Chapter Text
“You’re sensational” Toni stated with the utmost sincerity, her eyes warm, attempting to comfort the fragile girl before her.
Shaking her head slightly in disagreement the redhead found her voice again.
“That may be the first sincere compliment I’ve gotten since.. I don’t even know when” Cheryl said, swirling her milkshake slowly, avoiding eye contact.
“Well I mean it, it’s true, no take backs” Toni joked, hoping to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
Cheryl couldn’t understand why Toni was doing this, any of this. It seems like the perfect set up for the take down of all take downs, why would this girl who Cheryl has only ever insulted and treated like trash actually care? Maybe this was all some cruel joke from the universe, or a dare from her serpent brethren. Maybe after they part ways tonight Cheryl will wake up to her most private information being school gossip and see Toni smirking at the head of the posse.
But.
No.
Toni doesn’t seem like that.
Doesn’t seem like the rest.
Like Veronica who uses Cheryl to feel important and better about her so called reformation.
Like girl next door Betty who uses people for her own gain even at the expense of the vulnerable and broken.
Like that beanie wearing writer wannabe who uses her brother’s murder, her trauma, as a novel springboard without so much as a second thought.
Regardless, Cheryl didn’t want to take the risk, couldn’t face the fallout when the other shoe drops yet again.
Sniffling once and drying her eyes with finality Cheryl stood from her stool, took out enough cash to cover both shakes and made to leave.
“Hey wait! Cheryl?!” Toni asked, in utter confusion at the way the air around them changed in an instant.
“Thank you for this Toni, I’ll see you around” Cheryl said, her expression unreadable, a well practiced and all too familiar mask.
“Come to my place!” Toni near yells, desperation lacing her tone, at Cheryl’s retreating form, she’s steps from the door, while Toni has only just stood from her seat. Thankfully the patrons of Pop’s had all but left by this point save for a few stragglers, none seemed to notice.
The redhead turns to look at Toni, confusion and scepticism adorning her weary features as the girl walks closer.
“I.. hate to think of you going home to your mother, please, hang out just a little while longer” Toni asked, sincere as ever.
What is it with the girl? Cheryl couldn’t help but question, her shock evident at Toni’s offer.
“If you want to, no pressure” the pink haired girl adds, now stood in-front of Cheryl, her earlier words being repeated.
“Okay” is all she gets out in response before Toni is smiling in relief and nodding her head towards the door.
Pulling into Sunnyside on the back of Toni’s bike, Cheryl makes out a few scattered fires with people chatting around them, there’s a warmth from more than just the flames as she sees the people laughing and joking together, boisterous shoves and playful headlocks.
Giving the trailer door a pop with her hip as she shimmies the lock Toni’s let’s it swing open, “home sweet home” she says softly and flicks on the light.
It’s clean, cosy, homey even, which is something Cheryl knows Thistlehouse, in all its grandeur, sorely lacks.
“Make yourself comfortable” Toni says, nodding towards the couch as she moves to the small kitchenette, fills her kettle and puts it on the stove.
“You want tea?” she asks, opening a press and taking a few boxes out.
“I’ve got camomile, peppermint, peach or I think some fennel left in the back, I have black too but I’m out of oat milk” she shrugs, glancing over at the redhead perched on the sofa awkwardly.
“Wow, a Southside serpent with such an expansive herbal tea selection” Cheryl’s tone is teasing but bordering on mocking, like she can’t decide how she’s going to play this yet.
Toni just shakes her head in amusement, peach tea being her favourite night time drink since she can remember, the calming comfort of herbal tea like no other.
“What can I say, I’ve got layers” she responds with a grin. “I’m going peach, you in?”
Cheryl nods easily, relaxing slightly against the cushions, the couch felt well used and soft, inviting you into its warmth.
“Cool, I’ll let these steep and grab my laptop, we can watch something if you want?” Toni suggests.
Again Cheryl nods, unsure of what to even say at this bizarre turn of events.
Only mere hours ago she was slapping the girls warm, soft, totally unwelcomed, hand from her forearm while insulting her and now...
Peach tea and Netflix in Sunnyside trailer park? Is this some kind of cosmic shift or alternate universe Cheryl has being dropped into?
“Do you have cherry tea at home?” Toni asks curiously, a playful glint in her eye as she sets the tea on the table before them, opening her laptop and Netflix.
“I do actually” Cheryl replies with a playful eye roll in kind.
“What is it with you and cherry stuff anyway?” Toni wonders, she had asked Jughead if he knew once but only got a gruff “who cares” in response.
The question throws Cheryl slightly, she stills, which Toni senses even while she scrolls Netflix mindlessly.
“Sorry, you don’t have to tell me if it’s like.. too personal” she backtracks, even though after coming out she hardly thinks Cheryl’s affinity for cherries would be a bigger personal reveal but you never know.
“No it’s fine Toni, just nobody has asked me before, it’s a kind of long story..” Cheryl trails off dismissively, why would anyone care about something so trivial. Why would someone want hear her ramble about fucking cherries.
“Well I’m all ears if you wanna tell it” Toni encourages, tilting the lid of her laptop down and taking her mug between her hands, smiling expectantly.
Cheryl doesn’t quite know where to start, and tells Toni as such. After gathering her thoughts while she takes a sip tea she begins.
The annual Riverdale Maple Festival was Cheryl’s favourite time of the year, besides the tree tapping but that was a Blossom affair, this was a townwide, whole weekend celebration of their maple syrup!
Most importantly it was the biggest fair of the year with Cheryl and Jason getting special treatment by most of the vendors. Not to mention they got to sneak away from their parents’ ever watchful, ever judgmental gazes and actually enjoy themselves for the weekend.
The Blossom twins were seven years old at this particular festival and Cheryl, having taken up archery in the past year confidently approached one of the shooting booths, winning a prize for Jason, their yearly tradition of finding a prize for the other was part of the fun.
Ever the dependable brother, Jason stepped up to the booth a few metres down, a throwing 3 footballs on target with ease and eyeing a plush looking cherry for his sister. About the size of a teddy bear, a gorgeous deep red colour which would suit her bedroom perfectly.
Excitedly he ran to Cheryl and they exchanged gifts.
“A cherry!! Because you’re Cheryl Blossom kinda like cherry blossom!” Jason explained grinning toothily having learnt all about the different types of trees recently.
“I love it JJ, thank you, I won you this cape, it’s blue and you can pretend to fly around like a superhero” Cheryl gushed, swapping gifts and hugging her brother tightly, soaking in the affection he gives so willingly. The cape made perfect sense for Jason in Cheryl’s eyes, her protector, her own superhero.
“I love it Cher, I can be the flying hero and you can shoot the bad guys with your bow!” Jason rambled already caught up in their next make believe adventure on the expansive Thornhill estate.
Yammering excitedly the siblings held hands and wandered to the next stall, getting some cotton candy before racing to the Ferris wheel and huddling close together, the cherry sat between them and Jason wearing his cape.
Cheryl loved that cherry plush so dearly it became a tradition of sorts, Jason would find some small cherry related thing for his sister on numerous occasions, birthdays, Christmas, or just because he happens to see it and think of her.
It became less frequent by the time they reached highschool, by then Cheryl set her role as HBIC in mind and while she still kept a cherry themed tshirt or piece of jewellery here or there she had mostly moved on from their inside joke of sorts.
“But.. after JJ died I started seeing more and more things, more cherry things and I know it’s dumb but I felt like they were signs, like he was putting them there for me so, I started buying them. Everything and anything I saw, sweaters, cardigans, art prints, jewellery, pins, cards, whatever. Like he was finding them for me, just like he always did” Cheryl finishes her story, wiping a stray tear or two, not for the first time tonight, god what has Toni done to her already.
“Whoa...” Toni breathes, kind of lost for words, she had assumed it was just more of cool aesthetic thing, a major commitment to the brand but she didn’t expect anything like the sentimental value it clearly holds.
“Yeah, and I bake cherry scones if I’m anxious, cherry cola when I’m down, stuff like that it’s just,” she shrugs, “my thing, so I don’t feel so alone” she adds, god she sounds lame, cherries so she doesn’t feel alone? Riverdale High will have a field day if Toni exposes her.
“Would you say you.. cherry-ish them?” Toni asks with a grin, easily dissolving any lingering heaviness, clearly a skill of hers.
“Ugh that was awful Toni” Cheryl groans, rolling her eyes and moving to open the laptop again.
“It’s meant to be awful, that’s a compliment so thank you” she teased with a wink.
Scrolling aimlessly for a few minutes while both girls add their commentary as the titles flick by until.
“I’m actually about due for a PLL rewatch if you’re down?” Toni suggests, landing on the familiar show.
“PLL?” Cheryl queried, taking another sip of the cooling tea and she looked at Toni expectantly.
“Oh my god.. you’ve never seen Pretty Little Liars?” Toni exclaims in shock.
“Out of all the revelations I’ve disclosed to you today this is the one you’re most shocked about?” Cheryl challenged, a disbelieving expression playing across her features.
“Well yeah! I thought for sure you modelled some of your HBIC-ness off Alison” Toni shakes her head still in shock.
“First of all, I don’t know who that is, and second of all I model myself off nobody thank you very much, this HBIC is all me” Cheryl says, indignation in her tone, giving a hair toss for good measure before reclining back into the sofa with her tea in hand. Gesturing at Toni to hit play with a raised brow.
“Maybe Sharpay then? HBIC, twin, loves drama that seems up your alley” Toni teases, her smile bright, like all she wants is to spread it to others.
“Shut up Toni, I have much better hair at least, plus I was the gay twin in this scenario” Cheryl says with an eye roll, grinning genuinely at the banter, she doesn’t know the last time she had spoken so freely, not for years, if ever.
“Now are you going to hit play so I can scrutinise this Alison character you seem to have likened me to?” she adds, a small smirk playing on her lips.
“Okay but this is a serious commitment Blossom, you’re stuck with me for a whole 7 seasons of this” Toni says, like it’s a binding contract, and maybe it is.
“Alright then Topaz, but if you get sick of me before then on your head be it” Cheryl replies in kind, hoping her blush at the thought of Toni so easily wanting to spend this undetermined amount of time with her isn’t as obvious as she fears.