In Taylor Swift’s “august” storyline, James is already involved with Betty.
The relationship forms the central tension of Folklore’s fictional love-triangle trilogy. “august” is told from Augustine’s perspective as she develops feelings for James during a summer romance. James, however, is already in a relationship with Betty, making Augustine’s hopes ultimately unfulfilled.
The other two connected songs provide different sides of the story. “cardigan” is associated with Betty, while “betty” presents James’s perspective. Swift created these songs as imagined character arcs rather than direct accounts of real people in her life.
Listeners sometimes reverse the names because the songs do not present the entire plot in chronological order. The key distinction is that Augustine is the summer-romance narrator, James is the shared love interest, and Betty is the person James is already connected to.