Days went by, and nothing. No contact; no speaking. They hadn't talked once over text, let alone in person. Toni was avoiding her, dodging her in the halls. When they had to be near each other, like in English Literature, Toni would actively ignore her.

Cheryl couldn't help but think about how far they had come before she threw it all away. She couldn't regret her choice. She knew she did the right thing… no matter how much it hurt.

The redhead just wanted a moment to explain, but at the same time, she worried any moment would give Toni the opportunity to end their… whatever it was… for good.

"Ready for lunch?" Jughead asked as he leaned up against the cool metal.

The redhead was shoving her books into her locker. "I'll meet you there."

"You aren't going to stand out here hoping you see her, are you?" he asked.

"No," Cheryl scoffed. "I simply need to go to the bathroom. I doubted you would want to wait outside the ladies' room when there is food waiting for you in the cafeteria."

"You know me too well," the boy laughed.

She closed the locker door and they walked off together until they reached the bathrooms. "See you in a few, Jug," Cheryl said.

Jughead took off, his stomach leading him towards the food. Cheryl laughed momentarily before turning to her right and stepping towards the bathroom. As she opened the wooden door, Cheryl came face to face with dyed blonde.

"Toni," she breathed out.

Toni scoffed, "I'm not ready, Cheryl."

"Please let me explain." Cheryl begged, finally having a moment with the girl.

The shorter girl shook her head, "I can't believe you'd try to talk to me after what you did."

"Toni…"

"Cheryl, please leave me alone," she said as she pushed past, leaving Cheryl speechless with tears streaming down her face.


"She hates me," Cheryl said as she paced back and forth in her room. "I made the love of my life hate me."

"She doesn't hate you," Jughead encouraged, trying the best he could.

"You didn't see her," she countered. "She's been avoiding me for days. I tried to talk to her, but she can't even look at me."

"You did drop a bombshell on her, though."

Cheryl glared at him, angry at his use of phrasing. "I am quite aware of what I did, Jughead."

"Just give her some time," he suggested.

"I'm scared," the redhead admitted. "I'm so scared."

"Hey," Jughead said as he stood up, reaching to embrace his friend, "I've got you. It'll work itself out okay?"

Cheryl cried in his arms until she felt her phone buzz. Her face contorted in confusion as she broke the hug and reached into her pocket. She glanced down at the device and gasped. "It's Toni," Cheryl looked up from her phone, panic in her eyes.

Jughead stared at her for a moment before asking, "Well, what does it say?"

"Right," the redhead turned her attention back to her device.

TT [04:57pm]: Can you come over?

TT [04:57pm]: We need to talk

"She wants to talk," Cheryl said. "What do I do?"

"Go see what she has to say," the boy shrugged. "Hopefully it's good news."

"With my luck, it won't be."


Cheryl knocked on Toni's front door, dreading what was to come. If the girl wanted to end things, she could have done that over text. Maybe it was good news, maybe things would work out.

"Hey, Cheryl," Toni said as she swung the door open. "Come on in."

The redhead followed her inside and up the stairs to Toni's bedroom. The shorter girl shut the door behind them as they entered.

"We need to talk," she said. Toni walked over to the bed and sat down, motioning for Cheryl to join her.

Cheryl nodded. Her throat felt dry, and she took a deep breath. She walked over to the bed and sat beside Toni. Tears already threatened to fall as she waited for the other shoe to drop.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you told me," Toni explained. "I want you to explain why."

"I… I made a mistake, Toni. Words can't express how much I regret my actions," Cheryl responded.

"Right, but why did you do it?"

The redhead inhaled sharply, struggling to stay composed. "The water heater broke, and the water was freezing. It… it reminded me of something awful. And we didn't even have money for food, let alone repairs."

"You didn't have food?"

Cheryl shook her head, "We had instant noodles but not much else."

"You really were just trying to survive," Toni said to herself.

The taller girl's brow furrowed, "Hm?"

"I was talking to my grandpa earlier," Toni explained. "I was trying to make sense of what you did, and he always helps me work through things. He has since I was a little kid."

"Wh-what did he say?"

Toni began to tell Cheryl about her afternoon spent with her grandfather. The redhead hung onto every word she spoke, awaiting her fate.


Toni went straight to her grandfather's after school. He lived on one of the other houses on the Topaz property. Despite their physical closeness, Toni didn't visit him often.

"Hello, Ant," Thomas greeted as he opened the door. "A visit from my granddaughter? Did I win the lottery?"

"Hey, Grandpa," she laughed. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by. School just got out."

"I never mind seeing you," the man responded, ushering his granddaughter into the house. He settled down in his favorite armchair, and Toni sat down on the sofa. "So to what do I owe this visit?"

"Just thought I'd stop by," Toni shrugged, avoiding his question.

He chuckled and reclined his seat. Rather than push her, he turned on the television, changing to the Game Show Network.

They sat in silence for a while, watching reruns of Family Feud. Occasionally, Toni would laugh at the answers, but neither Topaz spoke. It was a comfortable silence, but Toni couldn't ignore the racing thoughts in her mind for too long.

"Grandpa?" she asked, getting the man's attention. "Can you tell me what it was like… growing up on the Southside?"

"It was not the life we have now," he said. "I miss it greatly, but I cannot deny the comforts I now have because of your father's business."

"You miss it?"

"I miss our people," Thomas explained. "I do not miss the Southside."

"Was the Southside really that bad?" she continued, trying to rationalize what Cheryl had done.

Thomas reached for the remote and turned off the television. He had a sense that there was more to his granddaughter's inquiry than a simple question. "People had to do whatever necessary for survival," he told her. "Even more so now."

Toni thought for a moment before asking, "Even steal?"

"Yes, or worse."

"This girl I've been seeing stole something from me," the blonde sighed.

He took a deep breath. "How did you find out?"

"She told me," Toni answered.

"Interesting," he nodded. "She volunteered in telling you this?"

"Yes," the girl confirmed. "When she gave it back."

"Would you have known otherwise?"

"Probably not," she replied. "Things were great… I thought I really liked her."

"So she risked your relationship to do the right thing knowing she could lose you," the man observed. He leaned back in his armchair, "She was putting your happiness above her own?"

Toni shrugged, "Or she did it out of guilt."

"Does she seem like that kind of person?"

Toni shook her head, "No… she's a great person. Or, at least, I thought she was."

"I'm sure it was very hard for her to come to you with the truth."

"I know that… but I don't know how to deal with knowing she did it in the first place," Toni sighed. She leaned forward and rested her head in her hands, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

"Have you ever made a mistake?" her grandfather asked.

The blonde scoffed, "Yeah… a huge one."

"Did the person forgive you?"

"Yeah." Toni thought of Cheryl forgiving her after everything she did without a moment's hesitation. "I'm still not sure I deserved it."

Thomas nodded in understanding, "Where do you think you'd be if they didn't?"

A small smile graced Toni's lips, "Still denying my heritage, and probably pining over someone who never really cared about me. Her forgiving me helped me be a better version of myself… because I wanted to be worthy of it. But she didn't do it to change me… she did it because she cares about me."

"And do you care about her?"

Toni squinted as her smile changed into a smirk, "How'd you know I'm talking about the same person, Grandpa?"

The old man laughed, "I'm very insightful, little one. So are you going to get your girl or not?"

"Yeah… yeah I am," Toni exhaled. She stood up from the couch with a sense of determination. "I'm not going to ruin the best thing in my life right now over something that happened before we were even friends."


"So you forgive me?" Cheryl asked, not fully believing it was true.

Toni nodded. She took a deep breath, and turned towards the redhead. "I do," she said. Toni raised her hand and brushed a strand of hair behind the girl's ear. "I want to trust you, Cheryl."

"You can," Cheryl pleaded. "I messed up, but I'd never intentionally hurt you, Toni. I promise."

"I… I believe you," the shorter girl responded. "I don't know why… I just… Something inside tells me I can."

"I swear I won't let you down again."

Toni smiled and licked her top lip. She paused for a moment, staring into Cheryl's eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

"Wh-what?" Cheryl asked, having been caught off guard.

"Can I—"

"Yes," she answered.

"So you did hear me," Toni laughed. Her hand wrapped behind Cheryl's neck, and she pulled the girl in close. "I'm trusting you."

Cheryl nodded, her eyes still locked on Toni's. The shorter girl closed the distance, gently bringing her lips to Cheryl's. The redhead moaned at the contact.

Toni pulled away, and her eyes fluttered open. A smile crept upon her face. "I've been wanting to do that for a while."

The redhead's eyes opened, and she was still in Toni's bedroom.

It didn't work.

As defeated as she felt knowing the kiss didn't take her back to her own reality, she couldn't help but smile. She may not be back where she so desperately wanted, but Cheryl was bursting with happiness. "I'm glad you did."

Toni smirked before pulling Cheryl back to her. She gently cupped her cheeks with her hands, thumbs rubbing over the apples of the redhead's cheeks. Cheryl slid her hands around Toni's back, pulling her closer, breathing her in.

The kiss was more passionate than their previous peck, their lips moving together languidly. Toni was the first to deepen it, causing Cheryl to hum in approval.

It may have been their "first kiss" in this universe, but it felt so familiar to Cheryl. And as her tongue danced with Toni's, Cheryl thought one thing:

This feels like home.

The blonde backed away a few minutes later, her hands still cradling Cheryl's face. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked.

Cheryl nodded, "I'd love to, but will that be okay with your parents… after… what I did?"

"They don't know," Toni answered. "And I'm not planning on telling them."

"Won't your grandpa?"

"I didn't exactly tell him you broke into the house, Cher," the shorter girl sighed. "I'd prefer to forget it, if that's ok."

"More than," Cheryl responded. "I'd like nothing more."

"Good," Toni nodded. "A fresh start?"

"A fresh start."