Cheryl sits on the bathroom vanity in Veronica's apartment. Veronica mills about the room searching all the drawers and cabinets for the first aid supplies. After a moment of rummaging in the last cabinet she checks, Veronica finds what she's looking for. She stands up and gently instructs Cheryl to remove the towel she's been pushing against her head the whole way here.
Cheryl can feel the cotton fibers peeling away from her skin, the dried blood acting like a glue. She's careful to pull slowly, as to not reopen the wound. Veronica takes a warm, wet washcloth to the red head's temple. She uses one hand wrapped gingerly around Cheryl's chin to keep her head in place while she uses her other hand to clean up the dried blood.
Cheryl inadvertently holds her breath. Something about their close proximity made her afraid to breathe. She can't help but stare at Veronica, tracking her eye movement. All of Veronica's attention is focused on the task at hand, cleaning Cheryl's cut and patching her up. Cheryl can't help but notice how naturally beautiful Veronica is. Her features are knit together in concentration. Cheryl's eyes roam around Veronica's face, her hands, her body. She notices the way Veronica's throat twinges when she swallows. She notices the way Veronica is lightly brushing her thumb over her cheek with the steady hand as she brushes away at the blood with her other one. She notices the way Veronica ever so slightly bites her lip in concentration. Her skin was soft, her makeup subtle but perfectly highlighting her cheekbones, the scent of her shampoo filled the space between them. Every micro detail about Veronica is on full display for Cheryl to dissect, and she comes to the conclusion that Veronica is truly beautiful.
It's not just her outer appearance, Cheryl notes, but Veronica's actions, her words, make her all the more beautiful. The way she so quickly took Cheryl in despite their feuding past. How Veronica knew exactly when to talk and when to just let Cheryl process in silence. How every touch set Cheryl's skin ablaze, desperate for contact. The way Veronica so boldly stood up against her mother, and Cheryl's mother, just to ensure the redheads wellbeing. Cheryl was overwhelmed.
"This is gonna sting a bit." Veronica's voice breaks Cheryl from her thoughts. She notices the open bottle of hydrogen peroxide sitting on the counter next to her. The familiar sting thankfully doesn't last long. Veronica lightly blows over the wound to dry the skin.
It feels intimate, almost too much so. It makes Cheryl nervous, the butterflies in her stomach flying wildly about. She swallows in attempt to suppress the feeling.
Veronica secures a bandaid over the cut. Then, Veronica leans forward and presses a lingering kiss on the skin just below the bandaid. The contact is short, but it lasts longer than your typical 'kiss the boo boo better' type of kiss.
She pulls away abruptly, a blush adorning her face. Obviously embarrassed, Veronica busies herself with putting the first aid stuff away. Cheryl doesn't speak, her mind is too focused on the ghostly feeling of Veronica's lips on her skin, and her hands on her thighs. The atmosphere is tense, in the sense that it's charged with an unfamiliar feeling. One that neither girl was in any way ready to examine.
Veronica awkwardly clears her throat before walking out the door, down the hall to her room. Cheryl silently follows after her, and when she enters Veronica's room it's like someone had pressed the reset button. Veronica looked relaxed and happy, her shoulders no longer tensely hunched, or her face a rosy red. She spoke normally, "so what's tomorrow's gameplan?"
It takes a moment for Cheryl to shake away the tension, confused by Veronica's composure. Veronica once again breaks her from the thoughts, "school? What's your plan?" She waits a moment for Cheryl to respond, and when she doesn't, still paralyzed be confusion, she continues, "You should sit with us at lunch." Implying Archie and the others. "Or WE could just sit together if you're not ready for that, But then again you're probably getting really sick of me," she trails off quietly, before taking a breath and continuing, "But you'd probably want to sit with Gia and Tina, you're friends. I mean it's not like anything's changed in the eyes of everyone else."
It's not like anything's changed. She's right, now that Cheryl thinks about it. No one knew of the events of this weekend besides them, Archie, Betty, and Jughead. She only sent that message to Veronica, didn't mention anything to anyone else in her life, there was no paper trail. Archie broken hand was the only real proof that anything happened she supposes.
What does she do when they arrive at school tomorrow? Does she pretend nothing happened and that everything is normal? Except nothing was even remotely close to normal anymore. In her lowest moment, Cheryl reached out to her supposed 'rival' of all people. The band of misfits she was constantly at odds with were her saviors. Everything about their dynamic changed that day. How do you ignore that?
On the other hand, how do you up and change your entire life, the social status you worked years to gain, without explaining WHY there's a shift in the first place? That was not a conversation she wanted to have with anyone. This was a predicament she never thought about until now. The thought of going back to school honestly didn't cross her mind until now. Veronica might have mentioned it in her argument to go back to Thornhill, but she glossed right over it.
After a minute of silence, Veronica looks worried. Cheryl realizes it's been too long of a silence since Veronica asked her a question. She makes her way over to the bed, taking a seat next to the girl before finally responding. "I'm not really sure, maybe we just play it by ear?" She doesn't want to think about it. She figures she'll cross that bridge when she gets there.
Veronica nods and hangs her head. She nervously plays with the sheets in front of her crossed legs. Cheryl notices the subtle change in Veronica's demeanor, she looks conflicted, almost sad. Cheryl reaches out and grabs Veronica's hands, steadying them. "I'm not sick of you by the way." She playfully bumps into Veronica's shoulder with her own. This grabs her attention, she looks up into Cheryl's eyes. "To be honest," Cheryl casts her eyes downward, "I don't think I could really be without you right now."
Veronica practically gives off a sigh of relief. A warm smile graces her face. She pulls Cheryl in for a hug. It's a short embrace. The tension from earlier slowly creeping back between them. Veronica pulls away first, "so what do you want do now?" It was only late afternoon. They had hours until 'bed time.'
"Movie marathon?" Cheryl suggests.
Veronica smiles wide, "sounds great. You set up the queue, and I'll get the popcorn!" She yells as she jumps off the bed, practically running out of the room. Cheryl laughs at her silliness and grabs the remote, turning her attention to the TV. She smiles to herself, she'd trade the popular status for a friend like this any day.
A/N: Yay! Now that Cheryl is free from her mother, and as we get further removed from the river scene, this story can begin to focus on how the girls grow together romantically. It will still be about Cheryl's recovery, but now there's a little more room for fluff. Hope ya'll enjoyed this update! Now let's fangirl over cute Cheronica! :D