"Toni?"

…

It had to be a dream. It had to be an extremely vivid, lucid dream.

In what world would Cheryl Blossom be living in a run down apartment, in the middle of nowhere?

Toni had so many questions.

Had she found her somehow? Had she kept the letter, and decided now was the time to visit the return address? Or was she here by chance? Had the universe worked it's magic and thrown them back together again? Was Cheryl as gobsmacked as Toni was?

It seemed so.

"Cheryl… I-" Her words were lost on her tongue. How could she possibly speak when the love of her life had somehow appeared in front of her, after two years, in a place where she thought she would never be found?

"What are you doing here?" Toni asked, trying her best to conceal the shakiness of her voice.

Seeing Cheryl again made everything come rushing back for Toni. It felt like the first time. It felt like the chilly, December afternoon when Cheryl Blossom had entered The Whyte Wyrm, following closely behind Jughead, with her face screwed up in disgust.

See, with Cheryl and Toni, it was never a question of 'if' it was always a question of 'when'.

"My, Jughead, you do bring us to the loveliest of places. Which crackden are we visiting next week?" Cheryl questioned, eyes scanning the room. She critiqued every single person in her head, and toyed around with some nicknames. She kept them to herself though, deciding that Jughead probably wouldn't appreciate it if she vocalised her opinions. She would hate to admit it, but she was actually rather pleased that she was being included in their outings. A lot of the time, she felt pushed out by 'The Core Four', but it seemed they were making an effort with her these days and it meant a lot to her.

She would never tell them that, though.

Veronica's arm was looped with hers, and Cheryl could tell the raven haired girl was trying to hold back her giggles.

Betty and Jughead were leading the pack, of course, and Archie was following close behind. Even though they were visiting The Southside more frequently now, Archie was still weary of The Serpents. That was probably due to what had been drilled into his brain though.

It was Cheryl's first time at The Whyte Wyrm, and Jughead made than obvious when he introduced her, and only her, to one of his friends. She assumed that Toni Topaz, had met the rest of the gang before.

"Toni, this is Cheryl Blossom. Cheryl, Toni Topaz." Jughead introduced the pair, and he cringed as soon as he spoke, like he was waiting for Cheryl to say something out of line.

Cheryl could have swore she heard soft gasps from her friends when, instead of insulting the girl or putting her foot in her mouth, she complimented her.

Cheryl leant against the bar as she spoke. "Pleasure, and can I just say? I love those pants. Albeit, a tad edgy for my taste."

"Well, uh, thank you?" Toni said, and her eyes locked with Jughead, who simply shrugged. He had given Toni a warning about Cheryl, and how she often didn't keep her thoughts to herself, and honestly? It intrigued Toni.

Cheryl intrigued Toni.

And as the evening went on, Cheryl found herself perched on a bar stool, chatting to Toni as the others played pool at the other side of the bar. For some reason, she had declined the offer to join them, and instead decided to 'keep their new friend company.' Blood red nails tapped on the hardwood of the bar, as Toni poured a couple of drinks for the few customers that were present.

"Can I ask why you're in a gang? I mean, your flannel mesh aesthetic gives off slightly thuggish vibes, but you're a little on the small side." Cheryl pondered.

"You wouldn't believe the things I'm capable of, Bombshell… And don't call me a thug, or I might have to show you." Toni told her with a smirk, a challenging look in her eyes.

Cheryl matched her smile, as her fingers placed her straw in between her lips before taking a long sip from her Cola. Toni had explained they didn't have cherry flavour. Obviously, this displeased the redhead and she asked if they had a suggestion box.

Toni told her she didn't, but apparently she found the question hilarious because she couldn't stop a giggle slipping past her lips.

Toni didn't giggle.

Jughead knew this.

Jughead observed the pair, and gave a roll of his eyes.

He could see where this was going.

…

A huff. A deep frown. An angry Cheryl Blossom.

Toni could handle Cheryl. She could handle Cheryl better than most people, but she hadn't handled her in over two years and now she was caught completely off guard, so when the redhead starting to rant and yell at her, all she could do was stand frozen on the spot.

"What am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here? I can't believe this, Toni. This is where you ran away to? This is the place that you decided was so much better than home?"

Little did Cheryl know, home to Toni Topaz, was Cheryl Blossom.

Cheryl went on, "I- I really didn't mean anything to you, did I? What is it? Are you cohabitating with someone? Is that why you left? You know what? I actually don't want to know. I haven't thought about you in.. In two years."

A lie, of course.

"So, I'm not going to start now. Ah ah." Cheryl put her hand up in front of Toni's face as the other girl was about to speak. "Conversation over. Goodnight, Toni."

Cheryl reacted to her heartbreak the best way she knew how, with defence mechanisms and harsh words. Everything had happened so fast, that Cheryl still wasn't sure if the entire scene that had just happened was in her imagination or not.

She slammed the door to her apartment behind her, and slid down the wall slowly as she cried silent tears for Toni Topaz.

It wouldn't be the first time.

Unbeknownst to Cheryl, Toni was doing the exact same thing across the hall.

Cheryl looked like a dream. After not seeing her for so long, Toni wondered if she could actually be as beautiful as Toni was imagining her. Toni thought that no one could possibly so effortlessly stunning, but Cheryl was. It had been years, and the Cheryl who lived in Toni's mind didn't hold a candle to Cheryl in the flesh.

Everything happened so fast.

Toni couldn't have spoken if she wanted to.

So many thoughts were rushing through her mind. One moment, she was seeing Cheryl again and the next she was being told that the conversation was over. It didn't seem like much of a conversation at all, and from how things had just gone, Toni doubted they would have a conversation anytime soon.

One thing that was confirmed though, was that Cheryl hadn't come looking for Toni.

It was self centered of her to even consider that option.

The confirmation only left Toni with more questions though.

The main one being: What the hell was she doing here?

Was she okay? What was she running from? Was she running at all?

After everything the pair had been through, and as angry as Cheryl was with Toni, she hoped she was okay too. She hoped that Toni had found whatever it was that she was looking for. She hoped that she was safe, although she questioned that given the place that she was living in. Cheryl certainly didn't feel safe, because as she sobbed she could hear quite the heated argument in the apartment next to hers.

She wondered if Toni could hear it too.

There was something quite comforting about knowing that Toni was only a measly few inches away from her.

It was the closest they had been in years. Cheryl suddenly felt guilty for going off on Toni the way she did. She was angry, of course… She would probably never stop being angry and hurt from what Toni did to her but still.

She loved her.

She still loved her.

And god, was it painful.

Across the hall, Toni had managed to stand to her feet. She didn't know how long she had been sat on the floor for, but it must have been a while because when she clicked the lock button on her phone to check the time, it was two in the morning. Toni wondered if Cheryl was still up. She assumed not. When they would have sleepovers back in Riverdale, Toni was the one who pushed Cheryl to stay up a little later, but Cheryl insisted on getting her beauty sleep.

"If you think I'm a handful now, Toni, you should see me when I don't get my eight hours."

Toni smiled fondly at the memory.

That's all she had of her now. Memories.

Well, actually she had one of Cheryl's shirts that she often wore for bed. It wasn't very Cheryl Blossom at all, when Toni thought of it. It was a dark, oversized t-shirt that Toni wore more often than she would like to admit. She also wouldn't care to admit how long she went before washing it for the first time after she left, to preserve the smell of Cheryl.

It was incredibly creepy, she thought.

She changed into said shirt, and crawled into her double bed. The freshly washed sheets and fluffy blankets provided a comfort she most definitely needed. She curled into herself, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, and silently begging for sleep to come.

It didn't.

It didn't for Cheryl, either.

The redhead decided against moving from the floor. She sat, frozen in her spot. She chewed on her nails, a habit she hadn't touched since she was a pre teen, and gazed off into the emptiness of her apartment. She looked so broken. If Toni could see her now, her heart would break. Cheryl Blossom was tough. She was was fearless. She wasn't the empty shell of a girl, sitting on a freezing floor, pining over Toni Topaz.

She was allowed to be, just for the night. In the morning, her war paint would be back on, and her tough exterior, even if she was falling to pieces on the inside.

It was another hour before Cheryl stood to her feet. She ambled over to the kitchen, and flicked the light on, deciding that she better have something to drink. After all the tears she had cried, she needed to rehydrate.

She rubbed her eyes, not caring about ruining her mascara because she was way passed that, when she heard shuffling from outside of the door. She panicked at first, and prayed that she had locked it. In the building she was in, she knew for a fact she couldn't just leave her door open.

Her fear turned to curiosity as a piece of paper was slid underneath her door.

She rolled her eyes.

Toni.

She stood still for a few seconds, until she heard a door shutting on the other side of the hall, before she went to retrieve the note.

'I'm sorry. Please, let me know if you need anything.

The first few nights here might be a little rough.

Yours,

TT. x'