No, it isn't. [Veronica's visible ease with which she moves through life continues into here, though she knows somehow that this has the chance to be way more complicated than it needs to be. Or, well, that it can develop into that. Every time she's tried to write off something as "nothing more than a moment," it's come back to bite her in the ass. She knows better now. In improving herself, she knows that she's utterly changed who she is—sentimentality doesn't pass her by. It's a part of who she is these days.]
But I think we can both agree that what we did that day and what we might do in here are both entirely different things. As far as I know, Cheryl hasn't planted any cameras in here. It's just you and me. [There wouldn't be a camera in there if it were Cheryl instead of Betty, which is why she points this out. Given everything that happens in Riverdale, it wouldn't be completely unusual for someone to film two girls making out in a closet. In fact, Veronica could almost expect such a thing to occur.
She knows that her ability to bond with ease with just about anyone can be seen as contentious, as if she has a fleeting, malleable identity that's built more upon looking good and doing the right thing than any integrity. Hell, some part of her worries about it. But she wants to be good, to have things be good, which is why she's tried to work with a more candid approach with Betty.
That said, Veronica feels like this is a ball that needs to be in Betty's court. How she perceives this will also guide how they kiss, if they kiss, how long they will kiss—and whether they enjoy it. She'd prefer the last thing to be a conditional factor. Whatever is chosen, it has to be good—for both of them. And in that, it won't be about what pieces she's sliding into place, but what makes Betty feel like she has a handle on all of this.]
[ Things with Jughead are admittedly not the greatest right now. To some extent she understands why he's doing what he is -- ingratiating himself with the Serpents, accepting a place among them as family. It affords him the kind of protection that he sorely needs with his dad behind bars and his mom hundreds of miles away and seemingly uninterested in helping her son. Even though she still strongly believes that he would be better off in the long run if he'd let go of his pride for a moment and allow her, allow Archie, to continue to help as they've been doing so loyally all along, she tries not to begrudge his decision so much when she can't even begin to imagine how difficult everything's been on him this last year.
But it's hard not to let the negative thoughts creep in when he's had to make some sacrifices which have invariably placed a strain on their relationship, no matter how much he's promised her that nothing has changed about the way he feels about her. Maybe it's not his fault at the end of the day but then maybe it's not hers either if she finds herself longing for something more than he can apparently give her right now. She's a person, after all -- not just a dispenser of comfort and consolation when it's still convenient for Jughead to act like her boyfriend.
To Betty's credit, the thought of using Veronica to try and somehow make Jughead jealous never once crosses her mind. That being said, the thought of using Veronica to make herself feel better is a little less avoidable given the circumstances but then it isn't like she explicitly concocted this whole scenario for her own benefit. It's a game that they had both, for better or worse, allowed themselves to get dragged into playing.
But deep down she knows that isn't entirely true. Kevin has made more than a few veiled insinuations about the exact nature of B&V since the day that Veronica had first come sailing into their lives. Most of it had just been harmless teasing, never given a second consideration, but a few of his more recent comments in particular had struck her harder than she had wanted to admit at the time, drawing to the surface -- even if just for a fleeting moment -- the idea that her closeness with the other girl might fall somewhere left of 'normal.'
And it's true that she finds Veronica to be attractive. Anyone with eyes could plainly see as much. Even now, Betty's stomach flip-flops and her pulse leaps with the close proximity they share and the anticipation of what might be coming next. ]
Isn't it always? [ Betty's response sounds measured this time and her voice has lowered rather than pitched higher with nervousness as it's normally prone to doing. It's not that she isn't scared. She's terrified, honestly, but she's also quite suddenly filled with a certain feeling of inevitability. ] You and me?
[ Her hands gently settle on either side of Veronica's waist as if to underscore their connectedness. ]
[The strain that exists between Jughead and Betty is there between Veronica and Archie. The latter two are currently at a different kind of impasse—broken up, almost out of necessity, following the active investigation into her father's involvement with Fred's injury. They're back to a "will they or won't they" that's exhausting for Veronica, especially since she'd rather just be there for Archie right now. The pain he feels is real. The guilt she feels at potentially being the child of the man who nearly ended Fred Andrews' life is also palpable. There's nothing she can do about it.
Everyone knows about this strain and the issues there, but Veronica has done her best to shoulder it all and carry on. What else can she do? It's not like she's a stranger to what her parents are capable of, and now it feels like it hit even closer, even harder than before. Even trying to be there for Archie feels like an act meant to make herself feel better. After Ethel, she knows better than to push, and this is a greater extreme.
All of this is why she welcomed this weird act of renewal on Cheryl's part, especially since Cheryl herself is now a very clearly labeled pariah among the Riverdale community. Dealing with that felt ... easier. Cheryl is her friend, even if their relationship sometimes steers sharply into the enemies part of frenemies, but lately it's been more friendly. Almost out of necessity. Almost because it has to be that way.
In all of this, she's done her best to be there for Betty, to try to help her understand Jughead's mindset. But it's complicated, at least on her end. She had connected with Betty all but immediately, had envisioned a life with them side by side. Their pact had been important. Now that their relationships were on the rocks (or just ruins on the rocks, as it may be), it feels more complicated. Kevin's comments toward Betty are ones that Veronica has been privy to, because that's just how it is, but they were more fleeting in her presence. Now, she can't help but feel like her ease and smiles and everything else were hiding some very apparent signs that were always there.
She had said that Betty and Jughead seemed like soulmates. She believed it. Who says you can't have two? Whose soul is only linked to one other person?]
Nothing changes that. Nothing comes between that. We made a pact. [Some part of her is aware that Betty might be doing this to make herself feel better, and that part wars with the same part of her that wants this—because Veronica wants to feel better, too. It feels like an easy answer in the midst of all their pain.]
If we do this, we'll have to be prepared for what comes next. It's not just a game. [Veronica voices this because, at times, as bold and loud as she can be, she's willing to be the voice of reason. When she had kissed Archie that day, she had pretended it was just the game, had allowed herself to slip into the feeling of selfishness that led to her kissing him. But she knew better, deep down; she knows better now.]
[ Once upon a time the thought of their breakup might have brought her some selfish feeling of relief but the truth is that Betty has felt quite earnestly sad for the both of them. It certainly hasn't been easy watching the slow decline of Archie and Veronica from lovers back into some manageable semblance of friendship after everything that had transpired between their two families. Of course nothing has been proven quite yet but even just the suspicion of it had been enough to cause a strain. Not that Archie really blames Veronica for anything her father might have done. But Betty imagines that in either one of their shoes it might be difficult nevertheless to look at each other in the eyes and really sit comfortably with that knowledge -- at least right now when things are so fresh, relatively speaking. (It's been months since the actual incident but Betty knows that Archie still wakes up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder).
It somehow doesn't surprise her that Veronica is approaching this in her usual, even-keeled way. Betty's normally the one to always be thinking several steps ahead -- a practical necessity when you grow up with a mom like Alice Cooper who watches your every move like a hawk -- so she can appreciate the honest if unneeded warning. ]
I know. [ Betty shakes her head slightly. ] V... You could never be 'just a game' to me. [ She says sincerely, her pupils blown wide in the low light. No matter what else, at least that much is clear to her. ]
Good. [A beat, and then an added statement of sincerity:] I don't think I could handle that. After everything ... [Veronica's voice trails off. That's another way that she and Betty are different. Part of Veronica's grace in the world comes with a strange comfort of being willing to speak her mind, and speak how she feels. She knows that it's never as easy for Betty. While Veronica wears everything externally, Betty has learned to conceal it all, to keep it all inside. It's necessary to survive her family. And it's necessary to survive this town.
Her hand moves up, fingers drifting over Betty's cheek. She breathes out, eyes searching Betty's for a moment longer.]
Perhaps we should've known that it'd always come back to us. [Her eyebrows raise with a hint of mischief. At the end of the day, Veronica isn't about to face something like this without diving in headfirst. Besides, she sees no point in not enjoying this, and enjoying her time with Betty Cooper. She cares deeply for her friend, possibly more than anyone else in this town (sans Archie and her mom—though obviously the latter is a whole different thing altogether than ... this).]
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But I think we can both agree that what we did that day and what we might do in here are both entirely different things. As far as I know, Cheryl hasn't planted any cameras in here. It's just you and me. [There wouldn't be a camera in there if it were Cheryl instead of Betty, which is why she points this out. Given everything that happens in Riverdale, it wouldn't be completely unusual for someone to film two girls making out in a closet. In fact, Veronica could almost expect such a thing to occur.
She knows that her ability to bond with ease with just about anyone can be seen as contentious, as if she has a fleeting, malleable identity that's built more upon looking good and doing the right thing than any integrity. Hell, some part of her worries about it. But she wants to be good, to have things be good, which is why she's tried to work with a more candid approach with Betty.
That said, Veronica feels like this is a ball that needs to be in Betty's court. How she perceives this will also guide how they kiss, if they kiss, how long they will kiss—and whether they enjoy it. She'd prefer the last thing to be a conditional factor. Whatever is chosen, it has to be good—for both of them. And in that, it won't be about what pieces she's sliding into place, but what makes Betty feel like she has a handle on all of this.]
no subject
But it's hard not to let the negative thoughts creep in when he's had to make some sacrifices which have invariably placed a strain on their relationship, no matter how much he's promised her that nothing has changed about the way he feels about her. Maybe it's not his fault at the end of the day but then maybe it's not hers either if she finds herself longing for something more than he can apparently give her right now. She's a person, after all -- not just a dispenser of comfort and consolation when it's still convenient for Jughead to act like her boyfriend.
To Betty's credit, the thought of using Veronica to try and somehow make Jughead jealous never once crosses her mind. That being said, the thought of using Veronica to make herself feel better is a little less avoidable given the circumstances but then it isn't like she explicitly concocted this whole scenario for her own benefit. It's a game that they had both, for better or worse, allowed themselves to get dragged into playing.
But deep down she knows that isn't entirely true. Kevin has made more than a few veiled insinuations about the exact nature of B&V since the day that Veronica had first come sailing into their lives. Most of it had just been harmless teasing, never given a second consideration, but a few of his more recent comments in particular had struck her harder than she had wanted to admit at the time, drawing to the surface -- even if just for a fleeting moment -- the idea that her closeness with the other girl might fall somewhere left of 'normal.'
And it's true that she finds Veronica to be attractive. Anyone with eyes could plainly see as much. Even now, Betty's stomach flip-flops and her pulse leaps with the close proximity they share and the anticipation of what might be coming next. ]
Isn't it always? [ Betty's response sounds measured this time and her voice has lowered rather than pitched higher with nervousness as it's normally prone to doing. It's not that she isn't scared. She's terrified, honestly, but she's also quite suddenly filled with a certain feeling of inevitability. ] You and me?
[ Her hands gently settle on either side of Veronica's waist as if to underscore their connectedness. ]
no subject
Everyone knows about this strain and the issues there, but Veronica has done her best to shoulder it all and carry on. What else can she do? It's not like she's a stranger to what her parents are capable of, and now it feels like it hit even closer, even harder than before. Even trying to be there for Archie feels like an act meant to make herself feel better. After Ethel, she knows better than to push, and this is a greater extreme.
All of this is why she welcomed this weird act of renewal on Cheryl's part, especially since Cheryl herself is now a very clearly labeled pariah among the Riverdale community. Dealing with that felt ... easier. Cheryl is her friend, even if their relationship sometimes steers sharply into the enemies part of frenemies, but lately it's been more friendly. Almost out of necessity. Almost because it has to be that way.
In all of this, she's done her best to be there for Betty, to try to help her understand Jughead's mindset. But it's complicated, at least on her end. She had connected with Betty all but immediately, had envisioned a life with them side by side. Their pact had been important. Now that their relationships were on the rocks (or just ruins on the rocks, as it may be), it feels more complicated. Kevin's comments toward Betty are ones that Veronica has been privy to, because that's just how it is, but they were more fleeting in her presence. Now, she can't help but feel like her ease and smiles and everything else were hiding some very apparent signs that were always there.
She had said that Betty and Jughead seemed like soulmates. She believed it. Who says you can't have two? Whose soul is only linked to one other person?]
Nothing changes that. Nothing comes between that. We made a pact. [Some part of her is aware that Betty might be doing this to make herself feel better, and that part wars with the same part of her that wants this—because Veronica wants to feel better, too. It feels like an easy answer in the midst of all their pain.]
If we do this, we'll have to be prepared for what comes next. It's not just a game. [Veronica voices this because, at times, as bold and loud as she can be, she's willing to be the voice of reason. When she had kissed Archie that day, she had pretended it was just the game, had allowed herself to slip into the feeling of selfishness that led to her kissing him. But she knew better, deep down; she knows better now.]
no subject
It somehow doesn't surprise her that Veronica is approaching this in her usual, even-keeled way. Betty's normally the one to always be thinking several steps ahead -- a practical necessity when you grow up with a mom like Alice Cooper who watches your every move like a hawk -- so she can appreciate the honest if unneeded warning. ]
I know. [ Betty shakes her head slightly. ] V... You could never be 'just a game' to me. [ She says sincerely, her pupils blown wide in the low light. No matter what else, at least that much is clear to her. ]
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Her hand moves up, fingers drifting over Betty's cheek. She breathes out, eyes searching Betty's for a moment longer.]
Perhaps we should've known that it'd always come back to us. [Her eyebrows raise with a hint of mischief. At the end of the day, Veronica isn't about to face something like this without diving in headfirst. Besides, she sees no point in not enjoying this, and enjoying her time with Betty Cooper. She cares deeply for her friend, possibly more than anyone else in this town (sans Archie and her mom—though obviously the latter is a whole different thing altogether than ... this).]
So, shall we?