Hi everyone!

Apologies again for the lack of posting, and I know this is a short chapter, but I'm working on something big for this and luckily for you guys, this is the first installment.

Basically, I'm counting down the days until s3 with all of you, and I'm posting a chapter today as there are only 20 days until release.

So, in five days time I will have the next chapter available, then again in another five days after that, and I haven't decided after that, but you get the idea.

Anyway, here is the next chapter in Toni and Cheryl's story.

Xxx- G

CHERYL:

When she arrived at the movie room, Cheryl sat down, taking her time to find a place out of the direct sight of the nuns. She hated that they were always watching, so she did her best to hide from them when she could. Today's movie was more aimed at the girls. It featured pretty, demure girls in cheerleading outfits, reminiscent of Cheryl's own Vixen uniform. They danced around, being the perfect, submissive angels the nuns wanted Cheryl and the other "patients" to be, while a cold-voiced narrator listed sins and cures for deviance.

Eventually, Cheryl started zoning out, staring at the screen without actually seeing it. She was thinking, as she so often did, of Toni. She missed the beautiful, headstrong serpent girl. Honestly, Cheryl still had no idea how long it had been since she last saw the other girl. It could have been only a few days, or something closer to a few weeks. Cheryl had very little sense of time while locked away in the nunnery; she didn't have the luxury of garden visits like her Cousin Polly did. The only real way she could tell that she had been away for quite a while was by her memories. Some were beginning to fade, even though she tried so hard to hold on to them. Sweet Pea's smile, Veronica's laugh, the feeling of Toni's arms around her; all of it was slowly fading away. Maybe it was the monotony of life at the Sister's, maybe it was just that she hadn't seen her friends in what felt like forever, but whatever the cause, Cheryl was beginning to forget. And that was exactly what the demonic nuns wanted.

She had lost touch with the world outside the huge walls, and the Sister's were starting to break her all over again. So, sitting there, so thoroughly alone, Cheryl tried to remember. She thought of Kevin, and how she felt when he first came out, so incredibly happy in his own skin that it was impossible not to like him. She thought of Sweet Pea and Fangs, their goofy smiles and practical jokes that had appealed to her long repressed childish sense of humour. How the twin idiots had wormed their way into her heart after only a few days around her was still a mystery. And.. she thought of Toni. This beautiful, scratch that,sensationalgirl. She thought about Toni's laugh, a big booming sound that seemed much too loud to have come from such a tiny person. She thought about Toni's smile. Or smiles, really. There was the iconic "I'm a badass so fuck off" smile, the "You suck but I still love you" smile, reserved for Fangs and Sweet Pea. Toni had an "innocent but far from it" smile, and Cheryl's absolute favourite, the "I know what your doing and I love it" smile. Cheryl had seen the last one quite a bit. Whenever she had grabbed Toni's hands, hugged her for a second longer than she should, sat in her lap, played with her hair, Cheryl had seen it basically whenever they were together. And, she remembered Toni's voice. Toni's snarky comebacks, whispered secrets, her boisterous insults and careful questions. Cheryl had held on to Toni's voice for as long as she possibly could. But maybe, she realised, it was time to let that go. Let Toni go. Realistically, they were never going to see each other again. Cheryl was locked away in a god-damn nunnery, and even is she did get let out, her satan-spawn mother would never let her go back to Riverdale. So Cheryl decided to let everything go. Everything from her life before, Kevin, Betty, Fangs, all of them. They were only causing Cheryl pain. She just hoped they would forget about her too. It would be easier on everyone. Cheryl slumped into her seat, closing her eyes as tears slipped down her cheeks. She sobbed quietly, thinking one last time of the pink-haired serpent. Hearing Toni's voice in her head, Cheryl felt yet another tear slip past her closed lids. Except, she heard it again, panicked and confused, echoing from somewhere deep within the facility. And then, suddenly, the door to the movie room was thrown open, and a familiar figure burst into the room.

TONI:

Pulling up in the woods surrounding Cheryl's prison, Toni and Veronica jumped out of the truck, Toni grabbing the tool bag with Kevin close behind them. They ran into the woods, navigating by flashlight until they arrived at a huge metal door set into a brick wall. Toni sized it up, unsure of how strong the door was, but willing to try anything for Cheryl. Dropping the bag to the ground, she grabbed the crowbar and jammed it into the space between the door and the wall. Pulling back towards her with all her strength, Toni heaved on the crowbar, and the lock snapped with a satisfying snap. Turning back to Veronica, she gestured for the girl to follow her, leaving Kevin standing there outside in the dark of the night. They had only taken about ten steps when Toni's flashlight caught a hole in the floor. "Down here" she called to Veronica. Peering inside, they saw a rusty looking ladder leading down into darkness. Exchanging a quick worried glance with Veronica, Toni clamped her flashlight between her teeth before stepping down onto the first rung of the ladder.

Reaching the ground after what felt like many, long years, the two girls ran down the dark, musty corridoor, guided by their torchlight until they reached a crossroads: the passage split. Toni tried to remember what Kevin had said about the directions, turn left at the T, or something like that.. "What are we gonna do when we get in there?" Veronica asked hesitantly, Turning to Toni in the yellow light. "Search EACH and EVERY room until we find her!" Toni replied, as Veronica nodded, seeming to decide on a direction as she sped off. Toni followed behind her, trembling in anticipation and anger.

Already -and she hadn't even seen the main facility- Toni hated this place, hated these nuns, hated god damn Penelope Blossom for putting Cheryl here, and hated herself for not protecting Cheryl from this.

Reaching another crossroads, Toni turned to Veronica, grabbing her arm to stop her.

"We should split up. We'll cover more ground." Veronica nodded again, smiling grimly, before turning and running down the left fork. Toni watched her go, then turned and ran down the right fork.

She started calling for Cheryl, not caring about secrecy anymore, just needing to find her.

Pushing open different doors along the corridoor, Toni saw more instruments of torture than she had during her entire life with the serpents; racks, wheels, boxes lined with nails, tazors, and needles; trays and trays of needles. Shivering, Toni kept moving, peering into windows trying to see Cheryl.

Eventually, she came across a room with a projector inside, and a plaque on the door reading 'visual therapy'. All the people inside were in darkness, so Toni pushed open the door and stepped into the room.