Chapter Text
Cheryl waited for a response, gazing expectantly at Jughead. Being a self proclaimed weirdo and always reading books and investigating crime, she felt sure he would know what to do. It was, however, Fangs who spoke first. “First things first. Jug and I need to get cleaned up before we help Tiny and Sweets. We’re only going to make things worse if we get them infected. Red, do you have a shower or something where we can clean off?” he gestured down at his blood soaked shirt and muddy jeans. “I don’t think just washing our hands is going to do the trick.”
Cheryl nodded. “There’s a shower connected to the guest room, down the hall and to your left and another upstairs next to the room where my mother used to sleep. Up the stairs and all the way at the end.”
Fangs nodded. “While we do that, I need you to gather any first aid supplies you have in the house. We figured you’d probably have a bit more than the Serpents have on hand.”
“Of course.” Cheryl spun on her heel towards the kitchen, ready to get started.
“Um, Cheryl?” Jughead had spoken up. “Do you have, like, clean clothes or something? I’m sorry, I know we’ve already asked so much…”
She nodded. “I can check the room JJ used to use when we were here. I’m sure I can find something from when he was younger for you.”
“Great.” Fangs stood up and took off his Serpent jacket, setting it on the back of the couch where Sweet Pea lay, unmoving. “Let’s go. We have to hurry.” With that he turned and bounded up the stairs towards the bathroom Cheryl had mentioned. Jughead turned to head down the hall while Cheryl followed Fangs up, stopping two doors down to the room she had avoided ever since moving in. Jason’s room. With a deep breath she pushed open the door.
It wasn’t as big as his room at Thornhill had been, nor as well decorated, but as she entered the room, Cheryl felt her brother’s presence. Jason Blossom had once lived and breathed and made this space his own. She glance over at the dresser where a framed photograph of the two of them at age ten sat, dusty. Tucked into the frame of the mirror were more photographs featuring the Blossom family, Cheryl, and various Riverdale High athletes, Jason’s friends. Cheryl could see an old snapshot of Reggie Mantle, arm thrown around Jason’s shoulder, laughing. If her brother were still alive, maybe things between the Serpents and the Bulldogs would be different. Maybe they would have gotten along under the peaceful influence of Jason Blossom. Maybe she still would have gotten to know the four Serpents currently under her roof. Cheryl knew, in her heart, that everything would have been different, better, if only her father had never killed her twin. Blinking to bring herself back to the current situation, she strode over to the dresser, looking once again at the photo of her brother.
“JJ,” her voice was quaking, but she needed to talk to him. “I’m sorry I’m taking your stuff. You never liked it when I would steal your sweatshirts. And you probably didn’t like the Serpents either. But they’re good people. And they need help. And even if it’s not much, they need a clean set of clothes and a place to stay, so I’m going to take some of your old stuff. I know you’d understand if you were here. I love you, JJ. Always.”
Cheryl pulled open the second drawer down and pulled out two t-shirts, pausing before grabbing a third. Sweet Pea, of course would also need new clothes. She strode over to the closet and grabbed a couple pairs of pants and some sweatshirts. Glancing back at the photos of her brother peppering the walls before closing the door, Cheryl exited the room.
She strode down the hall to drop a set of clothes in front of the bathroom before descending the stairs to drop another outfit on the bed in the guest room. Walking back through the living room, she dropped the rest of the clothes on the arm rest of the couch where Sweet Pea lay. It was time to get to work. She swept through the house, pulling as many medical supplies as she could find. After gathering everything, she returned to the sitting room and spread her haul out on the coffee table. There were various sizes of gauze patches and compresses, a variety of bandaids, athletic tape, several punch in ice packs, ACE bandages, thicker gauze bandages, painkillers, a ton of antiseptic wipes, and some nylon thread. Cheryl sighed. Most of this had been found in the side chamber leading out to where she had set up her archery range. At least her parents had cared enough to prepare for the possibility that she shot someone. Or maybe it had been put there to treat anyone caught in the cross hairs of Clifford Blossom’s drug empire.
Cheryl took a deep breath. She needed to focus. Sweet Pea and Toni were seriously hurt. She glanced down at what she was wearing. Having been waiting for news from Toni before going to bed, she was wearing comfortable clothes. Leggings, a tank top, and a Riverdale High sweatshirt. Nothing she minded getting ruined. Hearing footsteps racing down the stairs she saw Fangs, dressed in Jason’s old sweatpants and carrying the t-shirt and sweatshirt she had provided in his arms.
“You know I left those for you to wear , right?” she quipped at the Serpent as he bounded over to the living room.
“Can’t.” Fangs gestured to his chest. There was a thin cut along the right side of his ribcage slowly starting to gather blood, clearly the injury that had made his old shirt so bloody. Grabbing an antiseptic wipe, he quickly cleaned the cut, grabbing a gauze pad and some tape. Tearing off a piece of tape with his teeth, Fangs afixed the gauze to his side then pulled on the shirt, followed by the Yankees sweatshirt Cheryl had provided. Rolling up his sleeves he looked at her. “There. Now where is Jug?”
“I’m here.” Jughead grumbled, wandering into the room. Despite the severity of the situation, Cheryl almost laughed as she took in Jughead’s appearance. He was wearing a bright red t-shirt that was slightly too large over jeans that were definitely a size or two bigger than he actually wore. The zip up hoodie Cheryl had blindly grabbed was bright yellow, with blue lettering on the upper left corner reading RHS. To cap it all, his hair was damp and stuck up at odd angles after the shower, visible due to the fact that his signature beanie was missing. The entire effect was so un-Jughead. “It took me longer than expected because I had to roll up these damn jeans.”
“Never mind that, we have to get started.” Fangs said. He stared down at Sweet Pea for a second. “Red, get us towels and a bowl of warm water! We need to start cleaning as much of the blood as possible off of them!”
Cheryl nodded and raced to the kitchen, filling two bowls with hot water from the sink and grabbing several towels before returning to the living room where Fangs and Jughead were no longer standing. Glancing around in concern, Cheryl saw them out the window, pulling something from the truck. As they reentered the house, she could see they had brought in a tarp. Throwing it down on the floor, they carefully lifted Sweet Pea off the couch and onto the tarp. Understanding, Cheryl quickly crossed to Toni’s motionless body and gently lifted her off the couch. Fangs rushed over to help, and the pair moved Toni so that she was lying a foot and a half to Sweet Pea’s left. Jughead set the water and towels down on the tarp next to the fallen Serpents.
“Okay.” Fangs furrowed his brows, bracing himself. “I’ve only ever helped out the older Serpents with stuff like this, but I think I know enough to get us through this.” With that, he pulled out his knife, grabbed the edge of Sweet Pea’s shirt and cut a line straight down the middle. Jughead propped up the unconscious boy so that Fangs could remove the Serpent jacket and peel off the drenched shirt. The sight underneath was horrific. Sweet Pea’s torso was covered with bruises, punctures, and several deep gashes. Cheryl saw Fangs wince visibly and steel himself again. He moved down and pulled Sweet Pea’s jeans down, throwing them to the side, leaving him in only a pair of boxers. Cheryl could see clearly why it was necessary. There was a deep cut in Sweet Pea’s upper left thigh that was still steadily bleeding. Several more cuts littered his calves where the Ghoulies had attacked with spiked boots and his left knee was swollen to nearly twice its normal size, heavily bruised.
Fangs sighed heavily. “This is going to be a lot of work. Cheryl, can you get Toni and start assessing the damage?”
“I–um, well,” Cheryl blushed. They might be in a serious situation but the thought of needing to undress the pink haired Serpent was a bit uncomfortable.
“Come on, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, right? Here.” Fangs passed her the knife.
“Right. Of course.” Cheryl nodded, taking the knife from the boy. Of course he thought she wouldn’t be bothered. Toni was supposed to be her girlfriend as far as anyone else knew. God, how did she get into this mess? Steadying her hand, Cheryl did her best to copy Fangs’ motions, slicing through Toni’s shirt. Moving behind her, she gently lifted the smaller girl by the shoulders so she could remove the leather jacket and shirt underneath, leaving Toni in her sports bra. Seeing Toni’s injuries was even worse for Cheryl. Her eyes travelled across Toni’s torso, taking in the damage. An enormous bruise covered her entire left side, a bootprint shaped bruise was centered across her abs, spikes having made six neat punctures around the edge. Just above the bootprint, across the very bottom of her ribcage was a deep slash, bleeding slowly. With this much exposure, Cheryl could see Toni’s chest move with each breath. Her breathing was uneven and stuttering, the deeper breaths only causing her open wound to bleed more. Cheryl bit her lip to keep it from trembling as she moved down to remove Toni’s jeans. Her leg hadn’t suffered the same level of damage as Sweet Pea’s, presumably because his provided a much higher and therefore more accessible target. She had an open cut above her right knee and her left ankle was swollen and twisted at an odd angle, but there were no other serious injuries. There was of course, bruising but given that her entire body was pretty beaten at the moment, they didn’t stand out too much.
Cheryl glanced over at Jughead and Fangs, trying to get a clue as to what she should be doing. They had taken the towels and started wiping off Sweet Pea’s chest, cleaning it of as much dried blood, dirt, and grime as they could. Copying their motions, Cheryl picked up a towel, dipped it in the bowl next to her and carefully began to clean Toni’s torso, trying to avoid the seriously injured areas, leaving them for later. As she worked, it became clear just how much blood Toni had lost, evident by how much was caked on the Serpent’s skin. Cheryl was sure that if her face wasn’t so badly bruised, Toni would be several shades paler than normal. Once as much of Toni’s body as possible was cleaned, Cheryl looked back up at Fangs. “What now?” She couldn’t keep the tremor out of her voice.
Fangs looked his friend up and down, taking in the injuries. “Disinfect those smaller stabs in her stomach and cover them with a pad. Clean out that cut above her knee and bandage it. Her ankle and side need to be heavily iced, I think her rib is broken, but we can’t do much about that until that big cut gets stitched up.”
“Stitched up?!” Cheryl’s voice rose several octaves.
Fangs grimaced. “Yeah. I can do that. Tiny keeps a spare needle on her just in case. She and Sweets are both better at it that I am but we don’t have much choice. Sweet Pea has like three different cuts that need them.” He picked up Toni’s jacket and reached into an inside pocket, pulling out a small case with three needles. He pulled one out carefully and grabbed his own Serpent jacket off the back of the couch. He rummaged through the pockets until he found what he was looking for. A lighter. Fangs flicked it open and held the needle over the flame. Once he was satisfied with its sterilization, he reached over to the coffee table and grabbed the nylon thread. “Thank god you had this, Red. I could have used normal thread but this is way better. I’ll get Pea sewn up with Jug patches up the other cuts. Do your best to patch up Toni and I’ll come over to do the stitches once I’m done here.”
Cheryl nodded and grabbed several antiseptic wipes. Carefully she cleaned out each of the puncture marks the Ghoulie’s boot had made. Grabbing gauze pads she covered the open areas, wincing slightly at the pain she knew she must be causing Toni when she applied pressure to seal the edges with tape. Moving down to the knee injury, she cleaned it gently, shuddering when she pulled a piece of gravel or rock from Toni’s flesh. Once the cut was cleaned out, she attached butterfly closures across to keep it sealed before wrapping it up in a bandage. She stood up and walked to the kitchen, filled a bowl with ice and grabbed a plastic bag. Returning to Toni’s side, she filled a bag with ice, sealed it, and used an ACE bandage to bind it to her swollen ankle.
By the time she was done, Fangs had finished Sweet Pea’s stitches. Though more of his injuries had needed them, the cuts themselves were smaller than the bloody line still open across Toni’s chest. Fangs inhaled deeply to gather himself, then pierced the needle through Toni’s skin to begin his work. Cheryl couldn’t watch. She looked away and squeezed her eyes close to prevent tears from slipping out. How had this happened? How had Toni gotten so hurt? She felt sure it had something to do with whatever the Serpents hadn’t told her about last Friday. But they had kept her in the dark and now helping Toni and Sweet Pea was far more important.
It seemed like ages before she felt Fangs place a hand gently on her shoulder. “I’m done.” his voice was quiet, comforting. God, Cheryl thought, how could he be this kind? His two best friends could have died tonight and he was still trying to make her feel better. “Can you finish up? I need to help Jug get Sweets back on the couch.”
Cheryl nodded silently. She grabbed some of the punch in ice packs, breaking the internal bag and wrapped them close to Toni’s side with another ACE bandage. These would need to be changed but if she used real ice, Toni’s clothes would be soaked. Clothes. Toni needed new clothes. Cheryl stood up suddenly and raced upstairs to her room, grabbing another pair of leggings, a long sleeve cropped shirt, and a soft zip up hoodie. She knew they’d need to have access to Toni’s potentially broken ribcage, so she made sure the clothes provided a way to change the ice packs. As she descended the stairs she saw Fangs and Jughead maneuvering Sweet Pea’s limp form into the clothes Cheryl had pulled from Jason’s room. Fangs rolled up the left leg of the sweatpants and began to wrap an ice pack around Sweet Pea’s swollen knee while Jughead cleaned off the remaining blood and dirt from his face. Sweet Pea looked broken, but better than he had when they boys had dragged him into Thistlehouse.
Cheryl returned to Toni’s side and dressed her, needing Fangs’ help with the shirt. While the boys lifted Sweet Pea back onto the couch, Cheryl cleaned Toni’s face carefully, applying a few butterfly closures the the cut along her right cheekbone. The Serpent’s face was badly bruised, with both eyes blacked, a split and swelling lip, and small cuts along the left side that must have been caused by the brass knuckles. Surveying her handiwork, Cheryl once again noticed the decidedly redder hue of Toni’s hair. Getting to her feet again, Cheryl grabbed one of the bowls of water and strode towards the bathroom. Dumping out the contents of the basin she refilled it with warm water while grabbing a towel and some shampoo. Returning to the living room, she knelt down by Toni’s head, turning her face to the side before resting it in her lap so that the matted pink locks fell into the bowl of water but her face remained elevated. Fangs and Jughead stood watching, silently, as Cheryl washed out the blood from Toni’s hair and gently dried it with the towel. Once she was done, Jughead spoke.
“Hey, Cheryl,” his voice was rough from shock and lack of use. “We can get her back onto the couch. Could you grab a glass of water? And maybe tell us where we could find some blankets?”
She nodded, standing up. “Guest bedroom, top shelf in the closet.”
Fangs left to go to the bedroom while Cheryl filled a glass in the kitchen. Jughead grabbed a bottle of painkillers from the table and shook several into his hand. Cheryl returned, handing him the water and he moved to stand near Sweet Pea’s head. “Could you lift his head up?” Cheryl did as she was asked and tilted the unconscious boy’s head upwards. Jughead placed two painkillers into Sweet Pea’s slack mouth, poured a bit of water in and then rubbed the sides of his throat, forcing him to swallow. “It should bring down the swelling, and help with the pain if, sorry, when they wake up.” Cheryl nodded and followed Jughead over to Toni, repeating the process.
Once the unresponsive Serpents had been given medicine, Jughead grabbed a few more pills, downing them himself. Fangs returned carrying what must have been all of the blankets from the closet, and Jughead offered him the bottle. The two boys exchanged what they were holding, and Fangs threw back some painkillers. Jughead set the blankets down, selecting the two thickest ones and threw them over Toni and Sweet Pea. Finally done with the treatment of their friends, Jughead and Fangs collapsed with exhaustion, sinking down so that they were sitting with their backs against the couch where Sweet Pea lay. Cheryl picked up a blanket off the stack Jughead had set on the floor, wrapping it around her shoulders before sitting on the couch where Toni lay, positioning herself so that the Serpent’s head rested in her lap once again.
“Now,” it was late but Cheryl couldn’t go another second without getting the full story. “What happened? You promised to tell me. I have to know. Why couldn’t they go to a hospital? Surely they’d get better care there?”
Fangs looked up at her, defeat in his eyes. “Ghoulies.” he sighed wearily. “Jughead, you explain. I– I can’t. It’s too much.” He leaned his head back against the couch behind him, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Cheryl turned her attention to Jughead. The boy took a deep breath and began. “A few weeks ago, Fangs and I got jumped by the other gang on the Southside. I guess I should start there. Recently, the Ghoulies have been more aggressive, making a move to try and control more of the Southside. Ever since your dad died,” Jughead glanced uncomfortably up at Cheryl for a moment before continuing, “the Ghoulies have lacked a real leader. They were the ones distributing the drugs on the Southside but they needed Cliff Blossom to tell them what to do and keep the supply coming. That meant they had to follow his rules which included some territorial restrictions on their gang. Now that they’ve been producing and distributing on their own, the Ghoulies have been trying to take over the entire Southside, to turn it all into a piece in their drug empire. The Serpents have been trying to restrict that growth and keep the problem contained. Last week, the Ghoulies made a play for the Wyrm. It’s a Serpent stronghold. Taking the Wyrm would have been a blow that would be nearly impossible to recover from.”
“Hang on,” Cheryl interrupted, confused. “What does that have to do with Toni and Pea? FP told you guys to go to Sunnyside? You weren’t at the Wyrm.”
Jughead nodded. “Right, we were sent back to Sunnyside. It’s the other Serpent den on the Southside. The Ghoulies hit there too. But during the fight…” he gulped. “I didn’t really see what happened, there was a lot going on. Somehow, a Ghoulie ended up on top of Toni, trying to strangle her.” Cheryl gasped, but Jughead plowed on. “She ended up stabbing him really badly. Sweet Pea was just trying to help her but he, uh, he kicked the guy in the ribs a couple times. And you know Sweet Pea, he wasn’t exactly holding anything back, especially with Toni in danger. The Ghoulies took their guy to the hospital and my dad’s been keeping us posted through a contact we have there. His ribs were splintered, bits of them had punctured his left lung. And his kidney and spleen were hit when Toni stabbed him. It wasn’t good. He still hasn’t woken up after the two surgeries he had. It looks like he might not make it. The Ghoulies wanted revenge, so they set a time and place for an all out war.”
Cheryl looked like she was about to interrupt again, so Jughead held up his hand and spoke faster. “Their guy still hadn’t woken up by Friday so we spent all day preparing for the attack. We knew they’d be targeting Toni and Sweet Pea a little more so we tried to convince them not to come. They insisted on being their. Sweet Pea said that it would be against Serpent code for the mto get us into a mess and not help get us out of it. During the fight, they somehow got Toni and Sweet Pea together, and sent out a call. We didn’t expect that. They didn’t want a war. They just wanted revenge on those two. They swarmed them. We couldn’t reach them, there was nothing we could do.” Jughead looked desperately at Cheryl, silently begging her not to blame them.
Cheryl nodded, shaken by the overwhelming volume of information. “So, why are you here? Why not a hospital?”
Fangs finally spoke up again. “We couldn’t. The Ghoulies were waiting near the hospital to prevent Sweets and Tiny from getting actual help. And if they survive this and the Ghoulies still doesn’t wake up they’ll still be targets. Bringing them back to Sunnyside risks everyone there. The Ghoulies won’t attack here, the Northside is off limits. And anyways, you have way more stuff and we needed all the help we could get.” He rested his head back on the couch again.
Cheryl nodded again, understanding. “You guys can stay here as long as you’d like. We have plenty of space. You must be exhausted, you can stay in the guest room and get some rest.”
Fangs shook his head. “No. We’re not leaving them.” He pulled one of the remaining blankets off the stack and threw it over himself, lying down on the rug beside the sofa. “Besides,” he yawned, “this is still way more comfortable than the floor of the trailer.”
Jughead pulled the last blanket over himself and settled in next to Fangs. As the two boys drifted off, Cheryl drew her blanket tighter around her shoulders. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes, mindlessly running her hands through Toni’s hair, wishing desperately for the pink haired Serpent to wake up.
--
Cheryl was the first one to wake up the next morning, much later than she would usually get up but still ahead of the Serpents who had been fighting for their lives the night before. Quietly getting up, Cheryl removed Toni’s head from her lap and set it gently on the a pillow she had removed from the couch the night before. Making her way into the kitchen, Cheryl pulled out eggs, butter, milk, and bacon from the fridge, setting them on the counter. From the cabinets she grabbed flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Setting to work, she whipped up pancake batter and heated a pan on the stove.
By the time Fangs and Jughead woke up and wandered into the kitchen, Cheryl had finished cooking. Sitting on the counter was a spread of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a bowl of freshly washed cherries.
“Oh my god!” Jughead groaned in appreciation. “Food!” his beanie was back on his head, but he was still wearing his odd ensemble from the night before.
Fangs had quickly loaded up his plate, drowning his pancakes in syrup before taking a huge bite. “Tiny is so fucking lucky! I didn’t know you could cook, Red.”
Cheryl chuckled lightly, popping a cherry into her mouth. “I figured it’s the least I could do. You guys had a rough night.” Straightening up she added, “I threw your clothes from yesterday into the laundry. I don’t know if all of the bloodstains will be gone, but they be clean.”
“Thanks so much.” Fangs said gratefully, shoveling eggs into his mouth.
They devoured the rest of the food in silence. Once they had finished, Cheryl started cleaning the dishes while Jughead stepped outside to call his dad. Fangs grabbed some ice from the freezer, threw it into some plastic bags, and returned to the living room. Carefully, he changed the packs on Toni’s side and ankle and Sweet Pea’s knee. Reaching over to the table where various first aid supplies were still scattered, he changed the bandages on the wounds that had still been bleeding the previous night.
Jughead returned to the kitchen as Cheryl finished placing the last plate in the dishwasher. “I let FP know we’re safe and that Toni and Pea have been treated to the best of our ability. He says he trusts Fangs to know how to take care of them and told me to thank you for letting us stay here.”
“Any word on the injured Ghoulie?” Fangs inquired, stepping into the room.
“No. He’s not dead but still not awake.”
“Dammit.” Fangs ran a hand through his hair. “Listen, Jug, could I get you and Red to run a few errands for me?”
“Sure.” Jughead and Cheryl said at the same time.
“We’re running low on supplies. I made a list of some stuff we need, and if you could pick up some protein shakes or juice or something, that’d be great. I’m not sure how Sweet Pea and Toni will be with solid food when they wake up.” Fangs handed them a small slip of paper. “I’m going to stay here and monitor them.”
Jughead nodded and returned to the living room to pull on his shoes and Serpent jacket. Cheryl pulled on a pair of sneakers, tying her hair back as well. It was still a bit tousled but what with the current state of chaos, she didn’t think she’d have an opportunity to fix it anytime soon. She and Jughead exited the house and jumped into the truck the boys had arrived in last night. Jughead started the car and pulled out of the drive.
They pulled into the grocery store about ten minutes later. As he shifted the car into park, Jughead suddenly turned to Cheryl with a horrified look on his face. “Oh my god. I just realized. I’m going to be out in public. Wearing this !” he gestured down at the bright hoodie and oversized jeans.
“Are you insulting JJ’s choice in clothes?” Cheryl said in mock offense. She laughed lightly at the look of shock on his face and pushed open her door. “C’mon Hobo, we have food to buy.”
They hopped out of the car and entered the store, grabbing a cart. The front area of the store housed the produce section and Jughead pushed the cart around, following Cheryl as she threw various fruits and vegetables into it.
“Why do we need all of this stuff? It’s not on Fang’s list.” Jughead questioned, inspecting a box of strawberries Cheryl had just grabbed.
“Because,” she started, pulling the berries from his hand and placing them in the cart, “if Toni and Sweet Pea can’t eat solid food, then I’m making them smoothies so they don’t have to live off of pre packaged protein shakes. Besides, if you guys are staying for awhile we need enough food to actually make halfway healthy food.”
Jughead leaned on the cart looking mystified. “What are you even going to make? How did you learn how to do all of this?”
Cheryl smiled proudly, basking in Jughead’s impressed tone. “Well, after Thornhill burned down and Daddy’s assets were frozen, we lost most of our staff so I had to do a lot of things for myself, so I learned to cook. As for what I’m making, I guess you’ll just have to find out later.”
They continued to wander the store, spending a good deal of time in the personal care section where all first aid supplies were stored. They nearly cleaned out the shelved supply of gauze bandages and grabbed several reusable ice packs to bring back to Thistlehouse. Their next stop was the snack food aisle where Cheryl immediately regretted telling Jughead to “grab whatever he wanted” which turned out to be everything. They were just passing the pharmacy and florist on the way to the checkout line when Jughead spotted a familiar blonde ponytail.
“Hey, Betty!” he called out. “What’s up?”
Betty Cooper turned around, holding a bouquet of lilies and irises with several orchids in the mix. Grinning she greeted them. “Jughead, hi!” her smile faltered a bit. “And, uh, Cheryl! Great to see you guys!”
Cheryl nodded curtly then looked away from the blonde. Jughead however looked questioningly at the flowers in Betty’s hand. “What’re those for, Betts?”
Betty blushed slightly before responding. “Well, I guess you wouldn’t know because you skipped Friday,” Jughead stiffened slightly and gripped the handle of the cart, clearly remembering yesterday’s horrifying events. “But I asked Veronica out on a date! And she said yes! So I’m taking her out to dinner tonight and thought I’d bring her some flowers.”
Jughead relaxed a bit and grinned at his friend. “That’s great!”
Betty nodded, smiling and looked down into the contents of Jughead and Cheryl’s cart. “Wow, that’s a lot of first aid stuff. Is everything alright.”
Jughead looked at Cheryl, clearly not wanting to tell Betty what was going on but not having any way to explain. The redhead cut in, “It’s Serpent’s business, not yours Nancy Drew. Now, we’d better go pay so we can get back to Fangs.” her cold statement said plainly that the conversation was over.
“Oh, well, bye then. It was nice seeing you guys.” Betty said, taken aback at the abrupt end to their chat.
Cheryl guided the cart towards the nearest cashier, Jughead trailing behind her. “B and V, wow. I always thought something might happen but I had no idea Betty swung that way. Huh.” he mused as the cashier scanned the items they had gathered.
“Me neither.” Cheryl replied through gritted teeth, passing her card over to pay for their groceries. “Now help me carry these, we need to get back to Thistlehouse.” She grabbed two bags and stalked towards the exit.
The afternoon wore on, with Jughead in and out of the house, constantly on the phone with his father, trying to get information and being asked again and again for information on the two teenage Serpents who had yet to wake up. Fangs had gone out back, throwing knives at Cheryl’s archery targets to blow of steam as his distress for the condition of his best friends remained unchanging. Cheryl sat in the living room, having pulled up a chair near the couch where Toni was still resting, unmoving. She had been reading aloud French poetry for nearly two hours now, filling the silence with melodic prose. On the stops the boys made in the living room to check on Sweet Pea and Toni, they listened to the calm sounds of a foreign language, finding it oddly peaceful in their current predicament.
“ La très chère était nue, et, connaissant mon coeur/ Elle n'avait gardé que ses bijoux sonores/ Dont le riche attirail lui donnait l'air vainqueur/ Qu'ont dans leurs jours heureux les esclaves des Mores ” she read, her voice lyrical as she watched the pink haired Serpent gently breathing on the couch beside her. Jughead stepped into the living room, leaning against the doorframe. Fangs wandering back in as well, looking like he was about to speak but Jughead held a finger over his lips, and he closed his mouth. The two stood, watching as Cheryl continued reading the poem to Toni. “ Et la lampe s'étant résignée à mourir/ Comme le foyer seul illuminait la chambre/ Chaque fois qu'il poussait un flamboyant soupir/ Il inondait de sang cette peau couleur d'ambre .” she finished.
“That’s beautiful.” said Jughead quietly.
Cheryl looked up, not having noticed the boys appearance. “It’s called Les Bijoux .” she said, closing her book.
Jughead smiled. “Like the theater.”
Cheryl nodded, looking down at Toni sadly. “She hasn’t moved all day. Neither has Sweet Pea.” she looked up at Fangs. “I’ve been changing their ice and bandages and given them more painkillers but… nothing.”
He nodded mournfully. “I know, Red. You’ve done everything you can. Do you guys want food? I was thinking about running out to Pop’s.”
Cheryl stood, shaking her head. “No, I got ingredients to make dinner. You can help if you’d like.”
Fangs nodded and followed her into the kitchen. Jughead took the chair Cheryl had just vacated. “I’ll keep an eye on these two. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
Cheryl put a pot of water on to boil as she pulled out some vegetables. “Here, these need to be chopped.” Fangs pulled out his pocket knife, switching it open. “No! You’ve been throwing that thing around all day, it’s probably filthy. Use this one.” She passed him a clean kitchen knife and moved to gather herbs from the cabinet.
In thirty minutes they had finished cooking. Cheryl set out three plates and served a helping of spaghetti mixed with vegetables on each.
Jughead plopped down at the table and stared at the dish in front of him. “What the heck is this? Why is there so much green?”
Cheryl seated herself at the head of the table and responded. “It’s pasta primavera. And it’s green because there are real vegetables in it. It’s healthy and it’ll help you heal. Eat it.”
The three teens ate their meal in silence. When they were done, Fangs cleared the table and did dishes while Jughead opened a family size bag of cheese puffs, clearly needing some junk food. Cheryl, meanwhile, folded the laundry she had started earlier that day, setting out Fangs and Jughead’s clean clothes for them in the living room. Still exhausted from the previous night, they quickly fell asleep in the living room, not wanting to leave Sweet Pea and Toni alone for the night.
Sunday morning dawned and Cheryl woke up at her usual time of 7:00. Not having been properly clean since the Serpents had entered her house, she crept upstairs, careful not to wake Fangs and Jughead, and took a shower. The fresh clothes and general feeling of cleanliness put Cheryl in a good mood as she returned downstairs and bustled around the kitchen, planning to make blueberry muffins. They only had another five minutes in the oven when she heard a voice behind her.
“Damn, Red. That fucking smells good.”
She whipped around. “SWEET PEA!” she practically screamed, rushing over to wrap him in a bear hug.
In the living room, Fangs sat bolt upright at the sound of Cheryl’s shout. “What’s happening? What’s going on?” he exclaimed, trying to shake his head to wake himself up. Turning to see through into the kitchen, he recognized the figure standing just inside the doorway. “PEA!” he bellowed, bounding over to hug his best friend leaping up to wrap his arms around Sweet Pea’s shoulder.
Jughead raced in on Fangs’ heels and shouted in delight, showing an uncharacteristic display of emotion as he, too, hugged Sweet Pea tightly. The four stood laughing and crying in happiness for a long moment before Sweet Pea spoke. “Guys, as happy as I am to see you, this really fucking hurts.”
Suddenly remembering his injuries, the other three sprang back. Fangs pulled out a chair and gestured for Sweet Pea to sit down. Cheryl returned to the oven and took out the muffins, setting a timer so they could cool for a few minutes. Jughead walked over to the freezer, grabbing a fresh ice pack and passing it to Sweet Pea who pressed it to his knee. Sweet Pea looked over at Fangs who was now seated next to him. “What happened? How long have I been out?”
Fangs filled him in as Cheryl plated the muffins and set them in the center of the table. “And, as far as Jug has heard, the Ghoulie still hasn’t woken up, so they won’t stop coming after you, Sweets. So we’ve been camped out here at Red’s for the past day.” he finished.
Sweet Pea nodded gravely. “I see. And Tiny still hasn’t woken up?” they all shook their heads. “Fuck.” he scowled, grabbing a muffin and taking a huge bite.
“Pea, I’m not sure it’s a great idea for you to be eating solid food.” said Jughead warily.
“Shut up. I’m fucking starving.”
As it happened, Jughead was right. Not one hour later, Sweet Pea was bent over the toilet, throwing up. When he returned to the living room, Cheryl made him a smoothie, which proved much easier to keep down. Given his injured state, Sweet Pea couldn’t really move around too much with is what led to him convincing the others to play a game of Monopoly. It took over two hours before they were near endgame. Predictably, it was down to Cheryl and Sweet Pea.
“And that’s my property! Fork over your money Pea!” Cheryl said happily.
Sweet Pea groaned, throwing the last of his money at Cheryl. “This isn’t fair! I don’t know anything about owning property!”
“Suck it up, Sweets. She’s got you beat.” Fangs laughed.
Sweet Pea laid back down on the couch. “I’m gonna take a nap. When I wake up, we’re playing Risk! I’ll be better at that one.” Settling down he closed his eyes while Fangs and Cheryl cleaned up the board. Jughead’s phone began to ring, and he stepped outside for the dozenth time to take a call from his dad.
Fangs sighed as he placed the lid back on the box. “Tiny still hasn’t been responsive. I’m getting worried.”
Cheryl swallowed hard. “Well, she’s a lot smaller than Sweet Pea, it probably takes longer to recover.”
“I guess.” Fangs ran a hand through his hair. “It’s never been this bad before, you know. The Serpent leaders, they try to keep the younger members away from shit like this. I just don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t–”
“Guys, I have news!” Jughead raced back into the living room. “The Ghoulie in the hospital! He woke up! He’s alive!”
Fangs barked out a bitter laugh. “I never thought I’d be glad there wasn’t one less Ghoulie in the world! This means the kill order against Sweets and Tiny is lifted right?”
Jughead nodded slowly. “Wonderful!” Cheryl clapped her hands together. “This means we can take Toni to the hospital. And get Sweet Pea better treatment too!”
Jughead looked sadly at her. “No. No, it doesn’t. My dad said the Ghoulies are still camped out near Riverdale General, they aren’t risking anything. Apparently the Ghoulie was high ranking so they aren’t letting any Serpents near him. FP said to stay put at Thistlehouse.”
Fangs groaned and lay down on the floor. Cheryl leaned back against Toni’s couch so that her head was propped right next to the other girl’s face. Tears began to make slow tracks down her face. “It’s not fair. They need real treatment. It’s not fair.”
“Even if we could get them to the hospital,” Fangs said hollowly, “the doctors might not help. And even if they did, none of us can afford actual medical care. There’s nothing we can do.”
“Hey! Don’t talk like that!” Jughead looked down at Fangs reproachfully. “She’s going to wake up. It’ll be alright! They’ll both heal. Sweet Pea’s awake and getting better already!”
Fangs scoffed derisively and got to his feet. “I’m going out back.” Grabbing his Serpent jacket, he walked out of the house.
Jughead glared after him. “I’m going out. I’ll go grab some burgers from Pop’s. And a milkshake for Sweets.” With that, he stormed out of the house, leaving Cheryl sitting alone with two people she was starting to consider friends, both out cold.
Cheryl sat there for a long moment, then picked up the book of poems she had been reading yesterday, opening it at random and beginning to read aloud. Something about the verse in a different language calmed her. It was so different, it’s meaning masked under a layer of comprehension but once you took the time to learn what all the words meant, it was just as beautiful. Toni had reminded her of those poems. Her affiliations with the gang creating a barrier for Cheryl, that once she took the time to understand, unveiled a whole new outlook. She had looked down on the Serpents her entire life, assumed they were thugs and violent and altogether reprehensible. And yet now there were four Serpents temporarily living under her roof. With her permission and under her care. And all of them were so much more than Cheryl had expected. Sweet Pea’s tough exterior gave way to a genuine caring, selfless boy even if he was overly competitive and a little rough around the edges. Fangs, whose name Cheryl had once laughed at, was friendly, supportive, creative and always there laughing and welcoming her into their little group. Even Jughead’s overly serious life outlook and dark writing habits became endearing and gave way to a somewhat awkward boy who was always more relaxed with food in hand. And Toni, well Toni was far more than she had bargained for. She had let Cheryl open up to her, indulged her by attending stupid parties, let her in on inside jokes with the Serpents. Toni had never been anything but kind and strong and supportive and now she was just lying here, broken.
“ Un cygne qui s'était évadé de sa cage/ Et, de ses pieds palmés frottant le pavé sec/ Sur le sol raboteux traînait son blanc plumage./ Près d'un ruisseau sans eau la bête ouvrant le bec ” she read on, tears continuing to fall down her face. She’d have to pull herself together before the boys came back. They were going through a much tougher time, she had no business trying to lead on them for support. This wasn’t her family. “ Baignait nerveusement ses ailes dans la poudre/ Et disait, le coeur plein de son beau lac natal/ «Eau, quand donc pleuvras-tu? quand tonneras-tu, foudre?»/Je vois ce malheureux, mythe étrange et fatal ” It might not be her family but Cheryl didn’t think she could bear to watch what would happen if their little group was broken irreparably like this. “ Vers le ciel quelquefois, comme l'homme d'Ovide/ Vers le ciel ironique et cruellement bleu– ”
“Has anyone ever told you,” a hoarse voice spoke from just behind her, “that you speaking French is really hot?”
Cheryl dropped the book as if it had burned her, whipping around to see Toni, grimacing slightly as she propped herself up on her elbows, but awake and alive. “Toni!” the relieved exclamation escaped Cheryl’s lips just in time as she swooped down to kiss the pink haired Serpent.
Their lips collided with a bruising force, Cheryl moving her mouth against Toni’s as the Serpent wrapped an arm around her neck to try and pull herself up, deepening the kiss. Toni sucked hard on Cheryl’s bottom lip, biting it lightly, drawing a soft groan from the redhead as she leaned back slightly. This proved to be a rather dangerous move. The backward motion had pulled Toni, whose arm was still wrapped around Cheryl’s neck, off the couch. Having very little strength due to her numerous injuries, Toni was unable to prevent herself from falling, causing the pair to topple down, landing on the floor with Toni lying on top of Cheryl. She laughed lightly and leaned down the kiss Cheryl softly before lifting her head up again, smiling down at the girl beneath her. “Toldja I’d come back to you.”
Cheryl laughed lightly and pulled herself into a sitting position, Toni winced slightly as she readjusted, perching herself in Cheryl’s lap. “You did. God, TT I was so worried, you’ve been out for almost two days.” Tears were still dripping slowly down Cheryl’s face.
“I’m fine, or I’ll be fine.” Toni leaned in, gently kissing the tears from the redhead’s cheeks. “It’s going to be alright. Stop crying, Cher.” Cheryl chuckled and leaned in to press her forehead to Toni’s.
“Ugh, what did I wake up to?” Sweet Pea’s exhausted groan grabbed both of their attention. Blinking several times to clear the sleep from his vision, he suddenly took in the scene in front of him. “HOLY SHIT! Tiny!” Forgetting about his injuries, Sweet Pea moved as if to jump off the couch towards the girls. His body however, had not forgotten about his current state, and therefore did not move as expected, causing him to fall with a loud thud to the floor.
He cried out in pain and shifted into a sitting position, holding his knee and stomach which got hit in his ungraceful landing. All of the noise had apparently drifted outside, because Fangs ran in looking alarmed, knife in hand. “What’s happening? Is everyone okay? I heard something fall.”
“Yeah.” Sweet Pea grunted. “That was me. I just got excited cuz Tiny’s awake. Although she seems preoccupied with Red at the moment.”
Toni blushed and quickly stood up, using the coffee table to help support her weight. Fangs whipped around to stare at Toni, clearly not having registered the significance of her presence before. “Tiny? What? You’re awake!” He wrapped his arms around the smaller girl lifting her slightly off the ground. Sweet Pea smiled up at them from his position on the ground.
“Ouch, Fangs, don’t squeeze so much, that hurts.” Toni mumbled. Fangs immediately set her down, looking concerned. She eased herself back onto the couch. “I’m starving! Is there any food in this house?”
“Absolutely,” Cheryl sprang to her feet, her face still a bit red, and hurried into the kitchen.
Toni turned back to Fangs. “So, where are we? This is way too big and fancy to be anywhere on the Southside.”
“It’s Cheryl’s place. Thistlehouse.” Fangs sat down on the other couch, facing Toni. He furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head in confusion. “But haven’t you been here before?”
Toni looked away from him uncomfortably for a moment before looking back. “Um, no.”
“Whatever,” Sweet Pea said from the floor. “Your girl’s been amazing Tiny. She’s just been letting us crash here and gave us clothes.” he picked at the hoodie he was wearing. “And she cooks! The muffins this morning were amazing,” he looked down sheepishly, “before I threw them up. But the smoothie was really good too.”
Toni’s mind was reeling. Cheryl had just taken them in? She looked down at the clothes she was wearing that were so clearly not hers. Turning her nose into the shoulder of her hoodie, she confirmed it. It was definitely Cheryl’s. It even smelled like her. She looked back at Sweet Pea. “Did you say smoothie?”
“That would be correct, Cha-Cha.” Cheryl strode into the room and passed a freshly made glass over to Toni, sitting next to her. “We discovered that Pea faced a staggering inability to consume solid food this morning, so we’ll be keeping you on a mostly liquid diet for the next few days.”
“Next few days?” Toni asked, sipping the drink Cheryl had given her.
“Yeah.” said Fangs. “You and Sweets aren’t in any condition to be out and about and we can’t take you back to the Southside yet. The Ghoulies are going to be after you until their guy gets released from the hospital. So Red said we could stay here until then.”
“I–Cheryl–” Toni turned her head to look at Cheryl, shocked. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I’m so sorry you got dragged into this. I… I never meant for this to happen.”
Cheryl reached for her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “It’s fine. I really don’t mind. You guys need a safe place. I have too much space alone so…”
“Cheryl’s been amazing.” Fangs smiled warmly at her. “Never thought I’d see the day when a Blossom did so much for some Serpents.”
The door banged open. “Okay I’ve got like a dozen burgers! There’s no way we can stay mad with this much food!” Jughead had returned. “I didn’t know what milkshake to get so I got one of everything, and then there’s a bunch of fries and onion rings, so that should – TONI!” Cheryl had never seen the boy smile so wide. He dropped the giant Pop’s bag on the coffee table and set the box of milkshakes down as well before moving to the couch to hug the pink haired Serpent. “Thank god you’ve woken up! We’ve been so worried!” Jughead looked around at the four teens seated in the living room. “Everyone’s okay! That’s great! Let’s eat!”
Laughing and smiling Fangs, Cheryl, and Toni moved to join Sweet Pea on the floor, all sitting around the coffee table, and helped Jughead unpack all the food. Once all of the food was unpacked and set out it turned into a frenzy of people grabbing burgers, fries, and milkshakes.
“Where’s the ketchup?”
“Hey! I grabbed that first!”
“Could someone pass me some onion rings?”
Fangs pulled the box of milkshakes towards him. “Ah man! Someone already took the strawberry!”
Cheryl let out a disappointed sigh at his exclamation before Toni tapped her arm, grinning as she held out the lone strawberry milkshake as she sipped on her chocolate one. “Grabbed this for you, I was pretty sure Fangs would try and beat you to it.”
“Thanks!” Cheryl took the shake gratefully, returning the smile.
The dinner was the happiest moment the Serpents and Cheryl had had for days. Laughter filled the halls of Thistlehouse as they devoured all of the food like locusts. Sweet Pea and Toni went through five milkshakes and three packets of fries, that being all they could really eat. Jughead must have eaten five burgers before he flopped down on the floor, not hungry for the first time Cheryl had known him. Fangs and Cheryl had eaten a more reasonable amount at two burgers and a milkshake apiece though they, like everyone else, had eaten far too many fries and onion rings. The five teens were sprawled around the living room, all grinning inexplicably and basking in the silence and each other’s company. After what seemed like ages, Cheryl finally spoke.
“Since Sweets and Toni have recovered, there’s no reason we should all have to share the living room to sleep in.”
“We don’t mind sleeping on the floor here, you’ve done so much already.” Fangs said.
“Nonsense.” Cheryl waved away his protests. “There’s the guest room down here, the guest room upstairs, and my mother’s old room that are all empty.”
“That’s perfect!” Jughead sat up. “Some of my stuff is in the room down here already, Sweets and Fangs can take the two rooms upstairs, and Toni can stay with you.”
Cheryl and Toni shot each other alarmed looks. They weren’t really together but Jug didn’t know that. They couldn’t exactly refuse the arrangement Jughead had proposed, it did make the most sense given the pretense they were trying to keep up. She nodded. “Sounds good. Fangs and Sweet Pea will have to divide the rooms themselves.”
Sweet Pea punched the air. “Yes! I get my own room in this nice ass mansion!”
They all headed to bed, Sweet Pea taking Penelope’s old room because it creeped Fangs out too much. Toni trailed behind Cheryl as they made their way upstairs, entering Cheryl’s room. They got ready for bed in silence, Cheryl tossing a pair of silk pyjamas to Toni. Not speaking, they climbed into opposite sides of Cheryl’s king sized bed. Turning to face Toni, Cheryl spoke.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” she blushed just thinking about their kiss. Toni, understanding what she meant just nodded. “I was just really happy that you had woken up finally, it didn’t – it didn’t mean anything. So, um, yeah. I’m sorry.”
Toni gave her a small smile. “It’s fine. I got caught up too. But you’ve done so much for me, for us. It’s way more than you signed up for, honestly I’m so grateful.”
“So we’re good?”
“We’re good.”
Cheryl turned away from Toni, facing the window, and turned off the lights. The two girls were plunged into darkness, facing away from each other on the giant bed. The space between them was felt acutely in the quiet night, and neither girl fell asleep easily.