AN/ Evening guys. God I feel rough! We've finally finished for Christmas and the second I get home I come down with the stupid bug my sister had last week. Just in time for Santa to come *insert eye roll emoji*. How is everyone? All ready for the big day? I hope everyone's in good health, and I wish you all a happy holidays, even if you don't celebrate Christmas. I have got a Christmas flashback chap I could release tomorrow or on Christmas Eve if people are interested... if you'd like to read, get in touch with a review or PM... I always love your opinions :)

Anyway, enough of my rambling for today! As always, thank you to the moon and back for all of the amazing support and love this fic has been receiving. I hope you guys love this chapter...

"My name is Antoinette Topaz. I'm twenty-nine years old," Toni voiced in her head as she looked at herself in the mirror, desperately trying to control the paranoia - the panic, growing in her chest - threatening to erupt at any second. She was voicing the basic facts. The things she knew were true, the things nobody could take away from her, because that's what the doctor said to do when she felt like this. To remind herself of who she was, of what was important, that this, this would ground her. "I live in Riverdale. My home is the Southside." Her gaze locked onto the tattoo on her arm, a tattoo shaped like a snake, a piece of ink she got to cement her roots on her body. Running her hands over the leather jacket in the sink, she reminded herself of her past loyalties; "I'm a retired Serpent." She looked at the scar that ran down the length of her ribcage, wincing as she remembered what gave her it. "I've been in a few tough fights, but I'm okay. I've survived a kidnap. I've survived heartbreak. I'm here. I'm okay. Everything's okay." Controlling her breathing, Toni put her hands on the side of the sink, clutching the china bowl and hoping this feeling would just go away. "I'm a photographer for the Register. I work with my friend, Jughead Jones. He's a Serpent too. He's pretty cool. Those Serpents are pretty cool. They're my family. So's Toby. Toby's the best. He's an angel… even if he's a bit of a devil." She let out a choked laugh at that, struggling to breathe around it. "Fucking hell, even if things are tough, they're better. I'm better. I'm okay. She can't hurt me."

Exactly who 'she' was, even Toni didn't know. The obvious thought was Penelope Blossom, but perhaps after seeing the girl whom Toni had convinced herself was just a ghost who had vanished with the wind, perhaps Toni was more scared that it was Cheryl who would hurt her in that moment…


"Toni?" a concerned voice crooned, and the ex-Serpent nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Pushing the hand off her shoulder, Toni turned to face none other than Betty, who must've followed her into the bathroom. Not quite able to trust herself to talk without losing her composure altogether, Toni nodded slowly.

"Are you sure?" Betty asked, eyebrows raised, disbelieving.

Gulping, Toni nodded again. "I'm fine," Toni said breathlessly. "It's just, you know…"

The blonde nodded in understanding, not forcing Toni to continue. The poor girl struggled enough with the panic attacks herself and found it nearly impossible to talk about it with anyone else, let alone admit when she was having one.

They didn't happen as frequently these days, not like they did twelve years ago. It was in the weeks following the events in the maple syrup barn, where Toni had been held hostage by Penelope Blossom and threatened and kept – quite literally – in the dark, when the girl had gotten home and was trying to establish a new type of normal after Cheryl walked out her life, that Toni Topaz's panic attacks had begun.

In those days, it didn't take much to trigger them. It was in those days Toni was at her lowest. Penelope Blossom had yet to receive her sentence and – although she was being held in Keller's station – Toni didn't feel safe. She had a feeling in her stomach that whatever Penelope had started when she'd kidnapped her wasn't over yet. Not even after being arrested. To Toni, it would take a lot more than some iron bars keeping the older woman held in a prison cell to stop Penelope Blossom wreaking havoc again.

The whole situation screamed unfinished business. It was that knowledge that was tearing Toni apart. She knew deep down it wasn't over. It was there, as clear as day, when she left her Grandfather's trailer to go into town, it was that chill running down her spine when she walked alone at night, it was that sickening feeling in her stomach, twisting like a knife, whenever someone mentioned Cheryl Blossom's name.

That fear was always there for Toni. It never dulled or dissipated. If anything, that fear only seemed to build up, more and more, until eventually it reached a point that it became her living hell. It built up and resided in her chest, turning her feelings inside out and forcing her to lose control. It was terrifying. It was a nightmare. And it was killing her.

Betty finding out helped. It was when they were out for Veronica's eighteenth, partying in the Andrews' garage. Even though it was brightly lit, that room was crowded, packed to the brim with people from school. After a lot of thinking, Toni concluded that it was all the people that triggered her panic attack that time.


Eleven years earlier...

It was suffocating. The claustrophobia of all those people, sweaty and packed together in Archie's garage like sardines in a tin, that tipped her other the edge. It took her back to that long night in the maple syrup barn, reminding her of that bag Claudius had draped over her head, rough and black, tied just ever too tightly around her neck that it would slowly choke her, but not enough to bring it to an end. Remembering that, remembering the darkness, remembering Penelope's sneer and the feeling of hands slapping against her face, remembering the threats, the way her breath was trapped in her lungs when she felt the cold metal of Penelope's gun pressed hard against her skull, it chilled her to the bones.

It came flooding back to her, the memories overwhelming her. All she could remember was gasping in that garage, feeling like she couldn't breathe, and pushing her way out, desperate to find fresh air. Betty had followed her, knowing something wasn't right, and rushed outside to find Toni sitting on the sidewalk, curled up in a ball, gasping and panting and holding her head in her hands.

At first, Betty didn't know what to do. Instinctively she wanted to wrap her arms around the smaller girl and give her a hug, hoping physical reassurance would do something. But the way Toni was positioned, as if to defend herself, told Betty she shouldn't smother her. So she just sat beside her, holding Toni's hands in hers, looking into Toni's eyes and telling her she was okay, that it would pass, to focus on her breathing, counting slowly from one to four, until the smaller girl calmed down.

The episode had knocked it out of Toni, and the smaller girl didn't even resist when Betty called Katya to pick her up, and the pair took her back to her grandfather's, where Toby opened the door with a knowing look and piggybacked his 'baby-sis' to her bedroom, tucking her up in bed and putting an old episode of Friends on. He sat on the edge of the bed, not asking any questions, waiting for Toni to speak. That was something she loved about her brother. He understood. He didn't force her to talk until she was ready. He didn't try to pull the answers out of her when he knew she wasn't in a position to give them.

If she remembered properly, she didn't even say anything at all to Toby that night, because she was out like a light when her head hit the pillow. Nor did she say much the next morning, when she wordlessly pulled on her clothes and did her makeup, putting on a tough face and a firm jaw so she could go out and face the world. It was an unspoken truth between them. They both knew the other suffered from these episodes, these… panic attacks… and they both supported each other through them. They just didn't analyse them after with each other because it was bad enough living through them once.

It was the next morning when she arrived in school and Betty asked if she was okay that Toni explained what had happened, telling the blonde of how that crowded garage took her back to memories of the night in the barn and how that panicked her and how she couldn't fight it, leading to her being a hyperventilating mess on the sidewalk, and apologised for ruining Betty's night. Betty just gave her a hug and told her not to be ridiculous, that she was far more concerned about Toni's wellbeing than being in the middle of a sweaty garage at a high-school party. It was Betty that went with Toni to the doctors, and got the Serpent referred to a therapist who was then able to help. It was only Betty who knew exactly what was happening when Toni suddenly went silent in conversations, and when the Serpent girl would disappear from the parties. She'd always follow and check up on her, just like she had that morning.


"So, Topaz," Betty began, "it's been a while since you've had one of these… am I crazy if I say Cheryl Blossom's return might have prompted this?"

"Probably not," Toni muttered, twisting the snake ring on her finger in the same way she always did when she was nervous. "When was I going to find out Cheryl was back?"

"You weren't, because when Cheryl decided a few months back she was coming home, we were told to keep in to ourselves," Betty admitted, not quite having the guts to look Toni in the eye. "She's not exactly here by choice, Toni, and with Penelope being back at Thornhill –"

"I still would like to think two of my closest friends would tell me the girl I loved was coming home!"

"Toni –"

"How long have you guys been in contact with her?" Toni demanded, looking Betty dead in the eye. "How long have you had a number, an address."

Sheepishly glancing at Toni, Betty squirmed. "Since before Jason was born."

"What?"

"When she called to say she was pregnant. We had a number."

"And you've been out to see her haven't you?"
"I'm sorry Toni…"

"No, Betty, Sorry doesn't cut this," the ex-Serpent muttered, her hands moving as she spoke, a sure sign the girl was livid. "You knew. You let me go out there, to New York, searching for her, desperate to try and fix things, to bring her home. You knew exactly where she was and how I could reach her, but you conveniently forgot to tell me. You could've helped me find her – "

"Consider this, Toni!" Betty exclaimed, her voice rising as she felt Toni accuse her of betrayal. "What if Cheryl didn't want to be found? What if she was content with her life in New York?"

"Why didn't you even give me the choice?"

"It's not a choice! The girl wanted nothing to do with here, and only called me and Jug because she wanted us to know and to see her. She said we weren't to tell anyone other than Polly and Archie and Veronica."

"So they all knew?"

"They've been out there."

"Wow!" Toni fumed, grabbing her jacket. "So everyone knew this except me. How great!" With that, she stormed out of the bathroom and into the main office, where Jughead was sitting at the desk, and looked up in shock as Toni stormed past him.

"What's up, Topaz?" Jughead asked, bringing his hand up to straighten the crown-beanie that – even as an adult – he'd never managed to grow out of. "What's the problem?"

"Maybe the fact some of my closest friends have been keeping secrets from me for the last eleven years?"

Immediately realising what secret the girl was referring to, Jughead's gaze dropped to the floor. "Toni…"

"No Jughead. Don't. You know it was wrong."

"I always did think it was wrong," Jughead admitted, feeling a mixture of frustration and relief. "I wanted to tell you. It wasn't me who decided you weren't to know anything."

Toni turned back to Betty who stood in the doorway of the bathroom looking increasingly guilty. "Would you like to explain that?"

"Toni, I wanted to give Cheryl a fucking chance. Is that so much to say? She's my friend and I love her."

"She was my girlfriend! I loved her more than I've ever loved anything, and she was snatched from me in the cruellest twist of fate imaginable. If we'd talked it out maybe we would have sorted it."

"And then what?" Betty snapped. "You'd bring Cheryl back to Riverdale and live happily ever after? There are children's dreams more plausible, Toni. She had no intention of coming back. Not when all the memories are here."

"We could've moved elsewhere…"

"I thought you were over it, Toni. You were seventeen. You had next to no money. Other than Cheryl going to college, there was no way you could have afforded that."

"Still…"

"Toni, you're still in denial, eleven years later. It wouldn't have worked, namely because Cheryl didn't want it to. Can you honestly blame me for trying to break it off?"

"It was already broken off! All you did was stop me fixing it!" Toni yelled, kicking one of the many filing cabinets in the room, causing the thing to shake and everything stacked on top of it to fall with a clatter.

"What Betty means to say," Jughead argued, his voice calm, "is that some things aren't meant to be fixed, and in that moment, your relationship was one of those things. To tell you we had no idea where she was and no way of reaching her killed us, Toni, but in the long term it led to you accepting it was over. It was less painful."

"Still!" Toni snapped, "I would at least have liked a chance."

"A chance to do what exactly?" Betty seethed, "to go and knock at her door? To beg her to take another chance on you? To break what little resolve Cheryl Blossom had in those days and whatever she still had left of her heart intact? If you had gone you'd have only been playing yourself for a fool, Toni. We did you a favour."

"That's easy for you to say when the furthest Jughead has ever been from you was Toledo," Toni muttered, approaching the blonde. "When – even when your mother was hellbent on keeping you guys apart – you guys were at least in the same town and able to make it work. And you had friends helping you out. So don't you dare tell me you were doing me a favour."

Betty shivered slightly at how close Toni was to her, no doubt remembering the night at Thistlehouse all those years ago when the Serpent girl had squared up to Penelope Blossom.

"I'm beyond pissed," Toni continued, turning her gaze to look at Jughead, to look into the face of someone she would have trusted with her life. "You are two of my best friends. I fucking trusted you guys."

"Toni…" Jughead whispered, his eyes silently pleading with the girl, begging her to realise that what they had done, they'd done for her.

"Save it your explanations," Toni muttered, walking towards the door and putting her hand on the handle. "I'm heading home to get ready for my night out with Cheryl. Don't bother talking to me if I see you later."

"Don't be ridiculous, Toni," Jughead quipped, following the girl out of the door and out onto Main Street. "We're your friends."

"Well, call me naïve but I've always believed your friends are the people you can trust. Safe to say I was wrong."

"For fuck's sake, Topaz," he mumbled, "we're sorry, okay. We did what we did to do right by you, and maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but at the time, what else could we do? You were a mess when she left. Betty was protecting her, but Toni, I kept the secret to protect you."

Toni looked at him, and saw the genuine sincerity in the man's eyes. "Jug…"

"Everything with Cheryl was tearing you apart, Toni," he reminded her, placing a hand on her arm. "Please remember that. She broke your heart. I didn't want you to get any more broken."

Toni shook his hand off, but nodded slowly at him. "I'm still mad Jughead."

A light chuckle escaped the man before her. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

"Of course you wouldn't," she deadpanned.

"As the omniscient narrator, I know more than I let on," Jughead mused, "which is why I think tonight is a good way to fix things with Cheryl, and perhaps fix everything in yourself."

"What do you mean?" Toni demanded, her eyes narrowing as she watched Betty walk out of the office to stand next to her husband on the sidewalk.

"He means, maybe this is your shot at closure" Betty said. "It's your chance to either fix that relationship and bring Cheryl back into your life, or it's the one chance you're going to get to let go for good."

"Either way, Topaz, it's time you stopped living in the past," Jughead declared. "Eleven years is a long time. Things have changed. You've changed. Remember that."

"I will."

"Good," Jughead nodded, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist and smiling at Toni. "Now, it's nearly three so I suggest you head home and start getting ready for tonight. Bombshell might have changed, but I don't think people can change that much."

"What do you mean?"

Betty smirked when she caught on to what her husband was implying. "Jug means to say that Cheryl has always been a firm believer in etiquette. 'One must always dress appropriately'" she mimicked, making the trio burst into laughter. "Now go, be gone with you. Your princess awaits!"

Toni rolled her eyes. "I'm off!" she groaned, waving at the pair as she walked towards her bike, swinging her leg over it and revving the engine.

With a kick of her foot against the road, she spurned it into action, and began to race down the road, heading out of town and towards the Southside, blissfully unaware of the piercing gaze watching her.


Penelope Blossom had been sat on a bench outside the register for nearly an hour before the trio had come out of the door. She'd felt her breath hitch when she saw that girl… that Topaz… come outside in a mood, and had to fight a gasp when the girl had announced she was meeting none other than Cheryl.

So her daughter was back in town? Well, perhaps congratulations were in order. A housewarming gift or something along those lines.

She could scarcely believe Cheryl would return to Riverdale, and was shocked by her sudden luck. She had a score to settle with her daughter, and perhaps now – after nearly twelve years of waiting – it was time to settle it.

After all, nobody wants unfinished business…

AN/ Don't hate Jughead and Betty too much guys... they were only doing what they thought was best for their friends...

Thank you so much for reading this guys and I hope you all enjoyed it!

Sooooooo… what do you all think? How will Penelope settle her unfinished business? Don't be afraid to drop me a PM or a review and tell me if you're enjoying it or if there's something specific you guys would like me to explore.

Don't forget what I said about that flashback Christmas chap I have written! If you're interested, do tell, and if I get say... 10 people who are interested?... I'll get that up before Christmas.

In case I don't, I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas.