STING [peter parker & betty cooper]

Chapter Four: Fiasco

We had about fifteen minutes left and the teacher was going on about something called logarithmic functions when I felt something touch my hand. I looked down and saw a small note and a smiling Veronica, though her eyes never left the blackboard.

What's your favorite color?

I held back my laughter as I wrote my response, keeping the teacher in my sights, so we didn't get caught. Pink, yours?

Purple! Favorite band right now?

The Marías. Yours?

Queen. If you could travel to one country tomorrow, what would it be?

France, you?

New Zealand!

The notes continued for the rest of class as Veronica asked simple and basic questions and I did the same. When the bell rang, the piece of paper disappeared so quickly that I barely had time to register it as she slipped it into her bag. I was about to ask why since I was having fun when I noticed the teacher walk past us. We stepped outside the classroom and Veronica softly grabbed my elbow, accompanying me down the hall.

"So Betty-who-likes-pink-and-wants-to-visit-France-tomorrow, what do you usually do after school on a Wednesday afternoon?" Veronica asked pleasantly, and I giggled a little at my new extended name.

"I usually go home and study. That's pretty much it. Sometimes I hang out with Kevin at Pop's diner but that's mostly on the weekends." I adjusted the strap of my backpack.

She smiled to herself. "You and Kevin seem like you know each other pretty well."

I nodded my head. "We've been friends practically all our lives."

"Aw, I wish I still had a friend from my childhood. But looking back everyone was kind of an asshole." She smiled playfully. We stepped outside the school building and walked together slowly without a destination, the wind strong on our faces.

"Have you been keeping in contact with your friends from New York?" I asked gently. I knew Veronica wasn't comfortable discussing this topic, but I was hoping today, since it was just the two of us, I could finally figure out the reason why.

Veronica swallowed, looking serious after a moment of silence. "I'll be honest... In NY, I was not... nice." She announced cautiously. "I was a heavy drinker, I partied way too hard for my age and I became notorious for picking fights with girls that simply got on my nerves. In other words, I was rude and obnoxious to everybody. I have a few friends there still, but no one is super close." She admitted while she avoided eye contact.

"Oh. Wow, I would have never guessed." While I didn't know Veronica well yet, I couldn't imagine her being rude or mean to someone without a strong reason.

"Thank god. Basically, I made a pact with myself: To use the move to Riverdale as a chance to become a smarter, nicer, kinder Veronica..." She smiled briefly at the thought.

"How's that working out for you so far?" I asked.

"It's been good. I'm genuinely enjoying every minute here. But I must be careful not to believe everything has magically changed just because I'm in a different place."

I looked at her. "What do you mean by that?"

She took her time thinking before speaking again. "Peter. I messed up with him when we met. I decided that I didn't like him even before I knew him and he was always so nice and patient with me. I'm trying to fix things between us, I've been trying for a while, but he won't let me and to be fair I probably deserve to be shut off. I don't think he hates me, I think he just tolerates me, and that goes to show how much of a good person he is. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't have the capacity to do that." Her eyes filled with regret.