AN/ I AM ENJOYING HAVING THE TIME TO WRITE AND UPDATE FAR MORE THAN I SHOULD, AREN'T I? I'VE MISSED HAVING THE TIME TO DO THIS OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, AND BEING ABLE TO DO IT THIS WEEK HAS FELT AMAZING. THREE UPDATES IN WHAT… FIVE DAYS? GOD, I'M SPOILING YOU GUYS.

THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT UP TO NOW. I HONESTLY CAN'T EXPLAIN HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME WHEN I READ WHAT YOU GUYS THINK, AND WHEN I HEAR YOU GUYS ARE LOVING THIS… WOW, JUST WOW! WITH THIS CHAPTER, THIS STORY HAS HAD TWENTY SIX INSTALMENTS, AND HAS MORE THAN 100,000 WORDS. I'VE HAD OVER 35,000 VIEWS, AND SO MANY FOLLOWS, REVIEWS AND FAVOURITES, ALONG WITH THE MOST HEARTWARMING AND WONDERFUL MESSAGES FROM YOU GUYS.

MASSIVE SHOUTOUT TO SOUTHSIDE BOMBSHELL BECAUSE YOUR REVIEWS ALWAYS MAKE ME GRIN!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO, SO MUCH, AND I KNOW IT PROBABLY SOUNDS DAFT, BUT IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME FEEL SO PROUD THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO READ MY WRITING, AND PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY ENJOY IT. YOU GUYS DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME BEING ABLE TO WRITE THIS AND SHARE MY IDEAS, SO THANK YOU TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR BEING HERE TO READ THIS. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

SO, NOW THAT I'VE SAID EVERYTHING I'VE WANTED TO SAY FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, I AM SO HAPPY TO GIVE YOU THE LATEST CHAPTER. AS MANY OF YOU HAVE PREDICTED, THERE IS GOING TO BE TROUBLE IN PARADISE, AND I JUST HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THE TROUBLE…

AS USUAL, WHEN I GET SEVEN REVIEWS ON THIS BIT, I'LL POST THE NEXT ONE; SO, HERE GOES…

As the day passed by, the number of people sitting in the booth at Pop's started to dwindle.

Just before twelve, Katya and King disappeared, as Katya needed to be at the hospital for the afternoon shift, and King was her ride there. Jughead and Betty followed not long after, because Mrs Cooper rang demanding the presence of her daughter at the office of the Register, and Jughead was more than happy to go and dig up any intel on the mysterious murder of Heather Morrison. Watching the group leave, the only people that remained were Archie, Veronica and Cheryl, and of course Toni.

Like earlier, the Serpent girl was still sat slightly apart from the group, her mind still analysing every single possibility of what could happen in the fall. She picked at the heaped serving of fries Pop Tate brought over, something which concerned Cheryl massively, considering her girlfriend usually had an appetite to rival Jughead's.

Watching her girlfriend in pain made Cheryl hurt too. The redhead didn't understand what had caused such a 180 in her girlfriend's attitude, and the way she would look into Toni Topaz's eyes and the other girl's gaze would snap away like she'd been burnt made Cheryl feel helpless. She'd seen, on her way back from the bathroom, how Toni had told Veronica she was fine, when she clearly wasn't. She'd seen how Toni had sat in an almost stony silence, an unbelievable difference to how she would usually act in a group, where she was usually very talkative. Seeing Toni like this was like seeing a whole other side to her girlfriend and it was a side she wasn't all that sure she was able to deal with. She wanted to talk about whatever had happened to make Toni act like this, because – as far as she was aware – Toni hadn't spoken to anybody else between being happy and sad. That made Cheryl worry. It made the redhead panic, because the only thing that could have possibly caused this was herself. But what had she done?

"I think I'm going to head home." Toni announced without warning, standing up to leave the table. "I should probably get that homework done I've been meaning to sort…"

"Then should I give you a lift and we'll pick it up and do it at mine?" Cheryl suggested, jumping up to join her girlfriend.

"No!" Toni insisted, her voice quite forceful, and she immediately regretted it when she saw the hurt flash across Cheryl's eyes, and saw a threatening flush of tears that quickly disappeared, leaving the usual expression of a resting bitch on her girlfriend's face. "I mean, I think I'm going to work on it myself," she backtracked, but seeing the way her girlfriend just stared at her icily, she knew it was too late, and the damage had been done.

"Alright." Cheryl replied, hoping to God it wasn't as obvious as it felt to her how hurt she was. "Whatever, it was just a suggestion." Before the Serpent had chance to reply, Cheryl turned to face Veronica and Archie who were sat in the booth, both of them watching the pair's interactions with concern. "V, Archiekins, I'm going back to Thistlehouse, so I'll see you guys at school Monday, right?"

"Yeah, of course, Cheryl," Archie said with a grim smile as Cheryl plastered a fake beam on her face. Injecting false optimism into her voice, she grinned at the pair. "See you later!" she exclaimed, turning on her heel and strutting out of the diner, her heels clicking against the floor, completely ignoring her girlfriend's presence.

Toni stood, stunned. "Did you two just see that?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't just her overanalysing things and Cheryl did just storm out.

Veronica nodded. "Yep, and we also saw how distant you were being earlier."

A slight look of guilt began to flood onto Toni's face, and she realised that giving Cheryl the cold shoulder was just as bad as Cheryl being a bitch to her then. "I've messed up, haven't I?" she asked, the way her voice caught at the end showing that she already knew the answer. "I need to fix this, don't I?"

"It might be an idea," Veronica agreed, watching how Cheryl was sat in her car, clearly deep in thought. "Go and talk to her, Topaz."

"And what do I say?" Toni asked, hating how needy she sounded.

"Well, I don't have a clue what's happened, so maybe just tell her what's got you so upset?" Veronica suggested, and Toni grimaced.

Sighing, Toni had to admit that what the raven haired girl was saying was right. After all, she always pushed Cheryl to talk to her about her problems, so it would be hypocritical if she didn't discuss her own with Cheryl. Nodding at Veronica, Toni muttered, "Wish me luck."

"You don't need luck, Toni," Archie encouraged with a smile as the Serpent turned and walked outside. The pair watched through the window, impressed when Toni opened Cheryl's car door, effortlessly slipping into the passenger seat beside the redhead.

"I think we need to talk," Toni began when she saw Cheryl stare daggers at her.

"About what?" Cheryl rebuked. "You made it quite clear you didn't want me around then and it's fine, whatever, I don't care."

"Please don't do this, Cher," Toni pleaded, knowing that cutting people out was Cheryl's means of dealing with her problems.

"Do what? Give you the same cold shoulder you've given me since we left Thistlehouse?" Cheryl snapped, and Toni hung her head. "You don't like it when people give you it back, do you, Topaz?"

Toni remained silent, and by not replying, she knew it irritated Cheryl even more.

"Well," the redhead continued, "there we have it. Now, get out of my car, Topaz. I'm going home to get on with that work for the SATs."

"That's what this is about." Toni stammered, catching the redhead off guard.

"This whole argument is about the SATs?" Cheryl asked, her voice hesitant, trying to work out how a series of tests could cause this.

"Not the SATs, necessarily, but what happens after they're over…"

"We get an extended summer vacation before college," Cheryl replied, "so get to spend plenty of time together away from Riverdale High. I was thinking we could maybe drive to Florida or Cali and go to Disneyland, or fly into New York or something."

"And what about college, Cher?"

"What about it?"

"What happens then?"

It suddenly dawned on Cheryl what was causing Toni's less than happy mood. She thought back to earlier that morning, when Toni's face fell at the mention of Ivy League colleges. It all started to slide into place, and Cheryl felt like an idiot for not seeing this earlier. "You're worried that it'll be over, aren't you?"

Toni nodded. "We both know I'd never get into an Ivy League college in a million years, Cher…"

"Well, if we work on your SAT score, we can get you in one."

"Cheryl, be realistic; how would I possibly pay for it?"

"With money, silly."

"Well there's a little thing about that, just a tiny niggle really… I don't really have any."

"Then I'll pay for it."

"Don't be ridiculous, Cheryl," Toni reprimanded her girlfriend. "I am not going to live on handouts from my girlfriend."

"Toni, I have more money than I know what to do with. It's really nothing."

"But still, I don't want money, and anyway, I wouldn't fit in."

Cheryl knew that this was a battle she was going to fight and lose, so placed her hands over Toni's, gently brushing her fingertips against the soft skin. "Whatever happens, nothing between us is going to change, okay?" she comforted, gently caressing her girlfriend's chin, turning Toni's gaze towards her. "No matter what, even if it means going long distance, we'll get through it, and we'll make it work, and we're going to do it together, okay? We'll do it together, us against the world, because that's what we do."

Toni nodded, and Cheryl smiled, leaning in to place a soft kiss on Toni's lips.

"I love you," the Serpent whispered, and Cheryl laughed.

"Everyone loves me, so I'm really not that surprised." The redhead joked, "It's inevitable."

"How about we get this car going and head home?"

"Sounds like a plan, Topaz."

The redhead turned her key in the ignition and the car roared to life, pulling out of the parking lot.

Through the window, Archie and Veronica watched the pair drive away.

"Well, I'm glad they've sorted that," Veronica commented, placing a ten dollar bill on the counter as she and Archie walked out.

"Yeah, I wonder what was up," Archie pondered, opening the door for his girlfriend.

"What a gentleman, Archiekins!" Veronica teased as she sat back in the seat.

"So, back to yours?" Archie suggested, and Veronica grimaced. "I'm guessing that's a no?"

"Definitely a no," Veronica confirmed, "Daddy's home, with his 'business guests' from New York so I'm staying well clear."

"So where should we go?" Archie inquired, and Veronica sat for a minute deep in thought.

"Let's go to the Register and offer our services."

"What?"

"Come on, Archiekins," she chastised, "Where's your sense of adventure? Let's go help Bughead solve the murder mystery."

"But Ronnie…"

"But nothing. Let's go."

"Fine."

Later that afternoon, Cheryl dropped Toni off at Sunnyside Trailer Park, waving as her girlfriend went into her Grandpa Tom's trailer.

She put the engine into reverse, and drove out of the park, deciding to head home, and wash her hair, and get started on the mountain of homework sat on her desk in the study. Grimacing at the thought, she drove swiftly over the bridge and out of the Southside, slowing down when she turned onto Main Street.

Once again, she was filled with thoughts about her and Toni's date the night before, still satisfied by how perfect it all was. How didn't she know Toni had a snake tattoo on her waist? She'd thought she knew everything there was to know about the Serpent, but after last night, she was certain she knew every inch of her girlfriend. She was so absorbed in these thoughts that, when her phone started to ring, she didn't even glance at the screen, so failed to notice the fact that – scrawled across the top of it – were the foreboding words 'unknown caller.'

"Hello?" she asked, unsure about who was on the end.

"Hello, Cheryl, dear, how are you?" a familiar voice drawled from the end of the phone, and Cheryl froze in terror, her car almost veering off of the road as a result.

"Mother," Cheryl stammered, pulling the car up outside the office of the Register. "What do you wa- how did you even get my number?"

"You have had the same number since you were eleven," Penelope drawled, "so it really wasn't that hard to put it into another phone and call."

"What happened to going away and staying away?"

"What happened to the Topaz girl not letting you out of her sight?" Penelope retorted, and Cheryl suddenly felt uneasy. "I know exactly where you are, Cheryl, so go on, call me on my bluff."

"Fine," Cheryl sighed, deciding to play along. "Where am I?"

Penelope laughed from the other end of the phone. "You're in your car, and you've just pulled up outside the Register, probably so you couldn't crash your car in shock after hearing me."

"How the fucking hell do you know that?" Cheryl demanded, undoing her seatbelt and opening her car door. She climbed out, and scanned the entirety of Main Street, searching for a flash of red hair, the tell-tale sign of her mother.

"You won't see me, Cheryl," Penelope chastised, "So standing there, searching the street is useless."

Cheryl's eyes narrowed and she sighed in frustration. "Alright. What the fuck do you want?"

"Well, the answer to that is obvious," Penelope chuckled, the sound of it chilling Cheryl to her bones. "I want you to come and find me."

"And why would I do that, mother?"

"Because, I know something you don't know."

"How mature," Cheryl deadpanned, locking her car.

"I also have something, or at least, someone, in my possession you might want to see."

"Care to explain, mother?"

"Claudius arrived this morning with your Nana Rose, and at the minute, she's enjoying the… hospitality… of our basement. She did some bad things, you know Cheryl, and like all bad people, she needs to be punished. But of course, I am willing to reconsider."

"Reconsider?"

"An exchange of sorts. You come, and we let her go, unharmed."

"And if I don't?"

"Alice Cooper did a pretty good job of covering the murder of Heather Morrison this morning, didn't she?"

"How do you even know about that?"

"I'd hate for Nana Rose to meet the same end as that ghastly girl."

Cheryl froze. If what she thought her mother was saying was true, Penelope had just admitted to murder. "You wouldn't…"

"I think we both know I would, Cheryl. I did it last night, and I won't hesitate to do it again."

"Fuck you."

"I told you all actions have consequences, Cheryl. I know what you did last night with that Topaz girl, Cheryl. I know you were deviant, and engaged in some vile acts with that Southside Serpent. I know it all, and those actions, they were disgraceful. You can't do things like that and expect to go unpunished."

"You have no hold over me anymore, Mother. You know that."

"Perhaps not in the eyes of the law, but I do have your Nana Rose. Do think about that before you cut off the phone."

"So if I give myself up?"

"Your Nana Rose walks, or at least, she crawls, free."

"And after?"

"We stage a tragic accident and you disappear."

"Disappear?" she repeated, the word dripping like acid off of her tongue.

"We vanish and move elsewhere, somewhere across country. We pop up somewhere far away, and we start afresh. Me, you, and Clif- Claudius."

"You know I can't do that."

"Well, that's your choice. Just make sure it's the right one, because your Nana Rose is depending on it."

"Where would I go if I wanted to meet you?"

"Well, I can't have you giving up my whereabouts. Be at the site of the old Twilight Drive-In at nine thirty tonight. Your fa- Claudius – he'll meet you there. But be there alone, Cheryl. We want you. You and nobody else."

"And if I don't come?"

"You heard what I said, Cheryl. I can do a lot worse than hit someone over the head with a spade. Remember that as you decide. Do pick carefully."

There was a crackle from the other end and the line went dead.

Once again, Cheryl glanced up and down Main Street, searching for something that gave any hint to her mother or uncle's presence. She saw nothing. Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked into the Register, storming through to the office of Alice Cooper, completely ignoring the protest from the secretary on the front desk.

"We need to head to the coroner-" Alice was saying but was cut off as the door swung open.

"That won't be necessary, Mrs Cooper." Cheryl interrupted, waltzing right up to the desk the group were sat around. "I know who killed Heather."

"Was it the Black Hood?" Archie piped up from the back and the others groaned, all sick of his obsessive theories surrounding the Riverdale serial killer.

"I'm afraid it's far worse than the Black Hood, Archiekins," Cheryl replied, noticing the way the full attention of everyone in the room was fixed on her. "I've just had the strangest of phone calls, with none other than my mother –"

"How the fuck?" Jughead bellowed, slamming a fist on the table. "We told her to get the fuck out of here, we watched as she drove the fuck away –"

"Calm down, Jug," Betty said, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Getting angry isn't going to help solve anything."

"- and she was the one who killed Heather Morrison," Cheryl continued, and the entire room stumbled into silence. "She killed her, and if I don't join her tonight, Nana Rose is next."

"Your mother killed that girl, Cheryl?" Alice began, wary of offending the girl.

"I believe so. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she did, but still, it's a shock."

"Then we need to do something," Archie declared. "There has to be someone who can help. We could call Sheriff Keller –"

"We are not calling Sheriff Clueless, Archie," Alice objected, shooting a knowing look at the boy. "He's no help."

"She's right," Cheryl interjected. "My mother has him under her thumb, so calling him isn't going to do us any favours."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" Archie demanded, looking at every face in the room for an answer.

"'We' do nothing," Cheryl replied, "I, on the other hand, give them what they want."

"Don't be ridiculous, Cheryl," Veronica snapped, and the redhead recoiled from the girl. "You are not going anywhere near your nightmare of a mother. Not in a million years. Not after we've broken into a nunnery to save you."

"Then what about Nana Rose?" Cheryl countered. "What about her? What if my mother kills her?"

There was a tense silence after that.

"Cheryl," Betty began, her voice soft, slow and soothing. "What does Toni know about all of this?"

"At the minute, nothing," Cheryl admitted, "and I think we need to keep it that way."

"No." Jughead almost growled from the corner of the room. "No, Cheryl Blossom. We are not keeping your girlfriend in the dark in all of this. That's not fair."

"Jug, you saw how she was around my Mother that night at Thistlehouse, and that was without any real provocation," Cheryl reminded him. "Imagine what she'll be like hearing this. I don't want her to get hurt."

"But you're fine getting hurt yourself?" Jughead chided, knowing the redhead wouldn't take kindly to that.

"He's right, Miss Blossom," Alice said, nodding her approval at Jughead. "You can't give yourself up, and you can't keep Toni out of this."

"Mrs Cooper, if Toni hears this, if Toni learns that I plan to give myself up to them, she won't be amused."

"No surprise!" Jughead exclaimed. "She'd walk through hell to keep you safe, Cheryl!"

"We can't leave her out of this, Cheryl," Veronica reasoned, "you weren't here when she was planning to break you out of the Sisters'. You didn't see how lost, how angry she was. You can't not tell her."

"V, I don't want them to hurt her, and I know they will."

"So you're just going to leave her out of all of this? It's not fair."

"It's life."

"Then it's no life you should be living." Veronica replied instantly. "You don't get to choose whether or not your girlfriend gets to know what the fuck is going on."

Cheryl stood stunned. At first, she felt angry that Veronica was behaving like this, frustrated that the entire group were so opposed to keeping Toni safe. Couldn't they see that – no matter what happened – someone was going to get hurt? Heather had already been hurt by her mother, damaged beyond repair. She wasn't going to let that happen to her girlfriend.

"I'm going to call Toni," Jughead decided. "She deserves to know."

Less than ten minutes later, Toni stormed into the office. "What the fuck did she want, Cheryl?"

Cheryl tensed when her girlfriend said that, knowing that the Serpent was bristling with anger. "TT," she mumbled, "She has Nana Rose, and she confessed to killing Heather. And she said that if I'm not at the site of the old drive in tonight, Nana Rose will be next."

"And after you've gone?"

"They let Nana Rose go, and… I move west with them."

"You aren't going, Cher," Toni declared. "You are going nowhere near that woman, and nowhere alone, until we've caught her, until she goes down for every charge we have against her."

"But what about Nana Rose?" Cheryl quivered. "We can't let them hurt her."

"Cheryl," Toni insisted, pulling the redhead into her arms, holding her close. "We can't run the risk of them hurting you."

"They've already hurt me," Cheryl admitted, "so I think I could deal with whatever they throw at me."

"No, Cher, it shouldn't be a question of what you can deal with. You aren't dealing with this. Not when you don't have to."

"Toni, this is my decision. I'm going to help my Nana. I'm going to get her out of there. I have to."

"Cheryl, when she rang me, she put herself at risk to save you. How do you think she'll react when you put yourself back in danger when you don't really have to. She won't be happy, Cher."

"I can't let them hurt her though. And, they won't hurt me, I'm her daughter, for God's sake."

"It didn't stop her before."

"Well, we'll just hope that it does this time."

"And what about you? You can't just let them whisk you away and hold you hostage!"

"Oh, I have no intention of them doing that," Cheryl announced. "I'm not moving anywhere. I'm going to have a little chat and set things straight."

"This is ridiculous. We both know that the chances of that happening are as high as the odds of your mother walking up to me and saying she's happy for us."

"Stop overreacting, TT." Cheryl replied dismissively. "I have this all under control."

Toni stayed silent and just raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Everyone in the room was stunned as they watched the pair stare off.

"I'm going to the Twilight Drive-In, tonight, at nine-thirty, and nobody is going to stop me. Okay?"

Nobody moved, all still frozen after the girl's declaration. Cheryl nodded, and smiled at them, hoping to ease the growing tension in the room and failing miserably. Hating how much of an atmosphere was beginning to develop, Cheryl grabbed her bag.

"I need to head home and grab some lunch, so I'll see you all later. Bye?"

She walked out the room, and everyone remained still, as if someone had pressed the pause button on their remote. Toni watched, crestfallen, as the redhead continued to strut away, her heels effortlessly clicking against the floor.

"The only time she is going anywhere near Penelope Blossom is over my dead body!" Toni said to Jughead over the phone an hour later. She was alone, and taking a walk along the bank of Sweetwater River, hoping the natural environment would help calm her down or some shit that Wikipedia had suggested to reduce stress.

"Well," a voice drawled, "you dead body is something I'd very much like to see, given how much trouble you have caused me up to now."

Toni froze in shock, dropping her phone against the rocks with a clatter, not even noticing when the plastic thing was picked up by the current and carried further away from her, with Jughead's voice frazzling out as it short-circuited.

"Hello, Miss Topaz," Penelope Blossom greeted, her lips forming a clandestine smile as she observed the Serpent in front of her. "How are you today?"

Before Toni got chance to give a scathing reply, she felt something grab her from behind, pushing her down to the ground. A weight seemed to fall onto her back, and as hard as she tried, getting whatever it was off of her proved impossible. Feeling her hands get pulled behind her, and filling with horror when she felt something – cellotape? – bind them together, Toni began to panic.

"What the actual fuck, Mrs Blossom?" She shouted, hoping there was someone nearby who might hear her, and that someone could run to help her. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I've got what I wanted," Penelope shrugged with a smirk, as Toni's eyes grew wide at the rag being held over her face.

The Serpent had seen many films where chloroform had been used to capture a target. Hell, while out with the Serpent's she'd used it on many people to knock them out and deliver them to whoever wanted them.

But never had the Serpent ever been on the receiving end of the drug, and never had she felt reality become distorted, the sounds, the lights, the sights of the world drift further away into the distance, the colour and life fading into nothing but darkness. Darkness and silence.

Unconciousness was an entirely new sensation for Toni Topaz.

But of course, she wasn't awake to feel it.

Penelope smirked with satisfaction.

This was too easy.

AN/ DUN, DUN, DUN… WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED (REALLY, IT WAS – THE IDEA FOR IT CHANGED HALFWAY THROUGH WRITING THIS CHAPTER.)

I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS, AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT (WILL DO AFTER SEVEN REVIEWS :D)

WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK? DON'T FORGET TO DROP A REVIEW LOVELIES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.