FIVE TIMES BETTY COOPER ALMOST KISSED REGGIE MANTLE…. 

ONE. 

_{it’s just a stupid part in a play. it’s just a play. it’s just a play. the thoughts repeat in her head like a song with catchy lyrics, only all they do is make her nerves swirl together faster, a whirlpool of anxiety where her insides used to be. a stage kiss is nothing; they’ve all done it before. but not her. not in front of everyone.} 

_{she realizes the problem then. if they were alone, maybe… maybe. betty doesn’t like finishing that thought.} 

_{in front of their classmates and teacher, she leans in… and his eyes are so dark and so enticing, and his jacket is so soft as her hand reaches for his arm, and it’d be so easy to kiss him now and not be themselves, but it feels wrong. like cheating at something she’d rather earn. instead, she presses her lips to his cheek. someone in the room rolls her eyes. someone in the room passes five dollars to a friend.} 

_{later that day, she gives up the role to veronica.}

TWO. 

_{her arm does’t hurt when she’s laughing. no, it really fucking hurts. her shoulders jostle, but reggie won’t stop making her giggle so viciously tears spring to her eyes. it’s the best kind of pain. she kicks him in retribution and he doesn’t seem to mind all that much. maybe they both kind of like the pain.} 

_{before he has to leave, he picks a sharpie out of the collection held in a baby pink bottle. in dark blue ink, he scrawls his signature over her cast. with a winking face. of course. and it takes up half the cast. of course. but when he looks up, catching the reluctant smile on her lips, there’s a moment where all she feels is the place where his arm rests on her blanketed legs. heat sears through the fabric. she blinks to make it go away but it doesn’t. she thinks, again, it’d be so easy to kiss.} 

_{that day, her mom walks in the room. betty springs back and sprains her shoulder. it takes weeks to recover –––– from more than the injury.} 

THREE. 

_{his birthday comes around only once a year, you know, so she has to go all out. she’d do this for anyone! cake, present, balloons, the whole shebang. the others may not agree but a surprise party is just what he needs. villain of riverdale, her ass. reggie wasn’t perfect. but who was?} 

_{everything goes according to plan. the cake is rich and decadent, paid for by a miss veronica lodge. the music rocks, and the balloons dance high up over their heads. it’s a good party. archie doesn’t break anything, so really, it’s a great party.} 

_{but by the end of the night, reggie looks discontent… restless. his parents haven’t acknowledged his birthday, and it makes betty’s chest tight with a sense of injustice. she takes his hand, and watches over the mansion’s railing with him. the foyer is littered with streamers. she’s counting them as she decides to tell him that he deserves better. and not to forget that. there’s more she could say. more she wants to. but the words fade when she catches his eyes.} 

_{just like before, it’s even easier this time. this time, she could swear he leans in. she could swear she does too.} 

_{but her phone goes off and her curfew’s been broken. she can’t help but think those extra five minutes of trouble would have been worth it if only she’d stayed.} 

FOUR. 

_{crying over archie is so last season, as ronnie would say. but betty’s never kept up with trends. she’s huddled behind pops, trying to wipe the tears of her face when she feels someone’s gaze on her. she’s sharp as cut glass, tonight. doesn’t mean to be, but is. lashes lowered, chin trembling, wanting to know why she’s printed herself beneath the description of second best time and time again. why isn’t it easier to walk away from the boy next door?} 

_{but reggie’s used to sharp things. maybe like attracts like. maybe he knows too well what it means to not be wanted, and the thought is so breathtakingly sad that all she wants to do is drown that sorrow away with something else. with her lips. with her mouth on his.} 

_{but because she’s betty and he’s reggie, and they deserve better than that, she doesn’t. she won’t.} 

FIVE. 

_{she claps thunderously for him and cheryl. more so him than cheryl. despite ronnie’s sulking, they both deserved prom king and queen. she watches on, with the rest of the students, as they take their dance, looking regal. with his dark hair, and her electric locks, they kind of remind her of prince eric and ariel. she shakes her head and goes to get a drink.} 

_{behind her comes a tap on the shoulder. she’s out on the dancefloor before she can say a word. they pass jokes to fill the tiny space between them. over the years, it’s only ever gotten smaller.} 

_{you look handsome, she tells him. you look beautiful, he tells her. they almost do that night. it’s the closest they’ve gotten. fluttering lashes and his tight grip on her waist, god, they’d been so close. but the song finishes, like everything else does, and someone else cuts in line for a turn.} 

_{that night, he’s more popular than ever. at least he saved her a dance.} 

& THE ONE TIME SHE DID. 

_{it was easiest this time. but then, it had always been easy with them. there’s nothing special about the moment. no sparkly stars, or field lights boring down. just a girl and a guy.} 

_{he says something about someone and it makes her laugh and that’s all the motivation she needs. because sometimes there’s no reason to kiss the one you love, except just that… love.}