So many people were staring.
The entire student body had been crammed into the gym for the school assembly as well as Cheryl's speech, and Elena could feel every single one of their eyes on them. It made her feel as though she was sat under the weight of a precariously placed giant rock, just waiting for it to topple over and crush her. Should she have worn the dress? Elena had wanted to wear it in solidarity with Cheryl, but in hindsight she realised she looked a little weird doing so. She hoped people would see the supportive intentions behind it, rather than thinking she was attention seeking. Oh god they thought she was attention seeking. Was it too late to go change?
Elena scratched at her wrist, her heart pumping so loudly she was sure everyone could hear it. Thump, thump, thump. She searched the throng of people for Veronica, eventually finding her seated on an aisle next to Betty. She waved in greeting, gesturing in puzzlement towards her outfit. Elena simply shrugged, smiling sheepishly as she followed Cheryl over to the podium where she took to the stage. Public events were where Cheryl was in her element. She came on to stage as the grieving sister, a veil of sadness falling across her face that Elena found she was a little too good at doing.
"Thank you for that moment of silence. Many of you were lucky enough to have known my brother personally." Elena placed a supportive hand on her back, urging her to keep going. "Each and every one of you meant the world to Jason." Elena looked out to the crowd, spotting a rather stony-faced Betty shifting uncomfortably at her words. While Jason had been nice enough to her, Elena hadn't always been a fan of his dismissive attitude towards Polly. Though she would never say it aloud to Cheryl, he'd been pretty douchey and a jerk to people who got on the wrong side of him from what she'd seen and heard. Clearly Betty thought the same. "I loved my brother. He was and always will be my soulmate. So I speak with the confidence that only a twin could have, Jason wouldn't want us to spend the year mourning. Jason would want us to move on with our lives. Which is why I've asked the school board not to cancel the back-to-school semiformal."
Elena smiled alongside her girlfriend, warmth flooding through her chest as the entirety of their class erupted into cheers. "But rather, to let us use it as a way to heal collectively. And celebrate my brother's too, too short life on this mortal coil. Thank you all."
Principal Weatherbee shooed them away so he could proceed with the morning announcements, allowing Elena to talk with Cheryl as they headed them to the girl's locker room.
"That went, well!" Cheryl exclaimed happily, cheeks pink with cheer as soon as the door shut behind them. "Right? I thought it would be good to endear the rabble to me." Classmates, they're our classmates. Elena silently corrected, but bit her tongue. She'd found herself doing that a lot lately. Wanting to correct some minor comment of hers that bothered her, but never having the guts to say it out loud. She knew why of course. What if she said the wrong thing and she lost Cheryl the way she'd lost her family? It was a chief fear of Elena's that fueled her.
"I'm sure they'll appreciate you talking to the school board." Elena forced out, brushing off her thoughts. You've got a good thing going on, just... Stop.
Cheryl smiled sweetly as she pulled off her headpiece, making Elena feel like utter crap. She giddily strode on over to Elena and threw her arms around her shoulders, her so carefully crafted public image placed back into a glass case as she drew Elena to her. This was the Cheryl she knew. The one who watched movies with her on Friday nights, who lived to torture her with lyrics from the Heathers musical and could make her collapse with laughter. The human beneath the cold public Cheryl Blossom. "I don't suppose I can convince you to take a night off and come to the semi-formal with me?"
Elena shook her head in dismissal. She knew how much Cheryl loved her school dances, but they were her limit when it came to school events. Thankfully she had a pretty valid reason to back her up as well. "Unless you'd like a homeless girlfriend, that's gonna have to be a no. Pop's fryers are calling to me!"
Cheryl laughed in response, shaking her head to herself. "Oh well, you can't blame me for trying. I'll make sure the DJ plays plenty of YABBA songs for you in your honour." She promised.
Elena pulled a face, glaring theatrically as Cheryl smirked at her in that all too smug way of hers. She'd so done that to get on her nerves. "It's ABBA," Elena corrected, unable to help herself. "Also known as God's gift to humanity and the soundtrack to my existance."
"When exactly were you a freedom fighter in the Mexican Revolution?" Cheryl wondered, pressing a finger to her chin.
"There was something in the air that nighttttt!"
"Oh god-" Cheryl's face crumbled in despair.
Elena spread her arms wide, twirling dramatically on the spot. "The stars were bright, Fernando!"
"I will pay you to stop."
"They were shining there for you and me, for liberty, Fernando! Though I never thought that we could lose, there's no regret. If I had to do the same again, I would, my friend, Fernando!" Elena came to a sudden standstall, almost tripping over her own feet. Grinning, she turned around to meet an unimpressed Cheryl, hands on her hips.
"Are you quite done?"
Elena finished up with a deep bow, grinning all the while. "Broadway wouldn't know what to do with me."
Cheryl laughed as she came up from behind her, pulling down the zip of her dress. "You my little songstress are too cute for words." Elena turned back around, melting under Cheryl's soft gaze. A pensive look flashed across Cheryl's face for a second, as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind Elena's ear. "I only wish you could be so giddy and delightfully you around others. I do enjoy having you to myself at times, I only wish-" She cut herself short. "If the people of this school knew even half of the real you Elena, I'd be the envy of all of Riverdale."
Elena merely offered her a weak smile in response, awkward and unsure as she bowed her head. She gestured for Cheryl to turn around, simply proceeding with the task at hand as she pointedly ignored Cheryl's words. Whenever Cheryl said something like that she appreciated the kind sentiment behind it, but each and every time they seemed to collide with a wall inside of herself that just couldn't quite let Elena believe her.
"One of these days I'm going to get you to take a compliment."
"Yeah, yeah."
...
Lunch came around soon enough, with Elena taking the opportunity to split from Cheryl and go and track Veronica down. She intended to be proactive, friendly, help her out in the scary new environment if need be and above all else not have a heart attack.
This is Veronica. Not some scary monster demon. You've known her your whole life.
Still, it felt as though she was marching into the unknown with only her wits about her. She hadn't seen or spoken to her in so long. So much had changed in that time for Elena, and that was more than likely the case with Veronica too. Could they truly regain what they'd once had? They'd been so close when they'd been younger, only having the other as an ally against their mother's distance and their father's toxicity. But time had pulled them apart stich by stitch, to the point that when she'd left Veronica had been more a friendly roommate to her than a sister. Part of it was her own fault of course. She'd been so jealous of her for being everything that she wasn't, that she'd admittedly pulled herself away from her. And there was of course the fact that she'd been practically plastered to Nick St Clair's side in those last few weeks they'd had together.
She found her at the start of the cafeteria line, waiting patiently to grab a tray and pick out her food. She looked so put together and at ease, stood surrounded by a gazillion people and yet people's eyes automatically fell on her. How they were related Elena didn't know, but rather than jealousy Elena felt surprisingly proud. Not her leaving, their parents, or the move or her and their mom's money issues had been able to tear her down. Her little sister was keeping her head held high figuratively and literally, and Elena admired her like hell for it.
Elena managed to squeeze by the line of people behind her with relative ease, falling in to step with her as the line began to shift. "Hey," she greeted, cringing at the bashful sound of her voice.
"Hey!" Veronica beamed, nothing short of delighted. She offered out an arm for Elena to take, and she happily slipped her arm into hers. Okay, okay. This is nice. This is good. She breathed deeply, feeling comforted rather than disgusted by the sensation. Every time a new person touched her Elena had to get used to it, it was akin to reading a book from an unfamiliar author and finding the writing style jarring in comparison to previous reads. It had taken some work, but she had a much better handle on it than a year and a half ago. Her therapist Dr Summers believed she had a minor case of touch aversion, though she'd never been formally diagnosed. Elena hated it. It had taken weeks to get used to Cheryl touching her, which had only worked out due to the cognitive behavioral therapy Nell had encouraged her to attend. She'd insisted on paying for it too, which had made her feel awful. And despite the work she'd put in and the progress she'd made, she still sometimes had to pull herself away from her. She couldn't tell Veronica about it though, as much as she longed to. If she did she'd inevitability ask questions, questions Elena wasn't remotely ready to answer. She'd sealed that part of her life away after blurting everything out to Cheryl and Toni during a meltdown, leaving her red raw and vulnerable in a way she didn't ever want to feel again. She didn't want people to feel sorry for her anymore. She was aiming to be a stronger, better version of herself.
"How are you finding it?" Elena questioned, ignoring the few curious stares they were getting for interacting with one another. What was she doing talking to the new girl? People would put two and two together soon enough, but they didn't matter no matter how much her head screamed otherwise. Only the girl beside her did. "I know it doesn't compare to the hallowed halls of our old schools, but it's not too shabby right?"
Veronica nodded in appreciation as she took in the crowded hall, giving Elena's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll admit I was expecting something akin to a Dickensian nightmare, but Riverdale High does have its charm."
"Are you doing okay, you know-" Elena gestured wildly. "With this? I know it's kind of a shock to the system."
"Oh it is." Veronica admitted, bowing her head low. "We're living in this old apartment building Mom has in her name, it's small but fancy."
"You mean The Pembrooke?"
Veronica nodded. It was one of the fanciest apartment buildings in Riverdale, built by Ernest Pembrooke who'd also lended his name to the nearby Pembrooke Academy. Of course their mom had snatched it up. "You'll have to come by sometime! You can help me unpack, god knows I need the help."
Much to her surprise, Elena found herself nodding along. "It's a date." She agreed. Okay, this wasn't so bad. She could do this. She could be big sisterly again with her. The thought of spending some alone time with her sounded great, she'd missed her and well... It was pretty lovely just getting to stand with her. Elena felt a warmth in her chest at the promise, rather than the sheer terror she'd been anticipating. It would be wonderful. She would do everything in her power to make it as such.
Once they had their food the two of them decided to head on outside, given that that everywhere indoors was near full and Elena was on the verge of a minor panic attack. She could not deal with that many people at once.
"So do you know anyone we could sit with?" Veronica whispered covertly, trays in hand as they made their way down to the outside courtyard.
Elena chewed on her lip, deep in thought as she surveyed the courtyard. There was many a person sat at a bench eating their lunch who she recognised, but Elena really only knew a handful of people. She felt a small twinge of panic as her search came up empty, but thankfully spotted a suitable table that fit the bill towards the back. Seated at the table in question was Betty, Kevin and Archie, all of whom seemed to be listening to something on Archie's laptop. Betty was cool, Kevin she didn't know very well but was always friendly and Archie... Was a redhead. She'd never spoken two words to him, but there no time like the present. Elena nodded towards the table in question.
"Ooooo!" Veronica crowed in delight, letting Elena lead the way. "Perfect! We're all already acquainted!"
Elena frowned in puzzlement as they made it down the courtyard steps and out into the open. So many eyes glanced upon the two of them as they walked by, that Elena wondered if they were glowing neon without realising. To distract herself from the heavy sense of dread that was building in her gut, Elena jumped on the subject Veronica had inadvertently offered her. "Since when did you meet Archie?"
"At the diner last night with Betty," Elena blinked in surprise, as they would have just missed each other, "He's pretty cute, right?" Archie Andrews was so far from her idea of cute that it wasn't even funny.
When faced with such queries as her sister's, Elena simply smiled uncomfortably and allowed her to hop on to the next subject. Elena had never came out to anyone in her family. The Lodge and Gomez families had been Catholics for as long as the Earth had revolved around the sun, making for a pretty unpredictable bag of relatives. Of the few opinions she'd been able to gage, some were great and open-minded whilst others sent her scrambling back into the closet with every homophobic slur that sprouted out of their mouths. Elena knew for a fact that Veronica fell on the former, but she'd never really been able to test the waters with her parents at all. Would they be supportive? Would they pretend to be cool with it but hide their disgust? Or would they openly express their disappointment and kick her out of their family once and for all? Those were questions she'd asked herself so many times after realising that she was a lesbian and in the end she hadn't dared to take the leap and find out. Telling Veronica wasn't a time senstive issue, it could wait. She just needed to find the right opportunity.
"Oh god!" Elena blanched her tone rife with disgust as she laughed in shock. "You're not gonna go out with him are you? Cheryl says he's dumber than a pile of rocks."
Veronica rolled her eyes. "He seemed just fine to me!" Three things were universal truths in the world to Elena; ABBA were musical perfection, her father would do literally anything for money and Veronica had the worst taste in boys since Anne Boleyn. "Speaking of her, you two seemed pretty close in the assembly. How'd that happen?"
Elena's heart launched into overdrive, as Veronica glanced at her curiously. Watch your words, watch your words. "I don't know... We just talked."
"I suspected as such."
"We were lab partners and we bonded-" Over garbage parents, golden child siblings, my inability to talk to people, books, movies and cute out of the way places to shop and make out in. "-over stuff we have in common. Nothing too fancy. We kind of just clicked."
"It just surprised me," Veronica shrugged, smiling to herself. "Your friend cuts quite the contrast with you."
"Well in my defense she is ginger."
"The black ensemble was something. She's quite the..." Elena could tell she was searching for the most polite term she could find in her mental dictionary. "Presence."
"That's Cheryl." Elena smiled proudly, visibly brightening. Veronica couldn't help but smile affectionately as she noticed her change of demeanor.
Despite their differences whatever it was between them just worked. It was fun and thrilling but also comfortable and homely. They could talk or not talk and things would still work out. Cheryl took her on a roller coaster some days, but Elena would get on board her particular ride no matter where it took her. As confusing and as grating as she could be at times, Elena wouldn't have her any other way. Cheryl wouldn't be herself without her special brand of Cheryl-ness.
The girl in question spotted them walking by her table where she was seated with her Vixens. Cheryl raised a brow in appreciation as her eyes looked over Elena, a look so covert and yet heated Elena grew paranoid that Veronica could see how red she'd gotten. She looked between her and her sister, shooting her a look that spoke volumes.
Someone's stepping out of their shell.
Elena held up a hand and waved, simply shrugging in response. I'm giving it a whirl.
They soon came upon the table, where it soon became apparent the trio were listening to a song that sounded quite a bit like Archie. He closed his laptop as he spotted the two of them, making Elena bite back a giggle at his expense. "Can we join?" Veronica asked.
"I can vouch for her, she loves spending time with poor scum."
"ELENA!"
Elena laughed at the look of despair that fell upon Veronica's face, earning herself an elbow to the side as the two of them joined the table. Elena sat herself on the edge, careful to make sure no part of her body grazed Veronica's bare arms. Betty and Kevin stared at them both in amusement and curiosity whilst Archie looked rather mystified. "It's my god given right as her big sister to tease her." She explained.
Archie glanced between the two of them in surprise. "You two are related?" You know I exist?
Veronica grinned as she rested her head on Elena's shoulder. "Don't you see the stunning resemblance between us?" She gestured at their faces, as Elena posed alongside her whilst pouting her lips. "We modeled a little as toddlers." Their Abuelita had framed the many pictures of them modelling clothes and every stock photo of them she could get her hands on all over her house, much to Elena's mortification.
"Only Veronica got us blacklisted after she poured juice over a director's head." Elena shook her head, pretending to sniff tearfully. "We were gonna be the next Mary-Kate and Ashley." Said director had made them do take after take, until a three year old Veronica had thrown the mother of all tantrums and had left him with a sticky mop of hair. It was one of her earliest memories and had been the funniest thing tiny her had ever seen. "God I haven't thought about that in so long!" She remarked in delight, catching Veronica's eye. The pair smiled in shared remembrance, the past few years melting away momentarily. They were the Lodge sisters again, foe to all commerical directors and nannies. It was pure magic, leaving Elena filled with an overwhelming longing to bottle it up and keep it forever.
Veronica bumped her shoulder against hers, looking just like Elena felt. "I seem to remember you throwing a hairbrush at him too."
"Oh yeah." Elena sniggered, clutching her stomach. She hadn't been pissed or anything, she just hadn't wanted to miss out on the fun. Her Barbie hairbrush had given him the mother of all head bumps.
"You two are adorable!" Kevin commented.
"Yeah." Betty smiled along with him.
"How come you two are acting like you haven't seen each other in a long time?" Wondered Archie.
"So what are we doing?" Veronica asked, pointedly breezing over Archie's question. Thank you Veronica. That was a story she just didn't feel like telling anymore.
"Listening to one of Archie's songs." Betty explained.
"I thought we were gonna have to pretend to like it, but it's actually really good." Kevin complimented, making Elena snort.
"Wait that was you singing, something you write?" Veronica queried.
"It's rough." Archie answered.
"It's great."
"It's incredible actually-" Okay I wouldn't go that far. "-the little snippet I heard. Is that your thing? Music?" Veronica practically had great big bulging stars in her eyes. Subtlety still didn't remain her strong suit it would seem. "Are you doing something with that?" She came to rest her chin on her hand, still starry-eyed so much that it made Elena bite back a laugh.
"Yeah that's the plan. So how's your first day going? Good?"
"Not to be a complete narcissist, but I thought people would be more-" Veronica tapered off.
"Obsessed with you?" Kevin supplied.
She smiled, a little red-faced. "Other stuff has been going on." Elena explained, waving her hand a little awkwardly.
"Any other year you'd be trending number one for sure. This year, it's all about Cheryl trying to win the Best Supporting Psycho Oscar for her role as Riverdale High's bereaved Red Widow." Kevin explained, coming to a sudden halt as he remembered Elena's presence. Elena narrowed her eyes, offering him a smile so full of contempt the rest of the table shifted uncomfortably. She suddenly recalled why she didn't spend much time around the gossipy boy.
"I'll give you ten bucks to say that to her face." Elena offered, plastering on her bitchiest smile.
"No thank you."
"Elena!" Veronica protested.
"Shame." Elena sighed loudly, turning her attentions to her food. Elena could get why she wasn't liked around the school, but using her grief as a joke? Maybe she was projecting her own issues on to the situation, but comments like Kevin's made her want to shield Cheryl and defend her. They didn't know how much she had cried over Jason leaving, how much blame she put upon herself, how because of her parents treatment of her she couldn't be her real authentic self.
Archie said his goodbyes and headed elsewhere, leaving her sister love-struck. Elena arched a brow at her and Veronica stared in confusion. Elena merely shook her head and laughed.
"Before you ask Blue Jasmine, no, she has not invited him to the dance."
"No not yet-"
"You like Archie?" Elena stared in surprise. Oh that was awkward. Though she had to wonder what it was about this guy that was garnering so much awe. Jughead had once been friends with him though, so perhaps it was something you just saw with time.
"Don't talk about Archie!" Betty hissed in dismay at the two of them, her body rigid and tense as her eyes fell on an approaching figure.
While Betty tensed up, Elena visibly glowed as she turned to find that Cheryl had came over to their table. She was all dolled up and looked so pretty that Elena wanted to pull out a big red neon sign that read: MY GIRLFRIEND! She'd changed into a dark blue top with her spider brooch affixed to the top of it and a red skirt Elena remembered her buying after a shopping trip to Greendale that had resulted in her waiting for an hour as she tried to pick out which of the billion skirts she picked out best suited her.
Elena felt every drop of anxiety and irritation flood out of her system, as delight practically emanated from her like a sunbeam. She was here and smiling that cute smile and a very dreamy part of her longed to proudly introduce her to Veronica as her girlfriend. But this was reality and as much as she hated it she had to face facts.
"Veronica Lodge!" She grinned, all delight and popular girl-y as she greeted her sister. It was a crossover between her two worlds that Elena had never thought possible, a bizarre mixture of happiness and weirdness intermingling in her gut as she took in the sight of Cheryl and Veronica together. "I've heard whisperings. I'm Cheryl Blossom. May I sit? Betty, would you mind?" She asked, hinting at the blonde to move.
Betty quickly moved down, allowing Cheryl to shift into place. She smiled in greeting at Elena, turning her face so crimson that she had to look down. This in turn made her miss the quizzical look that fell across Veronica's face. "Uh-" Elena swallowed, forcing herself to look up. "Veronica this is Cheryl, Cheryl this is my sister."
"Elena's told me so much about you!" Cheryl gushed. "I'm honoured."
Veronica stared in surprise, turning to her in puzzlement. "You have?"
Elena nodded, unable to meet her unflinching stare. "Yeah."
"Everything?" She whispered.
Elena nodded, but cursed herself seconds later for doing so. Suddenly her throat felt a little tight. She would tell their mom and their mom would tell their dad and their dad... She didn't even want to think about it. You're okay. She took in a big gulp of air. What's he going to do? Kick you out again? Cut you off? She had nothing left for that man to take. Knowing what he was capable of didn't entirely set her at ease though.
"So what are you four hens gossiping about? Archie's Efron-esque emergence from the chrysalis of puberty?" Elena pulled a face.
"Extracurriculars. Weatherbee wants me to sign up for a few." Veronica answered.
Cheryl's face lit up in the way that was so exclusive to her that Elena could tell she was up to something. "Cheerleading! You must!" She insisted. "I'm sophomore captain of the River Vixens. Elena can tell you all about it!"
"You're a cheerleader?"
Elena shook her head. "No," she denied vehemently. "On paper sure, but Cheryl just let me be the water girl."
"Always ice cold!" Cheryl complimented, causing Elena to smile warmly.
"Only because I have a very powerful survival instinct."
"Is cheerleading still a thing?" Kevin pondered aloud.
Sirens went off in Elena's head. One thing she'd learned in the time she'd been dating Cheryl: do not ever disparage the sacred art of cheerleading. To her it was akin to blasphemy. "Is being the gay best friend still a thing?" The redhead snapped back, her face stony and thunderous as she cut him off at the knees. "Some say it's retro, but I say it's eternal and iconic."
"At Spence, I sat at the top of the elites' pyramid. I'm in." Veronica agreed. "Betty you're trying out too!"
What are you doing? Elena mouthed, as Veronica turned from them momentarily. Cheryl merely shrugged innocently, gesturing between her and Veronica. Getting to know her silly.
"Of course. Anyone's welcome to try out. But Betty's already got so much on her plate right now-"
"Cher!" Elena exclaimed in alarm. She did not just say that. The double entendre made her feel a little queazy.
Cheryl glanced between Betty's lunch tray and the look of outrage on Elena's face before rolling her eyes. "Oh Ellie I was just kidding!" Her perfect smile never so much as faltered. And there was the bitchy comment that had been sneaking into their conversations more and more. Like hell you were. You hate that family. "Being a Vixen is kind of a full-time thing, but open to all."
She rose to her feet and patted Elena on her shoulder, making her feel like a chastised dog. "Follow me on Twitter and I'll do the same. My handle's CherylBombshell." Cheryl covertly slipped her a note, before slinking off elsewhere.
Elena shook her head to herself. It was a joke. One made in poor taste perhaps, but a joke nonetheless. She unfolded the note, finding her girlfriend's perfect scrawl written by a maple red pen. Free period, meet me at the spot. -C xxx
She tucked the note into her jacket pocket, half listening to the girls discussion on cheerleading as she wondered just why Cheryl's attitude had been bothering her so much. She was blunt of course, anyone with ears could guess that. But maybe a little part of her was reminded of the fact that she'd once been that girl. She'd been the one faced with nasty digs and horrible comments she'd been forced to take on the chin.
"-Cheryl said I was too fat. Elena made her apologise but she clearly meant it."
"Nice friend you have there," Veronica muttered. "Look if you wanna be a River Vixen, I'll help you prep. I have moves."
Elena nodded. "She taught me to do a handstand once."
Veronica held out her hands in display towards Elena like a magician on stage. "To the girl who got kicked out of gymnastics after one lesson."
After a moment of contemplation Betty agreed to her help. "Okay, you know what? Show me your moves."
Elena gave the pair a thumbs up, trying for an encouraging expression. "Yay!"
As Elena came to the front of the school greenhouse, she took in a few steadying breaths.
Cheerleading auditions would have taken place whilst she'd been knee deep in math equations, and she was a little wary of what kind of Cheryl she would be walking in to. Happy Cheryl? Bitchy Cheryl? I-just-verbally-abused-Veronica-and-Betty-and-now-I'm-floating-on-air Cheryl? Could things just be easy with her for once?
The glass door creaked as she opened it, a visible amount of rust coating the hinges as she slipped into the room. Thick and barely tameable vines crept along the walls and up to the roof, adding some character to the place and making it a little Hogwarts-ee. Three tables spanned the length of the room, which in turn were overflowing with various pots of vegetables and plants that were being grown in there. It was kept in pretty good condition, with the glass of the windows and roof scrubbed clean almost daily, allowing for plenty of sunlight to come through. The school mostly used it for biology classes, though Cheryl had taken it upon herself to use the greenhouse for her extra credit projects she sometimes roped Elena into. Though her choice in plants could be weird Elena's grades certainly hadn't complained. Elena enjoyed spending time out in the greenhouse with her. They were almost never disturbed as it was tucked away behind some trees far away from the football and track field, they got to have plenty of alone time and the challenge of trying to keep something alive was actually kind of fun to her. It was also the first place where she and Cheryl had kissed, making it a pretty significant place for the two of them.
The girl in question was leaning against a table still dressed in her River Vixen uniform, eyes narrowed as she focused on a pot that had Elena's name written on the side. It was the sunflower she was trying to grow, which thus far was doing good. Elena shut the door and dropped her bag, making her way over to the other girl.
"It's doing good." She commented, eyes still focused solely on the small sapling. "I thought I'd come check on it, make sure Dilton hadn't damaged it with all his equipment."
"Thank you. Now are you going to tell me why you look like you're about to transform into a big red rage monster?" She asked. Cheryl was livid and wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it.
Cheryl met her eyes, hesitating for a second before finally speaking. "Your sister."
Elena shut her eyes. "Oh boy."
"To cut a long and faux lesbian kissing story short-" Elena blinked in surprise. "Your sister all but forced my hand and made me allow Betty to join the Vixens."
Elena snorted. "Is that it? Oh no, what a monster!" She waved her hands in distress. "Betty's going to share the same air as you a few times a week!"
"You're hilarious." Cheryl deadpanned. "I've carefully cultivated the image of that squad! She's going to mess it up!"
Elena narrowed her eyes knowingly, making Cheryl shrink under her gaze. "Oh please. Something tells me she'll do fine. You just don't want her around because she reminds you of Polly." And there it was. The unspoken was spoken. They didn't talk about Polly and Cheryl's vehement denial of her and Jason ever having a real relationship.
Cheryl pursed her lips, turning on her heel. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Really?" Cheryl began walking down a row of plants she'd been growing for extra credit over the summer. Always the proactive student. "The bitchy comments?" Elena was soon on her tail, determined not to let her ghost her. "The refusal to even talk about what happened to Polly? They went out Cheryl. You know it, I know it, the whole town probably knows it. It doesn't mean he didn't love you any less."
"What are you getting at?" Cheryl snapped, forcefully tugging off some dead leaves. "I was hoping to have fun."
"And I was hoping to have some honesty," Elena retorted, equally cold in tone. "You need to stop projecting your anger on to her. Polly and Betty didn't make him go Cheryl. Don't make Betty's life on the squad hell just because you don't want to admit that Jason turned out just like Patrick."
Cheryl turned around, her expression void of anything readable. Oh god I'm really crossing barriers today. She thought frantically, wringing her hands. Patrick was Cheryl and Jason's older brother. When the twins had been eight and Patrick seventeen, he'd dropped out of high school and left Riverdale. He'd cut off all contact with the family and had moved to Europe, eventually becoming a successful F1 driver much to the horror and disgust of his parents. Elena knew all about it from a mixture of information from Cheryl and Nell, the latter of whom was his best friend and was still in contact with him. Elena had never told Cheryl though, as Cheryl had once looked at Patrick the same way Elena had once looked at her father: Complete and utter adoration, only to have that rose-tinted view ripped away without warning.
"Sorry." Elena sighed, pulling a face.
"Consider it forgotten." Cheryl waved her hand, beckoning for her to come over. Elena came to stand in front of her, realising for the first time that there were tears in her eyes. She furiously tugged the hair tie out from her hair, running a hand through her red waves as she shook it from side-to-side. Elena was mesmerized by the action, charmed as she noticed that the lighter strands of her hair shone brightly if the sunlight hit it just right.
"Cheryl-"
She looked into her eyes, barely holding back her emotions. "Do you think he went to Patrick? Do you think maybe he's afraid to call and tell me?"
Elena shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. But from what you've said I don't think your brother would keep something like that from you. Why would he?" Elena crossed the gap between them and pulled her into a hug, relief flooding through her as Cheryl didn't fight it. She came to rest her head on Elena's shoulders, arms holding her tight as Elena rubbed circles into her back.
"Tell me what I can do." Elena pleaded. "I hate seeing you like this."
"I adore you for that Ellie, but there's nothing you can do about this I'm afraid. Just-" She trailed off, sadness evident in her tone. "Just promise if you need to get away for whatever reason, be it your family or whatever reason that may come along the way, that you'll take me with you."
"Cheryl I- I can't leave, not again. Running away's not really gotten me anywhere, though it let us meet so that's something." She smiled, settling her hands around Cheryl's back as they stopped hugging. "I've got things I want to stick around for. I need to stick around for. Chief of which being you." She took a strand of Cheryl's hair between her fingers, playing with it as she spoke. "I don't know what the future has in store for me, which is pretty scary if I think too hard about it. But no matter what goes down -good or bad- I know I want you there with me. So yeah, if I'm ever charged with helping cover for Nell after she brutally murders Alice Cooper, I'd love nothing more than for you to go on the run with me."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
A little more at ease and significantly cheered at her promise, a tentative smile began to form at the corners of Cheryl's lips. "And where is Nell in this scenario?"
"Probably in Aruba somewhere awkwardly hitting on a girl."
Cheryl laughed, a pure and brilliant sound that too few people got to hear. "Yes that sounds about right."
"Cheryl?"
"Hmph?"
"Please try with them, especially Veronica." She pleaded. "I know she can be forceful at times and has a ton of of opinions, like someone else I know-" Cheryl let out a scoff of disbelief that could be heard for miles. "-but she's one of the good ones. You scrape back the cool girl shell and there's a pretty decent human being under there, one you might even get along with. And as for Betty, please just direct your anger elsewhere. She's as harmless as they come and I imagine she's not going to give you any trouble now that she's on the squad. Be kind to her, please! For me." Elena stuck out her bottom lip pleadingly. She sighed, relenting on a mental promise as she still remained silent. "I'll even let you try to teach me archery again."
Cheryl's eyes spun like saucers, stretching so wide Elena wasn't quite sure if they'd snap back to normal. "You will! Oh Ellie you won't regret this! I'll even teach you all the terms!" Kill me. Kill me now. But god if she wasn't completely adorable getting so passionate about the sport she loved so much. "I bought a new recurve bow at the weekend and I can't wait to try it out! You can feedback to me!"
"Sounds great." Elena forced herself to grin, trying to match at least 50 percent of Cheryl's delighted mega-watt one. "We'll be entering competitions together before we know it!"
"Oooo we should do that!" Cheryl teased, laughing harder as Elena loudly groaned into her shoulder. "Don't even joke I'm probably gonna have a night terror about that at some point!" She pulled her head back up, glaring half-heartedly as Cheryl continued to snicker at her.
"As much I'd loved to get publicly laughed at, I think we can just stick with private lessons." Elena decided, patting her on the shoulder. She leaned forward and kissed Cheryl, comfort and warmth the only things she knew as their lips met. Soon enough it became heated, both girls sticking to the other as any thought of outside of themselves faded from existance. This continued for a minute or two, with Cheryl being the first to pull away and catch her breath.
"Fun?" Elena panted, patting down the state of disarray her hair had fallen into.
"Very fun." Cheryl giggled, bumping Elena's nose with her own as she slowly swam back into proximity with her lips. "Fun enough to continue?"
Elena checked her watch, nodding to herself as she let her arm fall back down to her side. "Most definitely. Man, I should tell people what a great biology tutor I have!" She bit her lip, half tempted to whirl around from the giddiness she was feeling. "No one else has one that frenches them." And with that she closed the gap between them, the rest of the world fading to black as the two girls simply enjoyed one another.