"Do you have all of your homework done?"

"Almost."

"Remember when you're volunteering?"

"Tomorrow at 1:00."

"At?"

"The library."

"Is your card renewed there?"

"Yes, Mom."

It took a lot for Betty Cooper to contain her frustration. She knew what she had to do and when to do it and didn't need her mother constantly reminding her. Tapping the pencil between her fingers on her pad of notebook paper, she exhaled through her nose and flashed a smile toward her mother.

"I have everything handled."

Alice Cooper softened her demeanor and sighed in a way that was all too familiar to Betty. Time for her to go into caring-mother mode, Betty thought, mentally rolling her eyes. Alice smoothed out her white fleece sweater as she sat on the edge of her daughter's neatly-made bed, eyeing the stacks of binders, notebooks, and colored pencils sprawled across the smooth, pink sheets. She looked to her daughter with a slight frown.

Betty grew insecure in the following silence. She felt as if she were being evaluated by her mother, her piercing, emerald eyes scanning for something to be corrected. She wasn't wearing anything that her mother was particularly fond of, that's for sure. She sported her favorite light blue pajama pants over the new, fancy ones her mother had just bought her. They were riddled with holes and thinned by age and she liked them that way. The graphic tee that Jughead got her for her birthday felt like it was constricting her body. She also became painfully aware of the small hole in her right sock. Betty shifted against her bed frame, growing uncomfortable in the clothes she was wearing and the skin she was in.

"I know you do, honey," Alice began with a false smile. "I just don't want you to forget how much this all goes toward your future.

Never heard that before, she thought.

"Of course, Mom."

An uneasy moment of silence passed.

"I noticed that you have an A- in English. Is that the class you have with Jughead?"

Betty couldn't help but gag at her mother's question.

"Um, yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with any-"

"I'm just saying, Elizabeth!" she exclaimed, raising her hands as if she were being accused of a crime. "I just don't want him… distracting you from your potential in that class."

Betty couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't see what's so funny..." Alice wondered.

"Come on, Mom! We sit across the room from each other and it's not even like I'm a bad writer! I'm on the Blue & Gold, remember?" Betty grinned. "I'll have an A+ in no time."

With a delay, Alice chuckled, as if it took her a moment to catch the joke.

"Right… well that's the attitude I like to see, Elizabeth."

Betty flashed another smile, her cheeks beginning to ache.

Anything else not up to your standards? She thought through gritted teeth.

"Well, I better let you finish your homework" Alice announced with a pat of her legs. "Just don't forget to do your chores."

"Of course, Mom" Betty mindlessly answered, watching her mother grab for the door.

"And I need you to start practicing for the SAT. Those practice packets haven't been touched since I printed them. I want those started this week, Elizabeth" Alice ordered as she stood in the doorway.

"Yes, Mom."

"You know I'm doing this cause I love you, right?"

Betty stifled a laugh.

"Of course, Mom."

With a signature Cooper smile, Alice left her daughter to work.

Betty slouched her shoulders and hung her head low with a sigh.

"You're killing me, woman" she groaned.

Her tense encounter with her mother had drained any remaining energy to finish her homework. There was still lots to do but she just couldn't bring herself to pick up the pencil for another second. Betty tossed her black spiral notebook to the edge of her bed, reached for her phone on her nightstand, and laid down.

She searched for a distraction; something to get her mind off of her problems and the rigorous demands of her mother. Her escape in social media didn't last too long. Everything was so artificial there. Jughead was the first to come to mind as she began scrolling through her contact list. Ah, but Jug's been stressing to meet the deadline for his piece on the Blue & Gold… He needs to get that finished above all else… Betty clicked her tongue as she hovered over the names on her phone. Kev's with his dad at the movies… Arch is at football practice… But V?

Betty didn't know if Veronica had any plans. It was the beginning of the weekend after all, so who knows what she'd have going on. Probably getting a pedicure and sipping on some drink I couldn't pronounce, Betty joked as she dialed her number. It was worth a try.

Awaiting Veronica's answering machine, she placed her phone on her shoulder and rested her ear against it as she tied her flowing blonde hair back with the pink hairband at her side. A familiar voice answered after a moment.

"What's up, girl?" Veronica greeted in her natural silvery voice.

Betty truly beamed at the sound of Veronica's voice. Even if she can't hang out, this conversation will be enough to make things better, she thought.

"Hey! Nothing much. Just the usual" Betty answered, struggling a bit at finding the right words. She didn't think Veronica would pick up and hadn't come up with a plan even if she did manage to ask to hang out.

"Is that so?" Veronica questioned.

"Um… well, not so much. I was hoping you'd be free to hang out?"

"Of course! Where at?"

"Hm… Pop's?"

When in doubt, Pop's, Betty shrugged.

"I'll be there in fifteen. TTYL, B!" Veronica hung up, not leaving room for further discussion.

"Well that went well" Betty observed as she closed her phone. Looking to the piles of notebooks and binders on her bed, she was relieved to take a break from them for a while. The only problem now was avoiding her mother on the way out…

No way she'd let me go out past curfew… Betty contemplated in her head. It's worth the risk!

Betty slipped on a gray hoodie and swapped her comfy, old pajamas for navy blue jeans. Staring at herself in the mirror, she debated whether to put on any makeup. The bags under her eyes and the acne scattered on her forehead bugged her but she chose to ignore it. I can rock this look for a change, she thought as she stuffed her wallet from her purse into her sweatshirt pocket.

After slipping on her sneakers, she crept out of her room and tiptoed down the stairs as quietly as she could. She could hear the rumble of the mixer in the kitchen as she turned the corner to find her mother. Alice Cooper stood in the kitchen with her back toward Betty. Based on the smell of the living room, it looked like she was making cookies. She had been cooking a lot since her and Dad started butting heads.

Now was her chance at freedom. Betty reached for the door and steadily turned the gold doorknob. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. She took a chance to look behind her. Her mother was cracking eggs against a bowl. Betty opened the door enough to slip through it and closed it behind her with a sigh of relief.

Mission accomplished! She cheered in her head as she made her way down the cement steps of her lawn. No doubt her mother would find her gone eventually, but at this point, Betty Cooper didn't care. All she wanted was to spend some much-needed time with a friend.

The chilling Fall air bit at her pale skin as she began venturing down the sidewalk. She was glad that Pop's was in walking distance. Betty absolutely loved everything about the Fall, but her lightweight hoodie wasn't doing much at keeping her warm. But it didn't make her appreciate the walk any less. She enjoyed not having her mom follow her every move. And she enjoyed the time to think.

…

The neon red and yellow lights of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe always made Betty feel at home. The small diner was such a welcoming and comfortable place to be in. Being open 24 hours was also a plus, as it was the only shop at this hour that kept its doors open, with all the bad things going on and all. But Betty felt safe in Pop's, even at a time like this where one shouldn't really feel safe at all.

Betty had just ordered her food by the time Veronica swung open the doors of the diner. She too wasn't dolled up in makeup or wearing any designer clothes, which was very unlike her usual self. She simply wore a black zip-up jacket and jeans. Her pearl necklace still sat around her neck, Betty observed from where she was sitting. Veronica glanced toward their usual table and Betty waved her over. Veronica smiled and skipped to her seat.

"Hey, B!" she announced as she plopped into the booth.

"Hey, V" Betty greeted with a smile. "I ordered us burgers and shakes. I hope that's fine with you."

"Sounds great! I'm starving!" Veronica replied, folding her arms on the table.

"Ah, same here! I've been cooped up in my room all day doing homework" Betty sighed, tapping her fingers against the yellow table. The lights above their heads enveloped the girls in warm, red light.

"Tell me about it, I've been trying to finish Professor Flutesnoot's lab all afternoon" Veronica sighed as well. "The main problem I'm stuck on is who would marry someone with Flutesnoot as a last name?"

Betty chuckled. "I know right?"

"It's gotta be made up!" Veronica jokes.

"He's not as smart as he thinks he is if he chooses to keep it" Betty laughs.

They erupt in laughter for a good while.

"I notice you aren't sporting any Louis Vuitton handbags or Cover Girl makeup," Betty points out. "What gives, Ms. Lodge?"

"I'll have you know, Ms. Cooper, it takes more than fifteen minutes to obtain my look" she replies in a matter-of-fact tone. "The same can be said about you, Ms. Zombie Girl Next Door!"

"Ha ha" Betty laughs sarcastically. "I could have waited if you wanted."

"Nah," Veronica says with a wave of her hand. "I knew that you needed me here."

Betty looked to Veronica with sorrowful eyes and offered a half-smile.

Pop Tate arrived shortly with a platter of burgers and milkshakes. With a kind smile, he set their food in front of them.

"Chocolate for Ms. Lodge, vanilla for Ms. Cooper" he declares with twinkling eyes.

"Thank you so much, Pop" Betty grins, eyeing her food with delight.

"Don't mention it. Sorry about the cherries. We ran out earlier today."

Betty and Veronica were so enamored with their food that they didn't even notice the lack of Pop's signature cherries on their shakes.

"That's okay. Thanks again, Pop!" Veronica added, taking a gulp of her shake from the straw.

He nodded in farewell and left to check on the few remaining customers.

They soon began to stuff their faces in their burgers and shakes.

"It feels weird without the cherries" Veronica noted after a while between a swig of her milkshake.

"Yeah..." Betty replied, trailing off in thought. She didn't really mind all that much. The company she was with was already the cherry on top of an already sweet end to the day. And that's all that really mattered to her.

"So, now that we've ate and drank our weight in all this delicious food, do you feel ready to talk?"

Betty swallowed the last bite of her burger and agreed to open up about what was bothering her.

And so they talked. For a long, long time.