Dressed and ready for the day, Elena came out of her room mid-yawn to find Patrick making pancakes and coffee. She blinked in surprise as the wonderful blend of smells wafted over to her, making her stomach grumble loudly. "Hey!" He greeted, flashing her a dorky grin. "I made pancakes!" He announced enthusiastically, pointing to said pancakes like a toddler who wanted to show off a good drawing they'd just done. "You want some?"
"Sure." Elena agreed, making her way over to her usual plastic lawn chair. Once she was seated Patrick brought over a plate full of steaming pancakes, the salt, and some freshly brewed coffee. Her brows pinched together in confusion as realisation struck her. How had he-
"Nell said you like them salty." Patrick clarified, sitting down across from her with his own plate. He stared dreamily at the large stack of pancakes, inhaling the steam curling up from them and sighing contently. "I leave the stalking to the Mrs."
Elena was briefly tempted to ask about Hermosa, as her natural curiosity about her was desperate to be satiated. What's she like when she's not playing a part? How long has she known who her father was? Did she mean what she said? Does she care about me? Why is she so dead-set on defending a man that only sees his loved ones as pawns on a chessboard? She quickly batted the urge away though. She knew that Patrick would more than likely give her honest responses, but opening that can of worms was not an option. Hermosa would only ever be loyal to a person Elena hated after all.
"Got it." Elena snorted, rising from her seat to grab two sets of cutlery for them both. "Where is she anyway?" Elena asked, sparing a glance at her bedroom which was slightly open. She hadn't heard her moving about at all, which was unusual given how thin the walls of the apartment were. Most mornings she was awoken by Nell singing along to the song on whatever radio station she'd put on while she was getting ready.
"She got up early to go shopping," Patrick explained, as she sat back down and handed over his respective knife and fork. "Thanks. Something about a cheese guy and that she wants to look her best?"
Elena nodded in understanding, as she sprinkled a healthy amount of salt on to her pancakes. "She's outfit shopping for the Taste of Riverdale. Her nemesis will be there."
"Ahhhh." Patrick drawled, nodding to himself. "I didn't realise she had a nemesis other than Alice."
A fond chuckle poured forth from Elena's throat. "That's our Nell."
"One in a million."
The two were silent as they ate, up until Elena went to take a sip of the coffee Patrick had brewed. Her eyes went wide as she swallowed the small sip she'd taken, barely able to stop her face from souring in disgust. It was terrible! Despite her best efforts not to show her true opinion of the coffee, Patrick's gaze seemed to catch something on her face. "Is it that bad?"
"No, no." Elena tried to reassure him. "It's-"
Patrick brought his own mug to his lips, his face contorting with disgust as he immediately spat the coffee back out. It seemed he agreed with her when it came to his coffee making skills. "Oh yeah no, this is terrible." He gestured for her to hand over her mug. "Water?"
"Water sounds good." She agreed, handing it over to him.
Patrick dumped both of the coffee mugs in the sink, quickly returning with two glasses of water that Elena happily sipped at. The cool water soon rid her of the horrible aftertaste of Patrick's bad coffee. "You didn't have to do all this you know. I won't smother you in your sleep, I promise."
Patrick snorted mid-sip, shaking his head to himself as he sat his glass back down. "Consider it an apology on account of your family and my in-laws being absolutely nuts."
Elena blinked in realisation. "Huh."
"What?"
"You're my brother-in-law, I only just realised."
Patrick seemed struck by the statement too. "Oh yeah." A startled little laugh escaped him. He sat his glass down, lacing his fingers together as he wiggled his eyebrows teasingly at her. "So sis, what kind of day have you got planned?"
"Ugh." Elena pulled a joking face at him, making Patrick laugh. "I take back the not not smothering you in your sleep thing."
"Sorry." He apologised, smiling.
The smile faded however, as a thought seemed to enter his mind. He shot her a nervous look that Elena could read very easily. "Cheryl's ok. I mean, the best she can be given the circumstances."
"Right." He offered her a sad smile that made her heart fill with pity for him, watching as he distracted himself by cutting up his pancakes. "Good that's-" He sighed miserably, letting himself trail off.
Sensing his need for a mental distraction, Elena managed to formulate a few questions to pepper Patrick with. "So how did you and Nell meet? I mean a rich boy and a girl from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, that's gotta be interesting."
Patrick's lips travelled upwards, as he gave her a slight look of surprise. "She never told you?"
"No."
A delighted snicker escaped him, his grin lighting up with a theatrical glow. "She ran me over. On her bike."
"What?" Elena guffawed, gaping at the statement.
"Well I was walking along, minding my own business on my way to Pop's after school, when suddenly this wild looking orphan child on her bicycle crashes into me at full speed. Informative flyers such as God Hates Gays and Why You're Going To Hell if You Have Premarital Sex go flying! She's frantic and apologising, but I was just laughing my head off out of sheer surprise." Patrick laughed at the memory, making Elena smile. "After assuring her I was okay about a million times, I asked if she wanted to get a milkshake with me. I don't think she'd ever had a milkshake or fast food before, her face was a picture. I like to think of myself as the guy that got her hooked." He bragged, pretending to toss his non-existent locks over his shoulder.
"And that's how it started." Elena concluded.
"That's how it started." Patrick echoed. "We ended up having a great time and agreed to meet back up there and well..." He gestured with his hand. "The rest is history."
"It's so weird to think she grew up there." Elena commented. "I mean she hardly ever talks about it."
"It..." Patrick struggled for words, as his face filled with pain at the thought of what his best friend had been through. "It was a lot for her and Charlie. I mean two gay kids in a place like that? It's-" Patrick's face filled with barely contained disgust. "I don't know why they let that place keep running, they're evil fucking scumbags. How anyone could stick someone they claim to care about in there I'll never understand."
The sickened look Patrick was wearing made hope bloom in Elena's chest. She'd figured being friends with Nell that he was fine with gay people, but seeing him verbalise how much he despised a place like the sisters filled Elena with an overwhelming amount of comfort. Should Cheryl ever change her mind about him, she could see that not only would she have someone who was perfectly happy to be related to someone who was gay, but someone who would go above and beyond to protect her should their parents ever find out.
He should know. Elena thought, but quickly cast aside the urge to tell him. Cheryl was safe for now. If she wanted him to know, it had to be on her terms. She deserved that at least.
"Hear, hear." Elena agreed.
Once Patrick finished up with his breakfast, he seemed to begin readying himself to head on out. He pulled on his jacket, grabbing his car keys from the bowl all while messing with his hair and trying to look presentable. "Where are you off too? To see your oh-so-delightful Mrs?"
Patrick shook his head, pulling out his phone to check on his reflection. Wow. "Oh no, it's way to early for that. I'm off to make some moves though. I need to do- Something."
"Is everything ok?" He looked agitated. Restless even. Like he was barely keeping himself from screaming out of frustration.
"Check today's paper." He replied, nodding towards the latest edition of the Riverdale Register she could see he'd screwed up and tossed on to the couch. Nell would sooner make a Baked Alaska everyday for the rest of her life than buy what she had once described as: "the shitrag all other shitrags aspire to be." Patrick must have gone out and bought it for himself. "Alice Cooper at her morbid finest." He bid her goodbye with a wave, leaving her with an overwhelming sense of curiosity that was dying to be satiated.
Elena got up from her chair and went over to grab the screwed up newspaper. She knelt down on the floor, smoothing out the front page on the coffee table.
CHERYL BLOSSOM GUILTY AS SIN!
Below the nasty headline was of course Alice's name written proudly on the byline, with two pictures of Cheryl and Jason below.
Patrick had had the right idea. Elena sneered in anger at the article, re-screwing up the newspaper and marching over to the garbage to throw it inside where it belonged. No wonder Nell hated her so much. Anything and anyone was fair game, just like Polly always said. Elena dug out her phone, typing out a text at record speed to Cheryl. Between the physical and digital editions of the paper, there was no way she and her parents hadn't seen the article.
Me: Hey saw the paper. U ok?
Cheryl is typing...
Cheryl is typing...
Cheryl: It's Alice Cooper. Anything to sell that tawdry little rag of hers. I'll be fine. My parents legal team are all over it.
Elena paused for a moment, struck by an idea. She began typing once more.
Elena: This Saturday we're going out. Wear your nicest dress.
Cheryl sent back a series of delighted emojis that made Elena smile. If she could make her happy for just a few short hours and take her mind off of everything that had happened to her lately, she knew she had to do it.
Cheryl: I feel better already xx See you at school xxx
Elena: See you at school xxxxxx
As Elena peered through the window into the student lounge, she found herself growing rather angsty as she waited for Veronica to finish up with her conversation and meet her outside. She'd detailed the whole Hermosa thing to her via a text the previous night, which was riddled with so much explicit language that their abuelita would have washed her mouth out with soap if she'd heard it. Abuelita! God did she know about Hermosa? She'd never even thought about it.
Catching sight of her pacing outside, Veronica wrapped up the flirty conversation she'd been having with Chuck Clayton and met her outside. "You look like crap." Veronica made a point of commenting, pulling a face as she drew close to her sister. Elena had some dark circles under her eyes that her makeup hadn't done much in the way of hiding, and Veronica could see that her eyes were drooping a little.
"Gee thanks." Elena grumbled, half aware of the fact that she was swaying slightly on the spot. She hadn't gotten much sleep on account of discovering that their father had had people spying on her. Now she was seeing suspicious faces and potential capos trailing her wherever she went. At least she had another therapy session soon. Dr Summers was going to have a field day with this. She'd have to warn her about someone potentially coming in and offering her a bribe for her file, that was if they didn't just break in and steal the thing. Uggggh. Thinking too much about her Dad and what his intentions could possibly be made her beyond paranoid. She'd forgotten what it was like. She could practically see him rubbing his hands together with glee in his jail cell.
"Discovering long lost half sisters sure makes you crabby." Veronica snorted, taking in the miserable look on Elena's face.
"Sleep deprived too." Elena quipped, burying her face in her hands. "Sorry. I'm just-" She waved her hand vaguely in the air.
"Yeah I know." Veronica sighed in understanding, offering her a worn out smile. She felt the exact way Elena looked, frazzled beyond belief. "Is it bad that a part of me isn't surprised? After everything that's happened, this somehow feels relatively on brand for daddy."
"Have you talked to Mom?"
Veronica shook her head, looping her arm through Elena's as they began to walk. Neither of them had class, so they'd planned to hang out and talk the whole Hermosa thing over. Elena took a second to enjoy the fact that physical affection with Veronica was getting a bit easier, time after time. There was only a little bit of unease now, which she was eventually able to sooth away with some mental assurances. "She was up and out before I even got up this morning." The sisters shared a knowing look with one another. That meant word had gotten back to her that they knew. "She's totally avoiding me."
"You know there's only one thing for it right?"
"Ambush?"
"Ambush." Elena echoed with a nod. "Wanna nab her straight after school? I've got some time before work."
"You're on." Veronica agreed. The younger Lodge found herself scoffing in incredulity a moment later. "I can't believe Daddy had her watching you!"
"I can." Elena plastered on her best impression of their father, an air of superiority washing over her as she held her head up high. "An extension of me dares to have privacy?" A hand flew to her chest. "Oh that cannot abide! Fly my pretties! Fly! Bring me her class schedules! What does she get up to at work? A Christmas bonus for whoever gets her internet history!"
Veronica giggled at the mocking of their father, resting her head against Elena's shoulder. "Have I mentioned how glad I am to have you back as an ally against the nuttiness?"
Elena smiled fondly at the gesture, her heart warming with pure affection for her sister. "You may have mentioned it, yeah."
Veronica patted her softly on the arm. "Come on sleepy, let's get you some coffee."
An hour into shopping for a nice outfit to where for the Taste of Riverdale event, Nell found her mood much improved. Pretty clothes, nice jewellery, plus the perfume store she could camp out in for a while? It was enough to make a girl feel like she was floating on a cloud. Clothing stores were her natural habitat, and could make her blissful under even the most stressful of circumstances. She'd found a handful of nice blouses and dresses that could serve as potential outfits, all of which were slung over her arm as she looked for some decent shoes that would go with whatever colour scheme she ended up opting for.
The current one for the outfit she was wearing at that moment, was Nell's favourite shade of light pink along with some white thrown in.
She had on a white long sleeve top, her cutest pink tweed skirt, white lace tights, white lace up boots, her pink coat that was the softest thing she'd ever owned and a pink beret Patrick had mocked her for leaving the house in that morning. She didn't care though. She felt pretty and she'd gotten her hair all fabulous and blow dried. Nothing was gonna throw her off her fun shopping trip. Absolutely noth- Nell's eyes widened, as she caught sight of someone familiar, wondering if she was seeing things.
Hermione was across the room looking at a row of blouses.
Did she have the gift of witchcraft or something?!
Nell's breath drew short. She hadn't answered any of the phone calls she'd made to her, mostly out of sheer anxiety over what it was she was going to say. But she had to say something. She had to! She was just maybe procrastinating a tad. Okay a lot. But after a lot of deliberation and some serious planning, Nell had simply resolved to telling her to forget the whole thing. Hormones and the romantic lighting in coffee shops were a deadly combination, neither of them could be blamed. They'd nip this whole thing in the bud, and then go on as normal. All she had to do was go up to her and keep her head on straight.
Clutching her hands in her fists, Nell took a deep, steadying breath and set off towards Hermione. She crossed the distance between them far sooner than she would have liked, her skin electrifying from the closeness to her as she drew to a stop. Nell tapped her on the shoulder, smiling teasingly as Hermione span around in surprise. "Say," she began, in a tone that made her sound far more jokey than she felt, "you seem like the type of lady that has a long lost step-daughter running around town."
A sheepish smile spread across Hermione's mouth, her cheeks turning pinker than Nell's beret. She rolled her eyes good naturedly, a wicked look in her eyes as she quickly looked her over. "In my defense your little friend wasn't the most forthcoming either."
"No. He wasn't." Nell conceded, smiling shyly. Was she sweating? She hoped not. Thank God she'd put on some of that fancy perfume Hermosa and Patrick had bought for her for Christmas. "Hi."
"Hi."
"What brings you here?" Hermione asked, arching a brow as her eyes fell on the various items of clothing she had carefully strewn over her arm. "Shopping for anything in particular?"
"A halfway decent outfit for the Taste of Riverdale event," Nell explained, watching as Hermione made a noise of recognition. "I figured I'd get something new because the cheese guy will be there and I'm going all out with the product, so why not go all out with-" Nell gestured to herself, giggling nervously at how ridiculous she sounded. "Elena's gonna be there. Pop usually has at least two people go with him every year, maybe you could go with her? I think she volunteered to push herself, but I think if she knows she has not one but two friendly faces there she'd be a little less anxious. Especially with Alice there. But I think you could take her."
Hermione found herself smiling fondly at the open display of complete and utter frantic nervousness on Nell's end. Placing a hand on her arm, she inclined her head towards the changing rooms. "Do you want some help picking something out?"
Was she not going to bring it up? Nell's nerves calmed slightly at the thought. It definitely wasn't the healthiest of approaches and went against literally all of her principles when it came to communication, but she wasn't exactly in a position to be picky here. Ok. Sweeping it under the rug. She could do that. Maybe Hermione had just chalked the kiss up to a momentary lapse in judgement.
"Sure." Nell smiled, nodding in agreement. She did have great taste in clothes after all.
The pair headed inside, where Nell immediately went over to the nearest changing room and began hanging up all of the clothes she'd brought with her. "What do you think?" Nell asked, beckoning Hermione over with a wave.
Hermione came inside, Nell catching a whiff of her floral perfume as she stopped beside her. She began rifling through the various items of clothing, quietly giving her verdict as she went along. "No. No. No. No. Oh!" She pulled out a dark green button up blouse with white flowers embroidered around both sides. "This," she turned to her with a satisfied smile, tapping it with her forefinger. "Wear it with some jeans and a necklace maybe and you'll be good to go."
"That's great! Thank you." Nell smiled, pulling the item out from the middle of the pile and putting it to the front. "You've saved me about an hour's worth of painful deliberation here," she laughed, all too aware of the fact that she had no idea what to do with her hands. God she felt awkward. Nell settled for clasping her hands together, shuffling nervously as Hermione watched her with a look she couldn't quite read. Several seconds went by with neither of them saying a word, making Nell blink in confusion. "Uh... Hermione? Are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be okay?"
Nell's confusion deepened at her accusatory tone, a frown creeping on to her features. "Well you haven't spoken in nearly two minutes-"
Hermione pulled an unimpressed face at her, her eyes growing wide with incredulity. Nell found herself gulping at the sight. "Eight missed phone calls?"
"Ah." Nell winced. "I thought we were-" Nell waved a hand in the air. When Hermione didn't leap in to finish her sentence, Nell had to force her brain back into gear. "You know, sweeping it under the rug."
"Sweep it under the-" Hermione let out a huff, eyes spreading out to the handful of people in their vicinity. Before Nell could blink, she whipped the changing room curtain closed, spinning around to face her. Uh oh. She looked annoyed. To an alarming degree in fact. "You want to forget about it?"
"The kiss?" Nell's heart began to violently pound in her chest. "I thought you did! I-" Nell made a noise of deep frustration as she struggled to articulate herself, burying her face momentarily in her hands before letting them fall away. "It shouldn't have happened. I mean are you even-"
"Not straight." Hermione confirmed with a nod.
"Right, right that's-" Mentally Nell found herself having to beat down the surge of pure glee that poured into her chest like warm honey at her words. Stay on topic! "Not the point. Point is, it shouldn't have happened. It was wrong. And I think the lesson I can take from this is that I really need to learn when people are flirting with me." Charlie had always teased her about not being the best with social cues.
In spite of the annoyed look she was wearing, a corner of Hermione's mouth twitched upwards. "You weren't sure if I was flirting with you or not?"
Nell's face went bright red at the inadvertent omission, making Hermione's slight smile turn into a full blown grin as she chuckled at her. Not knowing what to do in response, Nell groaned in embarrassment and buried her face back into her hands like a turtle. "Ahhh I want to die." She whined, only serving to make Hermione laugh even harder. "Stop enjoying this so much."
"You're adorable." Nell loved her laugh. She let herself enjoy the sound for a moment, the tension she'd been holding in her body sliding off of her like butter.
Nell froze as she felt Hermione's hands on hers, her skin tingling from the warmth of her touch. She gently pulled her hands away, finding those big brown eyes of hers that Nell loved to stare into staring at her with pure adoration. Nell couldn't bring herself to snatch her hands away from her, both of which were now being gently caressed by Hermione. Nell softened, letting herself stare right back with all the affection she had in her heart for this confusing, brilliant, whirlwind of a woman. Somewhere along the way, the mood shifted. In a deft movement, Hermione used one of her hands to tug her forward. Nell suddenly found the crucial gap between their bodies that she needed to keep her head on straight well and truly closed.
Gooseflesh erupted over her skin at once, her breath drawing short. Nell was pressed firmly up against her waist, barely a breath away from her lips again. Before another thought had the chance to enter her mind, Nell surged forward, pressing her lips to Hermione's. Plush lips met her eagerly, a heated frenzy blooming to life between them as their tongues met.
Nell was vaguely aware of being shoved up against the changing room's mirror, the sound of her shoulder bag hitting the glass flying straight into her mind and right back out.
One of Hermione's hands came to rest on her shoulder, a feather light touch that made Nell sigh happily, her brain rendered to an absolute foggy wasteland. Hermione drew away from her slightly, her mouth only inches away. "Did that feel wrong?" She queried, tilting her head in question as her languid voice took on a husky tone that made Nell shiver.
"No."
Her lips still tingling, Nell let the truth of the word sink between them. No. When it was all boiled down to how she felt around her, not a single fragment of being around Hermione Lodge felt wrong. It felt magnetic and intoxicating, a draw existing between them that always seemed to pull them close no matter how hard Nell tried to fight it. No, it didn't feel wrong at all. It felt right. To an unfathomable degree in fact. Like she'd seamlessly slipped into place in her life like smoke, and now she had no hope of trying to prise her away.
"No?" Hermione repeated, seemingly wanting to make sure that she was certain.
"No." Nell confirmed. She let a hand travel to Hermione's hair, her fingers trailing absentmindedly through her soft waves. She really did have nice hair. "But-" Nell looked up through her lashes, meeting Hermione's stare with barely restrained passion just like her own. "This is..." A laugh escaped her. "This is wonderful. But Elena-"
"Doesn't have to know everything." Hermione offered with a casual shrug. "You're hardly hurting her Nell."
Nell sighed, unable to completely push the guilt she was feeling out of her mind. "I know, and I hate to point out the obvious here, but aren't you married?" Nell arched a brow in question.
"Separated. For the time being at least." Hermione clarified, her jaw visibly tightening. "Between Elena and the moves he's made lately, I've decided to take some time away from Hiram." She brought her hands to rest on either side of Nell's face, her thumbs delicately tracing small patterns into her skin. "I like you Nell. Very much. And while I know you have a few reservations about this, I want to see what this thing between us is. Do you?"
Her heart and head warred violently with each other, grasping for dominance, until Nell was struck by an impulsive, selfish desire that settled its hand on her shoulder. She wanted something for herself. She loved her brother, Elena, Patrick and her community, but lately she felt as though she'd been giving rather large chunks of herself away without doing anything to refill her own personal well. Maybe she needed to be a little selfish for once. To spend some time with a woman she liked, and maybe get to kiss her some more.
The idea sent a thrill down Nell's spine. "I do."
A delighted smile stretched across Hermione's lips, making Nell smile in turn. "So..." Hermione drawled, still smiling as she closed the gap between them and kissed Nell once more. Nell smiled into the kiss, kissing her back with an equal amount of giddiness. Hermione pulled back just an inch. "Would you agree we're exploring this... thing?"
Nell nodded in agreement. "I think we are. This thing-" Nell couldn't help but emphasise teasingly, her nose crinkling. -"seems like something worth figuring out."
"I highly agree."
"I thought you might." Nell laughed, letting Hermione pull her back in for another kiss.
Several minutes passed before the pair had to resurface for air, chuckling to themselves as Hermione glanced at her watch. "I have to go, but-" She pressed her lips to Nell's one last time, before reluctantly the two women pulled themselves away from each other. "I'll call you." Hermione gave her a mocking look. "Will you answer?"
"I will." Nell promised, snorting at the expression on her face.
"Good." Hermione smiled, eyes trailing to the rack of clothes Nell had completely forgotten about up until that point. "And buy the blouse."
They bid each other farewell, Nell blowing out a heavy breath the minute she was sure Hermione was gone. She let her fingers trace the fabric of the blouse, certainty settling over her as she thought about what had just happened. The train car that was her life felt as though it had just switched tracks. A nervous giggle escaped Nell, her fingers flying to touch her lips and her now nearly non-existent lip-gloss. Yes. This felt right.
With her body now fueled by some good coffee, Elena's day began to improve even more as her girlfriend walked through the door and slotted herself beside her at her desk. Cheryl had claimed her place next to her in math class the minute they'd started going out, and despite seating plans and the teacher's various attempts to get her to move, Cheryl had stayed put. "Hi." She beamed in greeting, settling her face against her hand as leaned on her side, practically buzzing with giddiness.
Elena had to bite her lip to contain the sunny grin that split across her face at the sight. "Hi."
"Sooooo." She dragged out, tapping her thigh beneath the table. "Where do you plan on taking me?"
Goosebumps arose on Elena's skin as the finger evolved into her hand, resting comfortably on her upper thigh as Cheryl grinned teasingly at her. The front of the table was covered and they were the only two people at the back of the room, which more than likely accounted for her sudden bit of PDA in the classroom. Fighting to keep her composure, Elena smiled back at her. "It's a surprise."
"But I should wear a dress?" Cheryl questioned.
Elena nodded. "We'll be the belles of the ball!" She joked, doing a mock curtsey. "Hey ah..." Elena took Cheryl's hand off of her thigh and into her own, making Cheryl giggle.
"Couldn't think?" She smirked knowingly.
"Literally killing me." She groaned, playing with Cheryl's fingers. "So ah... Veronica told me about the other night."
"Oh." Cheryl's said in surprise, a look of unease on her face. "It's not a big deal."
"No Cher it is." Elena insisted. "I can see how much you're struggling."
"I don't want you to worry about me." Cheryl explained in a rush. "It's not like you can do anything."
"Maybe not. I can't truly relate to what's going on in here-" Elena tapped her heart, making Cheryl long to grasp her other hand and keep it where it belonged. "-but I want to hear about it. You can talk to me. I- I don't want you to think you can't talk about him to me. I shouldn't have let the way things ended with Jason and Polly colour my judgement of him. I don't know what was going on with him and he was only human after all. And he was always so nice and cool about me and you too."
"Thank you." Cheryl's eyes filled with emotion. "Ellie that's-"
"The least I can do." Elena supplied, squeezing her hand. "Promise me if you need to talk you will? Whether you're feeling sad or you just wanna talk about him, I'm here. Open book." She pointed to herself, filling Cheryl's heart with an overwhelming amount of affection for the girl beside her. "I didn't feel like I had anyone I could really open up to in New York, and... Well you know."
Cheryl nodded, overwhelmed by the urge to kiss her in thanks. "I promise." She murmured softly, wishing she could inch just a bit closer to her and rest her head against her shoulder.
"And I'm not gonna leave. You're the girl Cheryl."
This should be good. Cheryl thought. An amused smile began to grace the corners of her mouth. "And what pray tell is "the girl?" She queried, air-quoting her.
"You're the girl in the movies that everyone wants to date. Your the girl poets and playwrights write about, and musicians dedicate albums to." Elena explained, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Your the girl every superhero wants to date. Oh my god!" She gasped suddenly, grinning at Cheryl in delight as she slapped her palms down on her knees. "You're my Mary-Jane!" Elena clasped her hands together, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at Cheryl. "Call me tiger and tell me I just hit the jackpot."
"The fact that I understand that reference shows how much your dorkiness is rubbing off on me." Cheryl snorted to herself in amusement, beaming at the look of faux outrage on Elena's face. Thanks to the reminder, she made a mental note to search for Spiderman comics to get her for her birthday.
As the rest of the class began to filter into the room, the girls were forced to prise away from each other. Cheryl however covertly slipped her hand back on to Elena's thigh, shooting her the world's most evil grin.
"Diabolical!" Elena mouthed, already feeling her cheeks beginning to burn.
"I know." Cheryl grinned back.
As Elena walked through the door of the AV Club, she greeted Ms Grundy with a smile. She cast a brief glance across the room, finding no one else there. "You're only the second one here," the teacher clarified, nodding towards the table where she'd sat with the group last time. "I believe Ethel's sick and Ben let me know that he'll be late today. Dilton's here, he just stepped out to go grab a computer from the library that's acting up."
"Right." Elena nodded in understanding. She knew him the best out of the group, but Elena figured it couldn't hurt to try and bond with him some more.
"I see you've come again." The teacher observed, making Elena smile sheepishly. "I take it last time left a good impression on you?"
"Yeah, it really did." A delighted little laugh escaped Elena. It really had pleasantly surprised her. She and Ethel had gotten on to talking about Friends in class, and while she hadn't seen much of Dilton and Ben since, both boys had offered her a friendly smile and wave respectively when she'd passed them in the halls. "Is it too soon to say I think I might have found my people?" She joked, cringing a little as she heard herself.
Ms Grundy didn't seem to think it was cringy though, a rare smile tugging at the ends of her mouth at Elena's confession. Ease filled Elena's entire being at the sight, finding that the teacher had a rather nice one for someone who was usually so stern looking. "Well I'm very glad to hear that."
Elena managed to make a decent amount of small talk with the teacher, before she headed over to the table and sat herself down. She dumped her bag at her feet, pulling out her phone to pass the time while she waited for the others to didn't have to wait long for Dilton, who arrived only a few minutes later struggling under the weight of a rather rough looking computer. Elena's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the thing. It looked straight out of the early 2000's and more than a little worse for wear. Tucking her phone back into her pocket Elena jumped to her feet, rushing over to help Dilton, who gave a little squeak of "Thanks!" as she helped him carry it over to the table.
Dilton sighed in relief, rubbing at the indentations the computer had made in his hands. "I've had quite the struggle getting that thing over here." He commented, pulling up a chair across from Elena as the pair sat themselves down.
"I'll bet." Elena smiled, eyes tracing over the thing. "What's up with it?"
"It's been having a number of issues in regards to speed. And when using it this morning it turned off, and I haven't been able to get it back on since," Dilton explained, launching into a series of theories he had as to why that was the case. As he began to wind down, Elena began to prise the computer open to take a look inside. She was curious herself to have a look, though she suspected the computer was probably just on its last legs.
Several minutes went by as the pair poked around, before Dilton finally spoke once more. "How ah-" He hesitated, lifting the computer a little higher for Elena to reach inside to pull the necessary parts out. "How's Cheryl doing?"
Elena froze mid-rifle, deeply surprised by him bringing her up. Her brief moment of confusion fell away however, when she remembered July 4th, and who'd been the first to spot Cheryl out on the rocks. "She's... Dealing. She's doing the best she can given the circumstances, but he was her twin, you know? He was all she had for years and now she has to grieve him all while knowing some trigger happy psycho is still running around."
Dilton's eyes seemed to fill with sorrow. "You'll um... You'll give her my best, won't you?"
Elena softened at the look on his face, his genuine concern very much evident. He was a pretty closed book most of the time, but it was evident to Elena how deeply he felt for others. Elena smiled gratefully at his kindness, nodding in reply. "I will."
After a few more minutes of the two teenagers examining the computer, Elena sat back in her chair and patted the computer regretfully. "Dilton I hate to say it, but I think she's gotta head to the computer lab in the sky."
Dilton sat back in his seat as well, sighing in defeat. "I suspected as such." He patted the computer too. "Farewell old friend. I completed many a homework assignment on you."
Ms Grundy instructed them to toss the computer outside into the dumpster, which Elena and Dilton got to immediately. With some huffing and puffing and a break midway down a hall, the pair managed to get the computer outside and lugged it into the dumpster. Just as they finished doing so however, they were greeted by the sight of Betty and Jughead approaching them together, both seemingly having been on the lookout.
"Hey guys!" Betty greeted in her usual friendly manner, eyes darting between them and lingering on Dilton in a way that told Elena that they weren't there to speak to her.
"Hey." Elena greeted, frowning in confusion as rather than say hi back, Jughead pulled Dilton to the side to speak to him. Oh god had she done something to make him mad? Elena began to mentally run through every single one of her recent interactions with Jughead, searching for any perceived slight that could have arisen. Was her chest getting tighter? "Is everything okay?" She asked, fighting to keep her voice level and decidedly non-panicky.
"Oh yeah." Betty assured her with a smile, drawing close. "Juggy and me wanted to talk to Dilton about July 4th. And-"
Elena lips quirked upwards at the nickname, but chose not to comment on it. "Oh speaking of Juggy-" Elena pointed to the boy in question, before giving Betty an enthusiastic thumbs up. You have an in! She mouthed, making Betty's eyes widen in surprise.
Elena grinned as she nodded, watching as Betty seemed to look at Jughead in a whole new light.
"Hey!" Betty exclaimed suddenly, turning around to face her. "You were in on the whole thing! With Cheryl."
"Oh... Yeah." Elena shrugged. "Well there's nothing you won't already know. Jason wanted out of Riverdale, so he asked Cheryl to help him out with staging an accident. He was meant to call once he got settled somewhere, so I could take Cheryl to him on a "girls trip" we were going to go on. But he... He never called." Elena was suddenly hit with images of Cheryl crying, a defeated Patrick not knowing what to do to help. Someone out there had done that to them. Fury filled her entire being at the thought. "How come you're asking about this all of a sudden?"
"Jughead's book and well... If we happen to stumble on to the truth along the way, all the better right?" Betty offered.
"Right." Elena echoed. "Hey ah... If the two of you need any help-" Elena raised her hand and pointed to herself. "I'd be happy to help. If there's anything that could potentially help find the person that did it, I want in."
Betty smiled at the gesture, understanding sweeping over her at once. "For Cheryl."
"Yeah."
The two girls re-joined Jughead and Dilton mid-discussion, where the latter of whom didn't seem particularly eager to talk. "-told him, my scouts and I didn't hear anything weird."
"Well did you see anything weird?" Jughead countered, as Elena and Betty reappeared on either side of him.
"A white-winged crossbill, a long-eared owl-" Dilton began to list.
"Dilton."
Dilton's eyes landed straight on Elena, the animosity on his face sliding away. Some nervousness remained in his eyes though, telling Elena one thing: He was holding something back, and he was scared it was going to land him in trouble. Elena took a step towards him, smiling reassuringly. She had to put in the work to jimmy this locked door open. "Dilton you've been really cool with me. Amazingly so in fact. It's been really nice getting to talk about the stuff I love with people who love it just as much as I do."
Dilton softened at that, a deep sense of kinship evident as he too smiled. "I feel the same."
"One thing you should know about me?" Elena's eyes bore into his, willing for him to listen. "I don't snitch on friends. Ever. And neither do the other people I hang around with." Elena shot Betty and Jughead a warning look. Work with me here. She willed, eventually garnering two reluctant nods from them both. "I know you know something."
"I don't-"
Elena found herself channelling her mother, as she pulled out the old reliable flattery technique. "Dilton I know how seriously you take looking after those scouts of yours. I've seen you put them through their paces." He was a little intense with them in her opinion, but it was evident it was from a place of care rather than out of cruelty. "You're hard on them because you want them to be prepared for the world. I respect that. I'm trying to be prepared for the people in my life too."
"You promise that this will stay between us?"
"I promise."
Dilton's shoulders sagged as he took in a deep breath. "I fired the gunshot. Only to prepare the scouts. With the way this town is going-"
"What?!"
"You have a gun?!
Elena remained impassive, not entirely surprised. It seemed very on brand for him. "Keep going." She urged.
"But I saw something there. Something no one else saw. A car of some kind, with some stickers plastered on it belonging to one of those gangs on the Southside." Dilton explained, as Elena felt her heart slow to a dangerous rate.
"What kind of car?" Elena pressed.
"And what kind of stickers?" Jughead asked.
"I don't really remember the stickers, but it was some kind of classic car I don't really know what know which though." Dilton shrugged.
Ghoulies. Elena realised, recalling Fangs and Sweet Pea's many tales of the rival gang's drag races with their fancy cars. Elena pulled out her phone and opened up her notes app, an idea springing to life in her head. "Can you try and describe it to me?"
As Dilton listed off the various characteristics of the car that he could recall, Jughead leaned close into her ear. "You've got an idea." He guessed.
"I happen to be living with an F1 driver." Elena smiled, tucking her phone away. "If anyone can help identify that car, it'll be him." Elena turned to Dilton, beaming. Slightly confused by the gesture, Dilton began to smile as well. "Thanks Dilton. You've been a huge help!"
Roseanne Blossom was losing her checkers game.
She'd been playing against Gregory Barnes for the past hour, and she'd lost the blasted game twice in a row. And now it seemed she was on a losing streak. As she stared furiously down at her side of the board however, she failed to notice a figure kneeling down next to her, staring at the board inquisitively with her. "Wow..." A familiar voice drawled lazily. "You still suck a checkers? And with so much practice!"
Roseanne's brows furrowed together, uncertain that she'd heard right. Her head swivelled to her right, to find her eldest grandson Patrick grinning at her like no time had passed. "Well look what the cat dragged in!" She remarked in shock, eyes flying immediately to his hair. "You're back! What on god's earth have you done to your hair boy?"
"Red's just not my colour gran." Patrick closed the distance between them, pulling her into a warm hug. He settled his head on her shoulder, feeling a sudden sense of nostalgia begin to overwhelm him. Suddenly he was ten years old again, running from his parents and hiding out with his grandma in the library at Thornhill. He'd missed her, even if she was a little unhinged.
"Nonsense Patrick," she admonished, "you're still one of us. A Blossom, through and through."
"That's not the compliment you think it is." Patrick quipped.
"Never without a come back." Roseanne snorted, rolling her eyes. As they pulled apart, Roseanne let a hand settle on Patrick's cheek as she smiled fondly at him. She let out a sad sigh. "I take it you heard?"
"I heard." Patrick confirmed with a grim nod, launching straight to business. "It's why I'm here. For Cheryl. I'm sorry to cut this reunion short gran, but I need a favour."
Roseanne barely missed a beat. "Name it."