"I'm fine Elena." Cheryl insisted, as the pair strolled towards the school arm in arm. Elena had been worried sick over her girlfriend after her parents had arrived at the school to practically drag her out of the Principal's office, receiving only the barest minimum of texts to confirm that she was alright.

"Things are admittedly frosty on the home front, but I won't let this seep into the rest of my life." Cheryl concluded, taking a steadying breath. "Besides, I still have school, the Vixens, you." Cheryl nudged her lightly with her hip, "What more could a girl ask for?" Elena brought Cheryl to a standstill as they reached the entrance to the school, lacing her fingers through hers as a wordless conversation took place between them.

I have your back.

And I have yours no matter the odds.

"Ready?" Elena checked.

"Always." Nodded Cheryl in confirmation, taking the first step forward.

As Elena sat at the table in the student lounge reserved for those who wanted to complete their work whilst their friends fooled around, Elena gaze continued to glance upward, observing the people in the room. She enjoyed the noise in the lounge compared to the still silence in the library, as it helped her to think things over. Most of the kids at Riverdale High had Moms and Dads to go home to, or some form of a guardian to talk about their day, complain about teachers, to tell all the gory details to. She had Cheryl and Toni of course, along with her other friends, but it was times like these when her thoughts drifted to what she had lost that made her all too aware of the protruding gap in her life.

She missed her family.

Yes they were dysfunctional, and no ultimately she didn't regret fleeing the coop as well as the hellscape school had become for her. And yes, she recognised that she had her rose coloured glasses on when she thought about her family in times like these, but she missed it. The companionship, the trust and knowing that she could count on the people she'd known her entire life.

And then of course, the cold water would hit her.

Her Dad was a criminal and was now imprisoned, and their turbulent relationship was still holding strong after all these years. Her relationship with her Mom was strained at best, their small talks resembling something akin to attempting to walk on fragile ice. And Veronica? She was a different puzzle all together. But then one day the loneliness would kick in again, and her memories of old movies during rainy days, summer trips to Coney Island and walks through Central Park would all come creeping back into her mind once more. She had a cycle, and it was high time she broke out of it.

As though sensing her train of thought, her phone began to ring.

The caller was not on her list of contacts, alarming her slightly as she answered the call and pressed the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She greeted, her forehead creasing into a confused frown. Who the hell could be calling her during the day?

"Mija?"

Ahhh.

"Mom?" Elena pulled a face, blinking in surprise as she registered the sound of the familiar voice. "How did you- How- How did you get my number?" She stuttered, tripping over her words in her rush for answers. She hadn't given her her number, Pop's shifts didn't tire her out that much...

"Veronica, she gave me your number. Is that okay?" Hermione clarified, rushing her words as well. "I had asked her if the two of you had been talking and she insisted on giving me your number, if that's not okay-"

"No! No." Elena shook her head, bringing Hermione's ramblings to a halt. "No it's fine, you just kind of caught me by surprise. Veronica didn't mention it, but I haven't been able to get a hold of her all day, did she tell you how that date with the football Coach's son went? The little polla better not have given her any trouble." She muttered, more as an afterthought for herself.

"Mija!" Hermione scolded, an old habit rising up from the ashes between them. It hadn't been something she'd thought about in a while. Often at times she would say something wildly inappropriate or blunt when giving her opinion on someone, and then her Mom would give her an earful later on. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of the word, the familiarity slipping back into place once more.

Elena cringed. "Sorry, I forgot. But he is from what I've heard. Did she say how it went?"

"Not much," Hermione sighed, Elena hearing the distinct sound of confusion in her voice, "I got the sense she didn't like him too much."

Elena groaned, a beat passing between the mother and daughter. "So... Why exactly did you call me? Not that I don't love discussing Veronica's terrible taste in boys..." She trailed off nervously.

"You know the Taste of Riverdale event? The one Mayor McCoy is hosting?" Hermione asked. Elena mumbled a confirmation in response, her mind awash with memories of the event? Know it? She been forced into to work the hell-like event last year, stuck at the Pops booth as all the adults of Riverdale intermingled and pretended to have something interesting to talk about as they snacked on the free food. "Well Pop sort of roped me into staffing the booth, and he needs another person so I thought-"

"Tell him I'll be there." She interrupted. "Besides, I wouldn't dream of leaving you alone to defend yourself against the vultures." She assured her, shaking her head to herself as she saw through Pop's move. That crafty, crafty man.

"Thank you." Hermione let out a thankful sigh, relieved at the results.

"Don't worry about it, and I promise I'll introduce you as my sister to all the people I know there."

Hermione laughed. "I'll be grateful," she paused, as though wishing to say something more to her, before bringing herself back to earth. "I'll see you there Elena."

"You are a devious man Pop Tate." Elena glared pointedly, as she made her way over to the Pop's booth that was currently being set up. "I know for a fact you only need one other person to help you run the booth." Pop Tate was the sweetest man in Riverdale, and Elena knew that there was no way in hell he wouldn't take the chance to bring her and her mother closer together. He was devious, but too sweet for her to be truly mad at him.

Pop froze halfway through setting down a free appetizer, a guilty expression falling across his face. "Now why's that such a bad thing?" He asked, as she slipped behind the booth to join him in his efforts as they chatted. "You and your Mom should be spending some quality time together, not avoiding one another."

"I'm not-" She began to deny.

"I'm not blind Elena." He stared, waving his finger her way. "You've been walking on eggshells with one another."

Admittedly that was indeed the case. Ever since Elena had admitted to her mother the truth about her sexuality as well as her suicide attempt, she'd been going out of her way to avoid talking excessively with her Mom. It was just so awkward, and every time they crossed paths her mind went blank as to what to say to her. What could she say? The reveal of the fact that she had tried to hurt herself was clearly bothering her, but how could she make things better? Self consciously Elena tugged down the sleeve of the grey shirt she was wearing, as she thought over the issue. How could they get past this?

"Pop if I tell you something can you promise not to say a word to anyone?" She asked, turning in desperation to her boss. Pop nodded, the food forgotten as he turned to face her, urging her to go forth with her story.

Deep breaths. "A couple of years ago when I was still living with my parents, I tried to um-" Elena lifted up her sleeve, turning her wrist around to show to the man. Pop was silent as he studied her scar, a look of sympathy washing across his face in realisation. Elena quickly tugged her sleeve down once more, eager to hide the stark reminder of her past once more.

"Elena-"

"I'm okay now though." She assured him with a smile. "But I told my Mom about it the other night, and well..."

"It's awkward as hell?"

Elena let out a small laugh at his unexpected choice of words. "Yeah." She nodded. "I know it can't exactly be easy to hear, but now everything is weird and I don't know what to say to her. You know we used to be close? Like insanely so. She used to be able to make me feel better about something with a click of her fingers, she knew me inside and out. Now it's my turn to reach out to her, and I just don't know what to do."

Pop sat himself down on a nearby stool as he considered her words, before he finally reached a conclusion. "Assure her."

"Huh?"

"If something that horrible happened to someone that I cared about, I know I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it. Tell her about the help you've gotten, what sort of place you're in now. Assure her that you're okay, and that you're in a better place in your life. But other than that?" He shrugged. "There's not much you can do for your Mom, but I know that's what I would need to hear."

Elena nodded her thanks, as she pulled Pop into a grateful hug. "Thanks Pop, you're a Prince among men."

Pop let out an affectionate laugh, patting Elena gently on the back as the two of them pulled apart from one another. "Thanks Elena. Think you wanna give it a shot?" He asked, nodding towards the entrance into city hall. Elena glanced over, immediately spotting the approaching figure of Hermione as she gave them a short wave in greeting. Elena waved back, a newfound confidence greeting her.

Deep breaths. "Sure." Elena agreed, urging her nerves to steady themselves once more.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

Elena swept a brief look around the ladies room, checking for any occupied toilets. Nope. No one's in here. Elena span around, eyeing her mother warily for any sort of reaction. "It's bothering you, isn't it?" She guessed, noting the look of realisation that had began to form in Hermione's eyes. "What I told you about the other night."

"Elena..." Hermione trailed off, as tears began to pool in her eyes. "I'm sorry sweetheart it's not you it's just- Oh God I can't stop picturing it-" A small cry escaped Hermione as the floodgates burst, tears pouring forth at her own words. In a panic Elena stepped forward to pull her mother into a hug, feeling her return it a moment later as her crying began to subside. It was an involuntary action on her part, a go to response she had always had when someone was upset around her. She would will the pain away, hoping against all hope that a small hug was enough on her part to fix their problems.

As the two of them pulled apart, Elena took a hold of Hermione's hands to squeeze them in assurance. "Mom I'm okay now, really."

"You tried to kill yourself."

Elena flinched involuntarily at her choice of words. 1,2,3. "And I got help, and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better. I see my therapist twice a month, and she's been really supportive, hell she encouraged me to go to Friday night dinner." Elena smiled, nudging her mother lightly. "And I'm on meds, they're the serious kind. I'll have to take them for the rest of my life, but if it means I never have to feel that way again then I'm okay with that. I know I can't change how you're feeling, but I need you to know you don't have anything to worry about now."

As Hermione wiped away the last of her tears, Hermione brought forth a hand to tuck back a piece of Elena's hair. Another vestige from her childhood. "I'll always worry about you mija, sometimes you can be too kind for your own good. I always worried that people would take advantage of that." People like their family, and their not so secret criminal ways? "But if you say you're okay-" Hermione nodded to herself, determining her answer. "Then I am too."

"Really?"

Hermione nodded, a smile forming on her face. "Yeah."

Elena let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She smiled, pulling her into a hug once more. "Thank you, you have no idea how happy that makes me." A moment passed, before Elena remembered something. "How about to further this joy, we go serve some food we don't even get to sample?"

Laughter filled the bathroom once more, making Elena's heart grow warm at the long forgotten sound. "Alright."

"You haven't asked." Hermione observed, as Elena said her goodbyes to the latest of their customers. Pop had left the two of them to ''go mingle'' after an hour of work, leaving the two of them to try and make conversation in between work.

"About what?" Elena asked absentmindedly, as she re-arranged the samples to fill in the missing gaps. If I don't do that it'll bother me all night. I'm don't care if it makes me OCD.

"Your father." Hermione answered.

Elena's hand stilled momentarily, before she brought it forward to adjust her apron. "What's there to ask about?" She shrugged, purposely avoiding eye contact with Hermione as she attempted to loosen the bow from the tight knot she had managed to do on her own. Everything just suddenly felt a little uncomfortable at the mention of her father, she didn't want to think about him, or their shitty relationship that went beyond the year of bullying and her emancipation two years previously.

"Why he was arrested, his prison sentence..." Hermione supplied, beginning to list of all of the things Elena refused to let herself think about. "Whether or not he knows you're living here, how he reacted-"

Elena let out a huff of frustration, as she tugged on the knot once more without success. "Can you help me with this?"

"Mija-"

"Can you?" Elena asked pointedly, motioning towards the problem she wished to focus on. Hermione let out an all too familiar sigh at Elena's show of stubbornness, making her way over to her. It took only a minute for her to loosen the bow of Elena's apron before she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, gently spinning her around in order to face her.

"Mija."

"Madre."

Both of the women cocked a brow at the other at the others retorts. "He does miss you." Hermione assured her, eyes baring into hers full of promise. "I know you think he doesn't care about you and that Veronica was always his favourite-"

Elena let out a loud scoff that drew the attention of a passing elderly couple. "Understatement of the century."

"-but I know for a fact you leaving took a toll on your father." Elena refused to dignify Hermione's words with a response, blinking hard and fast as she shoved her simmering anger towards her father back into the box in her mind.

"He tuned out of my life a long time ago." She shrugged, trying with all her might to keep her tone emotion free. "So with all due respect, I don't care if he managed to somehow grow a heart in the time since I last saw him."

"Elena that's-"

"I think he wants you." Elena dodged, inclining her head towards a smiling Fred Andrews as he approached them. With a sigh of reluctance Hermione pulled away from her, walking over to the front of the booth to greet Archie's father.

...

It wasn't long before more trouble began to brew at the event, as Elena soon found out. As she helped bring in a fresh batch of samples for Pop, she caught the tail end of a conversation between her mother and Alice Cooper. Elena tried not to judge people too harshly, after all every person was different from what they presented on the surface. But dear God that woman is a bitch.

"You don't even know do you? The things that they're saying about your daughters at school?"

Though her back was facing the two women, Elena found herself pausing to listen closely. "What things?" Hermione pressed, the barest hint of irritation lining her tone.

"Slutshaming. That's what they call it when sluts get shamed." Alice shrugged carelessly. "Not to mention the one that ran away from you, she's quiet for a Lodge I have to say, though I suppose that rundown existence she calls a life would give anyone a little humility."

"Watch it!" Elena heard Hermione warn. Elena turned around to find that Alice had wandered off to harass someone else and her mother was off to the side, her phone to her ear as she tried to call Veronica. Hermione's eyes met her, a knowing look passing over her face.

She knew she'd heard.

"Could you try your sister? She's not picking up."

Elena nodded, pulling out her phone from her pocket to dial Veronica's number. What the hell had been going off at school?