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It caught her off guard the first time she heard it.
She was so surprised she couldn’t even correct Veronica.
"Your girlfriend"
They’d casually been talking about the Serpent’s latest scuffle with the Ghoulies, Betty had been worried about Jughead.
“Relax B, Jughead’s got the Serpent’s watching his back. He was fine. Right Cheryl?” Veronica had reassured her. Cheryl nodded.
“Toni came home with some scratches but she said they were from protecting Jug.” Cheryl said with a shake of head; it was mostly the truth.
She just left out the part where Toni had clambered through her window at one am, scaring the shit out of a sleeping Cheryl, and dripping blood onto her freshly cleaned carpet. It’s happened quite a bit since they became friends.
Betty didn’t need to hear that though.
“See!” Veronica said, beaming at Betty, “Toni looked after your boo and they all got home safe.”
Betty nodded and worried her bottom lip with her teeth.
“I guess you’re right. Except Fangs looked pretty banged up this morning.” Betty said with a frown. Veronica sighed loudly and turned to look at Cheryl.
“Your girlfriend’s alright isn’t she?” Veronica asked. Cheryl froze, blinking at Veronica. “Cheryl?”
“She’s fine.” Cheryl said softly.
Cheryl didn’t really listen to the rest of the conversation, too busy thinking.
Did they really seem like girlfriends?
“How’d you know?” Cheryl suddenly asked. Veronica and Betty looked at her with identical confused expressions.
“Know what?” Betty asked.
“About me and Toni.” Cheryl said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
“Oh it’s not that hard.” Betty said chipperly. Cheryl raised her eyebrow, staring at the blonde expectantly.
“What Betty dearest means is, you two have had heart eyes for each other since that day in the hallway.” Veronica said with a slight smirk.
“There’s the staring, the touching, the inside jokes-” Betty listed with a smile.
“- the dates at Pop’s.” Veronica interjected. Betty nodded and looked back at Cheryl with a smile.
“You guys are cute together. Nice to see someone worming their way into the Blossom heart.” Betty said as the bell went for next lesson.
----
Cheryl was panicking. Like Defcon 1 panic.
Her mind was on fast forward, slowing down on particular moments on the last few months.
Like that time at Pop’s.
----
They’d had a long ass day, Toni had snuck into Thistle House in the early hours of the morning, waking Cheryl up and asking if they could talk. They ended up talking until it was time to get up. Then school. And of course Vixen’s practice afterwards.
They were both bushwhacked tired but still needed to eat. Toni had driven the pair over to Pop’s and immediately ordered their usual milkshakes and burgers while Cheryl had stumbled into a booth seat.
Cheryl very vaguely remembers Toni sliding in the seat next to her instead of across from her, felt a warm arm resting on her shoulders and pulling her into Toni’s side. Cheryl’s head rested on Toni’s shoulder while she rested her phone on the table as she scrolled through Instagram.
It was less than a half hour until their food turned up. Neither of them had said anything, just silently scrolling through Cheryl’s social media.
Cheryl also noted that when the food arrived, Toni didn’t move her arm, instead eating with her right hand for the whole meal.
They’d quietly cracked jokes about the day that’d passed, teasing their friends between themselves and just mindlessly talking. Cheryl remembered feeling like it’d been a damn long time since she’d felt this relaxed in Riverdale.
When it was time to leave Toni had offered to drive her home. Cheryl had wanted to but she remembered she’d said she’d help Betty with a Blue and Gold issue. She’d declined with a frown.
Toni had nodded understandingly and mounted her bike, helmet in hand. Cheryl had reached over and placed her hand on Toni’s arm, using it to pull herself closer. Cheryl had leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Toni’s cheek before wishing her goodnight and leaving the Serpent to drive back to Southside.
----
Cheryl was no longer paying attention to her math class. Instead thinking back further.
Back when Toni had snuck into Thistle House for the first time.
----
Cheryl had been dead asleep. Dreaming of a better world filled with older brothers and pink Serpents… it was a strange dream.
Then a thud woke her up, followed by a:
“Fuck.”
Cheryl shot up on her bed, eyes wide and breathing quick. Her window was open, a light breeze blowing her curtains side to side. She slowly crawled to the end of her bed, peering over the bed and clutching her chest with a roll of her eyes when she saw the sprawled mess of black leather and pink hair on her floor.
“Jesus Christ TT, gave me a heart attack.” Cheryl grumbled.
“Sorry.” Toni groaned, slowly lifting herself off the floor. Well, she tried to. She got about four inches off the carpet before her arm buckled and her face collided with the ground again.
Cheryl scrambled off her bed, silk nightgown swishing slightly as she knelt by Toni’s side. She carefully helped Toni up, helping the half unconscious girl to sit on the end of her bed.
Toni’s head was hanging limp, chin brushing her chest, hair matted along the side of her face, sticking to the blood trickling from a cut above her eye. Her left arm clutched at her stomach, right keeping herself balanced on the bed.
Cheryl cupped Toni’s jaw, tilting her head up and wincing when Toni blinked back at her slowly.
“What in sweet Hell happened to you?” Cheryl asked softly. Toni opened her mouth but Cheryl was already halfway to her door. Toni watched the door as it swung shut quietly, taking the time to blearily look around Cheryl’s room.
It was nice, nicer than anything Toni had seen on the Southside. All reds and blacks, and silks and fine materials. It was polar opposite to everything Toni had ever known. Even in her messed up state Toni could tell that this embodied the Blossom name in every form.
The door clicked shut and Toni looked over to see Cheryl entering the room with a small First Aid kit.
Cheryl placed the box on the bed next to Toni and peered at her face; eyes glancing over the small cuts and bruises on Toni’s face. She reached over and gently brushed the hair off of Toni’s face, frowning at the dried blood in the hair and down Toni’s cheek.
She grabbed the damp cloth she’d brought with her and gently wiped the blood off her face. Toni winced when it caught the edge of the cut and covered Cheryl’s hand with her own.
“It’s not that bad.” Toni said quietly. Cheryl scoffed and kept cleaning Toni’s face.
Toni on the other hand had forgotten all about her injuries; too focused on Cheryl’s warm breath on her face. The gentle hand on her jaw tilting her head back until Cheryl could see the extent of the bruises in the sliver of moonlight coming through the curtains.
“What happened?” Cheryl asked. Toni went to reply when Cheryl slowly knelt in front of her and took Toni’s right hand in her own, bringing the cloth up to rub the mud and blood off her knuckles.
“Couple of Ghoulies jumped me and Jug on our way to Northside.” Toni said roughly.
It was silent in the room, Cheryl slowly and thoroughly cleaning Toni’s wounds on her hands. Cheryl finally stood up and cleaned the blood from Toni’s hair.
“I can’t help with your ribs.” Cheryl said gently as she placed the now reddish cloth on the box by Toni. Toni shook her head before grimacing.
“It’s fine.” She said, her voice still rough and hoarse.
“Did you hit your head?” Cheryl asked, peering at Toni’s eyes. Toni’s brain short circuited before shaking her head.
“Not that I can remember.” Toni replied. Cheryl hummed before nodding decisively.
“You want a bandaid for that cut?” Cheryl asked, thumb brushing over Toni’s eyebrow, just near the new gash. Toni shook her head again.
“I’ll be alright.” She said with a small smirk. Cheryl rolled her eyes and moved the First Aid kit onto the floor.
“Well don’t just sit there. Lie down.” Cheryl ordered softly. Toni looked at her blankly before Cheryl gestured behind her.
“Oh… I can- I can go…” Toni mumbled, moving to get off the bed. Cheryl placed her hand on Toni’s shoulder and lightly pushed her to sit back down.
“Just get in the damn bed T. And take those boots off.” Cheryl huffed, walking around to her side and sliding into bed.
Toni struggled with her boots but eventually kicked them off before moving to slide into the bed next to Cheryl.
Cheryl turned on her side, scooting closer until her head was resting on Toni’s collarbone.
“Why did you come here?” Cheryl asked quietly.
Toni paused; it’d barely crossed her mind as to why Cheryl had been her first thought when the Ghoulies attacked. She’d been crushing on the HBIC for months and had kinda already been on her way to sneak into Thistle House to see how it would go.
Funny how Fangs’ whiskey brought out the brave in her.
“First place I thought of.” Toni replied. Cheryl frowned and leaned over Toni, her hand pushing against Toni’s collarbone so she could look down at the small Serpent.
“Have you been drinking?” Cheryl asked. Toni looked up at her sheepishly.
“A little. With Fangs.” She mumbled. Cheryl fell back onto the pillow next to Toni’s head and rolled her eyes.
“Ever the little rebel.” Cheryl teased before yawning.
The last thing she remembers was Toni pressing a sweet kiss to her forehead and settling in next to her.
----
Once the bell had brought her out of that memory, Cheryl started to remember all the little moments in between.
The hand holding on the sofa, the inside jokes, the smiles reserved for each other. The weekly hang outs at Pop’s and the Wyrm. The cheek kisses, the lingering gazes, the hand at her back. The sneaking in nearly every night, the charged conversations they can have with each flirty word that leaves their lips. Everything Betty and Veronica pointed out, now that Cheryl saw it all, she realised how couple-y their friendship was.
Cheryl marched for the Serpent’s table at lunch, finding Toni amongst the boys all laughing and joking around.
“Cha Cha. Now.” Cheryl said shortly. She spun on her heel and headed for a quieter spot of the cafeteria. She heard the whoops from the boys and saw Toni’s eye roll and shove at Sweetpea’s shoulder.
Toni came to stand in front of Cheryl, hands in her pocket and a lopsided grin on her face.
“What’s up Cher?” Toni asked.
“Are we dating?” Cheryl blurted out. Toni’s eyebrows shot up and she chuckled lightly.
“It would appear the rest of the town thinks we are.” Toni replied. Cheryl could feel her cheeks heating up as she thought about her next move.
“Well do you want to?” Cheryl asked quietly. Toni blinked at her for a second before her face split into a beaming grin.
“Do I want to what?” She asked. Cheryl huffed and rolled her eyes.
“Date me.” She said through slightly grit teeth. Toni’s eyes practically gleamed with mischief.
“Is that how you’re gonna ask me?” Toni said with a pout. Cheryl rolled her eyes again, harder and way more over the top.
“Your window of opportunity at dating all this is closing TT.” Cheryl said breezily, gesturing down her body lightly.
Toni took the invitation to slowly move her gaze down Cheryl’s figure, eyeing the red dress that hugged every curve she had. Toni subconsciously licked her lips before meeting Cheryl’s eyes again.
“I’d love to Cher.” Toni said softly. Cheryl grinned, nodding her head softly with a small laugh.
“Can’t believe we’ve basically been dating this whole time.” Cheryl said with a light sigh. Toni snorted and shook her head.
“Just without the benefits of actually dating.” Toni added. Cheryl arched her eyebrow slowly.
“And what might these ‘benefits’ you speak of?” Cheryl asked, even doing little quotation marks with her fingers. Toni smirked and stepped into Cheryl’s space.
Cheryl didn’t even give Toni a chance to shoot back some witty retort, instead just leaning forward and capturing Toni’s lips with her own. Toni’s hands instantly fumbled from her pockets and landed softly on Cheryl’s hips, tugging her closer. Cheryl cupped the back of her neck and wrapped her other arm around Toni’s shoulders.
Toni pulled away when she could hear the whoops and whistles from the Serpent table. She turned and flipped them off, sending them all into raucous laughter. Toni laced her fingers with Cheryl’s and tugged her towards the Serpent’s table.
“Aw come on T.” Cheryl whined. Toni laughed and reclaimed her seat before maneuvering Cheryl to sit on her lap.
Thank God for Veronica and her assumptions.
----
Veronica was sat in a booth at Pop’s with Archie, Betty, Jughead, Fangs and Sweetpea. Behind them Kevin and Josie leaning over to join the conversation.
“So they’re finally together now?” Archie asked with a grin. Fangs and Sweetpea nodded.
“Sealed with a kiss this afternoon.” Sweetpea snickered. The group turned to see Cheryl and Toni giggling over a milkshake in the back booth and Veronica smirked.
“I told you I could make it happen.”