Cheryl sleeps a lot. They bring her pills, in a small cup, and she takes them without asking about them, and she sleeps. Sleep is easy. She loses track of the days almost immediately, but it doesn't matter because she's tired.
She's tired of fighting. She's tired of trying. So mostly, she sleeps.
Sleep is preferable to the horrible lies they keep telling her. It's nothing she hasn't heard before, from her mother. It's nothing that her own brain hasn't repeated to her, over and over, through countless sleepless nights. She used to believe those things.
Now, however, she concentrates on Toni, thinks about Toni touching her hand so gently and calling her sensational. Toni probably doesn't know it, but she changed everything for Cheryl that day.
Cheryl's never been good at following her heart. Before, she was told that her heart was wrong, that it wanted the wrong things, and she quieted it. She made decisions with her brain; sensible, correct decisions. But then Toni touched her hand, and it was like her heart got incredibly sick of her ignoring it. It's loud now, and it wants Toni.
She's going to tell Toni, when she gets out of this terrible place, just how much she helped. She focuses on that thought, amidst the pills and the sleeping, and Toni keeps her anchored when she feels like she's drifting too much.
In the middle of the night - she thinks; it's dark, so probably - a touch to her head stirs her awake.
It's Toni, lightly stroking her forehead. "Hey Cheryl," she says softly. "Wake up, and be quiet."
Cheryl smiles drowsily. "I love this dream," she says, and her voice sounds thick and hoarse.
"Not a dream," Toni smiles, tugging at her arms. Cheryl frowns. Sure it is. Her life is all dreams now.
"Did you hear my heart?" She asks, feeling dazed. "Did you follow it to me?" That barely makes sense, but it doesn't make sense to her that Toni's here, unless Toni heard Cheryl's heartbeats calling for her. Toni holds her hands
"She's very drugged up," another voice says, and Cheryl frowns harder, because she's never dreamed about Betty before.
"Cheryl please," Toni whispers. "You need to wake up and put on these jeans."
"No discount denim," she snaps firmly. She may be drugged and captive and halfway to giving up, but she still has some Blossom standards.
"Oh my god Cheryl, just get up."
Veronica comes into view now, and okay, she has had Veronica dreams before, but she's starting to think this isn't a dream. First of all, her crush on Veronica has seriously waned since meeting Miss Topaz. Second of all, if this was her dream, Veronica wouldn't be wearing those cute boots Cheryl covets. And she wouldn't be in a bed with scratchy sheets, feeling slow and confused and foggy. The facts all add up to not a dream at all.
She blinks up at Toni happily. Veronica's still within view, but Cheryl only cares about Toni. "You came for me?"
She clasps her hands to her chest, her heartbeat steady under her palms. She's here, she's here, it says, louder and louder. For the first time, Cheryl lets it lead her, and she reaches out and touches Toni's pink hair, unbelieving.
Toni nods at her, and strokes a finger gently down her nose. "But you have to get up now."
"Oh," Cheryl replies breathlessly, as Toni helps her sit up and tugs a hoody over her head. Cheryl struggles to make her arms obey her, to help out, but her brain gets stuck on the fact that Toni came for her. It's difficult, right now, to keep her brain focused and her eyes open, but Toni is here, and for the first time in days - or maybe much, much longer - Cheryl doesn't feel hopeless.
Veronica crouches down next to her bed. "They're my jeans, btw, so you won't get hives." She holds the pants out to Cheryl and Cheryl struggles with the drawstring on her stupid, flimsy hospital pants.
Veronica reaches out to help her. "Oh my god, what is this? Burlap?"
Cheryl nods pathetically. "I've been in hell, V."
Toni gets the hoody worked out, and leans in and presses a kiss to her forehead. Cheryl tucks her hands up inside the sleeves, and feels safe for the first time in a long time.
The hoody smells like Toni and she thinks it has a snake on it which is so not Cheryl, but she's already decided she's stealing it. She's pretty sure Toni will let her, which is, honestly, thrilling.
"You're so pretty and I like you so much," she says, patting Toni on the head gently. Toni looks up from trying to put shoes on her, and Cheryl doesn't totally know what she's saying, but Toni looks at her so fondly, she must be saying the right things.
"Okay, is it wrong that I like drugged Cheryl?" Betty asks.
"I like her best when she's lucid, and herself," Toni snaps, and Cheryl glances up just in time to see the fire in Toni's eyes and the abashed expression on Betty's face. That fire is for her, and Cheryl's heart sings.
Toni grabs her hand and helps her stand up, and she wraps her arm around her when Cheryl sways, unbalanced.
Cheryl puts her arms around Toni's neck, presses a kiss to her hair. "Now take me away on your motorcycle, my cotton candy saviour."
Veronica snorts and Cheryl raises a finger at her, warningly. She's drugged and not at her best, vocab-wise, but Toni's hair is pink and Toni's lips are pink and Cheryl's brain feels like wispy fluff so it works. It kind of works. Obviously she'll come up with a better term of affection later.
"Sorry, I don't have my motorcycle. But we have Betty's car?"
"My mom's car," Betty corrects. "Which does need to get back to Riverdale at some point, so…let's go?"
"Are you ready? Are you feeling okay?" Toni asks her, and Cheryl's overwhelmed by how much trust she feels for Toni. They barely know each other, but Toni knows her biggest secret, and Toni's still here.
It's a lot. It's a lot of emotions that Cheryl doesn't usually let herself feel, but now, she feels like all her walls are down and Toni can see her, and it's scary and wonderful. That's maybe the drugs in her system, but it's also maybe this amazing girl, full of life and fight and interest in her.
"Let's go," she replies, clinging to Toni's hand and feeling like she'd follow her anywhere.
They hustle her down a dim hallway, and then down a back staircase, and then out a door into a back parking lot, where Veronica hands off an envelope to a bored looking security guard, and then the night air is crisp, and she sucks in a breath and feels the fog clear from her head.
Toni tucks her into the backseat of the Cooper car - even doing up her seatbelt for her - and then climbs into the seat next to her and Cheryl cuddles up to her as best she can, and then she's safe in Toni's arms, wrapped in Toni's hoody.
She's safe, and she's so, so happy.
She fidgets impatiently as Betty puts the car in reverse and pulls out of the parking spot far, far too slowly.
Veronica, in the passenger seat, shifts around restlessly as well.
"B," she finally says. "We're kind of making a getaway here, can you...can you just fucking floor it?"
Betty's ponytail swings as she nods and the car jolts forward and Veronica shrieks in surprise. Then she drums her fists on the dashboard and cheers for real, and Betty joins her, and then Toni laughs and squeezes Cheryl's hand in excitement and they holler too, and it makes every single pep rally she's attended seem boring in comparison, as they scream with giddy excitement and speed off into the night.
Toni watches Cheryl sleep anxiously. She had drifted back off to sleep after the excitement of their escape had worn off, snuggled up against Toni.
Toni feels pretty useless without something to physically do, so she strokes Cheryl's hair, and she checks Cheryl's seatbelt, and goes over the plan in her head, and she waits for Cheryl to wake up so they can join in on the 90s pop singalong Betty and Veronica are conducting - quietly, which she appreciates - in the front seat.
Betty says Cheryl will be sleepy and confused until the sedatives are out of her system, but it shouldn't take too long, and Toni trusts her, because Betty seems like the type of girl who would read medical journals for fun.
She holds onto Cheryl's wrist, tightly enough to feel her pulse thump through her fingers, and she breathes deeply until their heartbeats sync up and All 4 One turns into Natalie Imbruglia and then TLC and then Spice Girls, and she can't help but sing along. Quietly.
"I need somebody with a human touch," she sings softly, smoothing her fingers over Cheryl's skin, feeling their hearts keep time.
Veronica twists in her seat the second she starts to harmonize, eyes lit up, and she hisses "we should start a girl group!" at Toni. Then she turns back to the front and smacks Betty in the arm.
"B, we should start a girl group!"
Betty looks over her shoulder. "She always gets hyped up after capers, sorry."
"I'm just sayin', watch out Pussycats," Veronica declares. Toni grins.
She had been wary of all three of these girls at first, starting at Riverdale High, and things are still a bit awkward with Betty, but Veronica seems genuine.
Cheryl, from the very beginning, had intrigued her, to say the least. She's theatrical and bossy and, sure, sometimes mean, but now that she's met Penelope Blossom it's understandable. Plus, Cheryl's been really open and honest with her, and when she likes someone, she's ride or die, from what Toni's seen.
Toni's the same way; when she finds her people, she sticks with them no matter what. She believes you choose your family and she believes in following her heart. It was right about the Serpents and when Cheryl tearfully came out to her, she knew there was something there, too.
She's surprised she likes girltalk, and sleepovers, and being a Vixen, but she's not at all surprised she likes Cheryl, who's secretly sweet and very smart, and driven, and sad in a way that makes Toni's heart ache in sympathy.
She grins at Veronica's antics and continues singing along under her breath. Cheryl stirs, and then her eyes flutter adorably, and then she murmurs, "Hey," into Toni's ear.
She seems more alert, but maybe still a little fuzzy, but she asks for a coffee, and Betty agrees to stop at the next gas station she sees. Cheryl argues against drinking gas station coffee, and Toni relaxes, because that's normal Cheryl activity.
Then Cheryl turns to her, mouth turned down in a pout. "T, my hair is absolutely disgusting," she complains, and that's 100% Cheryl, and she's out of that terrible place, and Toni wants to keep her safe and happy forever.
"Ah!" Veronica exclaims. "See, Coopers come prepared for breaking and entering and sleuthing and illegal activities, but hair emergencies? That's a Lodge area."
She pulls a can of dry shampoo out of her purse and hands it back to Toni, and then finds a brush and passes it back too.
"I have...hair ties and bobby pins and a headband…" Veronica says, rummaging through her purse. "Do you need chapstick? Do you want a face wipe? Mascara? This is the most helpful I've ever felt on a mission, you guys, oh my god. Hand lotion? Gum?"
Cheryl laughs as Veronica flings items into the back seat and Toni loves that sound.
"I'll take those boots, if you're offering everything," Cheryl says and Veronica barely hesitates before replying.
"You can borrow them whenever."
Cheryl nods, satisfied.
She cleans up her hair the best she can and runs the brush through it. Toni brushes it out again for her, taking her time just because she can, hands lingering on Cheryl's neck and shoulders. She twists it up into two buns, and then pulls the bandana out if her pocket and offers it to Cheryl. Cheryl's smile in response is blinding, and she tilts her head in so Toni can tie the cloth at the back.
"How do I look?" She asks shyly when Toni's finished. "Escapee chic?"
"Sensational," Toni breathes.
Cheryl lights up, blushing and looking down at her hands, and Toni's going to tell her she's sensational every day, or several times every day, as long as it keeps making Cheryl that happy.
"Thank you," Cheryl sighs, leaning into her. "Thank you for saving me and thank you for seeing me."
She strokes a finger down Toni's cheek, then ghosting softly through her hair. She winds a strand of Toni's pink hair around her finger and sighs. Toni watches her carefully, watches her eyelids flutter closed as she tilts her head in, watches her other hand settle, so gently, on Toni's knee. Toni leans in, barely having to move, and closes the space between their lips. Cheryl sighs again, softly, against her mouth, and then her hand moves to the back of Toni's neck, and her hand is trembling slightly and she pulls Toni to her with purpose.
Toni melts into the kisses, and runs her hands over Cheryl's shoulders, down her arms. She tries to pull her even closer but the seatbelts get in the way.
Veronica clears her throat subtly and they separate, regretfully.
"Sorry SerpentBlossom," she says softly, peeking around the front seat, "But we just passed a sign: five miles until Riverdale."
Cheryl's hand finds hers and squeezes tightly. Toni runs her thumb across Cheryl's palm soothingly. She wants to tell her that she's not returning to the Riverdale she left; there's no way Toni's letting her be alone with her mother ever again. Things will be better now.
"We need to call pest control," Cheryl says, raising her chin. Her eyes spark and even though she looks very small in Toni's oversized hoody, she's electrifying. "There are rats in my home I need to exterminate."
"Baby," Toni says softly, trying to keep some amount of privacy between them even with Betty and Veronica right there, "snakes eat rats. And you have a lot of snakes on your team now."
"That is absurdly hot," Cheryl says, smirking. She leans in and kisses the corner of Toni's mouth, sweetly. Then she nips at Toni's bottom lip, pulling slightly, and it's much less sweet and more of a dirty promise of things to come. Toni moans into it, without meaning too, and Cheryl pulls away slowly and smugly.
"Okay!" Veronica squeaks. "We're gonna turn up the radio now, so smooch as loudly as you need to."
The brunette turns resolutely to face the front and Nsync fills the car.
"Kiss me for five more miles?" Cheryl whispers, still leaning in so their noses graze.
Toni nods quickly and connects their lips, following her heart.