The next morning came. It was a lot earlier than I would have liked. Most of the day was taken up by the assembly. To be honest, I was tuning out most of Cheryl's speech. For me there was no reason to listen. It would only break my resolve. I sat beside Jughead at the top of the bleachers. Halfway in, just after the moment of silence, he leaned toward me an inch. "What's up with you and Archie?" he asked, hushed. "Trouble in paradise?"

I gave him a plain face, raising only my left eyebrow. "The what now?"

"If you were being you today, you'd be hanging all over Archie. But instead, you're chumming it with me up in the cheap seats," he explained, with a small smiling smirk.

"Unbeknownst to my lovely boyfriend, I need some space right now," I said, sighing as I sat upright.

Jughead's eyebrows creased, "You guy's aren't breaking up, are you?"

At first, I'd shaken my head. But I had to stop myself. Were we breaking up? Over such a trivial little thing? Maybe. But at the time, the only answer I had to give to Jug was, "We'll see." And we did see. After the assembly, Archie didn't even notice that I was approaching him. He was too consumed trailing behind a fast disappearing Ms. Grundy. So today Jughead walked me to my next class, mostly because it was his next class, too.

Lunch was difficult. I sat next to Betty, on the opposite side of her from Archie. I'd arrived late so I took whatever seat was available. And Archie didn't seem to mind. That's what began troubling me. The fact that it hadn't changed. Nothing had changed. First day back in school after almost an entire summer of not seeing me, and he didn't seem to really care. It was disappointing. I stayed quiet, pushing my peas across my plate.

The sound of a new voice caused my eyes to shift up. It was her. It was the boyfriend-stealer. I refrained from cringing, or rolling my eyes, as she took the seat across from me. "Hey," she greeted, sitting down at the table, smiling at each of us in turn. Her eyes stopped on me a second, and she added, "Veronica Lodge. We met last night at Pop's?"

I perked up as much as I could, paving my brittle lips with a smile. "Yeah, I remember. Diana Cassidy. I'm Archie's girlfriend," I replied. It sounded sickeningly happy. I was over compensating for something, it was obvious. And that something? The want to know her. Maybe it was the bitterness of jealousy, or my territorial instincts, fueling it. Either way, I didn't want anything to do with this girl. "How was your first day? Good?" Archie asked her.

"Well, not to be too narcissistic, but I thought people would be more..." Veronica searched for the phrase.

"Obsessed with you?" Kevin supplied. "Any other year you would be trending number one for sure. This year, it's all about Cheryl trying to win the Best Supporting Psycho Oscar as Riverdale High's grieved red widow."

I gave Kevin a look from across the table. "Different people have different ways of processing loss. There's a special place in hell for people who judge that."

There was an eerie wisp of silence across the table. And suddenly I felt like the blackest sheep on the ranch. Yes, Cheryl Blossom is the world's biggest mean girl. But they didn't know what I knew. They hadn't seen the things I'd seen. The awkward silence was interrupted a second later from Archie excusing himself, leaving for his meeting with Ms. Grundy before Football try-outs. He grabbed his books and pushed up from the bench.

As he walked around the table behind me, he briefly touched my shoulder—just enough to get me to look up. "I'll see you after try-outs, okay?" he said, tossing the words over his shoulder as he walked away. I hadn't felt the need to reply. But I wish I had. I wish I had spoken up, made him stay, talked to him. Instead, I let him walk away and remove himself even further from my heart. A second after he'd left, Cheryl appeared beside our table.

"Veronica Lodge. I'd heard whisperings," she said, hands on her hips, lips pulled into a smile. It wasn't hard to tell what she was doing. Not for me. She was evaluating the new meat. "I'm Cheryl Blossom. May I sit? Betty, Diana—would you mind?"

Betty immediately moved over, and I only followed her lead after shooting Cheryl a questioning look. I knew she saw it. I could tell by the way her mouth curled in a fraction of a second. She ignored it though, and she sat where I once had been sitting. "So...what are you hens gossiping about?" she asked, full of intrigue. Then, looking to me, she added, "Archie's Efron-esque emergence from the chrysalis of puberty?"

"Extra curriculars. Weatherbee wants me to sign up for a few," Veronica answered.

It was a complete lie, but it saved me from an embarrassing situation. I didn't make any moves to thank Veronica. In my mind, I'd decided she owed me for what she was doing to my love life. But then Cheryl exclaimed, "Great! Cheer leading! You must. I'm Senior Captain of the River Vixens."

Kevin narrowed his eyes a bit, "Is cheer leading still a thing?"

"Is being the gay best friend still a thing?" Cheryl countered, giving him a look of annoyance.

I groaned, pushing myself up from the table to stand. "I gotta bounce. Warm-ups start in twenty and if I'm late on the first day, they'll find a new number three."

"Warm-ups?" Veronica looked confused. "What sport do you play?"

"Polo. The Equestrian kind," I answered.

I gave a small, half-thought wave to the table and started walking back to the school. After changing into my riding jeans, boots, and number three polo shirt in the locker room, I began the walk to the Polo arena and barn. The sports of Riverdale were the heart of Riverdale. Horse sports were never as popular as Football, but Arena Polo was a close rival. Our colors were the usual blue and gold. We'd been undefeated at state for four years.

As number three, I'm the leader of the team, in so many words. But it's much more pressure than you'd think. Being number three is the hardest position on a Polo team. I didn't get here over night, but a matter of seconds is all it would take for me to lose my spot. Walking into the barn lifted a heavy weight from my shoulders. It smelled like moist wood, hay, and horse sweat, but I needed a shot of it in my veins after the events of late.

Three stalls in was my Polo pony. A sixteen hand, black Thoroughbred cross named Indiana. She was saddled and tied to the hook in the hall by the time I made it to her stall. I sighed in relief, letting my shoulders drop as I hurried over to her. "Jessie, I owe you my left Kidney," I said, untying Indiana from the hook.

Jessie, our number two rider, was just leading her horse Skye from the barn. She barked a laugh, shouting over her shoulder, "What if I need the right one?"

"You'd had to have brought her to the arena to earn that one!" I shouted in response.

I got Indie free and lead her down the hall to the arena entrance. Coach Daniels was waiting at the door, making sure each member was accounted for. I was the last one to arrive. But Jessie had gone through only a minute beforehand so I wasn't entirely in the dog house. Daniels exhaled upon seeing me with Indie, then gave me a stern look. "What did I tell you about getting here earlier?" she asked, mostly rhetorical.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Promise," I smiled like a guilty child, leading Indiana toward the mounting block. "Maybe if there was less school time, I would have more horse time?"

"Nice try, Diana," Coach Daniels said, from the door.

I pulled Indiana to the mounting block. Her stirrups didn't need adjusting from the last time I used the saddle, because that was just yesterday, so it was easy to mount this time. I hoisted myself up onto the saddle and slid my other foot into the stirrup, then cued her forward to start the warm-up. Any horse about to do something physical needs warmed up. Going for it without the proper preparation could result in serious injury.

You learn to live and breathe horses as a means for survival in this sport, in this town. I didn't choose this sport. It was chosen for me by Ben. But I didn't complain, considering my competitive streak is a lot stronger than my rebellious one. In warm-up, we start with walking and ease the horse into longer strides and faster paces. Walking is the most boring and patience-testing section of the warm-up. But the team always seemed to find a way to pass the time.

Yesterday, Lewis and Jade started singing the chorus to Cobrastyle. Jessie was laughing so hard she nearly fell off her horse. It was safe to say that Coach Daniels had a lot to put up with when teaching us to be better Polo players. But she was like an Aunt to all of us at this point so we didn't do much complaining. Jade Turner, our number one, caught up to me in my laps across the arena, walking beside me. "Hey. I didn't see you much today," she said. "How are you doing?"

I blew a huff of air through my lips. "Honestly? Terrible," I slouched in my saddle, sighing heavily. "Have you heard about that new girl, Veronica?"

"Are you kidding? The whole town has heard of her," Jade chuckled.

"I think Archie has a thing for her," I admitted.

I kept my voice low, hushed, as not to draw the attention of the whole team. Jade's eyebrows did an odd dance on her forehead as her nose wrinkled. "What? Did something happen with them?" she questioned, barely paying attention enough to make the curve back toward the barn.

"Not really, but...I don't know. It's the way he looks at her. And ever since we met her last night, he's been weird," I answered. Dropping my reins, I reached up to adjust the chin strap of my helmet. Talking to Jade was always the highlight of the day. I could tell her anything and she would listen without judgment. "It's like I don't exist in his world as much as I used to."

"So talk to him. Ask him what's up," she said, as if it should be obvious.

And I guess it should be. It should've been the first thing I did when I got home last night. But I didn't. I said goodnight to whoever was listening and went right upstairs to my room. I was too tired for anything else. Yet somehow I managed to stay up for another hour thinking about that night. And for the first time in over a year, Archie Andrews wasn't the last one on my mind before I fell asleep.

"Then I would have to talk to him about it," I pointed out.

Jade gave me a sideways glance, chuckling, "Yeah, D, that's kind of the point."

"I don't know," I groaned, then exhaled. "He hasn't even mentioned the Semi-Formal. But the thing is, I don't even think I want to go with him."

She was quiet for a long moment. For a second, I thought she hadn't heard me. But then I turned, saw her shocked expression, and knew she was just playing around. A small smile came to my lips and I chuckled. "That is not like you at all," Jade said.

"Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion and taking it all too seriously, but...I don't think he loves me anymore."

On my back across my bed, I tried to remember what it was like to feel like I belonged somewhere. FP's words swirled around in my mind on an endless loop. I'm a Serpent. Why have I pretended to be something else for so long? Then it came to me that, right, I was forced to. I had no choice in wardrobe, after school activities, or even snack habits. I adapted to my environment, I guess.

"Oh. My. Gosh. What are you still doing dressed like a stable hand?"

The sudden feminine voice caused my whole body to jolt, along with the loud thud of my bedroom door hitting the wall behind it. My body lurched up onto my elbows. It was Cheryl. She was dressed to the nine's in a red off-the-shoulder dress. I'd forgotten completely about the dance. But there was no one more focused on the dance than Cheryl Blossom. "I'm not going," I answered, simply.

Her eyes narrowed and her jaw fell, "What?! No. That is...that is unacceptable, Diana. Get up."

She turned ninety degrees on her high heels and headed straight into my tiny walk-in closet. Rolling my eyes, I pushed myself to the end of the bed, swinging my feet off. Cheryl came out from the closet with a somewhat disgusted look on her face. "You didn't buy a dress?" she questioned, in shock.

I shook my head, "I told you, Cheryl. I'm not going."

"You're going, okay? Jason would want you there."

"Will you stop with that?" I shot to my feet, fueled by a sudden burst of anger mixed with annoyance. Cheryl recoiled a step. Her face was covered in shades of fear, surprise, and regret. "You have no idea what Jason would have wanted—obviously—because he still hasn't called yet, and you said he would."

Cheryl immediately shushed me, taking steps forward. "Keep your voice down, they'll hear you."

"I'm not going because the one person I really needed let me down, and I don't want to see him tonight."

"What? What happened?" she asked, genuinely concerned now.

I sighed heavily, crossing my arms. "I'm not going into it again- look! I don't even have a dress, okay? I can't go."

Cheryl's expression heated into one of pure determination in that moment, and she returned to my closet, walking with a purpose. But I dropped down onto the bed and put my head in my hands. Cheryl knew I was a Serpent when I started going to Riverdale High. A part of me thought it was because she liked me, but I knew better. She wanted me around because her parents would never approve, they would think of her as a rebel.

They would have punished her for it. She loved taunting them, doing the exact opposite of what they say is acceptable. Being friends with Cheryl meant being friends with Jason. Jason wanted to be friends with me for me. He didn't care what his parents said but he wasn't hanging out with me to get at them. He saw someone that needed a friend and he filled that need. After a while, it began to feel like I was the long lost Blossom triplet.

When Jason came to me in confidence in the weeks leading to his 'disappearance', I didn't think it would be for the reasons he had. I told him I would help because I thought I was doing the right thing. He just wanted to be with Polly. He just wanted to be happy. If I couldn't have my own happiness, at least I could give someone theirs, right? Wrong. Instead, I might have lead one of my best friends to his death.

Movement in the corner of my eye caused me to lift my head. It was a mistake. Cheryl stood just outside the closet, holding up a dress by the hanger, wearing a devilish smirk. I instantly sat back, shaking my head. "No, mm mm," I stood, pointing toward the closet. "Put that back right now."

"Put this on, i'll be downstairs."

Cheryl tossed the dress on the bed and left the room, closing the door behind her. My eyes drifted down to the black fabric she'd dropped on my comforter. It was something from my South side life. Something I wouldn't be caught dead wearing at a North side high school dance. A jolt in my curiosity, a shot of my rebellious streak, sent me to the closet. My hands sifted through the hanging clothes for something specific.

I hadn't seen it in years. A black leather biker jacket. It was hanging up near the back. It wasn't anything like my Serpent jacket, but this would have to stand in place of it tonight. Still a bit reluctant, I put on the dress. It was strapless, slightly too short for my comfort, with a tight bust and stomach covered in shiny black sequins. The waist puffed out and down with lots of layers of lace. Yes, this was a bad idea. But as soon as I put on the jacket, looked at myself in the standing mirror, I knew I needed to do this.

I put on my black converse and a pair of faux diamond earrings, then went downstairs. Cheryl was waiting, talking to Ben by the front door, the sound of Cash's cartoons filtering in from the living room clouding anything they were saying. As soon as I hit the bottom and began walking toward them, Cheryl noticed me. Her lips made an insanely wide smile as she looked me over. "Now that's my girl," she smiled.

Ben's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing, and he cleared his throat. "Diana, sweetheart, what are you wearing?"

"My dress for the dance," I smile, closed-mouthed.

"We need to get going or we're gonna be late," Cheryl announced.

Cheryl pulled open the front door and held it as I walked past Ben and right through it. There was a certain freedom, a liberating feeling in that act alone. But I wasn't done. Not yet. Cheryl and I arrived at the dance right on time. To say I had been nervous was a drastic understatement. A nice, upbeat song was playing. The dance floor was filling with teens. Looking around, I didn't see any of my friends. I assumed they hadn't arrived yet, and split from Cheryl to get some punch.

Punch wasn't my favorite drink, but I needed an excuse to be alone. Away from the front of the crowd, away from the door, away from everything. This was the first time in a long time I did something so rebellious and downright unbothered. But it felt right. It felt good to be an outsider. To be someone different in a sea of people that looked exactly the same. "Hey," a male voice came from my right as I poured punch into my glass. "How's it going?"

I glanced up, but I didn't need to in order to deduce that it was Reggie. "Just peachy. How's it going with you?"

"Oh, you know me. I've been ready to party since noon," he replied, smiling like an idiot.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," I nodded once, turning to face him, glass in hand. "Have you seen Archie?"

Reggie shook his head, "No, he's not here yet. I'm surprised you guys didn't come here together."

"Really? I'm not."

I smiled at his surprised and somewhat confused expression, before wandering to the row of seats to the left of the drink table. Ms. Grundy was sitting near the middle of them so I found a seat a few chairs away from her, and sat down. I took a sip of my punch and exhaled. This was a waiting game. I had one last shot to find proof that Archie still loved me or proof that he loved someone else. Deep inside, I didn't want to know.

Didn't want to know the truth, didn't want to know what I already knew. Just as I was starting to think he wasn't coming. Just as I was starting to think I could escape this, that this was all a mistake. Just then, Archie Andrews walked in through the doors with Betty on one arm and Veronica on the other. That wasn't the moment when my heart broke. And it wasn't the moment I would feel the worst tonight. I didn't know that right then, but I would soon find out.