Antoinette Topaz has been in love with Cheryl Blossom a lot longer than she dares to admit, even to herself. That doesn't mean she's not completely open with those feelings, despite all of her friends telling her to stop it.
She's always been one to say what she thinks, to do what she wants and never did she spare a single thought to the fact that there could be situations in which it were better to keep to yourself. Her friends are all on her side, but they also try to make her see that it's not always best to be so open – just like her parents used to do when she had been a child. The only thing she'll achieve with it is getting hurt, because, despite what Toni vehemently believes, people aren't good. Especially not Cheryl Blossom.
Cheryl Blossom is the Ice Queen in person and everyone seems to be sure of that. Everyone except Toni. And she is determined to do everything in her power to make them see that.
She starts with small, unobtrusive gestures to show her how she feels. Holding open the door to the cafeteria where she normally would have just walked through and let it fall shut behind her. Bending down to pick up the pen the redhead has dropped when they crossed paths in the hallway. Up until this day, Toni has no idea if Cheryl even knows she exists at all, but when she's graced with a small smile when she hands over her English notes from the day before where Cheryl had been absent, Toni knows she's made herself noticed at least.
Her biggest achievement is, weeks later, volunteering to tutor the redhead in math and, though there had been other options available, Cheryl had picked her without hesitation. Granted, the other options consisted of a couple of math freaks that already knew the college syllabus by heart and could solve five different problems simultaneously, in their sleep. Cheryl would never, ever, want to be seen with anyone like that. Not even in her own home, practicing school work so she won't fail the year.
It's a slow process after that, but Toni just knows it's going to be worth it. She has no indication whatsoever to the nature of Cheryl's feelings towards her or if the girl is even into girls herself, but that doesn't bother Toni in the slightest. She'll try her best and, if Cheryl turns out to be straight and not interested in her, Toni at least finally knows.
They meet for tutoring once a week, twice when there is an exam coming and on those occasions the dark haired beauty drops very unsubtle hints about the feelings she has for the redhead and what she would really like to happen. Cheryl doesn't encourage her, but she hasn't outright told her to stop yet either. Maybe, she's not the Ice Queen everyone thinks her to be and maybe, Toni will not get hurt by confessing her feelings one day in so many words.
She doesn't mind, that Cheryl seems to not be flirting back, because that would come soon enough, for if she weren't interested at all, she would have said something way sooner. And so Toni keeps on opening up to the redhead, flirting, teasing, showing her that she knows exactly what she's feeling and she's only waiting for the other girl to realize she's doing the same.
That day comes rather unexpected for Antoinette and it takes her so completely off guard, that she avoids Cheryl for a whole day in school until their next tutoring session. The off-handed comment about taking her out should Cheryl pass the next math exam on Friday is nothing to blow out off proportion, but the little wink and the suggestive smile she receives just before she closes the door to the Blossom home has her heart skip a beat. And then, suddenly Antoinette Topaz is scared about her feelings for the very first time in her life.
But it only lasts that one day after the unexpected occurrence, and then the girl is her old self again. She reduces the flirting to a minimum on the next session, but it's still there, but Toni really * really * wants Cheryl to pass that exam. A date with the Queen Bee/ Ice Queen of Riverdale High is at the very top of her list of priorities. And then they receive their graded exams a week later and Cheryl passes with the highest score she's ever received in any of her exams since elementary school and Toni is nervous.
