Many apologies for the long wait, I've been pretty stuck with this chapter but there's only so long I can stare at the same words lol so here it is.
8dr Whovian: She certainly didn't haha. Angry Elena is pretty much the human equivalent of a spraying champagne bottle. Yeah I've got to agree with you there they had her do some pretty questionable things from season 2 onwards. Without giving anything away definitely expect some changes from canon! :) No need to apologize! Thanks for the review and for continuing to read!
Once Elena finally made it home and walked through the door into the apartment, she realised much to her dismay what Nell's plans were for her Friday night. She had all the ingredients out on the wooden kitchen countertop that were needed in order to make Baked Alaska. While most of Nell's creations were the stuff of a sugar tooth's dreams, her Baked Alaska was the stuff of gooey nightmares. Twelve disastrous attempts had been made so far, and Elena had been there for every single vomit inducing one.
Nell looked up as she came in, freezing in place as she flashed what she clearly hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'd say it's not what it looks like but what would be a lie."
Elena's shook her head in disbelief, closing the door behind her with a little more force than necessary. "Attempt number thirteen? Oh god! I'll get the hazmat suits." She dumped her bag and coat and came over to join Nell, hopping on to the only two stools they could fit by the small countertop. She smoothed out her Pop's uniform, pretending to rid it of non-existant dirt as Nell shot her a knowing look.
"Elena."
Elena sighed heavily, meeting her eyes with a pout. "Me and Cheryl had a fight." She sat her arms down on the counter and rested her head against them, feeling as though someone had taken a rolling pin to her chest. "I got pissed over how she's been taking all of her crap out on Betty, and I just went in on her. I don't know what came over me, I was like an angry Chihuahua on a postman. But then I pulled a total Hiram move and started going on about how glad I was that Jason wasn't around, and how he probably caused Polly's breakdown. And now-" She closed her eyes, the wave she could feel rising up within her threatening to drag her under. "Now she's probably never gonna speak to me again. I've been aiming to be this better, stronger version of myself. Someone I can be proud of and other people would be glad to have around them. And I tore it all apart in one night."
Nell poked her arm, prompting Elena to sit up. "You didn't tear it all apart." The baker assured her, tucking a strand of stray blonde hair behind her ear. She had it up in a bun, all ready to get baking. Elena smiled slightly at the sight, finding it positively mom-ish. "You had a fight, it happens. And it's your first big one too. Honestly-" Nell pulled a face that indicated she wasn't entirely comfortable with admitting something to her. "It's kind of been a long time coming kiddo. But if Cheryl truly wants to make your relationship work, she'll take what you said on board and work on herself and what's causing her to act the way she does. It's all part and parcel of a healthy relationship. But if she doesn't-" Nell shook her head. "If she doesn't then I'm sorry, but is that the kind of person you'd be happy with?"
"No." Elena admitted, "I really hope she does but... If it just flies over her head then I guess it's over."
"And as far as the Jason thing is concerned, you should seriously apologise." Nell advised, gesturing to her phone that she'd sat down on the countertop. "I know you've been saying how much of a handful she's been these past few days, but that's not an excuse. Owning your crap has got to be a two-way street."
"I know." Elena picked up her phone and turned it back on. "But Nell if it's really over-"
"Then you'll pick yourself up and move on. Girls, they're wonderful and amazing, but they're not and shouldn't be your whole world. You've got a whole lot of good going for you outside of Cheryl. Don't forget that."
Elena nodded, flashing her a grateful smile. Cheryl had been her lifeline in the time they'd been dating. This bizarre, demanding, but total wonder of a girl had opened up her heart to her, and had marched her out of the shadows and back into the light. She'd given her the kind of love she hadn't been used to so freely and seemingly without thought, and Elena still found herself kind of shell-shocked by it. That this brilliant marvel of a girl wanted her and only her. When things were good with her they were really, really, good. But the cons that came with dating her were seeping through a little too much, and as far as Elena was concerned she was going too far now. As amazing as things between them were ninety-nine percent of the time, all of that wasn't worth ignoring what she knew in her heart was wrong. Her girlfriend had some serious issues, and she needed to work on them, stat. And as much as the thought of her refusing to pained her, Elena knew in the end she would have to walk away if she did so, for her own sake.
Elena waved her phone at her roommate and got up from her stool, heading to her room for some privacy. "I'll give it a whirl." She promised.
"Good girl."
Once Elena had shut her bedroom door she settled down on to her bed, one leg tucked underneath her as she dialled Cheryl's number for the second time that night. Much to her surprise as she'd been expecting her voicemail, a few rings in Cheryl answered her phone. "Are you calling me for round two?" She inquired, her tone snappy and heated. "Because quite frankly Ellie I'm not in the mood to be yelled at twice."
"I've never been any good at this... But ah- I called you to apologise." Elena explained, collapsing on to her back. "You see that was Lodge!Elena who called earlier."
Elena heard her pause in confusion, registering what she'd just said. "Go on." She urged.
"Lodge!Elena is my evil twin. When she takes over my body she likes to pull a Lodge parent specialty. Rather than sitting down with someone and talking to them calmly like a normal human being, she rages out like the Hulk and uses people's privately confided information and pain against them." Elena closed her eyes, sighing deeply. "What I mean to say is that I'm really, really, sorry for saying all those horrible things about you and Jason. I was seriously out of line. But I promise to work on beating down Lodge!Elena. As soon as I get off the phone with you I'm gonna ask Nell if I can borrow one of her meditation books. I'll tap into my inner calm and shit. The next time you see me I'll be all zen and no rage."
"Willingly offering to read something of the non-fiction variety? You must be serious." Cheryl pondered. Much to Elena's relief, she could hear some fondness seeping through into her tone. "I accept your humble apology Ellie. But I sense a but forthcoming though."
Elena sucked in a deep breath. "I'm not sorry about the Betty thing. The tone was wrong, but the message wasn't. I-" Anxiety burst its way through the barely sealed doors of her mind, demanding that she stop at once. You're going to lose her! It seemed to shriek, fearful and unwielding in communicating its message. You're going to sink this entire thing causing drama! But as much as those thoughts scared her, Elena pushed forth knowing deep down that if they were to survive, she had to start speaking up more, or else nothing would ever change. Cheryl was not her father. She'd stuck by her through everything, and maybe, hopefully, she would continue to do just that. "I love that you know what you want. Your bossiness, your attention to detail, how blunt you are, it's everything that makes you you and I would never want you to re-write your whole personality for me. You've never asked that of me and I don't want to do the same."
Elena kicked off her shoes, teeth digging into the inside of her mouth as she planned what to say next. "But the Betty thing is wrong. The things you say are wrong. I know you're hurting but instead of taking all your crap out on others, talk to me! Or Nell! Write it down! I don't know, but this has to stop. It's... I hate to say it, but it's kind of a dealbreaker Cher."
A long stretch of silence passed between them, a minute or so of excruciating quiet that nearly drove Elena insane as her thoughts filled it in for her. She's going to tell you to go fuck yourself. She's going to toss you aside like yesterday's news and forget all about you. You don't matter that much.
"Do I really remind you of those vile girls who tormented you?"
Elena softened at the sad tone in her voice, like the very thought made her heart break in two. "Not you as a whole, no. But when you're being bitchy and mean yeah, I get a horrible sense of deja vu."
Cheryl took a moment to mull over her confession. "Well... I suppose I will have to do some fine tuning to my behaviour in order to make it up to you."
"Really?" Elena questioned, unable to keep hope from seeping into her tone.
"Really," Cheryl confirmed. "I've always liked being someone you could trust. Someone you of all people could look at like... Like I'm good. Like I'm worthy of kindness and love."
"You are."
Cheryl went quiet again, as though she needed to gather herself as well as her thoughts. "I'm sorry." She finally said, quiet and uncertain. "I'm truly, deeply sorry for this disastrous night, for the Betty thing, and for hurting you so badly with my actions Ellie. I- Tell me I haven't lost you."
"You haven't." Elena confirmed. "But the things you say-"
"Will henceforth never leave my lips again." Cheryl promised, clear solemnity and sincerity evident in her tone. "You have my word. I swear on my Jimmy Choo heels."
Elena let out a gasp. "The pretty gold ones with the bows on?"
Cheryl nodded solemnly on the other end of the line. "The very same." She confirmed.
"Wow."
"Yes."
A nervous laugh crept past Elena's lips, startling her a little. She shook her head to herself and simply sighed. "Are we..." She wracked her brains for the right response, but found herself struggling. "Are we..."
"We are Ellie. We're fine." Cheryl confirmed, so firm and authoritative that Elena couldn't help but relax as she took back the reigns. Cheryl took a steadying breath. "I'll come by tomorrow with makeup pie from the Chock'lit Shoppe. The cherry kind we both love." An extra pep seemed to spring to life in Cheryl's voice. "If-" She hesistated for a second. "If you'd like that?"
"I'd love that."
"Okay." Cheryl confirmed.
"Okay." Elena affirmed. Elena tugged a lock of hair between her fingers and smiled to herself, hearing Cheryl barely able to stifle an awkward laugh. "Goodnight Cheryl."
"Goodnight Ellie."
Though there was still some leftover tension residing in her muscles as Elena came out of her room, an odd sense of acceptance seemed to sweep through her. They'd argued, they'd talked it through, and things just might be okay in spite of it all. Elena couldn't quite register it. Her fight or flight response was raring to go, but things were okay. They'd resolved it all peacefully. But something inside of her screamed that it shouldn't be that easy, her old paranoia from spats she'd had with her father over the years flickering back to life.
"How'd it go?" Nell inquired, dumping a bunch of baking equipment on to the already cluttered countertop. Elena winced as an electric egg whisk clattered loudly to the floor. That sounds broken.
"It... Went surprisingly okay. I think I saved myself the voodoo doll treatment." Elena's eyes landed on a bunch of boxes that had been stacked by their small dining area, a significant amount and all of which appeared to have to her name written on them. Elena wiggled her finger towards the items in question. "What's with all the boxes?"
"It's all your stuff from ah... Well from home. Your mom's doorman dropped them off earlier." Nell explained, bending to pick up the egg whisk. She shook her head, gazing mournfully at the noticeable crack in it.
Elena felt something akin to the flutter of a butterfly's wings in her chest at the explanation. She moved over to the area to inspect the contents, her heart leaping up to her throat and lodging itself there as she knelt down and opened the first box. There she found a familiar childhood teddy bear, one she thought she'd never see again. Tears burned in Elena's eyes, a mix of nostalgia and rose-tinted memories flying through her brain at lightning speed as she clutched Mango to her chest. God what an extra teddy bear. Elena smiled to herself as the jewels stitched on to her gleamed in the light, patting the bear affectionately on the head.
You're going next to Locasta. Elena decided, sitting her down next to her. She began to rifle through some of the boxes, unearthing a ton of old books, games and clothes, mementos of the past she had thought she would never see again.
"You okay?" Nell appeared behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah," Elena smiled, her voice cracking just a tad from emotion as she slid the next box over to her. "Yeah I think I am."
A little while later as she rummaged through her old things (and Nell somehow set Attempt Number Thirteen on fire) Elena pulled out her phone once more, pulling up Veronica's number and pressing the call on to hands free to allow her to continue to look through the boxes.
"Hello?"
"WHHHHHY?" Elena whined, scrunching her nose up in confusion. "WHY VERONICA WHY?"
A long, tired groan came from the other side of the phone call. Veronica needed no explanation as to what it was she was talking about. "How the hell did you find out?" She demanded. "Do you have some kind of alarm that goes off in your head when I do something stupid?"
"Betty came by the diner," Elena explained, her eyes popping wide as she located her old Nintendo DS. "She was upset. Really, really upset." Elena emphasised, earning a pained sigh from Veronica.
"I don't know what came over me."
"Clearly." Elena snorted, fishing out a battered copy of Frankenstein and sitting it down next to her.
"Okay cool the judgement! I know I messed up."
"Okay, okay," Elena winced, "I'm sorry, judgement cooled. You okay?"
"Relatively." Elena heard her collapse on to her bed, a pained sound emitting from Elena that let her know she'd landed on something. She grumbled irritably. "Tell me you'll come by tomorrow and help me unpack, I'm tired of sitting on my many pairs of earrings. I can give you the full tour of our new abode."
Elena froze, her heart thumping a mile a minute. "Would Mom be okay with that? I mean I don't want to intrude-"
"How would you be intruding?"
"I- I-" Elena's brain short-circuited. Truthfully she was a little unsure of how she was meant to navigate this new normal. Where did she fit into their lives? Did she need to be invited over? Could she drop by? No, no she definitely couldn't just drop by that would be peak rudeness. "I just don't wanna barge in."
"There's no barging to be had," Veronica assured her, "I'm opening up the door, I'm rolling out the red carpet, I'm beckoning you inside-"
"Okay, okay." Elena rolled her eyes, smiling to herself as she heard Veronica laugh on the other end of the phone. "I'll be there."
"Good."
"So..." Elena drawled. "Will I get to bare witness to the epic 'The Veronica Lodge Apology Tour' once more?"
Veronica made a series of displeased grumbling noises. "I'm not that bad."
"Oh I wouldn't say you're bad at all," Elena snickered, "Getting pissed at you is like winning the lottery. Remember when you dropped my first edition of Stardust in the bath, so you arranged a meeting between me and Neil Gaiman?"
"You were really sad!" Veronica excused.
"Or when you stole Katie's boyfriend-"
"Her and Bartholomew were over way before he even looked my way."
"-and you basically paid for her summer wardrobe?"
"I like to make it clear that I'm sorry!"
"I can't wait to see what you do this time around."
"Oh haha Veronica's a little extra with her apology attempts," Veronica snorted, going silent for a moment. "Elena did I completely miss this up? I think... I think I was on to something good here, with Betty especially."
"No!" Elena replied, her heart cracking in two at the sadness seeping into her tone. "If you've got your heart set on being friends with her just apologize. Betty will hear you out I'm sure of it. Don't be too hard on yourself." She advised, as despite her teasing she knew how hard it was for sister when she made the people who mattered most to her upset. "You were all hopped up on hormones and kissed her crush you didn't kill her mother. Which is a total crying shame."
"That bad?" She questioned.
"She makes our father look positively hippie-ish."
Veronica made a series of sympathetic noises. "Poor Betty."
"You'll get the joy of meeting her soon enough, and if you're lucky she'll be in the same room with Nell."
"Oh?"
"They hate each other."
"What? Why?!"
"Because she's a demon cunt from hell!" Nell huffed from the kitchen, where she was still scraping off the remnants of Attempt Number Thirteen from a plate.
"As you just heard, fond friends."
"I look forward to seeing this spectacle." Veronica joked. Though Elena considered that she might be overthinking it a little, she couldn't help but note Veronica's slowly but surely lightening tone as they spoke. "Well I best be going. Apologies to plan, red carpets to roll out..."
"I'll let you get to it." Elena smiled. "Hey, uh... Tell Mom thanks. For sending all my things. And for not throwing it all out." They hadn't scrubbed their lives of her the way she had always presumed they had when she'd left. It was a startling but welcome realisation for her.
"I will." Veronica answered softly. "They didn't forget about you you know. Not even Daddy."
Elena chose not to dignifiy her words with any kind of an answer. Really, she had nothing to say. "Night Ron."
"Night El."
With her many phone calls of the night over and done with, Elena had assumed all would be well from there on out. But like many other times in her life, Elena soon found the rug being pulled out from under her.
It began with a series of rapid fire knocks the morning following the dance, startling her out of her deep sleep. A blinding streak of light beamed through a crack in her bedroom window's curtains, causing her to curse as she threw her arm over her eyes. "Mother- Hold on!" She called irritably, checking the time on her phone. 6am? What the fuck?
Elena threw her covers aside and stormed out of her room, grumbling under her breath about wringing the neck of whichever neighbour or salesperson had reared their annoying head that morning. Once she was at the apartment door it took her almost a full minute to unlock all the various locks Nell had had attatched to the door, the knocker continuing to pound on the door insistently. "Alright, alright, I'm almost done!" She called.
Elena swung the door open in a huff, readying herself to deal with whatever overzealous salesperson had shown up at her door. But rather than the bushy-eyed forty year old man she'd been envisioning, Elena instead found herself face-to-face with an extremely red-eyed Cheryl. "Cher? What are you-" Cheryl wrapped her arms around herself, a haunted look in her eyes as she finally met Elena's stare.
"They found Jason." She grimaced, her voice barely above a whisper. "In Sweetwater River."
"What?"
"He- He's-" A pained sob wrenched its way out of Cheryl, and Elena knew instantly what she was getting at. The pained, lifeless look on her girlfriend's face only came from the loss of something or someone so dear to you it felt as though a limb had been torn off from your body. Her heart sank to her stomach, a million different questions springing up in her mind. Oh god! Jason! An odd concoction of sadness and despair pumped its way through Elena's veins. He hadn't gotten his life of freedom from his parents after all. He probably hadn't even made it out of Riverdale. Elena thought of Polly, and the look she'd always worn in her eyes whenever Jason had been around her. Undeniable and unconditional love, the kind kids emotionally deprived of such a thing clung tightly to their chests and never let go of if they knew what was good for them.
Elena wondered if the Coopers would even bother to tell her.
"Dead?" Cheryl nodded in confirmation as Elena pulled her into a hug, her sobs increasing tenfold as the redhead latched on to Elena. She placed a gentle hand on her back, her mind whirring frantically as she thought the matter over. "How? He was in the river?"
"With a gunshot wound to the head. I- I saw it." Cheryl clarified, her body shaking so much that it began to worry Elena. Did Cheryl need to see a doctor? Was she in shock? Should she call someone? Elena began rubbing circles into her back, helpless in trying to figure out what to do. He was murdered? When? Why? Had he even left Riverdale at all?
"Jesus! And your parents took you with them to the morgue?" Elena exclaimed in outrage. Cheryl nodded into her shoulder. Elena shook her head, half disgusted and half bewildered as her mind struggled to register the information. How the hell had he wound up dead? What kind of enemies could a smalltown rich jock make?
Elena gave the more clinical side of her brain a major mental slap. Why do I sound like my parents? Comfort her for crying out loud! Words! Any words! But try as she might, easing other people's pain during times where injury or death were involved didn't come naturally to Elena at all. Her family had never been big on the emotional moments when people died. The unspoken rules were that you were allowed to be sad for a while, maybe cry once or twice and then you had to suck it up, get over it and move on. There would be no time to pause and reflect, to grieve openly and emotionally for a life lost. That was how it had gone when her grandparents had died, and Elena had never quite forgiven her Mom and Dad for it. Even with eighteen months away from their emotionally constipated household, Elena still found herself struggling to be fully, one-hundred percent vulnerable in front of other people, let alone be able to help them. It was like some kind of foreign language she didn't speak. Pep talks were one thing but this was a whole other ball game for her. So instead she opted to herd Cheryl inside, one arm still wrapped around her as she kicked the front door closed with her foot.
Somehow she ended up making her coffee. Cheryl had planted herself down on the couch sans jacket, all the while Elena's hands got to work in a bid to do something, anything useful. There was a joke to be made about her defaulting to waitress mode in times of crisis, but Elena figured it wouldn't be appropriate given the sudden grave tone the morning had taken.
Once she had finished she joined Cheryl, the other girl wordlessly taking the mug from her. She glanced down at the item for a moment, almost surprised to see it in her hands. "It's warm." She murmured.
"Yeah."
Cheryl took a sip from the mug, staring listlessly ahead. She leaned her head on Elena's shoulder, the tension in her shoulders easing as she closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "Jay-Jay always liked your coffee." She stated matter-of-factly.
"He-" Elena blinked in surprise, her concern rising at the odd turn her girlfriend had taken. "He did?"
"When we first started getting aquainted with you, we both assumed given your blue blood origins that you wouldn't be too good at making it." She shrugged, continuing to drink. Elena suspected it was mostly for her benefit and not an actual need for her to quench any kind of thirst. "But no. You know he was always so fascinated by your situation."
"My situation?" Elena queried.
"Your estrangement from your parents. How you adapted when you were thrown out by your godawful mafioso father. You were thrown out into the river to drown, and yet you floated. I- I think the thought of getting to do that himself made him really happy. So, so happy." Cheryl's eyes welled with tears, her bottom lip trembling. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't let him go none of this would have happened. He- He's dead. Jason's dead because of me."
Elena shook her head, her own eyes brimming with tears. "Cheryl don't do that to yourself! Okay? This isn't on you. It's on the psycho that murdered him." She rubbed her arm comfortingly. "He wouldn't want you to feel this way. They'll find whoever did this and what happened."
A fresh bout of sobs poured forth from Cheryl's lips. "What- What do I do? About my parents? About-"
Elena's eyes went wide in realisation. The July 4th plan of the twins to set Jason free. Clearly he hadn't drowned, so it would only be right for the police to turn their eyes on Cheryl given her big lie. "You have to tell them about the plan Cher, like now! Today!" Elena insisted, her alarm pouring out of her voice. "The first person they'll look at is you for lying about him drowning."
"I can't!" Cheryl protested frantically. "My parents will have my head if they find out!"
"You can."
Elena froze at the sound of Nell's voice as she opened her bedroom door, bleary eyed and looking deeply unimpressed. Elena gulped at the sight, a joke about the penguin pyjamas she was wearing dying on her lips at once. Nell raised an unimpressed brow at her, folding her arms as she looked between the two of them.
Elena glanced down as Cheryl took her hand into hers, clutching it like a lifeline. Elena offered her a reassuring smile and nodded, their locked eyes communicating a million different things within seconds. We have to do this. Nell's the one adult I know who I can completely trust. It's going to be horrible but we need to nip this thing in the bud before they try and come for you. God help them if they tried.
Cheryl squared her shoulders and met Nell's expectant gaze with a steely one of her own. "I suppose I should explain."
"Please do."
Several minutes went by as Cheryl went into detail over what exactly had been going on, all the while Elena squirmed uncomfortably by her side, wrestling with her inner guilt. Once she was done Nell merely shook her head, before burying her head in hands momentarily. "Well you're both going down to the station. Like... Now!"
She gestured for Elena to rise to her feet, pointing her in the direction of the bathroom. "Ten minutes then we're heading out." She informed her matter-of-factly, Elena's heart sinking slightly at the look on her face. She looked mad. Very mad. And as Elena went on over to the bathroom and shut the door, she found she didn't quite know what to do with that fact.
She was going to kick her out. Elena summarised to herself, as she sat back down next to Nell and Cheryl made her way into the Sheriff's office, hands clasping frantically to her purse. She was going to kick her out, sick of all the personal drama and bagagge Elena had dragged into her life. Elena knew that Nell liked to keep her life as tidy and neat as possible, and a trip to the police station was anything but.
Elena squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, eyes locked on to Nell as the blonde stared straight ahead. Her mouth had formed into a thin line and had remained firmly in place ever since they'd left the apartment. It was driving her completely insane. Elena would take yelling, a bitchy comment, a passive aggressive dig, anything but the unbearable quiet that had sank its claws into her nerves and was shaking them like a monkey with a tree. "Please say something." Elena pleaded, eyes wide with worry. "Nell I'm sorry! I thought-" She sighed, sinking into her seat. "I thought I was doing the right thing."
"You should have said something!" Nell snapped, whirling her head to the side. "The second he didn't call! I mean-" She huffed stressfully. "Do you know how this looks?" Nell lowered her voice as a cop passed by, hands moving wildly. "What do I always say?"
"No secrets. Period." Elena supplied, shrinking under the weight of her frantic stare. She was right of course, Elena recognised, guilt squirming uncomfortably in her gut. What had initally seemed like a harmless thing to keep from her, had now evolved into a big giant hot mess. Nell had had to cover her ass with Sheriff Keller by insisting it was all just one big good intentioned fluke on her part, with him eventually letting her off with a stern warning. She'd brought a fuck-ton of trouble into their lives, and all to someone who had done so much for her. "I'm really, really sorry Nell." She insisted, panic leaking into her voice.
"Elena I have your back, okay. I'll go into that office a million times for you, no matter what." Nell offered out her hand and Elena took it into hers, her panic easing slightly as Nell squeezed it in assurance, gradually sapping the anxiety from her. "But if I'm going to fend off the cops and any other delightful assholes that may come our way from you I need to know the whole story. I can't look out for you if I don't know what I'm looking for."
"You don't have to look out for me. You've..." Elena swallowed the lump that formed in her throat whenever she thought about the day Nell had came to get her. "You've already done so much for me."
"No I kind of do." Nell smiled, shaking her head to herself. "It's innate now. Can't help it." She shrugged, laughing a little at herself. "Look I'm not mad-"
Elena shot her a foul look of disbelief.
"Okay I was a little pissed but..." Nell placed a soft hand on her jacket covered shoulder. "It's only because I worry." She said, gesturing to the visible stress lines on her forehead. "If anything of the wacky, Blossom-esque variety rears its head again, please just come talk to me about. Even if it's gross, or you think I'm too old to understand or something. I hate the thought of you two having to keep this big secret."
"I promise." Elena nodded, not missing the visible tension that sank from Nell's shoulders at her words.
"Just... Try not to get swept up into anymore stuff like this." Nell advised, bumping her shoulder against Elena's in a bid to ease the tension. "Cheryl's great, but if you piss off those Flowers in the Attic-y parents of hers one too many times they'll come after you like the human forms of Cujo that they are." Nell shivered inwardly at the mental image.
Keep her head down and stay far, far away from Penelope and Clifford? She had no problem with that. An insistent thought tugging for her attention couldn't help but wonder if Nell was speaking from experience given her longstanding friendship with Cheryl's brother. Would she tell him about this? Presumably so. Would he dare to finally put in an appearance? "I'll keep my head down." She nodded in assurance, just as the two furious looking people in question came out of the Sheriff's office, with a red-eyed and guilty looking Cheryl trailing closely behind them.
Elena's heart sank at the sight, causing her to rise from her seat. But Cheryl shook her head frantically, nodding towards her parents who gave both her and Nell unmissable dirty looks as they stormed past. School. She mouthed. Elena's eyes filled with tears. They'd taken her phone again, so they wouldn't be able to talk until Monday. Ignoring her self-consiousness for once, Elena made a heart with her hands with Cheryl returned with a watery smile, before she disappeared behind a wall and so far away that Elena felt as though she was being pulled apart.
She'll be okay. Elena tried to assure herself, rubbing furiously at her tear-filled eyes as she tried not to recall all the times Cheryl had told her about being screamed at when she landed herself in hot water with her parents. And how she couldn't even so much as comfort her emotionally distraught girlfriend through a call or text. You'll see her at school. They won't keep her there. They'll take any chance they can get to be rid of her.
Elena vowed that one day Cheryl wouldn't have to shake her head and keep her at bay. One day she would be rid of her parents and the two of them would make a home for themselves, the kind they'd both dreamed about as children.
Elena felt Nell's hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to the side, finding her friend looking profoundly guilty, as though she'd just served Cheryl up to the wolves.
"Nell?"
But much to Elena's confusion the blonde didn't respond. Instead she pulled out her phone and dialled a number, pressing the device to her ear. "You need to call me!" She stressed, seeming to hit the person's voicemail. "Something's happened with Cheryl Patrick."