"The kiss didn't work," Cheryl sighed, walking into her room. She had texted Jughead asking him to come back over when leaving Toni's after eating dinner with her family. "I'm supposed to be home now, Jug!" Cheryl plopped down on her bed next to Jughead and rested her head in her hands.

"Wait, you kissed her?" Jughead asked. "So everything is okay with you two?"

Cheryl sat upright, a smile on her face. "More than," the girl blushed. "She forgave me and then we kissed. It was," she sighed, "perfect. Which is the problem! How am I still here and not back to the real world?"

"Okay, Cher, hear me out… What if… don't hate me for saying this, but what if this is the real world?" Jughead suggested.

"Absolutely not," the redhead spat, clearly disgusted at the mere idea. "That's… that's preposterous."

"Think about it."

Cheryl shook her head, "I refuse to even entertain such a notion. There I had Toni. There I was rich and ruled the school. How could that possibly be a nightmare?"

"You also had cults and serial killers," Jughead deadpanned.

"No… I refuse to believe that."

"Well the kiss didn't work, so it's either that or—"

"I choose to believe whatever 'or' is," she said before he had a chance to finish his thought.

Jughead sighed, "Maybe the kiss didn't work because it's not true love."

"I love her with my entire being, Jughead," Cheryl seethed.

"I know you do, but she doesn't love you," Jughead reminded. "At least… not yet."

Cheryl sighed, "Okay… so… new plan. I just have to make Toni fall in love with me."


"Any plans for the weekend?" Cheryl asked. She was currently leaning up against the lockers while Toni pulled her books out for her afternoon classes.

Toni smirked, "Trying to ask me out, Blossom?"

The redhead blushed, "And failing apparently."

"Nah," Toni disagreed. "You're doing just fine, Cher. But I'm busy this weekend. My parents are out of town this weekend, and I have to watch Violet."

"I understand," Cheryl said, a twinge of disappointment in her voice. She tilted her head to the side, a relaxed smile upon her cherry lips. "I'm sure she'll love spending that time with you."

"Yeah," the shorter girl nodded. "She's really excited. We're going to the Woodsburg Zoo tomorrow. Going to make a day of it."

"That should be fun."

"And then I'm going to be busy Sunday with homework. I'm excited to go, but it's going to suck not being able to see you this weekend." Toni bit down on her bottom lip for a moment before asking, "Unless you want to come with?"

"To the zoo?"

"Yeah, with me and my sister," the blonde confirmed. "I promise it'll be fun."

"I need no convincing," Cheryl grinned. "I'd love to go."

"Great," Toni smiled widely. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at 9."


The next day, Toni was waiting outside Cheryl's trailer at exactly 9:00am. No one could say the girl wasn't punctual. Cheryl was surprised when she went outside and found a silver, Jaguar SUV instead of Toni's Tesla.

"Hope you don't mind," Toni said as Cheryl opened the door. "Violet isn't allowed in my car until she's big enough for the front seat."

"I am big!" the girl yelled from the backseat.

Toni laughed and shook her head. "Sure you are, gremlin."

"This is fine, Toni," Cheryl assured. She got in the vehicle and fastened her seatbelt.

The blonde started the Jaguar and turned on the radio. As they left Riverdale and got onto the highway, Toni reached over and grabbed Cheryl's hand, causing the redhead to gasp. Toni looked over, glancing at their entwined hands. A smile crept across her face at the sight.

"Have you been here before?" Toni asked.

Cheryl nodded, "Once, when I was a little girl. It's where my brother wanted to go for our birthday."

"You didn't?"

"Not really," the redhead admitted. "But I did have fun once we were there. I was particularly fond of the bears."

Toni squeezed her hand, "We'll make sure we have plenty of time for the bears then."

"I wanna see the bears!" Violet exclaimed.

Cheryl turned in her seat, looking towards the back, "What are you excited to see, Violet?"

"The otters," the girl answered, suddenly acting shy.

"Otters are really cute," Cheryl said with a smile. Her lips were natural, forgoing her signature color for the day.

Toni's eyes met her sister's in the rear-view mirror, "Otters are Violet's favorite."

"I love otters," the redhead said. "You want to know why?"

Violet subtly nodded her head, staring at Cheryl.

"I love otters because that's what Hermione Granger's patronus is."

The small girl's eyes lit up, "You know Harry Potter?"

"It's only my favorite book," Cheryl told her.

Violet looked to Toni, "I like her."

Toni smiled, "Yeah… me too."

Violet's favorite song came on the radio, and Toni turned it up out of habit. Her sister sang loudly for the rest of the drive. Song after song, Violet would belt her heart out. Cheryl and Toni joined in on the third song, singing along with the radio and child in the backseat. Their hands stayed connected, Toni not letting go until she was turning off at the Woodsburg exit.


The zoo was crowded as they entered. Toni turned to her sister, "Vi, you're going to have to hold on to my hand. Okay?"

"Can I hold Cherrie's hand?" the girl asked.

Toni turned to Cheryl, an amused look on her face, "That's up to Cheryl."

The redhead fought back a smile. She bend down and offered her hand to Violet, "It would be my pleasure."

They went straight for the river otters. Violet was beyond excited as they watched the animals swimming around in the water. They stayed there for quite a while, Toni making sure to take plenty of pictures of Violet with her favorite animal.

"She's truly adorable," Cheryl observed.

Toni nodded, "Yeah, she is."

"Thank you for inviting me today."

The blonde girl blushed, "I'm glad you came."

"Me too."

"Alright, gremlin," Toni said, getting Violet's attention. "We have a lot of other animals to see, and I promised Cheryl time with the bears. You want to see the bears right?"

The little girl nodded eagerly and ran away from the glass to grab Cheryl's hand once more. "I wanna see the bears."

They stopped at other exhibits on the way to the bears, taking in as much of the zoo as possible. Violet was especially fond of the giraffes.

Just before the bears they passed a face painter. A small boy, roughly Violet's age, sat in the chair, tiger strips being painted upon his face.

"Please," Violet begged, pulling on Toni's wrist. "Can I?"

"Okay," the blonde chuckled. "What do you think you want painted on your face?"

The child bit down on her lip, deep in thought.

"What about some giraffe spots?" Cheryl suggested, causing the girl's eyes to widen.

"Yeah," Violet cheered. "Raffe spots!"

She hopped up on the chair, slightly disappointed to learn Cheryl couldn't be the one to paint her face. Toni assured her sister the zoo employee, a girl named Chelsea, would do an excellent job, which she did. Fifteen minutes later she finished, leaving Violet with giraffe spots covering her small face.

"Very adorable," Cheryl told her as she ran from the chair.

They walked from there to the bears, Violet holding on to Toni's hand in her right and Cheryl's in her left. Toni insisted on taking Cheryl's picture at the bears, and Violet insisted on being in the picture with her. The blonde had the biggest, most sincere smile on her lips as she snapped the photo with her camera.

"Thanks again for today," Cheryl said as they walked back to the car a short time later.

"You're welcome," Violet answered back, holding on tight to the stuffed otter Toni bought her on the way out.

Toni laughed, "I think she was talking to me, kid. And you're welcome, Cher. Thank you again for coming with us."


After the zoo, they went to a local diner for burgers, which everyone agreed were not as good as Pop's. After filling their bellies, they began the hour drive back to Riverdale. Violet fell asleep almost instantly, leaving Cheryl and Toni the chance to talk.

"You didn't wear your jacket today," the blonde observed. "Isn't that a requirement or something?"

"It's rather warm," Cheryl answered. "Plus, I wasn't sure how you'd feel about your sister being seen with a gang member… even if your family did help found said gang."

"Yeah," Toni bit her lip, her eyes staying focused on the road. "Can you… can you tell me about them?"

"Them?"

"The Serpents," the shorter girl clarified. "I don't really know anything about them."

Cheryl turned to look at her, "Your grandfather never told you?"

"I never wanted to talk about it," Toni shrugged, clearly ashamed. "I wanted nothing to do with anything related to the Southside."

"What would you like to know?" Cheryl asked.

"Whatever you know," the blonde replied. "I know this probably isn't date conversation, but if you wouldn't mind."

"So this was a date?"

"Oh," Toni blushed. "I thought it was."

Cheryl bit down on her tongue, the muscle barely peeking out of her lips. "I see no problem with that. Well, in that case, this has been a wonderful date. And I'd be happy to tell you all that I know about your ancestors. Though, it may be wise to consult your grandfather; I'm not sure how accurate my information is."

Or what's changed.

"Thanks, Cher."

"Of course," the redhead said in response. "All the Serpent laws and traditions are based on the tradition of the Uktena, your grandfather's people. Your people."

"You're representing my family more than I am," Toni nodded. "I really am a failure."

Cheryl reached over and placed a comforting hand on her lap, "No, you are not. Perhaps a drive isn't the best time to discuss this?"

"No, no. I want to hear it."

"The Serpents are all that's left of the Uktena, most of them were slaughtered in a raid by General Pickens."

"The one who founded Riverdale?"

Cheryl nodded, "The very same."

"How do people not know that?"

The redhead thought back to the protest Toni led, the first time she stood with the Serpents. "I guess no one has cared enough to tell them yet."

"Someone needs to."

"Why did your family leave?"

Toni sighed, "The violence. My parents moved when my mom was pregnant. His startup was taking off, and he wanted me growing up somewhere safer than he did. Losing his brother changed him."

"Your uncle?"

"He died when he was only 19," Toni exhaled. "My dad had to drag my grandpa along with them; he didn't want to go."

"Oh my God," Cheryl gasped. "I'm so sorry, Toni." She knew how awful Toni's uncle was, but in her reality, so was Claude. There was a chance he had been a different person too, and to be taken so young…

Toni shrugged, "Never met him. He was working at the syrup factor, and there was an accident."

"Sweetwater Syrup?" Cheryl asked.

The shorter girl nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just… thinking," Cheryl answered. "I can see why you grew up hating the Southside."

"That's just it," Toni shook her head, "I don't. I've just always felt like I needed to… and not because of the crime or my uncle's death… it was because that's just what everyone expected. Northsiders aren't supposed to embrace the Southside."

"And yet… here you are with me," the redhead smiled.

Toni glanced over and took Cheryl's hand in her own, giving it a squeeze. "Maybe I'm finally realizing how wrong I've been."


"Well, she's occupied for a couple hours," Toni said as she entered the bedroom. "I put Zootopia on the iPad." She hopped up on the bed next to Cheryl.

The redhead laughed, "She didn't get enough Zoo today?"

"Apparently not. How about a movie?" Toni asked, already reaching for her Apple TV remote. "You can pick."

Cheryl accepted the offered controller and began scrolling through Toni's library. She landed on Love, Simon and looked over at the shorter girl. "How about this one?"

"Haven't seen it yet," she admitted. "Let's watch it."

"I think you'll love it," Cheryl said. "It's one of my favorites."

Because of you.

They settled in, watching the movie on the large screen across from Toni's bed. After twenty minutes, Toni shifted closer to Cheryl, entwining their hands together. The redhead blushed and rested her head on the shorter girl's shoulder. That's exactly how they stayed until Simon's talk with his mother.

Cheryl remembered this part of the movie clearly; it was the part she told Toni resonated with her at Pop's. The redhead felt a tear cascade down her face, same as the first time she watched the movie with Toni. She quickly wiped it away, not wanting Toni to notice, but if it was anything like that time, Toni would have seen. Which she did.

"I saw you crying during that movie, Cheryl," Toni said after the movie as she exited to the main menu. "Are you okay?"

The redhead nearly cried all over again, "Sorry, that scene just always makes me emotional."

"You don't need to be sorry. Do you want to talk about it?

"When I first saw that movie, I cried during that scene," Cheryl explained, optioning for the truth, or most of it at least. "My… my friend noticed and asked me about it, much in the way you just did. I had resonated with Simon being a carefree, happy kid… and then he wasn't… because he was hiding this huge secret."

"So, what is it like?" Toni asked.

The redhead's brow furrowed, "Hm?"

"Living without hiding a huge secret about who you are."

I don't know the answer to that anymore.

"You mean your heritage and your family coming from the Southside?" Cheryl asked, wanting to make sure she understood what Toni was saying while also avoiding her question.

"Yeah," Toni answered. "Nevermind, it's stupid. Me being ashamed of where I'm from isn't the same at all. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"You're right, it's not, but your feelings are still valid, Toni," Cheryl said, wanting to keep the girl talking.

"It's just… I couldn't embrace my family's heritage without embracing the entire Southside. And for what? Popularity?" Tears formed in Toni's eyes. "You were a lot stronger than I am, Cheryl. You should be proud."

"I am," the redhead replied, still impressed with herself for confiding in Toni those years ago. Toni had given her the strength to be herself, her entire self. She wanted to be the same for this Toni, just as her Toni had been for her. "You don't have to deny who you are to get people to like you. You can just be you."

Toni huffed, "I don't even know who that is anymore."

Cheryl gave her kind smile, "I can help you figure it out… if you want."

"You'd do that?"

"For you? Anything."