To everyone who read, reviewed, followed, supported etc. this story on here, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I primarily posted in on AO3 so this was sort of an afterthought but the response was so lovely that I owe you guys more. I can't promise that there will ever be more than this but this is the last chapter I wrote, almost two years ago now.

If anyone is interested, my current fic that is being regularly updated follows Bonnie and Nora in S7 of TVD in a similar close-canon style as this one.

I hope everyone is well and at least somewhat happy.

"No."

"What? What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean 'no,' Jughead. I am not helping you sneak into that damn construction site. I'm sad the Drive-In's gone too, but any chance there's some big, crazy, octopus conspiracy is far outweighed by how much trouble we'd get into."

"Since when are you worried about getting into trouble?"

Toni shifted her weight and shot Jughead a scathing look. "You're seriously gonna go there?"

"Alright, alright, sorry, that was low," the young writer admitted, throwing up his hands in surrender. "But you should no I'm going, no matter what."

"Jug, no , you are not . Whoever this anonymous buyer is, they've got a lot of money. Enough money not to care about throwing some punk kid in jail for trespassing. Who's going to bail you out? My wallet's not exactly bursting with funds at the moment."

"I won't get arrested."

"And how the hell do you know that?" It was all Toni could do not to wring her friend's scrawny little neck. "All it takes is one security camera, one suspicious neighbor, one patrol car. You could be the stealthiest motherfucker in the world, and you'd still be no match for the watchful eyes of the rich white bastards of Riverdale."

Jughead rolled his eyes. "I think I can sneak past a few socialites."

"Okay, you leave me no choice." Toni delivered this in a sweet, snappy tone as she about-faced and walked toward the doorway of the Blue & Gold room. "I'm telling Betty."

She heard a sharp intake of breath behind her that was barely concealed by a cough. "You… you wouldn't."

"I would. I wouldn't wish Betty's wrath on anyone, but I'd certainly prefer her flaying you alive than having to talk to you through metal bars."

"Fine." Toni turned around to see Jughead crossing his arms. "She'll understand. She's just as curious as I am about what's going on over there."

"I guess we'll see then, won't we?" Toni asked with a knowing smile, this time actually walking out of the room and down the hall. She knew full well Jughead wouldn't listen to her, or most of his other friends for that matter. But if there was anyone who could talk the kid into suppressing his bizarre martyr complex, it was Betty.

It was Friday, the day of Veronica's big Halloween party, and between trying to stop Jughead from getting himself cuffed, sitting through a few lectures from F.P. about her stunt with the Ghoulies, and mountains of homework, Toni hadn't exactly had much time to pick out a costume. She'd always liked pair costumes, but only because they meant she didn't have to come up with an idea on her own. Plus, Toni was sure neither her nor Cheryl was quite ready to flaunt their relationship in front of most of their classmates.

Relationship . It was the word Toni had been using in her head, even though she wasn't exactly sure where they stood. She found the whole "so, are we a thing" conversation to be quite lame, but it did help to make sure both people were on the same page. In a conversation with her uncle a few days earlier, she'd been on the verge of calling Cheryl her girlfriend, an almost-slip that Thomas had easily picked up on. 'Girlfriend' was just a word, yes, but she knew how it felt to be on the other end of hearing that you've been called one without discussing it first. And it wasn't a very good feeling.

One thing was for sure, though; her and Cheryl were closer than ever. Most nights saw them up texting or talking on the phone for hours, Toni telling stories of her Serpent activities while Cheryl relayed her unique experiences living in Thistlehouse with Nana Rose—and the attempts by her mother to reclaim what she viewed as little more than stolen property.

"Honestly, T.T., she acts like I'm some cute blouse that her sister stole and locked up in her room. Not that she has a sister. Or maybe she did, and when they were kids she ate her," Cheryl had joked over the phone one night.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Toni responded, chuckling.

"She pounded on the door for ten minutes. TEN. MINUTES. Does the woman have nothing better to do? I never thought I'd have to call the cops on my own mother, but it looks like it might come to that."

"To be honest, Cher, there were a lot of times when you were living with her that the cops definitely should have been called."

"I don't know why she cares. She spent my entire life hating me, making sure I felt as miserable and unloved as possible. Shouldn't she be happy that I'm gone?"

"As sad as it is, there's a reason that people abuse others. Power, projection, misplaced trauma, who the hell knows. There isn't a single valid excuse for it, but your mom's probably scrambling because being awful to you helped her in some fucked up way. She'll just have to learn how to live by herself the hard way."

Aside from Penelope's occasional trespassings onto Thistlehouse property, the Blossom widow had been far from both Cheryl's and Toni's minds, that ever-present, looming threat of her wrath no longer a primary concern. The kiss they'd shared after Cheryl's proclamation at the will reading was the beginning of a sparkling new era for the redhead. She no longer looked over her shoulder, second guessed the things she said, pushed people away. She was free .

And Toni loved it.

But for now, after planning to tell Betty about Jughead's dumbass plan, finishing her homework, and apologizing to F.P. more than enough times, the last thing on Toni's to-do list was to get a Halloween costume. Dressing up wasn't something Toni did often. She usually just embellished her usual blacks and deep purples with some bright orange accents and spiced up her makeup, which was good enough for her. But Cheryl had been so excited about the party that Toni couldn't help wanting to impress her. She was almost sure that whatever Cheryl had cooked up would make her jaw hit the floor, and she wanted to have the same effect on the redhead.

And after catching sight of a very familiar blonde ponytail as the students of Riverdale High prepared to leave for the day, Toni figured she could kill two birds with one stone.

"Hey, Bets, are you doing anything before Veronica's party tonight?" Toni asked her friend, leaning up against the locker next to Betty's.

"No, not really. Why?"

"I've been putting off making my Halloween costume and was thinking I could use some more female energy. Want to help me out? I'll buy you Pop's."

Betty laughed, her eyes crinkling in that adorable way they always did. "Should I be offended that you feel like you need to bribe me to get me to hang out with you?"

"Why, do I need to up the price?" Toni leaned in conspiratorially. "I can throw in a few milkshakes if you promise to keep this… affair hush-hush."

"Oh, you know your secrets are safe with me." The blonde girl pantomimed locking her mouth shut and throwing the key down the hallway, following through an exaggerated pitcher's motion that caused the people across from them to flinch.

"Sweet. I need to run home first, but can I meet you at your place around 3:30?"

"Sure thing."

Toni knew the Southside would always be where she belonged, and that the railroad tracks in the middle of town divided a lot more than just two halves of land, but she still was able to feel at home at some places in the Northern part of town. One of those was Betty and Archie's neighborhood. It was one of Toni's favorite places to be during sunny fall days. The trees curled over the sidewalk like a colorful awning, casting dappled pools of sunlight that danced around her feet as she walked beside the road. Toni also loved the cute white houses that were tucked away from the road behind walls of hedges, and the many Halloween decorations that dotted lawns with varying levels of effort.

She was never sure if Alice Cooper liked her or not. At the very least, even if the older woman did hate her, she was a great deal less obvious about it than Penelope Blossom. Toni supposed that if Penelope disliked her, that was a point for her in Alice's book, because the journalist seemed to despise everything her former classmate stood for. She didn't think she'd ever understand the bitter rivalries all of her friends' parents seemed to have, or why the hell they all stayed in the same town all these years if they hated each other so much. At least the Northside is pretty. If it wasn't, I'm not sure what else it would have going for it.

Toni rang the doorbell of the Cooper's house, stepping back off the porch in order to appear the least threatening as possible despite her worn Serpent jacket and torn black jeans.

"Hey, Toni," Betty said as she opened the door. "Quick, come in before my mom gets back from the Register. Who knows what batshit crazy conversation she'll rope us into."

The blonde girl led Toni up to her room, where she'd laid out an array of multicolored clothes and craft supplies. "Holy shit, Betty, someone's excited."

"Hey," Betty replied, crossing her arms defensively. "I don't exactly get to do many crafts with friends nowadays. Veronica always just buys some crazy expensive thing, but part of the fun for me is just making stuff."

"Well count me in." Toni sat down on the floor. "Before we start, though, I need to talk to you about something."

"The floor is yours."

"You need to talk to Jughead about this Sodale thing. He's convinced that he's going to break into the Drive-In construction site and find the damning piece of evidence that'll unravel whatever conspiracy he's cooking up under that beanie."

Betty eyes widened. "You're kidding."

"Nope. I told him I'd much rather live in mystery than see him spend the night in a holding cell and have to scrounge up bail money, but he wouldn't listen. I figured you might have more sway."

"Well I'd certainly hope so." Betty sighed, adjusting her fuzzy pink sweater. "I'll talk to him later. Thanks for letting me know, Toni."

"Also, one more thing…" Toni continued much more nervously, wringing her hands together in her lap. "I'm sorta floundering in this whole Cheryl thing. She's not my first relationship, nowhere near it, but I've never liked someone this much. I don't want to mess it up, Bets."

"Awww, Toni!" Betty exclaimed, putting her hand to her mouth. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Yeah, yeah," the Serpent said, rolling her eyes, unable to contain the grin that spread across her face at even just the thought of Cheryl Blossom. "Anyway, what do I do? I'm pretty sure we both know we're exclusive, but how do I do that whole dumb "what are we" conversation without messing everything up?"

"Are you fucking with me right now?" Betty asked with a bemused expression on her face.

"What? No, of course not."

"Toni, you're both fucking head over heels for each other. It doesn't take a love guru to see that. The 'conversation' is just a formality. Believe me when I say that you are not in danger of messing things up with Cheryl just because you want to make sure you're both in the same boat as far as labels. I'd wager that she's feeling the same way as you about it."

"Really?"

"Oh my gosh I want to punch you right now," Betty said as she threw her head back in laughter. "When we walked up to you guys in the park it was like you were the only people in the whole world. As far as things to put labels on, I'd say that's a pretty easy one. Besides, wouldn't it feel so good to call Cheryl your girlfriend?"

Toni smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, it would."

"Well then, there you go." Betty joined Toni on the floor of her bedroom, plopping down with a huff. "Who knew that Riverdale High's HBIC would be the one person to make Toni Topaz, badass gang member, shake in her boots."

"Oh shut it, Nancy Drew." Toni delivered a soft punch to Betty's arm. "Alright, let's do this shit."

" Finally . So, I was thinking…"

The sun had slipped just below the horizon as Toni left the Cooper household, bathing the cozy street in orange light. No sooner than she had walked out of the door, her phone began buzzing with a call from Cheryl.

"Hey Bombshell."

"Good evening T.T. How has this wonderful fall Friday been for you?"

"Pretty good, thanks. Hopefully convinced Jughead not to get himself thrown in the slammer and hung out with Betty for a few hours. You?"

"It was an excellent afternoon at Thistlehouse as well! I helped Nana Rose put up some adorable Halloween decorations. She's excited that she might actually get to hand out candy this year. No child ever wanted to even get close to the haunted house on the Thornhill."

"Aw, that's so cute."

"Indeed. So are we still attending this spooky shindig at the Pembrooke? I do hope the answer is yes, because as I said, my costume is guaranteed to make you melt."

"Of course, Cheryl, I'm excited. And let's just say I think you'll like my costume too."

"I'm sure I will. Can you pick me up at 9?"

"Sure thing. Be ready though, I'm not even going to stop the car."

"Well then however will I bring all of these custom carved jack-o-lanterns?"

Toni smiled. Of course she did. "I suppose I can idle for a little bit."

"Oh T.T., whatever did I do to deserve your boundless generosity?"

"I ask myself that every day."

"Very funny. See you at 9. Toodles!"

Toni shut her phone off, chuckling. She'd be lying to herself if she said a Halloween party at Veronica's posh apartment was her ideal way to celebrate the holiday, but as long as Cheryl would be there, she knew she wouldn't have an awful time. Besides, Sweet Pea and Fangs were also attending, and the former seemed almost as excited as Cheryl for the party, having bored Toni senseless with his unending Jack Sparrow impressions.

By the time 9:00 rolled around, Toni was annoying herself with how much she was anticipating the party. After pulling into the cobblestone driveway in front of Thistlehouse, the front of the dwelling festooned with jack-o-lanterns and paper ghosts, she texted Cheryl that she had arrived and began mentally preparing herself for whatever insanely sexy getup the redhead had prepared. Her goal seemed to be to render Toni speechless at the sight of her, and Cheryl Blossom usually met her goals.

She was interrupted from her brief reverie by a knock on her passenger side window. "Open up, T.T.!"

She began to roll down the window. "Jesus Christ Cher, you scared the shit out of—"

Toni was cut off once again, this time by herself—or, rather, the breath that refused to leave her throat at the sight of Cheryl. Her hair was curled into a perfect bunch of ringlets, the fiery coils bouncing off her shoulders which were cloaked in a long black cape. A single line of blood ran from the side of her mouth down to her chin, almost as if to drip onto the black leather bodice that was wrapped tightly around her chest, pushing the cleavage that Toni had spent so much time drooling over into full view.

"Uhhhhh…"

" Breathe , T.T. I know it's not every day that you see a vampire this gorgeous, but it's rude to stare." She smiled wide, revealing fake fangs that had been placed over her canines, and did a little twirl next to the car. "So, do you like it?"

Toni's response was to get out of the car, jog to the other side, and push Cheryl up against the door in an intense, full-body kiss. Screw the party. They could just go up to Cheryl's room and take the vampire costume right back off.

"Holy shit , Bombshell," Toni breathed huskily as she finally pulled away. "You look…"

"Incredible? Amazing? Delicious?"

" Sensational ."

This time it was Cheryl who pulled Toni into the kiss. "You don't look so bad yourself, my sexy sapphic Serpent."

Toni smiled bashfully and looked down at her costume. She was dressed in all black, from her leather boots to her most backside-flattering pair of yoga pants to her ribbed turtleneck, and she and Betty had pinned a long stuffed anaconda toy so that it wrapped around her body, its tail at her waist and its head peeking out over her left shoulder.

"Actually, scratch that," Cheryl continued, reaching out to wipe off the smears of cherry-red lipstick that were no doubt coating Toni's mouth, "you too look sensational." She dragged out the s's into hisses like she was speaking Parseltongue.

"You know, half of me wants to just blow the party off and go up to your room for the rest of the night," Toni said, winking.

"Oh T.T., way more than half of me agrees with you." Cheryl put her hands on her hips. "But as the town's one and only beautiful, exotic, hothouse flower, I have a responsibility to grace these partygoers with my presence. Besides, the Lodge apartment has plenty of secluded rooms behind lockable doors."

"I like the sound of that."

By the time they'd driven across town, lugged Cheryl's box of jack-o-lanterns into the elevator of the Pembrooke, and made it into Veronica's penthouse, it was nearly 10:00 and the party was in full swing. They'd somehow managed to catch Archie in the middle of a keg stand, but if he'd been hanging upside down all night just to show off his abs, Toni wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. Veronica and the three Pussycats were in the kitchen immediately to their left, and helped Toni and Cheryl put tea lights in all of the jack-o-lanterns and put them up around the apartment.

Veronica gave Cheryl a hug once they'd finished. "Thank you so much for doing that," she said loudly in order to be heard over the pounding music. "I totally didn't get enough decorations. You guys both look amazing."

"Thanks, Veronica," Toni replied. Their dark-haired classmate was, unsurprisingly, dressed as Catwoman, being well known to jump on any excuse to wear her tight-fitting leather catsuit.

"Let's get you two some drinks!"

Drinks in hand, Toni and Cheryl made their way over to where everyone was dancing, immediately spying Sweet Pea, Midge, Fangs, and Kevin all dancing together. "AYYOOO!" Sweet Pea yelled with that inexplicable volume that only seems to manifest when people see someone they know at a party. "You guys made it! And you both look hot ."

"Agreed!" Kevin exclaimed happily, clearly well into his drinks for the night. "Cheryl, where did you get those thigh-high boots, they're amazing!"

"A Blossom never cobbles and tells, Kevin." Cheryl grabbed Toni's hand. "Come T.T., let's dance ."

Most of the next hour or two of Toni's night was a delicious blur, all haze and warmth and cherries. Her and Cheryl hardly left the dance floor, alternating between dancing with friends and each other. Toni didn't think she'd ever been this turned on in her life, but every time she saw Cheryl sway her hips or bite her lower lip her arousal grew even more.

"T.T., I want you," Cheryl growled into Toni's ear after a particularly suggestive dancing session, almost making the shorter girl's knees buckle.

" Fuck, Cher," she breathed back, their thighs grinding together, creating so much heat that Toni was expecting the carpet underneath them to catch on fire.

"How about we go to one of those secluded rooms I mentioned earlier?"

"Lead the way, Bombshell." The redhead grabbed Toni's hand and began to lead her down the hall. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Wait, was this happening?

"Cheryl, hold up," Toni finally forced out as they stumbled into what appeared to be a spare bedroom, the door muffling the noise outside as it slipped close. "Are you sure? It's our first time, and I want it to be special. We can do it some other time, if you want…"

"T.T., no. Any time with you will be special. We're both having a great time, we're both crazy turned on, and I'm pretty sure all of our friends are doing or are about to do the same thing. I want you. I need you."

"Okay, good, because I've been fantasizing about taking off that bodice all night."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

And finally, finally , their lips crashed together, no longer held back by crazy mothers or upcoming parties or God knows whatever else. Toni could feel time speeding up as heat radiated from her skin, and an aching need that was begging to be released. Their mouths were still pressed against each other as they tumbled onto the bed, tongues weaving in and out as Toni fumbled with the strings on Cheryl's bodice.

"Okay, fuck this thing," she grumbled after trying to unlace it for thirty unsuccessful seconds, making Cheryl burst out laughing before she took it off herself. Underneath was the most amazing red lace bra Toni had ever seen, perfectly enclosing Cheryl's soft white breasts.

"Touch them, T.T."

Toni didn't need to be told twice, bringing her head back down to meet Cheryl's lips once more as she kneaded her breasts over the bra. Cheryl moaned into Toni's mouth, a feeling that shot bolts of heat down to her core. The shorter girl began to move her kisses down Cheryl's jaw and onto the side of her neck, bracing her weight with her hands as she ground her torso between the redhead's legs.

Toni forced herself to go slowly, to savor every second of every touch, to memorize the spots on Cheryl's body that made her exhale sharply and arch her back. She could do this forever, feeling the redhead writhe under her in pleasure, coming undone at Toni's touch.

Her lips finally dropped down to Cheryl's collar bone. She dragged her lips over the smooth patch of white skin that seemed to radiate heat as she reached under Cheryl's back to undo her bra. "Now this I can do," Toni remarked with a chuckle.

"You're wearing too much, Toni," Cheryl whined adorably. "Also you need to take this damn snake off, it keeps hitting me in the face."

"Oh, right." Toni removed the pins from the snake and tossed it over by the door before pulling off her own shirt, revealing the matching black bralette that was probably her favorite thing she owned.

"You're beautiful," Cheryl breathed, still lying on her back on the bed, her legs visibly squeezing together in an effort to relieve the tension that coiled in her center.

"Not as much as you, Bombshell," Toni responded, before once again crawling on top of the redhead and continuing her ministrations. The bra finally slipped off, and Toni inhaled sharply. "Jesus Christ, Cheryl. You are the sexiest woman I've ever seen." She silenced the half formed response with a forceful kiss, reaching up to massage Cheryl's breasts once more. The redhead slipped her own hands down Toni's back until they reached her ass, grabbing with full force and pulling Toni further onto her.

Toni once again began to kiss down Cheryl's body, stopping to swirl her tongue around each perfect nipple before continuing down her abdomen. "Toni, please ," she heard above her, and smiled as she finally reached her destination before immediately backing away and kissing her way up Cheryl's thighs. Toni wanted Cheryl to ache for her touch, and by the time she made it back to the perfect pair of red panties that covered Cheryl's center, the redhead's hitched, impatient breathing told her that had been accomplished. She gently slid the underwear down Cheryl's toned legs, marveling at how beautiful the girl in front of her was without anything to hide behind.

"Please, T.T. I need you."

Toni could never hear enough of that.

She finally breathed softly between Cheryl's legs, feeling her shiver before finally pressing her tongue against the redhead's folds.

"Fuck," was the breathy exclamation above her, and Toni lightly hummed into the beautiful warmth before her to elicit yet another. She brought a hand up, somehow knowing the exact location of Cheryl's clit as if they'd done this hundreds of times before, and gently rubbed the pad of her index finger across it before replacing it with her tongue.

"Fuck, Toni!" The redhead arched her back, nearly knocking Toni loose before she planted her left hand on the bed for support and continued to drag her tongue across Cheryl's clit. She felt the abundant wetness and knew that Cheryl was ready for more, and carefully slipped her middle finger inside. Cheryl's cursing had become less intelligible now, and as Toni found a rhythm between her finger and mouth, she could hear the speed of her breathing picking up.

Toni curled her finger, feeling Cheryl buck under her. "Oh my God, right there, right there, right—" Toni didn't speed up despite instinctively wanting to, instead continuing at her deliberate pace as Cheryl let out a high pitched moan and pulsed underneath her. "Fuck!" The redhead's hands found Toni's hair, anchoring herself as she rode out her climax, before collapsing back onto the bed and sighing.

"Toni, that was…"

"Sensational?" the Serpent guessed with a grin as she wiped her mouth.

"I don't even think that covers it. You… you're… perfect."

Cheryl looked so sexy, so beautiful lying on the bed beneath her, Toni couldn't stop herself before she blurted it out. "Cheryl, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh, thank God Toni, yes. I was so worried about what to call you and I almost referred to you as my girlfriend the other day so yes YES I would love to be."

Fuck, Betty was right. Toni made a mental note to take the blonde girl out for a milkshake at some point. "I care about you so much Cheryl."

"And I care about you so much too, T.T. Now let me show you."