STING [peter parker & betty cooper]

Chapter Twenty-Five: Anatomy of a Goodbye [THE END]

Betty's POV

"Hell will freeze over before this looks good on anyone." I grumbled as I stared at myself in the mirror, admiring my bright purple graduation gown. I may not be a fashion snob like Veronica but even I know this thing was atrocious and deserving of being carted away by the fashion police. I also knew that I was going to be sweating up a storm since a rare heat wave decided to make its way into the town.

Prom was a week ago but things didn't automatically go away, we couldn't remain in our bubble no matter how much we wanted to.

"Betty, are you ready to go?" My mom called from downstairs.

"Coming!" I shouted back, grabbing my purse and cap before closing the door behind me and making my way down the stairs, trying not to trip on the gown. My parents and Polly were waiting in the hallway talking when I entered. They smiled at me with looks of amusement as they looked at my outfit. "Not a word, I know it's hideous."

They chuckled but wisely stayed silent. "We better hurry, May and I wanted a few pictures out front with you and Peter before we all leave for school." We locked up behind us at the same time the Andrews and Parkers were making their way out.

I grinned as Peter and I made our way to each other across the lawn. He was also already changed into the gown and for once Peter Parker couldn't make an outfit look good. What a shame.

He pulled me into his arms and gave me a quick but relatively innocent kiss, mindful of my mother and our small gun collection.

"We look horrible." He murmured and I burst out laughing.

"This thing is awful."

He joined in on my laughter and nodded. "This is the most unflattering thing I have ever seen. No offense."

"None taken, you look just as bad." I joked and he kissed my forehead though I felt his mouth curve into a smile.

I heard someone clear their throat and we looked over to see my mother staring at us with an eyebrow raised. "Well if you two are finished...connecting...we would like some pictures now."

We nodded and chuckled to ourselves. My mom can play stern parent all she wants but she likes Peter, she just hates to admit it when she sees us together.

We played our roles of dutiful children and posed with our family members for photos, with each other and I even did a few of just May and I. Archie joined us as well and after teasing us we took some pictures with him. I don't know why he was making fun of us when he was forced to wear the same outfit but it's Archie, he lives in the moment.

After about ten minutes we begged them to stop given that Archie, Peter, and I were about to die of heat stroke after posing outside for so long. They agreed and we both sighed in relief.

We retreated to our respective vehicles, and I felt myself sighing when I felt the air conditioning kick in before we made our way to Riverdale High.

When we walked into school it was a sea of ugly purple but even then it wasn't hard to find Veronica's shiny black hair among the crowd. When we approached I saw she was sulking, picking at her gown in disgust. I couldn't help but burst out laughing when I saw Veronica had used her Bedazzler to try and make the gown and cap nicer to look at. She didn't succeed; now it merely looked like a sparkling piece of purple crap.

Of course, I didn't dare voice my thoughts, I valued my life too much. When she heard my laughter she looked up and smiled a genuine smile. "Betty! Peter!" She rushed over, pulling me into a hug, and then Peter.

"Why so glum?" I teased, already knowing the answer.

"Do you really need to ask that or have you not looked in a mirror? Betty, I can't be seen like this! When I show my three children our graduation photos in the future, how can I look them in the eye knowing I allowed myself to be dressed like this? This is an important day and this abomination is tarnishing it!" She all but screeched.