i think it’s overrated and that it was rushed. it honestly seems as if the producers and writers of riverdale just threw the two together, regardless of giving them any build up or shit like that, just because they could and/or b/c they were just a boy and girl pairing that weren’t dating anyone yet. to me, they don’t have much chemistry, and watching them kiss is like watching two siblings kiss. no hate whatsoever to anyone who ships it, i just really don’t like it.
Veronica: i think we should practicing kissing, you know, for um, boys.. Betty: V, we both know how to kiss, we've kissed boys. Veronica: Betty i don't want to think about that, let's just practice. Betty: okay fine Veronica: Wait what? THAT WORKED? okay!
*Insert Katy Perry Lyrics Here*
Veronica has been pining for Betty since she moved to Riverdale. How is she suppose to watch the girl she's in love with spend the rest of their senior year with someone else?
Warning: there is a moderate to severe use of Katy Perry ahead
Also on Ao3
Sometimes, Veronica Lodge felt like fate was toying with her, like the universe was out to get her, or that she had taken a wrong turn somewhere on her path and that landed her here. And yes, she was aware how dramatic that sounded, but it’s how she felt.
It wasn’t as if her life was awful; it was just fine. She had two parents who loved her (even if her father’s current location was unknown due to evading fraud charges), she had a solid group of friends at Riverdale High, and she had a best friend who meant the world to her. The only thing was, her best friend was exactly the reason Veronica felt like the universe was toying with her.
Her first few weeks in Riverdale had been odd. From adjusting to a new school and small town life to the murder of Jason Blossom, it was just strange, but Betty had been there through it. Betty had forgiven Veronica for kissing Archie, and she had been the first person to look at Veronica like she was human and not some display at the zoo. Betty Cooper was Veronica’s first friend, her best friend, and after their shared kiss at cheer tryouts, she had become the object of Veronica’s affection.
It had been over two years since she moved to Riverdale now; things had more or less settled with Jason’s murder, but Veronica was still pining. She was woman enough to admit that’s what she was doing: she was pining for Elizabeth Anne Cooper.
The problem was, Veronica knew she could only blame herself. She had convinced Betty to pursue Archie, she had been there for her through that heartbreak, and she was the one who told Betty the best way to move on was to find someone else. She had hoped that Betty would find her, but instead she had found Reggie Mantle.
Everyone knew that Betty and Reggie wouldn’t last; it was a high school fling, but it still hurt every time Veronica saw them together.
“Something have you down, Ice Queen?” Cheryl Blossom asked, sitting down across from Veronica at a lunch table. They were outside enjoying the first real day of spring.
Since it had come out that Cheryl didn’t kill her brother, she had been different, a little less combative, but still the queen of the school. “I’m fine,” Veronica said, looking at Cheryl and away from where Betty, Reggie, and Jughead were standing.
“Hmm,” Cheryl said, looking over her shoulder to where the group stood. “Betty, Reg, Jughead, come sit with us!”
Veronica kept her face passive as they walked over, her eyes on Betty’s warm smile. “I was wondering when you’d ask us over,” Betty said, sitting down next to Veronica and bumping her knee against Veronica’s.
“I thought after nearly three years you’d know you have a standing invite at any table that I sit at,” Veronica said, offering Betty a smile. “It’s what best friends are for.”
Betty smiled again, making Veronica’s heart skip a beat. “Did you want to study for the AP Government exam after school?”
Veronica opened her mouth to say yes, she could never say no to Betty anyway, when Cheryl spoke. “Actually Ronnie and I are going shopping after school, a little retail therapy.”
“Right,” Veronica said, looking at Cheryl, “Shopping.”
“Oh, well tomorrow, then,” Betty said with a little smile before getting pulled into a conversation with Reggie and Archie, who had joined them.
“You’re welcome,” Cheryl whispered to Veronica, “I’ll see you in the parking lot after school.”
------
Katy Perry blasted out of the speakers in Cheryl’s convertible as they drove toward the Riverdale mall, singing all of Veronica’s feelings about the one that got away. She looked out of where the window would have been, her hair blowing everywhere, but she couldn’t make herself happy.
“Don’t be such a downer,” Cheryl said as she parked the car. “We’re going to get you the girl.”
Veronica snorted out a laugh, “Right.”
“You’ve been pining for her since you moved here; I’m sick of seeing it,” Cheryl said, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. “Plus it would be great it one female/female relationship would work out here in Riverdale.”
Sometimes Veronica forgot about Cheryl and Josie’s short-lived summer romance that had ended when Josie and the Pussycats had been offered a record deal and moved to L.A. “She’s dating Reggie.”
It was Cheryl’s turn to snort. Veronica wasn’t exactly sure when or how she and Cheryl had become good friends, but somewhere along the line, they had. She knew they were because Cheryl wouldn’t snort in front of just anyone. “And you’re going to prom with Andrews. We all know you two are meant to be together, even Reg.”
“How exactly are we going to ‘get me the girl’?” Veronica asked, putting air quotes around the phrase. “Because I’m pretty sure if she wanted me, I’d be with her by now.”
“We’re going to make you look irresistible,” Cheryl said with a smile. “Come along, we have a lot of shopping to do and we both know that Riverdale has a limited selection of good dresses mixed into a massive pile of garbage.”
“It really is no Saks,” Veronica said with a little smile, “but we can make do.”
“Of course we can,” Cheryl replied, walking into the mall, heels clacking. “We’re Cheryl Blossom and Veronica Lodge; if there’s one thing we can do, it’s shop.”
------
The day of prom might have been one of the hardest in Veronica’s life. She had to watch Betty get ready, watch her smile and laugh, knowing that she wouldn’t be going with her. They were all at Cheryl’s house getting ready, but Veronica was starting to regret going to prom at all.
“Come on V, let me do your hair,” Cheryl said, pushing Veronica onto the bed and waving her curling iron at her threateningly. She lowered her voice and said, “Stop being a downer, you’re never going to get her attention if you have a scowl on your face all night.”
So Veronica faked a smile. She let Betty zip up her long black dress, she let Midge dust eyeshadow onto her eyelids, she let Cheryl twist her hair into a knot at the nape of her neck. She did everything a girl getting ready for prom is supposed to do, well, everything except actually want to go.
“You look perfect,” Betty said into her ear, running a hand over the silky material of Veronica’s dress, “Anyone would be lucky to have you as their date tonight.”
Veronica smiled, her cheeks flushing. “Right back at you, hot stuff.”
Betty grinned, her smile lighting up her whole face. She was dressed in a floaty pink dress; her blonde hair, longer than it had ever been, was loosely curled. She looked like a princess and Veronica wanted so badly to tuck one of those curls behind her ear, to caress her cheek, but she didn’t. Instead, she just knocked their shoulders together and walked down stairs to where the boys were waiting.
They took pictures; she smiled next to Archie and they laughed when they got into the typical prom picture pose. They were both so far beyond their weird crushes on each other; instead, they were going to prom together because neither of them was going with who they really wanted.
“It’ll be fun,” Archie said when they walked into the ballroom at the Riverdale Inn. “Come on Ronnie, we can still have fun even if it isn’t what we were hoping for.”
“There will be no closet make out sessions, Archiekins,” Veronica said, leading him by the arm onto the dance floor, “but we will dance the night away.”
And they did, for awhile. They all danced together to the poppy upbeat songs that the DJ played. It all went well until the first slow song came on. Archie had his hands on her waist and Veronica placed her hands on his shoulders as they swayed to Can You Feel the Love Tonight .
“This is pretty fun,” Archie said as they danced. “Could be a lot worse.”
“Could it?” Veronica asked, her eyes on Betty and Reggie as they swayed near them. They were whispering as they danced, Reggie’s mouth near Betty’s ear. Betty smiled a shy smile at whatever Reggie had said and Veronica stepped back. “I’m sorry Arch, I can’t do this.”
As quickly as she could without running, Veronica left the ballroom. She felt her eyes burning and she knew that tears would fall if she didn’t get herself under control so instead of going into the bathroom where she was bound to find other people who would speak to her she walked outside.
Veronica leaned against the cool stone wall outside the hotel, closing her eyes to stop the tears from spilling out of her eyes. This was her prom, she was suppose to be having a great time, she was here with a great guy, but instead she was trying not to cry because Betty Cooper was smiling at and dancing with someone else.
She couldn’t help but feel like Betty would always be the one that got away from her. She had never really even had her, not the way she wanted, but still.
“Ronnie?” Betty’s voice called and Veronica’s eyes snapped open. “There you are, I was looking for you.”
“Here I am,” Veronica said as Betty drew level with her, “Where’d Reggie get to?”
“Oh, he’s with Midge,” Betty said, stepping closer to Veronica so they were almost touching. Veronica had to stop herself from reaching out to touch Betty. “He told me to go get my girl. Where’s Archie?”
“With Cheryl,” Veronica said, “What do you mean, ‘your girl’?”
“He seems to think that you and I are meant to be together,” Betty said, “That if I didn’t come out here you’d be the one that got away.”
Veronica looked at Betty, her mouth hanging open in a soft O. After a moment she gathered herself and smiled. “Just go with it.”
And then they were kissing. It was nothing like the kiss at cheer tryouts years before, it was nothing like the chaste peck they shared during a game of spin the bottle at Reggie’s house at the start of senior year; no, this kiss felt real. Betty’s hands came up to her neck, her lips parted and a soft sigh of warm breath played across Veronica’s lips.
When they pulled apart, Betty’s eyes were still shut. She had Veronica’s red lipstick on her mouth and her cheeks were flushed pink. Veronica leaned in and kissed her again, because she could, because she wanted to, because this was Betty Cooper and all Veronica had wanted to do for almost three years was kiss her.
“Wow,” Betty said against Veronica’s lips, “That was… wow.”
“Yes, it was,” Veronica said, and then she giggled before she started humming I Kissed A Girl . She licked her lips, tasting Betty’s raspberry lip gloss as she did. “Huh, I always pegged you for a cherry kind of girl.”
Betty shook her head, a fond smile on her face. “I think you owe me a dance, Miss Lodge.”
“It would be my honor,” Veronica said, taking Betty’s hand and walking back toward the ballroom. She felt her stomach flip over as Betty linked their fingers together and squeezed. It was such a simple motion that Veronica had thought about so many times. She was so happy that it was real.
The upbeat sound of Bruno Mars hit their ears as they walked in. Veronica saw Archie and Cheryl dancing, Archie awkward as ever; Midge and Reggie were dancing next to Kevin and Moose; even Jughead was kind of dancing, shifting from foot to foot a beat off of the music, his signature hat still on even with his tux. The song changed as they made it over to their group of friends.
Katy Perry’s voice boomed over the sound system and Veronica pulled Betty close. “It must be fate or something.”
“Fate,” Betty said, swaying to the beat, her eyes on Veronica and her hands on Veronica’s hips. They felt hot even through her dress, she wanted them to move lower and higher and everywhere inbetween.
Veronica felt people look at them but she didn’t care; she was too wrapped up in Betty. Maybe they wouldn’t last forever, maybe this was just a teenage dream, maybe they’d break up in college, maybe they wouldn’t last, but she had a feeling Betty wouldn’t become the one that got away, not anymore.
