Cheryl paced back and forth in her bedroom, anxiously awaiting Jughead's arrival. She had texted him the moment she got home, asking the boy to come over to brainstorm theories.

"Okay," he said as he entered her bedroom, having let himself into the unlocked trailer, "what's this big emergency?"

"I'm cursed!"

Jughead raised an eyebrow, "Come again?"

"This… whatever this is," Cheryl gestured around the room, "is a curse. My curse."

"What?"

The redhead huffed, "Keep up, Jones! This nightmare world I'm stuck in… What if it's a curse?"

"Like some fairy tale shit?" he asked.

"Precisely! And how does one break a curse?"

Jughead shrugged, "Are you wanting to brew potions or something?"

"True love's kiss," she seethed, getting annoyed that the boy couldn't follow her train of thought.

"Oh! Like Once Upon a Time," he nodded, finally understanding.

"That was a TV show, right?"

The boy nodded, "It started out with the whole town being under the Evil Queen's spell, but only one boy, Henry, was aware of the curse. He went to Boston to find his birth mother, and they had this code name for the mission to break the curse. Operation Cobra, I think it was."

"Jughead, I don't care about the show!" Cheryl exclaimed, getting tired of his summary.

"Right," he acknowledged, "but you're right. By the end of the show almost anything could be solved with true love's kiss."

"If you knew this already, why didn't you say anything?"

"I watch a lot of tv," Jughead shrugged, "and I'm only an amateur sleuth. So is that the theory we are going with now? Everyone is cursed?"

"I think it's just me," Cheryl answered. "Who knows. It could be everyone?"

"I guess anything is possible."


Toni invited Cheryl to hang out the next day after school. The pinkette drove them both on her Kawasaki, fulfilling her promise from their date. The pair went to Toni's bedroom, which was Cheryl's former.

It was strange being back there. She had ran through there briefly the night she burglarized the house, but the last time she spent any real time in the room was the night she burned Thornhill to the ground.

"How about some music?" Toni asked. Cheryl nodded, and the shorter girl took out a box of records. "It's nice being able to play my music for other people."

"You haven't before?"

Toni shook her head, "Not for a while. You know who didn't really like this kind of music. I only ever got to listen to what she deemed appropriate."

"Of course," the redhead scoffed. "I'm sure whatever you put on will be great, Toni."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Something tells me you'll enjoy this." Toni slid one of the vinyl records out of its sleeve and placed it on her player, adjusting the needle so sound began to play through the speaker.

Cheryl nodded along to the rock music. It wasn't what she'd typically listen to, but it wasn't awful. She wondered why Toni thought she'd enjoy it so much. "They aren't bad. Who are they?" she asked.

"Like you don't know," Toni smirked with a roll of her eyes.

"Should I?"

The blonde laughed, "Well, you are wearing their merch."

Cheryl looked down at the shirt she was wearing, a black t-shirt with a large skull on the front. It only took her a moment to realize it was a band logo with the name "Misfits" in bold lettering above the skull. "So I am," the redhead responded, clearly embarrassed.

"You didn't know?" Toni laughed.

"Um… Jughead got me this shirt," she lied. "I don't know all of the names of the bands we listen to."

"Makes sense," the shorter girl chuckled.

"Toni, get down here," Tony called from downstairs.

Toni sighed, "Be right back."

Cheryl could hear yelling, and she grew concerned. She had thought they were a perfect family, but apparently everyone had issues. The redhead wasn't able to make out the words that were being exchanged, and not five minutes later, Toni stomped back into the room.

"Sorry," she said. "Dad didn't know you were here."

"If everything okay?"

Toni shook her head, "No. He just found out I lost something a few weeks ago. I told my grandma, and I guess he told my dad."

"What happened?"

"My grandma's ring," Toni explained.

No.

Cheryl felt her stomach drop. She had taken a ring from this very room, and she knew in her heart, it was the same one.

"I've looked everywhere for it," the blonde continued. "She left it to me, and I lost it. Guess that's what happens when you give a teenager family heirlooms, right?"

"Wh-what did it look like?"

"It's a gold band with diamonds and yellow topaz stones. It was my grandma's engagement ring," Toni responded.

No.

"I… I'm sure it'll turn up," she answered.

"Cher?" Toni asked, brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, Toni," the redhead responded. "I think it may be best for me to have Jughead pick me up though. Suddenly I'm not feeling well."


"Take me to the pawn shop," Cheryl said as she got into the Tempo.

Jughead stares at her for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"Take me to the pawn shop!"

Cheryl picked at her nails the entire drive before they pulled up in front of Southside Pawn. Much to her dismay, Peaches was working when she entered the store.

"Buying, selling, or pawning?" the girl asked.

The redhead rushed to the counter, "I need to buy back the ring I pawned."

Peaches looked up, "I remember you. Yellow gemstones, right?"

"Yes! Please tell me you still have it," Cheryl pleaded.

"Of course we do," she answered. "Not much of a market for high end jewelry on the Southside. You want it back?"

"Yes! Are you not paying attention?"

Peaches pulled the ring rack out of the locked case and removed Toni's ring. "That'll be $3,000."

"That's more than you gave me for everything," Cheryl stated in disbelief.

"We have to make profits somehow," Peaches said, rolling her eyes.

"I can't afford that," the redhead cried. "Please, I need that ring back."

"I'll go as low as $2,400."

Cheryl knew she didn't have the money, there was barely anything left from her previous transaction, but she needed the ring, there was no alternative. "I'll be back."

"I would say I can't guarantee it'll be here, but it most likely will be," Peaches said as she slid the ring rack back into the case.

"It better be," Cheryl seethed.


"What the hell, Cher?" Jughead asked as Cheryl got back into the car.

"I need $2,400," she deadpanned.

He looked at her incredulously, "Why?"

"That ring I stole was Toni's grandmothers," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "I have to get it back, Jug. I have to."

"What happened to none of this being real or it being a curse or something?"

"I don't care," Cheryl said.

"What about your whole kiss theory? Ignore this! Focus on getting home," he argued. "What if telling her ruins any chance you have of getting back to your Toni?"

"What if this is real?" the redhead questioned. "I can't do that to her. I have to get it back."

"Cheryl—"

"No! Maybe this isn't real, but maybe it is," she cried. "Maybe this is the real world. I don't know. All I know is Toni is in trouble, and it's my fault!"

"Okay," Jughead nodded. "We'll get it back, Cher. Trust me; no Serpent stands alone."


Cheryl skipped school the next day, not wanting to face Toni, and it wasn't as though she had to maintain appearances. She needed money fast, but short of robbing someone else, she was out of ideas. Jughead helped as much as he could, donating $200 to her cause, giving her $500 total. He really was a good friend, and it made her wonder if she would have been capable of being so close with his other self.

They would make their play that afternoon. She was prepared; now all she could do was hope that her plan succeeded.

"You've got this," Jughead said to Cheryl as she got out of the car.

The redhead smiled at him, "Hopefully, but if not, there's always plan B."

The bell dinged as she entered the pawn shop, and Cheryl determinedly walked straight to the front where Peaches was waiting. The girl was leaning against the back wall, flipping through a magazine. The sound of the bell pulled her focus, and she glanced up to see Cheryl marching towards her.

"You have the money?" she asked.

"I have $500," Cheryl offered, laying the money on the counter.

Peaches laughed, "Bye."

"You said so yourself, it won't sell," Cheryl reminded. "At least this way you'll get something for it."

"Not worth my time," the girl said.

"I'll make payments," the redhead suggested.

Peaches slammed the magazine down, "Look, Red. This ain't a charity case. Take your money and go."

Cheryl straightened her posture and smirked. "I was afraid you'd say that."

She glanced over her shoulder and a swarm of Serpents began pouring into the store. Jughead, Sweet Pea and Fangs were followed by the boys from the bonfire and at least ten more. They all held weapons in their hands. Most of them held their switchblades, but Sweet Pea carried a wooden baseball bat. He swung it into a display and DVD cases clattered to the floor.

"What the hell?!" Peaches yelled. "Don't make me call the cops!"

"Oh we both know the Riverdale Sheriff's Department is generally useless," Cheryl jeered. "And a robbery on the Southside? They'd turn their noses up at that. I see two options here. Option 1, you call Sheriff Keller and file a report. Which in that case, I don't know what my friends here might do. It would be a shame if they damaged anything expensive."

"And option 2?"

The redhead's cherry lips turned upwards into a cocky smile. "You sell me the ring for $500, and my friends and I leave peacefully."

Peaches unlocked the case below the counter and pulled out the ring rack. She shoved it towards Cheryl and snatched the money laying before her. "Here. Now get the fuck out."

"With pleasure."


Despite being terrified, Cheryl drove straight to Toni's house to return the ring. Jughead went home with the rest of the Serpents, leaving the car with Cheryl. He tried to talk her out of it, but the redhead knew what she needed to do.

After sitting in the car for several minutes, Cheryl worked up the courage to knock on the door. She knew this wasn't going to end well, and part of her wanted to hide the ring somewhere in Toni's room for her to find, but she couldn't have this secret between them.

"Cher?" Toni asked upon answering the door. There was a smile on her face, clearly excited to see the girl despite the confusion in her voice. "What are you doing here? Are you feeling better?"

The taller girl nodded weakly, "Thank you."

"You're just in time for dinner," Toni explained. "Mom won't mind putting out an extra plate."

"I can't stay," she said.

"What's wrong? You're starting to freak me out."

Cheryl handed Toni the ring box, "Please, please don't hate me."

The blonde opened the box, her eyes widened as she realized what Cheryl had given her. "How?"

"A few months ago, I broke in here. I didn't know it was your house, Toni. I swear."

Toni's face contorted in anger and confusion. "You what?"

"We were out of money, and our water heater broke," Cheryl explained, tears cascading down her face. "I made a foolish decision. I know that now. I regretted it the moment I found out this was your house."

"The day you ran out of my car," Toni added, putting the pieces together.

Cheryl nodded, "I am so ashamed. When I found out I took something important, I did everything I could to get it back."

"So what, you wouldn't have bothered if you had robbed someone else?" Toni scoffed. "This is unbelievable."

"Please," Cheryl begged.

"You need to leave, Cheryl," Toni said, trying to control the hurt in her voice.

"Toni, please."

The blonde shook her head, "I… I need time. Okay?"

"I'm sorry," Cheryl wept. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, I know," Toni acknowledged. "I just… I just can't right now." She retreated back inside, closing the door as she went.

Cheryl brought her hand to her mouth, stifling a sob. She knew she did the right thing, but she wondered if it was the correct decision. Her heart felt as though it was being clenched by her chest, and breathing was proving difficult. It took every ounce of the redhead's strength to hold in her cries until she was in her car.