TRIGGER WARNING IN THIS CHAPTER, THOUGH THERE IS NO SMUT. AT ALL. BUT THERE IS SOME COERCION FROM NICK TO GET CHERYL TO CONSENT TO HAVING SEX.
THERE WILL BE MORE TRIGGER WARNINGS LIKE THIS AS THE FIC PROGRESSES AS THE ABUSE FROM NICK BECOMES WORSE.
I WILL KEEP POSTING TRIGGER WARNINGS AS I DON'T WISH TO UPSET OR HARM ANYONE WITH THIS FIC AND I KNOW I WOULD WANT TO SEE WARNINGS FOR THINGS THAT TRIGGER ME IN OTHER FICS.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE COERCION THAT IS FINE THERE'S A FLASH BACK SCENE AND THEN THE SCENE THE WARNING IS HERE FOR IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THAT SCENE PLEASE SKIP TO THE SECOND BREAK LINE FOR THE REST OF THE CHAPTER.
TIA
It's hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you. You're a flashback in a film reel, on the one screen in my town- Taylor Swift, This is me Trying
She hated her. She hated her so much. She hated how much of a distraction she was for her. No matter how hard she tried Cheryl couldn't help but be drawn to her. Whenever she was around Cheryl would feel herself losing focus on whatever her teachers or friends were saying, to focus instead on the pink haired serpent girl.
She couldn't help but be entranced by her dark eyes, (that always turned a shade of gold in the light), her full lips, always so soft and coated in a dark lipstick; she had lost count of the amount of times that she had thought about smudging that lipstick with rough, intense kisses. She was always so curious to know what colour it would make when mixed together with the bright red lipstick she would always wear.
She had never experienced anything like it before.
Every time she saw her, her heart would speed up, beating hard in her chest, her mouth would run a little drier than what was considered normal, and she found herself at a loss for words.
She hated it.
Nothing ever left Cheryl Blossoms speechless, until Toni Topaz had walked through the door and captured her attention, which in itself was something that rarely happened to her.
Usually, she could find something in someone, however small it might be, that she didn't like, and she would take that facet and lock on to it, focusing on it so intently that it would ruin everything about a person and make her see them in a different light.
She had done it before in her life. There had been many times when Cheryl would feel herself developing a crush on someone that she probably shouldn't have (usually girls in her classes growing up), she had always forced herself out of the crushes, focusing on the hamartia that she herself had given to them, taking away any feelings of attraction.
But with Toni, Cheryl was struggling to find something she disliked. She had tried everything, but everything about Toni drew her in and made her want Toni even more. Even the fact that she was from the South Side made Cheryl intrigued by her despite her parents' best efforts to always warn her and Jason away from anyone from the South Side.
Everything about the shorter girl clouded her every thought, usually in the most inappropriate of ways at the most inappropriate of times. Of course, those thoughts were always interrupted by the sound of her mothers harsh, cutting voice, infesting itself in her brain like a plague.
Get your head out of the gutter.
This is no way for a young woman to behave.
Stop it with this behaviour.
Disgusting. Sinful. Deviant.
In her mind, her mother always spat the words at her, just like she did in life. Trying anything she could to make the words resonate with her daughter.
As much as Cheryl loathed to admit it. It always worked.
But the thing that always hurt the most, were the three cold words that her mother would use to describe her feelings for other girls, and how she would describe anyone who didn't fit her idea of 'normal'.
She had heard those three words enough times in her sixteen years to last her a lifetime. They were usually said to her, while her mother had a vice like grip on her jaw, or her arms, her red clad nails digging into porcelain skin. Cheryl always related her mother's words to the emotional and physical pain the older woman would inflict on her.
A constant reminder how much her mother hated and disagreed with who she was.
She wondered if it would ever stop. If one day her mother and father would be able to love and accept that part of her.
She took a deep breath and shook her head slowly, removing any traces of her mother's words and any images of Toni Topaz from her mind. Hoping she would soon be able to focus on the task at hand.
Stop it, Cheryl.
This isn't who you are. This isn't right.
Stop it now.
She spoke those three phrases over again, creating a mantra for herself, hoping that she could stop the thoughts and squash that part of her. It was the part of herself that she disliked the most. As much as she would never admit it to anyone else, there were many things she didn't particularly like about herself, and many things she knew others didn't like about her either.
Sometimes, she would catch herself thinking that, if she had friends and relatives that didn't like certain aspects of who she was as a person, then how could she ever expect someone like Antoinette to like and accept them?
She took a deep breath and steadied her anxieties, telling herself that it didn't really matter what someone like Antoinette thought, she could never be with her, her mother would never allow it, and would surely make her life miserable, besides, there was no saying that Toni even liked girls the same way she liked them.
She kept her eyes firmly on the page in front of her trying to make sense of the words written in the book, as her hand absentmindedly doodled on the page of her notebook.
None of the words registered in her brain, and that hadn't for quite some time now.
The short serpent girl had certainly had quite the effect on her.
She could already imagine the treatment she would get from her parents if her grades started slipping, nothing less than a 4.0 GPA was good enough for a Blossom.
A lilting laugh filtered through the air and into her ears. A laugh that whenever she heard it, caught her attention, and she'd heard it frequently in the last few weeks. Cheryl looked up from her book to see Toni throwing her head back and laughing at something one of the serpent boys had said to her.
God how she wanted to be the person to draw that laugh from Toni, to be the one to make her smile; she was sure that it was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. She could have looked at it all day.
A pair of fingers snapping on front of her eyes pulled her away from her daydreams. "Cheryl, are you okay?" Veronica asked, her dark eyebrows furrowing tightly over her eyes. "You seem so out of it today," She commented.
Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "Uh, yeah… I'm fine," She stammered, she gave the dark-haired girl a quick, faltering smile.
"What are you looking at?" Veronica asked, "You seem distracted."
"I'm fine. I'm a little tired, but I'm fine," Cheryl lied with a small shrug.
"Okay…" Veronica replied unsure.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I was just talking about something that Archie said to me last night, and I wanted you opinion on it," She explained, "I've told Betty and she says that I'm thinking way too much into it. But I wanted a second opinion."
"Do you really think I am qualified to do that?" Cheryl asked, "You're talking to someone who has never had a relationship."
"I know, but you're fairly good at looking into things, whereas Betty just seems to see the Archie of it all and tell me not to worry about it. I know that you will step away from the fact that Archie said it and just look at what was said."
Cheryl nodded her head, trying her hardest to follow what Veronica was saying, but her mind was on one thing, and one thing alone. She didn't care what Archie had or hadn't said, or what he had or hadn't meant when he had or hadn't said it.
Veronica's words seemed to muffle and fade into nothingness
Her eyes moved away from Veronica's face to the pink haired girl sitting at the table behind her. She felt a slight blush creep onto her cheeks when she caught Toni looking at her. A small smirk pulled at Toni's lips. Cheryl gave her a small smile in return, and felt the blush in her cheeks get more intense when Toni quirked an eyebrow at her.
Somewhere in the distance, she could hear Veronica's voice slightly, "So what do you think? Am I being stupid? Should I apologise to him?" There was a beat of silence before Veronica snapped her fingers in front of Cheryl's face once more, bringing her attention back.
"What?" Cheryl snapped.
"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?" Veronica asked, turning around to look over her shoulder just in time to see Toni look down at her notebook, before continuing to scribble away. Veronica turned back to Cheryl wide eyed, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of on coming traffic. "Wait are you into Toni?"
Cheryl shook her head, "What? No," She replied, almost too quickly for her own liking.
"Oh my god, you totally are," She smiled, "You are so into Toni."
Cheryl shushed the other girl, motioning with her hands for her to bring her volume down. Yes she was into Toni, she was so into Toni and she hadn't even spoken to her. But the last thing she wanted was to Toni to know that Cheryl had never feared rejection so much before in her life.
She had never feared rejection before, period.
"Veronica, I assure you I am not into Toni, at all," She replied, her tone harsh.
"Okay, okay," Veronica replied, holding her hands up, "There would be nothing wrong with that though. She is an extremely attractive girl, I can definitely see the appeal, that and it's okay to be gay, Cheryl."
Veronica was one of the first people Cheryl came out to, and she had been terrified to do so after everything that her mother had said to her growing up, but the dark haired girl had been nothing but supportive of her, after telling Veronica, she had started to open up to more people.
Betty had been second, then Archie, then Jughead, and lastly Jason (who she had been most worried about), she soon learnt she didn't have much to worry about at all though, all of them had been supportive.
Though Jason had taken a while to adjust to the thought of his sister being with a woman.
Soon enough, word had spread around Riverdale high, until pretty much everyone knew that Cheryl Blossom was a lesbian, she was fairly sure now that the only people that didn't know, where the South Siders and, of course, her parents.
Cheryl scowled at the dark-haired girl, "I know that… Well, sometimes I know that" She admitted, "But I am not into her," There was a beat of silence as Veronica gave Cheryl a disbelieving look, "Besides, even if I was into her, it wouldn't work. We're high different people, and I know my parents would never approve of me being with someone on the South Side."
Veronica shrugged, "So, Romeo and Juliet's parents didn't approve either, and they had arguable one of the best love stories ever told."
Cheryl sighed and rolled her eyes, "Not true, Romeo and Juliet is a story about two dumb kids whose 'love' lasted three days and involved six people dying, face it they were horny and stupid."
"Well thank you for that," Veronica replied, "I didn't say they were the epitome of couple goals, I just said they arguably have one of the best love stories ever told," She sighed, "But either way I was just trying to prove a point."
"And you did prove a point," Cheryl replied with a beaming smile, "You proved my point. If you picked up a book and didn't focus so much on what a throwaway comment meant these things wouldn't happen to you."
"Or you could stop being so pedantic over everything, and you know what I was trying to get at. Besides you wouldn't know if what Archie said was a throwaway comment or not, because you were too busy drooling over Toni."
"I was not drooling over Toni," Cheryl replied, "I don't drool over people, they drool over me," She replied with an air of arrogance to her tone of voice.
"If you say so," Veronica chuckled, "There is nothing wrong with admitting to liking someone, you can admit to being the drooler for a change."
"I'll admit it when it's true," Cheryl replied, her voice barely above a mumble.
"Okay…" Veronica trailed off, she sighed and looked down at her notebook, "This has been the least productive study hall of all time," She complained, looking up at Cheryl, who seemed to be busy at work, scribbling in her notebook. "I am gonna go get a drink, do you want anything?"
Cheryl nodded her head slowly, never taking her eyes off of the page, "Please," She replied.
"What do you want?"
Cheryl shrugged, "I don't know. Surprise me."
Cheryl watched as Veronica walked away from her. When the dark-haired girl was out of sight, she sighed and looked back down at her work, and continued to add shading to one of her sketches, she knew that in reality she should be using her study hall periods for better things.
She had mounds and mounds of work to do, she hadn't even started her history assignment yet, and she didn't want to think about how close the due date was. Really she should be using this time to start working on it, but just like in that class her mind was elsewhere, and it was definitely starting to show.
Veronica couldn't have been gone for more than thirty seconds before Cheryl felt someone standing beside her.
"You know, it's very rude to stare at people," Toni teased, looking down at her. She quickly closed her notebook and looked up to see the other girl standing beside her chair, a small smirk on her face.
God how Cheryl wanted to remove that look from her face, only this time, she found herself wanting to remove with kisses rather than the harsh slap she would usually dish out to anyone who looked this arrogant.
"I wasn't staring."
"No. No, you were just leering?" Toni asked, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips, Cheryl narrowed her eyes at the pink-haired girl, causing a deep crease to settle on her forehead. "I'm just fucking with," Toni explained with a light chuckle.
"You're not as funny as you think you are," Cheryl retorted, "Besides, I don't think you can talk about anyone else when you were staring at me the exact same way."
Toni shrugged, "Oh, no, I was leering… see I can admit it," She smiled again and Cheryl felt a blush creep into her cheeks at the very thought of Toni looking at her in any kind of way other than indifference.
"Let me guess, you're… fucking with me again?" Cheryl asked, almost scared to hear Toni's reply in case she told her that it was just another joke.
Toni shook her head slowly, "No. I was definitely watching you," She admitted before moving to take the seat next to Chery, "You're ridiculously pretty, and I'm only human," She shrugged.
"Thank you I am very flattered," Cheryl replied sardonically, "But I don't need validation from anyone, so if that's all you're here for feel free to leave."
Toni shook her head, "I'm not here for that, it was just an observation," She explained.
"Oh," Cheryl felt her usual confidence slipping away slightly, "Then why are you here?"
"So, I am helping Fangs and Sweet Pea study," She explained pointing over to the two dark haired boys sitting at the table she had moved from, both boys gave them uneasy waves as Cheryl looked over, "But it's proving pretty hard without any decent notes… So they sent me over here to see if you had any notes that I could borrow," She admitted turning her mouth down slightly, "I promise that you'll get them back, ASAP."
"You came over here just to borrow notes from me?" She asked, her tone coming out much harsher than she had intended it to. She wasn't annoyed with Toni, not even a little but, she was more annoyed at herself for assuming that Toni actually wanted to talk to her and get to know her. "Why?"
"Well, I sort of didn't take any," She divulged, "Neither did they, and trying to help them without any decent resources and references it the hardest thing I have ever had to do."
"Why didn't any of you take any, too lazy to care?" She asked, suddenly hearing so much of her mother in her own choice of words and hating herself for it profusely.
"Let's just say that I was pretty distracted in that class," she smirked, her eyes firmly locked with Cheryl's, "I have been getting distracted in a lot of classes that I have with you," She husked. Her tone of voice let Cheryl know exactly what she meant.
Her heart rate picked up slightly, and it became harder and harder for her to breath, she was used to people wanting her and admiring her, but they were usually the boys in her class and she never had any interest in them.
This was different.
Exciting.
It screamed a world of possibilities at her, and that scared her more than she had ever thought it would, as well as excitement and lust coursing through her body. Panic set in deep.
She shouldn't want this.
Couldn't want this.
She knew exactly what would happen to her if she did.
But right now, the feeling of attraction, the excitement of wanting someone, that actually might want her back, seemed to outweigh any negative feelings and any apprehensions she might have in regard to her mother's feelings.
They'd eaten in an eerie silence, the only thing Cheryl could hear was Nick's obnoxiously loud chewing and swallowing; she tried her best to blank it out, focusing on anything else, but that day it seemed to be louder than usually and it annoyed her even more than usually.
She hated evenings like this, they seemed to be a regular occurrence for them. When she and Nick had first got together, they could talk for house, or more to the point, Nick could talk for hours, always about himself and Cheryl could and would listen, she would listen to anything and everything he had to say.
But now their evenings (and sometime their days), seemed to be filled with silence and tension. She wondered how far into their relationship things had changed with out her really knowing it.
For most of the evening, Cheryl hadn't been able to think about what Nick had said to her for most of the evening, it had been running around in mind in circles, as she cleaned away the trash, as she cleaned the house (and of course she had been the one throw the trash away and clean the house, Nick seemed to believe that it was a woman's job to clean. It was one of the many ways that he was like her father).
His words had seeped back into her brain and no matter what she did to remove them from her mind, and convince herself that he'd meant nothing by them, she failed, and her heart sank lower in her stomach as she thought about what her fiancé had said to her.
One of your most undesirable traits.
One of.
One.
Did she have more than one undesirable quality? Had she not grown at all from her bitchy days at high school? Had she not changed for the better the way she thought she had? Or had he simply just phrased it that way?
If she did have more then, what were they? Was it something she could change, or even control a little better? She was sure, that her most undesirable quality had been pushed out of her a long time ago.
But she also knew better than to ask.
She had gotten used to being told she was overthinking the things that Nick had said to her. She had come to believe him now, after all, if he honestly thought that way about her, why would he be marrying her?
She was sure that once again she was overthinking this.
"You're quiet," Nick's voice pulled her from her musings, she turned her head to face him, trying to give her fiancé her undivided attention. His jaw was tensed slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed, "Any reason?"
Cheryl shook her head slowly, "No," She replied with a small shrug, "Just thinking."
"About?" He asked, his tone harsh.
She shrugged again, "A lot of things," She lied.
He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Are you still annoyed about moving here?" He asked, "Because this really is what's best for us, Cheryl."
She shook her head, "No, I'm not annoyed about being back here," She replied, and she wasn't, not anymore, not really. What she was annoyed about was running into all of her old friends at Pop's, being back around her parents and having to spend time with her mother, but the thing that annoyed her the most, was the constant thoughts of running into the last person she would ever want to see anywhere. "I just miss Manhattan, I guess."
"So, go back there in a couple of weeks, don't shut me out," He all but snapped, "Tell me what is wrong."
"I'm just stressed, Nick, moving here, the new business venture, I don't know it's a lot to take in, especially all in one space of time."
He nodded his head slowly, "It is a lot, and I am stressed too, maybe more so. But trust me," He replied, kissing her on the cheek, "This really is better for us," He smiled at her, before moving his kisses towards her jawline, "We have a better and bigger house, it's going to be easier living here, and we're going to have so much more privacy having our own estate."
She felt him smirk against her skin, and her stomach knotted slightly.
She shifted her head slightly, moving his lips away from her neck, to give him a soft, chaste kiss in return, in one quick motion, his hand made it's way to the back of Cheryl's neck, and slid up to her hair as he desperately tried to deepen the kiss.
He bit on her lip gently, emitting a small gasp from the red-haired woman, he took the opportunity to push his tongue into her slightly open mouth.
The action made Cheryl roll her eyes slightly, and she was just thankful that his eyes had remained closed; she knew he wouldn't take too kindly to see her roll her eyes during a time like this.
It wasn't that she disliked kissing Nick, she'd been kissing him for years now, and had never had an issue with it. It was just, sometimes she wished he wouldn't be so rushed in kissing her, she always found it too sloppy, and hot in a heated passionate way.
He pulled away from her and gave her a questioning look, "Is everything okay?" He asked, "It feels like you're holding back tonight?"
"No. Everything is fine," She replied, he smiled and instantly resumed kissing her, placing his hand on her thigh, and using his body weight to push back onto the couch.
She could feel her stomach knotting aggressively in anticipation, the same way it always did whenever Nick wanted to be intimate with her. She always figured that it was normal to anticipate sex. She had never felt any different to this with Nick, even from the first night the slept together.
This was just how it was with him.
His teeth sank into her bottom lip harshly, and he pulled at it, before soothing the stinging with his tongue and pushing it back into her mouth, the quick, rough action made Cheryl fight against a wretch as his tongue caught her off guard.
She could feel his coarse stubble rubbing against her skin as the kissed, she really wished he would shave more often, and try to get a much closer shave than he usually did. She had never been a fan of facial hair. She just felt that that the feeling of stubble against her skin killed the mood.
She was yet to find someone who agreed with her; most of her friends preferred stubble and a more rugged man.
His hand slowly moved further up her thigh, his lips latched onto her neck in sloppy kisses and piercing bites, he squeezed her thigh roughly, Cheryl gasped and pushed his hand away harshly, moving herself away from his kisses.
"What is wrong now?" Nick asked, his breathing slightly ragged.
"Nothing," Cheryl replied.
Nick smirked and shook his head slowly before reconnecting his lips to Cheryl's, he quickly moved his kisses from her lips to her neck, biting harshly into her porcelain skin.
She knew it was bound to leave a mark. He often liked to leave his mark on her. Telling her it was just his way of marking his territory.
His territory.
As his hand inched up her thigh again, her stomach lurched slightly, she pushed him away from her, and sat up, dark eyes locking with his green. "Nick I am really not in the mood right now, okay?" Cheryl groaned. Her thigh and neck still stinging from before.
He sighed in exasperation, "Oh come on, Cheryl. When are you ever in the mood these days?" He asked, "I am your fiancé, and it feels like you don't like me being anywhere near you."
"You're being ridiculous," Cheryl replied rolling her eyes.
"I'm not being ridiculous, I think right now I am being completely rational," He snapped, "If anyone is being ridiculous here it's you."
She nodded her head slowly and pursed her lips, "Of course it is, because it's always my fault. It can't ever be you can it?" She asked sardonically, almost instantly regretting her words.
Nick scoffed, "I am not the one pushing my fiancé away, I am not the one who has been acting cold for weeks now, all of this is you, Cheryl," She tore her dark eyes away from him and looked down at the floor. "Don't you dare look away from me when I am talking to you."
She looked back up at him and swallowed hard, taking in his tense jaw, and his green eyes that flashed with rage. He didn't like to be told no, he had never liked to be told no, Cheryl had learnt that a long time ago.
"Nick, I am sorry for pushing you away, but I just don't want to right now," She mumbled, "I promise later," She took a deep breath, "But right now I just want to do something else."
He pushed himself up from the couch and let out an exasperated groan, "Do you know how frustrating all of this is for me?" He asked, "When all I do is love you, and want to show you how much I love you, but you won't let me touch you?"
"I get that, really I do, and like I said I promise you, we will later bu—"
"Later?" He scoffed, cutting her off from what she had been saying, He scowled at her, and took a step closer to her, bending down until his face was mere inches from hers, "What about what I need right now?" He asked, "Or do my needs not matter?"
She nodded her head slowly, "Th- they matter," Cheryl replied, her voice much softer than it had been before.
"Then why make me wait so long?" He asked, "You always do this to me," He sighed, pausing as his green eyes scanned her face, "You know how uncomfortable it is for me, when you get me so hard and won't do anything about it."
He'd said it to her multiple times, and since she had no point of reference, all she could do was take his word for it, the thought of causing anyone discomfort or pain sent guilt washing through her. She nodded her head as a silent response to him, and watched as a small, satisfied smile started to creep onto his face.
"I'm sorry," Her voice came out barely above a whisper, "We can to it now."
Within seconds he had made his way on top of her, hand tangled in her hair, teeth sinking into her pulse point and his free hand gripping at her thigh roughly.
She wandered if it was supposed to be this way.
The pleading, the coercion, the guilt.
She knew she wouldn't have much time to think it through.
She knew the act in itself wouldn't take long.
With Nick it never did.
Cheryl had always loved Riverdale in the early fall, everything always looked so beautiful, leaves turning from green, to red and orange, filling Riverdale with just a dash more colour than usually. As an artist, she couldn't help but notice the beauty in the smallest things, the rustling of trees and bushes, the soft breeze that blew around their outdoor table, the sound of a small group of children playing in the country club; having brunch outside was one of her favourite ways to spend a September morning in the quiet little town.
It helped to calm her, helped make her feel weightless in an otherwise stressful, and pressure filled environment, being back here had already started to take it's toll on her and it hadn't even been a week yet.
Being away from her friends, and her socialite lifestyle, to be back in the one-horse-town she grew up, spending most of her days with her godforsaken mother, and soon to be sister-in-law while her fiancé worked all day was not the life she had ever imagined for herself.
Especially not when she had been younger, not when she had been with her.
This had never been the life they had wanted. It wasn't the life they had planned together.
She had seen herself in the city, with the girl from the South Side, both of them working any job that would help them pay the bills while they worked on portfolios so they could work in the industry they both cared about, Cheryl with her painting, and Toni with her photography.
They'd spent most of their nights talking about it, picturing them living in tiny studio apartment somewhere, getting by as best they could, making do with what they had, promising each other, that as long as they were together; nothing else mattered.
She had been foolish to think that would ever happen.
The city was where she belonged, of that much she was sure, but she had always been destined for the finer things in life, money, luxuries, having money to spare- not what she had planned with her.
She needed what Nick could offer her.
Stability. Wealth. Normality.
She knew that now, she had been taught that at The Sister's, they had removed any childish ideologies that Cheryl had once had. They had shown her what she really needed in life.
Normality.
"So, how were they?" Nick asked, pulling Cheryl back into the conversation, she blinked her eyes a few times and realised that she had been looking off into the distance, at what she wasn't particularly sure, she sighed and turned her attention back to the people at the table.
Jason shrugged his shoulders, "We didn't really like any of them all that much, they weren't bad, but the ideas they pitched just seemed flat. They weren't what we wanted for our brand… they were just the same played out, overused ideas."
"In what way?" Nick asked.
"Well, they all wanted to go for obvious ideas, y'know just stereotypical things; a sweet elderly lady holding a plate of waffles in one hand, and a bottle filled with the products in the other. We personally didn't like it, Dad thought they were stupid."
"That's because it is stupid," Nick replied flatly, Cheryl wasn't sure if he actually believed what he was saying or if he was just hoping Jason would tell their dad what Nick had said and it would make him like Nick that bit more. "How hard can marketing be? Is everyone that works in that field an idiot?" He asked, his tone of voice scathing.
"No, they're not," Cheryl replied softly, before taking a sip of her mimosa, Nick turned his head to face her, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, Cheryl turned her head to face her fiancé, giving him a questioning look.
"What?"
"I said they're not idiots," She replied, "I majored in business management and finance, and I took some marketing classes, some of the smartest people I know were marketing majors, I also lived with one in my sorority house."
Nick opened his mouth to say something before Jason cut him off, "Are you still in contact with these people?" He asked.
"Some of them, yes."
"Do you think you could set up a meeting? Y'know should they want one," He asked, "I'd rather hire someone that you trust, and think is capable than risk some stranger," He admitted, "I am sure Dad would feel the same."
Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "I am almost certain I could arrange something, my little was a marketing major, she's highly intelligent and incredible creative," She smiled, turning to face Nick again, as if to make a point.
Nick scoffed, "Still, I don't think that it takes much in the brain department to get into the world of marketing… or finance," he smirked at Cheryl.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that after you bought your way into college and majored in music production you became the mastermind of all things business," She replied sardonically.
Unlike she and Jason, Nick had never had to work hard to claim his inheritance, Mr. St. Clair had promised it to him a long time ago as a birth right. The Blossoms hadn't wanted the same for their children, saying they could have a seat on the board, or take over the business only if they earned it.
Cheryl had known for some time that Nick had no experience in business, other than sitting in on a few meetings here and there. No one else had known that small detail though, until now.
Jason raised his eyebrows slightly, and suppressed a smile while Petunia looked down at her food, and tired her hardest not to laugh. Nick turned his head to face Cheryl, his jaw tensed, as anger flashed in his jade eyes.
In that moment, Cheryl knew that she had said and done the wrong thing.
The car ride home was deafeningly silent, Cheryl could feel her anxiety building inside of her body the closer they got to their home. Her body ran cold, and she found it hard to breath as she thought about was waiting for her the moment she walked through the door. Her heart rate increased, and a lump the size of a golf ball rose in her throat.
She should have known better than to antagonise Nick, she should have let him state his opinion and leave it at that, after all, it was just an opinion. But it was hard, especially when she and Jason, and so many of their friends had worked so hard for what they had when he was having the same thing handed to him.
She hated days like this, days where everything she said and did became an issue between them. For some time now, days like this seemed to be happening more frequently, at one point in their relationship, things had been great, perfect even; that had lasted for all of six months, the other four and a half years had been anything but perfect.
At this point they'd had fight, after fight, Nick always placing the blame on Cheryl, even on days when he'd done something to upset her and she'd had the nerve to tell him, their fights were always Cheryl's fault.
They seemed to fight multiple times a month (sometimes multiple times a week), but most couples that Cheryl knew fought like cat and dog- her mother and father had definitely done their fair share of fighting when she and Jason were children.
In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realised she couldn't remember a time when her parents hadn't been fighting.
Growing up, their parents had fought so regularly that she and Jason could sense a storm coming from the way one of them would walk into a room; and at some point in their childhood they had learnt the skill of counting down the seconds to a fight starting; they were never wrong in their estimations.
But they were still happy together, she was sure of it.
She fought with Nick now, and when she was younger, she had fought with her too.
Never to the extent she fought with Nick, never as aggressive, or as intense, never as devastatingly soul crushing either, with her, the fights had been fixed easy enough with a simple conversation and an apology from whoever was wrong.
It had been so much simpler back then, fights had been shorter, blame had never been placed and no one had ever been made to feel guilty for anything, and make-ups had been a lot better too.
She put that down to the age they'd been, so young, carefree and full of hopes and dreams for what could be. As soon as the thought of golden eyes, dark lips, and pink hair entered her head, she shook them from it again.
It might have been easier, but it wasn't right.
Disgusting.
Sinful.
Deviant.
What she had with Nick was the exact opposite to what she'd had with her. This was normal.
Normal.
Fighting with a partner was normal, too. It was just a part of life, no matter how regularly it happened, and it was something Cheryl was going to have to get used to, after all, she was going to be spending the rest of her life with him.
The rest of her life.
Life.
Forever.
She felt her stomach twist, and the golf ball like lump inch even further up her throat, the same way she always felt when thinking about a future with Nick.
Cold feet, Cheryl, that's all it is. Cold feet.
She'd been telling herself the same thing ever since that ring had been placed on her finger. Nerves about the future and marriage were normal too, but was it normal to feel physically sick at the thought of spending everyday with someone?
She knew she was going to have to get used to the feelings of anxiety, both from worrying about the next fight, or how Nick was going to react to anything that she did, and also nerves about getting married so young.
As soon as the car same to a standstill, Nick had unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed from the car, slamming the door behind him as he stormed up the garden and into the house, leaving Cheryl sitting alone in silence with her thoughts.
She took a deep breath trying to calm herself before stepping out from the car, and following him into the house, her legs shaking under her, threatening to collapse to the floor any second.
As soon as the door was closed behind her with a gentle click, Nick turned to face her in the hallway, "Why do you always have to act like that around other people?" He asked, throwing his jacket towards the door, just missing Cheryl.
Trying her hardest to keep a hold of herself she walked past him to the mirror that hung in the hallway, "Act like what?" She asked, keeping her eyes firmly on her reflection as she fixed her hair.
Her eyes shot up when she saw Nick standing behind her in the reflection, "Like a bitch," He replied harshly, spitting the words at her, like they had burned his mouth.
She turned to face her fiancé, her face inches away from his, "I'm sorry, what did you just call me?"
"I didn't call you anything, I said you acted like a bitch," He snarled, "Why would you belittle me like that in front of my new business partner and his fiancée?" He asked, "Why do you want them to think so little of me?"
Cheryl scoffed, "For the same reason you felt the need to be little me in front of my brother and future sister-in-law," She replied, "I did nothing wrong, all I did was stand up for myself and my friends, all I did was retaliate."
Nick scoffed and shook his head slowly, "Don't even try and turn this around and pin it on me," He snapped, "I didn't belittle you, I made a passing comment that not many people in marketing are smart, a comment your father seems to agree with according to Jason," He sighed, "See Cheryl, you have this way of making everything people say about you, I never mentioned you," He pointed at her. "You came up with that one all on your own because I happened to mention a small part of your major? You took offense at something that didn't even apply to you. But you did make a personal attack at me as a 'retaliation'," He shook his head again, "So maybe you think that about yourself and had to bring me down and try and say that I called you stupid."
She had been sure he'd called her stupid, she had been sure that at least some of his words had been meant for her. Had she been overthinking that too, just like she did with everything else?
"Nick I—"
"No. I get it. You took something out on me for no reason," He shrugged, "No big deal," He threw his keys onto the small table at the foot of the stairs, before walking away from the red-haired woman. Leaving her stood in the hallway of their home, with her thoughts running wild, her legs shaking, and a heavy nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Most of that day was spent in a tense silence, save for the passive aggressive, and scathing comments Nick would make towards Cheryl intermittently. Cheryl tried time and time again to apologise to the dark-haired man, but every time she tried, he would cut her off the same time way he had that morning.
Nick had made them lunch and served it to Cheryl (with yet another passive aggressive comment, of course), she had thanked him meekly before they had been plunged back into silence while they ate, the sound of the clock seeming to echo around the room, ticking in time with Cheryl's nervous heartbeat.
Cheryl tried to make conversation whenever she could, but she never had any luck, so in the end Cheryl settled for grabbing one of her many books from the bookcase while Nick watched a baseball game on TV.
Every once in a while, Cheryl would glance up from her book and turn her head to face Nick, watching as he typed away at his phone, keeping the screen blocked from her view. After her tenth time of looking at him, the dark-haired man sighed and put his phone down.
"What?" He snapped.
Cheryl swallowed hard, "Nothing," She replied meekly, "I just can't take this silent treatment anymore today, Nick," She admitted, "I am really sorry about this morning, you were right. I was wrong, and I shouldn't have embarrassed you like that."
He shrugged his shoulders, "No you shouldn't," He shook his head, "I don't want to marry a woman who is going to treat me like that and show me absolutely no respect."
"I know," She replied, "And I am really sorry, I won't do it again," She sighed, "I just need to know if we're okay?"
It was a question that ran around her whenever Nick gave her the silent treatment, before they loved together there were times that the silent treatment could last for days, with Cheryl trying to contact Nick, and Nick continuing to ignore her best efforts, but sending little message now and again about him going out, or little comments that would leave her mind reeling.
Since living together, keeping the silent treatment going was a little harder than it once had been, but it wasn't impossible.
Nick sighed, "Do you really need to ask that?" He snarled, Cheryl opened her mouth to speak before being cut off by Nick, "Do you think that low of me that you think we wouldn't be okay?"
"No, I'm just—"
"Yes, Cheryl we're fine, I'm just annoyed right now, and I need some space," He pushed himself up from the couch.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
"Where?" Cheryl asked, she knew from experience that in a town like Riverdale there wasn't much to do in terms of a thrilling night; especially if you didn't know many people, and Nick didn't know many people here at all.
Nick shrugged, "I don't know," He admitted, "But I'll find somewhere, I'll be home later don't wait up."
With that he headed to the door without looking back at his fiancée, leaving her with a heavy heart and her thoughts reeling in her head more than they had been before.
She spent the rest of the night alone, wondering where Nick could be and what he could be doing. She'd try to call him to find out when he would be home, but to no avail. Every time she called, he either let it go to voicemail or he declined the call.
In the end, she ate dinner alone, and continued to read her book until her eyes began to sting from being tired, she dragged herself up the stairs; changed, removed all her make-up, brushed her teeth and walked to the bedroom, checking her phone one last time in case she missed any form of contact from Nick.
She sighed when she saw the time and no word from the man she was going to be marrying.
To Nick: I am sorry about what I said and did earlier, I am sorry for asking dumb questions. I love you. Please stay safe wherever you are. She waited for a few more hours, continuing to read her book, her eyes burning and none of the words settling in her brain, hoping that soon Nick would reply to her text, and everything would go back to normal between them.
She checked her phone one last time, just to make sure she hadn't missed any messages from Nick, and also to check the time. When she saw there'd been no new updates, she locked her phone, closed her book and settled down for the night.
For the first time, in a long time, she left her phone on loud setting it down on her bedside cabinet, usually her phone would be put on silent, but when Nick was acting like this, and she was waiting for him to say something to her she couldn't not leave her phone on loud in fear of missing a text or call.
Next morning, she had woken to find Nick's side of the bed empty, with a note on his pillow.
Cheryl, I forgive you for how you acted yesterday.
I just needed some space and I am sorry for leaving
You in the dark.
Don't make me do it again?
Love you, Nick.
The second she read the note she breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't even known she was holding in, already feeling more positive for the day ahead of; Nick forgave her, he wasn't leaving her, and he still loved her.
These were things she needed and wanted to hear yesterday, but she figured they it was better to find out those things later than never find them out at all.
She grabbed her phone and sent him a quick good morning text, and wished him a good day, followed by a question asking where he had gotten to, of course.
She showered quickly, got dressed and did her make-up for the day, before heading down stairs to eat a quick bite of breakfast, doing all of this with a smile on her face for the first time since being back in Riverdale, feeling like maybe she didn't have to spend the day treading on egg shells.
That was until her phone buzzed along the table and she saw a familiar name appear on the screen, "Hello?"
"Hey you, so I need you to do me a favour," Jason sighed, cutting right to the point, he had never seen the need for pretence, and always liked to cut to the chase, he was very much like her in that sense.
"Does it involve me leaving the house?" Cheryl asked. She had been looking forward to being able to spend the day alone, they hadn't been back in Riverdale for long and already she had spent her days surrounded by people. She had hoped for a day to spend alone.
"Yes, it does," He replied, and though she couldn't see him, she knew he would be wearing a guilty smile and would be nodding his head slowly, she could tell just from the tone of his voice.
"Urgh, what is it?" She asked.
"Would you mind driving to my house and spending a day with Petunia, she really likes you and keeps talking about spending some time with you now you're back but she doesn't know how to approach you."
"She's a fully grown woman, I am sure she'd figure it out."
"Yeah eventually, but," He sighed and started to talk again, "Cheryl you intimidate her, I don't know why but you just do, so if you could make the first move and spend some time with her that would be great."
"Do I have to?"
"You don't have to, but I would sure like it if you did," He admitted, "You and Petunia are the most important people in my life, you have been my best friend, literally since the day we were born, and she is gonna be my wife. Pretty soon, actually, so as much as you don't have to, could you please, for me?"
Cheryl sighed and nodded her head slowly, "Fine," She replied, "I will spend some time with her today," She promised, "But what are you doing?" She asked, "You can sit there and say this is because you want us to like each other but it feels like you're just trying to make sure she isn't bored today while you?" She trailed off, leaving her question hanging in the air.
Jason chuckled, "Okay you got me, I am on my way to the country club, I'm gonna go play golf with Dad, Mr. St. Clair, and Nick," He admitted, "But it wont be strictly pleasure, we're gonna do some networking too, Nick said that he did some the other day when you shoed him around, but it doesn't hurt for all of us to go. Also, we thought it would be good to sign up Nick and his Dad."
"Golf, really?" Cheryl asked, "With Nick and Xander?" She scoffed and shook her head slowly, "I literally can't think of anything more boring," She admitted.
"You can't think of anything more boring than spending a day with your fiancé?" He teased.
Cheryl rolled her eyes despite him not being able to see her, "No. Than golfing with his Dad. Seriously, that man is one of the most boring individuals that I have ever met… Good luck."
"Good to know, but what do you plan on doing with Petunia while I'm out."
"I don't know, maybe some drugs, rob a bank, just girly stuff," Chery deadpanned.
"Come on I'm serious, I want you two to like each other, can you please try for me?"
"Sorry, I promise I will try, for you… but I don't really know her JJ, what kind of stuff does she like doing?"
"I don't know, take her to the mall, show her around, take her out to lunch. Do what you did with your friends back in New York," He replied.
"I could, only Riverdale sucks, in New York there were better stores, there was better food, and just all-round better things to do," She sighed.
"You're a smart girl you'll figure it out."
After her phone call with Jason, she had constructed a text to Petunia, making it seem like it was her idea for them to hang out for the day while the men were playing golf, Petunia had replied in no time at all accepting the invitation.
Within the hour Cheryl was in her car, driving the short distance from Hawthorn Manor to Jason and Petunia's (bigger) estate, Thorn Tree Court. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the day she had to spend with Petunia.
She honked her horn twice, signalling to the other woman that she was there to pick her up. Within seconds the blonde was bounding out of the house and heading towards Cheryl's car with a bright, beaming smile on her face.
Cheryl mustered the best smile she could waving at the blonde before rolling her eyes behind her shades. Feeling thankful that Petunia wouldn't be able to see the small action.
She figured that Petunia was attractive enough; tall, slender, straight blonde hair with bangs, piercing blue eyes, and always looking so glamorous and perfectly made up. Exactly the kind of woman she knew her mother would have picked for Jason.
The perfect trophy wife, for any budding business mogul.
She couldn't help but smile at how both she and Jason had strayed away from the typical red hair the Blossoms liked to keep in their family. She had always found it odd how they liked to keep the genetic pool red, with the exception being her uncle Hal and her cousins, Betty and Polly.
However much their mother loved Petunia, she was not the type of woman that Cheryl had seen Jason going for. She had always seen her brother being with someone more authentic.
But she knew that she wasn't one to judge. She knew that no one, other than her uptight, high conservative family had ever expected her to be with someone like Nick St. Clair.
Even she hadn't thought she would ever be with someone like Nick, until she met him, their relationship had moved fast, and she had been dedicated to him since the night she met him.
At one time in her life, she had wanted something very different to Nick, in more ways than one.
"Hey," The sound of Petunia's voice seemed to pierce Cheryl's ears and pull her from her thoughts, she had never noticed just how high pitched and grating it was before. But now she had to spend a whole day with her, and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to handle it for long.
But then she thought of Jason, and what he'd said about them being the two most important people in his life and how much it meant to him for them to be close.
As much as she loved her brother, sometimes she really disliked him, and how he was able to get her to agree to just about anything.
She'd spent the car ride listening to Petunia talking excitedly about her wedding with Jason, her arms waving around animatedly, her eyes and voice soft every time she mentioned the red-haired man.
Halfway through her rambling Cheryl felt herself zoning out, Petunia's words fading into the distance as thoughts of her own engagement and Nick seemed to slowly creep through her mind, like a thick, dense fog.
Cheryl couldn't help but wonder if everyone was supposed to feel the way Petunia did about marriage and their partner, or were Petunia and Jason the lucky ones? Or worse still were they the normal ones and was what Cheryl and Nick had, and what their parents so clear had wrong.
She shook the thoughts from her head, telling herself that each relationship is different and that for the most part, love and marriage are a case by case scenario, you shouldn't look at what you have and compare it to what someone else has.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realised that Petunia was no longer talking at her, but was instead talking to her, she shook her head slowly, "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked, giving the blonde a small smile.
"I was asking if you and Nick have started to actually pick venues and set a date for the wedding?"
Cheryl shook her head slowly, "No, we haven't really spoken about anything to do with the wedding since the actual proposal, I think we're just taking it easy, and letting it play it out."
"Letting it play out?" She asked with a small chuckle, "God the second Jason had that ring on my finger I started planning stuff, I am locking that man down." She admitted.
"Oh, and Nick isn't?"
"No. No, he is," She answered, her voice slightly unsure, she hoped Petunia hadn't caught it, "What I mean is we're taking it slow, personally, I am in no rush to have the actual wedding," She sighed, she could feel Petunia's blue eyes burning into her face, she turned her head slightly to see the blonde looking at her with confusion etched on her face.
"Why wait though?" Petunia asked as Cheryl pulled into the parking lot of the mall, "I mean, you love each other, right?" She asked, Cheryl nodded her head mechanically, "Then why wait, I am so excited to be a Blossom and get to begin the next part of my life with Jason."
"And that's great for you and JJ, it really is, and I am so happy for you both, but Nick and I decided we'd wait, I kind of like having a fiancé," She chuckled, "There's something about the word husband that really freaks me out."
It was true, she had toyed around with the word in her head before, and when she was home alone she had toyed around with saying it, pretending to introduce him to people as my husband Nick, but it never felt right to her, something about the word seemed to weigh her down.
It had been the same way with boyfriend, she had never liked saying it.
"Yeah, I get that, but don't you want to be a wife?"
Yes.
Yes Cheryl did want to be a wife, and she wanted a marriage and a family of her own and she wanted the white picket fence, kids and pets, she wanted all of it, and she knew she did, she had known for some time that she wanted all of that.
But, she had never planned any of that with Nick.
She had never really given thought to a husband being in that mix, even when she was a child, she had never liked the idea of a husband and she still didn't now.
Again Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "Yeah, of course I want to be a wife, and have a family of my own, but like I said—"
"Then why waste time?" Petunia asked cutting her off.
"I'm not wasting time, trust me," Cheryl forced a smile, "I just like living for the now, I guess. Besides, the wedding I want is going to take a lot of planning, because it needs to be perfect."
Petunia smiled slowly, "Yeah. Jason said you were sort of a perfectionist and that everything has to be just so."
"I wouldn't say perfectionist." she replied, "I would say I'm a girl who knows how to get what she wants and doesn't stop until she gets it."
After they had walked around the mall for a couple of hours, Petunia buying almost everything she saw, and Cheryl buying nothing the red-haired woman decided it was time for some lunch.
"So, what's so great about this place?" Petunia asked, as they walked into Pop's Diner, "I mean, Jason always talks about this place he says that it was great when you guys were kids, and he always talks about bringing me here, but never has."
"Well, I don't want to build your hopes up," Cheryl admitted, "It's just your average diner, they do some great burgers though, and the milkshakes are to die for. This was honestly the one thing I missed about Riverdale."
"Oh, so not your parents and Jason?"
Cheryl shook her head slowly, "No, they came to visit me regularly enough that I didn't miss them at all," She admitted with a shrug, "I mean, I missed my friends a little, but what I really wanted was food from Pop's. New York does some good burgers, but there's no place like home, right?"
Petunia smiled and nodded her head slowly, "Right, I mean, there's lots of little places like this back home that I miss."
Cheryl realised that as long as she had known Petunia, she had no idea where she w\s actually from, she had never thought to ask, ever. She had always been too preoccupied catching up with Jason or blocking out with the older women around her had to say.
"Where is home?" She asked.
"Washington DC," She replied with a small smile, "I do miss it sometimes, but like you said, I go home regularly, my parents come up here regularly, so I don't miss them. I just miss the little things."
Cheryl nodded her head, "Yeah, I get that" She admitted, there were little things she had missed about Riverdale, little things she wondered if she would ever get the chance to experience them again.
She missed everything Sunny Side Trailer Park, how it smelt after a rain storm, how loud it was there, the atmosphere, the people, she had spent many days there when she was younger, and looking back, she wasn't entirely sure just what they had all spent their time there doing, after all, there wasn't much to do on the South Side at all.
But when she was younger, it had never really been about where she was, but the people she had been with, people that had made her feel like she belonged for the first time in her life.
As they came to stand at the counter, the elderly man made his way over to them, wearing a bright smile as his eyes fell onto the red-haired woman, "Back again?" Pop asked with a slight chuckle, "I don't see you for years and now I can't get rid of you."
Cheryl shrugged and smiled at the man, "Well what can I say, I'm a sucker for some good food," She smiled before pointing the blonde beside her, "This is Petunia, Jason's fiancée," She informed him, "And she has never had one of your burgers before."
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you," Pop smiled, "I best make these burgers the best ones yet huh?" He asked grinning, "I'm guessing you're having the usual, Cheryl?"
"Sure am, and Petunia will have?" She asked turning to face the other woman.
"Uh, I guess I'll have the same, if it's the usual, it must be good."
"Okay, two double cheeseburgers, fries, and strawberry malts, with extra syrup and cream coming up," He grinned, just take a seat and I'll bring it over for you when it's ready."
With that he walked into the kitchen leaving the two women standing by the counter, Cheryl looked around the almost empty room before walking over to one of the booths at the back of diner, by a large window.
"The usual?" She smiled, "I am guessing that you came here a lot if you have a usual and he still remembers it?" Petunia asked.
Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "Yes, when I was younger I used to come here most days with my friends, sometimes we just had some milkshakes, or coffee, but sometimes we'd have dinner, too," She explained, "That and I brought Nick here a couple of days ago and my order hadn't changed."
"This is where you and your friends used to hang out?" Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "Wow Riverdale really does suck doesn't it?"
Cheryl nodded once again, "Yeah it does, I mean, this wasn't the only place I used to hang out with my friends, but it was one of them," She smiled, "There were other things I did."
"What about Jason?" She asked, "I mean, I already know a lot of stuff about him, but I wanted to get to know him from someone that really knows him," Petunia smiled, "What was he really like growing up?"
Cheryl shrugged, "I don't really know what to tell you," She admitted, "He was a lot like he is now, and were best friends we always have been, but we had our own friends in high school, so, I can't really tell you much."
Petunia nodded her head slowly, "Jason never said you ran in different circles."
"Well for a long time we didn't, and then, I made some friends that Jason wasn't as close with. There were some kids that had to transfer to different schools in the district when there's got closed down due to funding, and when they transferred we didn't get along at first but eventually, I started to talk to them and got really close to them."
Some more than others.
"Jason never mentioned that."
Cheryl shrugged, "Well that's what happened, and through me being close with them, Jason got to know some of them, but he never spent the time with them that I did. But, we liked it that way."
Petunia nodded her head slowly, "But through it all, Jason was still your best friend?"
Not quite.
"Yeah, pretty much," Cheryl replied.
Petunia opened her mouth to say something before she was cut off by someone from behind their table.
"Cheryl?" her head snapped up at the familiar, husky voice, she felt her heart rate quicken as her eyes locked on Toni Topaz, who stood mere feet away at the counter, her eyes locking in on Cheryl.
In that moment, everything seemed to freeze, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and could feel a lump growing in her throat.
She hadn't seen this woman in six years, and now that she had, she looked even better than Cheryl remembered. Her face thinned with maturity; her jawline much more defined than it had been when they were younger. Her lips, no longer as chapped as she had always remembered them, her lipstick a lighter shade of the same pink-purple hue she had always worn.
Her eyes just as big, brown, and beautiful as Cheryl remembered them to be. Her hair, still pink, she guessed some things never changed, she hated to admit it, but she thought that she'd have been sad if that had.
She couldn't take her eyes off of the vision in front of her, and just like that, she seemed to be transported back to the first time she had seen her in the halls of Riverdale. The same nervous nausea in her stomach, the same pounding in her chest.
Everything took her back to that day.
The sound of a nasally voice beside her pulled her out of her trance, "Who's this? How do you know her?" Petunia asked, turning to face Cheryl, who sat beside her, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.
Cheryl looked at Petunia, confusion etched on her face; it wasn't hard to see why, everything about Toni screamed the opposite of Cheryl, the ripped jeans that were so tight they looked painted to her legs, the light blue plaid shirt tied haphazardly around her waist, and her low cut tank top, showing off an ample amount of her breasts. Her look completed by her signature black boots and a leather jacket.
"Cheryl, who is she?" Petunia asked as Cheryl turned back to Toni, her eyes growing wider and wider as the black girl approached them.
"Cheryl. What are you doing here?" her voice shook slightly, "Where have you been. Why are you back?" she asked, all her words coming out in a stuttered ramble. She looked between Cheryl and the stunned blonde sitting beside her. "Who are you?" she asked. Her eyes growing sad.
"I'm—"
"Leaving." Cheryl replied, standing up and stepping away from the booth. "You look great, Antoinette, it was good to see you." she gave her a tight-lipped smile. "See you around." she said, walking away from the other two girls before Petunia could even stand from her seat.
Toni stood rooted to the spot as she watched the blonde-haired woman trail after Cheryl, her eyebrows knitted tightly as she gave Toni a questioning look.