A/N: ...so this took forever. *cries* my muse was being super uncooperative and tbh I'm still not happy with what I've done, but seeing as I still wanna keep my promise of posting this before the S2 premiere, I figured I may as well just post it.

Next chapter will be better. Probably. Hopefully.

Betty has always been a hyper organized person, the who loves to make detailed lists, color coded with charts and the whole nine yards. Unsurprisingly, she's been labelled as a Type A personality, the kind who probably has OCD and serious control issues. It's all true, to an extent.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of satisfaction, when everything is in a neat, organized manner, or, like the skin-crawling anxiety when things are a mess or even in slight disarray. It's probably not normal to find such a sense of comfort in seeing a her bookshelf properly alphabetized, or her notebooks color coded for each subject, but she does. There are so many things in Betty's life that are out of control-including herself, sometimes-that little things feel like significant victories somehow.

Basically, Betty is a planner.

So, she can't help but try to bring some semblance of order to the more chaotic aspects in her life too. Including the part of her life that is being increasingly entangled with one Veronica Lodge.

(If Betty is being completely honest, she's not even sure there's any part of it that is still unconnected to the brunette.)

This, of course, apparently, also includes, a half-baked plan to get her best friend with her ex-girlfriend.

Sure, Betty is already starting to think this is maybe a terrible idea, not least because she can practically feel her heart screaming in protest at it. But, like always, she silences the screaming inside her with vigorous planning and organization, throwing the sweet illusion of control over the wildly spinning parts of her. And really, she does think this is for the best.

Though for who, exactly, is not a question she wants to deeply examine at the moment.

-x-

Anyway, the first step to her plan is simple and obvious: get more information.

Even after spending entirely too much time stalking both Veronica and Alexis' Instagrams, Betty still only has the barest of actual fact and a lot of assumptions that may or may not be right. She wants to be able to trust her instinct, but experience has taught her that she's not exactly the greatest at that (see: her erroneous assumption regarding Veronica's sexuality).

There's still Twitter and Facebook, and just a plain Google search, but the best thing, probably, would be to just get to straight from the horse's mouth. As guarded as Veronica can be about her past, Betty wants to believe that if she really directly asked, she'd be able to get answers out of the other girl. The blonde reminds herself that this whole thing did start because the brunette mentioned an offhand story about her ex-girlfriend, so it's not like the topic is completely taboo. It's not a completely terrible idea, she thinks (even if her nerves are already starting to protest it), and as far as plans go, it's simple but effective.

Thus, step one in Betty's plan to get Veronica back together with her ex-girlfriend will be to subtly interrogate her about it tomorrow. Before class, preferably, because she isn't sure she can actually stand to have her questions unanswered all day. She knows herself well enough to know she'll end up distracted in class, and her grades cannot afford such a slip.

-x-

That should be the end of it. But the night is long, still.

After, Betty shuts her phone down, plugs it into the charger, and goes down to have dinner with her family, or what's left of it, anyway. Her parents are already there, and the blonde goes to help her mother set the table like a good little daughter.

As they start eating, her parents attempt vague conversation, such blandly pleasant small talk, Betty wonders when her life turned into a fifties' sitcom. A few times, they ask her questions, mostly about school, which she answers in the most neutral tones she can manage while her head whirls with terrible bubbling thoughts that blur the line between regular Betty and Dark Betty far too easily.

All in all, it's a quiet, slightly stilted affair as always, the kind they've been ever since she returned over the summer and found her older sister gone-

(Though really, if she's honest, it's been a little awkward and stilted for far longer than that.)

She's cutting up her roast chicken, when the knife scratches loudly against the plate by mistake, and she cringes at the sudden noise (pretending that's the only reason why).

The slip gets her a scolding from her mother to be more careful, and it takes all her self control to manage a jerky nod instead of a scream at that. After, if she holds her silverware a little too tightly, then it's just because she's being more careful.

(Sometimes, she's just so angry, and she just want to stab something, punch someone, anything that might, for a moment, quiet the roaring inside of herself-)

But Betty Cooper is a sweet girl-next-door, the perfect daughter (who hasn't messed up yet), and so, she has family dinners every night and definitely doesn't think anything but platonic thoughts about her female best friend-who, by the way, her parents already distrust and disapprove of.

Just a little hysterically, Betty wonders if her mother knew about Veronica's sexuality, if it had anything to do with her trying to stop the friendship. Alice Cooper is a journalist, after all, and Veronica's social media pages might've been set to private now, but her ex-girlfriend's wasn't.

-x-

"I wasn't exactly hiding it."

-x-

Betty has no illusions about the fact that her mother is most certainly the type of parent who would do background checks on her daughter's friends (not to mention whatever history she clearly has with the Lodges already).

For all that Veronica is her best friend, it's beginning to feel like everyone else knows a hell of a lot more about her than she does.

The feeling doesn't leave, despite her best attempts at putting it out of her mind, as she tries to finish dinner.

All she can see is a slideshow of all the things she's learned, the pictures she's seen. Veronica kissing a blond-haired girl, the New York city skyline behind them. The soft glow of happiness on her face, the affectionate undertone of all the captions.

Betty nearly scrapes her knife against the plate again, and only just manages to stop. All of this has her more than a little distracted, and Betty she restless and jittery, unable to stop her mind from whirring with questions. She needs to do something. Get more information. Try Twitter, Facebook or something else.

Anything, but to continue sitting through a stupid awkward dinner with her mother who probably knew all this before she did.

Desperation has her eating the rest of her food as fast as she can, wanting to get back to her room as soon as possible. Inevitably, her parents take notice. It's not like it's unusual for her to want to get this awkward affair over with quickly, but she's not usually so obvious about it.

"Betty, what is the rush?" Her mother asks, a slight edge to her voice.

Veronica, she thinks. "Homework," she says instead, after a brief pause. She gives a smile to try to sell it but it probably comes off strained instead.

Her mother only frowns, a suspicious look in her eyes that makes Betty think she should probably change all her passwords as soon as possible. But, thankfully, she doesn't press any further.

After a moment of awkward silence, the sound of cutlery fills the air once more. Betty doesn't quite sigh with relief at being allowed to finish the rest of dinner in peace, but she makes an effort to slow down her pace to something approximating her usual one.

Still, she finishes faster than usual, excusing herself to go back up almost immediately.

-x-

As soon as she's back in her room, Betty slumps against the door and breathes out, fingers finally unclenching. Family dinners probably aren't supposed to be emotionally exhausting, she thinks with more than a little bitterness.

For all the turmoil the Lodge family is currently in considering the scandal, Betty still can't help but wish she had the kind of relationship Veronica has with her mother. They could probably have a conversation without suspicion and mistrust on both sides. They could and did survive a scandal without sacrificing a daughter for the sake of their image.

The comparisons are endless, and it's not a rabbit hole she wants to venture into again. Her family issues are not what she wants to think about now (or ever, if she can help it). Not when she has other things on her mind.

And the thought of Veronica reminds her exactly why she wanted to get out of dinner so quickly (besides the obvious). After taking a readying breath, she gets down to business, shedding her current repressed daughter persona for one of a hard-hitting journalist.

Because by this time tonight, she's going to know all there is to know about Veronica Lodge's ex-girlfriend.

If she's actually serious about this plan of hers (and the churning in her gut keeps screaming no), she should really know more about this girl. So far, all she really knows is what she looks like and that Veronica was really into her. It's not really enough information to go on, so she obviously needs to do further research.

So, after making sure that her doors are locked and blinds closed once more, she boots up her laptop. Once open, she hesitates for only a moment, before she opens up her browser to type in the search bar: Alexis Wood.

The first results, obviously, lead to social media accounts. But, despite the fairly common name, there aren't many duplicates, because, apparently, Alexis is proves to be actually kind of famous-enough to warrant a few news articles about her and an actual Wikipedia page, in fact.

Betty eyes the other headlines with raised brows. Though intrigued, she decides it's best to start with the basics and clicks on the Wiki article first.

-x-

Alexis Wood (born July 21, 2000) is a British-American dancer, socialite and Youtube personality. She is the second eldest daughter of British business tycoon Charles Wood and Catherine Seymour, great-niece of the Duke of Somerset.

Life and Career

A classically trained dancer, she was accepted into the Royal Ballet School, one of the world's greatest centres of classical ballet training, at eleven years old, studying there for two years, until she moved to the United States along with the rest of her family. In the UK, she was a winner of several dance competitions, and a finalist in the Youth Edition of the popular dance competition Strictly Come Dancing.

Once in New York, she studied at the Brearley School, an all-girls private school located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She was also accepted into the prestigious pre-college program of Julliard. During this time, she also participated in several dance competitions and showcases.

In 2015, at the age of fourteen, she started a Youtube channel, under the username DancingWithFire, where she uploaded music videos, dance tutorials, and vlogs of her daily life. She first gained popularity when she began posted a video of herself fire dancing at a party pool party.

Personal Life

Alexis Wood has been linked with several high-profile figures, including Youtube personality, Jackie Williamson, and socialite Julius Lambton, though neither were officially confirmed. She has briefly discussed her sexual orientation, addressing questions in one video, by saying, "Frankly, I don't care about labels... I just like hot people."

In late 2016, she began dating fellow classmate and socialite Veronica Lodge. Rumors regarding their relationship started when the two were photographed outside a restaurant seemingly locked in an intimate embrace. Though initially denying the rumors, the two eventually announced their relationship status via social media. During their relationship, the Lodge heiress began appearing in Alexis' videos, as a guest dancer and her girlfriend in vlogs.

After the controversy regarding the Lodge case came out in early 2017, the couple were seen publically fighting at a NYC club. This was their last public appearance together. The split was never officially confirmed, but Alexis was soon spotted being intimate with others, including rumoured former flame, Julius.

-x-

That was… surprisingly detailed, Betty concluded. It's definitely helpful, but it also feels incredibly unsettling. Having grown up in a small town, she isn't exactly unfamiliar with a far too active rumor mill, and everyone knowing far too much about everyone else, but this is something else.

This is the world of socialites and stardom, of New York city lights and paparazzi following you around. It's a world she doesn't understand, doesn't know at all.

And, of course, the other blonde turns out to be the daughter of a billionaire, and actually descended from actual nobility. Betty isn't even that surprised, really. Because that's just the kind of girl Veronica Lodge, a billionaire's daughter herself (even if that's currently not the case), would be in a relationship with, clearly.

(Not small town Betty, with her small town world, with her girl-next-door pigeonhole, and her distinctly middle-class upbringing.)

But more than just her background, there's the girl herself.

Alexis is basically the same age as her, yet she's already so much more. She's quite a dancer, apparently, judging by all the press. Even if her last name likely did play some part in getting her through certain doors, she is clearly talented. The blurb about her professional skills lists her knowledge in a wide variety of dance styles, and there's quite a few awards and trophies to her name in the list of achievements column at the bottom.

-x-

There's a link to her Youtube account on the Wiki's sidebar on the right, underneath a photograph of her posing at some kind of formal event.

The channel is, as expected, filled primarily with dance videos. For the amount of subscribers and views it has, there aren't actually too many videos. There's maybe a dozen videos total in the two years since it's been made, from what Betty can see.

The latest video is nearly half a year. Around the same time Veronica moved to Riverdale, Betty notes. As a reporter, a budding detective, she's learned there's no such as coincidence, but even if she hadn't-well, not exactly hiding it, indeed.

It's titled samba in prelude, with a thumbnail that shows the silhouette of two people locked in a vaguely sensual embrace. Even then, she can tell immediately just who the two figures are, and just what this video likely holds.

The comments have been disabled, which says… something.

(She remembers one of the first conversations she had with the other girl, after they both made the cheer team, about internet trolls and comments.)

Even with this little context, Betty can't even pretend not to be very highly interested, and clicks on play button almost immediately, heart beating loudly in her ears.

The music starts, with some smooth saxophone strains, before the singer's voice croons in low and sensual Spanish she doesn't understand. Veronica probably does, the blonde reflects, and wonders if she had a hand in the song choice, wonders if it means anything, because she doesn't understand.

(She doesn't understand anything, if she ever did at all, because this isn't a side to Veronica Lodge that's familiar to her. Even though she's seen the brunette dance against Cheryl Blossom, she knows instinctively that this is different-)

Because Veronica is dancing with Alexis, and the two of them are so in-sync, so talented, so beautiful together that Betty can barely bear to look at them. Especially when the dance shifts into something that makes her wonder how she ever thought Veronica was anything resembling straight.

The song finally ends, the music cutting off to the sound of their laughter, before fading out to the channel image on one side and thumbnails of other videos on it.

-x-

One of the videos that shows up is one plainly titled: Girlfriend Tag! The thumbnail is a still of the two girls in yet another vaguely suggestive position that is probably not entirely appropriate for such a public platform

(Okay, so maybe Betty is a bit of a prude, but she also thinks she would probably not care so much if it was literally any two other people doing it).

All she can think is, definitely not hiding it, with a resigned sort of despair. Her stomach churns at the words and accompanying thumbnail.

The other video is titled fire & water, with the thumbnail of a hazy silhouette against a pool with smoke coming out of it. Betty guesses this might be the fire dancing video talked about in the wikipedia article.

Looking between the two videos, she decides that she's probably better off checking out the video that's without Veronica (and maybe that's counterproductive to the purposes of her research but she just needs a break from all this, for a moment, okay?)

So, she clicks on the video that probably won't make her heart palpitate above recommended levels.

-x-

Once again, the comments have been disabled, and she suspects it's been done for every video on the channel. Betty thinks about checking, but she is starting to have doubts about whether she can actually handle that.

For now, she decides to click play, and is immediately treated to a much fuzzier view than the video before, thanks to a combination of the night lightning and a worse quality camera. The scene is lit mostly by the pool glowing in the background, and the sparks of red coming from the lit ends of the staff Alexis is holding in her arms. The fire & water in question, Betty notes, before the music cues up. It's a fast tribal beat with a lot of drums in it that isn't the blonde's style at all, but she barely notices because the girl in the video is moving.

Betty has perhaps vaguely heard of the concept of fire dancing, but hasn't ever really seen or searched for it before. Maybe that's why she's so impressed when she sees the young-who looks a good year or two younger than in the last video-handling the fire like it's nothing. There's a huge grin on her face, as she dances to the music, doing a few acrobatic flips where the flames come dangerously close to her person.

The dance goes on for a few minutes, until the music reaches its climax, at which point, the girl backflips into the water, burning staff of fire in hand and all. The sound of the splash mixes with the music, and the screen is filled with smoke for a few moments.

When Alexis rises to the surface, a wet shadowed silhouette a few moments later, the fading smoke around her, there's the distant sound of cheering and whooping in the background, before video fades to black a seconds later.

-x-

Betty doesn't even know what to think or how to react to that. Well, no wonder it got famous, she thinks, as she recalls the wiki article's words. If the blonde had come across the video browsing normally through the website, she would've thought it was incredible, a rather reckless feat she couldn't even imagine attempting herself, and might've shared it on her social media without another thought.

But, seeing the video with the knowledge that this girl is Veronica's ex-girlfriend… well, she's got decidedly more mixed feelings about it.

(And she thought this would be the easier video to watch, ha-if Betty was feeling apprehensive about this research before, she's certainly worse now)

There are different videos recommended at the end of this one. One is some kind of dance tutorial to a song she doesn't know, and the other is a dance performance of some kind where she's in full costume. Betty thinks about clicking on those, but doesn't really relish more proof of how much better this girl is than her.

Of course, that's when she sees the sidebar has the video with Girlfriend Tag! slapped on it staring right at her, in a way that seems almost accusing.

Considering the title of this one, she thinks she probably definitely shouldn't watch this video. It had been bad enough staring at photos of the two of them. Seeing a video of them acting all coupley is almost certainly going to be worse.

But Betty is a masochist with no sense of self-control, clearly, so she clicks play instead.

-x-

The two of them seem to be lounging in bed, with the rest of the room barely visible behind them. Even the brief glimpse of it suggests wealth though, with what her inexperienced eyes judge to be expensive entertainment systems and furniture. Still, however glitzy it seems, it pales in comparison to the glamour of the two girls prominently displayed.

Veronica's hair is a little longer and parted in a different style than she has it nowadays, but it's one of the only obvious differences in her appearance that mark the clear passage of time. Her makeup is on point as always, eyes dark and lips red, and she's wearing a shimmery silvery dress with her signature pearls, looking a little like she did in the pictures from the one time she apparently went out clubbing.

Still, besides the hair, and the clothes, it looks almost like the same Veronica she sees almost everyday.

Almost. Betty wonders if she imagines the way the brunette's eyes seem to be shining or the way her smile is practically permanently pasted on as she keeps sending looks towards her companion.

In contrast to Veronica's elegant composure, Alex seems like chaos personified, with her blonde hair falling in messy waves over her face and her makeup a little too smoky for the hour and setting. Dressed in tight leather pants, and a ripped sleeveless band t-shirt that shows what seems to part of a tattoo peeking out from her collar and shoulders, she looks like the very definition of a bad girl.

Seeing her now, Betty wonders how she ever thought she was anything like this girl.

(She forgets, about Dark Betty and the way the brunette's eyes had widened when she'd come out dressed in black wig and lingerie, because she doesn't want a connection like that to exist, doesn't want that part of her to be what Veronica wants-)

Despite the bad girl clothes, the look Alexis sends Veronica in return is nothing short of sweet. For the first few seconds of the video, the two of them only look at each other, seemingly unaware of their audience, as the blonde says, with a grin, "Why don't you introduce yourself first, babe?"

It's the first time Betty's heard the other girl's voice, and thus, the moment her brain makes all the proper connections of her bring descended from British nobility, and growing up there, so of course she has a British accent.

There's an intriguing contrast in the sophistication of the tone and low, husky quality of her voice, which all makes for a combination that even she can (mostly totally platonically) think is insanely attractive. Just another reason to feel that petty spark of what is definitely-not-jealousy flare in her gut.

Veronica raises a brow and points out, with a teasing smirk, "Pretty sure you are supposed to do this, but seeing as I'm the only one with manners in this relationship anyway-" Then, she turns towards the camera, saying with a charming smile, "Hello, everyone! I'm Veronica Lodge, no further introduction needed, clearly."

This makes Alexis laugh, low and husky, a sound that sends tingles down her spine (and okay, Betty is starting to feel emotions other than not-jealousy in her gut that is definitely not-attraction now).

Veronica continues speaking, explaining, "We were supposed to go paint the town red today, hence our ensembles, but seeing as it's raining grey instead, we're just going to have to light up your screens."

Turning towards the camera as well, the blonde interrupts with a playful smirk, "What she also means is that she got all dressed up and wanted more of an appreciative audience, because, sadly, I alone was not enough." She pouts, and gives a clearly affected sigh of disappointment.

Beside her, Veronica briefly shakes her head at the dramatics and gives the other girl a light shove with her shoulder before she snarks back, "Are you describing yourself? This is your Youtube channel and your idea, let me remind you."

"Because I have a bigger audience, duh." Alexis shamelessly brags and dodges the next, harder, shove from Veronica with a laugh.

(The easy teasing banter between them makes Betty ache a little and she tries not to compare it to her own relationship with Veronica-)

"Only because I don't even have a Youtube channel, dear." Veronica points out with a shake of her head.

"Keep telling yourself that, babe," Alexis sing-songs, and once again dodges a shove, this time, less successfully.

They dissolve into an impromptu wrestling match of sorts, as they seem to forget the camera still trained on them. Their laughter rings out as they "fight", and Betty has to stop herself from pausing and rewind during the point where Veronica's rides way up high on her thigh while she pins down the other girl. Her heart beats a little too hard then, and it only gets worse when the two of them end up breathing hard and faces way too close to each other.

Betty is watching wide-eyed at the sight of them in such a suggestive position and wondering what will happen next when the screen suddenly turns black just as they move in for a kiss. Then, white text pops with the completely bald-faced lie of a message: just some technical difficulties, folks ;)

-x-

Her imagination tries and fails not to go into overdrive when faced with the sight she's just seen. Thankfully, before it can go too far into x-rated territory, the video pops back in, Veronica and Alexis both looking a little bit worse for the wear, their clothing slightly rumpled and hair askew.

It could just be from the physical exertion itself, but then, Veronica's lipstick is slightly smudged, and she can see blurry red imprints on Alexis' neck, barely hidden by the collar of her shirt.

Betty resists the urge to scream, digging painful crescents deep into her palm, and reminds herself very firmly that the last thing she wants is her parents rushing in to find out what's wrong and seeing what's displayed on her laptop scream. The pain in her hands pales in comparison to the wrecked rhythm beating its way in her heart.

"Anyway, we found a list of questions for the girlfriend tag online, geared especially for lovely ladies such as ourselves, so let's give it a whirl, shall we?"

"Alright, the inevitable obvious first question. Your sexuality?" Alex directs the question at the other girl, but does not pause as she answers first, "I, personally, don't care about labels. I just like hot people."

"Aw, thanks, babe." Veronica says, the sarcasm tempered by the smile on her face.

The British girl laughs. "And you're the hottest of all, obviously." She says, nudging the other girl's shoulder with a smirk, before adding, "Besides me. Obviously."

"And you're so modest too." Veronica says, rolling her eyes, before she turns back towards the camera to add, "I'm bisexual, by the way."

"A truly equal opportunity lover, clearly." Alexis quips, before she claps her hands and announces, "Anyway, onto the other questions!"

She's holding her phone, clearly looking the list up when she says, "When and where did you first meet?"

The Lodge heiress tilts her head and explains, "We've kind of vaguely known each other forever, since our parents were business associates. Though, of course, being across the ocean, we didn't really meet each other in person."

"Still, there was probably some international function or another we got dragged into as kids, probably." Alexis says with a shrug, before looking thoughtful. "Pretty sure there are pictures of it somewhere in our old family albums if we look hard enough. Should we?"

"Maybe after this video?" The brunette suggested amusedly.

"If it's still raining, sure, why not?" She agrees with a shrug, before moving on, with a suggestive raise of her brows, "Anyway, next up: choose one word to describe your girlfriend."

"Fiery," Veronica answers instantly, smirk on her face. Even with only her limited impressions to guide her, Betty agrees immensely.

If anything, Alexis seems flattered by the description, grinning as she says, "Of course. Obviously."

"And me?"

"Hmm…" the blonde hums thoughtfully for a moment as she playacts observing the other girl like a scientist. There's a few beats before she finally concludes, with a teasing sparkle in her eyes, "Charming."

Betty agrees with that assessment too, and thinks of a girl who'd stolen a kiss from her first love, who'd taken all of a day before she'd somehow managed to weasel her way back into her good graces anyhow. It wasn't the cupcakes that had made Betty forgive her, after all.

Veronica laughs, nudging her affectionately as she asks, "Are we sure you aren't the charmer here?"

"Well, I'm not going to say no to that." Alex says with an easy smile, that is indeed, Betty is forced to admit, charming.

Clearly, Veronica feels the same way, because she moves to give the other girl a kiss on the lips, that the blonde on-screen takes full advantage of, as they make-out for a few seconds before the brunette pulls away, lipstick smudged and eyes twinkling.

"That's enough of that, for now." She finally says, moving away from the other girl, and making Betty not quite sigh with relief now that it's over.

Veronica picks up the phone dropped onto the bed during their impromptu makeout session. "Alright, let me see the next one. ...Have you ever been mistaken for sisters?" Veronica squints her eyes incredulously at the question. "Seriously? Only by people who don't understand how genetics work."

"We could be adopted, you know." Alex points out, with a grin.

The brunette only raises a brow. "That still wouldn't explain the accents."

"We were estranged, obviously," is the quick rejoinder to that, as the British girl affects an even snoootier version of her accent, saying, "It was quite the scandal, don't you know?"

Veronica shakes her head. "I take it back. You are a dork, babe."

"A hot dork." Alex corrects, as she reads the question up next. "Do you have a couple name?"

"I'm surprised we don't, to be honest."

"A tragedy we must correct immediately." The blonde agrees, before suggesting promptly, "Alexica is the obvious choice, I think."

"You're only saying that so your name comes first." Veronica objects, and the other girl concedes the point with a shameless grin, before she points out, "I don't hear a no."

"Well, it is cute." The brunette admits with a shrug and a smile on her face.

(Beronica is cuter, a part of Betty thinks, with what is definitely not a sense of petty vindictiveness.)

Veronica's answer makes the other girl turn to the camera, announcing with a grin, "You heard it here folks, Alexica is officially a go."

"Whatever you say," is Veronica's only response, as she gives an amused shake of her head. "Next up, who spends more when shopping?"

"Definitely you," the British girl announces with a shudder of mock horror.

"Perfection has a price, dear," Veronica replies with a flip if her hair. "Now, how do you usually spend your time together?"

"This quiz, it feels like. Just how much longer is this going to take?" Alexis moans, flopping down onto the bed.

"You remember this is your idea and your channel, right?" The brunette says dryly. "Do I need to pin you down again?"

Alexis immediately perks up at the suggestion. "Do you even need to ask?" The blonde turns to the camera again, quickly saying, "Well, that's all for now, folks! We've got better things to do now-no offense."

-x-

With that final quip, the video fades to black, and Betty is left staring at the dark screen with even more mixed feelings then before.

They're… adorable together, frankly. They're the kind of couple clearly into PDA, who are almost sickeningly sweet together.

Veronica's an affectionate kind of person. That much Betty knows after nearly a year of hugs, sleepovers and casual touches (that may or may not send her heart into little flips every time), but this is something else. This is the kind of touching that definitely can't be interpreted as anything resembling platonic.

This is easy kisses and heated makeouts, dancing together like their one body and being Alexica. This is the bright lights of New York City, the glitz and glamour of the rich and famous. This is a girl who backflips into a pool with fire in her hands, and oozes confidence from every pore.

Even if she could somehow manage the courage to throw herself into the ring, small-town, questioning-her-identity Betty Cooper doesn't know how she's supposed to compete with any of that.

-x-

Betty closes down the tab after that, firmly deciding there's no more point in further exploring the channel. She could probably research a bit more on Alexis and go through some of the other Google results, but she thinks there's little point in that too.

Because she already knows all she needs to know, and now, she just has to come up with a plan. The Plan. To get Veronica back with her ex and make her as happy and carefree as she clearly was in this video, dated less than a year ago.

Because Betty, with all her issues, with all her inadequacies, certainly isn't capable of that.