AN/ J'ADORE LES VACANCES CAR JE ME RELAXE BEAUCOUP.
I HAVE HAD SO MUCH FREE TIME, SO HOW'S ABOUT I GIVE YOU ANOTHER CHAPTER? LAST CHAPTER, WE FINALLY GOT A CHONI FIRST DATE, AND I SECRETLY LOVE THE IDEA OF THE PAIR OF THEM AT A BOWLING ALLEY, AND – ONCE SHE GETS OVER THE SHOCK OF HAVING TO WEAR BOWLING SHOES – I THINK CHERYL WOULD BE REALLY GOOD.
ANYWAY, THOSE SEVEN REVIEWS CAME IN INSANELY QUICK, AND I AM SO GLAD YOU GUYS HAVEN'T GIVEN UP ON THIS. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO READ ALL OF THEM.
SO, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER, AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE NEXT ONE IS READY AND WAITING, THUS, IF I GET SEVEN REVIEWS ON THIS ONE, I'LL POST (THE USUAL).
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT OF THIS STORY… I THINK THIS CHAPTER MAKES THIS FIC ABOUT 98 000 WORDS, YOU KNOW. YOU GUYS, THAT'S LONGER THAN MOST NOVELS. THAT'S CRAZY! I COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT YOU GUYS, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH!
ANYWAY, SAPPY AUTHOR'S NOTES ASIDE, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER…
Sunlight was starting to break through the curtains of Cheryl Blossom's bedroom the next morning when the redhead began to stir. Stretching as she found herself slipping from her dream, she felt her feet kick against something in her bed, or more precisely, someone. Shocked, she snapped awake, suddenly worrying about why she was in bed – naked – with someone else. Then, her gaze settled on the bubblegum pink hair sprawled across the pillow beside her, and she felt her face melt into a smile. The memories of the night before, the moments of perfection and wonder in the bedroom, they slipped into her mind. Remembering everything, she blushed, grinning like an idiot because she had never been happier. She was okay. Toni was there. And they'd…
She continued to grin, her grin becoming more of a beam. Last night, from that moment beneath the gaudy lights of the bowling alley when she'd told Toni Topaz she'd loved her, to them kissing on the bench, to them running breathlessly through the shadowy corridors of Thistlehouse, and everything that happened after… it was perfect. It was like something out of a dream. Except, unlike a dream, it was real. And, as the redhead gently shuffled out of bed, it was better than a dream. Never in her wildest dreams would she ever have imagined something could be so perfect… not even in a dream could she have pictured herself being this happy.
Pulling a bathrobe on, Cheryl glanced over her shoulder at the Serpent as she slowly opened her bedroom door. Seeing the relaxed smile of her girlfriend, the redhead felt her heart flutter, knowing that there was nothing that made her happier. She watched as the other girl rolled over, and shook her head, safe in the knowledge that Toni Topaz would not be waking up just yet. Silently, she padded along the landing, the carpet muffling any sound from her feet. When she reached the staircase, she grabbed a tight hold of the banister, silently approaching the door. With one swift movement, she picked up the mail that had been delivered, sighing as she saw multiple envelopes addressed to her mother; brown ones too. She'd have to sort them soon, just not now. Sifting through the papers, she frowned when she came across an issue of the Riverdale Register, slightly shocked that they had somehow managed to get a story off of the press this early in the morning, remembering how the only other time this had happened was when Alice Cooper leaked the results of Jason's autopsy.
Written in bold across the top, right beneath the logo, was the headline, just like always. A single word, six black letters, the kind of word that immediately sucks someone into the story. The word screaming from the front page was a simple one, a word that was pretty self-explanatory. But seeing it, Cheryl found herself feeling sick to her stomach, and felt herself crash to earth from her private paradise of perfection that was the night before.
The headline screamed a single world.
Murder.
And beneath the headline, that was what made Cheryl feel a million times worse. Beneath the bold writing, there was a grainy shot, a shot showing an ancient Prius in what looked to be a gas station. But that wasn't the concerning part. The concerning part? It was the body on the floor beside it.
Without looking at the photo to the right of this one, Cheryl knew whose dead body it was. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was in the photo. Not when the body in the photo had long brown hair, and was wearing an outfit identical to the one Heather Morrison had worn in the bowling alley the night before.
Glancing at the picture to the right, Cheryl's suspicions were confirmed. Someone had murdered her ex-best friend last night, at some gas station out of town. Someone had murdered a seemingly innocent girl. But Heather Morrison was normal… she had no reputation that would make her a target. With that thought, Cheryl felt herself be sucked back into her darkest memories, back to the day after Kevin Keller and Moose had discovered her brother's dead body. There was shock that morning, and undeniable horror. It was the kind of discovery that shook the quiet town of Riverdale to its core. And with that discovery came the questions. They always did in moments like this. The burning question on Cheryl's lips was the same one that she had that morning all those months ago. But this time, it wasn't about Jason… This time, it was about Heather Morrison.
Who would want to kill her?
Shock didn't quite cover how she felt, and all Cheryl Blossom could think was that, just twelve hours ago, the brunette in the photo had been a living, breathing girl. She was a girl with a life, with friends, with a story; yet now, she was dead. Callously murdered outside a gas station.
Murdered before she'd ever had a chance to properly live.
There was a sleepy yawn from behind Cheryl, and the redhead turned around, feeling her heartbeat slow slightly when she saw Toni leaning against the doorway. "Why did you disappear, Cher?"
Forcing a smile, Cheryl pulled two mugs out of the cupboard. "I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed…"
"How about we get ready and go out for breakfast?" Toni suggested, walking over to wrap her arms around Cheryl. "We could, I don't know," she whispered, "go for waffles at Pop's, and take a walk or catch a movie…"
"Why can I never say no to you, Topaz?" Cheryl laughed, smiling when she felt Toni's lips lightly graze her neck.
"So, are we going?" Toni asked, pulling away to look at Cheryl.
"If it's what you want," the redhead replied, "but I don't know what you're going to wear."
"I'll just throw my outfit from yesterday on."
"And if we see any of our friends? Or worse, Toby?"
"You don't regret it, do you?" Toni asked, hesitant. "You did want last night to happen, didn't you?"
Noticing the anxiety in her girlfriend's voice, Cheryl's heart melted, and suddenly she felt filled with shame. How could Toni possibly think she would regret the best night of her life? "Of course I did," she soothed, placing a hand on Toni's waist, pulling the smaller girl closer. "Last night was perfect, but it was more than that: it was ours. It was a moment that was just us two. Nobody else. And it's just like that night in the diner. It's so much more special because it's just me and you. And that's how I'd like to keep it."
"So you promise I'm not just your dirty little secret then?" Toni teased, seeing the sincerity in Cheryl's eyes.
"God, how could I keep this a secret? I'm far too proud and happy to hide how I feel about you. I just think there are some things our friend's don't need to know, our sex life being one of them."
Toni laughed at how blunt Cheryl was, laughing harder when the redhead just shrugged her shoulders. "Fair enough, Bombshell, but I think it's pretty obvious what happened if anyone was to look at you."
"What's that supposed to mean, Cha Cha?"
"Take a look in the mirror," Toni answered, and Cheryl walked through into her lounge, standing in front of the ornate mirror hung on the wall above the fireplace.
Glancing at her reflection, it became obvious to Cheryl as to what Toni Topaz meant. Her eyes were sparkling, her lips parted in a beam, and she held herself in a way that simply screamed confidence. She looked so, so undeniably happy. Except, as she heard a gasp come from the kitchen, Cheryl knew that happiness was only fleeting.
"Cheryl," Toni began, speaking slowly which only made her apprehension sound worse, "Have you seen this newspaper?"
"Yeah, I know what's on the front cover. I saw."
"And? Are you okay?"
Cheryl pulled a face at her reflection before wandering back through into the kitchen. "I don't know how I feel really," she admitted, "like, it's sad, and it hurts to think there's someone out there that wanted to kill her, but I didn't know her that well anymore, did I? We were just old friends that briefly reunited at a bowling alley. Just like what I said yesterday, it had been a while."
"Cher," Toni began, "you promise this isn't just an act, don't you? You promise me you're not just pretending to be cool about it?"
"I wouldn't say I'm 'cool' about reading a newspaper article about my ex-best friend's death, Toni. I'm shocked, to say the least, and I don't know. I can't help thinking that maybe we could have stopped this."
"Don't do that to yourself, Cheryl," Toni said, her voice soothing. "This is absolutely nothing to do with you, okay?"
"But all her friends were still there when we left, TT. She wasn't."
Toni froze for a moment, wondering how and why Cheryl had picked up on that. She herself certainly hadn't. She shook her head. "Cher, there are millions of reasons why she might have left before her friends did – maybe she had somewhere to be, or her parents make her have a curfew, or –"
"Or she saw us making out." Cheryl interrupted, and as soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted saying them. "You noticed what she was like when she was talking to us. You said it yourself last night that she was clearly testing the waters to see if she stood a chance…"
"And when she realised she didn't, she didn't want to be around to watch," Toni concluded, mixed between pride and guilt. Cheryl Blossom might have a 4.0 GPA, but still, people didn't give the redhead enough credit for her intelligence. Never had Toni met somebody else with the same insight as Cheryl, and the way the redhead noticed even the most imperceptible things made the Serpent incredibly proud.
But at the same time, there was a lingering guilt around the whole affair. It had been with slightly jealous intentions that Toni had alluded to the two of them making out, initiating it in that bowling alley. No matter how hard the smaller girl tried to deny it, in the moments she wasn't staring into the eyes of the most stunning girl walking the planet, it had been impossible to shake the feeling of being watched, and as she cradled the mug of tea Cheryl handed her, Toni knew that the stare fixed on them had been that of the doe eyed gaze of one Heather Morrison.
Cheryl might have been ignorant to Heather Morrison's pining looks, but that didn't mean Toni was. She'd seen the pain in the brunette's eyes from the other end of the bowling alley. She'd seen the other girl wince when she and Cheryl began to kiss. There was a hazy memory of the other girl walking out of the bowling alley too. What if it had been seeing them that had led to Heather Morrison getting murdered? But, that was impossible, wasn't it? It couldn't have been anything to do with them. It was just unlucky coincidence. Massively unlucky coincidence.
The two sat in silence for some time after that, both drowning in a sea of thoughts, but neither one feeling stable enough to save themselves, let alone the other. Cheryl tried to fight the endless onslaught of 'what ifs' around Heather Morrison, desperately trying to push away every single memory of the two of them when they were younger. Toni tried to fight the lingering suspicion that somehow, in some weird way, the two of them had played a part in that girl's murder. Now Cheryl had put that suggestion, that seeing them make out had made Heather leave the bowling alley, into Toni's mind, it was impossible to shrug off the connection. But it wasn't that thought which was the most pressing. Toni had a feeling it was something much more sinister that had played a part in Heather Morrison's murder, and it was something that hit a lot closer to home than a fleeting interaction in a bowling alley.
Neither girl moved until they heard a knock on the door, the sound of it echoing down the hallways. It was a persistent, almost frantic, knock, the kind of knock that – but half an hour ago – would have been a symbol of trouble in paradise for the two girls who, had neither seen the newspaper, would still be basking in the relaxed and happy aftermath of their activities the night before. Hearing the knock, Cheryl snapped out of her frozen state, carefully composing herself. She glanced in a mirror as she walked down the hallway, silently cursing whoever was on the other side of the door for calling so early.
Dressed in merely a bathrobe and nothing else, Cheryl was in no way prepared to accommodate anyone other than Toni Topaz that morning. Nine o'clock was not an appropriate time to call round Thistlehouse, not on a Saturday morning. Especially not when Cheryl Blossom was already entertaining a guest. But then it hit her: nobody else (except Toby) knew Toni was here. Cheryl was always up with the sun, and was renowned for being ready long before she needed to be. Whoever was on the other side of the door knew that, and expected her to be up and ready.
Sighing as she grabbed the keys, she pushed them into the lock, twisting them until she heard a loud click. Cheryl then turned the handle, pulling open the door to reveal none other than Betty Cooper, who – by the look of it – had literally rolled out of bed and dragged herself here.
"Cousin Betty," Cheryl chimed, plastering a fake smile on her face and hoping the blonde was too preoccupied to notice, "what draws you here so early this morning?"
In response, Betty held up a copy of the Register, where – once again – the word 'Murder!' screamed out to Cheryl. "Have you seen this yet?"
Cheryl nodded, and instantly Betty relaxed.
"You saw who it was then, Cheryl."
Again, Cheryl nodded, not quite trusting herself to talk.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw it… thought she was in New York or some other distant state…"
As Betty started to ramble, Cheryl moved to the side, silently gesturing for Betty to come in. Without taking a pause, Betty stepped through the door, continuing her story.
"I mean… who would want to kill Heather, Cheryl?... I know it's been years since Junior High, but she was always so nice… and god, my mum was not amused when she got a phone call last night… dead at a gas station… they reckon she was knocked out cold by something… dead on impact by some blunt object I guess… but why – "
Betty's rambling petered off when she walked into the kitchen and saw Toni sat at the breakfast bar, wearing – like Cheryl – nothing more than a bathrobe. The blonde suddenly realised what must have been going on the night before, and blushed at the thought, seriously embarrassed that she had walked in on this. "Erm, hi Toni," she greeted awkwardly, "fancy seeing you here, at Thistlehouse, this early…"
"Same for you, B," Toni replied, smirking at how the blonde was stammering. Betty Cooper might be Little Miss Perfect, and one of the loveliest people Toni knew, but that didn't mean Toni couldn't have as much fun as possible in this situation. "What brings you here at this time?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Then, seeing the way Toni's eyes glinted with mischief, Betty corrected herself. "No, actually, I wasn't. I don't need to know that. Spare me the details. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, so what do you think, Cheryl?"
"I'm not sure," Cheryl paused, shuffling uncomfortably in the doorway. "It's not as if anybody here would want to kill her, but then again, people can change. It's been years, Cousin Betty, she might have changed in that time and made some enemies in the process."
Betty nodded, and all three girls sat uncomfortably in the kitchen. Toni stood up and walked over towards the redhead, leaning over to whisper something in her girlfriend's ear. Cheryl nodded, and the Serpent placed a light kiss on her head, before walking out of the room.
"What's that about?" Betty asked, listening as Toni's steps got fainter on the staircase.
"She's heading upstairs for a shower and to get ready. We were going to head out for breakfast."
"Oh, shit, I've come at a bad time, haven't I?" Betty realised, finally taking into account Cheryl's bedraggled appearance. "Perhaps I should have left this until later, but…"
"I'm usually dressed and ready by now, I know, I told Toni that earlier. Anyway, no time is a good time to discuss murders really, is it?"
Betty shook her head, and Cheryl smiled softly at the blonde. "I should probably get going, shouldn't I?"
"That's up to you, if you want to stay, I'm more than happy for you to do so –"
"That's alright, Cheryl, I think I'm going to head off. Pop to Jughead's. Anyway, I don't want to intrude on couple's day."
"And why, Cousin Betty, do I feel like that is a dig at me?" Cheryl teased, standing up to show the other girl out. "Are you still holding a grudge from when I rang Jug when you were at V's lodge?"
"Not in the slightest, Cheryl, and I have to admit I'm kinda grateful for you telling him that. I had no intention of it, and it made me feel impossibly guilty until it came out."
"So, you're welcome?" Cheryl deadpanned, opening the door to let Betty out.
"In a way, anyway, that weekend must've been good enough here in Riverdale from what I hear…"
"And why would that be?"
"Don't try to deny that it was over that weekend that you started to fall for Toni Topaz." Cheryl blushed slightly, and the blonde chuckled. "I knew it, Cheryl Blossom. I absolutely knew it."
"Thanks for that, Cousin Betty," Cheryl mused, and the blonde went to climb in her car.
"Anytime, Cheryl. Enjoy your couple's day," she nodded, taking in Cheryl's appearance, "but maybe not too much," she joked, turning the key in her ignition. "See you later."
And with that, the blonde shut her car door and drove down Thistlehouse's long driveway. Cheryl waved at the car as it got smaller and smaller in the distance, before walking back into her house, making her way up to her bedroom, knowing she would find Toni up there. As she walked into the room, she frowned slightly when she realised Toni was in the shower, but then smirked when she heard the other girl singing.
"You're my new obsession, let go of any hesitation, be my new me gently with your loving." The Serpent sang, and Cheryl laughed silently when the other girl paused, imagining how Toni would probably be stood frozen, waiting for the imaginary bass to drop. "You got me so high, pull me closer into you and watch our bodies intertwine, I feel so alive, you know what I'm thinking of, you got me dreaming 'bout that sexy dirty love."
Hearing only silence from her en-suite when her girlfriend had shut the water off, Cheryl hastily jumped off of her bed, wandering into her closet so it didn't look like she'd been sat there on purpose, deliberately listening to her girlfriend in the shower. As she heard the door of her shower open, she busied herself in choosing an outfit, pulling out a pair of black skinny jeans and a red top. She quickly threw them on, and walked back into her bedroom just as Toni stepped out of her bathroom, dressed in the same flannel and jeans she had been wearing the night before.
Seeing the way Toni seemed to be searching for something, Cheryl realised it was probably the girl's Serpent jacket and felt a mischievous grin slip onto her face. Smirking, she swept the room, and noticed that the leather jacket was by the window, having probably been thrown there carelessly last night by one of the two. She picked it up and shrugged it on, relaxing into it whilst feeling shocked at how comfortable it was.
"Looking for something, Topaz?" she asked, and Toni jumped having been so deep in thought.
"Yeah, you haven't seen my jacket by any chance, have you?"
Cheryl grinned, and dramatically placed her hand on her hip, and Toni rolled her eyes.
"Of course." Toni deadpanned, shaking her head. Cheryl went to take it off, but Toni raised a hand, silently telling the other girl to stop. "It looks good on you," she admitted.
"Everything looks good on me," Cheryl replied, walking over to her vanity to select one of the many red lipsticks from her collection.
"I think you look best au natural," Toni teased, giggling when Cheryl flushed a violent shade of red that matched her hair. "Lighten up, Cher, you know it's true!"
Cheryl shook her head at her girlfriend's antics, unable to fight her own laughter.
Toni beamed when Cheryl started to laugh. In her opinion, Cheryl didn't laugh enough; the redhead needed to laugh more. Her girlfriend's laughter was like music to Toni's ears, light and rhythmic. It was a beautiful sound, one that should be heard more, the kind of sound you felt blessed to hear. It filled Toni with pride to know that she was the one who was able to make Cheryl laugh like that. Few people got a laugh from Cheryl. Not a long, honest, genuine laugh. Sometimes a sarcastic scoff, but never a laugh.
Come to think of it, Cheryl only laughed at her jokes. That made Toni beam harder. Cheryl clearly had a laugh reserved just for Toni. It was incredibly humbling to know that. Cheryl never looked at anyone with love in her eyes like she did when looking at Toni. When the redhead was around, Toni didn't have eyes for anybody else. But these days, even if Cheryl wasn't around – which was rare – Toni saw the redhead in everything. Anything red immediately reminded her of her girlfriend. Strawberry milkshakes at Pop's. Sarcastic comments. Pop culture references. Music choices. Dances. It all linked back to Cheryl. Cheryl was everywhere.
"So, breakfast then?" Toni suggested as Cheryl applied her signature lipstick.
"Pop's?" Cheryl hinted, and Toni nodded.
"Where else would we go? I don't know anywhere else in Riverdale that offers waffles and strawberry milkshakes before eleven…"
"How did you know that's exactly what I crave?"
"Because normally, you crave me," Toni replied, noticing how Cheryl cringed. "I have remarkably good instincts when it comes to your tastes, Cheryl, which is why I intend on planning this afternoon's activities."
"I hope somewhere in those 'activities' you've left room for a spot of revision, Topaz," Cheryl reminded her girlfriend, "because the SATs are coming up."
"That can wait…"
"No, Toni, the secret to getting ahead is getting started."
"Cheryl, it's February. We have three months before we need to start worrying."
"Do you Serpents ever work for school?"
"It's a little excessive, Cher, that's all I'm saying."
"No, I need to do this. I need a score of at least 1,300 on the SAT if I want to go Ivy League."
Caught off guard, Toni did a double take. "Rewind, Blossom, since when do you want to go Ivy League?"
"Since being a kid. Me and JJ would've been like 10, I think?" Cheryl replied, unsure about why Toni sounded so opposed to the prospect.
"Why Ivy League?" Toni asked, genuinely interested, because this ambition was something her girlfriend had never mentioned before.
"Because they're all far, far away from this small slice of Hell that I like to call Riverdale."
"You're that desperate to leave here?"
"I have craved an escape from this town since I was a kid, Toni. Everything in my family begins and ends here, in Riverdale. We might get to travel out of town every now and then, but does anybody ever leave here? My parents were born here, they've lived here their entire lives and my father already died here. So did JJ. I can't wait to get away, far away from the memories."
"Where in particular do you want to go?" Toni asked, her mind already starting to try and calculate the odds of them staying together after the summer.
"Yale, Harvard, Princeton." Cheryl shrugged, pulling on a pair of red heels, blissfully oblivious to her girlfriend's panic.
All of those universities suited Cheryl's criteria, being that they were far, far away from Riverdale. So far away, in fact, that the chances of anyone there knowing anything about this town were impossibly low. It dawned on Toni why that was so desirable to her girlfriend: she didn't want to spend her whole life being known as the girl of the kid that got murdered. Going to one of those universities, she'd just be another face in the crowd, able to blend in with the hundreds of freshmen who would attend from all over the country. Or, if Cheryl so desired, stand out for the crowds, but for the right reasons this time.
They all shared another thing in common too: their standards were impossibly high. To attend one of those universities, you had to be smart and rich, or exceptionally smart and have a very generous sponsor. They only admitted the best of the best. And with a 4.0 grade point average, you could not deny Cheryl her place amongst the best, and her stakes from the Blossom's maple syrup empire would more than cover her expenses for her time doing a degree. But for Toni, going Ivy League was not an option. Well, it was, but it wasn't practical. Yes, Toni Topaz was a smart girl, but she was also a girl who came from the wrong side of the tracks. She had enough money to get by, but nowhere near enough to afford the fees of the colleges Cheryl aspired to go to. And a scholarship was out of the question. It was unlikely there was anybody out there who would be willing to sponsor a gang member and put them through college.
Noticing her girlfriend's silence, Cheryl decided it was time to change the subject. Her stomach rumbled slightly and she laughed gently, drawing Toni's attention away from the terrifying thoughts of what might happen in the fall and back to her. "So, Topaz, could we maybe head to Pop's? I think I need those waffles right about now…"
Toni forced a grin and took the extended hand of her girlfriend.
"Let's get going then. I'm starving," she replied flatly, and the pair walked out of Thistlehouse, arm in arm; the two of them united against the world, just like always.
They climbed into Cheryl's car, and the redhead flicked the key in the ignition, and the pair sat in a stony silence for the duration of the ten minute journey. Toni, sat fretting about the repercussions of Cheryl's ambition, and Cheryl, sat wondering what had caused this rapid change in her girlfriend's – usually – cheerful demeanour, but not quite daring to ask.
They pulled up outside Pop's, and saw that their group of friends were all sat in their usual booth.
"Looks like couple's time is off the cards there," Cheryl began, noticing a ghost of a smile flicker over Toni's lips. "Are you okay, TT?"
"I'm fine," Toni lied, extending her hand to take Cheryl's. "How much do you bet they are discussing the front page of the Register?"
"I'd put Thistlehouse on it, but I'm no gambler." Cheryl replied, and the two walked into Pop's, squeezing into the booth with the others.
They were discussing the scandal that had shook the town. They were discussing the murder of Heather Morrison. They were all fairly convinced she was just another victim of the Black Hood, an unfortunate victim that happened to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Cheryl and Toni were sat, distant from the conversation, both trapped in their own thoughts, mulling over everything they were thinking in the car, though neither moved any further forward in them.
The obvious atmosphere surrounding the pair did not go unnoticed by the group.
Veronica leaned over slightly. "You could cut the tension between them with a knife," she whispered into Katya's ear, and the Russian laughed lightly in response.
"There has been some, how do you put it, trouble in paradise?"
"That's exactly it," Veronica agreed grudgingly. "I just wonder what over."
"They'll figure it out when they're ready," Katya said, and Veronica nodded, knowing the blonde was right. Cheryl and Toni would figure it out, and whatever this tension between them was, they'd talk it through, just like they always did. Something must have happened in the car, perhaps a fight? That was it. It had to have been a fight. And then they came into the diner before they had chance to talk. That's all. They'd be back to their usually lovesick selves by this evening.
But, as Veronica watched the obvious pain in Toni's eyes when Cheryl went to the bathroom, she couldn't help but doubt her certainty. Nobody looks like that when there is nothing the matter.
"You okay?" she mouthed to the Serpent, and Toni mouthed "I'm fine" back.
Veronica raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Toni and the Serpent broke eye contact with her. The raven haired girl sighed, knowing it would be a dangerous idea to push Toni on things like this, so allowed herself to get sucked into a debate between Archie and Jughead about which tier of greatness each type of milkshake Pop Tate offered belonged to. Jughead was winning.
Toni's gaze flickered to the table, and she started to fiddle with her drink. She couldn't shake what Cheryl had said earlier about Ivy League colleges, and to be honest, the prospect of Cheryl leaving scared her. If Cheryl left Riverdale, what would happen to her? Toni needed Cheryl, they were both two halves of one person, and without the other, they were weaker, lost even. She couldn't live without Cheryl, not when they'd been through all of this together, not after she'd truly fallen in love with the redhead and knew the other girl loved her back. It worried Toni, thinking about the huge 'what if' that was their relationship in the fall.
It killed her to think that not only had she lied to Veronica just then, but that she had also lied to Cheryl.
She'd said she was fine when, clearly, she wasn't; not in the slightest.
But how can you tell someone you feel like your days of happiness are numbered?
That was the thought consuming Toni in the booth of Pop's that morning.
AN/ SO TROUBLE IN CHONI'S UTOPIA… I CAN TOTALLY SEE CHERYL IN AN IVY LEAGUE UNI, BUT THAT IS A LONG TIME OFF FOR THEM. I'M NOT SURE WHAT GRADE THEY'RE REALLY IN IN THE SHOW, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THIS FIC, THEY'RE HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS. IN TERMS OF BIRTHDAYS, I THINK CHERYL'S SHOULD BE IN MID APRIL, AND TONI'S AT SOME POINT IN OCTOBER (SO TONI IS ALREADY 18 IF YOU CATCH MY DIRFT.)
I LOVE HOW UNAWARE THEY ARE ABOUT WHO KILLED HEATHER, AND I THINK THE DISCOVERY OF WHO IT IS WILL BE A BIT OF A NASTY SHOCK.
WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK? I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED IT, SO MAKE SURE TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.
SOME OF THE USUAL GUYS WHO REVIEW - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE - WHERE HAVE YOU GUYS VANISHED TO? I MISS YOUR SUPPORT GUYS.
ANYWAY, I REALLY LOVED WRITING THIS BIT, AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR ALL OF YOU TO SEE WHAT IS COMING, BECAUSE I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE WHERE THIS IS GOING TO GO!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING, AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK (YEAH, LET'S DO THIS KINDA CHEESY THING NOW WE'VE HIT CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - OH MY GOD WE'RE AT CHAPTER TWNETY FIVE!) FOR THIS WEEK IS...
"YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOUR MOTHER IS WRONG. YOU'RE NOT LOVELESS, YOU'RE NOT DEVIANT, OKAY? YOU'RE... SENSATIONAL."
(TONI TOPAZ - 2X14)
AND THAT'S ALL FROM ME TODAY, AND PROBABLY ALL UNTIL THE WEEKEND. LOVE YOU GUYS.
DON'T FORGET REVIEWS ARE LOVE AND THE WORLD NEEDS MORE LOVE X