AN/ AND GUESS WHO'S BACK?! HI GUYS, I'VE MISSED YOU THESE LAST FEW DAYS! REVISION IS AWFULLY BORING, AND IN 7 DAYS, MY FIRST EXAM WILL BE OVER, AND IT'S GOT ME REALLY STRESSED. SO, AS ALWAYS, TO ALLEVIATE MY STRESS, I ABANDONED THE SCHOOL WORK TO WRITE THIS BECAUSE IT MAKES ME HAPPY. THANKS TO EVERYONE WISHING ME LOOK WITH THE EXAMS, FINGERS CROSSED IT ALL GOES WELL!
THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT UP TO NOW GUYS. LAST CHAPTER WAS OUR TWENTIETH! I FEEL LIKE THAT DESERVES CAKE OR SOMETHING, AND IT'S MASSIVE. LAST CHAPTER, WE REACHED 200 REVIEWS. THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE! IT MAKES ME SO OVERWHELMINGLY HAPPY TO KNOW THAT YOU GUYS ALL LIKE THIS. ALL OF THE LOVE IS AMAZING. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
ANYWAY, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER. AS ALWAYS, AT SEVEN REVIEWS I'LL START EDITING THE NEXT ONE TO PUT UP FOR YOU GUYS. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY IT.
HAPPY TUESDAY...
Penelope Blossom had been waiting outside the Pembroke for over an hour. Driving around the block for the fifth time, she kept her eyes peeled for the tell-tale signs of the two girls she wanted to see: the first, her daughter, with her signature red hair, and the second – the less desirable option – that Topaz girl, with the flannel mesh aesthetic and the bubblegum pink highlights in her hair.
Lurking outside the Pembroke was unproductive. It was a waste of time, precious time, that Penelope Blossom knew was better concentrated elsewhere. Time that should have been spent back at Thistlehouse with Cliff- no, Claudius, making a plan to get the hell away from those pesky teenagers before they did irreparable damage to her reputation. But Penelope couldn't bring herself to return home, because returning home to make a plan would mean she actually considered those… children… a threat.
They weren't a threat. Not in the slightest. They were kids, misguided kids, who were fighting a losing battle. Rallying around her deviant daughter… that was a mistake they'd made, and when they learnt about who Cheryl Blossom really was, they wouldn't want anything more to do with her. And, as always, when the children got ugly, she would be there to pick up the pieces of her daughter's broken heart. The heart that was certain to break as soon as those ghastly children began to interrogate Cheryl about what was inside the file they had somehow stolen from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.
That Topaz girl especially was a bad influence on dear Cheryl, encouraging that awful, deviant behaviour, behaviour that just wasn't tolerable. Interfering with the plans to help make Cheryl better. How could her daughter stand with that Southside Scum that morning, and believe that the Serpent actually loved her? Her daughter couldn't be living like that, slumming it with some god-awful girl who was convincing her that this… unnatural… behaviour was acceptable.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Penelope realised that there was only one solution to these issues in her daughter's life. Sending Cheryl away to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy had evidently been a mistake. Penelope cursed herself for thinking ten miles out of time was far enough away to deter Toni Topaz. She needed to travel further, to send her daughter so far away that it would be impossible for there to be any form of contact with that Topaz girl. Canada, perhaps?
But it was more than that. Deep down, Penelope Blossom wanted Cheryl to be happy. The straight-A student with the looks, personality, and boyfriend to match. The girl Penelope Blossom knew her daughter was capable of being. A daughter she could be proud of. Like how she used to be proud of Jason.
It was difficult for Penelope to not be constantly comparing Cheryl's failures to Jason's successes. Deep down, she still blamed Cheryl for her son's demise, in spite of the clear evidence showing her husband shooting Jason. Cheryl had always been the family disappointment, and with Jason, her handsome Jason, dead because Cheryl let him go, and in the aftermath, Cheryl tried to do everything she could possibly do to get on her mother's good side. However, it was never enough, nothing she could do would ever impress her mother.
To Penelope Blossom, Cheryl was a reckless, loveless, deviant disappointment that lacked pride and class, along with respect for her family name and everything being a Blossom stood for. The girl had masses of potential, but in her rush to separate herself from her family, she'd forgotten who she was. Penelope's lip curled thinking of that. Forgetting who she was had been dangerous for her daughter from the beginning, and now – as she thought of Cheryl's relationship with that Topaz girl – it was about to have far reaching consequences.
Cheryl Blossom needed to find herself again. That was what Penelope Blossom wanted. She wanted her daughter to remember who she was, where she came from, and act accordingly. To interact with the right people. To respect the family who just wanted to help her, instead of pushing them away because they weren't what she wanted.
Penelope Blossom just wanted a daughter she could be proud of.
And she was going to be the one to make that happen.
Was that really too much to ask?
"You two ready to go then?" Veronica asked as she pulled on a pair of heels.
"Jeez, V," Toni chuckled, "we're only going to Pop's."
Looking down at her own outfit, Cheryl was dressed a lot more casually than she would be normally. A pleated tartan skirt and a cropped black top was not the kind of outfit one would usually find in the wardrobe of Cheryl Blossom. Nor were battered black Converse boots. She wasn't that sure about the Converse… they were comfy, sure, but they weren't her. They were nice enough, but she wished she was wearing some shiny heels, heels that were high enough to lift her out of her problems. She missed her brooches, and – as she looked in the mirror – she found herself sighing because she missed her red lipstick.
The red lipstick had been a signature look of Cheryl Blossom's ever since the end of Junior High. It was a look that embodied almost all of Cheryl's personality. It made her feel powerful, stunning and just a tiny bit dangerous. Over the years, she'd noticed how just her mere lipstick choice had intimidated other people. She was the only person who had enough daring to wear red lipstick. Along with her flame red hair, the scarlet lips were just one of many things that separated her from the majority. She had always liked standing out from the crowd and her lipstick let her do that with ease. It made her feel dangerous, like the bombshell she claimed to be.
Without her red lipstick, she felt vulnerable, exposed even. She missed it, and she couldn't wait to go and get it, just as soon as they dealt with her mother.
Thinking of Penelope made Cheryl wonder how soon they could go and deal with the woman. The sooner Penelope was out of the picture, the sooner Cheryl knew she could get better, to go back to normal. It might sound stupid, but without Penelope around, Cheryl knew she'd be a different girl.
As the trio stepped into the lobby of the Pembroke, Cheryl took hold of Toni's hand, letting Veronica walk slightly ahead to go and summon her car.
"Erm, TT," Cheryl mumbled, "can I ask something?"
Noticing the hesitation in her girlfriend's voice, Toni stopped walking, her gaze locking onto Cheryl's face in concern. "Of course, what's up?"
"Erm, I was wondering if maybe we could go to Thistlehouse later? Like right after Pop's?"
"We?"
"Yeah. Me, you, Toby. Possibly King, Jug and Archie if they'll come."
"I'm sure they'll want to go, but are you sure you want to?"
"Yeah, I want to go. I want to make Penelope Blossom pay, and wish she had never treated me badly. Especially now we have the evidence against her."
"Is that really a good idea? Like, we both know how she made you feel earlier."
"I know," Cheryl admitted, "but I have to do this."
Toni sighed, because – as much as she was against this – she knew her girlfriend was right. Deep down, she knew the only way Cheryl would stand a chance of getting over what her mother had put her through was to be the one that hammered the nail into her mother's coffin herself. It had to be her. Toni going herself wouldn't be enough. It had to be Cheryl, and Toni knew that as well as the redhead did.
"As long as you want to go Cheryl, you can. But you don't have to go if you don't want to, okay?"
"I'll tell you if I change my mind."
"Promise?" Toni asked, knowing that Cheryl was unlikely to change her mind.
Cheryl rolled her eyes. "I promise, Topaz."
"Good." Toni chuckled, leaning in and placing a light kiss on Cheryl's cheek. "Let's go show the others what we've got."
"And then, we fight for us."
"Alright, lovebirds," Veronica called from the doors, "Car's out front, I'm ready, but you two are holding us up. Are we ready?"
Both girls rolled their eyes at Veronica and followed the raven haired girl out of the Pembroke, climbing into the back of her car. Veronica pulled onto the road, heading in the direction of Pop Tate's diner.
All three girls were so animated in their discussion of milkshakes that they failed to notice the car behind them, the red vintage sports car, the car that was tailing their journey.
They were so engaged in their conversation that Penelope Blossom managed to follow them straight to Pop's, with no need to disguise herself.
Chuckling as she pulled up in the parking lot of Pop's diner, Penelope watched as her daughter got out of the car, her lip curling into a frown when she saw Cheryl's hand was intertwined with the hand of that Topaz girl. So they were keeping Cheryl at the Pembroke, and now her daughter was at Pop Tate's diner, meeting up with her little friends, the friends so intent on destroying Penelope.
Penelope wondered how Cheryl would react when she learned how her "friends" were conspiring against her family. Her daughter had a loyalty possessed by very few people, and Penelope knew that – if it was nurtured correctly – Cheryl's loyalties could definitely lie with her family.
It was just a matter of time.
And, like everything else, time was on Penelope Blossom's side…
Cheryl and Toni slipped into a booth with Toby, whilst Veronica joined Betty and Jughead opposite. The six of them sat in the booth, waiting for Pop to come and take their orders.
"So," Veronica began, her voice low, "where's Archie at?"
Betty and Jughead shared a confused glance, neither of them saying anything.
"Guys, where's Archie?"
Cheryl glanced at Toni, finding comfort in the fact her girlfriend looked just as confused about this as she did.
"We thought he had gone to join you," Betty began, stopping when she looked at Veronica's face. "He said he was going to the Pembroke, and that he'd see us later."
"Archie said he was going to mine?"
"Definitely." Jughead confirmed, "You rang him, didn't you?"
Cheryl frowned when Jughead said that, as did Veronica. "I don't think so guys…"
"Well he got a phone call only seconds after Toni left. He said he was going to the Pembroke."
"He never arrived at the Pembroke," Toni replied, looking at Jughead. "Nobody came in or out."
"I'm more concerned about who rang him, and why he lied to you."
"I'm worried about where he went," Betty announced, fiddling with her ponytail like she always did when she felt uncomfortable, "because if you didn't phone him, who did?"
Veronica figured that out pretty quickly. "It'll be my father. I'd be willing to bet it was my father."
"And what would Hiram Lodge be wanting with Archie Andrews?" Jughead inquired, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Betty shot Jughead a warning glance, and Jughead merely shrugged his shoulders. Toni frowned at that; clearly, Veronica's dad was still a sore point for Jug. Sure, Hiram Lodge was a bad guy, but that didn't mean Veronica deserved Jughead making digs at her because of it.
"Hopefully nothing too dangerous," Toni interjected, deciding now was a good time to change the subject. "Anyway, regardless of where Archie is, we have the evidence we need to frame Penelope Blossom."
Betty smiled gratefully at Toni, while Veronica and Jughead continued staring daggers at each other. "So what did we find?"
In response, Cheryl pulled a small quantity of papers out of her bag. "A waiver, a letter requesting a place at the Sisters' and a record of payment, coming directly from the Blossom bank account," she stated proudly, letting Betty look at the sheets.
"Oh," Toby interrupted, "I got Polly's file for you Betty like you asked, I forgot to tell you earlier."
Betty smiled softly at him. "Perfect. Polly has wanted to read that for a while; she'll enjoy a bit of light reading when she moves home."
"Polly's coming home?" Cheryl asked, grinning when she said it.
"Yeah, she's but a deposit down on a house using her share from the will."
"With the twins?"
"No Cheryl," Veronica said with a sigh of slight irritation, "Polly Cooper is just going to up sticks and move back to Riverdale and leave her two babies behind. Don't be an obvious ostrich."
"Obvious ostrich?" Cheryl pondered, rolling her eyes at her friend. "You are the worst at insults."
"I'm sorry, Cheryl Bombshell, but my speciality is ice."
"Piss off!" Cheryl groaned, along with Betty. "That is the one time you have ever been able to render me speechless."
"Perhaps I should take lessons from Topaz then," Veronica mused. "She seems to be rather profound at shutting you up."
Toni smirked, and Cheryl blushed. Toby roared with laughter.
Pop Tate came over to the table, placing the various milkshakes in front of the right person.
"And a cherry cola for Cheryl, I believe?" he inquired, placing the red bottle in front of a smiling Cheryl.
Cheryl turned to look at Betty, who winked at her in response. As Pop walked away from the table, Betty whispered to Cheryl, "Topaz said it's your favourite."
Cheryl glanced at Toni, sending her girlfriend a soft smile. Toni reached her hand under the table, and took hold of Cheryl's lightly squeezing it.
"Oh please, just put your hands on the table, it's painfully obvious you're holding hands." Jughead quipped, in the most brooding way possible.
The entire table laughed as both girls blushed, placing their intertwined hands onto the table.
The group fell into a comfortable silence from then on, all just drinking their various drinks, waiting for someone to start another conversation. In the crowded booth of Pop's Choc'lit Shoppe, it was easy to escape everything that was surrounding them, the neon lights warding of the darkness that threatened to swallow them whole.
It was enough for them to be lulled into a false sense of security, to be blissfully unaware of the red car parked right outside the window, watching their every move like a hawk.
Two hours passed as the group of teens sat in the booth, chatting aimlessly while all were silently thinking about what was about to happen next.
Penelope Blossom sat restless in the driver's seat, fixated on her daughter.
She had to do something to get her daughter away from these people. They were making Cheryl reckless and deviant. She had to do something to help her daughter. It was her responsibility as a mother.
Her eyes flitting over a picture of Jason pinned on the dashboard, she remembered how much she'd failed in that category.
She had to help Cheryl.
She had to save her daughter before it was too late.
With that in mind, she silently opened the car door, climbing out of her seat.
Gently, she pushed the door shut, glancing at her daughter sitting in the window.
Taking a deep breath, Penelope Blossom cautiously made her way into Pop's diner, feeling the familiar tug of hustle and bustle pull her in.
"Erm, Cheryl," Betty whispered, suddenly feeling incredibly uneasy. "I think there's something you should know."
"What Cousin Betty?" Cheryl asked, blissfully unaware of her mother standing at the counter, gaze fixed on the back of her daughter's head.
"I believe your mother might just have walked in here." Jughead muttered, trying to stare at anyone but Penelope Blossom.
"My mother?" Cheryl muttered, her voice hesitant, "but what is she doing here?"
"Something tells me that she isn't here to get a milkshake," Jughead deadpanned cynically, watching Penelope who was stood in conversation with Pop at the counter.
"Definitely not here for a milkshake," Toni muttered, craning her neck to get a view of the older woman. "Does she know we're here?"
"I have a feeling she has known we're here for a while," Cheryl replied slowly, pointing to the red car parked directly in front of the window. "That's her car."
"She's been sat there the whole time and we didn't even notice?" Toni hissed, holding onto Cheryl's hand extra tight. "For fuck's sake. How do we get out of this one?"
"We stay calm." Toby stated from his seat in the corner, still completely relaxed in spite of the others panicking. "We pretend nothing is wrong. Act like we never saw her. Carry on talking like we haven't got a care in the world."
"Toby," Jughead chastised, "that is crap advice."
"No, it's not." Cheryl countered, her voice an oasis of calm. "Toby's right. He's completely right. We pretend we never saw her. If she's stupid to try something, it's her fault when she gets handed her ass."
"Spoken like a true Topaz," Toby mused proudly, raising his hand to high five Cheryl. The redhead rolled her eyes at him but obliged, smiling as she did.
"Okay then," Toni whispered, still keeping her gaze fixed on Penelope, "We finish our drinks like nothing has happened, then we go home."
"So what, we're just going to ignore her?" Veronica asked, unsure about whether that was a good idea.
"Exactly Lodge," Toby nodded, "we give her no reason to make things nasty. We're just a bunch of normal teens, together at Pop's, having a completely normal Monday night. Okay?"
The group silently nodded at him, all unable to shake the feeling of being watched as Penelope sat on a stool by the counter, observing their every move.
Several awkward minutes later, the glasses on the table in front of them were empty.
"Should I go pay the bill?" Betty asked hesitantly, knowing it was a good idea to leave.
"I'll do it," Cheryl insisted, and before anyone else could say a word to stop her, she'd jumped out of her seat, approaching the counter.
Toni felt her heart stop as her girlfriend walked over to the counter, casually sitting on a stool two down from her mother.
Cheryl swung her legs over the stool, and called over one of the boys working the counter. With a flourish, she produced ten dollar bills, handing them to the boy, all smiles, and waved off his attempts to give her change.
Penelope watched this exchange from two stools away, a scowl fixed on her face.
As her daughter turned to rejoin her friends, Penelope knew she needed to talk to her daughter.
"Cheryl, dear," she drawled, oblivious to the way Cheryl tensed when she spoke, "how are you?"
"Never been better, Mother," Cheryl retorted, turning to face her mother with a very forced smile. "You know, getting sent off to a ghoulish nunnery and all that. Bouncing back though. How about you?"
Penelope gulped, not quite knowing how to react to her daughter's sarcasm. There was the obvious response, to be a bitch, to try and hurt Cheryl, but if she did that, she knew she'd never stand a chance of getting her daughter back, back under her control, back to where she wanted the teenager to be.
"Simply devastated that you won't be coming home."
"I find that hard to believe," Cheryl drawled, her voice lacking any and all interest, "I daresay you're loving having Thistlehouse all to yourself to entertain your… clients."
Penelope's eyes flashed dangerously when Cheryl said that, and the redhead tensed, waiting for a slap, a scolding, or a tug of the wrist to pull her out of public sight.
Penelope breathed in, taking a long breath. "To be completely honest –"
"What a shock to the system, Mother," Cheryl interrupted, "considering honesty has never been your forte –"
"To be completely honest, business has been the last thing on my mind lately. Your poor Nana Rose grows worse by the day, and since learning you are refusing to come home, she is positively restless. I worry about her, Cheryl."
"I'm sure you do, Mother, in the same way you worry about me. As in, you worry about how she will be a problem."
"Don't be so gauche, Cheryl," Penelope scolded. "As I was saying, she grows ever worse, and the doctors have recommended that I get her admitted."
"Admitted?"
"Oh yes, there are many places that take on the elderly when they start to go senile."
"I daresay there are, just like ghoulish nunneries that take on mad girls."
"Either way, your poor Nana Rose is slowly losing the will to live. I assumed you would care enough to make the effort to see her, or at least to be concerned, but alas, I was wrong."
Cheryl froze when her mother said that, and found herself desperate to see her Nana. "I would love to see Nana Rose. Especially if she's come round after her fall."
"Well, she's at home with your Uncle Claudius. You could come and see her if you want."
"Now?" Cheryl asked hesitantly, "I'm not so sure, I'll have to ask Toni…"
"You mean the Serpent girl? What is she? Your jailer or something?"
"Don't be so gauche, mother," Cheryl gibed. "She's my…" Cheryl contemplated what to say, but decided the truth was the only thing to say. "She's my girlfriend, and I can't just run off without telling her."
Penelope scowled at her daughter's confession, desperately fighting the urge to clench her fists and say something scathing. She swallowed her distaste, choosing to stay civil. "You're seeing family, she'll understand."
"Oh, she will, she just doesn't want me going off alone again, especially after what happened last time."
Penelope scowled at that, remembering vividly Tony Topaz's visit to Thistlehouse. Yes, the Topaz girl definitely wasn't pleased about Cheryl's unplanned disappearance.
"So," Penelope began, "will you come to see your Nana?"
"I will come now, but I need to tell Toni. She'll want to come too."
"Nana Rose isn't healthy enough to have lots of visitors, Cheryl, I don't believe that is a good idea."
"Then I'll wait outside," Toni interrupted, "along with my friends," she added, gesturing to Jughead and Toby who were standing behind her.
Cheryl smiled gratefully at her girlfriend who had come over to save her, and was glad Toni wasn't too annoyed about Cheryl going back to Thistlehouse.
Penelope glanced between her daughter and the Serpent girl, knowing that saying no was not an option. Exasperated, she sighed. "I suppose that could work."
"Delightful!" Toni exclaimed, injecting false enthusiasm into the conversation. "So I'll drop Cheryl off at Thistlehouse later?"
"Why doesn't Cheryl come along with me now?" Penelope suggested, "I could give her a lift, and you can pick her up when she's seen her Nana. I'd simply hate for you to be inconvenienced by having to stay outside in the cold waiting for her."
Toni frowned when Penelope proposed that, because in Toni's eyes, there were too many outcomes to that situation, and none of them were remotely positive. Looking to Cheryl, Toni noticed that her girlfriend had nodded at Penelope's offer, clearly buying into her mother's words. That made Toni both worried and angry. Cheryl was a naturally suspicious person, but when it came to her Nana Rose, Cheryl would gladly do anything to see the old woman, especially considering the fact nobody knew anything about how her Nana was. Even if Penelope was telling the truth, Toni still felt uneasy about the whole set up.
After all, Penelope Blossom was as sly as a snake, and far more of a snake than any Southside Serpent.
Cheryl turned to observe her girlfriend, frowning slightly when she saw the conflicting emotions on her girlfriend's face. Ignoring the way her mother's eyes narrowed, she put her hand in Toni's, squeezing it gently, looking her girlfriend in the eye. "Please?" she whispered, "I'll stay safe…"
Toni felt her heart break slightly when she watched Cheryl do that. She knew that, in spite of everything, there was still a large part of Cheryl Blossom that wanted to make her mother love her, and she could see that part of Cheryl coming out in that moment. Saying no to Cheryl was impossible, and Toni couldn't stop the feeling of emptiness in her stomach when she reluctantly nodded her head. "Go," she whispered, "but stay safe?"
"I will," Cheryl confirmed, pulling Toni in for a quick hug. "I'll ring the second anything weird happens, okay?"
Toni grinned when Cheryl said that. "Don't even ring, just shout and we'll burst in Serpent style."
Cheryl chuckled and pulled away, turning to face her mother. "So to Thistlehouse then?" she demanded.
"Well that's where your Nana Rose is, isn't it?"
"Let's go then."
The mother and daughter left Pop's, climbing into the red car by the window of the booth Cheryl had been sat in less than ten minutes ago.
Penelope pulled her car out of the space, driving it slowly out of the parking lot.
As she turned onto Main Street, a silver Volvo appeared behind them, and tailed them for the remainder of the journey.
"And who is that?" Penelope announced, not impressed.
"I believe it will be Katya and King." Cheryl smiled, noticing her girlfriend had clearly planned for them to follow. "Back up."
"Back up?" Penelope repeated.
"Well, nobody trusts you, mother." Cheryl pointed out, sighing as she spoke. "After last time, she certainly has no intention of leaving me too alone with you."
"You sound convinced of that."
"Oh, I am." Cheryl replied, "She has plenty of friends, as do I. Thistlehouse has been under constant surveillance for the last few days."
"It has?"
"Oh yes, they've been watching your every move," Cheryl chuckled, "waiting for you to let something slip about where I was."
"Dear," Penelope drawled, "they have lulled you into a false sense of security haven't they?"
"I'm sorry?" Cheryl retorted, not quite understanding what her mother meant.
"Oh, you'll see," Penelope mused, turning her gaze back onto the road. "After all, every action has a consequence, and your actions this morning were unforgivable."
There was something sinister in Penelope's voice, and as the car pulled up on the driveway of Thistlehouse, Cheryl felt massively uneasy. There was something amiss in her mother's intentions, and although she'd had suspicions before, Cheryl was now convinced they were not entirely honest.
Penelope clamboured out of the car, strutting over to the heavy oak door, pushing it open.
Cheryl looked into the dark, shadowy hallway of Thistlehouse, and desperately tried to fight the lingering feeling of the darkness swallowing her.
It didn't work.
She was back. Back where the nightmares happen. Back where things go bang in the night. Back in the sexual playpen where strangers come and go but are never seen again. Back where ghosts haunt the hallways, searching for blood. Back where grandmothers fall down the stairs. Back in her personal hell.
But this time, it was different to every other time she had come back home.
This time, she'd chosen to be there.
And that made it a million times worse.
AN/ WHAT WILL BE HAUNTING THE HALLWAYS OF THISTLEHOUSE THIS TIME? IT'S SOMETHING BAD... BUT WHO FOR?
HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER, LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH.
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