~1~

Betty smiled awkwardly at Veronica as they stood in the office. It was Veronica's first day and Betty's millionth time peer-mentoring someone. She liked Veronica enough, knowing the girl's history (as everyone in Riverdale did), she was expecting her to be more like Cheryl and she wasn't.

That was good. There was only place for one Cheryl in Riverdale.

No, wait, there was only place for one Cheryl in the world.

"I'm sorry, but why are we waiting here again?" Veronica asked and Betty revised her opinion at the snooty tone. Perhaps she was a bit more like Cheryl than Betty thought.

"We're waiting for the other new student." Betty answered coolly and Veronica was taken aback.

"Sorry, it's just that I really want to get this over with so things can begin." She said with a hint of apology in her voice. Not as blithely unaware then.

The creak of the door opening kept Betty from answering and they both turned to see what was hopefully the new student, peer in.

"Um, hi, I'm looking for Elizabeth Cooper?"

"Abigail Davies?" The girl nodded in clear relief and stepped in, hands twisting the handle of the brown cross body bag slung over her shoulders. She wasn't the knockout that Veronica was, it was a little bit less likely that Archie would ignore Betty to turn and stare at her (she hoped) but she was adorable nonetheless.

Cream shirt tucked into red corduroy skirt, whimsically cute cat faced but sensible flats, and messy black hair pulled into two loose pigtails. Betty wanted to smush her cheeks and coo. "I love your shoes." Betty said instead. And Abigail beamed.

"Thank you, I got them off Etsy." She began bouncing on the balls of her feet, nervous. "Should we begin with the tour?" She said and Betty shook herself out of her stupor and began leading the two out the door.

"So, I usually start off my tours with a little history and context. Riverdale High first opened its doors in 1941 and-"

"And hasn't been redecorated since, apparently," Veronica said, taking over the conversation. Betty thought it was probably a good predictor of her life for the next few years, she had seen how Veronica had been interested in Archie and how Archie had reciprocated. "Honestly I feel like I'm walking through the lost epilogue of 'Our Town'."

Betty laughed awkwardly.

"What's 'Our Town'?" Abigail said and Veronica stopped to gape at her.

"You don't know 'Our Town'?!"

"It's a play," Betty explained and Abigail nodded.

"Is it in our syllabus this year or something?"

"No, it's just...famous."

Abigail shrugged and started walking again, leaving Veronica to speed walk in her high heels to catch up.

"So what's the social scene like here? Any night clubs?"

"A strip club called the Ho Zone," Kevin said, appearing out of nowhere to sidle next to Veronica and Betty breathed, thankful for his presence. "and a tragic gay bar called Innuendo. Friday nights, football games and then tailgate parties at the Mallmart parking lot. Saturday night is movie night regardless of what's playing at the Bijou, and you better get there early because we don't have reserved seating in Riverdale. And Sunday nights..." Kevin threw his arm around Betty and she relaxed a bit. "Thank God for HBO."

"Veronica Lodge, Abigail Davies, Kevin Keller." Betty introduced them. Abigail tucked herself closer to Betty while Veronica and Kevin turned to face each other, vibrating out of their skin in excitement. "They're new here, Kevin is-"

"Gay, thank God. Let's be best friends."

"Is it true what they say about your dad?" Kevin said, and Betty wondered whether she should laugh or cry as Veronica froze.

"That he's the devil incarnate? I stand by my father. Does everyone here know?"

Their silence was enough answer and Veronica's nostrils flared with anger. "Wonderful, ten minutes in and I'm already the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High."

"Blue Jasmine? Is that your stripper name or something?" Abigail asked, and beside her Kevin made a high pitched noise even as Veronica stepped closer to Abigail, clearly angry.

"Do you know nothing about popular culture?" She sneered and to her credit, Abigail didn't back down, only tilted her head, all innocence.

"Not really. I assume that you're like the Kardashians but with less money and fewer implants?"

"Don't forget the lack of a reality show." Veronica said, fake smile in place and stepped away, walking away in anger and Betty looked at Kevin, wondering what to do.

"Do you really not know who the Lodges are?" Kevin asked Abigail and she shrugged.

"Saw the name when flipping through channels but that's when the Earth like planet near the sun had been discovered so didn't really care. What did they do?"

And as Kevin quietly filled Abigail in, Betty spend up and followed after Veronica, trying to take her mind off things by pointing out different rooms and hallways and their history. By the time Abigail and Kevin caught up with them Veronica was calm again and Abigail was apologetic.

"I really didn't know about your Dad's deal." The new girl said in lieu of an apology. Her hands twisted the band of her bag again and Betty wondered if she was like her. "In my defense, you look more like the Kardashians than that Khloe girl does."

Finally, Veronica smiled, "That's not exactly saying much."

"What were you guys talking about?" Kevin asked.

"The back to school Semi Formal."

"I heard it might be getting canceled because of what happened to Jason."

"Who's Jason, and what happened to him?" Veronica asked and even as Kevin filled her in she felt herself losing all interest.

Jason reminded Betty of Polly. Reminded her of the secrets her parents were keeping from her.

Reminded her that it had been months since she had seen her sister.

The first chance she got, Abigail got away from the others. Betty was nice, Kevin was informative and Veronica was fine too once you got over the Lodge part, but they seemed a bit high maintenance. When the time for the assembly came she separated from them, insisting that they should just sit down wherever they got the space, all but running away. From her spot at the corner next to the guy with the beanie and the laptop she could see the three still whispering as the auditorium steadily filled up and sighed in relief. They were a bit too fast lane for her.

But then time went on and the assembly still hadn't started. On her right, the groups of people were talking on the left the clicking of keys sounded. When ten minutes went by, her patience left her and she took her phone out and googled Jason Blossom. She had only gotten through the first article when the auditorium quieted and she turned to the stage, putting her phone quickly.

As the girl she could only assume was Jason Blossom's twin sister climbed the stage, she gasped.

"Ariel!" She said under her breath but wasn't as quiet as she thought she was as the boy on the laptop snorted.

"Don't be fooled by appearances, she's more Ursula than Ariel."

"Ursula's theme song is better anyway," She whispered back with a shrug, only to shut up as Ariel began speaking.

"Ariel," She thought out loud contemplating Cheryl Blossom, "Rapunzel," Clearly Betty, "And Jasmine," Of course Veronica.

She still wasn't as quiet as she thought she was, however, as laptop boy chimed in. "More like Blue Jasmine."

"Does everyone know that movie except for me?!" She whined, and laptop boy snorted.

"Very probably." The assembly ended soon enough but before Abigail could ask laptop boy his name he disappeared. As Betty cornered her on the way out and had her socializing with Kevin and Veronica again, she could only envy his skill at that.

It is late at night when the other new girl walks into Pop's with a wild look in her eye and a behemoth of a laptop bag. She asks Pop something in hushed tones, Pop's booming laugh and answer setting her a bit at ease, and then she turns and walks down the booths.

"Laptop boy." She tells him with a curt nod and Jughead cannot help but answer with a nod of his own.

"Disney girl." He acknowledges and then she sits in the booth behind his own.

'Are you skyping me from an American diner?' Asks an accented tinny voice and Jughead fights the urge to turn around.

"It's going to take a week to get wifi up and running at the house for some godforsaken reason. I thought this was the 21st century, but I was wrong." She hisses and then the tinny voice cuts off. In the reflection on the glass Jughead can see that she has headphones on, and when she begins speaking again it is in a quiet voice and oddly enough, in German.

From the halting way she talks, slowly gaining confidence, repeating words, correcting her pronunciation, he can guess that she must be getting tutored in the language. It is grating at first, he spends ages looking at the page open in front of him, wondering what to write, interrupted by her voice but eventually it fades away. A town car passes by the diner, and as he follows its movement he sees blonde hair peeking out from behind the window.

Probably Betty getting a lift home from Veronica Lodge, he concludes. Kevin had been talking loudly in his vicinity, about them going shopping for the Semi-formal, and between that and the soft spoken and halting German from the booth behind him, he is inspired again and his fingers begin hitting the keyboard.

It is the night of the Semi-formal and Jughead has been at Pop's for hours. He's seen the groups of people coming in, loading up on food in anticipation of getting very drunk. There's usually a couple or so around at Pop's but tonight everyone is at the Semi-formal. Even Disney girl must be there he concludes, only to have his expectations dashed as she walks into the diner. She comes in with nothing but a tiny bag capable of holding a wallet on her, no laptop this time and walks up to his booth for once.

"Not at the Semi-formal?" She asks him, not waiting for his permission to swing herself into the seat across from him. He would be annoyed but it is too much effort and he only sighs instead.

"Do I seem like the type to go to a non-compulsory school function?" He says sardonically but she only grins in response.

"Yes, mostly to observe and profile the students in wake of a murder, especially since they'd be drunk and thus more free with words."

He pauses mid-sentence and considers it. She makes a valid point, so he tells her so and she beams.

"No laptop this time?" He asks and she shrugs.

"It's a Saturday, I usually have sessions on weekdays only. I'm learning German."

"I know."

"And what are you doing?"

"Writing a novel. It's about this summer and Jason Blossom." She tilts her head and frowns.

"I get the Jason Blossom part but what happened this summer to make it so special?"

Jughead considers her for a while before he smiles. It is an unexpected surprise but one that pleases him.

No one caught on to that that part before. They fixated on the bit about Jason Blossom, not the summer.

"Things changed this summer. Some little changes, some big. Some internal, some external." He leans forward and leans in as well, curious. It sends a thrill down his spine because this is exactly why he is writing. So someone would finally listen. "Jason's disappearance, it isn't one of those changes, it's a result. So, what other consequences are going to come?"

"Jughead, Abigail," Archie's voice comes and Jughead is startled. He was so caught up telling Disney girl, Abigail, now he knows, about his novel that he hadn't noticed his once best friend come up to them.

It's odd. He's never been so unaware of Archie before. Especially not since he began disappointing him on such a regular basis. Not since he missed their trip and filled Jughead with the kind of cold rage that he wasn't letting go of anytime soon.

"Archer," Abigail says and Jughead smirks, "What brings you here?"

"It's Archie and uhm, have you guys seen Betty here?"

"Nope." She answers cheerily, "Maybe try her place of residence instead?"

"Yeah, I'm headed there now I just-" Archie dithered, turning this way and that, looking at Jughead from under his eyelashes and Jughead got the hint.

"I think he wants to talk to me privately, Disney girl."

She looks up at Archie and glares, "Couldn't afford my insight anyway," She sniffs and goes off to the counter.

Archie looks at him awkwardly, fiddling with his hands as he sits where Abigail did moments ago.

"What are you working on?" He asks, as if it meant anything to him. Jughead already knew it didn't.

"My novel. It's about this summer, and Jason Blossom." He waits to see if Archie caught what Abigail did but already know he will be disappointed.

"Seventeen years old, and how will he be remembered? As captain of the water polo team?"

"The Aquaholics? Considering how he died, probably not."

"No, what I mean is...was he doing everything he was supposed to do? Everything he wanted, I mean did he even know what that was?"

Jughead looked away for a brief second, wondering what he would say to that. He supposed there was a part of him that still expects Jason to be alive, only missing. He supposed they all did.

And at the counter, waiting impatiently, Abigail looks at the two of them sitting and rolls her eyes. 'Somebody's projecting' She mouths and Jughead suppresses a smirk, knowing full well that Archie wouldn't take it too well.

He changes the topic then to Archie making Varsity and Archie frowns.

"I'm kind of terrified I lost my best friend tonight."

"If you mean Betty," Jughead says, if only to force Archie to remember that it may very well have been him he was talking about. There was a time when Jughead had held the title of 'Archie's best friend' too. "Whatever happened just talk to her, you know. It would go a long way. Would have gone a long way with me." Archie nods silently and the silence drags on.

Until finally, Abigail comes over, two shakes in hand and hands one over to Jughead before turning to Archie.

"Are you going to Betty's house now?" She says and Archie all but pouts as he stands to leave. He isn't even out the door when Abigail slides into the seat he vacated and huffs. "And people call you emo."

And Jughead laughs.