monsters | riverdale

Next to Normal

✿

Fangs places a fresh drink in front of Betty and joins his friends at the biggest table in the Whyte Wyrm. "Those are on the house, Betty." He takes the seat between Toni and Mickey.

Grief and empathy hangs over the group tonight because Polly's dead. Her body was discovered in the trunk of a car thanks to Betty's investigative skills.

Betty nods graciously, "Thank you, Fangs. Thank you, guys, for rallying."

Veronica's hand covers Betty's. "Of course. How are you holding up, Bee?" It's a dumb question, she knows it. If something happened to Mickey, Veronica doesn't know if she'd survive it or be able to talk to anyone or do anything for a long time.

"As good as I can be, I guess."

Toni, being the natural social worker she is, asks, "How are the twins doing?"

Betty sighs, "They're okay, surprisingly. Cheryl volunteered to take them for a few days. They have been asking about their mom, though." She finishes the drink Fangs gave her in two big gulps.

"And I told them that she's somewhere beautiful and close by," Cheryl informs her. She hopes it brings comfort to Betty as well. "We hung up a hummingbird feeder in the rose garden, and they wait for their mommy to come visit it."

Toni isn't surprised by her ex's warmth. "That's really beautiful, Cheryl."

"How's your mom?" Mickey inquires.

Betty wipes the tears under her eyes. "She's not good. She won't leave the house. She's listening to this Next to Normal cast album on repeat. It's this Broadway musical that she took Polly and I to see one year for Mother's Day in the city."

Tabitha's never heard of it. "What's it about?"

"This family. To be honest, watching it, I felt like it could have been..." Betty sniffles and she tries to laugh about it, "...about us. The mom, she wants this normal, perfect family, but she's lying to herself. She and her husband don't love each other anymore. She fights with her daughter a lot, and one of her kids is...dead."

Reggie puffs out his cheeks, "Jeez, Betty."

"It's actually a really beautiful show. And we had the best day. Just the three of us walking around New York."

Veronica's eyebrows pull to the center. "So your mom is just listening to this album?"

"Over and over again. I don't even know what she's thinking or feeling." Betty adds, "I don't know how we're going to make it through this."

✿

Mickey wipes her hands with a napkin to clean off the grease from her burger. She opted to have lunch at the diner and Tabitha's been telling her about her visiting parents who barely spent twenty minutes in the diner.

"My parents would love the fact that I'm friends with someone like you," Tabitha tells her.

Mickey hums. "So...what are your plans for Mother's Day? Are you guys going to have a nice intimate dinner at Pop's?"

Tabitha leans against the counter with pout on her lips. "No. My parents made reservations at Cucina Sacasa."

"The Italian place?" Mickey nods in approval, "Their stuff is good." When that earns her a displeased look, she retracts and says, "But dinner at Pop's would be so much better."