Our story starts in a small town. A town that seems normal at first glance, but, if you look further, you'll find it's secrets. And in this town, a young girl who is anything but normal prepares to leave the house, examining her hair to make sure no one would discover her secret...

The girl carefully checked the roots of her hair in her vanity's mirror. Good. Barely any black. No one would notice it. Unfortunately, her natural hair color would probably start appearing soon and she'd have to bleach it again, like she had been doing since she was four years old, as soon as she understood how much trouble her mom would be in if her "dad" saw her black hair.

Here's a little background on the disaster also known as her life. While her name is Samantha Cooper, she's only half Cooper. She doesn't know who her real father is (her mom refuses to tell her), but it's not Hal Cooper. The only ones who know her secret are her mom and her sister, Betty.

Samantha would probably have to be extra careful, what with school starting tomorrow. And seeing as it was her first day of high school, her hair, for once, wasn't her only worry. Where would she fit in? How would she stay out of the way of the popular kids? She heard someone come into the house and climb the stairs. Samantha stepped out of her room and saw her sister's friend, Kevin.

"Hey, Sam. Betty said to come over, is she in her room?"

"Uh, yeah." She went back into her room and sat on her bed, opening up her book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!). She could hear Kevin and Betty's conversation about (of course) Betty's not-so-secret crush on Archie. Sam wasn't too sure about Archie, but her sister was crazy about him, and as long as he made Betty happy, Sam thought they would make a great couple. Finally, Betty said "We're going to meet at Pop's in fifteen minutes. What should I wear?"

Sam heard footsteps, presumably Kevin going to Betty's dresser to help her find an outfit. She stopped listening and went downstairs, put some shoes on, and started walking to Pop's so that she could eavesdrop on her sister and Archie. She walked into the neon-lit restuarant, hearing the familiar bell ring. Pop looked up from behind the counter.

"Oh, hello, Samantha!"

"Hi!" She sat down at a booth and pulled out her book again.

A few minutes later, the bell rang and Archie and Betty walked in. Sam sunk lower into her chair, trying to make sure they wouldn't notice her. Luckily, Archie seemed distracted, and Betty was too busy being obsessed with him. They sat two booths away from her, so she could hear them talking about meaningless things, like Betty's summer internship and Archie's surprising new hobby.

Finally, Betty got to the point. "Also..." she said carefully, "I've been thinking... about us, Archie, and our friendship, and how it's time we-"

Just then, Sam got distracted by the bell ringing again. A raven-haired girl walked in, glanced at Archie and Betty, and started walking their way.

"I called in an order, for Lodge?" she told Pop when she was right in front of their booth. As he responded, Samantha got up and started walking towards her, hoping she would ignore Betty and Archie. Couldn't she tell she was about to interrupt something? As she started turning towards them, Sam stepped up to her, hoping to keep the girl's attention on her so her sister could finish her confession.

"Hi," the girl said.

"Hey," Sam responded.

"How are the onion rings here?" the girl asked.

"So good," Archie cut in.

Sam mentally groaned and shot Betty a resigned "I tried" look.

She looked confused, probably wondering how long her sister had been there. The mysterious girl called to Pop asking for onion rings, then looked back at them.

"My mom and I just moved here, so..."

"From where?" Sam asked, curious.

"New York."

"Wow. I've always wanted to go there..." she smiled.

"Do you guys go to Riverdale?"

Sam bit her lip and nodded.

"We do. Both of us. Together." Betty looked at Archie.

"We're sophomores." Archie was still oblivious to Betty.

"Me too... I'm filled with dread."

"Same," Sam muttered, looking down.

"Why is that?" Archie asked the girl.

"Are you familiar with the works of Truman Capote?" she questioned.

Archie and Sam both nodded.

"I'm Breakfast at Tiffany's, but this place is strictly In Cold Blood."

Sam laughed a little, along with her and Archie.

"What's your name, by the way?" Samantha spoke.

"Veronica Lodge."

"Samantha Cooper. Uh, and this is Archie Andrews and my sister, Betty."

"Wait, are you..?" Veronica began.

"Supposed to give you your tour tomorrow? Yes," Betty confirmed. "I'm your peer mentor," she said, a little awkwardly.

"Do you want to join us?" Archie looked at Veronica and Sam. "You too, Samantha." Betty gave him a look, which he either didn't notice, or ignored. "Hey, maybe we can un-fill you with dread."

"My mom's waiting for me," Veronica said apologetically. "But... to be continued."

"I've, um, got stuff to do." Sam walked back to her booth, grabbed her book, and pretended to read, just in case something interesting still happened.