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Peter headed in the gym, where he sat near Harry

Peter: "Hey, man, did Ronnie already start?"

Harry: "No, your girlfriend is the next one trying."

Peter: "G-G-Girlfriend?! W-We're not at that point!"

Harry: "Yeah yeah. Look, they're starting."

Betty and Veronica did their exibition, Betty was good, but Veronica was great, and Peter wanted to make sure they knew they were great, so he stood up and started clapping his hands, gaining a good amount of glares by some of the Vixens, some amused chuckling and desireful stares by the others, and the wide smile and blush from both Veronica and Betty...and, of course, a deadpalm by Harry. But Cheryl silenced everyone and said

Cheryl: "Ladies, where's the heat?
Where's the sizzle?"

She wasn't impressed, and Veronica had a crazy idea. She looked apologetically at Peter, then she said

Veronica: "Well, you haven't seen our big finish yet!"

Then she took Betty's hand and whispered to her

Veronica: "Don't freak out, just trust me."

Then she leaned in and kissed her. Peter was speechless, so as Harry but for the fact that he didn't expect Veronica to have such crazy ideas. Peter was confused, but understood. After the two girls parted away Chery, still unfazed, said

Cheryl: "Check your sell-by date, ladies: Faux-lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo since 1994."

She then stood up and walked in front of them

Cheryl: "So let's see if you do better
with the interview portion, let's see if your mind flows together with your body. Betty, how's your sister doing?"

Betty was a bit uneasy with the question, and Peter noticed it. He knew that things weren't the best with Betty's sister, he didn't know all the details, but he could tell it was worse than he expected, and his spider-sense was telling him that there was even more beneath...

Betty: "Um...Polly's fine, thanks for asking."

Cheryl: "Veronica, has Betty told you about her sister?"

Veronica: "Uh, no..."

Cheryl: "Go ahead, Betty, tell Veronica about your sister and my dear brother, you two should have a complete trust in one another, don't you think?"

Peter was almost going to step in and web her on the wall...almost, but he didn't. Forcing someone to reveal something big about himself...it was selfish and evil in an occasion like this.

Betty: "Polly and Jason dated."

Cheryl: "I wouldn't say 'dated'."

Betty: "It didn't end well..."

Cheryl: "In fact...Jason's probably why your sister had a nervous breakdown...and now lives in a group home. Isn't it?"

Peter felt the atmosphere tense more and more each passing second, he had to intervene. He stood up and walked to the group of girls, he stood in the middle of Cheryl and his two girl friends

Peter: "I think that's enough with the questions."

Veronica was greatly surprised he didn't shutter at all, and he had that determined look in his eyes...

Cheryl: "Well, Ansel Elgort, I'm the captain of the Vixens, so I decide when I'm done with the questions."

Peter: "But that doesn't mean you have to be an asshole while asking them." *folds his arms*

Peter was looking her in the eyes, not breaking the lock

Cheryl: "Listen, you nerdy geek, I lost my brother-"

Peter: "And I lost my father, my mother and my Uncle. I don't even know what happened to my parents, and my Uncle was shot because I was too irresponsible to do the right thing! The fact that you lost someone does not mean you can treat the others like they're nothing. The interview is over, both of them were great, enough with the 'mind-body' thing, they're in or out?"

Both Betty and Veronica were speechless...Peter had all these death, darkness in his life, yet he constantly pulled out the better side of the people around him. Plus he didn't think twice before stepping in and defending Betty from the Queen Bee Cheryl, and he did it with strength and determination...if they were dating, Veronica would've kissed him right there. Cheryl too was speechless: a no one, Peter 'geek' Parker just roasted her without giving her a chance to talk back, now she knew he could be a dangerous foe when made angry, and she wasn't risking it...not yet at least

Cheryl: *looking past him to his girl friends* "Betty, Veronica, you're in." *looking back in his eyes* "Vixens, give them the uniform. Parker, you won this time, but be ready, because Cheryl Blossom isn't a girl who forgives."

Peter: "Truly a pity, Cheryl, your life must be really sad."

She bumped on his shoulder and left. The other Vixens started to give the uniforms to Betty and Veronica, then they started to leave, but not before glancing, smiling and slightly laughing shily at Peter, who turned around to face a shocked Betty and a thirsty Veronica

Peter: "Are you okay, Bet-"

Betty cut him short hugging him tightly and sobbing for a few minutes in his shoulder. He returned the hug, while Veronica was smiling at him. After a bit Betty managed to say

Betty: "Thank you, Peter."

Peter: "You don't need to thank me, Betty."

Betty: "Yes, I do. No one stood up for me the way you did before."

Veronica: "Seems like Riverdale has his knight in shining armor this year~"

Peter: "I-It was nothing, really, anyone would've done it."

Betty: "No, not everyone. Veronica's right."

Peter: "Ehm, Betty?"

Betty: "Yes?"

Peter: "You can leave me now, you know?"

Betty realized she was still hugging Peter, so she quickly broke the hug and turned to look another way in an attempt to hide her blush

Betty: "S-Sorry..."

Peter: *smiles* "It's ok."

Veronica: "You know, Petey, we have finished our tryouts, I'll wait you outside for our little hang out~"

Peter: "S-Sure, Ronnie, I'll see you outside."

Veronica kissed him on his cheek, winked at him and headed outside. Betty noticed the happy espression on Peter's face when Veronica kissed him on his cheek, he was more than happy. At this point Betty started to ask herself if she was falling for her savior.

Betty: "Peter...what did you mean when you said that your Uncle was shot because you were irresponsable?"

Peter: *a bit shocked*

Betty: "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to-"

Peter: "No it's, it's okay. The night my Uncle was shot I had a chance to...to stop it...but I was too selfish to do that, and because of that he..." *a tear streams down, he wipes it*

Betty's heart sinked seeing that selfless boy, who just defended her without caring about the consequences, calling himself 'selfish'.

Peter: "You know, my Uncle had a saying...'From a great power comes great responsability'. It means that if you can do something for someone, you have a moral obligation to do it, not a choice, a responsability, I understood it that night. For this, Betty, you don't have to thank me, because defending you was something I not only wanted, but had to do. Sorry, now I have to go, but be safe Betty, see you."

Betty: "Huh- oh, yeah, yeah sure."

Peter: *smiles and goes away*

Betty didn't even know what to think at this point, she was confused...a lot...about her feelings. She couldn't but admire Peter Parker and the immense strength of his spirit. She turned around her head and glanced briefly at him walking away

Betty: (you're not selfish, Peter)

Then she went to wear her new uniform and, after that, she went outside, sitting on a bench near the football field.

Peter got out and was greeted by a hug from Veronica, who secretely heard everything

Peter: "H-Hey, Ronnie!"

Veronica: "Thanks for standing up for Betty, I should've done it myself..."

Peter: *hugs back* "Don't say that, I can tell you were going to, I know that."

Veronica: "...You're not selfish, Peter."

Peter: "Wha- oh, you heard..."

Veronica: *nods* "I just wanted to say you that you're not the only one who's haunted by his past."

Peter: *breaks slightly the hug, so that he can look her in the eyes* "What do you mean, Ronnie?"

Veronica slightly smiled at the nickname, then continued

Veronica: "When my father got arrested...it was the worst thing ever. All these trolls started writing horrible things about us. We'd get letters and e-mails saying that my dad was a thief...my mom was a clueless socialite...and that I was this spoiled, rich bitch, ice princess. And what hurt the most about it was...the things the trolls were writing...were true."

Peter, hearing this, brought her into a comforting hug, which Veronica returned

Veronica: "I was like Cheryl...I was worse than Cheryl. So when my mom said we were moving to Riverdale...I made a pact with myself: to use this as an opportunity to become maybe, hopefully...a better version of myself. So believe me when I say that you're not the only one who's tormented by his past and wants to change things for the better. You're not alone, Peter."

Peter teared up a bit, moved by her words.

Peter: "You're not an ice princess, you're definetely not like Cheryl: you're a strong, beautiful, funny and intelligent girl who cares about the others around her..."

She broke the hug, looking at him in the eyes

Peter: "The fact that you despise what you did in the past only proves my point, so don't ever say that you're worst than 'CherylBombshell', btw who the hell even calls herself like that?"

Veronica laughed at Peter's joke, then he cupped her cheek, wiping a tear off of her face with his thumb

Peter: *smiles*

Veronica: "You know, you can be very sexy sometimes, more than usual I mean~"

Peter: *blushes*

Veronica: *laughs* "Teasing you is my new favourite hobby."

Peter: *embaressed* "I-It's not funny..."

Veronica: "Yes, it is."

Peter: "No, it isn't."

Veronica: "Yes, it is!"

Peter: "No, it isn't!"

Veronica: "Would you shut up and kiss me already?"

Peter: *blushes deep red*

Veronica: *sighs* "Well, if you don't want to-"

Peter: *kisses her*

Veronica: *a bit shocked but kisses back*

It was Peter's first kiss, and it was incredible. He finally understood the magic of those moments, the mesmerizing effect a kiss has on a person. Their lips were sealed together, with his hands wrapped around her waist, while hers around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss, increasing even more the magic of the moment, a moment watched by none other than Gwen Stacy. She was looking for Peter, she finally decided to tell him everything, at least to free herself from that burden, but now, in front of that scene, she realized that hers was not a simple crush, because she felt her heart shattering in thousands of pieces. She felt all her emotions flow together inside of her, so much that she couldn't held them in anymore: she ran away, far from that scene, she went behind the school, sitted on the ground with her arms wrapped around her legs. Through her mind was passing every moment of that kiss: Peter's happy face, that sensation he was feeling, the desire to be at Veronica's place...she never, for a second, thought about Harry, but only about Peter. She couldn't stand it anymore and started crying. Now she wished she never fell in love with that stupid kid...

After a few minutes of kissing...deeply...Peter and Veronica broke the kiss

Veronica: *smiles* "You took your time, but this...this was worth every second of waiting~"

Peter: *chuckles a bit* "You know, there's this thing I wanted to ask you..."

Veronica: "Yeees?"

Peter: "You know there's the back-to-school dance?"

Veronica: *smirks* "Yeah, I vaguely heard about it..."

Peter: "W-Well, I-I was wondering..."

Veronica: *impatient* "Yeees?"

Peter: "W-Would you like t-to go w-w-with m-me...?"

Veronica: "YES! Finally! I would LOVE to go with you~"

Peter: "R-Really, I-I mean great, cool."

Veronica: "Cool."

She kissed him another time. Both of them were happy, truly happy, and Peter really hoped nothing would've ruined all of this. Of course, Parker luck would've hit, and pretty hard, on the happy moments Peter was having.

After that beautiful moment, Veronica excused herself: she wanted to find Betty and help her ask Archie to the dance. She eventually found her on a bench in front of the football field.

Veronica: "Hey, Betty!"

Betty: "Oh, hey Veronica! You seem very happy."

Veronica: "I'm not here to talk about me, I'm here to help you to ask Archie to the dance, so let's go, he's right there!"

Betty: "I don't know..."

Betty was confused: a few days before she wouldn't have lost a second before asking that to Archie, but now something changed inside of her.

Veronica: "Nonsense! If you want your ginger prince, I'll help you get your ginger prince! Let's start walking, c'mon."

Betty stood up from the bench and started walking with Veronica

Veronica: "I'm sorry for what happened in the gym: I should've stopped Cheryl."

Betty: *shaking her head* "You didn't know where she was going, it's not your fault. Besides, Peter stopped her, so..."

Veronica: "If I may ask, now that we're alone, what happened to your sister, Polly? Why did she go to a mental hospital? I mean, you don't have to-"

Betty: "No, it's good. When Polly and Jason got together...it meant everything to her and nothing to him. And things got super intense and weird and toxic...and my mom turned on Polly. She said Polly wasn't her daughter anymore, said all these awful things to her: Jason hurt Polly, but it's my mom who broke her."

Veronica: "I'm so sorry, Betty."

Betty: "I appreciate that, Veronica."

Veronica: "Oh, look, it's Archie. Archie!"

Archie heard Veronica and, of course, ran to her in no time

Veronica: "Hi, Teen Outlander."

Archie: "Hi, girls! Nice outfit, Betty."

Veronica: "You can really say that, Archiekins, because Betty here is a River Vixen now. And she has something to ask you regarding the dance. Go on, Betty, ask."

Archie, happy for the nickname Veronica gave him, listened to Betty, who at this point wasn't even sure about asking him...about wanting to go with him...decided she should at least give it a try, to free herself from that burden.

Betty: "I wanted to know if you wanted to come..."

Then she had a bizarre idea

Betty: "...with both of us."

Archie: "Huh?"

Veronica: "What?"

Veronica didn't expect this from Betty, but she already had a date for the dance

Betty: "It's your first dance at Riverdale: you should have someone to go with even if it's just a friend."

Veronica: "Actually...I kinda already have a date."

Betty: "Oh..."

Betty was truly embarassed, but even afraid that her date could've been Peter Parker, and Archie felt the same.

Veronica: "In any case, Archiekins, what do you say?"

Archie: "No, I'm not really in the headspace for a dance."

Betty, strangely, didn't felt bad at that answer

Betty: "Oh, okay, it's good."

Veronica: "Totally unacceptable, Archiekins, she needs an escort. Take a break from being a tortured music genious and spend a blessful evening with the prettiest girl among the River Vixens. She'll text you time and place."

Archie: "Heh, okay."

Veronica: "Yeah, okay, bye!"

Archie: "Bye."

Veronica and Betty walked away. Betty had a question for Veronica, but was afraid of the answer she could recieve

Betty: "Veronica?"

Veronica: "Yes?"

Betty: "Who's your date for the dance?"

Veronica could tell Betty was tensed, she felt terrible for it, because she noticed how she always looked at Peter, but love is also a war, it's not about who's first and who has more right: Peter and Veronica felt something for eachother, he didn't feel something for Betty. It's bad, but it's how things work, and Veronica knew that, so she answered

Veronica: "Oh, it's...it's Peter. He asked me and I said yes."

Betty: "Oh, right..."

Betty was visibly hurt by that, and this only made Veronica's heart sink.

In the meantime, Peter was telling Harry everything

Harry: "That's my man! I'm really happy for you!"

Peter: "Thanks, Harry. I never thought I would've dated someone like Veronica Lodge..."

Harry: "I told you, you have game with girls! Now be a man and give that latina beauty an unforgetable evening!"

Peter: "Hey, Harry, where's Gwen? Did you see her after she stormed off?"

Harry: *sighs* "No. I tried calling her multiple times, but nothing..."

Peter: "I'll go find her."

Peter was starting to stand up, but Harry stopped him

Harry: "I have a feeling you're the last person she wants to see now."

Peter: "Why? What did I do?"

Harry: *sighs* "I hope that none of this has to do with you, but trust me, okay?"

Harry hated to think that Gwen might feel something for his best friend, and he really hoped to be wrong.

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