying son of a bitch!"

"Ronnie!" Reggie pleaded, reaching around Betty to make a grab for her wrist. "It didn't mean anything!"

The raven haired girl's eyes filled with tears, threatening to leave mascara streaks across both cheeks.

"You always say that." She hissed. "You are such a dick, Reg. god, what did I ever see in your worthless ass?"

The football player's gaze hardened.

Betty waited anxiously for the outburst. Reggie had never taken well to being insulted, even by his ex-girlfriend, the person he swore he loved beyond the shadow of a doubt.

"Maybe I should go out with her, Ronnie." He taunted, malice dripping from his tone. "I bet she'd be a better fuck than you, you uptight bitch."

Cheryl clasped Veronica's arms before she could start forward again.

No one was looking at defenseless little Betty Cooper.

Her blood boiled.

No matter how many fights they got in, no matter how much she disagreed with Veronica's point of view, no one insulted her best friend.

Without a second thought, she threw her arm back, her fist connecting with his hard cheek.

Gasps and murmurs echoed throughout the crowds.

Reggie glowered at her, bringing up a hand to cover his face. Cheryl and Veronica were staring at her, wide eyed. Chuck and Moose had just exited the locker room, their jaws falling simultaneously.

"What the fuck, B-"

Fingers locked around her wrist, yanking her away from the prying eyes of her peers before anyone could take a step towards her.

"Not bad." Toni said, her tone thoughtful. "But next time, don't tuck your thumb into your fist, you could have broken it."

Betty glanced at her in surprise, the reality of what she had just done finally sinking in.

"Reggie is gonna kill me." Betty muttered. "I should go-"

For reasons only known to herself, Toni's gaze hardened, and she yanked hard on Betty's arm, holding her firmly in place.

"Don't you dare." She hissed. "Don't ever apologize for protecting your friends."