Toni stood against her motorcycle waiting for Cheryl to come out of the school building. Her girlfriend was tying up a few loose ends which would allow her to skip the clubs she would normally have today in order to take Toni out. Toni smiled at the thought. Girlfriends. That's what they were now.

Her smile continued as Jughead walked up to her with Betty beside him. "Hey Jug. Plans for you and the missus?" Betty blushed at the nickname but smiled.

"Nothing special. Just a quiet night in. It seems like Cheryl has plans though. I saw her running to and fro asking people to do her usual after school tasks." Jughead chuckled.

"Yeah. I pity the person joining her." Toni's smile disappeared and she stared at Jughead.

"She's taking me on a date Jug." Betty blanched and Jughead looked as if he'd been punched in the gut.

"Wait, she's what? Since when did this happen?" Betty placed a hand on Toni's shoulder.

"Toni, she isn't someone you want to get into bed with. In any sense of the phrase." Toni clenched her fists at her side and shrugged off the hand. Jughead was her friend but this was ridiculous. Cheryl was not some plague to be avoided and Toni was just about to tell them that when the topic of their conversation glided over to them and smoothly placed her arm around Toni's shoulders.

"Ready to go, TT?" Toni's clenched fists eased and she smiled up at the redhead.

"You betcha, Bombshell." Toni slid from Cheryl's partial embrace and handed her the red helmet she officially always kept stored in one of the saddlebags that hung on either side of the bike. Jughead and Betty looked as if their jaws were about to fall to the ground as they watched Cheryl put the helmet on and hop onto the back of the black motorcycle. Toni smirked as she hopped on the bike herself.

She was about to put on her own helmet when a hand grabbed her wrist. She glanced over to see Jughead with a pleading look in his eyes. "Toni. For your own sake, don't do this. You're going to get yourself hurt." The female Serpent was torn. Part of her was angry Jughead had even spoken those words, but another part of her, granted a far smaller part, had doubts. Was it possible Cheryl was just using her? Toni mentally slapped herself. The pair had already discussed their situation and clarified things. Another voice broke through her thoughts and dragged her out of her conflicted mind.

"For your own sake, Jughead," Cheryl spoke sternly, "I'd recommend you remove your hand from my girlfriend's wrist before you get hurt." Jughead and Betty, and even Toni, were surprised at the choice of words. It made Toni grin impossibly wide but it made Jughead and Betty take visible steps back after he released his grip. Toni twisted and gave Cheryl a chaste kiss before putting on her helmet and turning on the motorcycle.

"Adiós you two. Have a nice night in." With a wink, Toni pulled away from the gaping couple and out of the parking lot, heading down the road. The day was nice enough, a pleasant wind whipping around them as the drove, but grey clouds were beginning to gather in the sky above and Toni was eager to get to their destination.

"So, where to?" she called back to her passenger. "The weather doesn't look like it will hold for long."

"Head to the Southside and go to Lenny's Arcade." Toni's eyebrows rose but she held back her questions.

But the time they arrived at the aforementioned location, rain had begun to slowly drizzle down and the the two girls hurried to enter the small building, keeping their helmets with them so they wouldn't be wet when the time came to use them again. Toni glanced around the space crowded with games, both new and old, though it only held a few customers. Toni turned to Cheryl with a questioning gaze.

"Why are we here?" Cheryl met her eyes and there was a hesitation in them that worried Toni.

"I asked around to see if there were any special places for you in town. Sweet Pea let me know your dad used to take you here when you were young and he was still alive." Toni swallowed and fought to hold back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I hope I didn't cross a line! We don't have to stay here if it's too much. Toni?" The Serpent girl closed the space between them and enclosed the other girl in a fierce hug.

"This place holds bittersweet memories for me, yes." Toni pulled back. "But there's no one else I'd rather make new, better memories with." Cheryl smiled and gave her a quick kiss before heading over to talk to the employee behind the desk. Two minutes later and she walked away from a visibly frightened man with a small bag of tokens in hand. "Cher..." The redhead shrugged.

"He was being uncooperative. I gave him a verbal nudge." Toni laughed and linked hands with Cheryl.

"Alright scary lady. Where to first?" Cheryl shrugged.

"No idea. I haven't actually been to an arcade before." Toni's eyes widened and she stared at Cheryl.

"You haven't?"

"Correct. Mummy and Daddy never bothered with me and JJ was too busy learning about the business and playing football. He checked in daily but we never did much in the way of going out to places and doing things together."

"What about with friends?"

"I had lackeys rather than friends. Any friends I may have had were too scared of my exterior persona or far more interested in using my money than getting to know me." Toni's heart ached at the loneliness the girl beside her had gone through. She was shocked every time it was brought up because the redhead always seemed to be surrounded by people. Toni was beginning to see loneliness as sometimes greater in a crowd than it was by oneself.

"Well now you have me." She squeezed their interlocked hands and her resolve steeled. "And I am going to make sure this date you planned is sensational, just like you." Cheryl rolled her eyes but smiled.

"You really need to stop bringing up that word so often." Toni smirked.

"Beat me at a game of my choice and I'll consider it."

"Deal, but I get two practice rounds first."

"Fine. It won't make a difference. I'll still win."

"Wanna bet?" Toni laughed.

"Isn't that what this is?"

"Oh shut up. Come on." Cheryl tugged their hands and Toni obliged in walking around the arcade with her, searching for a game to play. The Serpent pointed out a few suggestions — so much for it being Toni's choice — but Cheryl looked less than thrilled at most of them so they moved on. There was one game Cheryl had been interested in, a hunting game involving archery, but unfortunately some hooligans had broken in and stolen the plastic bow required to play. The arcade hadn't had the cash or enough interest in the game to replace it and so the game was no longer an option.

They walked around a bit more before Toni spotted it: The Claw Machine. She pulled Cheryl towards it and grinned. "This one." Cheryl hummed.

"I don't know..."

"Cheryl you've been saying that about every game. We did agree it would be my choice." Toni put on her best puppy dog eyes and watched as Cheryl weakened.

"Alright. How do we play?" Toni clapped in excitement and began gesturing to the various parts.

"You use the knob to maneuver the claw and there's a limited amount of time. The object of the game is to grab one of the prizes and drop it into the bin where you can retrieve it through this panel here like you would from a vending machine."

"A vending machine is a lot less effort."

"And this is so much more fun!" Cheryl gave a small smile in response to the megawatts smile Toni had on. "You take your practice rounds first then I'll go and you can try to do better after." Cheryl nodded and placed her first token into the slot. The machine clicked and whirred as the claw moved to its starting position. As soon as it reached it, the timer began to count down and Cheryl started moving around the knob. She positioned the claw over a stuffed cow and pressed the release button. The claw lowered and closed its jaws over the stuffed animal. For a moment it seemed as if she was going to get the animal first try but within seconds of being in the air it slid from the jaws and back to the pile. The claw returned to its off position in the corner and that was the end of her first turn.

Cheryl gave a frustrated huff and Toni couldn't make out any of the words she muttered under her breath but she imagined they were most likely a long string of expletives. The second try went much the same, except Cheryl went after a dinosaur plushie, and when that try ended she actually kicked the machine. "Why is this considered fun? This is torture!"

Toni laughed heartily and even wiped tears away that leaked from her eyes, "Okay move aside. You definitely need a break." Cheryl stepped aside and watched the machine with disdain.

"If you get this first try, I may just have to walk out of here." Toni laughed again.

"Ever the drama queen." When Cheryl was quiet, Toni looked over and saw her slightly curved in on herself.

"I really did want to be in the musical." Toni turned away from the machine and placed her hands on Cheryl's forearms.

"Hey. You were able to get your mother and uncle out of the house. That's something. If you want, I can give up my ensemble role and we ca-"

"Absolutely not!" Cheryl bristled with indignation. "You are staying in the musical and you are going to be sensational." Toni smirked.

"Now you're bringing up the word." Cheryl wrapped her arms around Toni's waist.

"It seems to be the only thing you respond to."

"I have other motivators."

"Oh I'm well aware." Cheryl leaned in and kissed Toni softly on the lips. "Now go see if you can dominate that game as well as you dominate other things." With a wink, Cheryl pulled away and pushed Toni towards the machine. The pink-haired gang member wanted nothing more than to take Cheryl away to somewhere private and do far more explicit things than play arcade games, but a quick glance out the front window showed her they couldn't leave, not in the downpour currently raging.

With a quiet sigh, Toni returned to the claw machine which seemed less interesting now after the conversation they'd had. However, she wasn't going to back down from a challenge and there happened to be a snake plushie pleasantly coiled against the back wall. An old memory surfaced coated in the smell of smoke and the melancholy of times long gone, but it was warm and happy all the same.

A smirk crept onto Toni's lips as she inserted the token and watched the claw rumble along the ceiling. Instead of reaching for the knob as Cheryl had done, Toni quickly searched for any official personnel before sidling around the side of the game. "Toni, what are you-"

"You'll see." She gave a swift kick to a panel at the bottom and used her fingers to pry it open after it gave way. The teen reached her hand up into the space and felt around until she found a smaller hatch on the ceiling of the dark hollow she had accessed. With a sharp tug, she opened the hatch and reached her hand further up, her shoulder now engulfed by the first entrance. After more feeling around, she finally managed to grasp the tail of the snake and tugged it down through the small hatch and through the larger hole where the panel had been. Toni quickly closed the small hatch and resealed the panel before stepping around the side of the machine just as the timer went up. "Told you I'd win."

Cheryl's eyes widened in surprise and her look of confusion had turned into something unidentifiable. "Toni! First off, you can't do that!" Her voice dropped, "That's illegal." She returned her voice to its normal volume and smirked. "Second, that's cheating so you automatically lose." Toni shrugged.

"It was something my dad showed me how to do. It's the Southside. The machine was altered for that purpose and it's usually opened up by the manager during the Christmas season for those who can't afford a gift for their kids." Guilt was immediately evident on Cheryl's face.

"You shouldn't have used it on me then. I have the money to buy something." Toni walked up and smiled.

"I know, but it was time someone bought something for you. Or stole, I guess." Cheryl let out a laugh.

"Such a criminal." Toni circled her arms around the taller girl's neck.

"This is what happens when you officiate with a gang member. And now," Toni rubbed the snake against Cheryl's cheek earning a small laugh, "whenever your gang member isn't near, you can have this serpent with you to keep you company." Cheryl reached up and took the stuffed snake from Toni's grasp and held it up between them.

"You know, I think it may be cuter than you. What do you think?" Toni mock gasped and looked at Cheryl in exaggerated offense.

"I think I may just have to take the snake out. Can't have my girlfriend leaving me." Cheryl wrapped her arms around Toni.

"No," she kissed her, "you most certainly cannot."