serpent ♔ juliet

Betty is alone in the house after spending the day preparing herself for the awful possibility of staying at home with her mother, sister, niece, and nephew while all of her old friends whose friendship status is in jeopardy are out socializing. Betty isn't ready to admit that her mother and two nine-year-old children have a more active social life than she does. Betty contemplates going out with her closest friends and joining them in a moment of weakness, fabricating a tale to hide her deception. She switches her leggings for jeans and finger-combs the braided ponytail divot out of her hair when the wave of humiliation washes over her.

Betty grimaces as she sits heavily on the sofa bed, still wearing her jeans but unzipped. After she flops on her back and sighs, probably displaced from her slumber area under the bed, Toffee rushes up to join her and sits on Betty's chest, purring. Betty's trained poker mask is collapsing under the weight of her hometown, which used to think she was a skilled liar. Betty checks her few things while lying down in her own version of a depressing basement dwelling.

If she packed her belongings and returned to DC, would anybody miss her? She asks this of herself, assuming she has a life to return to—her apartment is just as boring and lifeless, her commute stinks, her boss would almost certainly find out about her illegal activities. If she brought up gathered evidence, and her only significant personal connection is Glenn, who barely counts. But Betty is well aware that she still needs to answer one question: what the hell is her plan? Is she going to live in her mother's basement for the rest of her life, receiving a pathetic teacher's salary? Will Betty set a definite timetable for herself and return to DC no matter what happens? Should she stay in Riverdale and try to build a life for herself, leaving the mysteries, heartbreak, and crowded psychiatrist's office behind?

Betty is without a plan for the first time in her frigging existence. Betty Cooper always has a strategy; it may change as circumstances change, but there is always the following phase. Her own version of a safety net is a definite next step. On the other hand, Betty is now treading a fine line into the uncertainty, with no safety fishing net for her if she falls.