Betty excused herself and stood up.
Tina followed Betty to the lady’s room. “Are you okay?” she asked. She could tell something was bothering her friend.
“I’m fine,” Betty assured her as she took a seat on a small couch in a little powder room. “It’s just, people are acting so weird about the band. I mean, so we play a little music. That’s no reason to stalk us and ruin our dinner. Don’t you think it’s strange?”
“Well I don’t think chucking candy at someone because you like their band is normal,” Tina said, taking a seat next to her. “But you should really think of it as a compliment, right?” She nudged Betty with her shoulder. “Come on. We’re living the dream. We’re in a band. We’ve got a rapidly growing fan base that are, you know, willing to give us candy. If you ask me, we’re two steps away from a record contract. I’m personally thrilled that we have fans. You’ve just got to learn to enjoy it.”
“You’re right,” Betty replied. “I am being kind of a baby. But I just wish I knew how the fans keep finding us. I mean, it’s one thing to know where we’re playing and turn up to see the show, but how did they find us at dinner?”
“Hey,” Tina said with a wink, “don’t underestimate the drawing power of The Candy Hearts.”
“Is everything okay?” Veronica asked when the two of them got back to the table.
“Fine,” Betty told her. “I just don’t have much of a sweet tooth.”
“Any of you girls going to order the steak?” Jughead asked, changing the subject. “Because if you do and then you find you can’t finish it, I’d be happy to help you out with the rest.”
Tina blinked at Jughead and laughed. “And people accuse me of being single-minded.”
Chapter 7
“I can’t wait for the Central Town Mall to reopen,” Tina said with a skip in her step.
“Oh I know.” Veronica couldn’t agree more. “The Shoe Haven, Unlimited—it’s going to be great! I mean, this mall is nice,” she said, gesturing toward the food court at Riverdale Mall. They had just purchased soft pretzels and were now looking for a table, “but Central Town Mall is really bringing in a lot of great stores.”
Tina gave her a funny look. “I didn’t mean because of the shopping, silly. I meant because The Candy Hearts are going to be the featured band for the grand reopening. That’s a pretty big deal, right?”
Veronica shrugged. “I guess.”
“Come on! Think about it. You know there are going to be reporters there. I mean, at least local ones, right? I bet we get our picture in the paper.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I think we can leverage this mall gig into getting bigger and better shows. Like shows all over the state,” Tina insisted. “I mean, it really is kind of a big deal. We’re going to have to sound fabulous. And look fabulous, too, right?”
Veronica thought things over while she chewed a bite of her pretzel. “I guess you’re right,” she agreed. “I mean, reporters don’t necessarily come out for Fourth of July picnics or street festivals, but they definitely come out for grand openings.”
“That’s because they want the mall to advertise in their papers,” Tina told her.
“So,” Veronica went on, “I guess there is a pretty good chance The Candy Hearts will end up in the paper.”
“Oh I think there’s a very good chance.”
“We probably should go back to Marlene’s Boutique and get those minidresses and leggings we were looking at earlier,” Veronica suggested.
“I thought you said they were too expensive and Betty would freak out.”
“Well . . .” Veronica paused to give it some more thought, and then nodded her head, making the decision to break out her credit card. “What Betty doesn’t know won’t hurt her. We’ll just clip off the price tags and put them in a bag from Forever Seventeen. Then we’ll tell her we had a coupon or something.”
Tina laughed. “I can’t believe you have to go through all that just to placate Betty. She’s kind of a goody-two-shoes, isn’t she?”
“No, not really,” Veronica said. “I mean, some people might think she’s a bit of a goody-two-shoes, but she’s really just conscientious. And that’s part of what I like about her. She’s just being considerate.”
“And you don’t mind keeping this a secret from Betty?”
“I don’t normally keep secrets from Betty,” Veronica said. “But we don’t want to look like a bunch of girls who just grabbed clothes out of some bargain basement, either. So I think it’s fine if we fudge the truth a little. I mean, just this one time.”
“Yay!” Tina clapped her hands. “That’s great! Those outfits are so supercute. We’re going to look fabulous!” Then she looked at her watch. “We should hurry up, though.”
“Why’s that?” Veronica asked.
“I’ve got to meet Betty in a little bit. We’re going to work on some new songs.”
“Oh, I see,” Veronica said very slowly. She had called Betty earlier to see if she wanted to go to the mall, but her friend had said she was busy all day. She hadn’t mentioned anything about getting together with Tina.
“Do you want to join us? I mean, I don’t know if you’re into that kind of thing, but writing songs with Betty is really fun.”
“I’m sure it is, but no thanks.”
“Well we’ll see you at band practice tonight, anyway.”
“Tonight?” Veronica raised her eyebrows in surprise. “No, you won’t. I’ve got dinner with my parents at the club tonight. Remember? Practice is tomorrow.”
“It is?” Tina squinted at her, trying to remember what they’d agreed on.
“Hey!” a young guy walked up to them. “I know you guys. You’re in The Candy Hearts, right?”
“That’s right!” Tina said with a sparkle in her voice. “Are you a fan of our band?”
“You bet I am!” the kid responded. “Hey, hold on a minute,” he said, fishing his cell phone out of his baggy jeans. “I want to get a photo.”
“Maybe some other time,” Veronica said, quickly stepping around him. “We’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“Oh, come on, Veronica. We’re not in that big of a hurry,” Tina told her.
Veronica was not in the mood to deal with posing for a picture while some boy drooled over her. In fact, she wasn’t in a very good mood at all.
“Sorry,” she said. “We’ll catch you some other time. Remind me and we’ll pose for a picture at one of our shows. With the whole band.”
“Hey!” the kid called after her. “I’m a fan. You have to pose for a photo.”
“Yeah, come on, Ronnie,” Tina said, her eyes pleading as she tugged on Veronica’s sleeve.
It didn’t feel right having Tina call her Ronnie. That was a pet name only her closest friends and family used. And it definitely didn’t feel right having her use that special name when she was trying to manipulate her to do something she didn’t want to do.
“Listen, Tina,” Veronica asked, “do you want to get those clothes or not?”
Suddenly Tina forgot all about their fan. “Of course I do.”
“Well then, it looks like we need to hit Marlene’s Boutique right now.”
The two girls scurried over to the boutique. They had assumed that their fan would just give up and leave, but he followed them all the way to the store.
“Do either of you know that young man?” the salesclerk asked as she rang up their purchases.
“Who?” Veronica wondered, turning to look in the direction that the clerk nodded. The fan was standing outside the shop, leaning against the glass and staring at them. “Oh! Um . . . not really,” she said.
“Well, he’s smearing our window. Why is he leaning against it like that?” the clerk wondered. “He’s acting very peculiar. I think I should call mall security.”
“No!” Tina practically shouted. “Don’t do that!”
“Calm down!” Veronica told her in her sternest voice. “That guy is obviously unhinged. Ma
ybe she should call security.”
“We can’t do that,” Tina insisted. “We don’t want the word to get out that we think we’re too good for our fans. Let’s just go pose for a picture and then I’m sure he’ll go away.”
Veronica rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She handed the clerk her credit card and then turned back to the drummer. “But I want you to know, being in The Candy Hearts is a lot less fun now that it’s started ruining my shopping.”
XOXO
Betty sat in her family’s living room with Tina. She played her guitar while Tina jumped about the room.
“That’s not quite right,” Betty said, giving her guitar another strum. “Here, let’s try it in G. Maybe that’ll work.” She played the tune again.
“Good. That’s a lot better. That’s really good,” Tina said, bouncing up and down on the couch. She was so excited about the new song they were working on that she couldn’t sit still.
Betty glanced over at the clock on the mantelpiece in her family’s living room. “Oops! We’d better get going. We’re going to be late for practice.”
“Oh yeah,” Tina said, jumping to her feet. “Practice. Is that tonight?”
“I thought it was.” Betty furrowed her brow. “You’re the de facto band manager. Don’t we have practice tonight?”
“Uh . . . sure we do,” Tina replied. “We’d better head over to Veronica’s. We can take my car.”
Ten minutes later they were standing on the front steps of the Lodge Mansion, ringing the doorbell over and over.
“Where is she?” Betty wondered aloud. “It’s not like Veronica to blow us off like this.”
“I don’t know,” Tina shrugged. “She was acting kind of weird when we were at the mall earlier.”
Betty turned to look at her. “You guys were at the mall today?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Oh nothing . . . ,” Betty mumbled. “I just wonder where she is now.”
Tina sighed. “I guess she’s blowing us off.”
“No,” Betty replied. “She wouldn’t do that.”
“Are you sure?” Tina gave her a hard look. “I mean, Veronica is kind of a self-absorbed daddy’s girl, don’t you think?”
“No, not really.” Betty shook her head. What was Tina talking about? Veronica was her best friend. She would never admit that Veronica was spoiled or selfish or anything, even if she thought it were true.
“Sure she is. I mean, come on. She wanted to call our band the Veronicas,” Tina insisted.
Betty couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Yeah, I guess she can sometimes be a little self-absorbed, but she’s not that bad.” She gave it some thought. “Still, it is kind of weird that she’s standing us up.”
“She probably doesn’t think the band is as important as we do.”
Giving up on getting anyone to answer the door, Betty walked down the steps and back to the car. “I guess we should just go home.”
“Well,” Tina said, jumping down the last few steps to join her, “we could go to Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe if you wanted. I mean, we might as well have some fun, right?”
“Sure,” Betty agreed. She had a craving for the perfect chocolate shake.
XOXO
Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe was crowded with teenagers when the girls arrived. “We’ll never find a table,” Betty said.
“Oh, hey, isn’t that Archie?” Tina asked, waving at a redhead in the crowd.
“Yeah, that’s him,” Betty said, noting that Archie was apparently entertaining Cheryl Blossom.
“Hey, girls,” Archie called, signaling them to come over. “Tina, have you met Cheryl Blossom? Cheryl, this is Tina. She’s the drummer for The Candy Hearts.”
“Hello,” Cheryl said, tossing her bouncy, red hair over one shoulder. “Betty, I had heard you managed to get your little band together. It must be fun for you to get a little attention for once.”
All Betty could manage to do was blush, but Tina wasn’t having it. “Little band?” she said. “The Candy Hearts play three or four times a week. And we’re playing the Central Town Mall’s grand reopening.”
“Really? I didn’t know you were playing that,” Cheryl said, trying to look unimpressed.
“Well you must live in a cave because The Candy Hearts have been playing gigs all over town,” Tina told her.
“I’ll have you know that our cave has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a pool,” Cheryl smirked. “What’s your cave like?”
“Are you girls meeting anyone?” Archie interrupted. “Would you like to join us?”
“Sure, that’d be great.” Tina pulled up a chair.
Betty scanned the room for another chair, but the place was so crowded there were none to be found. “Here, you can have my chair, Betty,” Cheryl said, getting to her feet. “Archie was just keeping me company while I was waiting for a friend, but I see he just walked in.” Cheryl disappeared from the table before anyone could say anything else.
“BFF!” someone shouted as Betty took her seat. Betty hunched her shoulders and blushed furiously. She just wanted to spend some quiet time with her friends, hanging out and having fun like they used to. But Tina turned and smiled, trying to make eye contact with as many people as she could.
“What’s the matter, Betty?” Archie asked her.
Betty grimaced, “It’s nothing really. I’m just tired of being recognized everywhere I go. I mean, it’s like every Candy Hearts fan knows exactly where we’re going and what we’re doing every second of the day.”
Turning back to the table, Tina gave her bandmate a funny look. “I just don’t get you, Betty. We’re famous. At least in Riverdale, right? I love the attention. Don’t you?”
“No.” Betty shook her head adamantly, causing her long, blond ponytail to swing from side to side. “I hate it. The whole being recognized thing really creeps me out.”
“If you didn’t want fans and fame and attention, then why did you form a band?” Tina asked, confused.
“Because I thought it would be fun. And it is fun. Sometimes. I mean, I love playing and writing songs. I just don’t like people bothering me all the time. Is it so hard to understand that I just want to be left alone?”
“That’s crazy talk,” Tina told her as she smiled over her shoulder at a table of boys who were holding up a heart made out of construction paper that had the band’s name emblazoned across it.
“Sounds like you just need a break from the music biz, Betty,” Archie told her. “Let’s get some dinner tomorrow night. I promise there will be absolutely no mention of music. We can even go someplace out of town so that no one recognizes you.”
Betty’s mood brightened. “Really? That would be great.”
“Yeah, that sounds fantastic,” Tina added.
“Oh,” Archie said slowly. “Of course, you can come, too, if you’d like, Tina. I mean, I can ask Reggie if he wants to be your date. Or maybe Jughead.”
“How about trying Reggie first?” Tina suggested with a wink.
“Maybe we should ask Ronnie, too?” Betty suggested.
“No,” Tina said quickly, smiling at another table of The Candy Hearts’ fans. “Veronica told me this morning that she’s going out to dinner with her parents tomorrow night. In fact, she’s going to be busy all day.”
“Really?” Betty frowned. “She never said anything to me.”
“Oh well,” Tina said with a shrug. “So where do you guys want to go?”
“I’ve heard The Landmark in Midvale is good. We could go there,” Archie suggested.
Betty broke into a big smile. “Really? I hear it’s supergood. I’ve always wanted to go there.”
“Great.” Archie leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. “Then The Landmark it is.”
XOXO
The next night, Veronica and Nancy sat waiting in Veronica’s pool house.
“Where are they?” Veronica asked, slumping in a lounge chair. “Practice was supposed to start twenty minutes ago.”
“I’m sure they’ll be here,” Nancy assured her, also taking a seat. “Betty doesn’t just blow off band practice, and Tina is practically married to the band.”
“Try calling Betty again, would you?”
Nancy shook her head. “I just tried her house and her cell. She’s not answering.”
“How about Tina?”
“I tried her cell and I think she must have it turned off.” Nancy leaned back in her chair and tucked her shapely, cocoa-brown legs under her. “I don’t have her home number. Do you?”
“No,” Veronica grumbled. “But Tina definitely knows we have practice tonight because we talked about it yesterday at the mall.”
“Weird,” Nancy agreed. “I hope they’re all right.”
XOXO
Meanwhile, at The Landmark in Midvale, Archie pulled out a large, red leather chair so Betty could have a seat. “Mademoiselle,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you,” Betty replied. She giggled as she settled into her seat. Archie was really playing up being the perfect gentleman.
Reggie did not help Tina with her chair. But he made up for it by saying, “You girls look lovely this evening,” which caused both Tina and Betty to giggle.
There was an abrupt flash of light and Betty looked up, startled. Blobs of light from the flash of some kid’s camera danced in her eyes, but she was able to make out that there was a young girl standing next to her chair, shoving a pen and a heart-shaped piece of paper in her face. “I love The Candy Hearts!” the girl squealed. “Can I have your autograph?”
“Um, sure,” Betty said. She fumbled for the paper as another camera flash went off in her face. “What are you doing?!” she demanded.
“I just want your picture. All my friends have total crushes on you guys. They’re never going to believe that I actually got to meet you!” the boy crowed.
Reggie stood up. “Get lost!” he shouted at the boy.
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