"It was awful." Cheryl summarised bleakly, as she sat by the diner counter. Elena was wiping down the surface as she listened to Cheryl recount Jason's autopsy, setting up the shop for the Saturday morning rush. But she suspected they wouldn't have much traffic in today, as everyone had heard about Jason. The small town had seemed to have gone into a state of mourning for the deceased Blossom, hiding out in their homes that bleak morning as though death was in the air and could contaminate them all. Thoughts of high school theatrics and games were far from Elena's mind that morning.
"It didn't even look like JJ anymore, I couldn't manage to look for more than two seconds-" Cheryl trailed off as a sob escaped her, launching her into a fresh bout of tears. Elena made her way over to the other side of the counter wordlessly and pulled Cheryl into a much needed hug. Elena rubbed her back to comfort her as the girl cried, clinging to Elena as her grief poured out of her.
"I-I don't understand, who would do this to him?" Cheryl managed to splutter out. "Who'd wanna kill him?" Elena found herself at a loss as to how to answer her. Her mind was a blank. In the time she had known Jason he'd been nothing but sweet to her, and had been nothing but supportive to them both when they'd started dating. He was the perfect son, the perfect friend, so what reason was there to kill him? Poor Jason. Looking out for Cheryl, being the anchor she needed away from the cycle of abuse at Thornhill -that was solely on her now.
"I don't know baby," she managed to answer, "but we'll find out."
"How?"
"I've got a few ideas." She offered simply, stepping away from Cheryl to give her some much needed space.
Cheryl rubbed at her now ruined mascara, downcast as she blinked back a further wave of tears. "I'll be in the ladies room." Cheryl inclined her head in the direction of the room in question, taking her bag from her counter. "Give me a few minutes?"
"Sure." Elena nodded, as Cheryl began to retreat to the ladies room. God what a day. Noting the lack of customers, Elena trudged over to one of the stools and sat herself down on it for a reprieve from standing up for so long. She felt her already tired state beginning to creep up on her, threatening to drag her down along with the mental stress of the recent events of the past few days. What was the right way to go about comforting your girlfriend, who just lost a brother she had originally thought was perfectly safe? What were the guidelines on something like that? Elena wanted to be the perfect girlfriend, to be whatever Cheryl needed, but she had found herself at a complete standstill.
The doorbell began to jingle, indicating that a customer had finally made their way through Pop's doors.
Elena was already reciting the usual greeting the wait staff had for newly arrived customers. "Hi Pop's Chock Lit Shoppe, how can I help you-" The words froze in Elena's mouth, as she saw who had come though the doors in all her finery.
It was her mother.
"Hi." Hermione managed to squeak out, allowing herself an awkward wave in Elena's direction.
Stunned, Elena could do nothing but stare in surprise. My mouth is dry. Oh god what is spit? She blinked for a number of times, before words were finally able to form in her mouth. "Hi." She managed, gripping the cloth in her hand like a security blanket. What was she doing here? Had she known that she would be here? Elena forced herself to look Hermione in the eye, as the rising urge to run the other way overcame her. She was here, at her work!
"Veronica told me you would be here, she said you work here." Hermione noted, pointing a long gloved finger at Elena's uniform. "How's that been going for you?"
"Good."
"I'm glad to hear it."
God this was weird. Why was she acting like her Mom was interrogating her? She was strong, independent, emancipated... And the dull ache in her chest spoke volumes for her, informing the waitress of the obvious. Elena had missed her Mom more than anything in the world, and now that she was stood here in front of her she had no idea what to do. She'd been trying to mentally prepare herself for the inevitability of seeing her again, but with her Mom standing in front of her, it was so much more harder than she had realized. Two of her worlds had been smashed together: the grim reality of her emancipation, and the haunting figure from her old life, where money was no issue for people such as herself. How was she supposed to go about this, navigating the careful line between them, after so long?
An awkward silence began to fill the notable space between them, giving them both a reprieve to think of what to say next. There was so much Elena wanted to say to her. Hi. I missed you. I'm sorry for everything. A million different apologies for all the things that had went wrong between them began to form in Elena's head, but all she could manage to verbalize was a simple question. "Do you want to order something?" Elena questioned.
Hermione shook her head, taking a few hesitant steps forward into the diner as she took in her surroundings. "No, I actually came here about a job. But I wanted to talk to you first." Right. The whole I haven't seen you in two years thing.
Her mother looked no different since she had last seen her, despite the change in setting she was still the polished figure of New York sophistication she remembered. The coat and bag she was doting probably cost more than she earned in a week, and she was wearing the expensive items with an effortless grace Elena had never really successfully managed. Not a hair looked out of place on her, causing Elena's old feelings of self consciousness to creep up within her. She spared a glance at the year old uniform and old trainers she was wearing, suppressing the rather strong urge to hide herself from Hermione's all too baring gaze.
Elena nodded at Hermione's statement, inclining her head towards a nearby booth. The two sat themselves down on either side wordlessly, both contemplating how best to breach the shaky wall between them. What the hell do I say? Elena wondered, as she fiddled nervously with her fingers. Ask her how she is? How she's liking Riverdale? No! Oh god this is a nightmare!
"So..." Hermione drawled awkwardly. "How did you end up here?"
Elena smiled sheepishly as she fidgeted in her seat, forcing herself to look her mother head on. "I couldn't really afford New York rent on my own, and I remembered you talking about growing up here," she explained, "it sounded nice enough, so I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. It's less pep and more sneers."
An amused smile formed on Hermione's lips. "Alice Cooper?"
Elena frowned. "How'd you know? She hated me the instant I made friends with her daughters. I swear that woman has a pair of eyes at the back of her head."
"Lucky guess." Hermione chuckled, as a thoughtful look overcame her face. "You've changed, haven't you?" She observed with a keen eye, giving Elena the distinct feeling as though she were being x-rayed. "The job, the independence-"
"The rent, the car insurance." Elena finished, "It's a hard dose of reality."
"I'll say." Hermione nodded in agreement, a tired sigh escaping her carefully out together picture of Manhattan elegance. Elena realized with a start that she looked just as she had two years ago, when the wealth and extravagance she had so often taken for granted had been ripped out from within her like a tablecloth. It was an uncomfortable feeling, the sensation of falling, but with no one to help you back up.
"How much did Veronica tell you about your father?"
"Just that it came down to fraud and embezzlement. God, I can't even picture Dad not wearing something less than a $1,000 let alone an orange jumpsuit." Elena exclaimed, still unable to believe her Dad had really fallen that low. He was trading the Dakota for a maximum security prison, the thought alone was completely bewildering to her. "How's he doing? On the legal side I mean?"
Hermione smiled fondly at Elena, holding out a finger as she made an observation. "You know for two people with such antagonism between each other, you sound very much alike."
Elena shook her head in dismissal at the abhorrent thought. "Me and Dad? Nah." He was all boardroom politics and shady deals, and she was the girl who skipped out on her classes and went shopping for jewellery. There had always been a clear distinction between the two. Her and her Dad were black and white when it came to pretty much anything, and that included the morality scale. She couldn't help but disagree with her mother, as she couldn't see how they could have anything in common.
"You remember the first time you went out on a date?"
Elena gulped uncomfortably. Ah yes, Tommy Rogers. Her older and fellow gay beard all the way through her Freshman year. "Does he even have a license? Where do his parents work? Does he have a criminal background?" Hermione quoted from memory. "I've never heard so many questions in my life."
"Agreed." Elena snorted, as the two women burst into a fit of giggles at the memory.
"Hey Ellie I was just going to go-" Elena jumped in surprise as Cheryl appeared on her side of the booth, makeup and the façade of perfection intact once more. Cheryl glanced between the two in realisation, holding out her hand for Hermione to take.
"I'm so pleased to meet you Mrs Lodge, Cheryl Blossom." The red-head introduced, with a confidence Elena found astounding due to what was happening with her. "I'm a friend of your daughter's." Elena shot her girlfriend a grateful look, making a mental note to buy her the biggest bag of cherries the next chance she had to make it up to her.
Hermione smiled politely as she shook Cheryl's hand, cocking a brow in Elena's direction once she let go. "Blossom? I'm so sorry to hear about your brother."
"Thank you." Cheryl managed a polite smile that she flashed Hermione's way, before turning to Elena. "I should go."
"Oh okay." Elena nodded reluctantly, as Cheryl wasted no time in scurrying away from the two with a quick wave goodbye. She couldn't shake the sensation of how wrong it felt to not kiss her goodbye. I'll change that. Soon. She firmly promised to herself, as she returned her attention to her mother once more. "You know, I think I can get you an interview, Pop is always looking for some extra hires."
Hermione smiled gratefully. "I'd appreciate that."
"So how much trouble am I in?"
Elena turned from her open locker, finding a guilty looking Veronica in front of her. Baring an uneasy smile the girl stepped forward, eyeing Elena nervously as she contemplated her words.
"Depends," Elena shrugged, closing her locker behind her, "what do you plan to do?"
"Grovel. Hard." Veronica admitted. "I know I screwed up Elena."
"I'll say."
"I already spoke to Betty, and I apologised about the whole thing!" Veronica assured her.
Elena smirked as she noted the flowers in Veronica's hands. Unable to help herself, she pressed forth. "Who are those for?"
"Oh!" Veronica glanced at the daffodils in realisation. "For you!" She proclaimed with a theatrical air, holding out the bouquet for Elena to take from her grasp. Elena took the item hesitantly, looking them over to see that they were indeed real. "For helping Mom with the job at Pop's and everything."
"Ron that doesn't require flowers." Elena pointed out.
"I know, but you went out of your way to help us both." She explained sheepishly. "Thanks."
Well this just got real. Elena thought uncomfortably, feeling the urge to discontinue talking about the subject immediately. Elena took a breath, and shoved it aside. She had to stop that. Baby steps. "No problem. Long hours but the pay will help you both get by."
"Seriously though, Elena thank you."
"No problem." Elena smiled.
"How's Cheryl?" Veronica began, unsure of whether she should broach the subject. "I heard, about her brother."
"Yeah." Elena nodded uncomfortably. How would she react if I told her the truth? That me and Cher thought he was alive this entire time? "She's a wreck, I've been with her whenever I could. When stuff like this happens, the whole who kissed who thing kind of gets put into perspective." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Well since you've worked things out with Betty, wanna do lunch?"
"Sure." Veronica smiled as she looped her arm through Elena's, a new pep added to her step. "I'd love that."
