Toni spared a glance at her schedule as she made her way to her next class, it had only been a few weeks since she started her second year and she still hadn't memorised her schedule. The door to her next class was left wide open indicating that most of the students were already seated. Her eyes moved from the ground to a pair of black thigh high boots. Moving up from long covered legs she was met with a daring bright red leather skirt. Before her scruitizing eyes could stare any further, the bell had rung frightening the pink haired girl.
Cheryl hadn't noticed the petite woman as she walked over to her desk, she hadn't even bothered to look up. A frown scrawled over Toni's face, it was unusual for the two not to at least greet one another with a smile. The brunette shook off the bad feeling, assuming the redhead had simply had a bad morning.
But as the class began, and Cheryl stood before them to begin her lecture on the upcoming end of term test, her brown eyes didn't once glance in her direction. When Toni raised her hand to answer a question, Cheryl would pick everyone but her as if she was dismissing her. As her professor began her usual venture around the room, checking over their work and giving them minor pointers to improve. She had completely swerved past Toni's desk as though she wasn't there.
It was at that exact moment the petite girl knew Cheryl was avoiding her. In a usual lesson - when the atmosphere in the classroom was normal - the redhead usually lingered over her shoulder, close enough for Toni to get a whiff of the dreamy perfume Cheryl wore everyday. The pink haired girl knew her professor secretly favoured her work to others, spewing multiple compliments when she'd finished reading her work.
That's why it hurt so much, watching her attention focus on everyone but her. As far as Toni knew, they ended things good with one another the night before. For Cheryl to be treating her differently now - it was out of character.
Dread slipped into her mind as she realised she still had to stay behind to complete her assignment, something that on a casual day she looked forward to. It felt strange peering towards the clock praying that the minutes dragged out for just a little longer. Toni wondered whether Cheryl would notice if she left with the other students, it wasn't like she'd acknowledged her presence at all. Why would she suddenly notice that she was gone now?
So when her class had ended, Toni gathered her things as quickly as the other students and attempted to slip out among the crowd.
"Antoinette." Cheryl called out, in a tone she'd never heard from the woman before.
As the brunette stopped, frozen on the spot she heard the murmurs of her fellow students wishing her luck. Cheryl was sitting against her desk, brown eyes boring into the petite girl as she stood nervously before the doorway. If Toni wasn't so nervous, she knew with no doubt she'd be turned on by the stern tone.
"Where do you think you're going?" Cheryl demanded, her eyes not once leaving her student. Toni toyed with the skin around her thumb as she cleared her throat, searching for an excuse, only to come up empty handed. "I don't clear out my schedule after class, just so you can waste my time."
Toni felt like a child being scolded, it was the first time since the two had met that the redhead was beginning to get on her nerves. It wasn't like she was the one with the problem here. Cheryl rolled her eyes when she received no response, yanking her laptop a little too roughly out of her purse and thrusting it towards Toni.
"If you need any assistance, you know what to do."
Cheryl spoke in a way that told Toni not to bother her, the way the woman sat down so heavily on her seat. Her fingers practically slamming down on the keyboard of her computer, the fixed glare that never seemed to soften. Toni had no intention of speaking up, knowing it would only lead to a potential snappy comment. The brunette sighed, loud enough for her professor to hear and moved to the furthest table.
Two could play at this game, Toni thought to herself. But her interest in her work simply wasn't there. She spent the entire time skimming through meaningless blogs that were no help at all, silently wishing she could ask for the woman's help. But she was stubborn, if it meant she had to sit staring at the same sentence for an hour, she would.
"You don't look as though you've written a single word." Was all she heard after forty five minutes had passed.
Toni scoffed at her words, not looking up from the images of designs she was staring at. Fangs had been urging her to get a new tattoo. "Surprised you noticed."
The comment seemed to stir up the storm cloud that had been hovering over Cheryl's head all morning. The woman's brown eyes flickering with a hint of fire, she rose from her desk, making her way towards Toni who was forced to look up. It was hard not to stare when a woman so beautiful strode over with such power.
Cheryl snatched the laptop before Toni could stop her, a cold laugh leaving the woman's body as she looked at the screen before her.
"What a waste of both your time and mine." Cheryl spat bitterly, closing the lid of her laptop. Toni frowned in annoyance, pushing her seat back as she got to her feet.
"Hey! I didn't even save what I wrote! You can't do that."
"You were staring at tattoos, I hardly call that working." Cheryl had attempted to turn on her heel, to head back towards her desk but Toni was quick to grab her wrist.
The contact ran a shock through Cheryl's body, the woman coming to a stop almost instantly as she turned to face her student. Her brown eyes fixed on Toni's grip on her wrist.
"What the hell is your issue?"
Cheryl spluttered over her words, "You should know damn well what my problem is."
Toni glared, her body filled with anger and confusion. They hadn't spoken since last night, and she was certain she didn't have an evil twin to screw anything up for her whilst the two were apart.
"If I knew I wouldn't have to ask - you've been avoiding me all day and now you're treating me like shit."
"You tried to kiss her, Toni! How the fuck could you look me in the eyes yesterday?! Are you not ashamed? Did you not see the ring?" Cheryl managed to spit out through gritted teeth, the woman in a rage of fury barely able to keep a grip on her laptop.
Toni's hold on her professor loosened, dropping Cheryl's wrist as she took in the questions thrown her way. None of which made sense.
"What...what are you talking about? Tried to kiss who? Donna?" Toni asked, her voice laced with bewilderment. It was the first time in a long time, that she was accused of something she didn't do.
"Heather! Why would I care about Donna?" Cheryl glowered, her pale skin painted red with anger. It took Toni a second to notice how her body shook.
"Hea—?" That's when it hit her, Heather had spun the story like gold. Feeding Cheryl a string of lies, which she'd clearly sucked up. "Whatever story she's woven for you, I can assure you it's a lie."
Cheryl shook her head as though in disbelief, "Why would she lie? She doesn't even know you."
This only fuelled the fire, Toni took a step closer to the redhead, her expression filled with an anger she knew wouldn't subside for a while. The accusation was ridiculous, but Toni found it rather amusing. It made sense why Cheryl had treated her differently, why she was cheery the night before and filled with resentment now.
"Gee, I don't know, because she's a manipulative liar? Did she tell you that I was the one that took advantage of her? Because my friend was with me that night, he had to practically pry me from her greasy hands. It was the other way around, Cheryl. If you choose not to believe that, then that's your problem." Toni snapped, snatching her bag from the back of her seat and shoving past the redhead. If she didn't get outside and light a joint to calm herself down, she knew she'd say something that would get her kicked from the class. "Maybe you should ask her what she was doing Saturday night at the drive in theatre too, or should I say who."
As the last handful of words slipped past her lips, an instant regret filled her chest, the brunette turning on her feet as she reached the archway of her classroom. Her brown eyes finding Cheryl's only to see them fixed on her boots, the aura of anger once surrounding her had turned to sadness. Toni sighed in defeat, her hand resting against the frame.
"I'm sorry, Cheryl...I never meant to tell you like that. She doesn't deserve someone like you."
The silent hum on the projector filled the air, indicating that it was best that Toni left. Cheryl needed to come to terms with things, and as much as Toni wished she could help her through it. It wasn't her place.
[x]
Betty had phoned her later that afternoon, inviting the redhead to have a drink with her and Alice. Cheryl secretly knew her cousin was only asking so that she didn't have to deal with her mother alone, something Cheryl understood more than anything. Her own mother was a disaster when she drank anything alcohol related - grinding on anything that had legs. But she figured if Heather could go out and get plastered, then why shouldn't she?
Cheryl's dark eyes cast upon the wine glass balancing between her two fingers - the cool sensation pressing against her skin. The red liquid swished around the glass, threatening to spill on Alice's pristine white couch. The college professor pressed her lips in a fine line, listening to the ramblings between her cousin and her mother.
"Just one more wouldn't hurt, Elizabeth." Alice slurred, waving an empty wine glass in her daughter's face.
Cheryl stifled a chuckle, although she wasn't in the mood to laugh, the exchange graced a smile to her lips. As much as Alice irritated Betty, she could see the hint of amusement behind her cousin's blue eyes.
"I think one more and you'll be dancing on the coffee table, mom." Betty smirked, snatching the wine glass as her mother stumbled forward to pour herself another.
Cheryl pressed the glass to her lips, the sour taste settling on her tongue before she swallowed. She was on her third glass, just three behind Alice. But already she could feel the weight of the drink swaying her mind, the stress that had been haunting her mind since her fight with Toni flooding her mind once more. It seemed impossible to forget, the way her usually innocent student was laced with hatred. It was hard to think that what she said wasn't true. But choosing to believe a student over her fiancée - it felt wrong.
But with all of the lies Heather had confessed, something told her what she'd said about Toni was just another one. The thought hurt her more than she could explain. Heather had been her entire life for the past six years, the only love she'd ever known.
"Hey." Betty's voice broke her from her trail of thoughts. The redhead had been too lost in her thoughts to realise that Alice had passed out on the couch, her hand buried in a bowl of cheetos. "Don't tell me you're about to pass out too."
Cheryl offered her a faint smile,
"Not quite yet."
Her response earned a smile from her younger cousin, "Good, then I can tell you the good news."
"And what's that?"
"I've applied for several of the closest places that offer FBI training, not to brag, but I think I've got a pretty good chance of getting in." Betty grinned proudly, placing her own half empty glass on the table.
The blonde taking a blanket from the back of the sofa and hauling it over her mother's shoulders. Cheryl watched with a warm smile.
"If they don't, they might just receive a formal complaint from Ms Cheryl Blossom. I believe I can be quite persuasive with my words."
Betty gave a knowing chuckle, a memory flashing through her mind. Betty was a sophomore in Riverdale High - young and naive - something that seemed to deem her a target. The minute she came knocking on Thistle House door, tearing bubbling in her eyes, Riverdale High felt its final wrath of Cheryl Blossom. No one bullied her little cousin and got away scot-free.
"I wouldn't envy them if you did," Betty smiled, taking her glass and coming to sit beside Cheryl. The faint snores of her mother soon filled the room, leaving the two to laugh at the older woman. "As annoying as she can be, I hope I'm half the woman she is."
Cheryl rested her palm over Betty's, "You're already half the woman she is, little cousin. She's lucky to have you as her own."
Betty clasped her cousins hand warmly, a feeling of content swelling in her chest. She could always count on Cheryl to lift her spirits, she could only hope the same.
"Don't think I haven't noticed your glum face this evening, you look worse than the last time I saw you." Betty countered, her eyebrows knitted together in worry. A heavy sigh left Cheryl's body, her finger tracing the rim of the glass.
"You might've been right about, Heather."