Taylor Swift's “betty” narrates the Folklore love triangle from James's perspective, complementing “august.”
In the fictional storyline, James is involved with Betty but has a summer romance with the unnamed girl represented in “august.” “betty” focuses on James returning and trying to apologize after the summer ends.
The three songs do not present a single event in identical chronological order. Instead, they use different viewpoints and time frames to explore memory, regret, infatuation, and the lasting effects of young love. That structure is why fans often call them a teenage love-triangle trilogy.
Swift identified James as a 17-year-old boy. Some early interpretations treated the character differently because the lyrics initially leave gender details unstated, but Swift's explanation established James's identity within the fictional story.