The next morning at Riverdale High carried the usual chaotic energy of a new semester.
Archie was already down on the field for football tryouts, while Aleksander opted to sit high up in the wooden bleachers, enjoying a rare moment of downtime.
He leaned back against the bench, wireless earpods playing a low, rhythmic bass track, his dark eyes passively tracking the movements on the field below.
Suddenly, a badly thrown pass sailed over the intended receiver’s head, spiraling rapidly up toward the stands—directly at Aleksander’s face.
He didn’t flinch.
Without even taking his eyes off the field, Aleksander simply raised his right hand.
The leather football slapped perfectly into his palm, his grip instantly stopping its momentum dead in the air.
Down on the grass, Coach Clayton blew his whistle, his sharp gaze locking onto the bleachers.
Clayton was an imposing, older man, standing around 6’2″ with an athletic, heavily built frame.
He had dark skin, intense brown eyes, and a cleanly shaven head that added to his no-nonsense authority.
“Nice hands!” Clayton called out, jogging a few steps toward the stands.
Aleksander pulled out one earpod, stood up, and casually tossed the ball back.
The throw was effortless, yet it sailed in a flawless, tight spiral, landing exactly in the center of Coach Clayton’s chest.
Clayton caught it, his eyebrows shooting up in genuine surprise at the sheer velocity and precision of the throw.
He looked up at the transfer student, highly intrigued.
“You’ve got a hell of an arm, Morozov.
You interested in putting on some pads?”
Aleksander paused, considering the offer.
His physical conditioning and tactical reflexes were built for lethal combat, not high school sports.
If he had a preference, it was basketball—the pacing and court geometry appealed to his analytical mind—but Riverdale’s basketball program was practically non-existent compared to their obsession with football.
“I hadn’t planned on it,” Aleksander answered smoothly.
“But I suppose I could give it a try.”
Clayton grinned.
The faculty had been whispering all morning about the billionaire tech genius walking their halls.
The coach was highly curious to see if a prodigy in the laboratory could translate that intellect to the gridiron.
“Good.
Suits up tomorrow afternoon.
We’ll see what you can really do.”
Aleksander gave a polite nod as Clayton jogged back to the scrimmage.
As he sat back down, a flash of yellow and blue caught his periphery.
Down on the track near the edge of the field, Veronica and Betty were walking together, both dressed in their official River Vixens cheerleading uniforms.
Their body language was rigid, the atmosphere between them heavy.
Curious, Aleksander subtly focused his attention on them.
Through years of training to isolate frequencies and pick up whispered conversations in crowded rooms, his enhanced hearing easily tuned out the grunts of the football team and locked onto the girls’ voices.
“…when my dad got arrested, it was a nightmare,” Veronica’s voice carried over the wind, laced with a vulnerability she rarely showed.
“We received letters, emails, terrible things.
They said my dad was a thief, my mom was a clueless socialite, and that I was just a spoiled, rich-bitch ice princess.”
“And you know what hurt the most, Betty?
Everything they were saying was true.
I used to be just like Cheryl.
Worse, even.
So, when my mother said we were moving to Riverdale, I made a pact with myself.
I promised I would use this as an opportunity to become a better version of myself.”
Betty listened, the lingering tension from Cheryl’s earlier manipulations finally melting away.
She offered Veronica a soft, understanding look before taking a deep breath to share her own burden.
“I get it, Veronica,” Betty murmured, her voice tight.
“It’s like what happened with Polly and Jason.
Their relationship meant absolutely everything to Polly, but it meant nothing to Jason.
It became so intense, so toxic.
And when it finally fell apart…
my mother turned on Polly.” Betty’s hands clenched into fists at her sides.
“Jason Blossom might have hurt my sister, but it was our mother who broke her.”
Up in the bleachers, Aleksander processed the confessions, filing the deep-seated psychological trauma of the Cooper family and Veronica’s desperate drive for redemption away in his mind.
It painted a much clearer picture of the board he was playing on.
Down on the track, the heavy conversation seemed to reach a natural, comforting end.
Veronica offered Betty an encouraging smile.
As she turned her head, her dark eyes scanned the bleachers and instantly found Aleksander sitting alone.
Her smile brightened into something more playful, and leaving Betty to chat with Kevin who had just jogged up, Veronica began making her way up the wooden steps of the stands directly toward him.
Veronica climbed the wooden steps of the bleachers, with Betty trailing just a few steps behind her.
As they reached his row, Aleksander stood up, offering a small, appreciative smile as he pointed at their yellow and blue outfits.
“I see you both officially made the Vixens,” Aleksander said smoothly.
“Congratulations.
I told you Cheryl’s intimidation tactics wouldn’t hold up against actual talent.”
Both Veronica and Betty beamed, nodding excitedly.
The shared victory had clearly bonded them, wiping away the heavy tension from their earlier conversation.
“Thanks to my brutal boot camp, Betty was completely flawless,” Veronica boasted playfully.
Then, she cleared her throat, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
For a girl who usually commanded every room she walked into, she suddenly looked surprisingly nervous.
Her fingers fidgeted slightly with the hem of her skirt.
“So,” Veronica started, trying to force her usual confident smirk.
“Since we are both officially part of the school spirit squad…
I was wondering about the Back-to-School semi-formal this weekend. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Do you want to go with me?”
Aleksander held her gaze, noting the rare flash of vulnerability in her dark eyes.
He smiled, his tone warm and entirely certain.
“I would be happy to go with you, Veronica.”
Veronica’s face immediately lit up, a genuine, thrilled smile replacing her nervous energy.
Riding the high of her own successful invitation, Veronica suddenly turned her attention back to the field.
She spotted Archie jogging toward the sidelines to grab a water bottle.
Her eyes lit up with a new mission: helping Betty.
“Hey, Andrews!
Get up here for a second!” Veronica called out loudly, waving him over.
Archie looked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and jogged up the bleachers toward them.
As he got closer, Veronica subtly nudged Betty in the ribs, a clear, silent command for her to finally make her move and ask him to the dance.
Betty opened her mouth, but the words completely died in her throat.
Her pale cheeks flushed, and absolute panic set into her eyes.
The fear of Archie saying no, or worse, saying yes just out of pity, completely paralyzed her.
The silence stretched on for a painful second.
Seeing Betty’s courage completely fail, Aleksander smoothly stepped in to rescue her.
“Archie,” Aleksander spoke up, his voice effortlessly calm and commanding attention.
He used his ‘golden tongue’—a blend of psychological framing and charismatic confidence that made his suggestions sound like absolute, undeniable logic.
“Veronica and I were just finalizing our plans for the semi-formal this weekend.
Betty was just mentioning that she hasn’t decided on an escort yet.”
Aleksander casually leaned against the bleacher railing, looking at Archie.
“Given how close you two are, and how much pressure Betty has been under with the Vixen tryouts this week, it makes perfect sense for you to take her.
It would be a great favor to a lifelong friend to make sure she has a good time.
You are free this weekend, aren’t you?”
By framing it as a logical, supportive favor between best friends rather than a high-stakes romantic confession, Aleksander completely removed the awkward pressure from the situation.
Archie blinked, easily swept up in Aleksander’s smooth reasoning.
He looked at Betty and smiled, feeling like it was the most natural idea in the world.
“Yeah, of course.
I’m free.
Betty, we should definitely go together.”
Betty let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, her face glowing with pure relief and happiness.
“I’d love to, Archie.”
Veronica shot Aleksander a deeply impressed, silent look.
He had just manipulated Archie into a date so smoothly that Archie thought it was his own responsibility to ask.
Aleksander just offered her a subtle, knowing wink in return.