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Betty got out of her house and headed straight to the Parker residence, which was next to the Cooper's one, to walk with Peter to school: it would've been a perfect occation to talk about how he felt, and also to apologise for ditching him. She stood in front of the house, her heart was pounding inside of her chest. She realized that everytime it was about meeting, talking or even seeing Peter, her heart race increased greatly. At this point it was obvious to her that she felt something for Peter: it was exactly the same she felt for Archie. She made a deep breath and knocked on the door, then waited patiently for it to be opened, while nervously moving her fingers together and fixing her clothes. Then the door opened, revealing May Parker, with a huge smile on her face

May: "Betty, hi!"

Betty: "Hi, May! Is Peter here? I was hoping to walk with him to school."

May: "Oh, I'm sorry dear, he got out early this morning: he said he needed a bit of time alone."

Betty: "Oh...um, alright then. It was good to see you May, bye!"

May: "Bye!"

Betty was visibly disappointed of what May told her, she was really hoping to have Peter's company this morning, but she understood Peter's reasons: in a single day he started a relationship, then was betrayed by his girlfriend and his friend, who abandoned him when he was in need, then was fooled by everyone at the party. Betty thought that, in any case, she would've seen him at school, so she kept walking.

In the meantime Peter was on the rooftop of the school, he needed time to think about everything: obviously he and Veronica weren't together anymore, and Archie at this point was far from good in his book, but Betty? Clearly Peter was happy that she texted him during Summer, meaning that she didn't want to leave him on his own, but then why just listen to Archie and stop hanging out with him? It was like he came second to Archie, but at the same time he heard Betty going all out on Archie, meaning that she's truly sorry for what she did. Of course he needed to talk about this with her, but his instinct told him that she deserved a second chance. Still...that dream kept haunting him, and he couldn't but wonder if he truly brought only pain and suffering to those around him. Plus he was still hurt by the whole Veronica situation. Considering all of this, Peter couldn't handle a single conversation that day. That's why, when he got off of the rooftop, he avoided everybody's gazes and just kept walking with his eyes on the ground.

Veronica Lodge was by her locker feeling like shit: she hurt Peter the one single time he wasn't with her, it was as if she returned to be the asshole she was in New York, and she hated that. She wanted desperately to make it up with him, because she truly cared for him, the boy who said to the others at the party that he loved her...and just a few moments later she came out of the closet, breaking Peter's heart. She really hoped to have a chance to fix what she did, and while she was wondering this she saw the boy walking to his closet, which was ironically across from hers. She turned and glanced towards him, he noticed her, but he just turned and ignored her, then he took his books from his locker, closed it and walked away, while Veronica was following him with her gaze and with a frown on her face. Unknown to Peter, Gwen too saw the strange acting of Peter towards Veronica: she and Harry weren't at the after party at Cheryl's, so she didn't know what happened, but was sure it was something very serious to trigger such a reaction in Peter. She also knew that it was the occasion to talk to Peter without Harry being constantly keeping an eye on the situation since his father needed him at Oscorp: she knew that Harry knew about her old crush on Peter, and the fact that he apparently didn't let her be alone with Peter made her crazy, at this point she didn't know if he didn't trust her or Peter, and the curly brunette didn't seem to notice this, he was so smart yet so innocent.

She promised herself to check on him as soon as she got the chance, now he seemed not wanting to talk to anybody, useless to say that she was worried.

Archie got inside and caught a glimpse of Peter walking away. He seemed so awful and pissed, and he was right to be: Archie started to walk through the crowd to reach Peter, but was stopped by the jocks, who were still praising Archie for what he did at the party, something that Peter noticed. He and Archie briefly locked eyes: in Archie's the remorse, in Peter's sadness and anger, a troublesome mix. The brunette turned away and started walking through the corridor, avoiding all the gazes and the little laughs directed to him, until he was approached by none other than Kevin Keller

Kevin: "Hey, Pete. Betty told me what happened, I'm so sorry."

Peter: "Thanks, Kev."

Kevin: "Listen, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here, alright?"

Peter: "I appreciate it, Kevin. I mean it. Now sorry, but I have to go, say 'hi' to Betty for me."

Kevin: "Sure, man."

Peter thought highly of Kevin: he was a good friend. Right now, though, he needed to stay alone for a while.

Veronica managed to reach the brunette near the principle's office, she tapped him on his shoulder with a stressed and anxious expression, only to find Peter's disappointed gaze on her

Peter: "Veronica..."

She noticed he didn't use her nickname, that made her sad, but she understood

Veronica: "H-Hi, Peter..."

Peter: "What? You wanna tell me how good it was to kiss Archie in the closet?"

Veronica: "N-No, I-I'm not here for this..."

Peter noticed something: now it was her the one who shuttered.

Peter: "Then for what?"

Veronica: "...I'm sorry, for everything. You trusted me and I- I hurt you."

Peter: "Yes, you did. Badly."

Veronica: "I know, and I'm truly sorry for it."

Peter: "Why did you do that? Was I some sort of means, something to use for your little experiment of redemption?"

Veronica: *shaking her head 'no'* "No no! Nothing like that! I...I really like you..."

Peter: "Then why? Why did you do this to me?"

Veronica: "I-I don't know what got over me...it was like I was possessed by the old Veronica...the spoiled cold bitch Veronica..."

Peter: "Veronica, there is no 'old' or 'new' us, there's just 'now' us: what we decide to do in the present and who we decide to be, and I thought you decided to change..."

Veronica: "I did! I-I do wanna change..."

Peter: "You sure?"

Veronica: "Pete, I-"

Peter: "Listen, I know you made a mistake, and I know I should forgive you...but I can't right now. I think that we should try to spend time as simple friends: you don't know me, and I don't know you. If you care about me, about 'this' *gesturing between him and her* then you'll have to be patient and wait for when...if...I'll be ready to try again. Will you?"

Veronica was sad...hurt...she really cared about Peter and just wanted to hug and kiss him...but she knew he had a right to ask for time. She could only agree and hope that, in time, he could be able to forgive her and, hopefully, to try again. But it didn't stop the tears to form in her eyes

Veronica: "Sure, o-okay, great...I-I'll go now, bye Peter."

Peter watched her leave, it broke his heart seeing her cry, but he needed time to see if he could really trust her again

Peter: *whispers* "Bye, Ronnie."

While he walked to greet Archie, Jughead saw Peter. The two exchanged a nod and continued on their own paths. Jughead head over to Archie and leaned on the locker behind him with his arms crossed

Jughead: "Do you think I could use Jason Blossom's death as an excuse to get out of PE? 'Sorry, coach. I'm just too depressed and freaked out right now to do pull-ups.'"

Archie, a bit annoyed by his sarcasm, closed his locker and answered

Archie: "Don't joke about Jason Blossom."

Jughead: "What? Sardonic humor is just my way of relating to the world."

Then Jughead spotted the jocks: Flash, Reggie and the others

Jughead: "Heh, look, it's the rich kids from The Goonies...all right, I'm out."

Jug started to leave, hoping not to come in contact with those morons, but the Force was not with him: Flash purposetely bumped into him and then said

Flash: "Watch it, Wednesday Addams!"

In the meantime Kevin approached Betty in the corridor, who btw was searching for Peter

Kevin: "Now that romance is off the table, I'll say it: are we 100 percent sure Archie's straight? Because no straight man has that body..."

Betty: "Honestly I couldn't care less about Archie right now."

Kevin: "You have a right to be a bit pissed at him for rejecting you and convincing you to ditch Peter all Summer, but what I see in your eyes is pure anger: are there other reasons why you're so pissed? Maybe related to a 'particular affection' towards a certain cute brunette?"

Betty: "Well, I- *sighs* I may have a crush on Peter..."

Kevin: "A-HA! I knew it!"

Betty: "I was looking for him, did you see him?"

Kevin: "Yeah: before, near the principle's office. He was heartbroken...wait, it wouldn't be fair to take advance of his current state to hit on him, Betty."

Betty: "Wha- of course I wouldn't do it! I just wanna stay by his side until he feels better."

Kevin: "Are you not afraid that someone could act faster than you?"

Betty: "Peter is not stupid: he won't let Veronica fool him again."

Kevin: "Actually I was talking abou-"

Gwen: "Kevin! Betty!"

Betty: "Oh! Hi, Gwen!"

Kevin: (speak of the Devil) "Hey Gwen!"

Gwen: "Kevin, how are you holding up after, you know..."

Kevin: "Well, honestly It was more traumatizing having to explain to my dad what I was doing with Moose at the river. Yet another perk of being the sheriff's son. Hey, where's your sweet half?"

Gwen: "What?"

Betty: "He means Harry."

Gwen: "Oh yeah! Well, he won't come today: his dad needed him at Oscorp, he said he wanted to show him something, he didn't tell me."

Kevin: "Ooh, some secret project! It's kinda exciting!"

Gwen: "Well, it would be if I was included. Anyway, any of you has seen where Peter is? I saw him only for a moment but then he got away."

Betty: "I'm sorry, we don't know."

Kevin: "How much have you been Peter's friend?"

Gwen: "I've been his friend for years, enough time to know that there's something off with him today, so I wanted to talk about it with him. Well, guys, thank you. I'll keep looking, bye!"

Betty/Kevin: "Bye!"

Gwen ran away to try to find Peter, then Kevin eyed Betty

Betty: "What?"

Kevin: "Have you understood who I was talking about?"

Betty: "Wait, Gwen?! But they're friends, and she's got a boyfriend."

Kevin: "Well, it's irrelevant, because when it's about Peter, as you saw, she completely forgets about Harry. If I were you, I would hurry to find Peter."

Betty: "Now that I think of it...damn! I need to go, bye Kev!"

Kevin: "Good luck!"

While Betty was going around looking for Peter, principle Waterbee made an announcement. In the principle's office were, of course, the principle Waterbee, Sheriff Keller and Cheryl Blossom

Waterbee: "Good morning, students, this is your principal speaking. There have been many inquiries about the upcoming pep rally, so let me state clearly: it is happening as scheduled. Now, on a less felicitous note, if you could give your attention to Sheriff Keller..."

Mr. Keller: "Most of you already know the details, but your classmate Jason Blossom's body was found late Saturday night. So, as of the weekend, Jason's death is now being treated as a homicide. It is an open and ongoing investigation-"

Then Cheryl took the microphone, interrupting abruptly the Sheriff

Cheryl: "And may I interject? Neither I nor my parents will rest until Jason's death is avenged and his cold-hearted killer is walking the Green Mile to sit in Old Sparky and fry. I, for one, have my suspicions, #RiverdaleIsStrong."

Sheriff Keller was visibly uneasy towards the girl's antics, a girl that just threatened whoever was responsible for her brother's death and now was proudly smiling. Despite this feeling, Sheriff Keller brushed it off and started speaking again

Mr. Keller: "If you know anything that could help us find and apprehend Jason's killer or anything about what happened to him on July 4th I strongly urge you to come forward immediately. You can speak with me or Principal Weatherbee. A death like this wounds us all. Let's not let Jason down."

While Mr. Keller was talking a certain red-headed boy looked through the principle's office's glass door, when Waterbee made eye contact with him, he immediately started walking away. He went to wash his face to get rid of that feeling, the feeling of guilt...guilt for what he had to hide...for what he couldn't confess to anyone. As soon as he finished, he was approached by a revan-haired boy with a serious and concerned look on his face, mixed with suspicion, that asked

Jughead: "Archie, weirdest thing: this summer we were supposed to go on a road trip, over July 4th weekend, which you bailed on at the last minute. Is there something you wanna tell me, pal?"

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