Chapter Text
“Hey, asshole!” She smiles wickedly, switchblade out and pointed at his face. “Move.”
“You are a freak,” hisses Reggie Mantle, the epitome of a meathead jock. Betty doesn’t care.
“You new here?” She asks the poor guy taped naked to the flag pole.
“Yeah.” His reply is miserable, his eyes still locked on the crowds with their cell phones out, as if he could silently will them away. Betty wants to laugh. If that were possible, she wouldn’t be the disgrace of the town.
“Well…” She cuts him down with one final swipe of her knife. She helps him down before saluting him. “Welcome to Riverdale High.” Then she turns and navigates the crowds, on her way to first period. She’s not in the business of making friends.
The thing about being Cheryl Blossom’s best friend was… well, everyone was a little curious as to how they were best friends in the first place. Betty herself had never wondered that, because to her, it was obvious. Cheryl’s brother, Jason, was head over heels for her sister, Polly, which made Polly an honorary Vixen, which made Betty one by proxy. And once Jason’s attention was solely devoted to Polly, Cheryl had to find other ways of keeping herself entertained. She settled on Betty.
The last time Betty had seen Cheryl was at the annual River Vixen retro night, when the two of them had been skating around in skimpy uniforms, toting trays stacked high with burgers. Pop’s was a bustling hot spot for students of the highest order, and tonight was no different. Cheryl, who usually despised the fundraiser with a passion, twirled around with a smile stuck on her face.
“God, Cher,” Betty rolled her eyes affectionately. “I see the Prozac’s working.”
“High on life, Betty Cooper,” Cheryl chirped back. “I’ve got a secret. A good one.”
And then she was off, setting down baskets of fries and milkshake glasses, ignoring the leers and the catcalls from the football team. That was Cheryl at her peak, radiating royalty, laughing like she never had a care in the world. Betty always admired how Cheryl made it look so natural.
Cheryl’s body was found outside Thornhill eight hours later, skull bashed in, eyes vacant, lips still curled in a vicious red smirk. Betty doesn’t think she’ll ever stop seeing it before she falls asleep at night.