Bughead||one shot

The kiss (bughead)

Although she should have been ecstatic that the next phase in her life plan was falling into place, she couldn't help but feel like she had missed out on her entire high school experience. All of her freetime had always been allocated to something productive which meant Betty never indulged in the typical teenage behaviors.

She had never attended a single party in high school, never snuck out past curfew, never disobeyed her mother and she couldn't help but feel like something was missing. So, when the captain of the River Vixens, Cheryl Blossom, announced there was a party at Thornhill immediately after the last football game for the season, Betty didn't protest when it was deemed 'mandatory'. She wanted to indulge in the typical high school experience she had missed out on thus far—if only for a night.

—

The party at Thornhill was already in full swing when Betty arrived arm in arm with her best friend Veronica Lodge. They found themselves in the extravagant kitchen filling red plastic solo cups with something from the keg. The irony of the setting and their current drinkware not lost on either party.

A while later they found themselves outside. Veronica had been looking for her boyfriend Archie Andrews. They expected to find him in the group of Letterman jackets by the pool but no beacon of red hair could be seen. Veronica wandered off in search and Archie was eventually located on the other side of the pool house—well on his way to drunk, surrounded by Reggie and Chuck.

Betty watched the boys' antics wistfully. She envied their lighthearted exchanges and playful friendship. She was far too serious for an 18-year-old girl and found herself feeling more than twice her age on more than a few occasions. The pressures of the near constant strive for perfection weighed heavily on every move she made.

One of the perks of next to no social life for Betty was that she easily sidelined advances from guys. She wasn't a complete prude, she had kissed a few guys, had a fling over the previous summer, and went on the occasional date. Betty didn't, however, have any serious boyfriends in high school. There were plenty of opportunities for her to cross that line over the years with various willing suitors. Betty chose, instead, to focus on her future and save the embarrassment that would surely come with opening herself up to anyone.

Her mother's overbearing nature was the least of her worries. The teen pregnancy stigma of her sister, the long-lost psychotic brother she found later in life, the crescent shaped scars on her palm, and the sham that was her parent's marriage weren't the greatest selection of topics for a first date. So, Betty chose to limit her interactions to strictly skin deep.

She had been standing off to the side of the patio, observing her classmates and their antics. Archie and Veronica were draped over each other, locked in a heated embrace that probably should have been in private. Their actions were an obvious statement of their love for one another and Betty felt her heart wrench in her chest a little.

Betty nursed a crush on Archie Andrews the majority of her childhood. They were next door neighbors and spend much of their free time together. In sophomore year, when Betty finally resolved to come clean about her feelings, the hurricane that was Veronica Lodge blew into town and captivated his attention.

Looking back at it now, Betty knew her and Archie were never meant to be. He would always envision her as the perfect girl next door with the pristine ponytail and spotless white Keds, walking to grade school swapping stories. Betty also now knew she was so much more than that.

Her exterior radiated sunshine and happiness, but the darkness that blossomed inside of her as she got older was only exasperated by the litany of dark events in her life. Veronica, on the other hand, suited Archie perfectly. He had been a known womanizer until her raven-haired friend's abrupt intervention in their lives. As she watched them from afar, the envy she felt grew out of longing for interaction more so than jealousy.