"Honey, I'm home!" Veronica announces the moment she walks through the door, flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

"Ronnie, you're back!" Betty exclaims, rushing toward her best friend and roommate and then they're hugging and squealing like teenage girls.

To be fair, they're barely past their teenage years, and they haven't seen each other in three months. But besides Smithers, who is hauling all five of Veronica's suitcases inside, there is nobody there to judge them, so they don't see a need to restrain themselves.

"You look amazing!" Betty exclaims as she takes a step back to get a better look at her friend.

Somehow, even after a twelve hour flight, Veronica's hair is shiny and perfectly styled, and her clothes have no wrinkles, which makes Betty wonder whether she changed her outfit since landing back in New York, or whether expensive clothing just doesn't wrinkle.

"Oh, please." Veronica waves her hand. "The air on the plane made my skin so dry it feels like sandpaper. You, on the other hand, are glowing like a summer goddess. What's your secret?"

"Just the New York sun and the stress of an internship. It does wonders for your skin," Betty replies with a smile and an unusual amount of sarcasm in her voice. She has never been great at taking compliments, but Veronica has always been excellent at giving them.

"I hoped it would be something simple, like drinking a lot of water and great sex, but oh well." Veronica shrugs and waves Smithers a silent goodbye as he finished bringing her luggage in.

"You must be hungry. First class airplane food is still just airplane food, right?" Betty asks with a laugh, changing the subject as she makes her way toward the kitchen area. "What would you like? I think we have all the ingredients for some proper American breakfast to welcome you home. I can make pancakes with maple syrup, or some bacon, or..." She starts listing off things Veronica may have missed during her trip.

"Actually–" Veronica interrupts her, "–I got these cupcakes from this cute little boulangerie in Paris, and they won't stay fresh for much longer. So, while I usually wouldn't eat something like this for breakfast, I think we can make an exception. What do you think?"

"Cupcakes for breakfast? My mother would have a heart attack if she heard that," Betty says, mustering up a convincing serious face before breaking out into a wide grin. "So of course I'll have a cupcake."

"Great!" Veronica chirps. "I'll just go get Jughead to join us."

"Jughead?" Betty raises her eyebrows in surprise.

Veronica and Jughead's relationship is quite a strange one, to say the least. It's not that they don't like each other, but from an outside perspective it sure did seem that way. During the two years they've known each other, Betty has seen enough proof to know that, deep down, they do. But, at first glance, one would assume they're frenemies at best.

"It's only nine. I don't think he gets out of bed before noon unless he has to. Do you really wanna deal with his grumpy face first thing after coming home?"

"I told him I would bring him some food, and Lodges always keep their promises," she says, holding up the box of cupcakes. "I don't care that he's still sleeping at nine in the morning, we're having breakfast together so I can tell you guys all about Paris while you tell me what I missed here in New York."

Betty knows that for Veronica to tell them all about Paris, their breakfast would have to last at least a month, but she doesn't tell her that. Instead, she offers to make coffee while Veronica takes the task of knocking on the apartment across from theirs and dragging Jughead over to their place.

It only takes about five minutes of muffled grumbling, yelling and probably some threats before they both join Betty at the dining room table, Veronica with a triumphant smile, and Jughead, as expected, with a frown and his trusted beanie slightly lopsided, suggesting he put it on rather hastily.

"Morning, Jug," Betty greats him with a tiny smile and hands him a cup of coffee that he seems desperately in need of.

"Thanks," he mumbles, the corners of his lips twitching ever so slightly as he slides into a chair opposite her.

"Now that we're all here, sans Archiekins, but I'll catch him up on everything later, we can start," Veronica announces. Betty and Jughead share a confused look, wondering whether Veronica has a whole PowerPoint presentation prepared about her summer in Paris.

As it turns out, she doesn't, but it still doesn't stop her from talking non-stop for the next half hour. While Betty listens to her intently, Jughead falls into a microsleep sometime between the story of Veronica organizing her first mini fashion show and her compiling an outfit for the cover of L'Officiel because he has no idea who Adelise is or what the word couture means. But with frequent nods, he at least keeps up the pretense of listening. It's not like Veronica is even really looking at him as she's walking around the room, flailing her arms in exaggerated gestures.

"But enough about me," she says finally, sitting back on her chair. "What crazy things were you kids up to?"

"Nothing," they both say at the same time, and Jughead motions for Betty to continue.

"Just... the internship. Hard work. You know how that is," Betty says with a shrug. Unlike Veronica, she doesn't have stories about meeting celebrities or even about being given much freedom at her job.

"Oh, B. All work and no play? You're young and so beautiful. You should loosen up your ponytail and live a little." Betty gives her a pointed look and Veronica quickly corrects herself. "I mean metaphorically. Do something crazy. Take some risks. Don't you think, Jug?" Veronica turns to him and his eyes widen in surprise. She doesn't tend to ask for his opinion much, but he assumes it's more of a rhetorical question, anyway.

"I think Betty should do whatever makes her happy." Diplomatic, but truthful. Jughead never quite understood Veronica's obsession of trying to make their lives exciting. He likes his routine. He enjoys knowing what's going to happen next, and while he's learned that not all unexpected things are bad, he'd rather not push his luck.

Betty throws him a thankful glance and he smiles in response before taking a sip of his coffee, hoping it will keep Veronica from firing more questions at him.

However, there is no stopping Veronica Lodge. "So what about you, Jughead? Are you as dedicated to work as our Betty here? Or are you taking advantage of that James Dean look of yours while it lasts?"

"First of all, ouch." He puts a hand on his chest, acting deeply hurt about her comment. "Second, you know me. I'm all about the parties and using my looks to pick up girls or whatever it is you're expecting me to be doing." His voice is dripping with sarcasm as Veronica rolls her eyes at him and Betty smiles. While Veronica and Archie are the extroverts of their friend group, constantly inviting them to huge parties, Betty can always count on Jughead to be her ally when trying to persuade them to have a movie night in their apartment.

"You guys are so lucky I'm back. We'll make the most of our time before the semester starts," Veronica says excitedly, the wheels in her head already spinning.

It's not that she doesn't love her friends for who they are, she does, and that's exactly why she always tries to make their lives as exciting as possible. Even if they aren't often keen on that.

Jughead lets out an audible groan at the idea, sharing his opinion, but politely so. Betty chuckles, and they share a knowing glance that says they need to stop her. But Veronica is already back on her feet, ignoring their protests as she starts pacing circles around the dining room table, throwing her arms around once more.

"I'm sure we can fit a summer worth of fun into two weeks. We just need a set of goals," she says, tapping her perfectly manicured finger against her chin. "For example, we need to find Betty a guy."

"What?" Betty's eyebrows shoot up and Jughead quickly shoves a piece of cupcake into his mouth to keep himself from voicing his opinion.

While Veronica considers herself to be quite the matchmaker, her success rate within their small group of friends is dangerously close to zero. If it was up to him, it would actually be negative after her last attempt to pair him up with a girl from her economics class, a fiery redhead named Cheryl Blossom. She ended up being a pompous socialite who managed to repeatedly insult him and tried to jump him in the span of thirty minutes before he made up an excuse to run away from their date. He's still scared of what may happen if he ever runs into her again.

"Oh, don't worry, B. I know you're picky about who you date. Which is fine, because you deserve the best." She puts a hand on Betty's shoulder and gives it a light squeeze. "But for the purposes of saving your summer, we'll find you someone cute to shake the sheets with."

At Veronica's words Jughead manages to inhale a piece of his cupcake, causing a violent coughing fit.

"Sheesh, Jones, don't be such a prude. Don't you think our Betty deserves someone to slip her the hot beef injection?" She asks and this time it's Betty who almost chokes at Veronica's choice of euphemism.

"Oh, I'm sure she does," he mumbles once he finally catches his breath, but Veronica just waves her hand at him, deciding to ignore him and get back to pursuing Betty.

"I don't think this is a good idea, V," Betty says, hoping Veronica can give up on the idea and move on to something else instead.

"Why not? Have I ever tried to set you up with someone bad?" Veronica asks. The room is silent.

"Okay, I admit that some guys didn't turn out to be a perfect match. But not all of them were bad. What about Adam? He was alright."

Jughead lets out a low grunt at the mention of the big headed guy Betty dated at the beginning of their sophomore year.

"Do you have something to say?" Veronica narrows her eyes at him, as if daring him to oppose her.

"Adam. The pretentious braggart? Is that the height of your match making abilities?" He scoffs, not trying to hide his distaste. "We all hated the guy."

"We didn't..." Veronica tries to protest, but fails to come up with a single moment when she didn't despise the man. "Okay, you're right," she admits reluctantly, rolling her eyes. "We hated Adam. But Betty didn't."

"Actually, I did," Betty says, admitting it out loud for the first time.

"What?" Veronica's perfectly sculpted eyebrows shoot up. "How long were you together? Two months? Three?"

"Ten of the longest weeks of my life," Betty mumbles, focusing on delicately unwrapping another cupcake and avoiding her best friend's prying eyes.

She still feels embarrassed for slumming it with Adam for so long, when it was clear since the very first date that things wouldn't work between them. It only took half an hour for the confidence and intelligence she liked about him so much to turn into the cockiness that she couldn't stand. A part of her feels like she only dated him for his looks, the dark hair and blue eyes, too similar to someone else she was actually attracted to but didn't dare admit. Almost a year later, she still feels like a complete idiot for wasting her time on him.

Sensing Betty's discomfort, Jughead decides to try to change the subject.

"So, when is Archie coming home?" He asks with his eyes pointed at Veronica. He knows exactly when his best friend is coming home from his summer-long trip to LA, but he hopes that the mention of her beloved Archiekins will distract her enough to drop the idea of setting Betty up with someone she has no interest in and making everyone feel awkward in the process of doing so.

"If everything goes according to the plan, he'll be home at around three, just in time to get ready for our dinner reservation at seven," she replies with a dreamy look on her face. "Which reminds me. B, I'll need your assistance getting ready. I've brought so many new clothes but I'm not sure which to wear tonight. There is this purple satin dress that would go great with..."

"I think my job here is done," Jughead announces as he throws the last piece of cupcake into his mouth and stands up from the table, using Veronica's change of topic as his way out. "Thanks for the breakfast," he says, mainly aiming his words at Veronica, although his eyes linger on Betty.

He bids them a quick goodbye and while Veronica continues rambling about her various outfit options. Betty only half listens, her eyes still fixed on the front door as her mind keeps replaying the tiny smile Jughead sent her way before leaving.

"I can't believe all this time I actually thought you liked Adam. That's the only reason I at least tried to tolerate him," Veronica says, piercing Betty with her gaze in the mirror of her vanity. As Jughead pointed out earlier that day, they all hated Adam and his constant attempts to belittle them in order to feel like the smartest guy in the room. But since Veronica believed that Betty actually saw something in him, she tried really hard to see it too, for her best friend's sake. What a waste of time it was.

"I wanted to like him," Betty answers, as if that explains everything. "He looked like the perfect guy. For maybe half an hour." She adds the last sentence with a roll of her eyes. "And I guess I kept hoping the perfect guy was still there somewhere. If I only waited long enough for him to show up again." She knows how pathetic that makes her sound, but that's exactly how she felt back then. Like she was supposed to be grateful that someone good looking and smart wanted to date her. She knows better now.

"The dark hair and deep blue eyes... I can't blame you for holding onto that hot body for a bit too long." Veronica chuckles. "If only he had more going on for him than his looks. I don't even remember many sounds coming from your bedroom when he was here. Other than him chanting some big words, of course."

"Ugh." Betty shudders at the memory. For someone who prided himself on being smart and finding breakthrough solutions on a daily basis, he was very bad at finding that one particular spot on her body that he needed to, no matter how many times she guided him towards it.

"So tell me," Veronica clasps her hands, deciding to change the topic a little. "What does your ideal man look like?"

"Oh, I don't know." Betty shrugs, wrapping Veronica's hair around a curling iron as they speak. She has never given this question much thought, though she may have gravitated to a certain type of man without even realizing it. "I don't think I really have a type."

Veronica raises her eyebrow, a sign that she doesn't quite believe that, but she doesn't say anything.

"Well, what about his personality? Clearly not a big headed douchebag like Adam. Or a pushover like Trev."

Betty sighs and thinks about the question for a couple of seconds. "I guess... I want someone who's down to earth, who's willing to spend the evening inside eating pizza and watching old movies with me. Someone I can talk to and laugh with, rather than worry about being laughed at. I don't wanna be a guy's accessory. I want to be his friend. And... yeah, I think that's it," she concludes suddenly and feels a slight blush growing on her cheeks. She has never said any of those things out loud. Never thought she had the right to ask for much, but things feel a bit different now.

"You know you basically just described Jughead, right?" Veronica lets out a low laugh. It's not that she finds anything wrong with Jughead, but he's just that. Jughead. Their kind of weird but surprisingly sweet friend and neighbor. "Or some better version of him."

"No I didn't," Betty says quickly, but her face is already red. "He's not... well... I didn't."

"Okay, okay. No need to get defensive." Veronica raises her hands in surrender, hoping she didn't offend her best friend. "I just... never mind."

They grow quiet for a few moments as Betty focuses her attention back on Veronica's hair, while Veronica taps the screen of her phone furiously. She's determined to help her friend and doesn't understand why Betty is so opposed to the idea ofbeing set up with someone. Sure, it hasn't worked properly yet, but it's just a matter of time until it does.

"B, you're the literal best. I'll make it all up to you," Veronica chimes a couple of minutes later as Betty runs her fingers through her friend's newly formed waves before lightly coating them with hairspray. "Actually, I'm already working on it. I've shortlisted a couple of guys you may like. Some real eye candies, seemingly smart enough to be worthy of your time, but not too smart. Just the right amount of nerdy for you. All, of course, open to just some casual fun, but that doesn't mean scared of commitment."

"Ronnie..." Betty trails off, trying to stop her, but Veronica continues, not willing to give up easily.

"Betty, dear, I'd never make you do something you don't want to. I just... I like to be proactive, throw ideas around, push you guys a bit out of your comfort zone. So, of course, I won't force you to go on any dates. But please, please, at least think about it," Veronica pleads, her brown eyes growing wide. "I forwarded you the profiles so you can look at them. Maybe one of those guys will catch your eye."

Betty knows there is no way she can talk Veronica out of this idea. Not without telling her why she has no interest in her match making abilities. She lets out a sigh and decides to play along, if only to give her best friend the temporary satisfaction. Betty knows that Veronica only has her best interest at heart. "Okay, I'll look at them."

Veronica lets out a high pitched squeal to show her satisfaction, and with that, the conversation is over, at least for the day.

It's an hour later when Veronica finally puts the finishing touches on her look just as her red-headed boyfriend comes knocking at their apartment door. While they'd all already reunited earlier that day, right after Archie arrived home, his reappearance at the front door is met with equal amount of squealing and excitement from Veronica as it was before.

Betty laughs at the two lovebirds as she ushers them out and wishes them a fun evening, to which Veronica replies with a wink and Betty assumes she won't see her friend until the morning. She just hopes the inevitably loud reunion won't be happening at their apartment.

Just a few seconds after the door closes, there's a knock again, and Betty hurries to open it, wondering what Veronica left behind. But when she opens the door, she's greeted with a different raven-haired friend, whose grumpy expression from earlier in the day is replaced with a small smirk.

"I saw them leave," is all he says before his lips are on Betty's and her legs are wrapped around his waist as he presses her against the front door, trying not to waste another second.

"It was killing me not to touch you the whole day," he murmurs between kisses, running his hands up and down Betty's body, as if trying to find out whether something's changed since the last time he touched her, even though it was less than twenty-four hours ago.

"You can make it up to me now," she replies breathlessly, slipping her fingers into his silky soft hair, eliciting a small but satisfied moan from him as he presses his body against hers.

"Oh, I will." He smirks and tightens his grip on her as he carries her towards her bedroom.